The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 7: Her Double Delite Angels (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (9 page)

“What do you mean, you lied?” He placed one hand on his holster and one on his hip as he stared at her.

Monte came up from behind and squeezed her shoulders before moving in front of her near BJ. Now they were both facing her.

“We didn’t go shopping,” Susanna said then lowered her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Baby, talk to us. What’s going on?” Monte asked.

“I went to the doctor with Ava.” She explained the situation.

“Oh sweet Jesus, Ava must be scared out of her mind,” BJ said, and Susanna nodded her head.

“I feel so bad and I’m just so scared. I needed to tell you guys, but you have to promise not to say anything to Sally. Ava doesn’t want her to worry.”

“We promise. What can we do to help?” Monte asked.

“Nothing right now. The operation is Thursday. I’m going with her, and I’ll stay there until she gets out, so she’s not alone. Ava was going to try and do this on her own.”

“Why, when she has all of you and all of us to be there for her?” Monte asked.

“She was married for two months and lost her husband to terminal brain cancer. He was in the Army,” Susanna explained.

“That’s terrible.” BJ caressed her arm. Monte took her hand and squeezed it as Susanna cried.

“She was pregnant, too.”

“What?” Monte asked.

“She lost the baby at four months. She lost so much. It just isn’t fair that this has to happen to her. Then on top of that, Evan Banks asked her out. She’s on a date with him right now,” Susanna said.

“She’s on a date with both of them.” BJ winked at her. That man always knew what was happening in his town.

“It took some convincing to get her to go. She’s really down.”

“That’s understandable. Colton and Evan used to live outside of town on a big piece of land. I heard some of the old-timers talking about them and how proud they are that Colton and Evan turned out so well. Apparently there was some bad times happening in their family. Their dad abused alcohol and their mom was very sick. I didn’t get all the details,” BJ told her.

“Are their parents still alive?” Monte asked.

“Not the mother. She died of cancer. They say Evan and Colton took care of her during that time. The old man was never home,” BJ added.

“Oh God, that’s so sad. I wonder if Ava will tell them about the surgery.”

“I doubt it, Susanna. Sounds to me like she just wants to get through this without affecting too many other people. She’s going to get the royal treatment from all of us, whether she wants it or not,” Monte told her and she smiled.

Susanna stepped forward and hugged him.

“I love you both so much. Thank you for listening.”

“We love you, too, baby.”

“Yeah, and I guess you’re forgiven for lying to us,” BJ teased as Susanna pulled away from Monte.

“I’m truly sorry, Sheriff Parker. I’ll make it up to you however you please.” She rubbed her hands up and down his chest as she stood on tiptoes and barely reached his chin.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

“Oh, you’ll pay, later tonight, and you better be ready to please, woman. I’m the law around here, you know? And no one gets away with lying to the sheriff.” He lowered his mouth and kissed her. He squeezed her ass and hoisted her higher as Monte chuckled and continued to get dressed.

She loved Monte and BJ so much. She relied on them and took comfort in having them to confide in and be supportive. It would be wonderful if Ava could have the same and truly feel loved and cared for. She deserved happiness and maybe today on her date, she may have found some.

* * * *

“How about tomorrow? Can you come by and see the ranch tomorrow?” Evan asked as he and Colton walked Ava to her car.

“I guess I could probably stop by for a little while. I have to work tomorrow night, though. I don’t want to get too tired before work.”

“We promise, just a tour and maybe an early lunch?” Evan suggested.

She stared up at both of them. They were so good looking, and despite Evan’s shoulder-length hair, he still appeared disciplined in his stance, his politeness, and his firm handling of things. Colton seemed to always be in commander mode. She kind of liked it about him. He was rough around the edges, very cautious and distrusting, but here and there he relaxed a little and let his guard down. That was when she was most impressed with him.

“Okay. I’ll stop over around eleven. Is that good?” she asked.

“That’s perfect.”

Evan placed his hand on her waist and gave her a light kiss on her lips.

“Thank you for a wonderful time,” she told him. Then Colton stepped forward and stared down at her. She felt that nervous, uncertain feeling from his stare. He had such an incredible and natural ability to intimidate, without even knowing it. He took a lock of her hair and let it slide through his fingers.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed her a little deeper than his brother. She kissed him back and caressed her hand down his chest as he slowly pulled away.

“Drive carefully,” Evan told her as she got into her car and drove away.

On her way down the streets of Delite, she felt almost euphoric at the day’s events. What had started off as feeling negative and sad, and almost thinking that going on the date was a mistake, had turned into something special. She would embrace the time with Colton and Evan tomorrow. After that, her focus had to remain on recovering from the surgery and fighting for her life. She wanted time to explore this relationship with Colton and Evan. She wasn’t going to let a little old thing like cancer destroy her future. No freaking way.

* * * *

Wednesday morning Ava walked into the kitchen to see Susanna, BJ, Monte, Juliet, Paula, Elise, Vic, Tommy, Tyler, Matt, Carl, and Richie. Everyone was talking, Susanna and Juliet were making pancakes and bacon, and as she entered the room, they all greeted her as if nothing was different at all.

“Hey, Ava, how’s it going?” Vic asked then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Tommy did the same and then Elise grabbed Ava’s arm, hugging her as she walked her toward the table in the kitchen.

“We’re making breakfast this morning,” Elise told her, and Ava was relieved because she was feeling a little tired, from not sleeping well, but also a bit sad. Making breakfast was her thing to do, no matter how big the crowd.

