Kaden & Keegan (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge Book 9)

by Nicole Edwards

“Miss Bristol! Jessica threw a block at me!”

  She jerked her attention back to the task at hand and turned toward the kids just as one of her teachers was making her way over to address the situation.

  Bristol took a deep breath, added a smile, then forced her feet to move.

  By the time nap time rolled around, Bristol was exhausted.

  Jennifer, one of her afternoon teachers, had called in sick, so they’d all been juggling to distribute the kids without overburdening anyone in the process. When they were at full capacity, it was a tight squeeze, but she always managed to make do. Of course, it required her to get into the thick of things and help out, putting aside her daily duties.

  Bristol knew she should probably hire one more teacher since this seemed to be a recurring problem, but she’d been putting it off. She employed four full-time teachers and two part-timers in order to maintain a low student-teacher ratio. Plus Renee, their full-time cook/nurse/bus driver.

  During the school year, it wasn’t too bad since a good portion of her students were in elementary school. Summers usually required her to flip the two part-time teachers to full so they could manage. But it was never enough when she had one or more teachers calling in.

  Truth was, she’d been hoping for the reprieve the holidays would bring. A lot of her full-time kids were known to take two weeks off around Christmas, the parents keeping them home for whatever reason. She’d been hoping to keep her overhead low until the new year. If she had any hopes of fixing up her house, she had to save some money, and that started with managing her business wisely.

  As she sat at her desk in the front office, writing up an incident report for the bruise caused by Jessica’s flying block, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen, grinned, then answered the call. “Hey, girlie. I was meanin’ to call you.”

  “I just bet you were,” Bianca Stewart, the town’s beloved mayor and Bristol’s best girlfriend, said with a chuckle. “Everyone’s first order of business is to call the mayor. Did you have a complaint, too?”

  Bristol grinned. “No, ma’am.”

  “Well, you’re the first for the day.”

  “I doubt that’s true.”

  “Oh, it’s definitely true. I knew this position wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but seriously. People bitch about the most mundane shit.” Bianca sighed. “But I didn’t call you to complain.”

  “No?”

  “I’ll save that for our next margarita night. Now I’ve got to tell you about a very interesting phone call I received.”

  “From?”

  “Kaden Walker.”

  Bristol’s insides clenched painfully tight, a weird shock of jealousy jolting her.

  “Kaden?” She leaned back in her chair, tried to sound casual. “What—” She had to clear her throat. “What did he want?”

  “He’s volunteered himself for the auction.”

  She swallowed hard. “He did?”

  “Yep. Him and his brother. One entry. I hear I’ve got you to thank for that.”

  “I … uh … yeah. I talked to Kaden this mornin’, asked him about the auction.”

  “Do you have any idea how hot a commodity those two’ll be?”

  Oh, she had some idea.

  “The two of them alone’ll probably bring in enough to cover the cost of all the meals. Which means we’d have money left over for more meals, more hungry mouths fed. Oh, sweet Jesus, Bristol. This is amazing.”

  Yes. Amazing.

  “And you couldn’t ask for a better opening than this,” Bianca said.

  “Opening?” She was totally lost.

  “You and two smokin’-hot cowboys?”

  Bristol choked on a laugh. “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “You can’t fool me, honey. I know the thought of them up on the auction block is more than you can stand.”

  “Not true,” she lied easily. “I think it’s great. For the town.”

  “And for you.”

  “No. Not for me.” Bristol lowered her voice, glanced around to make sure there were no teachers nearby. “We talked about this. You’re supposed to take that secret to your grave.”

  “And I will. You, on the other hand, have a very rare opportunity to get what you want without anyone bein’ the wiser.”

  Bristol felt her face flame and she was grateful her friend wasn’t there to see it. Yes, she had fantasized about being with Kaden and Keegan, but it wasn’t something she dwelled on because seriously. She wasn’t dumb enough to ever act on those desires. She’d learned her lesson the night she’d kissed them in her hotel room. It had gotten her exactly nowhere.

  “So, how many entrants does that give you?” Bristol asked, needing to change the subject.

