Tyler (9 page)

During the first break, Tyler walked over to the bar where Gwen did double duty as bouncer and manager. “Any word?”

Her gaze slid over toward his and rested there for a moment. “Worried about your job, cowboy?”

Tyler clenched his jaw to keep the words from tumbling out, words that no lady ought to hear. These women were a tough bunch, but he admired what they accomplished together. “It was a simple enough question.”

Gwen shrugged and then turned toward the raised voices at the other end of the bar. “So was mine.”

His hands fisted at his sides, and he consciously relaxed them.
Women.
He remembered his mother reminding him to pick his battles. Tyler nodded, realizing that now was probably not the time to get into it with Gwen.

The raised voices reached a screeching crescendo, and a curvaceous blonde went flying backward. Without a word, Gwen stalked from her post to wade into the fray, grabbing the woman standing with her hands on her hips by the back of her skimpy shirt. The brunette’s shocked surprise turned to anger in a heartbeat as she pointed to the blonde at their feet and said, “She started it.”

The woman pushing to her feet looked as though she wanted to do serious damage to the one who’d knocked her down, but when Gwen reached out a hand to help the blonde up, Tyler watched the look change from anger to innocence.

“I didn’t do anything,” the blonde wailed as Gwen tried to yank her up, but the woman changed her mind, deciding to stay on the floor.

“Need any help?”

Gwen looked over at Tyler as if surprised that he’d followed her. She shook her head and turned back to the catfight. “Easy or hard, ladies?” Her words were short and sweet, just the way he and his brother Dylan preferred them. He smiled thinking of his brother and Gwen together… too bad she wasn’t a redhead.

“What are you talking about?” the one in the skimpy shirt demanded.

“Yeah!” the blonde echoed.

“Real slow to catch on,” he said with a nod in their direction.

The right corner of Gwen’s mouth lifted, but before the smile could soften the hard look on her face, she cleared her throat and answered for the troublemakers. “Fine then. Hard it is.”

In a move that shocked the shit out of him, Gwen lifted both women off the floor so their feet were flailing as she hauled their pretty little asses toward the front door.

Never doubting that Gwen could handle herself, Tyler followed along behind, just to make sure the women didn’t decide to turn on The Lucky Star’s impressive bouncer. Stepping around Gwen, admiring the way her biceps flexed under the added weight of the squirming women, he opened the front door.

“Why, Gwen, honey,” Jolene drawled, “how nice of you to arrange a coming home party.”

Gwen’s sharp bark of laughter told Tyler here was a woman he wouldn’t mind having for a friend.

“Just cleaning up a bit while we waited for you.” Gwen shook her head as she set the women on their feet and shoved them out the door.

Tyler wasn’t surprised to see Emily’s knee wrapped up with an ace bandage, but Jolene’s arm in a sling took him aback.

“Well, boss?” he asked, ushering the women inside.

“Jo?” Gwen looked as if she wanted to press Jolene, but then she retreated behind the mask of indifference he was used to seeing on Gwen’s face.

Jake walked in behind the women. “Tell them.”

Tyler nodded to the other man. With a look, they communicated their like intentions. They would put together a brief plan for how they’d handle things tonight once the bar closed down. The women would have to go along with the plan.

No exceptions. No excuses.

“Just a sprained elbow,” Jolene said, nodding at Emily, “and a bump on the knee.”

“That’s not what the emergency room doctor had to say.”

Emily agreed. “Well of course not, they couldn’t charge as much if they called it that. They had some fancy medical terms, but in plain English, it’s a sprain and a bump.”

“Which we wouldn’t have if Emily didn’t go in to protective mode and yank me down to the sidewalk.”

Tyler watched the play of emotions on Emily’s face. Lord, what a show. He loved redheads and the way they shot straight to boil. Impressed, he gave Jolene a break and said, “You might have been hit by some of the shot. Just looking at the sign, you could tell they weren’t that far away when they fired.”

“Gee thanks, cowboy,” his boss grumbled.

He hated that nickname and the way it got under his skin. He closed his eyes and counted until he was calm again. “It’s—”

“Tyler,” Jolene said for him. “I know, but I like the way you get all grumpy and insulted when I call you cowboy… cowboy.”