“So, what’re the plans for today?” BJ asked as he took a seat next to her at the table. She felt her cheeks warm and then she decided not to read into everyone’s behavior and just look at this as her family being supportive. She loved them for it. It was probably Susanna’s idea, considering that tomorrow they would be leaving early for the hospital and she wasn’t allowed to eat after nine o’clock tonight.

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know. But, I’m not telling,” Ava teased, and BJ popped a piece of bacon into his mouth as the others gathered around, filling up the seats around the large table as well as by the island. The platters of pancakes and bacon were being passed around and Ava picked up the bowl of fruit, scooped some onto her plate, then passed it to BJ

“I have ways of finding things out. You know there’s not much that happens around here that I don’t find out about.” BJ took the bowl and passed it to Monte.

“Leave her alone, BJ. If she has plans, then so be it,” Paula told him, but then Tyler gave her a light smack on her backside before he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her next to him by the island. “Stay out of it, munchkin,” he stated, and she cuddled next to him.

Susanna brought Ava over a cup of coffee, and as she looked up into her eyes, she smiled and lipped “thank you” to Susanna. She winked then went back over toward the stove.

“This is so good,” Ava told them. As she ate, she realized that suddenly the room seemed quieter. She swallowed a bite of pancake then looked up as everyone kept their eyes on her.

Susanna stood behind BJ and placed her hands on his shoulders. BJ covered Susanna’s hand and squeezed it as he held Ava’s gaze.

“We love you so much, Ava. We wanted to do something for you, to let you know that you’re not alone in this. We’re your family now, and we’ll be by your side just like you’ve remained by our side.”

Ava felt the tears reach her eyes. She dabbed her mouth with the napkin and glanced around the room. These people were her family, and she didn’t have to go through this alone. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she smiled.

“I love you all, too. Thank you for doing this. It means so much.”

The other women began to cry and wipe at their eyes.

“Okay, enough of this crying stuff. Let’s eat and enjoy breakfast. Ava’s got a date with Evan and Colton Banks. She’s got to get ready for it,” BJ said aloud and they all laughed as Ava gasped then tossed her napkin at him as she wondered how the heck he found out when she hadn’t told a soul.

He winked at her and everyone continued to eat as Ava sat back and smiled. She shook her head and said, “Family, you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.”

* * * *

Ava was feeling a little bit nervous as she pulled her car along the dirt road leading up to Colton and Evan Banks’s ranch. It was simply breathtaking. They had already painted the fencing that lined their perimeter of the front property white and it matched at the horse training areas along the back side of the house. The house was really nice and it appeared as if they were in the process of putting on an addition. It needed some work, as far as maybe some flowers or a dash of color, but it suited two bachelors well. As she pulled up alongside their black pickup truck, she noticed Colton coming from the barn and Evan coming from the porch steps. Both looked like the sexiest cowboys she had ever seen. Her heart hammered inside of her chest and a smile instantly claimed her face.

She got out and Colton greeted her first.

“Hi, beautiful,” he stated as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. Her breast was pretty bruised up now and more sensitive to the touch. She couldn’t imagine how it might feel after tomorrow. She smiled as he pulled back and looked her over.

“Nice. You sure can fill out a pair of jeans, baby.”

She gave him the once-over as Evan approached. “You do that pretty well, too, cowboy.”

That brought a smile to his face, and were those dimples she saw? Christ, could he get any more handsome?

“How’s my girl?” Evan asked then leaned in to kiss her on the lips. She closed her eyes and held his shoulders as his arm wrapped around her waist before he hoisted her up against him.

She felt his hand on her lower back and his long, thick fingers plaster over the top of her ass. Her pussy clenched, and it shocked her as she tightened her hold on Evan.

“Hey, are you okay?” Evan asked. She shook the thoughts from her head. Damn, these two had her hornier than she’d ever imagined a man could make her. Maybe it was because they were both interested in her?

As they walked toward the barn and the large area fenced off for their horses, both men kept a hand at her back or on her waist. Now, wearing her cowgirl boots as opposed to heels, she realized how much taller both men were than her. It made her feel feminine as they approached the fence.

“We have the horses saddled and ready for a ride,” Colton told her as she climbed up on the one lower rung of fence to look at the horses.

She immediately felt both men place a hand on her waist to keep her from falling.

“This is so beautiful. What other livestock do you have?” she asked.

“We have some chickens, roosters, ducks by the small pond, and four cows,” Colton replied.

“That is great. Which means fresh eggs for breakfast and for cooking and baking with,” Ava said.

Evan lifted her up to help her down off the fence.

“I like the sound of you being here for breakfast.” He slowly lowered her down, being sure to let her breasts collide with his chest the entire way down.

She felt her cheeks warm as she shook her head.

“Good timing, Evan, but not happening. This is only our second date,” she told him and he gave her a quick kiss on the mouth before he turned her around and tapped her ass as Colton took her hand.

“Can’t blame a man for hoping,” Evan replied.

They headed toward the stables where she met the horse she would be riding, named Molly. It was a gorgeous white horse and kind of big.

“I haven’t ridden in quite a few years.”

“No worries, darling, Molly here is a good horse. She’ll be safe to ride,” Colton told her as he helped her get into the saddle. She felt his hand glide across her backside as he lifted her. Her cheeks warmed and other parts came alive from his touch. She imagined his strong arms lifting her up and carrying her to his bed. How would it feel to have those big hands of theirs caressing every inch of her? She looked down as she felt Colton’s hand on her thigh. He held her gaze as if he was thinking some naughty thoughts, too. His long, thick fingers were perfect. She shifted her rear as she imagined them exploring her pussy and making her come.

Oh dear God, Ava, get a grip.