The Buckhorn Brothers Box Set: Sawyer\Morgan\Gabe\Jordan (30 page)

Misty looked ready to expire. Morgan took pity on her and pulled out a chair. “Why don’t you at least sit down, Malone, while you do your explaining?” He reached for her arm, but she sidestepped him. Breathing hard, she glared at them all, then said, “I’m leaving, that’s all there is to it. I’m already packed and I want to get an early start. I’m not good at long goodbyes, so…if you’ll excuse me?”

She picked up her bag and headed for the door. Her car was parked at the side of the house, close to the back door. There was a flurry of arguments from Casey, Jordan and Gabe, but Morgan had expected no less of them. It was why he’d so rudely dragged them out of their warm, comfortable beds. Unfortunately, Misty wasn’t going to be swayed by them.

She stormed out of the house in righteous fury, and they all trailed behind, talking at once. Morgan listened to their arguments for why she should stay and even commended his brothers for making some good points.

Misty did an admirable job of ignoring them.

When Jordan realized how serious she was, he took the suitcase from her hand while stabbing Morgan with curious looks, as if waiting for
him
to stop her somehow.

Morgan almost laughed. He’d known there was no way he’d be able to bring her around. If he wasn’t missing his guess, he was the biggest reason she was so set on going. That was why he’d pulled the spark plugs, as insurance until he got her over her pique and could make her see reason.

After Jordan stowed her suitcase in the back seat, he reached for Misty and pulled her into a fierce hug. To Morgan, seething at the sight of Misty snuggled up against Jordan’s bare chest, the embrace didn’t look at all familial. He was just about to tear them apart when Jordan leaned back the tiniest bit to look at her.

“Where will you be staying?” Jordan asked. “Is there a number where we can call you?”

Misty appeared stumped for just a moment, which made Morgan very suspicious, then she brightened. “I’m sort of moving around at the moment. But I’ll let you know when I get settled, okay?”

Morgan continued to study her. It was amazing, even to him, but he could read her like a book, and he knew without a doubt she didn’t have any place to stay. He wanted to throttle her, and he wanted to hold her tight.

Gabe stepped up next for his own hug, and he even dared to kiss her on the cheek, lingering for what Morgan considered an inappropriate amount of time. Morgan gave serious thought to throwing Gabe back into the basement. “If you change your mind,” Gabe said, “promise you’ll come back.”

“I promise. And thank you.”

Casey shook his head. “My death will be on your hands, because Dad is still going to kill me.”

Morgan silently applauded Casey’s forlorn expression, but Misty didn’t buy it. She actually grinned. “Your father wouldn’t hurt a hair on your head, and you know it! Now give me a hug.” With a crooked smile, Casey obeyed.

And even that made Morgan grind his teeth. Casey was a good head taller than Misty with shoulders much wider. Morgan didn’t like it at all. Hell, so far they’d all touched her more than he had!

Misty didn’t even bother looking at Morgan. He crossed his arms and waited until she’d gotten behind the wheel and pulled her door shut, then he leaned back against a tall oak tree. He considered himself patience personified.

Jordan stepped up to him with an intent frown. It was unlike Jordan to be so disgruntled, and Morgan raised a taunting brow. “Sorry to see her go?”

Jordan didn’t rile easily. “You got me out of bed just to tell her goodbye? I figured you’d stop her somehow. Honey’s going to be damn upset when she finds out we let her leave.”

Morgan eyed his brother a moment longer, decided he didn’t see any signs of lovesickness, and turned to stare at Misty. “She’s not going anywhere.”

Misty gave one final cheery wave to them all and turned the key. The engine ground roughly, whined, but didn’t quite turn over. Frowning, she tried again. The car still wouldn’t start.

Satisfied, Morgan watched Gabe saunter over to him, Casey at his side. “You tinkered with her car?” He sounded faintly approving. Gabe was the mechanic and handyman in the family. If he’d thought of it or had had time, he likely would have done the same.

Morgan gave him a wounded look. “Now, would I do a thing like that? I’m the law around here, Gabe, you know that. Tampering with a car is illegal.” He looked at Misty with a smile. “I’m sure of it.”

Grinning, Gabe went to the driver’s window and tapped on it. When Misty rolled down her window, he said, “Doesn’t sound like she’s going to start, hon.”

