The Darkest Corner (Gravediggers #1)(12)

She hadn't had the same reaction to Axel. There was something about him that reminded her of a wounded lion. He had a great deal of pride, but he'd been flayed open by the enemy. He didn't want to show weakness. And then there was the wedding ring he wore, even though he appeared to be flying solo. She'd never seen him without it, and he never looked twice at any other woman.

Less than a month after Deacon and Axel arrived in Last Stop, Elias Cole had joined them. He was different from the other two. He was more relaxed and even prone to making jokes from time to time. Of all of them, he was the one who'd stop and talk with her or see if she needed anything if he was going to the store. He was also the only one who'd ever shared anything personal about himself. She knew he was from Texas originally, and that he'd been in the military, though he'd never mentioned what branch of the service.

It had taken another six months for Dante Malcolm to join the group. She'd liked him immediately, though Miller said he was a little "too" suave for her liking, and that she thought his English accent might be fake. But he had manners and at least acknowledged that Tess was in charge of running the funeral home, whereas the others pretty much did as they pleased and showed up only when needed.

It had been a few months after Dante came that Colin Moreau had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, just like Elias and Dante before him. There was an anger to Colin that made her steer clear of the Frenchman. He was handsome enough, and he was always very polite. But she could see the rage bubbling just below the surface, and she wanted to be nowhere in the vicinity if he ever blew.

Eve had made it clear that the men's employment was nonnegotiable, so there was no point in Tess complaining about them. They mostly stayed out of her way. Deacon, Axel, and Colin all lived in the carriage house. She had no idea where Dante lived, though she didn't think it was anywhere in Last Stop. Everyone in town would know if he did. He seemed like a city boy to her with his fancy shoes and expensive suits, so her best guess was he had a place in Dallas.

Elias was a different story. He lived a few blocks away, in Last Stop's one and only apartment complex. The reason she knew that was because Stella Longbow had followed him home one afternoon and then tried to tell everyone at the Clip n' Curl he'd invited her inside but she'd turned him down since she was a happily married woman. What she'd failed to mention was that Elias had called the sheriff about a Peeping Tom, and when the deputy had shown up he found Stella crouched in the bushes. 

But Eve had been right. The five of them always found ways to occupy themselves. If she didn't need help with anything funeral home –related, they kept the grass mowed and the flowerbeds weeded, maintained the upkeep on the old Queen Anne house, kept all the vehicles maintenanced, and generally did the things she never could've done herself. She especially appreciated it when they did those things without their shirts on.

They'd started a pool at the Clip n' Curl to see who would be the first to get one of the men into bed, though they'd told Tess she wasn't allowed to enter since she had the unfair advantage of practically living with them. Since Tess had no intention of sleeping with any of them, and even less intention of telling everyone at the Clip n' Curl if she did, she was fine with the banishment. So far, no one had claimed the $347 pot.

If Tess had a choice, she would never step foot in the viper's nest that was the Clip n' Curl, but every Friday like clockwork her grandmother had an appointment to get her hair done, and Tess was her only mode of transportation, so she was a firsthand witness to the conversations held between the sacred walls of Last Stop's only beauty salon.

Tess had tried to explain to the women that Axel seemed devoted to his wife, but Jo Beth Schriever-great-grandniece of Delores from slumber room one-said that if Axel had a wife she was either dead or long gone, which meant he was fair game. Tess had never heard that rule before, but she'd conceded to Jo Beth's explanation because the young woman had a gleam in her eyes that could only be attributed to baby fever or mad cow disease.

Carol Dewberry, who'd been happily married for forty-seven years, had offered to be the treasurer of the pool money since no one in their right mind would let Theodora be in charge. And anyone who had a lick of sense would know Carol would be holding on to that money for eternity, because men like the ones living in the carriage house weren't looking for women like what Last Stop had to offer. They probably looked for women with edges and attitudes as rough as theirs. Someone as dominant as they were.

Tess had much better things to do than waste time chasing men. When she'd been engaged to Henry, she had barely dodged the marriage bullet. She was an educated and independent woman with her whole life ahead of her. She'd watched her mother do nothing but chase men and money, and she'd be damned if she ever did the same.