“Y’all look hot. What can I get you to drink?”
“I’m developing a fondness for your sweet tea,” Lewis said. “I’ll have some of that, with ice.”
She wasn’t surprised the rest of the men followed suit. They’d have beer when their workday was done, and then only one or two—usually on nights when their wives were working and they came in late to escort them home at the end of their shifts.
Of course, Lewis and Randy weren’t married. Which was why they gave her an itch between her shoulder blades. Stop thinking of them, girl. Now.
Michaela had been shocked when she’d first come to work here to learn that so many of the guests, and more than a few of the staff, were in committed ménage relationships. No, they’re marriages, not just relationships.
Whatever they were called, she couldn’t deny one solid truth. She’d never met a group of happier people in her life.
Even when she went into Lusty, when she occasionally had breakfast at Lusty Appetites, she couldn’t deny the evidence of her eyes. Some of the triads were celebrating more than thirty years together. She’d been under the impression that the institution of marriage was waning in the country.
It might be elsewhere, but not here in Lusty.
Michaela traded her coffee pot for the pitcher of tea, grabbed a tray with six glasses, and headed back to her most recent guests.
They were chatting as they scanned the menus and she poured out their sweet tea.
“So, the trip to Bandera was a bust?” Parker asked.
“Pretty much,” Lewis said. “I mean, the place looked ideal on the real estate web site. Hell, they call themselves the Cowboy Capital of the World, and we sure as hell are cowboys. But there was just something about that spread…”
Michaela had noticed that, between the two of them, Lewis and Randy, Lewis was the more reticent, the more…oh, doubting Thomas, she guessed. Randy, however, reminded her of the boy in the joke about digging through the pile of manure, because where there was manure there just had to be a pony. So she waited to see what Randy would say.
“It didn’t feel like it was meant to be ours,” he said.
“And that flight out to Denver to look at the ranch west of there?” Lucas asked.
“Same thing,” Lewis said. “As long as y’all aren’t getting tired of us, I guess we’re going to be here a while longer, yet.”
And that was what had kept Michaela wanting but not reaching to have. Those two men, as much as they turned her on and attracted her, were not here for the long haul. They had plans, dreams, to reestablish themselves in a place that, as Randy had told her once, felt like home.
She could so understand that dream, because that was the dream she’d been seeking to achieve, herself. And she would do nothing to get in the way of that.
“Tired of you? We’re lucky to have your help this last month,” Trace said. “I know the others feel the same way. Hell, even Ricoh was smiling when he heard you were going to pitch in.”
“That’s high praise, brother,” Dale told Lewis.
“I like Ricoh,” Lewis said. “He’s a straight shooter. You don’t ever have to guess where you stand with him.”
“It surprised me that Uncle George arrived for an entire two weeks,” Randy said. “It was kind of cool having him ride out with us this morning.”
“Surprised us, too.” Parker grinned. “He wanted to spend a bit of time with the guys and Addison. He’ll be heading to Divine to check in with Veronica and her guys, too. With the divorce final, and Norah having moved to California, Cord said his dad just wanted to meet his new grandbabies and touch base with his family.” Then he looked at Michaela. “We’re holding you up.”
“And here I was going to apologize for so blatantly listening in.”
“Naw,” Dale said. “You’re like family.”
“Thank you. Now I must ask, are y’all ready to order?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Randy looked up and gave her his grin….and a tiny part of her heart melted.
No, no, no! There will be no heart melting. There will be no more wet dreams. That last thought brought heat to her cheeks. She wasn’t ever going to acknowledge the wet dreams even to herself, let alone think about them while standing so close to the two men who’d inspired them.
Fortunately, she was saved by their hunger—for food.
They placed orders for burgers and fries, chili, tacos, and meatloaf. Yup, they’re hungry.
She headed to the kitchen to place the orders. Her fellow servers today were Bailey Benedict and the boss lady, Angela.
Laci, wife to Trace and Lucas, and the manager of the roadhouse, would be coming in for a few hours, from five to about eight tonight. Her little girl was five months old and just the sweetest little thing. Laci wanted to ease her way back to work, and her husbands supported her decision. They’d worked things out so that at least one daddy would be available while mommy worked.
I guess that’s a reason right there to have a ménage marriage. No parent gets stranded at home alone all the time.
Michaela needed to get her mind off the whole topic of Benedicts and marriages and yummy cowboys. Orders given to the kitchen, she lent Angela a hand with her table of ten then kept busy until it was time to deliver lunches to Benedict Central.
The next hour sped by. She looked up, because something had caught her eye. It was that table of Benedicts getting to their feet, and Lewis motioning her over.
“Need change?”
“No, ma’am,” Lewis said. “I need to see your hands.”
She opened her mouth to protest. Lewis just held her gaze. This man was dangerous to her self-control. His sculpted cheekbones, chocolaty pools he called eyes, and the way it felt like he could see right through her got her hot. It was hard to tamp down the arousal he inspired in her. She did her best and then shrugged
