“Ezekiel is here,” Zeke growled, stepping into the kitchen and closing the door behind him. “What’s going on here?” he asked slowly, looking around at the unusually full kitchen before pinning Honor with his eyes. “What are you up to, Honor?”
Lifting her chin, Honor rose from the table and moved to stand beside Harmony. “Family meeting.”
Running a hand over his face, Zeke’s shoulders sagged. “Honor, there’s nothing to meet about yet. We’re still looking for….”
“That’s not what this meeting is about, Zeke,” Harmony interrupted. Turning her gaze toward her daughter, she noticed the almost clean plate. “Baby, since you’re done eating, why don’t you go watch cartoons in the living room, okay?”
Heaven grinned up at her with wide eyes. “Anything?”
“Absolutely, as long as that anything is on either NickJr or PBS,” Harmony replied evenly with a pointed look at her child. She’d learned her lesson regarding Heaven’s television viewing. The last time she’d given the child carte blanche, she’d found her watching re-runs of the Family Guy. Not exactly an example of what a four-year-old girl’s viewing pleasure should be. That wasn’t happening again.
“O-kay,” Heaven grumbled, climbing off her chair and running back into the living room.
“Now, we can speak freely,” Harmony announced, turning to look at Jake. “And I can freely tell you that you’re acting like a caveman! You think you can thump your chest like some Neanderthal and tell me what to do? Like hell!”
“Where your safety is concerned, I’ll act like Adolf fuckin’ Hitler if I think it’ll keep you from being hurt. Bring on the insults, babe. You’re still not strutting that fine ass out of this house and into an unknown situation. It’s not fucking happening. Stop acting like an idiot and think, woman. I know you’re not this damn stupid!” Jacob bit off through clenched teeth, his eyes shining with the determination and passion of a guy in love.
“Oh, shit,” Patience murmured, taking a hasty step back from Jake.
“He did not just say that,” Faith whispered, shaking her head as Cain wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.
“It was nice knowing you,” Honor mumbled to Jake before looking at Harmony and shuffling toward Zeke. “Please don’t get too much of his blood on my floor, sis. I hate mopping.”
Even the men edged away from the scene as Harmony flew toward Jacob, slamming a hand against his chest with enough force to cause him to take a stumbling step backward. “Idiot?” she hissed, her cornflower blue eyes darkening as they narrowed to slits. “You called me an idiot? A stupid idiot.”
Abel stood nearest Jake, and he offered the man a sympathetic sidelong look. “Seriously, man, I admire the size of your balls, but that was about the dumbest thing you can say to a McKinnon woman. And I’ve said a lot of stupid shit to Patience.”
Patience nodded. “That’s true.”
Looking at Zeke with irritated eyes, Jake barked, “You wanna help me out here?”
Lifting his hands, Zeke shook his head. “Not my filly, not my stable, man. You’re gonna need to handle this one on your own.”
So much for having another cool head on his side, Jake thought bitterly. Drawing in a deep breath as he met Harmony’s irate gaze, he shook his head. “Okay, I didn’t call you an idiot, I said you were acting like one; there’s a difference,” he said, backpedalling quickly.
“What I am is a free woman, well above the age of consent,” Harmony snapped. “I don’t need your permission to make a single damn decision in my life. In fact, I’ve been making decisions for not only myself but my daughter, too, for a long damn time. We’ve been doing just fine without your special brand of attention. I neither want, nor require your support to make choices about events that affect my life. You are not my father, my brother, or my husband. YOU are a guest in this home. One that can be asked to leave at any time. And isn’t it handy that the Sheriff is standing right over there?” she remarked scathingly as she jerked her head toward Ezekiel. “Makes it real handy to have you ejected from my home! How stupid am I now, Jake? Do I sound like an idiot to you?”
“You’re angry,” Jake replied softly, taking in her flushed cheeks and glittering eyes.
“No shit,” she snapped. “You got that, did you?”
“Yeah, I did. I was out of line, saying those things, but that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong. You’re trying to stage a coup to assert your independence. It is too fucking unsafe for you to go about your normal routine, Harmony. The contact I had inside Diego’s camp has gone dark. This is not a good thing. We have no clue what Tanner and Diego are planning for the future. Walking out there now is like waving a red flag at a bull, darlin’. Vigilance is our best bet right now.”
