Second Chances (22 page)

Grey helped her pack the
things that weren’t ruined by the fire, water or smoke and loaded both moderately stuffed bags into his truck. Pretty sad, really. Even with the things she didn’t take, her meager possessions didn’t amount to much. Oh, well. She’d left it all behind before. At least she had a few things of her own this time.

Each
time an involuntary protest erupted from her mouth on the way to his home, Grey had an easy reply and assured her she was more than welcome at their ranch. She ached to see Matt and Mason, to be with them.

When they pulled into
the ranch, Mason greeted her with his bone melting smile, a tight hug and a smooch on her cheek. “Hey, gorgeous. Rough day?” She didn’t know why, but the moment Mason touched her she felt tears well up in her eyes and her throat burned from holding them back. Mason pulled her tight to his chest. “Hey, it’s going to be okay, sweetheart. Let it out. I’m so sorry about your place.”

Before Claira could release the first sob the twins came running from the house and she pushed away from Mason. “Daddy, Grey!” Con screeched as he ran and jumped into Grey’s
arms “I missed you, daddy. Where were you all night?”

Grey felt a tug at his heart when he noticed Car didn’t seem to share his twin’s sentiments. He was obviously still hurt from his earlier
, dickhead behavior. Hell, he couldn’t blame him. He reached over and ruffled Car’s hair as he hugged Con in his arms “I had some ranching business to take care of with Daddy Matt and we kind of got stuck up on the mountain. Sorry I missed tucking my two favorite boys in last night. Did you have fun with Daddy Mason?”

Both boys nodded. Claira watched the byplay between Car and Grey and wondered what sort of battle was waging between those two. Grey let Con slip from his grip and reached out for her hand. “Miss Claira had a fire at her house today. Will it be okay if she stays with us for
a while until her house is fixed?”

“Oh, cool. Did you get to ride in the fire truck
, Miss. Claira?” Car rushed to her side. He took her hand from Grey’s and led her toward the house. “Was the fire big or was it just a little one, with lots of smoke? I want to be a fireman like our cousin, Hal, not a policeman like our other cousin, Benton. Firemen get to do way cooler stuff.”

“No way,” Con protested behind him. “Cousin Benton gets to carry a gun and drives a fast car. That beats a big ole clunky fire truck any day!”

Claira looked back over her shoulder at Mason and Grey as she was helplessly escorted up the stairs by two impish little boys who obviously hadn’t minded her staying there. Either that or they hadn’t heard anything past the word ‘fire’ when Grey had politely asked them if it was okay. Most likely the second, but Claira felt warm and welcomed anyway. This was what she loved.

The next week passed in a blinding blur. Claira’s tires were re-inflated and her car dropped off at the ranch after the
Sheriff’s men had had time to go over it. Seems someone had just let the air out rather than slashing them. Could have been a prankster, but Grey didn’t think so. After seeing the photos of Claira curled up on her bed reading a book, some others of her coming and going from school or in her car, mingled with others of the mutilated heifer they found on the ridge, he knew there was a threat to contend with. Now he thought that it was somehow tied to them. Whoever was fucking with them had turned their attention to Claira and that was unacceptable.

They sent her off to school every day in one of their trucks with their boys, and worried like hell until they arrived back home every evening
, even though they knew their Uncle Cade was watching over them the whole time. Cade was a former Fed. No one knew exactly what he retired from, but they all knew he was the last person you’d ever want to piss off. All of their mother’s brothers were retired military in one fashion or another and had plenty of resources for this kind of thing. Cade, by far, was the closest to the McLendon’s but any or all of them would do what it took to protect family.
Was Claira family?
That thought just added to Grey’s confusion.

Still, even with Cade
on covert protection duty, they worried. What they heard from Benton’s contacts wasn’t helpful. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing on Miss Claira Robbins. Uncle Cade had shrugged it off and said he’d call in a favor and see what he could come up with.

