Mara McBain

by McCade's Way

  “What did you just say to me?” Adrienne hissed, her eyes narrowing to emerald slits as she leaned forward.

  “You’ve got a bad case of selective hearing, honey.”

  “I’m not your honey.”

  “Nope, but you’d be damn lucky if you were. We McCade men take damn good care of what’s ours.”

  “You have a pretty high opinion of yourself.”

  “Then I guess we have something in common.”

  “Just because I think you’re nice to look at doesn’t mean I have a high opinion of you.”

  “I’m flattered you think I’m handsome, honey, but I was referring to your healthy sense of self-worth,” Cole said with a little smirk. He caught Adrienne’s wrist just before her hand connected with his cheek. He smiled. “My brother was married to a city girl. I’ve seen that move. Don’t try it again.”

  “Or what?” Adrienne asked, tense with anger.

  Cole yanked her close by the captured wrist. His voice dropped to a growl. “Try me and find out.”

  He stiffened as she leaned forward, her lips slowly gliding over his. A little voice in the back of his head warned him to back away, but the man in him rose to the challenge and hauled her closer. He deepened the kiss, drinking in the sweetness of her lips like he was starving. She tugged her wrist free and wrapped both arms around his neck. Her body pressed awkwardly against his as she half knelt on the sofa, and he instinctually shifted to protect his sensitive parts. She giggled against his lips.

  “Scared, stud?”

  “Not stupid is more like it,” he mumbled, pulling her lips back to his.

  “I won’t hurt you. That feels too good,” she whispered.

  Cole swung her around to sit in his lap. She squirmed suggestively.

  “I see why you’re so cautious.”

  He felt the heat flood his face and she laughed.

  “Don’t be shy, handsome. It feels like you have plenty to be proud of,” she said, plowing her fingers into his blond hair. She pushed him against the back of the couch, snatching the control back from him.

  They both jumped as a loud crash echoed through the living room. Gen stood frozen, eyes wide, the silver coffee service scattered at her feet. Her hand shook violently as she pulled it away from her mouth and dropped to a squat to fumble with the mess. Trey charged from the office, concern clear on his face. He barely spared them a glance, but even in that brief second Cole saw the disgust.

  “Are you okay, darlin'?”

  “Yes. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened,” Gen whispered. “I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up and make you some more coffee.”

  Cole set Adrienne from his lap as Genevieve fled to the kitchen to get something to clean it up.

  “What the hell is wrong with you two?” Trey growled. “You have your own house or use the hay loft, but not my couch.”

  Cole opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say. Glancing at Adrienne didn’t help. Suppressed laughter danced in her beautiful eyes, and she was struggling to keep her generous lips from curving in a smug grin. He winced as his sister-in-law returned, still apologizing to her glowering husband. Trey snatched a towel from her and dropped to a crouch to wipe the hot coffee from the polished hardwood.

  “I’ll, um, get some more coffee going,” Adrienne said smoothly and disappeared.

  “I’m sorry, little sister,” Cole choked out.

  Gen waved him off, graciously accepting fault for the entire incident as she continued to beg Trey’s pardon and mopped at the spill.

  “It’s fine!” Trey said sharply. “The important thing is you weren’t scalded. Seeing my moronic brother and your friend making out on the couch like two teenagers in a hayloft would be enough to startle anyone.”

  Cole’s face heated at the accusatory glare Trey leveled on him. He glanced uncertainly toward the kitchen. What the hell had that been? One moment that’d been ripping each other apart, and the next he’d been ready to tear her clothes off. How much of that had been real and how much an act by the pretty city girl? Did he dare trust her with his tender anatomy, let alone risk his heart? As much as he hated to admit the possibility Trey was right, stranger things had happened. He needed to get some air.

  Gen slipped into the office, the tray with the coffee service clutched carefully in her hands. Trey leaned back in his chair with a roll of his powerful shoulders.

  “It would’ve been easier to just tell me to walk my ass out to the kitchen and refill my mug,” he said with a little smile.

  His wife blushed cutely and shook her head as she fussed with filling the mentioned mug and returned it to its spot with the handle facing his hand.

