“Oh, you just picked on the wrong guy, bro.” Hazard countered with a punch of his own, sending Ace flying backward into the kitchen counter.
Maggie calmly removed a tray in danger of being upended, then returned to the table and continued drinking her coffee.
Ally, eyes wide, leapt to her feet. “Isn’t anyone going to stop this?”
“Calm down, honey.” Erin put a hand on her arm and drew her back to her seat. “They do this all the time. They call it letting off steam. Maggie and I call it brotherly affection.”
“Affection…” Ally watched as Ace landed a fist in his brother’s nose, sending blood streaming down the front of Chance’s shirt. Chance in turn managed a blow to Ace’s chest, sending him stumbling backward, where he stood wheezing in a breath.
“They’re going to kill each other,” Ally cried.
“Uh-uh. It never goes that far. Though once or twice they’ve come close.” Maggie filled Ally’s cup. “Now drink your coffee and ignore them.”
“Ignore…” She winced as a fist landed in Hazard’s midsection and he went down on one knee. But he managed to get to his feet and retaliate with a blow to Ace’s temple that had him reeling.
Ace shook his head to clear his vision. “Had enough?”
Chance was leaning weakly against the kitchen counter. Hazard was steadying himself with a hand on the back of a chair. The two of them looked at each other, then at their brother. Their faces creased into matching grins.
“What?” Ace demanded. “What’s so funny?”
“You,” Chance said. “In this crazy world, it seems perfectly natural that you’d fall for the only woman who could ever beat you at your own game.”
Ally waited for another fight. Instead, she was amazed to see Ace’s lips turning in a smile. “Yeah. It’s crazy, all right. But there it is.”
The three brothers fell together, arms around each other, laughing hysterically.
“See?” Maggie turned to Ally. “It happens every time. You may as well get used to it.”
Ally shook her head. “I don’t think so. I don’t think I could ever get used to such a spectacle.”
“You will.” Maggie smiled across the table at Erin. “Actually, I’d discovered that it really does seem to clear the air. Though I don’t recommend it for anyone except those three clowns.”
As Maggie began gathering up the dishes, Ally started to help her.
“Sorry.” Chance turned from the sink, where he’d washed away the blood, and took the dishes from her hands. “I can’t let you do my job.”
“You do the dishes?”
He shot her a grin, and she was reminded of Ace’s heart-stopping smile. Apparently it ran in the family. They were all handsome, charming and certifiably crazy. “I like being alone with my wife. So the rest of you had better find someplace to go. Fast.”
Hazard caught Erin’s hand. “Come on. I think I’ve just thought of the perfect way to spend a Saturday night.”
“In the lab?”
“Some place even better.”
She blushed and turned to Ally. “I’m so glad we met. I do hope Ace brings you here again.”
“Thanks.” Ally turned to Maggie. “And thanks again for the wonderful dinner. But, since you won’t let me help you clean up, I think I’d better head on home.”
“So soon?” Ace caught her hand.
“Yeah. I’ve left Gramps alone all day. Besides…” She looked him up and down. “You’ve got to change your clothes. Those are bloodstained.”
“All the more reason to stay. You could help me change.”
“Yeah. In your dreams.”
Ace followed her out the door to her truck. Before she could open the door he leaned close and covered her lips with his. “I wish you wouldn’t run off. You heard my brother. It’s Saturday night. Why don’t we sneak up to my room and…find something to do?”
Despite the jolt to her system, she managed to laugh. “If I were a teacher I’d give you an A for effort. But I’d have to give you a failing grade for that line.”
“Pretty lame, huh?”
“Yeah. As bad as all the others you’ve tried.”
“Then how about this one?” He crushed her against him and kissed her long and slow and deep, until she felt her bones melting and her blood pounding in her temples.
“Oh, Ace. You make it awfully hard to refuse.” She reached a hand to his cheek and brushed her lips over his.
