by Jane Jamison
Power? Yes, they were powerful, but that wasn’t quite right.
Size? No, their size didn’t make her nervous. She liked men who were built, with broad shoulders and muscles rippling with every move.
Sexuality? Yes, but again, not exactly on the nose. But close. Very close.
Animal-like magnetism.
That was it. They gave her chills, as though she was watching a huge, deadly animal that could tear her throat out with one quick swipe of its paw. She reconsidered the idea.
No. They wouldn’t tear out her throat. But her heart? If she let them, would they rip out her heart?
The idea was silly. They were nice men, good men who had come to help her. Yet, she couldn’t shake the impression that there was so much more to them. More that was just under the skin.
“Did you get settled in all right?” The question was ridiculous considering there was no way they couldn’t have found the bedrooms. Her clothes and Melly’s were scattered over their two bedrooms, leaving no doubt that those two rooms were occupied.
“Sure did.” Jax took a sip of his drink. “Ah, good and hot, just like I like it.”
Had he looked at her when he’d said the word hot? She glanced away. What was wrong with her anyway? She wasn’t the type to get shy around men, no matter how special they were. Yet the feeling that these men were more important than any men she’d ever met struck her again, even harder, making her feel unbalanced. It was a good kind of unbalanced, but still…
She forced herself to think rationally, which, of course, had nothing to do with any kind of sexual tension. She made quick calculations. “I know we talked about this earlier, but I can’t let you guys work without getting paid. I can’t pay you much—”
“Doesn’t matter what you can pay.” Darton set his cup down on the table.
“It doesn’t? I mean, of course it does.”
“Nope. It wouldn’t matter to us if you paid us a dollar a day or a hundred dollars a day. We’re not taking your money.”
Was it simply what neighbors did in Brimstone? Or could she hope they were doing it because it was her and not out of a neighborly sense of responsibility? She thrust that idea aside. Her father had just died, and they were doing her a kindness, nothing more.
“I don’t feel right not paying you something. You’re getting other men to cover your work on your ranch, right? It’s only fair that I pay you what I can. Like I said, it won’t be much, but I have to give you something.”
“We don’t take money from neighbors.”
“But, Jax, it’s not fair. How about I hire the men who are working your ranch?”
They each gave her a strange look. “Why would you want them instead of us?”
I wouldn’t. Not ever. “I don’t, Jax. But they’re getting paid, right? It’s only right that I pay them.”
“We don’t want anyone else watching over you.”
At first, she wasn’t sure how to take what Darton had said. Watching over her? Like she was a child? Or was it something different? “I’m a grown woman. I appreciate your help, but surely the hired hands can steer me in the right direction. You don’t personally have to do it.”
“Yeah, we do. And it is personal.” Darton’s expression grew firm, hardening his features. “The decision’s been made. Let’s just drop it, okay?”
She didn’t want to argue. Truth was she would’ve been disappointed if they’d said yes to using their hired hands. “Okay.”
Jax sipped his coffee and made a face. “I don’t suppose you have any creamer, do you?”
“Yeah, he’s a pussy,” joked Darton.
“Watch what you say, man.”
The mood had lightened, giving her space to breathe. “Sorry, I don’t know. I haven’t had time to see what food and condiments everyone brought. It’ll take me a month to eat all that food.”
“Not with us around.” Jax stood, startling her yet again as he reached past her to check the contents of the cabinets. “I’ll bet there’s creamer around here.”
“Once I get things sorted out, I’ll make a run to the store. Brimstone has a grocery store, doesn’t it?”
“Sure, but don’t worry about it. We’ll give Georgie Ripe a call and have her send her boy out with whatever you need. Georgie runs the Ripe Time Grocery and Mercantile where you can get almost anything you want. If she doesn’t have it, she’ll order it for you.”
“Okay. Thanks. But only if it’s not too much trouble.”
Jax chuckled, the sound reaching deep inside her. “It’ll be no trouble for Georgie. She’ll probably make the delivery herself so she can check things out.”
“I see. So Georgie’s a gossip?”
“One of the best,” joked Jax.
She let a moment of silence pass between them. “So the food part is settled. Now back to payment. Again, I don’t feel right not compensating you for your hard work.”
“If you want to give us something, I can think of something we’d like a lot more than money.”
Was Darton making another joke? Or was he serious? “I’m not a commodity, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She could easily see herself taking them to bed but not in exchange for payment of services rendered.
Ed scowled at his friend. “Don’t listen to him. His jokes suck.”
“Shit, honey, I didn’t mean it that way.” His black eyes appeared to darken even more. “I’d never think of you as anything less than a lady. I meant that we’ll enjoy getting to know you. Shit. I did it again.”
She enjoyed his obvious discomfort, but didn’t have the heart to tease him. “You mean as friends and neighbors, right?”
“Yeah.” His frown lessened. “That’s what I meant.”
She wasn’t sure it really was, but it was okay. “Thank you.”
“Still, we’re good on the payment part? We’ll do the work because it’s the right thing to do. We’ll sleep and eat here, and that’ll be more than enough payment.”
“Shoot, Colby, we’re taking advantage of you. Once the food the ladies brought is gone, feeding us is going to cost you a fortune,” joked Jax.