  “You saying that wouldn’t have been easier, or you’re just not going to say that?” he asked, amused by her attention to detail.

  “Easier for me possibly, but not you, and no, I can’t see myself ever saying that,” she answered, her smile shy.

  “Come here and tell me why,” he said, pushing his chair back a bit and patting his leg. She shot him a look like he was crazy, and he laughed out loud. “Come here. I won’t bite.”

  Coming around the desk, she perched carefully on his thigh. He shook his head and pulled her more firmly into his lap. She squirmed at his expectant silence. More color tinged her cheeks.

  “I enjoy taking care of you,” she said softly. “It’s the least I can do with everything that you give me.”

  “You take wonderful care of me, darlin', but I am a big boy. My mama didn’t raise us boys to expect to be waited on hand and foot or to need a lot of fuss. If you’d really wanted to refill my cup, you could’ve just came and got it.”

  “And miss out on the muffins?” she asked, motioning to the baked goods on the tray.

  He couldn’t hold back another chuckle. Stroking a strand of hair that had escaped the twist at the back of her head, he searched for the right words to reassure her. Finally, he shrugged and went with simple.

  “If you like taking care of me, I appreciate it. If you’re doing it because you think I expect, it or that I will kick your ass if my coffee cup is empty, don’t.”

  The clock on the mantle was the only noise in the room as she seemed to mull over the statement. A couple of minutes ticked away before she spoke again. “Your mama sounds like a strong woman,” she said softly.

  The turn in the conversation threw him for a moment, but then he nodded. “She was.”

  “I loved my mom, but she was weak, like Rose,” she said, staring into the fire he’d started earlier.

  “She didn’t protect you,” he said flatly. It wasn’t a question, but she still shook her head. Her next words made him smile in pride.

  “I’ll protect mine.”

  “We’ll protect them together, darlin', and raise them up strong,” he said turning her face to his. “But if you ever feel like I’m threatening your babies, I damn well expect you to get all shades of nasty on my ass.”

  Gen laughed. The sound was beautiful. Trey closed his eyes as her arms went around his neck.

  “I love your drawl, and if you thought I was protective of Lilly, wait until it’s ours,” she said, nuzzling the side of his neck.

  “I’m counting on it, darlin'.”

  She let out a startled squeak as he stood with her in his arms. The coffee service teetered perilously on the edge of the desk as he made room for her.

  “How about we get busy making those babies you’re going to be so damn protective of,” he said with a wink.

  Rubbing the calf’s ears, Cole enjoyed the quiet warmth of the barn. If he’d been smart, he’d have come out here to begin with. Now he’d upset Gen and pissed off Trey, not to mention whatever he’d done with Adrienne. He sighed. Damn she’d tasted good. She looked good, tasted good, felt good, and smelled good. He groaned. He had it bad. He shook his head. He couldn’t keep looking for a woman that would get along with Trey. Cole chuckled. There was a good possibility that woman didn’t exist. Besides, they wouldn’t exactly live
in the same house, and now there was Gen as a buffer.

  The door slammed and he stood from his seat in the straw. Adrienne shivered in her fancy fur coat. Her hands trembled as she tried to light her cigarette.

  “You shouldn’t smoke in here.”

  Her head jerked up at his voice. A hand fluttered against her chest, and she gave a little laugh.

  “You startled me. I was just looking for someplace out of the wind.”

  “It’s not real safe to smoke in the barn with all the straw and hay. The place will go up like a match.”

  “I’ll be careful, and you’re right here to take care of me, cowboy,” she said with a seductive smile.

  Cole shook his head, watching the glow of the cigarette bathe her perfect features. She was stunning, and she knew it. She was used to wrapping men around her finger. It was funny how women had different ways of getting what they wanted, but they all did. Catherine had just spent money without asking or worry of consequence. Gen spoiled Trey until any tiny thing that she wanted seemed insignificant. He’d bet Adrienne dazzled with her beauty and wit until men were begging to do or buy things for her. Cole frowned. He didn’t have the kind of money this Clark from New York City boasted. Were the material things what mattered to Adri? Surely she was used to them, and what woman didn’t love them, but were they what was important?

