Kane clucked. “Not with Brianna there you can’t. You’ll be the first place Alberto’s enemies will stop when they start paying visits. They’ll come in strong and hard with everything they’ve got. Somehow I don’t think you and your brothers are quite ready for that.”
Chapter Thirteen
Minutes later, they arrived at Circle J Farms. Tyler and Flint rushed out to meet them and in a matter of seconds, Brianna was living every woman’s dream.
Tyler carried her upstairs while Flint grabbed her bags and Jax made a few calls. After she was settled, Tyler said, “Let me know if there’s anything you need. We’ll be back to check on you in half an hour.” Before he left he gave her a saucy kiss. “I’m glad you’re here, Brianna.”
She released a short breath as soon as he was gone. She was still excited, but she was a bit nervous, too. Walking around a gorgeous bedroom, Brianna couldn’t help but wonder. Was this suite once their parents’ room? Did they have a lot of female guests? If so, why would they go to this much trouble to accommodate a casual overnight stay?
Dragging her fingers across the marble top dressing table, she admired the gold leaf mirror and cushioned bench in front of it. A four-poster bed in the center of the room looked much larger than any king-size bed she’d ever seen. Had it been special ordered and if so, were they putting her in a bedroom where they’d shared other women before?
She shuddered as she thought of such an event, kicking off her shoes and tiptoeing to the walk-in closet. The pale pink carpet wrapped around her toes as she walked. Scouring the floor, something occurred to her then. If they kept their overnight guests here, they didn’t have a lot of traffic here. The floor covering looked brand new. In fact, everything looked and smelled new, right down to the paint and wallpaper.
Grabbing her bags, she hauled them to the closet. She opened the French doors and immediately stood back, gaping at what looked like a few hundred feet of incredible closet space.
“Do you like it?”
She jumped at the sound of Flint’s voice. “Flint, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I knocked.” His burning gaze swept over her form. “You look good, Brianna.”
She thumbed through the clothes, suddenly a little self-conscious about what she was wearing. Dressed in faded jeans and a red, button-down shirt, she looked like the girl they’d pulled straight from the farm. And this closet was full of designer jeans, exquisite dresses, short skirts, and more shoes than she’d ever seen.
Reaching the end of the first row, she took a right in the L-shaped area, noting the double bench in the center of the closet and another dozen or so racks packed with clothes.
“Coco said you wore a size six and since we didn’t know what to buy you, we had several stores in Johnson City and Kingsport bring over some of their latest fashions.”
“Why would you do this?” This act of kindness went way beyond generosity and any kind of love she’d ever known.
Flint grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? We want you to stay. We want to spoil and pamper you, Brianna. We want to make you feel safe.”
She swallowed then and tears came to her eyes, tears she prayed wouldn’t fall. “I don’t deserve all this. Don’t you see?” She shook her head. “I—”
Before she could say anything else, he took her in his arms and claimed her lips. His tongue swept into her mouth with a soft approach, brushing over her own with light passes, gentle caresses. When he pulled back, he whispered, “We have the money to give you everything your heart will ever desire, but stay for the men, Brianna. Stay because as you said six months ago, you ‘want to love us and no one can love us any better,’ because we believe that. We believed you then and we hope things haven’t changed now.”
“They haven’t,” she whispered, glad she’d showered at home because the way Flint was looking at her then made her want to jump-start a cowboy right there in the middle of the fancy walk-in closet. She pecked his lips and pulled away. She glanced around again and couldn’t help but laugh. “You realize this is a little over the top, right?”
He looked bewildered. “We thought every woman dreamt of having a closet that looked like a high-end boutique.” He tilted his head at some of the built-in cabinets. “I designed those myself. Come here and look.”
Flint proudly showed her all the different drawers and closets. A few of them had secret walls, places where she might want to store something of value. “I could fit back there.”
“Don’t try it,” Flint said. “I didn’t think about that when I built it and you could slide back there without a problem but getting out might present one.”
“I guess I won’t be playing hide and seek anytime soon.”
“I’ll always find you,” he promised, dragging her back to him. “So what do you think?”
“In the words of Annie, ‘I think I’m going to like it here,’ but I also think you guys went above and beyond what is practical.”
“We don’t want to be practical,” Flint said. “You are an exceptional woman who deserves sensible men who only want to give you an extravagant life.”
“And you think that’s sensible?” She laughed, wondering if she should go ahead and pinch herself.
“We work all the time, Brianna. If we don’t spoil you, one of these days, we’re going to have all this stuff and no one to leave it to.”
“Do you want children, Flint?” She immediately jerked, wondering why she’d ask such a question. She certainly hadn’t thought of offspring. “Don’t answer that. I had no right to ask that right now.”
“You had every right,” he said, dragging her back to him and holding her face with his palms. “I want children. Jax and Tyler want children. We want a houseful of kids and you. It’s all we’ve ever really wanted.”