  “Adding Kaden and Keegan, that gives me…” There was a lengthy pause. “Nine total. I’m hopin’ for ten. I think ten’s a good number but I’m running out of time. Can you think of anyone else?”

  “Who do you have so far?”

  “Hold on. Let me find my list of names.” There was a rustle of paper. “Ah, yes. Here it is. Aside from Kaden and Keegan, we’ve got Jaxson Briggs. Plus, his younger brother. Carson agreed last night. Then there’s Chase Jameson a.k.a. CJ. We’ve got Luca Switzer, Ryan Brehm, plus Leif and Lance Walker.”

  “Leif and Lance? They’re twins. Are they doing the solo entry?”

  Bianca laughed. “No. They don’t share like Kaden and Keegan.”

  Bristol fought the blush. “Oh.”

  “I need one more. Can you think of anyone else?”

  Glancing at the list of names she had jotted down, Bristol frowned. “That’s nine names, but only eight entries. You need two more. Kaden and Keegan only count as one.”

  “Oh, crap.” Bianca grunted. “You’re right. I need two more. Dang it. Give me some options.”

  Bristol ran through faces in her head, tried to think of who else Bianca could add, but couldn’t come up with anyone. Most of the men she knew were married with children because that was her business and all.

  “Do you think Callen Mosier would be interested?” Bianca asked.

  “Callen?” Bristol didn’t know Callen well, but he was good friends with Rex, her oldest and dearest friend. Callen’s family owned the hardware store in town, and she’d talked to him on occasion, but never at length.

  “Last I heard, he was datin’ some city girl,” Bianca explained, “but they broke up. He’d be perfect.”

  “If you say so.” Bristol figured anyone was perfect at this point. At least as far as Bianca was concerned.

  “What about Reese Tavoularis?” Bianca suggested.

  “He is officially off the market.”

  “Seriously? When did that happen?”

  Bristol wasn’t entirely sure as to the timeline, but she’d seen Reese and Brantley Walker out and about a few times lately and there was some definite chemistry there. Although it seemed they were pretending otherwise.

  Clearly not needing a response, Bianca continued, “Fine. What about Cassius King?”

  “Really? You want that hot-headed cowboy in your auction?”

  “Personally, I think he gets a bad rap. If not him, what about Rafe Sharpe?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “Not Rafe.”

  “Ohh-kay.”

  Bristol would not go into the reasons for leaving Rafe alone, so she focused on Cassius. “I think Cassius’ll do. I’m sure he can mind his manners for a little while. He’ll be the youngest in the group,” she told Bianca. “But why not?”

  “Fine. You twisted my arm. I’ll drop in at the hardware store and talk to Callen, then I’ll see if I can track down Cassius.”

  “He works for Jeremiah Tucker. On his ranch.”

  “Perfect. If he’s not there, I’m sure he’ll be at Moonshiners on Friday night when I go in for a celebratory drink.”

  “What are you celebrating?”

  “The fact that I’ve got the auction filled up, of course.”

  “Will you be re
ady by Saturday?”

  “Yep. Easy peasy.”

  “You still plannin’ to have the stage set up outside?”

  “Yes. Not too far from the haunted house. Cross your fingers the weatherman holds true to his word. It’s supposed to be nice. Might as well take advantage of it.”

  “I’ll help you any way I can,” Bristol told her friend.

  “You can start by celebratin’ with me at Moonshiners on Friday,” Bianca said, sounding somewhat distracted now.

  “I’d love to. I’ll call the girls. See if they wanna come.” It was the first Friday night in a long time that she didn’t have babysitting plans. In fact, because of the fall festival, she’d kept the entire weekend open.

  “Perfect. Friday at eight?”

  Bristol noted it on her calendar so she wouldn’t forget. “I’ll be there with bells on. But we’re also meetin’ for breakfast one day this week. You promised.”

  Bianca grumbled. “I know. Up with the chickens. Yes, we’ll meet for breakfast. Just tell me which day when you figure it out.”

