by Lea Kinkade
“Don’t worry about it. It will be great to be roommates again. I’m looking forward to it,” responded Jessie.
“Well, I don’t want to cramp your style. I wouldn’t want to be the reason that new head of security you’ve been talking about didn’t spend the night with you.” Jessie had told Jordan about her infatuation with the new head of security for the Ranch who was also a family friend from childhood.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Jessie said shortly. “He’s the only reason he isn’t spending the night. It has nothing to do with you. Come on, I’ll tell you all about it on the drive to Deseo.”
The girls got back to town late in the afternoon, and Jessie drove her through the town before driving out to the Ranch. Jordan found the town to be of decent size with a variety of department, mercantile, and specialty shops that she thought were quaint and totally sufficient to meet her needs. There was even a Walmart on the edge of town. They picked up a pizza from La Pizzeria then headed back to Jessie’s three-bedroom house at the Ranch. Each of the eight siblings had been given a tract of land on which they could build a house. Since Jessie worked on the Ranch and wanted to be on her own, she had built a mid-size three-bedroom home rather than stay in the big house with her parents.
The BFFs talked for a while, drank some wine, and ate their pizza. Jessie had to work the next morning, so at 10:00 p.m. Jordan staggered into the guest room and crashed for the night. She didn't surface until 6:30 the next morning when the alarm on her phone went off.
* * * *
After showers and a quick breakfast for both women, Jordan dropped Jessie off at the Ranch offices at 8:00 in the morning and borrowed her cute red Escalade to go into Deseo. She spent the morning opening a bank account and looking at several available rentals. She found a cute little house on the edge of town that had just been put on the rental market the day before. It had two bedrooms, a living room, an updated eat-in kitchen and bath, and an honest-to-goodness front porch. It belonged to a little old lady who was going into a nursing home. The furniture could stay if she wanted it. The house was less than half the price Jordan had been paying on her little rent-controlled apartment in New York City. When the son of the owner saw Jessie Chisholm’s name as a local reference for the house, he agreed to rent to her on the spot. She went to the bank and got first and last month’s rent out in cash. Voila, she had a home. Jordan was in love with the town of Deseo.
Once Jordan had the keys to her new home, she went shopping for some more clothes at a second-hand store she found in town. She also stopped by the urgent-care clinic that Jessie had recommended and saw a doctor about a possible sinus infection. The doctor prescribed her an antibiotic, and Jordan got the prescription filled at the pharmacy just a few doors down from the clinic.
Jordan finally got back to Jessie’s house, where she had a quick lunch. She used Jessie’s computer to search for a new laptop as well as a new Kindle for reading. Her old ones were probably melted masses of circuits and wires back in New York. She paid extra for rush delivery.
Jessie had told Jordan that her twin brothers, Ryan and Ryder, were looking to add another bartender at the club and had just not gotten around to hiring one yet. On Jessie’s recommendation, they agreed that the job was Jordan’s if her references checked out. They wanted to see her Friday night at 6:30 p.m. to meet her and go over the particulars. Jordan had given Jessie the contact information for her past employers and Jessie had passed them on to Ryan. She knew both would give her good recommendations. In fact, the manager at The Top had told her she would always have a job there if she decided to return to “civilization.” The tentative plan was for her to start on the upcoming Sunday, the slowest night for the club, so the twins would have time to show her the ropes and have her fill out paperwork without a lot of interruptions.
Friday night, about 6:15 p.m., Jessie dropped Jordan off at the front door of Chaps & Spurs. Jessie had an errand to run in town and promised to meet Jordan in the club around 7:00 p.m. for a night out with some friends celebrating her arrival in Deseo and her new job. Jordan could tell that Jessie wasn’t really happy that she had found a place to rent already. She had told Jordan she had wanted some more time to be roomies but agreed that Jordan couldn’t have passed the place up. After waving good-bye to Jessie, Jordan walked into the club by herself and immediately noticed the pride and attention to detail that must have gone into its creation. As her eyes accustomed themselves to the darker interior, she noted the hallway toward the back of the bar that must house the offices. Jordan headed that way.
