“I’ve got some work to do,” Justin said, and Mackenzie turned.
“Lunch first. Then you can work all you like.” She didn’t want him leaving her with Ty. His buddy was working on a plan—maybe big plans—and anyone from Bridesmaids Creek knew that when plans were afoot, you’d better have backup around.
Justin was really handsome backup.
“Sure. I’ll come along.”
She flashed him a grateful smile. The group went inside, crowding the kitchen, and Mrs. Harper smiled at them.
“Are these the hands Ty was telling me about?” she asked. “I’m Jade’s mother, Betty Harper. It’ll be nice having more help around here. Now sit down and eat before Mackenzie puts you to work.”
Mackenzie started to say that she wasn’t hiring anyone, but Jade gave her arm a light pinch.
“What?” Mackenzie said.
“Don’t send them away yet,” Jade whispered.
“It’s not fair to keep them here when I don’t have work for them!”
“You have work for them. You could hire a dozen of them and it wouldn’t be enough.”
Mackenzie looked at the five strong, large men sucking down huge quantities of food. “If I hire these hannies—really harebrained idea of Ty’s, by the way—I’d have to pay them. And that’s not in my budget.”
“We’ll figure something out. An idea will come to you,” Jade said, comforting her.
“No, it won’t.” She went into the den to check on her babies, who were all asleep except Hope, who was gazing at the mobile over her playpen. Mackenzie picked her up. “If I had spare money, I’d be putting it away for college educations. Besides, I’m selling the Hanging H.”
“Don’t be so hasty.” Jade took Hope from her. “Give Justin and Ty a chance to help you.”
Mackenzie watched as Mrs. Harper fed the big men seated on the wooden barstools around the island. Her gaze wandered to Justin. “If I thought there was a way, I might give it a shot.”
“You don’t want to get rid of the family home, do you? Wouldn’t you like the girls to grow up here?”
“It’s just me and four babies,” Mackenzie said. “I have to be practical. My folks were a team, and they only had me for many years before my sister was born. My focus needs to be on my children, not running a business and a ranch.” She knew from experience that good times could be few and far between when it came to running what amounted to an amusement park.
“You’re overlooking one small detail,” Jade said. “According to Ty—”
“And that reminds me, you seem to be getting chatty with Ty.”
“Not chatty. We talked once. I let slip about the baby spit-up bothering you. Sorry about that.”
“I’m past that now,” Mackenzie said. “I don’t get queasy anymore. I think it just scared me because Hope did it so often.”
“The thing you might not be aware of is that these men are looking for a place to stay,” Jade said, glancing at the muscled hunks at the kitchen island. “Ty told them they had to pay rent. You’d essentially be a landlord. In other words, money coming in right away. They’d throw in some ranch work, some babysitting, for their meals.”
Mackenzie looked at her. “Why is Ty so involved in my business?”
“He says you need help. He needs help. They need help.” Jade went to the counter, then returned with two pieces of pumpkin spice cake in one hand and a baby in the other arm. She handed a plate to Mackenzie. “Ty says that if you sell, some developer is going to grab this place and cut it up into tiny lots for houses. I’m pretty sure he’s right. You’re sitting on five hundred acres, Mackenzie. If each house is put even on a large one-acre lot, that’s five hundred homes. A thousand homes if they built smaller.”
“Is that a bad thing? More housing for Bridesmaids Creek?” She got the image Jade was trying to draw.
“Not necessarily. You think about whether that’s what you think should happen in our small, friendly community.”
“We don’t know that would happen.” Mackenzie took a bite of the cake. As always, Mrs. Harper’s cake was scrumptious. “The land might go to a hospital, or we could use a new elementary school. Something more beneficial than the Retirement Home for Beat-Up Riders Ty seems to have in mind.” She studied the cowboys. Fit, handsome, hunky. But definitely not young enough to keep up on the circuit. And that’s what this was really all about. “Justin says he’s not going anywhere. So this is all really moot. I don’t need help with the babies, and I don’t need any more help than Justin.” If he was planning on staying.
“Are you counting on him too much?” Jade asked.
Her gaze slid to Justin. She was startled to find his eyes on her. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “Maybe.”
Jade had a good point. It was a mistake to count too much on another person. Witness her ex. She couldn’t allow herself to get overly comfortable again.
She heard a motorcycle roar outside, glanced at Ty. Was he having yet another buddy come by? She looked at the cowboys having a great time eating Mrs. Harper’s food and regaling her with rodeo stories. Maybe one couldn’t have too much of a good thing.
A knock on the paned window of the back door sounded above the laughter. Jade opened the door and Daisy Donovan sashayed in, long brown hair spilling from her helmet, short black leather skirt swinging, black cowboy boots showing off shapely legs even Mackenzie had to admire.
Daisy Donovan had always had radar for hot guys.
“Hello, fellows,” Daisy practically cooed. She basked in the sudden stares from the hunks. Ty’s buddies had ceased eating, ceased talking and maybe ceased breathing, stunned by the wild-child vision that was Daisy Donovan.
“I brought you a baby gift, Mackenzie,” she said, handing her a pink-and-silver wrapped box she pulled from the band of her skirt. The men’s gazes never left her. “Hello, Mrs. Harper. Jade.”
The guys jumped off their stools to allow Daisy to sit. She smiled and went to stand beside Justin. “I’d love a piece of your delicious cake, Mrs. Harper,” Daisy said, her eyes on Justin. She then made certain every man in the room got the full benefit of her smile. Mackenzie was astonished that they all didn’t faint from the feminine firepower launched at them.
“Thank you for the gift, Daisy,” Mackenzie said. She unwrapped it to find four engraved silver teething rings. A very nice gift, indeed—for a woman who had never really been her friend. Daisy was a natural-born competitor for the male eye, and guys adored her.
“It’s just a little something for those sweet babies of yours,” Daisy said, smiling at the men. She took a bite of her cake, Marilyn Monroe–sexy, and Mackenzie imagined she heard hearts popping in the kitchen.
“Wonder what the Diva of Destruction wants?” Jade muttered under her breath.
The answer to that was obvious. Daisy was manhunting. And by the looks of how she was staking her claim, she appeared to be hunting Justin.
Mackenzie told herself it didn’t matter if Daisy was hunting Justin or not.
She didn’t quite convince herself.
* * *
“WHAT ARE YOU up to, buddy?” Justin had managed to catch Ty in an unguarded moment in the barn, where he was showing the three new guys the layout of the Hanging H. “It’s time you share the plans that are buzzing around in that brain of yours.”
“The plans are for you and me to hit the road,”