Twin Cowboys for Tamara (23 page)

He watched the brothers around the ranch, how they interacted with the other staff and visitors, or rather how they avoided interacting. They did what they had to do to get the job done, did what their employers asked them to, for sure, but they didn’t socialize more than they had to. And unlike the other cowboys who basked in the romantic vigorous attentions that female staff and visitors of the ranch frequently showed them, neither sibling showed any interest in hooking up with any one woman, much less several. He wondered if they might be gay, but didn’t see any evidence of this either. Clearly, Carson and Sam seemed to prefer each other’s company as opposed to outsiders.

Jess might have thought them at least fraternal twins if he didn’t know that Carson had Sam by a couple of years.

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Presently, he took a seat at the island behind Maria. “Morning, Maria.”

She barely mumbled a greeting, averting her gaze as she doled the eggs onto a serving platter that she brought to and set on the island before Jess—definitely not her usual bright and bubbly self.

Jax came into the kitchen, walked right up to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and bent his head to kiss her on the cheek.

“Buenos dias,
Maria!
”

“
Ay,
you.” She giggled and slapped at his chest with a dish towel as she pushed him away so that she could finish preparing breakfast.

Leave it to Jax to work his charm and not give the woman a chance to be embarrassed, at least not for too long.

Jess hoped he’d managed to work some of that charm on Tamara and wondered what
he
would say to her once he saw her.

They hadn’t spoken since they’d gotten back from the stream, not about anything significant, and he’d gone to bed every night since confused and with his empty arms aching to hold her. That Tamara remained at the root of his confusion didn’t deter him from wanting to see her. Illogically, he felt like seeing her would clear up the confusion rather than contribute to it more.

Jax took a seat beside Jess and helped himself to a steaming portion of the eggs, several strips of bacon and a stack of Maria’s famous light and fluffy flapjacks that gave the range cook flap jacks a run for his money. As far as coosies went, Garfield did pretty darn well satisfying the guests’ palates .

“Where’s Pop?” Jax asked as he poured a generous amount of syrup over his stack.

Jess shook his head and smiled. He didn’t think little kids could beat Jax for his sweet tooth.

“He had breakfast earlier. Said he would go fishing at the pond and maybe go visiting after that,” Maria said as she took a seat opposite Jess and Jax and sipped from her cup of coffee.

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Go visiting
could have meant anything, but Jess had a pretty good idea that their dad went over to Bailey’s to stir up some trouble more than likely. Although he probably wouldn’t see it that way at all even if he’d caused the recent upheaval at the ranch.

He didn’t like thinking of Tamara as an upheaval, but couldn’t think of another way to describe the state of affairs at the ranch since she had arrived. Everyone walked around the house on pins and needles, and Jeremiah and Bailey acted more cantankerous than usual.

Not to mention the two’s secretiveness of late had only gotten worse since Tamara’s arrival almost two weeks ago, and Jess wondered what that was all about.

Did Maria know what went on? Being the housekeeper and naturally low-key, she tended to blend into the background, the eyes and ears to the household grapevine, though she refrained from gossiping. Maybe she had overheard a few discussions between the men that would give Jess or Jax an idea of what went on.

He knew his father wasn’t completely happy with all the changes and expansions that Jess had masterminded at the ranch, but he didn’t think the old man would take any kind of drastic steps like selling the place without consulting him and Jax.

But Jess knew
something
went on between the two codgers.

“Will
Senorita
Tamara be coming down for breakfast this morning?” Maria asked, her voice quiet. She avoided their glances and released a little gasp of surprise when Tamara swept into the room dressed in a pair of blue jeans and an off-white western shirt.

She immediately went to Maria and bent at the waist to peck the older woman’s cheek. “I told you when I arrived you could call me Tamara, Maria. Nothing’s changed, has it?”

“N-no
Sen
…Tamara.”

Jess watched Maria’s lips curve into a little smile and thought about the bewitching effect Tamara had on everyone—except for her stubborn father, Bailey.

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“Good.” Tamara gave Maria’s shoulder a gentle squeeze then went to stand between him and Jax, draping an arm over each of their shoulders before giving each of them a sound peck on the cheek.

“How’s everybody this morning?”

Jess looked at her and noticed his brother mirroring his action just as Bailey struggled through the back door.

All gazes automatically darted to the door to see him haltingly make his way across the floor to the island on his crutches. He settled himself onto the high chair beside Maria, resting his crutches on the island on his other side.

“Where’s Jeremiah?”

“Good morning to you too,” Tamara said.

Bailey spared her half-hearted greeting that came out more like a growl.

“We thought you were together,” Jess said.

Bailey frowned. “Why would we be together?”

Jess just shrugged, now more than ever convinced that the two men harbored some secret that he, Jax and Tamara probably should have been privy to.

More and more, Jess wondered about the accident that had broken Bailey’s leg. Neither man had ever explained to his satisfaction how it had happened. He wondered how Jax felt about it and whether or not Bailey had shared anymore with Tamara than he had with them.

Had she come out so quickly because she knew something he and Jax didn’t? After all, she hadn’t visited the ranch since her departure almost twenty years ago—not when Jax had fractured his knee playing football and not for anything else of importance involving him or Jess. But then Bailey was her father, and he was getting up there in years. Maybe she thought now would be her best excuse, her last chance to reconcile with him. God knows the silence between them had gone on long enough.

Jess didn’t think he could pull it off. No matter how angry he got with his dad and Jax, and they had had some pretty heated arguments Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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over the years, he still couldn’t see not speaking to the old man or his brother for so long, and he considered himself just as proud as the next guy.