* * * *
Ryder Chisholm looked up at the entrance to the club when he saw it open. His brother, Ryan, had been showing him a printout of the next glassware order behind the bar on the main floor of the club. “Hot holy hell,” Ryder said in a hushed voice as he took in the raven-haired goddess just entering the club. Ryan looked up as well, saw the woman, and responded, “Oh, hello, darlin’,” in a throaty voice. Both watched intently as the luscious woman sat down at the far end of the bar. She seemed unaware of the admiring glances she received from nearly every man in the club.
* * * *
Jordan found a seat at the far end of the bar. She was early for the interview, so she thought she would take a few minutes and observe how things were run at the club. As she sat down at the bar, two bartenders approached her at the same time, both asking her what they could get her to drink. One called her “sweetheart” and one called her “darlin’.” Jessie hated it when endearments rolled of a man’s tongue so easily. She knew these men were players right away.
As she looked more closely at both men, Jordan noticed that, except for the black goatee one of the men was sporting, the two men looked exactly alike. Both were tall, six feet two or so, with jet-black hair, vivid green eyes, strong athletic builds, and eyelashes any woman would kill, or pay a fortune, for. Jordan realized that they must be Jessie’s twin brothers, Ryder and Ryan. She started to introduce herself and felt someone come up behind her. Glancing back, Jordan realized Jessie was standing right behind her.
“Jordan, I’d like you to meet my two reprobate brothers who own this dump. Ryan and Ryder, the flirt twins. Ryan’s the one with the slick goatee,” said Jessie. “Guys, this is the friend I told you about, Jordan Preston. You know—the one you’re hiring to tend bar here.”
“So, you’re Jessie’s college roommate. Jessie didn’t tell us how beautiful you are, sweetheart,” Ryder said flirtatiously, clearly not fazed by Jessie’s tone.
“Darlin’,” drawled Ryan in an equally flirtatious manner, “I don’t think we’re going to be able to hire ya'll on here after all. We have a strict policy against employees dating each other, and I sure can’t wait to get to know you better.”
“Wait a minute, bro. How did you even get in the picture? I saw her first,” Ryder responded to Ryan.
“Maybe we can make an exception,” mused Ryan. “What do you say, beautiful?”
“All right, flirt twins, cut it out. You’re going to scare her off,” Jessie said with a growl. She seemed genuinely worried about how Jordan would react to the full-court press the twins were using on her. Jordan had dated in college, but not anyone for any length of time. Once guys found out she was still a virgin, and had no intention of changing that status with them, they stopped calling pretty quickly.
So Jordan knew she shocked her friend when she matched Ryan’s drawl and said, “I say you’re both full of shit. I just want to tend bar. I have no intentions of sleeping with the bosses.”
Jordan could tell that Jessie was extremely surprised by her unfazed and off-hand response to the twin’s flirting. She had never spoken up for herself like that when Jessie was around. Jordan had indeed changed since college. She could hold her own with the twins. If she could resist the flirt twins, Jordan had no doubt she could handle most of the other horny cowboys that came into the club.
“I thought you were going to the Body Boutique down the street for some lotion and shampoo,�
� said Jordan.
“I forgot they close at 6:00 p.m. on Fridays. We’ll stop by tomorrow while we’re out shopping. Jordan, I’ll wait for you at our usual table where we’re going to meet the rest of the group. We always sit at the same table on Fridays. See you there after your interview,” said Jessie, gesturing to a large table with a “Reserved” sign on it.
“Come on back here, Jordan, and we can go over the particulars of working at Chaps & Spurs,” said Ryder as he gestured to the hallway behind the bar that Jordan had noticed when she first came in. Ryder seemed honestly disappointed that he wouldn't get the chance to get to know Jordan on a more intimate level.
Back in the office, Ryan told Jordan he had already called both The Pub and The Top and both had given her outstanding recommendations. Both of her former employers had told him that they had been sorry to see her go. Ryder also told Jordan that he had taken a look at The Top’s website and noted that the place was even larger than Chaps & Spurs. It had gotten five stars for its top-notch drinks and service.