“Don’t you ‘darlin’’ me, Stone. Tossing out a few casual endearments isn’t going to bend me to your will,” she warned, crossing her arms over her chest and squaring her shoulders. “Honor and I have sat inside this house for a week while you guys ran down leads that have gone nowhere. You don’t know where Tanner or Diego are and you’re no closer to learning their whereabouts than you were when you decided to put us under lockdown. You think we’re gonna live that way indefinitely? Hell, those bastards could be back in Mexico for all we know. Diego might have found out I can’t give him what he wants and lost interest. In the meantime, we all still have a business to run. I have TWO! And this,” she announced, gesturing at the assembly of men in the kitchen, “is hampering our ability to successfully run those businesses! I’m done letting assholes dictate my life, Jake. Either get on board and help us do this safely or get out of the way. Those are your options.”
“You won’t be running anything from six feet under the ground. Which, incidentally, is exactly where Diego will put you if he thinks it’ll intimidate Honor into giving up her claim on that land,” Jake clipped, feeling himself growing angrier the longer Harmony stood stubbornly in front of him. “You think I’m on some kind of power trip here? No, God dammit! I know how these guys work! I know what they do to you if they think they can get away with it.”
“So do we,” Honor interjected with quiet dignity before her sister could respond. Eyes drifting over Jacob as he stood stiffly in front of Harmony, she asked, “Or, have you forgotten just how much Harmony and I have suffered at Tanner Suarez’s hands?”
Looking from Harmony’s mulish face to Honor’s remarkably impassive expression, Jake silently cursed. “I would never try to minimize what you’ve been through, Honor. Not ever. But Diego Fuentes adds an explosive component to this situation. If he’s pulling Tanner’s strings – and we’re almost positive he is- then an already bad situation gets exponentially worse here.”
Harmony crossed her arms over her chest. “Contrary to your opinion, I’m not stupid. I know this is a calculated risk, Jake, but I’m taking it. I’m not going to be this woman that sits here and hides while he gets to be out there living his life”
How could he make them both understand how serious this moment truly was? He had explained it to them all until he was blue in the face, and he had thought it had made a difference. Until now. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Harmony then at Honor. “Try to understand. Tanner has disappointed Diego. He made the guy think this would be a simple plan. He made Fuentes think he could breeze back into Paradise, intimidate Harmony, and get her to sign over the land. That didn’t happen. So, now, Tanner not only has us to worry about, but Diego, too. Men do not disappoint Fuentes and often live to tell the tale; Suarez knows this. He’ll be desperate to get back into Fuentes’ good graces, and a desperate men will do just about anything to save his own skin. We don’t want any of you caught in the crosshairs. Neither one of these men are going to give up and go away. Their motivations are entirely different, but their ultimate goal is the same. And that goal,” he said, leaning toward Harmony and staring in her mutinous eyes, “is to do whatever they have to do to you ladies to get that land. You’d be sitting ducks out the
re,” he growled, slicing a hand toward the window.
Harmony slammed her coffee cup down on the counter before she whirled back to Jake. “I’m not going to stop living my life because of a threat hanging over our heads. That’s not living! Tanner robbed me of enough of my life!”
“She’s right. We’ve handed Tanner and this Diego person enough power,” Honor agreed with a firm nod, throwing the dishrag she held toward the sink. “When Harmony goes to the café, I’m going with her.”
“The hell you are,” Zeke retorted, stiffening as his gaze swung toward Honor.
Jake threw his hands in the air. “Oh, so now you have something to say.”
“Now, we’re standing in my fucking barn,” Zeke growled, glaring at Honor. “And evidently, my kitten has lost her damn feline mind.”
“I am not your kitten,” Honor spat, grabbing the knife she’d been using to slice apples earlier and pointing it at him, “And by God, if you call me that one more time, I’m gonna use something a lot sharper than claws to carve into you!” she threatened, waving the knife in his direction.
