The Buckhorn Brothers Box Set: Sawyer\Morgan\Gabe\Jordan (32 page)

Honey patted her hand. “They all use endearments, so you might as well get used to it. I swear, at first I thought they knew my name before I’d even given it to them. Then I realized everything female is a sweetheart or a honey to these guys, even the hodgepodge of animals Jordan keeps around.” Honey gave Morgan a fond smile. “They’re very old-fashioned in a lot of ways.”

Under her breath, Misty muttered, “You mean they’re overbearing, macho, autocratic—”

“What’s that, Malone? I couldn’t quite hear you.” Morgan looked ready to laugh.

“Not a thing.” She stood, and both Honey and Morgan came to their feet, too, as if they thought she might topple over at any moment. Good grief, she wasn’t even showing yet. “I’ll think about the job, Morgan.”

He gave her a slow nod, looking at her from his superior height in a way that made her feel downright tiny. “That’s fine. But make it quick, okay? I need you to start tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened. She didn’t want to start tomorrow! She didn’t want to start at all. If anything, she hoped to make some solid plans tomorrow that would appease everyone so she could be on her way. “But…”

“Will you, Misty? Please?” Honey hugged her close, and Misty had no choice but to return the embrace. Since meeting Sawyer, her sister was deliriously happy and she wanted everyone else to feel the same. Over Honey’s shoulder, Misty glared at Morgan. He winked at her, the obnoxious brute.

Misty pushed her sister away slightly and drummed up a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you go have breakfast with that new husband of yours? I want to discuss this…job, with Morgan.”

“But you haven’t even told me about the baby yet, or how far along you are, or anything!”

Misty thought about moaning again, but with Morgan watching her so closely, she held it in. To her surprise, he took Honey’s arm and said, “One thing at a time, hon, okay? If she takes the job and sticks around, you’ll have all the time in the world to chat.”

It was obvious Honey didn’t want to, but she finally agreed to leave. She gave Morgan a warning look on her way out that had Morgan chuckling in a deep rumble.

Misty saw nothing funny in the situation, but he didn’t give her a chance to light into him. No sooner was Honey gone from the room than he walked to her and said, “I told you I won’t say a word about the job or the conviction. You have my word on that.”

It was as if he’d deliberately taken away her steam. But Misty had more than one grievance and she was nowhere near ready to give up her anger. “Why should I believe you?”

His hesitation was plain before he lifted a hand and smoothed her cheek. He was so gentle, so warm, she couldn’t get her feet to step out of his reach. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Malone. You must know that.”

She managed a rude laugh. “You couldn’t hurt me.”

Her disdainful tone never fazed him. His mouth tilted in a wry, regretful smile. “I think you’re wrong about that. I think you’ve been through a hell of a lot and you’re vulnerable right now.”

Because he was right, she felt twice as determined to deny it. “Don’t get all mushy on me, Morgan. My stomach can’t take it.”

He lifted his other hand so that he framed her face. “You’re so tough, aren’t you, Malone? Ready to take on the world all alone. I admire that kind of courage, you know.”

“So my insults aren’t having the desired effect, huh? You must have a thicker skull than I figured.”

Morgan whistled. “You really are ticked, aren’t you?”

“Ticked? I’m a whole lot more than
ticked.
What you did was reprehensible.”

“What I did,” he said, his thumbs gently smoothing her cheeks, “was try to keep you here since I was the one who had run you off.”

Misty blinked at him. He felt guilty? Is that what this was all about? Caught between disbelief and annoyance, she struggled with her fading anger. She really hadn’t wanted to go, but neither had she wanted her personal business sallied about for the entire family to hear. Facing them again was going to be incredibly tough. She already knew there’d be dozens of questions, most importantly about the absent father.

As if he’d read her mind, Morgan made a tsking sound. “Come on, Malone, stop beating yourself up. There’s no reason to be embarrassed, you know. My brothers won’t judge you. If anything, they’ll rightfully blame the guy who got you pregnant and then walked away. Like Honey said, we’re old-fashioned about things like that. A guy should take responsibility for his actions.”

She appreciated the sentiment, if not the interference. “Yeah, well, this guy didn’t. And believe me, things are better with him out of the picture.”