Misty dropped her head onto the steering wheel and ignored Gabe, ruthlessly twisting the key once again. She looked so forlorn that Morgan almost couldn’t stand it. He wanted to lift her out of the car, hold her, tell her everything would be okay. He wanted, damn it, to take care of her. To protect her.

Because she was family.

Because she was a woman in need.

Because it was the right thing to do.

Not
because he cared for her personally. Wanting a woman and caring for her were two different things, and he was never one to confuse the issues. Yes, he wanted her, more so now than ever, which seemed odd in the extreme. But he could deal with that. What he couldn’t deal with was the idea of her running off with no place to go, and the fact that she’d be alone at a time when she needed family most.

So maybe she’d gotten into some trouble? He wasn’t completely convinced yet. But even if it was true, everyone made mistakes, and being a pregnant, unmarried woman was as good a reason for theft as any he’d ever heard. He didn’t approve, but he did understand. She was still young, only twenty-four, and she’d found herself in a hell of a predicament.

From the sound of it, she’d more than paid for the crime, not only financially, but emotionally, as well. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to own up to it if she was guilty. Few people tended to brag about their bad judgment.

Convinced that he was still in control of things, including his own tumultuous emotions, Morgan walked over to the car and opened the back door. He lifted out her bag then nudged Gabe aside. He pulled her door open and cupped his free hand around her upper arm. Gabe stood there grinning at him, while Jordan and Casey watched with satisfaction.

“C’mon, Malone,” Morgan said. “Sitting out here moping isn’t going to solve anything.”

She smacked her head onto the steering wheel again. “I can’t be this unlucky.”

Morgan hesitated, but he knew damn good and well he’d done the right thing. He’d needed to buy some time to undo the damage he’d inflicted with his insistence that she should leave. Later, she’d thank him. “Rattling your brains won’t help. Come inside and we’ll figure something out.”

She leaned back in the seat and stared at him. “I hope you’re happy now.”

His smile was only fleeting before he wiped it away. “I’m getting there.” He urged her out of the car and kept hold of her arm even as they walked back in. He was pleased that she didn’t pull away from him. That surely showed some small measure of trust, didn’t it?

Unfortunately, something he
hadn’t
figured on happened: they found Sawyer and Honey smooching in the kitchen, wrapped up together in no more than a sheet.

Morgan halted abruptly when he saw them, which caused Misty to stumble into his side and Jordan to bump into his back. Like dominoes toppling one another, they all ended up crammed into the tiny doorway, gawking.

Misty groaned at the sight of her sister, then turned her face into Morgan’s side. “I’m cursed.”

At her softly spoken words, Honey jerked away from her husband, looked up, then blushed furiously. “Oh, Lord.” She clutched at the sheet, pulling it up to her throat and all but leaving Sawyer buck naked. “It’s barely six-thirty! We thought everyone was still in bed!”

Sawyer grabbed for an edge of the sheet to retain his modesty in front of Misty, then turned to frown at his brothers. “What the hell is going on?” He noticed the suitcase Morgan held, and his expression altered. “You going somewhere, Morgan?”

Standing on tiptoe, Casey attempted to see over Morgan’s shoulder, then stated, “Misty was going to leave, but Morgan stopped her.”

Sawyer glanced at his wife, then blinked at his son. His confusion was amusing, if unfortunate. “Leave where?”

“I don’t know.” Casey gave an elaborate shrug. “Home, I guess, though she said she’s in the middle of moving somewhere and she’d have to tell us where exactly after she got settled. I tried to stop her, Dad, honest, but she was determined—”

Morgan felt Misty tremble and said, “That’s enough, Case.” Then to Sawyer: “Just a misunderstanding. What are you two doing out here? We thought you’d…sleep in…till at least noon.”

Grinning like a rogue, Sawyer announced, “We needed nourishment.”

Honey turned bright pink and elbowed her husband, who grabbed her and kissed her hard on the mouth. Morgan couldn’t help but smile at them. Though Sawyer had fought it hard, he was so crazy in love with Honey, it was fun to watch them.

Morgan wanted a relationship like that. Then he thought of Misty beside him, the exact opposite of her sister, and he scowled.

Jordan shoved his way past the others. “If you two newlyweds want to go back to bed, I’ll bring you a tray in just a few minutes. Coffee and bagels?”

“Perfect.” Sawyer tried to turn Honey around, but she wasn’t budging.

