BRANDED BY A CALLAHAN (12 page)

Chapter Thirteen

The early hours of the morning of the Christmas ball began with four inches of snow on the ground and a lump of coal in Dante’s heart. “That’s not right,” Dante muttered, peering out his bedroom window. “It’s not a lump of coal in my heart. It’s probably ice from a certain lady that I can’t seem to warm up.”

“Must you talk to yourself?” Tighe demanded, meeting him at his bedroom door with a cup of coffee. “Tonight’s our big night, bro. We are the stars, the honey to the bees, the big men on campus. It’s going to be awesome!”

Dante slurped the coffee, tried to keep up with Tighe’s blather. He felt better knowing that Ana would save him tonight. Maybe it was playing dirty pool, but he didn’t care. Did he want to be with Ana or a woman he didn’t know?

It was simple. Ana. No question.

“I’m looking forward to being the big cheese,” Tighe said cheerfully. “I hope the woman that wins me is drop-dead sexy, and smiles a lot, and wants to kiss me all night long.”

“I hope she’s a hundred years old and wants you to rub her feet,” Dante said sourly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

“Yes, there is.” Tighe followed him into the kitchen, watching as he popped a slice of coffee cake into the microwave. “How could you say such a thing to your twin? I only wish you the best! Well, not the best,
I
want the best, but you know what I mean. I’ll get the most beautiful woman at the ball, and you get the second most beautiful. That’s my optimistic outlook.”

“That’s shallow,” Dante pointed out. “Not everything is about looks.”

“No,” Tighe agreed with a hopeful expression, “it’s all about getting naked.”

“I hope not.” The only woman he wanted to see naked was Ana, but it seemed those days were past.

“I heard,” Tighe said as the microwave dinged, “that ten women have pooled their resources so they can bid on me. Ten ladies, all to myself.” He sighed with joy. “Sheer heaven.”

Dante sighed and sat down to shovel the coffee cake before he ran late for chores. “Listen, you can have whoever buys me—unless it’s Ana,” he said, the stroke of genius hitting him belatedly. “Or someone else I know and could stand taking out for an evening. Like our sister.” Maybe Ashlyn would take pity on him if Ana decided not to help him. There was no telling with women.

“You’ve really got a thing for Ana, don’t you?” Tighe looked at him curiously. “Have you ever considered just telling her?”

“Have you told River about your thing?”

“No, but she seems to be otherwise attached. Ana’s not, as far as we know. I guess there could be someone back in Gopher Gap—”

“Buffalo Gap,” Dante said. He pushed the coffee cake away, not wanting to think about Ana having “somebody” back home. “How much did the victim go for at the last auction?”

Tighe looked at him. “I have no idea. Why are you so worried? You should be thrilled to be the object of desire. It may be the only time in your life that you’ll be a rock star, bro.”

“I just don’t need that much ego stroke.” He looked at his brother. “I award whoever wins me to you—unless it’s someone we know.”

“Can’t do it. Wouldn’t be fair to Fiona,” Tighe said, suddenly turning purist. “She’d get in all kinds of doo for false advertising, and that would hamper any future auctions. We just can’t let that happen. It affects too many people. Can’t you just relax and enjoy being hunk o’ the holidays?”

“Not exactly. Never mind.” Dante headed to the barns. He hoped Ana wouldn’t change her mind about saving him. He’d given her two hundred bucks with which to bid and offered her a dinner. Maybe he should have thrown in an additional incentive.

Thing was, she really didn’t seem to want anything from him.

She
couldn’t
let him down.

“Hi, cowboy,” he heard, and Dante turned.

“Hello,” he said to the tiny brunette standing in the barn. If his mind weren’t so stuck on Ana, he probably would have called this tiny doll adorable. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, yes,” she said with a smile. “I just came by to sample the goods before I bid.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him the smooch of a lifetime, shocking him so badly his poor stupid brain short-circuited before he pulled away. “Wow,” he said, “uh, thank you, little lady, I guess, but if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate not being sampled.”

