Jamie's Revenge (12 page)

It took her near an hour to wash their things. Jamie washed them good, real good, letting them soak in as much of the floral scent as they could before she wrung them out along the board and then to the line to hang.

The enjoyment of her prank waned out under the harsh sun as she began to sweat over the task of emptying out the wash bins and rolling them back into the barn to be stored. Even with the stink, it was nicer in the barn. It was just a little cooler, and Jamie sighed into the stall’s side, thinking of getting herself a drink from the well before going to check on Bridgette.

Geoffrey’s whinnying down the way drew her toward the anxious horse. Linc said they didn’t have the saddle to spare for her to go riding, but she didn’t really need one. What she needed was her bags. What Geoffrey needed was a run. There was more than enough light in the day for her to make it to Head of Elm and back.

Just barely…and Linc will be pissed.
Not that she wanted to upset that particular brother-in-law, but Jamie really didn’t want to go back into the house and spend the day getting bitched at by Bridgette either.

What seemed like a good idea at the time didn’t feel so great nearly six hours later as Jamie finally rode Geoffrey back through the open gates of the MacAuley ranch. Drenched through to the bone, Jamie could see the pile of men waiting for her under the porch roof and knew that her that she hadn’t yet paid for her rash decision.

It looked like a lynching party, complete with hardened gun-slingers and the full flames of the lanterns roaring boldly in face of the thunderstorm that had rolled in to blacken the plains three hours past.
 
If only it had kept rolling on, then she could have weathered it out under a tree.

That hadn’t happened. There came a point when she knew her arrival would be greeted with a response more unpleasant than enduring the ride through the rain. Clearly, she’d underestimated that point.

As she drew Geoffrey up to a stop at the porch steps, Linc greeted her. Pissed beyond the ability to speak, he had that muscle flexing in his cheek when he snatched her right off the horse. Jamie’s feet never touched the ground when he chunked her over his shoulder.

Nor did she dare to make a squeak as he carried her off in a march.
 
She figured she should be somewhat grateful not to have to deal with Brodie or Caelen’s opinions on the matter. They passed in no more than flashes of denim covered thighs before Linc bore her right into the house.

Into the house and up the stairs, Jamie realized he hadn’t given her a reprieve a second after her feet finally touched down on the wooden floor of Bridgette’s bedroom. Without a word, he abandoned her to her fate as her sister turned from the window growling.

* * * *

Brodie waited for Linc at the bottom of the steps with only one thing to say to him. “It is just beginning, Linc.”

“Shut up, Brodie.” Linc shoved right threw him as he continued on toward the door. “I don’t need to listen to your nonsense.”

“The girl’s in heat.” Trailing after Linc, Brodie intended to have his say. “She’s just going to cause more and more trouble until she gets the dick she needs.”

That had Linc turning on him right in the middle of the open front door. Balling Brodie’s shirt up in his fist, Linc snarled right in his face. “That’s my sister-in-law you’re talking about.”

“She’s my woman, and you’re doing nothing but getting in the way.”

“You’re getting in
my way
.” Linc whirled him around with that one and gave a shove. Stumbling backward, Brodie probably would have gone down the steps if Caelen hadn’t shoved him back onto his feet from behind. “Now, you see
your woman’s
horse, and I expect those bags to be in this house before the night is over.”

With that declaration, Linc slammed the door on them, leaving Brodie shaking his head. “He just don’t want to listen.”

“Leave him alone, Brodie. He’s doing what he thinks is right,” Caelen retorted.

“Why do you keep defending him?” Brodie aimed his annoyance with both Jamie and Linc at Caelen. “If it wasn’t for Linc, we would be tucked in, enjoying this storm the right way instead of stuck out in it.”

“Linc ain’t doing any different than we would…
I
would if we were talking about Bridgette. He’s just trying to do right by his family.”

“We’re his family.”

