Here Comes Trouble (2 page)

Tonight, he was gonna rock Terri Cassidy's
world, and hoped she'd do the same for him. If his brother had a
problem with it, he'd just have to deal with it. Chase had created
this situation by throwing the woman at Joel in the mood he was in.
It was like throwing a lamb in a lion's den and expecting him not
to eat it. He'd just have to deal with the consequences, and so
would Joel.

CHAPTER ONE

Hearing a soft snore beside him, Joel
carefully eased his arm from under the woman's head. He couldn't
remember her name, they'd met last night at the bar in Amarillo
where he'd gone to blow off some steam. Sophie or Sandy...or
something, he thought. It didn't matter, he wouldn't be seeing her
again.

Flavor seven of the thirty-one is all she was
to him. Sad to say, but true.

It had been good, she'd been nice, but what
they had was all he was looking for.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Joel shoved
his legs into his Wranglers, then stood up to fasten them. Quickly,
he found his t-shirt, which was hidden under her blue jean
mini-skirt, and pulled the shirt over his head. Next, he found his
socks and underwear and stuffed them into his pocket, before
shoving his feet into his boots.

A glance at the clock on the nightstand told
him it was almost four in the morning. Much later than he planned
on leaving. He had to get out of here before she woke up and
started with the questions Joel hadn't meant to fall asleep, but
after they finished he'd been so exhausted from the fourteen-hour
days he'd been putting in at the ranch, he passed out.

With a final glance at the brunette sleeping
in the bed, he shoved his hat back on his head, then quietly walked
out of the bedroom, locking the front door on his way out of the
house.

It took him thirty minutes to get home, and
when he walked through the front door, Joel shed his clothes in a
trail from the door to his bedroom, then fell into an exhausted
heap on the bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

A slap on his ass jerked Joel from a very
erotic dream. His heart was racing and his fists ready when he
vaulted out of the bed to his feet.

"What the fuck?!?" he said staring at his
older brother standing there grinning at him like a
clown.

"You need to sleep in at least your underwear,
dude...especially when you invite my wife over here early to help
you decorate your bunkhouse. I think she's traumatized for life
now."

"Got the same equipment you do bud, just more
of it, and I know how to use it," Joel grumbled and rubbed his
eyes.

His sister-in-law was a doctor, he knew not
much shocked her. His brother was being dramatic...and possessive.
Like he'd been since she'd agreed to marry his ugly ass. It had
only gotten worse when she told him she was pregnant.

Chase snorted and put his hands on his hips.
"You still need Jenny to help you? Looks like you had a rough
night."

Joel grabbed his underwear, which was the only
piece of clothing that made it as far as the bedroom, and hopped on
one foot to put one leg in, then switched legs.

Chase threw is hands up to cover his eyes,
"Man, don't jiggle around like that, you're gonna make me throw
up."

"Why you never seen anything that big?" Joel
snorted and pulled up the waistband.

"Nah, you're getting so old your nuts are
kinda bouncing by your knees," Chase teased then ducked when Joel
took a swing at him.

"You're older than me, so yours must be at
your ankles then, old man," Joel grumbled, then gave him a heated
glare, before he headed toward the door to go to the
bathroom.

Chase grabbed his shoulder before he got out
of the door.

"What?!?" Joel grated.

"Put some damned clothes on man, Jenny's out
in the living room!"

"Scared she's gonna leave you?" Joel teased
with an evil grin.

He loved giving his brother hell about Jenny.
Chase had never been the jealous type, but with Jenny, hell yeah he
was. It was funny. And since Joel had kissed her, Chase kept a
close eye on him, but his brother knew Joel would never do anything
like that.

It had been a joke, a set up to make Chase get
his head out of his ass and ask her to marry him. It had been like
kissing his sister, but damn if he didn't like aggravating Chase
about it.

"Hell no, she thinks you're a little boy,
compared to me, asshole," Chase told him and bowed up.

"You wish...she kisses pretty damned good,
right? Maybe she'll give me another one after you leave," Joel
harassed knowing that would piss Chase off worse than
anything.

Chase growled like a wounded animal, and Joel
knew what was coming before he was pushed into the living room and
landed in a heap on the hardwood floor.

"Chase, what the hell are you doing?" Jenny
gasped then ran over to him. Her hands moved over his head and
neck, then across his shoulders, down his arms, before she moved to
his chest.

"That's far enough, he's not hurt!" Chase
yelled and pulled her away and into his arms. "He does that shit to
get his jollies, darlin'!"

"Thanks, Jenny...you made my morning, sugar,"
Joel told his tall, beautiful blond sister-in-law with a
wink.

Chase's glare burned holes in him and Jenny
shook her head and smiled, "You're a mess, Joel Rhodes...your mama
is gonna spank your ass," she told him.

"I'd rather you do it," he teased and Chase's
face got beet red.

"Keep it up, asshole and she's not going to
help you," Chase threatened.

Joel pushed up to his feet saying, "I'm just
hoping you'll leave so she can get on with
helping
me."

"I'm gonna help you lose a few teeth if you
don't quit," Chase promised and stepped toward him.

Jenny put a hand on his arm and told him,
"Baby, he's just yanking your chain...he knows I love you." Jenny
tiptoed and put a kiss on Chase's lips. It was amazing to watch the
stupid dazed look come over his brother's face. The look he wore
most of the time these days. That man was head over heels in love
with his wife.

Joel used to be like that too...until he
caught the woman who made him look like that doing his business
partner and best friend on
his
desk. After that there was a
different expression on his face when he looked at
her...disgust.

