The Rebel Cowboy's Quadruplets Read online

  Mackenzie felt a pang of guilt. This was a discussion for another day. She patted Suz’s hand, noted the cracked nails, the dry skin, the calluses. Suz was a warrior of a different kind, a misunderstood warrior, and Mackenzie would do anything to protect her.

  But keeping the family home probably wasn’t in the cards. “Rest now.”

  “I try,” Suz said. “I try to rest, Mackenzie. But I always see them.”

  Mackenzie drew back a little. “Don’t think about it. It’s all over.”

  Suz nodded, and Mackenzie tucked the blanket close around her sister, cocooning her like she would one of her babies. Then she went into the kitchen and looked out toward the bunkhouse, staring into the darkness.

  Suz was right about one thing—Justin had made it clear he was a footloose, rebellious kind of guy. There was no reason to fall for him. Suz walking in had probably stopped something that should never have been started.

  But she was amazed by the feelings his kiss had awakened inside her, feelings she’d never had before. Suz was right. The kitchen table probably would have been used for something other than its intended purpose, because the last thing Mackenzie had wanted was for Justin to let her go.

  And that’s why it hurt so much that he was leaving.

  * * *

  JUSTIN WAS AWAKENED by the feel of something warm and curvy sliding into bed, curling right up against him. He blinked, realizing he wasn’t dreaming.

  But something was wrong. For one heavenly second he thought Mackenzie might have crawled into his bed.

  The perfume wasn’t right. The hands were too greedy. He caught the hands and sat up, switching on the lamp.

  “Daisy! What the hell?”

  She blinked and hopped out of his bed naked as the day she’d been born. He averted his gaze from the flash of skin as she scooped up her clothes and began dressing. “I thought—”

  “You thought what?” He got up, pulled on his jeans, annoyed. There were three other occupants of the bunkhouse. Any one of them would probably have been happy to find Daisy in his bed.

  He was not.

  “Never mind.” Daisy had pulled on some of her clothes but definitely couldn’t be called “dressed.”

  Which of course was when the three stooges entered the room. Their eyes bugged from their sockets.

  “This isn’t what it looks like,” Justin said, zipping his jeans. “She’s lost.”

  The stooges looked concerned.

  “Not that lost,” Frog said.

  “Damn, son,” Squint said. “You’re exactly what we heard about you.”

  “Which is what?” Justin demanded.

  “Emotionally unavailable,” Daisy said, slowly pulling the straps up on her dress. “A real renegade.”

  Justin hesitated, realizing Daisy was putting on something of an award-worthy act. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Nothing,” Sam said, “except that you were in bed with Daisy.”

  “I was not in bed with Daisy!”

  “Someone was in bed with Daisy, and it wasn’t us,” Frog said. “One of us, I should say,” he said; then he was suddenly shoved aside.

  Mackenzie stared at him. “What are you doing here, Daisy?”

  “Nothing,” Daisy said, her voice too sweet. Too silky, a bit catty.

  Justin sighed. “Everybody out of my room. Now.”

  Mackenzie turned to leave, too. “Not you,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back into the room. He closed the door, took the lunch sack from her hand and set it on his dresser. “Were you bringing me a snack bag for the road?”

  She glared at him. “Yes.”

  “Bet you’d like to take it back.”

  “Yes, I would!”

  “Well, you can’t.” He pulled her into his arms, taking her lips with his, kissing her the way he’d wanted to kiss her earlier.

  She put her hands on his chest, pushed him slightly away—though not too far. “Why would I want to kiss you after Daisy Donovan’s been in your room?”

  “Because you’re in my room now.”

  “Which begs the question what was she doing in here?”

  He smiled. “I think she’d lost her way.”

  “I very much doubt it.”

  “I’m pretty certain I wasn’t the intended target. And you sound like you may have a jealous streak, boss lady.”

  “I’m not jealous in the least. I’m concerned.”