“Give it up, Brodie.” Caelen turned to look down into the sheet of water flowing off the porch roof. “We got worse things to handle right now.”

Even with slickers on, the driving rain of sheets assured both Caelen and Brodie were cold and damp by the time they got to the barn with the horse. Brodie left Caelen to pull down the bags Jamie had piled on the old man, while he started tending to Geoffrey. The bags hit the ground with a plop.

“Soaked through.” Caelen shook his head with a sigh, before he knelt down by the bag.

“What you doing?” Brodie asked, though it became kind of obvious when Caelen flipped open the case’s top.

“I’m just going to hang the things up to dry in here. You got to figure she can’t wear them wet.”

Brodie snorted at that. “You’re just snooping. Ain’t you outgrown looking at a lady’s drawers?”

“This is a little different than an old woman’s underlings.” Caelen held up a black, lacy corset. “Now tell me you don’t enjoy imaging Jamie in this.”

Brodie stared for a second before answering sincerely. “Nope.”

“Liar.”

“All I see when I look at that is the knowledge that another man bought it for my woman.” Wrinkling his nose, he snatched the garment out of Caelen’s hands. A second later, the thin fabric shredded between his hands. Dropping the now rags to the floor, he met Caelen’s smirking gaze. “Now that’s more like it.”

“You can’t shred all her clothes, Brodie.”

“Why not?” Brodie eyed the open case. “It’s not like I care to see her wearing anything anyway.”

“How about we just hang her clothes to dry in here? That should compensate for us having to stink like roses for the next couple of days.”

When Caelen had a point, he had a point. Pissing Jamie off by destroying her wardrobe wouldn’t be half as fun as watching her reaction when she realized all her fine garments smelled like shit. Leaving Caelen to drape all of Jamie’s expensive dresses and underlings over the barn stalls, his brother made sure they got as close to the stink as possible without actually touching.

That would get Jamie’s goat good. Maybe she’d do something rash…like come out of her protected cage and give him a chance to ease a little crazy out of her spirit. Even if Linc didn’t want to admit to it, the girl needed dick and not just any dick. She needed him. Until he rode all the pent-up frustration of the last five years out of that sweet, little body, she’d just get crazier and crazier.

“Hey, guess what I found,” Caelen called from down the alley where he’d dragged Jamie’s bags off to, a little closer to the pig pen where the stench really got rank. Brodie didn’t exactly want to smell it.

“Stockings?”

“Cocks.”

That had Brodie’s feet shifting through the dirt and hay floors to see what the hell Caelen was talking about. “What did you say?”

“Cocks.” This time Caelen held up two hand-carved wooden dicks to go along with his answer. “They were hidden in the folds of Jamie’s bags. There is a third one.”

Caelen passed one off to Brodie for his inspection before digging out the last one and rising to his feet. Brodie turned the thing over in his hand, feeling the grin just spread ear to ear across his face. This discovery certainly made up for any annoyance he’d had to suffer today.

“You know what this means?”

“Yeah,” Brodie drew the word out as he met Caelen’s gaze. “If Jamie can get off on something this skinny, she’s going to be in for a hell of shock when I pack her full.”

Caelen joined in smirking with his brother. “Kind of makes you wonder about her husband, don’t it?”

“Guess we don’t have to worry about measuring up.”

That got an outright laugh from Caelen who got that look in his eyes. “I say we keep them.”

“And let Jamie figure out just who had her cocks? Hell yeah. I got plans for these babies.”

Chapter 10

The next day might have dawned with the full glow of a cheery sun, but its joy couldn’t penetrate Jamie’s foul mood. Sore and worn out from her escapade the day before, her mood only soured when she found her clothes littering every nook and cranny of the barn. Not that Bridgette had any sympathy.

Nobody did. Not for her. While Linc and Bridgette had fairly vibrated with their parental disapproval all through breakfast, Jamie also had to endure the knowing smirks of both Brodie and Caelen. The twins had been happy. Too happy, and now she knew why.

