Cocksure (The Cochrans of Cocker County)

by Walker, Shiloh

  It wasn’t that being here made me think of her.

  I was just too twisted and tangled up right now.

  And it was because of Luke.

  Hell, most of the problems in my life stemmed from Luke in one way or the other.

  What had I been thinking, blurting that out earlier?

  Now the whole damn world thought I, plain, boring old Sabrina Maxwell, a little bit plump, a little bit nerdy, was actually engaged to one of the hottest guys to hit Hollywood in ages.

  Okay, yeah, sure, Luke had some strains of nerdiness himself, what with all his geek shirts and love of comics and other things that would have marked him as anathema to all the cool girls back in high school, but he was a movie star, ruggedly beautiful, complete with blue eyes and silky blond hair and a panty-melting smile.

  I was just me.

  How in the world were we expected to pull this off?

  And for how long?

  I mean, I understood, in some ways, that he’d wanted to give his mom something cheerful, although...hell. He did good things. He didn’t tell people about them, because he didn’t do it for public accolades, but if he wanted to make his mom smile, he could have mentioned the scholarships to various summer camps that he funded. Or the mentoring program he was helping sponsor—it didn’t launch until next summer, but it was still his baby. His fingerprints were all over it. He was a silent partner, but he’d had his hand in just about everything.

  Every single one of those things would have made her smile and it wouldn’t have involved such a sticky situation.

  Now we had to figure how to handle this.

  “I’m sorry I went and blurted everything out, ruining this for you,” Bella said.

  Confused, I looked up at her. It took a few seconds for me to follow her, but once I got her meaning, I felt even worse. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not like we were going to keep it a secret forever.”

  “Yeah, but you all probably had some idea of how you wanted to tell people,” she said, looking sheepish. “I mean, you all haven’t even gotten around to picking out an engagement ring.”

  “I was wondering about that.”

  Devin lowered himself into the chair next to his twin, Bella, a speculative look on his handsome face. He had the sharp-eyed look of a cop. He’d made detective recently and I could all but see him turning this new puzzle over and over in his head. I knew he was thinking about last night and half-expected him to bring it up.

  Instead, he nodded at my bare left hand. “Guess with everything going on with Mom, you two haven’t had a chance to go ring shopping? I hear that’s the thing now...the woman likes to pick it out and all.”

  “Not me,” Bella announced. “I want my guy, whoever he is, to surprise me. I want to see that ring sparkling up at me when he proposes.”

  “That shocks no one,” Devin said dryly.

  I could have kissed Bella, because it gave me a chance to work up a plausible answer.

  “Yeah, well, we were kind of waiting, yeah. I mean, it all happened so fast...and you know Luke. If he had his way, he’d show up at his movie premiers wearing jeans with holes in the knees and one of his geek shirts.”

  “Like the dyslexics UNTIE one.” Bella grinned at me.

  “I think my brother could manage to represent when it comes to buying a wedding ring,” Devin said in a mild voice.

  “He’d be buying an engagement ring,” Bella said. She nudged her twin with her elbow. “Remember to call me for advice if you ever manage to find time for a social life, honey.”

  They continued to bicker, their attention now focused somewhere other than me, so I breathed a little bit easier and pulled my phone from my purse.

  There were numerous messages from Kelly.

  They ranged from mild to demanding.

  I need to talk to you. NOW.

  The most recent one was pretty harsh, especially for Kelly.

  If you don’t answer when I call, I will reach through the fucking phone and strangle you!

  “Good grief,” I mumbled. Settling back in the seat, I began composing my response. I took care with each word, because I didn’t want to make her any angrier.

  I’m in the hospital, Kelly. You did hear that Luke’s mom is having heart issues, right? There’s really no place private here. I already know what you want to talk about and it’s complicated. I mean, COMPLICATED.

  I added a couple of strained-looking emojis, hoping she’d get the point, but I didn’t know if it would help.

  I think the doctors are going to transport her to Louisville and Luke has me researching all the stuff the doctors talked about, too. As soon as I have any modicum of real privacy, I will call you. I promise.

  Not even a minute passed before her response popped up.

  This kid...is she lying when she said she overheard Luke’s sister saying you two were engaged?

  I winced and looked up, darting a glance around the room. Bella was ensconced in a conversation with Devin, and Liam was bent over his phone, staring intently at the screen.

  I groaned and rubbed my temple, then punched in a response.

  No. The girl did overhear her saying that.

  This time, it took more than a couple of minutes before a response came.

  You and I really do need to talk, Sabrina.

  My head was now throbbing, and it was doing it in rhythm with my pulse. I needed to take something for the headache before it got out of control but I had to deal with Kelly before this got out of control. And it might already be too late.

  I know that, Kel. I’ll call as soon as I can.

  There was a commotion at the door, but I didn’t look up.

  Kelly was already typing up something else and I only had to wait a few seconds to see the text.

  I have to make a statement. Soon. You know that.

  I swallowed, then typed back.

  Yes.

  I heard Luke’s voice and glanced up, spying him and Chris standing in the doorway, bags of food in hand.

