Microsoft Word - Dwyer-Dixie-Lynn-For-the-Love-of-Anna.doc (12 page)

Eric asked as he led Stacy around to the front of the truck where Ben

and Charlie stood with Anna. They had helped her out of the truck

and both had a hand on her shoulder.

“Come on, honey, tell us the news,” Charlie asked.

“I am the new cook at Francine’s starting tomorrow.”

They each cheered and gave her a hug, then Charlie pulled her to

him and checked her forehead for fever.

“Tomorrow seems kind of soon. Are you sure you’re up to it?” he

asked, sounding concerned but also controlling. Anna didn’t like the

feeling she got, but she forced a smile.

88

Dixie Lynn Dwyer

“I’ll be fine. Plus, I need to make some money. I don’t have much

left.”

Anna felt another hand lay across her back as Ben whispered next

to her ear. “We’ll take care of you, honey. Any money you need, you

just come to us.”

Anna swallowed hard. This was getting to be a bit much. She felt

smothered at the moment, like everyone was in control of her life

except for her.

She took a step away from them and placed some distance

between her and Ben and Charlie.

“Listen,” she stated, louder than she meant, causing everyone to

look at her, including Eric and Stacy.

She took a deep breath and began more calmly.

“Listen, please…I appreciate your kindness. I truly do, but there’s

no need to patronize me. I’m a grown woman, I’ve been down and out

and then some, so believe me when I tell you that I can handle things.

I will not accept money from you. Any of you. I am taking that job

and starting tomorrow, so things will get better.” Charlie began to

object, and Ben looked ready to yell. She stopped them with a raise of

her hand palm forward and a stern look.

“I am fine, Charlie. I’m used to being on my own and handling it

all, whether I am sick, injured, or just plain exhausted. Now, Stacy

has some plans for tonight, and I’m taking a little tour of Pearl for the

evening. I’ll be staying at the hotel in town with
my last fifty bucks.

That way, I’ll be right in town for my first day at work, and no one

will need to drive me there.”

Charlie attempted to interrupt again, and this time, Stacy and Max

laughed as they quickly removed themselves from the current

situation.

Anna wondered what the heck they were doing, and as she

watched them go, she felt herself being pulled toward the porch steps

of Charlie, Ben, and Wyatt’s house.

For the Love of Anna

89

Charlie sat down on the bench, pulling Anna onto his lap. Ben

stood directly in front of them and inches away from Anna.

His arm was gently around her waist, and his other hand lay flat

against her thigh.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Charlie asked as Ben stood

by with his hands on his hips looking sexy as damn hell. Anna tried

not to focus on either man’s beauty, but it was pretty hard with her

rear plastered on top of rock-solid thighs.

Charlie tilted her chin toward him so he could look into her eyes.

“I think we need to talk about this more calmly. What do you

mean you’re going to stay in the hotel in town?” Charlie asked.

Anna clasped her fingers together on her lap and began to fidget.

Ben knelt down next to her and Charlie. It was a strange sight,

seeing a man Ben’s size kneeling down in front of her. His head was

level with her chest as he slightly looked up at her. His sandy brown

hair tossed around a little with the light spring breeze. He squinted as

a strand hit his long eyelashes then smiled at her, noticing she stared.

Quickly, Anna looked down toward her hands. Her knuckles were

white from gripping them so tightly.

Ben placed his hand over hers.

“Anna, please don’t be afraid of us. We’re not trying to run your

life. We just want to protect you. Now, what’s this nonsense about

staying in town?”

Anna didn’t want to give away Stacy’s secret surprise, but the

men’s response to her statement was intimidating.

“Does Wyatt know?” Charlie asked, and Anna jumped at his

statement. For some reason, she feared Wyatt’s reaction to her staying

in town for the night. Of course, there was the conversation she had

with Stacy on the ride over and the way Wyatt kissed her in town and

claimed her taken to all the men at the restaurant.

