Disobedient Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (19 page)

That didn’t make the prospect of facing either Caleb or Stephen again any easier. And face them she would—in a couple hours.

Her stomach twisted at the thought. If only she hadn’t let Stephen talk her into the barbecue his boss was throwing. The last place she had any business was at the home of Shay Falls Community Hospital’s chief of staff. She’d argued that point, too, when Stephen had phoned her the previous day to invite her. Her misgivings had fallen on deaf ears. He had ulterior motives for requesting her attendance, as it turned out. Motives that had little to do with seeing her again.

It wasn’t too late. She could still cancel—or simply not show up. But then she might find two gorgeous, honked-off werewolves at her door. Perhaps it was better that their next meeting would take place in a neutral, more public setting.

She was wandering into the bedroom when the ring of her cell phone stopped her. Her heart fluttered. Maybe they’d somehow sensed her intentions. Maybe Stephen or Caleb was calling to warn her not to back out of the party.

The ID on the phone display sent her pulse rate even higher. She picked up with trembling fingers. “Yes?”

“This is Jane, your nurse recruiter. I have some news.”

She did indeed. The smile on Rose’s face grew wider with each sentence the woman spoke.

“Are you serious?” Rose asked. “Of course I’ll take it. I can be there in three days.”

“You’re still liable for the lease on your apartment,” Jane said.

Rose shrugged. “For this opportunity, I’ll make it work.”

Jane went on to discuss the usual stuff the agency went over with a new contract, but Rose was barely listening. She was already making mental plans. This would solve everything.

When she hung up, Rose hurried off to get dressed. She would definitely go to the barbecue now. It would be the best place to tell Stephen and Caleb face-to-face about her new job.

The best place to tell them she was leaving.

* * * *

Rose drove herself to the barbecue, already having refused an offer to ride with Caleb and Stephen. She’d wanted more time to gather her wits, and being sandwiched in a car with two magnificent male specimens seemed like a poor way to accomplish that.

She scanned the line of vehicles when she arrived, but she didn’t spot Caleb’s truck. Perhaps they hadn’t arrived yet. Then again, she had no idea what Stephen drove. They might well have come in one of the doctor-style luxury cars parked along the street. The silver Mercedes, perhaps. Or maybe he was more of the black BMW type. Whichever it was, she felt an odd, almost buzzing sensation in her mind, giving her the inexplicable sense that her lovers were close by.

A sigh escaped her as she pulled up to the gleaming, wood-and-glass home Stephen had actually referred to in his phone call as a cabin. A cabin! The chief of staff’s abode could easily fit four or five of Rose’s mental image of a “cabin” inside its sprawling, elevated profile.

Rose was still sitting in her car, gawking at the splendor of the place, when a familiar figure exited an SUV and started up the stairs. She almost didn’t recognize the woman, who wore a prim, navy-blue pantsuit rather than hospital scrubs. But there was no mistaking the cropped, gray haircut or severe chin. Jo Winters was here.

“Oh, joy,” Rose whispered. She’d been under the impression that the barbecue was being held for doctors and their guests, not busybody charge nurses.

This was ridiculous. She shouldn’t be here, smack in the middle of the enemy camp. She tried to picture herself passing barbecue sauce to the woman who got her fired. Yeah, right.

She was still gripping her steering wheel, debating a quick retreat, when a rap on her window startled her. A familiar Stetson was bowed beside the window. An even more familiar pair of glittering eyes peered in at her.

“This ain’t a drive-through barbecue, you know,” Caleb said, and while the humor in his words was bolstered by a smart-ass tone, there was a hardness in his gaze that unsettled her. “You gonna get out of that car, or do I have to come in and get you?”

