Page 20 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

I slowly turned towards Vera’s bedroom and saw she was in the doorway, staring at me while chewing on her lip. She looked nervous as she watched me and I didn’t know how to help her in that moment because I was more embarrassed than I could ever remember being. The scene in my bedroom with her holding that V.H. Springs book, asking me if I read a lot of her books, made a lot more sense. She’d looked so shocked when I found her but I’d just assumed she didn’t expect a romance novel to be waiting for me in my bedroom.

The women spotted Vera and ran to her. They all started talking at once and it was utter chaos but I watched Vera melt right into it. Her nervousness was just a memory.

“Well, that was a lot.” Lennon stood next to me with a smile on his face. “Tell me, D, why are you blushing like a schoolboy?”

I shot him a dark look and forced myself to turn away from Vera’s room. “Fuck off.”

“Don’t be like that.” He laughed and smacked me on the shoulder. “I figure we can let them stay for a while. Then I’m assuming we’re going to have a very angry Vera to deal with. She’s going to want to leave with them. Especially when she finds out that we’re just outside of town.”

“Too bad.” I cracked my neck and moved towards the door. “I’m going to do a sweep of their car.”

“I’ll make sure they don’t slip her any cakes with nail files.” He headed towards her room but I left before I had to hear anything else.

I was embarrassed she knew I was reading one of her novels. I’d been made fun of my entire navy career for my choice of reading material but the world was a dark fucking place and romance novels had become an escape for me. V.H. Springs’ novels had become my favorite. She wrote about relationships like the ones I preferred. She wrote sex scenes that left me hard and aching.

That was probably one of the most embarrassing things. Vera Hellstone, our good friends’ little sister, had turned me on more times with just her words than any real woman ever had. That was an issue.

I made myself scarce while the women were still around. I checked their car and walked the perimeter the inside fence. I drove around the outside edges of our property, looking for any signs we’d had company. There was nothing.

When I finally decided to stop hiding, I found all five women in the kitchen with Lennon and Reed. Reed, of course, was standing back, watching from afar while Lennon entertained. Vera blushed when I looked her way and turned away from me. I would’ve given a good portion of my savings to know what the hell she was thinking.

“So, Dean.” The older woman, Sugar, smiled at me. “Would you say you’re a big V.H. Springs fan?”

“Sugar!” Vera hissed out her name.

I felt my face warm again and forced myself to play it cool. “I’ve read a few of her books. Can’t say I ever would’ve suspected our Vera as the writer.”

“Ohh,ourVera?” The woman sitting closest to Vera grunted when Vera elbowed her.

“I’ve already sworn them to secrecy. I don’t want anyone else knowing.” Vera wouldn’t meet my eyes. “If Mills had been watching my cabin, my secret would still be safe. Stupid pain in the ass man. He had one job. Secure the ranch. Does he? Of course not.”

Sugar filled me in. “When we couldn’t get in touch with Vera, we went looking for her. We talked to Mills and he was just being weird so we broke into her cabin to find clues.”

“And instead, we found a secret little corner of her cabin with an unfinished manuscript from the amazing V.H. Springs.” The woman speaking was in scrubs, I’d just noticed. So much for my observation skills. “I’m Bianca Shawn. I’m the doctor in town. And this is my girlfriend, Meredith Pepper. She owns the bar.”

I nodded to both women. “Dean. Wish we were meeting under different circumstances.”

“Well, if you keep our Vera safe, I’ll buy you a round at Meredith’s bar. I’m Ava. I ownPearly Things.” She pointed to the older woman. “And that’s Sugar Moore. She’s the dentist in town.”

I raised my eyebrows. “There’s a joke in there somewhere.”

Bianca smirked. “A famous author, a dentist, and a doctor walk into a bar?”

“I’m not famous.” Vera slid off her stool and walked around the island so she could face the women. “Please don’t let it slip. You know how my brothers would react.”

I frowned but kept my mouth shut. It didn’t sit right with me she was hiding her talent from her brothers, but it wasn’t my place to comment on it. I waited for a lull in the conversation and then repeated the spiel Lennon had already given the women about keeping Vera’s location secret. After getting their guarantee they’d keep Vera’s secret and her location private, the women all hugged Vera tight and made the slowest exit I’d ever seen. Not that I minded right then, not when there was an elephant in the room with me. I wasn’t ready for whatever reaction Vera might have to me knowing she wrote the book on my nightstand.

Vera surprised me when the women were all finally gone. She turned to me, to all three of us, and looked as serious as I’d ever seen her look. “I know that you’re friends with my brothers but please don’t tell them about this.”

Reed was faster on his feet than I was. “Stop trying to escape and we’ll keep your secret.”

A look came over her face that sent a chill down my spine. She was up to something. “Okay.”

We all watched as she walked across the house to her room and cast one last glance at us over her shoulder before she shut her door. I turned to Reed and Lennon to see they both looked as unnerved as I felt.

“She’s up to something.” Reed shook his head. “So. You’re a big fan of her writing?”

“Fuck off.” I rubbed my face and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Normally we didn’t drink on jobs but I needed something to take the edge off. Vera had me feeling like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

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