His Valentine Triplets. Tina Leonard

in behind their neighbor and faced him, before kicking him a smart one on the shin. “Bode, give me that gun, and cool your head. Whatever’s gotten up your nose now, it isn’t worth doing time in jail.”

       Burke appeared and snatched the gun from Bode, who seemed to give it up without much fight. All the other Callahans filed in, glaring at the rancher, then glancing around the room to make certain everyone was in one piece.

       “Do you mind telling us what’s going on?” Jonas demanded.

       “I’ll tell you,” Bode said, his voice quavering. The man’s face was red, pinched with fury as he glared at Rafe.

       “No, you won’t.” Julie winked and shoved a few Callahans out of the way so she could reach her father. “Dad, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack. Calm down.”

       Rafe blinked at Julie, who was stunning in a summery sundress and sandals, with her inky hair swept up in a ponytail. There was just something about her that hit him like a fist to the solar plexus every time he saw her. He liked her in her judge’s robe, he liked her in a dress, and he loved her naked in the moonlight.

       But something had her wound up tight. More than the court case. “What’s up?” he asked her. “What’s got Bode steamed this time?”

       That got Julie’s laserlike attention. She practically stabbed him with her eyes as she sent him a particularly poisonous glare. “Now is not a good time for you to be speaking disrespectfully to my father. I just saved you from being shot, Mr. Callahan, so if you don’t mind, zip your lips.”

       Well, wasn’t that a big dose of judgelike attitude? He grinned at Julie. She liked him, he could tell. No woman was that starchy around a man unless he rattled her love cage. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

       “Bode, the next time you come running onto our property like a madman—and may I remind you this is not the first time you’ve acted crazy…” Fiona began.

       Bode pinwheeled his arms with frustration. “You Callahans make me crazy. Why can’t you just git? This is my land, my property, but you’re like fleas. You multiply like fleas—”

       His face turned redder, as if he’d just thought of something horrific. He glared at all of them, reserving his most potent fury for Rafe. “You—”

       “Dad,” Julie said, “we’re leaving right now. Come on. There’s nothing here we want.”

       Rafe watched her go, tugging her protesting father along with her. Of course there was plenty here Bode wanted. He wanted the ranch, he wanted their home, he wanted the Diablos and the rumored silver mine—

       Bode whirled, punching his finger toward Rafe as he escaped his daughter’s clutches. “You’re not winning,” he told him. “You haven’t won.”

       Julie dragged her dad from the bunkhouse.

       “Damn,” Rafe said, “I believe Bode’s finally gone over the edge.” He sank onto the leather sofa. His brothers and Fiona and Burke gathered around. “I thought he had a caretaker over there to keep an eye on him.”

       “Seton’s busy, I think,” Fiona said. “She’s been over here helping Sabrina with some things for me.” Their aunt shrugged. “Seton does have time off, and she chooses to be here with her sister. That has nothing to do with Bode’s visit, because he seemed mostly upset with you.” Fiona looked at Rafe. “Didn’t he say he was going to kill you?”

       Rafe shrugged in turn. “I took that ‘you’ in the global sense, as in all of us. I don’t think he meant me personally. If he wants to kill anyone, it would probably be Sam, who is beating him all to hell in court.”

       “Oh.” Fiona nodded.

       “I swear,” Rafe said. “I didn’t do anything to the old man. We all agreed we’d abide by the law, and the decision of the courts, and I’m cool with that.” He held up two fingers in a V. “Peace, brothers. It’s all chill in the house of Callahan.”

       Jonas snorted. “Yo, thinker, don’t do anything stupid. The man is tense, and next time we might not be around to save you.”

       “Save me?” Rafe shook his head. “He’s crazy. Everyone knows it.”

       “Everyone may know it, but that won’t save you if Bode decides to get crazy on you.”

       Burke looked at Fiona. “Actually, that’s the most upset I’ve ever seen our neighbor. Thankfully, his firearm wasn’t loaded, although they say there’s really no such thing as an unloaded gun.”

       “He is crazy,” Fiona agreed, “but he’d been quiet for a while. Which made me nervous in a different way. But now I’m really nervous.” She looked around the room at all the brothers. “Now is as good a time as any to tell them,” she said to Burke, and Rafe thought, oh, that didn’t sound good.

       “It’s up to you,” Burke said, moving his hands to her shoulders.

       Fiona looked down, allowing Burke to massage her shoulders, which was strange, for this independent woman rarely accepted anyone’s comfort. Rafe could tell his little aunt was struggling to put her thoughts in order. Bode’s untimely visit had put speed to something that had been on her mind. Rafe waited, feeling tense himself now.

       “Burke and I believe that Bode’s ill feelings in this suit have largely been directed at me. I’ve been a thorn in his side for quite some time,” she said.

       The room was so silent Rafe thought he could hear Sam’s heart beating beside him, which was really annoying. It should be my heart I hear beating. Sam’s always been one for attention. It’s why he’s a lawyer.

       “Remember the Plan I put forth to all of you? How I put Rancho Diablo in trust for whichever of you married and had the largest family?”

       They all nodded. A couple of his brothers looked pretty proud, because they figured they were in the lead. Rafe snorted. It didn’t matter. They’d decided among themselves that, whoever won it, they were going to divide ranch ownership between them equally, in spite of Fiona’s Plan. And once he got started making a family—when he finally decided to settle down—Rafe would make all his brothers look like beginners, anyway. There was such a thing as proper planning, which all men of deep thought knew. Strategy. Chess players understood the importance of strategy, for example.

       “Well, after a great deal of thought, worry, prayer and yes, even strategic plotting, Burke and I have decided,” Aunt Fiona said, taking a deep breath, “to move back to Ireland.”

      Chapter Two

      “Now see what you’ve done, brain man,” Sam said beside him, and Rafe turned.

       “What?” he demanded. “What did I do?”

       “You’ve upset Fiona.” Sam shook his head. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t ticked off Bode and his precious pumpkin, Julie. By the way, did you get my play on words? Brain man? Like the movie Rain Man?”

       “Yeah, a laugh riot.” Rafe turned to face his aunt. “Okay, before everything gets really out of hand, I suggest we discuss topics of concern that affect the ranch and its future.” He went to Fiona and patted her on the back. “Let’s meet in the library in thirty minutes, which will give everyone time to finish what he was doing just as our neighbor had another of his dramatic fits.”

       The brothers went off in separate directions, muttering and murmuring. Rafe looked down at Fiona. “It’s going to be all right. You can’t let Bode upset you every time he decides to be a clown. Because he does it so often.”

       She stared up at him, her eyes bright. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, I know, in my raising of you boys and the management of this ranch. But I cannot let something bad happen to any of you.” Fat tears plopped down Fiona’s wrinkled cheeks.

       He hugged her.