“Just please let him go,” McCall pleaded.
“You want to have this out?” Cody Joe challenged Austin. “You want us to settle it here and now?”
McCall stepped in between them. Not the brightest idea she’d ever had because the men were moving toward each other just as she did that, and she ended up squished between them. Not the kind of personal contact she’d expected when she’d decided to come to Austin’s house and confess that she was ready to move past that foreplay stage. There was little chance of that now. The air was zinging not with lust but with temper.
“Stop it,” she warned both of them.
Since she was facing Austin, she took hold of his arms and started backing him away. It didn’t work. He was still moving forward so she kissed him. Again, it wasn’t the brightest idea she’d ever had, but it stopped him in his tracks. It really stopped him when she let her mouth linger more than a moment on his.
“Shit,” Cody Joe spat out. “So, that’s how it is.”
McCall supposed it would have been a good time for her to look back at Cody Joe and do more diffusing of this situation. But she simply didn’t care if he was pissed off and stayed that way.
“That’s how it is,” she assured him. Austin’s and her eyes stayed locked, and he ran his thumb over her bottom lip, gathering up the moisture from their kiss. He then brought that thumb to his mouth and flicked his tongue over it. Tasting her.
Which was exactly what McCall wanted to do to him.
That little tongue maneuver weakened her knees and reminded her why she’d come over here in the first place. Of course, hearing Cody Joe’s grumbled profanity reminded her that she should do some adulting and deal with him first.
“Goodbye, Cody Joe,” she said.
She didn’t shout it or say it with all the anger and frustration she should be feeling. Maybe because that kiss had mellowed her out or simply distracted her. Either way, she slid her arm around Austin’s waist and got him moving toward his house.
McCall half expected Cody Joe to shout out some kind of “you’ll be sorry” threat, but he thankfully just got in his truck and sped off. She allowed herself one kiss, letting Austin’s mouth work his magic to give her a nice buzz of pleasure.
Pleasure that didn’t last, of course.
The second she pulled back, McCall felt the fresh wave of dread come over her. Mercy. What was she going to do?
Austin pushed her hair from the side of her face and brushed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Cody Joe might not tattle once he cools off.”
She wanted to latch on to that, but McCall doubted that’d be the outcome. Yes, Cody Joe could flip-flop on his threat. Heck, he could do that because he didn’t want the bad publicity that would backwash on him. But all it would take was for him to tell one person, and it could get around.
“I’m sorry,” Austin added. He gently took hold of her hand and led her toward the porch.
She muttered a thanks, one that she genuinely felt, too. It was good to have Austin on her side.
And bad.
Because he shouldn’t get caught up in the bad storm that was almost certainly bearing down on her. Still, what choice had she had? She could have given in to Cody Joe’s blackmail—and that’s exactly what it was—but that would have only delayed what was happening now. There was no way she could get back together with Cody Joe, and that meant he would continue to use Peekaboo to try to pressure her. Still...
Still.
McCall dragged in a deep breath to try to steady herself, and she hoped she didn’t start crying. Austin didn’t need that, and it wouldn’t help. Even knowing that, however, didn’t stop her eyes from watering.
Austin took her inside, sat her on the sofa and went into the kitchen. A few moments later, he came back with a glass of wine. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but McCall had a few sips now, hoping it would steady her. Of course, that was asking a lot of fermented grapes.
“What can I do to help?” he asked, sitting down next to her and slipping his arm around her.
McCall had an answer for that, but it wasn’t one he was going to like. “You can distance yourself from me because, right now, I’m like Typhoid Mary. You could end up getting hurt in the fallout.” Possibly the twins, too, though they were likely too young to understand the kind of gossip that would soon come.
He shook his head, brushed a kiss on her mouth. “Not going to happen. This isn’t your fault.”
Oh, she wanted to latch on to that, but McCall knew she wasn’t blameless. “When I inherited the club, I should have come clean then. I kept it secret because I convinced myself that it would hurt the foundation. And it would have. But having a secret like this come out will hurt it even more.”
Austin’s long sigh told her that he couldn’t completely dismiss that. “It’ll be gossip fodder for a while. No way around that. You could maybe go ahead and do a statement. A way of getting ahead of it. That way, you could put your own spin on it.”
McCall took another deep breath and let that sink in for a moment. She could call Alisha and ask her to rein in Cody Joe. Alisha would be stunned, but she might help just so the foundation would be safe. Then again, Alisha might be so riled that she would side with her son.
She finally nodded. “Sunny already knows about Peekaboo, but I want to tell Granny Em. After that, I can do a written statement and put it on social media and on the foundation’s webpage.”
Then, for the next months—heck, maybe even years—she’d deal with the fallout, which she was sure would be legion.
“Thank you,” she told him.
McCall might have got up to leave if he hadn’t kissed her yet again. And this time, it wasn’t a comforting peck. It was full-scale Austin, some lip finesse that was meant to bring her to her knees. It also acted as a truth serum.
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” she said with his mouth still against hers, “but I came over here to offer you sex.”
He smiled, the movement brushing over her own lips. “I hope the offer still stands.”
