Tex handed him the camera and Laredo squeezed off a shot.
“You wake that baby, and Frisco’s gonna chew your head, Laredo.”
They both froze for a second as the baby sighed. Neither brother nor infant awoke, however.
Laredo gestured to Tex to follow him back into the kitchen. “I just had a brainstorm.”
“I’m wary of storms, myself.”
Laredo eyed him wryly. “I’m thinking about all these women.”
Tex raised a brow. “You and all the rest of us. Glad to hear you’re normal, Laredo.”
“I’ll ignore that for the moment, in the spirit of brotherhood.”
Tex grinned.
“I’m serious here. Give me a listen before you shoot this down, Tex. What if a woman was the way to get Frisco in a better frame of mind?”
Tex gave him his most sober look, which was nearly ruined by the twinkle in his eyes. “Frisco’s frame is bent. Totally. I do believe there’s not a woman alive who can make him hang on the level.”
Laredo sighed, used to his brother’s clowning.
“But maybe some womanliness is the way to get Frisco to act like a human being.”
“Like a shot of instant female hormones to counteract his overload of testosterone?”
Laredo shook his head. “No, I’m talking flesh-and-blood woman. Like sweet Annabelle.”
Tex burst out laughing.
Chapter Four
Tex stopped laughing as he took in Laredo’s focused expression. “Frisco has women all the time, or at least he could, if he’d pay them any attention. They practically fall out of the pew in church on Sundays.”
Laredo shrugged. “That’s pretty much a chain reaction to all of us walking in. When twelve men walk in, I’m sure the testosterone quotient in the room shoots up appreciably. You don’t know that it’s because of Frisco. He’s been so foul lately that I doubt any woman would keep him for long, anyway.”
Tex scratched his head. “I thought he was being a pain in the rump on principle.”
“I’m suggesting that maybe it’s been a while since he’s had a woman.”
Long while was embedded in the way Laredo stressed the time frame. Tex frowned. “I don’t think any of these girls are going to sleep with our brother just to get him out of a bad mood. And even if they wanted to, Mother Delilah would freak. She’s going to keep her flock safe from us wolves.”
“I don’t know that it has to be a sexual thing, exactly. Maybe he needs his own woman to balance him out.” Laredo’s expression turned thoughtful. “And apparently, we were looking for a housekeeper.”
“Are you hinting that we should hire one of these women?” Tex shook his head. “If Mason was here right now and could see Malfunction Junction-turned-Petticoat Junction, he’d be figuring out a way to get rid of them, not keep them.”
“But then Mason’s got Mimi keeping him all ginned up. How much excitement can a man stand, anyway? So all I’m saying is that having a woman around might make Frisco happy.”
“Frisco being ginned up all the time does not sound like a recipe for happiness.”
“But this Annabelle girl isn’t like Mimi,” Laredo pointed out. “She’s not the type to keep Frisco in a knot just for fun.”
“Annabelle’s your choice for a housekeeper? Mimi’s going to eat your heart. I distinctly got the impression that the new housekeeper was supposed to be elderly. Not a sweet young thing living here with me, you, Frisco—and Mason.”
Laredo rubbed his chin. “It could be dicey,” he admitted. “The unknown factor in this is Mason.”
Sudden pounding down the stairs alerted the men that Annabelle had discovered her baby was missing. “Quick! Intercept her before she wakes the baby!” Laredo commanded, jumping to his feet.
“She’s not a football, damn it!” But Tex shot out of the kitchen, no more anxious to have baby Em awakened than Laredo was.
Their jaws dropped as they realized they were too late. Annabelle stood staring down at the sleeping man cradling her baby. Her expression was one of amazement. Maybe even wonder.
Best yet, Annabelle’s hair was wet, she’d thrown her robe on over her towel so it had caught, and the legs that had previously been concealed by jeans and boots were totally exposed. She had wonderful legs and sparkly pink toenail polish on dainty toes.
Laredo and Tex backed up slowly into the kitchen.
“Last had it right,” Laredo said, his blood pressure darn near shooting out of his head. “We gotta keep her. For Frisco’s sake.”
Tex swept a hand across his brow as he leaned up against the pantry. “Oh, God, yes. She’s too adorable to send back. I don’t care how cranky the baby is. We’ll all take turns holding her. But to save my brother from himself, I gladly volunteer my services.”
“To rock the baby,” Laredo said pointedly.
“Just to rock the baby,” Tex agreed. “But damn, if any of those women are hiding such charms under those frumpy country dresses, I get first dibs on the next one we see undressed.”
Annabelle peeped around the corner, the robe fully pulled down over the towel now. “What are you guys doing in here?” she asked. “And why does Frisco have my baby?”
Laredo jerked straight. He arranged his face in a Boy Scout expression. “Frisco just loves babies, Annabelle. Loves them beyond anything you can imagine. I think he misses having young’uns in the house, if you want to know the truth. And when he heard your little Emmie up there wailing, why, he just raced to comfort her.”
She looked at him uncertainly. “That was nice of him.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tex said. “And right before he dozed off, he said he hoped you’d help yourself to anything you need in the house.” His Adam’s apple jumped as he swallowed. “And furthermore, he said not to bother moving Em. He said you’re to get the rest you need, and he’ll watch her tonight. Since she’s so colicky and all.”
Annabelle’s lips parted, which Laredo thought was an expression Frisco would surely have to appreciate.
“That’s awfully nice of him.”
She didn’t sound certain. Laredo nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. That’s what people say about Frisco. He’s such a…nice…person.”
He held his breath.
“I suppose I’ll head back upstairs, if you’re sure about this?”
The two brothers nodded quickly.
“Well, all right. Come knock on the door if Frisco changes his mind.”
They nodded again. Annabelle left the kitchen, and the brothers high-fived each other.
She poked her head back around the corner, and they stiffened guiltily. “I’ll leave the diaper bag in the hall. I doubt Em will sleep much longer, and he can bring her to me when she wakes up.”
“Excellent. We’ll be sure to see that Frisco gets it,” Laredo said. “Don’t you worry about Em. She’s in good hands.”
Annabelle didn’t look all that likely to agree, but with a last glance at the man holding her content child, she went back up the stairs.
“Frisco’s gonna whup your hide.”
“No, he isn’t,” Laredo said