Page 4 of The Widow's Dom

“Lewis, for God’s sake,” Natalie yelled at him.

He tried to look innocent. “What?”

Janessa heard Natalie curse under her breath and laughed.

Lewis grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the chair.

“Jeeze, Lewis. Do you want to dislocate my shoulder?” Janessa asked him as he pulled her to the other side of the dance floor.

He looked confused. “No, why would you ask me that?”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. Her laugh died when they stopped at a table where five large men sat, none of whom she’d ever met before. Each of them had a dangerous edge to them, and they all looked like they’d kill you if you looked at them the wrong way.

“That’s Jake. He’s my cousin,” Lewis said. “He grew up a few towns over, so you probably never met him. These are his friends. They worked together overseas.”

She nodded. Lewis pointed to each man around the table, introducing her to the guys. “Guys, this is Roadkill … I mean Janessa.”

Most of the men laughed.

“Why the hell do you call her that?” Jake asked.

“My woman wanted me to compliment her, so I told her she looked better than the roadkill we passed on the road.”

Janessa laughed. “Yes. You’re very sweet.”

Lewis puffed out his chest. “See. I know how to treat a woman.”

They laughed again, but the big one just smiled. He was so serious and hadn’t taken his eyes off of her. She had the sudden urge to see if she could make him relax and chuckle.

She looked at each one, but the last one, named Nick, had her stuttering and nervous. He was the most serious of them all. With his dark hair, skin, and eyes, she surmised he had Mexican or Italian blood in him.

Janessa pulled her eyes from him and turned back to the men. “It was very nice to meet you. I better get back to my friends.”

“You, too, honey,” Macy said.

She turned and walked back to her table. She didn’t have to turn to know the one named Nick followed her with his gaze. It sent a shiver of arousal and apprehension through her. She stayed at the table and talked to her friends or people who stopped to see her.

“Well, well, look who finally came out of her bedroom.”

Janessa looked up and almost groaned. “Hello, Val.” She saw her friends glare at the woman.

The woman had hated her since high school because she thought Janessa had taken away everything she wanted. Janessa won the science fair, became a cheerleader, and dated the quarterback, everything this woman wanted but couldn’t come close to having. She was five inches taller and outweighed Janessa by fifty pounds. She’d always had large hips and thighs but seemed to have gained a few more pounds. Her skin had scars where she had acne as a child, and her hair always looked mud-colored and frizzy. She really didn’t have anything going for her. It might have helped if she had been nice to everyone, but she was just a bitter woman that seemed to get worse as time passed.

“Knock it off, Val,” Natalie said.

Val looked shocked. “What? I can’t stop and say hello to the princess?”

“Well, if she’s the princess, what are you, the ugly stepsister?” Dennis said and laughed.

Val’s face turned red, and her lips thinned. “You’ve always been a bastard.”

Dennis shrugged. “Yeah, I enjoy it.”

Before Val could say anything else, Janessa stood, hoping to defuse the situation. “I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

Without looking back, she walked to the end of the barn and into the small room they had turned into a bathroom. Janessa was appreciative they’d spent the money on it. She could use one of the porta-potties they used to have, but she preferred this. She washed her hands and finger-combed her hair. Even after dealing with Val, there was still a light of happiness in her eye that hadn’t been there for a long time.

She walked out of the bathroom.

---