Chapter 5
Lucas (Luke)
Lucas Callahan took a swig of his beer and welcomed the taste of the ale. He set the bottle down on the bar with a dull thud.
“You buying?” Vic plopped down in the bar stool beside him. He smacked his lips. “Thirsty.”
Luke chuckled. “When aren’t you?” He nodded to the bartender. “Two more, Len.”
“Coming right up,” he called out, acknowledging the drink order while he served the pretty little lady at the end of the bar.
He tapped his friend on the arm. “Over there, Vic. Isn’t that Cricket Montgomery?”
“No sh—” He stopped himself. “All dolled up, too. You making a play?”
Rearing back, he said, “Me? I’m not into stealing fresh fillies out from under the teats of their mommas. She’s barely legal.”
“I got no shame. I’ll give it a shot.”
“You may get shot for trying,” Luke mumbled under his breath as he took another swallow of brew. His friend didn’t hear or didn’t pay him no mind; he sauntered over with a swagger in his walk.
Their murmured exchange reached him, but the words did not.
For a weeknight, the bar was only a quarter full. Most of the patrons were shooting pool, the balls clicking together and then clunking into the holes of the table. Some guys were at tables, eating and watching a game on the television.
But her, she was the only girl in sight.
Surprisingly, the conversation lasted quite a bit.
“Go figure. Vic’s got more than a couple cuss words to share.” He grinned. His drinking buddy from the neighboring ranch may get lucky after all. It was about time. The grisly bearded Victor struck out about ten times more than he scored.
The bartender set down the two bottles. He tilted his head toward the new couple. “Been in every night this week. Soda on the rocks. No booze. Stays until we close down. Never goes home with any of them, either.” He shrugged. “Tight-lipped around me. Not telling her story.”
“Local girl. She’s been gone since high school. Three or four years, I suppose.”
“Round over here,” one of the two ranch hands watching the last half of the game called out. His team sunk the shot and he cheered, ribbing his buddy.
“Coming up!” To Luke, he said, “Keep an eye on her, will ya?”
He didn’t agree or disagree; however, he thought it was strange Len would ask him of all people. Back in the day, he’d have tried it himself. Now, he had more of a radar when it came to trouble.
Too bad Vic didn’t.
The girl sitting at the end of the bar wasn’t looking for just anyone. No. She had that gleam in her eye every time the door opened. She was waiting on someone. Someone who didn’t seem to give a damn about her, too. Or he’d have found her nights ago.
Luke grunted. He snagged the two bottles between his fingers. They clanked together and he headed for a nearby table and the show.
Twenty minutes later, leaning back and with his booted feet propped up in a chair and crossed at the ankle, Luke watched the two people at the end of the bar.
“He’s a regular Casanova,” he murmured as his friend touched her arm lightly and she giggled in return. “Maybe she found what she was looking for.”
With that, he tipped the last of the bottle to his lips and drained it dry, and then plunked it back down on the rustic tabletop. At this angle, he could watch the game and the couple, so he laced his fingers behind his head and smiled.
“Yo, brother,” Cassie called out, coming up and nudging his arm.
“Hey, Cass,” he said, looking up in surprise. “Fancy you being here.” They’d only had a few minutes to chat earlier, but he was glad she’d found him here. He nodded to the chair to the left of his. “Pull up a seat.”
“Not cramping your style?” She looked around. “Where’s all the women in this place?” She plopped down and reached for the second beer. “Don’t mind if I do.”
“Help yourself,” he said a tad late. “Oh, yeah, you already are.”
“You always liked the good stuff,” she said, holding out the bottle to read the label. “Gran’s at it again.”
“Didn’t take long. What’s she up to now?” Did he really want to hear it?
She brushed back her long, wavy blonde hair and shot him a grimace. “You’re off the hook for life. Play fast and loose and you get a free pass. She thinks she can’t catch you.”