“I…I just need to give Stacy, Max, and Eric some alone time,

that’s all.”

“Then you’ll stay with us,” Charlie stated.

90

Dixie Lynn Dwyer

Anna jumped up off his lap and stood. There was no place to run

to because Charlie’s legs were in the way, as well as Ben’s body.

Charlie held her by her outer thighs, and her legs began to shake.

It was an intimate hold for her. Charlie was a big man with large

hands that practically covered her whole thigh. With Ben inches away

from her back, she felt hot and shaky. She never suffered from

claustrophobia, but being sandwiched between these two made her

panic.

“No! I can’t stay here…No way.” Anna crossed her arms in front

of her chest.

* * * *

Charlie had to hide his grin from her. She looked so adorable the

way she fidgeted with her hands and jumped up off of his lap. She had

felt so good sitting there, he nearly lost his ability to speak.

“Anna, it’s no big deal. We have two extra bedrooms. You can

stay for as long as you like or as long as you think Stacy and the guys

need.”

“No, I can’t. I…I can’t…you…you.” She shook her head and tried

to step by them. Both he and Ben grabbed a hand.

“Whoa there, honey. It’s okay,” Ben stated, standing in front of

her, blocking her path.

Charlie saw the fear in Anna’s eyes at being blocked.

“Sit down, Anna. Please?” Charlie asked, and although she

hesitated, she took a seat.

“We would never hurt you, Anna. That’s something you have to

believe and trust about us.”

“It’s understandable that you’re scared, but we would never force

ourselves on you. Real men don’t do that kind of thing,” Ben stated,

taking a seat next to her on the swing.

Anna looked shocked at his statement, and Charlie saw the tears

reach her eyes.

For the Love of Anna

91

She looked down at her hands as she spoke.

“I don’t know you…either of you.”

“Sure you do, doll. You’ve been around us for a few weeks now.

What you see is what you get,” Ben stated.

“I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea. If I stayed…here…I

mean.”

“No wrong idea. Just us offering an extra bed so you can give

Stacy, Max, and Eric some alone time. No strings and no

expectations. We just want you to be safe, and staying in town alone

is not a good move.”

“I would be fine.”

“Not a chance we’re willing to take,” Charlie countered.

“Yeah, especially after what Wyatt said about the men in town

asking about you.”

“Asking about me? Why?”

Ben and Charlie chuckled.

“Not your worry. Wyatt will spread the word,” Charlie added.

“And what word would that be?” Anna asked.

Charlie cupped Anna’s chin and tilted it up toward him.

“That you belong to the Cantrell brothers. Wyatt, Ben, and me,”

Charlie replied, then kissed her long and deep.

By the time he released her lips, she wasn’t certain what she just

agreed to by spending the weekend in their house.

As Charlie released her, Ben took his turn pulling her toward him

and kissing her just as deeply.

She clung to his chest, holding on to the amazing sensations these

men sent through her body from their kisses alone. Her mind spun

with thoughts of being loved and cherished. But then came reality. As

Ben released her lips, she saw the raw desire in his eyes. They wanted

her, but was she ready to take such a chance? She feared losing

herself and what fraction of an identity she had left. Ben, Charlie, and

Wyatt were such different men. She admired their individuality and

what she knew about them so far, but intimacy and reacting on

92

Dixie Lynn Dwyer

emotions wasn’t smart thinking. If her present track record was any

indication of the possible results, this could prove disastrous.
Me, in a

sexual relationship with three men at once? Crazy!

For the Love of Anna

93

Chapter 8

Brooklyn, New York

“So you’re fucking telling me his kid is so hot that you want to

track her down, drag her back here, and use her to make back the

money her old man owes us?” Marcus asked.

“He’s dead fucking serious. He’s had a hard-on for weeks since

she skipped town,” Jake replied with a snicker.

“Fucking-A, I have. I’m telling you, boss, she’s so fucking hot

and pure that I might just have to pay her daddy’s debt and keep her

for myself,” Vinny replied.

