“Never underestimate a Callahan. They don’t do anything half-baked. It just seems like they’re half-baked, all of them.” Jillian laughed. “They are wild men, for sure—both sides of the Callahan family tree. And Ash follows in her brothers’ and cousins’ footsteps. In fact, I do believe Ash taught those boys a thing or two about staying crazy and free, at least according to what Fiona has shared.” She smiled, enjoying telling the yarn. “No, Callahans are fully baked, like clay fired in a kiln. Falcon was serious.”
Taylor realized she’d completely dismissed Storm’s proposal, kind as it might have been. Yet her heart had leaped at Falcon’s words—first in surprise, then with what she could only identify as happiness, even as she knew he couldn’t truly love her. He was too wild.
How long had she carried a secret torch for the handsome, long-haired cowboy? Months. Maybe ever since he’d ridden into Diablo. She heard the tales of wildness surrounding him and his family, and every time he’d come into the diner and ordered a meal, his dark navy eyes staring into hers, her heart had sung.
“You better straighten it out, honey, if you’ve got a yen for that man.” Jillian turned the lights low and switched on the small neon closed sign in the window. “I can only warn you that if you have any feelings at all for Falcon, any idea at all that you might want to consider dating him, you want to turn down Storm Cash as quickly and quietly as possible. If Storm should tell anyone in Diablo that he offered to marry you, Falcon will run in the opposite direction. Those two are natural enemies, like an alpha wolf crossing into another alpha’s territory. You have to decide if you want either of those gentlemen, or neither, before they catch wind of each other. Some men compete over a girl, but I think Falcon’s got too much baggage and too many girls after him to expend the effort. He did say he was looking for an easy thing.” Jillian gently smiled. “I wish I was still young enough to have two sexy hunks vying for my hand in marriage.”
Taylor picked up her purse and followed Jillian from the diner. It was hot now in New Mexico. There were fires burning in different parts of the state, feeding on the parched land. Soon, hopefully, the heat would break, and more temperate conditions would settle over Diablo.
Christmas wasn’t that far away.
“You could get him if you play your cards right,” Jillian said cheerfully. “And if you want to know about playing man cards, you might consider asking his aunt for information. Goodness knows no one loves a wedding like Fiona Callahan.”
Once again, Taylor felt that leap in her heart.
And guarded herself against it.
Chapter Two
“Don’t know if you’ve heard,” Ash whispered in Falcon’s ear as they crouched around the white stone circle near the canyons that night, “your sweetie’s in town agitating.”
He couldn’t help a smile at the thought of Taylor “agitating.” She was a firecracker, and he was dying to light her on sexy fire. “What’s up?”
Ash seated herself cross-legged on the ground and grinned. “First, it seems she has a problem with the way one of her neighbors is treating his horses. Taylor’s been making noise about someone needing to take the animals from their owner. Then,” Ash continued, as if that wasn’t enough for one woman to tackle, “Taylor’s decided the town elders need to do something about the panty raid the high school kids had on Friday night. Some people thought it was harmless fun, but some people thought the kids ought to get suspended, since all the panties ended up on the lawn of Miss Lyda’s old folks home south of town.” His sister laughed, delighted.
Truthfully, he didn’t care much about the shenanigans of the high schoolers, and preferred to spend some time thinking about the type of panties Taylor might wear. “What’s Taylor agitating for?”
Ash grinned. “She thinks the high schoolers involved need to be commissioned for a sing-in on the porch of Miss Lyda’s, to entertain the live-in residents. And she wants them to spend an afternoon painting Miss Lyda’s fence and porch to freshen it up a bit. Miss Lydia does her best, but everybody’s wallets are a little thinner these days. She could use the help. Taylor believes the kids need to spend a little time around their elders, who could teach them a thing or two about life. Panty raids are fun, she told the town council, but life lessons are important, too.”
And that’s why Diablo loved her. Falcon grunted. “If she gets it arranged, I’ll put up the paint.”
“You will?” Ash stared at him.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “The town’s wallet isn’t so full these days, either. And I’ll go check out the farmer whose horses Taylor thinks aren’t in great shape.”
“Why are you doing this?” Ash demanded. “I mean, I guess it’s obvious, but it’s not necessary, just because you lost your mind for a moment and proposed. You don’t have to convince her you’re a saint.”
“I’m no saint.” That was absolutely true. Falcon couldn’t care less if people thought he was saint or devil. “I need to get off my butt, anyway.”
“Yeah. Right.” Ash gave him a sidelong look. “We prefer to keep your goodness under wraps, you know. Your Boy Scout side is for family consumption only. You’re going to make Taylor fall in love with you.”
“That’s the plan.”
Ash shook her head. “I’m beginning to think you honestly mean that.”
Taylor was strong, strong enough to match him and stand up to him. She wouldn’t wither away under the stress of his lifestyle.
Their grandfather came to the circle and lit the small fire.
“You remember that you were brought here to protect Rancho Diablo, the Diablo spirit mustangs and your cousins,” Running Bear said. “The Callahan bond to earth and sky is strong.”
His brothers and Ash nodded. Falcon stayed still, his gaze on his grandfather’s weathered face.
“More importantly, you know that you protect your parents, Julia and Carlos, and the parents of your Callahan cousins, Jeremiah and Molly, from discovery. From attack. Dark forces have gathered on the land in the canyons and gorges. In the last year, three mercenaries have followed your every move, even kidnapping one of your women.”
Falcon glanced at his brother Sloan. Sloan’s wife, Kendall, had been briefly kidnapped by one of the mercenaries, who’d turned out to be a family relative—Uncle Wolf, brother to Jeremiah and Carlos, and determined to harm his own brothers. Wolf was the dark, fallen angel of the family.
“Now that the Diablo Callahans remain in Hell’s Colony, Texas, it should have become quiet here at Rancho Diablo.” Running Bear looked at the sky for a moment, thoughtful. “You will be stretched a little thin when Dante and Tighe leave.”
Falcon stared at his brothers. The twins looked a bit sheepish in the face of their family’s shock.
“What do you mean?” Ash demanded. “Where are you going?”
“We might try our hand at rodeo,” Dante said. “We’re not cut out for this detail. The constant waiting is making us crazy.”
“Yeah,” Tighe said. “It’s like we’re waiting for a war that never starts.”
“Finks,” Ash told her brothers. “How can you turn your backs on family? Jonas and Aunt Fiona and Uncle Burke wouldn’t turn their backs on you!”
Dante and Tighe looked crestfallen at their sister’s criticism.
“Let them go,” Running Bear said. “Dreams cannot be ignored. They must be lived.”
“Oh, bother.” Ash glared at her brothers. “Well, maybe I’ll go off on a toot myself. Maybe we’ll all just pack up and go off chasing rainbows and unicorns.”
“You