by Arlene James
“I’ll trade you housing for help fixing up the house,” she proposed, glancing from brother to brother.
She had taken a seat at the table in the dusty kitchen. The brothers had positioned themselves around the room. Wyatt leaned against the sink, his arms folded. Jake stood at the edge of the hallway as if listening to his son playing with hers in the laundry room, where the boys were taking turns rolling small cars into the corner of the sadly sloping floor. Ryder had hopped up to sit on the counter between the sink and the stove. Ryder Smith was only a few years her junior, but he had a sweetness about him that made him seem younger.
“I don’t mind helping out,” he said.
Wyatt shot him a glare. Ryder shrugged. “And once the house is fixed up, what then?” Wyatt wanted to know.
Tina lifted her chin. “You’ll need to find other accommodations. I plan to turn this house into a bed-and-breakfast.”
Jake snorted, and Wyatt rolled his eyes. Ryder, however, lifted his head in surprise and blurted, “Well, that makes sense. Uncle Dodd used to take in folks who came to visit family and friends in War Bonnet.”
Tina could have kissed him. She noticed Wyatt again glared at Ryder. She knew instinctively that Wyatt was the brother she had to convince.
“We have a ranch to get going,” he stated flatly. “We don’t have time to remodel an old house.”
“And we’re going to live where while we’re getting the ranch going?” Jake wanted to know.
“We can convert the bunkhouse into our living quarters.” Wyatt turned his glare on Tina. “The outbuildings belong to us.”
“I never said otherwise.”
“Okay,” Jake interjected, leaning a shoulder against the wall. “So, where do we live while we’re converting the bunkhouse? It hasn’t been used in decades, so I doubt there’s even plumbing.”
“Besides, why does it take all three of us to work the ranch when we don’t even have any cattle?” Ryder wanted to know.
“We’ll have cattle soon,” Wyatt insisted, shifting his feet. “Rex Billings is going to help us find the livestock we need, including horses.”
“You and Delgado can handle that, can’t you?” Jake asked. “Meanwhile, I can work on the bunkhouse and Ryder can start putting this place to rights.”
“What do a mechanic and a fight—” He broke off midword and scrubbed a hand over his face, heavily shadowed now with a day’s growth of beard. “What do you and Ryder know about construction?”
“We know as much about carpentry as we do about ranching,” Ryder put in softly. “I don’t say we can do everything that’s needed, but we can do a lot.”
“Actually,” Jake said, “we know more about construction than ranching. You forget that I remodeled my own house while Jolene was deployed and that Ryder worked in construction before...”
Tina glanced between the brothers, first at Ryder’s bowed head, then at Wyatt, who studied his youngest brother with undisguised concern, and back at Jake. She saw sadness in all of them, deep, heavy sadness. But why? Some time ago, Dodd had mentioned that Jake’s wife had died, but Tina sensed something else going on here.
Wyatt shook his head, then he looked at her and nodded. “Fine. Ryder will work for you while Jake takes care of the bunkhouse and I get the ranch started.”
She doubted she would get a better offer. Still... She made a final demand.
“And you agree to deed me the land that the house sits on.”
Wyatt’s dark gaze held hers for several long, tense moments. “We’ll see. I might just buy you out.”
Surprised by the suggestion, Tina again glanced around the room. Apparently, Jake and Ryder were equally surprised.
“What makes you think I’ll agree to that?”
He shrugged. “Maybe you don’t have the money to renovate this old house.”
He was right, but she’d learned a few things over the years, and she did have some connections to draw on. She knew where to find the very best bargains on building supplies and could call in a few favors.
“I’ll manage,” she told him.
“What about meals?” Jake wanted to know.
“I can cook,” Tina drawled, “if that’s what you’re asking.”
Jake looked pointedly at Wyatt, who seemed to require a moment to tamp down his irritation before saying, “We’ll buy the groceries if you’ll cook the meals.”
