Trusting Them (3 page)

“She seems to like us.” Brady pulled down two mugs for the coffee.

“Yeah. I just wish she would trust us and tell us what happened.”

“You think someone put her out?” Brady asked.

“Maybe. Or, she had a wreck, and I just didn’t see the car. The snow would have covered any tracks by the time we showed up. Plus it was dark.”

“I hope we can get her into Denton tomorrow, but I don’t want her to leave.” Brady watched the coffee drip into the pot.

“She’s coming down with a cold.” Brock shook his head. “At least I hope that’s all it is. If she ends up with pneumonia, we’ll have a mess on our hands.” He walked over to the back door and looked out the window.

“While I was checking on the horses, I listened to the weather report on the radio. They’re predicting three feet of snow. The wind isn’t going to let up tomorrow either. We won’t be driving her into town.” Brock turned back to Brady and watched his brother pace.

“She’s got me so hard I can’t think straight, Brock. She’s hurt and I still want her.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He knew exactly how his brother felt. He felt the same way. His cock ached to delve inside her sweet pussy. If she would only tell them what she was hiding. They could help her. One way or another, they would take care of her. They would protect her. He knew his brother would say the same thing.

“Why don’t you get some sleep while you can? I’ll call you in a couple of hours to spell me. It’s going to be a long night.” Brock poured coffee into a mug.

Brady eyed the coffee longingly, but turned away. “You sure you don’t want to trade up and let me stay up?”

Brock laughed. Yep, his brother was already smitten with the little urchin upstairs. No doubt about it.

“Go on upstairs and I’ll call you.”

Brady nodded and headed for the stairs. Brock sipped the coffee. It went down hot and strong. Just the way he liked it. He checked the fire and added another log to it, then stretched out on the couch to listen for their guest.

Sometime later he heard her coughing. He climbed the stairs and eased into the bedroom. They’d left the door to the bathroom cracked with the light on. He could barely make her out lying in bed. The covers had fallen down to her waist. She appeared restless, her head turning side to side. She coughed again. Brock felt her forehead and found it hot to the touch. Shit, she was sick. He had been afraid of that. There was nothing to do but keep her warm and fill her full of liquids.

The OJ glass was empty, so he opened the bottle of water. He eased her up and urged her to drink.

“Come on. Take a few sips of water. You need to keep hydrated.”

“My throat hurts now.” She swallowed some water and coughed some more.

“Just a little more,” he cajoled.

Once she’d complied, he sat the water bottle back on the bedside table and readjusted her covers. She turned on her side and seemed to settle back into sleep. He stood and watched her for a few minutes, then returned to the living room. He tended to the fire again and checked his watch. He would let Brady sleep another hour, then wake him up.

Brock couldn’t help but think about his family. He and Brady had grown up in a large household. He had two fathers, his mother, and four siblings, including Brady. His family had been a bit unorthodox, to say the least, with his mother being married to two men at one time, but he’d led a normal life other than that. His two sisters were in their twenties. Sarah Ann was married to a lawyer. They lived in Bozeman, Montana. His youngest sister was dating two brothers in Billings. She seemed to be serious about them. Brock liked the two men but didn’t like his baby sister settling down so young. She was barely twenty-three.

His parents lived twenty-five miles west of him and Brady. They had a small cattle ranch. Sanders ran the ranch with several ranch hands. Andrew was an accountant. He worked mostly from their home but had a small office in town. His mom directed everyone. He smiled at how much love they’d had growing up. There was always someone around to listen when he or one of his siblings needed a sounding board. With two fathers, they didn’t stand a chance of getting out of trouble either. He never would have believed he and Brady would find a woman for themselves. Especially not one they both immediately felt attracted to, both sexually and emotionally.

Of course, they were assuming she would feel something for both of them. It was just as likely she wouldn’t feel anything for either one of them, but she had kissed him like she was attracted to him. He could only hope.

He checked his watch again and decided it was time to wake Brady up and get some rest himself. He put on another pot of coffee and climbed the stairs to his brother’s room. He knocked on the door and stuck his head inside.

“Hey, Brady, wake up.”

“Hmmm. Yeah, be right down.”

Brock smiled. His poor brother didn’t do well when he first woke up. Add the short sleep span this time, and he bet his little brother would be grouchy.

Sure enough, when Brady made it downstairs he wore a frown, complete with wrinkled brows.

“Made fresh coffee for you. Fire’s burning fine.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Jeni is coughing pretty regular now. I’m pushing water on her. You might try some more orange juice later, but she’s probably going to balk at it. Her throat is hurting her.”

“Well, shit. I was afraid of that. I’ll watch her closer.” He perked up a little bit at the news that their guest was definitely sick.

“I’m going to get some rest. Call me if you need me.”

Brady nodded and poured a mug of coffee. Brock turned to head upstairs when the lights flickered. He and Brady both looked up as if they could change anything by doing it. They waited and it flickered again. Then the lights failed completely.

“Hell, that’s all we need,” Brady complained.

