BRANDED BY A CALLAHAN (9 page)

“Trouble?” They walked toward the jeep.

“Yes. Since Dante isn’t solving anything with Ana—he made a rare mess of that—and besides, I’m annoyed with him, so I’ll focus on his twin. Tighe is due for a settling. Especially since he thinks he’s become big man on the rodeo circuit.”

Running Bear laughed. “What will you do to him?”

“Get him married off, of course. He just needs a little prod. And the best prod I know is a woman. The best way to get a woman—River—to set her cap is to dangle him in front of other females. I managed his brothers, Sloan and Falcon, in very deft fashion, if I do say so myself.” The memory made her smile, all the more because babies had once again bloomed at Rancho Diablo. “I’ll put up a new sign advertising the hottest cowboy in Rancho Diablo for charity.” She smiled with satisfaction. “Our charity raffles have been outrageously successful for my beloved Books’n’Bingo Society. With the last raffle, even after we paid off the sign bill, we cleared fifteen grand. Plenty to donate for new paint and toys for the children’s wing of the hospital.”

“I’ll help in any way I can,” Running Bear said, his eyes twinkling.

“Good,” Fiona said. “Get yourself dressed up for the Christmas party I’m having in the town square. You’ll need a costume.” She looked at him. “Maybe a pirate?”

He shook his head. But he laughed, and Fiona finally smiled. “You won’t know it’s me when you see me,” he told her. “Get ready, old friend. I can be mysterious.”

Fiona sighed with happiness as he drove the jeep toward home. A masquerade Christmas party was just the thing to lift her spirits.

But first, she had to enlist some help. Wrangling nephews was not easy, and backup was essential.

Chapter Nine

“That’s an easy one,” Mavis Night said. “Kiss a Cowboy for Christmas.”

The three ladies sitting around the table in the Books’n’Bingo Society tearoom and bookshop looked at Fiona to gauge her reaction to the idea for a new woman-luring slogan. “Needs more energy, I think.”

“More sex appeal,” Corinne Abernathy said, and Nadine Waters giggled.

“More sex in general,” Nadine countered.

Fiona’s three plotting friends studied their notes again.

“Win a Cowboy for Christmas,” Corinne said. “That’s the point, after all, of our charity raffle.”

“No sex, though, and Fiona likes sex,” Nadine said, and Fiona knew she was being gently teased.

“Only in its proper place,” Fiona said, and her friends gave her mirthful glances. “Sexy sells. What woman doesn’t love a rugged man with charm and courage?”

“Ana St. John,” Mavis said, making Fiona frown.

“We’re not concentrating on Dante’s problem right now,” she said.

“I don’t see why we don’t just set the bull’s-eye right on Dante. You said you’re annoyed with him, and that he and Ana are splitsville. Serve him right if we set him up to be swarmed by a hive of honeys.”

“I did have high hopes that beautiful girl would tame Dante,” Fiona said. “I really like Ana. She’s a tough, smart lady. Dante needs tough and smart to counter all that testosterone.”

They sipped their tea, taking a break to let the wheels turn.

“I say tying him down is your best revenge for his mischief,” Nadine said. “Besides, he’s such a sweet guy. I’ve always had a fancy for men with long dark hair and a sexy growl.”

“When did he growl at you, Nadine?” Corinne asked, her blue eyes agog behind her polka-dotted glasses.

“Gracious!” Nadine glared at her dear friend. “Dante never growled at me! I was thinking of something else entirely!”

“Really?” Fiona asked curiously. This was a side of her friend she didn’t know. “Who growled at you and had long hair—who wasn’t in your dreams, of course?”

Nadine leaned close. “Well, if you must know, I ran into John Wayne once, in costume, in a very small town in Texas. He was dressed as a scout, and he was ever so handsome.” Her gaze went dreamy. “Of course, that man was my idea of hunky, in costume or out of it, or just in the dark.”

They blinked at her, completely astonished.

“And he
growled
at you?” Mavis looked as if she might faint with delight.

The door opened before Nadine could finish her tale. Dante strolled in, his two small nephews in his arms. “Customers for you, ladies,” Dante said. “The guys bribed me into a cookie.”

Fiona looked at one of her favorite nephews. In spite of her ire, she had quite the tender spot for Dante. “
They
bribed you? Or you used them as an excuse?”

He kissed all the ladies, and the boys squirmed down so they could get hugs. This was a well-established routine, and if Fiona had anything to do about it, every single Callahan born on the ranch would quickly learn that here, kisses and cookies were doled out to sweet great-nieces and great-nephews who paid visits to their aunt’s shop.

But this nephew hadn’t earned his way out of the doghouse yet. She leveled a sour look at Dante. “No cookies for you, Dante.”

“Why? There weren’t any left in the kitchen by the time I got in from chores. I think Ashlyn might have sneaked them off to Xav Phillips.” He shrugged. “I can’t find her anywhere, and that usually means she’s in the canyons paying a call on her elusive cowboy.”

