Taking a Gamble on Three of a Kind (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

“She’s added a nice filet mignon and a pumpkin spice soup to that along with her scalloped potatoes and fresh green beans. I think you’ll be pleased.”

“That sounds delicious,” Jenny said. “I remember her chocolate chip cookies when I was little. She used to bring them out for your patients. My dad used to come here for his allergy shots, and I loved to come with him just for the cookies. They were so good.”

“Better than mine?” her mother asked, making a hurt face, before she laughed. “You don’t have to answer that.”

Jack was telling her mother about a concert in town the next week when the sound of Luke’s voice carried to them from the front of the house. He walked in flanked by Adam and another man that must be their cousin, Justin. Her mother had been right. There was a strong family resemblance. He was gorgeous. He had Luke’s dark brown hair and coloring. He also had the same dimple in his chin. But he had Justin’s smile.

They were laughing as they walked in the room. Upon seeing her and her mother, they got quiet. She felt the heat of their gazes burning a hole through her. She looked down self-consciously to make sure she hadn’t missed a button. When she looked back up, they were still staring at her.

If Jack and her mother noticed the way his sons and their cousin were looking at her, they acted like they didn’t.

“Come on in, boys, and say hello to Marlene and Jenny.”

Adam and Luke went to her mother first and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She reached up to give each a hug.

“Justin,” her mother said, “how are you? It’s so good see you.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Clayton. It’s been a while.”

“That it has,” she said, turning to Jenny. “You haven’t met my daughter, Jenny. Jenny, this is Justin Morris.”

He walked over to where she was sitting and held out his hand. She placed her hand in his, feeling the strength of his grip. When he let go, he sat down beside her. “We’re neighbors you know.”

“No. I didn’t know that,” she said, feeling suddenly shy.

“I’ve moved into the old Hampton place down the road from you and your mom. I have an option to buy.”

“So you plan to live here in Brilliance?” Marlene asked.

“I think so. There’s work here, and I’ve been thinking of expanding my business.”

“You must be doing well,” her mother said.

“He’s a go-getter, that Justin,” Jack said proudly, as if he were talking about one of his own sons. “He’s got a smart head on him for business. He’ll do well here.”

Jenny knew she should say something. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Thank you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other. I’ve got an open invitation to Saturday dinners here. From what I’ve been told, you and your mom do, too.”

Jenny just smiled. She wasn’t about to open that can of worms. She had promised her mother she would keep the conversation light, and she meant to keep that promise. Justin would find out soon enough that this was the last Saturday dinner her mother and she would be attending at Jack Rowan’s dinner table. She saw the slight frown on her mother’s face. She knew she was thinking the same thing.

Luke and Adam sat down in a couple side chairs, stretching out their long legs.

“How’d you feel this morning after dancing the night away?” Luke asked, his eyes dipping to her crossed legs.

“I was a bit sore, but I’ve recovered,” she said, tugging her dress down over her knees. She saw the glint in his eye that said he knew he had made her uncomfortable.

“Well, for someone who hasn’t danced in a while, you sure tore up the dance floor. You impressed me, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” Adam said with a laugh that made his eyes twinkle somewhat dangerously.

She felt herself tremble slightly. “I’m glad I passed muster.”

“Oh, I would say you more than passed,” Luke said.

“You like to dance?” Justin asked, turning his body toward hers.

“It’s fun. I’m a bit out of practice. I could barely keep up with them and their friend April.” She bit her lip. Why did she have to bring her up?

“April Mathews?” Jack asked, looking at his sons. “I haven’t seen that girl in I can’t remember when. She still work with her mother as a hairdresser?”

“Yes, she does,” Luke said. “She’s part owner now. They not only do hair, but all sorts of things like feet and nails and I think massages.”

“He means pedicures and manicures,” Adam interjected.

“Thanks for clearing that up, Adam,” Luke said, giving his brother a mock glare. “Adam has always felt like he has to be my translator.”

“Well, someone has to.” Adam smiled back at his brother.

“I can you tell that Millie, April’s mother, really does a nice job. I go there myself for the works. Next time you need your hair done, we’ll go there and get pampered,” her mother said to Jenny.

“Sure.” There was no way she was going to have April do her hair. God knows what she’d look like when she walked out of the place. Besides that, they didn’t have the money for pampering.

Astrid walked into the room. She was slightly hunched over. “Dinner is ready,” she said, looking at Jack.

“Thank you, Astrid,” Jack said. “I’ve been thinking about your dinner all day.”

“We all have,” Luke said, getting up and taking Astrid’s arm.

The old woman smiled up at Luke. “I know how much you love a good steak. And there’s apple pie for dessert.”

“My absolute favorite,” Luke said loudly. “Now you all know why I had that gym put in the basement.”

“Now you don’t need to worry about your weight. You’re perfect,” Astrid said with a laugh.

“Not that I’m complaining. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The only reason Adam and I came here to practice medicine was because we knew you’d feed us.”

The older woman was beaming under his praise. Jenny saw real tenderness in his eyes as he affectionately looked down at the older woman. Well, this was a side of Luke she hadn’t seen the other night.

Everyone followed them into the dining room. Justin held out his arm for her. He was quite the gentleman. Smiling, she walked with him behind her mother and Jack.

Before they were seated, Astrid excused herself. “I’m tired and I think I’ll take a nap. Cassie’s going to take it from here.”

Jenny had wondered how Astrid was going to do the dinner. She was thinking that she would help her, but that didn’t seem necessary now.

When Astrid was out of earshot, Jack said to Jenny, “She’s been retired for years, but she still insists on making Saturday dinner. We make sure she has plenty of help. I wouldn’t want you to think we were taking advantage of her.”

