Trusting Them (23 page)

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“Where the hell did she go?” Brock yelled at no one in particular.

Ever since he’d come back home to talk to her and found her missing he felt like a part of him had been ripped away. Why hadn’t he just told her how he felt instead of leaving like that? Damn his pride for wanting her to tell them first. What was it going to cost him? Would she forgive him?

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Brady said after returning from upstairs to see if she’d taken anything with her.

“She could be anywhere. We might never find her in the dark.” Brock stormed back outside with the flashlights.

Thank goodness it was a clear night. They could use the stars and moon, once they had risen, for light. Until then, they were stuck with flashlights. Would it be enough for them to find tracks? Other than the ones leading off the porch, the wind had obliterated a lot of the ones they’d determined were hers.

“Hey boss!” One of the hands called from the first barn. “She’s been over here. Footprints are pretty clear against the barn. Wind hasn’t gotten to them.”

Brock and Brady hurried over to the barn and traced the footprints to where they ended about six feet from the barn door. The fanned out and looked all around, hoping to pick them back up somewhere.

“Let’s check the other barn. Maybe she was looking for us and she checked all the buildings,” Brady suggested.

Brock nodded and they trudged through the icy snow. The wind blew the frozen snow around, changing the landscape every few minutes. Where a pile of snow was one minute, the next it was flat. Brock swallowed thinking that she could be out there somewhere lost. She’d die out there before much longer. It fueled his energy and quickened his step.

“Got more prints here, Brock.” Brady pointed at the ground next to the barn door.

They checked inside to be sure she wasn’t still there. Then they fanned out again and searched the area. Finally, Brock located some nearly obliterated prints next to the fence line heading out to the back sixty acres. He cringed, thinking she might be out there somewhere. There wouldn’t be any trees to block the wind, and there were two ponds that might not be completely frozen over. If she fell into one of them…

“Brady. Over here.” He pointed to the boot prints. “If she followed the fence line we should be able to locate her fairly easily.”

“Let’s go.” Brady huffed out a frozen breath and began walking.

They were both careful not to slip since they knew it might take both of them to get Jeni back safe and sound. They couldn’t afford to fall and get hurt.

Several times they lost her prints and had to make the decision to either spread out and look for them or follow the fence line in hopes they would pick them back up again. They chose to follow the fence. Brock had a feeling she was doing that as well. How far had she walked? Was she still walking or had she stopped by now? God, don’t let her have sat down. If she fell asleep, she could freeze to death before they found her.

They turned off their flashlights after a little while since the night sky lit up the landscape with soft lights. Brock could see a good fifteen or twenty yards ahead of him. They continued following the fence line praying they were on the right track.

“Hey!” Brady yelled. “There she is.”

Brock peered ahead in the pale moonlight and barely made out the outline of a person sitting against a fence post. He and Brady took off running as fast as they could through the icy snow. Twice Brock slid, almost falling. Still, he made it to Jeni before Brady did.

The soft moonlight left her skin pale. With her eyes closed he could almost believe she was sleeping. He pulled off his gloves and stuffed them in his pockets even before he knelt in the snow beside her. Reaching out with one hand, he carefully touched her face to find it cold. His heart stuttered a few beats. He reached beneath her coat and felt along her neck looking for a pulse—and found it. He sighed in relief.

“She’s alive. We need to get her back to the house and warm her up.” Brock reached beneath her and picked her up.

“I’ll spell you in a few minutes. We’ll go faster that way,” Brady said.

They took turns carrying her all the way back to the house. By the time they arrived, she roused enough to moan as they bumped her along in their arms. Brock took her from Brady as they neared the house. Brady ran ahead and had the fire blazing by the time Brock made it inside with her.

“Damn, I wish the electricity was on. Go start the generator. We’ll bring the electric blanket down here.” Brock laid her on the couch and began undressing her.

Surprisingly enough, her clothes were dry, with the exception of the lower half of her jeans. The coat had done its job and kept the moisture out. He left her underwear on and bundled her under the covers next to the fire. About the time he had her covered up, the lights came on in a stutter. Brady had gotten the generator going.

Once Brady made it back inside, Brock left him to care for Jeni so he could get the electric blanket. He plugged it in and draped it over the top of the blanket. Then he covered it with a comforter.

“Get undressed and get in there to get her warm. I’m going to make some soup. As soon as she is awake enough to eat we need to get something warm inside of her,” Brock said.

Brady stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. Once he was sure Brady had her in his arms, Brock walked back in the kitchen and leaned against the cabinet. His legs were weak. They might have lost her, all because of his stubborn pride. The realization that she could still get sick and die frightened him into action.

He located a can of soup and warmed it in a pot on the stove. He spooned it into a coffee mug and carried it into the living room where Brady was talking softly to their woman. She was theirs, and as soon as she was awake enough to understand it, he was going to tell her. He would not let another night go by without telling her how much he cared for her. She would know that they wanted her to be a part of their lives from now on. He would ask her to marry him if that would help his cause. Anything to assure she never left their side again.

