“Yes,” Cassidy said.
“All the time,” Garrett added.
“Did he…did he ever talk harshly about me?”
“What do you mean?” Cassidy asked.
Scharlie
looked at him. Deliberately she ran a hand down the scar of her face. “I was the one that forced him to leave
Missouri
, leave his home. Did he hate me for what happened?”
Garrett immediately shook his head. “Absolutely not!”
Cassidy snatched the hand. His thumb rubbed soothingly over her skin. “Garrett’s right,
Scharlie
.
Harlow
only talked lovingly about you.”
The sincerity shining in their eyes was honest.
Scharlie’s
shoulders relaxed. A weight she hadn’t thought she carried eased from her chest, and for the first time in years, her scarred face didn’t hurt so much.
When Cassidy didn’t let go of her hand, she looked questioningly at him. His gaze met hers, and the moment abruptly changed from loving and warm to charged and electric. Tingles shot up her arm that caused her heart to thump heavily.
The air between them grew thick as sexual tension crackled. Unbidden, thoughts of her book rose in her mind, and she snuck a quick glance, first at Cassidy and then at Garrett. Both men watched her closely, and though she wasn’t worldly or wise, the hunger shining brightly was unmistakable.
Scharlie
cleared her throat and pulled her hand from Cassidy’s. Immediately, she felt bereft without the warmth of his touch and strived to find her footing again. “What, um, what nationality are you, Garrett?”
Garrett gave her a slow, sexy smile. She could tell from the predatory glint in his eyes that he recognized her arousal. “My mother was Chinese. My father was a miner she took care of. Even though it wasn’t the thing to do, he married her. Unfortunately I didn’t really know him. He died in a mining accident a month after I was born.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said sincerely.
He shrugged. “It happened a long time ago.”
“And how did you both meet
Harlow
?”
She saw Garrett throw a questioning look at Cassidy, and when she looked at Cassidy, she saw him give a minute shake of his head.
“We met up on a ranch,” Garrett replied.
Scharlie
stiffened because she instinctively knew he’d lied. His eyes had shifted away, and his voice had fallen flat. Why did they not trust her enough to tell the truth? Or maybe
Harlow
’s relationship wasn’t exactly how they described it. She only had their word on it, in fact. What did she really know of these men?
They finished the meal in silence. When they were done, Garrett and Cassidy went back outside to finish their work before the rains started, leaving
Scharlie
to clean up, as well as wonder how long they planned to stay.
Chapter Four
The promised storm broke late in the day, coating the land prematurely in darkness. Hail suddenly pounded the land, producing sharp staccato blasts against the roof. One window shutter slammed against the pane, producing a brittle cracking sound.
Scharlie
jumped.
She swore and raced outside to secure the rest of the shutters before any glass broke. Cassidy helped her then grabbed her hand to bring her inside the house.
“The storm’s coming in fast,” Garrett said as he followed them in.
Just then, the hail and wind abruptly died, and an eerie silence descended. The room felt charged, electric, and a flash of light suddenly ignited the dark. Cassidy opened the door again with Garrett and
Scharlie
on his heels.
Outside,
Scharlie
saw the sky was a greenish-black color, the clouds hanging thick but moving rapidly. More bright flashes of light struck the ground not too far in the distance. And then, suddenly, the wind picked up so quickly
Scharlie
had to grab hold of Garrett to maintain her balance.
“
Scharlie
, do you have a cellar?” Cassidy urgently asked.
“In the kitchen, under the rug,” she answered and watched as he ran to uncover it.
If possible, the wind outside picked up speed, slamming into the house with monstrous force. She realized that this wasn’t just a drill, that a tornado was bearing down on them and she’d done nothing to secure the livestock she had.
“My animals!”
Scharlie
cried and ran for the door.
“
Scharlie
!” Cassidy called out.
But his warning came a little late. The wind caught hold of the door and ripped it from her hands. The wind whipped mercilessly at her hair and skirts, pulling her forward into the whirling nightmare. She frantically reached for the doorframe and screamed just as Garrett grabbed her around the waist and managed to slam the door shut.
“Move!” Cassidy yelled.
She saw Garrett grab his and Cassidy’s gear, as well as a
Winchester
rifle. They all hurried down the cellar steps and had just managed to secure the door when a ferocious sound blasted over them. Garrett still held on to her waist and dragged her back from the stairs until he bumped into the wall. The cellar was pitch black and smelled of rich earth.
Scharlie
shivered a little despite being wrapped in Garrett’s warm arms.
The storm raged overhead, terrible and terrifying. Cassidy lit one of the many lamps stored in the cellar to give them some light to open up the blankets and set all of them up for the night. Tears ran down
Scharlie’s
face as she contemplated the idea that her house was gone.
“It’s going to be all right,” Cassidy assured her.
“I didn’t get a chance to grab
Harlow
’s photo,” she whispered.
Garrett tightened his arms around her, a silent offering of support.
After a few hours, all sounds of the storm had ceased. Garrett sat upon the blanket, his back to the wall, with
Scharlie’s
head in his lap. He rhythmically fanned his fingers through her long hair, and the soothing gesture helped keep her calm through the more terrifying hours.
Cassidy had his hands on his hips, staring at the bolted cellar door. “
Scharlie
, is there another way out of here that I’ve somehow overlooked?”
Scharlie
pushed into a sitting position, her long hair tumbling over her shoulders in waves. “No, that door is the only way.”
