Operation Ginger Avenger [Divine Creek Ranch 24] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  “People get scared by ghost stories, ma’am. There’s nothing scary going on here. Maybe just a mother’s lingering worry about her child.”

  “Or grandchildren. Is she here right now?”

  He chuckled. “It’s not like that. It’s more like a whisper in my ear or a warm touch on my shoulder. People say angels watch over them. This is like that. There’s a lot of love for Bella there, which is maybe why she sparkles for her. Children, you know?”

  Jessica nodded. “When I was little, maybe Bella’s age, my grandmother had a friend. Jinny was an artist. She painted flowers on everything, even mundane things, like her back gate. She was the most colorful person I ever met. I was very attached to her. She got an aggressive form of cancer and died. I was heartbroken. For weeks after her funeral, my grandmother said that she would come into my bedroom and find me talking, carrying on a conversation, even though I was alone in the room. She was convinced I was talking to Jinny. It stopped after a few weeks. I still remember her fondly.”

  “Nothing spooky or scary?”

  Jessica shook her head. “Nope. Now, put me in front of a Stephen King movie and I’m terrified.”

  “You ain’t the only one,” Tank said with a chuckle. Troy nodded. That clown was some seriously scary shit.

  “And staying in Divine meets with her approval?”

  Brian cleared his throat again. “In a manner of speaking. I came around to the decision, and she seemed pleased…and then she just faded away.” He sniffled and cleared his throat again and then chuckled when he brushed away tears. “So, I was thinking I’d sell the mobile home, tender my resignation and apologies to my boss, and see about making Divine my home.”

  “I think that’s a great plan, Brian,” Troy said, standing as the toilet flushed and the door came open.

  Bella smiled up at him and said, “I need help washin’ my hands. I’m too short for the sink.”

  “Sure thing, squirt.”

  After promising to visit Brian again, they took off again, and while Jessica and Bella did some shopping for a new coat for her, they snuck over to Clay Cook Jewelers.

  Lily Cook giggled as she watched them peek over their shoulders, making sure Jessica wasn’t watching where they’d gone and that they hadn’t attracted any other attention in the busy parking lot.

  “Well, if it isn’t the #gingerhotties.”

  “Shhh,” Tank said. “We’re hoping all those ladies that came into town for the bachelor auction are clearing out today.”

  “Well, not all of us, just yet,” a familiar voice said from over near the cases where Clay’s custom-made jewelry was displayed.

  Lily shook her head, still chuckling as she thumbed through a stack of work orders. “You spoke too soon. Kate, I have to check with Clay about your order. I’ll be right back.”

  “Of course, Lily,” Kate Benedict said as she came toward the front.

  Lily caught Troy’s gaze. “I’ll be right back to help you, okay?”

  Tank and Troy nodded to her, and then Troy held out his hand to Kate. “Mrs. Benedict, it’s good to see you again. I hope you and your family members had a good time last night at the charity dinner. Are you having a nice visit in Divine so far?”

  “Yes, my daughters-in-law are over shopping at Stigall’s. We had a lovely time last night, although I gather from talking to Grace, and my granddaughters, that there was a bit of a dust up at the ranch last night. I’m relieved everyone is all right. You caused quite a stir in the community last night, what with you going to the highest bidder for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  A customer perusing the watches peered over in unrestrained curiosity, and Kate drew them back to the counter she’d been standing at earlier.

  Tank nodded as he stuck his hands in his pants pockets. “We had to leave fast last night, so we’re headed over to the Divine Creek Ranch to find out from Grace who won us.”

  “I can help you with that, Mr. Drummond,” Kate said. Her eyes twinkled as she gazed at them, obviously enjoying the confused looks on their faces.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I won you. Which means you’re my #gingerhotties.”

  “Oh, thank f—” Relief flooded him, and he cut off the coarse word out of respect, but she still laughed at them. It felt like a huge boulder had been removed from their shoulders.

