Page 27 of Every Sunset

ANNA

I wasn’t sure exactly how I left the hardware store after my shift that afternoon.

Confused was definitely in there, along with anger too.

Anger for Maddox and all he’d been through at the hands of that insane couple he hadn’t even known.

Anger for both Madd and Logan, and the family that should have loved them, instead abandoning them to a care system that separated them and ultimately led to them living for years on the streets.

I was confused by what they said about being into me.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t believe I was hideous or anything, but I was no supermodel either.

I was short, and too thin after the last month or so of barely being able to eat.

I left pale as a skin tone a few weeks back too, and was getting more to the ‘deathly pale’ kind of pallor.

Even without all of that, I wasn’t curvy or sexy.

I did have a good pair of boobs for someone as slight as me, but that was about it.

Logan and Maddox…well, they were like models, and not those too slim pretty boys on catwalks, but like models on the covers of those fancy sports magazines, all muscle, bronzed skin, and sexy, alluring smiles.

It wasn’t an exaggeration when I said they could have their pick of women, so I had no idea why they would be drawn to me.

Then there was the whole ménage relationship thing.

Was that even a thing? I thought I remembered reading something like that in a romance novel before, but it wasn’t anything I had ever known of in real life.

The guys had told me they’d had relationships like that before, so obviously they made it work to some extent, but long term?

I wasn’t so convinced. What would people think of me if I were in a relationship with two guys?

What would Max think about it? Hence the confusion I was also feeling.

By the time I pulled the car in through the gates of the house I was giving myself a headache with the inane but constant thoughts about what the guys had said to me.

Did I even want to pursue a relationship right then?

I had sworn off men, and rightfully so after what happened, but it was becoming so hard to deny myself the feelings that were building between Logan, Maddox, and I.

I could see that Logan and Maddox were cooking on the grill out on the patio again as I drove around the side of the main house, towards the cottage.

Max was with them, laughing uproariously at something, and I smiled at seeing him so filled with happiness and light once again.

I may be questioning if the Easton brothers were good for me, but I had no doubt they were helping my son.

He was so much more relaxed and at ease when he was with them, and I wanted that for him.

He’d had no male role models in his life, which is why, I suspected, he had latched on to Madd and Logan as fast as he had, but it was good for him. I was pretty sure Logan and Maddox were about the best men I had ever known and I was good with them getting to know Max.

Maddox came jogging across the perfectly cut lawn to me before I had even pulled into our parking spot outside the cottage.

By the time I stepped out he was almost to me, and I marveled at how easily he ran, knowing that he was doing so on a prosthesis and not his own lower leg.

I didn’t even know which leg it was, and I only watched close enough right then, trying to figure it out, because he had told me about it.

I guessed it was his left leg since he took slightly shorter steps on that side, but it was tough to tell when he had it covered in his perfectly fitting black jeans.

“Hey,” I greeted with a smile. He’d paired his black jeans with a hugging white t-shirt that clung in all the best ways to his muscular frame beneath.

Him jogging towards me with a relaxed smile on his face and his focus solely on me would definitely replay in at least part of my dreams that night, I was sure.

“Everything okay?” he asked when he reached me and slowed to a stop. I was taken aback when he leaned in and softly kissed my cheek, the sensation of his coarse stubble against my skin making me instantly come alight inside.

“Good,” I nodded. “Are we grilling again?”

“That’s pretty much the only way Logan and I know to cook anything other than breakfast,” he laughed. “It’ll be the red meat that gets us in the end, for sure.”

“It’s gonna get me too if I keep eating those monster steaks you buy. You should let me cook sometime. I’m not amazing or anything, but I know a few recipes and the break from steaks might un clog some of your arteries,” I joked.

“Maybe at the weekend, when you don’t have to work,” he suggested. I smiled as I grabbed my purse from the back of the car, then locked it up.

“I only work four hours a day, Madd,” I reminded him.

“I know that, but I also know you’re barely sleeping or eating right now, so I don’t want you to push yourself, okay? You need to rest when you can. Logan and I want to see you get stronger.”

