Held captive.Bynineshe-devils, all with red hair, blue eyes, and fairy-delicate pretty faces.And some of them screeched when they talked.
He was absolutely terrified.
He was almost certain it had been Em discussing keeping him forbreedingstock.He could see Em in the kitchen, riding herd on three of the younger girls, while Junie was next to an oven that was at least as old as she was.
Emwasn’t old enough to even think aboutbreedingwith a man.Not yet.Hell, wasn’t she just like twenty-one or so now?Or was Clancy a bit older?He couldn’t remember, but there was only about a month between them, Clancy had told him once.But the idea of her, or Clancy for that matter, even talking about sex with a man…no.He wasn’t going to think aboutthat.
Barand Hauffman had better be keeping his hands off of Clancy right now.Or else Cal would be breaking the guy’s fingers in the morning.
Em and Clancy were barely more than kids themselves.
“It’s not like you landed on an alien planet, you know.We worked a little later than usual, then splurged on frozen pizzas from the IGA for a quick dinner on the way home.You’re lucky we did.We were in two vehicles, or we would have had to leave you out there tonight.We’d have come back.Maybe.Eventually.You were really out of it when we found you.If the road had been open behind us, we would have called for an ambulance.Or just called Cloe, so…same thing, really.But Joel and Zach were closing the main highway after we turned off.We scooped you up because we had no choice.Your sisters would probably have not been happy if we’d abandoned you to your fate and everything.You don’t remember getting here?”
She poked him right above the left eyebrow.He winced.Shook his head.“I don’t remember a dam—darned thing since this afternoon.I’d been having engine trouble this morning, I think.I think it was this morning.I just am not sure.”
They’d splurged.On frozen pizzas.He could only imagine how tight it was if frozen pizzas were a luxury.
He took a look around.He’d never been inside their home before.It wasn’t anything like he’d imagined.Definitely larger.It was warm and inviting despite a slightly dated feel, with soaring ceilings, hand-hewn rafters, and stone accents.There was a small woodstove in one corner, surrounded by metal baby gates.There was a sunken living room.Rather large.They had two oversized sectional couches—mismatched, but clean and inviting.And a rug.It was very clean, something that surprised him.
He’d always thought kids were messy creatures.Clancy always had been.
Homey and inviting and it smelled like…females.And pizza.
“Getting an eyeful?”the woman standing over him asked.Cal turned back to her.Looked up at her.He wouldn’t mind another eyeful ofher.She had been good friends with Cloe throughout high school.He thought.There were a lot of redheaded Tyler girls around her age—many of them had been friends with his trio of brat sisters.
He thought he remembered her—a short, pumpkin-haired girl with long braids who was too quiet every time he’d seen her.She was eight or nine years or so younger than he was, so he hadn’t paid her much attention.He hadn’t paid much attention to the girls’ friends back then.
He was starting to wonder if he should have.
He studied her.It always gave him a start to see how much she resembled her cousin Maggie.The cousin his father had almost killed.Hard to forget that woman.
That was a whole situation he didn’t want to think about right now.
But…this close to her…hell, Auggie Tyler was…more than extraordinary.Gorgeous.Beautiful and tempting to any man.Hell.This was insane.
When had that happened?Beautiful, just as beautiful as her sister Juniper.He had never realized it before.He’d known she was attractive, but had he ever looked that closely at her?Other than the day she’d told him he was a greedy land-grabbing asshole, whose own mother would be ashamed of, anyway?
That day was hard to forget.
The wild curly hair was the color of pumpkins, no denying that.It was long and silky looking and tempting.Her eyes…gorgeous dark blue.
And filled with disgust when she looked at him.Thiswas his sisters’ best friend—and he was ninety-nine percent convinced she despised him.
“I am trying to figure out what to do next, actually.And what happened out there.”Last thing he really remembered was waiting at the mechanic’s shop for the mechanic—her cousin, Monroe—to finish with his truck.It had been running rough lately.He’d had a coffee in the lobby…maybe?
That was the last thing he could recall.
But his head was incredibly cloudy.He could barely think.It wasn’thurting,but…he could barely form two thoughts.Of course, that could be because she smelled really, really tempting.Far better than the pizza.
“You be a good guest, then first thing in the morning, we find a way to get you out of here.You go to the doctor and get checked out as soon as you can,” she said, flatly.She didn’t want him there.No denying that.“And in the meantime, please remember you are surrounded by traumatized children, so don’t be a jerk, okay?In exchange, I won’t let Em keep you as breeding stock.I’m not entirely certain she was joking.She’s going through an anti-man phase after her last breakup.But she’s adamant she wants kids of her own someday.So…I’m afraid you might be…breeding stock candidate number one right now, since you are probably one of the few men she still actually trusts, heaven knows why.Probably because of Clancy.The mere idea…well, I don’t want to lose my appetite.I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I’m starving.”
“Gee, thanks.Nice to know a Tyler has some standards.”He said it just to bait her, no denying that.The woman had a temper, after all.He had seen it before.
He took it as a challenge.
She started to say something, but the baby babbled, distracting her.Her face softened in an instant as she looked at her baby sister.Became almost serene, powerful.
He’d never seen this woman look like that.Cal admitted to himself; he didn’t mind watching her at all.
