Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Men for Hire 4

  Rough and Ready

  Jeff Jenkins and Kane Kannal work together for Cowboys for Hire, but are they friends? Not a chance. Yet when chubby, sexy Alexia (Alex) Martin comes to Destiny to help with the recovery after a tornado strikes the town, their emotions take a whirl of their own.

  Overweight Alex is used to being overlooked in love, so when two sexy cowboys say they each want her as their own, she’s thrown. She wants both of them, but getting them to share her is like trying to lasso a whirlwind.

  The men give her an ultimatum to choose between them. But why should she choose when she doesn’t want to give either of them up? Instead, she demands they put away their differences and share her. If they can’t, then she’ll leave both of them behind.

  Will they get it together and learn to share her? Or will another disaster strike?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 57,327 words

  ROUGH AND READY

  Men for Hire 4

  Jane Jamison

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  ROUGH AND READY

  Copyright © 2013 by Jane Jamison

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-412-9

  First E-book Publication: August 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Rough and Ready by Jane Jamison from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Jane Jamison’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Jamison’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Thank you to everyone at Siren Publishing for making my dreams come true.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  ROUGH AND READY

  Men for Hire 4

  JANE JAMISON

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  “Get your junk out of my face.”

  Jeff Jenkins grinned as Kane Kannal shoved him away. He stumbled out of the pileup then whirled around in time to see Kane, his dark eyes blazing, getting to his feet. It wasn’t any surprise when Kane hurled his body at him.

  Too bad the other players in their impromptu football game got between them. He would’ve loved mixing it up with Kane.

  “Chill, man. If you can’t handle getting tackled, don’t play with the big boys.”

  “Cramming your package in my face isn’t tackling, you shithead.”

  “Hey, what can I say? I just piled on, man. It wasn’t a personal thing.” He batted his eyes at the angry Kane. “And just so you know, I don’t swing that way, so don’t go making more of it than it is.”

  Jeff was secure with his sexuality and he doubted Kane was insecure. Still, he hadn’t been able to resist taunting the big guy.

  Kane lunged for him again. His fist would’ve connected to Jeff’s jaw with a solid right hook if Jack and Mike Granger hadn’t each grabbed one of Kane’s arms and hauled him backward. Jeff let his shit-eating grin grow bigger. If there was anything he liked better than working the ranch, it was getting under Kane’s skin.

  The two of them had been on each other’s nerves since the first day Kane had signed on with the Cowboys for Hire organization. Gabriel Cortez, their leader, had introduced Kane to the rest of the group, and for whatever inexplicable reason, Jeff had locked eyes with Kane. From that moment on, they’d locked horns, too, never really getting past their initial dislike for one another. The only time they put that conflict aside was when they worked together. But it was always just under the surface, ready to break free at any moment and for almost any reason.

  The way Jeff figured it, he’d been with Gabriel and the rest of the team a lot longer than Kane and that gave him seniority. Not that he bothered pointing that out to anyone but Kane. No one other than Kane would’ve cared.

  Gabriel strode toward the group. His scowl warned that he wasn’t in the mood for any problems, especially not between Jeff and Kane. Jeff shot Kane a look. At least Kane was smart enough to pick up on the thinly veiled warning to keep his temper in check around their boss.

  “Knock it off, you two. The fun and games are over.”

  Fun and games? The last time we played football I ended up with a black eye and a chipped tooth. But it had been well worth it since Kane had gone away with a dislocated shoulder.

  Jeff, however, wasn’t about to remind Gabriel of that. Although older than his crew, Gabriel was still a powerful man, and even more to the point, a stubborn one. Getting into a fight, either with words or fists, wasn’t something Jeff wanted to do with the tenacious man. He loved going on missions with the other men and would never want to jeopardize his home at Second Chance Ranch.

  Jeff glanced at the sid
elines. More than a few of the men were watching along with their women. A lot of them were paired two and three men for one woman. Mike, Brad, and Jack had Maria there to play cheerleader while Sela Reynolds, the singer, was sporting real pom-poms for the Richland men.

