Destry (4 page)

“I think I might take you up on that offer.” Her reply made me inhale sharply which started a coughing fit. They ignored me and kept it going. “You’ll show me round, won’t you, Austin?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a cheesy drawl. I kicked his foot under the table and moved to stand up.

“Jackass,” I murmured under my breath as I began collecting the dishes. My hand collided with Amelia’s as we both reached for the same dish in the middle of the table. She quickly pulled her hand back like I’d burned her. With a scoff, I snatched the dish up and took it all to the kitchen.

“I didn’t really get a chance to thank you properly for last night.” Amelia’s soft voice floated through the old rustic kitchen. She slid a few dishes onto the counter next to me and cleared her throat, taking me by surprise. “Thank you, for helping me. I mean, I know you don’t know me and you didn’t have to, so… just… thank you.” From the corner of my eye, I could see a light pink tinge to her cheeks; she was blushing. No doubt, she was embarrassed about last night.

I would have laughed over her embarrassment, but my dumbass brothers and their flirting had put me in a foul mood. This in turn had pissed me off even more, because there was nothing about them messing with this girl I needed to be pissed about. “Sure,” I grumbled and turned off the running water.

Her next comment took me by surprise. “You clearly have a problem with me. I don’t know what it is and I’m not really in the mood to find out. Forget I said anything,” she sassed. I spun around to tell her that just her being here was enough to annoy me, when she squeaked and landed in Austin’s arms, her hands flat against his chest and the rest of her body plastered to his. I ground my teeth and kept quiet when I realized he must have been standing behind her. When she turned to leave, she’d run smack bang into him.

“You fallin’ for me already, darlin’?” He smirked his trademark smile down at her stunned face.

A growl I couldn’t keep down rumbled up from my chest. Amelia giggled, the sound going straight to my crotch. I dropped the hand with the dishtowel in it, covering the bulge in my pants.

Austin flicked his eyes up to me, and with a bastard-like laugh, he righted Amelia and snaked his arm around her waist. He said, “Come on, sweet thing. I’ll show you round. We’ll start at the barn.”

“Like hell you will, asshole!” I ground out, glaring at the hand he had riding low on Amelia’s hip. Everyone who lived round these parts knew you didn’t take a girl to the barn unless you were putting the moves on her. Austin dropped his arm and Amelia stepped back out of the way with a look of shock on her face.

“What’re you gonna do about it, big brother?” Austin crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance.

“Don’t push me, kid. I’ll knock the sense right back into you.” Perhaps calling him kid was a dumbass move seeing as he hated that nickname, but he was getting on my nerves.

We lunged at each other at about the same time and went tumbling to the ground in a ball of arms and legs. No matter how much he pissed me off, I’d never actually hurt him; he was my kid brother. I pushed up and grabbed him in a headlock only for him to twist out of it and gain the upper hand, breaking away and reversing our positions.

Laughter from the doorway had my head swinging around to find Ellie-May almost doubled over, holding her stomach and pointing at us. Amelia, however, was nowhere in sight. I rolled over and groaned.

“You two buffoons just handed her to Braxton on a silver platter while y’all rolled around and played who has the biggest penis.” She was laughing so hard by that point, she had tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t say penis,” Austin grouched at Ellie. She was the youngest of us all and we were not only fiercely protective of her, we also tended to forget she was almost twenty years old.

Braxton lead me outside onto the porch as the sun was setting. The sky to the west blazed with pink and orange clouds, bathing the acres of surrounding land in a gentle, golden light. I’d honestly never seen a sunset so pretty before in my life.

"Sorry, they get kinda intense whenever there's a female around who isn't related to us," Braxton said, leaning against the banister of the porch steps. I stood opposite and took him in.

His honey-wheat blond hair, spiked up in all directions, was clearly not purposely styled that way. It was the style of a busy cowboy who had ran his hands through his hair more than once. Probably in frustration at his brothers antics. A light stubble kissed his jawline, dusting his golden skin with the most delicious scruff. I wanted to touch it just to see if it was as soft as it looked. His eyes were what really grabbed my attention though; stormy blue with tiny flecks of mossy green that you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking hard enough, but it wasn’t just the color that pulled me in. There was a gentleness behind his gaze, one his brothers didn't have.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like I'd known Braxton all my life, when in reality, that couldn't be further from the truth. Maybe it was the fact I'd been here a total of one day, and already these strangers had shown me more kindness than every member of my family had my entire life, or maybe I’d just hit my head harder than I thought.

Braxton gave me a nervous smile, probably because I was staring like a total creeper. I saw a flash of teeth and his whole face transformed as he gave me a megawatt smile.

Christ, can these boys get anymore damn edible?

I leaned back against the banister opposite him and my eyes, of their own violation, did a quick sweep of his muscled chest clearly defined by the black tank that was plastered to him like a second skin. As he crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulged out further. I swallowed and averted my eyes quickly when he cleared his throat. He was clearly more than aware of the effect he had on me, but rather than be an ass, he just smirked and dropped his gaze to the ground at my bare feet.

“It’s gorgeous out here.” I glanced over at the last remnants of light ducking below the horizon in the distance.

“Mhmm, it really is something else.”

Destry chose that exact moment to come stomping out and gave Braxton a death glare that would have had me taking a step back. Braxton, however, didn’t move except to stand up taller and hold his ground.