She liked them, not only as great-looking men but also as clever, funny men. Her liking them was the easy part. The harder part was what they did to her body without even touching her. How much more would they scramble her brains if they kissed her? Or, better yet, show her what it was like to be with three men?
Where had that thought come from? Not that she hadn’t thought about having sex with more than one man before, but this time was different. More real. More possible.
“So we’re good to go, babe?”
She nodded, answering Ed’s question. “I just hope you haven’t gotten yourself into a mess. After looking around the ranch as little as I have, I can tell there’s a lot of work to be done. Once you check it out, knowing more about the operational aspect of the business than I do, I’m sure you’ll say there’s even more work to be done.”
“We can handle it. After all, it’s not like we haven’t had the same problems on our ranch. Your father had a tough time of keeping things running, especially since he couldn’t keep hired hands on for long. They always ended up working for room and board, and no pay. Even when they tried to stick around, sooner or later he’d end up running them off with his sparkling personality.”
Darton snorted “Sorry. I don’t mean to talk ill of the dead. Your old man wasn’t the easy person to deal with, but everyone has their own way. People tried to help him, but he didn’t much care. Said he didn’t want our kind on his property.”
“Your kind?” From their quick exchanges, Darton had said more than he should have. “Is there something I should know?” Were they ex-cons? Drug dealers? Liars and cheats? She couldn’t imagine any of them being something so awful.
“Nah. Old Man Trayner—” Jax winced. “Sorry again. But your father didn’t like most people. He made it pretty damn clear.”
“Tell us about you.” Ed held up his cup, silently askin
g her to fill it up again. “You know how a small town works. People talk, but what they say isn’t always accurate.”
“There’s not much to tell. I used to come to visit my father during the summer months after my folks divorced, but when I got a little older…” She shrugged. “You know how it is. Teenagers don’t want to hang out with their parents, especially not when their dad lives on a ranch and not a city with lots of things to do and other teens to hang with.” Her tone was light, but a pang of guilt hit her, stronger than she would’ve imagined it could.
“Yeah, it might be tough. Harder for girls than boys, I’ll bet.” Darton skimmed his fingertip along the rim of his cup.
“What is it you do for a living?” Ed leaned back in the chair.
“I’m in advertising. Or, at least, I was,” she hurried to add, anticipating their thoughts. Most people thought a career in advertising was exciting, even glamorous at times. But that was only in the movies and television. “I sold ad space for newspapers and websites. Pretty boring and monotonous stuff.”
“If you say so. Did you like it?” asked Jax.
“I used to.” Her gaze darted toward the back of the house. “I don’t any longer.”
“And you think you’ll like running a ranch better? It’s a hard life, especially if you haven’t grown up on a ranch. The hours are long, and the work is dirty.” Darton’s gaze skimmed her. “Working with cattle and horses isn’t the kind of thing most city girls want to do.”
She understood Darton’s skepticism. Hadn’t she had the same thoughts? “I understand, but I’m ready for a change. I liked being on the ranch as a kid. My father had me getting up early and going to bed with the setting sun. Hauling hay, cleaning stalls, and all the other chores are things I’m not used to doing any longer, but I’ll pick them up again pretty fast.” She sighed, wishing she’d visited her father more often in the past few years. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I won’t be able to make a go of it. If I’m wrong, then I’ll sell it. But I want to give it a try first.”
“That’s what Rick was up to, wasn’t it? He’s trying to get you to sell?” asked Ed.
“Yes.” She didn’t want to sound harsh, but she wanted to get their input. “What do you think about him? Is he a good guy?”
“I don’t like to talk bad about anyone, but Rick’s a liar and a cheat. If you want to sell, then sell, but I’d think hard and long before I sold anything to him.”
“Really?” Yet it wasn’t difficult to believe. Rick had struck her as a slimy piece of work.
Darton’s smile crooked his mouth to the left. “We could tell you didn’t like him much. You must be a good judge of character.”
“Am I? I’m letting three men I don’t know move into my house in exchange for free labor. Most people would say that shows a lack of common sense. Forget about being a good judge of character.” Strange that she hadn’t given it any thought until now. Was her attraction to them to blame?
“You can trust us.” Darton fisted a hand over his chest. “You know you can.”
The fact was she did. But could she trust her instincts? With her mind going off-kilter, maybe she needed to rethink things.
“Look, Colby, if you really want us to leave, we will. We’ll come back in the morning and get to work.”
Jax and Darton threw Ed a hard look, but they didn’t voice their complaints. Instead, they shifted their attention to her, waiting for her reaction. This was her chance to be safe, to tell them to leave. Or would she be missing an even greater chance if she didn’t ask them to stay?
“Other than trusting my gut, which may be off lately considering that I just dumped my boyfriend and quit my job to move to a small town and run a ranch”—she smiled, letting her words sink in— “why should I trust you?”
They took a moment before they answered. Ed struck her as the more practical one of the three, so his answer didn’t surprise her.
“Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you we’re straight-shooters. I know it’s an old-fashioned term, but it suits us. We don’t lie, we don’t cheat, and we sure as hell never take advantage of a woman.”