  He wondered, not for the first time, what anyone saw in that kind of an arrangement. Could he share a woman with another man? He doubted it. Hell, he didn’t like sharing his favorite food, lasagna, with anyone. How the hell could he share a woman he loved? If, of course, he ever found that woman. And as far as he was concerned, that was a big if.

  Gabriel’s hard gaze found him and held. He changed his smile from the shit-eating one he reserved for Kane and adopted his friendliest grin. Having all-American, blond good looks that most people found appealing never hurt.

  “Listen up. Kane and Jeff, Walter Pickerson called. He still needs volunteers for another round of cleanup. The rest of you are welcomed to lend a hand, but he specifically asked for you two louts. Damned if I know why after the way you acted last time.”

  Jeff was already nodding before Gabriel finished speaking. He and Kane, as well as several of the others, had helped out after a recent storm struck a couple of houses and barns in the area.

  The F1 category tornado, a small one by Oklahoma standards, hadn’t injured anyone, but it had done damage to two family’s homes and barns. They’d already spent time clearing away debris as well as rounding up strays from the herds that had gotten scattered in the storm. Pickerson, the mayor of the small town of Destiny, had told them to head on back to Second Chance Ranch after Jeff and Kane got into a scrap outside the local diner. They’d both promised to behave themselves so they could stay, but most of the cleanup had been managed by then and the mayor didn’t want them around any longer. Jeff was still embarrassed by his behavior of that day and was pretty sure that Kane felt the same way.

  Can I help it if the guy gets under my skin?

  He may have wanted to put all the blame on Kane, but the answer that came from deep inside him told him he’d acted as immaturely and irresponsibly as Kane had.

  Kane cleared his throat. “It won’t happen again, boss.”

  Jeff almost chuckled. When would Kane learn? Gabriel hated being called boss. “For once I agree with him. Trust me. I won’t let him get to me again.”

  Gabriel caught the hint of teasing in his voice and sent him a glare that could’ve burned paint off the side of a barn. “See that it doesn’t. Otherwise, you’re going to hear from me. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal clear.” Jeff stuck out his hand to Kane, knowing Kane would hate the gesture but be unable to refuse it. “I’m good if you are, man.”

  Kane narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth to speak then obviously thought better of whatever he’d started to say. “Yeah. Fine. We bury the hatchet for the good of the town.” His bright white teeth shone against his bronze skin. “For now.”

  Gabriel groaned and shook his head. “I swear. It’s like dealing with school-yard bullies.” He waved his hand in the air, a gesture that meant the discussion was over. “Just see that you keep the peace. Now get going. Pickerson wants you at the Hegburn place pronto.”

  Jeff was off the field before Kane—not that it was a race, but still it was good to beat him—and headed for his truck that was parked near Kane’s. He flung open the door and hopped inside, knowing the keys were still in the ignition. No one had ever stolen a vehicle around Destiny. Their biggest crime spree was when the Brewster boys had jacked two bicycles and then tried to sell them online.

  Revving his motor, he tipped his hat to Kane and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Dirt billowed around Kane as Jeff drove down the driveway toward the main road that led into town.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror to find Kane dusting himself off, a furious scowl covering his face.

  How’s that for burying the hatchet?

  * * * *

  Kane didn’t try to speed his truck past Jeff’s. If the man wanted to play that stupid competitive game, then he’d let him win. After all, winning wasn’t important. All that mattered was getting back to town and helping out the families that had taken the brunt of last week’s storm.

  Winning doesn’t matter. Yeah, right.

  He smiled, not the shit-eating kind of grin Jeff always gave him, but one filled with the desire for revenge. He’d keep his promise to Gabriel and work with Jeff, but once that was over, all bets were off. The man was due a little payback for that stunt he pulled in the football game.

  Jeff Jenkins had rubbed him the wrong way from the first day Kane had stepped onto Gabriel’s land. Maybe their discord was based on the fact that they were so different. Physically, Jeff had his blond, movie-hero good looks while Kane had a darker appearance with black hair and eyes. Even his tan, one born of working outside all his life, was deeper than Jeff’s. But the real differences lay beneath the surface.