She pursed her lips when he yanked open the door without awaiting her answer. With a longing glance at the wheel, she released it and grabbed a bag containing her thank-you gift to the host. Caleb held onto the open door and leaned his other hand on the roof of the car, barely leaving her room to squeeze out. She stood with him just inches away, looking downright enticing and smelling even better. His jeans were new and stiff, conjuring brief and inadvisable images of other things on his body that grew stiff on a regular basis. His shirt was open at the neck, and the sleeves were rolled to the elbow. The color was a rich, deep green that set off the jewel tone of his violet eyes. As always, his lips were moist and kissable, and she kicked herself for licking hers in response. Leading him on wouldn’t be fair to either of them. Especially not now that she had news about her immediate future.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come. There was no hurry. She’d tell them both later, in private before she left the barbecue.

“Ain’t you a sight I’ve missed like hell,” he said. “Thought for a minute that you were gonna drive off, though. Is bein’ near us really that bad?”

“Of course not,” she said a bit too quickly, and his eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t you. I just saw the nurse who cost me my job. I really shouldn’t be here, Caleb. It’s not a good idea.”

He plucked the sack from her hands. “You know why Stephen asked you, darlin’. It’ll help him.”

True. The offer hadn’t been made because Stephen wanted to see her. There were bigger mackerels frying in the doctor’s pan.

She sighed. “I know what he said, but I’m not sure his logic is all that logical.”

He backed away while she closed her car door. “Havin’ you here will send the silent message that you are in his life, not just a pervert’s momentary diversion. That you two may have indulged an improper moment, but it wasn’t a case of a mad doctor preyin’ on some poor, unsuspectin’ nurse right after meetin’ her.”

“Even though that’s pretty much what happened.”

She was sorry for the words as soon as they shot out. At least, she was sorry for the jolt of annoyance they triggered in Caleb’s sense. Just as suddenly, however, the spark flamed into something wholly different.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured, reaching out to run a finger along her bare arm. “I know you’ve felt how much.”

“What I’ve felt is how much you’ve taken to Stephen’s bed.” Irritation was clear in her voice, and she winced at the jealous tinge.

A knowing smile heated his features. “Who said we use a bed? Maybe next time you should be there to find out.”

She shuddered and stiffened when his lips drew dangerously close. “Not now, Caleb.”

“Why not?” Her arm lit up with tingles when he kept up his teasing touch.

“Because I’m supposedly here with Stephen, remember? If I’m spotted here making out with his so-called best friend, how the hell is that going to help his case?”

That stopped his alarming advance on her lips. “Maybe Stephen’s right. Maybe it is a good thing that you think with your head and not your heart.”

He didn’t sound convinced. She wondered what else the two of them said about her.

“Where is Stephen?” she asked, hoping the slight quiver in her voice didn’t betray her.

“Out on the back deck. His boss is instructin’ the good doctor on the proper method for lightin’ mesquite chips.”

They walked toward the house, and she saw him casting sidelong glances. For the occasion she’d worn her hair loose, hanging down around her shoulder blades. She’d opted for a simple, white tank top and a hand-dyed, gauzy batik skirt that floated around flat sandals.

“I was hopin’ you might have worn the yellow dress,” he murmured suggestively as they headed up the wide, wooden staircase that abutted the house.

She snorted. “I think that dress got me into enough trouble already, thanks.”

His smile started a marching parade in her stomach. “Oh, you’re quite welcome. Anytime you want trouble.”

If the outside of the house had given her a pause for reflection, the interior froze her dead in her tracks. The vaulted beam ceilings, indoor waterfall, double-sided fireplaces, and shining hardwood floors looked straight out of a magazine. Small hospital or not, the chief of staff had done quite well for himself.

Small clusters of people were in the great room, talking with various beverages in hand that were anything but typical for a barbecue. Not a beer can or bottle was in sight. She’d been told “casual dress,” but her carefree, bohemian look was a step out of touch with the linen suits and well-tailored dresses in the room. Maybe Caleb had been right about the yellow dress.

“I’ll introduce you to the missus first,” Caleb said, steering Rose by the elbow toward a small group of women. “She’ll take the food you brought. Which smells incredible, by the way.”

As they walked up to the laughing group, she spotted Jo Winters in their midst. Rose’s stomach twisted into knots as she approached. Jo was wearing the first genuine smile she’d seen on the woman, which lasted until the precise moment she saw Rose. Beady eyes widened in shock as Caleb cleared his throat.

