Triple K Set

by Beck, J. L.

  “Wow!” Maggie stared at the magnificent tree, then she looked all around. She spotted Jet as he helped unload a truck. OH, NO. Her breathing picked up. “Well, I got 2 rooms left. then I will be able to help set up the reception area.”

  “All right. I could sure use your help.”

  “Well, I figure I’d better be filling in, seeing as Brea shouldn’t be working her own wedding and all.”

  “Well, your Daddy paid for all of this, the caterers too. Except the flowers and decorations, Cole did that.” She shook her head.

  “He did?” Maggie asked. Then she noted Mable’s huge grin. “What?”

  “Well, it seems that one of my sons is gonna get married.” She looked over at Maggie. “Two…if Jet gets his way.”

  Maggie felt all the color leave her face.

  Mable snickered. “Yep. He seems to think you and him will.”

  Maggie gulped. She didn’t know what to reply. Like…NO! Your son is just tinkering with the idea of it all. Like he’s playing at it. ‘Let’s pretend to be Cowboy Ken And Double D Barbie, Getting Engaged play set.’ But she couldn’t be telling his mother that!

  “You don’t think he’s serious?” Mable studied her face.

  Shrugging her shoulders, she looked anywhere but at the older woman. “He’s—well, I’m just not sure what the heck is happening.”

  Mable nodded. “Well, I can tell you what I see.”

  Maggie swung her curious gaze back over.

  “He has changed in just the short time you have been around. Like that there.” She motioned her head to where he was helping another man carry a long crate. “Him pitchin’ in and the like. Nope, the Jet I knew would be out at the bar right about now. Since the day is almost gone. Whoopin’ it up in a Honky Tonk with some woman on his arm.”

  Maggie bit at her lip. Like it was an Olympic event. She remembered his words of earlier.

  “So…I ain’t meanin’ to interfere, but maybe you should consider him as serious?”

  Maggie said nothing as she watched the subject of this very conversation move around and work just as hard as the other cowhands. His muscles flexing and his stride full of confidence. God dammit, he is one hot cowboy. She sighed. “I will try.”

  “Now, I don’t mean for you to just roll over and give in too easy. The man deserves to earn it. Especially THAT one.”

  Maggie smiled and felt relaxed for the first time since this chat started. “Yeah. Now, we ARE agreeing about something, Miss Mable.”

  Mable let out a laugh. “Yep. I do think you may just be the woman for this job. Smart and not about to take any shit. You remind me of someone.”

  Maggie gazed up at her. “Oh? You mean Daisy?”

  Shaking her head, Jet’ mother snickered. “Nope. Me!” She grinned. “Back in the day, when Slade went after me? He got a face full of dirt several times over. I thought of him as the James Dean of cowboys. Good looking as a morning sunrise, but all skirt chasing and diddle dallying.”

  Maggie snickered at her old timey phrases. Like did she really mean he dallied with his diddle? These Texans and their sayings.

  “He went through hoops God dammit and he kept coming back for more.” Mable sighed.

  Maggie stared at her faraway look. “So, is that like a Texas type ritual? The man comes bringing flowers and the girl tosses dirt into his face? Like the more dirt you throw, the more he knew he had a chance?”

  Mable halted and stared over at her. She then let out a huge laugh. “Dammit, Jet was right. You got wit!” Her laughter grew.

  Maggie grinned. “Yep. And if the woman hit him across the face with a shovel, he would know he just got to second base.”

  Mable now had tears on her cheeks. “What hoot you are!” She slapped her thigh. “I imagine it was a bit dangerous for a cowboy being around women like us. One false move and BAM! Two by four to the head.” She swiped her tears away with a happy sigh and then stared over at the Kincade tree again. “They say don’t mess with Texas, but I think it should be don’t mess with the WOMEN of Texas.” She gazed steadily at the huge tree which was now decorated with long white streamers.

  Maggie watched her and knew she was returning to a back in the day memory probably. “I just wonder how it would feel to have a love of your life type thing?” she pondered aloud.

  “I think you already have it. You just don’t know it…yet.”