“Or pin me down.” He liked it that way. With his family, friends, and especially the women. “I got a whole lot of living and loving to do.” He grinned slyly.
“And you’ve only just begun, right?” She shook her head. “Crap! I thought I could count on you backing me up on this one.”
“Which is it now? Let’s see…Goat farming, milking, and making cheese. Nope, done that. Setting up a tourist center, horseback riding and roping tours…Nope, cross that off the list—”
“Matchmaking weekends, with me leading the pack,” she cut him off.
“What? At the ranch?” His gran really did have a wild imagination.
“On the trail. Sort of a mix between a singles mingle and a dude ranch experience, or so she explained.”
“Travis agreed?!”
She smacked her hand on the table, jangling the bottles. “Can you believe it? He’s over there smiling from ear to ear, and I’m caught in her target.”
“Oh, her baby. See what you get for being a girl among all us boys?”
“Shut up, brother. I need your help and pronto.”
“No way. Next thing you know she’ll be roping us all into getting hitched.” He jerked upright, dropping his feet to the floor.
His sister’s wide eyes stared at him. “Tell me she’s not.”
“You gotta stop her.” He tapped his hand on his chest. “Not this cowboy.”
“You think I want to?”
“Holy cow patty, Cass! You’ve got to stop her.”
“As if anyone can. What are we going to do?”
“Say no. Just say no.”
She snorted.
Well, it was a thought. “Delay. Distract. Dodge.”
“We have four months until this thing happens.”
“Colt’s the only one who put the ring on it. He still wants a bride and a couple of babies. Put him up to bat.”
“Then what, Luke? She’ll go after the next one and the one after that until we’re all sunk.”
He hung his head and shook it. “I need a drink. A real, honest-to-goodness one.”
“Liquor is quicker,” she agreed. “Who’s that behind the bar? Lenny or Lonny?”
“Len.”
“They both look alike to me.” Shoving back her chair, she headed to the bar. “Double shots.”
Luke rose and went to join his sister. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vic and Cricket waltzing by. She crashed into him. “Whoa! You all right, little girl?”
“Girl?” She pulled back and craned her neck so she could look him in the eye. Even in her cowgirl boots, the top of her head barely came up to his shoulder. “You see a girl around here, Callahan?”
“Nah, honey. Luke,” Vic said out of the corner of his mouth. “Don’t blow this for me.”
Holding up his hands, Luke backed away. “My bad.” But she drilled him with her sharp green stare. Frowning, he said, “Say hey to your momma and daddy for me.” He actually liked her folks. They were good church-going country people who gave him a lift when his truck broke down a couple of months ago.
Fire burned in her eyes. “Tell them yourself, Lucas Callahan. I’m not your messenger.” She stormed passed him and out the door.
His buddy smacked him in the stomach. “Hey, what did you do that for?”
“Do what?” He scratched his jaw, wondering what just happened. “Go on, make sure she gets home all right. And no touchy-feely, got it?”
“Not like you wouldn’t try it on any girl who smiled your way,” he grumbled as he strode for the door.
“I’m warning you, Vic.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Warn away.”
That sly grin made the beer curdle in Luke’s belly.
“She’s old enough to decide for herself,” Cass said, dragging him by the arm to her side at the bar. “Sit. Talk. Drink.”
He gulped down the shot Len placed in front of him. “More,” he said hoarsely as the liquid fire burned down his throat. The second shot went down slightly easier.
Cassie choked and he reached over to thump her on her back. “Thanks, brother.”
“Plan. Need a plan.”
“You’re better at this than I am. Hell, you’ve been rascally since the day you were born, Luke.”
He smiled widely. “That I have been, sis.”
Her scowl faded and her lips tugged up at the corners. “That’s it! We play along.”
If he’d had a drink, he’d sputter right about now. “What?” He leaned over and grabbed her untouched second shot and downed it. Smooth.
“We tell the other brothers—”
“Not Travis.”