“Speaking of those wily, elusive cowboy creatures,” Fiona said drily, “we are hatching a plan to get your twin hooked. So leave the boys with us and shove off for a bit. We have plans to make.”

Dante looked amused. “Does Tighe know you’re setting a trap for him?”

“Of course not,” Fiona said. “That would give him a chance to avoid the bait.”

Dante edged himself into a chair at the table carefully, eyeing the four ladies with some approbation. “Why not Jace?”

“He’s not ripe yet,” Fiona said. “Too green for the picking.”

“What about Galen?”

“He’s got a lot on his mind. I don’t think he could focus on a woman right now. The trap-ee must be in the proper frame of mind. Receptive, willing and not paying full attention to possible influence.”

“Not Ash,” Dante murmured. “She’s determined to wear down Xav one day.”

“Not likely any time soon,” Fiona said, “but let us not digress from those who need a kick start.”

“We notice you haven’t mentioned yourself,” Nadine said with a sweet smile, and Dante shook his head.

“No, ma’am. I’m going back to rodeo right after Christmas.”

Fiona’s jaw dropped. “Why, for heaven’s sakes?”

“I should never have come back here.” Dante pushed his hat back. “I came home to see if—”

“To see if you could change Ana’s mind,” Fiona said softly. “Oh, Dante, I am so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He smiled as his nephews were each given a small sugar cookie, which they held, staring with interest, before slowly putting the cookies in their mouths.

“And you’re giving up just like that?” Corinne looked curious and slid him the cookie plate.

“The lady made her choice.” Dante took a soft piece of gingerbread, happily munching it as if he had little on his mind but his stomach, Fiona thought with some righteous disgust. They chatted awhile longer, and Dante snagged a few more cookies, then got up and collected his nephews. “Anyway, Aunt Fiona, about your matchmaking.”

“Yes?” she asked carefully.

“There’s nothing worse than someone who keeps hanging around when the other party has declared themselves unwilling. I hope you won’t be upset that I’m returning to the circuit.”

“Well, I am surprised,” Fiona said, not admitting that she was closer to discouraged.

“It is true,” Mavis said, “that when a lady tells a man no, she means it.”

Fiona glared at her friend. Mavis was not helping! Who cared if Ana had said no? Was Mavis suggesting that Dante lacked sufficient grit and gristle to wait out the storms of a woman’s affections?

But Ana hadn’t seemed all that stormy. In fact, she’d been a girl whose feet were always on the ground.

Dante knew that, too.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ve always believed a woman’s words were to be taken at face value.” Dante looked around. “Thank you, ladies, for the visit. It’s always good to see you.”

“Let me get you a roadie box,” Fiona said quickly, jumping up to fill a box with assorted cookies for her big, strong nephew. He’d quite melted her heart with his story of unrequited love! Was there anything more heartbreaking than a man who had his heart set on a woman who didn’t return that affection? It happened all the time, certainly—but this was her kin. He’d find someone else one day, but she’d really believed Ana was the woman for him.

Yet Ana hadn’t seen Dante when she’d tried on the magic wedding gown. “I should have meddled better,” Fiona muttered to herself, and took the box to Dante. She leaned up to give him a quick hug. “I think she’s crazy not to reel you in, nephew.”

“Thanks, Aunt Fiona.” He looked a bit embarrassed at her fond words, and Fiona told herself that, luckily for Dante, she held the wand that could shower him with affectionate females who weren’t so stupid as to not fall head over heels in love with him.

“I was thinking about swinging by and picking up some hamburgers to grill out tonight for the clan, since you’re working so hard here.”

“Ohhh,” the ladies all said, delighted with his courtesy, and Fiona felt the last vestiges of her anger with her nephew slip away for good.

“I’ve got some wonderful corn on the cob put by, if you’d like some,” Nadine offered. “Wouldn’t that go nicely with grilled hamburgers?”

“That’s very nice. We’ll take it.” He grinned at all the ladies, raffish and a rascal to the max. “I’ll come by and grab it from you later. Bye, ladies.”

The door closed behind him, and every woman sighed.

“That is one long, tall drink of very handsome water,” Corinne said.

“I don’t know how you grow ’em so big and strong, Fiona, but they always seem to flourish at Rancho Diablo,” Mavis agreed.

“Lots of cookies and milk,” Fiona said, and then it hit her. “Ladies, we’re going to have to go for a twofer.”

“Twofer?” Corinne asked.

“We’re going to have to raffle both of them,” Fiona said. “They’ve been together all their lives. Tighe and Dante should go down together. I just can’t leave my dearest nephew out of the fun. It would be unkind.”

Corinne nodded. “We’ll do the same barn advertising that we did for Taylor, Falcon’s wife, and may I just say that I wasn’t convinced we’d ever get those two to jump into the marriage nest?” She looked satisfied at the result. “But we did. And we can help Dante get over Ana.”

“Yes. Indeed.” Although Fiona wasn’t so sure about that. He’d been awfully smitten with the bodyguard. “They do say that time is the great healer.”

