Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

“Then we do what we’re doing now. We help out. That’s how people are around here.”

She didn’t want to back down, but she understood his meaning. Nothing was better than neighbors helping neighbors. “Look, cowboy—”

“The name’s Kane.”

She noticed Stallings giving her another pleading look. Maybe he was right. “Look,
Kane
, I’m not putting any of that down. All I’m saying is that it helps to know who to call, what to have on hand, and what to do for people not only for their physical safety, but for their mental well-being, too.”

Stallings cleared his throat as though trying to make a point. Hadn’t he noticed that she’d backed off a little?

“You’re both right. And I’m sure Alex is going to help the town get ready for the next event. She’s going to be staying a while.”

Was that interest she saw in both the hot cowboys’ eyes? Yet, what did it matter? Coming to Destiny was part of her job and not a time to scope out sexy men. Besides, when had anyone who looked like they did give a flip about a chubby girl? They probably had tall, skinny girlfriends.

“Okay then. But remember. The name’s Kane Kannal. Not cowboy.”

She looked into those turbulent dark eyes again. Did he expect her to congratulate him for having a cool name? She bit back the retort. What had her boss always told her? Something about catching more flies with honey? Taking a breath, she gave it another shot at being pleasant. Or at least not antagonistic.

“I’m sorry about before.” She dropped her gaze to Mikey then back up. “It’s been a stressful day. If you get what I mean.”

“We understand. Don’t worry about it. Kane tends to rub people the wrong way.” Jeff’s smile was contagious, but she managed not to return it. She was more comfortable with Kane’s more somber mood.

Kane mumbled something under his breath, and although she wanted to know what he’d said, she didn’t dare ask.

“I’m sure it has been trying.” Jeff ruffled Mikey’s mop of hair. “Mikey’s a handful at times. Besides, I know how it is for you.”

She knew she should leave well enough alone, but the part of her that was always ready to tangle rose to the surface. “Yeah? And how is it?”

“You know. Your people can’t help but let out steam every once in a while. It’s your fiery nature.” He blinked, suddenly aware of what he’d said. “Uh, that’s not what I…Uh, I, um…”

“Exactly what did you mean to say? And who are
my
people?” She’d thrown him for a loop, and for the first time that day, she realized she was having fun.

Kane chuckled then cut it off when she glared at him. “Yeah,
cowboy
. Tell us what you meant.”

Jeff stammered out an answer that didn’t do him any favors. “Uh, I just meant… I mean, you know. Mexicans…” He froze, caught in a trap that had no escape route. “Aw, hell. This is coming out all wrong.”

She smiled down at the kids who were watching the exchange with huge eyes. And even bigger ears. “Mikey, take your sister inside and tell your mom that the men who are going to help move your family are finally here.”

“Aw, do we have to?”

She kept her smile in place. She liked kids and even wanted three or four of her own, but if any child could make her swear off having children, it was Mikey Johnson. “Yes, you do. Now get going.”

Once the reluctant Mikey had gotten his sister to the back door—
can the boy move any slower?
—Alex turned back to Jeff.

“Look, Alex—”

Her finger came up faster than a gunslinger’s quick draw. “Uh-uh. Don’t call me Alex. Only my friends call me Alex.”

She poked him in the middle of his chest, stopping him from opening his big yap again. His big mouth with luscious, nibble-on-them masculine lips. “I know exactly what you meant. But let me help you out. Maybe you should try thinking before you let garbage fall out of your mouth. I’m not Mexican. I’m part Puerto Rican and part Irish. But here’s the thing. People are people, no matter what ethnicity they are. We all get hot under the collar, no matter where we’re from or what color our skin is.”

She paused, aware that she might be proving his point by giving him verbal hell. But she couldn’t have stopped herself if she’d wanted to. And she didn’t want to.

“Don’t go lumping everyone into some stupid stereotype.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “That would be like me assuming that you’re the dumb but lovable blond type.” She narrowed her eyes, pretending to study him. She hated the feeling that she’d done exactly that, but she was in full steamroller mode and he was about to get crushed. “Unless that’s what you really are. How about it, cowboy? Are you a dumb blond?”