  While Kane was the serious, often brooding type, Jeff was happy-go-lucky, ever-ready-with-a-smile-and-a-laugh guy. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he envied that kind of easygoing attitude. But growing up on a poor Texas farm that had more dirt than crops had made Kane somber and reflective. He’d left his family at seventeen to get away from his dominating father and had taken any job he could until, at last, he’d gotten hired on as a ranch hand. His love of horses and the country lifestyle had served him well ever since.

  Jeff, on the other hand, had grown up in a middle-class family and hadn’t wanted for much of anything. Even now, his parents offered to pay for his truck and other essentials. To his credit, Jeff always refused, but it still made Kane wonder what it would be like to have the luxury of getting something for nothing. He, too, would’ve turned down the offer of someone else paying his way. They were both in their thirties and taking anything they hadn’t earned themselves was laughable. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have liked to have had the option earlier in his life. Or even a father that hadn’t returned home drunk every Friday and Saturday night to knock him around the house. Kane had never blamed his mother for cutting and running when he was ten years old. He only wished that he could’ve gotten away sooner.

  Kane pulled his vehicle to a stop behind Jeff’s in front of the Hegburn home. Mitchell Hegburn stood outside with a couple of other men Kane recognized as being part of the Tulsa division of an emergency management team. He strode toward them, watching as they shook hands with Jeff, who returned their greeting.

  “Good to see you, Kane.” Mitchell stuck out his hand, his grip hard and tight. “Thanks for coming.”

  “No problem. What’s up? I thought we’d gotten most everything taken care of.”

  Kane scanned the barn behind them. A tarp covered one half of the roof where the high winds had sheared it off. Although they’d offered to repair the roof, they had to wait for the insurance company to give them the go-ahead. Luckily, the house hadn’t suffered any damage, but Mitchell had lost a couple of horses and even the family’s dog in the tornado.

  “Are Mary and the kids okay?”

  Kane had to hand it to Jeff for remembering to ask after the family. He sometimes forgot about the pleasantries people expected.

  “She’s fine, thanks. She and Milly Johnson are in the house wrangling up a snack for the kids. Can I tell her to fix you guys something?”

  Kane slammed his mouth closed when Jeff answered before him, cutting him off. “No thanks. Don’t bother. She has enough to handle. It’s got to be cramped in there what with your two kids and the Johnson family, too.”

  Mitchell let out a sigh. “Ain’t that the truth? We’re getting by, but nerves are getting frayed. We’re like rats stuck in one little cage. We’re hoping these guys can get the Johnsons set up with a temporary place soon. They’ll need a rental house for at least a few months until their home is ready to live in again. I was telling them that the old Wilkin’s place might be available to rent.”

  Doug Wilkin was another local farmer who had an older home located on his
property. His family had lived there until they’d built a bigger home only a few acres from that one. Hopefully, Doug would let Gerald Johnson and his family stay there for free. That’s just how most of the folks in Destiny were. Whenever one of their neighbors needed help, they stepped up to the plate.

  “Good idea. Has anyone contacted Doug yet?” Jeff pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “I’d be happy to give him a call.”

  “We tried, but he’s out of town and we’re not able to reach him,” offered the older gentleman. His ID badge said his name was Hershall Stallings.

  The other man was tall and lean like he’d never had a decent meal. His ID badge gave his name as Steve Brewster.

  “That’s why we called you,” added Mitchell. “The other workers are at the Johnsons’ place still cleaning up the remainder of the mess. It’s not a total loss and we’ve got a crew doing as much as they can before the insurance money kicks in, but it’s going to take more time than we thought. We need you and your trucks to get the Johnsons moved over to Miss Daisy’s place.”

  Miss Daisy’s Bed and Breakfast was a picture-perfect three-story house on the outskirts of town with a wraparound porch and plenty of rockers for the guests. Flowers colored the gardens surrounding the white-framed house in the spring and summer. Daisy Winters ran the place that her great-grandmother had started.

  Most out-of-towners were surprised when they met Daisy. They expected an elderly grandmotherly type like the original Daisy Winters had been. Instead, they were greeted by a redheaded half-Japanese girl who had a liking for skinny jeans and animal-print T-shirts. She was plain spoken and outgoing with a big heart, and everyone in Destiny loved her.