Hott and Ready (The Hott Brothers Book 2)

by Leah Sharelle

  “Oh, my god.” Picking up another small stack of papers, I flipped through them and debated whether to call Hendrixx now or wait for him to contact me. He promised he would call as soon as he was able to after Mack had her baby. I was yet to hear from him, not that I was worried or anything. Babies didn’t come on command, Mack might still be in labour for all I knew. The local hospital serviced the small town of Cattle Ridge and surrounding districts, it was small, but they followed strict rules the same as a city hospital did, so mobile phones had to be turned off and ringing Josie at reception didn’t appeal. My former school mate was one in a long line of Hendrixx Hott admirers, and with Cattle Ridge being so tight with the gossip mill, my relationship with Hottie 2 was sure to be out there and being talked about over cups of tea and scones and pints of beer and parmies.

  “Hmmm, that is great Daxx, don’t play with anything sharp,” I replied distractedly, concentrating on the papers and not the person who I really didn’t want to see, climb the ladder and enter the roof crawl space.

  “Well, it is good to see my nephew is being watched properly,” Mallory drawled, laughing when I screamed and toppled backward, hitting my head on an old hard suitcase.

  “Fuck!” Rolling around, my hands held my head as I groaned in pain, silently cursing my luck. Which was non-existent, otherwise my arch nemesis would not be here laughing at me. What the hell was Mallory doing here and not my boyfriend?

  Okay, so I was being a tad dramatic, Mallory and I weren’t exactly enemies, although, I would have to think strongly about jumping or not into a rapidly flowing river to save her if that scenario ever eventuated. There was the consideration of my boots, and my hat, if I were wearing it, then there would be the temperature of the water, cold water in winter wasn’t my cup of tea.

  “He is fine, there isn’t a scratch on him,” I grimaced, rubbing at the bump that was now forming on the back of my noggin.

  “What are you doin’ up here anyway?” Mallory asked, looking around, “I haven’t been up here for years, it hasn’t changed much, still full of—”

  “No swearing Aunty Mal, Blake said the F word, and now she is gonna be in big trouble,” Daxx sing-songed, army crawling back over to us, a GI Joe action figure in one hand and a strange-looking dude in an orange wet suit and flippers in the other.

  “I know someone who is going to be in bigger trouble,” I muttered, pasting a smile on my face for Daxx’s benefit. The little guy adored his aunty, and the poor kid couldn’t help his taste at this young age.

  “You found them! Okay, let me grab these, and we can get out of here,” I said to Daxx, ignoring Mallory’s question. Now I wasn’t a rude person, but the last thing I wanted to do was bond with the woman who sits on my boyfriend’s lap from time to time and has him massage her feet. Not saying I wasn’t comfortable with their friendship, because I was … now, it was just that I didn’t like her because she obviously didn’t like me.

  Hastily shoving the files and papers back into the box, I kept out a few of the ones marked with the two names, then pushed the box beside the suitcase, so Hendrixx could easily find it.

  “Hey, that’s my last name! Is that about my dad?” Mallory barked, reaching for the box, but I blocked her from it with a swift move of my body.

  “I don’t know exactly, but until the guys take a look, you aren’t going to touch it.”

  “Hey, that is my business too. I have every right to see it,” Mal argued as she launched herself at me, knocking me back down again with her body on me.

  “Give them to me!”

  “Bugger off!” I shouted at her. “You are going to rip them, you stupid cow, for God’s sake! The brothers have a right to see them before anyone, it was their father that ripped their world apart, ” I growl loudly. The papers crumbled in our fists, neither of us was prepared to let go until a loud cough comes from the same ladder Daxx, Mallory and I climbed up to get here. The noise surprising us so much we both froze and turned our heads to look, only to see Drixx and Fenixx poking their heads through the large manhole.

  Both men wore different expressions, one looked entertained and one, the one I love, shocked.

  But it was Fenixx that found his voice first.

  “I just have two questions. One, can you do this again but in a pool of jelly? And two, what the hell are you two fighting over?”

