Millie's Second Chance (13 page)

She looked up into his eyes and he could see the sadness and weakness there. Her long thick lashes nearly hid her dark blue eyes.

“Thank you.” She took the pills.

Her head must have really been hurting her because she crossed her arms onto the table and laid her head down.

She was an attractive woman. Jeremy thought so the moment he met her the first day she arrived in Pearl and on the Triple C Ranch. As he saw her the days to follow and they shared a few friendly words, he began to think about her more and had realized that he was attracted to her. Apparently, his brothers were, too. That was okay by him. However, he had a feeling that Millie wasn’t going to entertain the idea.

“Can I get you anything else?” he whispered next to her.

“I just need a few more minutes for these to kick in. God, I feel like crap.”

He took a deep breath then released it. “It’s understandable. You probably didn’t sleep very well, either,” Jeremy replied then caressed her back. He felt her body tense under his touch and then she relaxed.

“She didn’t have much sleep last night. She was tossing and turning,” Marco added to the conversation.

Before she could respond to Marco’s comment, they heard Anthony bang something against the door.

“What the heck is he doing?” Millie asked then slowly raised her head up.

Jeremy was certain that the painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet, but she seemed determined to not show defeat.

“We told you, sweets, he’s updating your security,” Marco told her.

“That really isn’t necessary.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Millie. We know what we’re doing,” Anthony stated firmly from across the room.

* * * *

Millie didn’t know what was happening. These men were awfully bossy yet sweet at the same time. She didn’t know any of them well enough, yet she felt comfortable to some extent. She needed to get a grip. But she understood how relationships worked around Pearl. When multiple men in one family started paying attention to a woman, protecting her, caring for her, then they were interested in more than just friendship. That was something she sure couldn’t entertain right now or perhaps ever. A sexual relationship between her and one man did not mix well. She sure as hell didn’t need to involve herself with multiple men. She cringed as the deep thoughts added pain to her already aching head.

God, I wish I could just go somewhere and hide. All alone in a nice guarded room tucked under blankets where nothing could touch me or make me feel, and I wouldn’t have to deal with everything.

She watched as Anthony knelt down in front of the open door and began to measure and then lift the drill to it. She clutched her ears, expecting the drill to sound harsh against her bad headache, but instead it hummed. She absorbed the sight of Anthony kneeling in jeans and scuffed-up cowboy boots with the utility belt hanging somewhat loose against his waist. His forearms flexed as he pressed the drill bit into the wood, making a hole. She watched in fascination how quickly he did the job and then he stood up. The man was at minimum six feet tall. The sight of his side profile, dark brown crew-cut hair with the small pencil hugged against the back of his ear, was sexy for some really strange reason. His dark-blue T-shirt with the Lewis company logo stretched across his wide chest. He looked a lot like Marco and she wondered if his eyes were blue like Marco’s, too.

“There. Now check this out,” Anthony stated as he closed the door and showed off his handy work.

Millie watched Jeremy swagger across the room in his tight, dark jeans and joined Anthony by the door and checked the two new dead bolts that Anthony installed. He pulled on the door and Millie watched him. Jeremy was younger than Anthony and definitely Marco, if she had to guess. He seemed closer to her twenty-three years than the others. That thought made her feel funny. Why, when she thought about one Lewis, did she think about the others and compare? She didn’t like the direction her mind was heading in. She needed to nip this in the bud before it got out of control.

“You should go lie down again, Millie. I’ll stick around until twelve or so and then Hank or Dalton will be by. Jeremy and Anthony are headed to the Triple C for work.” Marco sounded bossy and controlling. She didn’t want bossy and controlling. The attraction to a man in control and with authority sent her in the wrong direction. Why was she even thinking that these men would be interested in her, anyway? She wasn’t thin, glamorous, and sexy. She was average and some psycho killer was after her.

She stood up a little too quickly and grabbed on to the counter before she fell. Marco went to reach for her, but she swatted his hand away. He scrunched his eyebrows up in an expression of surprise at her reaction. She couldn’t falter.

“I don’t need you to stick around, Marco, or your brothers to stop by and babysit. I’ll be fine alone and I don’t need you telling me what to do. Now make good use of the door and show yourselves out. I’m taking a shower and then I’ll be headed over to the Triple C to paint.”

She glanced over her shoulder. They watched her walk away and she saw their surprised expressions. She ignored the tug in her belly of guilt and regret. She was losing her mind, filled with mixed emotions and feelings she just didn’t want to be filled with at a time like this. She had some serious thinking and planning to do.

* * * *

“What the hell was that all about?” Jeremy asked.

“She’s being stubborn and she’s afraid,” Anthony offered as he began to gather his things.

“I don’t want to leave her here alone.” Jeremy walked over to the sink, washed his mug from the coffee he had.

“She’s under a lot of stress right now Jeremy. I looked into this Frank guy last night and I plan on talking with Stacy today, too. I want to know the whole story. Plus I think the five of us need to sit down and talk tonight.”

“Talk? About what?” Jeremy asked.

“About our attraction to Millie and how we plan on getting to know her and whether or not Hank and Dalton are on board,” Anthony said then nodded his head toward the door. Jeremy walked out first and then Anthony and Marco followed, except Marco sat on the front porch waiting for Millie to get ready to go. She more than likely forgot that the truck was in the shop and she would need a ride to the ranch.

