Jack smiled, but if Abigail could have seen it, she might have run. Jack felt his heart rate speed up in anticipation.
He’d met his mate, and he had no intention of letting her go now.
Chapter Five
“Well, look at that. Your friends are here.” Christa grinned as she rang up a customer. “And they’re sitting in your section. I wonder what that means.”
“Maybe it means they’re hungry.” Abby stared as Jack and Sam slid into a booth. Sure enough, it was in her section. Abby glanced around Christa’s Café. This late in the afternoon there wasn’t a lot of traffic. She counted two people at the counter and another small group in the section Christa was working. It would be hours before the dinner rush. By then, she and Christa would be back at her place, their long shifts over for the day.
Christa looked pointedly at the cowboys who had been haunting Abby’s dreams for the last month. “They’re hungry, all right. Those boys have been hungry for a month.”
What had changed in the last week? She couldn’t put her finger on it. Ever since that day when they had sat in Christa’s living room and watched the Longhorns play, something had changed between them. Before that day, it had been Sam who called on her, with Jack only making the occasional appearance. Suddenly, Jack was everywhere. In the last week, she’d been out with the two of them almost every night she wasn’t working. On the nights she was working, they would show up at the café and insist on escorting her home. It was weird. And wonderful. The last week she’d felt protected.
It was the first time since she’d come back to Willow Fork that she’d felt truly safe.
Abby pulled out her order pad and smoothed down the pink skirt of the uniform she was wearing. When she looked up, Sam was studying the menu, but Jack’s eyes were squarely on her.
They were two glorious slabs of masculinity. They both wore tight jeans and western shirts, but the similarities stopped there. Sam was smiling and jovial. Jack was more thoughtful. Abby couldn’t stop dreaming about them. It was just her luck that the minute she decided to live a little, she ran into the two most gorgeous cowboys she’d ever seen and they were gay. It was disappointing, but it certainly made her comfortable around them. Well, it made her comfortable around Sam. Sam was the light-hearted, friendly one. Jack, truth be told, scared her a little. He was intense, and she always felt like he was watching her every move, waiting for her to step out of line.
Then he went and blew the whole bad guy image by fixing her mom’s porch steps and saving her from the deputy. He’d told her to call him if anything else needed fixing.
She hadn’t, of course. It was a friendly gesture, nothing more. She’d been thrilled he stopped to fix the steps, but she knew she was on her own. It wasn’t the easiest place to be, but she’d done it before.
Abby smiled as a mental picture of her husband flashed through her brain. Ben had been kind to both her and Lexi. He’d been everything she could have hoped for in a husband. The sex might not have been the hottest, but he would have dealt with that nasty old Caleb Nevins who’d tried to swindle her over her mother’s clogged pipes. Jack had heard her complaining about Caleb overcharging her at the café and not two hours later, she had a refund check in her hand. Jack Barnes certainly knew how to handle the occasional con artist, and she had no doubt it was Jack and not some magical change in Caleb’s heart.
But until last Saturday, Jack had been very careful not to touch her physically. Sam touched her casually all the time. He was always there to help her out of her car or give her a friendly hug. When they sat on the couch to watch the game on the weekend, he would casually sling an arm around her shoulder, but Abby knew it was just Sam being Sam. He was a tactile person, and Abby didn’t mind. If she’d been more secure, she would have slipped her hand into Sam’s sometime simply for the comfort of warm skin against hers. It had been a very long time since a man had held her.
Last Saturday afternoon, though, Jack had been the one to pull her out of her chair and lead her to the couch while they were watching the game. He’d said he wanted her to have a better view of the television, but she’d been able to see fine. Nevertheless, she had quickly found herself between the two big men, and they hadn’t seemed concerned with things like personal space. Jack had casually rested his hand around the back of the couch, lightly touching her shoulders. His eyes held no small hint of challenge when she looked at him. It was as if he was claiming some right to touch her and daring her to deny him. Abby might have been able to stand up and tell him off if she hadn’t seen that part of Jack that was horribly vulnerable. It was there in his eyes when he looked at her. He was waiting for her to reject him. Besides, she had told herself when she settled against him, she didn’t want to reject his affection. Jack might be gay, but he was a stunningly gorgeous man. He and Sam must be lacking in female friends out in this small, narrow-minded town. Abby had lots of gay friends, and they tended to be very affectionate.
