Hard as Stone (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnnon Sisters) (48 page)

“Amen,” Cain
muttered, looking warily around the table. 

“I’m serious,
Honor,” Patience rallied, pounding her fist against the table.  “If you’re set
on Ice staying with Aunt Orla, Slade can just bunk at my apartment,” she
offered, her blue eyes begging her youngest sister to reconsider her protective
detail assignments.

“No, Slade could
stay
here
and Jake can go the hell home,” Harmony interjected, shooting
a nasty look toward an impassive Jacob.

 “Not. Leaving,”
Jake growled as the muscle in his jaw began to twitch and his eyes pinned
Harmony to her chair.

Slade shook his
head.  “Sorry, ladies, but I’m not good to stay anywhere.  I’ll be running back
and forth between the construction site in Knoxville and here.  I can spare Ice
for this mess, but to do it, I’ll have to cover him.  I’m gonna be more of an
on-call participant if things get hairy.  Besides, Ice’s skill set isn’t quite
as rusty as mine.  He’s only been out of service a couple of years.  I’ve been
out five.”

“Honor, this is
not
happening,” Patience vowed, jerking her head toward Abel.  “I’ll kill him. 
I will and you know it.”

“Not if you’re
bound and gagged in my basement,” Abel grunted, wincing as Patience’s elbow
smoothly found his sternum.

Harmony held up a
hand, determined to stop this nonsense.  Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’ll
just take Heaven and go somewhere for a few weeks, Honor.  Then, none of this
will be necessary.” This was her family.  She was responsible for all of this
happening.  She could put a stop to it, and make sure her daughter was
protected.  Surely, she could find an out of the way place to hide out.  The
Appalachians were filled with nooks and crannies that had yet to be explored,
weren’t they?

“The hell you
will,” Jake all but barked as he stared furiously at Harmony.  “You’ve lost
your mind if you think I’ll let that happen.”

Swallowing another
sip of her tea, Honor glanced at Ezekiel.  His face was wiped clean of
expression, but she knew he was close to losing his patience.  The white-knuckled
grip he had on his coffee cup gave him away.  If she didn’t intercede soon, the
mighty lion would wake and roar loud enough to bring down the roof...and wake
up Heaven in the process.  “Alright, enough,” she announced, her normally soft
voice harsh and hard as she held up one hand for silence.  “Let’s take your
grievances one at a time.  Patience?” she asked, turning her head toward
unarguably the most stubborn sister of the bunch.

Patience
straightened her back.  “Honor, pairing me up with Abel is a mistake.  I’d
rather take my chances with Tanner and this Diego fella than be forced into the
same place as him.”

“No, you wouldn’t,
and you know it,” Honor denied quietly, staring at her sister.  Something
unspoken passed between the two women as their gazes collided.  “Abel might be
a pain in your tail, but the only substantial danger he poses is to your
sanity.  I’ll take you alive and crazier than a bessie bug rather than dead any
day of the week.  Though, if you think you truly can’t stand to be in his
presence, I’ll offer you an alternative plan,” she offered slowly.  “I’ll call
that lovely man you were dating last month.  You know, the new tattoo artist
that moved his shop front in beside Violet Houston’s bridal shop.  Hunter
Quaid, I think his name was, wasn’t it?  He was a rather large, imposing man. 
Former Army, I think he said.  I’d be happy to call him.”

Patience’s eyes
dilated.  “Honor, you wouldn’t,” she whispered, shaking her head.

Honor nodded once. “Oh,
but I would.”

“You dated Hunter?”
Abel asked sharply, his eyes impaling Patience.  “What in the hell were you
doing with that thug?”

“Hey,” Cain chided,
glaring at his brother, “I served with Hunter, Abel.  He’s a decent guy, and he
was a hell of a soldier. Patience could do a hell of a lot worse.”

“Patience
has
done worse.  Much worse,” Aunt Orla snickered, crossing her arms over her ample
bosom and leaning back in her chair as she winked at her niece.  “Remember that
carnie from last summer.  The boy was pretty to look at, but he was about a
brick shy of a load.”