“They say,” Mavis said, “that the way to get over someone is find a new someone.”

“Absolutely,” Nadine said. “So here’s the gambit.” She put her hands in the air dramatically, and intoned,
“Want a sexy cowboy for Christmas? Diablo’s got the twin hunks of your dreams!”

“Oh, that’s catnip,” Corinne said. “We’ll be swamped!”

Fiona leaned back in her chair. “It almost seems cruel to do it to him. But I did think Dante seemed a bit sad to be left out, didn’t you?”

They all solemnly nodded.

“Tighe and Dante are very competitive,” Fiona said, and a smile lit her face. “We’ll do it! After all, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

* * *

D
ANTE
DEPOSITED
HIS
nephews with River and went to hunt up his sister. He could safely tell her about the plan Fiona was about to launch on Tighe, and they could have a good laugh about it. There was just about nothing more fun than laughing at his cocky, sweet-talking brother.

River hadn’t given Tighe the time of day. Dante had discovered that quite by accident. All this bragging Tighe had been doing about him romancing River had been quite the fable. But then Dante had discovered that River was dating a guy over in Tempest and considered Tighe as something of a loose canon.

“Smart girl,” Dante said, and headed to the canyon ledge he knew Xav happened to frequent most. Where Xav was, he’d probably find Ashlyn.

Sure enough, there they were, just as he’d expected—both of them tied and blindfolded, bound back-to-back. “Holy crap!” Dante said, quickly untying them. His blood went straight to boil as his realized Ash had a bruise on one cheek. Xav didn’t look like he’d been captured easily, either. “Who did this?”

Xav got to his feet and lifted Ash gently to hers. They dusted themselves off, and Ashlyn rubbed her wrists to get the blood flow back. Anger flooded Dante so sharply he couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever felt rage so deep and hot.

Afghanistan. Yes, he remembered well.

“We’re not sure. They wore dark masks,” Ash said.

“Like the Lone Ranger?” Dante asked.

“Pretty much.” Xav looked out over the ledge into the canyons. “I heard them say they’d be back. Let’s vamoose.”

“You two go ahead. I think I’ll hang around and chew the fat with them,” Dante said. He had nothing else better to do today than raise a little hell.

“No!” Ashlyn stood her ground. “If you’re staying, I’m staying.”

“Xav, take my sister back to the ranch,” Dante said.

Xav nodded. “Come on, Ashlyn.”

“I’m not leaving,” Ash said stubbornly. “You can’t do this without backup. I’m
backup
.”

“I may have been used to legal filings as my weapon of choice as the co-owner of Gil Phillips, Inc.” Xav smiled at Dante. “But that was my life before I met you Callahans. I’m staying with her. I guess that makes me backup, too.”

Dante stared Xav down. “I wouldn’t have thought you were the kind of man to endanger a woman.”

“I’m not a woman, I’m your sister. Don’t be sexist,” Ash snapped. “Give me one of those guns you’re packing. You can’t shoot them all. I want a few.”

Maybe this was a bad idea. Perhaps it would be best to tell his sister and Xav that he’d go back to the ranch with them, and then double back later when they weren’t watching.

“And don’t think you can dump me at home and then sneak back here,” Ash said. “I was the one who got tied up, I have something to say to those birdbrains! I’m tired of getting pushed around.”

Xav looked at Dante. “Maybe this is a foolish thing to do when she’s mad. Low risk/reward scenario with your aunt if Ash comes home with a trophy or two.”

“You have a point.” Aunt Fiona really looked on Ash as a daughter, and one she was determined was destined to be the next sweet, delicate, butter-doesn’t-melt-in-her-mouth debutante of Diablo. Right now his sister looked as if she could clear out a large hornets’ nest with a glare. “Just for the sake of conversation, how many birdbrains were there?”

“Seven,” Ash said. “But that’s just fine because you’re packing heat with clips. Hand one over.”

“Seven?” He frowned. “You two got jumped by seven men?”

“One less and we would’ve had ’em.” Xav pointed at Ashlyn. “Remind me never to tick her off. She’s a fighter.”

Seven thugs. There’d been only four before: Uncle Wolf, two female fighters and what Dante thought of as a lackey.

There were seven Callahans.

“Seven’s my lucky number,” Dante murmured. Something important had shifted in Wolf’s plans for Rancho Diablo. He needed to get Ash home before Wolf’s team reappeared. It had to be Wolf. No one else would be so bold, so tenacious. “Let’s head back.”

“Why?” Ashlyn demanded. “We can take them, Dante! Let them know that Callahans are nothing to be messed with!”

“Another day, another time.” What if Ana had come here with Ashlyn? The two women had been known to do it; Ash was under strict orders from Galen never to go to the canyons alone, so she’d enlisted Ana as backup on occasion. That was something he’d discuss with his sister later. Right now, the fact that Wolf was adding to his force was a sign of gathering dark clouds. Dante needed to make certain he could think past the anger—he had to be calm and cool. Dante jerked his head at Xav. “Let’s go.”