Her dark green eyes glowed. “See you tonight, cowboy.”

She sauntered out of the barn. Dante ripped off his hat, then his bandana, and wiped his mouth. Holy smoke! He’d be in a real pickle if that woman tried to win him. He’d never get Ana to slow down enough to catch her.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. He heard a bunch of muffled murmuring. “Hello? Tighe?”

“Yeah,” his brother finally said.

“Listen, there’s a stray brunette on the property heading your way. Could you escort her off the ranch and let her know that those no-trespassing signs are there for a reason?”

“Sure,” he said, and then his phone clicked off.

Ana tapped his arm, startling him so badly he nearly jumped out of his boots. “Where’d you come from?”

“Right there,” Ana said. “Fiona sent me to the barn to freshen the coffee and check out the fridge for the ranch hands.”

“Oh.” He hoped he’d wiped all the lipstick off.

She gazed at him. “I think that lady might be a rather eager bidder tonight.”

Busted. He pulled a couple more hundred bucks from his wallet and handed it to her. “I’m counting on you.”

Tighe came strolling into the barn, whistling. “That little brunette was quite the jalapeno. If she’s the quality we can expect to bid tonight, we’re in fine shape. I barely pulled her off my face.”

“That’s funny,” Ana said, “because Dante had trouble pulling her off of his, too.”

“She was sampling,” Dante said, and Ana laughed.

“Obviously. Bye, Tighe.” She left the barn and Dante stared after her.

“She saw you kissing another woman?” Tighe asked. “Not smooth, dude.”

“Thanks. Like I didn’t know.” He sighed. “I have a bad feeling about tonight. Really bad.”

“Well,” Tighe said cheerfully, “I, for one, am as excited as a little kid on Christmas.”

“I think I was safer on Firefreak back in the day,” Dante said, and went to take his mind off Ana, if he could.

But after tonight, after the auction was over, he was going to turn the tables on his bad luck. He was running out of time, and even if Ana St. John didn’t think too highly of him at the moment, he was determined to show her he was the man she wanted.

It wouldn’t be easy. At the moment he was pretty low in her estimation—but surely there was no place to go but up.

* * *

T
WO
HOURS
BEFORE
THE
BALL
, Ana marched to her closet, stared inside at the clothes she’d brought with her. Stretchy pants, some loose blouses and sweaters, a black skirt long enough to wear with boots.

All right. That’s what she was going to wear. She pulled on the skirt, put on the boots, tugged a red sweater over her head. At least she’d be warm, because tonight was certain to be even colder than it was now. She told herself she’d be a lot more comfortable than the ladies in evening gowns because they’d be freezing.

It wasn’t a sexy ensemble, and she wished she hadn’t seen that darling little brunette wrapped around Dante’s strong body. She wasn’t jealous, because she’d heard everything—knew that Dante hadn’t been too happy about being caught off guard—but at the same time she was jealous because she knew that one day, some beautiful woman would figure out a way to drag him to an altar.

As handsome princes went, Dante was a stud. The women were going to go nuts tonight.

River came into her room. “I brought you something.” She handed her a pretty black sequined mask, then glanced down at Ana’s outfit. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

“Casual, huh?”

“I like it. You’ll be warm.” River gave her a quick hug. “To thine own self be true, I always say.”

“Yes, well, look out for a man-hungry little brunette tonight when the bidding begins. You’ve got competition.”

River looked slightly worried. “Is she pretty?”

“Yes.” Ana nodded. “Are you ever going to tell Tighe how you feel?”

“No way. He’d run off like a rabbit.”

“You never know.” Ana smoothed her skirt, then began putting her hair up.

River sat on the bed. “Speaking of confessing things, I really thought you would have told Dante about the baby by now. How do you keep that secret to yourself?”

“Something told me it was better to wait until after Christmas.”

River nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. How do you feel?”