  Now she did try to tug away from him, though he didn’t allow that. She didn’t try hard enough for it to count—and he was pretty intrigued by this concerned side of her. “I’m concerned that you don’t leave without what you came for,” he said, slanting his lips over hers, drawing her in for a deep kiss. He loved holding her, that was for certain; she was soft and, at this moment, a trifle annoyed, which he was going to enjoy kissing right out of her.

  Her lips were sweeter than he’d ever imagined. Every kiss, every stroke, was more amazing than before. Mackenzie let out what sounded like a tiny whimper, and he wasn’t about to stop now. No longer stiff in his arms, she was pliable and leaning into him, her hands reaching up behind his neck, pulling him closer.

  God, he didn’t think he could leave this.

  The thought brought him right down to earth. He really had no right to be doing this. Not to Mackenzie. If Daisy played fast and loose, Mackenzie was the kind of woman a man didn’t play with at all. “Hey,” he said, pulling back. He moved away, jerked his head toward the lunch sack. “Thanks for bringing my lunch. I really appreciate it.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Chicken much?”

  He was—he was a chicken with all the trimmings. “Maybe.”

  “At least you admit it.”

  “What else can I do?”

  “Whatever you want to.”

  What he wanted to do was drag her into bed. Make love to her all night long. But what would that solve besides momentarily easing the overwhelming attraction he felt for her? It wasn’t fair—he couldn’t make love to Mackenzie and then hit the road. Not with those four little babies at the big house who needed a father, not a man who made love to their mother and then disappeared.

  “You make things hard, Mackenzie.”

  She raised a brow. “If anyone’s making anything hard for you, it’s just you. I only brought you a lunch.”

  She had him there. He was all kinds of torn up, and he couldn’t blame it on her. “I hate the thought of leaving you with the three amigos.”

  “Why? Ty trusts them.”

  Justin wasn’t certain how much he trusted Ty. Heck, he didn’t trust him at all. Ty was running a matchmaking game to get Mackenzie to the altar.

  “Maybe I’ll stay,” he said, the words popping out of his mouth before he’d measured them.

  She looked at him a long time. “Whether you stay or go is your decision,” she said, disappearing from his room. He heard the front door close and took a deep breath.

  I screwed that up every which way from Sunday. Holy cow.

  Daisy climbing into his bed had started off a chain reaction. Mackenzie didn’t trust him now; he could feel that. Already burned by one man, she had her guard up. It had taken him weeks to get past those shields, and now they were going to be stronger than ever.

  He went to find his bunkhouse mates. Daisy was long gone, and Frog, Sam and Squint loafed on the leather sectional.

  “Boss lady just blew out of here like a whirlwind,” Squint observed. “Guess she didn’t like what you were selling.”

  Ah. Ribbing from the dating-challenged. “If you have a point, make it, fellows.”

  “No point,” Frog said quickly. “Except it seems to us your chips are down.”

  “And you see an opening?” He leaned against t
he wall, staring down at them. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  Sam grinned at him. “The only maybe is maybe you shouldn’t be leaving. Field’s going to be wide-open.”

  “Thanks for the advice.” Justin grabbed his lunch, headed to his truck.

  The three boneheads followed him out.

  “The only reason we’re trying to help you is that Daisy says without you, this dump’s going down,” Squint said. “Kinda hate to see that happen to the little lady. She’s got those four tiny whinies, you know.”

  Justin glanced toward the house. “Are you going to follow me out of town?”

  Sam shoved his hands in his pockets. “No. We’re going into town to meet Daisy. She wants to show us her place.”

  Justin turned. “So which one of you was Daisy coming to see this morning when she accidentally got in my bed?”

  Frog shook his head. “That was no accident. She was trying to get you in trouble with Mackenzie.”

  “How do you know that?” It was a very strange thought.

  “She left without getting into any of our beds, didn’t she?” Squint asked. “Though believe me, we wouldn’t have thrown her out of bed for eating crackers.”

  “I didn’t throw her out of bed,” Justin said. “I didn’t want her in my bed.” He frowned. “She wouldn’t have had any idea that Mackenzie was coming to the bunkhouse to say goodbye. So how do you know it was a setup?”

