Hernando Heat Read online

“In a private room of her own, of course,” Mason quickly added.

  Reverend Anderson smiled. “Are you asking me if I think lips will flap and mouths will run?”

  Her turn to redden in the face. She nodded.

  He laughed and patted her arm. “How about I spread the word that it was my suggestion? I personally think it’s a good idea. You’re a widow, and they’re men with honorable reputations.” His expression darkened as his voice dropped. “I’ve heard stories about your former father-in-law, Katie. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to hurt you sooner. If you don’t move in with these boys, you’ll end up with an armed posse taking turns sitting on your back porch every night. There are plenty of men here in town who’d like a chance at the son of a gun who tried to hurt you.”

  She glanced at the cousins, who nodded in agreement.

  The reverend’s smile returned. “So does that answer your question for you?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, it does.” She looked at the cousins. “So when would you like me to move in?”

  * * * *

  She didn’t have a lot in the way of personal belongings to move. Joe and Mason had ridden their horses to town, so Joe rode back home to fetch their wagon while Mason stayed behind with her and helped her pack.

  And protect her.

  She picked up her picture of Paul and stared at it.

  “Was that your husband?” Mason asked.

  She sadly nodded as she let her fingers caress the frame. “Yes. He was a good man. I truly loved him.” She carefully laid it in her trunk, padded by a dress so it wouldn’t get damaged.

  “How’d he die, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Pneumonia.” She felt her melancholy return for the first time that evening. Talking and laughing with the two men had made her feel alive, for once. “He got sick and wouldn’t rest. Then he got sicker and…” She couldn’t finish. She couldn’t talk about him like that yet. It still felt too raw in many ways, hurt too much. She needed to get her mind off of him. “Do you mind me asking a question, Mason?”

  “Of course not.”

  She turned. “Why is Joe so sad? And why haven’t either of you eligible men found wives yet? If I may be so forward, you’re both handsome men. I would imagine from what I’ve heard around town that you could have your pick of ladies.”

  She didn’t miss the subtle shift in Mason’s expression. “Joe’s fiancée, Laura, died eight years ago. He buried her three days before they were supposed to be married.”

  A rush of sympathy filed her. “I can certainly understand that then. But what about you? Why is there no Mrs. Carlisle yet?”

  His face reddened. “Just never found the right woman before now.” His gaze snuck her way.

  Heat filled her as she deliberately ignored his implication. “That’s a shame.”

  One of his eyebrows rakishly rose skyward. “Perhaps not, ma’am. Not if it means I missed finding the wrong woman. I don’t like silly women.”

  “No?”

  He fully turned to her. “No.” He stepped forward, until only inches separated them. Her breath came in a gasping rush as his brown eyes filled her existence. When he next spoke, the deep, passionate sound of it resonated throughout her body. “It’s hard to find a serious woman who’s also a beautiful and kind woman, and who hasn’t been married off already.”

  “Really?” She felt like a silly woman right now, wondering what his strong arms would feel like crushing her against his broad chest.

  “Really.” His voice softened. “May I be forward, Katie?”

  “Please do.”

  He gently stroked her cheek with a strong, calloused hand. “You’re beautiful. I had more than one reason for wanting you to move in with us.”

  “You did?” It surprised her to realize she didn’t mind.

  “I’m hoping perhaps in a few months you might decide you don’t want to leave.”

  “But what if you or Joe find a wife, Mason? She wouldn’t want me there.”

  A smile that sinful should be illegal.

  “I think I already have found her. Maybe one day she’ll decide she wouldn’t mind having me as her husband. After she gets to know me better, of course. I wouldn’t want to offend her by being too forward too soon.” He stroked her cheek again before stepping away. “But don’t expect me to take too kindly to men asking to call on you for anything other than mending.”

  When she swallowed, she felt a dry click in her throat.

  And a warm, pleasant dampness between her legs.

  Chapter Five

  By the time Joe returned with the wagon, Katie and Mason had packed most of the personal items she wanted to take. The rest she could get the next day.

  “Don’t forget this.” She turned at Joe’s teasing tone and saw he held her shotgun. It was one of the few times she’d seen him smile all evening.

  She returned his smile. “Do you think I’ll need it at y’all’s house?”

  “Probably not. But make sure you bring it to work with you every day.” His smile faded as he started helping Mason move her things to the wagon.

  The men wouldn’t let her carry anything. She stood and watched them work. Despite Mason’s declaration, she knew it wouldn’t be as simple as losing her heart to him. She already felt a subtle draw to Joe as well. From what she’d heard about the cousins, she knew they were close. The last thing she’d want to do was come between them.

  No, perhaps a little friendly courting wouldn’t be improper, but she refused to interfere with their relationship. And she knew nothing could come between friends, brothers, or cousins faster than jealousy over a woman.

  She thought about Paul’s picture safely tucked inside one of her trunks. On second thought, keeping a little emotional distance might be the safest thing for all of them.

  The three of them wouldn’t fit on the wagon seat together. Mason rode his horse while Joe and Katie rode in the wagon. Katie suspected from Mason’s alert, wary manners as he rode that he preferred the mobility of the lone horse. First riding ahead, then behind, rarely alongside for more than a few minutes before he was off again investigating something.