“No, not him since he’s in on her scheme. We tell the others, turn it around on Gran.”
Dawning sunk in. “I get it. We ‘fall’ for the wrong person and rattle her cage.”
“Bingo, bro!”
Len brought another round of shots. “Looks like you two need these.”
“Best bartender in town,” Luke said. Turning to his sister, he raised his glass and she did the same with hers. They clinked them together. “Here’s to outfoxing the fox.”
Trouble with a capital T just hit the fan.
Chapter 6
Ethan
Ethan Callahan flipped through the pages in front of him.
“Temp’s good. Right on schedule,” Guy said, nodding to the vat of churning goat’s milk.
“Numbers look good, too.”
“Good idea your gran had buying the goats and all.”
Shutting the book, Ethan looked at the young, eager kid they’d just hired to learn the goat cheese making process. “No need to kiss up to me.” He grinned at the stunned look on the young man’s features. No one expected Ethan to be blunt or funny. Ethan loved surprising people.
“Ah…Mr. Callahan,” he stuttered, turning red.
“Save it for Gran. She eats that stuff up.” He whistled as he exited the old building, leaving the silent, openmouthed kid behind.
“Something I said, little brother?” Travis asked, pulling up in an ATV, the engine purred.
Ethan shook his head and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “New guy. Breaking him in.”
Travis laughed. “Better him than me. Come on, I’ll take you back.”
That could only mean one thing. His big brother wanted to talk business. Sliding in to the front passenger seat, he gripped the rail with his right hand and asked, “Give it up.”
Stepping on the pedal, Travis steered them down the dirt lane. “Gran.”
“What’s she up to now?” His voice held a mix of a smile and dread.
“New venture. Pulling funds to make it happen.”
“And what, may I ask, is this new venture?” He hoped it didn’t involve him.
“I need you to run some numbers for me. She wants to bring in singles for a dude ranch matchmaking experience.”
“What?! No. I’m not doing it. She roped me into the goat business.”
“It’s your lucky day. Not so much Cassie’s.”
He leaned back and laughed. His big sister had nothing to do with hookups and everything to do with marketing their ranch and its various businesses and products.
When Travis remained silent, Ethan grew sober.
“Come on. Matchmaking? Out here? Who’s going to want to do that? Dude ranch, yes. I admit, that would be plausible, even profitable.” His mind worked out the costs, roughly calculating the cash outlay. “Fix up the bunkhouse. Transportation from the airport, bus station, train… We’ve got the horses and some of the ranch hands can be guides or we hire a few more locals. Food. Campfire. Doable.”
“Just add in the singles angle and you’ve got it.”
He groaned. “She’s serious?” His head throbbed. “Insurance. Liability. What if we’re sued? You know, that alienation of affection or whatever they call it thing. Oh no, what about accidental pregnancies? Is she going to offer condoms, too?”
Travis chuckled. “Your mind goes to some strange places, brother.”
“It has to with a grandmother like ours.”
“You ain’t saying anything I haven’t heard before about her.”
“Or said yourself,” he added, cuffing his brother on the arm.
“You got me.”
“Travis, you going along with this load of horse shit?”
Shrugging, he said, “Who can stop her?”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
***
While his two oldest brothers turned the sizzling beef on the grill in the huge homemade barbeque pit, Ethan pulled his sister aside. “Spill it.”
She looked at him as if he’d grown horns. ‘Trip was productive. Our clients in the East are happy with the Callahan barbeque sauce and rub. There’s a high interest in the goat cheese. They’ve gotten great feedback from their customers. I’ll email you the report later.”
“Not that.”
“You don’t want to hear about sales and money?” She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “No fever.”
“Quit it.” He brushed her hand away and leaned against the picnic table. “I’m not sick. Sis, you know about Gran and what she has planned for you. You all right with that?”
“As if?” she mumbled as she stuck her hands on her hips to watch her sly grandmother meddle in the cooking process.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Not me, brother dear. Us.”