Cassidy sighed, ran a hand through his tousled curls. Then he braced his right shoulder against the door and pushed, a grunt seeping through his clenched teeth as he strained. Garrett jumped to his feet to help him.
“One, two,” Cassidy counted. “Push!”
Both men strained, but as hard as they tried, the door remained immobile.
“Shit!” Cassidy hissed as they gave up pushing. He rubbed his shoulder.
“You think the house came down?” Garrett asked. This time it was he who stood with his hands on his hips and stared at the door.
“Well, something’s blocking our exit.” He walked over to the shelves on the far wall. “At least there’s enough food down here to last us for a few days. And we can drink the juices.”
“I preserve a lot in the spring,”
Scharlie
mumbled inanely. She drew her knees up and encircled them with her arms. “For the winter.”
Cassidy kicked the dirt floor. “We can set up a latrine in that far corner.”
“Excuse me?”
Scharlie
gasped.
He raised an eyebrow, humor brightening his eyes. “Basic need, sweetheart. We all
gotta
do it. At least we can dig a hole and set up a privacy blanket.”
The idea of going behind the privacy blanket and having them know what she was doing brought red heat to her entire face. She hid it behind a hand as she bent her head and rubbed her forehead to ease the sudden tension that gripped her.
“So you think we’re going to be here for a while,” she surmised.
“I think it’s possible.”
“You’re a teacher, right?” Garrett asked, but continued before she could answer. “It might take a few days, but when you don’t show up for school, someone will come investigate.”
She let out a breath and rose to her feet to join them, examining the cellar as well. She also kept it for storage, so there were various items down here, like extra lamps, extra cooking items, dolls and clothes she had outgrown, but luckily extra blankets and tools she needed for winter.
While Cassidy built the latrine, Garrett made them a lean-to for sleeping.
Scharlie’s
heart thudded when she realized he had only made one big bed for all of them instead of individual pallets.
She organized the food and water supplies, trying very hard not to let the circumstances overwhelm her. Her hands shook, but she took several deep breaths to calm her nerves.
Scharlie
couldn’t imagine what she would have done had she been alone when the storm hit. She liked to think she would have been smart and done all the things that Cassidy and Garrett were taking care of, but then she remembered her actions with the door. Had she gone outside to try to save her animals, there was a good chance she wouldn’t have survived.
She peeked over her shoulders to the two cowboys. The situation of being alone with two men suddenly dawned on her, and she couldn’t help her mind flashing to her book. The stories poured through her head, causing her skin to flash hot and cold. Her heart thudded, and an ache pulsed between her legs that begged for her hand to slide in and tease her clit until an orgasm brought relief. But she had to settle for crossing her legs against the throb that wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
“Why don’t we all settle down, get comfortable, and catch some sleep,” Cassidy said as he wiped his hands on a rag.
Scharlie
looked at the pile of blankets that would protect them from the cool ground.
“Sleep. Together?”
Cassidy crooked an eyebrow. He shot a glance over to Garrett, and
Scharlie
followed it. The two men exchanged a look that she couldn’t exactly identify.
“We’d never hurt you,
Scharlie
,” Garrett murmured as he came to her side.
She swallowed thickly, her heart racing. “How do I know that? How do I know everything you’ve told me hasn’t been a lie?”
“Perfectly good question,” Cassidy said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket. He held it out to her.
Scharlie
knew that locket. It had belonged to her mother. With shaking hands, she took it, her thumb rubbing over the gold filigree lid. Carefully, reverently, she opened it and saw her baby portrait, as well as
Harlow
’s, side by side.
“He once told me that you had been the most beautiful baby,” Cassidy said in a soft voice. “And that you rarely ever cried. All he had to do was pick you up, and you’d laugh.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. He had said that to her once as well, teasingly, of course. He was always teasing her. She couldn’t imagine he would share information like that unless they were really close friends.
“Thank you,” she whispered and closed the locket.
“
Harlow
wanted me to give that back to you,” he said.
She cleared her throat and wiped at the tears with the back of her hands. “Um, right. Let’s get some sleep. Maybe someone will come in the morning.”
She ignored the knowing look that Cassidy flashed to Garrett.
Chapter Five
The dream was delicious.
They were dancing, she and Cassidy. As the music wore on,
Scharlie
lost her cares, and she gradually noticed that his moves and her moves settled into one rhythm of hips moving in sync, dipping and swaying to more than just the rhythmic beat of the instruments.
She looked into his eyes and saw he was looking straight into hers, their clear blue melting into a hazy strip of something fierce. Desire, potent and electric, burned through her.
With her eyes focused on Cassidy, she felt rather than saw Garrett move in behind her, the two of them sandwiching her in a pulsating drumbeat that never faltered. When Garrett’s hips pushed into her bottom, her hips pushed into Cassidy’s, and the dance continued on.
Something exploded deep within. She reached out and grabbed Cassidy’s face, urging him to lean down to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck, trapping his hands to her face. Her tongue moved into his mouth, dueling with his for dominance…twisting, sweeping. Her body never stopped moving, except the movements now were tiny whispers of urgent pushes, as if she was seeking something, urging her closer to the flame.
Garrett’s hands settled on her hips and molded his groin into her backside. Slowly, he ran his hands up her side until his fingers rested right beneath her breasts. His fingers spread wide over her nipples, teasing them into hard little pebbles. She moaned, wanting more, but he tortured her by only brushing them lightly. Instead, his mouth settled against her neck, nibbling over the sensitive skin. His tongue swept up and down in small circles.