  When he disappeared behind them, Joe noticed her glance back to check on him. “He’s paranoid.”

  “I gathered as much. About what?”

  While still sad, his gentle smile softened his expression. “Be prepared for both of us, but especially him, to keep a close eye on you. At least for the next several weeks or until they catch the man who tried to attack you. He’s very protective.”

  “I’ll admit I’m not used to having someone hovering over me.”

  “If it gets to be too much, let me know and I’ll have a talk with him. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with us.”

  “Was this his idea or yours?”

  “Do you want an honest answer?”

  She tried to gird herself. “Yes.”

  “It’s nothing personal, but I’m fine without a woman around.” He glanced at her. “We have something in common, although I don’t claim to compare your loss to mine. I wasn’t married to her yet.”

  “He mentioned your fiancée.”

  His expression hardened, as did his voice. “Did he?”

  She took a chance and touched his arm. “Please don’t be upset with him. I asked. You looked so sad at dinner, and I wanted to know why.”

  Like a fickle summer rain shower, his expression cleared. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like to talk about her.”

  They rode in silence for a few moments, Mason checking on them before riding ahead. “Sometimes,” she softly said, “it does help to talk about the ones we’ve lost.” This was a subject she had unfortunate experience with.

  “I think the worse part,” he finally said, “is some people don’t understand why I don’t just move on. They don’t understand it’s not that easy. No, we weren’t married yet, but I loved her fierce. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with her.”

  She squeezed his arm
. “No, it’s not easy, no matter how much time you had together. And you’re right that people don’t understand.”

  She pretended not to see him brush his hand across his face, wiping at his eyes. “Like I said, please don’t take it personal.”

  After gently squeezing his arm again, she released it. “I won’t. As long as you promise to talk to me if you need an understanding ear.”

  He nodded. “I promise. Thank you.”

  * * * *

  She hadn’t left Brooksville since her arrival the year before, so she wasn’t familiar with the road they traveled. Despite night falling, the large moon provided plenty of light. As they turned onto a private lane, Joe pointed out their house in the distance. Around them, in fenced pastures, she saw clusters of the herd, illuminated by moonlight.

  Struggling not to think back to her past with Paul, she forced a light tone. “How many head do you have, Joe?”

  “Nearly five hundred. Like I said, we don’t expect you to do any farm chores like that. Just in the house. I pay one of my stable hands to milk and collect eggs, things like that. So all we need you for is things in the house.”

  “I appreciate it, but I can do chores like that, too, if you need me. We had a spread of our own. I’m used to farm work.”

  “No, ma’am. That’s not our deal.” She caught another faint smile from him. “I don’t go back on my word.” He pulled the team up in front of the house. She loved the large, airy wraparound porch. Unlike many of the small, squat, one- and two-story homes in town, this house spread out a little, designed to catch any breeze wafting across the pastures to help keep it cool during hot Florida summers.

  Mason hitched his horse to a rail near the front porch and walked over to help unload the wagon. He untied the ropes securing her things and carted the first trunk inside. Joe climbed down from the wagon before her. Instead of waiting for him to help her, she decided to climb down on her own. Unfortunately, her foot tangled in her skirt hem, and she felt her balance tip the wrong way. She let out a startled cry as she started to fall, but she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she landed in Joe’s strong arms.

  Instinctively, her arms grabbed for his neck as he caught her. When their eyes locked she realized maybe she had an even bigger problem than she realized. Lightning raced through her as his worried face studied her.

  “Are you all right, ma’am?”

  She nodded. More to break the admittedly pleasant tension than anything, she said, “If you don’t start calling me Katie, I’m going to swat you.”

  The next smile he gave her didn’t look as sad. “Sorry, Katie.” He gently set her on her feet.

  Mason reappeared. “What happened?”

  “Joe saved me from myself,” she said, her gaze still focused on Joe. “I tripped trying to get out of the wagon by myself.”

  Wearing a wistful look, Joe turned back to the wagon. “Let’s get you settled.”

  An hour later, the men had her things moved inside what now was her room. A large, airy guest room on the northeast corner of the house, it would stay cooler during the summer, she imagined. The cousin’s rooms lay across the hall from hers, and she fought another rush of heat to her face as she remembered the feel of Joe’s strong arms around her.

  No, it’d be safer to keep her emotional distance from both men. It would prove far too easy for her to fall for either of them. And having been a married woman, she knew darn well the significance of the hard bulge she’d brushed up against while briefly in Joe’s arms.

  She also knew why Mason had frequently adjusted his trousers that evening while he helped her pack, even though she suspected he thought he hid that from her.

  Both men were attracted to her. Fair enough, because she felt the same.

  She just prayed it wouldn’t cause a problem, because for the first time since Paul’s death, she felt reasonably safe.

  As she blew out her lamp and settled into her new, comfortable bed, she suspected sleep would be a long time coming.

  * * * *

  Sometime in the middle of the night, Katie heard a soft squeak as the bedroom door opened. When she looked, in the moonlight she spotted Joe and Mason standing there.

  Both bare-chested.

