by Jane Jamison
His power spread through him. Taking the cow by the tail, he pulled and pulled, backing the animal up and getting him closer to the enclosure. Any other cow would let itself be herded inside, but Mable was the orneriest cow he’d ever seen. It wouldn’t have surprised him to find out she was a she-cat who’d died and been reincarnated in a cow body to give him hell.
At last, after a few more hard pulls dragging the animal backward several feet, Mable finally got a clue. With a loud moo, she whirled around and charged toward the pen. He jumped out of the way just in time. She barreled past him without slowing down.
“Better luck next time.” Heath dropped down from the fence and slammed the gate behind her. Mable swung around again and let out another angry bellow. “I swear sometimes I think you must have a lot of bull in you. Huh, El Toro?”
“Are you two having fun?”
Braden strode toward him, looking like a gentleman farmer without a care in the world.
“Where the hell have you been? It doesn’t take that long to check the herd.”
“Nope. It sure doesn’t.”
What the hell was with his brother? He seemed happy, even jovial. And the curve of his lips looked like an actual grin. “What’s going on?”
Braden shrugged. “Not much.”
“Uh-huh. That’s bullshit. You look like you just finished off a big steak with a whopping helping of mash potatoes.” Heath pointed at Mable. “Which could be you, old girl, if you don’t start behaving.”
“Nope. In fact, I’m starving.” Braden slapped him good-naturedly on the shoulder and strode toward the house.
“Okay, now I know you’re fucking with me.” He caught up, sticking to his side as he studied Braden’s all-too-smug expression. “Spit it out.”
“She’s here.”
“Who’s here?”
Braden stopped and chuckled. “She’s here.”
“Damn it, man, if you don’t tell me who she is, I’m going to knock you upside the head.”
His brother’s smirk morphed into a genuine I’ve never been happier smile. Carefully, he enunciated each word. “She. Is. Here.”
Was that supposed to give him a better answer? He studied his brother’s face and, at last, realization came to him. He couldn’t believe it. Not until his brother said it out loud. “Tell me you’re talking about our mate.”
If Braden had paused longer than he had, he would’ve had to wring his neck. “Damn it. Talk.”
“Yeah. I’m talking about our mate.”
He’d said the words, and yet Heath still had a difficult time believing him. “You’re fucking me. Don’t joke about this, man. Not about her.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
Heath searched around them. “Is she inside the house?” He took a couple of steps toward the back door, but Braden snagged his arm.
“No. She’s not inside. She’s at Lena’s.”
Joy like no other he’d ever felt erupted, spinning throughout him until every inch of him was more alive than ever before. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get her.”
Braden grabbed him again. “Now hang on. We can’t just go storming into town and throw her over our backs.”
“Watch me.” He jerked his arm away. The faster he got to his truck, the faster he’d get to her. “I’m going to carry her back to the ranch where she belongs.”
“She’s already been here.”
He couldn’t have said much to get him to stop, but that did it. “What? She was here? And you let her leave?”
“As much as we may want to, we can’t lock her up in the bedroom. She has to get to know us first.” Braden glanced at the house. “Where’s Davey, anyway?”
“He’s at a friend’s house. And don’t change the subject. Did you feel the connection again? We were right about picking it up at the club that night, right?” He envied the ecstatic look on Braden’s face.
“Yeah. I did. Stronger than ever. Especially once I kissed her.”
“Fuckin’ A. You kissed her?” Jealousy struck him. He was ready to share their woman, but when would it be his turn? First Braden got the most from her at the club and now he’d been the one to find her and kiss her. “Did you do more than kiss her?”
“No. I tried to get her to admit to feeling the connection, but she wouldn’t. Like I said, she’s not ready. We have to take it slow.”
“But you think she felt it, right? Could you tell?”
“Yeah. I could tell.”
“Damn it. You’re one lucky S.O.B.”
He spun around, half-jogging toward the pickup. And again, Braden pulled him up short. “I swear, man, if you yank my arm again, I won’t be responsible for your medical bills.”
His tiger clawed at him, snarling at him, demanding he let it out to claim its mate. He wanted to, but if he did, he’d have to run to town instead of drive.
“Heath, she’s in trouble.”
Damn it. He had no choice but to turn back around. “What kind of trouble?”
“I don’t know. She’s clamming up. I found her walking down the road toward town. She said she’d been walking all night. Or at least trying to. But it’s more what she didn’t say that makes me think it.”
“Do you think she’s running from a man? From family?”
They still hadn’t figured out if she was married or had kids. Granted her friend at the club had said she was “taken,” but who knew if the girl had told the truth? Or even what “taken” had meant? Dating? Engaged? Or worse? As far as he was concerned, if she had a man then he was an asshole for either not taking care of her or for running her off. He damn sure didn’t deserve her.
“Like I said. I don’t know. But Lena thinks it’s a man. She met Kylie—”
“Kylie’s her name? I like it.”
“Yeah. It suits her. Kylie Honeyton.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Honeyton. Thankfully for her she didn’t get the connection with a bear. They’d have a field day with her name. Like she’s a ton of honey.”
