Finding Her Home on Menage Mountain Read online

  “What’s the chance we could get her to let us take her out?” Gage asked.

  “I’d say next to zero. She wasn’t the least bit interested in us,” Maverick pointed out.

  “She’s new and is getting hit on by every guy in the joint. Maybe after the newness wears off we’ll have a chance,” Gage said.

  “Don’t hold your breath. She’s out of our league.”

  “Why do you say that? There’s nothing wrong with us. Hell, we don’t even have to work. We’re ex-army. We made some good investments and have good benefits. We could give her a nice life.” Gage took a healthy drink of his beer.

  “Yeah, and we’re a couple of medically discharged veterans with baggage that most women couldn’t deal with. What makes you think she could?” Maverick asked.

  “You’re pretty much dealing with yours. I do okay with mine,” Gage said.

  “Still.”

  Gage sighed and slammed his mug back on the table. Maverick knew he hated to be reminded that they weren’t normal civilian people anymore. They were ex-military with ex-military issues. It took a special kind of woman to deal with their kind of issues. He looked over at Shay where she was reminding someone that touching her ass wasn’t permitted. She had his finger pulled back until he was saying he was sorry.

  Maverick liked her a lot. As much as he wanted to stomp on the asshole for touching her, he liked that she could defend herself. Yeah, he was with Gage—she was perfect, but was she for them? He didn’t know. Was he willing to take a chance and find out? Maybe. Maybe he would.

  Chapter Two

  Shay had a difficult time concentrating once the two men showed up. She got the feeling they were ex-military from the way they acted. They looked around before they sat down and carried themselves like they’d served before. It was just in the way they moved. Then there was the hand of the one guy that was scarred like he’d been burned.

  They both oozed sex appeal, but she couldn’t be tempted. She needed to focus on making enough money to build up a nest egg toward a place to live and food on the table. Not to mention gas for her beloved bike.

  Still, she kept finding herself looking over to where they sat. They had broad shoulders and narrow waists. She wondered how tall they were and if they had strong legs like their strong arms. Despite their obvious come-ons to her, she couldn’t help but be interested. She just had to resist. They were dangerous to her plans.

  The one with the scarred hands had light brown hair with hazel eyes. The other man had dark hair with dark eyes. Both of them seemed to follow her with their eyes. Every time she looked in their direction they were looking at her. It thrilled her but also made her antsy. Were they going to turn out to be stalkers or good guys? She’d had her fill of the first type. The kind who followed her around wanting her to let them take her out despite having told them no in many ways at many times.

  “How are you doing?” Lacy, one of the other waitresses, asked.

  “Fine. Nice crowd, but not too many to handle,” she said.

  “So far no fights, so we’re having a good night. Saturday nights usually get wild though since the ranch hands come in then. They are always spoiling for a fight.”

  “Oh, joy. Rules?” she asked.

  “Let the bouncer handle them. Stay out of their way, and if necessary get behind the bar,” Lacy said.

  “Got it.”

  Shay was never as happy as when the last call was given. She was exhausted. All in all it had been a good night. She’d made good tips and would have enough for another night at the motel and something decent to eat.

  After cleaning up and helping the other waitresses with turning the chairs and mopping the floor, she got her schedule for the next week and noted that she would be working the next night from four till close. She definitely needed a good night’s sleep.

  Shay had only made it a few blocks when a big truck stopped next to her. One of the guys from the bar poked his head out. It was the one with the scarred hands.

  “You need a ride? It’s not safe out here at night.”

  “I’m fine. I only have a few more blocks,” she said.

  “You shouldn’t be walking. Let us give you a ride. You can ride in back if you don’t want to sit with us,” he offered.

  “I’m good. I’ll be fine,” Shay insisted.

  “Suit yourself. We’ll just drive slow and make sure you make it to wherever you’re going then,” the man said. “By the way. My name is Maverick, and this is Gage next to me.”

  “Hi, Maverick, Gage. Really. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to babysit me.”

  “Raised to take care of a woman. Wouldn’t be doing the right thing if we left you on your own. We’ll just follow you to be sure you make it safely to your place,” Maverick said.

  “Fine. Suit yourself,” she said and kept walking.

  Shay couldn’t believe they were going to dog her steps like that. Plus she didn’t want them to know she was staying in a motel. Call it pride, but she felt a little self-conscious about it. She’d never cared what people thought of her before, but for some reason, with these guys, she cared.

  Holding her head up she walked across the broken-up asphalt to the parking lot of the motel and stopped to wave them on.

  “This is my stop. Thanks for watching out for me, but I’m here now.”

  “You’re staying here?” Maverick asked.

  “Just rolled into town today and got the job tonight. Haven’t had time to look for a place to stay yet,” she said.

  “Do you need us to pick you up to go to work tomorrow?” Gage asked from the other side of the truck?”

  “Thanks, but I’ll have a ride. Good night, guys.” She hurried into the motel office.

  The same kid was behind the counter. She paid for a second night so they wouldn’t try to kick her out when she needed to be sleeping then hurried to her room to shower and crawl into bed. The last thing she thought about as she fell asleep was what it would feel like to have sex with two such virile-looking men.