Kane let out a blast of laughter. He was great looking in that bad-boy kind of way when he wasn’t smiling. But his laughter made him so much hotter than before.

“I’m sorry, Al—uh, Alexia, uh, Miss Martin.” Jeff cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean any offense. Maybe a few of my blond brain cells took over for a minute. I won’t let it happen again.”

She mellowed a bit. It was clear that he was sorry for how he’d said things. And she believed that he hadn’t meant what he’d said either. He just didn’t seem the bigoted type. “Fine. Now can we get moving? As you cowboys say”—she smiled at him, letting him in on her joke about the stereotypical cowboy saying—“daylight’s burning.”

She spun around and hurried back to the house. The sway she put in her walk had nothing to do with the two amazing cowboys she’d just met.

Yeah, right.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Jeff forced his attention away from Alex’s round bottom that jiggled in a very enticing way.

Kane lifted the corner of his mouth. “Are you fucking with me? You’re watching the same thing I am.”

Was Kane interested in Alex? Jeff had vied for other things that they’d both wanted before and had lost more of those competitions than he cared to think about. Like the paint horse that every cowboy on the ranch had wanted to claim as his own. Kane had won out, but Jeff had ended up with a new saddle a week later. So far their rivalry had evened out, but he couldn’t imagine losing Alex to Kane.

Losing her? Hell, I don’t even know her yet.

He determined right then and there that he would. “Just knock it off.”

The sound Kane made came close to sounding like a bear’s growl. “Yeah, sure. Because you said so.”

Arguing with Kane was like arguing with a brick wall. It made more sense to make Kane disinterested in her. “Whatever. She’s got a bit too much hay in her backside for my thinking.” Never mind that he liked a woman with a full wagonload.

Kane furrowed his brow. “Yeah, she’s kind of hefty.”

Had he managed to trick him? Jeff resisted the urge to congratulate himself on getting Kane out of the picture. Or at least getting a good start at it. “I wouldn’t let her hear you say that, man.”

“You mean like the stupid comment you made before?” Kane’s hard expression was gone, replaced by a grin that turned Jeff’s stomach. “That was priceless. Fuckin’ priceless.”

“Screw you. It just came out all wrong, that’s all. I’m no bigot and you know it.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”

Damn him to hell and back.

Yet instead of saying that, Jeff added, “Whatever you want to think, man. As far as I’m concerned, you can have at her. I can see you’re one of those guys who likes curvy women. Too much for the hand, no matter what part of her it is, is still too much for the hand.”

“Only if you have small hands.” Kane chuckled.

Damn him to hell and back again.

Alex was inside the house and they couldn’t see her, but they stood there, studying the place as though they could see straight inside. Jeff half hoped she’d stick her head out again and yell at them to get busy, but although he could hear the kids and the other women, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you trying to tell me that you didn’t think she was hot? If so, that’s a crock of shit. From the way you looked at her, you damn sure did.” Kane eyed him.

He had to make Kane think he wasn’t attracted to Alex. If he could, then he wouldn’t have to go through Kane to get to her. Considering she was one of the sexiest women he’d ever seen, that would be one of the hardest things he’d ever do.

Jeff snorted. “Nope. She’s a cute girl, but she’s not my type. The real question is this. Is she your type?”

It took Kane far too long to answer. “Naw. Feel free to lasso that heifer anytime you want.”

“Nope. Like I said. Not my type. Besides, she’s got one hell of a temper on her.”

Kane’s chuckle grated on his nerves again. “You know what they say. If you can’t stand the fire…”

He could stand the fire, all right. He just didn’t want Kane fanning the flames. He pushed his hat lower on his head. “Let’s get this done. The faster we do, the quicker I don’t have to look at your ugly mug anymore.”

Kane followed him to the house. After Milly let them inside, they went to work. Milly directed them with Alex chiming in to hurry them along. The six kids ran like wild animals around them, inside and out, but to Jeff, their noise sounded like music. He couldn’t wait to find the right woman who would give him a whole mess of kids.

