by Stacy Finz
They took their places—Gabe alongside Nick and Raylene next to Gia—and she let her gaze drop to her boots before she saw disapproval in anyone else’s eyes. Without Gabe as her wingman, she felt exposed. But when the whole room rose to watch Annie’s father give away the bride, Raylene lifted her head and audibly sighed. Annie looked like an angel. Radiant, and so in love it made Raylene tear up with emotion.
From the side, she caught Gabe watching her and wondered how anyone could take their eyes off Annie. Raylene, who’d never been the weepy type, wished she’d brought tissues, because she cried throughout the entire ceremony.
After Logan kissed the bride, Raylene and Gabe followed the recessional to the hotel lobby where they were supposed to pose for pictures. But the bride and groom kept getting delayed by well-wishers.
“That was nice,” Gabe said in that nonchalant way guys talked when something momentous happened.
“It was better than nice.” Raylene jabbed him in the arm.
“I didn’t take you for the sentimental type.”
“That’s because I’m not.” She grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the servers, almost forgetting that she no longer drank. It would’ve been awkward to return it, so she held the flute, praying that the mere smell of the bubbly wouldn’t seduce her.
By the time they got to the farm stand, which had been transformed into a gorgeous dance hall complete with twinkle lights, ruffled tablecloths, floral arrangements of dahlias, eucalyptus, peonies, sweet peas, and a Western swing band, Raylene craved something stronger than sparkling wine. She used to be a vodka girl, but tonight called for whiskey. Hell, Everclear might not even do the trick. Twice she’d overheard someone calling her a bitch, which wasn’t as bad as being snubbed by Wyatt Lambert, who used to worship her in high school. Gabe had taken off to parts unknown, leaving her alone to face an angry mob. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but she could feel the hostility emanating in the air.
Please, God, just let me get through tonight. Then I’ll be on my merry way, hopefully with pockets full of gold.
Even though it was twenty degrees outside, she wanted air and made her way through the crowd, looking for the back door. There had to be one. Every farm stand had a back door, right? As she jostled her way through the crowd, she searched for Gabe. Given that he was at least two heads taller than the average human, he shouldn’t be hard to find. But there was no sign of him. Maybe he’d run off with one of the caterers. The thought made her stomach pitch, which she immediately blamed on the shrimp.
Today, he’d been her hero, rescuing Gunner from TAB, who would probably sell the gelding to a glue factory just to spite her. Watching Gabe work the phone and call in favors had been impressive. And it had saved her bacon. Her horse was everything to her. She didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Butch acted on his threat. Of course, Gabe had done it for Logan, to save her brother from having to bail her out of trouble—yet again. But that didn’t make her any less grateful. He’d gone above and beyond. Now all she had to do was figure out how to pay him back. The horse trailer alone would cost a big chunk of change, not to mention gas for the driver. And once he got Gunner to Nugget, she’d have to find a place to keep him. Not a lot of options there, considering her popularity in this town.
She’d worry about it tomorrow. Tonight was about Logan and Annie. Boy, the expression on their faces when they’d seen the ranch gate and sign had been priceless. Pure delight. A rush of joy had filled her as they oohed and aahed over the surprise. “Oh, Raylene, this is perfect, absolutely perfect,” Annie had gushed, her eyes watery. In her whole life, Raylene couldn’t remember ever giving anyone a gift she’d put this much thought or care into. But the ranch gate represented home to her, and she wanted Logan and Annie to have the happiest of homes.
That was her last thought as she slammed into the broad back of one of the guests. He sloshed red wine all over the woman standing next to him. When they turned around, her heart sank. Lucky and Tawny.
“I’m so sorry.” She frantically looked around for a napkin or anything to mop up the mess. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“You did it on purpose.” Cecilia rushed to Tawny’s side, and even with the din of the crowded room people heard her and their heads began to turn. A server brought towels, and Cecilia used them to pat Tawny’s dress dry.
