"You're s.e.xy as h.e.l.l, and hot to boot," Sam added in his easygoing way.

"Let us love you, Jackie. You were made for loving." Mitch dropped his hands to her hips and held her steady against his hard c.o.c.k.

"We're friends. It will ruin our friendship. Besides, one of you will only get mad at the other one if we did this."

"Nope, we won't, either," Sam promised. "We've known we would share our wife someday. We've been sharing our women for years, Jackie."

"Sam." Mitch's voice sounded chastising.

"IaI don't think it's a good idea."

"I think it's a very good idea," Mitch countered.

He surprised her by picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom and her newly set up bed. There were no sheets or bedspreads on it. They hadn't even removed the plastic off the top.

"Mitch, you've got to stop. We can't do this."

"Why not?" Sam asked, standing next to her.

"It's not right."

"It's right for us." Mitch let her slide down his body to stand up.

"I'm still married."

That seemed to bring everyone back to themselves. Mitch cursed and slapped the door facing. Sam slammed his hands on his hips and blew out a breath.

"You won't be married for long," Mitch finally said. "Then you're ours."

"Mitch, I'm not getting into a love triangle with the two of you. It will ruin our friendship and probably screw up your relationship with your brother. I can't be responsible for that." Jackie drew in a deep breath.

G.o.d, she wanted them so badly. What was she going to do with them living just across the field from her? She'd be running into them in town all the time.

"Nothing would come between the three of us. Not even each other," Mitch a.s.sured her.

"Look, just don't worry about it anymore for now. You're right, you're still married. We got carried away." Sam looked up at the ceiling then back down at her. "I'm not sorry I kissed you, but I am sorry I put you in that situation."

"I don't want to lose you as my friends. I don't have that many anymore," she whispered.

Mitch pulled her into his arms. "You'll always have us no matter what happens, Jackie."

"Come on, Mitch, we better go."

Jackie thought it was odd that Sam was the voice of reason for a change. It was usually Mitch who cooled things off when they got too intense. Then it had been six years since she'd been around them for any length of time. And before that, she had been in college for four years. She had no idea how things had changed in their lives. Maybe Sam wasn't the prankster she remembered him being. Maybe he'd grown up, just like they all had.

"Come lock us out, Jackie," Mitch said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the living room door.

"Thank you for working in the barn for me. I appreciate it."

"We'll finish it up for you. Don't worry about it. You concentrate on the house," Sam a.s.sured her.

They opened the living room door and stepped out on her front porch. She hesitated at closing the door on them, but she knew they weren't budging until they heard the locks click. She licked her bottom lip and smiled before closing the door and engaging all the locks.

"See you tomorrow, Jackie," Mitch said through the door.

Then she heard the sound of their footsteps on the porch steps. After that, the sound of their truck pulling out reached her ears. She stepped away from the door and returned to the kitchen to look at the mess on her stove. It was a little like the mess in her life.

Sam drove back home since Mitch was too p.i.s.sed off at himself to drive. He felt for his brother. It was the first time in his life he wasn't able to be in control of everything. Mitch was usually the one to keep things on solid ground. He made sure they didn't get into trouble. This time, Sam had had to step in and cool things off.

Sam wasn't that much better off, though. He'd gotten carried away just like Mitch had. Only Mitch had nearly crossed the line. They'd always had limits, despite what a lot of people in town said about them. They didn't screw around with married women.

It didn't matter that she was filing for divorce. She wasn't divorced yet. They could court her and they would, but they couldn't f.u.c.k her. No matter how hard they got or how much they wanted to, they wouldn't do it. Thank G.o.d, Jackie had pointed it out that she was still married. Sam wasn't sure how far they would have gone before they stopped. Or, he admitted, if they even would have stopped. Both of them were sporting b.o.n.e.rs for her, and had been for over ten years.

"How in the h.e.l.l are we going to keep our hands off of her for three f.u.c.king months?" Mitch complained.