“It shouldn’t. I should be doing everything to put some distance between us, but I’m having a hard time doing that.”
“Good,” he drawled, and moved in for what would have no doubt been a brainwashing kiss that her body was aching for.
But his phone started playing a Garth Brooks tune.
He stopped, grumbled out some profanity, but immediately reached for his cell. “That’s Edith’s ringtone,” he said. “Howie and she have the girls today so it might be important.”
McCall automatically moved away from him so that the conversation would be private. However, it didn’t take long for Austin to say, “I’ll be right there.”
That gave her a jolt of alarm and pushed aside the lust and the pity party she was still feeling for herself. “What’s wrong?” she asked the moment Austin ended the call.
“Gracie’s got a fever. It’s not that high, but she’s asking for me so I need to go get her.”
“Of course you do. I hope she’s all right.” McCall started for the door. “I should have that talk with Granny Em, anyway.”
He grabbed his hat and keys, and they walked out together. Austin even gave her a quick kiss, but she could tell his mind was already on his daughter. Just as it should be. That was also a reminder for her that the girls might be on the receiving end of some gossip when the news about her owning Peekaboo broke.
McCall drove out behind Austin. He headed to the other side of town where Edith and Howie lived, and she took the turn to Granny Em’s. With each passing minute, McCall dreaded this more and more. Granny Em probably wouldn’t hold this against her, but it was just one more blotch on their lives that’d already had way too many blotches.
Little Cowgirls had literally showcased her sisters’ and her embarrassing moments from the time they were toddlers to their tee
ns. It would have likely continued all the way through high school graduation if Hadley hadn’t gotten caught joyriding in a stolen car and been arrested. That’d been the final straw for the producers, who’d feared a backlash from the viewers. Badly Hadley had apparently gotten too bad for the show’s image.
While McCall hadn’t wanted Hadley to get into trouble, she’d been thrilled that the show was canceled. Of course, that hadn’t immediately stopped them from living under a microscope what with the fans still wanting info about them. That had died down, but something like Peekaboo would perhaps put her right back in the tabloids that she’d spent her adult life trying to avoid.
McCall parked at Granny Em’s and started looking for her grandmother. She wasn’t in the kitchen or her bedroom so she called out for her.
Nothing.
There was no sign of Boo, either. McCall thought they might be in the garden, but then she heard the footsteps overhead. She went up the stairs, called out again, and this time she got an answer.
“We’re up here,” Boo said.
Not one of the bedrooms but the attic. That meant going through Hayes’s old room where Boo was staying and up a rickety set of steps. The closer she got, the more she could smell and see the dust. She also saw Boo and Em. Her grandmother was sitting in old overstuffed green-and-yellow flowered chair that’d been in the attic for as long as McCall could remember. Boo was perched on the chair arm. Granny Em had a photo album in her lap, and there was another stack of them on the floor.
“I was just showing Boo pictures of me before I got to be a granny,” Em said.
“Em was a knockout,” Boo declared. She was smiling, but her expression changed fast when she looked up at McCall. “What happened?”
Granny Em turned her attention on McCall, and both women slowly got to their feet. Obviously, she didn’t have a poker face if they could figure out with a single glance that something was wrong.
McCall gathered her breath and got started. “When I got to Austin’s, Cody Joe was there. He wanted me to get back together with him. I refused,” she quickly added when Boo started to mutter something about kicking Cody Joe in the nuts. “And he said he would tell everyone a secret I’ve been keeping.”
“That SOB,” Boo snapped. “I should cut off his nuts.”
McCall gave her a nod for her moral support and then turned back to her grandmother. “I own a strip club called Peekaboo.”
“She inherited it,” Boo quickly piped in. “And she can’t sell it or anything. She’s stuck with it. That dirthead weasel, Cody Joe, knows that, too, and now he’s trying to use it as leverage.”
“Yes, he tried,” McCall admitted. “But I’m still not getting back with him, and that means soon my secret will be all over town. I just wanted you to hear about it first from me.” She closed her eyes a moment, gave a weary sigh. “I’m so sorry.”
“Pshaw,” Granny Em immediately said. “Nothing for you to be sorry about. It’s not your fault that Cody Joe turned out to be so low that he’ll have to look up to see the stream of pee he’s whizzing.”
That was indeed low, and at the moment McCall agreed with Granny Em’s assessment. “I’ll make a statement,” McCall started to explain, but Em waved her off.
Her grandmother went to her and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about this, sweetheart. I know just the way to fix it.”
* * *
AUSTIN WASN’T SURPRISED to see the twins still going at full speed when he got to Edith’s and Howie’s. According to Edith, Gracie’s temp had been barely a degree above normal, and Edith had already given her some Tylenol. Gracie didn’t look flushed or sick and was playing dress-up when he arrived.
“Gracie insisted I call you,” Edith greeted, the apology in her voice and the worry on her face.
That didn’t surprise him, either. The girls might be identical twins in looks, but Gracie was still very much a daddy’s girl whereas Avery was more independent.
“Daddy,” Gracie said, immediately going to him.
