Their Blue-Collar Girl (The American Soldier Collection 4)

“I am, too. I’m a bit annoyed that Tom was receiving threats. It makes me wonder about those dead animals and the barn fire, too,” Trevor added.

“I thought about that as well. Perhaps J.R. should make more rounds at night around here,” Dante said, emphasizing the J and the R like Lori did.

Charlie chuckled. “It’s crazy, but the first person I thought of as we left Tom’s place was Lori.”

Trevor wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulder.

“That’s not crazy, that’s awesome, because I was thinking the same thing.”

“We should go to Carl’s and see her. We haven’t seen her all week because of the extra hours she’s been working,” Dante said.

“I’m not going there. I hate that fucking uniform,” Charlie stated.

“I hate it, too, and watching other guys drool over her,” Dante added sounding just as angry as Charlie.

“I don’t care for it either, but thinking about peeling it off of her, is a better fantasy, don’t you think?” Trevor said with a smile. Charlie shook his head at his brother. He was looking a lot happier lately and Charlie knew it had to do with Lori.

“I’m glad you can joke around about it.” Charlie leaned against the hood of the truck. Dante and Trevor crossed their arms in front of their chests and stared at him.

“I’m just trying to deal with it like you two are,” Trevor replied.

“Well it’s crazy how jealous I’ve become over her and so quickly. When I think about what she went through, it upsets me.”

“It upsets us, too, Charlie, but I really care for Lori. I think this is going to work out perfectly. I admit, I’ve had difficulty imagining the life she led the past five years. The shit holes she worked in, the men that tried to get into her pants. Fuck, that really pisses me off, thinking about another man touching her,” Dante said then stared off in the distance.

“Lori is so strong, so incredibly attractive and independent. I think she’s made a change in us for the better, don’t you, guys?” Trevor asked.

“She made me see how important my own gifts are, my degree, my talent for building things and my love of designing I gave up because I was depressed.”

“Depressed? Charlie, you’ve been nothing but an ornery bastard these last few years,” Trevor stated.

“Like you’ve been any better?” Dante challenged Trevor.

Trevor chuckled.

“We’ve all been pricks,” Trevor said and Dante raised his eyebrows at his brother.

“You know what is bothering me? I don’t like Lori working all these hours. I don’t like the way guys are talking about her and checking her out. I’ve been trying to ignore it but I can’t. I don’t know how to handle these emotions. Sometimes I feel possessed. I’m afraid I’m scaring her,” Charlie said as he stood up straight.

“She’s working hard, taking extra shifts at the bar, and even waiting on tables just to make more money to put herself through school,” Dante stated.

“We could easily pay for her to go to school. We’ve got plenty of money saved and will be making more if this project with Cantrell is a success,” Trevor added.

“Maybe we’ll talk to her about it tonight. If we see her,” Charlie said then headed into the house. He was acting like a fucking baby. He missed her and that angered him. He was jealous and that made him think about her and some other guy or guys trying to move in on what was his and his brothers’. He was possessive of her already and they hadn’t even had sex yet. That was another thing. Why was she holding out? She had a sexy body, and they’d each expressed their desire to have her. What was she so afraid of? Had someone hurt her? Did she have a bad experience? His heart ached at the thought of her feeling any pain or sadness. He certainly didn’t want to be the cause of that in any way. But he and his brothers wanted her so badly it did kind of hurt. Sometimes, when she wasn’t with them, he felt a twinge of pain in his chest and even anxiety. They worried about her. He wanted Lori in their bed and the sooner it happened the better off they’d all be.

* * * *

“What do you mean he’s not selling? A partnership? With who?” Jerry Connor yelled into the receiver.

“I’m looking at a copy of the deal right now. The attorney they’re going to is an old friend of mine. He said everything’s being split evenly and they’re going to build a whole community up there. My friend sounded pretty enthusiastic about the project, he was all for it. I guess your plans for that land aren’t going to happen, Connor,” Steve Henshaw told him over the phone.

“We’ll just see about that,” Connor said then hung up the phone.

Connor opened his cell phone and hit number four on his auto-dial.

“Yeah.”

“It’s me, there’s been a change of plans. I need you to put on the pressure. Find out about this guy Charlie Henley and anyone close to him and also I think it’s time to get a little more aggressive, if you know what I mean.”