Two Cowboys in Her Crosshairs [Hellfire Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (20 page)

She grabbed her purse and stuffed her phone inside. “Fine, but you are not choosing. God knows I’d end up with something cut down to my navel and up to my ass.”

“Mm, now that’s a tasty image.”

She flipped off the light and headed down the hallway. As they passed the bathroom, she whirled and held up her palm. “I should go before we leave.”

“Itty bitty bladder committee? ’Cause you sure don’t fit in the other one.”

Olivia laughed and stepped inside. She opened the medicine cabinet and nearly crowed with delight at the deodorant sitting there. “Bless you, Miss Paula.” She swiped quickly then recapped the bottle and replaced it.

The cabinet also yielded moisturizer, a trial-size perfume, a brush, and the biggest can of hair spray she’d ever seen. She grabbed the brush and pulled it through her hair. The repetitious motion made her feel better and more human.

She thought about using the hair spray but decided against it. Just because she was in Texas didn’t mean she had to have big hair.

Hudson and Jake were waiting in the living room. Jake had one foot propped on his knee, and his boot bounced in time to the tune Hudson was whistling.

“Ready?”

They rose. Jake studied her, and she barely resisted the urge to smooth her hand over her hair. Maybe she should have used the spray.

“You look lovely.”

“Indeed,” Hudson seconded. He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

She slid her left hand into the crook of his elbow. Jake took up position on her right and cupped her arm. “Let’s go.”

They made it about three feet before the narrowing of the hallway forced them into single file. As soon as they made it into the kitchen, Jake regained her arm and eased her toward the back. He grabbed his hat and opened the door. Hudson palmed her spine just above her ass and urged her forward.

She felt like the gooey center of warm brownies.

“I talked to Tag,” Jake said as they headed toward the garage. “He’ll meet us at the blacktop and escort us into town. Deputy Carson will be in town, but she won’t be with us, just observing. He also said my truck was undamaged in the explosion. He had it towed to the sheriff’s office and kept under lock and key.”

She stared at the old rusty truck the men were swarming. It looked like it was on its last wheels. She doubted it could get past forty miles an hour. And it didn’t have extended cab seating but one bench seat. “Uh, maybe we should take my SUV?”

Jake opened the door and climbed inside. Hudson shook his head and motioned her in. “Not a good idea. Whoever is out there likely knows the vehicle. This truck is nondescript.”

“That’s for sure. Does the AC work?”

“Like a champ. You’ll be freezing in no time,” Jake assured her.

She clambered onto the ragged cloth seat and scooted toward the middle. Jake’s leg pressed against hers. Hudson settled beside her, and once more she was sandwiched between them. She decided she rather liked it.

“So why not take Hudson’s car?”

“We need the room in the back,” Jake said. He started the engine, and to her surprise it purred like a well-petted kitten. “And don’t be fooled by its exterior. This truck is made of pure steel. I rebuilt the motor last year and changed gas tanks. It’s got a hell of a lot of get-up-and-go.”

She knew what that meant. She certainly hoped it didn’t matter at the end of the day.

They bounced along the rutted road, and she braced herself on Hudson’s thigh. He grinned and slung his arm around her and hauled her close. “That lap belt isn’t the safest thing around. Stay close to me, sugar.”

Jake’s snort rang in the cab. “Gotta keep an eye on that one, Olivia. He has a smooth tongue.”

Memories of their shared kiss swamped her, and she smiled. “Yes, I know.”

They hit the end of the ranch road, and Jake slowed to key in the gate code. The iron gate swung open, and he passed the cattle guard then idled.

Her senses went on alert. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Just waiting for it to close,” he said.

It clattered shut, and he eased toward the blacktop. Tag blocked the entrance with his sheriff’s car. He waved when he saw them and pulled forward.

But Jake didn’t move the truck.

Again her tension rose.

Tag honked and waved his hand again.

“Hud, yell at him to get out of the car.”

Hud did as asked, and seconds later Tag unfurled his length from the driver’s seat and strode to the truck. Jake rolled his window down.

“Problem?”

“Yeah,” Jake said. His voice was flat. “Wanted to make damn sure it was you in there and not another ugly surprise.”

Tag’s face tightened. Olivia figured behind his standard-issue mirrored glasses his eyes were filled with sorrow and anger. “Good call. Should have thought about that myself. You ready?”

“Yep.”

“Keep it under eighty this time. I
will
write a ticket for your collection.”

Jake grinned and rolled his window back up then drove around the sheriff’s car and toward town.

“You speed?” She was totally surprised by the information. In the service, Jake had been as by the book as any marine she’d ever met. More than by the book with one notable exception.

“He’s racked up quite a few citations,” Hudson said. “And that doesn’t even count the times he got let off with a warning.”

“Huh.”

Jake shrugged. “It’s a boring drive.”

He reached over and flipped on the radio. Strains of an old Barbara Mandrell song poured forth. She was lamenting about the wrong kind of loving being right.

Olivia knew exactly how she felt.

By the time they reached the center of town, they’d gained two more police escorts. The Hex was full of cars, and finding a spot was difficult. They had to wait until Tag and his men found spaces. Olivia watched in aghast amusement as one deputy commandeered a handicapped space.

“Don’t worry,” Tag assured her. “We don’t have anyone with legal handicapped tags in town.”

“What about visitors?” she asked.

“There are more spaces.”

She laughed. Texas was a lot more laid-back than DC. Not only were there no bustling traffic and a multitude of lights, but the attitudes here were as smooth as good whisky.

It was a very pleasant change.

Tag introduced the two deputies as Agby and Rice. Both men were polite but kept their distance. As they headed for the lone hard-goods mercantile in town, the officers fell into step around her while Jake and Hudson squeezed her between them.

