“You finally done?” Lars, one of the men who owned the Triple R asked. Uninvited, he strode further into my shop through the open overhead door. Even though he and Ridge and West knew the open door wasn’t an invitation since I’d made it known no one was to interrupt me as I worked, the largest of my former Ranger brothers crossed his beefy arms. “Looks good. Damn good.”
“I didn’t ask. And you know the fucking rules, Olsen.” Turning my back on him, I began putting my tools away. Needing a shower and a beer, I had no idea what time it was. Just damn happy I was finally done. “Why are you here?”
“Shit Baz. You just finished a fucking masterpiece, can’t you at least show some emotion or maybe a hint of satisfaction at what you’ve created? C’mon, give me a smile. You know you want to.”
All he was going to get out of me was a grunt. And that’s exactly what I gave him.
Why none of them refused to follow orders without razzing my ass was probably wishful thinking, just as it had been when we were active and tracking down insurgents in Afghanistan. I let it go over there because it was a hellhole. But here? Theyknew better. Yet, I was too tired to even speak and…dammit; it hit me why he’d broken my number one rule.
I didn’t have to wear a watch to know I was late. Why they’d invited me to discuss Kane and Chassie’s wedding ceremony tonight, I had no clue. Could be they wanted to soften me up by including me in the festivities. Like I cared about weddings. Now, a wedding night would hold more appeal as a topic of discussion. But I didn’t plan on ever having one of those, so it had to be for another reason.
I was still trying to figure out how I could balance my need for solitude with the offer I made in a weak moment to give my time and space for their client-guests to explore welding as a possible trade. Becoming a teacher of anything was never a goal of mine, but providing encouragement and my knowledge to fellow veterans looking for a second act should be a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, my tolerance level for being around people had dropped significantly since I retired from the Army. I wouldn’t label myself a hermit, but if I wasn’t careful, I was definitely headed toward becoming the clichéd mountain man loner. If it weren’t for Astrid and Josh, I’d probably already be the poster boy.
“Okay, I see the light dawning. Kane is currently doing his best impression of you and pissing West and Ridge off. I need you at the lodge so there’s man-to-man coverage when those two decide to stop giving Kane a break just because he’s suffering from wedding jitters. For a man who’s as gonzo over his woman as the rest of us were, he’s become a certifiable pain in the ass.”
Kane was the most recent of the men willingly giving up their bachelor card. I was going to be the last single man on the mountain, unless you counted Lars’s brother Victor and Kane’s brother Ross, which rumor was both were interested in coming on board at the lodge.
Except for the fact that what either of them were experts in was still cloudy, the offer of an exchange for their time and sweat equity to become partners as well as a section of land to build their own cabins on—was too good to pass up. Shit, now there would be six of them riding my ass, disturbing me whenever they felt like it.
If I hadn’t already bought my acreage a few miles above the lodge years before West had inherited the old hunting lodge from his uncle, it would have been quite the incentive to join them. But I lucked out and bought mine when real estate prices in Pineville had been on the downswing. Ten acres of a wooded buffer stood between me and the public. Now that was my idea of heaven.
Twenty minutes after I showered the sweat and grime off me, I slicked back my hair and called it good enough. Thomas followed me out to my pride possession, a fully restored ’66 Bronco. “You’re not welcome at the lodge, remember? Ridge and Addy are still trying to get me to adopt the remaining offspring from your wild night with Beatrix last year.” Thankfully, they got her fixed after my tomcat had his way with Ridge’s feline.
Why they still had one male from the litter, who was probably just like his sire, was a mystery. I suspected it was to get back at me for not having Thomas neutered. Just the thought of having the cantankerous male’s balls chopped off made me cringe.
The drive was short, and within minutes I was pulling into the drive and parking next to an early two-thousand’s SUV that had seen better days. Patches of rust on the driver’s side rear bumper made me twitch. Not only did I create in my workshop, but I also used my skills with metal to repair and restore any vehicle that caught my eye.
Whoever owned this SUV was going to get a lecture from me about car maintenance, whether they wanted it or not. Taking the steps two at a time, I walked through the front door of theTriple R expecting to find the men in the great room. “Alright, you dicks. I’m here. And no one better say a word to me about wearing a suit.”
Instead of my military brothers, there were at least a dozen pairs of female eyes locked onto me as I skidded to a halt. The squeak of my motorcycle boots filled the silence, and for the first time in my adult life, I felt my cheeks heat from embarrassment. Well, hell’s bells. Lars could have given me a heads-up. Hope the Nordic giant choked on his spit as he got a good laugh out of this.
“Ladies.” I made a beeline for the hallway. They were no doubt in the therapy room since Chassie was using the great room along with eleven of her closest friends, including the other wives. Then I embarrassed myself for a second time and did a double take.
The statuesque teacher, to whom I owed an answer, sat next to my sister. Her lips were quirked up on one side of her gorgeous face. Zoe sent me a quick nod. She wore a look that signaled I had moved to the top of her list and….
“Is that your Hot Santa, Zoe? Yum. I’d break some rules to get on his naughty list.” Whoever owned the loudly whispered voice wasn’t familiar. But it didn’t matter who said it. The idea of Zoe labeling me “hot” increased the building pressure behind my zipper.
Damn, all I could think about was being on her naughty list as I made a fast exit. And now I had to deal with getting rid of the obvious bulge in my jeans before facing the group of men who’d love nothing better than to have one more thing to razz me endlessly over.
An eruption of wine-fueled laughter chased me down the hallway. Astrid’s laugh being the loudest, because of course it was.Shit.I didn’t even want to know what my sister was sharing now. I hesitated outside the closed door, willing my dick to behave and retreat. But I caught a scent drifting over me. Evenif I lived to a hundred, I’d never be able to forget to whom it belonged.
Zoe walked hesitantly toward me; determination filled her expressive eyes. My gaze drifted lower the closer she came. The buttons on her sweater strained to hold those gorgeous tits.Double shit.My almost back to normal dick bounced back larger than before.
Would she even notice? And if she did, then it would take all the men on the other side of that door to keep me from making a complete lovesick ass out of myself and kiss her.
CHAPTER SIX
ZOE
“I wanted to explain and apologize…oh, my.” The last two syllables left my mouth barely above a whisper. Baz had turned to face me, and he…he was sporting a hard-on the size of a…damn, well, it was big, more so than any ex-boyfriend I’d ever had. It was straining the front of his jeans to the point I wondered if his zipper might bust open any second.
But, was he turned on by me, or was it being the center of attention of a room full of beautiful women?
No, I erased that thought immediately. His sister was in the room as well as the wives, and one soon-to-be wife of his friends. Baz may be the sexiest man I’d ever encountered, but I doubted he still spontaneously sprouted wood like a horny teenager battling raging hormones. So, that left that he was already primed before he walked into the lodge, which I highly doubted.
Or two, and granted this might be wishful thinking—it was because of me.
