The Ultimate Texas Bachelor. Cathy Gillen Thacker

Once all five were in the trap, Brad locked the lid.

      Lainey breathed a huge sigh of relief. She hadn’t realized until that moment how glad she was to have Brad there, saving the day. “Now what?” she demanded.

      “Depends.” Brad gave her an assessing look. “You like armadillo meat?”

      “You’re kidding.”

      The corners of Brad’s lips twitched as he said drolly, “Guess that’s a no.” Brad picked up the cage of animals and swaggered for the door.

      “Tell me what you’re going to do with them!” Lainey called after him, belatedly feeling just a tad sorry for the cornered creatures. She was sure, after thinking about it a moment, that they hadn’t meant to intrude or scare her to death.

      “You want to know?” Brad’s dark brown eyes held a dare. “Come along and see!”

      LAINEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT for a minute, then declined his invitation with a shake of her head. Accepting dares was what had always gotten her into trouble. It was enough of a risk just accepting a job here without disclosing what she hoped to gain for herself, and do for Brad in the end. “Thanks, anyway,” she said.

      “Suit yourself.” He headed amiably out the door.

      Lainey heard the sound of metal on metal as he put the cage into the back of his pickup, then he climbed behind the wheel and drove off.

      When she was sure he and the “uninvited guests” were gone, she climbed down from her perch and started to explore. But no sooner had she cleared the kitchen than a sound near the door had her spooked again…and climbing right back up onto the kitchen counter. Surely Brad McCabe wouldn’t be gone that long, she told herself.

      Fifteen long minutes later, he returned. He pushed back the brim of his Stetson. “Any particular reason you’re still sitting up there?” he asked with a curious lift of his brow.

      Lainey was beginning to feel pretty darn foolish, but better safe than sorry…. “I thought I heard something over there.”

      Brad frowned. He seemed to know instinctively that she wasn’t joking around. “Where?”

      Lainey pointed toward the living room window she had opened soon after she arrived. She could handle just about anything except wild animals. Those scared the heck out of her.

      Looking more bored than scared, Brad strode over to investigate. He reached the antique sideboard that blocked Lainey’s view, stopped dead in his tracks. “Well, I see the problem,” he said eventually, backing up slightly and rubbing his chin.

      “What is it?” she demanded, feeling even more alarmed.

      He leaned over. When he straightened he held a half-burned pillar candle in his hand. “What do you think? Look dangerous to you?”

      Lainey regarded Brad skeptically, aware her knees were still shaking a little. “That’s all it was?”

      He glanced around, looking puzzled. “I don’t see anything else over here. This, however, was on the floor, lying on its side.”

      “Why would it just fall off like that?” she asked suspiciously.

      “The wind?” He set the candle on top of the sideboard and lazily made his way toward her.

      Lainey’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. “You’re sure there are no more wild animals in here?”

      “Well, I don’t see or smell anything else,” Brad drawled as he walked through the combination living room and dining room, past the kitchen and half bath, and through the back hall, where the two bedrooms and full bath were located. He returned to stand in front of her, grinning wickedly. “Now, are you going to continue sitting up there or are you going to get down so we both can get back to work?”

      Swallowing hard around the sudden dryness in her throat, Lainey moved toward the edge of the counter. “First tell me what you did with the party of five,” she countered curiously.

      “I drove them to a distant pasture and turned them loose next to a stream.”

      Sounded good to her. “Are they going to come back?” she asked nervously.

      He taunted her with an impudent smile. “After the way you were carrying on?”

      She tossed her hair—something she hadn’t done since high school. Maybe college. “I’m serious.”

      “It’s doubtful.” He regarded her, eyes alight with interest. “Since there are numerous places for them to burrow and there’s plenty for them to eat where I let ’em loose.”

      Lainey scooted to the end of the counter. “What do they eat?”

      “Grubs, earthworms, insects, sometimes berries and bird eggs. Not that I saw any bird’s nests in the area.”

      Lainey realized there was no way to get down off the counter gracefully. She fervently hoped Brad would realize that and turn away—but he didn’t. “How did the armadillos get in here in the first place?” she asked, carefully swinging her legs over the side of the counter.

      Brad watched as her skirt slid higher than she would have liked.

      Wordlessly, he reached for her. Hands on her waist, he lifted her down to the floor. He held on to her just long enough to steady her and make sure she had her balance. That was all it took for Lainey to feel a surge of desire more potent than anything she had ever felt.

      She sucked in her breath, stepped back.

      He stepped back, too, looking just as stung, as they struggled to claim the threads of the conversation.

      “We were talking about how they got in here,” Lainey prodded, trying to appear cool.

      “Beats the heck out of me.” He shrugged, the powerful muscles in his shoulders straining against the fabric of his shirt. “I didn’t see any holes in the wall. The guest house sits on a cement slab, so they certainly didn’t burrow through that.”

      Lainey bit her lip as she noticed the flush of sun on his face. And something else…something interesting…in his eyes. “And they’re too big to come up through the plumbing,” she said.

      Clearly enjoying toying with her, he looked her over from head to toe. “They don’t like water anyway.”

      So full of facts, he was practically an encyclopedia of Texas life. “So how did they get in here?” Lainey challenged. If he knew so much, he must know that.

      “Must have walked in last night.”

      Lainey regarded Brad skeptically.

      Reluctantly, he explained. “The place had a musty smell, so Lewis propped open both doors and a few windows to get a nice cross-ventilation going. It was after dark, and armadillos are generally nocturnal this time of year. Big Mama probably thought this looked like a good shelter, or maybe she was just foraging for food with her babies and got shut in here when Lewis closed up.”

      Lainey walked over to survey the place where the candle had fallen. She did not appreciate having the wits scared out of her for the second time that afternoon. How was she ever going to sleep in here tonight? “Well, don’t open up the place to whatever might inadvertently wander in here again,” she warned him haughtily.

      Brad angled a thumb at his chest. “I didn’t do it the first time.”

      Lainey swung around to face him, bumping her face on his shoulder in the process. “You weren’t concerned about the musty smell?”

      Once again, Brad put out a hand to steady her. “Why should I be when my brother already was?” he asked, his capable fingers radiating warmth through her shirt to her skin. “Besides, I didn’t hire you to help us get organized.”

      “And why is that?” Lainey demanded tartly.

      “I don’t see any sense in paying someone for something