  My phone buzzed, indicating Kelly’s newest text.

  If you or Luke have something to tell me, you better do it soon, because I can’t sit on this too long. I’ll be in touch.

  Chapter Twelve

  Luke

  I CAN’T SAY I WAS SURPRISED when Sabrina surreptitiously asked for the keys to the rental.

  Her big dark eyes had locked on my face, wide and unreadable, as she directed a wobbly smile in my direction. “One of your brothers can give you a ride home, right? I’ve got some things to take care of and I’m sure you all could use some time, just you and your family.”

  Personally, I knew I’d do better if she was there with me, but I was being selfish, trying to keep her there, because I knew she had to have shit to deal with. Bella had shown me how the internet had all but exploded after some kid overheard Bella talking about my sham engagement. The girl hadn’t meant any harm, but I’d already gotten five texts from Kelly. I hadn’t answered any of them, but if I’d gotten that many, I couldn’t even imagine how much she was hassling Sabrina.

  Any time some sort of thing caught the public’s interest when it came to people in Hollywood, it caused work for the people behind that person. And there were two people behind me who kept me functioning. Sabrina...and Kelly.

  Sabrina folded her hand around the keys, but before she could pull back, I caught her wrist and tugged her forward.

  She resisted, but only for a second, and once I had her close to me, I pressed my lips to her ear. “This is all going to be okay, Ina. Trust me.”

  A heavy shudder went through her, but she nodded, turning her face toward mine. Against my ear, she murmured, “You better hope so, hot shot.”

  She started to pull back, but before she could do so, I caught her around the neck. Giving her a wicked smile, I added in a low voice, “I can’t exactly let my fiancée take off without giving her a proper kiss, now can I?”

  “Luke—”

  Her eyes widened, but whatever she
would have said ended up muffled against my lips, then it turned slowly to a groan. In a few more seconds, she yielded to me, opening for the press of my tongue.

  Hers was a taste I could easily find myself getting addicted to, I decided.

  Her head fell back and I cradled her skull in my hand, deepening the kiss and urging her closer, until nothing separated us but our clothing...and the eyes of my family, watching us from all around the room.

  I broke away just as Devin loudly, obnoxiously, cleared his throat.

  I didn’t bother looking at him, just swept my thumb across Sabrina’s full lower lip. “I’ll see you when I get back to the house.”

  She nodded, mute. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and when she turned away, she moved with jerky movements for the first few steps. After a few feet, she shook her head as if to clear it.

  I managed, somehow, to smother the grin her response elicited in me, but I don’t know how.

  If I’d had any idea how sweet Sabrina could be...

  You’d keep her hands off, a derisive voice said form somewhere deep inside. You’ve got a bad habit of screwing up everything personal. What makes you think this will be different?

  I set my jaw and shoved the thought aside.

  This wasn’t personal. Not exactly. This was just...a distraction. Something we were doing for my mom. Once she was fine, this would all be over.

  But was there any reason we couldn’t enjoy it while it lasted?

  THIS TIME, WHEN IT was my turn to visit Mom, Devin fell into step beside me.

  Although I knew why, I couldn’t quite understand the depths of my nerves when it came to being around my brother. Maybe it was those cop’s eyes of his—eyes that saw a little too deep, looked at things a little too hard.

  But he didn’t ask me anything on the walk to Mom’s room and he kept the conversation casual and easy while we were in there.

  I’d almost started to relax some thirty minutes later when we left, and when he followed me into the vending area halfway between Mom’s room and our assigned waiting area, I didn’t think much of it.

  That was my first big mistake.

  Devin was my polar opposite, in both looks and temperament. Where I was tall and lean, he was roughly only five ten and built like a bull, broad and solid, through and through. I was blond with light-blue-gray eyes, while he had black hair and eyes the color of cold steel. Our father’s eyes. I reacted to things based on emotion and I ran hot and cold. Devin reacted with an almost clinical detachment and based his decisions on logic. It was part of what made him a good detective, I suspected.

  He was also patient as the day was long, and I should have known he’d been waiting to get me alone, even for just a few minutes.

  The door shut behind me and I tensed, but fought to hide the reaction, in case he’d done it out of habit.

  I knew better, though, and he didn’t even pretend otherwise.

  “So...you and Sabrina. Guess that explains the other night,” he said, moving to stand in front of the machine offering junk food selections while I opted for the one vending out soft drinks. “I mean, after last night, I can’t be surprised. Guess you all were trying to keep it quiet.”

  I slid him a look from the corner of my eye, not certain if he was fishing. “Yeah, well...we wanted to tell Mom first. The time just never seemed right.”

  He grunted under his breath. “Well, you just got into town. I can see that. I think maybe what’s not making sense is how just a few weeks ago, you were getting a blowjob from one girl and were pretty hands-on with another.”

  I shot him a look.

  Yeah, I’d known this was coming.

  Had I figured out how to handle it? Hell, no. But I had known it was coming.

  “It’s confusing, Luke.” His brow winged up as our gazes locked. “I mean, you know we all love Sabrina and she deserves a guy who’s going to treat her right. So what gives? Were you fucking around on her then or are you just fucking around now?”