  “I will.” After disconnecting the call, Bristol leaned back in her chair and briefly wondered if Kaden and Keegan would be at Moonshiners on Friday. Then she snapped out of it and remembered she didn’t want them to be.

  Or so she tried to tell herself.

  *

  Keegan spent the morning working on one of the Walker Demo trucks, giving it a much needed oil change, then shifting hats and helping Ethan out with some of the paperwork. Although he wasn’t as quick with the numbers as Kaden, he could hold his own. Not exactly his favorite thing to do, but he knew it had to be done.

  After spending three hours holed up in the office, he ventured out to grab lunch for him and Kaden, brought it back. They ate in their makeshift break room—toolbox for table, stools to sit on—then they both went back to work.

  It was the same thing they did every single day. A routine they’d somehow fallen into. When they’d first offered to help out with Walker Demo, it had been before Ethan and Beau had the triplets. A temporary gig until something else came along. That was a year and a half ago. Then they’d agreed to stay on when Ethan told them he was hoping Beau could stay home with the babies. On most days, Keegan didn’t mind it. Work was work, and since he was good with an engine, it wasn’t too bad.

  Didn’t mean he wasn’t dreaming of the day they were working for themselves. It wasn’t that he was all that hyped on the idea of a business on Main Street, arcade or otherwise. No, Keegan still held out hope of owning a small cattle ranch, running it with his brother. Some days he felt the itch so bad, he wanted to toss the wrenches and go in search of something bigger. Unfortunately, he knew Kaden would spend hours talking his ear off, convincing him this was where they belonged for now, so Keegan knew better than to get all twisted up inside.

  He was just about to bring up the subject again when a voice sounded from just outside the bay door.

  “I hope to God y’all are decent in there.”

  Keegan glanced over at Kaden. “You think she’ll say that every time she stops by?”

  “If she’s smart she will.”

  “Ain’t no one naked off in here,” Keegan announced, heading up to greet their boss.

  Autumn Jameson stepped into the building, a Walker Demo cap on her head. She pulled it off, used her fingers to tousle her short, multi-hued, curly hair, and offered a winning grin. “Figure it pays to be cautious.”

  “Oh, trust me, it does.”

  Keegan had walked in on Ethan and Beau a couple of times during the time he’d been working here. It wasn’t that he cared what they did when they were alone, but he’d learned the hard way that Ethan expected to be left alone if he was caught—quite literally—with his pants down. None of that oops, you caught us, better get dressed stuff for Ethan. No, sir. Which led to the awkward part, having to leave and come back, timing it perfectly. And then pretending you didn’t get an eyeful.

  “What brings you by?” Kaden asked, getting to his feet as he crumpled his paper sack and tossed it into the garbage.

  “Just checking in. Thought I’d see if you needed me to get anything.” Her brown eyes scanned the interior of the building. “Or maybe y’all needed some help.”

  Keegan chuckled. He had learned early that Autumn did not have a problem getting her hands dirty. In fact, he was pretty sure she enjoyed it more than running the business.

  So when she offered, he did his best to take her up on it.

  “Got one machine that’s givin’ us trouble,” he said, shooting a quick look to Kaden, warning his brother to shut it.

  “Yeah?” She sounded relieved and more than a little hopeful. “What’s the problem with it?”

  He motioned to the backhoe that continued to give them shit.

  “Is that the same one we worked on before?”

  “Yep. Seems to want to hang out here forever.”

  Autumn tossed her cap onto the toolbox, grabbed a wrench, and strolled away.

  Knowing that was his cue, Keegan followed. “Changed out all the plugs and wires again.”

  “But we tuned it up the last time it was here.”

  “We did. And here it is again.”

  “Mind if I give it a look?”

  “Be my guest. You got a lot of experience with heavy equipment?”

  Autumn glanced over, her brown eyes smiling. “I know a thing or two, yeah. Helped my daddy out growin’ up. He sells farm equipment.”

  Well, that was damn good to know. One day he might need the contact.

  “That why you decided to venture into this business?”

  She shook her head, her short hair swinging as she tinkered with something. “I got tired of the corporate world. My old life, really. Figured this was right up my alley. Fresh start, I guess.”

