Finding Their Girl (Town of Trio, #1) (2 page)

They’d become good friends since they’d met several months ago in the apartment complex laundry room. They’d started hanging out together outside of the laundry room.

Last week they’d gone to the big flea market. Barb had found a huge ugly blue leather recliner. It fit her perfectly and was by far the most comfortable chair she’d ever sat in. It had been for sale at a killer price, but she’d had to pass on it. Money was tight for her as she was climbing out of debt, thanks to skanky ex-fiance Raymond.

Spencer had liked the recliner too and he’d bought it. If she couldn’t have it, second best was Spencer getting it. He was nice enough to let her sit in it when she was visiting his apartment.

She was still secretly in love with Spencer but he’d never moved beyond close friendship. She and herself were still waiting for the official word that he was gay, so their Haagen Dazs bet could be resolved. He never went on dates and hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, so she figured it was just a matter of time.

Now, laundry!

*****

S
pencer had paused in one of the flea market booths and now, as he reentered the aisle, Barb had wandered out of sight.

They were there because he was desperate to spend time with Barb. He knew that her budget was extremely limited, so he’d decided that asking Barb to take him on a tour of the local secondhand places would be an acceptable outing. They could spend time together without spending becoming an issue.

To his surprise, he found himself enjoying the experience. This was their third stop today and it was by far the largest of the thrift stores. It was housed in a former supermarket and sported row upon row of small individual booths.

There was a lot to look at, with items to fill any need or interest. Now, however, he needed to locate the object of his affection — Barb. She was just 5’4” tall and, as he was discovering, easily misplaced in the bustling secondhand store.

Walking along the busy aisle, Spencer took full advantage of his 6’2” height. He’d made it down the row before he saw her in the last booth.

Actually, he almost walked right past. If she hadn’t been wearing screaming orange sneakers, he’d have missed her completely.

What he did see was a huge, blue leather recliner, situated with its back to the aisle, and hanging over one broad arm were two small orange shoes.

Upon closer inspection, the shoes were attached to the feet of his prey. They were twitching slightly and Spencer grinned when he realized that Barb was rocking in the huge chair. The foot twitches were providing the impetus to move the hulking leather behemoth.

Carefully skirting the other junk in the booth, Spencer stepped around the chair. Barb had her eyes closed. From the blissful expression on her face, she was in her happy place.

He reached out a hand and lightly touched a small foot. “Barb.”

Grinning, she opened her eyes. Stretching out a hand, she patted the wide arm of the recliner. “This is THE most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in... AND it ROCKS!”

Spencer found himself grinning back at her. He’d been attracted to her from the moment he saw her and then captivated by her Moose and Squirrel slippers when they finally met face to face. But now, getting to know her, it was moments like these that fed his soul.

He gestured with a thumb and growled, “Outta my chair, woman!” He knew he’d get a giggle... at the very least. She laughed and climbed out. He sat in the chair and leaned back. Damn. It WAS comfortable.

He stood up and looked for a price tag. She pointed to it and he read the tag. “One thirty five?”

She nodded. “A bit too much for me, but it’s an excellent deal. The leather’s a bit scuffed up, but leather just gets better with age.” She lifted one of the back cushions and showed him the brand label, then leaned in to whisper, “One of these babies retails for fifteen hundred, new.” She glanced around, leaned closer and said, sotto voce, “It’s a KILLER deal!”

Then and there, he knew he was going to be buying the chair. He flicked the tag again and asked, “So this is too much for you?”

She grimaced, “Yeah. I need to get out of the hole I’m in before I start spending again, even with a killer deal like this one.” She stroked the recliner’s arm affectionately. “Someone will buy it... just not me.”

He sat back down in the huge ugly monstrosity. It was comfortable, even for his large frame. He flipped the lever and slid it back into the reclining position. He figured he might as well make this look convincing.

He clasped his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them back up, Barb was looking at him, grinning at him.