“No, I didn’t, I swear.” She’d been so busy scanning the room for Gabe that she hadn’t been paying attention. “It was an accident.”
“Of course you did.” Cecilia’s face twisted with anger and she said something in Spanish Raylene couldn’t understand. But it wasn’t good. “In a room packed with people, you just happen to bump into Tawny? You expect us to believe that wasn’t intentional?”
“Mom.” Lucky held his hand up. “Not here, not now.”
“I’ll pay for the dress to be professionally cleaned,” Raylene said. Everyone was staring to see what the commotion was, and Raylene wanted to die. She wanted to fade into the woodwork and disappear. But she wouldn’t cower—the Rosser in her wouldn’t let her. She put steel to her spine and, with as much grace as she could muster under the circumstances, said, “Please, just send me the bill.”
“You’re damned right you’ll pay. And if the stains don’t come out, you’ll buy her a new dress. You’re the same old Raylene. Desgraciada.”
“Mom, enough.” Lucky got between them.
At only a few inches taller than Raylene, he was still an imposing man. Despite his jaw-dropping good looks, she didn’t feel her old attraction for him, only a hint of nostalgia. And a deep remorse for the things she’d done and the pain she’d caused.
Raylene’s eyes met Tawny’s, and suddenly they were back in high school. Raylene the mean girl and Tawny, awkward, skinny Thelma Wade.
“I am truly sorry,” Raylene said, and there was a world of meaning in those words. Because she was sorry for all of it.
Gabe pushed through the crowd, and she didn’t know whether to feel relief or doubly embarrassed that he might’ve witnessed the scene. At the very least, someone had alerted him to it and told him to run interference and clean up Raylene’s mess.
Just don’t turn Logan and Annie’s wedding into your personal drama. His words rang in her ears.
And here she was, on stage, being bitch slapped by Cecilia, the woman who’d practically raised Raylene, for the whole town to see. Raylene’s stomach pitched.
“We all good here?” Gabe directed the question at Lucky, the context clear: Make this go away, now!
That was the thing about Gabe, he was commanding in the most charming of ways. But Cecilia had never been one to be bulldozed, by a charmer or anyone else. She got up in his face as much as a woman half his size could.
“She owes Tawny a dress.”
Gabe draped his arm around Cecilia’s shoulders. “I’ll make sure that happens. You have my word.”
“I trust your word, Gabe, not hers. And she’s the one at fault here.”
Cecilia’s husband joined the fray and Raylene’s heart sunk lower. Jake Stryker was the cop she’d mouthed off to a few years ago at the Gas and Go when she’d been back in town—drunk and belligerent.
Do you know who I am? Yep, she’d actually said that. Embarrassment from the memory burned her cheeks.
“Let’s take it down a notch.” Jake herded them into a corner, where they’d be out of earshot of the rest of the guests, and pierced Raylene with a stern look. “No need to disrupt Logan and Annie’s wedding reception.”
Gabe stepped in front of her. “The wine was an accident, Jake. The space is tight, and I’m sure Raylene isn’t the only person to have bumped into someone. She’ll take care of Tawny’s dress first thing tomorrow. Now can we all get back to having a good time?”
Cecilia started to say something but Jake stopped her. “That’s an excellent idea.” He put h
is hand at the small of his wife’s back and directed her toward the buffet table, leaving the four of them alone.
Lucky draped his jacket over Tawny’s shoulders, doing his best to cover the red splatters on her emerald green dress. The dress matched her eyes to a tee and not for the first time, Raylene noted how much Tawny had changed. No longer a gangly outcast, she was as gorgeous as the boots she made. Sophisticated and sparkly enough for everyone in the room to take notice, but not so glittery to be garish.
Tawny linked her arm through Lucky’s and they started to walk away. Then Lucky turned back to Raylene, and through gritted teeth said, “Don’t bother with my wife’s dress, just do us all a favor and leave Nugget. The sooner the better, before you poison us all.”