Emily giggled. “Don’t mind my cousin,” she said. “She’s always been perverse that way. Besides, she’s just being difficult because I had to help her pee before.”

“Way too much information, Em,” Jolene bit out.

“Well, who knew how hard it’d be with only one arm?”

Tyler struggled not to laugh. Hell, if
they
thought it was tough, trying peeing with one hand… He almost said it, but caught the knowing look Jake shot his way. The guy was growing on him. Men understood other men… but women. He sighed. They sure were work sometimes.

“Well?” Natalie asked.

“What’s the verdict?” Jennifer demanded.

Emily repeated what she’d told him. “Sprained elbow—”

“And a bump on the knee,” Jolene added.

“Does it hurt bad, Jolene?” Natalie asked while Jennifer turned toward Emily and asked, “Shouldn’t you be sitting down?”

While Jake eased Jolene into a chair, Tyler clenched his hands in frustration because he’d been too focused on what his boss was doing to notice Gwen had stepped around him to help Emily sit down.

“Just a bad sprain,” Jolene said, reaching for the bottle of pain reliever Natalie handed her, while Jennifer tossed Emily another bag of frozen peas. “Did you break it?” Joe asked walking up to the group.

Jolene sighed. “Sprained.”

Dave sidled up alongside of Joe. “Did you tear the meniscus?”

Emily grimaced but answered, “Just a bump.”

Tyler’s gut clenched. “I’ve been there, and if you don’t keep it up and ice it, the swelling’ll take longer to go down, and you’ll be limping for the rest of the week.” Emily didn’t react the way he thought she would; she nodded and shifted the peas on her knee. “Maybe I could keep it up for the rest of the night.” The women closed ranks and started talking, effectively shutting him and Jake out.
Female trick
, he mused, but it wasn’t going to work until he’d finished asking his damned questions.

Besides, Tyler wasn’t used to being ignored, especially when he was determined not to be. “Where’s the list of instructions?” he bit out, his tone sharper than he intended.

But neither woman seemed upset by how he sounded. Jolene shrugged and immediately cringed, closing her eyes and drawing in a slow, steady breath.

“That’s it. You should be lying down.” Jake moved toward Jolene, but before he could slip his hands beneath her legs and lift her up, Gwen’s next statement stopped him.

“Jo just needs to sit awhile,” she said, looking from Jake to Tyler and then back again. “The crowd will distract her. Don’t fuss.”

A new song began to play, a familiar George Strait tune this time, and the lull in the conversations around them picked back up again. Tyler looked at Jake and noticed the other man scanning the crowd, probably for the same reasons Tyler was about to.

“We spoke to one of the deputies at the hospital,” Emily said, with a look over her shoulder toward the front of the bar.

“And?” Gwen prompted.

Emily shook her head. “Can you believe it? They really are serious about looking for suspects.”

Jolene sighed. “I don’t know why they won’t listen to us. You’d think they’d believe us when we told them what we heard.”

“One look at our sign and anyone with half a brain could see it was bird shot… otherwise there wouldn’t be much left of our star.”

Emily sighed. “I guess we’ll have to let the law do what the law will do.” Tyler followed Emily’s logic and agreed wholeheartedly, but there was a hitch in his gut that had him going over the “what ifs.” Damned disturbing. How the hell could he and Jake protect the women during the day when he had to be home in the morning? There was a section of fence that he’d intended to repair in a remote part of the ranch, stock to be tended to… the usual chores. Then there was that damned elbow pipe under the kitchen sink he’d promised his brothers he’d replace. He had a knack for plumbing. Neither Jess nor Dylan could sweat a pipe without it leaking.

As if the other man could read his mind, Jake spoke up. “I’ve got a few days of vacation coming and I—”

“No.” Jolene’s refusal was short and sharp.

“Well now,” Jake rumbled, “I’m just going to assume that you’re in pain and not thinking clearly, Miss Langley.”

Jolene’s mouth rounded in shock but no words came out.

Emily pushed to her feet again and moved to stand beside her cousin. “Although we appreciate your offer, Jake,” Emily said, “there’s no reason to take any time off. The Baxter boys’ll be laying low for a few days. At least that’s what me and Jolene did when we—”

Tyler watched as the two women shared a look that reminded him of himself and his brothers. “You want to finish that particular story, Emily?”