“You’ll like Hank’s Goods & Gets,” Hudson said. “She has everything under the sun and about half a billion things you never thought of.”

“Hank’s a girl?”

“Sort of. The original Hank was her great-great-great-grandpa. Her name is actually Christine, but everyone calls her Hank.”

“Nice.”

Jake wasn’t talking as they moved along the sidewalk. Like Tag and the deputies, his head swiveled left, right, and behind in a constant sweeping motion.

She looked up and wasn’t surprised to find Hudson doing the same.

These men took their protecting seriously.

Olivia couldn’t help but wonder just what other things they excelled at.

“Here it is. Hank’s Goods & Get.”

Hudson pulled open the door for Olivia. Like Jake earlier, he couldn’t help but admire her beautiful ass as she passed him. Even through the oversized clothes, her butt was round and taut.

He could not wait to have it.

His dick strained his Levi’s, and he surreptitiously rearranged his erection.

“Settle down,” Jake murmured. He grinned as he walked into the store.

“Agby and Rice will stay outside,” Tag announced when they were all inside. “Let’s get what you need and get out. I want you home and safe as soon as possible.”

Jake pulled a grimace. “I’m going to have to go by the bank, too. Unless you found my wallet undamaged at the scene?”

Tag shook his head. “Everything in there was crispy, sorry.”

“Me, too.”

“I’ve got my own money, Jake,” Olivia said.

Hudson nodded. “I also have the ranch card. If it can wait until this situation is done, that would be better.”

“Good idea. Okay, Olivia, have at it.”

“Howdy, Jake. Hudson. It’s been a coon’s age since you’ve been in.”

Hudson turned as Hank strolled up the aisle. She wasn’t looking at either of them, though. Her gaze was pinned directly on Olivia and sizing her up. She stopped just shy of the foursome and stuck her hand out. “Hi. I’m Hank.”

“Olivia,” she said with a smile as she shook the other woman’s hand.

“You staying with these two hellions?”

Hudson groaned. Hank was a wildfire combination of earth mother and mother hen. She was nosier than Pinocchio and made no bones about asking questions that were none of her business. Her gray-shot red braid fell over her shoulder, and she impatiently tossed it back. She tapped the concrete floor with one booted foot and looked at them expectantly.

Her sharp brown gaze made him squirm. “Yes,” he finally blurted. “Olivia is visiting us from out of town.”

The rotund woman lifted her brows, and he could see the wheels churning fast and furious in her brain. He figured she’d be on the phone with Betty Reynolds down at the beauty shop before the bell over the door even stopped chiming.

That was not a good idea. He shared a look with Jake who nodded.

“Hank, you are looking mighty pretty today. Did you do something new with your hair?”

She rolled her eyes. “Spit it out, Charming. I’m on to you and your silver tongue.”

He smiled and took her arm to lead her back to the checkout counter.

“I need to ask a favor,” he said. He infused as much seriousness in his voice as possible. She stiffened beneath his arm.

“What’s wrong? Does this have to do with Deputy Wallace and the Calico Queen?”

“I can’t tell you, Hank.” Hudson raised a palm as she protested. “It’s better you don’t know. In fact, it’s better if no one at all knows we were in the shop today.”

She snorted. “Did that fever bake your brain, Hudson? Half the town already knows you’re here. By the time you check out, the other half will know.”

Damn, he’d forgotten about the efficiency of the grapevine. “Good point. Okay, don’t mention Olivia’s presence.”

Her look was the pity-filled kind you gave to an obvious idiot. Hudson ground his teeth. “Hell.”

“Look, you can count on me.”

About as far as he could throw her. And considering she tipped the scales at three hundred pounds, he didn’t have any faith in that ability. “Hank,” he drawled in warning.

She grinned and patted his hand. “Hush now. Go see to your lady friend. She’s in the underwear section looking at some saucy red panties.” Hank wiggled her brows. “Hm. The gossip might be better than I thought.”

Then her expression turned sad. “It’s a shame what happened to the deputy. And Whitty is over at the Chrome Barrel crying in his beer. He said some woman was in that room, and they don’t know what happened to her.”

Hudson’s breath caught. He leaned on the counter. “Really? Who was she?”

“Some lady named Ellen Ryan. Apparently she was in the military. Whitty said she was wearing camouflage pants and dog tags when she checked in.”

“That’s all? Sounds like my kind of woman,” he said. Relief flooded him. If Hank hadn’t made the connection between Olivia and the mysterious Ellen Ryan, chances were good no one else had either.

“Oh, stop,” Hank said, but she was smiling. “She was also wearing a white T-shirt. Whitty figured it was because it was so hot yesterday.”

Hudson figured it was because it would have been awkward to explain why someone named Ryan was checking into a hotel wearing a jacket with the name Martinez on it.

“Was she good looking?” Hudson asked, but only because he knew she expected it. Being known as the town flirt was sometimes a trying experience.

“You know Whitcombe. He’s not the most observant guy on the block.” Hank squinted at the air. “Dark hair, tanned skin, short fingernails.” She smiled at that one. “He noticed that because he always watches when they sign the credit slip. He thinks he can tell when someone is forging a name by the way they write.”

Hudson coughed to cover his laugh. “Good idea.”

Hank leaned closer. “Jake is holding up her undies. She looks a bit red. Maybe you should help her out.”

Hudson nodded and loped to where the three of them were clustered into the small lingerie section. Hank might be a big girl, but she had exquisite taste in sexy undergarments. For some reason that knowledge made him a bit uncomfortable yet oddly intrigued.

“I don’t need ten pairs of underwear,” Olivia said as he walked up.

“I agree,” Hudson said.

Jake cut him a dark glare. “We’re not coming back into town.”