Free Love Under Two Kendalls by Cara Covington

his window and spat.
    Deke knew he was right. They’d go in, grab a beer, and chat with old Mac. Then they’d head to wherever that bitch, Ginny Rose, had run away to.

    * * * *

    Adam held her chair for her, helping her to get seated comfortably while Jake preformed the same service for Maggie.
    Maggie thanked Jake for the courtesy, and then chuckled. “I just realized that I’ve brought a couple of Texans to a steakhouse . What was I thinking?”
    Ginny hid her smile behind her menu. Having worked in several different eateries, she’d felt completely at ease when they entered the Blue Water Grille. She also liked the way her new relative seemed to be getting along with her men.
    Ginny’s heart thudded in her chest when she realized that she really did consider Adam and Jake Kendall to be her men.
    “Texans don’t think there’s any such thing as too much steak,” Jake said. “Although I will allow that we do tend to think that ours is the best.”
    Maggie tilted her head to the side. “Well, it did seem to me that you just said the word ‘Texans’ as if it was written in all uppercase letters.”
    Ginny laughed. “Our men do tend to have more than their share of pride.” She looked from one Kendall to the other. “In the case of present company, it’s pride that’s well justified.”
    “Texas is the best state,” Benny said. Then he looked at Maggie. “But I like New Jersey, too. Mom and me had fun on the beach today.”
    “I looked out now and again, and I could see you were having a lot of fun.”
    A server came by and poured water into everyone’s glasses. Ginny looked back down at the menu. “They seem to have a lot of other selections here, too, including seafood.” Which Ginny would expect every restaurant in this seaside town to offer. She’d rarely had the opportunity to try any. Kelsey had told her that she’d tried to serve seafood chowder on Friday nights when she first opened Lusty Appetites , but the dish hadn’t fared very well.
    The good people of Lusty didn’t mind a bit of freshwater fish caught in the local streams, lakes, and rivers now and again. Many of the denizens liked to fish themselves, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and most ate what they caught—ate it or released it. But in general, they hadn’t yet cottoned to ocean fish overmuch.
    “It may come as a surprise to you, Miss Ginny, that Jake and I both, on occasion, eat seafood.”
    Ginny felt one eyebrow go up, a reaction she couldn’t easily prevent. She was surprised to learn that.
    “Mama says it’s good to try new things. Maybe it sounds funny when you hear what it’s called. But you can’t judge a thing by its name. You have to give it a fair try.”
    “Is that right?” Jake’s voice, filled with amusement, matched his devilish grin. Oh, the light in his green eyes—eyes that were so much like his mother’s—let her know what thoughts were on his mind, and they sure weren’t about food.
    “I’d say that was an exceptionally good, forward-thinking tenet.” Adam’s grin, similar to Jake’s, stirred her, arousing her when all her life she’d been convinced that sexual arousal was just something she’d never be able to enjoy.
    Benny’s father had called her frigid, and so had Deke. She’d long accepted the truth of the matter.
    Benny’s voice pulled her back to the present. “What’s a tenant?”
    “A tenant is a person who rents their apartment from someone who owns it.”
    Ginny chuckled at the confused look on Benny’s face. Maggie had answered his question in earnest, despite the fact that she looked about ready to explode with laughter. The men looked suitably chagrinned. Then Adam put his arm along the back of her son’s chair so that he could bend down closer to the boy.
    “The word I used was ‘tenet.’ It means theory, or belief, or rule.”
    At that last word the confusion left Benny’s face. “Oh, I get it now. You were talking about Mom’s rules.” He lowered