Callahan Cowboy Triplets

by Tina Leonard

  “I don’t understand,” Tighe said as the old chief exited the kitchen. Thunder rattled the windows, though there was no storm outside. “You’re stubborn. Do you know that?”

  “Not as stubborn as you are,” River said. “I consider that a compliment.” She slid off the bar stool and headed out the door Running Bear had exited.

  “Where are you going?” Tighe asked.

  “To pack. See you at first light.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m still not sure how I got talked into this,” Tighe said as they left New Mexico behind. River sat next to him in a black stretchy skirt she said gave her belly plenty of room to grow, and a cute black lacy top. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head in a bouncy ponytail that made him want to kiss her.

  Actually, just about everything about River made him want to kiss her, and then some.

  “It’s the next leg of that journey you’re on,” she said. “No worries. We’re just taking the journey together. I hope that won’t make you feel crowded.” She giggled, enjoying teasing him.

  He wished her being along for the ride made him feel better. “You should be resting. Your feet should be up, and you—”

  “Tighe, this is probably a good time for you to keep those cute little opinions and phobias to yourself,” River said, patting his arm, “or this is going to be a very long, very tedious trip.”

  “I can take a hint.”

  “That’s good news!” She peered at her phone, going over directions. “The route looks pretty straightforward, so let’s develop our battle plan.”

  “I think any plans I ever had went completely out the window.” He wondered if it had been wise to make this rescue attempt with no other backup than his pregnant significant other. “I have an idea,” Tighe said. “Since I agreed to bring you with me, let’s get married in Montana.”

  “Once we rescue Fiona.”

  He blinked. “Does that mean that you won’t marry me if our mission doesn’t succeed?” It had taken Falcon months to get Taylor back home. He didn’t think he could wait that long to make River his. On the other hand, it didn’t seem he had much choice.

  She turned her head and stared at him. “We will succeed in rescuing Fiona. If you don’t, I will.”

  “I knew when I first saw you, slinking around Rancho Diablo, walking like a sexy panther, that you were the woman for me,” he said, happy to get that off his chest.

  “You think I walk like a panther?”

  He nodded. “Even though you and Ana have changed your hair color a few times since you first arrived, one thing that hasn’t changed about you is that sexy walk.”

  “Wait a couple more months. I hear a waddle sets in.”

  He laughed. “You’re going to get sexier with every passing body change. I can’t wait to see my triplets transform you.”

  “Your boundless enthusiasm for my pregnancy is very manly.”

  “It’s your determination that warms my heart. The fact that you set a task and do it. Like the night you seduced me.”

  “I didn’t actually seduce you,” River said.

  “You did. You got me tipsy and had your way with me.” He grinned. “Anyway, I believe this journey we’re on will bring us closer together. We’ll have lots of time to get to know each other on the drive, anyway.”

  “Yeah, about that,” River said, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

  He felt a slight warning tickle, dismissed it. “I’m listening.”

  “I think I brought bad luck to Fiona.”

  “Not possible, gorgeous.”

  “I opened the magic wedding dress bag.”

  The smile slipped off his face. “I thought you said you didn’t.”

  “Well, I did.”

  “That doesn’t have anything to do with Fiona.” His uneasiness grew. “It just means you weren’t comfortable with whatever was in the bag.” He slid a glance her way. “Am I guessing correctly?”

  If he was right, that didn’t bode well for him. He drummed on the steering wheel, noted River wasn’t swift in answering him. “This getting to know each other on a long drive is going to be a brilliant idea.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Maybe not that brilliant. “So are you going to tell me what you saw?”

  “I believe what happens in the attic, stays in the attic.” River looked at him. “Isn’t that the rule?”

  “I don’t exactly know the rules of the attic.”

  “But you were the one who said the Callahan brides never discussed what happened up there. It was their own personal emotional journey, you might say.”

  She was turning his own words against him. “You pride yourself on being a rule-breaker. I’m listening if you want to talk.”

  “It might be bad luck. Perhaps after we find Fiona I’ll tell you.”