He bent, grabbed the sides of the huge plastic tub filled with clothes, and caught a glimpse of Alex as she wrangled one of the kids off the top of another. As though she’d sensed him watching her, she turned and caught him studying her. At first, she smiled, but that was soon followed by a “what the hell are you looking at” glare.

“Do you need anything, cowboy? Or are you planning on taking a nap?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not a thing.” Hefting the tub up, he carried it out to his pickup.

Kane met him on the doorstep. “Let’s get that dresser loaded.”

At any other time, he might’ve argued with Kane just to get his goat. But getting the dresser meant he got to go back inside and see Alex. “Fine.”

He took one end of the dresser and waited for Kane to take hold of the other side. Together, they maneuvered the furniture around running kids, over the threshold, and down the front steps. It was loaded into his pickup in no time flat.

Tying the dresser and the other items down, Jeff and Kane made quick work of the moving task. In the end, they didn’t need two pickups. As luck would have it, they’d managed to load everything into Jeff’s truck.

“Looks like you don’t need to make the trip.”

Kane glanced at the house where Alex stood, watching them from the porch. “Guess not.”

Jeff would’ve bet his right arm that Kane was angry. Angry at himself for not thinking to load the items in his truck and angry that Jeff had somehow gotten the better of him.

He lifted his hand to her. “Alex, uh, Alexia, uh, Miss Martin? I’m ready to roll when you are.” He pulled open the passenger side door. “Would you like a ride over to Daisy’s?”

Disappointment flooded him when she shook her head. “No thanks. I have my own car.”

He followed her look, and only now noticed the red convertible parked at the side of the house.

“But you two can give Milly and the kids a ride.”

The soft lift of her lips was anything but sweet. She was enjoying the fact that he’d have the rambunctious kids in his truck. He scanned the family that stumbled onto the porch behind her. Milly Johnson was as tall as she was wide but her four uncontrollable kids were stick thin. Mikey was already headed toward him.

Aw, shit.

“Hey, Mikey. Kane said you could ride with him.” He turned his famous shit-eating grin on an even stormier Kane. “Isn’t that right, cowboy?”

The muscles jumped in Kane’s jaw. “Yeah. Sure thing.”

At least that earned him a real smile from Alex.

He winked at her, saw her surprised reaction, then motioned Milly over. “Come on, Milly. Kane will take the kids. You can ride with me and catch a break from all the racket.”

Although a heavy woman, Milly Johnson could move fast when she wanted to. Judging from the way she hurried to his truck, she really wanted to. Jeff helped her into the cab, then nodded at Kane and grinned. “Enjoy the ride, man.”

* * * *

“I have to tell you how thankful we are to have you here.” Daisy set the rocker in motion, making her red hair sway. She wore the skinny black jeans Alex had seen her in more than once along with a bright orange T-shirt that boasted a ferocious, fanged grizzly on the front.

Alex already thought of the diminutive woman as a friend although she’d only been in Destiny for less than three days. They’d taken to sitting on the porch in the evening and having a drink. “Will you stop it? You don’t have to keep thanking me. I’m happy to help out. Besides, it’s my job.”

Working with Tulsa’s Emergency Preparedness Team was great and she loved it. But there were times when she wished for something more. A home with a man to love and kids to raise. Who knew? She could always help out as a volunteer if she didn’t want to keep working full-time.

There’s no use thinking like that with no man on the horizon.

For the umpteenth time, she wondered why that was. But she knew why. She’d had enough guys tell her that they liked her, but that her weight was an issue they couldn’t get over.

Screw them. I’m fine on my own.

She took a sip of the tea that Daisy had given her. As usual, it was laced with a little whiskey for good measure.

They saw my weight before getting involved. So why did it bug them later? Could it be my temper instead?

True enough, she could flash anger in less than sixty seconds. But weren’t romance novels filled with fiery heroines? Didn’t a lot of men like hot-tempered women? She cringed and took another sip to cover the gesture.

I sound like Jeff.

She made a mental note to practice keeping her temper under wraps. At least until a man got to know her better and realized what a good woman she was.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it always came down to her main problem.