Marcus laughed. “Son of a bitch! That fucking hot, huh?”

Both Vinny and Jake smiled and nodded their heads.

“Do I get ta give her a whirl when you get back here for letting

you leave for a few weeks?”

Vinny looked shocked, but Marcus was the boss, the least he

should get besides the thirty grand was a whirl with the woman.

“Only once,” Vinny stated, and Marcus laughed.

“What about her old man? Is this going to be a problem?”

“No. He fucking tried to sell her to us for his debt anyway. A real

asshole, that one. Meanwhile, she was supposedly working her ass off

supporting him and the sick mother before the old lady died. A sad

fucking case.”

“That does sound sad. Since when did you become a Good

fucking Samaritan?” Marcus asked sarcastically.

“Since he felt Anna’s big tits and firm, round ass,” Jake replied,

and they all laughed.

94

Dixie Lynn Dwyer

“Where’s the deadbeat dad now?” Marcus inquired as he sat

behind his desk.

“Dead in a fucking alleyway in the South Bronx,” Vinny replied.

“Okay. There’s no other family that will come looking for her?”

“Just the one chick she’s friends with that the old man told us

about. We figured Anna headed there. It’s our first stop.”

“Okay, then it seems you’ve got everything covered. Don’t leave

a mess behind you, and be back here in three weeks. I can’t wait to

see this Anna,” Marcus replied, then chuckled at Jake and Vinny.

* * * *

“I can’t believe he wants to try her out, too.” Vinny was annoyed.

Jake laughed.

“What the fuck did you expect him to say when you carried on

about her? You fucking put a major beating in on her old man. I

didn’t even get a chance to help you kill him. What the fuck was up

with that?”

“He fucking tossed her to us like she was trash.”

“How the hell do you know she’s not trash?”

“Jake, do you remember her? It was fucking obvious she was an

innocent. I think she was a fucking virgin.”

“Nooo!”

“Fuck, yes. I want a piece of that, and the more we’ve learned

about her life, the more I want to find her.”

“What the fuck for? You don’t want to care for her, you want to

fuck her and whore her out.”

“With her body and looks, she’ll make up her old man’s debt like

that, and then she’ll be all mine to fuck whenever I want to.”

“What are you going to do, tie her to a bed and leave her there?”

“If I have to. Or she might be so thankful that I saved her from her

old man and keeping her after she’s used goods that she’ll cling to me

and serve me in every way.”

For the Love of Anna

95

Jake laughed.

“You are so fucking psycho it’s not even funny, Vinny. I think

killing people has fucked with your brain.”

“Maybe it has, but mark my words, Anna is mine, and no one will

stand in my way. If they do, I’ll fucking kill them.”

“Hey, Marcus said no messes.”

“Don’t worry, she’s in Texas with a bunch of fucking hicks.

“Badda bing…badda boom…It will be a piece of cake to knock off

anyone in our path and leave them for dead out in a fucking field with

vultures and shit.”

Jake shook his head.

“I can’t believe I’m fucking leaving New York to go to fucking

hick, cowboy Texas to find you your whore.”

“Believe me, man, we are, and our flight leaves in two days.”

* * * *

Anna was walking by the stables when she heard a ruckus going

on inside the barn. She watched as a few cowboys walked out looking

somber.

“What’s going on?” she asked, and the two men looked at her,

surprised she was there. They removed their hats and greeted her.

“Sorry, Miss. We didn’t see y’all standing there,” one of the

cowboys stated with a thick accent.

Ben came through the stable doors, and he didn’t look happy.

“Anna! What are you doing out here?” he asked, his tone seemed

off, as if he was upset that she was there. She lowered her eyes and

swallowed hard. It was crazy, but she felt the tears reach her eyes.

“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to sound displeased. We’ve got a

cow in labor, and she just can’t seem to deliver on her own. She’s

having trouble breathing, and it’s not looking good.”