“If you want, you can call around. We can give you some numbers of folks who know us well,” offered Jax. “Go ahead and ask them what they think. Trust me. The people around here don’t mince words and don’t worry much about offending anyone.”
“Colby, we’re good guys. Sure, anyone can say they’re trustworthy, so you should go ahead and ask around. We do what we say, and we stick by our word.” Ed hooked one ankle on top of his knee. “We’re not from around these parts, meaning we didn’t grow up here, but we came to Brimstone because we wanted to make it our home. This is where we belong. We’re not going to do anything to screw that up.”
His sincerity hit her. Trusting them was easy. Maybe too easy. Still, she let him continue.
“You’ll find out that most of Brimstone thinks the same way. If a man’s not worth his salt, then you’ll hear about it. For the most part, however, we’re like other folks around these parts. We work hard, we fight hard, and we love hard. And in between, we do our best to do what’s right by ourselves and our neighbors.” Ed paused as though searching for what more he could say to convince her. “We don’t have a resume that’ll give you references to check, but like we said, you can ask around and get the real scoop on us. Besides, it’s not like we’re going into business with you. Our word is our bond, and we take that as seriously as it can get. If you don’t want to ask anyone, and if our word isn’t enough for you, then like we said, we’ll leave. But either way, all you have to do is call, and we’ll come running.”
Not only were her instincts telling he was as upfront with her as anyone had ever been but her head told her the same thing.
“This is fucking bullshit.”
She sucked in a hard breath as Darton came to his feet and was on her before she could move. He towered over her, his large body forcing her to step away from him until her back was against the counter. His eyes flashed a red color that was gone before she could be sure it had even existed. His jaw twitched as he gritted his teeth, and she would’ve sworn she saw a tiny spark of flame burst from between his clamped jaws and disappear.
Okay, now I know I’m stressed out when I start seeing things.
Even then, she was surprised when he didn’t kiss her. Surprised and disappointed.
She didn’t have time to dwell on what she might or might not have seen. Darton slapped his hands on the counter and put his face so close to hers she could feel his breath on her face.
Damn it. Kiss me.
“You can check us out if you want, but you know you can trust us. I can see it in your eyes.”
He flattened his palm against her chest just below the hollow of her neck, and she let out a small yelp. If he lowered his hand enough, his fingers would caress her cleavage. She found herself hoping he would.
“Stick to what you believe, and you’ll never go wrong.” His gaze dropped to her mouth then came back to her eyes. “Do you believe you’re a strong woman?”
She swallowed, suddenly unsure, but not wanting to admit it. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Do you believe you can do anything a man can do?”
Again, she struggled to match the truth with her answer. “Yes.” If she set her mind to it, she could.
“Do you trust your gut? Not just about the ranch, but about us?” One eyebrow lifted just a little in question.
“Yes.”
“Are you answering for both?”
“Yes.” Her voice had grown stronger. More confident.
“What’s your gut telling you?”
To kiss you.
Her attention flicked to his strong, masculine mouth. Her gut and her need wanted one thing. Her head, however, told her not to give in.
“That I can do this.” She stood up straighter, forcing him to ease back.
His smile captivated her. “What else?”
“That I can trust you guys.”
>
He pushed away and retook his seat. “Then you’d better damn well start acting like it.”
“Take it easy, Darton,” warned Ed. “She’s had a hard enough day.”
“Yeah. I know.” He cleared his throat. “Look, I don’t mean to make it tough on you. I’m only trying to help.”
“I know, and it’s okay.”
“We could make you feel better.”
Her gaze locked to Jax’s. “You can?” The craving clawing at her began again.
“Sure.” Passion burned in his eyes. “Let us take you upstairs. I promise you. Give us thirty minutes and you’ll forget about everything.”
Ed crossed his arms. “Damn it, Jax. We just got finished telling her she could trust us, that we’re not three perverts trying to take advantage. Then you go and say that.”
“Yeah, Jax. Watch your mouth.” Again, Darton’s mouth twisted at the corner as his hot gaze landed on her chest then slid upward to her face. “Unless you like the idea.”
Ed stood, taking Jax’s arm and pulling him along with him. “Come on. Let’s let her get some rest.” He pushed his friend toward the living room. “Don’t let them get to you, Colby. We’re not as dangerous as we seem.”
“Hell no. We’re worse than dangerous.” Jax laughed as he twisted toward her. “We’re addicting.”
She couldn’t help but laugh in return. How could three sexy men be so much alike and yet so different? Jax was the one with the jokes, Ed was the serious one, with Darton in the middle, a nice blend of his two friends.
Darton tipped his head to her as he followed his friends into the living room. They plopped onto the worn-out couch and rested their boots on the coffee table.
“Don’t mind us, honey.” Darton reached for the television remote. “We’ll stay out of your hair and let you get some rest.”
“Unless you want us in your hair,” joked Jax. His gaze slid to between her legs as though he could sense how wet she was.
She felt the color rise to her cheeks yet again. Smothering a smile, she made herself look away and started for the stairs. Halfway up the steps, she turned to look at them. As soon as she did, a fresh wave of need flushed over her.
