“Feel better?” Ethan asked from the back.
She opened her eyes and swiveled her head to look at him. “You don’t even know,” she said softly.
“I know I feel better,” Ryan muttered. “The sooner she no longer bears that bastard’s last name, the better.”
Holly wrinkled her brow. She hadn’t considered the issue of last name. Once she was divorced, would she resort to her maiden name? She didn’t see how she could take Colter since it wasn’t exactly legal to marry more than one man. But at the same time, she wanted to belong to them, didn’t want to be viewed as merely a lover or a girlfriend.
“What are you thinking about, baby?” Adam murmured as he started the engine.
She paused, not wanting to admit exactly what had crossed her mind. It seemed presumptuous at best. She hated the insecurity that crept in despite her best efforts to keep it at bay.
She opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t make the words come out. “Nothing,” she said with a slight stammer.
Adam braked and shoved it into park halfway out of the parking place. “What are you afraid of? What is it you won’t say? You have to know you can tell us anything.”
She swallowed. “It’s ridiculous.”
Adam cupped her chin, rubbing his thumb gently over her jaw. “I hate that you worry so much around us. Now tell me.”
“The whole name thing,” she mumbled. “I just wondered.”
“Wondered what?” Ethan asked, leaning forward in his seat.
“I kind of liked the idea of being a Colter,” she said, her cheeks flaming. “But I know it isn’t possible.”
Ryan grasped the back of her headrest and pulled himself forward until he met her gaze. “Why the hell not?”
Ethan and Adam also wore questioning expressions.
“I can’t exactly marry all of you. Legally. That is if you’d even want marriage. Oh hell, I’m making a mess of this,” she muttered, closing her eyes.
“Baby, do you doubt how much we want you?”
She hesitated for the briefest of moments then finally shook her head.
“As soon as possible you
will
have our name,” Adam continued. “Call me old-fashioned, but you belong to us. We want you to be a Colter.”
“But how?”
He smiled at her. “You’re over-thinking this, baby. It’s quite simple. You’ll marry one of us in a legal ceremony.”
Her mouth rounded to an O. How stupid of her. That idea had never occurred to her, and yet it made perfect sense.
“Hell, I like the idea that she’s finally talking about us in a permanent sense,” Ethan said.
She glanced back at him to see his eyes twinkling. Truth be known, she’d surprised
herself
. Was she a masochist to jump into another relationship on the heels of extricating herself from her first big disaster?
This wasn’t a mistake. Couldn’t be a mistake. She wouldn’t allow herself to think it.
Adam pulled out of the parking lot and drove off down the street. A few minutes later, he pulled into the lot of a sleek-looking hair salon.
Holly looked over at him in surprise.
He smiled back. “I asked the concierge at the hotel for a recommendation.”
She leaned over and kissed him full on the lips then quickly piled out of the Land Rover.
“Hey, it was my idea to ask,” Ethan grumbled as he slammed the back door.
She threw her arms around Ethan’s neck and kissed him. “Thank you.”
“Mmm, much better,” Ethan murmured as he kissed her back. “And you’re welcome.”
She walked ahead of them into the salon and was greeted by a cheerful lady who looked to be in her forties.
“I don’t have an appointment,” Holly began.
“What’s your name, honey?” the woman asked.
“Holly Bar…just Holly,” she said.
The woman jotted down something on a pad of paper then beamed up at Holly. “Well, you’re in luck, Holly. I can take you right now. My name’s Jolene. Come on around and let me get you settled in. Then we’ll talk about what you need done, though I can tell you definitely need some color.”
Holly blinked as the woman herded her around the counter, chattering brightly the entire way. She glanced back at the men who had taken seats in the small waiting area. Adam smiled back at her then winked.
Jolene whipped a cape out and secured it around Holly’s neck then ran her fingers through Holly’s shoulder-length hair. “Honey, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you need to fire your stylist. This is one of the worst dye jobs I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Holly smiled. “I’m afraid I did it. I was in a hurry. Messed it up. Can you fix it?”
“Do you want to go blonde?”
“No, I’d like my natural color back.”
Jolene studied the strands of hair in her hands for a minute. “Sure, I can fix it, honey. Don’t you worry about a thing.” She began combing her hair out and Holly relaxed.
After a moment, Jolene leaned forward and in a loud whisper said, “Now, honey, I’m not one to pry, but you have to tell me which one of those gorgeous hunks is yours.”
Holly froze, a smile hovering on her lips. For a brief moment, she considered just pointing out one of them, but why should she care what this woman thought of her?
“They all are,” Holly said softly.
Jolene’s brows shot up. “All? Oh honey, tell me you’re joking. Surely no woman is that lucky!” She shot Holly an exaggerated wink in the mirror.
Holly chuckled then blushed.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
Holly nodded.
Jolene shook her head. “Lordy. You have to tell me how you do it. I’d give my eyeteeth for two, much less three men who looked like that.”
Holly stared at her in amazement. There was no shock or outrage in the woman’s voice.
“Well, never mind, honey, you’re obviously telling the truth. Would you look at the way they’re looking at you? Like they could eat you up for lunch.” Jolene sighed wistfully. “There was once a time when a man looked at me like that.”
“What happened?” Holly asked, curious at the longing in the other woman’s voice.
“Oh, we wanted different things. Or at least I thought I did. I just couldn’t accept what was staring me in the face. Lean back, honey, let me get this cotton around your forehead.”
Holly dutifully leaned back and waited for her to continue.
“He finally got tired of waiting, I guess. Took off on his Harley and I never saw him again.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Holly said. “You don’t know how to find him?”