“Done.”
He waved a hand. “I suggest we figure out who gets what bedroom and settle in.”
Jake pushed away from the wall. “Frankie and I can share.”
“Actually,” Ryder said, “we may all have to share. Some of the rooms are empty of furniture. Two are uninhabitable. The window is missing in one of the rooms, and either the roof leaks or something’s chewed through the ceiling in another.”
Dismayed, Tina gasped. All eyes turned her way.
“What do you mean the window is missing?”
“I mean that it’s gone.” Ryder spread his hands, palms up. “Including the casing.”
“And something chewed through the ceiling?”
“Well, there are tiny teeth marks around the opening.”
Wyatt let loose a long, gusty sigh. “Okay. Get up to the attic and see what you can find. But watch yourself. The last thing we need is for anyone to get hurt. Jake, you and Ms. Kemp look at the other rooms and decide who goes where. I’ll start unloading our gear.”
“Call me Tina,” she corrected. If they were going to be living in the same house, it seemed only right to be on a first-name basis.
Wyatt inclined his head, laying a hand to his chest. “You can call me Wyatt.”
Jake lifted his hand. “It’s Jacoby, but everyone calls me Jake.”
Tina knew this, but she simply nodded.
“And I’m Ryder,” the younger brother said, smiling.
“Dodd told me all about the three of you,” Tina said, smiling in return.
“That’s more than we can say for you,” Wyatt muttered, moving toward the door.
Ignoring him, Tina pushed back her chair and stood. With so much to do and so much at stake, she couldn’t afford to worry about anything else. Time to get to work.
She and Jake spoke to the boys, warning them to stay in the house out of harm’s way while the adults arranged their living quarters. Frankie nodded compliantly, but as usual Tyler argued.
“Why can’t we go outside?”
“Because we haven’t had a chance to look around yet,” Tina told him. “It’s too dangerous until we know the outbuildings are all clear of vermin and the porch is roped off.”
“Aw, I ain’t scared of no vermin,” Tyler sneered.
“You should be,” Jake said. “Rats, squirrels, raccoons and skunks often carry rabies.”
“What’s rabies?”
“A very serious illness,” Jake explained.
“I don’t care,” Tyler grumbled mulishly.
“I hope you don’t mind shots then, because rabies will keep you in the hospital for lots of shots,” Jake informed him.
Tyler frowned, considering this. Finally, he said, “I better make sure Frankie ’n’ me don’t get rabies.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Jake replied gravely, but Tina saw by the twinkle in his dark eyes that he was amused.
“Call out if you need us,” Tina instructed. “We’ll just be upstairs.”
Tyler nodded and went back to rolling the toy car, accompanied by the sound effects of a revving engine and screeching tires. Tina followed Jake from the room, aware that he silently chuckled, his shoulders shaking with mirth.
“Boys,” he commented softly when she fell into step beside him. “I think they’re all born with a certain amount of stubborn pride.”
Tina sighed. “I think Tyler got more than his fair share.”
<
br /> “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s played well and been very patient with Frankie today.”
She smiled her thanks for that and wondered why it was so much easier to like Jake than his older brother. The same seemed to be true of Ryder. A pity that Wyatt was the better looking one.
Most attractive, least likeable. Thankfully.
The last thing she needed was any sort of romantic entanglement. She had long since vowed that she would not follow her much-married mother’s path. The only thing on her mind now would be creating a safe, stable home for her son. She’d do whatever she had to do to make that happen. Then Layne and his lawyer could take a hike.
Resolved, she accompanied Jake upstairs to see what Herculean tasks awaited her.
* * *
“The last thing we need is possums in the house,” Wyatt muttered, staring at Ryder, who was covered in dust from his head to his shoes. He had cobwebs in his black hair, which he attempted to brush out with his fingers.
