“That’s a good idea,” Avery said. “I should give you their numbers, Megan. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to help.”
“Where are you from?” Nick asked, suddenly aware of the fact the setting sun seemed hotter than it had before she stepped out of the car.
“L.A.”
“Figures,” he muttered. Megan was too polished to be a country girl. She reminded him of a girl he’d dated a few years ago. Jayna was a country singer, looking for her big break in Nashville. When his connections couldn’t help her find it she decided to return to her home in Los Angeles without a word to him.
“Do you have something against big city girls?” Megan asked.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Nashville isn’t exactly Mayberry.”
She laughed, a deep husky sound that made him react in a way he had to struggle to tamp down. God help him.
“No, I guess it isn’t. It’s just… different,” Megan said.
He stood up straighter, frowning. “You think we’re all just a bunch of rednecks, is that it? We’re not sophisticated enough? Not smart or rich enough to move in your circles?” Nick was used to people assuming he was content to live in his successful father’s shadow, but something about her air of superiority grated on his nerves.
“Nick…” Avery said, gripping his forearm. “Mind your manners.”
“It’s okay, Avery. Your son can’t say anything to me I haven’t heard before.”
“That doesn’t give him the right-” Avery’s cell phone rang. “It’s your dad. Hold on a sec.” She wandered away to take the call.
Nick and Megan stared each other down, waiting for the other to throw down the gauntlet. Nick could tell she didn’t appreciate being challenged. They had that in common, but he would bet his favorite pair of custom cowboy boots their similarities ended there. She represented everything he despised in a woman: fake from her fingernails to the veneers on her teeth, polished from her designer shoes to her glossy lips. He liked women who kicked up their heels at Jimmy’s and appreciated a cold beer on a hot day, not hotshot TV personalities who turned up their noses at his way of life.
“Sorry about that,” Avery said, walking back. “Your dad just called to let me know a furniture delivery I’ve been waiting on is here. You ready to come up to the main house, Megan?”
“Why don’t you go on ahead, Avery? I think I’ll hang out and get to know your son a little better.” She bared her teeth, more of a sneer than a smile. “I can walk up to the main house when I’m ready.”
Avery laughed. “Honey, the main house is about a quarter of a mile from here. You’ll never make it in those shoes. But don’t worry, I’m sure Nick won’t mind giving you a lift when you’re ready. Will you, son?”
His mother’s sharp look told Nick he’d better not even consider offering an excuse. “Sure, I had to cancel my date, so I’ve got no place to be.” Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned back against a tree and propped his boot up on the trunk, as though he had all the time in the world to waste with that little prima donna.
Megan waited for Avery to get back in her vehicle and drive away before she asked, “You got a problem with me, cowboy?”
Nick had to give her credit for challenging him within minutes of their first meeting. He was used to women playing coy, hinting at what they wanted or backing away from confrontation. “Only if you plan to take advantage of my parents’ generosity.”
She popped the buttons on her suit jacket and slid it off to reveal a brightly colored, silky tank top. “Now why would I want to take advantage of your parents?”
Nick’s mouth suddenly felt as if it was full of sawdust. A little bit of a thing like her shouldn’t have curves like that. She obviously owed some of them to a talented cosmetic surgeon, but that didn’t explain the swell of her hips or that luscious bottom…
Snapping her fingers in front of his face, she said, “I asked you a question. Try to stay focused.”
Nick bit back a curse when a familiar black pickup pulled up next to them.
“Goddamn it, McCall,” Shaw Carver said, jumping out of the truck. “I thought I told you to have the fences on the west side of your property mended. Your-” He stopped mid-step, the finger he had pointed at Nick falling to his side. He stared at Megan as though she was a figment of some erotic hallucination and whispered, “Holy hell.”
“Hi there.” Megan turned her mega-watt smile on him and turned her back on Nick.
Glaring at her backside, Nick said, “I’ve got guys workin’ on it right now, Carver. The fences will be fixed before nightfall.”
Shaw ignored Nick and reached for Megan’s hand. He kissed the back of her hand. “Shaw Carver. I’ve seen you on TV, haven’t I?”
“You probably have,” she said, still holding his hand. “Megan Moore. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shaw. Great name by the way.” She winked.
Nick rolled his eyes as Shaw moved in closer.
“What’re you doin’ wastin’ time with this loser, darlin’?”
Withdrawing her hand, she used it to shield her eyes from the setting sun. “I’m not here to see Nick. Avery’s my publicist. She was kind enough to let me stay here while I look for a place.”
“So you’re new in town?” Shaw tipped his dusty black cowboy hat back.
Nick told himself he had the same tightening in his gut whenever he saw his rival. It had nothing to do with the fact Shaw was flirting with Megan. When he heard her husky chuckle again, and saw Shaw’s reaction, he wanted to threaten Shaw with trespassing the next time he set foot on Nick’s property.
“I sure am.”
“How do you like it so far?”
“I like it just fine,” she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You need a tour guide to show you around.”
She smiled before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. “Is that so? Are you volunteering?”
“I’d be honored.” Shaw bowed at the waist.