  Maggie shook her head, feeling a bit braver since the woman was so ‘tell it like it is’. “My dad never loved again after Daisy left. Not that he spoke of it often, but he told me that there was one special person out there for everybody.”

  “Then again, sometimes there might be TWO,” a deep voice spoke from behind the women.

  At the voice, Mable looked as if she just got gut punched.

  Maggie swung around to see a man about her dad’s age, but a bit older maybe.

  He stood tall and wide shouldered. Total cowboy, like most of the men around here. Except this man had a determined jaw and flint like blue gray eyes. Those eyes were pinned exclusively to Mable.

  Oh, wow. Maggie looked over at the usually Calm, In Charge Mable as Brea once called her.

  For a second, Mable looked anything but calm and cool. Then before Maggie’s very eyes, she changed her entire demeanor as she schooled her expression, slowly turned around and faced him. “Why, if it ain’t Jared Noble.”

  He tipped his hat at her and smiled.

  Maggie felt a jolt at how that smile transformed his face. He was almost as handsome as her dad…almost. She grinned. Damn, there’s sparks flying all over the place here! She surmised.

  “Well, have you come lookin’ for those red headed brats of yours?” Mable asked in a teasing voice.

  Maggie went stiff. Oh, Crikey—this is Valeen’s dad? EEK. I just washed her hair in Foaming Bubbles a half hour back!

  Jared shook his head. “Nope.”

  Mable peered closer at his face and her expression looked a bit alarmed by whatever she saw there.

  “I came, because it’s been years and now…it’s time.”

  Mable lost two shades of color.

  Maggie clasped Mable’s hand and squeezed, feeling like something wasn’t right here. Was this one of those range war things, or did they have some kind of family feud going on?

  Jared took off his Stetson and placed it in front of him. “I came to officially court you.”

  Maggie stared at Mable. She’d never seen her at a total loss before. Her gaze swung over at the smiling Jared who quietly held is hat in his hands. She dropped the older woman’s hand and stepped back. “Ummm—I gotta…yeah.” She turned away and strode across the lawn.

  “Maggie!” Jet called from behind her.

  Oh, crap! I just can’t face him yet! Seems I am like Mable after all. Brave and mouthy till some over the top hot man comes along and rocks my world! She rushed into the house and up the stairs. Finally getting to the landing, she halted. Dammit, I left the cleaning stuff in Bat Shit Crazy’s room. You mean WET Bat Shit Crazy. She snickered, then remembered seeing another closet in this long hallway. She made her way over to it and opened the door. There was an actual cart with everything already in it. Well, dummy you! I didn’t have to drag all the cleaning supplies up here like I did.

  She wheeled it out and headed down the hall. Halting at a door, she leaned in to knock.

  “Ohh, that feels sooo…” a woman’s voice cooed from inside the room.

  Brea & Cole’s room. Her fist dropped down. “Oh, my…” She stared all around. Okey-dokey. Well, they don’t need ANYTHING right now. She giggled and moved to the next room. She knocked and waited. No response or any…Lovey sounds. She giggled a second time.

  Grabbing a small basket that already had supplies stocked in it, Maggie entered the room—she halted. Oh, wow. This is Jet’s room. She somehow knew this immediately. She went to back out and froze. No, I gotta do my job. Taking a deep breath, she went on in. You’re scared of his ROOM? Stupid. Like the bedspr
ead will rise up and manifest his form then stomp towards you like a sex starved Frankenstein.

  The scent of the room instantly assailed her. Holy stars! He does have a scent and I am sensitive to it! Chicken Hawk Aqua Velva? Or maybe Cowboy Sundae Joop? Shaking her head with a smile, she turned to the bed. It was neatly made and didn’t even looked slept in. The man is neater than his mother is! No junk, trash or food wrappers. No clothes laying anywhere. Her face flamed as she remembered what he looked like without a shirt. She stood still, while remembering other things. A few days ago in fact. His brand of seduction and it was nothing like any guy had ever tried with her before.