At once she absorbed the jolt and took a step backward. She saw his eyes narrow, but to his credit, he made no move to touch her again. They both knew that if he did, neither of them would be able to stop.
Without taking time to think it through she said, “I owe you. For my truck, and the lovely dinner. And that…fascinating fight scene.”
“So how are you going to pay up?”
“By inviting you to dinner tomorrow night.”
His smile was dazzling. “It’s a date.”
She climbed up into the truck and turned the key. The engine purred. “I can’t get over how much better it’s running. That is just the sweetest thing.”
“No. This is.” He leaned inside the open window and kissed her, hard and quick.
She felt the nervous jitter along her spine, and then the surge of heat through her veins. He had the most devastating effect on her system.
“Now get out of here fast, before I carry you off to my room and have my way with you.”
As she put the truck in gear and started away, she studied him in the rearview mirror. So tall and handsome and rugged. Funny and sweet and charming. She’d watched him with his family. They were as devoted to him as he was to them. He was, she realized, everything she’d ever wanted.
Chapter 8
With a smile of satisfaction Ally surveyed the kitchen. She’d taken such pains with everything. She wanted tonight to be perfect. She’d walked the fields early that morning, picking an armload of Indian paint-brush. Their bright orange blooms were in vases everywhere. On the counters and windowsills, and a low round vase of them sat in the middle of the table. She’d added some yellow roses that she’d found blooming on a broken trellis by the side of the barn. She remembered seeing those same roses when she was a little girl. It had been such a delight to find them still surviving after all these years.
Like her and Gramps, she thought. Still here.
The table was set with brightly colored place mats. The steaks were marinating on a platter beside the oven. Next to them was a tray of steaming biscuits. Ally broke one open to assure herself that they were perfect. She’d already tossed away her first two at tempts, when she’d left them in the oven too long, and they’d come out too crisp.
She had resisted the idea of baking potatoes. Too ordinary. Instead she’d opted for an exotic recipe calling for sliced potatoes, onion and grated cheese. For dessert she’d baked a lavish flan. A sponge cake which she’d very carefully divided into layers and slathered with whipped cream. On top she’d arranged perfect circles of fruit. Sliced strawberries. Kiwi. Plump blueberries. Perfect raspberries. All in lovely symmetry. It looked almost too pretty to eat.
Not as fancy as Maggie’s dinner of the previous night, but a meal a man could enjoy.
After a glance at the clock she hurried upstairs to change. She’d planned the perfect outfit. Different from anything Ace had ever seen her in before. Unlike the jeans she’d been wearing that first night. Or the uptight business clothes she wore to work. This was a simple sundress of cool mint-green silk, with cap sleeves that fluttered at her upper arms, and a softly scalloped sweetheart neckline. The fabric molded itself to her curves and fell in a straight column to her ankles. On her feet were little strappy sandals.
She brushed her hair long and loose, then decided to be flirtateous by scooping up one side behind her ear with a jeweled comb. The effect was deadly.
She couldn’t help laughing as she moved around her room, lighting scented candles. That done, she added more candles in the bathro
om.
Ace Wilde didn’t have a chance.
She was giggling as she made her way downstairs. Nerves, she realized. She’d never before planned a seduction. But she’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, until she’d realized that this was what she wanted. Ace was what she wanted.
It wasn’t really a seduction, she consoled herself. After all, Ace had made it plain that this was what he wanted, too. She was just going to make it easy for him.
She headed out to the barn.
“Gramps?”
At the sight of her Buster and Billy leapt to their feet and hurried over to rub their noses into her hands. She complied by petting them and scratching behind their ears until they were wiggling with delight.
Harlan looked up from his work table. “Why, Allycat. Don’t you look pretty.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and walked up to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’ve come to bring you inside to clean up.”
“Clean up? What for?”
“For dinner.” She gave a shake of her head. “You’ve forgotten.”
