Love Under Two Reluctant Heroes Read online

  

  The Lusty, Texas Collection

  Love Under Two Reluctant Heroes

  Rachel Cosgrove’s life takes an interesting turn when she meets two reluctant heroes who turn out to be not-so-reluctant Doms.

  Brandon Gillespie and Trace Langley have been friends since Brandon’s mom married the doctors Jessop.

  The men knew when they met what they eventually wanted. Now they know they very much want that with Rachel.

  Their protective instincts are incensed that Rachel’s ex-husband left her when their daughter, Libby, was diagnosed with cancer at age nine. Now one year free of cancer, Libby is growing into a happy, healthy young woman—one that the men feel an instant connection with. Before long, they know she’s the daughter of their hearts.

  Then Rachel’s ex-husband somehow gets it in his head that his ex-wife has come into a fortune. His life in shambles since he deserted his family, Buck Cosgrove decides he’s going to track his wife down and get from her what he believes is his due.

  Genres: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 70,288

  LOVE UNDER TWO RELUCTANT HEROES

  The Lusty, Texas Collection

  Cara Covington

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Love Under Two Reluctant Heroes

  Copyright © 2019 by Cara Covington

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-888-8

  First Publication: June 2019

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  Thank you to all the readers who through the years have reached out to me in response to the Lusty, Texas collection. For a long time, now, many of you have wanted Brandon Gillespie and Trace Langley to find their happy-ever-afters.

  So did I, but I never could have guessed that would happen at the same time. Having said that, I discovered they’d become best friends in the interim (when I wasn’t looking), and they’d had a plan. I hope all y’all are happy with their story.

  I am grateful for the Lusty Ladies, my reading group, a wonderful cluster of friends who offer endless support and love. I’ve gotten to meet even more of you face to face in recent months, and that is just a wonderful bonus.

  Thank you to my beta readers, Angie Buchanan Jones and Sandy Ebel, for keeping me honest. They’re both consummate readers, and I am so grateful they’re using their expertly honed talents to my benefit.

  I’m also grateful to Angie for all the wonderful banners and memes, and for helping me in so many ways with the readers group. Angie, I’d be lost without you.

  Finally, my eternal gratitude goes to the professional men and women of Siren-Bookstrand: to Yeza, who coordinates everything, to Devin, my amazing editor who is totally professional and endlessly supportive; and last, but never least, my awesome publisher, Amanda Hilton. I will forever be grateful you took a chance on me and said yes.

  DEDICATION

  As always, to my husband, David. As we prepare to celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary and have entered that new phase of life called senior citizenship, I am so thankful that you continue to support my dream.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning, it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then, as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do, and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons and write.

  Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: Thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.

  Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too.

  Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full-time.

  Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.

  Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.

  Morgan lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a nine-pound Morkie dog who thinks he’s a German shepherd, and her husband of forty-seven years, brand new retiree and aspiring author, David.

  For all titles by Cara Covington, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/cara-covington

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  LOVE UNDER TWO

  RELUCTANT HEROES

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  LOVE UNDER TWO

  RELUCTANT HEROES

  The Lusty, Texas Collection

  CARA COVINGTON

  Copyright © 2019

  Prologue

  Two weeks earlier

  The big bay doors of the firehouse stood open. The two full-sized state-of-the-art fire engines inside looked like behemoths next to the two much smaller EMT vehicles. There was enough room to park a third firetruck, but so far, there’d really been no need for a third one.

  He hung back on purpose, watching the two big, strapping men work together as they finished drying the shiny red metal of one of the trucks, the wet street in front of the building a silent evaporating testament that the vehicle in question had recently been washed. The men could have pawned the job off on one or more of the student volunteers, but that wasn’t how things were done here.

  Here was where he learned the true meaning of leadership—not the giving of orders but the guiding hands and minds of mentors.

  He didn’t immediately announce his presence, because he wanted this moment, a moment when he could wrap his head around the change his life was, hopefully, about to take. A moment to appreciate what had been and compare it to what hopefully would be.

  He hadn’t seen either of these two men in nearly five years—not since he’d graduated college and headed out to California for advanced firefighter training.

