“For me?” Was that the impression Milly had? That she was looking to hook up with them? “Hey, I’m just passing through. I’m not looking for anything temporary or permanent.”
“Uh-huh.”
There was that knowing smile again. “Anyhoo, if I hadn’t already found my men, I’d give them more than a second thought. Between the cousins’ blue eyes and Grant’s steamy presence, a girl could find it hard to think straight. Hard being the primary word in that sentence.”
“You can say that again.”
Milly took a bite and swallowed it whole. Christy would’ve never said so, but the woman ate like a trucker. “No one would blame a girl for letting go, especially if she let go with men like them.”
“Milly, I don’t know what you’re getting at, but—”
“Okay, okay. I’m not trying to convince you of anything. If it’s right, it’s right. No prompting necessary.”
“Uh-huh.” She threw back a knowing smile of her own.
“I’m just saying that they’re great guys and a girl would be lucky to get them, separately or together.” She winked. “Of course, together is always the better deal.”
If Milly was talking about long-term, then it didn’t matter. Once her car was repaired, she was back on the road. Yet even as the idea came to her, she felt a knot in the middle of her stomach. Of course, if Milly was talking about having all three at once for one wild night, then that brightened her mood. A lot. She’d never been one for one-night stands, but if any men could change her mind about that, it was them.
Besides, she’d never had a threesome, much less a foursome. If that was what it was called.
A group of young people entered the diner, waved at Milly, and took one of the largest tables in the place. They laughed and joked as they settled into their chairs.
“The usual, guys?” called Milly.
“That sounds good to us.” The man, a youth really, gave Milly a thumbs-up. “Milly, did you hang around for the fun last night?”
“Hell, no. I left the diner in Dan’s hands and even he decided it was best to close up shop early.” She slid her gaze toward Christy. “After he made sure that everything was secure.”
Christy must’ve let something show on her face by the way Milly tensed up. “It was secure, wasn’t it? Please tell me you didn’t go out last night. Oh, hell, you must have. That’s when you saw your car getting torn up.”
Christy kept her gaze down as though her coffee was the most interesting thing in the world.
“Christy? What happened?” She shushed the youngsters with a wave of her hand. “Y’all can wait a minute. Lucy’s not even in yet, but I’ve got the grill firing up. If you want your usual steak, then it’ll only take a sec to heat up. Now shush.”
“From what I heard, she had a close call.”
Christy jerked her head up at the pretty brunette taking the stool next to her. She was only a little older than her, but her eyes were wise beyond her years.
“Hey, Emma, how’s the family?”
“Same as usual. Thanks for asking.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Emma Rand-Carr. You must be Christy Smith.”
Small towns were notorious for their gossip mill, but she hadn’t expected her arrival would cause much talk. “Nice to meet you, Emma.”
“Jackson got a call from Grant this morning.”
“He did? So Jackson Carr is related to you?” She’d like to meet Jackson after all she’d heard about him, and she definitely wanted to hear whatever Grant had to say about her.
“Jackson’s my man and he kind of handles problems in Forever. Grant said you had trouble with a couple of men named Gabe and Merle. Is that right?”
The grapevine of Forever was a fast one. The town gossips probably already knew the whole story, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell a stranger about Merle and Gabe. Still, if Jackson was the unofficial law of the town, then maybe she should. If only to keep the awful men from treating another woman badly.
“Yeah, it is. Did you see the roof of my car? They did that. And they wanted to do a lot more. To me.”
She didn’t want to look at either Milly or Emma. In a weird way she felt partly to blame. If she’d listened to Milly’s warning, nothing would’ve happened.
“Don’t you go there, Christy. None of what happened was your fault.”
Funny how Milly could guess what she was thinking. “I know. You’re right. But if I’d stayed inside…”
“Yes. You should’ve done what Milly said. But that doesn’t make it your fault. Those two animals are just plain bad.” Emma put her hand on Christy’s arm. “I just wanted to know that you’re all right. And to let you know that they won’t be back to bother you or anyone else. Grant and Jackson will make sure of that.”