“Oh crap, yeah. I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Eric. It will never happen again.”
Chuck turned toward the sink and began to wash the pan.
“We’re going to work together to make some lunch for everyone, is that okay?” Stacy asked all of the men, not just Eric. The others looked at Eric then back at her.
“Not until you come over here and say hello first,” Eric replied.
Stacy felt her cheeks warm and that stupid schoolgirl feeling hit her gut hard. He was showing off. He wanted to make it clear that she belonged to him and Max. Slowly she walked toward him. As soon as she was close enough, he grasped her around the waist and pulled her up close.
“I missed you,” he whispered then kissed her thoroughly. When he finally released her, she had to hold on to his forearms to keep from losing her balance.
* * * *
“So what do you think?” Eric asked Ben and Charlie as they walked outside to the porch.
“I think she’s beautiful and seems like she knows her way around a kitchen,” Charlie stated.
“Yeah, it seems that way, but I was most impressed with how she handled Chuck. That was damn funny,” Ben said.
Charlie laughed, and Eric let out a sigh as he shook his head.
Ben and Charlie stared at him.
“You and Max got awfully serious about her kind of quickly, huh?” Charlie inquired.
“Yeah, it happened really fast. We both realized she was special immediately. You know we’ve been hoping to meet someone to share our lives with.”
“And how does Stacy feel about that?” Ben asked.
Eric shrugged his shoulders. “She seems receptive to it, but she does have a lot on her plate right now,” Eric replied as his cousins asked some questions. Eric told them about the recent phone calls and some of the details Max explained.
“That’s really scary and fucked up. Do you think this guy will head here looking for her?” Charlie asked, filled with concern.
“As far as we know, he doesn’t know where she is, but Max and I aren’t willing to take any chances. It’s part of the reason why we wanted her to come work as our cook. That way there will always be one of us around to watch her.”
“That’s also a good way to get to know her better,” Charlie responded.
“I heard she entered the chili and pie contests for the fair on the Fourth of July,” Ben stated.
Eric chuckled. “Yeah, she kind of got thrown into that her first night in town. I have no idea if she can cook chili or not, but I’ll vote for her,” Eric stated.
“What about Betsie Whinston?” Charlie asked, and Eric shook his head.
“That woman is crazy. Thank God she hasn’t come sniffin’ around the ranch lately,” Eric stated.
“What are you talking about? She was just here the other day. Wearing some short, tight one-piece pink halter dress and talking about her pies and needed us to taste her chili. She was rubbing her hands up under her breasts as she spoke and even over the material covering her pussy. She’s dying to sink her nails into a Cantrell and especially you, Max, or Wyatt,” Charlie replied.
Eric shook his head. “Just as long as she doesn’t come around Stacy and bother her,” Eric added.
“Bother her? Shit, Eric, Betsie’s already been asking questions about Stacy in town. She knows she’s her competition and wants to know how she can get to her. You know how Betsie is? I say you tell Stacy about her and give your woman some warning,” Ben stated.
“I don’t know why that woman doesn’t get the hint that none of us are interested in her,” Eric said as he leaned against the post on the front porch.
“If you recall, we all kind of flirted with her at first, and then Ben went and kissed her,” Charlie stated, directing some annoyance toward his brother.
“What? I drank too much, and I was horny. She cornered me, and hell, beer goggles cause shit like that to happen,” Ben replied with an attitude that told all he really didn’t give a shit. Eric knew his cousin well, and Ben was a bit of a playboy with the ladies.
“You slept with her?” Eric inquired, sounding shocked and disgusted.