“Okay, so my taste
in men is wide and varied,” Patience said with a careless shrug, waving a hand
in the air.  “But that’s beside the point.  Hunter is a no-go.  He was a nice
enough guy, but underneath all that muscle and ink beats the heart of a Grade-A
male chauvinist.  That man wasn’t looking for a good time; he was looking for a
wife,” she declared with a shudder before making a face.  “Worse, he wants
babies
.”

“The bastard,”
Faith teased as she looked toward Patience.  “Imagine the audacity of wanting a
family with a woman.”

“Hey, I’m not
faulting him for what he wants.  To each his own and all that crap.  I’m just
sayin’ that the woman he’s looking for is definitely
not
me.  This
body,” Patience said, gesturing at her boobs and flat stomach, “is never
spitting out any babies.  I don’t
do
diapers.  Or bottles.  Or burps. Or
any of the thousand other gross things a mother is expected to deal with on a
daily basis.  Nuh uh,” she denied adamantly.  “No way.”

Honor resisted the
urge to drop her head to the table.  “Then I’m sure you’ll be grateful that
Abel has a perfectly decent spare bedroom available for you.  Next,” she
invited before Patience could reply, her eyes moving to Harmony.  Lifting one
finger, she continued, “And before you say anything at all, you should know
that I’ll side with Jake on the idea of you taking Heaven and leaving.   This
is your home.  We’re your family.  This is where you and Heaven both belong. 
Neither one of you will be leaving for any reason.”

Harmony shook her
head, knowing that her sister was right, but guilt still swelled in her chest.
“This is all happening because of me,”

“That isn’t true,”
Honor replied gently as the room went still around them.

“I married him,
Honor.  I brought that man into our family.  I’m the reason he even had a
reason to come back here.  This is on me.”

“No.  This is on
him
,”
Honor countered sternly, meeting her sister’s eyes.  “The only person
responsible for the sins Tanner Suarez has committed is Tanner Suarez.  I know
you and Jake are having some….difficulties,” she noted, her eyes drifting over
to Jacob Stone.  “And I can understand your hesitance having him here.  The
fact remains however that he
is
a trained officer of the law and he had
reasons for what he kept from us.  Don’t get me wrong,” she huffed, narrowing
her eyes on Jake, “I think they were stupid, asinine reasons, but reasons,
nonetheless.  That said, I was with Harmony this morning when we uncovered your
rather impressive arsenal.”

Jake met Honor’s
eyes, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Honor….”

“Frankly, the basis
for my decision where Jake is concerned is quite simple.  His gun is bigger
than Zeke’s gun, Harmony.”

Bending his head to
stare incredulously down at Honor’s head, Ezekiel shook his head.  “Tell me you
didn’t just say that,” he hissed, his handsome face mildly appalled.

Lifting a hand,
Patience patted the sheriff on the shoulder.  “Don’t feel bad, Zeke.  It would
be hard for any man to beat nine inches worth of steel.”

“What?” Honor asked
blankly, her blue eyes widening as she realized Patience’s meaning.  “Wait! 
That isn’t what I meant!” she moaned, burying her face in her hands as the
entire family erupted into laughter, the seriousness of the moment broken for
that bare second.

Lifting her head,
she sighed as the people she considered family slowly quieted.  “What I should
have said is that Zeke has a job to do in town as sheriff.  He can’t be two
places at once.  His firearm could be employed elsewhere at any time, but
Jake’s schedule would allow you and Heaven to remain protected at all times. 
Whether I like it or not, you and my niece face the most danger here, Harmony,
and Jacob has a vested interest in your continued safety.  I know you and
Patience are unhappy with the arrangements I’ve made, but hopefully, this will
be a temporary situation.  Tanner and this Fuentes man can’t hide forever. 
They want something we’ve got.  Sooner or later, they’ll come looking for one
of us.  Since that isn’t a situation I’d like any of us to face alone, I’d
prefer that when they do arrive they be met by men who possess big guns and
know how to use them effectively.”

“I guess you have a
good point,” Harmony admitted reluctantly, acquiescing to her youngest sister
as most of them usually did.  “I just wish there was another way.  I don’t like
the idea of any of you being a target because of decisions I made.  It isn’t
fair to any of you,” she said, looking at each of her sisters.

