Maya’s Triple Dare(Divine Creek Ranch 6)(31)

Maya observed and listened as their discussion about Summer’s erstwhile boyfriend continued. Teresa was beautiful and had an almost shy quality to her. Summer was all spunk and fire and sounded like she could handle whatever retribution the jerk dealt to her. Rachel was spirited as well and looked as though she were ready to hunt the asshole down and beat the crap out of him. This was a lively group for certain.

They talked about Maya’s experience with the rattler, and Maya told them she was much better. The last bout of nausea had been the previous afternoon, and she’d slept well. She didn’t share that she’d slept surrounded by hard, male bodies.

Rachel must’ve sensed her reluctance to share details about Kendall and his brothers because she said, “I’ll bet those three Warner boys are keeping you on your toes, aren’t they, Maya? They are drop-your-panties gorgeous.”

“Rachel!” Teresa burst out in giggles as she returned from the stockroom with another box of lace lingerie to fold and put away. “Maya, it’s quite all right to be blunt in this crazy group of women.” Gesturing to Rachel, she added, “Honey Badass here has a delayed filter on her mouth. Don’t worry. Grace isn’t the only one in this group with an unconventional lifestyle.”

Teresa filled her in on her own living arrangement with her husbands, Angel and Joaquin, who were the Divine Creek Ranch’s horse breeding experts. Maya also learned she was currently staying in Teresa’s former home. Teresa had a five-year-old and an eighteen-month-old, both boys. “Michael and Eleazar are with their fathers right now.”

Maya raised a brow in mild surprise, and Teresa explained that her men were raised around horses from infancy and preferred to do the same with their sons.

With a smirk, Rachel said, “Summer, we need to find a real man for you. One you can trust. Because, honey, let’s face it. Left to your own devices, you’re an asshole magnet.”

The women all laughed, including Summer.

“A freak magnet,” Grace said.

“It’s a curse! I have the worst luck.”

Teresa chuckled then said, “When are you going to let Grace set you up with someone?”

“What if it doesn’t work out? I’ll feel guilty for disappointing Grace.”

“Summer, honey, it’s about time you put yourself in my capable hands,” Grace said quietly as three women stepped in the lace-curtained front door.

Maya visited with the others while Teresa helped the ladies. Rachel bantered back and forth with Grace, proving she’d earned her title as “Honey Badass” and had a truly risqué sense of humor. Her computer dinged with a familiar tone, and she paused in the discussion to check her e-mail. She frowned, and her demeanor changed as she opened the message.

“Grace?”

Grace came closer to look at the computer screen and visibly paled. “Divine Morality? What the hell is that? It’s not a book review site.”

Maya watched with wary interest as Rachel and Grace looked at the screen.

“It’s somebody’s public blog. Oh, shit. Teresa and Rosemary are mentioned as well,” Rachel whispered the last so as not to be overheard. “Teresa will pass out when she sees this. Damn it.”

“What is it?” Maya asked.

“Someone has posted an anonymous, public blog accusing Grace and the others of bigamy, adultery, and immorality. The article mentions that Grace is expecting. This is heinous.”

Rachel turned the computer so Maya could clearly see the screen. Her heart fell to her stomach as she read the hateful gossip about her new friends.

The blog was not well written and appeared almost to be slapped together without much editing as if the person were in a hurry. Icy chills tingled up her neck as she realized she could become a target of this individual if she stayed in Divine with Kendall and his brothers.

“Do you have any idea who this could be?” Maya asked.

“There’s no name listed. It could be any of a number of people. Not everyone in Divine is open-minded,” Grace said. “I’ll talk to the guys tonight. I know someone who can help. Rachel, it’s a good thing you set up those Google Alerts for us.”



* * * *



“Where in the fuck is she?” Frank Reeves muttered as he stared at his laptop. He knew she hadn’t left in her car because the GPS he’d installed secretly months ago indicated that it was still at her house. She must’ve taken off with that asshole, Kendall Warner. He should’ve guessed it by the look in the redneck’s eyes. She was probably fucking him at that very moment. On a whim he navigated to a search engine and entered Warner’s name.