Operation Ginger Avenger

by Heather Rainier

  The man who came in first had long, shiny black hair, plaited into a thick braid that reached the middle of his back. His features were fixed in a hesitant but tender expression, with eyes only for Erin.

  Thinking it was inappropriate to stay and risk eavesdropping, Jessica opened her mouth to speak, and Kate placed a hand on her forearm and gave her head a tiny shake. To be honest, Jessica wanted to know what was going on with them, too.

  One of the men, Matthias, she thought, removed his dust-coated black felt cowboy hat and quietly said, “You okay, Erin?”

  “Of course she’s okay. She just doesn’t want to admit she liked it,” the other, Luka, said, leaving his hat on, simply kicking it back on his head as he journeyed into the kitchen. He’d allowed his hair to grow longer, too, but it was left loose and had a slight wave to it.

  Matthias put out a hand to stop his brother. “I think you’ve done enough for now. Let it simmer a bit.”

  Luka snorted. “I’d say she was simmering just fine, earlier.”

  “Shhh-shh-shh!” Erin uttered in a stuttered rush. Judging by the noise, she was gesturing at the living room.

  Luka murmured something Jessica couldn’t make out, but Charity evidently had, judging by the way her eyes popped wide.

  “No. No, Matthias. Luka, stop. It’s not going to work.”

  Luka chuckled and whispered. Charity’s jaw dropped, and she put her hand over her eyes and shook her head.

  Does the woman have enhanced hearing? But she was closer to the kitchen, across the living room.

  “No,” Erin said sharply, her ire obviously aroused. “I’m not Teresa 2.0, and I’m never going to be. You assholes need to find someone else to push around.”

  Kate whispered, “Bless their hearts.”

  “Oh shit,” Charity said softly as another shadow came close to the French door and tapped on it, an insistent, not-to-be-ignored sound. Jessica squinted and recognized Angel’s high cheekbones and facial structure in the shadows under the cowboy hat. He did not look pleased.

  “This ain’t over,” Luka ground out as he returned the way he’d come as the ladies sat back in their seats and looked innocent, like they hadn’t been eavesdropping. The man never saw them as he stalked out the door, past his brother.

  Matthias spoke quietly in a consoling tone. “I’ll call you tonight.”

  A tiny, feminine growl came from the kitchen, followed by a sigh. Jessica could see his face in profile as he backed up, a sweet smile on his lips, his gaze trained on her.

  “Fine. But I’m still mad at him, and I’m going to stay that way, damn it.”

  His lips curled up, and he blew her a tiny kiss before he turned and nodded to the occupants of the living room. “Ladies.” He didn’t say he was sorry for the interruption or anything, just turned on those long legs and sauntered through the French door.

  Apparently not caring anymore that they’d had an audience, Erin stalked over to the back windows, and crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed dejectedly. “Assholes.”

  All pretense gone, they joined her at the window as the brothers sauntered toward the huge first barn, the closest one to the ranch house, where Languir, Esperer, and the rest of the Andalusians were stabled.

  Angel walked with them, and it was plain what was being said because Angel was using his hands as he spoke, pointing at the back doors, at the upstairs, and at the two brothers. Loosely interpreted, that confrontation wasn’t going to be repeated in the ranch house, and certainly not while Grace was upstairs napping with the newborn baby, and they weren’t good enough for Erin. The last guess was purely conjecture until Luka yelled back and flipped his middle finger at his older brother. Just then, Ethan stalked out of the barn, headed in their direction.

  “Oh shit,” Erin said, sounding tired. “Not again. I can’t watch.” She backed away from the window.

  “What?” Kate said, peering out. “Oh. You know, that Ethan Grant is one fine specimen of a man, especially when he’s got his back up. My goodness, he’s got quite a solid right hook. Oh, ouch.”

  “What?” Erin said, rushing to the back door.

  Kate laughed. “Sorry, sweet girl. I was just curious. Nothing happening out there but a man letting another man know that he’d better treat his sister with respect, and not like some Saturday night hook-up.”

