Boots, Chaps, and Cowboy Hats (Taming Team Ten (Book One))

by Jana Leigh

  “Great, well, uh, then we also have a few other things we need to discuss,” Alex said, flustered about his reaction to Sable, he told Slone he would not be in a ménage with him and Sable, but he kept thinking about it. Damn, it was a crazy thought. He wasn’t sure he could even share a woman. He had never done it, maybe he would want a relationship with her by himself, but the more he thought about it, it seemed like it would be so natural for him. His parents did it without jealousy, and so did most of the rest of his family, only his brother Dante had a singular relationship, and he had explained it to him, telling him that it was a matter of choice.

  They talked about business for the next few minutes before they settled their plan and then Gage clapped his hands and said, “Now, no more business, we have been at this for the last few weeks with no fun, and tonight is all about the fun.”

  “Okay,” Sable laughed. “How about that dance now?”

  “Nope, dinner is here,” Slone said and pointed to the waitress who was carrying the heavy load of their food.

  The meal was fun and contained a lot of laughter and teasing. Slone and Alex seemed to protect her from the men’s teasing. It was cute, she thought and leaned back in her chair and watched the men interact. They had been together a long time; even Slone was involved in the teasing, which she was amused to see.

  “Now,” Gage clapped his hands.

  “How about a dance, sweetheart,” Slone whispered into her ear. She felt a tingle all the way down to her toes. Shit, these men were lethal. It was strange how she responded to the Alex and Slone, but the other men, although just as handsome and devastatingly charming, left her laughing like her brother had.

  Sable looked at Alex who smiled sadly and then she turned back to Slone and nodded. He held out his hand to her, she grinned and put her hand in his. She felt the tingle from their touch and sighed. A slow song came on right when they got onto the floor. Sable paused not sure where to put her hands at first, she waited to see how he was going to hold her. When he gathered her close, put his hands on her hips, she smiled, and wrapped hers around his neck.

  “So, are you enjoying yourself?” Slone asked.

  “Of course, I am. This is the first time in six months that I have felt safe enough to go out of the house without my mace.” Sable laughed.

  “I am sorry you had to deal with all of that, maybe you can put this behind you now. Hopefully you know, give someone else a chance to prove to you that not all men are scum. Maybe a couple of someone’s,” Slone said.

  “Oh…I…uh…” Sable stuttered.

  “Don’t think about it yet, just, you know, maybe get to know us and then decide,” Slone said and grinned.

  “Us, like you and Alex?” Sable whispered.

  “Yes, Alex and I, although Alex is still struggling a little with a few issues. But he wants you like I do, and he is the best friend I have ever had, even after all these years, it was like picking up where we left off. I gotta be honest; having a ménage relationship has always been my goal. I have dabbled a few times, but I never really was able to let go, with Alex I could, I trust him with my life,” Slone said.

  “So you like him,” Sable said quietly.

  “I respect him, I admire him, and I love him like a brother, I don’t have nor will I ever be sexually attracted to him,” Slone said honestly.

  “Oh, well uh…good,” Sable said and then looked at the table. Alex was staring at the couple with an intent look on his face. She felt the shiver of attraction run through her. Damn, she was totally thinking about this.

  Chapter Eleven

  The auction house was hot and stuffy when they walked in, but none of the men seemed to care, the air of excitement was surrounding them, it was like taking seven boys into a candy store and turning them loose. It was mayhem. Sable walked behind them shaking her head as they pointed to the animals in the pens that were ready for sale.

  The smell was what got to her, she wondered if they had ever heard of an air freshener, but who would sell one big enough for the large arena. Maybe they should check it out. She looked down at her jeans and tennis shoes and giggled, she was probably the only one who didn’t sport worn cowboy boots and holey jeans. The men and women who were there wore their cowboy hats, and shit kickers with pride. Hell, there was probably a spittoon somewhere since they all seemed to have a lump in their cheek or lip. Gross.

  “Let's get that one,” Gage said pointing to a huge-ass horse. Sable looked and saw Slone shaking his head.

  “No,” Slone said firmly. “That is a draft show horse, it would not do well on the ranch.”

  “But it is so big, it would fit me,” Gage whined and Sable stifled a laugh. Boy in a candy shop, she thought and then laughed as they argued about the large, brown horse, with a perfectly combed mane.

  “That one,” Slone pointed to the smaller, brown horse with the kinda raggedy coat. “We need work horses, ones that will be able to chase the cattle and also have a good bloodline in case we want to breed.”

  “You are sucking the fun out of this,” Gage grumbled and looked at Slone who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “Keep with the plan, we have a list, and that is what we go off of,” Slone said firmly and the guys grumbled but agreed.

  They went to the grandstands and took their seats. Sable found herself in between Alex and Slone, but the others were leaning over them to talk to her.

  “Sable, do you see that lot over there, those are what we are looking at. Angus beef.” Thane pointed to a bunch of black cows. She nodded and sat up, finally, they were going to bid. She had listened to them for the last hour, arguing over the head of cattle that were coming up for sale. Jessie wanted one kind and Drake and Mason wanted another. It was hilarious listening to them talk. They argued over the color of the animals, and the hair. While Slone told them some of the ranchers don't bother with grooming because they are selling the animals, the guys didn’t want to listen.