“We’re McKinnons,
honey,” Aunt Orla’s wise voice counseled, her faded blue eyes on Harmony’s
face.  We either stand united or we fall down together.  That’s the way it is,
was, and always will be.”

Harmony swallowed
hard as she looked from face to face around the weathered dining room table. 
When she reached Honor’s face, her heart broke a little at the bone-deep old
pain she saw reflected in her baby sister’s eyes.  Of all of those present in
the dining room, Harmony understood what this plan could cost Honor.  Over the
years, the other woman had found her way to a new normal, but this newest
challenge could hurl Honor back into the depths of a dark, agonizing time in
her life.  Tanner’s reappearance wasn’t only dangerous to Harmony and Heaven,
but Honor, too.    “Are you sure about this?” she asked softly.

Honor sat
completely still for a long moment, her shoulders slumping slightly as she let
out a sigh.  “I remember - not a lot, but just enough – about the time I was in
the hospital,” she began, her fragile voice trembling as she wrapped her hand
around her mug of tea.

Harmony held her
breath as she noted Zeke stiffening at Honor’s side.  She knew why.  Honor
never discussed that time in her life with anyone.  Not her.  Not Aunt Orla. 
No one.  The fact that she was doing it now meant that what she had to say
mattered, and everyone sitting at the table realized it.

“You all never left
me alone the whole time.  Do you remember, Harm?  Every time I opened my eyes,
you and Aunt Orla, Faith and Patience…at least two of you were always there. 
Most of the time though, it was all of you.”

“I remember.”
Harmony nodded.  “None of us would have been anyplace else, sis.”

“Damn straight,”
Patience agreed as Faith nodded supportively.

“I know,” Honor
replied with a faint smile.  “Y’all made that clear anytime you were asked to
leave by the nurses.  But what I remember the most is the day that doctor came
in and told you all that he wanted to move me to a long-term care facility.  I
wasn’t talking or eating, and he thought that I’d require more care than you
could offer at home.  He argued with you, Harmony.  He told you that he wasn’t
the enemy and that you already had enough of a fight ahead of you with your own
injuries.”

Harmony remembered
that afternoon clearly. She felt herself getting angry as she recalled that
idiot doctor’s condescension as he’d talked about her youngest sister like she
was a burden to be born instead of a flesh-and-blood woman that had been
traumatized in one of the worst ways a person could experience.  “He said a lot
of things, honey, and almost all of it was crap.”

“Amen,” Aunt Orla
muttered from her end of the table.

Patience grinned as
she shook her head.  “Zeke almost knocked that so-called physician’s teeth down
his throat when the guy walked into the hall.”

“Cain got him fired
for that stunt,” Faith added with a fond look at her husband. 

“Do you remember
what you told the doctor, Harmony?” Honor asked her sister, ignoring the other
comments.

“I do distinctly
remember giving him directions on how to get to Hell,” she replied with a small
frown.

“And Zeke offered
to send him there express,” Faith reminded her.

“Yes, there was
that, but the part I remember most was that you told that man if there was a
battle ahead of me, the McKinnon family would fight it together.  All of us. 
As a family.  My question is this: if that was true for me, why would you think
that you deserve any less?”

Harmony felt a lump
rising in her throat as she shook her head again.  “That’s different, Honor.” 

“It’s really not,
Harm, and I think Aunt Orla, Faith, and Patience would each agree with me,”
Honor challenged, her voice still at a whisper.  “Troubles might come and go,
but family remains.”

A tear slipped down
Harmony’s cheek as she listened to Honor quote their father and she felt Jake
squeeze her knee under the table.  For some reason, the sisters had always
looked to Honor for wisdom, even though she was the youngest.  In that moment,
she realized that Honor might actually have made sense.

“Now, are we all on
the same page?” Honor asked gently, looking around at the faces surrounding the
table.

“I’m good,” Faith
replied, her voice a little shaky as she clutched Cain’s hand on the table.

Sighing, Patience
slowly inclined her head.