Jax said diplomacy prevented Jess from holding a grudge. Maybe if this wasn’t true, and the ranch hadn’t always been his passion he would have left long ago, just like Tamara, and never looked back—

maybe. Jess just couldn’t see it though, not the way he felt about family ties, not the way he still missed his and Jax’s mom.

He glanced at Tamara, who stood between him and his brother, and wondered if she missed her mother as much as he missed his. She talked a good game after all, playing it tough and untouchable, but Jasmine’s abandonment had to hurt her on some level. At least he had had Tamara in his life to mitigate the absence of a female influence.

But who had Tamara had to ease the effects of Jasmine’s departure?

Bailey loved her in his own way, but his stubborn, disciplinarian manner prevented him seeing past his own viewpoint to notice Tamara’s real needs. She was a girl, not the rough-and-tumble boys that Jeremiah had raised, and she needed tender loving care When silence reigned for several moments and no one answered Bailey’s question, he cursed under his breath and said, “Has that ol’

coot been shooting off his mouth?”

Tamara arched a brow. “Shooting off his mouth about what?”

Bailey grumbled some more then asked Jax to pass the flapjacks.

Jax dutifully complied, and when Tamara realized that Bailey wasn’t going to answer, she sighed and went to the end of the island to take a seat adjacent to Jax and her father.

Jess watched the flush of color in her cheeks as she fixed her own plate, his heart breaking at Bailey’s obvious snub. He felt bad for Tamara, and if Bailey wasn’t the oldest and respected friend of his father, Jess would have made a point of calling the ol’ man out for his uncouthness. Well-regarded elder or not, Jess’s protective instincts wouldn’t allow him to be completely silent on the issue and kicked Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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into gear. “I’m curious too, Bailey. What would Dad be shooting his mouth off about?”

“Who knows? He’s always poking his nose where it don’t belong.

Could be anything.”

Jess exchanged a look with Jax, Maria and Tamara that plainly said,
Are you buying any of this bull crap, because I’m sure not.

Tamara reached over to grasp Jess’s closest hand in hers and squeezed, giving her silent thanks.

Jess squeezed her hand back before he felt the heat of Bailey’s dark gaze and looked up to meet the disapproval in the older man’s eyes. He refused to break eye contact first, standing his ground for himself and Tamara and Jax too.

If he backed down, there’d be no peace for any of them. No matter how things turned out between the three of them, Jess wanted Tamara to be able to walk with her head held high. He didn’t want her feeling shame for what they had shared together, or what they felt for each other, whatever that was. As confused as he felt, shame didn’t factor into his emotions, and he didn’t think it ever would. He couldn’t be ashamed for feeling the way he did about Tamara or for making love to her with his brother. She deserved to be worshipped and taken care of by at least two men, better that the two men be the ones who knew and loved her.

Bailey finally broke the stalemate and turned his stare on Jax. But if he thought he would find Jax anymore diffident than his brother, he had another thing coming. Jax met his gaze head-on like Jess had.

After a long moment, Bailey pointed his fork at Jax and then Jess before making a jabbing motion in the air. “I know what you two boys are up to, and I don’t cotton to it. I just want you to know that.”

Jess exchanged a look with Jax who shrugged as if to say
the jig is
up
.

“Nothing to say for yourselves?”

Jess wondered exactly which part of the equation Bailey had an issue with—the age gap between Tamara and him and Jax or the Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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threesome. It couldn’t be his and Jax’s race, not when he had fathered Tamara with a black woman.

He cleared his throat but before he could say anything, Tamara jumped in with, “Why don’t you direct your condemnation at me? I’m just as much at fault as either of them if you’re talking about what I think you are.”

For the briefest of seconds, Jess wondered if Maria had said anything to Jeremiah or Bailey about what she had seen, or whether Bailey and probably their dad had put two and two together on their own. Admittedly, she looked uncomfortable fidgeting in her seat next to Bailey. But the expression on her face wasn’t guilt as much as empathy when she exchanged a helpless look with Tamara.

“The three of you hanging out to all hours, God knows where, doing God knows what. Don’t you have any shame?”

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Tamara murmured, but she didn’t sound half as convincing as Jess would have liked.

He hated that Bailey succeeded in cowering her and making her feel like less than a woman of worth. She didn’t deserve that. If Bailey had been anyone else, Jess might have been tempted to knock him right on his butt, broken leg and crutches or not.

“Bailey, you need to pull in your horns a tad before you say something you’re going to regret,” Jess said, as deferentially as he could, which wasn’t a lot considering the way he felt. Now that he didn’t have Jax to direct his anger at, Bailey would do just fine.

“And who’s going to make me if I don’t?”

“You know, you’re being one right ornery cuss, and there’s really no need for it,” Jax said. “We’re all adults here. Let’s just live and let live.”

“I
thought
we were all adults.” Bailey looked at his daughter and scoffed. “But it seems despite the years that have passed, some of us haven’t grown up one iota.”

Tamara tossed down her napkin and stood from her chair, fists automatically landing on her hips and Jess had an eerie sense of déjà Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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vu. Hadn’t they just lived this scene several evenings ago when he had still been deep in the dog house?

“You know what? I’m about sick and tired of you judging me. I didn’t come back here for this, and I don’t have to take your abu—”

“Why
did
you come back?”

“Because…” Tamara gaped, exasperated as she threw up her hands. “You have to ask?”

“I just did, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t think you could be any more clueless or obnoxious than when I was a teenager. But clearly I’m wrong.”

Bailey jabbed the air with his fork again. “You watch your mouth, missy.”

“Or what? You’ll ground me?” Tamara did a little air-jabbing of her own with her forefinger. “I’ve got news for you,
Dad
. I’m not a kid anymore, and I’m certainly not your little girl to boss around and tell what to do.”