  Sable focused on the bidding and was completely surprised by how much cattle, horses, goats, and other farm animals cost. It was crazy, and she wondered if maybe she should invest something, because the return would be sizable.

  Voodoo was practically bouncing in his seat when his horse came up, apparently the guys agreed they would bid on their own horses while Slone would bid on the cattle. Voodoo’s was up first. The man who sat in front of him had the bidding paddle at the ready, clenched in his hand, waiting.

  When the auction caller gave the information about the animal, he stared at the people in the bleachers to see who was paying attention, they were calling it the people's ‘tells’ about who was biding, Sable just smiled and nodded as if she was listening. Really, the men and their logic more than entertained her.

  Voodoo was ready and he waited to see who would jump in on the bidding before he raised his paddle. Slone was whispering in his ear while he waited, giving him tips and whatnot. When he raised his paddle, Sable wanted to laugh at the grin that spread across his handsome face, it was classic, and if she had brought her phone she would have snapped a picture because the guys smiled in satisfaction and glared at the other people who looked at them while they patted Voodoo on the back. Men.

  Voodoo bid and she looked over his shoulder and saw him holding a tiny little voodoo doll in one hand, rubbing its worn head, and the other had the paddle ready to raise should some unfortunate dumbass bid against any of these guys. They were ready to spend what they had to in order to get what they wanted.

  Finally Voodoo won the horse, and only went over budget a few hundred. Slone seemed to think that was a bonus, although Sable looked at all of them congratulating themselves over spending so much money on an animal. She didn’t get it, and she said as much when Alex and Slone looked at her and grinned as the guys looked at the sheet and realized they had enough time to go and see Voodoo’s horse before LC had to be back.

  Sable shook her head in confusion. “What the hell is wrong with all of you, seriously, you are like excit
ed about overpaying for something. I would have stopped them before they went over budget.”

  “Sweetheart,” Slone grinned. “When a man is buying the horse he has to ride and bond with for the next few years, you tend to want what you want. Now cattle, we want the Angus, but there are fifteen lots coming up for sale, so we will start bidding and won’t panic unless they are going for more than they are worth by the third lot. I like to just get my feel of the bidding before I jump into the fray.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that makes sense, but I am still shocked at the prices. How good of a return will you see?” Sable asked.

  This proceeded to create some sort of debate they had been having for the last few weeks. Sable laughed when Slone rolled his eyes to Alex’s statement about Angus beef as opposed to other beef. They continued as if she were not sitting there, which she didn’t care about since she was watching Voodoo off to the side of the grandstands, petting and talking to his new horse, and the look of envy on the other's faces. Soon enough they came back to their seat where LC took the paddle and his leg was bouncing in impatience as he waited for his animal.

  The auctioneer moved quickly and soon each of the men had their horse and they had each met them. She thought it was cute how attached they got to an animal, but then of course, since she had never had one, it didn’t really give her anything to compare it to.

  Sable wondered what it was like to have an animal to call your own. The way the guys were behaving it was a little like giving birth to a child. They babied and talked softly to their animals. Sable shrugged and sat with Slone while the others arranged for the delivery of their animals. He now had the paddle, waiting for the lot of cattle they wanted.

  “So, do you have a horse?” Sable asked.

  “Yep, his name is Chapperelle, his father was a race horse, but he didn’t have the speed. The owner just needed to get him gone so he could buy another racehorse. So I got a real good deal on him, had him for two years now, he is a worker though,” Slone said and watched as the first lot of cattle came up. She watched Slone closely and noted how he watched every person who was bidding, making notes on who dropped out when and how much people were spending. The others came back up to the grandstands laughing and talking but quieted down when they saw Slone working.

  It was interesting to see how this worked. Sable became so focused on the bidding she didn’t even notice when Slone raised his paddle. It wasn’t until Voodoo turned to Slone and smiled that she even looked at Slone who was bidding. She looked back at the cattle that were in the pen, they were freaking huge.

  Sable already knew from listening to their conversations that they were going to corn feed them, because grazing really didn’t maintain flavor, and many of the big ranches fed their cattle corn, it made them more sought after apparently. She didn’t really see the difference; however, once she was given the lecture on feeding, and drugs, she respected the fact they were corn feeding, and making sure their cattle were drug free, organic, etc.

  Slone won the herd and the guys cheered, she just shook her head trying to figure out why the hell they were so excited. She waited patiently in the stands while they went to go see their purchase and settle up, then arrange for delivery.

  Sable looked around and there were plenty of people to watch and entertain her. Heck, the woman with the Dolly Parton old fashion hairdo was enough to keep her going for months. She didn’t think that hairspray could hold so much hair in place. She had to have found some Aqua Net somewhere.

  Just when she thought she would get up and go find the men, the auctioneer announce they were moving on to chicks. What? Baby chickens? How cute, when she had been able to go out into the public without fear of being stalked, her favorite thing to do was to go to JAX and see the chicks.

