Free Trusting Them by Marla Monroe Page A

hands and walked the horses farther into the stable towards their stalls.
    “Thanks. We’ll be inside if you need us again.” Brady didn’t stick around to hear the answer.
    Both he and Brock braced against the wind and jogged through the thigh-deep snow towards the dark-looking house. They were both afraid of what they would find. It had been a good six hours since they had left her alone upstairs. Brock knew there had probably only been enough fuel left for another four hours at best. There was no way she would have stayed warm after that.
    The idea of her falling sick again scared him. They couldn’t get her to town before tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, if even then. Even with fair skies, the wind dying down, and four-wheel drive, a trip into town would be treacherous at best. One of them should have stayed with her to make sure she stayed warm. If they lost her—well, they just couldn’t, that was all he would say.
    They burst through the kitchen door and ran towards the stairs without taking off their boots or coats. When Brady slid to a stop inside the living room door, Brock cursed and tried to knock him out of the way.
    “Stop it, Brock. Look!” Brady warded off a blow from Brock’s hand at his head.
    Brock dropped his fist and looked in the direction of Brady’s arm. There, sitting on the floor in front of the couch was their baby girl all bundled up in one of their father’s old coats, boots, and gloves. He was almost afraid to touch her and find out if she were okay.
    Brady had no such qualms. His brother brushed past him and fell kneeling next to their woman. He reached out to touch her cheek but stopped. Brock realized they both still had on their gloves and coats. He pulled off his gloves and dropped them to the floor. His coat followed quickly behind. Brady did the same. They each touched her cheek and found it warm, but not hot, to the touch. She’d managed to stay warm despite the loss of the electricity. He thanked God for it.
    “Let’s get her out of the coat and boots. It looks like she brought wood in from outside. I don’t know how in the hell she managed it,” Brady said.
    Brock nodded and went to work on her boots. They were easy enough to get off since they were only about six sizes too large. Brady seemed to have more trouble with the coat than anything. She finally roused enough to help them get it off of her. She smiled at seeing them and promptly fell back asleep once they had her bundled between them on the couch.
    Brady looked over at Brock. “See, she would fit perfect here with us. She’s a survivor. She knew the fireplace would keep her warm, and she needed wood to keep it going.”
    Brock grunted and continued massaging her feet under the blanket.
    “I’m not the one you need to convince, little brother.”
    “Surely she won’t leave now. I mean, after we gave her one hell of an orgasm and all.” Brady looked confused.
    “One orgasm does not mean a lifetime of bliss, Brady. She is still on the run from her ex-husband and thinks we’ll only get hurt if she sticks around here.”
    “Then we’ll convince her she’s wrong. We can take care of her.”
    Brock shook his head and pulled her feet tighter into his lap. If only it would be that simple, he thought. She was quickly turning into the most important thing in his life, and that worried him. It obviously didn’t seem to bother Brady, though. He leaned back against the back of the couch with Jeni’s head in his lap, gently running his hands over her hair and shoulders. His brother was way over the edge with his feelings for her. It would be up to Brock to put the pieces back together when she walked out of their lives. He knew she would.

Chapter Seven

    Warm lips brushed against hers as Jeni lay in a warm cocoon of bliss. Every part of her body felt comfortable for once. Not too cold, not too hot, and lying on the softest of pillows. She didn’t want to wake up. A persistent pair of lips pushed at hers