Page 43 of Brooke's Bliss
The house was nice, had plenty of room, but it was…neutral.He didn’t want her to see it as a hotel room.He wanted her to get comfortablehere.
“It’s fine.”Shane set his pack down.“The place looksgreat.”
“Nah, it looks like the last person who actually lived herewas a man who did not give a damn about anything but comfort.”Trev McNamarachuckled as he walked through the doorway.He was a big guy, his body stillevidence of his former NFL career.He’d been a famous quarterback with theworld open to him, but he’d had an addiction to a bunch of stuff that wasn’tgood for him, and now he was a rancher.
And seemed happy about it.Oh, he still played some ball,but only with his friends and family.Bay had caught a couple of that dude’sspiral passes, and the man could hit a target.
Shane looked at their boss.“Oh, it’s fine.We’re thankfulthat you’re allowing us to use it.I need you to understand we know it’s justwhile Brooke is here.”
Trev studied Shane for a long moment and then gave the samescrutiny to Bay.He wondered if they were about to get a lecture about takingadvantage of his wife.“How long do you suspect that’s going to be?”
Yes, he should have known this was too good to be true.“Ithink she said she was going to be here a couple of weeks.”
“And you’re okay with that?”Trev asked.
“We support Brooke in whatever she wants to do,” Shane said,proving he was the one with a filter.
Bay didn’t have much of one.“No.We want her to stay.Shethought throwing out the whole fake engagement thing would get me to run, butshe doesn’t know me well.Yet.Pretty soon she’s going to figure out that was amistake because I’m a tick who digs in hard.”
For a second he worried he’d said the wrong thing, but thenTrev pointed his way and smiled.“That’s what I want to hear.”He glanced outthe open door.“Jamie, I was right.This is all a scam to trap Brooke.”
“Thank god.”Jamie Glen walked in, carrying a vase filledwith red and pink roses.“I was worried they were using Brooke to fuck overMax.Not that anyone would blame you.”
“Brooke would, Mr.Glen,” Bay pointed out.She loved herbrothers, and he and Shane needed to find a way to make up for the last severalyears of fucking around with them.
Jamie set the flowers on the kitchen table.“These are fromHope.She’s planning on inviting Brooke over to the storage shed.There’s someextra furniture and stuff we haven’t gotten rid of since our last makeover.”
Trev grinned.“My wife can’t stop renovating.She’s workingwith Hale Galloway on some of his projects.I swear my kids already know how toinstall flooring, but she’s real bad about letting go of things.She’s a bit ofa hoarder.There’s some furniture plus extra bedding.I think the kitchen iswell stocked.”
“Because you use it so often.”Jamie leaned against the bar.“You know you’re not going to be able to wander up here in the altogether tofix a couple of sandwiches during a long play session.”He looked to Bay.“Trevhad the brilliant idea of transforming the basement of this building into aplayroom after his oldest started wandering around the house by herself.Therewere doors he did not want to explain why they were locked.”
Trev shrugged.“The old adult playroom is now a kid’splayroom.And we play here where our kids know not to go into.It helps quite abit having someone in the place.”
He hadn’t even thought about that.Trev had shown off hisgorgeous playroom when they’d hired on since he knew Bay and Shane were in thelifestyle.He’d offered for them to use it if they took a sub.He rememberedthinking if he was a couple of years younger, he would have been all over it,but now the only person he wanted was Brooke.But the last thing he wanted todo was cause trouble for his boss.“We can clear out when you need the space.”
Trev’s head shook, and his expression went soft.“We don’tplay much right now.Three kids in, and we mostly sleep when we get the chance.It’s okay.It’ll be here when we’re ready.I’m going to enjoy all the phases,and this phase is less sex, more kids sleeping on my chest.As Jamie here isabout to discover.”
Jamie smiled his way.“I’m ready.You’re not the only onewho’s going to have wild-ass kids running all over this ranch.Those two boysof yours are getting another brother.And Miranda will have another youngdumbass to dote on.”
“My daughter likes to play Mommy with her baby brothers.It’s the sweetest thing,” Trev explained.
Bay didn’t understand that, but he did know the two men werehappy.“We’re appreciative of the offer to stay here for a couple of weeks.”
Shane stepped in beside him.“And we’re well aware thatneither of us is actually the foreman.That’s pretty much Bo.”
Trev’s lips quirked up.“Bo is all about the kids right now.He’s got a lot on his plate, and he’s been helping out more and more in theoffice.We were actually thinking about how well this job is working out withyou.Maybe you could handle it while Beth is working on her renovations.”
“Just in a probationary way.Let’s give it a month or so andsee how it goes.”Jamie watched them.“Unless you’re planning on moving onsoon.I know you don’t stay in one place much.”
They’d already discussed this.Bliss was their home now.Hecould breathe here.Work here.He would honestly miss new places anddiscovering new worlds to work on, but he could make Bliss his palette, hisinspiration.He was sketching more, getting ready to sculpt.
Her.He wanted to sculpt her.He had drawn her a hundredtimes, but he hadn’t drawn her forth from clay.The older he got the more hewanted hours a day to spend on his art.
“The light here is perfect.There’s a room on the secondfloor and the light is golden.”
Jamie and Trev stared like they were trying to figure outwhat he meant.
Luckily Shane spoke his language.“He likes the smallerbedroom upstairs because the light is right for painting, though he could betalking about sketching or sculpting.He’s a jack of all art trades.He simplyhappens to be good with cattle, too.”