  Sable watched in curiosity, wow, those were cheap. She only waited a brief moment to grab the paddle that was on Slone's chair and wait. Her legs were bouncing and she could feel the excitement growing. When she saw Alex standing to the side, motioning her to come down, she held up a finger.

  Oh yeah, I am getting me a pet, she thought. The first was only a lot of ten, that was small enough and she could help take care of them, no problem. She raised her paddle and Alex's head shot to the front to see what the hell she was doing.

  She missed the look of shock when he saw what she was bidding on. Apparently, not many people wanted the chicks, but she did. Only two bids later, she won them for a very cheap price. Heck, she had a hundred bucks cash on her. She grinned and silently cheered to herself.

  When the next lot of a hundred chicks came up she saw why no one bid against her, they were looking for quantity. Sable gathered her things and turned to where all of the guys were standing there with their arms crossed and a stern look on their faces. What the fuck? she thought and climbed down. She could buy what she wanted.

  “Oh girl, you are in trouble,” Slone said.

  “Why, I can buy what I want, and if you don’t like it then I will find somewhere to raise them,” she said stubbornly.

  “We don’t give a shit if you bought chicks,” Alex said and laughed. “No, we want to address the fact that you laughed at us when we got all excited about horses and cattle.”

  “That is easy, they are not nearly as cute as chickens. Just saying.” Sable shrugged and stuck out her tongue at the guys and laughed.

  “Let’s go see what we have to do to get ten whole chicks delivered,” Slone said and hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her with him.

  She was so never gonna hear the end of this.

  Sable had a blast the rest of the week. The auction went off without a hitch, and she helped Alex organize the papers while they were bidding. She also made sure they stayed on their budget.

  They were at the auction every day for five days, each for a different breed and animal. In the end, they had a hundred head of cattle and seven horses. The men explained how the ranch was going to run. She became excited to see the ranch as the week went on.

  And the men, she had been shy and cautious around Alex and Slone, although the others treated her like she was one of the guys. Just like her brother had, and she loved the attention. It was like having back her brother, the one who grew up and protected her. It was nice. Gage was a tease, and he loved to piss off Alex and Slone by touching her constantly. But she handled it in stride and the guys seemed to respect her more for it.

  The sexual tension between the trio was evident; even she was beginning to realize that sooner or later the whole thing would come to a head. She just wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Alex was attentive, but she could tell he was fighting the attraction. His frowns seemed to indicate he was thinking hard about the situation. Sable was trying to figure out everything as well.

  As the week wore on her, anticipation for seeing the ranch was getting unbearable. She asked so many questions, and the men painted a virtual picture for her, but she wanted to see it herself. She hoped it was going to be a haven for her, she had been certain that leaving her hometown was the right decision, the more she was with these men, it seemed like possibly she had found a new home. Maybe she would be able to stay on after they helped her get rid of the stalker.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Holy shit,” Sable muttered when they pulled into the drive of the ranch.

  Alex smiled. Yep, it looked bigger than what it was. He remembered the first time he saw it, now it just looked like home, and he had missed it.

  “It is gorgeous, the house is huge,” Sable said and looked. It was a farmhouse with a huge wrap around porch, just like in the movies but classier. Hell, it looked like the television show Dallas. The barn was huge and she could see men moving about, getting ready for the delivery.

  A woman walked out on to the porch, held up her hand, and waved. She looked like the mother/grandmother Sable had always dreamed of. She was smiling and waving excitedly. Wow, this was going to take a bit getting used to. She had lived in an apartment that could fit in one of the corners of
this huge house. All this space—it looked like heaven.

  She could only stare in wonderment at the ranch. It was perfect. As they pulled into the driveway, Sable’s breath caught. She could see the pasture, a soft breeze was blowing the grass, and wildflowers, and she could see the waves that it made. It was breathtaking, and she couldn’t wait to explore.

  Slone jumped from the passenger seat and held out his hand to her with a grin. Sable turned to the front when she heard the other woman’s voice yelling at Alex to make sure they brought her right to the house. Apparently, dinner was ready. Laughing, Sable allowed Slone to pull her from the truck into his arms. She turned to watch as Alex nodded to the lady on the porch. Then he turned to wait for Slone and Sable to walk to him before clearing his throat and saying.

  “Louise wants us at the house right away. Dinner and all, so let's go get you introduced and then cleaned up. We can worry about the unpacking later,” Alex said and held out his arm to Sable. She grinned and nodded, taking his arm. She wanted to laugh aloud in amazement as the feeling of rightness came over her. Slone held her hand, and Alex closed his hand over hers on his arm. Together they walked to the house, and she knew that somehow, someway, she was going to make this work.

  Over the last week, she had come to know a little about these men. They were trustworthy and honorable. Alex was reserved, and at times, he tried to push her and Slone away. However, in the end he would sigh and accept the situation time and time again. She knew he had nightmares, their second night in the hotel she had heard him at times wake up screaming her brother’s and the other fallen soldiers' names through the thin walls. She also heard Slone talk to Alex, calming him down from the grips of whatever memory he was having. She wanted to go to them and comfort Alex, but she held back.