Spring Fever Daddies Read online

  So why was I sitting here in front of the gas station, frozen in place, fighting the urge to turn around and drive back to Chicago? The only answer that came to mind was that I was a chicken, unable to get past the idea that this was just another brainless scheme of mine destined to blow up in my face. My mom often said that self-sabotage was my hobby; I was beginning to think she might be right. If I hadn’t promised Nan and Merry and Slade, I might just turn the car around, right now. I have nothing left to go home to, I reminded myself, staring out the window as a brand new Chevy truck pulled into the place beside mine. Mmmm. Cowboys.

  “Down, girl,” I murmured to myself, but I couldn’t help but watch with interest as a hunkalicious man with a hard sculpted body molded into tight jeans that framed a perfect ass hopped out of the passenger side and sauntered into the store. A second man, equally as gorgeous and slightly more rugged looking, stayed in the truck, drumming his hands on the steering wheel and occasionally chuckling to himself.

  I wondered what was so funny and noted that neither man, nor their truck, for that matter, looked as if they really belonged here. They were all too picture perfect to be actual cowboys. They looked more like actors in a cowboy flick or models for a western wear company. If they were selling it, I’d be buying it, I mused to myself. I took a sip of the large fountain soda I had just bought and sat with the car idling as I watched them.

  The first man came out of the store with piles of bags, swinging them around in front of them as if he were without a care in the world. Road trip? I wondered.

  It didn’t really matter. Men were not a part of my current agenda. But it didn’t really hurt to sit for a minute and enjoy the scenery, did it? It wasn’t like I would ever see them again.

  The passenger has skin that is slightly olive in tone and high cheekbones that accent full lips. I see no hair, so I deduce that it must be short and the hat is hiding it. He doesn’t really strike me as the type to be bald underneath the hat. He opens the truck door and throws the bags onto the seat between them. I wonder for a second if they are in a relationship with each other. It wouldn’t surprise me. The hottest ones usually are, and it might account for their well put together look and the lack of the signs of a usual hard working cowboy. He climbs into the truck, and I jump when the engine roars to life. I nonchalantly turn my attention to the driver while I still have the chance. Soft curls fall out from underneath the rim of his hat and frame his face. His skin is lighter and the curls are honey colored. He opens his mouth to speak and I’m mesmerized by his smile. He looks oddly familiar to me yet he still doesn’t quite look like he belongs here.

  The two of them sit there, engaged in a conversation that looks jovial and flirtatious in nature. Oh yeah, these two are definitely a couple—breaking the hearts of women everywhere.

  With a sigh, I replace my soda into the console holder and slowly back out of the lot, with one last look over my shoulder as I turn onto the main road.

  My eyes are on the road, but my mind is still on the cowboys. Some things never change.

  The closer I got to the ranch, excitement replaced anxiety. I am and always have been a city girl, but my trips out to the ranch were always magical. Getting to live there in any capacity was fulfilling a dream of sorts, no matter how fucked up the dream was.

  I turned down the long driveway to the ranch and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as nervousness bubbled in my tummy. It was just the housekeeper job, probably the easiest job I’ll ever have, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that my life would never be the same.

  Even from way back here at the beginning of the drive, I could see people gathered on the front porch of Nan’s house. I squinted to try to make them out, but I was still too far away. Probably just the usual suspects. I was right on time and called Merry when I was about an hour out to alert her of my arrival time. She said they would be waiting.

  I could see them now—Nan’s diminutive form hunched over in the rocker. Slade standing nearby with Merry tucked into his arms. My stomach turned at the sight they made, and I bit back the familiar wave of jealousy. Merry was my friend, and I was happy for her. I just hoped that, someday, I would find my own happy ending.

  They all turned to watch as my car rolled to a stop in front of the large two story house. I could see them clearly now, and my heart lightened at the sight of their wide smiles. Nan stood and held out her arms, and I put the car in park and all but jumped out and ran up the steps. Nan may not be blood, but she was family, and I was honored to get to take care of her, because that’s what family does.