  “But suffice to say it wasn’t your dream-come-true moment?”

  She sighed. “Aren’t I supposed to see my handsome prince? Isn’t that the wedding tale?”

  “I’m not exactly certain on all the ins and outs of the magic wedding dress, but I think it’s safe to say that most brides at least have some feelings of warmth and perhaps delight when they encounter their perfect dress. And then I think there’s something about the prospective bride—that would be the lady trying on the gown—perhaps seeing the face of her true love.” Tighe glanced at River. “You sure you didn’t see me?”

  “If you were the silent brother, you sure have changed.”

  “You’re avoiding the subject.” He felt a huge stone lodge in his chest. “You didn’t see me, did you?”

  “I didn’t see anything. I didn’t try it on. I assume that’s when the magic occurs. Unless something was supposed to happen when I unzipped the bag.” She shrugged. “Nothing did. Maybe you and I don’t meet the standards of the magic lore.”

  With some discomfort Tighe remembered Dante had said Ana had a similar disconcerting experience with the gown. He hadn’t paid too much attention to his twin’s ravings at the time. “Maybe I should have paid better attention to my brother’s misery.”

  “Probably not. Dante is really happy now. Sometimes it’s best not to get involved with sibling misery. Let people figure things out for themselves.”

  Tighe straightened. “River, do you have any brothers or sisters? Family?” He supposed somebody at the ranch knew all the particulars about her but he’d never heard any details. “I mean, is there a father whom I should ask for your hand in marriage?”

  “Tighe,” River said, “that’s really sweet. But it’s not necessary.”

  Why wasn’t it? Because she wasn’t going to marry him? There were moments with River when he had to breathe deep, look inside himself, to stay calm. The woman had more twists and turns to throw him off than a river, like her namesake. A long, winding river he couldn’t seem to tame. “When we get to Montana I want you to let me take care of everything. On this I insist.”

  “You just want me to sit here and look pretty?”

  “Could you?” He met her gaze. “Just this once?”

  “Not likely. I’ll probably have your back and still look pretty doing it.”

  He blew out a long breath of frustration. “It’s my aunt who is in trouble. You’re pregnant with my children. You see my problem?”

  “Yeah. You’ve got yourself in a real pickle, cowboy.”

  She was laughing. Completely confident in her ability to take care of herself, and him, and rescue Fiona, if she had to. And this wasn’t the kind of female to whom one could say “Stand down” because stand down wasn’t in her vocabulary.

  It was as if he’d met himself, in female form, only a bit wilder, a little more brave and courageous than maybe he’d ever been. The dark days of war were long behind him now, hidden places he didn’t really visit in his soul. Not very often, anyway. He remembered he’d been tough, and was comfortable being in survival mode—but he didn’t want River to have to be. “I view this trip as early recon, babe. Reconn
aissance. That’s it, and nothing more. Once we get the lay of the land, I’m calling for backup. Lots of it. Everything I need to get Fiona out of there. And you’re not going to play hero. Not with my babies. You agree to that, or I’m turning around right here, right now.”

  “Stop the truck.”

  He pulled off the highway at a beautifully wooded rest stop, switched off the truck. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She put a hand on his arm, slid it to his chest. “Tighe, I’m not making any promises.”

  “You have a problem with promises, don’t you?”

  “The kind you’re asking for, yes.”

  He took that in, allowed himself to drown in her eyes for a moment. “This was a mistake. I should have tied you to Sloan and Kendall’s twins so you couldn’t follow.”

  She glared at him. “Still enjoying getting to know me better, cowboy?”

  “It had to happen sooner or later.”

  “Yes, it did. I just want you to know that if I see a chance to grab Fiona, I’m going to do it, and I expect you to rev the engine and haul cowboy butt down the road. Are we on the same page now?”

  He gritted his teeth. Never had he wanted to kiss her so badly; never had he wanted to turn the truck around and head back to Rancho Diablo more than now. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

  “And I’m not letting anything happen to you.” She leaned over, kissed him lightly on his lips. He held very still, enjoying what she was doing to him, not about to move in case she stopped. He never wanted her to stop. But then she did stop, and stared into his eyes. “We’re a good team, even if I didn’t see you in Fiona’s enchanted attic.”

