* * *
Drake leaned forward, skillfully guiding the wooden log out from underneath the others.
“Good move, Dad.” Jace leaned forward to guide a piece out he had chosen. The wooden structure wobbled, but it didn’t fall. It was her turn next.
Bliss wiped her sticky palms on the side of her pants. Carefully, she picked her log, sliding it out. The structure wobbled then steadied, and she blew out a breath of relief as she tugged it free.
“My turn.” Cal’s voice was overly confident in Bliss’s opinion as he went for a log. The structure crumpled when it was only halfway out. “Dammit.”
“You lose,” Jace taunted.
Cal punched Jace in the shoulder. His friend didn’t wince.
Drake stood, stretching. “Time for bed.”
Bliss stacked the game pieces back into the box and straightened with the game in her hand as she felt Jace’s arm wrap around her shoulder. The young man’s mouth was headed toward her cheek when Drake smacked him against the back of his head.
“Okay, okay. You can’t blame a guy for trying,” Jace teased, releasing her.
“’Night, Drake, Bliss,” Cal called as he headed to his room.
“Good night, boys.”
Jace and Cal both winced in feigned pain as they went upstairs.
“That probably stung their pride a little.”
“I call them as I see them.”
Drake pressed against her back, his cock nestling against her behind as she leaned over to pick up the glasses sitting on the table.
Bliss shivered in anticipation. She knew what was behind that zipper and how good he was at using what God had gifted him with.
She edged reluctantly away from him, glancing upstairs. Carrying the glasses into the kitchen, she placed them in the sink. When she turned around, Drake was standing a few feet away from her. She could tell what he had in mind from the gleam in his eyes.
“It’s time I went home.”
“Why?”
“I feel weird with the boys here.”
“Bliss, you wouldn’t be the first woman to stay the night here with me.”
She swallowed back the lump of hurt the remark made her acknowledge.
“It would be the first time I did, and I wouldn’t feel right.” She ran her hand through her short hair, realizing she hadn’t gelled it into spikes before she had left her house.
“Jace and Cal are both over eighteen. The only reason they’re still in high school is because Cal got behind when his mother became sick, and Jace got behind because he didn’t want to graduate without Cal. They’re attached at the hip. I didn’t give Jace too much shit about it because I knew why he was acting up. They’ll have enough credits to graduate in December but won’t receive their diplomas until the end of the school year. They plan on entering the service next fall.”
The thought of not seeing the boys around had Bliss feeling as if she already missed them. What in the hell was wrong with her? Why was she getting so attached to these males in such a short time?
“Which one are they planning on going into?”
“The Navy. I think Cash’s stories helped make up their minds. Cash said he still has some contacts in the service, and he’ll make sure they watch out for him.”
Bliss could see the worry he couldn’t hide.
“You can’t change their minds?”
“I don’t want to. Neither one of them wants to go to college. This town is dying. There aren’t enough jobs in the area. The Last Riders are trying, but they can’t employ the whole county. There are two smaller cities on the outskirts that have already died. In another twenty years, if something doesn’t change, Treepoint won’t be worth living in.”
“It’s not that bad,” Bliss protested. Compared to some small towns she had ridden through on the back of a bike, Treepoint didn’t have that deserted feeling.
“Yes, it is. I’ve lived here my whole life. It makes me sick to see what’s happening here. Danny Owens is the mayor, and he’s a piece of shit. He’s letting the town fall apart. The fucking sidewalks are crumbling, and he’s made no effort to fix them. Businesses that have dissolved are boarded up and falling down.
“The city council is even worse. It’s filled with a bunch of people who are too old and stuck in their ways to change. I would bet the money in my checking account that most of them are filling their pockets with money from town projects that aren’t being done.
“We used to have a huge truck that cleaned and washed the streets twice a week, but it broke down last year. A new one was supposed to be purchased. The council conveniently never brings it up in the meetings anymore. Dalton West is the senior member on the council. When I brought it up to him, he just said there wasn’t enough money in the general fund.”
“Elections are next year. Run for mayor.” Even in the short time she had known Drake, she had learned he was strongly involved in the community. He was always attending some meeting about the school or government planning.