Crazy Heifer (The Valentine Boys 2)

With nobody in the vicinity and no voices at all sounding from the other parts of the big house, a false sense of security started to flow through me.

Thankful that there was nobody in the house except, hopefully, Callum, I made my way to the living room. Still not spotting anyone, I went farther to the kitchen.

I walked out the door and to the kitchen to find four hungry-looking men waiting on me, and I came to an abrupt halt in the entryway.

“Ummm, hi,” I said, feeling all of a sudden self-conscious.

The only one not looking at me expectantly was Callum, and that was because he was more than satisfied enough for the time being. Though, the way he was rubbing his belly and practically grinning from ear to ear…

“I guess y’all have the stuff for me to cook breakfast? And that you heard that I was cooking breakfast?” I asked hesitantly.

“We heard a lot of stuff this morning,” Banks said, clearly letting me know that not only had he heard the breakfast comment, but he’d also heard other things.

Ace smacked him.

“Codie and I didn’t hear them,” Ace said. “Well, not until she yelled that she was making breakfast.” He turned to look at me. “Just sayin’, but Codie’s pissed that she’s missing food. She had to go to an interview, though, with the police department. She said to save her something she could eat tonight.”

My grin came back full-fledged. “Will she get it?”

Ace nodded. “At this point, it’s only a formality.”

I fist-pumped then walked to the fridge. “Y’all have bacon?”

I heard a few scoffs behind me.

“Of course.” Darby got up and walked to the fridge where he pointed at a drawer.

The drawer was filled from top to bottom with bacon.

I blinked.

“Umm,” I hesitated. “I take it y’all like bacon. And cheese.”

Because that’s seriously all that they had. Bacon and cheese. Oh, and beer. There wasn’t even milk.

“I can’t make pancakes because you don’t have milk. Didn’t I pick up milk yesterday?” I said.

But about the time that I said that, Colt came running in with a gallon in his hand and a receipt flapping in the other.

“Got it!” he declared.

So I guessed Colt was attending breakfast, too. Got it.

“We are growing boys. I finished that milk last night.” Darby grinned.

“Okay? Then I’ll need flour, salt, sugar, a hand mixer of some kind, powdered sugar, eggs, and vanilla.” I paused. “And two big mixing bowls. A griddle or large skillet, and the biggest spatula you have.”

The men went to work. All of them but one.

I walked over to Callum and touched him on the cheek.

“How’s your ankle?” I asked.

He grimaced. “Hurts, and riding fence today is going to suck balls.”

“You have to ride fence?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Will you still be able to come to the shop downtown with me?” I questioned, feeling things inside of me start to flutter at him hurting.

I didn’t want him to hurt. In fact, the mere idea of it made my stomach clench with abhorrence.

“Yes.” He nodded once. “That’s at four o’clock, right?”

I smiled and nodded back. “Yep.”

“Then yes, I should be able to make it just fine. It should only take me about three hours to ride it. And as long as breakfast doesn’t take three hours to eat, I should be done by one this afternoon.”

“Got it all out for you, darlin’,” Banks said as he resumed his seat.

I looked at him with raised brows. “I hear you carried me to bed last night. Thank you.”

His mouth twitched. “The pleasure was all mine.”

So not only was he scary, but he was also a charmer as well.

“Also, thanks for the save with Mal,” I told him as I turned toward the sink and washed my hands. “He wasn’t letting me leave, and I was getting quite annoyed.”

“Why is Mal all of a sudden interested again?” Ace asked as he sat down with a cup of coffee. “Codie told me a little about him over the last year. How he’s acted. What changed?”

I pointed at the man with his foot propped up on the only empty seat in the room. “He told him to stay away from me, and Mal was never good with being challenged.”

“Meaning he heard ‘try to worm yourself back into Desi’s life’ instead of ‘I’m going to kick your ass if you keep messing with her,’” Ace guessed.

I shrugged. “Mostly. He’s a douchebag, but really he’s harmless.”

“A callous, harmless douchebag,” Callum muttered. “Malloy deserved a much better kid than the one he got.”

“Can’t believe this one was ever friends with him,” Colt said. “I’ve met him a couple of times around town. He really is a complete douchebag. Normally Ace is a lot more selective of his friends.”

“Mal wasn’t always bad,” Ace said as I started cooking the bacon. “Honestly, he was a pretty good kid growing up—for the most part. And though we were best friends, we grew apart well before the thing happened.”