Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

“No.” She pushed away from Jeff. “Don’t tell Gabriel. Or anyone else for that matter.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want anyone to know about my brother.”

“Half brother.” He and Jeff answered at the same time.

The tiniest of smiles came to her lips. “Right. But if Avery’s telling the truth about cleaning up his life, then I don’t want him to start out on a bad note with anyone around here.”

“It’s okay, Alex. I deserve whatever they think.”

“He’s got that straight.” Still, Kane wished he hadn’t have said as much, even if that’s how he really felt. His harsh statements only seemed to hurt Alex more.

She took his hand and then Jeff’s. “I know I don’t have any right to ask this, but please, keep it quiet. This is Avery’s last chance. Let’s make sure it’s his best chance, too.”

“Whatever you say, Alex.” Kane motioned for Avery to head toward his truck. Once he had, Kane grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against him. “Jeff and I’ll be back tomorrow to load up the Johnsons’ belongings. But after that, I’m going to want more time with you.” His gaze darted to Jeff and back. “Got it?”

She started to crane around to see Jeff, but he took her by the chin and kept her facing him. “I’ll ask you again. Got it?”

She got on the tips of her toes and kissed him sweetly on the lips. “Got it.”

Pulling away from him, she took a step toward the house when Jeff grabbed her in much the same way as he had done.

“Same goes for me, baby.” Jeff pressed a deep kiss on her, and she melted into him. “And don’t worry about Avery. We’re on it.”

Kane was jealous that he hadn’t taken his chance to kiss her good.

Dang you, Jeff. Always having to get the last word in.

* * * *

Jeff hadn’t spoken to Kane about Alex. Not yet, anyway. But he couldn’t put it off any longer. He looked out over the green land. The bay horse snorted then tugged on the reins, wanting to nibble at the grass. Jeff gave him the slack he needed, then leaned back in the saddle.

He’d known Alex was special the first moment he’d seen her. Yet he’d had no idea how much he’d come to care for her in such a short time until her brother’s gambling problems had come to light. The thought of anyone hurting her made his blood boil.

Yet care wasn’t a strong enough word. He not only lusted after her, but found that he wanted to know everything about her. From her wayward half brother to her favorite foods, he wanted to know it all.

Was it strange that he could love her without getting all that information first?

Love.

He straightened in the saddle as realization hit him.

Yeah, that’s the right word. I don’t just care for her, I love her.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

He would’ve bet everything he owned that he’d never fall in love. And yet, it had happened when he’d least expected it.

Should he tell her how he felt? And what about Kane? She’d let him have her. Strangely, that didn’t bother him as much as it would’ve a few days ago.

Not for the first time, he took out his phone and started to punch in her number.

“Are you calling her? Have you talked to her before now?”

He shoved the phone back into his hip pocket and twisted around to see Kane riding up. They’d agreed to meet at the location far from the bunkhouse for the sake of privacy.

Black hair, black hat, black eyes, and riding a black horse. Still trying to play the bad guy, Kane?

Unlike he normally would have, he kept the jab to himself. “Yes to the first and no to the second question. Have you?”

Kane shook his head. “I don’t know what it is about her, but every time I think about calling her, I can’t do it.”

Jeff had never seen Kane in such a reflective mood. “Yeah, I know. It’s almost like she’s more of a dream than a reality.”

“And if you pick up the phone and call her, you might just wake up.”

Will wonders never cease? Kane and I having the same thought about her? That’s just freaky.

“So.”

Kane nodded. “So.”

“We need to decide how to handle this.”

“We can’t let Avery’s mess wind up hurting her.”

Jeff hadn’t been able to get it out of his mind, either. “There’s only two ways to keep that from happening. Either we take the guy out—”

“Or we pay him back.”

“I’m thinking I’d rather pay him the money than risk going to jail.” He figured Kane would rather take the man out, but he didn’t want to see Kane going to prison for it, either.

Although with Kane up the river that would leave the door open for me and Alex. Or would it make him a hero in her eyes?