  “First,” I said in a sharp voice, “I’d never fuck around on Sabrina, period. So just get that thought out of your head, okay?”

  Devin brought up his hands. “Hey, man...I’m only asking because I like the lady. She’s good people. And she’s definitely good for you—she doesn’t put up with your shit and she makes sure you’ve got your act together. But just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I’d turn a blind eye to jerking her around.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

  “Hey, I know how some of those Hollywood folks think.” He waved a hand vaguely westward, as if to encompass all of Hollywood. “You went and stepped in it big time with that last stunt, and right before your next big movie hits or drops, or whatever they call it. Is this some stunt the publicity people thought up so the press would have something else to talk about instead of your ménage à trios?”

  My face heated at my brother’s blunt reference to my drunken sexual escapade, but as his innuendo sunk in, the blood drained away and my belly soured. “You think I’d use Sabrina like that?” I asked.

  When he didn’t answer, I paced to the far side of the long, narrow room and stared out at the paved parking lot.

  Taut seconds stretched out, tight as a guitar string. I finally turned and looked at him. “I know I can be an asshole and I know I’m not around to help out with things like you all are, but do you really think that I’m that much of a dick, Devin? To use a person who’s been there for me through the ups and downs of a life in that crazy-ass town?” I lifted a hand, two fingers extended. “She’s the one who’s been there for me, no matter what.”

  Devin’s head jerked back, harsh flags of color rising to paint his cheeks red.

  “Yeah, maybe so. Although it’s not like we abandoned you. You ran out on us, Luke. Not the other way around.”

  It was a sucker-punch, right to the gut. Sucking in a breath, I held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t...fuck, Devin. I didn’t mean it like that. I left because I had to, okay?”

  He stormed closer, his normal calm shattered. Reaching out, he grabbed a fistful of my shirt and jerked me closer. “Why?” he demanded in a low snarl. “What the fuck was so bad about home, about your family that you had to up and leave, without so much as saying goodbye?”

  Shame twisted in me and I couldn’t keep looking at him. “That ain’t something I can talk about, Devin.”

  Slowly, his grip loosened.

  He was quiet, too quiet. I darted a look at him and a sick, ugly feeling settled in my gut as I realized he was staring at me in the worst possible way—he had that cop’s look on his face.

  Nerves rose to choke me, but I shoved them back. “I just had to get out, okay?” I should get nominated for an Oscar, considering how easily I delivered that line.

  But he wasn’t fooled.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as he crossed his arms over his chest, that pensive look on his face. “What happened, Luke?”

  I was saved from even having to think up a lie as the door behind him pushed open. Bella popped her head in. “There you two are...oh, what in the hell is going on with you guys now?”

  A muscle pulsed in Devin’s jaw but he didn’t speak.

  I looked at Bella, ignoring my younger brother.

  She came inside, letting the door close at her back. “What’s up?” she asked, her voice cool.

  Neither of us volunteered any information and she jabbed a finger into my chest, then gave Devin the same treatment.

  “You two...behave,” she said in an icy tone.

  It was hard to believe a woman could look intimidating while wearing a scrub top with miniature Eeyores scattered across it, but Bella managed it. She was five ten in her bare feet and when she was in a mood, she could be absolutely terrifying. She’d been a hellion as a kid, and even though she’d been younger than me, there had been more than a few times when she’d managed to cow me.

  I wasn’t precisely cowed just then, but I knew that loo
k in her eyes and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with both of the twins, so I kept my mouth shut.

  “Do you hear me?” she demanded.

  “I heard you, Bells,” I said mildly.

  Devin shrugged. “I was just trying to—”

  This time, when Bella jabbed him with her finger, it was right into his mid-section. Hard.

  “Oomph,” he grunted, folding forward and lifting a hand to stave off any more sharp-fingered attacks. “Ease off, sis. We were talking. That’s all. Just talking.”

  “Doesn’t seem that way.” she said shortly. She gave us both a withering look. “There’s a team coordinator and one of the nurses waiting to talk to all of us. They are getting ready to transfer Mom to Louisville so they can prep her for tests and treatment.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sabrina

  THE TEXTS STARTED COMING in one right after another not long after I collapsed on the bed.

  I’d told myself that I’d take a few minutes to compose myself, then I’d call Kelly, but as Luke’s texts started coming in, I knew I wasn’t going to have even a minute for myself for a few hours at least.

  I groaned and rolled onto my back, covering my eyes with one hand as I envisioned Kelly pacing behind her desk, her designer shoes kicked off and her short, flame-red hair a mess. She had to be getting more and more anxious by the minute.

  “Damn it. I have to call her.” I shot the texts from Luke a look, then fired back a quick, vague response.

  I’m on it.

  That’s all I said and I didn’t even bother reading any of his messages as I grabbed my tablet, propping it on the cover’s built-in easel stand, and opened the Skype app. After tapping on Kelly’s avatar, I grabbed my laptop and opened it, because whatever had Luke texting at a mile a minute was bound to call for either serious emailing or serious googling.