“Well, since you can’t get it, I’ll buy it.” She nodded at him. Encouraged, he decided to try for another laugh. Deliberately making it sound like he was making her a generous offer, he said, “You can even sit it when you come over to visit.”

Playing along with him, she clasped her hands under her chin and batted her eyes outrageously. She said in a syrupy sweet voice, “Oh thank you, kind sir.”

They laughed together. Then, he placed his large hands on her delicate shoulders and urged her back into the chair. “You stay here and guard our purchase. I’ll go pay for it and grab one of the rolling carts. Don’t let anyone grab this!”

She laughed and settled back into the chair as he headed out of the booth.

*****

B
arb turned into her apartment complex. Driving along behind her was a decrepit old Mustang. Her dad LOVED Mustangs, so she always noticed them and she judged this one to date back to the late sixties. She wasn’t good enough to guess the exact year, but she could appreciate the potential under it’s “rode hard and put up wet” exterior.

Forgetting the Mustang, she spied a couple of parking spaces right in front of her building. What luck! The complex didn’t have assigned parking and finding a spot could be a real crapshoot. She pulled in, parked, and hopped out. As she opened the rear door of her SUV, the Mustang pulled past her and into the empty parking space on the passenger side of her Explorer.

She glanced over at the vintage car. It needed a lot of work, but would be lovely if someone took the time to restore it. The driver’s door opened and a large, well-built blond man climbed out. He looked over and grinned at her.

She felt like someone had dropped a ton of bricks on her. Her eyes met his and her heart jumped. A small voice, somewhere deep inside her said, “It’s him. He’s the one.” She took an involuntary step back. This had only happened to her once before. When she met Spencer.

Barb felt the blood rush to her cheeks and a burning sense of betrayal. What was she doing? Even if she and Spencer were just friends, how could she react this strongly to two different men? What a slut.

*****

B
arb peeked out her window. Spencer’s truck was in its usual space. She had no idea how he managed it, but he was able to grab the same parking slot consistently. Go figure! Beside his pickup sat the decrepit old Mustang. With the parking situation in the apartment complex, the proximity of the vehicles didn’t mean anything other than the coincidental availability of those two spaces.

Mr. Mustang must be visiting someone. His car was still here three days after their first encounter.

She had been so embarrassed at her reaction when she first saw him, she’d grabbed her packages and fled into her apartment. She hadn’t heard from Spencer for the last few days. They were casual about things but they usually kept in touch. She’d used the time to berate herself over her visceral reaction to Mr. Mustang.

When the same thing had happened with Spencer, she’d convinced herself that it was a once in a lifetime reaction. With Mr. Mustang, it was beginning to look like she was turning into a certified, fall in love at first sight at the drop of a hat, smile at me and I melt, bimbo.

Well, it was laundry time. She’d proceed as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. She loaded the thermos with coffee, placed it and two mugs on top of her laundry and wheeled her hamper to the complex laundry room. After all, she comforted herself, what were the chances that Mr. Mustang would get up early to do his laundry. Pretty small, huh?

As she always did, Barb took the last two washers in the row. There were six more available, and Spencer would take the two next to hers.

She must have been a little bit early because Spencer didn’t arrive until she was placing the last of her wash into the second machine. As she heard the door swing open, she smiled and looked over her shoulder, then froze in shock.

Spencer was stepping through the door, as usual, carrying his laundry basket, but... right behind him and carrying a duffle bag was Mr. Mustang.

*****

A
s Spencer introduced her to his brother Tyler, also known as Bullwinkle, Barb went through the motions automatically. This had to be some really — think Freudian—dream.

When she shook Tyler’s hand, she was dismayed to get the same shock that she got whenever she touched Spencer. It had never happened with anyone else, no matter how interested she was or wasn’t. It seemed she had a weakness for the Anderson men. How awful.

Tyler held her hand briefly, then, as if he had radar, he dropped it before he held it too long. She looked into his eyes and came close to drowning.

Mentally, she shook herself and looked around to break the spell. That was when she saw that Spencer was watching her with a slight smile on his face.

Now she was confused.