They’d all crowded into the upstairs hallway to hear what Ryder had found in the attic. This day just kept getting worse and worse, in Wyatt’s estimation. First they found the house in sorry condition. Then they’d learned that Tina Kemp actually owned the thing. Now they were obligated to help her fix it up, critters included.
“Could be worse,” Ryder reported. “I found evidence of bats.”
Tina surprised Wyatt by letting out a frightened eep. She hugged herself and asked, “Will they come back?”
“Hope not. I’ve blocked every entry point to the attic that I could find, including the hole in the ceiling. I’ll cover up the empty window, and tomorrow I’ll fix the ceiling, but the roof will need to be addressed before long because I also saw evidence of leaks up there.”
Tina muttered something under her breath, but Wyatt chose to ignore it.
“Good work,” he said to Ryder. “You and I can take the room with twin beds. Jake and Frankie can share one of the full beds.” He turned to Tina. “That just leaves you and Tyler.”
“We’ll share my old room for now. There’s only a twin bed, but I can make up a pallet on the floor.”
Wyatt had brought up her many suitcases, so he now carried them to the room with the pink gingham wallpaper, making two trips. Some of the bags had to stay out in the hall.
“I can’t vouch for the bedding,” he told her, as she began positioning suitcases around the room and opening them.
“I brought my own.”
“Thank God,” he said. “All we brought are sleeping bags, and I doubt Jake would want to share one with Frankie even for a single night. Kid’s a mini tornado in his sleep, all flailing arms and legs.” He chuckled, thinking of the nights he’d spent with Frankie when both Jake and Jolene had been deployed. If not for the overwhelming relief of having his brother return safely from the war zone, Wyatt might have been jealous of his brother for taking Frankie home with him. Then Jolene had been killed in a training exercise just weeks after returning home, and Wyatt’s envy had turned to grief.
Tina looked at Wyatt, her expression solemn. “Are you the kind of man who normally thanks God?” she asked.
Wyatt blinked and nodded. “I am.” To his surprise, her coppery gaze softened a bit before she turned away, a pair of worn jeans and a faded red tank top in her hands.
“Good to know. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to change. Then we can strip the beds and haul the mattresses outside to beat the dust out of them.”
Why hadn’t he thought of that? “Of course.” He backed out of the room and caught Jake by the elbow as he was heading downstairs, informing him of their latest chore.
While he and Jake manhandled the mattresses down to the porch to whack the dust out of them, Tina wiped down and swept out all seven rooms upstairs. Thankfully, she found additional bedsheets in the linen closet at the end of the hall. After tumbling them in the dryer to remove dust and anything else that might have found its way into the folds, she made up the beds. In the end, the sleeping bags weren’t needed, so Wyatt had her use those to make a comfortable pallet for Tyler.
Unfortunately, the dryer repeatedly threw the breaker in the outdated junction box in the laundry room. Worse, more than one outlet sparked noticeably when they tried to use it. So, after the sheets were refreshed, they turned off the electricity. Considering the poor wiring, a portable generator—if they could even find one—didn’t seem wise.
“Guess I’d better put an electrician at the top of my list,” Tina said tiredly as the waning sun threw shadows across the room.
“Looks like it,” Wyatt agreed. “We can manage with flashlights for a while. Tomorrow I’ll order some propane and see about changing the utilities into—”
“My name,” Tina said flatly, dropping down onto the chair.
Wyatt sighed but remained silent.
“For the record,” she went on, looking as weary as Wyatt felt, “I intend to divide two of the bedrooms upstairs into bathrooms. That will leave five bedrooms, though I intend to turn one of those into a sitting room that can be shared by the back two bedrooms. Just so you know.”
“That leaves just four bedrooms for six people.”
“Eventually, Tyler and I will sleep downstairs.”
“In what? The den?”
“The den can be divided,” she pointed out. “It’s an enormous room. And there’s the junk room.”
Man, he hated this added complication. He and his brothers already had enough to deal with. They didn’t need all this confusion, what with rooms being divided all over the house.
