Page 12 of Jewel in the Rough

“Doesn’t look to me like you’re wasting away.” Teagan’s assessing full-body-sweep glance had a part of Benny’s body perking up in a possibly-NOT-inappropriate way. Had he developed some sort of snark kink to go along with his already troublesome attraction to Teagan Morrison?

With a barely audible grumble, Teagan turned and began to limp back toward the farmhouse.

“Is it okay if I ask—” Benny started as he followed after him.

“No.”

Okay then, no asking. He’d ask Ciara when he saw her again.

After choking down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on gross white bread, Benny wondered if it was time for him to venture to the grocery store. Teagan did not have any real food in the house. Benny’d snooped in the kitchen cabinets and found nothing worth eating unless they were planning on hunkering down in a bomb shelter for months. The snooping had been last week, and Benny hadn’t had the time or energy to go to the grocery store since then.

Truthfully, he was nervous about leaving the property. Even though he was miles from Vegas, the spot between his shoulder blades twitched when he contemplated leaving the safety of the farm.

He’d suffer with Teagan’s bomb shelter rations for now.

Post-sandwich, they headed out into the afternoon sunshine and to the barn, where they cleaned out the stalls—yuck—and stacked more hay, then checked the water. As always, Benny said hi to each of the Gurls, rubbing his palm across their soft noses and telling them how pretty and amazing they were. Teagan frowned and rolled his eyes, and as usual, Benny pretended not to notice, although the truth was, the frowning and eye-rolling were occurring less frequently.

Ciara and three of her employees arrived midafternoon. They were going to be working in the creamery, testing new flavor combinations and planning the upcoming production. This was the first time Benny had seen her in person since he arrived on the island although they’d texted a few times. She gave Benny a much-needed hug as Teagan stomped off toward one of the pastures, spreading humor and good will along the way, his curses and mutterings about fences and failing equipment carrying to Benny and Ciara’s ears.

Benny shook his head and grinned as he turned back to his friend. “I want to tell him the cow’s milk will sour with that attitude, but I guess if it hasn’t soured by now...”

Ciara was staring after her brother. “He looks good to me, better than he has for a while. I think you’re good for him. I think that’s cheerful grumbling.”

“Let’s face it, Ciara, I’m mostly useless. But he hasn’t sent me away or buried my body in the back pasture. And I’m not here for your brother’s… feelings. I’m here for me.” This was probably the time to confess to Ciara he was on the run from gangsters, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“He has feelings, and you aren’t useless. There’s a lot to learn here. Teagan’s always been hard to read.” She looked like she wanted to continue that line of thought but instead said, “Youdolook good, Benny-boy. All those muscles! I think farm life is good for you too. Is my brother playing nice? He comes across gruff, but he’s really a softy.” Ciara squeezed him so hard he squeaked.

Benny grinned at the old nickname but balked at Teagan being at all soft. “Everything’s fine,” he assured her, not wanting Ciara to think he wasn’t grateful for a place to hide out. “I do look good for a thirty-year-old gay man with no prospects, don’t I?”

“You make yourself sound like a character in a Jane Austin novel.”

“I’m going to fall in love with a most unsuitable man.” Which in this scenario would be Teagan Morrison, but only in Benny’s wildest dreams. He sighed, refusing to let himself go there. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life pining for his affection. But our love will be forever thwarted because I require a man of stature and means. Oh, hey,” he lowered his voice and glanced around them, making sure the subject of his inquiry was not lingering close by, “what’s with Teagan’s limp?”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

“No, and when I got up the nerve to ask about it today, he snarled at me.”

His friend’s expression turned serious. “I thought you knew. Teagan was shot in the line of duty. Even worse, it was a crooked cop who set him up. He had to leave the force because of it.”

“He was shot? How would I know that? I hardly knew him before I got here—just from the unmentionable Naked Trespassing Incident. That’s just awful.” Benny’s voice rose. He may have fantasized once or twice about shooting Teagan, but hadn’t imagined some lucky dog had already beat him to it. Not that he really wished Tegan harm.

“Yeah, it was bad. He almost died, and then Dad did die—it’s been a hard year for the Morrison family. I’d almost forgotten about the NTI. Teagan still acts like I nearly went to federal prison when we weren’t even actually arrested.” Her gaze darted to the colorful outbuildings. “Dang, I’ve got to get to work. One of these days soon,I promise, we’ll meet up and I’ll introduce you to some of the guys I know on the island. I think you’d like my friend Vic and his boyfriend Jack.”

“Sounds great, but do you know any single gay men? The third wheel is usually only good for a trike.” And it would be nice to know if there was hope of him crushing on someone other than Ciara’s big-sexy brother.

A nervous laugh escaped Ciara’s lips as she glanced in the direction of the main house, and Benny followed the direction of her gaze. Her brother had abandoned the pasture. The hood of Teagan’s truck was raised and he was leaning into it, doing something manly and sexy, like rebuilding the engine or maybe just checking the oil.

Was Teagan… pan or gay? He’d almost asked when they were playing cribbage, but he’d chickened out. There was just… something about the way Teagan looked at him sometimes when he probably thought Benny wasn’t paying attention. Like Benny confused him—welcome to the club, he confused himself. Was Benny experiencing a flutter of hope at the remote possibility? Again,no, thatdelusionneeded to be crushed before it blossomed into something that would only end painfully.

But now Ciara had him wondering if his little infatuation wasn’t as futile as he’d imagined.

When Benny noticed Teagan watching him, he’d figured it was Teagan speculating how Benny had possibly survived in the real world for as long as he had, what with being a bad dancer and achallengedfarmer And, yeah, the man had a point.

Could Teagan be feeling more for Benny than brotherly obligation? More… along the lines of finding Benny attractive and interesting? Fun to be around… sexy? Benny didn’t dare to believe. It was more likely Teagan thought of Benny much like he did Ciara, which definitely wasn’t romantic or sexy.

Ciara strode out into the yard and Benny trailed behind her, the afternoon sun momentarily blinding him. The plan for dinner and friends admittedly had appeal. Benny did want to explore Piedras, and it would be nice to do something besides pretend to be Mister Farmer Man. But he didn’t feel comfortable wandering around the island when he had a price on his head.

And how had he not known Teagan was a cop?

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