“Good. Now let’s get our asses back to work. I’m new on the job. I don’t want the bosses to find out I’m a gossiping George.”
Jackson just laughed and climbed into the saddle. Parker watched him as they headed along the fence line, keeping an eye open for other areas of wear in the wire. Looking at his cousin now he could see there was nothing of the former NFL star about him. Jackson Benedict was a man wedded to his woman and his land and clearly happy to be so.
That was an ambition and a goal Parker shared.
* * * *
“Wine? Beer? Sweet tea? Just name it, sweetheart, and it’s yours.”
Jenny slid her arms around Dale’s neck, free, now that they’d stepped inside their home, to hug him the way she’d wanted to as soon as he and Parker had arrived at the roadhouse. Parker had reached her first and had won the first smooch and cuddle from her.
“Wine, please. Just a half a glass.” She kissed him, a sweet and tender little tasting. That would satisfy her Dale craving for the moment. She needed time to decompress after her shifts, most days. That kiss and the promised wine were part of her decompression.
“I’ll be right back with your wine, sweetheart.” He released her to Parker and headed toward the kitchen.
Parker’s embrace was part two of what she needed to begin to put away her busy day. Twelve hours in a people-rich environment could drain the most die-hard extrovert.
Parker gave her the same kind of kiss she’d just taken from Dale. Then he lifted her into his arms. “Come and relax, baby. We’ll massage your feet, and you can just drift for a while.”
Heaven. Whoever didn’t think having two men as lovers was amazing didn’t consider the benefits. One could fetch wine while the other massaged her feet.
Parker laid her on the sofa. Her head rested on a pillow already in position for just that purpose. She knew they’d returned here after their workday to shower and change. Now she also knew they’d thought of her, thought of bringing her home, before they’d left. Thought enough to place a pillow here for her.
Parker slipped her shoes and socks off her feet. He started working on her left foot, and Jenny melted into the sofa.
Definitely heaven.
Dale came into the living room and set half a glass of wine on the coffee table where she could easily reach it. Jenny took a nice sip, letting the flavor of her favorite Chablis kiss her tongue. The small amount of alcohol slid ever so softly into her bloodstream.
It never took her body long to respond to those first few drops of alcohol, for her elbows and knees to go weak. That was why she never drank it at work. Aside from the fact that Angela preferred her staff didn’t imbibe until officially off the clock, Jenny would rather be someplace private when her body’s “relaxation response” kicked in.
Dale sat down on the coffee table and reached for her right foot. He began to massage, and she thought it was a wonder her eyes didn’t roll back into her head.
“Oh yes! That feels so damn good. I hope your hands don’t get tired anytime soon.”
Their masculine chuckles, deep and indulgent, felt like a warm blanket. “They won’t. Just enjoy, sweet Jenny. Close your eyes and drift.”
How wonderful to be with two men who put her in the middle, who focused on her needs and her desires. She really was in heaven.
Jenny sipped a little more wine and allowed herself to, as both Parker and Dale had suggested, drift.
Sometime later, when her feet were feeling very pampered, and with the heat of their hands still working their magic on those poor appendages, she sighed, opened her eyes, and smiled.
“Y’all make me feel so special.”
“You are special.” Parker kissed the arch of her left foot. Jenny giggled.
“Very special.” Dale kissed the arch of her right foot, and Jenny’s giggle blossomed into a soft laugh.
“I feel like I should be taking care of you right back. Y’all were out in the heat all day. At least I had A/C.”
“Don’t worry, baby. You’ll be pampering us soon enough,” Parker said.
“It’s like that old joke?” Dale grinned. “To please a woman, a man just has to be a friend, a companion, a lover, be tender and understanding, be a good listener, sympathetic, give massages when needed, see to her comfort and security, feed her, cater to her, give her little gifts, kill spiders and scorpions, and clean up any disgusting animal messes…” He let his voice trail off.
Parker picked up the joke. “And to please a man, a woman needs to show up naked and bring beer.”
Jenny burst out laughing. Parker and Dale both laughed. Then Parker held up his longneck. “We’ve got the beer, and part two of that winning formula will happen, by and by. So, baby, don’t you worry. We’re on our way to being pampered, too.”
Parker set down his beer and reached for her. In short order she was snuggled with her butt on his lap and her legs across Dale’s lap. Dale scooped the crocheted blanket resting on the back of the sofa and used it to cover her legs, tucking her feet in to keep them warm.
It was a little thing, she knew. She’d mentioned not long after they met that her feet sometimes got chilled even when it was summer-hot out. The fact they remembered that and saw to it her feet stayed warm? That was huge.
Jenny sighed. Dale handed her wine over, and she indulged in another sip. “How was your day, guys?”
They’d shown up at the roadhouse, as promised, had eaten supper with her, and stayed until Jenny was done her shift. But it had been too noisy to really talk there.
“Good,” Dale said. “Fence line duty today. Not nearly