  I must have walked too slowly. Nan stomped her diminutive foot and rested a hand on one hip as she fussed at me from the porch. “Come on now, you slowpoke,” she hollered with a sassy grin. “I ain’t getting any younger, you know. Besides that, my soaps are about to start soon!”

  That got my feet moving. Everybody who’s ever spent any time at the ranch knows one thing for certain—you do not, under any circumstances, come between Nan and her soaps. Unless, of course, you had a death wish.

  Nan may be a little old lady pushing eighty now, but word was she was known to wield a mean switch, back in the day.

  Of course, I didn’t know anything about that from Nan or otherwise. I have never in my life been switched or experienced any other form of corporal discipline. No matter that my mother, who spent her teenage years here, with Nan as her foster mother, swore up and down to the healing powers of a good paddling. My father was dead set against it. And that had been the end of that. As a child, I was eternally thankful, but sometimes, as an adult, I wondered if his reluctance had been the godsend it seemed.

  And then there was adult spanking. Some of my girlfriends were into it. Janine swore there was nothing better than having your ass smacked while he was plunging into you with his cock, especially when you were on the verge of orgasm. She liked it so much, she used it as a vetting question when considering new love interests. If they couldn’t see their way past a good smack on the ass every now and then, she dropped them like a hot potato.

  I’ll admit, she piqued my curiosity but not so much that I had done anything about it.

  “April! Earth to April!” Merry yelled, and I realized I had spaced out, frozen mid step on my way to Nan.

  Blush covered my cheeks, and I quickly skedaddled up the steps and into Nan’s waiting arms before she could start pulling out any more threats. Nan may be pushing eighty, but I didn’t want to be on her bad side, especially when she’s paying the bills. At least, that’s how I figured it. Her scrawny arms wrapped around me and her sweet old lady scent coated the air around us as she whispered words of welcome into my ear. When she finally let me go, Merry grabbed me and pulled me into a group hug with her and Slade. Merry was a bundle of excitement, jumping up and down as she babbled away at a hundred words a minute, and my brain struggled to catch up.

  I’m sure she was excited to have another woman on the ranch, particularly one who wasn’t old enough to be her grandmother.

  “Where is Blake?” I asked when I pulled away.

  Merry shook her head and laughed. “Same place he usually is when new people come to the ranch. Out running all Nan’s crazy errands, so she won’t break her back coordinating the perfect welcome.”

  I giggled at the mental image of the strong, confident, and domineering cowboy running all over town for just the right flowers and dainty little cookies. I pictured him pushing an oversized cart slowly down the aisles at the local grocery store, clutching a mile long list in Nan’s swirly handwriting in one hand, while choosing each item, one by one, and inspecting it carefully, just to be certain he didn’t make any mistakes. Blake had long been wrapped around Nan’s little finger, as well he should be. I almost felt sorry for him, though, as I suspected that with Merry back in his life, it was even worse. Blake was fiercely loyal and protective, gruff, and bossy as hell. The kind of man you didn’t want to fuck with, so seeing the way he interacted with the women in his life was
truly a sight to behold.

  “I suspect he’ll be back soon, though,” Merry offered. “As soon as her soaps are over, Nan’s going to be wanting to serve up cookies and tea. It’s tradition, you know,” she said in a sing song voice with a gleam in her eye.

  “And you don’t mess with tradition!” we chimed in unison, our voices high and shaky to imitate their beloved matriarch.

  Merry doubled over in laughter and wrapped an arm around my waist, guiding me into the house, while Slade retrieved my luggage from the car and carried it in.

  Mitch

  I kept my eye on the dashboard clock and my foot firmly on the gas pedal a little too heavily, truth be told, but Brody said nothing about it. It was five minutes before two when the ranch house came into view, and I could see Slade pulling suitcases out of a familiar car with Chicago plates.