He shook off the ridiculous thoughts. No one was getting hurt if he had any say in it.

“Same here.”

“Good. Then it’ll get paid back and soon.”

“Exactly.”

Jeff didn’t bother telling Kane that he’d already started making plans.

“There’s the other problem.” Kane cleared his throat, but it sounded more like a groan.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I have a suggestion.”

Jeff figured he knew what was coming, but he took the plunge anyway. Besides, he guessed that he’d probably come up with the same idea. “Let’s hear it.”

“You back out of the picture.”

Jeff laughed, not so much at Kane as with him. He’d had the same idea, all right, but with Kane being the one to back out. “I was thinking it’d be the other way round.”

Kane managed a slight smile. “Sorry. Not happening.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

They sat, two riders gazing out at the land they loved, thinking about the woman they loved. Jeff had no doubt that Kane felt the same way as he did about Alex.

“She has to make a choice.”

As soon as he’d said the words, a pain ripped into Jeff’s gut. What if she didn’t choose him? Was he willing to lose her for good? He couldn’t imagine staying in Destiny and seeing Kane and Alex together. If she didn’t choose him he’d not only lose her, but his home and job as well.

“She told us to get used to both of us with her.”

Jeff shifted in his saddle. “I remember. But we’re on the same page about that, right? To make her choose between us?”

“Seems like the only reasonable choice since we’re not like the others.”

Jeff let Kane’s remark speak for itself. Many of the men on Second Chance Ranch had chosen to share one woman. But those men were sharing one woman with their brothers or cousins or, at the very least, their close friends. Kane and he weren’t related and they sure as hell weren’t good friends.

But could they be? For the first time ever, he gave it serious consideration. Weren’t they already friends in a strange kind of way? Kane was a burr in his butt, but he also admired Mr. Tall, Dark, and Irritating. When they put their differences aside, they worked well together and made a formidable pair.

Was that enough to share Alex for a lifetime? Even if he could agree to it, he doubted Kane would ever go for it.

“Then we tell her to pick one of us.” The pain in Jeff’s gut grew stronger. Could he go through with it? Did he want to take the risk for all or nothing?

“Agreed. And whichever one of us she doesn’t choose has to leave it alone. Hell, he has to leave
us
alone.”

Jeff chuckled at Kane’s attempt to slide the idea past him. Although he didn’t feel like chuckling. “Us as in Alex and me.”

“Dream on, man. She’s going to want me.”

“And you’re so sure of this because…”

“Because I’ve already shown her what a great lover I am.” Kane kept his gaze front and center. “Once they go Kane, they never complain.”

Jeff groaned at the horrible line. “Funny. But I heard it was the other way round. Once they go Kane, they never remain.”

To his credit, Kane gave him a short snort of laughter. “Man, you are delusional.”

“I wouldn’t count on that. I can do more with my tongue and fingers than you can with that tiny stick of yours.”

“The hell you can. Your stubby tongue can’t hold a candle to my cock. It’s sad that you’d even think so.”

“I didn’t hear any complaints about my finger work, either.” He let his grin spread. “Don’t you get it, Kane? She came both times with me. Imagine how she’s going to scream when I finally use my cock on her.”

Jeff almost laughed at the frown on Kane’s face. He was thrilled when the frown turned into a worried look.

Kane mumbled a curse under his breath. “Dream on, little man. Now that she’s had me, she won’t even give you a chance to do anything else.”

“She will. But you know what? That won’t even matter. The way into her heart isn’t through her pussy. And on that point, I’m light years ahead of you.” Jeff laughed, adding the mocking sound to put a cutting edge to his answer. Kane’s frown deepened.

Another period of silence came after that, leaving them both to their thoughts.

“I have an idea.”

Wow, two in one day.
But Jeff resisted the temptation to verbally jab at his favorite victim. “What’s that?”

“Let’s invite her to a special dinner right there at Daisy’s. With the Johnson family gone, the place is empty and we can ask Daisy to make herself scarce for the night.”

