Cowboy Rough [Men for Hire 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Jane Jamison

She started to take the duffel bag, but Sienna pulled it out of her grasp. “Um, no thanks. I’m good. I never would’ve taken you for—” She clamped her mouth closed, belatedly thinking that she might insult her.

  Miss Daisy led the way into the living room and took a seat on the floral couch next to the matching love seat. “You’d never have taken me for being Miss Daisy. Have I got it right?”

  “Well, yeah. I don’t mean to insult you or anything.”

  “Shoot, no. You didn’t. I know I don’t look like a Miss Daisy and I’m not the Miss Daisy who started the place. That was my great-grandmother, God rest her soul.” She gave Sienna a forgiving smile. “I’m only part Japanese. The rest of me is as Oklahoman as red dirt.”

  “Oh. I see. Do you still take in guests?” The scent of freshly baked chocolate cookies drifted to her and her stomach growled. “Sorry. I guess I forgot to eat lunch.”

  Lunch kind of skips your mind when you’re busy stealing from a thief.

  “Yes, I still take guests and you’re more than welcome here. It can get kind of lonely this time of the year. Other than the occasional drifter cowboy or sightseer, not many people come around nowadays. Go on. Leave your bag and purse and come with me. Oh, and call me Daisy. I hate being called a miss or a ma’am or any of that stuff.”

  She hesitated, hating to leave the duffel bag. But to bring it along with her would draw unwanted attention and possibly make Daisy suspicious. Instead, she placed her purse on top of it then shoved both under a nearby table.

  “Don’t worry. Your things are safe here.”

  Judging from the glint in Daisy’s eyes, she didn’t miss much. She’d already picked up on the fact that Sienna didn’t want anyone messing with her things. Checking around to make sure no one else was there, she decided to take the chance.

  She followed Daisy through a swinging door, paused to look back at the duffel bag and almost reconsidered her decision, then stepped into the bright, airy kitchen. A pan of cookies rested on top of the stove, drawing her attention from the sunshine-colored walls and scores of family photographs. The kitchen wasn’t anything fancy with its country wallpaper and laminate countertop, but it exuded warmth and comfort.

  Daisy took a spatula and scooped up cookies onto a small plate. She placed them on the rectangular table that looked like it had come out of a 1950s diner, motioned for Sienna to take a seat, then turned to the refrigerator.

  “What’s your poison, honey? Warm milk?” She eyed Sienna. “Or would you rather have a hot toddy? As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to wait for cold weather to enjoy a little nip now and then.”

  “So you wouldn’t think badly of me if I wanted the hot toddy?”

  “’Course not. I offered it, didn’t I? Besides, no judgments here. Especially when I want one for myself.” Taking the worn tea kettle from the stove, she filled it with water then placed it on the burner. “Is tea all right? A shot of whiskey along with tea and honey does the trick for me. But then, everyone makes their hot toddy to suit their own tastes.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She wasn’t sure it would’ve mattered. Daisy was already getting the tea out of the cabinet along with honey from the refrigerator. “So can I assume you have a vacancy?”

  “Honey, you’re the only one here. You can have the best room in the house. Next to mine, of course.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, more secure about leaving the bag in the other room. “I’ll take it for at least one night. Especially since my car just gave up the ghost.”

  “Dang, girl, you’re not having a great day, are you?”

  She smiled, acknowledging Daisy’s words. “I’ve had better.”

  “We can see about getting someone over to look at your car tomorrow,” offered Daisy. “So you know my name, now what’s yours?”

  She hadn’t realized that she’d forgotten to introduce herself. “I’m sorry. I’m Sienna North.” As soon as she’d said her name, she realized that she’d made a mistake. She should’ve used a fake name. What if Dan made it to Destiny and started asking after her?

  Shit. Why didn’t I think to change my name? Hell, I should’ve changed my hair color and gotten a different car, too. If Dan gets wind of me hiding in this little town, I’m screwed.

  The whistle of the tea kettle broke her out of her worry. Daisy quickly combined all the ingredients for their hot toddies then set a cup in front of Sienna.