“We thought we would start you off on the two-to-ten, let you learn the ropes around here, then after a while we’ll rotate you into the six-to-one shift so you can earn more tips,” commented Ryder. They went over the starting salary with her, and Jordan was surprised by how much it was. It wasn't that much lower than what she had earned in New York, not counting tips. Between the base salary and tips, along with the lower rent and living expenses, she would be well set and would have plenty of money left over to work on her pottery without dipping into her mother’s legacy too much. She still needed to buy a car. She hadn't needed one in New York.
The twins also told her she would be eligible for health insurance after three full months of being on the job. When Jordan looked at him with disbelief, Ryan laughingly explained that Chaps & Spurs had to pay well and give some benefits in order to keep good employees from going to the dark side, as they put it, and working for Chisholm Ranch Enterprises or CRE—their family’s ranch.
With the promise that she would return at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Ryan and Ryder escorted Jordan over to Jessie’s table near the dance floor and wished all the ladies a good time. They headed upstairs. The table was in the process of ordering a round of drinks as Jordan sat down. Jessie also ordered shots of tequila for the table in honor of Jordan moving to Deseo and being gainfully employed. Jordan ordered a margarita on the rocks. After their drinks were ordered, Jessie introduced Jordan to the rest of the women at the table. There were five of them—Suzanne, Sophia, Emily, Kendra, and Missy. All had been friends for years, but Jessie was the common link between them all.
As the women quietly talked amongst themselves, there was only light music playing in the background, as the DJ had not started playing yet. Jordan took a few minutes and looked around the club. She observed the patrons as their numbers continued to increase from the steady flow of humanity coming in the front door of the club, which was manned by two good-looking bouncers. Both of the young men looked enough like the Chisholm twins to be related. One glanced up and caught her looking and gave her a flirtatious grin before going back to work.
As Jordan continued to observe, she noticed that each waitress worked with a specific bartender, rattling off drink orders without any sort of paper ticket. The bartenders were quick and efficient. The waitresses poured their own soda from the soda gun at the end of the bar. This was the same system used at The Top. They had three bartenders working behind the bar for this floor. One was responsible for walk-ups and patrons sitting at the long bar. Jordan assumed they had a similar setup upstairs where she could hear people playing pool.
Jordan’s attention was grabbed by the purring voice of one of her neighbors at the table saying, “Let the banquet begin.” Jordan thought it was Suzanne. Jordan looked over at her and saw she was staring at the front entrance. Jordan followed her gaze, and time seemed to stop. There, at the entrance, was a man who took her breath away. Jordan had never been affected by a man like this, especially not at first sight. As Jordan sat there, she took in his jet-black hair, his long, athletic build, including strong thighs that were showcased in dark blue jeans and muscles that showed through his white T-shirt that clung in all the right places. The shirt was white, which only showcased his deep emerald-green eyes more. His hair just brushed his collar, and he had a chiseled nose like it had been carved from stone. Everything about him exuded power. Jordan knew by the resemblance to the twins that he had to be one of the Chisholm brothers. All she could do was stare. Suzanne laughed at her. He walked in the club, taking a cursory look around the bar, and his eyes seemed to rest on Jordan for a second, showing a slight glint of interest. Then he stalked over to the steps leading upstairs and disappeared into the upper level of the club. All of the women at the table followed him with their eyes until he was out of sight.
“That’s three,” murmured Suzanne. The women all smiled at each other. They all went back to talking until another woman—Sophia, thought Jordan—quietly said, “That’s four.” Once again, there was a tall, black-haired, fine specimen of a man walking through the front door of the club. The women followed the man’s progress across the bar and up the stairs until he was out of sight as well. Although this man could have physically been a twin to the man that had caught Jordan’s attention so thoroughly, he hadn’t had the same effect on her. He was just as intense but didn’t have the same visceral effect on her as the first man had. Once he was out of sight, the women ordered another round from their waitress.