“Okay. So who’s cooking?”

It was obvious Kane hadn’t thought about that. “We’ll pick up some food from the diner, but we can add the…” He stumbled as he searched for the right word.

“Ambience.”

“Right. We’ll add the ambience. You know, candles, white tablecloth, flowers, the kinds of things women like.”

He wouldn’t have imagined that Kane would’ve thought of all those special additions. Maybe he was deeper than he gave him credit for. “Yeah. I like it. And after dinner, we tell her that she has to pick one of us.”

“Right. Then once you’re headed out of town, I’ll take her upstairs and show her how a real man uses his tongue.”

Jeff’s horse stomped at the ground. “Like you said, big guy. Keep on dreaming.”

“So we’re agreed?”

“Yeah, we are. I’ll handwrite a note for her if you’ll call Daisy and fill her in. Once we’ve got things set up, I’ll slide it under her door.” He tugged on the reins, bringing the horse’s head up. “The rest will be up to her.”

* * * *

Alex stretched out on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She hadn’t slept well, and although she’d managed to get the Johnson family into their new rented home, her worry for Avery had kept her pacing back and forth all night. Other than the men showing up yesterday to move the family, she hadn’t heard from Jeff or Kane.

Whenever she wasn’t with them, the doubts came flooding back. How could two men who looked like they did be interested in an overworked, underpaid, chubby woman like her? Especially when she had a no-good half brother as part of the package? She was intelligent and that was a turn-on for some men, but for most men it often boiled down to a physical thing.

She slid her hands over her breasts, remembering how their hands had felt on her. Would she feel that way again?

She hadn’t given much thought to why they were so eager to help out. But now the questions wouldn’t stop.

Had they helped because that’s what the people of Destiny did for one another? No matter what other reason they might have, that had to be a part of it. Still, that didn’t explain why they were willing to help Avery.

Did that mean they cared about her? Would any man go to all that trouble just for sex? Jeff hadn’t actually fucked her yet. But the fact that he’d been the first man to go down on her made him special. And Kane? He’d taught her what it was like to have a real man take her.

She rolled onto her stomach and hugged the pillow. Did she dare dream that she could have both of them? That two men cared and wanted her for more than just sex?

The years of disappointment and rejection weren’t about to go away easily. She tried not to let her mind think the old self-defeating thoughts of the past, but they crept in anyway.

Why would two men who look like that want me?

Or were they helping her because they thought they owed it to her? Like some strange form of payment for sexual pleasure?

Groaning, she refused to believe that. And yet, that awful part of her clung to that as a possibility.

Cowboys for Hire. Shit.

Were they helping her brother because that was part of their job? Was she just another woman in need of help to them? What had Daisy told her about the group? That the men helped women in trouble without expecting any kind of payment?

What if any or even all of the answers were the right ones? How would she feel?

She sat up, the fear in her growing stronger. If they cared, why didn’t they call her? If Avery had a phone, she’d give him a call and see what he could find out.

She discarded the idea. She didn’t want to appear any more desperate than she already did. Besides, they could be on another mission like before.

No, this doubt is killing me. One way or another, I’m going to find out. And if it breaks my heart, then it breaks my heart. I’ll survive just like I’ve survived before.

She almost believed it.

She glanced at her cell phone lying on the bed beside her. Biting the inside of her cheek, she found the courage to pick up the phone and scan her contact list for their names.

Which one should she call first?

The blur of motion under her bedroom door shifted her attention away from the phone. A white envelope rested on the floor, beckoning her to pick it up. She put down her phone and scooted off the bed.

Taking her time as though the envelope was a bomb ready to explode, she inched her way closer. She bent down and examined the handwriting, but didn’t recognize it. That wasn’t a surprise, though. The only people in town who had written anything to her were Daisy and the mayor.

Go on. Pick it up.

She almost had her hand on it when another idea hit her.

Could it be from the man Avery owes?

She jerked her hand away. Settling into a cross-legged position, she put her hands in her lap and studied the envelope again.