In the meantime,
Claira had taken to cooking breakfast and dinner and helping the boys do their homework while he and his brothers dealt with the everyday ranch work as well as the mess up on the ridge. They still had a mile of fence to repair and had given up a dozen ranch hands to sit watch on the ridge for any of Grunion’s men.

With each day that passed that week Claira seemed to nestle farther
into their little family fold. Taking a spot at the Chutes and Ladders game they played on game night, snuggling into the single recliner with a blanket, looking cute and vulnerable while Grey tried to focus on whatever cartoon movie they had chosen for movie night. Just like they were
one—big—happy—family
.

H
e knew his brothers had barely touched Claira in a week and Grey was going out of his ever loving mind. Having her there and not being able to actually
have
her, was about the worst thing he’d ever endured. Fate was a bitch. His gut clenched every time he saw Claira in the kitchen, still Sarah’s kitchen to him. Combine that with the incessant need to touch her and he was an absolute wreck. His heart, mind and body were waged in a brutal three way war with their separate needs and wants.

His parents weren’t helping matters, either. H
is mom had practically adopted Claira that first night they’d met in the kitchen. Claira was even talking about going Christmas shopping with her for crying out loud. And the dads! They were like the three stooges fighting over a pork chop when it came to her. Always telling embarrassing stories about him and his brothers, and winking at him every time she came into a room. What the fuck was that all about?

Holding his temper
and wayward emotions in check was getting harder every day she was there, along with a very persistent body part. He needed a break. They all did. So, he hadn’t hesitated when Uncle Cade recommended someone to take over rebuilding the feed barn. Although a newcomer to the area, Grey had liked the man from the onset. Now that school was out and the boys were headed to Sarah’s parents for a few weeks, he and his brothers were going to get this thing with Claira settled. Not having to finish the feed shed would give them the time. A firm handshake and two days later, he was walking the new man out to the old feed shed site when Claira and the boy’s came rambling out of the barn.

“Daddy, look! Bernie’s playing with her puppies!
She’s really going to be okay!” Grey smiled when Car reached for one of the puppies and held the squirming ball of fur out to him. The vet had pronounced Bernie well enough to come home and Mason had picked her up on the way back from town that afternoon. “This is the one I’m keeping. His name is Snipe cuz I caught him taking one of the other puppy’s toys away.”

“Seems like the name fits, son.” Grey chu
ckled as the puppy pulled at Car’s hat and squirmed in his arms “I hope he doesn’t take a liking to your pants, or my socks.”

“
Mr. Kendal, it’s nice to see you again,” Claira reached out to shake the new man’s hand, surprised at how different she felt compared to the last time she’d seen him. She was calm, confident and, with Grey standing with her, felt completely safe.

Grey felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. How
the hell did Claira know his new hired hand? He was supposed to be new in town.

“Hi, Miss Robbins.
It’s nice to see you again, too. You live out this way?”

“Well, I…”

Oh, no fucking hell way!
“She lives here…with me…and my brothers.” Grey’s eyebrows pinched in unison with his growl, daring Claira to contradict him. His reaction and gruff tone had shocked even him. He didn’t like the big green monster any more than he liked Kendal touching Claira, but damn if he could stop it from possessing him.

S
ensing Grey’s hostility, and more than a little confused by it, Claira decided to clarify. “I met Grant in the grocery store the day I…well, when Matt and Mason came to install the water heater.” She felt herself blushing again at both the embarrassing overreaction she’d had that day and the memories of what it had led to. “I sort of caused an avalanche in the canned vegetable aisle and he helped me clean it up.” Turning her gaze to Grant, she tried to ignore Grey’s piercing stare.
Is he jealous?
“What are you doing here?”

She’s blushing?
For this wandering loser?
He knew he wasn’t being exactly fair. He’d liked the guy no less than three minutes ago, but that was before he touched his woman.
His woman?
Was she?
Hell, yes! No. Fuck!
“I hired Mr. Kendal to rebuild the feed shed. He’ll be staying in the bunkhouse with the other hands.”

