Deadly Desperados

by Lily Harper Hart

  “And this is your father’s brother?”

  Jake nodded. “After my father died he helped raised me,” he said. “It wasn’t the same as having a father, but he was always great. I spent summers on his Kansas farm. He taught me about animals and … well … hard work. I think he’s the reason I have such a good work ethic.”

  “You definitely have a good work ethic,” James agreed. “What do you think about his suspicions regarding the land developer?”

  “I don’t know anything about him yet,” Jake said. “I figure I’ll handle that when I get out there. It’s just … I worry that he’s in over his head. Land out there like my uncle’s can go for a premium. If someone wants that property, they might go dirty to get it. My uncle isn’t exactly known for being a bastion of patience.”

  “I guess you got that trait from your mother’s side of the family then,” James quipped, rolling his neck as he considered his next statement. “You can have as much time off as you need. I want you to consider taking me with you when you go out there, though.”

  Jake balked, stunned. “What? You want to go with me?”

  “I’ve never seen Kansas before … and the weather here sucks right now.”

  “Kansas is pretty flat. I’m not sure how much you’re missing by never seeing it,” Jake said. “Still … do you really want to be away from Mandy? No offense, man, but you almost melted down when you were away from her before Christmas.”

  “I really think that two heads on this will be better than one,” James clarified. “As for Mandy … well … she’s off work this week because a pipe burst in the courthouse basement due to the cold. It’s an old building, and because of potential electrical issues they can’t reopen until the building has been cleared by an electrician.

  “The court is shut down for the week,” he continued. “I … go ahead and tell me if I’m overstepping my bounds and I’ll butt out … but I was thinking I could bring her. Warmer weather would do both of us some good. You’re right, though, I’m not leaving her. I just thought she could help keep Ally busy while you were working.”

  Jake knit his eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”

  James stilled. “I thought you were taking Ally with you,” he said. “I just assumed that’s why she was in a mood. She probably has no idea how to pack for Kansas.”

  “I … .” Jake worked his mouth, his mind busy as he realized what James suggested. “I didn’t even consider that. I … how incredibly stupid.”

  James clucked sympathetically. “It’s hard to start thinking of yourself as a ‘we’ instead of a ‘me,’ but I’m sure Ally would love to meet your family,” he said. “She’s off this week, too. She’s told Mandy just last week that she still hasn’t met your mother and sisters. Her nose it out of joint about that, by the way.”

  “But … why?”

  Jake looked like a deer caught in headlights and James couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m not a woman, but after living with one who vacillates wildly between happy and pouty depending on the weather … or cramps … or her television schedule, I can tell you that not introducing a woman to your family is the same thing as being ashamed of them.”

  “That is not true,” Jake argued. “I’m not ashamed of Ally. It’s just … my mother will fawn all over her and my sisters will interrogate her like we’re at Gitmo. I was protecting her.”

  “That’s not how Ally sees it,” James countered. “In Ally’s head you’re hiding her.”

  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Jake growled, his mind muddled as he mentally went over his morning conversation with Ally again. Loath as he was to admit it, James’ words might explain some of Ally’s reticence. “I should’ve invited her. I didn’t even think about it.”

  “What did Ally do when you told her what was going on?”

  “She acted sympathetic, but there was something off,” Jake admitted. “She seemed … sad.”

  “You have plenty of time to fix it,” James said, his fingers busy on his keyboard. “What airport should we fly into?”

  “Are you sure you want to go?” Jake asked. “I would love for you guys to go with us – that is if I can convince Ally to go with me now that she’s had a few hours to pout and work herself into a real tizzy – but you know you’ll be staying in cabins on the property, right? The farm is miles outside of town, and I’m going to want to be close in case there’s any action.”

  “What kind of cabins are we talking about?” James asked, glancing up from his computer screen. “Do they have running water? Mandy isn’t going to do outhouses. I can tell you right now that she’s an indoor girl.”

  “They have running water,” Jake said, making a face. “They’re small, though. It’s basically one big room with a kitchenette, fireplace, and bed. Then there’s a small bathroom off to the side.”

  “I can live with that,” James said. “What county?”

  “Kearny. The closest town is Lakin.”

  “It will be fine,” James said. “It looks like they even have a day spa an hour away. If things get really bad we can shuttle them there for an afternoon.”

  “I … I don’t know what to say,” Jake said. “This is going above and beyond.”

  “We’re slow this week,” James replied, nonplussed. “Emma is due to deliver her baby in about a month. Finn can’t go anywhere. Grady can run the office. He can get me on my cell phone if anything pops up. There’s no reason to thank me.

  “The truth is, I’ve been trying to think of something to get Mandy for Valentine’s Day,” he continued. “We made a promise after going completely overboard on Christmas that we would rein things in from now on. A trip to a warmer climate seems like a great compromise.”

  “Valentine’s Day?” Jake’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Oh, crap. That’s only a few days away. That’s why Ally was so upset. It’s our first Valentine’s Day and she has big plans.”

  “How do you know she has big plans?”

  “I saw the Victoria’s Secret bag she tried to hide the other day,” Jake said, distracted. “That’s okay, she can bring it with her. This is going to work.”

