When Dove Cries by Beth D. Carter

woman cook for me.”
    “Me either,” Cade murmured as he sat. He smiled at her and Dove felt the smile all the way down to her toes. For a moment, their gazes met and locked. Something electric passed between them. Her mouth salivated and her panties grew damp from the excitement gripping her belly. Then Draven pulled out his chair, and she blinked, breaking the connection.
    What does this mean?
    How could she possibly feel such attraction for two men? And was it really attraction or was it merely projection? Was she substituting Cade and Draven for the missing parts of her life? It was so confusing.
    She sat and bowed her head for prayer. The men around her stopped and she felt them staring at her. She wasn’t an overly religious person and if someone would ask her what religion she believed in, she’d say none. But she was spiritual and right now, she felt very blessed to have the chance to sit at a table and eat a meal. When she was done, she raised her head and opened her eyes. Three pairs of eyes watched her curiously.
    “I felt like saying thanks to the Universe for giving me the chance to be here with you,” she said softly, looking around. “Nimrod is in the hospital for me. And when I was in that cave, for a time, I wanted to die. I thought it would be easier to join my father.”
    She picked up the spaghetti and piled some on her plate before handing the food to Cade, who sat at her right. He took it and put some on his plate, but he watched her speculatively. When he passed the dish on to Branch, he turned back to her.
    “Nimrod will be okay,” he told her. “And I’m sorry about your father.”
    “It wasn’t just my dad,” she told him, more than ready to share her past. “It was all his men as well.”
    “What do you mean?” Draven asked as he took the bowl and added food to his plate.
    “Well, I told you my father had to leave the military to take care of me,” she said.
    Cade and Draven nodded. Branch began to eat.
    “He formed his own private military company, but the men he recruited lived with us. I took care of them.”
    Draven blinked. “Like a club.”
    She nodded. “I suppose much like the Red Wolves. The men were my family, my brothers. I took care of them, and in turn they took care of me.”
    Cade cocked his head. “So when you say your father died…”
    “They all died. Nine men, all killed. And nine deaths the government denied had ever happened.”
    “Jesus,” Draven muttered. “Dove, I had no idea.”
    She swallowed the lump in her throat and struggled to compose herself. The tears that sprang to her eyes threatened to fall, so she took deep breaths to get them under control. Finally, she was able to shrug and focus on her food. “I had to leave it all behind or I’d go insane. That’s why I ended up in Durango working at the truck stop—the more people surrounding me, the better.”
    She ate, ignoring the stares she sensed directed toward her. She didn’t want sympathy, and she certainly didn’t want their pity. She hadn’t told them the extent of her depression because she wasn’t looking for a teary eye. It had just been good to be needed again, and this was the first time she’d been able to think of her lost family without feeling as if she was dying on the inside.
    Following her lead, they all ate in silence, and when dinner was over, Branch immediately excused himself to go back outside. Cade and Draven tried to help clear the table, but she refused. This was her domain and it was what she knew.
    “Go take a cup of coffee out to Branch,” she ordered. “It’s got to be boring as heck just sitting out there.”
    They acquiesced to her judgment and left her alone to clean up the dinner dishes. When she was done, she headed toward the bedrooms and peeked into each one. She could tell Draven slept in the master bedroom because the other two had a mothball smell when she opened the doors to explore. It took her a few minutes to find the extra sheets, and