Lena's Happily Ever After [The Town of Pearl 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Dixie Lynn Dwyer Page A

in there when she was working. She was fine with that. They were drunk anyway when the incident happened. Working there two nights a week on Fridays and Saturdays would be easy to handle along with her new responsibilities with soldier boy.
    The Cornish hens were cooking in the oven and the sweet potatoes, too, as she swept out the kitchen and re-mopped the floor. The back door was wide open, and soldier boy was sitting in a chair watching her and trying to make her uncomfortable. It wasn’t working except when he zoned out or had to stand up quickly because of a cramp in his leg.
    “You should be doing those exercises that your father taught you. The sheets are in the cabinet drawer under the TV,” she told him.
    “Why bother? They don’t help.”
    “Maybe you’re doing them wrong.”
    He raised his eyebrows at her. “What the fuck do you know? Did you even go to school or were you living on the streets all your life?” She felt the twinge of pain from the insult, but she held her ground. She was used to him insulting her to get her off his case. She was trying to help him with that, too.
    She continued to mop the floor.
    “You can learn a lot living on the streets, soldier boy.”
    “Soldier boy? Are you insulting me by calling me that? What are you, one of those anti-Americans who feels that the government owes you free shit for being alive? How the fuck did you wind up on the streets anyway?”
    “First of all, I am not anti-American. I don’t feel that anyone owes me anything just because I’m alive. I know damn well that you get out of life what you put into it.”
    “Don’t you mean how much you put out?” He looked her body over from head to toe. She was trying her damn hardest not to knock his lights out. She had to remind herself for the hundredth time that this was his MO. He was purposely pushing people away.
    “Cut it out, Bryant. It’s not going to work. All the insults, the curses and nastiness. You think you’re tough, but you’re not. You’re acting like a damn baby.” She made her way toward the back door. That was when she saw the long, thick snake making his way inside.
    She turned to soldier boy just as he was about to verbally attack her again, and he must have followed her line of sight.
    “Don’t move, Lena.”
    “No shit, really? What do I do?” she asked, feeling the need to bolt.
    “Look at me, Lena.” She saw the intensity in his eyes as he walked closer to her.
    “Oh God, oh God, I don’t like snakes!” she squealed and began to shake all over.
    “Don’t drop the mop!”
    He told her just as she dropped the mop and jumped halfway across the space between them and up into his arms. He held her as if she weighed nothing at all then scooted the mop toward the snake with his boot. The snake hissed and carried on as he pushed it toward the back door and out of the house all while Lena held him around his neck and shoulders shaking in fear. He slammed the door closed, but Lena was still scared stiff. Literally.
    “That’s what you get for leaving the fucking door open,” he told her as she remained in his arms, holding on to his neck and wide shoulders in fear. She shook again.
    “I’m from Detroit, damn you. We don’t see fucking snakes that damn big in the damn city!”
    He walked toward the counter with her still wrapped around him.
    “You can get down now, Lena,” he stated firmly. She locked gazes with his eyes and was amazed at the exquisite color green that they were.
    “What?” he asked through clenched teeth.
    “Your eyes, they’re green,” she stuttered, and he set her down on the counter.
    He looked her over and seemed as if he were going to say something to her, but right now she didn’t care. He had saved her life and spoken more than he had in the last week.
    “Thank you,” she whispered as she slid down off of the counter. He didn’t step back out of the way and their bodies touched.
    He reached down to touch a strand of her hair and she