“Is she awake?” Brock asked his brother.

“Sort of. She opens her eyes but doesn’t say anything.”

Brock knelt on the bed beside her and sat the mug of soup on the floor. He was almost afraid to touch her. Instead he bent down and whispered in her ear.

“Wake up, baby girl. Let me see those pretty eyes of yours.”

He watched as her eyelids fluttered, then opened. She smiled. It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to speak.

“Hi. I was looking for you.”

He had to lean down to hear her.

“Don’t you ever go out on the ranch alone again,” Brock said.

“She doesn’t have any idea how big it is, Brock. We need to show her on the map.” Brady kissed the back of Jeni’s head.

“I’ll take her out on horseback and show it all to her as soon as it gets to be warmer weather.”

“I got so cold. I couldn’t walk any farther.”

“I know you did, baby.” Brock picked up the mug of soup again. “Let’s get some soup in you. Let Brady help you sit up.”

Brock watched as Brady propped her up against his chest and held her with one arm around her waist. He tucked the blanket back around her neck. She drew in a deep breath through her nose and smiled.

“That smells good. My stomach is telling me I’m hungry,” she said.

Brock spooned some into her mouth. Once she swallowed, he gave her more until she was able to take the mug from his hands and hold it herself. He watched her finish the soup then took the cup from her and carried it to the kitchen. After rinsing it out, he returned to strip off his clothes and climb into the bed with her.

“I thought we had lost you,” he finally said after long moments of just caressing her face.

“Why did you walk off?” she asked.

“Because I was too proud to tell you that I loved you.” There, he’d said it.

It was out in the open now. Whatever came next, he’d told her how he felt.

“I love you too, baby girl.” Brady hugged her from behind.

“You do?” she asked, looking from one to the other of them. “You really love me, both of you?”

“Yes, we both really love you. We want you to stay with us. Be our wife.” Brock wasn’t going to leave any room for interpretation.

He all but held his breath waiting to see what she would say. He glanced over at Brady and knew his brother was thinking the same thing. What if she said no, that she couldn’t live this way? What would they do then?

“I will,” she said, then jumped up and knocked Brock over trying to get into his lap. “I love you, too—both of you.”

Brock grinned. He couldn’t help himself. She was going to stay. Now he needed to lay down the law though. He swallowed. It had to be done though. Living out here was dangerous, and she had nearly paid the price for being careless. Since part of it was his and Brady’s fault for not explaining things to her, he wouldn’t punish her this time.

Chapter Sixteen

“We need to talk though, baby. You can’t go running off out here all alone. It’s too dangerous. We were just lucky to have found enough footprints to get the general idea of where to look for you. If we hadn’t, you’d have frozen to death out there. Do you understand?” Brock asked.

Jeni nodded. She knew he was going to be mad at her when he got past being glad she was okay. She’d known better than to go off like she had, but she had been so angry with Brock she hadn’t been thinking straight. Brock was right. She couldn’t do that out here.

“I know. I won’t do it again.”

“No, you won’t because the next time you do something like that I’m going to put you over my knee and turn your ass cherry red. Do you understand me, Jeni?” he asked.

She bristled at the thought he would spank her like a child, but she nodded her head anyway. She didn’t want Brock upset with her any more than he already was. She wanted them to snuggle in the bed together in front of the fire. As if he could read her mind, Brock pulled her back into the bed and under the covers, where he wrapped his arms around her.

“My feet are cold,” Jeni complained.

Then she stuck them back against Brady’s thighs. He yelped and retaliated by grabbing hold of one of her breasts. She hissed out a breath and leaned back into him. Brock latched on to the other one with his mouth and began sucking her in as if he could never get enough of her. The feel of his mouth drawing her in pulled at things lower in her belly. His tongue teased her nipple until she whimpered for something more.

Brady lifted the hair off the back of her neck and nuzzled her ear. His scruffy chin burned along her neck and shoulder as he nipped and licked his way down her body. He released the breast he held and moved his hands lower to her pelvis and the warmth of her pussy below. His fingers slid past the elastic of her panties and nestled into the wet heat of her channel. She moaned and squeezed her legs together to keep his hands where they were.

“I think baby girl wants something, Brady.” Brock lifted his mouth from her breast long enough to tell Brady to strip her.

Brady laughed and pulled her panties off her legs. There wasn’t much left of her bra now since Brady had pulled it up off her breasts. He unhooked it and let it fall away. Jeni wanted them like she’d never wanted anything before in her life. If they didn’t fill her soon, she would die of need. Her body ached to be taken.

Brady returned to her pussy with his fingers. He teased her clit with one thumb while his fingers dipped inside her, only to leave once again. She squirmed against him, begging him with her body for more. She needed more of everything. The mouth at her breast nipped at her nipple, then licked away the hurt. Fingers twisted at her other nipple until she groaned and arched her back in an effort to relieve the pressure. Instead of easing, the pressure only grew with each nip, lick, and suck of her breasts.