Austin picked her up, kissing her forehead and at the same time checking to see if she felt warm. She did, just a little.
“Do your throat, tummy or ears hurt?” he asked, giving her a second forehead kiss.
She shook her head and settled against him. Clearly, Avery was concerned, too, because she stood next to Edith and Howie as Austin sat in the rocking chair with Gracie.
“It’s probably just a virus,” Austin assured them. “She’ll be okay.”
“Shouldn’t we take her to the doctor?” Edith answered.
Gracie practically made a swooshing sound when her head lifted so fast off Austin’s chest. “No, no, no.”
“There’s no need to go to the doctor,” Austin said, more to assure Gracie than Edith. “If the temp doesn’t go away by tomorrow or if it spikes, I’ll call her pediatrician.”
Austin steeled himself for Edith to argue with him about that. If there’d been a dictionary entry for overly protective, Edith’s picture would have been there. He could understand why, though, after what happened to Zoey. Still, seeing the doctor would be upsetting for Gracie, and the diagnosis would be Tylenol and to keep an eye on her. Which he would do. He didn’t want to put Gracie through a doctor’s exam just to ease Edith’s mind.
Avery stayed by her sister, offering Gracie a stuffed bear and stroking her hair. Howie kept watch for a few more minutes, and then he headed back to his den where he’d likely turn on the TV.
Edith lingered, and would have no doubt continued to linger had her landline phone not rung. She took the call in the kitchen, but she’d hardly been gone a minute when Austin’s own phone dinged with a text message. He smiled when he saw the message there from McCall.
I hope Gracie’s doing okay.
“That’s my name,” Gracie said, looking at the phone screen. She couldn’t actually read, but her own name was something she’d recently started to recognize.
“That’s right. It’s from the fairy lady,” Austin told her, and as if she might actually see McCall on the phone, Avery crawled up in his lap and snuggled in his other arm. “Should I tell her you’re feeling better?”
Gracie gave it a few moments of intense thought. “Can she come over and play with us?”
“Yes!” Avery endorsed with enthusiasm.
Austin had to smile at that, too. It would have been fun to watch McCall interact with the girls, and they would have certainly enjoyed it, but Edith likely wouldn’t want McCall cutting into her visiting time. And Austin didn’t think it was a good idea for McCall to be here if Cody Joe ratted out her ownership of Peekaboo.
“The fairy lady can’t come play today,” Austin explained, and while he texted a response to let her know that Gracie was okay, he got a quick flash of the kiss he’d given McCall. A quick flash of the feelings that went along with that, as well.
Ironically, today should have been an adult playday for McCall and him, and he hoped that was something he could reschedule soon.
“Can we go see the fairy lady?” Avery pressed.
Austin was trying to work out an excuse why that couldn’t happen when Edith came back in the room. One look at her, and Austin knew something was wrong.
Shit.
Cody Joe had likely gone through on his temper tantrum blackmail.
“Uh, that was Annette McKay,” she said. Austin knew Annette, of course. She and her husband owned a nearby ranch. “She called to tell me some disturbing gossip.”
That was Austin’s cue to get the girls out of there so that Edith and he could talk. Balancing them both in his arms, he stood and went toward Howie’s den. “I need you to watch the girls for a few minutes,” Austin told him.
That put some alarm on Howie’s face, but he immediately nodded and made room for the girls on the sofa. He also switched the channel from a baseball game to a cartoon show. That would sav
e Avery and Gracie from fussing about him not continuing the conversation about McCall coming over.
“I won’t be long,” Austin assured Howie, and he went back in the living room to face the music with Edith. “What did Annette tell you?” he asked so that Edith would cut to the chase.
Best to get all of this out in the open, deal with the blowup, and then he could get the girls home. After that, he could check in with McCall and see how she was handling it.
“It’s about Em,” Edith explained, surprising Austin. He’d been certain this would be about McCall. “Did you know when Em was young she had a relationship with a man in the mob?”
If Edith had given him a multiple choice, he wouldn’t have come up with that answer, but he did remember McCall mentioning something about that.
“Apparently, Em’s concerned because this man contacted her and wants to start up things with her again,” Edith went on. “Em doesn’t want to see him, and she’s asked if anyone in town sees a man named Ralphie Devane that we should call her.”
Austin smelled a rat. Or rather a distraction that Em was no doubt trying to create to cover up any potential talk about McCall. It probably wouldn’t work, though. Even a mob guy couldn’t hold a gossip candle to McCall owning a strip club.
“Em insists this man isn’t dangerous,” she added, “but she doesn’t want him coming to her house. I need to tell Howie,” Edith tacked on to that. “Don’t worry. I’ll whisper so the girls don’t hear.”
Even if Avery and Gracie did hear, they wouldn’t understand. Still, it was best if the twins didn’t pepper Edith and him with questions about it—especially if they figured out Em was the fairy lady’s grandmother.
Austin took out his phone and sent another text to McCall. Are you okay? And what’s up with Em?
McCall’s response came fast. I’m fine. As for Granny Em, well, this is her way of trying to solve my problem.
Chasing Trouble in Texas Page 15