Morgan laughed. “I’m not disputing that. If he was around, I’d be tempted to beat him into the ground.”

“Really?” That wasn’t an altogether unpleasant thought. She’d felt the same many times after the way Kent had reacted to her news.

Morgan nodded, then said gruffly, “He hurt you. The least he deserves is a good beating.”

Misty was speechless. Morgan had sounded almost like he cared, like he didn’t despise her, after all. She said facetiously, “How…sweet of you.”

Morgan’s look was stern. “Look, Malone. The last thing you’d want is to be married to a loser.”

“The last thing I want is to be married, period.” Misty stared at his chest and muttered, “I’ve had my fill of dealing with men, thank you very much.”

“I think you’ve just been dealing with the wrong men.”

“Such an obvious truth.” She looked at him pointedly.

He let her implication pass without comment, then leaned down until his forehead touched hers. She could feel his warm breath on her lips, his body heat seeping into her, his gentleness flowing over her. She sighed.

“It’s also obvious,” he said very softly, “that Honey loves you to death. Nothing will change that.”

Oh, how could he make her feel like this when she was rightfully angry? “I know my sister loves me, Morgan. But telling her wasn’t your decision to make.”

“Maybe, but it was the right decision. You were just being stubborn, admit it.”

“No, never.”

He laughed. “At least this way you’re with family, and I’m talking about all of us. We are family now, Malone, whether you like it or not. You don’t have a job, you don’t even have a place to stay.”

Alarmed, she finally managed to dodge his soothing hands and move out of reach. She tried for a credible laugh, but it sounded more like a weak snicker. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

His eyes narrowed. “It’s no good, Malone. I know you too well.”

“You hardly know me at all!”

“But we’re getting there.” Then in a softer tone, “Just where the hell did you think you were going to go?”

The best she could come up with was a shrug.

“That’s what I figured. So why not stay here?”

Misty felt like screaming in frustration. “For crying out loud, Morgan, you
told
me to leave!”

He shook his head. “Damn it, that was before.”

“Oh, I see. A pregnant woman isn’t so risky. You’re no longer worried that I’ll seduce your brothers? After all, I thought that was your overriding concern.”

Morgan leaned against the wall by the fireplace and crossed his arms over his chest. Misty recognized that stance and the accompanying expression all too well.

“No, my overriding concern was the chemistry between us. And your pregnancy doesn’t change that much. You’re still too damn sexy, and only a dead man wouldn’t be tempted.”

She wished she hadn’t brought it up. “That’s ridiculous.”

He very slowly shook his head. “It’s true. You have to know how gorgeous you are, how you make a man feel. But I have an idea on how to handle that.”

The words, along with the way he’d looked at her as he spoke, made her skin flush and her belly tingle.

She didn’t want to be attracted to him! He was arrogant and stubborn, but he was also very dedicated to his family, protective and so incredibly good-looking she imagined women had been chasing him for most of his life.

She mustered up a bored look to hide her reaction to him and asked, “So what’s it going to be? Bundle me up in burlap? Paint a big red A on my forehead to ward off the innocent? What?”

“Nothing so drastic as that.” He paused for a long moment, as if measuring his words, then he met her gaze and his eyes were hard…determined. “I’ll just tell everyone that we’re involved, so you’re off-limits.”

“What?”

He smiled at her reaction. “Believe me, Malone, that’ll be enough to keep all other men away, which is what you wanted, right?”

5

M
ORGAN WAITED
until Misty looked at him, then snagged her gaze and refused to let her look away. There was a soft blush to her cheeks that about drove him crazy. He had a gut feeling that blush was a combination of anger, embarrassment and excitement.

He understood the anger and wished for some way to spare her the embarrassment. The excitement he relished.

“It’s a good plan, Malone.”

“For me to pretend to…to be your…” Her stammering ceased, and she stared at him blankly.

“My woman. Yeah, that’s the plan.” He wanted to walk closer to her, to touch her again, but he didn’t dare. She looked skittish enough to jump out of her skin if he even breathed deeply. “Here’s how I see it,” he said, trying to sound reasonable. “You do need a job, but it won’t be easy to find one without employers knowing you were convicted of stealing from the last place you worked. And once they know that, they’ll be reluctant to hire you, right?”