Megan laughed, and Nick clenched his fists as he glared at Shaw. Nick said, “You can be on your way now, Carver. The fences are gonna be mended, no worries.”
Shaw grinned at Megan. “Oh, I’m not worried. If they’re not, I’ll have a good excuse to come back.”
“You don’t need an excuse to come back.” She looked at Nick over her shoulder. “He’s always welcome, isn’t he, Nick?”
“Get the hell off my property before I call the cops, Carver.”
Shaw chuckled. “Ya always were a sore loser, McCall.”
“Man, you couldn’t beat me on your best day.” They’d been competing over something or another for as long as Nick could remember, but since they were both racing horses in the Kentucky Derby, the stakes had never been higher. Nick took home the big prize the year before, and he had no intention of losing to Shaw that year.
“You got a business card, beautiful?” Shaw asked Megan, trying hard to impress her.
“It just so happens I do.” Megan reached into the pocket of the blazer hooked over her arm. “Here you go.”
He looked at the embossed business card as though it was a winning lottery ticket. “I’ll be callin’ you real soon.”
Megan winked. “I’m counting on it.”
Shaw got into his truck, tipping his cowboy hat and grinning one last time before he backed into a clearing and drove away.
Megan fanned her face with her hand. “Wow, I’m starting to like Nashville a whole lot more. Apparently some of the cowboys around here are charming, Nick. I was beginning to think they were all mean and surly like you.”
Nick tried to rein in his temper by reminding himself that the woman was a guest in his parents’ home. “You can’t go out with him.”
She threw her head back and laughed.
As irritated as he was that she dismissed his warning, he couldn’t help but appreciate her beauty. He admired the gentle curve of her neck when her head tilted back, conjuring up more images of Megan in a state of abandon. Not that he intend
ed to bear witness to that.
“You wanna tell me what the hell is so funny?”
She covered her mouth. “You are. You actually think you can tell me what to do?”
“He’s just using you to piss me off.” That got her attention.
Her smile faded, and her green eyes shone with purpose. “You care to tell me why you think that?”
“Carver and I have been rivals for as long as I can remember, sweetheart. We’ve competed for everything from the startin’ quarterback position on our high school football team to women.”
She scanned him from the brim of his dusty hat to his scuffed cowboy boots. “You think Shaw asked me out because he assumes you’re interested in me? Anyone can see you and I are as different as day and night. No way could we ever… hook up.”
“What makes you think Carver and I are any different?” Nick moved in closer as an intimidation tactic. Even with her high heels on, he towered over her. He expected her to back up, to yield to him, but she stood her ground.
“For one, he’s a gentleman.”
“Is that what you think? He’s really got you fooled, hasn’t he?”
She pretended to be unaffected by Nick’s proximity, but her heaving chest indicated otherwise. “Unlike you, Shaw didn’t make assumptions based on my appearance. He’s willing to look beyond the surface to see if there might be some substance.”
Nick chuckled. “Darlin’, I can promise you the only thing he’s interested in looking beyond is your clothes.” That analogy backfired and hit him like a sucker punch. The thought of Carver undressing Megan didn’t sit well with him for reasons he wasn’t willing to analyze.
“Maybe if he’s lucky, I’ll let him.” With that comment, she walked over to his pickup truck with a little swing in her hips. “I’m ready to go to the main house.”
Gravel crunched beneath Nick’s boots as he closed the distance between them. “Listen to me, seein’ him would be a bad idea.”
“I can decide that for myself, but thanks for the warning,” she said as she opened the passenger’s door before he could reach her.
Getting behind the wheel, Nick fired up the engine and clenched the steering wheel with both hands. “You’re gonna ignore everything I’ve just said, aren’t you?”
“That’s the plan.”
***
Megan couldn’t get Nick’s warning about Shaw out of her head. She usually had good instincts, but since her recent lapse in judgement had nearly cost her everything, she was a lot more cautious. Megan wandered from her room to the family room to watch some TV.
Avery looked up from her laptop. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Don’t be silly.” Avery closed her computer. “I couldn’t sleep either. I was just killing time surfing the Net.”
Claiming one of the oversized leather chairs flanking the huge fireplace, Megan asked, “How well do you know Shaw Carver?”
Avery smiled. “Very well. Why?”
“He asked me out tonight. Nick warned me not to go out with him. Is Shaw really as bad as your son thinks?”
Avery took her reading glasses off and set them on the arm of the sofa. “Only according to my son. Shaw and Nick are cut from the same cloth. They’re both driven, competitive, and smart.”
“Those don’t seem like bad qualities,” Megan said, tucking her legs under her.
“They’re not, but put those two in a room together, and you’d best stand back.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse. I can’t tell you how many split lips I’ve mended over the years, and Shaw’s mama’s done the same. Neither one of them comes out on top in those brawls, but that doesn’t seem to matter. I swear, good sense goes out the window when the male ego’s involved.”
Megan laughed. “Don’t I know it.”
“I heard you were engaged to Brock Logan. Is that true?”
“It is.” Megan had ended her relationship with the professional race car driver less than six months before. Then she made the mistake of getting involved with the wrong man. “We were together for a few years, but…” She shrugged. “It just didn’t work out. We were moving in different directions.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.” Megan had believed she loved Brock, but when he’d pressured her to set a wedding date, she couldn’t.