  Erin frowned but then smirked at Kate. “Well, that ain’t ever gonna happen. Mine may be the only panties in the whole town of Divine that they haven’t gotten into, and it’s going to stay that way.”

  “Having seen you with them a time or two over the years,” Grace drawled as she came downstairs, “I’d say it’s just a matter of time before those steel-clad lace knickers go flyin’. Watch Mama work.”

  Grace sailed right out the back doors, and all traces of testosterone flew away on the wind as every nearby cowboy came running, including a couple of hands, which Ethan waved off.

  “Now,” Kate said, pointing at Grace with a grin on her face, “I’m not saying that women manipulating men is a good thing, or always the right thing, but…Ethan did look like he was gearing up to make use of that right hook. Look at them now.”

  Grace joined the main culprits in the backyard leading to the barn, allowing Ethan, Angel, Matthias, and Luka to draw her into the shade. In November. Grace stroked Ethan’s cheek and let him hug her and then proceeded to do a little gesturing of her own. She gestured at the upper story of the ranch house, signaling there was a baby sleeping up there and they were disturbing the peace. Then she turned to look back at the French doors, talking the whole time, and then took Luka and Matthias each by the hand, and she loomed closer and closer to them until she was inches from them and face to face with Luka.

  Erin chuckled and smirked. “Ethan ain’t got nothin’ on Mama Grace.”

  With their free hands, Luka and Matthias removed their hats while Angel and Ethan looked on in ill-disguised amusement.

  Matthias gave her that beguiling sweet smile—which made Erin sigh even at a distance—and Grace patted his cheek.

  Luka wasn’t so lucky. He got a finger in his face as she continued, and judging by the mulish expression on his face, he didn’t appreciate her thoughts on the matter. Matthias said something to him, and Luka’s expression suddenly showed regret and his shoulders slumped and his head hung down a notch from its prideful erectness. Each man offered her a hug, with a nonverbal apology for getting her dusty, and Ethan got a kiss for his trouble. He watched his wife as she turned to come back to the house, and all the ladies giggled at the way he tilted his head as he watched her walk away. He shook his head as he smiled and said, What a woman.

  Angel nodded once, pointed at her, and then had more choice words with his brothers. Judging by the twinkle in his eyes and the way he smiled while he spoke, he must’ve said, You want a woman like that you’re going to have to rise to her standards.

  Luka looked a little stunned that he’d just had his ear figuratively yanked for him, but even he had to smile at the comment. He shaded his eyes and evidently spotted Erin standing at the window because he had the audacity to blow her a kiss and waggle his phone in the air.

  “Gag me,” Erin said, but her cheeks were still pink as she turned to go back into the kitchen.

  “Whatever, girl,” Charity said as she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and handed it to Grace when she came back inside.

  “What did you say to him? To them?” Erin asked.

  “That’s between me and them, but I told all four of them if they didn’t pipe down they were going to wake Callie Beth, and they’d already succeeded in waking me up.”

  “You were right, Kate,” Abigail said with a giggle. “There’s never a dull moment around here.”

  Grace chuckled and put her feet up on the ottoman as she cracked open the bottle of water. “What were y’all talking about before the Testosterone Boys made their presence known?”

  “I was just about to ask Charity what her men are up to
these days since Val and Ransome are retired from bounty hunting.”

  “They’re working together now. Justin’s donated one of his works of metal art to the live auction this weekend. I almost hate to part with that goofy looking bear. It’s the funniest thing you ever saw. I hope it fetches a good price. Val and Ransome helped him to design and weld it.”

  In the way it often does, the mind chews on a thing, some little item that doesn’t make sense, doesn’t add up, or fall into place with the rest of its puzzle pieces, waiting for a moment when the brain is distracted by other pursuits, and the pieces fit together by themselves. Something had been nagging at Jessica for days, making her question if she’d remembered to turn off the oven, unplug the curling iron, verify she had on underwear and shoes before going in public.