“Like the luckiest woman in the world. I can’t wait to be a mother.” Ana smiled at River in the mirror. “Pregnancy is really the most magical thing.”

River got up. “I’m so happy for you. By the way, I heard you’re the secret first round judge on costumes. I just want you to know that my dress is a knockout. Feel free to admire it and place me in the final round if you wish. I’ve always wanted to see my name on a large barrel.”

She giggled, and Ana smiled. “I won’t know it’s you since you’ll be wearing a mask. Thank you for mine, though I think most people will figure out that I’m the out-of-towner who doesn’t have a fancy gown from the Diablo bridal shop.”

“You’ll be stunning. This is going to be such a wonderful night,” River said. “I’m going to catch my cowboy tonight!”

She practically waltzed out of the room. Shaking her head, Ana chose a lipstick but then put it back. She pondered her image, thought about the pretty brunette kissing Dante—even though he’d clearly been unhappy about it. “Maybe a different blouse,” she murmured, studying herself. She looked as if she was going to a luncheon, not a ball.

Who was she kidding? She wanted to be beautiful for Dante. She dreamed of him taking her in his arms and kissing her again, making love to her.

“Why was I so stubborn about a dress?” she muttered. “I shouldn’t have been such a spoilsport. That’s what I get for guarding my emotions.” She crossed to her closet and pulled open the door, gasping at the magic wedding dress hanging there in all its red enchantment, twinkling and beautiful, bewitching and beguiling. Sexy gold pumps and an elegant gold clutch shone beside the splendid dress.

“Oh, thank you!” Ana exclaimed, and if she had a fairy godmother who was listening with a fond smile, Ana dearly hoped she knew how grateful she was to put this lovely gown on one more time. It was perfect for tonight.

She stepped into the dress, pulling it up slowly, the beauty of it wrapping her in romance. Touching the skirt with wonder, Ana admired the gown in the mirror with misty tears of delight in her eyes. Dante walked into the room wearing his tux, the most handsome man she’d ever seen, smiling at her in the reflection, and Ana whirled around. “Dante! Isn’t this the most lovely gown you’ve ever seen?”

But he wasn’t there. She was alone.

Yet Dante
had
been there, and they’d smiled at each other. She’d felt his kindness, his gentleness and maybe even—dared she hope?—his love for her.

Ana turned back to look in the mirror. The gown twinkled and sparkled, its long skirt resplendent with glints of ruby and gold.

Maybe tonight would be the most magical night of her life.

Chapter Fourteen

Dante felt calm as over a hundred women eagerly grouped close to the stage in the theater room of the Diablo library, squealing and ready to bid as his twin went on the block. Normally the enormous room was the setting for puppet shows and the yearly
Nutcracker
rendition. Ballet recitals and musicals were also held here. Years ago, it had been determined that the library would be a first-class theater for gatherings, and he’d be willing to bet that Diablo’s great hall and stage had much to thank the town mothers for as far as planning.

One of those town mothers thought nothing of auctioning off her own nephews for charity, but the best part of that was that he’d outthought his wiry aunt. Ana owed him. He’d saved her, now it was her turn to bring the cavalry.

He watched Tighe doing his Studly-do-right act across the stage, to the delight of the ladies, who had their paddles ready. Some of the eager bidders used their paddles to fan themselves as Tighe strutted his stuff in the best rendition of a Chippendales dancer, priming the pump as everyone waited for the emcee—Fiona—to start the bidding. Dante shook his head. “It’s embarrassing,” he muttered, and his sister cocked her head as she watched Tighe perform.

“The ladies seem to be eating it up,” Ash observed. “But they’re going to go for you, too. You look like Zorro.”

He smirked, feeling very well protected behind his mask. Ash looked very cute in hers, he had to admit, and somewhere in this excited crowd Ana no doubt lurked, waiting to set him free.

Fiona took the stage, turned on a microphone so she could be heard over the thumping music and the squeals and applause of the ladies. “We’ll start the bidding at twenty-five dollars!” she exclaimed. “Do I hear twenty-five dollars for the new roof for the elementary school?

