How ironic.

Did she really want to be him when she got to be his age?

Not really.

Once the crew left for the day, she was able to stand in the back doorway and stare into the dining room. It still reeked, but was now bearable. And most of the flies had left with everything standing open all day and the carpet removed.

It wasn’t a bad house. Even the Collins brothers noted that it didn’t appear to need anything worse than cleaning and cosmetics to get the house into a livable condition.

Maybe I could rent it out.

She didn’t want to just sell it. It didn’t feel right. That the last of what was left of her uncle would just disappear with a signature on a purchase contract.

“Hey.”

She turned to see Toby and Logan heading her way, her heart speeding up.

Hmm.

They joined her at the back door. “Wow,” Toby said.

“Yeah.”

“Any idea how long they’ll take?”

“They’re working a couple of other jobs along with this one. They’ll work tomorrow and Friday, but I won’t be here Friday. Eliza will be running things. Then next week they’ll be back on Tuesday, when I’m here.”

“That’s a heck of a commute,” Logan said. “To South Carolina.”

“I know, but it’s easier to leave the RV up there rather than drive it down here. I’ve already paid in advance for the spot at the RV park. The Toad gets far better mileage. And I’ve got this weekend and the next up there.”

“Wish we could help you with that,” Toby said.

“It’s okay. I’m used to driving. Kind of what I do.”

“How about we pick you up at Eliza’s later and take you out to dinner tonight?” Logan asked.

“Did Eliza put you up to it again?”

“She didn’t have to,” Toby said. “We want to. But when we ran the plan by her, she wholeheartedly concurred.”

“Of course she did.”

She closed the back door and locked it. The front door was already locked, and the Collins brothers had a spare key. She’d get the locks changed once the work was done.

“Is that a yes?” Logan asked.

“Yes, because if I say no, Eliza will likely hound me, or lock me out or something, until she wears me down and I say yes.” She turned to look at them. “Hope this isn’t creeping you guys out.”

“No,” Toby said. “It’s not. She obviously cares about you.”

“She does. That’s why I’m putting up with her.”

* * * *

Eliza met Rebecca at the front door with Chewi in her arms. Speaking in a low, rumbling voice, Eliza said, “Mom, you need to go out tonight with Toby and Logan because I need a date night alone with Booger.”

“I already told them yes,” Rebecca said as she headed toward her bedroom. “So you can quit pushing.”

“Oh, I wasn’t pushing,” Eliza said in her normal voice, following in Rebecca’s wake, Boo following her. “That was Chewi.”

“Uh-huh.” She set her things on the guest bed. “Message received. If I promise not to push them away, will you please stop pushing me on them?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Eliza looked down into Chewi’s face. “What do you think, world dominayshun dog?”

He tipped his nose up a little to sniff at her before licking her chin.

“He approves,” Eliza declared. Then she grew serious. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m just…sad. I know we weren’t close, but apparently I was the closest person to him. I’m drawing some seriously disturbing parallels. And I don’t want my life to be like that.”

“Then don’t let it.” She handed Chewi over to her. “When are they picking you up?”

“Shortly. I need to get a shower.”

“Then I’ll leave you alone.” She hugged Rebecca before heading out.

Rebecca stared down into Chewi’s face. He raptly stared back at her. Boo let out a snort before lowering her pudgy butt to the floor at Rebecca’s feet. Then, the bulldog reached out and slimed Rebecca’s leg with a long-tongued lick.

“Ugh. Chewi, your girlfriend needs a bib.”

He stared back at her. Not my problem, woman. And I like her the way she is.

Oh, yes. She was definitely in desperate need of a real life.

* * * *

They took her to a seafood restaurant on Tamiami Trail. For a little while, she was able to forget about what was going on in the rest of her life, the sad work ahead of her dealing with her uncle’s estate. She had several orders she’d have to fill and prepare to ship before she could go to bed, and e-mail to answer.

And now…this.

Toby and Logan were a nice respite from real life. In that vein, she broached the subject.

“You know, maybe next week, when I’m back down here, we could…do something together.”

Both men seemed to perk up. “Dinner?” Toby asked. “Or…more?”

“I’m thinking more. If you guys want to.”

They exchanged a glance before nodding.

“Maybe not…play…yet. But…” Hell, she could do this. She was a big girl. “Maybe just hanging out to start with and see where it goes from there? I’m going to need some time to get back into play. And I won’t be able to go to the club yet, anyway, since I won’t be here when it’s open.” She’d heard a lot of good things about the club, even though she hadn’t been there yet.

It would be nice to finally get to meet some of the people she’d heard about from Eliza, or with whom she’d e-mailed about her pieces.

“We’re good with that,” Logan said. “Slow is good.”

She sat back, relaxing. “That will make Eliza happy, at least. Not that I’m not happy, because I am. About…this.”

“No explanations necessary,” Toby said. “We like you, too. And we’re good with taking our time, too. We’re not dating anyone.”

The rest of the evening seemed ridiculously easy after that. They talked about a lot of different topics, including her jewelry and their personal likes and dislikes in bed and in BDSM.

By the time they returned her to Eliza and Rusty’s house, she felt like the evening had slipped through her fingers.

They walked her to the front door, each of them giving her a hug and a kiss before she headed inside.

Eliza met her at the door, holding Chewi. In her “Chewi voice,” Eliza said, “I think I like those guys, Mom.”

She took the dog from her and snuggled him against her. “I think I like those guys, too, buddy.”

Chapter Seven

Back in South Carolina on Saturday night, when Rebecca was preparing for bed after an exhausting day working her booth at the fair, she found herself wondering what Logan and Toby were doing, if they were out and about.

Were they thinking about her the way she was thinking about them?

She’d decided she would leave tomorrow once the Ren fair closed for the day. She could come back here, shower, grab her clothes, and go, without having to unpack and repack the Toad yet again. All her jewelry and stuff would already be in it.

She wouldn’t deny she couldn’t wait to see the guys again.

When her phone buzzed with a text message, she was glad to see it was from Logan.

Still coming back tomorrow?

The question thrilled her and she wouldn’t deny it.

That’s still the plan.

He responded. You can stay here, if you want.

She stared at Chewi. “Logan says I can stay there.”

He sniffed at her as if to say, What about me?

She pondered her reply. And the Chewmonster?

Of course.

Okay, so that blew an objection out of the water.

She knew if she texted Eliza that the men were offering to let her stay with them that Eliza would change her locks just to force Rebecca to go stay with the men. It also made logical sense. After all, they did live next door to her uncle’s property.

Now her property.

Logical. Right?