“‘I want’ never gets,” I threw back at him as we both walked across the lawn towards the big house.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the patronizing tone Madd had taken with me, but I did know he and his brother were worried about me, and I didn’t really have a leg to stand on when it came to arguing I was okay. They knew the truth of it.

“Fine smart ass,” Maddox laughed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side playfully. “Please could you stop pushing yourself, and rest as much as possible? Logan and I would very much like if you got a little stronger and healthier.”

“I’ll take your request under advisement,” I joked again as I leaned into his side, desperately seeking just a little of the comfort I felt when he or Logan held me.

“Hey mom!” Max yelled animatedly as he came closer with a wide smile on his face. “I got invited to a party tonight. It’s gonna be kids from my new school and some of the people I work with at the pool. I can go, right?” he asked, throwing me his best puppy dog eyes for good measure.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“This other kid’s having it at his house. Jade said he has a deck right near the water.”

“We have a deck right near the water,” I reminded him with a roll of my eyes. “Will the party be supervised?”

“For sure. His parents will be there. Please mom. It’s the perfect chance for me to get to know more people before school starts,” he pleaded.

“Fine, but I want the address of where you’ll be, and you’d better answer your cell if I call you. No drinking,” I told him. I trusted him to be responsible, and it would be good for him to make some friends before school started the next week.

“Thank you! I have to text Jade!” With that he ran to me and slammed a kiss on my cheek, then he was gone, racing for our place, presumably to change his clothes from the lifeguard t-shirt he still wore.

“This place isn’t known for wild, out of control teen parties, right?” I asked, only half joking as I looked between Logan and Maddox, both of whom now stood near the grill.

“He’ll be fine. There’s not much trouble kids can get in to around here,” Logan assured me.

“Plus, I already told him I’d drop him off and pick him up. I’ll make sure to talk to the other kids parents before I leave him there,” Maddox added.

“You don’t need to do that, Madd. I can take him, but thanks.”

“I already offered. You need to take things easy. You look pretty done in already,” he told me.

“Gee, thanks,” I laughed as I awkwardly started to try and straighten the wild knot my hair was pulled into on top of my head.

“He didn’t mean it like that, Anna. You look beautiful. You always look beautiful,” Logan assured me.

“Doubtful,” I deadpanned. “Will there be wine at this meal, or shall I go and raid my stash?” I asked, changing the subject.

“There’s wine,” Maddox laughed as he headed inside the house.

“We have some friends coming over tonight. I thought it’d be good for you to get to know someone other than the two of us and boring Neil at the store,” Logan told me.

“Neil’s not boring. He’s just…he’s quiet.

He’s a good boss.” I defended, even though I did secretly agree the man should do more than run his store and then head up to his apartment every evening, where he seemed to do nothing but watch recordings of day time quiz shows.

“Who did you invite? Should I go and clean myself up a bit?” I asked as I looked down at the tatty skinny jeans I wore with a white tank top that I’d spilled just a little coffee on that afternoon.

“You don’t need to change. It’s just the guy who manages my bar, Tate, and his wife Cat.”

“I know Cat,” I announced, relieved it was at least one person I actually knew coming to eat with us.

I was too tired to face too many people, and if I were honest, I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted to a ton of other guys turning up.

“She works at the diner across the street from the hardware store. She’s the supplier of my life force while I’m working. ”

“Your life force?” Logan repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Coffee! It’s the only thing that gets me through those boring shifts,” I laughed.

“See. I told you Neil was boring.”

“I wouldn’t mind if he would chat a little more, that’s for sure,” I acquiesced. “But beggars can’t be choosers and without that job Max and I would be begging on the streets.”

“Anna, you know you don’t have to pay us the rent if you’re struggling. We don’t even need it...”

“Don’t Logan!” I cut him off. “I have always paid my way, and I always will. We don’t need charity, and things aren’t really that tight. We’re fine.”

“Well if you ever aren’t….”

“I know. Thank you, but I’ll find some more work soon.” I told him firmly.

“You should ask Cat. She might have some shifts at the diner,” he suggested as Maddox reappeared with a glass of white wine for me, and two beers.