“Oh.” He looked sheepish. “Sorry. I guess I did. Got too engrossed in this project.” He showed her the beginnings of a saddle he was working on. “Can’t you and Ace have dinner alone?”
“We could. But I’d like you there, Gramps.” She had decided that she would tell him the truth about Ace. And then, with the air cleared of any misunderstanding, she would be free to reveal her true feelings for the son of his old enemy. His old ex-enemy, she reminded herself.
“Okay. Tell you what. I’ll come up to the house when Ace gets here. Until then, I’d like to keep working on this.”
“He ought to be here any minute.”
He saw the little frown that wrinkled her brow. “Don’t worry. I’ll hear his truck.”
She gave a sigh of exasperation and turned away. “All right.”
As she started out the two dogs followed, running ahead when they realized she was going back to the house. Inside she rewarded them with a dish of water, then decided to go upstairs and check her appearance.
She added gloss to her lips, and dabbed perfume at her throat. Hearing the sound of Ace’s truck, she raced down the stairs and hurried out on the porch to greet him.
In her haste the door slammed and she was aware that she’d left the dogs inside. No matter. They barked for only a minute, then fell silent. Apparently they’d come to accept Ace as one of the family, too.
He stepped out of the truck and bounded toward her, carrying a bouquet of flowers. The moment he spotted her he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Wow.” It was all he could manage.
“I hope that means you approve?”
“You look…” He shook his head. “Red, you’re so beautiful, it scares me.”
Her heart nearly burst with joy. “Good. I like a little fear in a man.” She glanced at the flowers. “Are those for me? Or are you saving them for Gramps?”
He grinned and her heart did another series of flips. “For you.” He held them out. “But they look awfully plain next to what I’m looking at.”
She opened the tissue wrappings and gaped at the mass of white roses. Then, because she was afraid she’d embarrass herself by weeping, she buried her face in them and breathed them in. “Oh, Ace, they’re wonderful.”
Cradling them to her chest she took his arm. “Come on. We’ll have to drag Gramps away from his workroom. I’ve already called him once, but he insisted on working until you got here. By now he’s probably so immersed in his work, he’ll have forgotten about everything else.”
At the door to the barn she called, “Gramps, Ace is here.”
Harlan looked up, peering over his shoulder. “Well. Ace. I didn’t hear your truck.”
Ally turned to Ace with a smile. “I told you.” To her grandfather she said, “Are you ready for dinner?”
He set down his tools and pressed a button on the scooter, turning it away from the workbench. “It looks like I’d better be.”
As Ace and Ally walked ahead of him, he trailed along until they came to the porch. While they climbed the steps, he rolled up the ramp. Ace opened the door and waited for Ally and Harlan to precede him.
“I’ll have to find a vase for these.” Ally turned to Ace. “And maybe you can open the bottle of champagne.”
“Champagne?” Ace’s smile widened. “This sounds like a serious occasion.”
She blushed. “I just thought…” She shrugged and led the way into the kitchen, with the men trailing behind her. “…After that lovely dinner at your place last night, I’d…”
The words died in her throat. At the sight that greeted her, she froze.
Puzzled, Ace and Harlan moved around her, to see what had rendered her speechless.
There was broken glass littering every inch of the kitchen floor. In the middle of it all lay Buster and Billy, busily devouring the last of the steaks. The rolls were scattered everywhere. One was even stuck to Buster’s paw.
For a moment everyone simply stared at the chaos in silence. Then, as the ridiculousness of the situation struck them, Ace and Harlan burst into gales of laughter.
Laughter? Ally turned on them with a killing look. “How can you laugh? This isn’t funny.”
“Not funny? Allycat.” Harlan was shaking with laughter. “Look at those two old critters. Look at their faces. Have you ever seen two more satisfied dogs in your life?”
“Dogs?” Her voice lowered with a fury that nearly choked her. “They’re not dogs. They’re pigs. Both of them.” She ran at them, waving her bouquet of roses like a wild woman, scattering leaves and petals everywhere. “Get out of here. Shoo, you disgusting creatures. Go on. Get.”