I burst out laughing at the display of testosterone, and walked back up to the house shaking my head. I had no idea what was wrong with these guys, but damn if I didn’t want to find out. They’d made me laugh more in the last few hours than I had in a long time. Destry though, I was still wary of. I had the other two fairly figured out. Braxton was the sweet one. Austin was the flirt, but Destry, he was still a mystery. Yet my first impression about him being a cocky ass was lingering in the back of my mind. I had a feeling I was going to like it here regardless.

Curled up on the worn leather sofa only an hour after tonight’s testosterone tug-of-war, I hugged my mug of hot cocoa to my chest with a sigh. It was the best damn cocoa I’d ever had.

“Mmmm,” I sighed and laid my head back against the soft cushioning behind me. The liquid chocolate wafted up, soothing me and making me feel warm and comfortable. The only sounds were the crickets chirping outside the large double windows. It was so comforting; my eyes closed briefly.

“Good, huh?” Destry’s voice caught me by surprise, making me jump a little. I looked over to see him leaning casually against the doorframe with his ankles crossed and a small smirk playing on his lips as he raised his own mug up to his mouth and took a sip. The man was pure unadulterated sex on a stick; there wasn’t a single inch of him that wasn’t solid, hard muscle. His muscles beckoned to me, taunting me to lean in and lick and bite. I felt my cheeks warm when his gaze landed on me; he’d clearly caught me ogling him and found it funny. I tucked my bare feet further up under myself and looked down at my mug.

“You made this?” I asked a little surprised. I assumed it was a Braxton, since he’d been the one to hand it to me before he went to bed. I didn’t even realize anybody was still awake; I was so lost in the peaceful quiet of the big old house.

“Sure I did.” He pushed off the doorframe and walked over to a big over-stuffed reclining chair, dropping down into it and filling the entire thing, making it seem as if it were tiny.

I knew I was supposed to say something but I was transfixed with the way his arms looked in his navy blue cotton t-shirt, the way it pulled tight across his broad shoulders and defined chest. His arms looked like they were close to tearing the sleeves in two. He was without a doubt, the sexiest man I’d come across, and he didn’t have to do anything to flaunt it; it was a natural kind of good looking. His strong jaw sporting the five o’clock shadow would make any sane woman want to nibble on it. His eyes were a striking blue with nearly invisible gold flecks; they were bright yet they held a guarded curiosity. Destry cleared his throat, snapping me back to the now; he was looking at me expectantly, so I’d clearly missed whatever it was he had been saying while I made a fool of myself gawking at him.

“Sorry? I was off in my own little world,” I admitted, hoping he wasn’t going to call me out on my bad manners.

“I was just asking if you wanted me to show you around tomorrow.” He shifted in his seat looking uncomfortable for whatever reason. I was a little surprised by his gesture; it was not at all what I was expecting.

“That’s really nice of you. I would, however, like to help around here anyway I can.” His short sharp laugh and roll of his eyes had me confused and a little annoyed.

“Darlin’, I’m pretty sure work on the ranch might near kill you, or at least break a few of your nails.” His smart words got under my skin. Did he think we were living in the 1800s? I could do anything he could do, and I could do it with more class and a cute ass.

“Umm, sexist much? I’m more than capable of getting my hands dirty,” I told him with a glare.

“Maybe in the city you could do a spot of gardening, but out here, it’s real work.” He shook his head and sipped his cocoa looking relaxed and not at all bothered that he’d just royally pissed me off.

“What time do we start in the morning?” I asked defiantly. I wasn’t about to let an asshole guy tell me I couldn’t handle a bit of hard work.

With a smug look on his face, he told me, “Four am, sweetheart.” I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from telling him I was nobody’s sweetheart.

I stood up, walked over to him, handed him my empty mug and smiled sweetly. “Equality and all that jazz. I wouldn’t want you going around thinking it was a woman’s job to be in the kitchen.” His stunned expression made me giddy. I’d one upped him. “See you at four, cowboy.” I heard his grunt as I walked off toward the stairs. Knowing he was watching me the entire way, did wonders for my damaged ego

Rolling over, I stretched my arms up above my head and yawned, pushing myself up onto my elbows. I flicked my eyes over to the clock perched on the wall. It was before five in the morning and I was awake. “The damn sun isn’t even up yet,” I grumbled, sliding out from the warmth of the double bed. Hell knows what I was thinking the previous night. I needed my head examined or my pride cut down some.

Shuffling down the stairs twenty minutes later, I tried and failed to put a spring in my step, just to show the obnoxious ass I was able to wake up at the same time as his highness and look good doing it.

“She won’t hack it.” Destry’s voice stopped my zombie-like movements in an instant. I stood stock still on the bottom step and strained my ears. The smell of food assaulted my nostrils and my stomach made a tiny rumble.

“Sure she will. I’ll bet she can even keep up with Braxton for most of the day.” Austin laughed. More clanging of plates being put down and shuffling of feet made it harder to hear what was being said.

“Don’t be an idiot. Just make sure you’re ready to bring her back to the house if she looks like she’s struggling.” A chair scraped against the wooden floors “She’s a city girl and I can guarantee she has no idea what she’s in for today,” Destry said with amusement.

I’ll show him
, I mused to myself as I stepped into the kitchen–slash-dining room. The massive ten-seater table was set and plates of breakfast foods were laid out. A handful of delicious smells hit my senses all at once. Pushing Destry’s smart comments to the back of my mind, I said my good mornings to everyone. Saving the cocky cowboy for last, I smiled hugely at him. When he turned around to face me, I forced myself to appear a hundred times more awake and peppy than I actually felt.