Keegan's Lady (36 page)

"Wrong conclusions. If women were as unenthusiastic as all that, the world's population would be drastically diminished."

"So you say."

"And one day I'll prove it to you. Until then, there's little point in dreading something that will be very nice when it happens."

He heard her stomach growl again and pushed to his feet. Stepping over to her, he extended a hand. "Come on, Mrs. Keegan. Let's get you in the house and feed you before you get sick again."

"I'm not hungry."

"Caitlin . . ."

"Well, I'm not! I guess I should know if I feel like eating."

He wiggled his fingers. "Your choice. You can walk to the house, or I can carry you ass up over my shoulder with your bloomers shining."

"I don't want to go in there."

"Why?"

"Because all your brothers are in there, and they hate me."

"Hate you? What the hell makes you think that?"

"Simply put, my last name is O'Shannessy."

"Not any more, it isn't. You're a Keegan, and you're part of this family. They're all pacing the floor, nervous as cats in a roomful of rockers, waiting to meet you. They're afraid you won't like them, Caitlin, not the other way around."

Panic welled in her eyes. "I saw all of them last night at the social, and again this morning. They look mean."

"Well, they're not. Come into the house. Meet them. Let them prove it to you."

"I'd really rather just sit here for a while."

He shifted his weight onto one foot and regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Has anyone ever told you you're a tiny bit stubborn?"

"I'm not stubborn. I just don't feel like eating."

"And argumentative?"

"My stomach is still turning."

"Which is due, in large amount, to the fact that you haven't put any food in it for twenty-four hours."

"I'll eat later."

"You'll eat now. Even a few bites will help." He waggled his fingers again to draw her attention back to f his extended hand. "Are you really bent on showing your bloomers to everyone on the place? I've got three hired hands out there who'll probably enjoy the show. And then, of course, there's my brothers. You wanna sell tickets?"

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The last thing Caitlin wanted to do was go back inside the house. But being towed along beside Ace Keegan was rather like being caught by a whirlwind. The grip of his hand was so strong, his momentum so resolute, that every time she tried to balk, she found herself pulled forward onto her toes.

The Paxton brothers sat around the plank table. Two of them had short, sandy-colored hair. The third had shoulder-length blond hair as straight as a bullet. Unlike Ace, they had blue eyes. They were small men compared to their older half brother, their frames compact and whipcord lean. At Caitlin's entrance, they all shot up from their seats.

Unwilling to approach them alone, Caitlin waited just inside the doorway for Ace to step in behind her. She heard the door close. Then his large hand settled warmly at the small of her back to urge her forward. She couldn't drag her gaze away from the three young men. They stared back at her as if they'd never seen a female before.

After giving his pant leg a shake, the blond raked his ringers through his hair and shrugged his shoulders to straighten his blue chambray work shirt. Giving him a quick appraisal, Caitlin decided he was the most intimidating of the three, despite the fact that he was the shortest. For what he lacked in height, he made up for in muscle. Well developed shoulders rippled beneath his shirt, his every movement stressing the seams. His faded blue denim trousers skimmed the powerful contours of his legs. The gun belt he wore strapped around his narrow hips looked as though it belonged there, a lethal appendage of his body.

"Caitlin, I'd like you to meet my brother, Joseph."

The blond took two long strides toward her, his brown, calloused hand outstretched to her in welcome. Caitlin rubbed her palm on her skirt, then clumsily shook hands with him. "Hello," she said in a twangy voice that sounded as if it came from the bottom of a tin can. "I'm pleased to meet you."

A deep dimple, much like the one Ace sported, flashed in Joseph's cheek as his full lips lifted in a smile. He had an arresting face, she decided, a curious blend of boyish cuteness and hard-edged masculinity, his full mouth almost feminine yet manly in its firmness, his jawline square and sharply defined with a ridge of muscle. He had beautiful blue eyes that managed to twinkle with friendliness and make one feel nervous at the same time. An unflinching gaze, the kind she imagined would come in handy during a poker game or a gunfight, revealing little, yet missing nothing.

"The pleasure is all mine," he finally said, his voice laced with amusement.

With a start, Caitlin realized he was still gripping her hand and that he could undoubtedly feel how badly she was shaking. She no sooner registered that and started to blush than he released his hold on her.

"And this is David," Ace said, turning her slightly to face the other two young men.

The taller one stepped forward. His hand felt hot and damp as it closed around hers. "Ma'am." He bobbed his head, then proceeded to jerk her arm up and down as though he were working a pump handle. "Good to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Caitlin noticed a small rent in the shoulder seam of his red plaid shirt. It occurred to her that it would be her responsibility to do the mending around  here once she got settled in.