“You’ve both lost your minds,” Abel muttered, shifting his eyes between Harmony and Honor.
“You don’t get an opinion, Asshat,” Patience retorted, turning to punch him in the arm. “For the record, however, I’m with Harmony and Honor. Cowering in the house isn’t really the McKinnon style.”
“No, it isn’t,” Faith acknowledged softly. “I’m in, too.”
“No, you are not,” Cain objected sharply. “She’s not,” he repeated with a look at Harmony.
“Cain,” Faith returned softly, turning to look at her husband.
“No,” he declared flatly. “No, you’re not putting yourself in danger, too. I almost lost you once through my own stupidity. I’m not taking any chances, and you damn well know why.”
“That isn’t the same thing,” Faith dismissed him. “This is completely….”
“No,” Cain repeated forcefully, wrapping his hand around her waist. “And they’ll agree with me when you tell them why.”
“Cain!” Faith hissed, going up on her tiptoes and jabbing a finger underneath his nose. “Don’t you dare!”
Tilting her head as she watched the exchange between husband and wife, Harmony zeroed in on Faith’s pale, uncomfortable face. “What’s he talking about, Faith? What don’t the rest of us know?”
“Nothing,” Faith retorted without looking away from Cain.
“Liar,” Patience said, her own eyes narrowing on Faith. “Her eye twitched! We all know that’s her tell. I saw it, Harmony.”
When Faith remained silent, Cain turned to stare at her sisters. “Faith is three weeks pregnant. We found out yesterday,” he informed them all calmly.
“What?!” Harmony yelled, jerking in surprise. “You’re pregnant?”
“Oh, my,” Honor whispered, steadying herself against the kitchen table. “Another baby.”
“Well, that explains the hurling on my shoes last night,” Patience muttered underneath her breath. “By the way, you owe me a new pair of Nikes, Cain.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell us something this important?” Harmony asked, blinking her eyes as she stared at her guilty-looking sister.
Shooting Cain a look that conveyed that an ass chewing would be imminent, Faith moved her focus to Harmony. “I wanted to wait until I was past the twelfth week marker. It’s still really early and if something happened, I just didn’t want to get everybody’s hopes up and then dash them. Nobody ever finds out this early. Not even the mother. Mr. Dependable over here, though,” she said with a nod toward Cain, “has my cycles memorized. I was a day late and he had me peeing on a stick. We confirmed it yesterday with blood work.”
Harmony beamed, hurrying toward Faith and hugging her tightly. “Still! A baby!”
“Congrats, brother!” Abel offered with a grin as he clapped a hand to Cain’s shoulder.
“It’s wonderful news,” Honor agreed with a gentle smile. “But, given your current condition, Cain is right, Faith. Unless he’s with you, from now on, you’re nowhere near the café.”
“What?” Faith balked. “What about sisterly solidarity?”
“Pregnancy trumps it,” Zeke stated unapologetically.
Watching as relief flooded Cain’s face, Honor sighed. “Faith, it’s one thing to take a risk when it’s just you on the line, but you’ve got a passenger along for the ride. A passenger about which your husband has an equal say. That, however,” she said with a pointed look at Zeke, “is not the case with myself, Harmony or Patience.”
Patience breathed gratefully “Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.”
“If that’s all it’s gonna take to keep your ass here where it belongs, give me a half hour upstairs with no condoms and I’ll solve this problem,” Jake said to Harmony in a low voice.
“Spoken like a true barbarian,” Harmony retorted, rolling her eyes. “My mind hasn’t changed, Jake. I have a client that expects her wedding to go off without a hitch tomorrow. She’s a bride that deserves a perfect day, and she’s depending on me to make that happen. Today, I need to meet with the preacher, the florist and the caterers responsible for the main course. Honor has to make the wedding cake and the appetizers. Our family restaurant is in chaos. This week alone, one waitress has quit and Aunt Orla needed to fire another one for stealing. Our employees are dropping like flies, and we can’t expect Patience or Orla to handle it all. We have responsibilities to fulfill.”
“I agree,” Honor backed Harmony up. “Our parents didn’t work as hard as they did for us to just let our business fall apart now.”
