Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

Gabriel groaned and shook his head. “I swear. It’s like dealing with school-yard bullies.” He waved his hand in the air, a gesture that meant the discussion was over. “Just see that you keep the peace. Now get going. Pickerson wants you at the Hegburn place pronto.”

Jeff was off the field before Kane—not that it was a race, but still it was good to beat him—and headed for his truck that was parked near Kane’s. He flung open the door and hopped inside, knowing the keys were still in the ignition. No one had ever stolen a vehicle around Destiny. Their biggest crime spree was when the Brewster boys had jacked two bicycles and then tried to sell them online.

Revving his motor, he tipped his hat to Kane and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Dirt billowed around Kane as Jeff drove down the driveway toward the main road that led into town.

He glanced in the rearview mirror to find Kane dusting himself off, a furious scowl covering his face.

How’s that for burying the hatchet?

* * * *

Kane didn’t try to speed his truck past Jeff’s. If the man wanted to play that stupid competitive game, then he’d let him win. After all, winning wasn’t important. All that mattered was getting back to town and helping out the families that had taken the brunt of last week’s storm.

Winning doesn’t matter. Yeah, right.

He smiled, not the shit-eating kind of grin Jeff always gave him, but one filled with the desire for revenge. He’d keep his promise to Gabriel and work with Jeff, but once that was over, all bets were off. The man was due a little payback for that stunt he pulled in the football game.

Jeff Jenkins had rubbed him the wrong way from the first day Kane had stepped onto Gabriel’s land. Maybe their discord was based on the fact that they were so different. Physically, Jeff had his blond, movie-hero good looks while Kane had a darker appearance with black hair and eyes. Even his tan, one born of working outside all his life, was deeper than Jeff’s. But the real differences lay beneath the surface.

While Kane was the serious, often brooding type, Jeff was happy-go-lucky, ever-ready-with-a-smile-and-a-laugh guy. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he envied that kind of easygoing attitude. But growing up on a poor Texas farm that had more dirt than crops had made Kane somber and reflective. He’d left his family at seventeen to get away from his dominating father and had taken any job he could until, at last, he’d gotten hired on as a ranch hand. His love of horses and the country lifestyle had served him well ever since.

Jeff, on the other hand, had grown up in a middle-class family and hadn’t wanted for much of anything. Even now, his parents offered to pay for his truck and other essentials. To his credit, Jeff always refused, but it still made Kane wonder what it would be like to have the luxury of getting something for nothing. He, too, would’ve turned down the offer of someone else paying his way. They were both in their thirties and taking anything they hadn’t earned themselves was laughable. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have liked to have had the option earlier in his life. Or even a father that hadn’t returned home drunk every Friday and Saturday night to knock him around the house. Kane had never blamed his mother for cutting and running when he was ten years old. He only wished that he could’ve gotten away sooner.

Kane pulled his vehicle to a stop behind Jeff’s in front of the Hegburn home. Mitchell Hegburn stood outside with a couple of other men Kane recognized as being part of the Tulsa division of an emergency management team. He strode toward them, watching as they shook hands with Jeff, who returned their greeting.

“Good to see you, Kane.” Mitchell stuck out his hand, his grip hard and tight. “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. What’s up? I thought we’d gotten most everything taken care of.”

Kane scanned the barn behind them. A tarp covered one half of the roof where the high winds had sheared it off. Although they’d offered to repair the roof, they had to wait for the insurance company to give them the go-ahead. Luckily, the house hadn’t suffered any damage, but Mitchell had lost a couple of horses and even the family’s dog in the tornado.

“Are Mary and the kids okay?”

Kane had to hand it to Jeff for remembering to ask after the family. He sometimes forgot about the pleasantries people expected.

“She’s fine, thanks. She and Milly Johnson are in the house wrangling up a snack for the kids. Can I tell her to fix you guys something?”

Kane slammed his mouth closed when Jeff answered before him, cutting him off. “No thanks. Don’t bother. She has enough to handle. It’s got to be cramped in there what with your two kids and the Johnson family, too.”

