Anita's Triple Temptation [Men of Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (8 page)

Shrugging, Kevin patted her hand. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out. I promise you.”

Looking around his gaze landed on his partners who were playing horsey with Eli and Joey. Joshua was sitting in a chair reading a book, a sad look upon his face. Dave and James glanced up at Kevin, both concerned but remaining quiet as not to disrupt the boys. They had some work to do to protect their woman, but they first had to come up with a plan. Not only did they have to protect her, but they had to protect the boys.

Going back to playing with the boys, Dave and James turned their smiles back on. Kevin drank his coffee and put his mind to work.

* * * *

An hour later, Anita was wheeled off the elevator in a wheelchair by a tall bulky orderly. The swelling on the left side of her face had reduced down to about half what it was the previous night though the black-blue purplish bruising was still quite evident. Her eye was slightly visible and there appeared to be tears leaking from both corners.

Kevin was on his feet as soon as he spotted her coming through the sliding doors. Dave and James had to release themselves from the grasps of Anita’s boys to be able to get up and go to their woman. All three converged on the woman, causing the orderly to fidget slightly at the crowding that was happening around him, a confused look upon his face.

Dave nodded at the man. “We can take it from here. We’ll get her settled into bed. Thank you for your assistance.”

The man nodded his understanding before walking over to the nurse’s station to find his next job. Dave stepped behind the wheelchair and pushed Anita over to where her mother sat. The boys crowded around their mother.

“Mommy,” Eli shyly spoke. “Why did you get hurt?”

Mrs. Massey gasped with the innocent question before turning her tearing eyes away from them. She didn’t want anyone to see her emotions, especially the boys. The three men glanced around at each other, not sure what to say.

Anita, being the loving spirit she was, reached out and caressed the young boy’s cheek tenderly. “I don’t know, sweetheart.”

James and Kevin were standing behind the boys and were able to gauge her response. They both looked up at Dave, a quick nod indicating they were aware she was lying. She knew more than what she was telling them. They were going to get her to open up to them and she was going to learn to be honest and up front with them.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Massey had noticed the interaction. Picking up her purse from the chair next to her, she dug into it and pulled out her cell phone. Pressing some buttons, she handed the phone to Joshua. “Boys, play the game for a few minutes while the adults talk.”

Minding their grandmother, the three boys walked over to the furthest chairs and sat so all of them could see. Mrs. Massey turned to her daughter, who was now leaning her chin upon her hand.

“Now see here, missy. I know you lied to the boys,” she said with motherly authority. “Why did Virgil attack you?”

Sighing deeply, Anita looked at her mother, disbelief shrouding her features. “Mom, I don’t know what you are talking about. Can I just go back to my room now? I’m tired.”

The baritone voice of Dave came from behind Anita, causing her to jump slightly. “Anita, you are lying. We all know it. Now, what happened that caused Virgil to attack you?” He then lowered his head to her ear, whispering, “And don’t forget, you will be punished if you keep lying to us.”

Dave moved around the wheelchair to kneel to the right side of Anita. His hand lay upon her arm, squeezing slightly. She looked deep into his eyes before looking at each one of the other men and her mother. James and Kevin knelt down also so the conversation was more intimate and she didn’t keep having to look up at them.

Tears sprang to her good eye before she lowered her gaze. The truth was going to hurt them even though she had taken care of the situation. She had to make sure they understood that there was no way that Virgil would be a part of her life.

“First you have to promise me that you won’t get upset and start trouble,” she whispered.

“No,” Dave spoke harshly. He already knew that he and Virgil were going to have words, but he had a feeling there was more he was going to have to say to the man. “We told you we would protect you and you will learn that lesson now.”

Kevin’s hand swept out, taking her left hand in his while James did the same with the right, both wanting contact with her while she told them what was going on.

With voice lowered, she kept her eyes down on her lap, fearing the look in her men’s eyes of disappointment. “Virgil came over a while back and asked me to, um…well…” Her face flushed from the embarrassment that overcame her. Uncertainty of how these three men would react was bad enough, but having to force the words out of her mouth was worse.

“Anita!” Dave ground out between clenched teeth, his patience wearing thin.

Anita would have wrung her hands if she had been able to have them free, but alas, they were in the loving hands of two of her men. Yes, they were loving men, all three of them. Their promise to love her and protect her was something they believed in and she was beginning to believe it also. Glancing at her mother, she saw that the woman was watching the men, gauging how they related with her. A warm fuzzy feeling was actually beginning to spread through her body at the love and affection she was receiving.

Steeling up her nerve, she spat out the distastefulness of the words. “Virgil wanted me to live with him.”

“What?” Dave bellowed.

The hospital staff and anyone in the vicinity all turned in their direction to see what had caused the outburst. James patted Dave on the shoulder to calm him though he was as outraged as his friend was.

“Explain, darlin’,” James said, keeping his voice level and low. “And don’t leave anything out.”

An exasperated sigh escaped Anita. “Virgil had been coming around every so often to find out how we were doing. He seemed harmless enough, like he cared about us. A month ago he came by the house and he propositioned me.”

A red haze descended upon Kevin’s vision as anger consumed him at her words. The vision of Anita lying bloody and unconscious in Dave’s arms the previous night along with her current statement caused his muscles to clench within his body. He hated that she was in pain but more than that, he hurt because she didn’t trust them enough to let them know she was in financial straits along with Virgil making advances on her.

Kevin only realized he was hurting her when she tried to pull her hand from his. He had been crushing it as the news crushed his heart and soul. The deep exhales of the two men he wanted to share Anita with were confirmation that they were just as upset with the news as he was. Letting his thumb gently rub across the soft knuckles of his woman, a silent apology to the roughness she experienced just moments earlier.

