Page 2 of Claiming Tessa

T essa closed her eyes and rested her head against the window because she didn’t want to answer any more questions. She wanted to get the next hour over with so she could get the rest she desperately needed.

She’d never felt this tired or dispirited in her life, and she needed to figure out a way to overcome it.

But so many things were changing in her life, and she had yet to make plans for the future.

She knew not to get her hopes up about her welcome home.

She didn’t have to guess at all. It would be a disaster.

She must have slept because it felt like just minutes before they were pulling up to her mother’s grand house. God, I hate this place. Everything is either fake or cold. Her mother was both.

The men got out. One opened her door, Diego, she thought his name was, she’d been so tired she hadn’t caught which man was which. He grabbed her backpack, and the other man retrieved her duffle bag.

She pointed to a place off to the side. “Go ahead and leave it there. Thank you for the ride.” She held out her hand and waited, but they both stared at her.

“We’ll walk you into the house,” the one holding her backpack said.

“Guys, I won’t be here that long,” she insisted. “I’m grabbing everything I can carry now. I’ll get the rest later.”

“Is your mother home?” Gavin asked.

She shrugged. “I doubt it.”

“Didn’t she know you were coming?” Diego asked.

She didn’t know how to respond to that. “Sure?” She saw both narrow their eyes at her and sighed.

They weren’t going to leave. “Fine, come on.” The men were huge and freaking hot, and she knew the next few minutes would embarrass and humiliate her, but they weren’t giving her a choice.

Tessa stopped at the door and rang the bell.

The door opened, and she smiled at the older man. “Hello, Arthur.”

The older man’s face brightened. “Hello, Miss Tessa. It’s good you’re finally home. We worry about you.”

That was nice to hear, but she couldn’t help but feel disheartened that it was the servants who cared about her and not her family. “I’m glad to be home. Is it okay if I grab some of my things? I’ll come back for the rest later after I find a place to live.”

Tessa knew whatever he was going to tell her wasn’t good by the sadness that darkened the older man’s face. This man and Maggie, the housekeeper, had been around since she’d been born. They were more family to her than her mother and brother.

“Oh, Miss Tessa, I’m so sorry,” Arthur said. “Your mother had everything boxed up and put out in the shed.”

She braced herself and blocked the pain. She should have expected something like that, but it still hurt. She’d deal with it later. “I see. Thank you, Arthur. I’ll take care of it. You look good.”

He frowned at her. “You’re still as beautiful as ever, but it looks like you’re ready to fall down.”

She put on her best smile. “Nah, I’m tougher than that.”

“I’m sorry to say you’ve had to be,” Arthur said.

She shrugged. “Such is life. Please tell Maggie hi for me. You take care of yourself.”

“You, too, Miss Tessa.”

She pressed her fingertips to her forehead after he closed the door. One of the men cleared their throat, making her turn around. She tried to smile. “So, you see. Everything’s good, so you guys can go.”

Gavin snorted. “Show us where the shed is.”

“Listen, this is not your problem...” she started, only to stop when one of them reached for her.

Diego grabbed her arm again. “Show us where it is, Sweetheart.”

“But...” she scowled.

Gavin scowled. “Stop. We’re making it our problem, so you won’t be able to get rid of us.”

She sighed. She was too tired to fight with them. “This way.”

They walked to one side of the huge house to a shed hidden by bushes.

God, she thought, it looks worse than I remember .

The shed was for lawn equipment, but looked like it hadn’t been used in years.

The outside was grey, weathered wood, and the lock on it was rusted.

She worried about opening the door because the small shed leaned to the side, and she felt it could fall at any moment. “This is it.”

The guys looked at each other, and then Gavin opened one of the old doors, which made a haunting creaking sound.

Stacked against one wall were cardboard boxes full of everything she owned.

Well, mostly what she owned. Some of her stuff she had in storage already, like family heirlooms her father wanted her to have.

The rest of the shed was empty except for the dust and cobwebs in every corner.

“These are all yours?” Diego asked.

She nodded. “I’ll rent something and hire some peop...”

“Knock it off. We’re here and we’re helping you whether you like it or not.”

She frowned at him but was secretly glad for the help. She couldn’t remember the last time someone cared about her or took the time to help her.

Both men grabbed a few boxes, and she grabbed one and followed.

Diego lifted it out of her arms and set it in the back of the huge truck. “Why don’t you go get your backpack and duffle, and we’ll get the rest of the boxes?”

“All right.”

They only made two more trips, and then Gavin helped her back into the truck.

“Can you take me to the nearest hotel, please?” she asked, but neither of them responded. She leaned forward and tapped Diego’s shoulder. “Did you hear me?”

Diego turned his head. “Yeah, we heard you. We’re just not going to do it.”

“Excuse me?” she hissed.

“You heard me,” he replied.

Tessa gritted her teeth. “Exactly what are you going to do because I can bet my brother will give me the same reception as my mother, so I hope that’s not where you are taking me.”

“I don’t believe that. Not the way he worries about you. But we’re taking you to our house. We’ll store your boxes until we figure out what we’re going to do, and you’ll get some sleep.”

Tessa sputtered. “But ... you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t know me.”

Diego shrugged. “We’ll deal with it. Now rest. You look like you’re about ready to fall over.”

She stopped arguing with him and spaced out, looking out the window and making a list of things she needed to do. When they pulled up a long driveway, she looked around.

The two-story house they pulled up in front of was made of dark wood at the top and stone on the bottom.

There was a porch that ran around the few sides she could see.

The property looked huge, judging by the size of the yard.

Everything about it appealed to her. It was a house she could spend the rest of her life in just for the outdoor area alone.

The opening of her door startled her.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” Gavin said and helped her out of the vehicle. They led her into the house and straight down a hallway. Diego walked in first, turned on the lights, and pulled back the blanket.

“There are towels in the bathroom.” Diego pointed at another door. “Get some rest.”

Tessa frowned. “I feel weird sleeping in your home when you don’t know anything about me.”

“I’m going to get her something to sleep in.”

Gavin stared at her as Diego left the room. He crossed his arms over his chest, which drew her attention to his large biceps. Both men were built, and so handsome they made her mouth water. God, she must be more tired than she thought if she was lusting after two men she didn’t know.

“Well, don’t. Everything is fine. Get some sleep,” Diego said and handed her something.

She nodded and watched them walk out. She hadn’t known she was holding her breath until she felt lightheaded.

Jeeze. It was like she’d never seen handsome men before.

Although she felt her limbs start to shake with fatigue, Tessa pushed her body just a little more. She needed a shower. She’d been on planes for thirty-six hours and had maybe gotten six hours of sleep and hadn’t had a chance to change clothes, so she felt grungy and smelled.

She’d never been able to sleep on planes, which wasn’t ideal since she traveled frequently.

Or she used to. After she found a place and a job, she settled in the United States and never intended to venture out again, possibly for the rest of her life.

She’d been everywhere she had set off to see, and she was sick of moving all the time.

She wanted to put down roots and possibly have her own family someday. It was a dream she’d had since she was a child, and it had never gone away.

She put her hair up to keep it dry and took a quick shower before sliding into bed and falling asleep within a minute. Her last thought was of the men.