  “Maybe you didn’t really look,” he said hopefully, wanting to keep her close, wondering if he dared pull her to him and kiss her like he wanted to. “You could always try again. See if you get a different result.”

  “I don’t really believe in magic. So I didn’t expect to see anything. Trying again won’t change that, I think.”

  He gulped hard, remembering his brother’s angst over cursing the wedding gown. “I believe in magic, and spirits, and everything that can’t be explained.”

  She leaned her forehead against his. “I know. It’s one of the reasons I’m crazy about you.”

  His spirit soared. “You’re crazy about me?”

  “Yes, I am. When you’re being normal, like you are right this moment. Not when you start telling me how you think I should do everything. And most certainly not when you try to run my life.”

  He couldn’t help himself. She was so close, she smelled so good and he’d waited so long to be able to touch her that every chance he got was a chance he didn’t intend to waste. He moved to her lips, kissing her, lifted his hands to her shoulders and up into that beautiful hair. She was his life preserver, his reason for being—his reason for his journey—and he had no intention of ever letting her go.

  If anything happened to her, it would kill him.

  “Can I lock you in the truck when we get to Wolf’s hideout?” he murmured, after he’d reluctantly pulled away from her sweet lips.

  “Put that out of your mind, cowboy. Now get this truck in gear and let’s go. We’re a team, and you need me.”

  “I need you,” he agreed, and started the engine. He needed her, and his babies, and everything River meant to him.

  If he had to kill his uncle to keep his woman and his children safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

  He heard his grandfather’s voice echo “No” in his mind, loud and clear and so sharp he glanced at River to see if she’d noticed anything. She was deep into staring at the map on her phone, plotting.

  If it meant going against what he knew of life, and the spirits, and even his grandfather, Tighe would take the life of his uncle. To save what he loved most, it might be the only way.

  And that’s when he knew the truth.

  He had to be the hunted one.

  Chapter Ten

  The lair lay in an area so remote and distant, so shrouded from the main roads, that Tighe was amazed Taylor had lived here for months. Falcon had to have lost his mind while she was gone. Tighe couldn’t imagine River being away from him that long.

  It probably would do him in.

  “This is it.” River peered through some high-powered binoculars she’d pulled from her black backpack. “This is definitely the place. Guess who’s outside feeding the birds.” She handed him the binocs.

  He stuck them up to his eyes. “Aunt Fiona. She just went back inside the house.”

  River nodded. “And just behind you’ll see those two female bodyguards Taylor talked about. We know they’re the weak link in Wolf’s plans. We’ll work them over.”

  Tighe lowered the binocs and stared at the mother of his children. “Where did you get these? They’re military grade, with night vision.”

  She shrugged. “You wouldn’t have expected me not to come prepared, would you? You didn’t, surely.”

  He had a few guns, a hunting knife, nothing he thought he’d use. Some rope, some other odds and ends, a small explosive device Jace had tucked away in the truck bed at the last minute, saying it was “just in case the opportunity presented itself.” Meaning, if he got the chance to lay an explosive and blow Wolf’s hideout to kingdom come, the siblings wanted him to press Blow. “I’ve got a few things. Why? What do you mean, you came prepared?”

  She opened her pack. “Just a few equalizers.”

  He looked in it at the array of armaments, his jaw dropping. “You didn’t pack any clothes?”

  “We’re not here for tea and cookies, are we?”

  “No, but—” She was going to give him a cardiac event of epic proportions. “You’re not on the payroll at the moment!”

  “I believe I draw a salary at Rancho Diablo.”

  “Yes, but I mean, you’re just along for the ride, beautiful. Your role is to keep me company, not—” He glanced inside the bag again. “Holy crap, you’ve got enough stuff inside here to take out a lot of bad guys.”

