LIFE DIDN’T SEEM TO BE getting any better when Rafe opened the door to his room in the bunkhouse and found the judge sitting on his bed. “What the hell?” he asked, trying to be nonchalant and not quite making it. She looked delicious, and as heat flooded his groin he realized he’d never been cut out for a monklike existence. “Get out,” he said. “If you’ve come to mess up my face with a permanent marker again, I should warn you I don’t fall for the same tricks twice.” He waved his hat at her. “Anyway, let’s go out in the main room.”
“I have to see you privately,” Julie said, and Rafe sighed.
If it was up to him, he’d love to see the good judge very privately. But he wasn’t going to break with the rules set forth by his brothers, even if the rules were unfair as hell. He looked at Julie’s clouds of luscious dark hair and beautiful tilted brows and delectable full lips and made himself sound stern. “Julie, you need to go.”
“Rafe, I’m not going.”
“Then I’ll go.” He turned to leave, and it was harder than leaving behind part of his own body. He told himself he was truly a man of steel for his virtuousness.
“Rafe,” Julie said, standing up, “we have to talk.”
But his brothers had warned him, and somewhere in his mind, he figured they were probably right. “You’ll find me on the couch if you want to tal—”
Her hand on his arm stopped him. “Rafe.”
Well, technically, they were in a doorway; they weren’t really alone, right? “Yes?”
“If I have to have this discussion with you via a court order, I will.”
He grunted. “So your father sent you.”
“No one sent me. I’m here because I need to talk to you.” She looked at him closely. “The last two times I’ve seen you, you’ve done your best to seduce me, and unfortunately, I’ve let you. Now you’re acting like you don’t even want to look at me…” Her voice drifted off. “It was all about the lawsuit.”
He blinked. “What was?”
“Seducing me in chambers. You just wanted to convince me—compromise me—into recusing myself.”
“Well,” he said, wishing he could kiss her, but knowing he couldn’t without risking his brothers’ wrath, “it’s an interesting premise, but no.”
She pulled away from him, standing a prim and proper three feet away, no longer in the doorway but outside in the den. Rafe knew it was for the best, though he could tell by the hurt look on Julie’s face that she completely had the wrong impression.
But how could he tell her that if it was up to him, he’d toss her into his bed right now and ravish her until next week?
He couldn’t. And the curse of it was he’d never had Julie in a bed. Never had her with hours to spare.
Always quickies. “Damn.”
“What?” Julie stared at him, her pretty face wreathed with suspicion.
“Nothing,” Rafe said with a sigh. “Anyway, what did you want to tell me?”
She took a long look at him. “I wanted to tell you I heard through the grapevine that your Aunt Fiona and Uncle Burke have left.”
He shrugged. “It’s true. What of it?”
“What does this mean for the lawsuit?”
He shrugged again, not interested in discussing it. “Ask your father.”
“I…we don’t discuss it much,” Julie said, and Rafe snorted.
“Right. You were the judge in charge of hearing the case.”
“And since I’m off the case,” Julie said with heat, “we have not discussed it, or your family. I am not the judge, and therefore I am not privy to details!”
She was so cute when she got snippy.
“You’re a jerk,” she said, when he made no reply, and she flounced out the door, her white sundress practically blinding him as he tried to stare through it. He remembered her delightful derriere, and he wanted her. She made him crazy in ways he’d never been crazy before.
“I am a jerk,” he said, and turning, bumped into Sam.
“I won’t argue with that,” his brother said gleefully. “I heard the whole thing, and you have very little understanding of how to treat a woman, bro.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Rafe snapped, his patience addled by being so near Julie and unable to possess her. “You told me to stay away from her until this whole thing blows up or over.”
“True,” he conceded, “but she didn’t wear that darling little dress to talk about cases, dummy. She came wearing that hot number hoping you’d take it off of her.” His grin was wide. “Boy, are you dumb.”
Sam continued on, and Rafe sighed before heading out to the barn.
He wasn’t dumb. He was playing it safe, and right now, that seemed like the smart thing to do.
And maybe the only thing to do.
RAFE CALLAHAN WAS AN ASS, Julie fumed as she stalked to her truck. She got inside and resisted the urge to peel out of the Rancho Diablo driveway. It would solve nothing, and it served no purpose for him to think he’d won.
That’s what this was all about. From time immemorial, women had been played by Romeos, and she was no different. The Callahans were great tricksters, fond of practical jokes and mayhem. They loved one-upping anyone who tried to outdo them.
Her father was right: Callahans were trouble. And she should have known better than to think there was anything real going on between her and Rafe.
“An ass,” she muttered. “A big, braying ass.”
Her heart jumped and fluttered as she thought about how wonderfully he kissed, and she wiped at a tear that slid down her cheek. One tear, that was all she’d spare for that tall, dark, handsome Romeo.
He wasn’t worth her time.
Unfortunately, she still had to talk to him. The problem now was telling him what she had to tell him without killing him.
This time, she wouldn’t settle for permanent marker hearts all over his face.
A branding iron would be much better, but unfortunately, she didn’t have one of those. “Oh, heck,” Julie said to herself. “This is not going to be good.”
Chapter Four
“So,” Jonas said, rattling pots and pans in the kitchen as Sam walked in. “We’re going to need to organize KP duties. I think an org chart might be necessary. We’ll divide up days of the week for cooking, cleaning—”
“Whoa,” Rafe said, “I’m not eating your cooking.”
“Excellent,” Jonas said. “You can have my days.”
“All right,” Rafe said, as Sam entered the kitchen and poked his head in the fridge. “You can do my cleanup.”
“Why can’t we just eat out?” Sam asked, his face mournful as he considered the fridge. “Frankly, I don’t think the three of us are qualified to take care of ourselves.”
It was probably true. Creed, Pete and Judah had wives and families who could take care of them. Rafe figured Jonas and Sam were pretty useless at providing for themselves, and he didn’t particularly want to be shackled with babying them. Sabrina lived upstairs at the main house, but she definitely could fend for herself. Rafe grimaced. He could take care of himself, too,