then took another bite. He closed his eyes and continued to eat as
Mary took a bite of the second half.
“This is delicious! What did you do to my chicken salad, girl?”
Francine asked as Jack picked the scraps off the plate.
“Just a little New York-style chicken salad like the man asked,”
Anna teased, and Mary laughed.
“Well, Jack?”
“What?”
“If you don’t hire her right now, then I will,” Mary stated, and
Jack laughed.
“When can ya start, honey?”
“Tomorrow good?” Anna asked.
“Right now would be great, but I guess that’s too much to ask. Be
here by nine in the morning for prep and to get the kitchen staff ready
for whatever you need.”
“Hey, Miguel!” Jack called to the current cook.
“
Sí, señor
?”
“You’re off the hook starting tomorrow. We got ourselves a real
New York chef right here.”
Anna felt terrible. She didn’t want the other man to lose his job.
“Jack, Mary…I don’t want to take his job away. I thought you
were in need of a cook?”
“Oh, don’t fret, honey. Miguel has been dying to quit being in
charge. He’s only been at it for a few weeks after Chuck the old cook
took off for Vegas and never came back.”
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81
“
Señorita
…
gracias
,” Miguel added as he kissed Anna’s hand and
went back to work.
Anna looked around at the now-smiling faces. She wasn’t too sure
what to think, but at least she had a job. The pay was pretty good, too.
She thanked the Boslows then headed out of the kitchen. While
Jack showed her the front of the place, some young men made a few
comments and began flirting with her. Jack and Mary introduced her
as the new cook.
“When ya startin’, honey?” one real nice-looking cowboy asked
as he eyed her from head to toe.
She smiled softly as she took in the other patrons. The men
seemed to outnumber the women in this town, and they all seemed to
be in pairs or in threes. She swallowed the lump in her throat and
thought about Charlie, Ben, and Wyatt.
“She’ll be starting tomorrow, so you fellas be sure to stop by and
let us know what ya think of her cooking,” Jack stated.
“What’s your name, good looking?” someone else asked, and
Anna began to get nervous. There were a lot of men in this town, and
the way they eyed her made her anxious to leave. Each of them was
attractive and what the waitresses back in New York would have
called delicious eye candy. She felt herself blush at their continued
compliments.
“The name is Anna, and she’s stayin’ at the Triple C.” Everyone
turned toward the deep, authoritative voice. Anna swallowed hard at
the sight of Wyatt standing in the doorway in his sheriff’s uniform.
Men cleared their throats and went back to eating lunch as he made
his way toward her. The closer he got, the farther up she had to look.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She
gasped at his show of possession, but everyone else seemed to go
about their business. Out of all three brothers, he had been the quietest
around her. Small conversations here and there were about all they
shared. She had wondered if he even liked her. Unlike Ben and
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Charlie, Wyatt didn’t let his feelings show. If anything, he seemed to
keep his distance from her.
When Wyatt reached up and touched her cheek, she closed her
eyes and absorbed the feel of his embrace.
“So ya got yourself a job, huh, honey?” he asked.
“Yes…as the cook.”
He raised his eyebrows and then looked over at Jack.
“You take good care of our Anna, Jack. I expect you all will be
real happy with her cooking.”
“That I will, Jack. You betcha.”
Anna wondered who he meant when he said
our
Anna.
Immediately, she thought about Charlie and Ben. Suddenly, she
couldn’t wait to share the news with them. How silly of her. They
weren’t her boyfriends. Did she want them to be? Did they think she
was interested?
Am I?
She felt Wyatt release his hold but not completely as he tipped his
hat good day to everyone and escorted her out of the restaurant.
* * * *
Once they were outside, he took her hand and brought it to his
lips. He kissed her knuckles, and all she could do was stare at him in
awe.
The sheriff was a perfect specimen of a man and the stereotypical
looking sheriff aside from his young age. He had large, strong hands
and an aura around him.
He looked her over. “You look real pretty today, Anna.”
She glanced at her outfit. “It’s Stacy’s. I borrowed it,” she
whispered and wondered why she sounded like she lost her voice.
* * * *
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83
Wyatt felt the tightness in his chest. The way she looked, the way
she sounded right now, made his cock throb and his stomach quiver.
He was having a difficult time keeping conversations with her simple
back at the ranch. He was still determining whether or not Anna was
the one for him and his brothers. The more he spoke to her or heard
about the conversations she had with his brothers, the more interested
he became.
He got so jealous back there at Francine’s at the way the men
gawked at her. He knew what they were thinking. Hell, he heard a
few men comment about her body. He had to stake a claim and make
his and his brothers’ intentions known. It’s not like the Cantrells were
the only family in town that was involved in ménage relationships.
The town was known for it.
He leaned over and gave Anna a quick, soft kiss on the lips. It was
torture to not taste more of her, but he was the sheriff, and he was
standing in the middle of town.
* * * *
Anna held on to Wyatt’s forearms as he released her lips. Her eyes
remained closed a moment, and she felt embarrassed when she
opened them to find him smirking at her.
She must seem so naive to him. The idea that all three of them had
touched her and kissed her today was unnerving to say the least. It
just wasn’t possible to be attracted to three men at once, never mind
normal.
Haven’t I learned my lesson about giving away my heart?
She sobered instantly as thoughts of sadness nearly overwhelmed
her. She turned away in his arms and made an attempt to escape. She
had gotten only two steps before a strong arm came around her waist
from behind, bringing her back up against Wyatt’s solid chest.