Lord, show me how to get through this, he silently prayed. Don’t let me say and do things I’ll regret. We need the ranch to work for us.
“Is there any food?” Tina asked, running a hand through her thick, spiky hair. “If so, I’ll start supper as soon as the water is heated.”
She had two huge pots of water on the stove for the boys’ baths, but the adults would have to make do with cold showers tonight.
“I’m afraid there’s not much here,” Wyatt informed her. She looked too tired to cook, anyway, but he didn’t say so. “Jake offered to head into town to pick up burgers for supper, if that’s all right with you.”
“Works for me. I’ll hit the grocery store tomorrow and buy some food.”
Wyatt’s stomach applauded that plan. He just hoped she could actually cook. If not, they’d be back to living on canned goods, cereal and the limited fare from the town’s single eatery. Wyatt had fond memories of the old diner, but he wouldn’t want to eat there three times a day.
“You didn’t seem to bring much in the way of housekeeping supplies,” Ryder commented, rubbing his dark head with a thin towel.
She shook her head, her short chestnut hair flopping over her eyes. Pushing aside the glossy strands, she said, “Didn’t have much to bring, but surely Dodd left enough pots and pans to see us fed.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, but we should have everything you need,” Wyatt told her, heading toward the bathroom. “In fact, I don’t know where we’re going to put all the furniture.”
“You’re moving in furniture?” Tina squawked in obvious surprise.
Actually, they had enough furniture for two households, but he kept that information to himself for the moment.
“Don’t get in a huff,” he said, coming to a halt. “The moving company will store our things until the bunkhouse is ready. You’ll have plenty of room for your furniture.” That came off as surly, which was not his intention. Before he could soften his remarks, however, she wearily lifted the back of her forearm to her brow.
Sighing, she muttered, “I don’t have any furniture. This is it for us.”
Wyatt frowned. “What? Not even a TV?”
She shook her head again. “Nearly everything was rented, and what wasn’t, I sold.”
Suddenly
, Wyatt felt guilty because he’d silently grumbled that she’d brought more suitcases than he and his family together.
“Besides,” she said, keeping her gaze averted, “I didn’t have room for anything else.”
That was the truth. The car had been stuffed. He’d assumed that the bulk of her goods would follow, but now he remembered something she’d said earlier.
One man has already taken me for everything I owned, and I’ll never let that happen again.
Apparently, she’d left her marriage with very little. Wyatt had been under the impression that belongings were divided equitably during a divorce. Maybe she and her husband hadn’t acquired much, but she and her ex should have had at least four or five years to acquire a few furnishings.
Had her ex sent her and her son into the world without the necessities? Wyatt frowned at the thought. Not that it was any of his business. Besides, he disliked the curiosity that her situation aroused in him. In fact, he disliked her, though he couldn’t honestly say why.
This situation wasn’t her fault, after all. When it came right down to it, what she did with this house was no business of his. The house and everything in it belonged to her. But what on earth had Dodd been thinking when he’d created this mess?
Wyatt hurriedly showered and dressed. He decided not to shave, despite his scruffy appearance. Staying clean-shaven was a near impossibility with his heavy beard, and he wasn’t eager to attempt a smooth shave with cold water. Plus, with daylight fading, he needed to leave time for the others to clean up.
Tina was next and dressed in fresh jeans and a baggy T-shirt. With her hair wet and her subtle makeup scrubbed away, she could have passed for sixteen. For the first time, her hair looked as dark as her gracefully arched brows.
She had the most amazing skin he’d ever seen. Her big, almond-shaped eyes were a bright shade of light brown, somewhere between amber and copper. Wyatt had to work at not staring.
Relieved when she went back into the bathroom to scrub the tub, he got Frankie ready for his bath. Then he helped Ryder carry in the hot water and fill the tub. After adding cool water to achieve the perfect temperature, Tina bathed the boys together and dressed them in pajamas.