It was no less than she deserved, yet the words caught her off guard and she could feel her body tremble. She searched for a door, any door, the impulse to run so urgent she’d go through a window if she had to.
Sensing her desperation, Gabe gently reached for her arm.
“I need some air.” Either that or a drink. Or two or three. The temptation was so strong it came over her in waves. Just one sip, she told herself, anticipating the warmth that would spread through her chest and stomach. How just one swallow would melt the tenseness away and then, sweet release.
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, stay. Logan might need you for something.” Nick was the best man, but Gabe was Logan’s right hand.
“Nah, I’ll come.” He started to lead her away.
“You afraid I’ll make another scene?” All she wanted to do was flee the party and be by herself. It was one thing to know the people she grew up with despised her. But it was entirely different to feel that hatred emanate from their every pore. Even now, she could see them pointing at her, talking behind their hands, telling their friends she was garbage.
“Yeah, I am.” He pulled her away from the crowd and pushed her inside a dark alcove. “Don’t expect me to believe that was just a shitty coincidence. Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world… One night, just one fucking night, and you can’t go without being the center of attention. Haven’t you done enough to Lucky and his family? At least have the decency to show your brother a little respect… Give us all a break.”
“Okay, I will.” She turned and nearly tripped over her own two feet in her rush to get away.
Gabe was right behind her. “Don’t do this. Pretty soon it’ll be time for the toasts and Logan will be looking for you.”
She spun around. “You shouldn’t have left me alone.” It was a ridiculous thing to say, not to mention pathetic. As if it was his responsibility to keep her from walking into people, but she couldn’t help herself. Just like everyone else, he thought the worst of her. “If I hadn’t been searching the room for you, I would’ve seen where I was going.”
He lifted one sardonic brow. “Missed me that much, huh?”
Her eyes were starting to well and she was a hair away from losing it. “Is everything a joke to you?”
He maneuvered her out of the way so a waiter carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres could get by. She brushed by him and found refuge in the stock room, which the caterers had been using as a staging area. It was empty, and she took advantage of the quiet to catch her breath. She found a napkin and blew her nose, dabbed at her eyes, and tried to gather her courage to go out again.
Tawny, Cecilia, Lucky, the whole town could hate her all they wanted, but she wouldn’t let them run her off. Not on her brother’s wedding night. She remembered all the times she’d been kicked at or thrown by a horse. Yet she’d always gotten right back in the saddle. She’d survived Ray and Butch and AA. Ninety days sober. She could make it a few more hours.
Raylene searched through her clutch for a mirror and lipstick. There was nothing she could do about the town’s hostility toward her. What was done was done. But she could at least put on a good face.
Gabe walked in.
“Will you leave me alone.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, and shoved her cosmetics back inside her purse. “Tonight, I’m your handler, and it’s time for the toasts.”
“I don’t need you to handle me.” She tried to squeeze by him. Ordinarily, she liked brushing against his big, hard body, but he’d hurt her by believing the worst. Maybe they hadn’t known each other long, but she’d been fooled into thinking that he got her. “Move.”
The big lug finally stepped aside, but just as she started to leave, he grabbed her arm and forced her chin up. “Please play nice.”
“Please unhand me.” She jerked her arm away and walked out of the stock room on her own.
Chapter 11
Gabe spent the rest of the night watching Raylene from a safe distance. He didn’t know what to make of her run-in with the Rodriguezes. Her reaction to seeing Lucky and Tawny on those two occasions at the Ponderosa didn’t jibe with someone who would intentionally look for a confrontation, especially at her brother’s wedding.
The one sure thing he could say about Raylene was that she cared for Logan and Annie and wouldn’t deliberately try to mess up their party. He propped his hip against the wall and observed her talking to Harper Matthews, Emily’s little girl. They were over by the dessert table, eating wedding cake. Gabe was too far away to hear what they were saying but it looked animated. Raylene smiled at something the kid said and her whole face lit up. Even from the wall, he could see those baby blues of hers sparkle like the Pacific Ocean. Despite her reputation as a viper, she was a knockout. This morning, as she’d snooped through his bedroom, he’d been sorely tempted to go for another kiss. And when her sweater and jacket kept hiking up as they hung the ranch gate together, he’d had a powerful urge to touch all that creamy skin.
