Four Flames for Angela Read online

  Angela dropped to her knees, holding Todd tight. What was she going to do? The only thing Thomas wanted was money. He’d sent her letters from prison asking for his half of the insurance money. Angie had tried to explain to him that all the money had gone to take care of bills, but he didn’t understand it. He wanted half of that insurance money and wouldn’t be happy until he got it. When their parents had died, the insurance money had been given to her, but once all the debts had been paid off, there wasn’t much left. The money she’d gotten from her paternal grandmother had been used to purchase the house and the little she had in savings was for repairs and for her and Todd to live on until her writing started to pay the bills. She wouldn’t be able to convince Thomas of that though.

  After she watched Thomas drive off recklessly down the street, she sat and pulled Todd into her lap. He had his thumb in his mouth, something she’d thought they’d broken him of. That alone told her how much Thomas had upset him. She couldn’t let that happen again.

  “It’s okay, honey. I won’t let him hurt you. It’ll be okay.” She tried to soothe the little boy and herself.

  “Who was that mean man, Angie? Do you know him? He’s really mean. I don’t like him.” Todd clung to her. “I’m gonna tell Rock and River. They can beat him up. Sawyer and Hunter can help.”

  “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Angie muttered under her breath. What was she going to do? She sat there rocking Todd in her lap until she saw another SUV pull up. Thinking it might be Thomas coming back, she quickly stood up and lifted Todd into her arms. He was getting big and too heavy to be carrying around, but she felt better having him close.

  They stood there together and watched as first River, then Rock, got out of the truck and walked quickly over to them. “Hey, you two. What’s going on?” River said, walking quickly to them when he saw both of their faces.

  Another SUV pulled up behind River and Rock. Angie cringed again before she saw Sawyer, Huston, and another man get out.

  Before Angela could say anything, Todd started talking. “This bad man came and he pushed me and was mean to Angie. Will you beat him up for us?” He reached for River who took him from Angela and set him on his hip.

  “What’s going on?” Rock asked Angela, taking her by the hand and leading her to the porch where Hunter and Sawyer were waiting with another man.

  “Umm…can we talk inside?” Angie looked at the man she assumed was Alvin, not comfortable talking in front of him.

  “Yeah. How about you and I go inside and the guys can show Alvin around out here while we talk?” Rock said, opening the door and taking Todd from River.

  “Todd can stay…” Angie started to stay. If Todd stayed outside, she could fudge what she was telling Rock. Todd wouldn’t let her edit the story, and she wasn’t sure she wanted the men to know about Thomas yet.

  Todd was clinging to Rock, and there was no way he was letting go soon. “He can come with us.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably best.” Angie walked into the house and sat down in the same chair she’d sat in the first night they were at her house, taking Todd from Rock and sitting him on her lap.

  “So, what’s going on?” Rock asked, standing tall in front of them, his muscular arms crossed over his massive chest.

  Angie looked up at him and noticed Sawyer had followed them in and was standing beside the door, his pose similar to Rock’s. “We had a visitor,” Angie said quietly. She guessed she was going to tell Rock about Thomas even if she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  “Yeah, he was a mean guy. I don’t like him,” Todd added and clung to Angela.

  “I’ve got an older brother I haven’t seen for years. Last I knew he was in prison, and I didn’t know he’d been released. I don’t know how he even found me,” Angela said softly, holding tight to Todd.

  “Did he threaten you?” Sawyer asked from his place by the door.

