Page 14 of Jewel in the Rough

Benny’s voice had risen until it carried across the yard to the pasture where the Gurls were happily munching on grass. Betty White and Hedy Lamoo swung their heads to give Teagan what he knew to be a judgmental stare. The Gurls liked Benny better than Teagan. He sighed and glanced down at his watch.

“We’re finishing the evening chores and then heading inside where you are going to tell me everything. You are more than welcome to cook something to your standards, by the way.”

Benny scowled at him. “Fine.”

“And you’re not conveniently forgetting to tell me something.”

“You know, your personality could use a tweak or two,” he groused. “Has no one ever told you that you get more bees with honey?”

“It’s flies, and I don’t like flies.”

Teagan also did not like the idea of Benny Brambilla and the Sureños gang having any kind of connection. It made his stomach twist painfully. A person like Benny, funny, kind, open-hearted, had no chance if they came for him. And Teagan had no doubt they were gunning for Benny—it was just a matter of time before they found him.

Benny was Teagan’s, and Talache was not taking Benny from him. Somehow, Benny had snuck past the barriers Teagan kept erected around his heart. Very few people snuck by those barriers, and Teagan wasn’t letting him out again unless Benny wanted to leave. So he and Benny needed to have a conversation aboutthings. Hopefully Teagan wasn’t imagining that Benny had feelings for him, but he didn’t think so. He didn’t deserve Benny, he didn’t deserve the hot glances or goofy smiles that gave Benny away when he was teasing Teagan. But hewantedto deserve them.

First though, Talache needed to be dealt with.

That evening’s chores were much quieter than any other time since Benny arrived. Benny did his part but was not his normal chatty self, and Teagan felt slightly guilty, but not enough to let Benny off the hook. He needed to know everything.

Ciara and her crew had departed and the Indignant Gurls were tucked up in the barn for the night. Perversely, Teagan was missing the rambling thoughts of Benny Brambilla. The way he talked to the Gurls. The way, even though he had no idea what he was doing most of the time, he stepped up and tried his best. But now he was quiet, likely trying to come up with a good story to spin.

How had that man managed to get under his skin? When had Teagan’s opinion changed fromthis guy is a pain in my asstoBenny is witty and smart?His days were at the very least more interesting with Benny around.

Benny never complained when Teagan bossed him around, just dove into whatever chore needed to be done. Therewasmuttering, though. Just yesterday he’d been inciting the Indignant Gurls to riot.

“Demand better working conditions, Bette D. Fresher hay, greener grass, and… night lights. The barn has dark and creepy corners. And have you considered only pooping outside in the pastures?” There was a pause. Then, “I suppose, though, that the indoors pooping is sort of job security for me, so maybe don’t stop pooping.”

Then he’d broken into song, substituting pooping for believing, and Teagan had hadDon’t Stop Believingstuck in his head the rest of the day. And he’d been smiling.

But he did the work. Benny was smaller than Teagan, but his lean, wiry body was strong, as evidenced by the way he kept up with Teagan lugging heavy equipment around. He made the work more…fun, which was not a word Teagan had associated with dairy farming before Benny. And earlier, when Benny’d asked about the limp, Teagan had overreacted. The question was out of concern, Teagan knew, but the subject of his leg and the shooting was not something he liked to revisit.

However, none of Teagan’s feelings mattered now because Benny Brambilla was on the run from a vicious killer and Teagan had to figure out what to do. Talache was nothing but trouble, and Benny was deluded if he thought he could hide successfully without the protection of the U.S. Marshals Service.

“Spill.”

Teagan was tired of waiting. He’d let Benny fuck around in the kitchen for half an hour, creating something edible for dinner from the bunker-level-stash of canned goods. The meal had tasted decent, too, better than anything Teagan could put together. But it was past time to figure out exactly how much trouble they were in.

“Don’t leave out a single detail.”

“Can I ask a question first?” Benny stood from his seat and collected the dinner dishes.

“No.”

The dishes clattered into the sink. “Damn, you are a buzzkill. You can do the dishes.”

“Sit your ass down and tell me exactly what happened in Vegas, why you refused witness protection, and what you are doing here in my house.”

Benny sagged reluctantly into the chair opposite Teagan.

“So, what happened in Vegas can’t stay in Vegas?” His soot-black eyelashes fluttered against the curve of his cheek.

“Benny,” Teagan ground out.

“Fine.” Benny quit batting his eyes. “It was a Saturday, around five in the evening, I was working the mid-day shift—which is the worst shift ever, in case you care—there were no tips, no nothing. My boss was getting on my case and things were stressful, so I grabbed a pack of smokes from the bar, totally breaking my New Year’s resolution, and headed to my favorite alleyway. I’d just opened the pack when I hear voices coming my way. Whoever it was, they weren’t being quiet. One guy was begging and pleading and the other was pissed and threatening. I ducked behind the trash container—there wasn’t anywhere else for me to go—and these creeps dragged a guy into the alley and beat him to death.”

“How do they know you witnessed the killing?”

“Ah, good question, that. So, I’m just there, after the deed, behind the dumpster questioning every decision I’ve ever made in my life, including deciding to pick up smoking again, when the dumpster starts to move. You know how the wheels are supposed to lock? Well, whoever dropped it off forgot and the dumpster rolled a little, enough for them to see me, and me to see them seeing me.”

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