“Misty?” Honey looked oblivious to Sawyer’s efforts. “You were going to leave without telling me?”

There was no mistaking her hurt, and although Morgan wouldn’t have put Misty through such an ordeal, he decided it was probably best to get it all out in the open at once. The sooner Misty got through it, the sooner she could understand that she didn’t need to leave.

He was surprised and pleased when he felt Misty’s hand slip into his, and he squeezed her fingers tight, then answered for her. “Well, she’s not going anywhere right now because her car won’t start. You don’t have to worry.”

Honey’s brows shot up. “Her car won’t start?” She sent a suspicious look at Gabe. “Did you tamper with her car like you did mine?”

Gabe straightened from his sleepy, slouched position and crossed his heart with dramatic flair. “Never touched it. Hell, I just got up. I’m not awake enough to be playing with engines.”

Jordan spoke before Honey could turn her cannons on him. “Same here. I didn’t even know she was planning to leave until I saw her with her suitcase.”

Misty stared at her sister, and Morgan could feel her tensing. “They tampered with your car?”

Honey shrugged. “I wanted to leave, because I thought I was intruding and putting them all in danger. But they weren’t worried, and they thought it’d be better if I stayed here with them. They knew I couldn’t very well leave without transportation, so they kept my car disabled. I thought Gabe was fixing it for me, but instead he was making sure it wouldn’t run if I tried to sneak off.” Honey smiled at her husband, then added, “Their intentions were good, so I forgave them.”

Misty pulled her hand away and slowly turned to glare at Morgan. Her eyes were dark with accusation and anger. “Did you..?”

Shrugging, he said, “You didn’t exactly leave me a lot of choice.”

Her gasp was so loud she sounded as if someone had pinched her. She drew back her arm and slugged him in the stomach, gasped again, then shook her hand and glared at him. “How dare you!”

He tried to rub the sting out of her hand, but she held it protectively away from him. Morgan frowned at that. “You wouldn’t listen,” he said by way of explanation. He was more than a little aware of their rapt audience, but saw no way around it. Damn it, she was Honey’s sister, and she’d been preparing to slip off without a job, without money….

He’d never heard a woman growl so ferociously before. Everyone was frozen, silent. Misty looked as if she might hit him again, then thought better of it. Her expression was angry but resolute. “Fine. I’m calling a cab. He can take me to the bus station.”

Morgan glared at her. “Don’t push me, Malone.”

“You’ve done all the pushing, you—you…!”

“Bastard?” he supplied helpfully.

She growled again. “Fix my car!”

“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Sawyer, ever the diplomat, cleared his throat. “Uh, Morgan…”

Still matching Misty glare for glare, Morgan shook his head. “She can’t leave, Sawyer, all right?”

“Why?”

Gabe spoke. “If she’s that set on going—”

“I’d prefer she stay, too,” Jordan added, “but—”

Morgan closed his eyes, trying to think of some way around the problems. Nothing too promising presented itself. When he met Misty’s gaze this time, he knew she could read his purpose.

“Don’t you do it, Morgan,” she warned.

He touched her cheek and gave her a small, regretful smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Then he turned to everyone else and announced, “I don’t want her to go, because she’s pregnant.”

The reaction wasn’t quite what he’d expected. Honey’s mouth fell open, Gabe and Jordan both became mute, Casey’s neck turned red, and Sawyer leaned on the counter with a sigh, holding tight to his share of the sheet.

Misty went ahead and hit him again. He took hold of her hands before she hurt herself. This time she didn’t pull away, but chose instead to stare at him with evil intent. He supposed she’d rather look at him than face everyone else. If he could have thought of a way to spare her, he would have.

Then Morgan realized no one was looking at Misty. They were all staring at him—with accusation. It was almost too funny for words.

“
I’m
not the father,” he said dryly. “Hell, I’ve only known her a couple of weeks, if you’ll recall.”

Sawyer coughed. “That’s actually quite long enough.”

“In this case, it wasn’t!”

Everyone relaxed visibly. Honey said to Morgan, “Well, of course she can’t leave, you’re right about that. Hang on to her until I get back, okay?” Then she took off like a shot, dragging Sawyer along with her, given that they shared the sheet and he didn’t want to be left bare-assed.

Gabe sat down at the table and relaxed, at his leisure. “All this excitement has made me hungry. Jordan, if you’re fixing breakfast, make some for me, too.”