  * * * *

  Gage stretched and sighed. He’d had a good night for once. He hadn’t had to get up and walk around to settle the ache in his leg or his head. He rubbed his leg down with the lotion they gave him to ease the pain then dressed and made his way downstairs to the living room. He found Maverick already there listening to the news.

  “There’s eggs and bacon on the stove,” Maverick said.

  “Thanks. Anything interesting?” he asked, nodding toward the TV

  “Usual. Shootings, robberies,” he said.

  Gage strode into the kitchen and grabbed some eggs and bacon then poured a cup of coffee before taking a seat at the island to eat. His leg began aching almost as soon as he sat down.

  Fucker. Why now? I just sat down.

  He got off the stool and walked back and forth with a limp until the pain subsided then stood at the bar and finished his breakfast. He rinsed off his plate and loaded it into the dishwasher with his utensils before joining Maverick in the living room.

  “Gonna work on a game today?” Maverick asked.

  “Probably. Depends on how my fucking leg does. Didn’t bother me at all last night, but it’s starting to give me hell now. Don’t get it. Sometimes it’s fine and sometimes it drives me nuts.”

  “Guess I’ll work in the shop. You need me, just text or call,” Maverick said.

  “You can come play a game with me later if you want. That kid from California is pretty good. Makes for an awesome game,” Gage said.

  “May do that after lunch. Need to work out some things first though.”

  “See you later.” Gage hobbled into the office where he both created and played his games. Since he couldn’t do a lot with his leg like it was, he created first-person shooter games and played them when he didn’t feel like working on them. Neither he nor Maverick had to work. They’d invested their money and lived comfortably. They weren’t billionaires by any means, but they didn’t need much to make them happy. Th
ey had a good home with everything they needed right there around them. Cozy was a nice little town, and if they couldn’t find it there, they could order it online and have it delivered to the house.

  He walked around the office for a few minutes then got into his chair. He’d had it customized to fit his body in hopes it would lessen the pressure on his leg so he had fewer episodes where his leg cramped or ached. He hated it when he was working or playing and had to put everything on hold to get up and walk off a cramp or massage out an ache. Sometimes nothing worked and he felt like cutting the fucker off.

  So far so good. Gage settled in and pulled up the game he’d been working on and brought up the part that was giving him trouble. He couldn’t get the weapons selection to stick. It kept dropping some of the weapons midway through the game.

  He thought about Shay and how pretty she’d be with her hair down. He bet it would be nearly to her waist. All that black hair and she had the bluest of eyes he’d ever seen. He wondered if she tasted as sweet as she looked.

  Gage shook off thoughts of Shay and continued to work on the weapons inventory, trying to make it available throughout the game. It wasn’t cooperating. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong in the programming that was causing it to disappear in the middle of the game.

  By the time lunch came around he was frustrated with it and ready to chuck the entire thing in the trash and start over.

  “Hey, you hungry or too busy?” Maverick’s voice came from the doorway.

  “Huh?”

  “Lunch time. Or close as. It’s one. We both missed it. Hungry?”

  “Yeah, might as well. Can’t get this fucker to work right.” Gage hit save and shoved the mouse across the desk. “Coming.”

  He heard the door close. Gage pushed the chair around and shoved his legs under to push himself up. His left leg almost went out from under him. He grabbed the desk and held tight as he flexed his leg a couple of times to get it working right. Then he walked over to the door and sighed. What did he have to offer a woman anyway?

  Where did that thought come from? I’m not thinking about offering anyone anything.

  Shay. He’d been thinking about Shay off and on all morning while he’d been trying to work on the game. Maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to get the fucking weapons inventory to work. Who could concentrate when all he wanted to do was think about what she’d look like without her clothes on? He’d seen her one time, and already he was fantasizing about her.

  “What are we eating?” Gage asked as he walked into the kitchen.

  “Your choice. Ham or chicken sandwiches,” Maverick said.

  “Sick of ham. I’ll take chicken today,” Gage said.

  They worked in silence, making their sandwiches before pouring Cheetos on the plates with their meal. Gage wasn’t going to give his leg a chance to act up, so he stood at the island and ate while Maverick sat on a stool.

  “Want to go back to the bar tonight?” Gage asked.

  Maverick grunted.

  “What time you want to go?”

  “Don’t matter. Maybe nine.”

  “Nine.”

  Maverick emptied his beer and walked over to the fridge and grabbed another one. He held it up toward Gage, but he shook his head. He didn’t need another one. He needed to concentrate on the game when he finished eating.

  “That kid from California going to be on later?” Maverick asked.

  “Yeah, bout four our time.”

  “If I’m not in there, text me,” Maverick said.

  “Will do.”

  He watched Maverick toss his paper plate into the garbage and carry his beer out the back door going to his shop. Maverick had been his best friend since they’d met in basic. They’d stuck by each other through everything and had deployed together. When he’d nearly lost his leg and Maverick had nearly lost his hands, they’d sworn to help each other make it through, no matter what. They were still together after everything.