  Taking advantage of the pause in our struggle, I snatched the papers and twisted around to face Hendrixx.

  “I found this box full of legal papers and correspondence between your dad and that fella Buchanan, there has to be at least a hundred of them.” Waving the papers in front of me, I raise my other arm and point to the box.

  “The rest of them are in there, Mallory wanted to see them, and I said no.” Glancing at Mallory, I narrowed my eyes at her and gave her my best bitch face.

  “You fight like a wussy by the way, who the hell wrestles at your age? I mean seriously have some dignity.” I could feel Hendrixx staring at me. Those intense blue eyes silently yelling at me to look at him, but I couldn’t. From the small amount I had already read, Will Hott was about to cause more grief for his sons from the grave. Again.

  My heart ached for him, Noxx and Fenixx too. I just thank God that they decided not to tell Lillian about the lengths Will went to keep Noxx and Makena apart. Lillian adored her husband, she wasn’t blind to his rough ways, often pulling him up to give him a dose of what for when she thought he went too far concerning punishment for their boys, and at times me. Lillian was the only person that stood up to Will without fear of reprisal, she didn’t take his shit, but at the end of the day, Will and Lillian Hott loved each other deeply and knowing her husband deliberately caused heartache to their own sons will absolutely destroy her.

  “What the fuck does this have to do with you anyway?” Mallory spat at me, her eyes blazing at me, “this is Hott and Rogers business, you have nothing to do with either.”

  Streaks of anger vibrated through me at her nastiness. Who did this chick really think she was?

  “And just where have you been for the last four years, Mallory? Your so-called friendship with Hendrixx finished the minute Noxx and Mack broke up. How much does Drixx actually mean to you, really? You had to know Daxx was Noxx’s before he did, yet you sat forty kilometres away and said nothing. You cut contact with the guys without a second thought,” I accused with more venom than I had used with anyone in my life, even that idiot Roberts didn’t piss me off like Mallory had in the last ten minutes. “This family has nothing to with me? Really? I have lived here my entire life after my father died the Hott’s took me in as one of their own. I know and care about this family more than you ever will.”

  Mallory smirked at me, I could see she was enjoying provoking me, but I was too far gone in my anger to see her game.

  “Oh yeah, you see them as your family do you? Taking it to a new level with Hendrixx, aren’t you?” Her smile was one of victory, like she hit the nail on the head, proved some kind of fucked up point. That Hendrixx and I were in an incestuous affair or something.

  “You sick person. I may see Lillian as a mother figure, and Will might have punished me like one of his kids, and yeah, Nixx and Lenoxx are like brothers to me, but not once, never have I felt anything other than love for Drixx,” I maintained, my heart thumping under my tee.

  “How about you concentrate on your own man rather than trying to cause trouble with me and mine. I love Hendrixx with every cell in my body, and there is no way I could or would carry on like you do with someone who was just a friend. What is it Mallory, you can only be friends with men because the women around here see you as a threat? Is that why you need to insert yourself in Hendrixx’s life by watching TV with him, getting him to rub your feet, so you can be that girl other women see as competition? Are you that twisted you think you are more important to Hendrixx than I am?”

  Getting to my hands and knees, I crawled past the stupid woman, ignoring the look of shock on her face.


  “Daxx, come on mate, we are going to feed Lancelot and Hercules,” I said to the little boy over my shoulder. Holding the crumpled papers in my hand, I crawled around the obstacle course of boxes and old furniture until I reached the large custom made manhole. Fenixx and Hendrixx still had just their heads and shoulders poking through the opening, both of their mouths gaping open and staring at me with wide eyes.

  The manhole was larger than a standard one, Will had a new one installed with its own ladder that, when closed, sat on top of the door.

  I heard Daxx rustling behind me, talking to his newly acquired action dolls. I remembered those figures when I was a kid. I even stole them a few times to play with them because my dad refused to buy me a Barbie doll, telling me it was a waste of money, so of course, Lillian went out and brought me a menagerie of blonde-haired dolls and accessories.

  Family. I am part of this family and nothing Mallory Rogers said could refute that.