  “It’s the way ladies work,” Frog said. “At your age, you should know this.”

  “Daisy sure did disappear once she stirred up trouble,” Squint said. “So if Trouble won’t come to us, we’re going to Trouble.”

  “But why?” Justin was confused. “Why would you want to bother with a wild woman like Daisy?”

  “For many reasons.” Sam thumped him jovially on the back. “We shouldn’t have to draw you a picture, but one of those reasons involve the benefits you were going to receive this morning.”

  “Sex?” Justin frowned. “That seems cold-blooded, doesn’t it?”

  “The world runs on sex,” Frog said expansively. “Do you know we get hit with like a bajillion sexual messages a day?”

  “It’s sort of like subliminal phone calls,” Sam said. “Only you don’t seem inclined to pick up the phone. So one of us will.”

  Justin shook his head. “I don’t care.” He got into his truck.

  “Anyway,” Squint said, “the real reason we’re going to see Daisy is that we consider ourselves something like spies. Spies with muscles and highly desirable—”

  “Brains,” Frog interrupted. “This is brain warfare. We’re not going to let Mackenzie and those little girls down.”

  Justin’s gaze narrowed. “You just said your interest in Daisy is sex.”

  “All good spies do what they have to do,” Squint said. “But the mission is to keep Daisy from sinking Mackenzie. But go on—run off if that’s what you were born to do. Born to run and all that. We get it.”

  “Back up a second,” Justin said. “You’re going to try to seduce Daisy so she’ll tell you what she and her father are up to in their plan to get Mackenzie to sell out? Because apparently this isn’t the first rodeo with the Donovan crowd.”

  “Not seduce, exactly. More like romance,” Sam said. “Sweet talk.”

  “There’s just one problem with your plan. Daisy got into my bed. Not one of yours. What if she’s not interested in the bait you’re dangling?”

  “Well, we figure absence makes the heart go wander. The three of us can convince her you were never here,” Frog said.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Justin said, not wanting to hurt their feelings. “You do know that Mackenzie is planning to sell the Hanging H, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but Ty says she can’t. He says we have to help her. Because Daisy’s family will buy it and carve it up into tiny land parcels. And the Hanging H means jobs and commerce when Mackenzie starts the haunted house back up.”

  “But she doesn’t want to,” Justin said. “Mackenzie has four babies she’s juggling. This plan of yours has so many holes in it that it could be your heads.”

  “Ty says Mackenzie just needs time. That she’s all emotional right now, hormonal and stuff. Worried about the future. But he says that what’s good for Bridesmaids Creek is Mackenzie, and what’s good for Mackenzie is Bridesmaids Creek. So we’re men on a mission, brother.”

  Justin considered their words, caught by their earnest worry about Mackenzie and her daughters.

  “Gives you pause, doesn’t it?” Squint asked.

  Justin grunted.

  “Don’t bother him. He’s beginning to see the light,” Frog whispered. “It’s like watching a fire slowly coming to life.”

  Justin ignored the ribbing. He had to admit the points were salient—if he trusted Ty’s machinations, if he wanted to fall in with men with names like Squint, Frog and Toad—er, Sam. If he wanted to spend more time in a place with a crazy, totally female name like Bridesmaids Creek. That would be the address his mail was sent to from now on. Justin Morant, Bridesmaids Creek, Texas. Mr. Badass Bull Rider from Bridesmaids Creek.

  “Shall we help you unpack that duffel from your truck for you?” Sam asked.

  Justin thought about Mackenzie’s sweet lips against his, responding ever so cautiously—and then more warmly as she opened up to him. It had been a helluva rush.

  Ty wanted to drag him away from Mackenzie, open the playing field up to more serious contenders. But the little lady had an awful lot of serious warfare being waged against her.

  He looked at his three new friends earnestly awaiting his answer.

  “Do the right thing,” Frog said softly.