“I wouldn’t mention that to her. Anyway, Lena guessed it was a man she’s running from. Said she didn’t even know where she was going and had hopped on the first bus out of Wichita.”
“Wichita, Kansas? Hell, no wonder we never found her.”
They’d widened the investigation outward from Austin, but hadn’t taken it to a national level. They couldn’t have afforded a hunt of such a large area or even knew how to go about it.
“The thing I’m trying to get through to you is that we need to take it easy on her. Don’t go running into town and tossing her into bed. As much as we’d both like to have her today, we’re going to have to wait. Lena called me after I left and said to give her a day or two. She wants us to track down the suitcase Kylie left on the bus.”
“Why’d she leave it? Did she forget it?”
“That’s another reason Lena’s pretty sure she’s running from a man. Kylie split from the bus, leaving her suitcase behind. Like she needed to get away fast and couldn’t risk getting it out of the cargo hold.”
“Then maybe we should leave it alone. If we go asking around, we might stir up trouble or draw attention.”
“Good thinking. But there might be a way to do it. I’ve got a friend with the bus line. He can check on it without letting anyone know.”
“And in the meantime, you get kissed. That’s fucked up, man.”
Braden’s shit-eating grin didn’t help the churning in his gut. “Maybe so. But for me, it’s a good kind of fucked up.”
He relented, giving the pickup a yearning look before turning his back on it. “Okay, we’ll give her time, but not much.” He glanced up at the sky, seeing where the sun hung. “I need to pick up Davey anyway.”
“There’s another reason to take it slowly. Your son’s having a tough enough time making the change from Austin to Twisted. Now he’s going to have to get used to Kylie.”
“And her to him. I get it.” Why couldn’t life be simpler
?
* * * *
Kylie grinned as Lena shoved another large bite of chicken parmesan into her mouth. For a small woman, Lena could eat more than her weight. Where she put it on her thin frame, she’d never know. She’d enjoyed cooking for the older woman for the past two days. Even better, Lena hadn’t asked her any more questions.
“Honey, this is the best damn dinner I’ve ever eaten.” Lena sat back in her chair and patted her nonexistent stomach. “I don’t know which I like better. The breakfasts, the dinners, or the lunches. Each tastes better than the last.”
“Thanks. I love cooking, but baking is my favorite thing to do.” She wanted to open up to Lena. At least in some small way. “I’ve never told anyone this before, but I’d really like to own a bakery. Just a small place, you know? Maybe in a town like this one.”
“Didn’t you tell me you’re a teacher? What was it again? Fourth grade?” Her words were muffled by another large bite.
“I am. Or I was.” She shrugged. “But I’d rather be a baker.” Besides, going back to teaching would mean registering with the state of Texas, which would be a way for Frank to find her.
“Then why’d you go into teaching?”
“My mom was a teacher. Don’t get me wrong. I loved teaching. Plus, I didn’t have the money to open a bakery and teaching pays better than working as an assistant baker.”
“It’s a damn shame you’re wasting your culinary talent on me. But I’m sure you were a good teacher.”
“I really like kids, so it made it more fun. Still…”
“You’d rather have your hands in dough than in Play-Doh?”
She laughed. “Exactly.”
“Maybe Curtis will let you use the kitchen in the back of his place to make some goodies for the customers.”
“Do you think so? I’d love it if he would.”
“He will if he knows what’s good for him.”
Curtis Podgens was the owner of Roar, the local bar where a lot of the citizens of the town hung out. Thanks to Lena’s persistence bordering on harassment, she’d gone into town and met Curtis. At first, she’d pegged him as homosexual due to his flamboyant manner, but she’d soon learned that his wild use of his hands while talking and the brightly colored clothes he wore were misleading. No gay man would ever look at Lena the way he did. Like he could eat her up and gobble her down.
Thanks also to Lena, Curtis had hired her on the spot as a waitress even though she didn’t have a lick of experience waiting tables. As soon as he had, Lena had planted a long and very passionate kiss on him.
“Ask him today when you go into work. Tell him I said he has to say yes.”
Kylie finished washing the pans and set them in the drying rack. “What if he says no? I don’t want to push him on my first day of work.”
“He won’t. He wouldn’t dare.”
She leaned against the counter. “I see.” She couldn’t help but be curious. “If you don’t mind my asking, are you two a thing?”
Lena burped, covering her mouth, then laughed. “A thing? If you’re asking if we like to have sex, then yes, we’re a thing. If you’re asking if we want to get married, then no.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“You’re not prying, hon. Just curious like a cat.”
“But curiosity killed the cat.”
Lena laughed filled the room. “The hell it did. Don’t you believe that old myth.”
She stood, sweeping Kylie into her arm as she led the way out of the kitchen. “Like I told you before, I found my lovers a long time ago, but I lost them. They were trying to help others when they got caught up in a tornado outside of town.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Lena waved off her concern. “Death is a part of life. It happens. They were stupid cats who didn’t know when to come out of the rain. Can you imagine? Cats staying out in the rain?”