  Handing the papers to Fenixx, I finally looked at Hendrixx. His blue eyes were rimmed with wetness, his beautiful, soft mouth in a firm hard line. I could see him struggling with his emotions and I couldn’t have that. He didn’t do anything wrong, other than leaving me alone with Mallory when he should have known better.

  “Move back, honey,” I ordered gently, letting him know with my endearment I was okay. Shifting my legs, I sat on the edge of the opening and waited for the guys to move back so I could step down on the ladder.

  “I didn’t know,” he rasped, jutting his chin in the direction of Mallory, affirming it wasn’t him that sent her. Not that I thought he did, Hendrixx knew Mallory and I were like a jerry can of petrol and a lit match.

  Nodding at him, I placed my hand on his stubbled, roughened cheek.

  “I know you didn’t,” I agreed softly, shimmying my butt closer so I could kiss him gently.

  “I’m going to take Daxx to the stables, I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Blake,” Hendrixx’s guttural whisper of my name broke through the anger directed at Mallory, lessening it some. Pressing my lips to his again, I held them firmly there until he kissed me back.

  “You need to do this now honey, I got Daxx for as long as it takes. What did they name the baby?”

  A small smile appeared on his lips, his love for his new niece shining in his troubled blues. “Onyxx Victoria, double x, of course.”

  “Of course,” I laughed quietly, “pretty name, I can’t wait to cuddle her.”

  “I think I want one,” Hendrixx announced, looking perplexed and confident at the same time.

  Patting him on his chest, I nodded knowingly.

  “We’ll get there babe, us first, then kids.” He needed this, to hear my reassurance that nothing Mallory said had gotten inside my head doubting him or myself.

  Hendrixx dropped his head, his breathing slowing down. Looking back up at me, he nodded once, his jaw tight, but I saw the determination and clarity come back to him.

  “I love you, Blake.”

  “Love you too, Cowboy.”

  Nothing or no one was going to change or destroy that.

  HENDRIXX

  Mallory’s presence pissed me off for the first time since we started our friendship. Sitting in the home HBC office with her and my brother, Noxx, on the phone, all I wanted to do was ask her to leave.

  “Have you read all the documents?” Noxx asked through the speaker, his question bringing back my focus to the matter at hand.

  “Most of them, enough to ascertain Dad simply did this so he could own old man Rogers for the rest of his life, get him into so much debt Makena and Daxx would suffer too,” Fenixx answered, giving me an eyebrow lift and a look that insisted I get my head back into gear.

  It was a hard ask considering all that had gone down since finding Blake up in the roof wrestling and arguing with Mal. The shit Mal said to my girl still played in my mind on a reel, rewinding, playing and rewinding again. Nothing made sense about the papers, though, except for one thing, my dad hated Makena and her father and nothing, not even his own flesh and blood, would have stopped him from ruining them.

  “Fuck me, how did we not know he was like this?” Noxx muttered, and even through a phone call, I could feel the heart-gutting pain he was feeling because I was experiencing the exact same revelation as was Nixx.

  He hadn’t said very much since Noxx answered our call over an hour ago, he sat quietly on the other side of the desk from me, thumbing through pages reading the correspondence between Dad and his crony, not saying anything.

  “The contracts Rogers signed pretty well fucked him in the arse,” Fenixx spoke up for the first time, “let’s say he pulled off a miracle and made money out of the farm, and even if he managed to pay off the interest on the loan, the principal amount would never be paid off even if he lived to be a hundred. And where is the money? We know he borrowed to lease the bulls, but there is no sign of the cash. Mal any ideas?”

  I fixed my gaze on Mallory, she was sitting on one of the leather couches looking far too smug and comfortable. Whatever game she was playing or thought she was playing confused the hell out of me. Mal was not normally a mean person, she was sarcastic and sometimes brash but vindictive and cruel … no way, not the Mal I knew.

  “Nowhere Mack and I could find it. His solicitor didn’t have a clue either, Dad didn’t even use him for the contracts. As far as we know, he went into that business transaction without legal guidance.”