Out came the wash barrels for a second day in a row. By the time she’d sufficiently scrubbed the grime from her clothes, her hands ached from all the work. Dry and itchy, despite the water, it put her in a mean enough mood for even Bridgette to stay clear of.
 
Her sister pointedly focused on her hemming as Jamie lugged her suitcases up from the barn.

The gifts Jamie had brought for Bridgette all had to be put out along the dresser to dry. Slowly emptying her luggage of all the odds and ends she’d packed, something finally became obvious. Snapping the lid of her bag closed in alarm, she drew Bridgette’s.

“What? Did they pee in your bag too?”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Jamie couldn’t smile right then. “They took something.”

“Hmm. What? A pair of your stockings?” That made Bridgette smile with a sigh. “Men.”

If only it had been something so frivolous. “Well, I’m certainly not going to let them keep them.”

Jamie surged to her feet with that proclamation, intent on storming down to their cabin immediately.

“What?” Bridgette looked up. “What did they take?”

A blush tinged her cheeks and sharpened her tone. “Does it matter? They stole from me.”

“Well I guess it depends on whether or not it’s worth you rushing off down to their cabin to get it back. You have to figure that’s exactly what they’re expecting you to do.”

That did give her pause. “You think it’s a trap?”

“Honey, you are the fox the hounds are after and there’s no let-up in a hound. Single-minded, determination that never stops, how do you think Linc and Angus got me to marry them? Don’t roll your eyes at me.”

“Brodie and Caelen are with Linc.”

“Fine. Bet your ass on that and go on down there.”

Now Jamie had to. Not just because Bridgette had all but dared her, but she really had to know if it was a trap. The idea of which gave her more than a little thrill. Still, she picked through the folded pile of clothes that Bridgette had just finished mending to pull out all of Brodie and Caelen’s things.

Then with a wary eye scanning in every direction, she headed down the little slope toward Brodie and Caelen’s cabin. Nothing really stirred but the wind. The dogs had gone with the cowboys, leaving behind stillness and silence. Instead of reassuring her, the peaceful setting only added to Jamie’s nerves as she approached the small cabin.

Coming to a stop on the pebbled path right outside the wooden slatted door, Jamie hesitated before deciding on knocking. The door shrugged inward at her rap. With another quick glance around, Jamie peeked around the edge.

“Hello?”

Despite having already been inside once, she remembered the interior with great detail. Today, those details lurked in ominous shadows as she slowly pushed the door wide.

“Hello?”

 
Hesitating on the threshold, Jamie peered around, looking for whatever trap Caelen or Brodie might have laid. It would have helped if she had any clue of what she was looking for.

“Brodie? Caelen?”

Nothing stirred but the dust trapped in the strong rays of sunshine cutting across the floor. Sucking in a deep breath, Jamie told herself that not only had Bridgette been wrong, but that she wasn’t disappointed by that fact. Stepping over the threshold, Jamie told herself to stop acting like such a ninny and just get what she’d came for.

“Something I can help you with, darlin’?”

Shrieking at that sudden drawl, Jamie jumped into a whirl that had her banging into the door and stumbling back into it until they both crashed into the wall. She got pinned there instantly by the full-on press of a very hard male body.

Caelen grinned down at her, but that mirth didn’t extend to the predatory gleam in his gaze. “What, oh, what has brought little Miss Jamie out of her hole and all the way to my doorstep?”

Son of a bitch.
Jamie’s whole face flamed at that suggestive comment. “I’m just bringing back the shirts Bridgette mended for you.” She could have come up with a better response or at least one that held something other than the quivering note of desire.

“Is that so?” Caelen murmured as he stroked the hair back from her chin. Tucking it in behind her ear, his fingers slid a shiver straight down her spine as they traced a line from her lobe to the sensitive pulse at the base of her neck.
 
“You look a little worried to me.”