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Yes, Marj was the youngest. I had never even thought to ask the ages of her brothers. “How old are all your brothers?”
“Jonah is thirty-eight, Talon is thirty-five, and Ryan is thirty-two.”
Wow. Talon was ten years older than I was. Of course, I knew he was older. I just hadn’t considered how much older. Marj was twenty-five, the same as me. Sounded like she was an afterthought. “I guess I didn’t realize they were that much older than we are.”
“Oh, yeah, I used to chase after them when I was a kid and drive them crazy.”
“You must have had a fun childhood.”
“Well, I never knew my mother…”
I let out a breath. God, I was such an idiot. Her mother had killed herself when Marj was only two. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
Marjorie attempted a smile. “It’s okay. I mean, I did grow up on a gorgeous ranch with everything that money could buy and three older brothers who adored me.”
“Adore you?” Talon sat down and set his coffee and the scone on the table. “Why do you think we would adore you, squirt?”
I let out a chuckle. The nickname squirt did not fit Marj. She was model tall.
“So what are you doing in town today, Tal?” Marjorie asked.
“Just had an appetite for one of Rita’s scones.” Talon took a bite of the confection, crumbs falling to the table. “What are you all doing here?”
“I’m just showing Jade around town. Had to introduce her to Rita’s coffee.”
“Yep,” Talon agreed. “Best coffee this side of the Rockies.”
They were delusional, but I smiled anyway. If that was what passed for good strong coffee around these parts, I needed to stop at a store and pick up a coffee maker, grinder, and some decent beans.
“The city attorney’s office isn’t far from here,” Marjorie said. “I know the city attorney. His name is Larry Wade. We could stop by, and you could introduce yourself if you’d like.”
I looked down at my Daisy Duke shorts and scarlet tank top. I was hardly dressed to meet a potential employer. “Not today. I mean, look at me.”
Talon turned toward me and met my gaze, his dark eyes burning. The few clothes I had on were being melted off by his piercing stare. My nipples hardened under my bra and soon were visible—two pencil erasers encased in red. As well endowed as I was, I made a point never to wear padded bras. I didn’t need any extra. Of course, the price was whenever I was cold—or incredibly aroused—my headlights flashed.
Talon’s lips trembled just a bit. Was he holding back a smile? He didn’t smile a lot. He had noticed my nipples—I was sure. At least the warmth of my skin and my skittering heartbeat were sure. I crossed my arms over my chest…which made it pretty difficult to drink coffee. But the coffee sucked anyway.
Talon finished up the scone and wiped the crumbs from the table into his hand. “I’ve got a few errands to run, ladies. See you back home for dinner.”
Yes, dinner. The Steels had a housekeeper and cook who came every day—Felicia. I wasn’t sure when I would get used to being cooked for and cleaned up after. This was so far from how I had lived for so many years. My dad was in construction and made a decent living, but that was light years away from how the Steels lived. We never even had a cleaning lady, let alone a housekeeper and cook who came daily.
I couldn’t help watching Talon as he walked out the door. He was one fine-looking man. With one fine-looking ass. My palms sweated, and I rubbed them on the denim of my shorts.
My breath caught.
I would never forget our kiss.
Chapter Four
Talon
The boy huddled in the darkness, his worn T-shirt and the ragged gray blanket his only warmth, and they did little. His eyes had long ago adjusted to the darkness of the dank cellar where he was kept. Nighttime was the hardest, even though he was left alone then.
Aloneness came with its own demons.
Isolation. Fear. Vulnerability.
Frigid air pricked at the boy’s skin. Haunting squeaks drifted toward him. Cancerous blurs emerged against the walls, dancing eerily to a discordant violin. Black claws descended, and the cold concrete walls inched forward slowly.
