Maizy the Bear Charmer [Divine Creek Ranch 16] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  She thought about the belly dancing costume hidden in the back of her closet at home. It’d been almost a year since she’d worn it. She thought of the beautiful veils, the bead and sequin work, and her coin scarves. She missed belly dancing, missed attending class every Friday night in Morehead, and missed her friends from class.

  The last time she’d worn it, Chaz had told her afterward that belly dancing at the Dancing Pony on Halloween night had been ridiculous and all the patrons had clapped because of her costume, and to be nice to her. She might as well have been pole dancing, he’d said.

  That comment hadn’t hurt her nearly as much as his next words. Stomping on her fun as he’d whisked her out of the club, he’d told her that if she wanted to lose fifty or sixty pounds and maybe try her hand in a talent contest she might do okay.

  “How does it look?” Lucy asked through the door.

  Jarred from her inner thoughts, Maizy jumped. “I don’t have it on yet. Give me a minute.”

  She squinted at it as she took it off the hanger. The lace was soft and very stretchy. She almost wished that it was scratchy and cheap-feeling just so she had an excuse to not try it on, but Summer carried only quality goods in her boutique.

  She held it up to the light and enjoyed the way it slid silkily over her hand.

  Oh, what the hell.

  Once she was down to her panties, she gathered up one leg of the bodysuit and slid her foot into it. The pattern on the lace was a trellis covered in roses.

  Oh no. No, no, no.

  Biting her lip, she gathered up the other leg and slid her foot into it and drew it up over the knee. The lace felt so sensuous sliding over her skin she let out a light sigh.

  Lucy giggled. “Ah-ha. I heard that.”

  “You hush, woman.”

  She slid the delightfully stretchy lace over her hips and prepared to tuck her too-large breasts into a too-tight top. That’d just figure. The rest fits and then my boobs are falling out of it.

  She bent over a little and shimmied the girls into the bust and stood up to take in her reflection.

  Her jaw dropped. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.

  Sultry music by Santana played in her head. An old favorite of hers. “Black Magic Woman.”

  * * * *

  “Begin as you mean to go on, right?” Cody Welsh said after the real estate agent had left him, Heath Lindsey, and Spencer Ketchum alone to talk in the living room of the expansive ranch house. He watched Spencer as he ambled into the dining room. He looked out of the wide, bare windows overlooking the deep, covered porch and the pool beyond.

  Heath wandered into the kitchen, which was painted ruby red, and ran his hand over the professional-grade stove in the center island. He looked up at the skylight and then to the open floor space where a big dining room table would fit.

  Cody said nothing as he walked through the house one more time. Four bedrooms were probably too many but they needed the space. None of them wanted to be cramped into a too-small house or waste time buying a house that would be outgrown too quickly. If this was the one they decided on, then he wanted to be there for the long haul.

  He walked down the hall, trying to ignore the garish color scheme and see the house underneath. A hot pink bedroom. A lime green bedroom. A purple bathroom. A lemon yellow bedroom. And a billiard green den. The color scheme the previous owners had painted the walls could only be described as the “Skittles effect.”

  He stopped in the massive aquamarine blue master bedroom. This was his favorite room. He could imagine a bed big enough for four in it. It also looked out on the covered back porch to the in-ground pool. The pool was a selling point for him, but more importantly, he hoped it was one more thing that their woman, wherever she was, would enjoy.

  The master bedroom faced east, meaning it would have the morning sun. He liked that. The master bathroom needed work though.

  He heard footsteps enter the room behind him.

  Heath crossed his bulky arms over his chest. “Those electric blue countertops in the kitchen have to go. I’d replace all the appliances with new ones except for the stove and oven.” Cody knew the kitchen would be Heath’s first concern because he liked to cook, thank God. He could see the agreement in Heath’s eyes. That was one yes.