  “There’s nothing better than a hot drink laced with a little whiskey to take the edge off your worries. Am I right?”

  “You’re right, Daisy. It does.” She glanced around, giving her time to steady her jangled nerves.

  Daisy bit off a piece of her cookie. Her dark eyes settled on Sienna, studying her as though she was a germ under a microscope. “So spill. What’s going on with you?”

  She almost choked on the sip she’d just taken. “I’m sorry?”

  Daisy rolled her eyes, making her look even younger than she already did. “Come on, Sienna. Running a bed-and-breakfast lets me meet a lot of people, and I pride myself on being a good judge of them, too. But even a blind man with a hood over his head could see that you’re running from something.” She leaned closer. “Or is it a someone who’s got you on the move?”

  She knew she should tell her a lie, but then she found she couldn’t. Whether it was her woman’s intuition or the booze in the tea making her decision, she found that she wanted to tell Daisy. Her words stumbled out of her as though the whiskey had loosened her tongue and had it flapping in the wind.

  “You’re right. I’m on the run from my boss.”

  “No shit? Pardon my French, but why? If he’s a lousy boss, why not just quit?” A frown marred the pretty young face. “Unless he did you wrong. Like maybe putting his hands on you? Did he make you do things not in your job description? Did he threaten you?”

  Sienna took another sip, needing the liquid heat to fortify her. Why was she telling a stranger when she hadn’t even told Melissa? And yet, she needed to tell someone and telling Daisy didn’t feel like it would be putting her in any danger. Daisy struck her as a stand-up kind of gal that wouldn’t let her down.

  “No, it’s not like that.” Dan had tried to put the moves on her several times after Shelby’s birth, but she’d given him hell for it and he’d finally stopped.

  “Then what?”

  She sat her cup down and took a moment to regard the young woman. She was an idiot for telling Daisy, but so far, she hadn’t done much of anything right. Why should she stop now?

  “I stole from him.”

  “Shut the front door!” Daisy’s mouth dropped open as she slid her gaze over Sienna, obviously reevaluating her. “You stole from your boss? And you’re telling me?”

  “Yes to both questions.”

  Daisy jumped up to grab the whiskey bottle then sat down again and poured more liquor into both their cups. “I’m sorry, Sienna. That’s the last thing I expected to hear. But I’ve got to tell you. You must not be very good at this stealing thing. I mean, I’m no expert, but even I know you don’t go around telling people you just met.”

  Damn, did I make another mistake?

  “No, I guess not. I just felt like you’d… Oh, hell, I don’t know.” She ran a hand through her hair, then slumped into her seat. “I’ve messed up big time.”

  Daisy took a long drink, suddenly going quiet. At last she spoke again, easing Sienna’s discomfort.

  “You might as well tell me everything. Why did you steal from your boss? Aside from the obvious answer that you needed money.”

  “No, that’s not it at all. I mean, yeah, sure, who doesn’t need more money? But that’s not why I did it.”

  “Then why?”

  Sienna had to make her understand. If she did, then maybe it wouldn’t seem like such a stupid move on her part.

  “My boss stole the money first. What I mean is that he’s an accountant and he skimmed off his client’s accounts to line his own pockets. I didn’t know
enough to see it at first, and even once I did, I didn’t want to acknowledge it. Daisy, meet Miss Ostrich.”

  “So he stole from his customers? I get that. But why not call the police? Why take it and run?”

  She held the cup in her hand, hoping the warmth would take away the chill inside her that came every time she thought about her situation. “I didn’t call them because I knew he could make it look like I was part of it. And I guess I was, if only because I looked the other way. I can’t, I won’t go to jail because of what he did. I just can’t. I have too many people counting on me.”

  Daisy let out a low whistle. “Wow. That really sucks. So you decided to take the money and run instead?”

  “Yeah. I stumbled across the combination for his safe in the back of the office and when I opened it— Hang on. I’ll be right back.” She hurried from the kitchen, grabbed the duffel bag to plop on top of the table, then unzipped it. She shoved the pajama bottoms and tank top out of the way then plopped back into her seat. “Take a look.”

