Fannin's Flame by Tina Leonard Page B

what he really wanted to say, that she looked deliciously pretty. He thought about the hidden thong, and his face felt very flushed.
    “It won’t solve anything.”
    He sighed. “I don’t want to solve anything. I’m trying to establish a set of good manners where you’re concerned.”
    Slowly she opened the door and stood to meet him, face-to-face, the way he liked. He was glad his request for petite had gone unfilled.
    “I’ll ride in the back seat,” she said. “You need to get to know Mama better.”
    This was a battle he wasn’t going to win, he could tell. He wasn’t even going to reach for a weapon—she’d gun him down. Kelly was going for safety. With Mama squarely up front, Kelly was protected from further advances from him.
    Which just flipped on his Determined switch.
    This lady didn’t know it yet, but she hadn’t seen the last of his romancing.
     
    “T HERE THEY GO ,” Last said as he watched Kelly’s car pull down the drive with Fannin at the wheel. “A jackass, a redhead, a minidog and a housekeeper from hell. Where’s Sorriest Home Videos when you need it?”
    “Fannin sure is making a project out of Helga,” Archer said. He sat at the kitchen table, not doing much, along with Calhoun and Navarro, while Last spied.
    Navarro shrugged. “At least he’s not festering over Princess. Maybe he’ll give up on her and do it the easy way. No muss, no fuss.”
    “That’s the problem,” Last said. “We have too much muss and fuss around here.”
    Archer glanced up from reading the funny papers. “Specifically?”
    “I think Fannin’s sweet on Helga’s daughter.”
    He now had his brothers’ full attention.
    “Sweet? She’s only been here one night,” Calhoun said.
    “Enough time to do significant damage to a man who likes to do everything the hard way,” Last stated.
    Archer’s eyes bugged. “Are you going somewhere with this?”
    Last sighed. “Remember when we discussed the Quest for Truth, finding out what really happened to Dad when he left after Mom died?”
    The brothers nodded, their gazes sliding away.
    “And Fannin said he’d head up the inquiry? Remember?”
    “Yes!” Archer glared. “We remember. Move on, okay?”
    “I’m just saying I don’t think a lot of looking’s going to be going on now that he’s got her. ”
    “Got her?” Calhoun shook his head. “He wouldn’t get Kelly. Bank on that.”
    Navarro nodded. “Second that.”
    Last sighed at their innocence. “Pay attention, numbskulls. Fannin likes her. And that could mean all our plans go up in smoke. Picture it, all our planning to get Helga moved over to Mimi—moot. Because she becomes our mother-in-law.”
    Archer laughed. “Not gonna happen, dude.”
    “It’s happened.”
    Calhoun looked at him. “What happened, philosopher?”
    “ It happened.”
    There was silence around the table as his brothers digested the syllabic emphasis.
    “Nah,” Archer said. “Not Fannin. He’s a slow mover. A creepy-crawler. A tortoise. Not the kind to sneak around the house where a mother is sleeping, for heaven’s sake.”
    His brothers went back to what they were doing, which was not a damn thing as far as Last was concerned. He needed action and he needed it five minutes ago.
    Last felt desperate. “You guys don’t want to listen now, but I know things you don’t. And you’re not going to be happy.”
    “You’ve always known things we didn’t, little bro,” Calhoun said mildly. “We overlook you when you get too hopped up on yourself.”
    “It’s going to interfere with the Quest for Truth,”Last pointed out. “Fannin’s got his mind on Kelly. He’s not even paying attention to Princess!”
    “That’s a good thing,” Archer said. “I always say, too long without a woman and that man might’ve started looking funny at his livestock.”
    The brothers snickered to themselves.
    “We need to make sure this ends now, before it ever gets started,” Last stated. “More than it already