  James scowled. “You might be living with her, but Ally is still my sister. All that sex talk makes me uncomfortable.”

  “You’ll live,” Jake said, moving toward the door. “Try to get us on a flight out of town as early as possible tomorrow.”

  “Try not to cry when you beg my sister to forgive you,” James shot back.

  “No promises.”

  ALLY sat on the couch; her eyes trained on a book when she heard the front door open. She’d been staring at the same page for thirty minutes, her mind jumbled thanks to Jake’s announcement that he was leaving.

  She didn’t want to be petty, but the idea that he was taking off and leaving her alone on their first Valentine’s Day stung. She couldn’t help but be disappointed. She knew Jake’s family problems outweighed her sexy plans, and yet she couldn’t help but wallow in her own misery.

  “Hey, Angel.” Jake settled on the couch next to Ally, shifting so he was close but not actually touching her.

  “Did James give you the time off?” Ally asked, closing the book and resting it on her lap. Part of her hoped James somehow developed some nasty tendencies over the past twenty-four hours and told Jake he couldn’t go. The other part knew that was an obnoxious reaction. She was caught.

  “Not only did he give me the time off, but he’s going with me,” Jake said, his eyes searching Ally’s face. “He thinks I might need some help and he’s anxious to get out of this cold.”

  “Oh, well … that’s good,” Ally said. “I’m glad you’ll have back-up. I guess that means Mandy and I can hang out together while you guys are gone.” Even as she said the words, Ally was confused. There was no way James would just leave Mandy for Valentine’s Day. Maybe he forgot – just like Jake.

  “Mandy is going with us,” Jake said. “James refuses to leave her behind and … well … he’s usi
ng the trip as a Valentine’s Day gift. He thinks a few days in a warmer climate will be good for them. Personally, I’m happy for the company.”

  “Oh.” Ally’s voice was almost pitiful and she couldn’t bring herself to meet Jake’s steady gaze. “Well, that’s fine. I’m sure I can find something to do around here.”

  “I’m sure you can, too.”

  Jake waited. In situations like this Ally usually blew up and then Jake placated her with an offer after the fact. She wasn’t doing that today.

  “Maybe I’ll see a movie or something,” Ally suggested, her voice low.

  “Or maybe you could come to Kansas with me,” Jake said, internally sighing at how morose she looked.

  Ally swiveled quickly, her hair flying. “What?”

  “I want you to come with me, Angel,” Jake said. “It didn’t occur to me earlier that I should invite you. I was distracted by travel plans and getting time off from work. Now I realize that inviting you should’ve been the first thing I did.”

  Ally worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “But … do you even want me to go? I don’t get the feeling that you’re keen on introducing me to your family.”

  “Ally, I don’t know why you feel that way, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Jake said. “I love you. I want you to meet my family. I want you to go with me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” Jake said. “It’s not going to be all fun and games. I have work to do. Still, there are horses, cows, and James even found a day spa if you and Mandy get really bored. I … I don’t want to be away from you. This is the best of both worlds.”

  Ally blew out a relieved sigh. “I … what about Valentine’s Day?”

  “I figure you can bring the naughty lingerie you bought with us,” Jake said. “Yeah, I saw the bag. Don’t worry. I didn’t look inside. I’m taking your Valentine’s Day gift with me and I’ll give it to you out there.”

  Ally’s mouth dropped open. “You bought me something?”

  Jake snickered. “Ally, it’s our first Valentine’s Day. It’s a big deal. It didn’t occur to me when I left this morning that I would be gone for Valentine’s Day. I know that’s what you were really upset about.”

  “Don’t kid yourself, I was upset about not meeting your family, too,” Ally admitted.

  Jake smiled, relieved to see she was returning to her usual feisty self. He opened his arms and wrapped them around her slim body as she sank into the offered hug. “I love you, Angel,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I upset you.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay, Ally,” he corrected. “I’m still learning about sharing my life with someone. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to share it with you. That only means I’m an idiot sometimes when it comes to sharing. I need you to understand that.”

  “I understand.”

  Jake dropped a soft kiss on Ally’s upturned mouth. “How about I buy you that Olive Garden I promised, and then we’ll come back here and relax? James is booking the flights. We’re going to need to be in bed early.”

  “Screw Olive Garden,” Ally said, hopping off the couch. “I need to pack. What exactly does one wear in Kansas?”

  Jake laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “Never change, Angel.”

  Three

  “This is so exciting,” Ally enthused the next morning, gripping her armrest as she stared out the window and watched the airplane shoot into the sky.

  “Speak for yourself,” Mandy grumbled, resting her head against James’ shoulder and tugging the airline-issued blanket up to cover herself. “It’s still dark out. You can’t even see anything outside of that window, Ally. I don’t know why you’re so giddy this early in the morning.”

  James surprised the foursome with business-class seats, which meant they had room to stretch their legs and weren’t crammed in around other passengers. In fact, other than two men a couple rows ahead of them, they had the entire business section to themselves.

  “Mandy isn’t a morning person,” James supplied, brushing a quick kiss against his wife’s forehead as she drifted back into dreamland. “She’ll be fine by the time we land.”