"I don't know, but we have to. She'll be divorced before we know it," Sam said, not really believing it any more than he knew Mitch did.

"She's got to have help though, Sam, and I don't want anyone else giving it to her."

"I agree. We still help her and be indispensible to her so she relies on us, and not someone else."

"We'll work on the barn first. That will take about a week with all the rotten boards that need replacing," Mitch said.

"Then there's painting it, and the outside of the house needs painting as well." Sam turned the truck down their drive.

"She needs the front porch sanded and painted, and the steps could use a good coat of that non-slide paint on them." Mitch ran a hand over his face.

"She's the one, Mitch. We are agreed on that?"

"She's always been the one, Sam."

"It's going to take some work to gain her trust and confidence again."

"She's been used and abused. We've got to treat her carefully. Mitch closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat.

Sam realized Mitch wanted a piece of her ex-husband fairly badly. He hoped he never got the chance at him. The man might not make it alive, and Sam would be bailing Mitch out of jail.

"Well, first off, we've got to agree that we keep our hands to ourselves, for now." Sam stopped the truck in front of the house.

"Agreed. Although I'm not going to be able to stop kissing her when I can get her to relax enough to let me. I just don't need to let it get out of hand again."

"We don't touch her unless the other one is there to supervise," Sam suggested.

"Good idea. I don't want to screw this up, Sam. I love her."

"I love her, too. We'll make it till she's divorced. Willpower, big brother. Willpower."

Mitch laughed and b.u.mped knuckles with him. Sam got out of the truck and walked up on the porch next to Mitch. They looked out over the field to where they could just see a light over at her house. The urge to go get her was strong, but Sam resisted and prayed he had enough resistance in him for both him and his brother. He had a feeling Mitch was going to have trouble with the timing thing concerning the divorce.

"You headed to bed?" Mitch asked.

"Nope, going to sit outside for a while. Think some. I don't do a lot of thinking."

"You do plenty. You just play it out as being the crazy twin. I'm the stable one. Look how stable I was this evening, though."

"Told you not to dwell on it. We know we have to take a step back for a while. We'll both be okay."

"Don't sit out here too long. Morning comes early these days." Mitch closed the door behind him, leaving Sam out on the front porch.

Sam walked down to the rocking chairs and settled into one. He could see Jackie's house from there. In the daytime, he'd be able to make out the eaves and the roof line and the windows. But at night, all he could see was the silhouette of the windows due to the light on in the room.

She wanted them, he was sure of that, but she was afraid. She didn't think it was right for her to want both of them. She also didn't plan on choosing. She'd committed to not dating either of them because she couldn't make up her mind or chose one over the other. There would be no such worries once her divorce was final. She'd be so wrapped up in both of them that choosing one over the other would be out of the question. And of course, living without them would be out of the question as well.

Sam wondered about who was handling her divorce. Was it possible it was James Tidwell? If she filed here in town, it would have to be him. d.a.m.n. He would be compet.i.tion. James had talked enough about her that Sam was surprised when she acted as if she didn't know him.

He watched the direction of her house over the next few hours, then when her lights when out, he stood up and stretched. He checked his watch. It was nearly nine p.m. He needed to be in the bed to get up early the next morning. He doubted he would need to set his alarm, but he would to be on the safe side. He didn't want to miss a minute of time spent around Jackie. h.e.l.l, he'd camp out at her house if she'd let him park his truck and set up his tent there. Like that was going to happen.

Sam walked inside then locked the doors and headed upstairs. He was hard as a rock, but he would be fine. He might as well get used to it. He'd likely be this way for the next three months.

Chapter Five.

Early the next morning, Jackie woke from a restless sleep full of dreams of Sam and Mitch. Their near miss had stirred her fantasies until she was wet and needy when she woke up. She refused to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e to thoughts of her best friends, and opted for a shower instead.