“Us? Like how us?”
“Luke and I are working on it. We’ll fill you, Colt, and Quinn in on it after we get it all mapped out.”
“Smart not getting Travis in the mix. Big brother would surely blow it up.”
Cass nudged his arm. “Tell me, Ethan, do you want to get married? Not like years from now. Months.”
“To who?” He practically shivered in disgust at the thought. There were eligible women in this town, most older, some younger, but few his age. Quickly, he assessed the candidates and shook his head. “Dating, married, divorced. Not for me.”
“So that’s a no.” She sighed. “Same here. Not ready. Don’t want to. Do I get a choice, though?”
“Not with Gran.”
Layer by layer, his sister’s concerns spilled over onto him. When Gran got a thought in her mind, good or bad, she wouldn’t let go of it. Look at how she’d pestered him for ages to get the milking goats; next it was they had too much for just the family—sell the milk; too much of that—so make cheese. It began little and had exploded in production in a matter of months. Now it was a whole entity onto itself.
Ethan liked the numbers involved with the daily counts, readings, distribution schedule, and doing the books for this venture.
“Gran’s scary,” he muttered.
“Stubborn scary,” Cassie agreed, eyeing the smiling woman directing the oldest brothers on everything from the seasoning to the grill marks on the steak.
He groaned.
“I take that as you’re in with Luke and me, right?”
“In it to win it our way. For once,” he said, but his conviction wobbled as Gran turned her full force on them.
“What are you two up to now?”
“Need-to-know basis, Gran. It’s a surprise. For you.” Oh, there would be hell to pay, one way or the other.
Chapter 7
Quinn
“Mom, Dad, how’s it going?” With his arms full of tools and fresh plants, Quinn Callahan halted in front of the weathered gravestones in the family cemetery on the Callahan ranch.
“What a mess you two have gotten in
to since the last time I’ve seen you. That cold snap, rain, and wind didn’t do much good, I see. Leaves piled high.”
He whistled as he cleared the brush out and plunked the soggy mess down in the nearby wheelbarrow to haul away.
“Ladies first,” he said, swiping the gray speckled marble with a rag to get all the dirt off. Once finished, he did the same for his father’s side.
“Better. But there’s more.” He tugged out the spray bottle and a clean cloth. “Shower time. Close your eyes now and I’ll get you all spiffed up in no time.”
Quinn put some elbow into it and scrubbed the grime away.
There were only two places where he felt the most peace: here and any place where he could sink his hands in the rich soil, digging, planting, and watching a seed transform into a stalk and then a flower or crop.
But here, where his strong desire brought him close to them, he could be himself, talk about all his hopes and dreams of proving he could be a big part of honoring the Callahan name.
At eleven, he’d had so little time with his parents before they’d died in that small plane crash. His memories did include the fun and laughter; however, it also hung onto the devastating loss and the aftermath.
“Thanks to Gran and Gramps for taking us in, raising us, and keeping our heads on straight.
“Okay, Mom, sorry I have to do this, but I need to get your backside.” He grinned, recalling how his dad would be the one Mom called in to wash her back when she took her nightly bath. “Yours, too, Dad. I’ll make it short and quick.”
Shadows crossed the sky and soon dusk would fall. But Quinn kept at it until he’d polished every inch of the large combined stone. Next, he went to get the fresh plants.
As he placed the new plants around the stone, he said, “Looking good, you two. Mom, it’s Saturday night, you’ve got your dancing shoes on? Dad, your boots shining? No decent cowboy would dare go to a dance without the dress-up cowboy hat and with his boots gleaming.”
Behind him, he heard the motor. It halted a few feet away.
Rising, Quinn brushed his hands off. A rock dropped into his belly. This was his private time with his folks. Now, someone invaded it.
“Quinn?” Cassie asked.
He blew out a hot breath. How could he be mad at his sister? “Cass.”