  He’d finished his education and then had dived right in, working where he’d been. California had begun to experience increasingly unprecedented fire seasons, and they had needed him there to help.

  He’d fought the beast long and hard, giving that bastard everything that he’d had to give. The last round of wildfires that had rampaged through his part of the Golden State had been particularly vicious. When they’d finally been able to declare the last wildfire under control, the town he’d been a part of for the last couple of years was just…gone, wiped from the face of the earth. Ashes and burned-out stone pads and vehicles and mostly crumbled chimneys were all that remained of the town that had once been and was no more.

  He had known then that it was time for him to come home.

  He’d been happy to work hard, to serve the people he’d served. But he was needed here—and not just as a firefighter—and so, here he was.

  He hoped he’d qualify for one of the two positions he knew were just opening up now. His best friend, Brandon Gillespie, had told him that the Jessops had very recently celebrated the birth of their first children—twin boys that he’d yet to meet. His mother had mentioned in their weekly phone call that these men had decided it was time to have a more normal schedule, with regulated days off.

  Knowing the men, and the town, he wasn’t the least bit surprised they’d decided to hir
e extra staff to make that possible. After all, years ago they’d taken in a wounded family from all the way up in Abilene, a family with no ties to Lusty but still trying, two years on, to recover from the loss of their soldier father/husband. His mom, Jolene, had applied for and been awarded a job at the town’s only clothing store, and that job had come with an apartment that took up the entire upper floor of that store. This town had suited her, because she’d wanted a small-town environment in which to raise her children.

  In less than a few weeks after their arrival, the good people of Lusty, Texas, had reached out, drawn them in, and shown them that the best families were made, not necessarily born. The apartment had been upgraded to a leased house, and over time, the sales associate position that his mom had enjoyed evolved into that of business owner, when the previous owner, who’d also been her boss, had retired. Well, the man was actually only semi-retired, he thought, because Darryl still came in a couple days a week and happily worked for his mom. His mom, for her part, had left the name of the store unchanged.

  Was it any wonder at all he considered Lusty home?

  The guys were standing back, looking at the now pristine fire truck. That was his cue. So he smiled, straightened, and said, “Hey, Captain, I think you missed a spot, there.”

  Both men jerked their heads up and turned to look at him, because they were, technically, co-captains. It was Grant Jessop who recognized him first.

  “Son of a bitch, I don’t believe it! Trace Langley, all growed up and everything!” The big man dropped his polishing cloth into the bucket and headed straight for him.

  Trace met him halfway.

  Their man-hug was fierce and nearly brought tears to Trace’s eyes. Grant stepped back, his smile huge, and clapped his hands against the tops of Trace’s arms twice.

  Trace had barely drawn a breath when Andrew moved in, delivering his own hug, adding a lift along with his own verbal jabs. “Look at you! What the hell did they feed you out there in lotus land? How can you hold your own, fighting the beast when you’re so damn puny?”

  Trace laughed. He was nearly as big as his mentors. Mentors? They were more than mentors to him. They’d been big brothers and heroes as well as mentors.

  The truth was there, just waiting for him to acknowledge it. Grant and Andrew Jessop had been everything a teenaged, grieving Trace Langley had needed, exactly when he’d needed them the most. They were family, his family. They, along with the rest of the town, had saved him, as well as his mother, brother, and sister. Thanks to them all, Danielle and Bradley had grown straight and true. Thanks to them, his mother had been able to lose most of the stress of suddenly finding herself a single parent.

  There was no way to repay the debt he owed these two men, or this town. It was simply too huge.

  “Come on into the kitchen,” Grant said. “We’ll have some coffee and catch up.”

  Trace slid his hands into his pockets and followed the two men into the firehouse kitchen. Andrew pointed to one of the chairs, and Trace sat. They’re not as tall as they used to be. Of course, he knew that was his perspective kicking in. They weren’t the ones who’d changed. He was.

  Trace was older, taller, and had bulked up some. His mom had told him, when he’d arrived home the night before, that he looked a lot like his dad. That compliment had pleased the hell out of him.

  It took only a couple of minutes for the guys to make coffee. They set a cup before him and then put cream, sugar, and a plate of Anna Jessop’s pecan cookies on the table.

