Julia nodded. “When you unfold it completely it takes up about five square feet.”
Drew chuckled. “I can believe that.”
Tracy set down her glass of tea. “So, tell me, gentlemen, what do you think of our little town so far?”
“We like it,” Dev said. He picked up Julia’s hand and placed it on his lap. “Every business seems to be thriving, and everyone we’ve met has been warm and welcoming.”
“I like the sense of community,” Drew said.
“Neither of us has lived in an actual small town before,” Dev said. “We find the sense of community and that welcome suits us perfectly.”
“We really are a close-knit town,” Tracy said. “We look out for one another.
Always.
”
“That’s good to know,” Dev said. “And quite frankly, one of the aspects of small-town living we were hoping to find here.”
Ginny brought cutlery over to the table. “Kelsey said you’re having the lunch special, on the house.” She efficiently set the table. “Today that would be smothered and covered roast beef sandwiches with fries on the side, and a bit of slaw if you like.”
“Smothered with onions and covered in gravy?” Drew asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Just Drew, Ginny.”
Ginny nodded, then turned, likely to see to her other customers. The way she stopped in her tracks, and blushed, made Julia look out the window to see what had caught her attention.
The door to the restaurant opened, and in walked two men with definite attitude. Julia wanted to smirk at the sight. The sheriff of Lusty, Texas, wore a pair of aviator shades that just did something for him—making him look lean and mean and more dangerous than usual. Special Agent Peter Alvarez, DEA, used a much more direct method to portray that aura of whoop-ass. He sported his big, black scary-looking Sig Sauer .38-caliber service weapon in his shoulder holster, and no suit jacket to disguise the fact.
The men sauntered over, taking the chairs on either side of Tracy. Adam eased himself down in a manner that would have made Keanu Reeves proud. Peter picked up his chair, spun it around, and sat down straddling it.
Julia looked at Tracy and realized she wasn’t the only one trying not to laugh.
Sheriff Kendall looked from one to the other of the buff SEALs. Each man likely outweighed him and could out-bench press him, but that fact didn’t even appear to register with the man. “Gentlemen,” he said, “you’re new in town.”
Julia reached over and patted Adam’s hand. “Adam, this is Lieutenant Commander Devon Wakefield and Lieutenant Commander Andrew James, United States Navy. They’re renting the house—” Julia stopped talking because Adam took his sunglasses off and gave her a look that somehow made her shut her mouth.
“Julia? Hush, honey.” Then he turned his attention back to Dev and Drew. “I’m Sheriff Adam Kendall, and this is Special Agent Peter Alvarez of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Do you gentlemen have any identification?” he asked.
Adam’s voice sounded deep and menacing. Julia knew she looked shocked, because, quite frankly, she was.
“Certainly, Sheriff.” Dev’s voice sounded pleasant, but she was instantly on alert.
Julia could actually see the sense of watchfulness that came over both Dev and Drew. The transformation astounded her. Neither man looked at her. They each took out their wallets and offered their military credentials.
“Do you usually ask newcomers for identification?” Drew asked.
“Only when they go around town impersonating the fiancés of local heiresses.”
Peter’s grin twitched. He turned to look at Adam. “You asked me for my ID and that was before I even
met
your brother or Tracy.”
Adam looked at Peter. He, too, was having trouble keeping a straight face. “Yes, but Aunt Anna said you looked dangerous—and she’s very observant.”
Peter shrugged. “I
am
dangerous.”
“So are we.” Dev’s assertion sounded quiet and, to Julia’s ears, deadly.
Adam finally turned to Julia. “I take it the fact that you’re here with them means they
weren’t
impersonating your fiancés?”
“That’s right.”
“We’ll see.”
The SEALs spoke at the same time she had. Julia just shook her head and smiled. “Let’s just say we’re in negotiations, of a sort.”
“That’s not what you said in the middle of the night, baby doll.”
Dev looked entirely too smug for her tastes. “Hmm, if I’ve suddenly developed the habit of talking in my sleep, I’ll have to make sure I sleep alone from now on. That way I can avoid any embarrassing ‘misspeaks.’”
Adam grinned and offered each of the SEALs, in turn, his hand. “Good luck with this one,” he said.
Devon exhaled as if relieved that Adam had relented his “bad cop” routine. Julia was wondering if he wasn’t actually relieved he wouldn’t have to fight one of her favorite cousins.
Then Adam’s words penetrated. “Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side!”
Adam raised one eyebrow. “Who says I’m not?”
Julia opened her mouth to answer, and then snapped it shut again. She felt her temper begin to stir and wondered if today was going to be the day she finally committed murder. Walking along the sidewalk, looking handsome, and arrogant, and heading for
Lusty Appetites
was the scourge of her existence, her triple-pains-in-the-ass brothers.
Chapter 8
Drew didn’t need an introduction to know who’d just walked into
Lusty Appetites
. To begin with, the three men shared a familial resemblance with Julia that was unmistakable. On top of that, there were three of them, and they looked like brothers.
Of a similar height and build, two of the men were blonds, one was a brunet. All three of them wore their hair long enough to brush their collars.
The only things Drew knew about the triplets was that they’d been born five years before his woman, and they had a habit of running roughshod over her, trying to control her life.
“Well, hell, there goes the neighborhood,” Julia said.
Although her tone held a touch of humor, Drew understood she really wasn’t pleased her brothers had shown up.