  “That is obvious,” Fenixx huffed, “this contact is a one-way ticket for Will to own Rogers. No legal rep worth his diploma would allow someone to sign it.”

  “The money has to be somewhere, buried maybe, locked in a box in the house. Over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is sitting silent and I would match every cent just to find out why your dad didn’t use it to improve Waterford,” Noxx said suddenly, reminding me that he was still on the phone.

  Nodding in agreement, I pushed away from the desk and walked around it to stand in front of the fireplace. I was tired of talking about the feud between two men that should have died with them. Trying to figure out the whys and hows was a waste of time and effort. Mack and Lenoxx were back together, they had a brand new baby to concentrate on loving, to go along with their son.

  “Noxx, you go be with your wife and daughter, Fenixx will bring Daxx to you.” Ignoring Mal’s protest, I looked at Fenixx for confirmation and received it instantly.

  “Thanks mate, talk to you tomorrow. Gather up everything and courier it to the Melbourne legal team. Maybe we have something we can get Buchanan on, get some justice for Makena that way.”

  “Will do Noxx.” Fenixx stood and quickly shuffled the papers into a pile.

  “You two have some things to discuss, and I have to go get our nephew so he can finally meet his little sister, and I can get some more snuggle time with my niece now that the cuddle hog is gone,” Fenixx muttered, looking pointedly at me.

  “Whatever mate, I am the favourite uncle and always will be,” I replied good-naturedly, but my light mood was just an act, inside I was still boiling. Mallory had some major explaining to do.

  The second Fenixx closed the office door, I pounced.

  “Mallory, what the fuck was that back in the roof space? Why the hell would you say such vile crap to Blake, shit that had not a bit of truth to it?” I thundered, stalking her way then stopped when I got too close to her. Once upon a time, and not that long ago, being so close to Mallory Rogers was something I did without conscious thought, now though … it made my skin crawl and felt … wrong.

  I could see Mallory saw my hesitation and back up, her face went from smug to affronted in a blink of an eye.

  “She got your balls wrapped that tight Hendrixx?” she jeered, almost goading me to argue with her.

  “Who are you? Your sarcasm isn’t usually this vicious Mal. What you said to Blake was cruel and unnecessary and completely untrue. A few weeks ago you were encouraging me to go after Blake.”

  “I said wh
at I meant Drixx, and I think as your friend, you would appreciate me looking out for you. You are so lost in your sweet, young, horsey girl, you don’t see that she has the power to hurt you. You spend so much time with her, all you see is her.”

  “Yeah Mal, it’s called being in a relationship. Just because you and Tim spend weeks apart when he is off working, doesn’t mean everyone else does,” I countered, understanding dawning on me why she was so worked up over Blake.

  “Is that it Mal, are you jealous of Blake and me? Is that why you attacked her the way you did because I am spending my time with her and not sitting around waiting for you to click your fingers and summon me?” Judging by the shame that crossed her face, I guessed I was on the right track.

  “Tim is away, so Hendrixx will keep me occupied, is that it? I am not your sick consolation prize Mal, we were never going to be anything more than friends. It has always been Blake for me. One relationship in years my only history, and that didn’t last because it wasn’t her. You going all gung ho and pretending you give a shit about my heart or some shit didn’t impress me, it just pissed me off. You are trying to make trouble and I want to know why,” I provoked her, laying it all out for her to see and understand. Blake was not going anywhere, and she proved that earlier with her softness and sweet kisses when she had every right to throw a tantrum.

  “So what, some young pussy you have been salivating after for years reaches the right age, and you fuck me off? How is that friendship, Hendrixx?”

  Grinding my jaw, I silently counted to ten, hearing her refer to the woman I loved more than my own life as sweet, young pussy was not on.

  Having enough of this conversation, I decided to end it.

  “If you are unhappy with Tim and your future together, then go fix it. Here is a novel idea, why don’t you go with him next time he goes out of town, show some interest in someone else other than yourself. Be warned Mal, don’t talk about Blake like that again, not if you want to continue being friends with me.”