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As they began to take the stuff out of the truck and bring it around the back, he watched Valentina bend over to help with the first part of the jungle gym. He gave his cousin a nudge.
“She’s gorgeous. Where are they from?” Evan asked.
“New York.”
“She’s the one that pulled the gun on Jace, huh? That must have been a sight to come up on. Both of them on top of one another, pointing guns to their throats. A match in the making,” he said and chuckled.
“Mommy, Mommy, come see what Aunt Val got for me,” the little boy said and ran to his mother, took her hand, and pulled her over toward where they all stood. Valentina and Beck were putting together the jungle gym.
“Okay, I see what she got. It looks like fun,” she said, and then Valentina stood up and smiled. “I couldn’t resist. I was driving down the road and saw the yard sale at this little house and office.”
“That’s the schoolhouse and tutoring center. It’s kind of like homeschooling, and they also offer special classroom settings for kids with learning problems or special needs. It’s an offset site from the medical center outside of Salvation,” Evan told them.
“That’s great.”
“Yes, and they were having a bake sale, too,” Beck reminded her.
“Oh, God, I forgot about the baked goods and your pay,” she said and winked. She ran to the side of the house where her car was. Evan looked at the sister.
“I’m Evan,” he said to her.
She stared up at him a moment and he saw she shared similar qualities with her sister, like the blue eyes and blonde hair, but her eyes weren’t as bright. They seemed dull and sad.
“Lois,” she said, and she kept her arms wrapped around her midsection. He got the feeling if he stuck
out his hand for her to shake that she wouldn’t accept it. The woman appeared nervous. She looked from her son, Kenny, to where Valentina had walked off. When Valentina came back around the house carrying a box, Lois looked relieved.
“We can sit down on the back deck if you both want to have something.” She opened the box and offered them one of the baked treats.
“Wow, those look great. I should have hit that yard sale on the way over here,” Evan said and took a cookie. She turned the box toward Beck and he winked at Valentina, then took a brownie.
“Lois?” she asked her sister, who shook her head and stared at Evan. She was definitely on edge, and his curiosity had the better of him.
“What’s going on over here?” Ridge asked, joining them with Sparrow. Jace remained behind, digging by the house.
“Just delivering some things from the yard sale that Valentina picked out for Kenny. What do you think?” Beck asked as he popped the last piece of brownie into his mouth.
“Hey, kiddo, this looks like fun,” Ridge said to Kenny as he bent down and looked into the jungle gym. He made a funny face, or did something to get the kid to laugh. Valentina smiled.
“Would you guys like some?” she asked, holding open the box.
“Me, too,” Kenny said and ran to her. She bent down to show him the box and Evan saw the tattoo on her hip. One glance at his cousins and he knew they were all checking out her tattoo. He smiled to himself. Seemed they had their eyes set on Valentina, after all.
* * * *
Valentina was shocked at how nice the men were being. They even played with Kenny and started tossing him the football, showing him how to hold it and throw it. It was Sparrow that knelt down and fixed the placement of Kenny’s hands. She felt a nudge to her shoulder and looked up to Ridge. She was trying not to stare at the men. They were so muscular and good-looking. She was starting to get used to them being around and them being her landlords.
“Sparrow played ball in high school and even got a scholarship to play for Texas A&M.”
“That is incredible. He’s a big guy, was he a linebacker?” she asked him.
“He was a tight end,” Ridge said to her. Just then, Kenny ran to her and hugged her leg, nearly knocking her over as she held the box of goodies. Ridge grabbed onto her waist and steadied her. She couldn’t believe it. She felt the surge of attraction to him, too. God, she must be losing her mind or desperate for some male attention. When she thought about it, it had been years since she had sex. Years since she felt comfortable and safe enough to engage in sex. Looking around at these fine-looking men, she suddenly wondered what it would be like to have that intimacy, that trust, with a man—or men. Her cheeks felt hot and she looked away and locked onto her sister’s eyes. Lois was freaking out with all these men around, and Evan, their cousin, was trying to talk to her.
“Well, you guys probably have to get back to work. Thank you so much, Beck, for getting the stuff over here. I appreciate it, and I hope that it’s okay with your brothers that we have toys in the yard,” she said and looked at Beck, Ridge, and Sparrow, who stood staring at her.
“No problem. Anytime, Valentina. If you need anything, just let us know,” Beck said to her.
They gave her a nod and a smile and said good-bye to Kenny and Lois before they headed back next door. Beck got into his truck to pull it over toward his house.