  Daisy eased forward as though she expected a snake to jump out of the bag and bite her. Once she looked inside, her eyes grew into large ovals. “Holy shit!”

  “Yeah. It’s a hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  Daisy shook her head in wonder. “That’s more money than I’ve ever seen.” She glanced around her at the windows with the shades pulled up and zipped the bag.

  The fearful expression on Daisy’s face tore at Sienna’s heart. She hadn’t meant to bring trouble into her new friend’s life, but she had. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you about any of this. It’s just that I had this overwhelming need to tell someone, and I get the impression that I can trust you. But don’t worry. I’ll leave even if I have to walk.”

  Daisy grabbed her arm as she started to stand and brought her back to her chair. “No you don’t. I haven’t heard the whole story yet. Why’d you steal from him? I get that you can’t call the cops, but why not just leave and get out of the situation?”

  “Because I had this crazy idea that I could return the money to the people he stole from. I have a copy of his client list noting how much he’s taken from everyone.” She hoped Daisy wouldn’t think too badly of her. “Plus, he’s the father of my little girl, but he’s never paid a dime to help out. I figured he owes us, hell, owes her some money along with the amount he was supposed to be investing for me. If he goes to jail, she’ll never get what she deserves.”

  “Okay, I can see that, too. And I like it. As long as you do it in a way that doesn’t incriminate yourself. But what’s to keep him from taking more of their money now that you’re gone?”

  “He’s already ripped off most of their money anyway. And when I return the money to them, I’ll let them know what happened. If they want to press charges, then they can. By then, I hope I’m far enough away that no one will bother looking for me or my child. Including him.”

  “So you’re playing Robin Hood, is that it?”

  She hadn’t thought of it that way before, but she was, wasn’t she? At least a little bit? “I guess you could say that.” Not that it made her thievery any better.

  “And you were planning on using my little B&B for your hideaway, weren’t you?”

  Was there a hint of anger in Daisy’s voice? But then, she couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t thought about the fact that she might be putting Daisy in harm’s way by staying at her place. “Yeah, I was. I wasn’t thinking about anyone except myself. Again, I’ll leave. But please, please don’t say anything about this to anyone.”

  “Sorry. I can’t do that.”

  Now it was Sienna’s turn to have her mouth drop open. “What? Are you calling the authorities?”

  Daisy was on her feet and digging through one of the kitchen drawers. “I know I’ve got their number somewhere. Here it is.”

  Sienna took the card that Daisy handed her. “What’s this?”

  “You need more help than I can give you. Plus, these guys can keep you safe until you can return the money to its rightful owners.”

  She studied the simple print on the card. “Cowboys for Hire? Are you serious? I’m talking about having stolen a hell of a lot of money, not wanting to go to a rodeo.”

  Daisy’s smile was back. “Trust me. You take that bag of money and head up to the second floor and the first room on your right. Once you’re settled, call that number and ask for a man by the name of Gabriel. Trust me. You won’t regret it.”

  Chapter Two

  Sienna sat on the bed covered with an eyelet bedspread and looked at the card again. She’d looked at it so much since she’d come upstairs and dropped her bag on the floor that she had the number memorized.

  Cowboys for Hire. It sounds like a male strip joint. Or handymen who dress up like cowboys.

  Sure, unlike LA, Oklahoma had real cowboys, but she’d never heard of an organization by that name. But Daisy had been adamant that she give them a call.

  “Ask for a man by the name of Gabriel.”

  Sienna punched in the first three digits of the phone number.

  “Trust me.”

  Even after living in the big city she’d always managed to trust in the goodness of people. But after Dan, should she still be so trusting? Yet she couldn’t deny that she trusted Daisy.

  If I can’t trust someone like her, I can’t trust anyone.

  She finished dialing the number and waited as the first, then the second ring came and went. A third ring never sounded. Instead, a man answered the phone.