  “No freaking way,” I muttered under my breath.

  Flooring it, I hauled ass down the long drive like getting there before two was my freaking job.

  Slade carried two large suitcases up the steps to the porch, just as we pulled up to the house and parked. He set the bags down and turned to wave at us.

  I waved back, my eyes darting between him and the small red car with Chicago plates as I climbed down from the truck, stretched my legs, and retrieved our own bags from the back of the truck we purchased before making the trip.

  I turned at the sound of the screen door banging against the side of the house as it was flung open. There she was. Her head peeked out from inside the house, and she smiled at Slade, saying something to him that caused her eyes to light mischievously as she spoke.

  He nodded, then gestured in our direction. I watched as her head slowly turned to follow Slade’s gaze and saw the minute recognition dawned. It was in that exact same moment that I realized who she was and how I knew her.

  She was basically Nan’s granddaughter. The first child of Nan’s first foster child. I feared that would make her off limits, then decided that I didn’t care.

  Beside me, Brody whistled, and my stomach sank. I never stood a chance next to Brody.

  As I watched her, panic filled me, and I did the only thing I could think of at the moment.

  “Dibs,” I declared with dead seriousness.

  Brody turned and gaped at me in disgust. “Dibs?” he questioned incredulously. “Did we just time warp back to the fifth grade playground or something? What the fuck is this dibs bullshit?”

  I ignored him, all but racing him to the front porch. I reminded myself to play it cool and greet Slade first. I shook his hand, and he pulled me into a hug, as the pretty redhead watched on. She stepped all the way out onto the porch now and was watching, her eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and something that looked oddly like regret.

  When Slade finally let go of me, I turned to the redheaded goddess and winked, offering my hand for her to shake. “It’s April, isn’t it?” I asked, thanking God that I was blessed with a good memory.

  Her smile was blinding, and her face transformed from the expression of unease she had worn moments before to one that was warm and welcoming. Why hadn’t I noticed how beautiful she was when I came home for Christmas? Wooing her would have been a lot easier without Brody beside me looking like some metrosexual demigod in a Stetson and a pair of cowboy boots.

  “Yes,” she confirmed, her eyes sparkling as she slid her hand into mine. “And you’re Mitch, aren’t you? I never forget a face like yours.”

  Be cool, Mitch. I raised her hand to my lips and kissed the skin on the back of her freckled hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, April. Will you be staying long? Or just passing through?”

  Before she could answer, Merry came out onto the porch, her smile warm when she saw Brody and me.

  “April is our new housekeeper and cook,” Merry interjected, answering my question. “Because Slade and Blake think being pregnant makes me an incompetent invalid.”

  Before Slade could protest, April reached over and flicked Merry on the shoulder. “Oh, you poor thing,” she teased. “Two gorgeous cowboys doting on you and wanting to take care of you. How sad.” She shook her head. “I really feel for you,” she finished in a tone riddled with sarcasm.

  Merry was unfazed. “More like wanting to control my every move,” she complained, but her eyes belied the truth. She may not be an invalid, but she loved every second of the doting and was madly in love with her cowboys.

  I watched the exchange with barely held back laughter that exploded when Slade finally responded with a loud firm slap across Merry’s back side. The sound carried on the late January wind and echoed across the porch. I was certain it was a sound we would be hearing often.

  “Ahem,” Brody cleared his throat, joining us on the porch. I hated that the sound still had the ability to send a shiver down my spine, even after all these years.

  I told myself that the backpedaling I was about to do wasn’t born out of a fear of Brody’s displeasure, as much as it was the fact that I hated to be rude, and Brody was my very best friend. He was family, just as much as the people on the porch.

  “Slade, Merry, April,” I said, gesturing wide. “Please meet my very best friend and business partner, Brody Aarons.”