  He’d planted sweet, soft kisses all over her collarbone, neck, cheeks, forehead and lips. By the time he made the rounds, her body felt like it had turned to molten liquid and would ooze right off the couch to the floor in a pool of pitiful Maggie jelly.

  “Every day, I’m going to sit you down here and show you how I feel about you, until you say two words.”

  Maggie was panting and she tried to sit up. “Two—words?”

  Jet had nodded his head and switched his hands to her other breast and butt cheek. Then continued with the hot blazing trail of kisses along her upper body.

  “Have Mercy?” she had weakly whispered the guess.

  Chuckling, he laid her back on the couch. “Nope.” He then grabbed her feet and rubbed them.

  He in fact, gave her feet a complete massage. Maggie now shook her head. HE RUBBED HER FEET! Who in the hell does that? What man does that?

  Glancing down, she saw that his side table had a drawer halfway open. Maggie bit at her lip. No…NO! I will not…Her feet moved along the floor, despite her brain warning her not to. She slid the drawer open. A ring box lay there. She raised it up. Is this? No, it can’t be. The logical voice in her head shouted…

  PUT. IT. BACK.

  With shaking hands—she did. As she set it down, she saw a piece of paper.

  Handwriting? Oh…I just have to know! Her hands shook. Then as if she were two different personalities, that voice piped in again. Don’t go there, Mags. Snooping and invading his privacy. She remembered his smug smile this very morning, as he tossed his Stetson to a chair in her room while saying, “I have seen ALL of you already.” She lifted the stationary up. Yeah that’s right. He has invaded my privacy several times over!

  …I don’t know what to do. I have never felt like this before. I may lose her if I move too fast. She doesn’t trust me. Who can blame her? I want to treat her like a queen. Show her she is everything to me.

  Maggie sucked in a breath. Is he talking about me? No, it can’t be.

  …Maggie is the wildest, smartest, funniest woman I have ever met.

  Maggie’s head shot up while she felt stunned. HE IS TALIKING ABOUT ME! Her gaze dropped back to the page she held.

  …and I sometimes don’t even know—

  A creak sounded outside of the door. She gasped and laid the paper down. Panicked, she gaped at the door. She could hear male voices. Maggie could just imagine getting caught. Would he be mad? Or would he then know that she knew and then knowing, he would have her cornered. Because once someone knows a thing, they will have to face the thing. Only the thing is—she would be at the Cowboy Chicken Hawk’s mercy. With a wicked supreme victory gleaming from his sexy blue eyes, he would swoop down, pick her up and she would be done for.…Her mind kept ranting with panic. She peered down and swiftly moved the letter to the way it was and laid the ring box gently on top.

  The door opened. Tall, dark and Stetson strode in. He stopped in his tracks. “Mags?”

  Hiding her trembling hands, she nodded. Mute with fear and a huge guilty conscience, she then moved to his bathroom, to look as if she was about to clean it. She gazed around. Well, smooth move, you left the cleaning basket by his bed, you stupid snoop slut! Turning around to go and get it, she ran right into the brick wall that was his chest. “Oomph!”

  Jet smiled and grabbed her arms to steady her. “Honestly, you’re cleaning my room?”

  Maggie fought hard to look and act casual, despite the hot hands on her skin. “Yeah! What did you think a housekeeper would be doing?” She tried to sound confident. Yeah, just like the little chick boldly sashaying across the yard while about to be Hawk Lunch! She needed to rely on her smart-ass mouth to stay alive here. Maggie gazed everywhere but at him. “But, there isn’t much to clean here. Who knew that under that Stetson you have a clean shaven head and are actually the REAL Mister Clean?”

  Jet looked startled as his hands dropped from her arms, then he gazed around at the room too. Getting the joke, he tipped his hat back and began to laugh hardily.

  Maggie found herself staring open mouthed at the very sexy, very amused Cowboy Sundae. God dammit all to hell in a hand basket and top it off with French fries. He’s just like Mama D would say about some of the stripper men at the stud ranch. ‘This man is a meal deal on legs!’ Her mouth even watered as if his very presence made her thirsty or something.