She flushed a pretty shade of pink. “Maybe later.”

With a glance around the bar she nodded toward the other men, who hadn’t said anything more after inquiring about the women but hadn’t left either. “No need to worry about us though. Joe and Dave help out with the heavier jobs around the bar, so we’re not without extra muscle if that’s what you’re worried about.”

If a man could spit flames, Tyler thought the fire marshal just might. The man was angry and wasn’t hiding it. He was obviously more than interested in Tyler’s boss. Tyler had taken the man’s measure and liked what he found. He knew he was overreacting, but knowing Jake could check in on the women during the day while Tyler was at the ranch eased some of the uneasiness that had caught Tyler off guard.

“Let’s get one thing straight, ladies,” Jake said, looking from one redhead to the other. “We’re not certain your lives haven’t been threatened. You’re both injured and moving slower than you normally would.”

“But it wasn’t a killer,” Jolene insisted. “It was the Baxter brothers.”

Emily sighed. “While we appreciate that you’re worried about us—” she began, only to be interrupted by Jake.

“If Joe and Dave are downstairs hauling kegs and the shooter shows up, you won’t be able to hide fast enough.”

Jolene looked at Emily and they both slowly stood, shifting until they were standing shoulder to shoulder. “We don’t intend to hide.”

“Of all the stupid—”

“You’ll want to watch what you say to my cousin,” Emily warned, eyes blazing, chin lifted in defiance.

Tyler couldn’t hide his admiration for the women. They weren’t going to hide, and they didn’t like to be told what to do. Hell, if that didn’t add to his growing fascination with Emily.

“At least I’m not too stubborn to recognize the truth when it kicks me in the ass and knocks me off my feet,” Jake grumbled.

“Men,” Jolene grumbled. “Can’t live with them”—she paused and smiled up at Jake—“and you can’t live with them.”

Jake looked at Tyler for help. He smiled and shook his head. “I need to make a call if I’m going to be staying in town tonight.”

“You’re on in five, Tyler.” Jennifer reminded him.

“That’s all I need to check in.”

He walked over toward the other side of the bar where his cell phone reception was stronger. “Hey, Jesse. Where’s Dylan?”

His brother grumbled something into the phone, but damned if Tyler could figure out what he’d said. Tired and just plain irritated, he bit out, “What?”

His little brother actually growled before saying, “In the kitchen under the sink.”

Tyler swore under his breath. “Well, tell him to cool his heels. I said I’d fix the damned pipe.”

It was Jesse’s turn to swear, and Tyler could tell by the colorful string of adjectives that his little brother had had a day similar to his.

“Look, I’m going to be tied up here in town tonight,” he paused and nearly bit off his tongue when Jennifer called his name. He covered the mouthpiece of his phone, but not before a deep chuckle sounded on the other end.

“Man,” Jesse said, “I told Dylan you’d find yourself a woman now that you’d be able to spend more than twenty minutes at a time in town.”

“It’s not what you think.” But how the hell could he explain just exactly what he would be doing in town without telling Jesse the whole of it? Embarrassment coupled with shame, mingled with worry.

He braced himself to accept the fact that if he wanted to keep his lies straight, he’d have to keep them simple. A lie of omission was still a lie. Wasn’t it?

Just tell them the truth, Tyler.

Ignoring the sage advice his grandfather had raised them with, he raked a hand through his hair and dug deep for a calm he didn’t feel. Hearing his grandfather’s voice in his head all the time was wearing on him.
Just like your new job.

When Jennifer called his name again, Tyler ground out. “Be right there.”

“So, bro,” his little brother drawled, “she gonna use a short rope on you?”

Disgusted with himself first and his brother second, he bit back what he wanted to say, the words sliding down to settle in his gut, churning in it until it ached. “They’ve got some extra inventory that came in late today that I didn’t have time to unload.”

“They got you doing more than stocking shelves?” his brother wanted to know.

More than you can imagine
. “Yeah.” Tyler thought of the new angle in his routine, reminding him of the “test” he’d had to pass before being hired, and the big old girl he would have to haul up from a dead lift later tonight. His tired muscles at the base of his spine were still screaming from a hard day’s work at the ranch. He didn’t even want to think of pulling the move Natalie had planned every night with a different woman… no telling how big or heavy they’d be.