Mitchell let out a sigh. “Ain’t that the truth? We’re getting by, but nerves are getting frayed. We’re like rats stuck in one little cage. We’re hoping these guys can get the Johnsons set up with a temporary place soon. They’ll need a rental house for at least a few months until their home is ready to live in again. I was telling them that the old Wilkin’s place might be available to rent.”

Doug Wilkin was another local farmer who had an older home located on his property. His family had lived there until they’d built a bigger home only a few acres from that one. Hopefully, Doug would let Gerald Johnson and his family stay there for free. That’s just how most of the folks in Destiny were. Whenever one of their neighbors needed help, they stepped up to the plate.

“Good idea. Has anyone contacted Doug yet?” Jeff pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “I’d be happy to give him a call.”

“We tried, but he’s out of town and we’re not able to reach him,” offered the older gentleman. His ID badge said his name was Hershall Stallings.

The other man was tall and lean like he’d never had a decent meal. His ID badge gave his name as Steve Brewster.

“That’s why we called you,” added Mitchell. “The other workers are at the Johnsons’ place still cleaning up the remainder of the mess. It’s not a total loss and we’ve got a crew doing as much as they can before the insurance money kicks in, but it’s going to take more time than we thought. We need you and your trucks to get the Johnsons moved over to Miss Daisy’s place.”

Miss Daisy’s Bed and Breakfast was a picture-perfect three-story house on the outskirts of town with a wraparound porch and plenty of rockers for the guests. Flowers colored the gardens surrounding the white-framed house in the spring and summer. Daisy Winters ran the place that her great-grandmother had started.

Most out-of-towners were surprised when they met Daisy. They expected an elderly grandmotherly type like the original Daisy Winters had been. Instead, they were greeted by a redheaded half-Japanese girl who had a liking for skinny jeans and animal-print T-shirts. She was plain spoken and outgoing with a big heart, and everyone in Destiny loved her.

“No problem. Just tell us what needs to go.” Kane crossed his arms, ready to take on any job they needed him to do. If only he didn’t have to put up with Jeff while doing it.

“Milly wants to take a few pieces of furniture Mary’s giving her as well as a couple of bikes to Daisy’s place instead of storing them here and taking up space we don’t have. Clothes and other personal items, too, of course. Daisy said she had a storage shed where they can keep their stuff until they’re ready for them.”

“Is there anything else they want out of their home?” Jeff grew serious. “I know we don’t have to worry about scavengers around here. At least not the human kind, but you never know when a skunk or raccoon might decide to make their bed in, well, the Johnsons’ bed.”

Stallings answered. “We’ve got men working on sealing off the other parts of their house. Until then, all they have is the stuff you guys are taking to the B and B.”

Jeff’s glaring smile came out again. “Okay, then, lead the way and we’ll start loading up.”

“It’s about time.”

Kane pivoted toward the sound of the melodic, albeit pissed-off voice. His gaze fell on the beautiful dark-haired woman who had her arms wrapped around two of the Johnsons’ kids, Mikey and Julie. In the next instant, he found himself overwhelmed with the urge to haul her into his arms and kiss her.

What the hell?

Jeff hurried past him to get in front of her. He tipped his hat to her and that big old grin of his, the nice one he gave everyone but Kane, got even brighter. “Hi. I’m Jeff Jenkins and this is Kane Kannal. And your name is…”

Her light-cocoa-colored eyes blazed as they slipped off Kane and onto Jeff. The fire in them was unmistakable, and for a second, Kane was almost sorry for Jeff. Almost.

“It’s Alexia Martin. Not that it matters.”

If she’d fired a double-barrel shotgun at him, she couldn’t have knocked him in the gut harder.

She’s a feisty one. I like that.

His gaze took in the curvaceous body, the full bosom, and her wide hips. She was sultry and sexy, maybe not by society’s standards of thin-as-you-can-be beauty, but she had a real, natural kind of beauty that he found irresistible. If she was that spirited out of bed, what would she be like
in
bed?

“Like I said. You took your pretty time getting here.”

* * * *

Alexia, aka Alex as her friends called her, was fed up. It was over an hour since the mayor had called for “two men who’ll be happy to help out.” She wasn’t sure how long she’d waited, but however long it had been was too damn long.