Still, it hadn’t stopped the longing she felt as she took Jack up on his offer and let her head rest against his broad shoulder. Jack’s arm curled around her, and when she felt Sam pulling her feet into his lap, she didn’t protest, just sighed and enjoyed being close to another human being.
This last week she’d spent a lot of time between them, she suddenly realized. Every chance they had, they moved her to the middle. She sat between them in Jack’s big truck when they drove to Tyler to see a movie. She’d been in the middle when they watched TV at her mom’s place. Everywhere they had gone in the last week, she’d had a hunky cowboy on either side of her.
“Do you want me to take that table, Abby?” Christa’s voice pulled Abby out of her thoughts.
Abby winked at her friend. She took out a pen. “Nope. I can handle those two. I bet they want burgers.” It was all they ever ordered. Sure enough, two minutes and a lot of playful flirting later, Abby placed their orders.
Christa cocked a single eyebrow. “You sure they aren’t bugging you? I like them, but I can run them out if you want me to. I’m quite handy with a broom when it comes to pests.”
Abby sighed. “No. I like the fact that they make sure to sit in my section. It’s good to make some friends. I’m flustered. Those are two gorgeous men, after all.”
Christa’s ponytail bobbed, reminding Abby of what she looked like at sixteen. “Well, we can talk about them all night tonight. It’ll be like a slumber party when we were teens. Right down to the cheap bottle of wine I used to sneak out of mama’s liquor cabinet and eighties music.”
“Why not?” This was the night a nurse came and stayed with her mother to give Abby time off. She had packed an overnight bag and would spend the night in Christa’s guest bedroom. It served two purposes, this slumber party. It gave her time with her friend and a willing man to change the oil in her car. Mike was probably already hard at work on her junker.
It was the most she could hope for in this town, to have a nice, slightly drunk night and sleep in a comfy bed for once. Now she wished she’d packed her vibrator. The damn cowboys had her flustered and horny. Abby smiled a little. At least her books were at Christa’s. She could sneak out into the garage, open her box of books, and lose herself in some hot romance. Those books were the only romance she’d indulged in for a very long time. It must be why she was so fascinated by Jack and Sam. They would be horrified if they knew she had fantasized about them last night. They were the fuel for her masturbation. Jack Barnes, Sam Fleetwood, and a pack of double-A batteries. That was all she needed to get going.
Christa gave her a hug. “I know I’ve said it a million times, but I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you. The yearly trip to visit you and Lexi in Fort Worth isn’t the same as having you here full time.”
Abby looked into her friend’s pretty face. She missed Christa, too. Unfortunately, some things never changed. “Don’t get used to it. I have to move on. If there’s one thing being back here has taught me, it’s that Willow Fork does
n’t change. I’ve gotten pulled over three times by the sheriff. So far it’s been warnings, but eventually he’ll start giving me tickets for everything under the sun. I think the only reason he hasn’t done it yet is that he knows my mom needs me. I’ve promised him I’ll be gone as soon as she’s on her feet again.”
Christa’s black ponytail swung righteously. “I am going to have such a talk with Len James. How dare he harass you like that?”
Abby sighed. This was why she hadn’t mentioned the deputy at all. She appreciated her friend’s indignation, but it wouldn’t get her anywhere. She’d sealed her fate twenty years ago by having the audacity to fall for the richest boy in town. The Echols family had made it plain how they still felt. They didn’t want anything to do with her or her daughter.