“Maybe.”

“And you’re still on probation?”

She nodded hesitantly. “For a few more months.”

“That’s what I figured.”

She gulped, and her hands fisted. In shame? In regret? He just didn’t know, but he hated to see her feel either emotion. He intended to do what he could about her conviction as soon as possible. But for now, he had other things to contend with. “The job I’m offering gives county wages, which aren’t great but neither are they piddling. And the fact you worked for a sheriff’s office will have to look good on your résumé, and to your probation officer.”

She didn’t appear quite convinced. She stared at her feet in deep concentration.

A niggling sense of panic seeped in. Misty had been very clear about her feelings on involvement of any kind. The only way Morgan could see around that was to wrangle his way into her life. Keeping her here, hiring her on, showing her she could trust him and rely on him was part of a great plan. He’d just have to make damn sure it worked. “As I said, it’s not a hard job—”

Her head shot up and she glared at him. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“I didn’t mean that.” Sometimes Morgan wished he was as good at soothing frazzled nerves as his brother Jordan. Jordan could talk the orneriness out of a mule, whisper a baby bird to sleep. He was one hell of a vet, but his talents carried over to people, as well. Morgan, on the other hand, usually relied on rigid control to get his way. He managed things, taking on other people’s problems and resolving them so they didn’t have to worry. Most people appreciated that.

Only it didn’t work with Misty. She bucked him at every turn, refusing to accept what he was best at offering.

“All I meant,” he continued, “is that you could easily do the job. You don’t need any special training or skills. And by accepting it, you can stay here indefinitely, which rids you of the cost of room and board.”

She was already shaking her head before he’d finished. “I can’t just stay here free, Morgan.”

He straightened. “Why the hell not? You hadn’t been in a hurry to leave until I prodded you along.”

“That’s not entirely true.” She looked flabbergasted by his persistence, but he’d be damned if he’d back off. “Sure, I had hoped to hang out for a week or two more while I figured out what to do next, but then I’d have left. I never intended to stay here any longer than that.”

He scowled at her. Everything had changed the moment she’d dropped to her knees in front of those bushes. She
should
stay, which meant he no longer had to fight himself for wanting her to stick around.

She’d said she wasn’t as outgoing as she’d pretended. He wasn’t buying that for a single second. She might not be such a real flirt, only using that as a way to cover her worries. But she was brazen and outrageous and beautiful. She was also strong and proud, qualities he’d always admired in men and women alike. But for right now, he wished she wasn’t quite so proud.

“Honey wants you to stay.” That was the only argument he could think of that might convince her. Telling her
he
wanted her to stay didn’t seem to be such a great idea. She’d ask him why, and beyond telling her he wanted to ravish her senseless, he’d have no excuse. Even knowing she was pregnant by another man, now that she’d admitted she wouldn’t be marrying that man, hadn’t dampened his lust. In fact, he admired her courage, which seemed to add a keen edge to his feelings.

In a mumble totally unlike her usual decisive tone, Misty said, “My sister is new here. This is Sawyer’s house and—”

“Honey is new, but permanent. She can invite anyone here that she wants.” Misty had a lot to learn about them, first and foremost what
family
meant. When Honey became Sawyer’s wife, she became an equal member of that family.

Actually, Morgan thought, smiling a little inside, she’d been an accepted member of their family as soon as they’d all realized Sawyer loved her.

“But Sawyer might not care for—”

“Sawyer will love having you here. But truth is, the house belongs to all of us. My father built it back when he and my mother were married. When she and Gabe’s father retired, they decided to move to Florida, and we took over the upkeep of the house. Since grown men need some privacy, Gabe converted the basement into an apartment, and Jordan did the same with the rooms over the garage.”

She looked him over as if trying to figure him out. “But you still live in the house.”

“Yeah.” He could see the questions in her eyes and grinned. “I don’t, however, bring women here for overnight, if that’s what you’re asking. Casey is almost sixteen now, and
he
thinks he’s all grown up, but I still wouldn’t flaunt lovers in front of him. I remember being sixteen. Guys that age don’t need any help in the raging hormone department.”