“Oh, no. I think it’s wonderful that you kept her on. It’s obvious that she loves you all.”

“And we love her,” Adam said, leaning in Jenny’s direction.

“Now don’t be shy about eating your fill,” Luke said, his eyes resting on Jenny. “Since you’ve recovered so well from the other night, we thought we’d take you out again. Saturday dances at the Raven’s Cove is a great way to work off dinner.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jack said, his eyes meeting her mother’s. Her mother looked away, reaching for her water glass.

Jenny wasn’t blind. She knew Jack was planning to be alone with her mother and Luke was all for making sure they had the opportunity. She had no intention of going out dancing again, especially after the way Luke had spoken to her before she had shut the door in his face. She felt her face flush slightly. When she looked up from her plate, both Adam and Luke were staring at her with sly grins on their face. They knew exactly what she was thinking.

If it hadn’t been unladylike and she wasn’t in the company of their father and her mother, she swore she would have stuck her tongue out at them. Instead, she turned to Justin, who she realized was also staring at her, and said with a slightly flirtatious edge to her voice, “I want to hear all about your construction business. Jack seems to think you’re quite the businessman.”

Justin smiled a lazy smile that told her he knew exactly why she was suddenly interested in his business. He had read Luke’s and Adam’s expressions and knew she was using him to get to them.

“And there’s nothing I want more than to tell you all about the man behind the business. I think you’ll find that Luke, Adam, and I are very much alike.”

His sultry tone and the way he leaned into her implied a sexual awareness that she had not noticed before. This one was every bit as handsome and dangerous as his cousins. Suddenly, she was all ears. He may not technically be a Rowan, but there was something about him that told her he wasn’t kidding when he said that he and his cousins were three of a kind.

Again, she saw a look pass between him and her mother. This might be her mother’s last night with the man. Could she really be heartless enough to ask her to give it up? Dinner passed quickly with everyone raving about the food. Justin kept her entertained with funny stories about growing up with Luke and Adam. It seemed Luke was the instigator even back then and had gotten them all into trouble on more than one occasion.

“Now, you’re not painting a very favorable picture of me,” Luke had said at one point.

“Hell, I’m not even telling her the real good stuff,” Justin shot back. “Unless you want me to?”

“No, I think Jenny’s heard enough for one sitting. Let’s save some stories for the next dinner.”

For some reason, she was really enjoying their stories. She was just glad neither Luke nor Adam had brought up the story of how they had tried to examine her when she was six years old. Her father had brought her with him to the office. She had been sitting in the waiting room when the boys had run in for a cookie and saw her sitting there. She remembered them telling her to come out and play. They had taken her out back of the house and taken her clothes off and just stared at her before they started asking her questions about how she felt and argued about which one of them should test her reflexes. Her mother had been right. They had just been curious and meant no harm.

Her father and Jack had found them. She remembered a lot of yelling. Jack assured her father they wouldn’t be examining anyone else in the near future. Both boys had been made to apologize, and that, as far as she was concerned, had been the end of it. However, her father had never seemed too fond of them.

Bringing her mind back to the present, she had to admit, Astrid’s cooking was every bit as good as she had anticipated. The steak melted in her mouth. The two apple pies that were for dessert had been eaten with gusto. She had said just a small slice, but with a look from Luke, Cassie had cut her a rather large piece.

“You would have just asked for another piece,” he said, catching her glare.

She wouldn’t have, but she wanted to. The crust was light and flakey and the apples tasted of cinnamon and sugar with a hint of something else. When she had put the last forkful in her mouth, she sat back and sighed.

Her mother looked over at her. “You enjoyed that. It’s good to see you eat.” Turning to Jack, she said, “She barely eats at home, just picks, except, that is, when I make my garlic mashed potatoes.”

“You do make the best garlic mashed potatoes ever. Daddy used to make you whip up a double batch just so he could eat the leftovers by himself,” she said, forgetting for a moment that she was sitting at her mother’s boyfriend’s dinner table.

“Your father always bragged about them as well as about you and your mother. He was a good man. I know how much you miss him. We miss my Abigail, too.”

For the second time that day, she felt tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She watched her mother reach over and squeeze Jack’s hand. There were tears in her eyes, too.

“Well, I’d say it’s time we took our coffee out back on the deck,” Luke said, breaking the heavy silence. “The ducks are swimming around the pond, and the sun’s about to set.”

“Good idea,” Jack said, rising to his feet. He helped her mother from her chair.

Once they were all seated on the outside deck, she made herself yawn. “I think I’m going to have to pass on the dancing tonight,” she said. “I’m actually getting sleepy.”

“Oh, no,” Luke said quickly. “You need to go dancing. You don’t want all that food sitting in your stomach. Trust the doctor to know what’s best for you.”

“I second that,” Adam said. “We’re only concerned for your health.”

“I’m not a doctor,” Justin said, “but if I continue to sit here much longer without moving around, I think I’m going to gain at least ten pounds.”

Her mother glanced over at her. She knew what her mother wanted her to do. If she didn’t go dancing, her mother would feel obligated to go home with her. And that would certainly put a wrench in Jack’s plans for the evening.

“Now, if you are that tired and you’re not up for going out,” her mother began, “we can go.”

“Of course,” Jack agreed. “Don’t let these boys bully you into going out if you don’t want to.”

Even if he was the reason for her mother’s fall from grace? But in his defense, he didn’t know that.

All eyes were on her. “Okay, but I don’t want to stay out real late.”

“Not a problem,” Luke said. “Whatever it takes.”