  Spencer leaned against the doorframe. “I’d build a deck and extend the outdoor living space and add a water feature or an outdoor room. And I’d repaint the entire damn house. Talk about tasting the fucking rainbow. I like the fireplace in the den. There would be enough space for her to have a room for hobbies or an office.”

  He’d already claimed the secluded backyard and Cody agreed about the color scheme. Spencer was also seeing the house from their woman’s perspective. That sounded like another agreement.

  Cody nodded and walked over to the master bathroom door and looked inside, trying to overlook the turquoise blue walls. “There’s plenty of floor space in here. I’d rip out that standard tub and put in one of those big deep modern jobs. I like the tiled shower though, since it’s got two showerheads and it’s big enough. But it needs a new vanity, new sinks, the works.”

  Heath looked in over Cody’s shoulder. “I think the walk-in closet in here butts up to the one in the den. Who needs a closet in a den? I’d rip out the wall and increase the master closet space for her, maybe even make it a double-decker since the ceilings are high enough.”

  Cody chewed his lip but could no longer resist the urge to smile. “Our woman is going to be spoiled rotten.”

  Spencer flexed the hand he’d bruised the night before at work, dealing with a rowdy drunk. “She will be, if we can ever find her.”

  Cody was reminded why they’d made this decision. They’d grown up together in foster care and had known each other for most of their lives. Heath had always had a sixth sense, which had come in very handy as they’d looked out for each other while growing up, and also in their jobs. He believed it was one of the reasons they made such a good team, providing security at the Twisted Bull nightclub. Heath had insisted from his gut that they’d find her, and experience had taught Cody that there was usually something to his gut feelings.

  Images of red and orange silk sliding sensually over tanned calves, giving a teasing glimpse of sweetly rounded thighs came to his mind. A supple waist, full breasts, and a smooth throat that begged to be kissed.

  Spencer looked over at Heath again. “You’re still sure?”

  Heath gave a single nod. “I’m sure.”

  Spencer said, “I’m gonna be so pissed if she’s already taken.”

  Heath shook his head. “We’ll find her. Trust me.”

  Cody turned from the bathroom and looked at them. “Regardless of whether we find her, or when, we need to agree that this is what we want right now. It’ll take some time to make the necessary changes. I know it’s what I want.”

  They’d decided the previous fall, right after going to work for Camilla Parks and her husbands, Ben and Quinten, what they wanted. To share a life, and a woman, with his foster brothers. Best friends who all loved the same woman. It made sense that they’d need to find a house that would work for their needs because none of their bachelor apartments would do. “Worst-case scenario, we get this place, fix it the way we want it, and wait until the right woman comes along.”

  “She will,” Heath murmured. “I know it.”

  Because Heath’s instincts had proven right on so many occasions, that was good enough for Cody. He looked from one man to the other. “Begin as we mean to go on?”

  Both men nodded and then broad smiles crossed their faces. They might not know where she was just yet, but the future was spread wide in front of them, and beginning as they meant to go on gave them someplace to start. It was time to get to work.

  Chapter Two

  Mid-August…

  Maizy parked her aging VW Bug in the row of cars and trucks outside of Divine Drip early on the first day of the new school year. The sun was barely even up but she was already running full
steam ahead. She had to in order to keep up with fifteen five- and six-year-olds. Just the thought made her heart jump. She couldn’t wait to get started. Couldn’t wait to get to know them, coax their little hands through their first attempts at writing, and see the twinkle in their eyes the first time they read a word and understood exactly what they’d done. She loved her job so much it hurt. It was a great feeling to know without a doubt that she was living up to her calling.

  She opened her umbrella and climbed from the Bug. If her hair got wet, it would be wild for the rest of the day. Even though this part of Texas was still dead center in the middle of summer, she felt the distinct early morning crispness in the air that would dissipate the moment the sun was up higher. “Thank you,” she whispered as she breathed it in.