She’d picked up on the fact that Lena liked cats. A lot. Pictures and knickknacks of cats, most of them large animals like tigers, were scattered all over the house. But to refer to her late lovers as cats was a little on the odd side. Still, Lena was an eccentric soul.
“Go now. Get ready for work.
She hurried up the stairs and hummed as she entered her bedroom. After leaving Wichita, she would’ve never guessed she’d find herself in a small Texas town with not only a new friend, but a new job. Better yet, she’d run into the men she’d met in Austin.
* * * *
Kylie stopped at the door of the bar Roar, her mouth dropping open at the crowded room. With it being a small-town bar, she’d expected the place to be almost empty, especially on a Monday evening. Instead, it was packed.
The bar consisted of one large room with the counter for drinks running along one side of an entire wall. Several people sat on the bar stools while others took drinks to their table. Even with all the people crowded inside, the atmosphere was relaxed as though everyone was more interested in lounging than in socializing. In fact, a lot of them seemed aloof, uncaring. Until their eyes shifted to her.
She pulled her skirt lower. The clothes Lena had loaned her were a bit snug, but they’d have to do until she either made enough money to buy new ones or the bus line found her missing suitcase.
She smiled as Curtis hurried over to her. “Hi. I hope I’m not late.”
“Naw, sugar-cat, you’re right on time. Come with me.”
She hoped he’d stop calling her “sugar-cat.” Was a boss supposed to give an employee a nickname? Yet she didn’t want to blow the job over a little thing like a pet name.
He took her along with him, passing by several of the tables. Her nerves pricked up as their gazes stuck to her, reminding her of a predator stalking its prey.
Relax. You’re imagining things.
However, relaxing was the last thing she wanted to do. Not when the man seated on the nearest barstool kept eyeing her. He drank her up with his eyes. She glanced at him and saw the tip of his tongue inch out of from between his lips. Giving a little squeak, she quickly looked away. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he wanted to lick her.
“This is Purdy, our bartender.”
The middle-aged man behind the bar glanced away from laughing with one of the women seated at the counter. His dark perusal of her had her thinking about stepping back, but Curtis was behind her, blocking her. She suddenly felt trapped.
“Can it, Purdy.” Curtis grabbed one of the hoses and sent a quick spurt of water at Purdy.
“Fuck it.” Purdy shook his head violently, acting for all the world as though he’d been sprayed with acid instead of water.
“Then straighten the hell up. This is Kylie. She’s going to start waiting on tables, so be nice to her. Got it?”
“You hired a hu—” Purdy’s mouth drew back into a snarl. Or was it a hiss? “A waitress? What the fuck for?”
“Because you’re too damn lazy to get out from behind the bar.”
“Bullshit. You hired her because Lena told you to.” Purdy grunted then turned back to the woman.
She’d never felt so conspicuous with everyone in the bar staring at her. Was it unusual for them to have a waitress? Or was it something about her? “Are you sure this is a good idea? I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Curtis handed her a tray from behind the counter. “You need a job, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s a good idea.”
“But did Lena really put you up to it? I mean, that’s not the only reason you hired me, is it?”
“This is my bar, sugar-cat. Nobody tells me what to do with my bar. Got it?”
“Got it.” And yet, she had the distinct feeling he was lying. “Don’t I need a pad and pen to take orders?”
“Naw. For the most part, people want beer. The only thing you’ll have to remember is whether they want it in a bottle, on draft, or in a pitcher. Pitchers are ten dollars, drafts are five, and a bottle is three. Easy, right?”
“Is
that with tax or not?”
“Sugar-cat, we do things differently here. Don’t worry about the tax.” He scooted her away from the bar. “All you have to do is look pretty.” He pointed a finger at her. “Oh, and don’t let anyone scratch you.”
“Scratch me? Why would anyone scratch me?” She glanced at the crowd, and when she turned toward him, he was already scurrying down the hall toward the rear of the place.
* * * *
“Will you get the lead out?”
“If I go any faster, we’ll speed right past Roar and out of town.”
Heath snarled at Braden. His brother was taking his sweet time getting to town. He could be slightly sadistic at times, and this was one of them. “Just get moving. I’ve had to wait all this time to see her and I’m not waiting a damn minute more. Even if you’re trying to make me suffer.”
“Get off it. It’s only been a couple of days.”
Those couple of days had stretched on for what felt like a lifetime. Braden wanted to see her just as much as he did. He’d paced the house at night, too, until they’d finally given up and gone for a run. If it weren’t for him coaxing Mrs. Rillerton into another night of babysitting Davey, he would’ve had to wait longer. Not only that, but Braden would’ve gone to see her without him.
“She’s the one. You’re sure?”
Braden shot him a sour look. “You know it as well as I do. Or are you saying you didn’t feel it that night at the club?”
He’d wanted confirmation. Reassurance that their mate had shown up. Although he might have questioned the validity of the connection in his youth, he now knew it was as real as the moon above them. Destiny, the Universe, the connection, or whatever anyone wanted to call it, had brought her to their small town. No coincidence there. They’d messed up earlier by losing her in Austin, but their mistake was finally being corrected.
“She’s our mate, all right.” And I’m going to see her tonight. “Is she still hot?”