“Hey, squirt,” one of the blonds said, “why don’t you go freshen up or something while Trey, Kev, and I get to know your friends, here?”
“Richard, why don’t
you
take a chair over there in the corner”—Julia pointed to the back corner of the restaurant—“and wait for your personality to show up?”
Adam Kendall and Tracy both sighed. “As you’ve probably guessed, these three fine young men are Julia’s oldest brothers,” Adam said.
“Richard and Julia have always shot sparks off each other,” Tracy agreed. “Of course, in my unbiased opinion, Richard does seem to be in need of an attitude adjustment when it comes to women in general, and his sister in particular.”
“Listen, pipsqueak, that’s enough cheek out of you,” that same man—presumably Richard—said. He pointed his finger at her and took a step forward in what could be construed to be a menacing manner.
Since Peter was sitting right next to Tracy, Drew made a mental note that Richard didn’t appear to be very bright.
“Careful, there, Richard.” Peter Alvarez shifted in his seat just slightly, aligning himself closer to his woman and making sure the brothers Benedict all saw that he was armed. “If you keep maligning my woman you’ll force me, as an officer of the law, to rescue you when she decides to beat the tar out of you.” Peter’s assessment earned him a smile from Tracy.
The darker-haired man stepped forward, a look of strained patience on his face. “I’m Trevor, but everyone calls me Trey. This is Kevin, and the one with his foot in his mouth is Richard—but we call him Rick.”
“That’s not what
I
call him,” Julia said brightly. “Although my pet name for him
does
rhyme with Rick.”
Drew covered his mouth with his hand and tried to wipe the smile off his face. Since he didn’t really know the men, and they
were
Julia’s brothers, he thought it best not to make a bad first impression by laughing at them.
Adam Kendall had no such problem. “That was a good one, Jules. But I think the two of you should declare a cease-fire. I’m sure Kelsey doesn’t want her restaurant to be trashed as the result of a brawl.”
Julia grinned. “If it ever did come to blows between us, I’d win. So sure, we can have a truce. I got in two good zingers, so I’m content.”
Drew looked over at Dev. His best friend was trying not to laugh, too, so he took the initiative and offered his hand to Trey. “Hi. I’m Drew James. This is Dev Wakefield.”
“We heard Julia had gotten herself engaged. Of course, we were concerned, because she hadn’t introduced her fiancés to us before making the announcement here in town.” Richard stood with his arms folded in front of his chest, a frown on his face, and his gaze riveted on his sister.
Maybe he’s not stupid. Maybe he’s just stubborn
. That wouldn’t surprise Drew one bit, since he had noticed that Julia possessed more than a bit of that trait, herself.
“From the time I first noticed boys and flirted with poor little Joey Parker when I was seven, the three of you have been standing by with the tar and feathers at the ready, just waiting to use them,” Julia said. “Except, of course, for the
one
time I needed you to—which, strangely enough, you weren’t because you’d set me up in the first place. So there is really no reason for you to expect that I would ever come running to you for you to vet or approve of any of my lovers.”
Richard Benedict didn’t even look repentant. “Clarence Conrad was a mistake. We’ve apologized for that unfortunate incident. Why can’t you just let it go?”
“Do you have any idea the dangerous situation you put your sister in because you
thought
you knew what was good for her?”
Drew heard the danger in Dev’s tone. What surprised him was that the other men at the table did, too.
“Hell. What did the three of you do this time?” Adam’s choice of words told Drew that butting into their sister’s life unwisely
was
something the Benedicts had done before. The only difference was that this time the consequences could have been tragic.
“We introduced her to a guy we thought would be a good match for her, then told her we forbade her to see him,” Trey answered easily. “We knew that would make her accept when he asked her out. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize at the time that the man was a scumbag. So in hindsight, it was not one of our better moves.”
“There are times when I think you three are even more clueless when it comes to women than the geek boys are,” Adam said.
Julia laughed. “Hey, that’s not any kind of a close contest. Not even my cousins Alex and Joshua would have pulled the kind of a stunt with their sister these three pulled with me.”
Tracy said, “Um, actually, they
did
kind of try to pull that kind of stunt with Susan, only in reverse. That’s how she met her two wildcatters.”
“Look, we screwed up,” Kev said. “No question about it. And while you don’t know it, Julia, and probably don’t believe it, we’ve kicked our own asses over our stupidity. But that doesn’t mean we’ve forfeited our responsibility where you’re concerned, baby sister.”
“You can’t forfeit what was never actually yours to begin with,” Drew said.
“For one thing,” Dev said, “
if
Julia needs anyone watching over her or taking her part, that’s going to be us from now on.”
“And for another thing,” Drew said, “Julia’s a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of herself. She got herself out of the mess you landed her into, didn’t she?”
Richard didn’t appear to be willing to back off. “I figured the stories of pending fiancés were just some sort of a red herring,” Richard said. “Because apparently the ’rents don’t know about them, either. Are you telling me you’re actually engaged to these two?”
Julia grinned. “Before I answer that question, tell me, brother mine, what did Mom say to you when you asked
her
?”
Trey said, “She told him that he should mind his own business.”
“Mom’s always so wise,” Julia said.
The Benedict brothers ignored Julia’s suggestion that the table was too full for them to sit. They simply brought chairs over from another table and squeezed themselves in around Adam and Tracy.