  Divine Drip was the center of activity in Divine at that time of the morning, and she smiled at everyone and no one in particular as she joined the hustle and bustle. Cassie and her two kids, Tamara and Joseph, and Joseph’s friend, Sam, were working the front counter and the drive-thru like a well-oiled machine. The baked goods case was loaded with pastries, and the scent of fresh tortillas floated in the air, along with the simmering ingredients that would fill them. The scent of chorizo made her mouth water as she joined one of the lines of customers and she returned the greeting when Cassie saw her and waved.

  Her phone buzzed in her purse and she pulled it out to check the text message that’d just arrived.

  It was from Lucy.

  “Hey girlie! PJ is so stoked to be in your class today! I just wanted to wish you good luck this morning. See you at seven thirty.”

  She typed a quick reply to Lucy. “Good morning! Tell him I can’t wait! I’m at Cassie’s. You want anything?”

  Classic rock played on the coffee shop’s sound system and Maizy smiled when she recognized the intro to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” finding it so very hard to resist moving to the beat. Her phone vibrated in her hand.

  “Seriously? Yes. Tell her I’d like a coffee my usual way, and papas con huevos. You’re awesome!”

  “I know. It’s a burden. One potato and egg breakfast taco and a coffee, Lucy’s way, coming up. See ya.”

  While waiting for her turn in line, she checked emails on her phone and answered a last minute question from one of her new student’s mothers about the school dress code. A blush warmed her cheeks as she thought about what she’d put on that morning. Lucy had been so right. Sometimes, she needed to do things just to please herself and lingerie was one of those things.

  She’d dressed in her favorite black lace and satin bra and boy shorts and slipped the catsuit on over them. She felt naughty and sensual with the rose-patterned lace sliding against her skin with every movement, knowing what her sensible black shin-length skirt and a fitted red blouse hid beneath.

  She saved her more casual teaching attire for days where the class would be making messy arts and crafts. The school board and the principal preferred for teachers to present a professional appearance to their student’s parents. Maybe that little catsuit under her clothes was her thumbing her nose at the school board’s preferences.

  Thinking of preferences brought Chaz’s phone call from the night before to mind. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d call because he was every bit as appearance- and status-oriented as her father was.

  His voice grated in her memory and dampened her good mood a little as she recalled the cold chill she’d felt when she had seen his number in her caller ID. She wished she’d just let it go to voice mail.

  He’d quickly cut through the pleasantries. “Maizy, I’ll keep it simple because I know you’re probably busy.”

  “I am. What did you need?” Besides a tire iron applied to your head.

  “I wanted to ask that you kindly refrain from discussing the reasons for breaking our engagement with any of your coworkers. The last thing I need is more rumors flying around, associating me with that perverted business your brother is getting tangled up in.” He said it as if the breakup had been a mutual agreement.

  Several weeks before, he’d heard some particularly hurtful gossip through the Divine grapevine about her brother, Patrick, and his best friend, Beck O’Malley, and Lucy. Rather than questioning if the rumor was true or not, he’d gone to Maizy and broken off the engagement. As the new athletic director at the elementary school and middle school, Chaz had told her he couldn’t chance her family “drama” harming his advancement opportunities in the Divine school district.

  “You’re a little late with that request,” Maizy began, secretly glad to give him a start before reassuring him. “I’ve been working every day at the school for the last two weeks, getting my classroom ready. But rest assured, I’ve had no desire to discuss why you broke our engagement with anyone, Chaz.”

  “Thank you, Maizy. I just can’t have something like that fouling up my chances.”

  If he kept doing selfish, cruel things like that, seeing him at school wouldn’t be as painful as she’d once thought. The breakup had hurt her feelings but she’d come to understand during the summer that she was better off without him. Being free of him might lead her to the life she was intended to have.

