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dumbfounded.
    “Where’s the camera? Get me the camera. I need a picture of this! No one will ever believe that my foul-tempered brother actually let a baby crawl onto his person.”
    Tex handed him the camera and Laredo squeezed off a shot.
    “You wake that baby, and Frisco’s gonna chew your head, Laredo.”
    They both froze for a second as the baby sighed. Neither brother nor infant awoke, however.
    Laredo gestured to Tex to follow him back into the kitchen. “I just had a brainstorm.”
    “I’m wary of storms, myself.”
    Laredo eyed him wryly. “I’m thinking about all these women.”
    Tex raised a brow. “You and all the rest of us. Glad to hear you’re normal, Laredo.”
    “I’ll ignore that for the moment, in the spirit of brotherhood.”
    Tex grinned.
    “I’m serious here. Give me a listen before you shoot this down, Tex. What if a woman was the way to get Frisco in a better frame of mind?”
    Tex gave him his most sober look, which was nearly ruined by the twinkle in his eyes. “Frisco’s frame is bent. Totally. I do believe there’s not a woman alive who can make him hang on the level.”
    Laredo sighed, used to his brother’s clowning.
    “But maybe some womanliness is the way to get Frisco to act like a human being.”
    “Like a shot of instant female hormones to counteract his overload of testosterone?”
    Laredo shook his head. “No, I’m talking flesh-and-blood woman. Like sweet Annabelle.”
    Tex burst out laughing.

Chapter Four
    Tex stopped laughing as he took in Laredo’s focused expression. “Frisco has women all the time, or at least he could, if he’d pay them any attention. They practically fall out of the pew in church on Sundays.”
    Laredo shrugged. “That’s pretty much a chain reaction to all of us walking in. When twelve men walk in, I’m sure the testosterone quotient in the room shoots up appreciably. You don’t know that it’s because of Frisco. He’s been so foul lately that I doubt any woman would keep him for long, anyway.”
    Tex scratched his head. “I thought he was being a pain in the rump on principle.”
    “I’m suggesting that maybe it’s been a while since he’s had a woman.”
    Long while was embedded in the way Laredo stressed the time frame. Tex frowned. “I don’t think any of these girls are going to sleep with our brotherjust to get him out of a bad mood. And even if they wanted to, Mother Delilah would freak. She’s going to keep her flock safe from us wolves.”
    “I don’t know that it has to be a sexual thing, exactly. Maybe he needs his own woman to balance him out.” Laredo’s expression turned thoughtful. “And apparently, we were looking for a housekeeper.”
    “Are you hinting that we should hire one of these women?” Tex shook his head. “If Mason was here right now and could see Malfunction Junction-turned-Petticoat Junction, he’d be figuring out a way to get rid of them, not keep them.”
    “But then Mason’s got Mimi keeping him all ginned up. How much excitement can a man stand, anyway? So all I’m saying is that having a woman around might make Frisco happy.”
    “Frisco being ginned up all the time does not sound like a recipe for happiness.”
    “But this Annabelle girl isn’t like Mimi,” Laredo pointed out. “She’s not the type to keep Frisco in a knot just for fun.”
    “Annabelle’s your choice for a housekeeper? Mimi’s going to eat your heart. I distinctly got the impression that the new housekeeper was supposed to be elderly. Not a sweet young thing living here with me, you, Frisco—and Mason.”
    Laredo rubbed his chin. “It could be dicey,” he admitted. “The unknown factor in this is Mason.”
    Sudden pounding down the stairs alerted the men that Annabelle had discovered her baby was missing. “Quick! Intercept her before she wakes the baby!” Laredo commanded, jumping to his feet.
    “She’s not a football, damn it!” But Tex shot out of the kitchen, no more anxious to have baby