She hurried to get the words out before he reached for some more rope. “It’s just a suspicion, but I think the chandelier had help. Why would someone want a light fixture to fall? They couldn’t possibly have known we would be sitting there.”
It didn’t make any sense.
“No, they couldn’t have known, but I also don’t believe that kid was looking for drugs. I need to figure out who that kid was coming after. You should know that if I find out he was really coming after you, I’m going to have your ass in Dallas under lock and key, and I won’t take no for an answer. I should know something in a couple of hours. I want you and Shelley to pack a few things and come back here to wait for me. We’ll decide how to proceed after I know something, but I don’t want you to spend another night in that house.”
Her heart clenched. That house was special to her. “Trev, I can’t leave. I need to get to work. At the very least I need to figure out how to protect the house. It’s all I have. Every dime I have is sunk into that house.”
And it hit her.
“That hole in my ceiling is going to cost me a pretty penny. Pennies I shouldn’t have because I couldn’t get a loan. What if someone’s trying to force me to sell the place because it no longer is a doable project? If I couldn’t get a loan, I would have to sell. I wouldn’t be able to fix it up. Is there something I don’t know about the property? Is some big development firm interested in it?”
Trev’s mouth flattened. “I don’t know. If there was, you would think they would make you an offer. No big firm is going to send someone in to loosen your chandelier. They might have the property condemned, but I don’t see it. I need to figure this thing out, not just for you, darlin’. I need to know if my sister is married to someone dangerous.”
“She’ll be fine,” Bo said, coming up from behind. He nuzzled the back of her neck. “I’ll take care of our girl. We’ll hit the house, grab some stuff, and lock up the best we can. We’ll be right back here waiting for you.”
“Beth, pick up some clothes for Shelley. I don’t want her to walk into Bryce’s house again.”
“Trev!” Shelley came up from her place on the couch. “I can’t just walk out.”
“Yes, you can. Did you talk to Lucas like I asked?”
Shelley’s big brown eyes turned down. “I did. He got a big smile on his face when I told him I wanted a divorce, and I swear his mouth suddenly had fangs. Do lawyers grow fangs when they sense a good case?”
Beth had heard Lucas say he just loved taking douche bags like Bryce for everything they were worth. At least Shelley had a lawyer who would go to the mat for her.
“All the more reason for you to not walk back into that house.” Trev had made his decision, and Beth didn’t think he would be moved.
Beth walked up to Trev’s sister, slipping her hand into Shelley’s, squeezing reassuringly. “We can go shopping tomorrow. It’ll be fun.”
Shelley took a deep breath. “All right. I think I can handle a little shopping. Though maybe we could drive into Austin. The only place to buy clothes here is Gwen’s Emporium, and she stands there and shakes her head when I try to buy a V-neck. She always asks if I really think my boobs are going to fit or if I just want them to spill out all over the place. I won’t even tell you what she says about low-rise jeans.”
“Austin it is.” Beth didn’t want to admit that Gwen always told her she had such modest taste. She didn’t want to be praised for her modesty anymore. It was time to give the girls a little breathing room. “I think I might like some V-neck shirts, too. And really low-rise jeans.”
“Now, we should talk about that,” Trev said, his eyes narrowing.
“Says the man whose idea of fashion consists of thirty yards of rope. Let the woman be. I think Beth’s ass is going to look gorgeous in some tight jeans,” Bo said with a healthy leer.
Yes, dressing was going to be fun from now on. She finally understood why women spent hours shopping and picking out the right clothes to wear. She made a mental note to take the trunk of clothes she’d found in Maudine’s bedroom with her. The fifties style seemed to suit her. She noticed Bo was holding something in his hand. She rolled her eyes. “You are not bringing Roxanne.”
Bo pulled his Remington Model Seven rifle to his chest, clutching it the way he would a woman. “You don’t listen to her,” he said to Roxanne. “She doesn’t understand. No, sweetheart, after everything we’ve been through together, I’m not dumping you for her. She doesn’t even take short action magnum cartridges.”
Beth cocked a hip. That rifle was not sleeping in her bed. “And Roxanne doesn’t take double input. You think about that before you bring her to bed with you.”
Trev doubled over. “You are both insane. Bo? Seriously? You named your rifle?”
“Well, tell me you didn’t name your favorite football. Beth had like a thousand stuffed animals, and every single one of them had a name. And she slept with all of them. They’re in a box waiting to be picked up and moved. And my rifle is way more useful than a faded pink hippo named Horace,” Bo argued.
Beth opened her mouth to give Trev a piece of her mind, but Shelley was smiling.
“He called it Troy, after Troy Aikman,” Shelley said with a laugh. “He slept with that football. He carried it around for years. And, at one point in time, he named his biceps. Smith and Wesson. Because they were his guns.”
Trev flushed and shook his head. “Brat.”
Shelley hugged her brother. “You bet. Now go and do what you need to do. I’ll follow Bo and Roxanne’s instructions.”
“Finally a woman who respects you,” Bo whispered to his gun, but he gave Beth a wink.
She couldn’t help but kiss him. He was crazy, and he was going to make their lives so much fun. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at Trev and Bo together. So different and yet they fit. She was suddenly looking forward to the rest of her life.
When Bo hustled her into the cab of the truck, she held Roxanne for him.
Bo pulled up to the house, his mind on the events of the afternoon. He could still feel Beth plastered to his body. Despite the shower he’d taken, he swore he could still smell her arousal. It had been the hottest sexual experience of his life. And he was worried.
Trev hadn’t said he would stay. Bo knew it wasn’t fair, but he wanted commitment. Just a couple of days before, he’d wanted nothing more than to see Trev McNamara’s back as he walked out of town. But now he couldn’t imagine it. He couldn’t imagine a life with Beth that didn’t include the Dom. For the first time, Bo was excited. He had so much to learn from Trev and not just about how to bind Beth’s breasts.
Bo looked through the front window as he parked behind Beth’s “car.” He knew he should pull closer so Trev would have space, but he didn’t want to run the risk of breathing on the Pinto and having it explode in a fiery mass. Yeah, she was getting a new car, and she was learning to drive it properly. He took Roxanne from Beth’s hands and eased out of the cab. He opened the door for the women and looked around.
Everything was quiet. The late-afternoon air was cool and calm. Everything seemed to be the way they had left it. Trev had him paranoid.
“Come on, let’s get what we need and get back to Aidan’s.”
Beth frowned, looking at the house. “I don’t want to leave it. Now I’m nervous that I’m going to spend the night at Aidan’s and someone will have taken a wrecking ball to it when we come back. I wanted to get started so bad.”
Shelley put an arm around Beth. “It’s a beautiful place, and it’s going to be standing when we come back. When Trev is satisfied that Bryce is just another douche bag, we’ll return, and I’ll help you. This is my specialty, you know. Before Bryce talked me into refurbing politician’s offices, I used to flip houses. I started when I was like twenty with our grandmother’s house. I love working with my hands. And I am handy with a jigsaw.”