  They all greeted him in unison, three hands shooting out simultaneously to be the first one to greet him. Of course, he bypassed Slade and Merry and went straight to April, widening his grin to flash her with his dimples as he took her hand between both of his, before lifting it to his lips and kissing it gently, all while maintaining eye contact.

  Even from where I stood, I could see her breath hitch in her chest as his lips touched her skin. Her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated, and it was clear from just that one moment that I had a cutthroat competition ahead of me if there was any chance of my catching April’s attention.

  The bastard.

  The sad thing was I couldn’t even blame her. I could completely relate to everything she was probably feeling. I knew exactly what it was like to fall under Brody’s spell.

  Chapter 3

  April

  Twenty minutes later, finally safely alone in my new room, I closed the door behind Slade, who had carried my luggage up for me, and collapsed against it breathlessly.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What had I gotten myself into? Living under the same roof as four hot cowboys? What was this going to do to my whole ‘new me, vow of abstinence, get to know a guy before you jump into bed with him’ thing I had going?

  Of course, Slade and Blake were taken already. Thank God for small favors.

  Still, what were the chances that the two hot guys I ogled down at the quick mart were Nan’s new tenants and that we would all be living under the same roof? Apparently, the odds were good.

  Observing them at the gas station, I assumed they were gay, in a relationship with each other. From the moment Mitch touched me, that theory went out the window. Or had it? I wasn’t sure.

  And, oh hell. Don’t even get me started on Brody. That man was bad news. He was the type of man who could make your panties wet with a single look.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I muttered again, pulling my phone from my pocket and dialing Janine. She answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, girl, you make it there okay? You don’t need me to pick you up on the side of the road somewhere, do you? I told you that car wouldn’t make it all the way to Texas.”

  “What? No, I’m here. But, oh my God, Janine, you wouldn’t believe what’s happened.”

  “What?”

  “I’m literally completely surrounded and outnumbered by hot cowboys. Not just Blake and Slade. Now there’s Mitch and Brody, too.”

  “Mitch and Brody? Am I supposed to know who these people are?”

  “No, no, just listen. I don’t even know who they are. Well, I kind of know Mitch. But not really.”

  “Okay.” Janine’s confusion was evident in her voice. “Sorry, I don’t see the problem with double the hot cowboys? Are you sure these people don’t need l
ike a second maid? You know, someone to cover, so you can have a day off every once in a while? Cause I can catch the next flight down to Texas.”

  I rolled my eyes. Why did I call Janine again?

  “I think I’m good, thanks. Janine, can you just focus? What am I supposed to do? You know how I am around men, especially good-looking ones. I’m a hopeless case. I can’t stay away from them, and I eventually always screw up everything. But these guys live here now. I cannot get involved with them. We have to live together. With Nan. I didn’t uproot my life and move across the country just to fuck everything up. But that’s what I’ll do, because that’s what I always do.”

  “Girl, you are not a fuck up. You’re just boy crazy. Men, real men, like the chase. All you need to do is play hard to get, for once. Make them get to know you. Get to know them. And then, decide if you want them in your bed or not.”

  “Play hard to get? That’s your advice?” That’s like sixth grade playground advice someone got from their virginal older sister,” I scoffed in disbelief.

  “It’s good advice, but if you need something else, I can give you that whole speech about milking cows and giving love away for free.”

  “You mean you can tell me that they won’t buy the cow if I’m giving the milk away for free?” I giggled. “Janine, are you calling me a cow?”

  “Oh hush, girl you know what I mean. Just play hard to get. Get to know them; don’t give your milk away, yada yada yada.”

  “I’m not even sure they would want my milk,” I muttered, remembering the two of them at the gas station outside town.

  “Girl, don’t be so down on yourself. Have you even looked in a mirror lately, honey? Cause you are the total package. And your only problem is you have trouble differentiating between men and boys. Boys only see the pretty package on the outside, but a real man will take time to slowly unwrap the gift and unveil the real package.”