Sachi slowly rocked with her. “It’s okay. I know I’m no substitute, but I’m here for you, and so is everyone else. You need to let it out. You’ve been holding it in the past couple of days. I knew you were close to this. I also knew I had to wait you out until you finally broke down.”
“I’m so scared, Sachi. I’m so scared I’m going to do the wrong thing. With them, with the store, with everything. Julie always helped me believe in myself. I feel like I’m adrift without her. I just feel…paralyzed.”
“I know, sweetie. I know.”
Mandaline’s back was to the doorway. After a few minutes of sitting there and bawling on Sachi’s shoulder, Sachi cleared her throat. “Um, I hate to bother you, but naked hunk alert.”
She sniffled. “What?”
She sat up and turned to see Brad standing there in the doorway, butt naked and looking worried. She let out a schnurfly laugh.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
From his tone, and the look on his face, she knew the “more there” Brad was back.
She nodded.
Sachi untangled herself from Mandaline and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to hand you off to Hunk Muffin here.”
Brad smiled at Sachi as he walked over and knelt beside Mandaline. “Are you okay?”
She wanted to say yes, to nod and suck it up and deal with it, but she found herself shaking her head and bursting into a fresh round of tears.
“Okay,” he said. “That’s it. Back upstairs.”
She couldn’t protest because he scooped her up and headed for the stairs.
Mandaline was vaguely aware of Sachi making bow-chicka-wow-wow noises under her breath as they passed her.
“Keep her up there until she’s feeling better,” Sachi ordered.
“That was my plan,” Brad replied.
Yes, he definitely sounded like he was back to himself. Whatever that meant. His voice sounded strong, in control.
Sexy as hell.
He carried her back to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
“You can’t go downstairs naked, you know,” Mandaline said. “Not in the daytime. Not that I mind, but health regs say people need clothes.”
He smirked. “Well, since someone seems to have taken all my clothes, and I heard you crying, my priority was making sure you were okay and not whether or not I was going to embarrass anyone or freak out a health inspector.” He sat next to her on the bed. “I’m not complaining that I’m here, but I have a few questions.”
She nodded.
He scooched closer and pulled a pillow into his lap, then snuggled her so her head was on the pillow. “How’d I get here? I remember something about naked rain dancing in the middle of the night. Did that really happen? And why’s my throat sore?”
“You don’t remember?”
He looked down at her and shook his head. “It’s like a bunch of jumbled-up stuff. I remember some of you and Sachi being at the house Sunday.”
“You were right. The house was making you sick. Literally.” She retold the story. As she did, his expression grew more serious. When she finished her tale with putting him to bed, but leaving out her morning tryst with Ellis, he grabbed her hands and kissed them. “Thank you. I wish you hadn’t risked your safety over me, but thank you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“It bothers me that I lost time like that. A lot of time. That’s not just a few overnight hours.”
“Ellis said we need to get you tested for a full range of allergies.”
His playful smile warmed her heart. “What did you leave out of that story, young lady?”
She felt her face heat. She wondered how these two men had the power to make her do that. “This morning, Ellis made up for interrupting us the other day.” She retold the story.
When she finished, he let out a laugh. “Well, you might regret inviting us to stay with you. I’m liable to be following you around like a horny puppy and humping your leg every time you stand still long enough.”
It felt so good to laugh. She felt guilty about that, about shifting from grief to happiness in such a short time frame.
He must have read her expression. “Tell me what’s going through your brain.” He laced his fingers through hers.
Why hide it? She did. The fear, the worry.
And, yes, the lust.
“Let me pose a question,” he slowly said after thinking about it for a moment. “If your positions were reversed, if you’d died in that house and this was Julie dealing with me and Ellis, would you want her to feel guilty that she lived? Would you want her to mute her happiness, or would you be happy for her?”
“Of course I would want her to be happy.”
He kissed her hand. “Okay, then. I’m not going to rush you either. But like Ellis, don’t be surprised if you walk in on me rubbing one out.”
“It’s just that this is all happening so fast.”
“I know. I get it. Believe me, it’s happening fast for us, too. We’re two bachelors set in our ways. You might be ready to kill us in a couple of weeks.” He lightly squeezed her hand. “We’re here for the long haul,” he quietly said. “We aren’t going anywhere. We won’t rush or force you. But if you think we’re going to walk away from you without a fight, think again. You can’t scare us that easily.”
He stroked her hair, playing with it, wrapping it around his fingers. It felt so good to lie there with him, quietly, peacefully.
Like she was meant to be there with him. With both of them.
Downstairs, she heard the front doorbell tinkle. She sat up. “I guess I need to clean myself up and get presentable.”
He cupped her cheeks with his hands and lightly kissed her. “Can I ask a favor?”
She nodded. She’d do anything for him.
“Can you find me something to wear until my clothes are clean so I’m not stuck up here all morning with nothing but a sheet to cover me? Unless you’re okay with the toga look. Then I’m good to go.”
She burst out laughing. “I’ll go find you something out of the pile.”
