For the Love of Anna (The Town of Pearl 1)

“We’ll keep our eyes opened, Wyatt. Ain’t no fucking assholes going to come into Pearl and mess with one of our own. I can’t believe they tried to take her and…” Jack shook his head.

Wyatt was happy with the response from Jack and the fact that the town’s people thought of Anna as part of Pearl.

“I know, Jack. My brothers and I try not to think about what could have happened to her. She needs our protection. I know I can count on you, just like when you told me about Stew.”

“Don’t you worry about Stew. Ben met up with him this morning at the lumberyard. Set him straight, if you know what I mean. I swear, that brother of yours is one tough son of a bitch. Between him, Charlie, and you, only a man with a death wish would want to mess with any of ya.”

“I’ll have to find out what my brother did.”

“Okay, Sheriff, I’m all set,” Anna stated as she interrupted their conversation and headed straight toward them.

The sheriff nodded toward Jack, and they said good-bye.

As soon as Wyatt had Anna near the sheriff’s patrol truck, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He rubbed his hands over her body possessively and to ensure she was in one piece. It was a foolish reaction, but he loved her. Fuck! Where the hell did those words come from?

He released her lips and swallowed the lump in his throat.

Anna appeared breathless but still in his arms.

“I missed you, darling,” he whispered.

“I think I like being missed,” she replied, then smiled. She was innocent and beautiful in every way. His heart pounded against his chest. He would wait until later to tell her about her father. Ben and Charlie would want to be there, as well as Stacy.

“Let’s go, honey. I’m sure Ben and Charlie missed you, too.”

Chapter 15

As Wyatt pulled the sheriff’s truck in front of the house, Anna saw Ben standing by the barn talking to a few workers. He turned towards Anna and Wyatt and waved.

“I’ll get out here and go see Ben before I take a shower.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll be back in a little while,” Wyatt replied then leaned across the seat to kiss her. Anna placed her hand against Wyatt’s cheek, loving the feel of his light whiskers.

He released her lips, and they smiled before she exited the truck.

Waving good-bye to Wyatt, she hurried over to meet Ben.

She missed him just like she missed Charlie. It was crazy how concerned she was originally about being in a ménage relationship. She didn’t think she had enough in her to be with three men at once. It was different than anything she had ever heard of before, and she was glad she had held on to her virginity. She could have made a mistake and just had sex just to have it.

She slowed her pace as Ben continued to talk to the men. She didn’t want to interrupt, and he held his hand up, indicating to give him a minute. She froze in place then slowly walked to the right of them and the horse corral. She noticed the cowboys glance her way as they folded up pieces of paper, placing them in their pockets.

Anna looked out at the horses. It was beautiful here, and she loved everything about Pearl. She didn’t want to think about her past anymore. She didn’t want the nightmares and the bad memories to rule her life and weaken her. There was a sense of newfound strength inside her growing stronger every day. She knew where that stemmed from. Between arriving on the Triple C, and having the initial support from Stacy, Max, and Eric she was beginning her healing process. When she met Charlie that first night on the ranch, with his concerned facial expression and ability to care for her, she knew he was special she just had to release her fear and trust again. She had immediately trusted him. Why else would she have allowed a complete stranger to see her wounds and hold her in his arms while she processed through another bout of nightmares?

Then there was Ben. Initially, she wasn’t certain about his personality. He had that wild, confident look about him. Like he could be narcissistic without coming across narcissistic, but instead, he was just confident and sexy. He made her laugh now, but she recalled his explicit language initially made her nervous and embarrassed. Boy, had he changed her. Now, she loved it when he talked dirty to her, and she was beginning to give him some of his own naughty verbal medicine.

She smiled. Boy, did she get them all good last night. The look on Wyatt’s face was enough to make her blush right now. Why she started the game of making them come before her she had no idea. It was how they made her feel. She wasn’t so shy and unwilling to experiment with them. She loved them.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Hey, darling!” Ben exclaimed, catching her off guard. She turned to him with a huge smile on her face and practically jumped into his arms.

“Whoa! I am liking this kind of welcome,” he exclaimed, chuckling.

She held him tight, with her arms around his neck before she squeezed him to her.

“I missed you, Ben.”

“I missed you, too.”