  “Gabriel here.”

  Oh, holy shit. There really is a Gabriel.

  “Um, hi. I got your name from a friend.”

  “Yeah? How can I help you?”

  Could he help her? Could anyone really help her?

  If she’d had another option she might’ve chosen it. But she didn’t. Cowboys for Hire was her only choice unless she wanted to keep running for the rest of her life.

  “My friend said you could help me. I–I’m in trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble? You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

  He sounded gruff with an underlying tone of compassion. Yet all at once, she found herself unable to tell him everything. She’d risked telling Daisy, but it was different when she couldn’t see into the eyes of the person she needed to trust. And telling her story over the phone was even harder. What if he called the police? No, she had to play it safe. “There’s a man after me.”

  “What do you mean when you say ‘after you’? Has he threatened you with physical harm? Is this a husband, boyfriend, or a stranger? Again, I need more information to know whether I can help you.”

  She heard the lie coming out of her mouth and hated herself for it. Yet she couldn’t have stopped herself if she’d tried. She was through making stupid mistakes even if it meant lying to the man who might be able to help her. “It’s my husband. I took off because he beat me.” She sucked in a breath. If this Gabriel man checked with Daisy, he’d know she’d lied to him. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

  “Are you safe where you are right now? If you’re in immediate danger, you need to call 9-1-1.”

  She gritted her teeth and told herself she had no choice but to continue to lie. “Yes. I think so. But I don’t know for how long. Please, can you help me?”

  “What’s your name? Where are you?” His tone was urgent now. She heard him cover the phone then heard his muffled voice talking to someone on his end.

  “My name is Sienna North and I’m at Miss Daisy’s B&B in Destiny.” She glanced down at the number again. The area code was local. “Do you know the place?”

  Again she wondered about giving him her real name, but she’d already given it to Daisy.

  “Yeah. Did Daisy give you my number?”

  Shit. Now I’ve dragged Daisy into the lie.

  But she was already in too far to turn back. “Yeah. Please, can you help me?”

  “I can and I will. Stick to your room until we get t
here.”

  “We?” Who else was coming besides Gabriel? More cowboys?

  “My men are going to come and get you.”

  “How will I know it’s them?”

  “You’ll know. If you’re in doubt, ask them to show you one of my cards.”

  That made sense. She doubted Big Dan would know anything about Cowboys for Hire. “Okay. But hurry, all right? I don’t like having Daisy in the middle of this.”

  “I understand. Just do as I said. Stay there and ask for the card.”

  She was still holding the phone to her ear when the call ended. Had she made a mistake in trusting Gabriel? She groaned and lay back on the bed. Before finding out about the theft of all her boss’s clients, she’d never been so indecisive. Now she was second-guessing everything.

  She stared at the ceiling and choked back the tears. If she started crying, she’d cry all night. And she wasn’t about to give in. She couldn’t. Not for her sake or for Shelby’s.

  “Just hurry, Gabriel. Please.”

  * * * *

  Sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing. I could’ve retired on the ranch and had an easy time of it.

  But Gabriel knew he could never have done that. After losing his wife in a brutal murder, he felt compelled to help as many women as he could. With the help of his men, of course.

  Gabriel picked up the phone that was a direct line to the bunkhouse. Short Dave, called that because he was at least six feet, eight inches tall, answered the phone.

  “Yup, boss?”

  Damn, how have many times have I told him not to call me that.

  “Don’t call me boss.” Gabriel stared out the window of his office at the lights in the bunkhouse. The structure was actually a barn converted into housing for most of the men who worked for him. They came from various backgrounds and ethnicities, but they all had one thing in common. They hated to see women hurt, especially by abusive husbands or boyfriends.

  The men worked with him, more than for him. Most, but not all, also worked the ranch and were fine cowboys as well as men who gave their time and put their lives on the line for women in need. Once they’d proven their loyalty to the organization, they were given the choice of living in the bunkhouse or claiming a few acres of their own and building their own place. Some of them had already done so, but the rest were still waiting for that right woman to come along.