“That happens sometimes. Maybe there’s someone out there even better for you.” Avery smiled. “Who knows, it might even be Shaw.”
“So you think I should go out with him?”
“Sure, why not?”
“You don’t think he’s… dangerous?” Megan felt a little silly asking, but she couldn’t afford to be careless.
“Of course not. In spite of what my son may say, Shaw is not the devil incarnate. He comes from a good family. He’s polite, respectful, hardworking… not to mention handsome. Right?”
“You noticed, huh?”
Megan and Avery shared a knowing look before they burst out laughing.
“I’m really glad you’re here, Megan,” Avery said, smiling.
“So am I.”
Chapter Two
“Do you think you can find what I’m looking for, Sela?” Megan scanned the listings her realtor had given her to peruse. She had been staying at the McCall house for more than a month. Though Avery and Ty had been kind to her, every time she saw Nick, she felt she’d overstayed her welcome.
Sela turned away from her computer. “I don’t think it should be too difficult. You’re hoping to move in as soon as possible?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Why the hurry? I’ve known the McCalls a long time. They’re lovely people.”
“Most of them are,” Megan said. She wished she hadn’t said that aloud.
“Uh oh, is someone giving you grief? Don’t tell me. It’s got to be Nick.”
Megan reached for her take-out cup of espresso. “He’s a piece of work, isn’t he? I can’t figure out what I did to piss him off, but it must have been bad because he’s had it in for me from the start.”
“Don’t pay him any mind. He’s a sweetheart, but he’s a little overprotective of his friends and family.”
“I’ll have to take your word for the sweetheart part. How could I possibly pose a threat to him or his family?”
“Oh good, I’m just in time for a little girl talk,” Anna McCall said, poking her head into Sela’s office.
Megan really liked Nick’s sister, but she didn’t intend to confide in Anna about her problems with Nick. Megan got to her feet to hug the other woman. ““Hi, Anna, it’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” Anna said, squeezing her back. “How’s my big, bad brother treating you?”
Nick made no secret of the fact he didn’t like Megan, so the question wasn’t unexpected. “I try to steer clear of him whenever possible,” Megan said. That often meant she had to wake up early and come home late, since Nick ate at the main house regularly.
Anna walked around the desk to hug Sela before sitting in the guest chair next to Megan. “That’s gotta be rough. I know he’s a sucker for Hazel’s cooking. He must hang around all the time.”
“Why do you think the poor girl is willing to move into a shoe box just to get away from him?” Sela asked.
“Oh no,” Anna said, reaching out to squeeze Megan’s hand. “I’ve split my time between here and Charlotte so much I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten between you two.”
Anna was seeing Justin Hunt, a professional race car driver, and his home was in North Carolina. Megan said, “I don’t want to burden you with my problems. Don’t worry, I can handle your brother.”
“But you shouldn’t have to. Why don’t I try to talk some sense into him-”
“No! Please don’t say anything to him about me. I’ll be moving out soon, so it won’t be an issue.” Megan didn’t want Nick to think she’d asked his
sister to intervene.
“Fine.” Anna sighed. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, as though she was content to settle in. “So, I’m dying to know. How are things going with Shaw Carver?”
Anna and her cousin, Lauren, had seen Megan and Shaw together at Jimmy’s one night, and they’d asked for status updates ever since.
Megan smiled. “He’s a sweet guy, but I’m not looking for anything serious. I don’t intend to stay in Nashville long, so getting too involved would be silly.”
“You never know what might happen,” Anna said. “If Justin has taught me one thing, it’s to expect the unexpected.”
Megan smiled. “I’m so happy for you guys. You’re perfect for one another.” Just because Megan hadn’t found her soul mate didn’t mean she couldn’t wish the best for others. She wasn’t a total cynic; she’d just learned at an early age she needed to guard her heart.
“Thanks,” Anna said, getting a faraway look in her eyes. “I never thought I’d meet anyone who makes me feel the way he does. You know what I mean, that feeling you get in your stomach when you see your guy.” She giggled.
Megan couldn’t relate. She’d never had that feeling, except when she saw Nick, but she attributed that to nausea. “I can’t say I do.”
Anna and Sela exchanged a look of dismay. “It’ll happen for you, honey. You just have to be patient,” Sela said.
Megan shrugged. She tried to pretend the thought of spending the rest of her life alone wasn’t daunting. “If it does, great. If it doesn’t, I’m okay with that. I have my work…” Which was only temporary. “Friends…” Who were only temporary. Okay, she was starting to get depressed.
“Didn’t you feel that way about Brock?” Anna asked.
“Brock was a sweetheart. He always supported my career, but I’m afraid I didn’t give our relationship the time and attention it needed. I don’t blame him for getting tired of waiting around for me to set a wedding date.” Megan knew she wasn’t answering Anna’s question, but she didn’t want to explain why she’d accepted Brock’s marriage proposal even though she knew he wasn’t the one. The truth was, she didn’t want to be alone. Acknowledging that, even to herself, made her feel weak.
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