  And then, in the midst of the mundane, like a bolt of lightning, that piece snapped into place. “That’s it!” Followed by a count in her head of the days. “Oh no!”

  “What?” Grace said, holding out a hand to her, concern in her eyes.

  Jessica looked around at the Lusty ladies.

  Kate put her hand on Jessica’s forearm. “What is it, Jessica? Don’t stand on formality. Maybe we can help.”

  Jessica looked from Charity to Grace. “I’m assuming that you’ve been brought up to date about Four Bits?”

  Grace gave a perfunctory nod and summarized the preceding events for the Lusty ladies.

  “That rat bastard!” Bernice said.

  Abigail said, “What’s happened, Jessica? Did you remember something?”

  “I am the worst friend ever. I don’t know how I forgot.”

  “Uh, you’re a tad busy these days,” Grace said.

  “What is it, Jess?” Charity asked, coming to sit on her other side on the coach.

  “Four Bits told me he was a welder. I mentioned Justin, Val, and Ransome to him, by name. If he spent time as Trevor Dornan’s cellmate, you can bet he would recognize those names.”

  “Why?” Bernice asked with puzzlement in her brow.

  “Because Val and Ransome were the ones who found me and set me free from Dornan.”

  “Probably saved your life,” Charity said, clasping Jessica’s cold hands in her warm ones. When they still looked confused, Charity explained Jessica’s kidnap and captivity, as well as how she came to live in Divine, trying to get away from Dornan.

  “Charity, if Trevor sent Four Bits after me to take revenge, I think it’s safe to say he’s coming for Val and Ransome, too. But it was days ago he said that. In all the hubbub, it slipped my mind. I’m so sorry.”

  Charity shook her head. “My guys are very security conscious, on job sites, at the workshop, and at home. We need to let them know, but they can handle anything Trevorina Dornan or his evil minion can throw at them. We’ll let them know and don’t worry about it anymore.” She took her phone out. “I’ll be right back.”

  While she was gone, Jessica went to the back windows to watch the work happening on the ranch. Normally, a delayed revelation like that would set off panic instincts. Her heart would pound, she’d need to hold on tight to Bella, and she’d want to go home, to retreat to the safest place she knew. But standing there, she didn’t feel any of those emotions. Sure, she was upset with herself for forgetting such a key fact. But she felt safe. Then the reasons why she felt secure appeared in the doorway of the big barn. With Jack between them, Tank and Troy walked toward the house. They were both big, solid men and they moved with a masculine grace that was impossible to look away from.

  So what if, once upon a time, she’d felt a little like a damsel in distress and they’d been her knights in shining armor? She didn’t feel like that helpless victim anymore. It hadn’t been them that’d saved her from captivity, but it was them that made her and Bella feel safe. Loved.

  Her heart clenched almost painfully, and she had to blink to keep the tears from pooling.

  She loved them. The realization made the breath she drew in a little shaky. I’m so in love with them, and I’ve never said so.

  Some little sound drew her attention, and she realized Kate was standing beside her. “You know, there’s a certain symmetry to the three of you. They definitely do justice to their ginger coloring, although you really need to get on them to wear sunscreen. You, with your pretty dark auburn hair, are the perfect match for them. Are you truly doing all right these days, Jessica? I know getting over what happened to you can’t have been easy.”

  “It was hard. Grace and all my friends helped a lot, and they”— she gestured to her men—“were incredibly patient.”

  “Do you have trouble with nightmares? I know from experiences at home that PTSD has a way of popping up at vulnerable moments.”

  “Sometimes. Memories will come back crystal clear and I have to work to push them aside, especially if I want to sleep. But Troy has nightmares, too, he says. He…gets it, I think.”

  Charity came back in the front door and said, “Believe it or not, they were already braced for the unexpected. When Hank filled them in on what had happened, they put it together but didn’t say anything because they didn’t want me to worry.”

  “Good,” Jessica said, relieved that at least Justin, Val, and Ransome were on the ball.

  Tank and Troy came in the back door with Jack. After greeting the ladies, they looked to her, and Tank said, “Did you have a good visit? We thought we’d take you out to eat tonight.”