  “You sure an office job’s what you want?” he asked when she continued to focus on the engine.

  Her head turned and a smile formed. “Why do you think I’m in here, cowboy? Figure if I keep showing up, y’all will put me to work.”

  “If it’ll get me in good with the boss,” he said with an answering smile, “you’re more than welcome to take over.”

  A couple of hours later, they called it a day. Before they headed back to the house, Keegan called Kylie, asked if she needed them to pick up the kids from the daycare. She thanked him for the offer, but evidently Gage was handling it.

  Without anyone else to lend their assistance to, they fell into their regular routine of heading home. Keegan was the first to hit the shower, then went to the kitchen to rummage for dinner. While he poked around, never quite making a decision, his brother showered, then joined him. It took Kaden all of a minute to pull out what he wanted because, evidently, he’d planned on steaks and potatoes early that morning.

  As soon as he saw the slabs of red meat, Keegan dragged out the small indoor grill his brother had purchased a couple of months ago.

  “I think Autumn’s gonna eventually work her way into the shop,” he said absently as he got it set up, snagging the seasoning rub when he was done.

  “Nah. I think she likes it as a hobby, but she’s enjoyin’ the rest of it,” Kaden said.

  “You know this how?”

  “Because I talk to her.” The tone implied the duh.

  “Yeah? That all you been doin’ with the boss lady? Talkin’?” Keegan teased.

  “You know she’s not interested in men, right?”

  Keegan’s gaze darted to Kaden. “Seriously?”

  His brother laughed. “Sometimes you’re clueless, you know that?”

  A lesbian?

  Hmm. Sounded kinda hot.

  Shaking off the lewd and completely inappropriate thoughts of his boss, Keegan shifted topics. “What were you talkin’ to Bristol about this mornin’?”

  He remembered the way the pair had looked standing in that office. Almost cozy.

  Kaden’s eyes cut his way briefly, then turned back to the potatoes he was poking wi
th a fork. “She asked if we were goin’ to the fall festival.”

  Seemed an odd topic, but whatever. “When have we missed one? What did you tell her?”

  “She asked if we’d participate in the auction.”

  “Auction? As in what? We sellin’ Kaleb’s coffee table?”

  “Not that sort of auction.”

  “Good. I kinda like that coffee table.” He grabbed a beer from the fridge, passed one to his brother. “So what’s she wantin’ to auction?”

  “Us. To the highest bidder.”

  It took a minute for the words to process. When they did, Keegan barked a laugh, unable to control himself.

  “Did you shudder and shriek? Wouldn’t that kinda thing offend your delicate sensibilities?”

  “Fuck off.”

  “I assume you told her no.”

  “Actually, I called Mayor Stewart and told her to count us in.”

  Turning his full attention to Kaden, he waited for him to deliver the punch line, because surely this was a joke. Keegan was the type to jump at the opportunity to have women throwing money his way. Kaden was the one who insisted on flowers and wine and shit.

  “It’s on Saturday, by the way.”

  “You’re serious?”

  On a normal day, his tight-ass brother would’ve been quick with the hell no. Then again, Kaden had a thing for Bristol, and somewhere in that warped and twisted brain, he probably figured this was their way in with her. After all, the effort Kaden had made over the last ten months had gone so well.

  “What’s the catch?” There had to be one.

  “No catch. It’s for a good cause, and Bristol asked nicely. Who was I to disappoint?”

  “You’re hopin’ she’ll bid on us,” he accused.

  “I’m hopin’ we won’t stand up there lookin’ like a coupla idiots.”

  Keegan took a long pull on his beer, let the information his brother just sprang on him set in. “So the girl you’ve got the hots for wants to auction you for a date. You’re quick to say yes and there’s nothin’ you’re hopin’ to gain from this?”

  Sounded like heartache waiting to happen.

  Bristol Newton had been playing games with them for the past year, stringing Kaden along. Enough to keep his interest, but never enough to allude to the possibility of more. Typical woman shit. And while he wouldn’t turn Bristol down if she asked, Keegan damn sure wasn’t the sort who was interested in playing games.