She’d had to spend most of that time helping to take care of six wound-up kids. Once the men she’d been waiting for had finally gotten their tails in gear and had arrived, they’d spent the past ten minutes jawing with the men from Tulsa instead of getting busy.

What she’d said had come out harsher than she’d have liked, but she’d tried to bite back her words and had failed. The possibility of keeping her temper in check had gone out the window when Mikey Johnson had thrown his sandwich at his younger brother, Jeb. The three-year-old Jeb had gotten an eyeful of mustard that had to get washed out. She’d held the squalling child over the edge of the sink and rinsed out his eye all while Mikey had soared around the tiny farmhouse, oblivious to his mother’s admonitions to behave. After that, the chaos in the house had gotten even worse. Alex was at her wits’ end and she didn’t care who knew it.

Still, being out of sorts didn’t mean that she couldn’t recognize a gorgeous hunk of male flesh when it was standing right in front of her. Her gaze skirted to Mister Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

Correction. Make that two hunks.

The blond, who could’ve starred in any commercial and sold millions of whatever product he was hawking, stared at her before resuming his previous thousand-watt smile. “I’m sorry. We got here as soon as we heard. Is there a problem?”

She knew she should curb her attitude, but it was so damn hard to do that when her patience had already worn out. “You’re asking me if there’s a problem? Seriously? A tornado hit these poor folks’ homes and you’re asking me if there’s a problem? Yeah, cowboy, there is.”

“If you’ll just tell us what you need, then we can get to it.”

She turned toward the smooth-as-velvet voice. The dark one came forward, but didn’t uncross his arms. She leveled her attention at him. “I need you to load up supplies, clothes, and a few pieces of furniture. The Johnsons are staying at Miss Daisy’s B and B until we can get their home repaired. Think you can handle that?”

His black eyes glittered, and she saw the muscle in his jaw clench. That muscle was only one of many. Both Jeff and this one were built like armored tanks. They were broad, solid, and filled with power.

The pulse of her pussy caught her by surprise. When was the last time she’d felt a rush like that? Desire flooded the rest of her. She trembled, but resisted the urge to rub her arms. Attraction was one thing, but whatever was hitting her was so much more. She swallowed and refocused her attention on her job.

This isn’t the time to let your frustrated libido take over.

Mr. Stallings with the Tulsa Emergency Management Team jumped in to save the two hot cowboys. “Alex, um, Miss Martin is here helping out. Although she’s not officially part of our organization, she’s offered to join us. Afterwards, she’s going to aid your mayor in getting an emergency preparedness plan together.”

If I can convince the old coot that the town needs one.

“A plan?”

She was confused. Jeff didn’t appear to lack intelligence, but then why was he asking such stupid questions? “Yes, a plan. Maybe if there’d been a plan in place before this storm, things wouldn’t be so disorganized right now.”

She sensed the flare of heat coming from the one called Kane. His name fit him with its hard-sounding edge. He was all brooding on the outside with a layer of steamy lust just underneath the surface. “I get the impression that you want to say something. Go ahead, cowboy. Spit it out.”

The heat intensified. “We have a plan.”

“Is that right? Strange, because I sure couldn’t tell there was one in place when I arrived.”

Stallings shifted on his feet. “Alex, maybe you could tone it down—”

She waved a hand at him. “No, no. I’m dying to hear his answer. Please, cowboy, enlighten me.”

“The name’s Kane.”

She gave him a “so?” look.

Kane got closer, putting his huge body within a foot of hers. She straightened to all five feet seven inches of her height, refusing to be intimidated.

“Look, lady, I don’t know where you’re from, but folks around here know what to do in case of a tornado.”

She arched an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“They get the hell out of the way.”

God help her, she laughed. But the laugh was soon gone. “Houses and livestock can’t get out of the way. Sometimes people can’t either. And I’m not talking about just before or during a storm, I’m talking about afterward. What’s the plan then?”

She loved the way his black eyes glistened. He was a powerful man in a different way than his friend. He was darker, more intense. A man who didn’t put up with any bullshit.