“Whoa there, honey, slow down. I’m not going to hurt you,” he
whispered from way above her head. His size, his potential strength,
and his uniform made her body shake.
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Dixie Lynn Dwyer
Wyatt used his free hand to caress her arm and shoulder. She felt
every move, every sensation of his touch. Then he tilted her chin
sideways as he leaned over with his face near her shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, doll. I just couldn’t resist tasting
those sexy lips of yours. You look so damn edible.”
She tried to shy away and look down, but he pulled her tighter
against him. The feel of his manhood against her back and iron thighs
against the material of her skirt had her breathing heavy and feeling
faint.
“You feeling all right, sweetie? You look like you’re about to
faint,” he said, full of concern. Then he turned her toward him and
pulled her into an embrace against his chest.
He was silent, as if waiting for her to say something. She couldn’t
think a coherent thought. She felt frazzled, turned on, and she
shouldn’t. It wasn’t right to have these feelings for three men, never
mind brothers.
“I…please don’t do that again,” she whispered, and her voice
cracked.
Wyatt scrunched his eyebrows together and looked downright
mad.
“Don’t do what?” he asked, although he knew precisely what she
meant.
He stared down at her, holding her gaze, and she could see the
mischief in his eyes.
“Kiss me.”
“My pleasure,” he stated then kissed her again.
It wasn’t what she meant. She wanted him not to kiss her
but…now that he was, it felt so good and so right.
The sound of someone clearing his throat pulled her from her
daze. “Sheriff,” some older couple passing by said, and Wyatt tipped
his hat and said good afternoon to them, never releasing his hold on
Anna.
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85
“That was real nice, Anna. You can ask me for a kiss anytime you
want,” he teased then caressed her lip with his thumb.
“No. I didn’t mean for you to kiss me again. I meant, don’t kiss
me ever again,” she stated in a huff, turning away from him.
“Didn’t you like it?” he asked, pulling her closer against his chest,
then he winked.
“Please…I…I don’t want to cause any trouble,” she stated, hoping
that she could deflect what was really bothering her about this.
The sheriff looked around them, and Anna followed his line of
sight. It seemed they were drawing quite the amount of attention in
town.
“I need to go…Stacy is waiting for me.”
She stepped away, only to be pulled back by Wyatt.
“One thing, darling, before you go. We’ll talk about this later.” He
leaned down and kissed her quickly and softly before releasing her.
Anna pulled away then looked both ways before she crossed the
street toward the doctor’s office.
* * * *
Stacy was awfully quiet when they got into the truck to head
toward the ranch.
“So, is everything all right? What did the doctor say?” Anna
asked.
“Everything is fine. It’s just as I expected,” Stacy replied as she
continued to drive out of town.
“Well? Is it anything serious? Do you need to take anything for
it?”
Anna waited for Stacy to respond, wondering why she was acting
so strange.
“Just some prenatal vitamins,” Stacy replied, and Anna
immediately turned toward her.
“Say that again?”
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Dixie Lynn Dwyer
Stacy smiled wide. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, my God! That is so awesome! The guys are going to be so
thrilled.” Anna began to cry, and so did Stacy.
“Oh, Anna, I’m so glad that you’re happy about this. I was afraid
that you wouldn’t be.”
“Me? What are you, crazy? I love babies. Who in the world
wouldn’t?”
Stacy wiped her eyes as she drove.
“I can’t believe it.”
“When are you going to tell Eric and Max?”
“I don’t know. I have a feeling that once those two hear the news,
they are going to be even more protective than before.”
“That’s what you want, Stacy. You want them to be so into it and
so loving. They’re going to make great fathers,” Anna said then
covered her mouth to try and hide the tears.
Stacy reached over and touched her hand.
“They are going to be great fathers. They will be thrilled.”
“I’m so happy for you, Stacy. I think you should do something
really romantic with them. Maybe I can stay at the hotel in town
tonight.”
“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t make you leave the house.”
“Well, I just thought you might feel a little uncomfortable with me
in the house while you have a romantic evening at home with the
men.”
“Your presence hasn’t stopped us from having romantic evenings
yet,” Stacy added sarcastically.
Anna giggled and blushed before she cleared her throat.
“Don’t you sass me, girl. I so don’t need to be picturing such
activity going on while I’m alone and sleeping on the other side of the
house.”
“Well, I’m sure if you want to leave the house for the night, you
could just mention sleeping over at Wyatt, Ben, and Charlie’s place.
They would love to have you.”
For the Love of Anna
87
Anna froze in a stunned stare at Stacy.
Stacy laughed as she pulled into the driveway at the Triple C
ranch.
As they parked the truck, the men seemed to come out from
everywhere.
Eric came out from the stables, along with Ben, and Charlie came
around from the other side of the horse training stables. It was as if
they waited to hear the sound of the truck arriving.
Anna turned toward Stacy. “You can have the house tonight to tell
Eric and Max the good news. I think I’ll try that little hotel in town. It
looked really nice. I’d love to get the whole town of Pearl experience,
really.” Anna rambled on and on, and Stacy continued to laugh at her.
“I give you all of about two seconds after telling your men that
you’re going to a hotel before one of them is tossing you over his
shoulder and bringing you to their place to stay. So don’t be silly.”
“My men? Who would that be?”
“You know damn straight who I’m talking about. Two of them are
headed this way, and one had his mouth all over you on Main Street
just about twenty minutes ago.”
With that, Stacy opened her door and stepped out and into Eric’s
arms.
“Hey, honey. How did it go? Does Francine’s have a new cook?”