“You should bid to help him out,” Dante said, watching his twin flex his muscles. “He’s not going to go for more than a hundred, tops.” He felt pretty smug that he’d given Ana four hundred to cover his own purchase.

“I’m not raising his bid,” Ash said. “He’s going to do fine.”

“I’ll bid two thousand!” came a voice from the back, and the room almost went silent as everyone turned to stare at the bidder.

Of course the mystery woman could only be identified by the number on her paddle she waved gaily, but Dante knew who she was despite her mask. “That’s the new bodyguard! Storm’s niece, Sawyer!”

“Yeah. Guess Sawyer thinks she’ll like kissing Tighe better than you,” Ash observed drily.

“Two thousand it is!” Fiona called, clearly delighted. “Do I heard twenty-one?” She glanced around the room. “Dante, come up here and join your twin on stage! I promised these ladies a double dose and I don’t want anybody going home disappointed!”

“Oh, no,” Dante said, and Ash burst out laughing.

“Go on, Grand Prize. Do your thing. Bring home the bacon for Diablo!”

Fiona waved wildly at him, and Dante knew he was stuck. He wasn’t prepared for this. Nowhere did he see Ana’s shiny golden hair. Beside the staircase leading to the stage was a gorgeous fairy-tale princess, her domino in place, hair piled high, wearing a fire-engine red gown. But he barely had time to register anything else as his brother pulled him onto the stage, starting his butt-shaking routine again.

The ladies went nuts. “I’m not dancing around like I’ve got ants in my pants,” Dante said, and Tighe pretended like he was pulling off his bow tie—no, wait, he was pulling off his tie, very slowly, very suggestively—and then he tossed it into the sea of delighted women.

“Try to act lively,” Tighe told him. “You had more action going when you were getting stomped by Firefreak.” He danced by, unbuttoned a few buttons on the top of his tux shirt, electrifying the room.

“Twenty-five!” a lady yelled.

“Remember, you’re just bidding for Tighe,” Fiona said, “the grand prize comes later! Dante, show the ladies why you’re the grand prize!”

“Holy smokes,” he said, as the spotlight turned full-bore on him. Tighe danced around him, hogging the attention, laughing at his brother.

“You’ve sure got a stick up your—”

“Never mind,” Dante said, “you’re not the only one who knows how to show off. But I’m the grand prize because I come later.” He walked back down the stairs, and the ladies grabbed at him, but he said, “The best things in life are worth waiting for,” and went to Ash for protection.

“Chicken,” Ash said. “I think you should have at least doffed your shirt for these women.”

“I can’t.” He glanced around for Ana. She’d said she’d be wearing a simple skirt and blouse as she hadn’t brought any party clothes with her—and she’d refused his offer to get her something pretty. “I can’t raise their hopes and then give them nothing.”

“Hey, Grand Prize, you’re going to give them something tonight,” Ash said. “That’s what Grand Prizes do. Whatever Tighe does, you’re going to have to do better.”

“Trust me,” Fiona announced, “tonight I have five of Diablo’s best for you to bid on, but these Callahan twins are worth every penny of your donations to the elementary school roof!”

“Twenty-six!” Storm’s niece called.

“If she’s the new bodyguard, does it seem like a conflict of interest for her to spend so much money on our dolt of a brother?” Ash asked.

“There are no real rules in Diablo. Fiona makes ’em and she breaks ’em. And if the lady wants to spend her money on our blockheaded brother, Fiona will wrap Tighe in a bow and give him out.”

“You know that’s twenty-six hundred she’s bidding,” Ash said, “as in getting close to three grand. How much did you give Ana to bid on you?”

“Four hundred,” Dante said, and then he stopped. “How do you know about that?”

“Because Ana told me.” Ash winked at him. “I’m supposed to keep it a dire secret, which I will, but unless you’re the dud of the night, your paltry few Benjamins aren’t going to save you.”