  The line moved forward as customers received what they’d ordered and either left the coffee shop or took a seat in one of the booths. She bobbed her head as Heart’s “Magic Man” began to play. She had to physically refrain from moving her hips as the song swelled inside her. Music just did that to her. She smiled when she saw several other coffee shop patrons bobbing their heads. No one was standing behind her, or paying attention to her, and people were coming and going all around her in the crowded shop so she let the restraint go just a little bit as the waiting line progressed. A wave of happiness and warmth shimmered up and down her spine.

  This is going to be a fantastic day. I just feel it.

  * * * *

  Spencer Ketchum sat in the booth at Divine Drip, opposite of Cody and Heath. His brain was barely functioning after another late night at the Twisted Bull and then an early morning working on their house. The three of them were seizing any chance they had to make progress. They’d ripped out the carpeting and put down ceramic tile and had finished the exterior renovations.

  He was stoked as hell that they were finally painting the interior, erasing the bright color scheme. Several containers of paint in a calm off-white were in the back of his truck and they were tackling a room per day until they were all done.

  Sipping his coffee, he mentally rubbed his hands together, anticipating the next project. The back deck. His baby. He’d expanded his plans to include a deck with an outdoor room and a new water feature. But instead of the usual pond or fountain, he was putting in an antique tub he’d found, complete with hot and cold running water.

  The outdoor room would be enclosed by trellises that he’d plant climbing vines on, to provide shade and privacy for the retreat, which was intended for their woman…when they finally found her. He wondered what she’d think if she knew he was building that secluded spot so he could make love to her in the dappled sunlight or under the stars. He let out a slow breath as the tingling in his groin increased.

  “He’s thinking about her again.”

  He became aware of Cody and Heath both watching him with amusement in their eyes. A wide grin split Heath’s face and he chuckled. “Welcome back, man.”

  Spencer laughed and covertly shot him the bird as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips. “What? Like you’re not?”

  Heath shrugged unapologetically. “We all are. It’s the house. Working on it keeps her on our minds.”

  Spencer nodded and removed the top from his cup of coffee and reached for the sugar shaker.

  Movement in his peripheral vision drew his eyes and he saw a little brunette waiting in the line at the front of the shop.

  On the surface she looked conservative, except that she was wearing sexy heels. He loved a woman in heels. The pattern on her black lace stockings led his gaze up
to where they disappeared inside her school-marmish skirt. The ends of a brightly colored scarf trailed down the back of her shoulder over her cherry-red top, and when she turned in profile, he could see she’d used it to pull her curly hair back from her pretty face. She had long black eyelashes and darker-hued eyes.

  “Spencer.”

  Spencer looked at Cody. “What?”

  Cody pointed at Spencer’s coffee cup. He looked down and realized he’d been pouring sugar the entire time he’d been watching the dark beauty. Good thing he liked his coffee sweet. He put the sugar aside and picked up his spoon to stir and looked over Cody’s shoulder again.

  She was next in line. He grinned when he realized why she’d caught his eye to begin with. She was wiggling her hips, just barely, to the closing refrain of “Magic Man.” She seemed like she was fighting the urge because she kept going still, then a few seconds later, her hips would twitch again. She was really cute. He was almost sad when the song ended.

  “She must be really something,” Heath said, laughter lacing his voice as he sipped from his coffee.

  Spencer looked down at his cup, trying to rein in his inner horndog. He hoped again he wasn’t being foolish by buying into Heath’s belief that their little belly dancer was out there somewhere and they were bound to come across her eventually.

  At night, she still visited his dreams, with her toned but sweetly curving legs, her waist and hips making his hands twitch with the need to stroke her warm flesh. He felt a little guilty for looking at the young woman in line when what he wanted was the woman meant to be his. Theirs.

  The three of them grinned when the classic rock station that Cassie favored began to play their song. “Black Magic Woman” by Santana. Or at least it had become their song since their belly dancer had danced to it the year before. All three men smiled at each other and Spencer took it as some kind of sign. Judging by the satisfaction in Heath’s eyes, he was having similar thoughts.