And when she looked at him with those intelligent hazel eyes, he felt as if she could see into his soul.
Maybe if we spend more time with her, see if she’s amenable to scratching mutual itches, the attraction will die a natural death. That had been their thought earlier, before they’d headed over here for supper.
Ignoring the attraction he felt toward her was getting harder and harder. So yeah, maybe if they indulged in some hot sex, the attraction would fade. He figured that for a sure bet, because it always had worked in the past.
Lewis didn’t particularly want to share that sentiment with his Texas cousins, his brothers, or Randy’s—and he didn’t think Randy did, either.
But now with six Benedicts staring at him and Randy waiting for an answer, he knew he had to say something, and “mind your own fucking business” wasn’t going to cut it.
“I can appreciate your concerns. She’s a sweetheart, and it’s impossible not to feel protective of her.” He knew he had to give them more, and though he hadn’t planned it, the words came out.
“We’ve felt something for her since we got here, but what good does that do? We’re looking for our own place.”
What had he said, exactly, that had made his brothers and cousins relax? He had no fucking clue.
“She seemed grateful for those gloves. Maybe the two of you will be able to succeed at helping her where we’ve all failed.”
“As for the attraction?” Chase shrugged. “We got all macho with Cord and Jackson when they were sniffing around Ari. But if married life has taught us one thing, it’s this.”
“Women,” Brian said, “are complex creatures. And we’ve figured out that they are grateful if you stomp on scorpions for them and keep them safe from danger. They do not, however, appreciate being treated as if they’re incapable of knowing their own minds or making their own decisions and choices.”
“Amen.”
Lewis laughed when his brothers and cousins, married men all, said that as one.
“I guess what we’re trying to say is that we’re all in agreement on this,” Trace said.
“Michaela knows you’re not planning to make your lives here,” Parker said. “And we trust you guys not to do anything that she doesn’t want.”
“And if you could sweet talk her into letting you help her fix up her ranch, that would be bonus.” Dale looked around the table at his Texan cousins, who were all nodding.
“Ranch?” Lewis had thought she was fixing up a house in town. She hadn’t said anything about a ranch.
“Yeah, man. Spread’s been in her family for damn near a hundred and fifty years,” Chase said.
“That woman is fixin’ to bite off way more than she can chew. Because once she gets that house repaired, she’s planning on operating a ranch—with a few head of cattle and probably some horses and farm crops, too.” Brian folded his arms across his chest.
Chase, along with Lewis’s brothers and Randy’s, were all nodding their heads. Clearly the six of them were united in their belief, despite what they’d just said, that Michaela Powell didn’t know her own mind and, in fact, needed a caretaker.
Lewis looked over at Randy, and they reacted in total unison. They both burst out laughing.
He didn’t care that every other Benedict at the table was frowning at them. It felt damn good to laugh.
“You guys better work on your enlightened and understanding male routines,” Randy said.
“Because from where we’re sitting, I have to tell you, you have a long way to go.”
Chapter Three
“Come here often, pretty lady?”
“Such a cheesy line!” Michaela shook her head, but she guessed that Lewis and Randy Benedict knew she wasn’t really offended. She didn’t have a hope in hell of quelling her smile, either, as she met their grins.
“It was cheesy, but it made you smile,” Randy said.
“Looked to us like you weren’t having a good time.” Lewis said. “And we couldn’t have that.”
“I am having a good time. I was just…I guess I was taking a moment to think about these friends of mine—Jenny and Parker and Dale. They seem so… so damn happy.”
“They are happy,” Lewis said. He sighed. “You may have heard there’s feuding of a sorts going on back home.”
Michaela shrugged. “I may have been on the receiving end of a few confidences.” She was certain that she didn’t know anything more than either Lewis or Randy did.
What the guys had actually witnessed was her thinking about the way these friends seemed to just include anyone who came into their sphere—even a mixed-up young woman who’d had no idea of where she was going in life while she was dealing with a difficult and dying father.
And then she’d felt Lewis and Randy headed toward her, and she’d been trying to recall if she’d heard anything derogatory about either of those two Benedicts from anyone.
She’d just come to the conclusion that she hadn’t when Lewis had delivered that line. It was definitely cheesy, and now I know, it was deliberately so.
Lewis met her gaze. Beside him, Randy, too, had his attention focused on her. In that moment a strange sensation swept her. Safe. Secure. Important. All those feelings were hers right then, with the sound of her friends’ voices in the background, the scent of chili teasing her taste buds, and these two men looking only at her.
How could I not have known I was missing something so basic, something so important?
“We both appreciate your unwillingness to share anything you heard in confidence,” Lewis said. He reached out and took hold of her right hand. He used his thumb to stroke the back