  She zipped the bag closed. “We won’t need most of it. My specialty is getting in and getting out, sight unseen. That’s why I said I want you prepared to roll cowboy butt if I get the chance to grab your aunt.”

  He swallowed hard. “River, you’re going to have to marry me. You need to make an honest man out of me. You’re the only woman who thinks like I do.”

  She laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself. I think on a much higher plane. You’re too bogged down by worries. Compartmentalizing doesn’t appear to be your thing.” She got out of the truck.

  “Great Spirit,” he whispered. He looked out the window at River stretching the kinks out of her back and legs, and felt himself get turned on and fearful all at the same time. “That lady is my path, my life. And the stress just may kill me.”

  He got out to join her.

  “Okay, I think I’ve got a handle on this now,” he said, squatting next to her as she took cover behind a large boulder, spying with the binocs on the wooden cabin surrounded by trees at the top of the muddy road.

  “Good.”

  “Here’s the thing.” Tighe moved the binoculars from her face so she’d look at him. “This time, right now, you’re not a bodyguard. Not my bodyguard. You’re man number two, and I’m not a chauvinist. Can we agree on that much?”

  She smiled. “Now you’re catching on.”

  “Yes. Slowly.” He kissed her, because he couldn’t stand to look at her lips and not possess them any longer. “We’re equals, but you let me have override status on this mission.”

  “It’s your aunt, and your fight. I can agree to that.”

  “My God, you’re sexy.” He’d give a million dollars to get Fiona out of there, toss a small grenade into the dump, put Fiona on a plane home and take River to a quiet place in the woods to make love to her until her pregnancy would no longer allow it.

  “Focus, Tighe.” She handed him the binoculars. “Everything else can wait.”

&nbs
p; He looked toward the cabin. “There’s Uncle Wolf. I’m pretty sure he’s made us.”

  “He made us two minutes ago. That’s okay, we weren’t really trying to hide. And he was expecting us. We don’t want to disappoint him.”

  Tighe looked at River. “How do you do this?”

  “I’m highly trained. And unlike you, my mind is on the mission.”

  “You’ve blown my mind so badly it’s all I can do not to just sit and stare at you. All I think about is getting you in bed with me again.”

  “Tell you what.” She smiled at him, laid her head on his shoulder. “You rescue Fiona, and I’ll leave my nightstand light on for you.”

  His heart beat hard. “All I have to do to get back in your bed is break into a camp, overcome half a dozen bad guys and a couple of bad girls, and rescue a little old lady? And you’ll sleep with me?”

  “All night long.”

  He grinned. “River Martin, I’m madly in love with you. Just remember I told you that.” He kissed her one last time, handed her the binoculars and walked into the open field to meet his uncle.

  If he was the hunted one, then Fiona should not be the one to suffer.

  * * *

  RIVER WATCHED TIGHE walk away, wondering if facing Wolf down was the best plan. Just to be certain, she got out a gun with a silencer and aimed it toward Wolf. Running Bear might be against shooting his son, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do it. She could wing him, give Tighe a chance to retreat.

  She lowered the gun. Tighe wouldn’t retreat—he would fight. And it wasn’t her place to shoot Wolf.

  “But I can rescue Fiona.” Taylor had told her the location of the bedroom she’d been assigned, as well as that of its window, and how Running Bear had managed to communicate. Getting up, River skirted around through the woods to the back of the house while Wolf’s attention was on Tighe. She found the window Taylor had described to her, and peered inside. Sure enough, she could see Fiona’s rubber-soled boots next to the bed, though Tighe’s aunt wasn’t in the room.

  This could be a setup. Wolf would expect them to look for Fiona in the most obvious place. “Which is why we’re not falling for the boots-in-Taylor’s-room trick,” River muttered. She moved to the next room, peeked in the window. Two twin beds, both unmade, were cluttered with a few changes of ladies’ clothes. Some shoes and socks lay scattered on the floor. This would be the bedroom of the two women who’d been kind to Taylor, after a fashion. “Messy. It’s a wonder Fiona doesn’t whip their butts into shape.”