Grey felt ridiculous
for being jealous, but somehow, throughout all his internal battles, he hadn’t imagined Claira meeting anyone else, flirting with anyone else. Not that she was flirting exactly, just...ah, hell! He was a possessive sonofabitch and he just didn’t like the idea of her meeting some stranger in a supermarket. Especially with everything else that was going on. He knew he didn’t have a right to claim her, but hell if he could stop himself.

Later that evening while she
was washing up the dinner dishes, Matt snagged Claira’s arm and whisked her into the dark pantry just off the kitchen, closing the door behind them. Before she could protest he covered her mouth in a frenzied kiss, his warm, talented tongue filling her head with all sorts of ideas while his hard body folded in around her, his swollen erection grinding against her belly.

“I can’t wait another minute. I’m going crazy not being able to touch you.” His mouth covered her
s again, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth. “Kiss you.” He lifted her shirt and traced the smooth skin of her abdomen up and under her bra, pushing it out of his way. “Love you.” He panted against her neck as he lifted her shirt and stole a taste of her budded nipple, drawing out a muted moan from Claira when he bit gently and pulled on the taught nub. “I love your breasts. Silky, smooth peaks that fit in my palm perfectly, umm.” He lapped and suckled at her nipple before pushing away the rest of her confining bra and moved to the other plump treat.

“Matt,” Claira sighed and slumped against him, her knees nearly buckling beneath her.
She’d gone from zero to hot in under ten seconds.

“Daddy
, Matt?” Con’s small voice called from beyond their dark hiding spot, jerking Claira out of her lust induced euphoria.

Matt slumped against her, his hot breath spilling ov
er her exposed skin as a rumble of frustration vibrated through him. He reluctantly righted Claira’s clothes and nuzzled her neck, licking his way to her ear. “Meet me in the barn after we put the boys to bed.”

Claira’s heart stuttered. Over the last few days she’d a
lmost convinced herself she’d imagined what had happened between them before the fire. At first she’d been relieved when the brothers had given her some space. They had set up a comfortable routine, her taking care of the things that needed done around their house as they managed the unbelievable, everyday demands of running a working ranch. She’d had no idea how difficult the business could be. Some days the brothers came home so exhausted they’d just eaten and gone straight to bed after tucking their boys in. Con and Car had practically adopted her, showing her more than two six year olds should know about ranching and had adapted quite quickly to having her there in their home.

She’d even managed to set up a schedule to give Con extra attention to his studies,
tutoring him as they’d planned in Grey’s office, which Grey would promptly vacate the moment they got home, not to surface again until dinner, and sometimes not even then.
Frustrating, confusing man.
He was clearly avoiding her. Other than one game on game night and half a movie on movie night, she’d barely seen him.

She wasn
’t sure what they would do when her house was inhabitable again. She’d spent enough time with both the boys to know that they were both incredibly bright and really didn’t need a full time tutor. She had a suspicion that Con’s lacking academic performance had very little to do with academics and more to do with some unintended, unidentified family dynamic.

Something felt off about the way they interacted with Con. Grey in particular. Was it because they thought he was somehow handicapped from the problems Sarah had when they were born? Who knew? It wasn’t as if Grey would ever talk to her about it.

Seeing Grey come in earlier, eat the dinner she’d prepared for them, and then leave without nearly a word to her, had her blood running cold. Matt and Mason had been as accommodating and gentle with her as ever, but hadn’t attempted to touch her the way they had before she’d come to stay with them. She couldn’t read their expressions tonight when Grey had left the table. By the time Matt had pulled her into the closet she had been almost consumed with doubt.

She didn’t know where this was leading, or if
it was the right thing, but she decided then she couldn’t push aside her feelings for them any longer. They were all proud, good, respectable men and fathers. More honorable than any men she’d ever met in her previous life. In truth she never knew such men existed outside of romance novels that she rarely read. Who was she to turn down three, well, make that
two
, unbelievable princes?