They had missed out. Lexi was everything a mom could want from a daughter. She had Adam’s good looks and Abby’s force of will. It was an amazing combination. Abby had never been prouder than the day her daughter started college. Her job wasn’t exactly over as a mom, but the really tough work was done. Alexis was in her freshman year of college, and her future looked bright. It was time for Abby to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
“Don’t give Lenny hell, Chris.” Abby gave her a sad smile, thinking of the sheriff. He’d been a nice guy in high school. When he’d gone into a government job here in Willow Fork, he had come under the iron fist of the Echols family. It was just Ruby and her younger son, Walter, now. Hal, the patriarch of the family, had passed on last year according to her mother. Still, Ruby wielded her influence with all the subtlety of a pit bull. “He feels bad enough as it is. What do you expect him to do? He’s an elected official. Nobody gets elected in this town without Echols’s money backing them.”
Christa took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s time that changed. Those assholes have run this town for way too long. Now Walter is talking about running for state senate. They don’t need any more power than they already have.”
Abby searched her friend’s face. “Have they been giving you trouble about me helping out at the café?”
“No.” Christa’s voice was flat. There was an arrogant look on her face. She was a small-business owner who knew how good her product was. “My restaurant is the only one in town that serves a decent breakfast. I haven’t seen anything but an uptick in business since you started taking shifts.”
“They’re curious to see how I turned out,” Abby said with a self-deprecating laugh. Despite the church ladies’ weekly brunch, she’d found most of the working-class part of town was more than interested in her. Many had been shocked to discover she’d worked her way through nursing school. She’d managed it all on her own and still sent some money back every month to help her mother out. Abby had rapidly discovered a world beyond Hal and Ruby Echols’s dominion. It had been a world that Abby conquered in her own small way.
“Or it could be that Sam and Jack suddenly started eating every meal here hoping to catch a glimpse of you. I bet their housekeeper is thrilled with all her free time, lately.” Christa looked over the counter to where Sam and Jack were sitting and talking. Sam laughed heartily. He was really something else. Sam Fleetwood was a testament to the fact that the universe was good to some people. He was broadly built, with strong shoulders and a chest that must look lovely without the encumbrance of a shirt. His golden blond hair curled even in its short style, and his handsome face spoke of a man who laughed easily. He was the opposite of his brooding friend. Jack looked like sin on a stick, and he was…well, he wasn’t paying any attention to Sam now.
Jack was watching her, and not like before. Abby’s breath caught. There was no wariness in his dark green eyes. He was watching her with the eyes of a hungry predator. He didn’t even try to hide it. He let loose with a slow smile Abby felt in her toes. It was a smile that promised a wealth of dirty fun.
Abby looked to Christa suddenly. Her heart was pounding at the invitation in Jack’s eyes. “What the hell is wrong with Jack? He’s looking at me like I’m a perfectly cut filet and he’s been on vegetarian rations for a month.”
“Wow, he’s not even subtle, is he?” Christa looked at the big, gorgeous cowboy with a sort of amused fascination. “Guess that’s what he needs Sam for.”
She turned to her friend and whispered behind her hand. “I’m sure he needs Sam for a lot more interesting things than his subtlety. I’ll be honest, Chris, those two make me crazy. I would give a lot to be able to watch them make love. It would feed my fantasies for years.”
Christa’s mouth hung open for a long moment. She stared at Abby and then glanced back at the men, her voice going low. “Seriously? Oh, Abby, we have should talked before now. You honestly think they’re gay?”
Abby kept hers at a whisper, too, so the men sitting at the counter eating lunch wouldn’t hear her. “There’s nothing wrong with it.” It was shocking that her best friend was homophobic. It wasn’t something she’d expected. Had she outed the two men when they’d been trying so hard to fit in? She was the last person who wanted to cause them trouble. She knew how hard it was to fit into a small town. “I could be wrong, of course. It’s perfectly reasonable for two men to be roommates in their thirties. I’m sorry I said anything.”