After breakfast and two cups of hot coffee, Jackie felt like she could face the world. Well, maybe not Sam and Mitch though. She heard their truck pull up in the drive. She groaned and wished they would give her some room. She hastily put away her breakfast dishes and poured another cup of coffee. She figured she would need it.

As soon as she heard their footsteps. .h.i.t the steps to the front porch, Jackie unlocked the door and opened it for them.

"Morning, Jackie." Sam walked inside and brushed a kiss across her cheek as he did.

"Morning," Mitch said and did the same thing on her other cheek. "What do you have planned for today?"

"Um, I'm going to start painting in the breakfast area." She brushed a lock of hair back from her face. Some of it had already fallen out of the ponytail holder she'd slipped around it that morning.

"Are you painting the ceilings, too?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, they're all dingy and need freshening up."

"How about I do your ceilings for you. I'm taller than you are," Sam suggested.

"That's really nice of you to offer, but I can handle it. There's no reason for you to take time out of your day to paint my ceilings."

"I want to help, Jackie. If not painting, then I'll find something else that needs doing."

"You might as well let him paint. He isn't going to give up," Mitch told her.

"And what, pray tell, are you planning to do today?" she asked Mitch as she crossed her arms.

"I'm working in the barn replacing rotten wood. You've got a lot of it that needs replacing, or you're going to be building a new barn soon."

Jackie sighed. How could she turn them down? These were things she sure couldn't do and would have to get hired done. They were doing her a very big favor.

"I really do appreciate the help, guys. I hate for you to be helping me when you have your own place to run."

"We have hired hands to do the work there. We don't actually work the ranch as much anymore. If they need us, we're just a phone call away." Mitch smiled and leaned back against the closed kitchen door.

"Okay, I accept your help. I'll cook supper for you in exchange for the free labor."

"Sounds like a deal to me," Sam said with a huge grin. "Show me where your paint supplies are, and I'll get started on the ceiling."

"I'm on my way out to the barn. If you all need me, you'll know where I am." Mitch turned around and opened the back door to leave. Then he threw over his shoulder. "Sam, we agreed not to pressure her."

"I know, little brother." He turned to Jackie and rubbed his hands together. "Let's see about the breakfast room."

They worked on painting the ceiling and the trim for the rest of the morning. Sam even got the kitchen ceiling and trim painted before they called a halt at noon. Jackie fixed sandwiches for everyone and nibbled on hers as they all talked about what her plans were for the rest of the house.

"I'm going to sand the kitchen cabinet doors and refinish them myself as I have time. They're fine until I get to them." She licked some mayo off her thumb and crumpled up the rest of her sandwich in the paper plate and threw it in the garbage. "Anyway, I've got to get to town. I'm due at the lawyer's at two to sign papers."

"We'll finish what I'm working on out in the barn and then go check on things around our house. What time is supper tonight?" Mitch asked.

"How about seven? I want to get a few things done before I cook."

"We'll see you at seven, then," Sam said with a twinkle in his eye.

She frowned at him. He had something up his sleeve when he had that look about him. She did not need him focusing on her. Not now. Maybe not ever.

She drove to town thinking about that look and wondering what he could possibly be dreaming up when they knew how she felt. There was a parking place right outside of the lawyer's office. She walked inside and was immediately shown back to James, Jr.'s office.

"How are you doing, Jackie?"

"Doing fine. I've been working on my house. Doing some painting and all."

"I've got your paperwork ready for you to sign. I want to go over a few things with you so you understand what it is saying. I also drew up paperwork for a restraining order."

"Why did you do that?"

"He hit you, Jackie. Yes, it was probably a one-off thing, but it will go a long way in helping your case during the divorce. I found out he has already engaged a lawyer there in Billings by the name of Denzel Stevens. He's very good in family law."

"I'm not surprised. He would get the best he could afford, or that his family could afford," she said in a dry voice.

"Here are the bare bones facts of the paperwork."