“Thank you.” He smiled as he brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. “I know it’s crazy, Mandaline, but I’m in love with you. I promise you, we’ll take care of you. We won’t let you down.”
She nodded. “I know.” She gave him one last, quick peck on the lips before reluctantly climbing out of bed. “I’ll be right back. I don’t know whose clothes are whose.”
“It doesn’t matter for now. We both wear pretty much the same size.”
She ran downstairs, ducking around the corner quickly so she didn’t have to answer any of Sachi’s questions yet. She found a clean pair of shorts and a shirt in one bag, and a clean pair of briefs in another, and ran them upstairs to him.
He met her in the kitchen with a kiss. “Thank you, ma’am.”
She grinned. “You’re welcome, sir.”
Sachi was finishing up with their customer as Mandaline walked behind the counter. She snapped her fingers at Mandaline. “I need petty cash, lady. Chop-chop.”
“What?”
Sachi rolled her eyes. “It’s Monday. Libbie’s closed on Mondays. One of us needs to run out to Publix to pick up our bakery order of goodies for the store, and I’m guessing you’d rather stay here with Tarzan up there.”
“Tarzan?”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “All he needs is to yodel and slap on a loincloth and he’s all set.”
* * * *
Brad wouldn’t deny he felt better than he had in days, other than the sore throat and lingering headache that was already feeling better. He’d have to wait until he could talk, alone, with Ellis about the loss of time. Make sure there weren’t other apologies he owed.
That bothered him. If it really was nothing more than a severe reaction to the mold, great. Fantastic. It sucked that he couldn’t really do much in the house without a damn hazmat suit until they could get a contractor out there to clean it up and make the repair
s.
He was suddenly very interested in getting their master bedroom suite finished.
He took over doing their laundry. He also took it upon himself to completely clean Mandaline’s apartment for her. Not that it was messy or dirty, but he knew with two extra people taking up space, in addition to the horrible week and a half Mandaline had suffered through, it was the least he could do for her.
He also made lunch for all three of them. When Ellis showed up a little after noon, Brad gave him a hug.
“Thanks, man,” Brad said.
“Don’t thank me. Thank Mandaline. She figured it out. You feeling better?”
“I think so. I still can’t believe it was a reaction to the mold.”
She walked upstairs. “And there she is,” Ellis said with a grin.
Her eyes widened as she surveyed the apartment. “Wow. You didn’t have to clean up here, but thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He smiled. “Least I can do. Otherwise, right now I’d be staring at four walls in a room at the VA.”
Sachi opened the door to the stairwell. “Knock-knock, boss,” she called up.
“It’s safe.”
She walked up far enough she could see into the apartment. “Mrs. Mendez is on the phone. Wants to know if she can come in Thursday afternoon for a reading with you.”
“No, I can’t. I’m going out to Croom.”
Sachi and the men all said, “What?”
Brad watched as Mandaline’s face reddened. “I told Sami and Matt I would perform a private ceremony for her husband for them.”
“Like hell you will!” Sachi yelled, storming all the way up the stairs and into the apartment with her blue eyes blazing. “You are not going out there!”
“Yeah,” Brad agreed. “You aren’t going out there.”
“Look, I want to do this for them. I don’t hold what happened against them.”
“I don’t care,” Ellis said. “You are not going out there.”
She jammed her hands on her hips and radiated defiance. “I want to do this for them. Julie would want me to do it for them! I’m going whether you like it or not!”
Brad turned to Ellis, helpless. Ellis ran a hand through his hair. “Fine, but I’m taking you.”
“You better be packing, chief,” Sachi said.
“You’d better believe it,” he agreed.
Mandaline shook her head. “I can’t believe you two. Are guns the answer to everything?”
“Yes!” they both said. Then they looked at each other and high-fived.
“Not everything,” Ellis clarified, “but in this case, absofuckinglutely.”
Brad chuckled. “You’re outvoted, Mandaline.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and began nibbling on the nape of her neck, hoping it would weaken her defenses. “Go with it. Because I’m not disagreeing with them.”
“Well, shows how much you know. It’s a state park. I bet you’re not allowed to carry a concealed weapon into the park, license or not.”
Ellis shook his head. “Ask me if I give a damn about that. My only concern is your safety. What time are we going?”
“But…I didn’t tell them I’m bringing anyone with me.”
“Do you really think they’ll have a problem with it?”
“Well, no, probably not—”
“Done. Settled. End of subject.”
Brad laughed and nibbled on her ear this time, making her moan a little. “I know that look he’s got on his face, babe. Don’t bother arguing with him. He won’t change his mind.”
Sachi broadly grinned. “I like these guys. You have my full approval, boss. Carry on.” She snapped them a crisp salute before she headed downstairs.
Ellis walked over and took Mandaline’s hands. “I’m not about to risk your life. Maybe everything’s fine, maybe it’s not. If I’m there, I know it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, well, I’m also going to do a walk-through of the house to make sure there aren’t any negative energies left. I want them to be safe living there. It’s going to take a while.”
