“Ah yes, the boogeyman who is poised to gobble up our town. I’d think that would make you want to down your drinks.”
Jameson pierced his sister with his steely gaze. “I refuse to accept that it’s hopeless. Miranda says there must be a reason IG hasn’t announced yet. Even though the governor’s office thinks the deal is sewed up, she thinks they must be delaying for a reason.”
“Oh, it’s Miranda now, is it?” Her eyebrow rose to accompany her smirk. “What happened to ‘that terrible Everheart woman,’ or ‘the Harpy’?”
“Why do I even bother with you?” Jameson snarled, then pushed away from the table. “I’m going to talk to a MacAllen whose tongue isn’t as sharp as a damn scythe.”
Brenne turned to watch her brother walk toward the bar. “What’s his problem?” she asked, jerking her thumb at his retreating back.
“Maybe he doesn’t like the way his sister flirts with every damn cowboy in the joint,” Jim said, his voice rising on a note of anger. “Maybe he doesn’t like to think about those same cowboys pawing all over you in public.” Jim rose, following in his older brother’s footsteps, leaving him alone at the table.
Brenne fell into the recently vacated chair and let out a loud sigh. “What crawled up their cracks?” she asked, snaking Jameson’s glass and taking a gulp of his abandoned beer.
Alex frowned at her less than lady-like behavior. “Your brothers are worried about what’s going to happen to this town and they have to see you parading around the bar making googly eyes at your customers for tips.”
He was surprised at the hardness in his tone, and apparently so was she, because Brenne’s face screwed up into a grimace. “Googly eyes? Moi?” Her exaggerated voice matched her over-the-top body language as she clutched an imaginary set of pearls. “Sure, fellows might make advances, but I don’t encourage them.”
“You think that little saddle comment wasn’t encouragement?” Alex argued. “You might as well have invited that one to look you up at the ranch later on for a personal tour of the stable.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she hissed, standing up so quickly she hit the edge of the table, making the beer in the glasses sway back and forth, dangerously close to overflowing. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the three of you, but there’s no reason for me to stick around and dig deeper, is there?”
“You’re playing with fire.” The words came out of him without warning, and Alex wasn’t sure where they came from, but they were accompanied by a rush of possessiveness so acute, it sliced its way up his chest like a knife.
Brenne’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned in so that her face was inches from his own. “You know what? If I didn’t know any better, I would say that sounded like jealousy talking. But it couldn’t be, could it? Not from a man too lily-livered to tell my brothers he wants to court their sister.”
“It couldn’t be,” he reinforced, his voice low and guttural. “Because any man crazy enough to hitch himself to your wagon would know it wouldn’t be long before you drove him off a cliff.”
Brenne recoiled in anger, whirling on her heel and marching away from the table at top speed. Alex sat there huffing, trying to still the riot of emotions inside him. How does she do this to me? Get me all worked up? It’s like all my good sense goes out the window.
Not only was Brenne his best friend’s younger sister, but she was a wild child, a tomboy who could drink beers and argue about football like one of the guys. She always followed a burp with a laugh, and he’d rarely if ever seen her out of her customary blue jeans. No, Brenne MacAllen wasn’t the type of woman he planned to bring home to his mother.
He stood, ambling over to the bar to join the other MacAllens. Johnnie was popping the tops of bottles of cheap beer. He nodded in welcome. “Old Doc Parsons. Good to see you in the trenches, fighting the good fight with our brothers-in-arms.”
“Well, someone had to tell her she was inappropriate,” he grumbled, then grabbed one of the beers Johnnie had opened and took a swig. “Y’all have let her run wild for ages and now you’re upset that she can’t be tamed.”
Jameson and Jim exchanged a glance, and Johnnie’s brow furrowed. “I was talking about the war against IG. What did I miss?”
“Our sister,” Jameson filled in. “The way those roughnecks were talking to her…” He trailed off, waving his hand vaguely in the air. “You know.”
Johnnie nodded. “She gets her fair share of attention, sure. But she’s told me enough times to let her handle it in her own way that I don’t interfere. And she doesn’t complain.”
“Well, I’m complaining,” Jameson muttered. “I don’t know how you can wash your hands of it so easily. She’s our little sister.”
“Not so little anymore,” Johnnie pointed out. “And she’s good with her elbows. She can handle herself.”
“Can’t say I agree,” Jim said, then turned to face Alex. “Still, our friend here seemed to have no problem handling her. What did you say to her at the table that made her stomp away like a bear swarmed by honeybees?”
Alex swallowed, uncomfortable with the swerve in conversation. “I just told her that she didn’t need to encourage the men who proposition her.” He failed to mention the little green monster that Brenne had seen in him.
Johnnie looked skeptical, but Jim and Jameson exchanged another glance. “That so?” Jameson said, his mouth moving like he was chewing something over. “That gives me an idea.”
“Oh dear,” Johnnie said with a fake tremble in his voice. “The most masterful thinker of our age has an idea. Oh Wise One, what wisdom do you have to share with the huddled masses?”
Jameson ignored his brother’s teasing. “Brenne might not work here permanently, but what’s to stop your wife from calling her in whenever you need an extra pair of hands?”
Johnnie shrugged. “They’re best friends,” he pointed out. “Why wouldn’t Lou reach out? It’s not like Brenne does much besides ride her horses and drink that terrible red soda pop.”
“Exactly. So maybe we need to make sure she’s busy so she won’t be available to solve your little labor shortages.”
Jim seemed to pick up on his brother’s train of thought telepathically. “Ah, like say, if Brenne had another job, she’d be too busy to work at the saloon.”
Alex didn’t like their tone. He could tell this was headed somewhere uncomfortable. “Spit it out,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Why don’t you hire her?” Jameson asked. “You know she’s got as much training as the vet techs that work in your Lubbock practice, just from growing up on the ranch. She is more than experienced enough to lend a hand.”
“I don’t think—”
Jim interrupted before he could finish. “Oh, that’s perfect! Brenne loves animals. She wouldn’t turn down a job working for you.”
“Guys, that’s crazy.” Alex held his hands in front of his chest, palms out as if he could ward off the idea. “Brenne working for me? She’d never—”