  Lily returned and greeted the customer shopping for watches.

  “Mrs. Benedict, we can’t thank you enough for supporting the local charities,” Tank said, but she waved a hand.

  “Please, Tank. Both of you can call me Grandma Kate, or at least Kate. The good Lord blessed my family with bounty, not so it could sit gathering dust and zeroes in some bank vault or on a spreadsheet but so that it could do some good in this troubled world. I have a great niece who was a patient at the Shriners Hospital. I know personally all the good they do, and I’m more than happy to contribute to their work, as well as to the other charities Grace has chosen to help. No gentlemanly dinner date or social event is necessary. So you’re off the hook in that sense, if you were concerned about it.”

  Tank said, “Ma’am…Kate, is there a way we can be of service to you? After all, you did win us.”

  Kate beamed and clasped their hands in hers. “I am so glad you said that. What I would like is information.”

  “Information?” Troy asked. Ace and Kemp, and their guys, Duke and Gage, were much better at gathering information if she needed work done.

  “This is information you can easily provide.”

  “Of course, Kate. Anything.”

  “You’re standing in a jewelry store. And if I was going by the way you were looking over your shoulders, you don’t want Jessica Bright to know you’re over here. Am I correct so far?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Troy said.

  “An astute observer would suppose that you’re either shopping for a Christmas present or an engagement ring. And knowing a man’s general tendency to combine the two items, if he can safely get away with it, I’d put my money on you two shopping for an engagement ring. How are my sleuthing skills so far?”

  Tank nodded. “You’re like a bloodhound, ma’am, I mean Kate.”

  Kate giggled. “Well, then you answered my question.”

  “What question?”

  “You’re going to propose to Jessica. Yes?”

  “Yes, Kate,” they both said in unison.

  “That was the other thing I wanted to know. You’re both proposing, aren’t you?”

  “Yup,” Tank said with a nod, looking proud of himself.

  “But you’re also going to get her another Christmas gift, right?”

  “Uh…” Tank said, and the smart-guy look on his face was replaced by confusion.

  Kate patted their hands. “I’m not saying you can’t propose on Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter. Just…boys, don’t double up to make it easier on you.”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  “May I make a suggestion?”

  “Of course.”

  “Take your woman by surprise. Don’t worry about what day it is or who’s around or not around. Just ask her. Oh, and there’s a very pretty diamond solitaire, with a very romantic yellow gold setting in this case that would go very well with the necklace that matches it. Just saying, in case you need a woman’s point of view.” She pointed out the set, and Lily came up quietly and grinned at them as she removed it and set it out for their perusal.

  “It is pretty,” Tank said, taking the ring from Lily, handling it like he was afraid he’d drop it or crush it. He smiled and offered it to Troy. “I can see that on her, can’t you?”

  Troy nodded. The band had swirly shapes on it and the stone was a square-cut brilliant white diamond. He checked the tag and nodded. It was in the budget they’d set aside for her ring. A quick check of the tag on the necklace, and they were both nodding and getting out their debit cards.

  Troy turned back to Grandma Kate. “You’re sure s
he’ll like it if we just wait for the right moment and spring it on her?”

  “The ring. Yes. Save the other for Christmas. She will be so impressed that you bought matching pieces. And there are earrings in a similar gold setting so you can give her something from each of you for Christmas.”

  “To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to waiting another month to propose anyway. That’s really all you want from us for winning us at the auction?”

  Kate smiled at them. “I’ve been wanting to butt in and ask what was taking so long for you three for a long time now. Being able to just come right out and ask you was worth it. Now, just make each other happy and take good care of that sweet angel, Bella. My granddaughters think she is just the best thing since Blue Bell ice cream.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You go on ahead. Lily and I have other business to transact.”

  “Yes, ma’am, thank you. Thank you for everything.”

  They both leaned down and, at her nod, kissed her cheek.