  “What’s the occasion?”

  “No occasion, we just want to squire our girls around a bit.”

  Jessica giggled at his word choice and at the squeal that came from down the hall. Bella must’ve heard their deep voices because she came running.

  Jessica promised Erin that she’d bring Bella back to the kids’ ranch camp for the big charity fundraiser weekend coming up.

  Erin was still looking out the back windows when they left the house. Jessica smiled, believing that if those younger Martinez men really wanted Erin they’d make good on upping their standards, or whatever it was Angel had told them earlier.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  In the truck on the way to town, Tank put his hand over hers on the console between the front seats and said, “Brian called earlier and wondered if he could join us, just for supper. He said he had something he wanted to give to you. Would that be all right with you? He said it could wait if you’d rather it just be the four of us.”

  His hand was so warm and solid on hers it took a second before his question registered. “No, it’s fine if he joins us. Bella seems to like him, and he’s been nothing but nice to me.” She’d also heard from Lydia that Chance and Clayton thought he was a jack-of-all-trades, and pretty handy to have on the ranch. He’d already managed to fix a couple of pieces of heavy equipment for them, more than making up for his room and board on the ranch.

  “Did he say what it was he wanted to give me?”

  “No, just that it was something that rightfully belonged to you and Bella. Not to change the subject, but Mom called. Do you by chance have a Christmas sweater?”

  After thinking about it for a moment, she shook her head. “I’ve never been able to justify spending money on a sweater that I can wear only under limited circumstances. But I can get one.”

  “Would you? Lila, one of my sisters, just had her first baby and she wants to do a Christmas sweater portrait with the whole family. My mom wants to use it for our Christmas cards this year, and she wants for you and Bella to be in it.”

  Blinking big, Jessica looked up at him and said, “How do you feel about that? Would it be weird? I don’t have to be in it, you know? That should be your call. And you won’t offend me if you think it would be too weird. I’m not…” She looked in the backseat. Troy was carrying on a conversation with Bella about how awesome Rose Marie was, but he glanced at her and smiled, the warmth in his eyes making butterflies swirl in her gut.

  Tank stroked her cheek, and the fluttering sensation grew in her stomach. “They’re going to me
et you and fall in love with you and Bella. You might as well consider yourself claimed by the Drummond-Burnett clan.” He’d already explained to her that the Thanksgiving gathering was both of their families combined since so many of the Burnett siblings had married Drummond siblings. “Your days of low-key quiet holidays are at an end, baby.”

  She’d always wondered what it would be like to be a part of a big family and to have lots of siblings and family members to care about. “Then I guess I’d better go shopping.”

  “Mom wanted to know what size Bella wears. I think she has a whole shopping spree planned. I told her I’d let her know.”

  “Oh, hold up there, Tank. I’m not okay with Bella being showered with toys. I like for her to appreciate and enjoy the few things she has. I don’t want her getting spoiled.”

  “I think Mom is more of a mind to clothes shop for the little princess,” he said in a lower tone that Bella wouldn’t be able to hear.

  “Oh…well…I guess that’s okay.” Bella was growing fast, after all. “I just don’t want her to become a brat surrounded by toys and treasures she doesn’t appreciate.”

  “She won’t. We’ll make sure of it.”

  “Do you want me to shop for a Christmas sweater for you?” She could tell by the way he talked about it that he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of the Christmas sweater.

  “No,” he said with a trace of disgruntlement. “I made the mistake of letting Mom pick a Christmas sweater for me. It was battery-operated and came with matching reindeer antlers.”

  “Cross my heart. I would never do that to you,” she replied, merriment building until she finally burst into giggles. “I can’t wait to meet your mother. Are there pictures of you in that sweater?”

  He growled but then couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m sure there are, knowing Mom. I’m begging you, if she wants to show you the past Christmas portraits, say no, at least for this year. It’d just be too embarrassing. Besides the sweater, I need to Christmas shop for my favorite girls, as well.”