Greg lifted his hat and brushed his hair back as they started walking toward the house to wash up for the evening. “At least we have an easier schedule over the next week. Tomorrow, the newlywed couple and the hunting party are the only new arrivals, and we’re just providing cabins and food for the hunters. Our young lovebirds weren’t interested in the day consuming group activities, just in hiking and a trail ride or swimming with the horses, if the weather holds out.”
Devin tossed his hat on a hook just inside the front door as they entered. “That just leaves the Kilpatricks to check in on Friday. They’re wanting a few days of quiet and rest before driving back to Virginia, so it looks like we’ll have an easier go of it over the weekend, until it picks up again next week. I’m more than ready to slow down and have the place to ourselves. We’ve been booked solid since May.”
“Four months of working twelve to fourteen hour days is needed and worth it to take the winter months off. Quit complaining and go shower. I’m hungry.” Greg veered down the hall to his bedroom as Devin took the stairs to his, his mind jumping to all the different ways they could torture Kelsey’s delectable, petite body.
“What else can I help you with, Mary?” Kelsey returned the tray she’d carried the desserts out to the buffet on to the kitchen counter, refusing to give in to the urge to look towards the front doors. She didn’t care if those two were speculating on her attitude. Let them wonder. She was so ready to get out of this backwoods place and back home. If she didn’t know better, she would swear it was that time of month, given her mood swings all day.
Mary proved to be as shrewd as Greg and Devin when she glanced around from pulling a large pan out of the oven, frowned and asked, “Something bothering you, hon?”
Tears pricked her eyes and she turned her head as she answered, “No, just at odds with myself all day, and missing home.”
“You’re not used to traveling?” Mary set the pan down and pulled off the foil cover. Kelsey’s stomach rumbled as she caught a whiff of the bubbling lasagna.
“Not alone.” And the guys had eased her loneliness the last few days, until today. Surely, she couldn’t have become addicted to their attention in such a short time. If so, she was in trouble when she returned home. “My foster parents took me on a few short trips when I was a teenager, but we never left Pennsylvania. They thought I would like a change when I mentioned planning a vacation.” The lie they had come up with to give the ranch employees didn’t sit well with her. Mary and Les, as well as Tom had been good to her. Even though she understood the need to keep the real reason she was hanging around here between her and Greg and Devin, she didn’t have to like it.
“Aren’t you enjoying yourself, then?”
Mary looked upset at the thought of her not having fun and Kelsey couldn’t stand to worry the motherly woman. It wouldn’t be right to take out her lousy mood on her when she’d been so nice. To reveal she’d spent the day pining for Greg and Devin’s attention sounded petty and selfish even to her.
“I am, Mary. In fact, tomorrow afternoon, Otis and Silas are going to take me fishing. I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I’ve never shied away from trying something at least once.”
“Good to know, Kelsey.”
Kelsey jumped upon hearing Devin’s slow drawl behind her followed by his large hand landing on her shoulder. He squeezed, and she sucked in a deep breath as that simple touch filled her with warmth.
“Quit teasing the girl and carry this out to the buffet, Devin,” Mary told him with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Lasagna? Mary, sweetheart, you know me too well.” Dropping his hand, he stepped around her and picked up the hot pads before reaching for the large pan. “God, this looks good. I’m going to fill my plate before anyone else gets in line.” He turned, his midnight gaze landing on Kelsey before he walked out without another word, leaving her to wonder what he meant by that remark.
“Go on, hon. Everything’s done for now. I appreciate your help.”
“Okay. It sounds like I better get in line behind Devin if I want a taste of your lasagna.”
Thinking it best to stay away from her hosts until she got herself under control, Kelsey joined Otis and Silas for dinner. They must not have cared since they both seemed content to dine and spend the evening with their other guests. She tried not to let their indifference rub her wrong; after all, she chose to socialize tonight with everyone but them too. But that small corner of her brain reserved just for them didn’t like it.
Kelsey managed to dump her unexplainable bad mood while sitting down to eat with Silas and Otis. She’d grown fond of them, enjoying the way they bickered back and forth and liked to tease her. After beating them both at pool, she followed Tom and a few others out to the fire pit to roast marshmallows and listen to him play the guitar. By the time she fell into bed, she was tired enough to make it almost to morning without being disturbed by the memory of a man falling over a rail to his death.
After a successful morning of getting caught up with her work, Kelsey ventured outside the next day in a better mood. The tour bus was loaded and pulling out, which meant the ranch would be quiet for a few hours before the next guests checked in. And that meant Greg and Devin wouldn’t be as busy. She hoped they would carve out time to treat her to a few more of those powerful orgasms they were so good at giving her. She didn’t have nearly enough yet to get her by after she left. What she craved most was their full possession. They’d shown her what they could do with fingers and mouths. Now she wanted more.
A delicate shiver crawled up her spine as Kelsey watched them stride into the stables, wondering if their cock size was as big as the rest of them. She’d never given
much thought to that until now, but then, her previous boyfriends were average in build. They came out of the stable astride their stallions and took off at a gallop toward a small herd of black cattle.
They have chores to do, animals that needed tending, you moron. The silent lecture worked to dispel the grip of disappointment clogging her throat. After grabbing a bottled water, she found Tom and told him she would be at the creek with Otis and Silas and then took off down the forested path she’d come to know so well. Even learning how to reel in a slimy, squirming fish was better than spending the afternoon alone.
“There you are. Where have you been?” Devin eyed Kelsey’s flushed face and bright eyes as she entered the house, his gut clenching when she broke out into a beaming smile.
“I caught a fish! It was kind of gross, and I refused to touch the slimy thing, but I caught it all by myself!”
“Proud of yourself, are you?” He didn’t know if she knew it, but she exhibited the same enthusiasm whenever she took Cleo out and attempted a new maneuver. “It seems you’re turning into a regular outdoorsman.”
She wrinkled her nose in that way he found so cute and he had to take a mental step back. One of them showing signs of attachment to a girl who was only a temporary guest in their home was bad enough.
“I don’t think so.” She shrugged and looked away from him. “Just entertaining myself with what’s available.”
He caught the slight accusation in her light tone and softened a tad more toward her. Greg had been right; she wanted more of what they’d introduced her to. That fit in well with their plans before they had to prepare for two more arrivals shortly.
He crooked his finger. “Come with me.”