  He knew his friend had trouble with his hands sometimes. There were times when he couldn’t work because they were numb, and other times they burned to the point he was near tears. Those were the bad days when he’d pace or go out to the back and hit the punching bag to make the pain bearable. Then there were the nightmares they both suffered from. Thank God they didn’t seem to suffer from episodes of disassociation where they had flashbacks. How they’d escaped that hell he didn’t know.

  Gage had enough trouble with his leg to deal with. Between the pain, the cramps, and the nightmares, he didn’t think he could have lived with anything else. Some days it was all he could do to get out of bed and keep from offing himself. He knew Maverick had that same decision. He felt like most vets had the same thoughts on one occasion or another. It came with the territory.

  He settled into his chair once more and lost himself in the game, figured out where the issue was with the weapons cache, and fixed it. All he’d needed was to get some shit out of his head. Now he could move on to the next level of the game when he got ready. For now, he wanted to play.

  Gage checked his watch. Phil from California would be on in about ten minutes. He texted Maverick, turned on the big-screen TV across the room, and powered up the gaming console. They’d lose themselves in the game for a few hours then shower and get ready for the bar. He was sure Shay would be there since it would be a Saturday night and usually all the waitresses they had worked that night. It was their busiest night of the week.

  Maverick walked in a few minutes later carrying two beers. He handed one to Gage and sank into the chair next to Gage.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Gage nodded. “Let’s kill some alien ass.”

  Chapter Three

  “Need another round of Bud on tap and three shots of Cuervo,” Shay said, sidling up to the bar with her tray.

  “Hey there, sweet cheeks. Where you been all my life?” The man who looked to already be three sheets to the wind put his arm around her waist and tried to pull her onto his lap. Shay just rolled her eyes and pulled his finger back until he yelped and released her.

  “As far away from you as possible. Let me go, asshole.” She grabbed her tray, now full of drinks, and made her way through the crowd to her tables to drop off the drinks.

  So far the night had proved profitable. The tips were good, and she hadn’t had too many issues with the men like the man at the bar. Yeah, she was going to have a bruise on her ass from all the pinches, but at least her jeans made it hard for them to get much skin. The tighter the jeans, the less they could pinch up.

  A quarter after nine she shoved her way to one of her tables where there had been a change of customers to find the men from the night before who’d driven beside her to her hotel. Her heart sped up at the sight of the two men even as her stomach dropped. It took all her strength to continue walking toward them. They were her kryptonite. The kind of men who could make her stray from her designated path of no men in her life.

  “What can I get you?” she managed to get out around the sudden tightness in her throat.

  “We’ll both take a Bud on tap,” Gage, the one with shaggy dark hair, said. He smiled, and his entire face softened from the tight, strained look he seemed to wear constantly.

  “Be right back,” she said and turned around before she could do anything to embarrass herself, like drool on him.

  Maverick, his friend, still held a scowl on his face, but it softened some when she’d spoken. He had light brown hair that was a little long on top and short on the sides and hazel eyes. Both men had small scars on their faces, but they didn’t detract from their natural good looks. They had the air about them of military despite their hair not having that military cut to it.

  She returned seconds later with their drinks and was pleased at the generous tip they gave her. She would keep an eye on their table to be sure they didn’t need anything the rest of the night. She could keep her cool and still earn her tips, she told herself.

  Right. I can so ignore th
e pull they have one me. I’m just that strong. Not.

  No, they were just the kind of men she needed to stay far away from. Hard, take-charge kind of men. She liked them a little rough around the edges and had found out that they liked her that way, too. Unfortunately, it led to heartache and sometimes worse. No, she had to keep far away from men like that. Too bad they were sitting in her section.

  She felt their eyes on her the rest of the night. Every table she served they seemed to follow her from table to table to bar and back again. Each time she served them drinks their eyes bored into hers though they didn’t say much other than thanks and pay for their drinks. The tips were, again, generous.

  At last call, she checked with them once more and found that they didn’t want anything but water. She brought them the water and continued handing out last drinks while picking up empties. It had been a long night, and she was exhausted. The other waitresses said it had been a good night since no fights broke out for once. She was on board with that.

  Once everyone was out and they’d turned all the chairs and mopped the floors, Shay and the other waitresses piled out the back door to leave under the careful eye of the bouncer, Phil. She climbed on her beloved bike and pulled around to the front of the building to find Gage and Maverick waiting in their pickup truck near the road.

  They looked equally surprised to see her on the bike as she had been to find them waiting on her.

  “A bike, huh?” Maverick asked.

  “Yeah. Thanks for waiting, but I’m good,” she said.

  “We’ll follow you just in case,” Gage said.

  “In case of what?” she asked.

  “Just in case. Humor me,” Gage said.

  She shrugged and took off down the road ahead of them. She loved the wind in her face though during the day she wore the face shield to keep the bugs off. There was nothing like riding a bike that put freedom in your soul as you ate up the miles on the highway. She couldn’t get enough of it.

  She checked her mirror, and sure enough, they were behind her at a safe distance. She liked that. They knew to give her space. Not many people were that smart with bikes. Shay finally pulled into the parking lot of the motel and climbed off the bike, removing the helmet as she did. Gage and Maverick pulled up next to her.