* * * *

Millie walked out of the cottage and was surprised to see that Marco was still there. His blue eyes bore into her as he leaned against a rather large truck with tinted windows that nearly shared the color of his eyes. She turned from him, giving an annoyed expression, but truly she was relieved that he was there. While alone in the shower and her bedroom, she thought about the events of the last week and couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt over Clare’s murder. It didn’t matter what Wyatt and the deputies told her. She was to blame.

She locked the door and turned toward Marco.

“I told you that I was fine. I don’t need babysitting.”

He looked her over and it made her body hum in an awareness she was finding difficult to fight off. Her conversation with herself about staying away from Lewis men appeared to have been forgotten every time one of them looked at her like that.

“Your aunt’s truck is in the shop, remember? I figured you might not feel up to walking in the heat all the way to the Triple C.”

She had completely forgotten and she shook her head then looked out across the yard toward the horse stables. The sound of pebbles and dirt crunching under Marco’s boots warned her of his quick approach.

She stood at the top of the three steps to the porch and he stood level with the walkway. He was still taller despite her position.

She locked gazes with him, and damn, did he look commanding.

“If you think I’m going to let you get a ride with some other cowboy besides me or one of my brothers, you’ve got another thing coming, woman. Now let’s get a move on it, I’ve got a couple of hours before work.”

He reached his hand out for her to take it, but she was trying to get over the emotions his words brought out in her. In an attempt to hide their effect, she skimmed past him, brushing against his body without his assistance toward the truck.

Before she could reach for the handle of the door, Marco was there. Their fingers brushed against one another’s and she pulled back only to bump into his chest.

His hand landed on her waist to support her, and she froze in place.

Near inches from her head and neck she heard his intake of breath as his body gently swayed against hers. She felt the thick, long, ridge of his cock against her backside and unintentionally gasped. The heat hit her cheeks. She felt flush with instant desire and was grateful that her back was toward him. Marco then pulled away before she could enjoy the close proximity.

“You smell real good, Millie.”

She swallowed hard, trying to destroy the lustful feelings circulating through her veins as he opened the door and guided her toward the seat with a hand still at her waist. It was high up, so she grabbed the roll bar on the door and was about to hoist herself up, but Marco lifted her as if she weighed nothing at all and placed her in the seat.

She squealed slightly and more out of shock and surprise at his move, but then he went further by leaning across her to push some papers toward the middle compartment. His muscular arm brushed against her breasts, and damn it, did her body renege on the agreement of ignoring her attraction to this man.

His face was inches from hers as he turned toward her.

“Not all men are assholes, sweetness.”

What?

“Safety first, honey. Let’s get this seat belt on and head to the Triple C.”

She sat in utter shock as he guided the strap across her body, buckled her in, and then stepped down from the truck. He closed the door and she ordered herself to breathe and not look into what his comment meant.

Was he trying to justify his actions? Was he trying to tell her that he was interested in her? Maybe he just wanted her to know that not all men were assholes so she didn’t feel like crap for ever getting involved with Frank?

She hadn’t a clue and she knew she was in trouble. She couldn’t even have a regular conversation with a man without analyzing his intentions, or, at minimum, confusing herself about them.

She stared straight ahead as Marco started the truck and chuckled as he headed out of the driveway.

* * * *

Millie was lost in thought as she painted the walls of the rec center. She had spent time talking with Anna and Stacy when she first arrived at the ranch. Stacy had gone outside to talk with Marco while Lena and Anna discussed the events from last night and how Millie was handling things. She knew that Anna, Stacy, and Lena understood what she felt like. But no matter what they told her, she felt guilty about Clare.

As she walked toward the other room and began painting, she was soon lost in her own thoughts. Millie figured that she had a few decisions to make. After going over every scenario in her head, she realized that she had to give Detective Flynn time to locate Frank and handle things. She also decided that Anna and Stacy were right about her being protected in Pearl. There were plenty of men around the area and, due to the new facility, security had to be good. She had learned that Hank and Dalton had trained all of the deputies in town. Apparently, there were a lot of ex-military and active military living on the outskirts of town as well as inside Pearl. Her concern over baby Hope as well as Stacy and Anna would be resolved by Millie staying toward the edge of town at her aunt’s ranch. She might be alone most of the time, but that’s where her other decision had been made.

She was going to have to take care of herself and her own safety, beginning with getting Hank to train her as if she were law enforcement or military. If Frank came looking for her in Pearl, she wanted to be physically ready to fight for her life since mentally she was scared of him. She needed to learn how to turn off that fear and rely on her abilities and training. If she were going to die by Frank’s hands, then she would die fighting.

“It looks great in here.”

Millie jumped at the sound of the male voice. When she turned to look and see who was there, she was surprised to see Hank.

“Thanks,” she whispered then mentally tried to prepare herself to ask him for assistance with the training.

“How are you doing?” he asked as she stepped down from the ladder, placed the brush on the top, and looked around the room.

“Okay.”

“Do you need some help?” he asked, and she realized that he was there because Marco probably asked him to come and babysit her. Damn, why was Marco so controlling and bossy?

“Listen, I don’t need a damn babysitter,” she stated with a bit more attitude than she intended.

Just then, Dalton walked in. He glared at her as if he had heard her tone and for some odd reason she felt intimidated. He always looked so damn angry. Did the man know how to smile? And that scar of his made him look hard and intense. He wore it well, though, like a pirate with a black patch over his eye.

“Hey, we’re not here to babysit you, as you called it. We stopped in to see Lena, Anna, Stacy, and you to discuss the schedule for offering self-defense classes here at the rec center,” Hank replied.