  What the hell. He got most of his correspondence by email or text anyway. Justin got out of the truck.

  He realized Mackenzie and Suz were standing in the driveway not forty yards away. Suz’s arms were crossed, her posture belligerent. He had some smoothing over to do with little sister.

  But it was Mackenzie he was staying for—and that was something the man he’d been even a week ago wouldn’t have ever considered.

  Chapter Eight

  “I don’t need four ranch hands,” Mackenzie told Suz as she watched the men return to the bunkhouse. “Frankly, I’m not even sure I want one.”

  “Looks like you’ve got them. Maybe it’s time to tell Ty his plan’s not going to work.” Suz sat down on a stool at the kitchen island and pondered a tat on her inner arm Mackenzie hadn’t known she’d added to her collection, a tiny heart with the initials HH scrolled inside.

  Hanging H.

  “Would you please quit getting tattoos?” Mackenzie said. “When you get to be a hundred, you’re going to be a wrinkled mass of ink.”

  Suz laughed. “Live for today, sister.”

  She didn’t have that luxury. “Don’t you ever want to settle down? Find the right guy?”

  “Didn’t work for you.” Suz brightened. “Although I can tell my nieces are going to be amazing women, with love and direction from their Aunt Suz.”

  Mackenzie sat across from her sister and reached out to take her hand. “When’s your next assignment?”

  “I’ve decided there isn’t going to be one. Africa was my last stop.” Suz sighed. “Even a rolling stone with a mission has to grow moss sometime.”

  Mackenzie looked at her sister, worried. “This isn’t like you. You never wanted to settle down.”

  “Dearest sister. I didn’t want to settle down before I did something with my life. Now I’ve done a little.” She shrugged, and they both glanced up as the kitchen door opened a crack.

  “Can I come in?” Justin asked.

  Mackenzie’s heart did a funny little skip. “Sure. Have a seat.”

  “I saw the kitchen light was still on. Fig
ured that meant the coffeepot might still have a few grounds left in it.”

  “Not really,” Suz said.

  “Suz!” Mackenzie said.

  “Oh, all right.” She got up ungraciously to get Justin a mug. “It’s not coffee. It’s tea at this hour. Can you deal with that?”

  Justin smiled. “Sure.”

  “You want the milk and the sugar and the full deal, or—”

  “Just hot. Thanks.” Justin sat across from Mackenzie. “I don’t think you need four hands.”

  “I just said that to Suz.”

  Justin nodded. “The three eligible bachelors have appointed themselves your guardians, courtesy of Ty.”

  “Told you you’re going to have to talk to him,” Suz said, setting the mug in front of Justin. “I’m going to bed, kids. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Night, Suz.” Mackenzie shook her head. “Wait—come back here!”

  Suz turned in the doorway. “Yes, sister dear?”

  “Finish the story about your life now that you’re done with the Peace Corps.”

  “Oh. That’s easy.” Suz grinned. “I’m going to finish college. I only have two years left. Then I’m applying to medical school.” She drifted out of the room, humming.

  College. Medical school. Mackenzie ran through the amount of money she had left from their parents’ estate.

  “Problems?” Justin asked.

  “No.” She got up to cut them both a piece of pound cake and set one in front of him. “Why did you decide to stay? You didn’t have to.”

  “Yeah, I kind of did. Those gentlemen Ty sent out here are bent on rescuing you.”

  Mackenzie was annoyed. “From what?”

  “Life.” He shrugged. “Yourself? Daisy? I don’t know.”

  “You mean because I’m a single mother.”

  “Sure. Apparently Ty believes—”

  “Ty needs to get bent.” Mackenzie forked her cake. “I don’t even know what that means, exactly, but I heard someone say it one day and it totally describes what Ty can do to himself.”

  He laughed. “Good cake.”

  She watched him happily munching away, not caring at all that his decision to stay had completely upended her world. He had no idea how crazy she was about him—or she’d bet he’d run like the wind. She glared at him. “So you’re going to rescue me from the three stooges?”