Jolene looked startled. “Well, I never considered trying to find him. Of course, that was years ago. He’s probably married with a passel of kids by now.”
“Maybe,” Holly murmured.
Two hours later, Jolene whirled Holly around in her chair to face the mirror.
“There you go, honey. What do you think?”
Holly stared back at her reflection. “It’s me,” she whispered. No streaks of blonde shone in her light brown hair. The ends had been trimmed and the tresses gleamed in the soft light.
Jolene beamed back at her. “I thought you’d like it.”
Holly stood and impulsively hugged the older woman. “Thank you.”
Jolene steered her toward the waiting room. “Go see how your young men like it.”
Holly walked over to where the brothers sat. Adam stood and reached for his wallet.
“You look beautiful, baby.”
She smiled and ducked her head. She glanced over at Ethan and Ryan who also nodded their approval.
“Want to hit the shops and buy you some clothes?” Ethan asked. “There’s several down this street.”
“I’d like that,” she replied.
She’d also noticed a boutique specializing in lingerie. A small smile curved her lips and she bit the inside of her cheek so as not to betray her thoughts. She’d love to buy a sexy new outfit and surprise them.
Ryan held out her coat for her and she slipped it on. As they walked out, Holly caught Jolene’s eyes, and the hairdresser threw her a saucy wink and a thumbs-up.
At first, Holly hurried through the shops, sure that the men would be bored silly watching her clothes shop, but she soon realized they enjoyed seeing her try on new things.
Her last stop was the lingerie store, and she made the excuse that she needed bras. Inside, she picked out two sexy outfits and grinned in delight at the idea of surprising them when they returned home.
When she stepped back out, Ryan and Ethan reached for her bags.
“Adam’s gone over to warm up the Rover,” Ethan explained as they stepped out to cross the street.
They hurried forward. Out of the corner of Holly’s eye, she saw a sedan pull out from where it had been parallel-parked. She blinked in surprise when it barreled out into the street. Straight for them.
Ryan and Ethan were a step in front of her, and she threw all of her weight into their backs, desperate to shove them out of the way. In the distance, she heard Adam shout.
Ryan and Ethan stumbled forward just as the car careened by. Pain exploded in her hip as the bumper slammed into her leg. She went sprawling, her hands out to brace her fall.
Chapter Nineteen
Adam watched in horror as the car struck Holly and sent her spiraling to the street. He yelled her name again as he ran for her. Ryan and Ethan knelt beside Holly, and he shoved his way in. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her beautiful eyes open and stare up at him.
Her face contorted in pain, and she struggled to get up.
“No!” he shouted. “No,” he said in a lower voice when she winced at his tone. “Stay there, baby. Oh my God, are you okay?”
He yanked his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in 911.
“No, Adam, don’t,” she protested, holding her hand up. “I’m fine, really. It’s just my hip. The car mostly missed me.”
Mostly. Jesus. Was she trying to give him a heart attack?
“What the hell was that idiot doing?” Ryan’s voice shook as he stroked Holly’s hair.
Adam shot Ryan a quelling look. The hit-and-run was no accident, and he didn’t want Holly more afraid than she already was.
“Holly, we need to call an ambulance,” Ethan said gently. “You could be hurt.”
By now a small crowd had assembled up and down the street. Adam heard the wail of a siren.
“I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Holly said, her eyes pleading with Adam.
He wavered a moment, his concern for her overriding all else. She moved against Ryan’s hand, trying to squirm her way up.
“Easy, baby,” he cautioned.
Adam reached down and lifted her easily into his arms.
“Can you stand?” he asked.
“I’m fine, really. Just a little shaken.”
With great care, he lowered her to her feet. Ethan’s reached out to steady her as she wobbled the slightest bit. She rubbed her hip with her hand, her fingers catching in the torn material down her leg.
“This was my favorite pair of jeans,” she said ruefully.
Unable to stand it a moment longer, Adam crushed her to him. He drew in several steadying breaths, trying to calm the adrenaline that buzzed through his veins.
Some son of a bitch had just tried to kill her. He’d bet his entire cabin that it was her soon-to-be ex-husband. He stared over at his brothers and saw answering rage in their eyes. He put a finger to his lips and they nodded their understanding.
A police cruiser roared up seconds later, followed quickly by an ambulance. People crowded round as the paramedics examined Holly and the cops questioned everyone.
An hour later, after being checked over by EMS, Holly refused transport, and the crowd began to disperse. The responding officer took the last statement and climbed into his cruiser.
Holly’s eyes were etched with pain and fatigue. Adam knew she hadn’t been completely honest about the extent of her injuries, and he planned to remedy the situation immediately.
He tossed the keys to Ethan. “You drive.”
He bent and picked Holly up into his arms and cradled her gently against his chest. She didn’t protest, only expelled a weary sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder. He walked over to the Land Rover and eased into the backseat with her.
Ryan turned around in the front seat, his eyes bright with worry. “Are you all right, Holly?”
She stirred in Adam’s arms and put out her hand to touch Ryan’s arm. “I’m fine. I promise. Just a little shaky now that it’s all over with.”
But even as she offered Ryan reassurance, Adam could feel the tension in her body and see the pain in her eyes. Ryan saw it too.
At the hotel, Adam carried Holly to their suite and laid her on the bed. He wanted to check her injuries and see for himself that she was all right.
Ethan and Ryan crowded in as Adam slowly pulled her tattered jeans away from her body. His hands trembled in rage as he saw the large bruise already forming on her hip and upper leg. Blood from a three-inch gash smeared her pale skin.