Ash was right. “I don’t see Ana anywhere,” he said, desperately glancing around for her.

“Maybe she decided she didn’t want to be responsible for saving you.” Ash shrugged, laughing at Tighe as he pretended to undo his zipper, throwing the crowd of females into a frenzy. “You know, I never really thought about it before, but you and Tighe are really only twins in appearance.”

“What does that mean?” He scanned the crowd for Ana, beginning to fear that his sister was right: she wasn’t here.

“Tighe’s more free-spirited than you are.” Ash glanced up at him. “You’re not exactly Mr. Excitement.”

“Really? I feel like my life is pretty much out of control,” Dante said. “I feel as if I’m living on the edge.”

She smiled. “You used to be a wild man. Seems like you’ve settled down since you came back to Diablo. Maybe being on the rodeo circuit tamed you a bit.”

He shook his head. “If I’m tamer, it wasn’t rodeo that did it.” It was Ana, but he wasn’t sharing. Truth was, he wasn’t looking forward to preening like a peacock in front of a bunch of manhunting women. He’d hoped Ana would hunt him—but by the look of things, she wasn’t going to be flashing a paddle for him.

“Sold for twenty-eight hundred dollars!” Fiona exclaimed. “A Diablo record!”

Tighe jumped off the stage and scooped Storm’s niece up into his arms. Some ladies laughed and some sighed enviously, but all Dante knew was that the only arms he wanted to jump into tonight were Ana’s.

* * *

A
NA
WAS
IN
A
BIT
OF
A
PANIC
. She was supposed to be picking six finalists for the costume judging—but she could barely keep her attention from what was happening on stage. Watching Tighe leer and jump around astonished her—but when Dante got on stage, energizing the ladies, Ana’s heart had sunk. It was all in good fun, but at the same time, she didn’t fancy the idea of knowing that some woman was going to throw herself at Dante.

Actually, a lot of women.

It was hard to judge costumes with an impartial eye knowing that the most beautifully dressed woman might be the one who won Dante.

“Hi,” someone said, and Ana turned to find Ash laughing at her.

“Hi, yourself. Even with your mask, I know it’s you because of that silvery hair of yours.” Ana glanced around the room. “Pick out three men and three women to be the finalists for Best Costume. I can’t be impartial.”

Ash laughed. “You win flat-out for Most Beautiful.” She gazed at Ana’s gown. “How did you get the magic wedding dress to change colors?”

“How did you know it was the magic wedding dress? And how did you know it was me?” Ana asked.

“Anyone can see the magic, if they just look,” Ash said. “I’ve seen this magic many times before.”

“Oh. Right,” Ana said, not understanding but not surprised by Ash’s words.

“And I knew it was you because you were the last one to try on the gown. It’s gorgeous,” Ash said. “I never imagined it could change colors.”

“I don’t know why it did. It was this way the first time I tried it on,” Ana said, and Ash nodded.

“Clearly, this is you,” she said. “The gown reflects the wearer. So you must be...” She looked at Ana. “The only thing that comes to mind is red-hot.”

Ana laughed. “The red-hot bodyguard. Yes, I chose to be a bodyguard because I had such a cooking personality. Get me near a fire and the fire blows itself out because I’m so smokin’.”

Ash shook her head. “Not like that, silly. It’s your past, your experiences that shaped you. Are you hiding a red-hot facet of your personality? A secret that would shock everyone?”

Ana shook her head. “Not really. I think I’m just a plain Jane.” Was pregnancy a red-hot secret? She didn’t think so.

“Anyway,” Ash said cheerfully, “I choose you to be a finalist. There’s not a gown here that touches that one.”

“Thank you, but that wouldn’t be fair. A judge can’t choose herself.”

Ana glanced over at the second offering for the night, a tall cowboy with short brown hair and big brown eyes. Dante was nowhere to be seen, and Tighe was swallowed up by a gaggle of women as energetic music played over the speakers. “Ash, you pick the six finalists. I’m going home.”

