Tina Leonard - A Callahan Outlaw's Twins Read Free Page B

tough guy. Can go for months without talking, can’t you, Sloan?” she asked, winking at him.
    “Not months,” Sloan said.
    “Okay, he’ll allot himself a word a day.” Ashlyn shot him a gleeful look. “He’s picked up a few decorations, is a really good shot with just about any gun on the planet—”
    “That’s enough,” Sloan said. “They don’t want to hear everything about me.”
    Beside him, he could feel Kendall’s eyes on him. “I don’t know,” she said. “It can’t hurt to know more about the family I’m in charge of. Every detail helps.”
    He looked at her. “In charge of?”
    Kendall nodded. “Jonas has assigned me to seeing to your family’s comfort. ‘Liaison’ really means ‘take care of.’”
    “Here’s the thing,” Sloan said, addressing his remarks to Jonas, but looking at Kendall, since he just couldn’t seem to help himself. “We don’t need anyone assigned to us for our comfort. No offense, Kendall.”
    “None taken,” Kendall said. “I’m just following orders.”
    He recognized his own words coming back to him. “We can survive no matter the terrain, and you wouldn’t see us for six months.”
    “That’s kind of creepy, though a great talent,” Kendall said. “Jonas, this is your call.”
    Sloan wasn’t certain how he felt about the tiny doll calling him creepy. He glanced around at his brothers and sister, puzzled.
    “It is creepy,” Falcon said. “I mean, when you think about it, on the surface.”
    Ashlyn laughed. “Actually, it’s not creepy to Sloan. He likes roughing it. When we were kids—”
    Sloan put down his napkin and pushed back his chair. “Fiona, thank you kindly for breakfast. It was delicious.”
    His brothers nodded in agreement.
    “Jonas, can I talk to you? Privately?” Sloan asked.
    “Sure,” Jonas said.
    Kendall watched the two big men go off together. “Well,” she said, “Mr. Stoic certainly wants to talk now.”
    Ashlyn craned her head to stare after Sloan, who’d cornered Jonas in the den. “He’s going to be hard to drag in from the cold. Me, I’m never going to pass up delicious food.”
    Fiona smiled at her. “I’ll put some meat on your bones.”
    Kendall laughed at Ashlyn’s perplexed expression. “Fiona wants to put meat on everyone’s bones.”
    “Okay,” Ashlyn said. “If you think you can, I won’t say no.”
    “I won’t, either.” One of the Callahans who hadn’t gotten an introduction yet reached across the table to shake Kendall’s hand. “I’m Jace. Sorry about my brother’s rudeness. He’s pretty much the lone wolf in the family.”
    Kendall sneaked a peek into the den at the lone wolf. As wolves went, Sloan wasn’t all that feral. In fact, he was darn handsome, even better than she’d originally realized, now that she could see him in good light. “Hi, Jace. It’s nice to meet you.”
    “Jace is our earth soul,” Ashlyn said. “He’s about to hit the big three-o, so he spends a fair amount of time with the ladies.”
    “Ash,” Jace said, “it’s all friendly. Although, if you have a sister, Kendall...”
    Everyone laughed at Jace’s obvious hint to Kendall. She felt herself blush a bit.
    “No sister. Sorry. It’s just me and three brothers. You’ll meet them soon enough.”
    “Your twin, Xavier, came out to our campsite with you this morning,” Ashlyn said.
    Kendall nodded. “And then there’s Gage and Shaman. They’re around here somewhere, probably out feeding the horses at this hour.”
    “Don’t mind Sloan.” Another Callahan reached over to offer his hand. “He’s a little harder to get to know than the rest of us. I’m Tighe, by the way, and Dante here is my twin.”
    Hot as the dickens, both of them. Kendall shook their hands, ignoring the words about not minding Sloan. Why should she? She didn’t know any of them. Getting bent out of shape about Sloan’s obvious prickliness would be unprofessional.
    “Wild at heart,” Ashlyn said, pointing her