Soon, she’d be leaving. Until then, he better check those urges. Tomorrow, they’d hunt for her stupid gold, and when they came up empty she’d see the search for what it was: an exercise in futility. It’s not like she needed the money. Her father had left her a pile of cash, and Gabe assumed Colorado was a community property state and she’d gotten her share in the divorce. In any event, he’d go along with the treasure hunt but wouldn’t feel too bad when her gold didn’t pan out. Then he’d find a place to tuck her horse and she’d be on her way out of here. The town would likely throw a ticker-tape parade when she was gone.
Jake joined him on the wall with a drink in his hand and flicked his gaze at Raylene. “She’s a real piece of work.”
Gabe simply shrugged, because his allegiance was to Logan and that was his sister Jake was talking about. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think she deliberately did it. I’ll admit, I did at first, but on closer examination not so much anymore.”
Jake leaned his head back and laughed. “She’s bewitched you, too, huh?”
If Gabe hadn’t respected the hell out of Jake, he would’ve told him to take a swan dive off the Golden Gate Bridge. But Gabe was man enough to know when he’d heard the truth, and the truth was Raylene had bewitched him. Not to the point where he was blind to her faults, just enough to occasionally close his eyes to them.
“It’s happened to the best of us, buddy.” Jake slapped him on the back. “I’m a career homicide detective and have heard every lie under the sun. Yet a beautiful woman still has the power to make me question my instincts. Take some advice from a man who’s been married four times.” He nudged his head at Raylene. “That woman is toxic. She’ll burn a hole through your heart faster than a cigarette lighter.” With that, he pushed off the wall and headed for the bar for a refill.
Gabe waved across the room to one of Annie’s friends and went back to watching Raylene. She was still talking to Harper, which was interesting. Raylene didn’t strike him as the maternal type. Then again, the kid was probably the only person in the place who would give Raylene the time of day. Still, she seemed pretty invested in whatever they were talking about
, nodding her head and gesturing with her hands and giving Harper, who even from a distance appeared to be talking a mile a minute, her full attention.
Gabe thought about joining them, but they had a good thing going and he didn’t want to interrupt. Besides, Raylene had made it crystal clear she was pissed at him. He couldn’t exactly blame her. He’d rushed to judgment. But, like his mom liked to say, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” And her collision with Lucky certainly had looked like a duck to him.
He took a visual lap around the room. The party was winding down, and there was no sign of Lucky and Tawny. He suspected they’d left shortly after the incident. Out of his side vision, he saw Clay approach Raylene and Harper. Gabe’s ability to read body language was above average, saving his ass in the field more times than he wanted to remember, and Clay’s was sending off all kinds of warning signals.
His assessment was proven correct when a few seconds later Clay grabbed Harper’s hand and led her away, leaving Raylene standing alone. Apparently, he didn’t want his kid picking up any bad habits from the wicked witch of Nugget, even if their only crime was eating cake and laughing. It wasn’t as if Raylene was teaching Harper how to build a nuclear bomb. Cold, man. Gabe thought Clay was cold.
The bride and groom were getting ready to leave, and the wedding party was supposed to hand out sparklers and little bags of rice. The sparklers had been Sam’s idea but Annie’s family grew rice, so no way were they cutting that particular tradition out of the wedding, even if it was allegedly dated. For the last three months, Gabe had gotten a blow by blow of every detail from Logan, who’d been drowning in wedding planning hell and wanted to share his pain.
Gabe deliberated on whether to act as Raylene’s escort for Logan and Annie’s grand exit or to leave her alone. He’d all but decided to give her space when his protective side won out and he circled around to get her. She was finishing her cake.