Christa rolled her eyes and snorted. “I couldn’t care less what they do in the bedroom, though I suspect it’s much more interesting than you think from some of the stories I’ve heard. I like the hell out of Sam, and I think Jack Barnes is an honorable man. I want you to be happy. You need to cut loose and live a little. Ben died two years ago, and Adam a long time before that. It’s time for Abby Moore to find herself again.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Abby asked.
“It means watch out, you got an order up. This is a place of business, after all, not some gossip station.” Christa waved her finger with an imperious snap she softened with a wink. “Go forth. Those men need beef. And keep a damn open mind.”
What exactly was she supposed to be open minded about? Tray in hand, she approached the table. She gave them her sauciest smile, hoping she hadn’t hurt their reputations. “Here you go, boys. Two burgers, one with bacon and cheese, one plain and medium rare.”
Sam looked ready to demolish his burger. “You’re a priceless jewel. I can’t believe how hungry I am.”
“I can.” Jack’s voice was a low growl.
Abby had the sudden feeling he might not be talking about food. She flushed under his gaze. “I’ll go refill your Cokes.”
The minute she turned, she hit a slippery spot on the floor and her sneakers slid.
Sam’s arms came up around her to keep her from falling back. She wondered when he had gotten behind her. He moved fast. Jack was there, too. He took the tray from her and held her hand in his.
“Careful there, darlin’.” Sam’s slow drawl was soft and sweet to her ears. “We don’t want you to fall. But don’t worry too much about it, Abby girl. Jack and I’ll catch you if you go down.”
“You will?” Even to her ears she sounded breathy and surprised.
“I promise.” Jack’s hands securely held hers.
“So do I,” Sam interjected with a happy smile.
She nodded, not sure what to do. When she’d fallen back into Sam, she was pretty sure she’d felt the hard press of an erection against her backside. That was crazy. It was probably his wallet or something else in his pocket.
She would not look down to get visual confirmation. Nope. She was keeping her eyes firmly on his face. The last thing she needed was to get caught checking out their packages to see if they were ready for delivery.
“I’ll try to stay on my feet, boys,” she promised.
Jack’s hands were warm and surrounded hers. It made her wonder what it would feel like to have those big hands all over her body. It was impossible not to imagine that callused hand cupping her as he pulled her into the hard strength of his body.
“You all right now?” Jack pulled her away from Sam so that she w
as steady on her own.
“I’m fine. I’ll get those Cokes,” Abby said shakily, her every nerve ending on high alert. She was standing between the two most gorgeous men she’d ever seen, and it was too much like a fantasy. She needed to pull herself firmly back into reality. She was thirty-seven years old and a mom. She wasn’t seventeen anymore with a gloriously firm body. Her boobs sagged, and while she tried to stay fit, she’d put on a few pounds. The boys were playing around. She had to keep her head on straight.
She had to remember, at all times, where she was. This wasn’t Fort Worth, where people mostly lived and let live. This was Willow Fork.
Yes, just for a moment she’d forgotten that. This was Willow Fork and maybe they weren’t as nice as they seemed. It happened from time to time that she made the mistake of trusting the wrong people. Jack and Sam had been in Willow Fork for ten years. They were pretty firmly entrenched in the community, which meant they’d probably spent time with the Echols clan.
If she started parading around with these men, it would prove to everyone in the county that she hadn’t changed. The threats from the sheriff and his deputy hadn’t worked. Maybe Ruby Echols had come up with another plan. Humiliate her. Make her look like a whore in the eyes of the town.
Why else would two of the best-looking men she’d ever met suddenly change their relationship with her? Why go from perfectly platonic to sending her heated looks when she knew she wasn’t their type at all?
The thought sent an ache through her.
“What’s wrong?” Jack’s hand tightened on hers. “You looked very sad for a minute. What happened?”
“I’m fine.” She moved firmly out of their reach. It was time to stop playing and be realistic. She was older than them. If they wanted female friends, they needed someone their own age. Otherwise, she looked like she was begging for something they would never give her. She would look pathetic, and that was exactly where Ruby Echols wanted her. “I’ll be back in a minute with your drinks.”