  “Kind of. He wants money. I don’t have any to give him. The money I got from the insurance when our parents were killed went to pay bills. Thomas and I had different fathers. His was killed overseas fighting for our country. Mom had me after she remarried. I used the money I got from my father’s mother to pay for this place. There’s no money to give Thomas.” Angela stared down at Todd before looking up at Rock and Sawyer. “Thomas is older than me. When our parents were killed, he had already been in prison for a couple of years. I don’t remember much about him. He was older and always hanging out with his friends when we were growing up. The little I remember about him was that he was okay before he got into drinking and doing drugs. Then he got in a lot of trouble and was always mean to Mom. Then he got started robbing houses to get drug money and was in even more trouble. Mom and Dad didn’t talk about him a lot. The rare times I remember him being home, he wasn’t very nice. Always calling me names and hitting me and my mother. If he could be like he was before the drugs, I would help him. My dad was a big guy, and Thomas wasn’t stupid enough to mess with him. When Dad was at work were the worst times.”

  “What did he say to you?” Rock asked, squatting down in front of Angela and Todd. He took one of Angela’s hands in his and held it tight, smiling when Todd placed his hand over both of theirs.

  “He said I owe him, and if I give him what he wants he’ll go away. But I don’t think he will. I think once I start giving him money he’ll keep coming back. The only money I have left is what I got from my grandmother. Mom was really young when she had him, and he’s been different since the drugs. Meaner, madder, angry all the time. When our parents were killed I got all the insurance money, but after all the bills were paid there wasn’t much left. I think he wants that money. I don’t know how to stop him from coming around.”

  “Todd said he was mean. What did he do to you, little man?” Rock asked, looking Todd in the eyes.

  “He called me little man, too, but when he said it, it didn’t sound as nice as when you say it. He pushed me and made me fall. I’m okay though. Angie took care of me.” Todd looked up a Rock with his dark brown eyes, and Angie felt a tear slide down her face. She couldn’t let anything happen to Todd. She couldn’t.

  “You should have called us. We would have come and gotten rid of him,” Sawyer said as he walked over and sat on the side of the chair, putting one arm around Angela and Todd. “I want you to promise to call us if he comes back. Okay?”

  “Why would you want to get involved in my problems? You’re all nice guys, but…” Angie started.

  “Because we like and care for you and Todd and don’t want anything to happen to either of you,” Rock answered, squeezing the hand he was still holding.

  “We all like you, Angela. We want a friendship and maybe more with you if you’re willing,” Hunter said, walking over to stand with his brothers. When did he come in?

  “You do?” Angela asked quietly. She hadn’t dated often and wasn’t used to any guys being attracted to her, let alone four hot firemen.

  “Yes we do,” River answered this time. “Alvin is busy measuring the porch and writing down what he needs. We all like you and Todd, Angela, and would like to explore and see if anything might come of this. Would you be willing to explore it with us and see what happens?”

  “How…how would we go about that?” Angela was curious. She’d never thought about dating, especially since Todd came to live with her, and now there were four men who wanted to explore a relationship with her.

  “We want to spend time with you. Get to know you and you get to know us. We want to go out on a date, go for dinner, maybe see a movie. Things like that.” Rock was the one speaking now.

  “What about…” Angela looked at Todd.

  “Sometimes he could go with us, and other times we would find someone he could stay with. Our parents live here in town, and Mom would love to have Todd around. We also have sisters with children close to his age he could hang with. Mom and Dad are having a cookout tomorrow. Why don’t you and Todd plan on coming with us? We can see how Todd likes the farm and spend
some time together. He can meet Mom and Dad and the rest of our family, and so can you. Then if you’re not comfortable with Todd staying with them while we explore this, we’ll figure something else out.” Hunter looked deep into her eyes and smiled, and Angie’s heart melted a little.

  “Todd, does that sound like fun? Would you like to go?” Angela asked, watching Todd to see his reaction.

  “I’m going to check on Alvin. You guys make all the arrangements for tomorrow,” Hunter said, walking out the door.

  “What about Spot and Tag? What would they do?” Todd had learned that the puppies couldn’t go everywhere.

  “Mom and Dad have a lot of land, and the puppies would be more than welcome. They have a couple dogs that would get along fine with these two,” Sawyer answered and patted one of the puppies on the head.