  That morning, prior to Jessica awakening, Tank had measured her finger with a thin strip of paper, and with Lily’s help, they determined her ring size. They made their purchases, arranging for the ring to be sized, and took the necklace and earrings out to the truck to secure them before they headed over to Stigall’s to pick up their girls.

  * * * *

  Lily giggled jubilantly as she turned to Kate Benedict and gave her a high-five. That venerable lady was a force to be reckoned with. “What luck that you happened to be in here.”

  Kate removed her smartphone from her purse. “What luck, indeed. I think it’s time to make a call. I’ll put it on speakerphone so you can hear her reaction, too.”

  Lily was so happy for Tank and Troy. They’d been in once before, scoping out rings, but they hadn’t said much, and nothing had come of it, so she’d never said anything to them. She understood at least a little of what it’d been like for Jessica. Coming from a background that included domestic violence, she knew it took time to heal a heart.

  The call connected, and Grace’s voice came on the line. “Hello, Grandma Kate. How’s your shopping going?”

  “Better than I planned, sweetheart. I have good news.”

  There was a pause, and then Grace said, “You dooo?” Lily could the excitement in her friend’s voice and shared it.

  “Two ginger hotties were just assisted by Lily and yours truly in shopping for an engagement ring. Operation Ginger Avenger is a resounding success.”

  Grace whooped on the other end, and the ladies laughed out loud.

  “Oh my gosh, everyone is going to be so excited! Should we call Maryetta? This all started with her and that video.”

  Kate peered at Lily. Lily shrugged and whispered, “You know Maryetta better than the rest of us. That’s your call.”

  “No,” Kate said. “Let the boys tell her and Troy’s mother. I guess for now the important thing is that I stopped that rather amorous young woman at Maryetta’s table last night from winning them.”

  “Yeah, by a lot,” Grace said with a soft chuckle.

  “I guess this was one of those times when an old woman interfering was a good thing.”

  “And matchmaking, too. Well done, Grandma Kate. See you back at the house. This is going to be the best Christmas season ever.”

  Chapter Thirty

  In his old bedroom, in the house in Dripping Springs that he’d grown up in, Tank pulled on the Christmas sweater. A suitable, subdued gray background with cheery snowflakes knitted across the breast and around the neck and the sleeve cuffs. It was a little snug in the shoulders and a little long, but he didn’t worry about it. That was what he got for not trying it on in the store. He tried tucking it into his jeans but wound up just folding the excess under at the waist. No biggie.

  Troy came in, hair wet and naked except for the towel wrapped around his waist. “You ready to do this?” he asked as he grinned at Tank and then eyed the sweater. “That’s way better than Rudolf.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Jessica had been upstairs earlier, showering and getting changed and fixed up for the portrait, and now she was downstairs with Bella, his mom, and untold family members, probably helping in the kitchen because she’d like to keep her hands busy instead of sitting there. His mom and Troy’s mother were probably telling tales on them and showing off the nekkid baby pictures, or heaven forbid, the Christmas portraits from years past. Every so often, laughter filtered up the stairs from the kitchen, and he hoped she was enjoying herself.

  Troy rubbed his head with another towel and chuckled. “I sure hope Sabrina doesn’t stop by. Seeing her at the auction was a surprise I don’t want to repeat.”

  Tank wasn’t the only one who had trouble with girlfriends popping out of the woodwork. One of Troy’s old girlfriends had been at the auction and had even thought it’d be okay to lay a kiss on him, same as Emmylou Hardman had done to Tank. Both women had known they had a girlfriend beforehand.

  Tank said, “I can just picture the doorbell ringing and I open the door and it being all Wayne’s World—Ree-ree-ree! Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d pop in!”

  With a shudder, he turned and barely dodged in time when Troy whipped the wet towel off and popped it at his leg. “Motherfucker! Grow up!”