  He slowed his laughter and sighed. “I keep realizing that I can’t remember laughing so much in all my life, Mags girl. There is no one like you. But the fact is, you’re my fiancé and you shouldn’t be doing this job at all.”

  Maggie stared at him. ‘You’re my fiancé’…He is serious! You read that letter, he REALLY is. She swallowed and found she suddenly, didn’t even have enough spit in her mouth to do the job. I’m gonna choke here, seriously choke to death from shock. She coughed.

  His eyes narrowed with concern. “Are you okay?” Jet propelled her to the bed and sat her down. “Wait here. I’ll get you some water.” He rushed across the room to a small fridge.

  Maggie watched him as the shock really set in now. He has been serious all along. He does want me and he meant every word he said this morning. Her head whirled and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Jet Kincade wants to marry me, treat me like a queen, he said. The room spun around her.

  “Mags?” he asked while standing right in front of her holding a bottle of water.

  Shooting straight up off the bed, she gazed around in real panic as her heart pounded and then she grabbed her basket while her hands shook like a junkie on Main Street who needed to score. Then she did something Maggie Monroe had never…ever done before—SHE RAN AWAY.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The topper to my shitty day…

  VICTORIA

  Victoria made her way down the stairs and out to the back. She’d better be doing her job. After her morning was used up. Being fooled, stripped, run ragged and then she went and toilet bowled her own sister? Yes, it’d already been a full day.

  She helped with unpacking the crates, setting up chairs and more streamers. Then she stood aside and watched all the activity.

  “Miss Victoria?”

  Her heart jumped. It was Breen’s voice. She would know it anywhere now. She turned to smile at him. “Hello, Breen.”

  He tipped his hat at her. “Miss Mable assigned me to help you with any lifting and unpacking we needed to do in the big house dining room.

  She batted her eyes at him. Oh, yes that would be part of her job. “Okay, come on with me.” She headed to the side door and went around the corner of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks.

  Valeen and Jude were planted up against the building in a smoldering kiss, their hands all over each other.

  Breen stumbled into her and grabbed her arms. “What the?” He looked around her. Then gazed down at her face.

  She let out a breath and shook her head. Squaring her shoulders, she walked on past them with Breen following behind her. She opened the door and went in.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Breen said quietly.

  Shrugging, she huffed. “It’s their business. That man is a bit too caveman for my tastes anyways.”

  Brea grabbed her arms gently and swung her around.

  Gasping, she peered up at him.

  “First, I want to apologize for what he did to you. And s
econdly, are you sure seeing them like that didn’t bother you?”

  She nodded her head. “I felt surprised not bothered. Because well…”

  He titled his head back. “Because…?”

  “Well, Valeen went on and on about how he wasn’t good enough for me and all.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “But, I never cared about that kind of thing. What surprises me is that she is still with him.”

  Breen looked relieved. “So, you wouldn’t mind goin’ out with…just a regular cowhand?”

  Her eyes locked with his. “I never thought about it that way. Cowhand, ranch owner, fancy pants salesman, uppity stock broker, the guy at the Jumping Clown restaurant?” She laughed. “Who the hell cares? It’s the MAN that matters, not his station in life.”

  Breen look relieved.

  Victoria wondered if he would now ask her out.

  Breen grinned. “Well, let’s get to work I guess.”

  Disappointment flooded her. Maybe my sister’s behavior just ran him off that path. With all that crap this morning.

  Clearing his throat, he took her hand. “Victoria?”

  She shook her distraction away and smiled at him.

  Pulling her to him, he gently gave her a kiss on her lips.

  Stilling, she kissed him back. Maybe he’s not the type to be scared off?

  “Hey now!” someone shouted.

  The two broke apart.

  Victoria turned to see her father striding across the hall. “Daddy?”

  Her dad looked angry. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” He glared at Breen.

  The cowboy squared his shoulders. “It’s called kissing, sir.”

  Victoria sucked her breath in. Oh, no! Her dad would not take kindly to—

  Jared Noble punched the younger man square in the face.

  “Ohh!” Victoria shouted. “Daddy stop!”

  Breen staggered back, blood seeping from his mouth. He then stepped forward again.