Chapter 19

19

Fletcher might have imagined it, but he almost swore the crowd got quiet. The world kind of stood still for just half a moment. Those were eight incredibly beautiful women standing right there. From Dorie all the way up to Darcy.

People still gossiped about the missing Talleys. He suspected they would for a while. Especially with them looking like that. And being available. They were also rarely all eight in the same place and the same time.

He had no doubt rumors would fly about Dylan as soon as that damned McBubbles showed up too. People talked. Especially in small towns. Especially about beautiful women—and the men they might be messing with. Dylan was right in the center of the Talley girls now.

Dylan was the smallest of her sisters, but she was just as hot as Darcey or Dusty, or any of the others. She drew eyes. First because of the unique color of her hair—Marin, did too, he had noticed—and second because of the vitality.

The woman just seemed so alive. It was hard for a man not to watch her. She could make a man dizzy, though. Unless the man was prepared.

“See you brought your housekeeper,” his cousin Derrick said behind him. “She tired of keeping you yet? I’m gladly here to replace you if needed.”

Fletcher told him exactly what he thought about that question. As she and her sisters just stood there, talking about something amongst the eight of them.

“Those are eight of the hottest women I have seen in a long, long while. Then again, those are eight of the ten hottest women in the county. The other two are Marin and Meyra. So…since I am ready to catch my own Tyler bride very, very soon and settle down to make more Tylers, which one will it be?”

Derrick was a damned idiot. “Go away.”

“I am going to go over there and ask that beautiful Talley woman in the red dress if she would like to dance with the better Tyler.”

“Hands off. Or I’ll break them.” The words just came out. And he played right into Derrick’s hands. Damn it. His cousin was such an asshole.

“Like that, is it?” His cousin smirked at him. “Then why are you over here with me and the boys when you can go wrap yourself around her?”

“That’s a damned good question. I have some things to say to her right now.” Like what, he didn’t have a clue. But that asshole Mateo Hauffman was crossing the room—with one woman in his sights now.

And that was just not going to happen.

Fletcher was closer. He was going to beat Hauffman there, no matter what. It took him a moment, there were people between them, but he was going to get there first.

* * *

Dylan looked up. Into diamond blue eyes. “What?”

“I said, dance with me first.”

“Why would I do that? Housekeeper, remember?”

“Then keep me safe from the money-hungry women among us. Your job will be in jeopardy if that one in the purple dress gets ahold of me.”

Dylan looked past him. Saw who he meant. If it had been anyone other than her, she would have told him no. But letting Abby Vanderguard have him—absolutely not. “You owe me.”

“I’ll pay up eventually.” He wrapped his fingers around hers. And then Dylan was letting him lead her to the dance floor. Right in front of everyone. And it felt like everyone was watching them now.

His hands slipped around her waist as the music turned slow.

Dylan fought the urge to shiver and press closer. The man felt so…warm. She could smell him all around her. Which was seriously weird, considering there were a hundred people surrounding them right now. He took care of that, and just pulled her close. Almost as close as Ben was holding her sister right now. Or superhot Gil was wrapping himself around Sage. No sense denying it—Dylan wanted to cuddle so much closer.

“You scared? Afraid I’ll do something I shouldn’t?” he asked so quietly no one else would ever hear him.

“Dylan Brown is never afraid of anything. Talley, I mean.”

“Then come closer. You are so small a man has to hold you real close.” His hands felt so hot as he pulled her closer. So, so close. She could feel him and smell him and every nerve in her body started to tingle.

She hadn’t really ever felt this way before.

“Sure they do. I have danced with other guys, you know.” But she did one of the craziest things she had ever done in her life, and pressed her cheek against the man’s heart. “It’s not that I am so small, but you Tylers are all taller than average. Kind of freaks that way.”

“I’m six-four, not exactly a giant. You are small, no denying that. Beautiful, but small,” he said. His hands spread over the low back of her dress. His fingers pressed against her actual skin. Scorching, definitely scorching. The dress had a built-in bra. Dylan wasn’t wearing one, not that one would have been much protection. But she was incredibly aware of the heat of the man’s chest pressing against hers.

Fletcher was hot. And not just temperature. How had Dylan missed that?

She just stayed right where she was, wrapped up in Truckboy’s arms as they swayed together to the music.

The world had seriously gone mad here. Just completely gone mad.

And Dylan just pressed closer.

* * *

He wanted to be the one she danced with all night. Fletcher scowled down at her as that thought sank in. He wanted to. He didn’t want to watch her dance with that jerk Hauffman, or that damned Davis. Even his cousins should keep their hands to themselves.