  It’s a date then,” Sawyer said and squeezed Angela’s knee. “I better get back out there and see how Alvin’s doing.” He jumped up and started to walk to the door, turning to wink at Angela.

  “We’ll have fun. There won’t be a lot of people there, just the family. Well, there are a lot of us, but it will be okay and there will be a few kids Todd can play with. I better get out there, too. If we don’t watch Hunter, he’ll have Alvin replacing the siding, too, and I know you’re not ready for that.” Sawyer leaned down and brushed a soft kiss against her lips, then ruffled the hair on Todd’s head before heading out the door.

  “It will be fun. Don’t worry about anything. We’ll make sure you have fun. Trust us.” Rock smiled. And when he did the whole room lit up. Angela smiled back. Maybe this would work.

  “You’re gonna love the farm. There’s all kinds of animals you can play with.” River looked at Todd, lifting the boy off of Angela’s lap. He leaned close to Angela and cupped her cheek with his hand. “Don’t worry, honey, we won’t let anyone hurt you or Todd. Let us take care of it.” Then he turned and followed his brothers out the door.

  Angela could hear them talking on the porch and felt like she should go out and talk to Alvin about what she needed, but wanted to take a minute to absorb everything that had happened. Wow, they liked her and were willing to take on not only her and Todd but Thomas, too. The day had just gotten a whole lot better. Now, what was she going to wear for her first date with four men?

  Chapter Five

  The next day Angie was up early, full of nervous energy. What if Thomas caused more trouble? She had no way of knowing where he was or when he’d show up. Even though the guys had told her not to worry, she couldn’t help but. They couldn’t be with her all the time, and Thomas could appear whenever he wanted to. She didn’t know how she’d handle him if he tried to hurt Todd or herself. She wasn’t crazy about weapons, especially around Todd, but maybe she needed something to defend herself with. So many questions, and no answers.

  Todd was excited about going with the guys and kept her busy all morning, asking questions and keeping track of him and the puppies. She really didn’t want him out of her sight now that Thomas was in the picture.

  She stared at the clothes in her closet, trying to decide what to wear. It was a beautiful warm day, and she wanted to look nice. She finally decided on a bright blue sundress that matched her eyes and looked great with her black hair. It was a halter top, but not too low cut. Her breasts weren’t huge, and she could get away without a bra. Since she didn’t have one that would work with the dress and it had an open back, that was what she decided to do.

  The day was a little cool, so she grabbed a shawl to throw over her shoulders and left her hair down. She let Todd paint her toenails a bright pink and slipped on a pair of strappy sandals with a low heel. She was ready.

  She checked on Todd and threw an extra set of clothes in a bag for him. He could get dirty quicker than anyone she’d ever known, and who knew what he was going to find to get into at a farm? Better to be prepared.

  Angela was so nervous she was ready early. “How soon are they coming, Angie?” Todd asked, jumping up and down with excitement.

  “It will be a while. We are really early, but I don’t want you getting into anything. Try to stay clean until the guys get here,” Angie said and looked around nervously. She felt like she was forgetting something, but didn’t know what it could be.

  “Can I take the puppies out?” Todd asked, looking around for the leashes they used to walk the dogs. He started going through things and making a mess.

  “What are you doing? I just straightened all that up.” Angie went behind him, picking things up.

  “I gotta find the leash to take the puppies out!” Todd was starting to get frustrated and making a bigger mess.

  Angie took a deep breath. “Slow down. Where did you have them last?” She really didn’t need Todd having a meltdown now. Please not now.

  “I don’t know!” Todd yelled, starting to cry.

  “Okay. You took the dogs out earlier, right?” Angie said calmly.

  “Ye…yeah,” Todd answered, his voice hitching.

  “When you took them out earlier, what did you do with the leads when you came back in?” Angie had to calm Todd down if they were going to find the leashes and get the mess he’d made looking cleaned up.

  “I don’t know!” Todd screamed.

