When Kat's Away [Sequel to Anna Doubles Down] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Missy Martine

very careful. I promise you I won’t get into trouble like Pa did.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Kat looked at Anna’s family sitting around the dinner table. She’d spent the day exploring with David and Win, and now everyone had gathered for the evening meal. “How the hell do you stay up on what’s happening in the world? Or in the United States for that matter?”
    Anna laughed. “We do have access to newspapers from time to time.” She looked at David. “Do you still have the one that miner from Wyoming left here a while back?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, I put it in my desk, upstairs. I’ll run get it.”
    Kat watched the way his pants contoured over his ass as he left the room. She cleared her throat. “So, what kinds of things have been in your news lately?”
    Beau choked on his water. “How far back do you want to know about?”
    “Let’s just stick with the last year for now.”
    He scratched his head. “Let’s see…”
    Anna patted his arm. “Stick with things you think might interest her, maybe things that would also apply in her time.”
    “In my time. I thought it was your time too.”
    Anna ran her hand along Beau’s cheek. “Not anymore. I’m living in the time I’m supposed to be in.”
    Beau grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. “Okay, in late January, or maybe it was early February, the Spanish-American War ended.”
    Kat nodded. “Uh-huh.”
    He laughed. “Okay, how about March of last year the first automobile was sold, and Traveler’s Insurance wrote the first insurance policy for drivers?”
    Anna punched his arm. “Come on, give her the good stuff.” She took Kat’s hand and squeezed. “They just came out last month with a soft drink called Brad’s Drink.” She shook Kat’s arm. “I swear, Kat, you’d think you were drinking a Pepsi.”
    Kat leaned forward. “Do you have any?”
    “No.” Anna sighed. “We only got the sample case and it didn’t last a week. I’ve got an order coming from North Carolina, but I’m told they’ve oversold their inventory so it’ll be a while.” She sat back in her seat. “Oh, and aspirin finally became available in March of this year.”
    “Wow.” Kat giggled. “That was really noteworthy.”
    David walked into the room and handed Kat a yellowed newspaper, his fingers trailing softly over her skin. “We had a miner from Wyoming stay here for one night back a couple of years ago. He was just traveling through.” He leaned closer, his warm breath fanning her cheek. “Take a look. You might find it interesting.”
    She gulped, her hands shaking, and looked at the paper. “Lander, Wyoming, Monday, September 27, 1897.” She glanced at the front page and laughed. “Exciting headlines. Banker’s Protest, Free Silver Camp Meeting, Success Assured.” She turned the page. “Oh, this is cool. The Frozen Deep , a novel by Wilkie Collins, International Press Association.”
    “Hey, I remember that.” Zeke got up to get the coffeepot. “It was a very interesting story.”
    David leaned closer to look over her shoulder, his clean, masculine scent intoxicating. Clearing her throat, she turned her attention back to the paper.
    “Oh, my gosh, listen to this ad. Don’t tobacco spit and smoke your life away. It’s an advertisement for some kind of smoking cure. It says all druggists fifty cents or a dollar. Cure guaranteed.”
    Anna reached for the paper and flipped it over. “Sit down, David. She doesn’t need your help to read. Turn the page over, Kat. There’s a story about a photographer who tried to take a picture of some lions on the beach and narrowly escaped being eaten alive. He told the lions to ‘smile.’”
    Kat laughed as she watched David pout as he returned to his seat. “It has an ad here from Mrs. Pinkham of Lynn, Massachusetts. She gives free advice to women on life’s issues. There’s even an advertisement to buy a buggy harness for eight dollars and fifty cents from a wholesaler in Denver.”
    “Sounds