Swallowing down the shout that threatened to emerge from his vocal cords, he practically whispered, “Go on.”

* * * *

The anger rolling off all three men frightened her. This was one of the reasons why she hadn’t said anything to them. The other was the uncertainty of the ménage relationship.

Anita’s stomach was doing a tango as she took a deep breath. She hoped she wasn’t going to be sick. Feeling her mother’s hand pat her forearm, she felt a bit of strength reenter her body though she kept her eyes lowered.

“Virgil came to me right after New Year’s and told me that since the accident was due to negligence on Craig’s part there wasn’t going to be a pay out from the life insurance company. I had to go to work because we needed the money.”

Neither man holding her hand relinquished their hold when she tried to pull away. Shame consumed her that she was the one who caused them this anger. Also for the fact that they were here tending to her instead of attending to their jobs. Tears began to form again in her eyes.

Dave’s hand came up and cupped the nape of her neck. “Little one, I know you are uncomfortable with this, but we need the truth to be able to protect you. We aren’t here to pass judgment on you, sweetheart. Just tell us what happened.”

His words were so gentle that the tears streamed faster as the ache in her heart grew. But for the first time in years, it was a good ache. She didn’t want to see them hurt any more than they wanted to see her hurt.

Sucking in a breath, she squeezed the hands that were holding hers and then leaned into Dave’s hand. And, while her mother didn’t agree with the relationship that was evident, her hand remained on Anita’s arm in support.

“Virgil said that since I was having problems making ends meet, I could move in with him and he would take care of me. I told him I wouldn’t do that and he told me that I would give in soon and I’d be his.” Her eyes remained lowered so she missed the glance the men gave each other.

“If that happened a month ago, darlin’,” James coaxed, “what happened last night?”

Sniffing back tears, she shrugged.

“Damn it, Anita!” Dave hissed. “Don’t hide the truth from us!”

Defiance overtook her. Lifting her head, her eyes snapped open as she glared into Dave’s eyes. “I’m not hiding from you! I’m hiding from me! I don’t want to remember what happened last night!” Yanking her hands from James and Kevin, she put her hands down to the wheels and tried to back up away from them.

Dave was quicker.

His hand whipped out and held onto one corner of the chair barring her exit from the room and from the conversation. Anita glared at the man as he stood his ground, so to speak, and kept her within their grasps.

“Let go of the wheels,” he said through gritted teeth. “You aren’t tied up to the IVs today, sweetheart, and I think you know what that means.”

Knowing her mother would have no idea what that statement meant, she decided to be just as cryptic. “And that was included in what I want to forget about. So please just let me go.”

“No!” the man practically shouted. “You are not going to shut us out. We are not going anywhere.”

His last words were said with a growl which touched Anita’s soul. He really did care about her but right now she was frightened. It wasn’t just for herself, but for her children and the men. Virgil wasn’t someone to tangle with and if she had to leave to spare everyone the enigma that was Virgil, she would.

James’s left hand came up and cupped her cheek. “I know what you are doing and you are not going to shut us out, darlin’.”

Kevin’s hand came out and took hers in both of his. “And don’t even plan on trying to leave us or ignoring us. We are not going anywhere.” Then, lowering his voice, he leaned toward her. “You are ours. We love you and we know you love us. Now tell us the rest.”

Exhaling, Anita spoke softly between sobs. “I was waitressing last night when I was told someone asked for me. I didn’t think much of it. I have gained some regulars since I started working there but no one that had asked specifically for me.”

Glancing up, she saw the irritated looks on the faces of the men. Fearful they were irritated with her, she continued. “I don’t do anything special for them, they just like my service. I mean, I always know what they want when I see them come in and I have it for them when I arrive at their table. Anyway, I went over to the table and there was Virgil and a couple of floozies. They were fawning all over him like he was the hottest guy in the place. He tried to talk to me but I told the women that they could have him and tried to walk away. He grabbed me and hit me. That’s all I remember.”

The last two sentences were spoken as sobs racked her body. Mrs. Massey placed her arm around Anita’s shoulder and pulled her close. Anita closed her eyes as she cried and felt comfort from her mother. Dave’s hand moved up from the chair and came to rest on her left knee while James’s squeezed her right one.

Complete support, strength, and love began to warm her body. It was a feeling she had never had before and at that moment, it felt exceptionally wonderful. Opening her eyes, she found her three men watching her, concern on their faces. Raising her right hand, she touched James’s fiery red hair and rumpled it playfully as she smiled at Dave.

In that moment, she believed that perhaps they could make a go of a relationship, though she knew it was going to be difficult.

Before anything could be said or done at that moment, the bell dinged on the elevator behind Anita right before the doors slid open. All three men looked up before standing. Confused, Anita tried to look around but her neck and head hurt too much.

“Oh, my goodness,” she heard Lyndee exclaim before seeing the woman as she made her way around the chairs in the lobby. When the petite woman stood before Anita, embarrassment filled her. She didn’t want anyone else seeing her, but she knew she couldn’t hide from everyone.

Lyndee knelt down before her, concern written on her features. “Oh, sweetie, we came as soon as we heard. How are you feeling?”

A shrug lifted her shoulder as she tried to stop her tears. Lyndee reached up and wiped away the tears. “There’s no need to cry. You are in good hands. We’ll help you out.” Anita started to speak, but Lyndee stopped her. “No arguing. You know you are part of the family and we will be taking care of you.”

All Anita could do was nod. Ever since the day Craig had died and the folks from the Circle G ranch came into her life, she felt as if her small family had grown by leaps and bounds. There had only been her, her mother, and father since she was young. Now her children had more non-related family members than she ever thought they would have.