  “Okay, okay. Just calm down. We know they are in the house. Why don’t you go look in your room and I’ll come help after I pick this stuff up?” Angie said, starting to pick up the pile of stuff Todd had thrown on the floor while he was looking.

  “Will you come help me?” Todd asked, still sniffling.

  “Yes. As soon as I get this picked up.” Angie turned back to what she was doing.

  “Are you mad?” Todd sniffled.

  “No, honey. I’m not mad. I just want things to look nice. And I want to pick this stuff up.” Angie turned and gave him a hug.

  “Okay. Come help me when you’re done, please.” Todd stood, watching Angie.

  “Go on. I’ll be there as soon as I finish here.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, Todd. I promise.” Angie took another deep breath and finished what she was doing. Sometimes she wondered if she’d been sane when she decided to take on a seven-year-old boy, but then he looked at her with those dark brown eyes and all was lost. She wouldn’t change anything for the world. She and Todd were a family and meant to be together. She sat a minute before taking another deep breath and heading back to Todd’s room.

  “How are you doing, buddy?” she asked, standing in the doorway to Todd’s room.

  “Look what I found!” Todd said excitedly, holding up an action figure.

  “Nice. Did you find the leads for the dogs? River and the guys will be here soon, and if you want to take the puppies with us, we need the leads.”

  “Oh! I forgot what I was looking for. Help me?” Todd’s room was a mess, but Angie tried not to be too mad at him. When they lived in the foster home, he had shared with three other boys and never had a space of his own. She had visited him after she left, and things were even more crowded in the home.

  “Sure, let’s see what we can do.” Angie started sorting through the mess, hoping it wouldn’t take too long. Within a few minutes, she’d found what they were looking for and made a huge dent in organizing Todd’s room.

  “We’ll finish this later. If you want to take the puppies out before the guys get here, we need to go now.” Angie stood up and brushed off the skirt of her dress, hoping it wasn’t too wrinkled, but nothing could be done about it.

  “Wait! Wait!” Todd screamed, running back into his room.

  What now? Angie thought. There was always something with Todd. “What are you looking for now?” Angie asked when she turned back to see Todd frantically throwing things in his room again, destroying everything she’d just accomplished.

  “I need my hat,” Todd practically screamed.

  “What hat?” What is he talking about now?

  “The hat they gave me. My fireman’s hat! I have to have it with me or they’
ll think I don’t like it!” Todd was screaming and throwing things.

  “Your hat is in the closet with your jackets and boots. Come on.” Angie grabbed Todd’s hand, then seeing the leashes still lying on the floor, grabbed those too and led him out of the room.

  “Here’s your hat. Now help me put the leads on Spot and Tag so we can take them out.” Maybe the distraction of walking the dogs would keep Todd occupied until it was time to go.

  They were walking the puppies up and down the sidewalk when the brothers pulled up. River was the first one out of the truck. “You look really nice,” he said and pulled her in for a hug.

  “Thanks,” Angela said, smiling.

  “That dress matches your eyes.” Rock was next to hug her.

  Angela smiled as she hugged him back, a little surprised he’d noticed.

  “I love this.” Sawyer fingered her shawl. “Perfect for the weather we’re having.”

  “Let’s go. We can talk more on the way.” Hunter took her arm and started toward the truck.

  “Hold on. I made a dessert to bring,” Angela said before they got to the truck.

  “Mom will love it. It wasn’t necessary. She’s used to feeding all of us and cooks enough for an army. I’m sure it will be great. While you get it, I’ll get little man loaded in the truck.” Angie had told them that Todd still had to be in a booster seat, and they had assured her it would be no problem.

  She ran in the house and grabbed the dish she had prepared, stopping quickly to look in the mirror and run a hand through her hair.

  The Tompkins family was the biggest Angela had ever seen. It seemed like there were people and kids everywhere. The men had assured her that this was just a small family gathering. Their mother, Martha, had replied, “Honey, we don’t do nothing small.”