  “How long?” Ally asked, her eyes sparkling. This wasn’t her first time on a plane, but it had been years since she’d gone anywhere via air travel.

  “Three hours,” James said. “That’s plenty of time for you to have breakfast and gaze out the window.” Despite himself, James found Ally’s enthusiasm adorable. Unlike his sister, though, he would’ve been perfectly happy crawling under Mandy’s blanket with her and going back to sleep. He didn’t think that was in the cards.

  As if on cue, the flight attendant appeared next to their seats. She was a pretty blonde, her smile unnaturally bright as she gazed between the two couples. “Good morning. Would you like to order breakfast? With only six of you in the section, I’m pretty much going to have nothing to do but wait on you the entire trip.”

  Ally wrinkled her nose. “We get to order breakfast?”

  The flight attendant – her nametag read “Ashley” – handed Ally a sheet of paper. “You can have anything on the list. If you’re really hungry, you can have two entrees. We have more than enough to go around.”

  “Oh, yay,” Ally said, straightening. “I don’t know how I’ve never flown business class before. James, you’re going to have to upgrade me every time I fly from here on out. You know that, right?”

  James rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Ally.” He took Ashley’s proffered menu and scanned it. “I’ll have the omelet and hash browns. I’ll take some coffee, too.”

  “And you’re wife?”

  Mandy didn’t even shift against James’ shoulder. “Give her the omelet and hash browns, too. She’ll take tomato juice instead of coffee, though. Oh, make sure it’s tomato juice. If you try to trick her with V-8 we’re all going to find out exactly how much she hates mornings.”

  Ashley pursed her lips. “Are you sure? She seems … zoned out.”

  “Yes, well, my wife likes to sleep in,” James replied. “She also likes a big breakfast. She’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll wake her up,” Ally offered.

  “You stay over there,” James ordered. “If you wake her up she’s going to yank your hair out.”

  After placing their orders, Jake focused his attention on Mandy. He was mystified how she could sleep with everyone chatting around her. “Do you think she’s really asleep?”

  “She’s drooling on my shoulder.” James gazed fondly down at his blonde. “She’s asleep.”

  “We can stop at a restaurant in the airport if you don’t want to wake her up,” Jake offered. “I honestly haven’t seen her that still since the day I met you guys.”

  James snorted. Jake’s introduction to the Hardy family came at a tempestuous point in their lives. Mandy was recovering from being injured in an explosion, and when the middle Hardy brother, Grady, brought Jake to James’ apartment, his first glimpse into their lives involved Mandy sleeping on James’ chest. He knew then that there was something different about this family. He was glad he stuck around to find out what it was.

  “She sleeps hard,” James said. “If she’s really tired she snores.”

  “Ally does that, too,” Jake said.

  “I do not!” Ally was horrified.

  “It’s cute, Angel. Don’t worry about it,” Jake said, squeezing her hand. “I like it when you snore.”

  “I don’t snore,” Ally muttered.

  James rolled his eyes until they landed on Jake. “While we’re waiting for breakfast, why don’t you tell me about your uncle and aunt. I’d like to get a feel for what we’re walking into before we get there.”

  “They’re great,” Jake said. “Uncle Ben … no rice jokes, Ally … served in the Army for four years before moving from Michigan to Kansas. He’s the one who convinced me the military might be a good fit when I was restless after high school graduation.”

  “He grew up on the west
side of the state?”

  Jake nodded.

  “How did he end up in Kansas?” James asked. “No offense, but Kansas isn’t usually one of those states you uproot your entire life to move to. You’re either born there or … tricked into moving there.”

  Jake snickered. “Kansas is beautiful,” he argued. “You’ll see when we get there. It’s different from Michigan, that’s for sure. That doesn’t mean it’s not a great place to live.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by it,” James offered. “The only thing I know about Kansas is what Mandy’s reruns of Smallville have taught me.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Beware of bald men and meteor rocks,” James replied, not missing a beat.

  “What about your aunt?” Ally asked, rubbing her hands together nervously. “Do you think she’ll like me?”

  “She’ll love you, Angel. Don’t get worked up over this.” Jake realized he’d done a disservice to Ally by hiding her away from his family. Part of it was selfish. He didn’t want to share her with anyone. They already spent so much time with her brothers he felt like they were mired in nonstop family politics. He didn’t want to add his family to the mix when his favorite thing to do was hunker down alone with the brunette of his dreams. “I promise they’re both going to love you, Ally.”

  “Of course they’ll love you, Ally,” James chimed in. “They’re going to take one look at you and start measuring your hips to see if you’re of proper breeding stock to carry on the Harrison name.”

  Jake scowled.

  “What? I’m guessing farm jokes should be limited on this trip, huh?” James was enjoying himself despite the early hour. Nicer weather was beckoning him. He loved Michigan except for one notable exception: the long and brutal winters. He hoped to take Mandy on many warmer climate excursions once she quit her job at the courthouse in September – not that he was counting down the days or anything.

  “You can make farm jokes,” Jake said. “My uncle makes farm jokes. Just … they’re good people. I don’t want anyone making them feel bad because they’ve chosen to live a different kind of life than we have.”