“Your parents would be screaming at the top of their lungs for you girls to keep your butts planted here where you’re all safe if they were alive, Honor,” Zeke returned severely. “They’d want you to put your safety first.”
“We can be safe at the café!” Honor countered. “Park your deputies all over the place. I’ll feed them pie and give them all the coffee they can handle, Zeke, but I will not hide in this house any longer.”
Holding up both hands, Jake barked out, “Will you two please just stop and think about what’s at stake here?”
Lifting her chin, Harmony glared at him. “I know exactly what I’m risking. And I’m telling you that I’m done with this. If Tanner and Diego want to find me, give them directions. You’re all standing around waiting for something to happen? Well, let’s make it easier. Maybe you’ll finally catch these monsters and we can all get the hell on with our lives!”
“Son of a bitch! You’re trying to use yourself as bait!” he accused harshly, slamming his fist against the kitchen counter. “You both are!” he yelled, shifting his gaze to an expressionless Honor. “Have you both lost your minds?”
Looking at Honor, Zeke’s face hardened. “You do not play games with these men, Honor Grace. You do not get anywhere near this, you hear me?”
Honor blinked. “Oh, I hear you,” she acknowledged softly. “Now, you hear me. I’ve let Tanner Suarez have the last piece of me he’s going to get. Not he nor Diego Fuentes is taking one more thing from me, including my freedom. I’m going with Harmony today, and not you, the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost is going to stop me, Ezekiel Monroe, so I suggest you find a way for us to do this as safely as possible.”
“Fuck!” Jake snarled, whirling on his booted heel and stomping toward the window, staring sightlessly out at the bright day as he tried to think of a way to talk them out of their foolish plan. The truth was that if Harmony was anybody else, he’d jump all over the plan of drawing out Suarez. But Harmony wasn’t just anybody, she was the woman he loved. And she was talking about a hell of a risk.
Staring at Honor a long minute, Zeke’s jaw clenched. “If something happens to you…”
“Then make it so nothing will,” Honor snapped impatiently, propping one hand on her hip.
“We’re serious, Jake. With or without your protection, I’m doing this. In fact, I’ve got a meeting with the fl
orist for the McCafferty wedding at the café in less than an hour. What’s it going to be?” Harmony asked, staring at him with resolute eyes.
“Shit,” Jake muttered, hanging his head. He knew Harmony well enough to recognize her ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ voice. Hell, he loved that sassy attitude when it wasn’t putting her perfect ass on the line. Turning, he locked eyes with her. “You’re never out of my sight. You arrange to take all your meetings at the café. And you are never, under any circumstances, to leave the premises. No matter what happens, you’ll keep your ass inside the café. And Heaven and Aunt Orla remain here with Ice.”
“Agreed,” Harmony replied breathlessly, her lips curving into a wide smile.
“No. Nuh uh,” he denied, shaking his head. “Don’t grin at me. I still think this is a huge mistake, but if you’re determined to go through with it, we do it my way.” Looking at Zeke, he asked, “Can you spare a couple of your deputies? Post ‘em around the café?”
“I do not like this,” Zeke bit out, not answering the question.
“Yeah, I think we all get that by the vein sprouting its own mouth in the center of your forehead,” Patience remarked dryly.
Ignoring Patience, Jake frowned. “You got something you can haul ‘em all in for and lock them up, be my guest, Sheriff. Barring that, even I’ve been around long enough to know this look they’ve got on their faces,” he said, sweeping his arm out to encompass all the women. “I don’t like it any better than you do, man, but they aren’t gonna let this one go.”
“Fuck.” Zeke swore again as he began to pace the kitchen floor. “I’ll pull two deputies for as long as I can and post them at the front and back entrances of the restaurant. I don’t have the manpower for any more than that.”
Jake nodded. “Then, we’ll make do. Between your men and us, we can make it work.”
“If something happens to one of them, Stone….”
“Again, you got a reason to arrest them?” Jake questioned sharply, his eyes glinting as they stared into Zeke’s.
“He does not,” Honor replied with a hard look at Zeke.
Hard as Stone (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnnon Sisters) Page 40