Dylan was in his arms and damned if it didn’t feel right, holding her like this. He wanted to pull her as close as he possibly could, in spite of where they were now. With all of her family watching, and all of his.

The woman had rocked him to his core and she didn’t have a clue.

Instead, he kept a respectable distance between them—as much as possible, with her being so much smaller. Hell, he wanted to hold her like this all damned night. If she would just let him.

The dance didn’t last nearly long enough. When it was finished he stepped back and let her go. He had to.

That damned Quade Davis had just walked through the door, and whether he liked it or not, Dylan was Quade’s date tonight.

Not Fletcher’s.

He spun around and walked away before he said something stupid. Or yanked her up and carried her out of there like the damned caveman his sister had accused him and his brothers of being too many times before to count.

“Just your housekeeper, huh?” one of his cousins asked as Fletcher headed over toward where some of them were gathering. The ones without women of their own to wrap around tonight. “I am so going to get me one of those.”

“Shove it, Holton.”

“Someone is in a mood. I suspect I know why,” Reese said. “Your housekeeper is dancing with Davis, now. She not seeing you as the wonderful man you are yet?”

Hell, every damned Tyler was a pain in the ass. But Fletcher looked. Toward where Dylan was talking animatedly with Quade. Charlotte was there with them. That was all the excuse he needed.

He didn’t believe Quade was just pretending with Dylan. Not for one minute. Men like Quade played with women. He liked the other guy well enough, but he wasn’t stupid. The Davis brothers had earned their reputations with women. He was damned sure of it.

Well, Dylan wasn’t going to be another notch on a Davis brother’s belt.

She just wasn’t.

He almost stalked over there. He tapped Charlotte on the shoulder.

Charlotte looked up at him and gave him her trademark smirk. “Hey, gorgeous.”

“Hey. Didn’t realize you would be here tonight.”

“Heading back to Finley Creek in the morning. I had to do a slight reshoot today up here, flew up on the five a.m.” She looked exhausted. No wonder. Her friends in Finley Creek had been going through hell lately.

“Dance with me?” He didn’t want to just stand there like a dumbass. Not with Davis leading Dylan out to the dance floor. Wrapping her up close like that. Closer than even Fletcher had. “We can talk.”

And he could keep an eye on Davis—make sure that Wonkus clown behaved himself.

“Sure. You can tell me what’s got your ass in a knot. You and Dylan fighting again?”

“No. Not fighting.”

“The whole housekeeper thing? Girl has no clue, does she?”

“She’s damned good at it. Knows what she’s doing. I think she took care of her whole family for years, while that dumbass father of hers worked. Hell, I think she’s been the twins’ and Dorie’s mother for all practical purposes, probably their whole lives.”

“So I’ve noticed. It’s probably good for her to get away from her sisters. Figure out what she wants for herself, and not just as the one who takes care of all of them. I know it was culture shock for me to go to Finley Creek where I didn’t know anyone. You aren’t being an ass to her, are you?”

“No.”

“You’d better not be. I…may not have been very welcoming to her, I’m afraid. We didn’t exactly get off to the best start.”

“You should try to fix it. She’s not going anywhere. You are family.”

“How are the two of you getting along?” she asked as he pulled her closer for a moment and spun her lightly. He’d always loved dancing with this woman. He’d always get a bit of a thrill when they did. That was missing now. Maybe it was because it wasn’t really this Talley he wanted to be dancing with right now at all.

The one he wanted was all wrapped in Mr. Hollywood’s arms. “Fine. We’re getting along fine. She makes me cookies.”

“That’s all it took to tame the savage Fletcher beast? Cookies?”

“Oatmeal cream cookies. And she makes beef stew and meatloaf and real food. It’s been too long since someone actually cooked in my kitchen. It’s nice.” And it made him actually want to spend more time there.

Before? He just hadn’t. His house hadn’t felt the same since his sister had moved out years ago. Or his brothers. The place had kind of echoed a little. It was far too big for just one man. Of course, it was far too big for just one man and his rather small housekeeper too. But there was more laughter in his house now than had been there in years.

Entirely her doing. She made him want to be there now.

With her.

“Not coming home to an empty house? I can understand that. You are behaving with her, otherwise?”

“I’m not a savage.”

“No. But you are a Tyler. And, well, we all know about Tylers and their housekeepers.”

Fletcher growled and spun her. She looked up at him, a wicked look in her big green eyes. She and Dylan had the same eyes—that always threw him off a little.

“Fletch, you’d better go. Fast. Looks like Derrick is absconding with your housekeeper right now. You’d better hurry before she gets away.”

Damn it.

Everyone in this damned town was a comedian or something.