From a distance, she heard a faint buzz and realized that Tyler was speaking. To her.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

With no hint of impatience he repeated, “Spencer and I are going out to breakfast after we finish laundry. Would you join us?” He added with a coaxing smile, “Our treat.”

She flushed, self-conscious about her financial situation.

Spencer stepped in and explained, “Like we always do, Natasha. We’ll pay for the meal and you leave the tip this time. Next time, we can switch. There’s a new place we want to try. Say yes... please...”

He screwed his face into a parody of coaxing and she had to laugh. And agree.

*****

T
yler knocked on Barb’s door. He and Spencer had come up with this plan, so he, Tyler, could spend some quality time with Barb.

Tyler knew that Barb would never agree to anything that seemed like a date. She’d made it clear that she’d never do anything to come between brothers. After analyzing the situation, Tyler had decided to try this strategy.

He heard movement on the other side of the door and the peephole darkened. He grinned at the door encouragingly. He was relieved that their Barb was careful.

The door opened and Barb looked up at him. “Tyler.” From the tone of her voice, she was surprised to see him. She was casually dressed and wearing her Squirrel and Moose slippers. She opened the door wider, inviting him in. She looked past him, asking, “Is Spencer with you?”

“Spencer got called out today to help a work buddy, unexpectedly.” Tyler went into the story he and Spencer had concocted. “I was going to check out a few junk yards looking for parts for the Mustang restoration. Spencer had to take his truck. I was wondering if I could convince you to come along and...” Here he smiled his winningest smile, “if you could drive. I’m looking for a couple of big parts that won’t fit into the Mustang, if I find them. I was going to use Spencer’s truck, but...”

Now for the finish... please let this work. “I thought I’d kidnap you and your Escape, and buy you lunch?”

Barb blinked at him, thinking, then said, “You don’t need to buy me lunch.”

He sensed that she was weakening. “Please, I’d enjoy it. I have a list of about 4 places. It will only take us a couple of hours, and I’ll take you to lunch.” Spencer had cautioned him that Barb was sensitive about her current lack of funds, so he added, “at the fast food emporium of your choice.” He had added a strong, ridiculous wheedling tone on the last sentence and she laughed.

He waited and then, to his intense relief, she nodded and said, “I’d be happy to go with you and take my Explorer. I have an almost full tank of gas.”

Shit. He hadn’t considered the gas issue.

She looked down at her slippers and said, “Give me a minute to put on clothes and comb my hair?”

“Take your time. You’re doing me the favor.” He glanced around the small apartment, and took a seat on the couch as she waved toward it.

“I’ll try to be quick”

As soon as she left the room, he pulled out his cell and called Spencer. Whispering so she wouldn’t overhear, “Spence, what about paying for gas? I never even thought about that”

On the other end, Spencer swore, too. “She’ll never take gas money.”

Thinking fast Tyler asked, “Which are the two closest places on the list.” Spencer knew the area better and he told Tyler.

“Alright, then. I’ll just go to those two and make sure we find someplace close for lunch.” He heard movement beyond the closed bedroom door. “Gotta go.”

He had his phone in his pocket before the door opened.

He noted that Barb had taken the time to change and had put on some light makeup. He decided to take that as a positive sign. She looked adorable.

He stood and smiled, “Ready to go?”

She nodded and they headed out the door.

*****

O
ver the last several weeks, Barb’s life had changed dramatically. Tyler was living with Spencer and the two of them had taken over her spare time, together and separately.

Many meals were eaten over at Chez Anderson. Tyler was also a CIA chef, so the food was far better than anything she could hope to fix. While her jeans might be getting a tad tight, her checkbook was benefiting. Last time she went grocery shopping, she’d just grabbed essentials because she was rarely cooking for herself any more.

Most of what they were doing was fun and low cost, so she didn’t feel a need to say no in order to keep to her tight budget, which was very pleasant.

As had been the case with Spencer, before Tyler’s appearance on the scene, their interactions were congenial, with no indication of an emotional connection. She had decided that she just wasn’t their type.