Joel's teasing mood vanished and he leaned
down and grabbed his jeans then walked to the bathroom. After he
took a quick shower and shaved, he wrapped a towel around his hips
and headed back to his bedroom to dress.

He really wanted to get the decorations picked
out for the bunkhouse today, and he wasn't any good at that at all.
If the way Jenny had decorated the house she and Chase had bought
was any indication, she was an expert at it. If he was lucky, he
could get her to help update the main house too, after the
contractor put in the new guest rooms upstairs.

Maybe he'd just see if he could pay Jenny to
do it all for him. That way he could focus on getting his cabin
built, and the new barn. With her being very pregnant though, seven
months to be exact, most likely Chase would have something to say
about that.

He'd already reduced her time at the oil
company office to two days a week, and made her go part-time
instead of full time to vet school. The man was as over-protective
as he'd ever seen...but their mother was worse. He didn't know how
Jenny put up with it.

Joel was thinking maybe Jenny needed a break
from Chase and Curly Rhodes, and that's why she'd agreed to do this
in the first place. It looked like his brother had other ideas,
since he was here with her.

When Joel walked back in the living room it
was to find Jenny and Chase tangled up by his fireplace. Those two
couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other. Even though
Joel was happy for his brother, it irritated him to be reminded of
it so often.

"Give it a rest, ya'll..." he said grumpily as
he walked into his bedroom, then slammed the door behind him. Joel
could hear their laughter through the door, and cringed. He should
be in a better mood, he'd gotten some last night, and things were
ahead of schedule with setting up the ranch.

So, why wasn't he? Edgy dissatisfaction was
his constant companion these days, and he had to find a way to fix
that, sex evidently wasn't helping.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the
dresser and pulled out his clothes, then quickly put them on. With
determination to stop being such a grouch, he walked back to the
door, pasted on a smile then went to meet his brother and
sister-in-law.

He shoved a hand through his wet hair, before
he dropped his hat there. "If I give you the plans, and hook you up
with the contractor's decorator, you think you can handle picking
things out on your own?" Joel asked her hopefully.

"Sure, I can do that...and you can get off the
hook," she said with a knowing smile.

"Thanks, babe...you know how much I appreciate
you right? If my brother ever gives you trouble, you come find me,"
he told her with a wink. Chase balled his fists and took a step
around Jenny. She put her hand in his middle to stop
him.

"Stop giving your brother hell, Joel. I have
to live with him remember?" Jenny said and huffed out a
sigh.

"Sorry, I'll lay off, I promise, you just
pretty up the place," he told her and gave his brother a grin. "I
have to go meet with my contractor anyway, so your wife's virtue is
safe."

Joel turned to walk to his office to get the
plans for Jenny. It was a huge relief that she could handle it
alone, that would free him up to meet with his
contractor.

His contractor was ahead of schedule and
wanted Joel to do a walkthrough of the bunkhouse and cabin with
him, and talk about another progress payment. Joel had been hoping
to hold him off a little, until he could finalize the property
settlement with Karen to know exactly where he stood
financially.

That wasn't happening soon, if her attorney
didn't get his ass into gear and tell the woman she'd better sign
on the dotted line or Joel was pulling out the stops and taking her
to court. If that happened, Joel's generosity was definitely going
to disappear.

It had been over a year since he left Karen
and six months since the divorce was final, or he was told it was
final. Even though his attorney had asked hers for a copy of the
final decree after it was recorded, he hadn't gotten it yet, but
Joel knew the judge had signed it, so he wasn't worried.

It was time to put the rest of this behind him
though, and cut ties with Karen for good. But he wasn't willing to
give away the farm to make that happen.

Karen wanted the moon, full equity from their
house in Dallas, which was three hundred grand, plus half of their
savings account and half of his grandfather's inheritance, along
with an outrageous alimony payment for five years. None of that was
going to happen. It was a matter of principle and
economics.

Joel needed every penny he could scrape up to
make a go of the ranch, he had to start a new career, because of
her. Not only was the divorce her fault, the demise of his law
partnership was as well.

Considering the circumstances, the offer his
attorney had made on his behalf was more than appropriate. If she
was smart, she'd take it fast. If he had to take her to court, the
sympathy factor alone would give him an advantage with a
judge.

Joel told his attorney to press home that
point, and give her a deadline of a week from last Monday. Today
was the deadline, and if he hadn't heard from his lawyer by this
afternoon, he was going to call him and tell him to schedule the
court date.

***

With a moan, Terri Cassidy opened her eyes and
looked at the pillow beside her to make sure she was alone. She'd
had that dream again, and it was driving her crazy. Why the hell
couldn't she forget about him? It was like Joel Rhode's sexy smile
and sad eyes were haunting her, the memory of his mouth and hands
on her body was branded on her mind.

It had been almost a year since the night
they'd torn up the sheets in Amarillo. There was no reason she
should still be thinking about him. They both knew it had been a
one night deal. Joel wasn't ready for a relationship, he was still
grieving the breakup of his marriage, and Terri wasn't looking for
a relationship either. That night, although an eleven on the
passion scale, had been more about offering comfort.

Even though one night stands weren't her
thing, Terri had given into temptation. Joel had needed to know he
was still alive, attractive and wanted, and she had needed
something too. For just a little while, she needed to forget she
was losing her best friend. If truth be told she was also feeling a
little insecure and jealous of Jenny's budding relationship with
Chase.

Those hours together with him helped her
forget those things temporarily, but as she was sure had happened
to Joel, once the sun rose she was right back where she
started.