Alarmed, Billy started yapping and leapt on his hind feet, dancing in circles.
This only had Ace and Harlan laughing harder.
Buster lifted his head to burp loudly. Then he managed to finish the last bite of steak before getting slowly to his feet. As he backed away from Ally, he left the remains of a broken crystal plate and shattered flan cake that had been smashed beneath his rump.
“No. Oh, no. Not my flan, too.” Ally stopped and stared at the mass of crumbs and whipped cream and scattered fruit, then picked up a dish towel and started waving it at the two dogs.
“Out. Get out of here.”
While the two men could do nothing but howl with laugher, Ally chased the two dogs through the house. Minutes later the door slammed, and her footsteps could be heard returning.
When she entered the kitchen her eyes were little points of flame. Two bright spots of color rode high on her cheeks. She turned her anger on the two men who were nearly doubled over.
“You think it’s funny, do you?” She knew her voice was trembling, but she couldn’t help herself. She knew, too, that she was close to tears. To keep from crying, she focused on her anger. “Who’s going to clean this mess? And what am I supposed to fix for dinner now? Now that those two…pigs have eaten everything I’ve slaved over.”
“Look. Settle down now.” Ace was trying to contain his laughter. But the more he tried, the more it bubbled up, until he had to wipe tears from his eyes. “Come here, Red.”
He led her across the room, picking his way through the food and shards of glass, until he pushed her down onto one of the kitchen chairs. “Just sit here. I’ll open the champagne.”
“Why? What’s to celebrate?”
“We’ll think of something.” Minutes later, after a loud pop, Ace filled three flutes and handed one to Harlan before carrying the other two across the room. As he handed her the glass he said, “Here’s to…” He choked back his laughter. “…A memorable evening.”
That had her chin coming up and her eyes narrowing.
“Don’t move.” He took a sip of champagne, then turned to Harlan. “Where’s a broom and dustpan?”
“In there.” Harlan pointed to the laundry room.
Ace returned and began to sweep, casting glances at Harlan as he did. H
e moved through the debris, picking up broken roses and bundling them into a lopsided, sad-looking bouquet, which he set in the sink.
The two men were like naughty children in church. The more they tried to hold back the laughter, the more impossible it became, until they were simply out of control. With each step Ace took, he laughed harder. After dumping the last of the mess in a wastebasket, he crumpled onto a chair and laughed until he was struggling for breath. “Did Billy ever perform in a circus?”
Harlan wiped his eyes. “You mean the way he dances around in circles?”
“Yeah.” Ace glanced at Ally, but she had turned away to stare out the window.
“Ally taught him that one summer. She used to wave a treat over his head and make him dance before she’d give it to him.”
“No wonder he was dancing. Those were some treats they had today.”
The two men convulsed with laughter again.
When he could find his voice Ace looked around. “Well. I’ve cleaned up the mess.” He spotted a roll under one of the cabinets. “Most of it, anyway. Now what’ll we fix for dinner?” He glanced at Ally. “Is there anything left that Buster and Billy haven’t ruined?”
She shrugged. Sniffed the air. And let out a shriek. “Oh, no. My potatoes.”
She rushed across the room and yanked open the oven door. Smoke billowed out. Grabbing a pair of oven mitts she hauled the burned mess over to the sink and turned on the taps. At once a spray of steam rolled around the room.
Ace opened the door and windows and Harlan propelled his scooter out to the patio.
When Ally stepped out and sank down on a patio chair she said, “The only thing left of my dinner is some ice cream. Lucky for us Buster and Billy couldn’t open the freezer. And I couldn’t burn it to a crisp.”
Ace swallowed hard. This wasn’t the time to let her see the laughter that still threatened. “Okay. That’s a start. Now for an entrée. How about…” He thought a moment. “Hamburgers on the grill?”