  “Oh, man!” Trace grabbed one up, six years melting away to nothing as he bit into one of the most wonderful cookies he’d ever tasted. He recalled the first pecan cookie of Aunt Anna’s he’d eaten. Pure heaven.

  He swallowed and nodded to both men. “I hear congratulations are in order. Twin boys! How’s Chloe doing?”

  “She’s perfect.” Grant beamed. He reached into his wallet at the same time his brother did. Together they each laid down a picture. Not the same picture but the same small babies. He picked each photo up in turn and had a good look.

  “James Donald and Adam Patrick,” Andrew announced. “Both healthy and amazing.”

  “Handsome babies,” Trace acknowledged.

  “We’re very lucky men,” Grant said.

  The proud daddies put the photos back in their wallets, and Trace snagged another cookie.

  “What brings you back to Lusty? Just visiting your mom?” Andrew asked.

  Trace sighed. He took a sip of his coffee—they’d even recalled he liked a medium blend—and then set his cup down. “Life, I guess. I’ve moved back to Lusty. For how long, depends.”

  “Does Jolene know?” Andrew asked. Then he shook his head. “Duh. Of course, she knows. She never said a word to us! Neither did Brandon, and we saw him just a few weeks ago.”

  “We’ve been following your Facebook posts,” Grant said. “What a hell of a bunch of fires you were in, my friend. We were really sorry to see your entire town wiped out.”

  “It was worse for those whose generations-deep roots were there,” Trace said. He felt a little like he was stalling. Or maybe, the nerves of what he needed to do were getting to him. Just do it. He inhaled deeply, and looked at Andrew, and then at Grant. Grant was the boss, so he kept his gaze locked on the man. “I asked both Brandon and mom not to tell y’all I was coming home, because I needed to come here and ask you myself.”

  “Ask us what?” Grant asked.

  Trace tried to swallow, but his spit was all dried up. So he mentally crossed his fingers and just let it rip. “If you’d accept my application for one of the positions you’ve got opening up here.” He was able to control the urge to wipe suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans, but just barely.

  Both Jessops reacted the same way. They stared wide-eyed at each other. Then they both swore.

  “You’re fucking shitting me, right?” Andrew reached over and cuffed him on the arm—the way he’d done whenever Trace had done something stupid in the past.

  “Accept your application?” Grant shook his head. “Bud, of course we accept your application. But we don’t need to examine it or think about a damn thing. You want the job, you’ve got the job. You’re hired. Welcome to the Lusty Fire Department, Lieutenant Langley.”

  Chapter One

  Rachel Cosgrove used her back to open the “in” door to the kitchen. The familiar routine of the small-town eatery was second nature to her now. She’d been working at Lusty Appetites for just over three months and had been a resident of the town itself for all but a week of that time.

  Rachel loved everything about Lusty, Texas.

  The people here were honest, forthright, and, above all, compassionate. They’d taken her and Elizabeth in as if it were the most natural thing in the world for them to do. She really believed that the good luck she’d found nearly four years ago when she’d met a certain nonagenarian had turned her life around. There was no way good luck and meeting Grandma Kate were coincidental to each other.

  I think I finally have that guardian angel I always prayed for, and I’m pretty certain her name is Kate Benedict.

  Rachel wasn’t religious, but she was spiritual, and nothing in this town, or in these people, did anything but reinforce her lifelong faith in the basic goodness of humanity. This town and her people were proof positive that most people were good and would reach out to strangers if they could.

  So take that, Buck Cosgrove, you rotten son of a bitch.

  Rachel took just a moment to boot the single, though highly negative thought of her ex-husband out of her consciousness. Buck Cosgrove no longer existed, as far as she was concerned.

  Any man who could turn his back on his own desperately ill daughter wasn’t worth another single thought. Period.

  Rachel had been doing well since moving to Lusty, but she guessed it would take her a bit longer yet to get to the point where she could completely let that anger go.

  She put her attention back on the task at hand. She set the dishes she was carrying onto the counter by the dishwasher then scraped and loaded them into the machine. Three people were in this, the heart of the eatery. Tracy Alvarez-Kendall was working on a batch of eclairs, and it was to her she directed her next words.