  She swallowed hard and ignored all her brain’s warnings about common sense and decency as she wordlessly held out a hand to them, welcoming them into her bed.

  Without a sound, both men slowly walked over to stand beside her bed. As one, they unfastened their trousers and let them drop to the floor. They stepped out of them and climbed into bed with her.

  Joe took the sheet from her and gently drew it down her body. Mason leaned in and kissed her, his stubble slightly scratchy against her cheek. She felt Joe’s fingers undoing the buttons on her nightgown, parting the light fabric and exposing her breasts.

  Her heart raced faster as he leaned in and took her left nipple into his mouth. His tongue flicked against it, rapidly turning it into an achingly hard and throbbing point. Mason sat up and moved down, taking her other nipple between his lips and giving it similar treatment.

  She closed her eyes and moaned as Joe guided her own hand between her legs, encouraging her with his hand to rub her clit with her fingers. She felt wanton, and yet it felt so right and better than anything she could have ever dreamed of.

  As the men settled in and sucked on her nipples, she quickly shed any last reserve and started rubbing her clit, plunging her fingers into her drenched pussy and gathering her own juices to lubricate her now frantic actions.

  As the men continued to suck, she felt her first orgasm since before Paul died bubbling beneath the surface, blossoming, taking her breath away.

  The men didn’t stop, their hot, wet mouths helping to pull her orgasm up and out of her until she gasped for air—

  And awoke to find her hand working frantically between her legs, and that she was alone in bed.

  Gasping and sweating, she sat up and looked around, heat filling her face. She closed her eyes and collapsed back onto the bed.

  A dream. Just a dream.

  She started to laugh and had to pull the pillow over her face to stifle her near-hysterical giggles that soon turned into sobs. The dream had felt so right despite having two men servicing her.

  What am I going to do?

  How would she ever survive living with both of them without succumbing to at least one of them?

  And how would she ever choose between them, if they were both interested in her?

  * * * *

  Joe lay awake, staring at the ceiling. This time his thoughts turned to the attractive woman sleeping just steps away across the hall. Not that he could do anything about it. Mason had already made his intentions more than clear. Joe hadn’t anticipated how good it would feel holding her, even though it had been innocent and totally unplanned.

  He just hoped she didn’t feel how hard his cock strained against his trousers as he let her down. She smelled good, felt perfect in his arms.

  At least Mason would be happy. She would be good for him.

  Eventually, he drifted to sleep, although he was tortured by dreams of Laura…and of Katie. The next morning he awoke before dawn to the sound of noises in the kitchen. He pulled on trousers and yanked his suspenders up as he went to investigate. He found Katie, already dressed and ready to start her day, rummaging through the kitchen.

  “What are you looking for?”

  Apparently she hadn’t heard him, because she let out a startled cry as she jumped and turned, a hand pressed to her chest. “You scared the deuce out of me!” Her face looked red and flushed.

  “Sorry. Can I help you find something?”

  “Yes, thank you. I was looking for tea.”

  “We don’t have any. We’ve got coffee.”

  “Ah. Okay. I’ll make that then.”

  He showed her where it was and realized she had assembled a bowl of batter. “What’s that?”

  “You like hotcakes, I hope?”

  He smiled. �
�I certainly do. Unless Mason’s the one handling the spatula. His hotcakes are lacking a certain…”

  “Flavor?”

  “Edibility.”

  “Hey,” Mason grumpily complained as he entered the kitchen. “That’s not true. It’s only the first five or six that aren’t edible. After that, you can get them down if you chew them long enough and use plenty of syrup.” He yawned, scratched himself, and then seemed to remember there was a lady present. His face reddened. “Sorry, Katie. ’Scuse me.”

  Joe fought back the jealous twinge he felt at Mason’s arrival. Joe knew he had no claim on her. Not that Mason had an official claim by any stretch of the imagination, but he loved his cousin, and the last thing he wanted to do was move in when Mason had already stated his interest.

  Katie laughed, apparently amused by their exchange. “Well, I’ve never had complaints about my hotcakes before, so hopefully they’ll be up to your standards.”

  “I’m sure they will,” Joe assured her.

  Joe left them in the kitchen and returned to his room to freshen up and dress. Mason apparently had the same idea, because he heard his cousin return to his room a brief moment later.

  Good, he’s not alone with her.

  Joe cringed at the thought. He couldn’t allow himself to go there. No, not at all. But now that he realized the seed was planted, he couldn’t bear to dig it up.

  * * * *

  Katie let out a relieved breath when both men returned to their rooms. After her dream, she’d spent a restless night, albeit in a comfortable bed, but her thoughts turning to one or the other man just across the hall from her room.

  Or to both.

  Katie felt her face redden and quickly steered her imagination away from that. She relaxed as she cooked, something she enjoyed and hadn’t done much of for the past year.

  No, don’t think about that.

  One of the first things she’d unpacked had been Paul’s picture. Set up on the shelf in her room, next to his mantle clock, she fought the urge to cry. It didn’t matter what he said before he died, she didn’t know how to give her heart to someone else. And now she had two eligible men literally underfoot to choose from, if she wanted.