“Home!” Ash stared at her. “You can’t! You promised my brother you’d rescue him!”

“With four hundred bucks?” Ana shook her head. “Dante is grand prize. Fiona clearly intends to rake in all she can tonight. Four hundred dollars would only be a token effort. Dante’s on his own.”

“You can’t say that! He’s—well, he’s counting on you,” Ash said. “I’ve got ten dollars in my purse.”

“That’ll help,” Ana said. “Thank you, but I don’t think it’ll kill Dante to be won by an eager woman.”

“It might,” Ash said. “I know. Let’s go through the audience and spread a rumor that the grand prize is a dud.”

Ana gasped. “You wouldn’t do that to your brother!”

“He’d thank me.” Ashlyn shrugged.

“Your aunt wouldn’t! She’s trying to get a new roof for the elementary school. She’s counting on Dante to bring in lots of money!”

“This is true,” Ash said, “but it wouldn’t be wholly bad if the tables got turned on the good aunt for once.”

“No,” Ana said decisively. “Don’t you dare rig your aunt’s charity ball. You should be supporting her, Ash. If anything, you should go out there and spread a rumor that Dante is the most amazing brother on the planet, a handsome prince like no other!”

Ash stared at her. “Could you just spend one second being selfish? You know, a little manipulation goes a long way.”

“Maybe, but cheaters never win. I honestly believe that.”

“Are you determined to win my brother?” Ash asked, looking at her intently.

“I— Not determined,” Ana said. “
Hopeful
is the word I would have chosen. If it’s meant to be.”

“Maybe things are meant to be,” Ash said doggedly. “Maybe some things happen because they get helped along. Witness the wily aunt. She’s always helping something.”

Squeals went up as the second bachelor’s bidding went over a thousand dollars. She really didn’t think she could bear to watch man-wild women bid on Dante. “I can’t do it,” Ana said. “No cheating.”

“So bid on Dante yourself.”

Ana shook her head. “I’m not spending three or four grand I don’t have!”

Ashlyn smiled. “Not even to keep other ladies away from the father of your child?”

“It just doesn’t seem right,” Ana began, and then she realized Ash’s eyes were twinkling. “I didn’t say anything about a child, Ashlyn.”

“You didn’t have to,” Ash said, linking her arm through Ana’s. “The dress tells the story. I knew you must be hiding a red-hot secret!” She laughed, delighted. “You’re going to be my sister-in-law!”

“I don’t know that. And you can’t tell Dante,” Ana said, a bit desperately. “Promise me you won’t say a word, Ashlyn. I’m not telling him until after Christmas!”

“Not a word will pass my lips. Come on, let’s go turn in your finalists.”

“You’re not going to encourage me anymore to bid on your brother?”

“Nope,” Ash said, “my brother deserves to be auctioned off to a toothless witchy-poo for getting you in the family way. And I hope that’s what happens! Let’s see if we can find one,” she said, glancing around the crowd. “Let’s see if we can find an out-of-towner who looks like she might be bossy as heck and smell of mothballs, and be pushing the dark side of eighty.”

“Ashlyn Callahan!” Ana was shocked.

“Dante was clearly just too lazy to drive to the drugstore. Or you wouldn’t be in the mess you’re in.”

“That’s not true,” Ana said. “We did use a condom. And I’m not in a mess.”

“Condoms he’s had in his wallet for two years don’t count.” She sighed. “Honestly, sometimes I worry about my brothers.”

Ana glanced around at the crush of women. “Help me pick some finalists, please.”

“I suppose we should select out-of-towners to give them the most bang for their buck. Paying nearly three grand for my brother is egregious.”

Ana smiled. “Okay. You pick the ladies, I’ll choose the men.”

“All right. That’s easy.” Ash glanced around the room. “Choose blue gown over there, paddle number ninety-eight. I like the feathers in her hair. That Cinderella over there deserves a nod just for the fact that I bet her feet are killing her in those pumps. I hope those aren’t really glass.”