"And this is Esa," Ace finished.

Esa grinned and took her hand the instant David let go of it. "I only got one question, and if your answer is yes, I know I'm going to love you. Can you cook?"

The sound of deep masculine laughter bounced off I the log walls for several seconds. When the sound died down, Caitlin said, "I've never won any blue ribbons, but I can find my way around a kitchen well enough."

Esa winked at Ace. "It's a unanimous vote then. She's I a keeper."

Caitlin found herself smiling. She instantly liked the youngest Paxton. Despite the fact that he wore a gun on his hip and could undoubtedly use it, he had a certain gentleness about him. When he grinned, it was nearly impossible not to respond in kind. She guessed him to be about her age, possibly a shade older. Even so, he was irresistibly boyish, the only one of the bunch she didn't find frightening.

"I'd already decided she's a keeper," Ace said with a chuckle, "so I'm glad you like her."

Joseph rested his hands on his hips and scuffed the sole of his boot on the floor. With one eye slightly narrowed, he rested his startling blue gaze on her face for a moment. "You're gonna have a shiner, girl. Looks to me like I ought to scrape a spud and make you a poultice."

Caitlin touched her cheek. "Oh, no. Please don't bother. It's nothing, really."

"No bother." He hooked the toe of his boot around the crossbuck leg of the bench he'd been sitting on to draw it farther out from the table. "Take a load off. I just made fresh coffee."

"That sounds nice." Caitlin took the seat he had provided. "Thank you."

"Honey, are you sure you wouldn't rather have milk?" Ace asked her.

The smell of the coffee was making her mouth water. At home, she never made it strong enough for there to be a rich aroma. "No, coffee will be fine."

He swung a leg over the bench to sit beside her. The two younger men resumed their seats across from them. Acutely aware of her husband's hard, muscular arm brushing against her shoulder, Caitlin folded her hands in her lap and dug into her skin with her fingernails. They were all staring at her, she realized with a sick sensation at the pit of her stomach. As the seconds wore on, she became increasingly nervous.

From the adjoining kitchen, Joseph hollered, "You want cream?"

The cow at home had stopped giving rich milk over a year ago, and Caitlin hadn't been able to spare any cream for her coffee since. Making cheese and butter had taken precedence. She leaned forward slightly. "Yes, please."

"So ..." David smiled across at her. "How's married life treating you so far?" He no sooner finished speaking than he jerked and said, "Ouch! What'd you do that for, Ace?"

Ace made no reply. Caitlin glanced up at his dark profile. Unless she missed her guess, he'd just kicked his brother.

"All I said was—"

"Just drink your coffee," Ace cut in.

Looking disgruntled, David picked up his mug and took a loud slurp.

"And mind your manners," Ace added.

David took his second sip of coffee more quietly. He met Caitlin's gaze over the rim of his cup and winked at her. She bent her head to hide another smile. Just then, Joseph returned from the kitchen carrying a plate and two steaming mugs of coffee. After plopping the plate down next to her elbow, he set the coffee with cream before Caitlin and handed the other cup to Ace. Grabbing up his own abandoned mug, he stepped around to take a seat at the other side of the table with his younger brothers. It wasn't until he sat down that she noticed he held a potato in the crook of one arm. After setting aside his mug, he drew his knife from its scabbard, cut the potato in half, and began scraping one exposed center with the knife blade, forming pulp.

Caitlin cupped her mug in her hands and took a slow sip of coffee. The steam was wonderfully warm on her cool cheeks, and she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring both the smell and the rich taste. It had been so long since she'd had good strong coffee lightened with cream that she had nearly forgotten how delicious it tasted. She wished with all her heart that Patrick were I here to enjoy it with her.

Her stomach picked that moment to growl. To cover the sound, she quickly said, "This is lovely, Joseph. Thank you."

His dimple deepened again as he flashed her a grin. "You're very welcome." He shot a look at Ace. "How's yours, big brother?"

Caitlin glanced up to discover that Ace had been staring down at her. He'd obviously been too preoccupied to try his coffee and was embarrassed to have been caught gaping. He looked a little flustered for a moment, then narrowed an eye at Joseph. Caitlin didn't miss the silent message that passed between them, Joseph's expression jocular, Ace's dark and threatening. To Caitlin's surprise, the younger and more slightly built man didn't seem to be intimidated. He was still grinning as he leaned sideways to hand her the potato mash.