Brokenhearted Beauty(Divine Creek Ranch 19)(94)

“Awesome timing,” Juliana Peterson said as she opened the passenger door, and hopped down, making use of the special handholds James and Vincent had installed for Leah. “I’ve got a man inside who is newly appreciative of life. If I know him as well as I think I do, he’s horny as hell to boot.”

Laughter surrounded them as Emma Rivers, Maya Warner, Rosemary Garner, and Teresa Martinez exited the vehicle next to them in time to hear Juliana’s remark.

It was Emma Rivers’s husbands, Duke and Gage who had taken the men skydiving in lieu of a traditional bachelor party complete with strippers, and she said, “I recall feeling the very same way, Juliana, after my first skydiving experience. Peeps are getting laid tonight for sure.”

The women burst into laughter as they were joined by the others from Leah’s bachelorette party group and they all approached the front door of the club. Their ensemble, which had also included Veronica Stinson, Violet Tyler, owner of Violet’s Emporium, Cassie Resendez, owner of Divine Drip, and local optometrist, Jessica Bright, had visited Madeleine’s for a spa afternoon of relaxation in preparation for the wedding festivities the following day at the Hourglass Inn Bed-and-Breakfast followed by supper at Chantilly’s Steakhouse. Charity Connors had introduced Jessica to Leah when the two of them had come in shopping at Stigall’s and she and Jessica had hit it right off, and her little baby, Bella, was adorable.

Leading the pack, Rachel Wolf giggled as the front door was opened for them by the nightclub bouncers, Mike and Rogelio, who welcomed them into the club and directed them to their regular tables at the opposite end of the bar.

“Most of the men are waiting for you there,” Rogelio said quietly before giving Rachel a grin and hugging her. Leah had never heard him say so many words in a row.

“Thank you, guys,” Rachel said as she gave Mike a hug, too, and then continued on into the club, her eyes obviously searching for the tallest man in the establishment. At six feet nine inches, Eli Wolf, was notable not only for his height and gentle giant demeanor, but also for his obvious devotion to his wife.

Like a magnet to steel, Leah was drawn to James and Vincent, who were standing and talking to Adam Davis and Jack Warner. Grace walked with her and Leah laughed at Grace’s growl as she admired her men.

“Damn! Two fine Wrangler butts to tempt me. Wonder if they enjoyed skydiving as much as Emma suggested they would.”

“How long until Emma releases you?”

“Two weeks, damn it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t play,” Grace said with a wink before she neatly slid between her men.

Deviltry sparkled in James’s eyes as he hugged and kissed her and then passed her to his brother. Similar reunion  s took place all around them, and the men made sure to help the single ladies into chairs at the table.

“You smell sexy, fluff,” Vincent said as he kissed her neck. “Feel good?”

“Yes, very. How about you? Glad to be alive?” she asked, unable to hold back her giggles as she tried to picture her men jumping headfirst out of a perfectly good airplane.

All four men began to laugh and Jack finally spoke for all four of them. “Let’s just say what happens in the airplane stays in the airplane.”

Grace asked, “Did you all jump?”

“Oh, yeah, we all jumped, darlin’, but a couple of us needed stronger motivation than merely seizing the day.”

Leah’s curiosity was answered moments later when Rosemary Garner burst into laughter and leaped into her husband Evan’s arms and squealed, “Aw! You’re so sweet!”

“What’s that all about?” Grace asked as everyone started talking over each other.

Jack leaned into their smaller group and said, “Looks like Evan told on himself so I’ll share. We got up there and all of us were doing fine…until they slid the door open and reality set in. Evan’s nerves got the better of him.”

“But you said everyone jumped,” Grace replied, confusion showing on her face.

“Oh, he jumped all right. He was one of the first to jump, in fact.”

“First?” Leah asked in surprise. That didn’t sound like the behavior of a man having second thoughts on his first skydive.

“Yup. Eli got a hold of him, told him something that made him grin real big, Evan nodded, and Eli threw him bodily out of the plane and then jumped right after him.”

Grace and Leah’s jaws both dropped in surprise. “There’s got to be more to it than that.”

Adam nodded as he laughed. “We found out once we were all on the ground what Eli told him. Turns out Eli was scared shitless, too, even before they opened the doors. The only way he could make himself do it was to imagine Rachel waiting naked for him just outside the doors. Turns out imagining Rosemary did the trick for Evan. And he asked Eli to throw him since he wasn’t sure he could take that last step without a little help.”