“Without that electric blanket, she’s going to get cold again.” Brock felt around for the flashlight they kept on the kitchen table when the weather was bad.

He pushed the switch and found Brady only a foot away. They stared at each other, and Brady shrugged.

“Nothing for it. We’ll have to sleep with her so we can all keep warm. At least we’ll be in there to force her to drink.” Brady used the light Brock shone on the floor to find the cabinet and took down another glass to pour orange juice for Jeni.

Another fit of coughing could be heard above them. Brock kept the light from the flashlight on the floor to guide them to the stairs and up them. Once inside, he shined it on the bedside table so Brady could put down the OJ and wake her up.

“She’s burning up,” Brady observed. “I’ll get her to take some more ibuprofen with the juice.”

He sat on the edge of the bed at her head and lifted her up enough so she wouldn’t choke. Then he urged her to wake up enough to get the pills down.

“Come on, Jeni. Wake up, honey, and take the medicine.”

She moaned and shook her head from side to side. Finally, after a lot of coaxing, he managed to get the medicine down her with a good bit of juice. Brock was impressed. She gagged and made faces with the OJ, but she swallowed.

“Think that’s enough for now?” Brady asked.

“Yeah. Let’s get in bed. She’s hot enough right now to keep us warm.” Brock sat the flashlight so that it shone towards the foot of the bed.

They undressed and eased into the bed on either side of her. Brock had to slide her over some to make enough room for him to lie down. She moaned and coughed but didn’t resist when he moved her. Instead, she turned over to face Brady’s side of the bed.

Brock spooned her and placed one arm over her waist and pulled her into the curve of his body. Brady backed up to her until she was jammed between them. It felt right to have her there between them. She belonged there, minus the cold. If only they could convince her to give them a try. If only she would tell them what she was hiding. Brock held out little hope she would anytime soon. The thought worried him. Something wasn’t right, and he was afraid it would catch them off guard.

Chapter Three

The next morning Jeni woke alone in the bed, though she remembered both men being in bed with her through the night. The pounding in her head rivaled a jackhammer, and her chest felt as if a lead weight sat on top of it. It took an effort to draw breath and hurt to do it. She swallowed, only to find her throat sore and itchy. Damn, she was sick. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t stay here. A doctor. They said they would take her to a doctor. She relaxed at the thought and sank back into the pillow behind her head.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Brady’s head peeked around the door.

“Not so good. I think I’m sick. Maybe you should take me into town to see the doctor.” Her voice came out scratchy and hoarse.

He frowned, his brows drawing together. “I wish we could, darling, but there is nearly three feet of snow and more coming down. Weather report says winds are blowing at gusts up to thirty miles an hour. We can’t take the chance of going off the road in this weather.”

Brady walked further into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up the water and handed it to her.

“Drink some more. I’ll get you some ibuprofen from downstairs.” He patted her leg through the covers.

“It hurts to swallow,” she complained.

“I know, but you need the fluids. You ran a mighty high temperature last night. No doubt you sweated all we gave you right out.”

Brady stood up and left her sitting up in the bed with another urge to cough. She suppressed it and took another small sip of water. It didn’t go down any easier. She followed Brady with her eyes as he left the room. He looked just as good from behind as he did in front, she decided. She groaned. This was no time to find another man—

men—attractive. Her ex was looking for her and would do anything to destroy her.

He had made a promise to her when the divorce was final. If he couldn’t have her, no one would. She hadn’t believed him at the time, but after he attacked her back home and followed her all the way to Montana, Jeni believed him now. If she hadn’t run off the road, she might have already made it to Washington, or maybe even Alaska. She knew nothing about the lonely state, except she hoped Glenn wouldn’t look for her there.

Brady returned a few minutes later with a new bottle of ibuprofen and a fresh glass of orange juice. He handed her the bottle of pills and waited as she shook out two. He exchanged the glass of juice for the bottle of ibuprofen and watched as she downed the pills with the liquid.

It produced another fit of coughing. Jeni groaned at the tightness in her chest. She needed to get well and get out of here. Her plans were already in such a mess she wasn’t sure she could salvage them now.

“Are you hungry? I doubt you’ve had anything to eat since yesterday sometime.” Brady took her empty glass from her.

“Not really.”

“You need to eat, though. I’ll scramble some eggs. They should go down easy enough. Brock is out finishing up on unloading the truck.”

Jena watched as Brady turned and walked out the door. She really needed to get up to the bathroom. Now was a good time while he was busy elsewhere. Sitting up wasn’t nearly as tough as she thought it would be, but sliding out of the bed proved almost too much for her. There was a little bit of a drop, and her legs threatened to give out. Déjà vu, she thought, of last night.

The trip to the bathroom took a lot out of her, but she felt better for having washed her face and brushed her teeth with the new toothbrush and travel-sized toothpaste she found in the vanity drawer beneath the middle sink. Three sinks still seemed a bit much to her. She wished she felt strong enough to take a shower but didn’t want to push her luck. That could be her next try when she got up again.