Free Sweet Home Colorado (The O'Malley Men) by C.C. Coburn Page A

meeting you, Grace.” She
removed a couple of business cards from her wallet, handing one to Jack and the
other to Grace. “Give me a call sometime. I live in a houseful of men, so it’s
nice to have some girl talk.”
    “Thanks for coming to my rescue,” Grace said, looking pointedly
at Jack. “I don’t know how I would have got back into town without your help,
Sally. And I look forward to meeting the rest of your family.”
    Matt slid back into the booth as she left and said, “I didn’t
realize Sally was so lonely. I’ll have Beth give her a call and invite them over
for dinner one night.”
    “I don’t like the way you keep puffing every time you move, big
brother,” Jack said, observing Matt’s shortness of breath. “You need more
exercise. Starting tomorrow morning, you and I are hiking up the peak. Meet me
at the base at six.”
    “You’ve gotta be kidding! You want to kill me? I wouldn’t make
it to the halfway station.”
    “Then that’ll be our goal the first day. You want to be able to
eat fries again sometime this century, don’t you?”
    Matt looked so forlorn, Grace couldn’t help laughing. “I do
seem to remember you as the action-man of the family, Matt.”
    “He’s gone from chasing the bad guys to too much
administration.”
    “If I had the time, I’d go to the gym,” Matt said, defending
himself.
    “Forget the gym. What you need is good, clean mountain air. I
might bring a couple of the guys along, too. I think Tyrone would enjoy the
exercise. And the views.”
    Matt nodded. “Growing up, the only exercise he got was running
away from the cops and gangs. And until you took him on, the only view he was
likely to get was from a jail cell in Dade County.”
    “He’s a good kid. He was heartbroken when you decided you no
longer needed our services,” he said, looking at Grace.
    “Enough already!” she said, holding up her hands. “I’ve agreed
to your stupid rules. Now lay off.”
    Jack shrugged and took the last bite of his burger.
    “So are you two going to start dating again?” Matt asked,
obviously trying to feign innocence.
    Jack almost choked on his burger at Matt’s question, so Grace
said, “No, we aren’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have overalls to buy.” She
stood up, forcing Jack to move over so she could get out of the booth.
    “You want a ride back to the house?” he asked.
    “It’s two blocks. I’m sure I can make it all by my little bitty
self, thank you,” she snapped, and dropped a couple of twenties on the table to
cover her and Sally’s bill.
    “I’d like to meet Beth, Matt. Here’s my card. She can call me
anytime. Or just ask her to drop by the house. She might find me covered in
sawdust,” she said, glaring at Jack, “but it would be a pleasure to meet the
woman who snagged a catch like you.”
    Matt glowed under her compliment and Jack’s jaw dropped. “What
about me?” he finally managed.
    “You’re not married,” she said. “And the way you treat women, I
doubt you ever will be.”
    With that, she turned on her steel-toed boot and strolled out
of the restaurant, careful to put a little more sway into her hips than
necessary.
    * * *
    M ATT CHUCKLED AS he watched her leave.
    “I have a feeling, little brother, that your ruleabout not sleeping with a client is going to be
broken very soon.”

Chapter Nine
    Damn Matt. Damn Sally, and
especially, damn Grace! Jack thought as he drove back to the house.
Fortunately, Grace’s car was no longer parked out front, so he didn’t have to
see her. What he hadn’t expected to see was the place swarming with his
workers.
    “What’s going on?” he asked Al. “Didn’t I tell you to clear
this site?”
    “You did. But then the guys wanted to stay. You know how much
they want to work on a house like this. I couldn’t leave them unsupervised.
Plus, I knew one of your brothers would talk some sense into you. That’s why I
called Luke.”
    Jack grunted and stormed inside. Ace had