As the waitress returned with the new round of drinks, Jordan noticed yet another tall, dark, and handsome man entering the club. Again, he could have been twins with the men who had already gone up the stairs. “And that’s five. My, my, Jessie, your brothers sure make good eye candy,” purred Kendra. “When’s Eli going to be back in the area? That will make an even half-dozen. All I can say is thank God for tradition.”
Jordan looked at Jessie, raising her brow, confused by the banter. Jessie took pity on her and explained that it was tradition for the Chisholm brothers to get together every Friday night at Chaps & Spurs to play pool upstairs and catch up with each other. They usually started at 7:00 p.m. and broke up around 9:00 p.m.
Jordan looked back to the entrance of the club as the last man fully entered the club. This man, however, was not alone. As the man entered he looked around the bar, noticed the table of women, and raised his chin toward Jessie, who waved back at him. The man carefully escorted the tall, beautiful blonde woman at his side to the table. He kissed her lightly on the lips, whispered something in her ear that made her blush, and then, after nodding his head and murmuring, “Ladies,” he sauntered over to the stairs and disappeared up them like the others. Jessie introduced the beautiful woman as her sister-in-law, Taylor, who was married to her second-oldest brother, Levi. Levi was the foreman of the horse-breeding operation at the Ranch. The women went back to talking and asking Jordan questions about her life in New York.
* * * *
“Did ya’ll see our new bartender?” asked Ryder with a grin to his brothers.
“Yeah, she’s really gonna class up the place, won’t she, Ryder?” answered Ryan, grinning back at his twin.
“Where’s she from?” asked Levi. “Is she a local?” He lined up his shot, took it, and missed. He looked at Ryan enquiringly.
“No, she’s from New York City,” announced Ryder without giving his twin a chance to answer, with another grin. “She’s Jessie’s college roommate. She just moved here. Lost everything in an apartment fire. She’s downstairs sitting with Jessie and her friends.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan caught a slight flair of interest in Xander’s eyes. About time big brother showed some interest in a woman who was more than an easy lay. Not that he was one to talk, but Xander was older than he was. It’s about time he started thinking of settling down. Xander hadn’t been seriously interested in a woman since Sophie. One of the brothers had to bite the bullet soon to keep th
eir mom off the rest of the brothers’ backs.
“City girl,” Xander said derisively. “I give her two weeks and she’ll head back to New York City.” He took a long pull of his beer as he watched Dillon line up his shot.
“You never know, Xander. She may just prove you wrong. What’s she like, Ryder? Have you asked her out yet?” asked his brother, Dillon, with a knowing grin.
“Can’t bro. You know our policy. No fucking the help. No matter how fine she is,” replied Ryder.
“Seems pretty down to earth. She was the head bartender at a hot spot in Manhattan. She got a very good recommendation from the manager there. The place is bigger than Chaps & Spurs. I think she’ll fit in just fine,” answered Ryan as he watched Xander sink his shot. The game was over now that Xander had control of the table. He could kick all their asses at pool and did just that nearly every Friday night. Of course, big brother excelled at everything he did, thought Ryan as he watched Xander continue to run the table. Not that Ryan was jealous or anything, but shit, couldn’t the guy suck at something? Anything?
“Jessie will bring her up to introduce her to us, I’m sure. Jordan and Jessie are close. She’ll want us to meet her best friend,” said Dillon confidently. Of all the brothers, Ryan knew Dillon had the closest relationship with their sister Jessie. He’d probably already known that Jordan was in town.
“Get your mind back on the game, asshole. It’s your shot already,” Xander said to Dillon without any real heat. He just laughed when Dillon flipped him off. Ryan laughed, too. Everyone knew that Dillon didn’t like being told what to do. Xander was messing with him on purpose. Oh well, just another typical Friday night with the Chisholm brothers.
* * * *
About 8:00 p.m., Jessie grabbed Jordan’s arm and dragged her up the stairs, telling her she wanted to introduce her BFF to her brothers. Jordan hung back a little, not knowing if she wanted to face the intense older brother that had such a visceral effect on her. Her nipples and pussy had both tightened under his fleeting gaze. Jordan decided she couldn’t get out of being introduced to her best friend’s brothers without drawing suspicion, so after a few steps, she went along quietly.