Ellis nodded. “I’ll clear my calendar as soon as I get back to the office.”
Brad suspected this was a make-or-break moment for Mandaline and her trust in Ellis.
“It means putting up with my witchy stuff all afternoon,” she said.
Ellis nodded again. “I’m well aware of that. I don’t have a problem with it.”
Brad felt her body relax a little in his arms. “You don’t?”
“I thought I made this clear to you already. I don’t agree with it or believe in it or understand it, but if you do it and it makes you happy, I’m okay with it.”
She threw her arms around Ellis. Now she was sandwiched between them. Brad hoped for a return of the sexy visions, but none were forthcoming.
She kissed him. “Thank you,” she said. She turned and kissed Brad, too. “And thank you. Let me get through the next couple of days and wrap my head around this. Okay?”
Brad caught Ellis’ eye over her shoulder. They both nodded. “Okay,” they said in unison.
Chapter Eighteen
Brad was back in jeans and a T-shirt by early afternoon. Mandaline felt more than a subtle pang of disappointment over that. She rather enjoyed getting a good look at his hunky body, although the sight of the scars on his back made her want to cradle him in her arms and heal him in ways she knew she couldn’t.
She came out from doing a reading for a customer to find Sachi training him on how to make the different drinks they sold.
“You don’t have to do this,” she told him.
He shrugged. “I want to. Besides, I can’t do anything else right now. All my art stuff is back at the house. I like helping.”
“Aw, come on, boss,” Sachi teasingly whined. “Let Tarzan help.”
Mandaline realized Sachi had already settled on nicknames for the guys. Meaning the irascible woman had come to accept them as part of her inner circle.
She wasn’t sure if that comforted or worried her. Yes, she loved them, and yes, she wanted them, but she also didn’t want to make her decision to take things further, when she finally got off her ass and made it, influenced by those around her.
“Okay, fine. Just don’t wear yourself out,” she warned him.
He grinned. “I’m feeling fine. Lots better than I was.”
“I think you should run over and see Doc Smith.”
“I’m sure Ellis will have me at the VA soon enough. Don’t worry about me.”
As the afternoon wore on, Mandaline paid close attention to his interaction with the customers. People seemed drawn to him and everyone who dealt with him left with a smile.
Mandaline was in the office doing paperwork when Sachi leaned in the doorway. “Can we keep him, boss? Huh, huh? Can we?”
Mandaline leaned back in her chair. “He does have a job, you know.”
“Well, yeah, sure, if you want to call it that.” She grinned. “Set him up in the front window. We’ll have every het woman and gay man in Brooksville drooling over him.”
Mandaline felt a tiny, dark stirring in her gut. She didn’t like that idea.
She also didn’t like feeling jealous.
“No. I’m going to take a look at the warehouse and see if we can make a place for him there.”
“Aw, you’re no fun.” But she grinned. “And FYI, the warehouse is even more above my pay grade than laundry.”
“Don’t worry. That’s my albatross, not yours.”
The warehouse was what they called the rest of the upstairs not taken up by the apartment. Julie had used it for storage both personal and business.
Mandaline was looking even less forward to going through it because of the sheer volume of stuff there. Records from past investigations, old family furniture, miscellaneous crap from the store…
Goddess only knew how long it would take her to go through it.
“Hey, are you doing anything tonight?” she asked Sachi.
An eyebrow slo
wly slid skyward. “Nooo. Whyyyy?”
Mandaline sighed. “I need to go through Julie’s clothes. You and I are about her size. I was putting it off, but now with Ellis and Brad here for the duration, I’m running out of room. I’ll provide the dinner if you’ll provide the water-absorbent shoulder.”
Sachi stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. “Of course I will,” she said, back to serious friend mode. “You all right?”
“I will be once I get through Thursday.”
“You don’t have to go Thursday. I can go do it.”
“No, it’s a sort of closure for me.” She took a deep breath. “I want to see where she died. And there’s one other thing I have to do.”
* * * *
Mandaline had a client for a Tarot reading that afternoon. Fortunately, the customer was one of her regulars and in a good frame of mind to start with.
She hadn’t been able to bring herself to read for any of Julie’s former clients yet. Sachi or Mina or Makenzie had taken some of them. The ones who specifically asked for Mandaline were being postponed another week.
She hoped when the time came that she’d be able to deal with them. When she finished with that client at two o’clock, Sachi was involved with a client of her own. Mandaline walked out to the front and found Brad talking with a man.
An immediate dark vibe washed over her as she struggled to remember where she’d seen the guy before. Then it hit her.
Brad turned, smiling when he saw Mandaline. “Ah, there she is. Mandaline, this is Peter—”
“Please, you need to leave,” she told the guy. “We’ve already told you all we’re going to say about Julie.”
The reporter, who worked for a Hollywood tabloid website, scowled. “Now, Mandaline, I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding. This could mean a lot of good press for your business.”
“The only understanding seems to be your inability to grasp the simple concept of ‘no.’”
Brad silently watched, a frown on his face.
“Look, all I want is a few minutes of your time and a statement.”