“Mrs. Jarvis,” he said, “this here is Rose, Stephen’s other guest.” He was addressing a tall, elegant woman beside Jo who wore a ready smile and a cream-colored designer dress. “Rose, this is Mrs. Jarvis, Dr. Jarvis’s wife.”

“Of course,” the woman said, as if she’d been awaiting Rose’s arrival for years. “I’m so happy you made it.” The wedding ring she flashed featured a diamond heavy enough to sink the woman, should she ever fall into deep water. “Call me Delores, please.”

There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm or ill will in the greeting. Perhaps Delores hadn’t been made aware of who Rose was in the grand scheme of things. Jo, on the other hand, whispered something to the dark-haired woman beside her, who had the partial grace to nip off a gasp of shock when it was already halfway out.

“Thank you,” Rose said. “You have a beautiful home.”

The woman smiled. “Let me introduce you.”

She pointed to the circle of women and named them in turn. Each was a doctor’s wife, except for Jo. Each of them offered her a polite smile and a nod, except for the last two—Jo, who looked ready to spit, and the woman she’d whispered to, who turned out to be Mrs. Jacobs, the wife of Rose’s other doctor when she’d been hospitalized.

“And I believe you already know my sister, Jo,” Delores finished.

Fabulous. Sourpuss Winters was related to the chief of staff.

Rose couldn’t quite force a “nice to see you again,” so she nodded and offered what she hoped was a smile. “Hello.”

“Rose,” Jo said in her usual clipped tone. “What a surprise to see you again.”

“Stephen’s out back with Ted and the other physicians,” Delores said, thankfully cutting off the need for Rose to choke out a reply. “He loves to hold court when he’s got that grill fired up.”

“Rose brought somethin’ for you, ma’am,” Caleb said, holding out the bag.

“How thoughtful,” she said.

“I made crab ceviche,” Rose explained. “I hope it will pair up with your meal okay.”

“Everything pairs up nicely with crab,” Delores said. “It will be wonderful.”

Jo scowled at the bag, apparently displeased that Rose had social graces.

“Shall I take it to the kitchen and help?” Rose asked.

Delores gave a mock scowl. “I don’t let anyone lift a finger in my kitchen when I’m entertaining. Takes half the fun out of it for me. Go ahead and take her out on the deck, Caleb. Stephen’s been anxious to see her.”

Rose swore she heard an “I’ll bet” muttered under Jo’s breath.

Caleb headed for a huge set of wooden French doors. “See, that wasn’t so bad,” he whispered.

She shot him a look. “Compared to what?”

Several men stood outside, most wearing dress shirts with the sleeves rolled up, like Caleb’s, and slacks, not like Caleb’s. The closer she got, the more certain she was that her initial instincts about coming had been right. Perhaps the wife of the head honcho hadn’t heard the seedy rumors—an oversight Jo was no doubt happily correcting—but the boss himself and Stephen’s comrades? Surely they knew the sordid details. Standing out there with a bunch of men who knew what a tramp she was seemed like one of the worst ideas she’d had in a long time. Second only to getting half-crocked on wine by the falls.

She stopped short when Caleb opened the door.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Maybe I shouldn’t go out there.”

She spotted Stephen just as he saw her, and another reason this had been unwise shot through her. With Caleb at her back and Stephen’s eyes locked to hers, she couldn’t breathe anymore.

Stephen was there before she could drum up a valid excuse for staying off the deck. “Rose,” he said in a curiously pleased tone. “I was starting to think you’d gotten lost.”

His crisp, white shirt and fitted gray slacks looked so sleek and proper that she had a fleeting urge to tear them off. She swallowed but couldn’t say anything. He arched a brow at Caleb, who backed off as Stephen took her hand and led her out. The setting was breathtaking with the deck jutting out among the rustic woods, but she hardly noticed. Her arm was setting off alarms where Stephen was touching it. And her mind was setting off warning beacons as she tried not to judge the looks shooting from the doctors around her.