have a boyfriend. I don’t think the girl has ever even been kissed. Who the hell in this town would kiss old Mouse?”
Trev could think of a couple of places he’d like to kiss her. Those full lips. Her round breasts. She probably had a plump pussy. He could put his mouth on all of those places. Never been kissed. Never been fucked. Never knelt at her Master’s feet. Trev knew that little fact should have sent him running. It didn’t. It just made him think about the fact that she knew absolutely nothing. And he could teach her.
But apparently she was in love with Bo. Hadn’t he taken enough from Bo?
“Her name is Bethany,” Trev heard himself saying. He didn’t like the nickname. It smacked of a put-down. He might not get to know the woman, but he wasn’t about to allow anyone to put her down around him. He knew the way things worked. If she was submissive and no one watched out for her, she could get ground beneath everyone’s feet.
Bryce snorted. “Good luck with getting that to change. She even calls herself Mouse.”
If she was his, everyone would change or they would have to deal with him. And that included her sweet ass.
“So, do you really want to order from a Podunk, piece-of-shit, hole-in-the-wall?” The waitress stared down at him. He hadn’t seen her walk up. He’d been far too taken by this sweet little Mouse. Bethany. Her name was Bethany. He was going to give her the respect she deserved.
Damn . The waitress’s words reached his brain. He’d really called this place a shit hole in fucking People magazine. He’d said a lot of things in the tabloids he shouldn’t have said. The reporter had practically cackled as she wrote the story. And he’d fucked her. And gotten high with her.
He turned his face up to meet the waitress’s glare. Patty’s hair had more gray in it, but she still looked like she could kill a man with just her glare. “I am sorry, ma’am. I’ve always loved this place, ever since I was a kid. I didn’t right know what I was saying at the time. I pretty much hated myself, so I said awful things about everyone.”
She simply stared. “Well, I could certainly see why you would hate yourself. Do you want to order something, or do we small-town idiots not even know how to make a burger?”
He wasn’t going to win with her. “I would love a burger.”
Hopefully she didn’t spit in it.
Shelley ordered, her mouth tight and tense. Bryce simply sighed and chose not to eat.
Patty walked away, her feet beating against the linoleum.
Bryce scooted out of the bench. “I should go back to the office. You two enjoy your time together. I hope once Trevor gets to work, he won’t have much time for us.”
“You hope?” Shelley asked.
“I meant suspect. I suspect.” Bryce shrugged as though it didn’t really bother him. “He’s going to be living at the ranch. I doubt he’ll get out much. I mean, ranching is such hard work. That’s what everyone tells me.”
Bryce pivoted on his expensive loafers and walked away.
Shelley turned sad eyes his way. “Don’t mind him, Trev. He hasn’t been the same since his best friend died. He’s been a little lost. Barry was his business partner. He died a few months back. Bad accident. He’s had a lot to deal with.”
And Bryce had obviously dealt with it by being the biggest asshole known to man. Trev leaned forward and took his sister’s hand in his. “Are you happy with him?”
She suddenly seemed to find the tabletop endlessly interesting. “He’s my husband.”
He tightened his fingers around hers. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
She pulled away. “Trev, you weren’t around when Mom got cancer. You don’t know what it was like. I needed someone, and Bryce was there. He isn’t the best husband in the world, but damn it, he was there when I needed him.”
Trev sat back, his stomach in knots. Of course. Shelley had married right around the time their mother had been diagnosed with stage three