  Troy’s laughter followed him as he went down the hall and knocked on his parents’ bedroom door. His dad answered. Looked at his sweater, and then blinked twice. He let Tank in then walked over to the dresser. “What’s up? I’m on orders to take a shower and make myself pretty for your mother. Nice sweater,” he added in a strained voice. He made a wheezing sound.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I think I just pulled my hamstring when we were playing football earlier. Shouldn’t jump up like that,” he gasped as he sat down, looking away. “What’s up, son?”

  “I can come back later, Dad. You need Mom to get you a muscle relaxer or something?”

  “Nah,” he said, waving a hand and turning back to him. “It’ll be okay. Just pulled all of a sudden. What’s up?”

  “Well, I just thought I should let you know…we’re planning to propose to Jessica.”

  The strained look left his dad’s face, and he beamed. “Son? Are you really? When?”

  Tank frowned and tilted his head. “We’re waiting for the right moment. That’s really all you’re going to say? No objections?”

  His dad lifted a brow and took him by the shoulders with a strong grip. “Your mom and I have eyes and ears. I’ll admit I had some reservations in the beginning, although I’m not all that surprised. And now that I’ve met Jessica and Bella, I want you to propose. Not because she needs you but because you need her.”

  “I figured I’d have more explaining or justifying to do. Thanks, Dad.”

  “I’m not gonna say you won’t have some of that to do when the rest of your family finds out. But me and your mom are fine with it. She’s gonna be thrilled. You want me to tell her?”

  “No, I was going to head down now and see if I couldn’t get her alone for a minute or two.”

  “All righty then. Tell her I’ll be down soon. And…nice sweater.”

  “Thanks. You already said that.” He caught his reflection in their dresser mirror and looked at himself from the side. Very nice choice, if I do say so myself. Well done, man.

  At the foot of the stairs, he paused to gather his thoughts and his nerve. The stairwell was empty for a change, and when he looked down the hall, he caught a pretty sight. Jessica stretched up on tiptoes, trying to reach something on a high shelf in the cabinet. She heard his steps and smiled when she spotted him as he came through to the other end. Oddly, she whispered something to his mom, and his mom stopped her when she was about to go to him.

  “Hey, Mom, could I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure,” she said as she wiped her hands on her apron as she untied it. “I was just about to check on your father anyway.”


  “He’s upstairs. When I talked to him he said to let you know he’d be right down. What’s so funny?”

  She whipped the apron over her head and said, “Come upstairs with me right now before anyone sees you,” she said, her words garbled by snorts and giggling.

  “Whaaat?” he queried as she dragged him up the stairs by the front of his new sweater. At the top of the stairs, out of sight of the family grouped down below, she flipped on the overhead light and then gestured at her torso.

  “Hey! How about that? We match!”

  “No, darling! You’re wearing a sweater dress!”

  “Whaaat?” He looked down at his sweater, extra length folded under at the bottom, and looked at her, all cute and fluffy in her sweater mini dress worn with leggings and boots. “Shit. And dad said he liked it. But—but—but it fits me.” He indicated his shoulders and arms and chest.

  She looked at him like his Crayola box was one crayon short and then came around and pulled down the back of the sweater to look at the label. “Sweetheart, this is a woman’s size 32. That’s what the ‘W’ stands for.”

  “Oh, I thought it was a typo or something. I held it up to me in the store, and it looked like it’d fit. I thought it was nice and Christmas-y enough but still normal looking.”

  His mother smiled at him and patted his cheek. “Come with me. I think I have something that will work.”

  “Dad told me he liked it. And so did Troy!”

  She gestured to her torso with a sparkle in her eyes. “They have both seen me in this. If you plot revenge, it’d better not be in my house. I spent all week cleaning.”

  She opened up the upstairs hall closet and rifled around in a big shopping bag as he said, “Please tell me it’s not a moose with antler ears or anything else embarrassing.”

  “Oh, ye of little faith.” She pulled out an Icelandic-style sweater done in dark blue and white, with a simple pattern that sort of resembled snowflakes around the neck. He took it from her and noticed right away that it was soft and very non-itchy. “This is really nice, Mom.”