Page 2 of Two Weddings and a Shoot Out

Locks hadn’t heard how Compass was doing, but when he’d been in town for Booker and Lexi’s wedding, Compass had been paying a lot of attention to Maureen, Lexi’s mom. Compass had lost his wife a couple years ago and gone nomad.

If Locks hadn’t had his girls that he thought he needed to be around for, he might have done the same thing when Kathryn passed. That first time he’d walked into Sunday lunch without her, he’d about thrown up. But it had been over ten years, and he’d gotten used to doing a lot of things without her. It still hurt, but it was a different kind of pain. And his smiling grandkids did help to fill his time.

Chapter Two

MaureenAlexanderheadedintoBluff Creek Crafts and Things. Regina had said their meeting to finalize things for the commemoration would not get interrupted there.

Maureen was happy to have something to focus on. Since she’d met Compass on March 15, they’d spent their time together. The first night he’d needed a room to stay in, and she’d felt a connection with him. They’d held each other all night, fully clothed. No kisses, just a comforting hug.

They’d been growing closer after her new son-in-law, Booker, one of the Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC nomads, had made his home at the ranch. Compass and Twist were also nomads and had asked about making the ranch their home base.

If Compass was in town, they slept together, and he’d even kissed her a couple of times, but nothing else. If she didn’t feel his hard cock against her when they kissed, Maureen wouldworry Compass’ equipment didn’t work because all they did was kiss.

Maureen had been all for taking it slow, but there was a difference between slow and not moving forward at all. Compass and she were both in their sixties, but Maureen still had all the needs of a woman, which it seemed that Compass’ very impressive package could fulfill, if the freaking stubborn man would do something.

At least when he’d been taking trips as a nomad in April, Maureen could satisfy herself, but Compass had been home from April twentieth to now. Over a month he’d been around, with his salt-and-pepper chest hair over his muscled chest. He got hot at night, so he didn’t want to wear a shirt to bed, only pajama bottoms. Every single time he lay down beside her, Maureen fought not to lick her way across his chest. She was so horny that at this point, she didn’t even care if it was his cock. His tongue or fingers would do, but that would require them to, she didn’t know, maybe do more than kiss!

If she didn’t love the man with all her heart, she’d probably shoot him and bury him in one of the ranch’s pastures, but each day she spent with him had her loving him more. If only they could move forward. Sure, she missed her husband, but the one thing he’d always told her was that he didn’t expect her to be alone if he went first. He wanted her to be happy. She’d told him the same thing.

She pushed the door open to the craft shop and saw that Regina, Stella, Meg, Clara, Hope, and Mrs. Hall were already there.

“Go ahead and flip the sign to closed and lock the door, please,” Meg said.

Once she accomplished that, Maureen set her purse down and dropped into an open spot on a sofa.

Regina held up a can of soda and an alcoholic seltzer. She stared for a minute, then decided, what the hell.

“Give me the alcohol because I need something to relax me,” Maureen said. Regina handed her the seltzer. Maureen popped the top and took a long swig. She wiped her mouth. That hit the spot.

“So what do we need to do to make this year’s event a success?” Maureen asked.

Meg chuckled. “After saying you need something to relax you, you just want us to ignore the elephant in the room.”

“Why not? Pigheaded men ignore crap all the time,” Maureen groused.

“Oh, honey,” Regina said, shaking her head, “even if you hadn’t indicated it was a man, we’d know. The male species is a marvelous invention except when they aren’t. The sheer number of times Baron had no clue how close he was to dying is shocking. So my question is: do you want commiseration, help deciding a path forward, or an alibi?”

Maureen thought about the options. She loved the man, so she didn’t need an alibi.

“What did Compass do?” Meg asked.

Maureen rolled her eyes and took another swig of her drink. “It’s what he hasn’t done,” she whispered.

“Like he hasn’t gone all the way or hasn’t had sex with you recently?” Stella questioned.

Maureen could feel her cheeks heating and wasn’t sure she could talk about this with them. She’d only met Mrs. Hall once and had gotten to know the others but not super close.

“Don’t be embarrassed. In my day, it wasn’t talked about enough. Intimacy and sex are important parts of a relationship, though friendship and everything else are too. Now, how about you all let me live vicariously through helping you? Now,Compass, where does he need to be led to? Because sometimes they need a roadmap,” Mrs. Hall said.

Oh, screw it. She might as well have someone to commiserate with, and if they actually could help her figure this out, then hallelujah!

“Since the first night, he has held me in his arms when we slept beside each other, but that’s all we’ve done. I mean, he’s brushed kisses across my forehead or cheek, but that’s it. At first, I was thinking he didn’t find me attractive or maybe had a physical problem, but he’s hard when we lie in bed,” Maureen said, her face getting hotter.

“Huh,” Regina said. “Give me a sec to think on this. You all continue.”

Regina waved her hand, and Maureen laughed. She’d been so irritated walking in.

“Okay, so if she is sharing, I am too because what I need is for you all to keep me from falling into his bed again,” Hope said.

---