  “Do you miss New York?”

  Adrienne’s bright eyes narrowed to slits, and she blew a lungful of smoke toward the rafters as she seemed to consider the question.

  “A little, in that I feel a little more sure of the role I play there. I feel a bit like a fish out of water here. On the other hand, Gen is here, and it is so quiet and clean with this laid back ease that you would never find in the city.”

  “Do you ever just stop acting and be the real Adrienne?”

  “I don’t think I know who she is anymore,” she said with a little laugh.

  “Maybe it’s time you try to find her again,” he said slowly. “Don’t take this wrong. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Your situation at the moment ain’t a whole lot different than Gen’s. You’re on your own. You don’t have a place to go back to. It might be a good time to think about what you really want.”

  Adrienne’s chin came up in pride and, for a moment, Cole thought she was going to let him have it, but she bit her lip.

  “Gen and I are two very different people. Her options aren’t open to someone like me,” she said carefully.

  “That’s bullshit.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said that’s bullshit,” Cole said with a shake of his head. “If you want to say that you don’t have the guts to do what Gen did, that’s one thing, but don’t say it’s not an option. You’re a stunningly beautiful woman. There are plenty of men that would marry you in a heartbeat.”

  She shook her head, her smile sad. He wanted to pull her into his arms and erase that sadness. Her words were simple, but heartfelt. It was obvious she believed every word.

  “Not with my past, Mr. McCade. Plenty of men are willing to slip between the sheets before marriage, and say whatever they need to in order to get there, but no one marries that girl."

  “I would if I knew I could be what you want,” he said firmly.

  Her mouth hung agape for a moment, and then she stiffened as if he’d slapped her. Stepping back, she gave a sharp bark of laughter.

  “I know you didn’t care for my questioning the type of man your brother is, but that was cold, Mr. McCade,” she said, anger staining her fine features a furious hue. She backed away from him, her slender body shaking with the force of her emotions. She spun when her back hit wood and fled the barn leaving the door swinging in the wind.

  Cole closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. That had gone well. His brother was going to love this one.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The tension in the truck was stifling. Shifting carefully against her husband’s side, Gen cradled the pie that she’d made for the church dinner. A roasting pan nestled in a thick towel on the floorboards between Cole’s feet held a large ham. He stared straight out the passenger window. Adrienne sat ramrod stiff, smashed between him and Gen. Trey eased his arm up and laid it across the back of the seat, allowing Gen to ease a little closer. She peeked up at him and he shook his head, his eyes flickering to the other two.

  Adrienne had come back in from having a cigarette the afternoon before, upset and red-eyed. She’d refused to discuss what had upset her, instead muttering a litany of curses aimed at men under her breath that made Gen blush just thinking about it. Trey had fared little better with Cole. The younger McCade had been unusually somber. She gave a sigh of relief when Trey parked in front of the church and gratefully accepted his help from the truck.

  “They’ll work it out,” he drawled in her ear, cuddling her in the lee of the door. “Don’t let it ruin your day, darlin'.”

  “Thank you. I needed that,” she whispered back with a smile.

  He gave her a wink and wrapped his arm around her as he led her into the church. A handful of teenagers had been tasked with whisking the food off to the fellowship hall, freeing the adults up to socialize before the service. Several women greeted her as they were hanging up their coats, and Gen pulled Adrienne from her sulk to introduce her around. It seemed a good number of the men were interested in meeting her as well, but Gen politely avoided eye contact and allowed Trey to steer her and Adri through to the sanctuary.

  She gave Adri’s fingers a squeeze as they slid into their pew. Her friend’s polite mask thawed a bit and she offered a reassuring smile.

  “I’m fine. No need to fuss.”

  Gen’s answer died in her throat as an awkward young man plopped down beside Adrienne. The lanky youth leaned close, his expression eager. Just as he opened his mouth Trey’s baritone boomed in the room’s babble,

  “Ladies,” he said, motioning decisively for them to slide past him in the pew, effectively bookending them between him and the wall.

  Adrienne shot her would be suitor a gentle look of regret, but pulled a horrified expression at Gen once they were safely reseated on the other side of Trey. The kid tried to lean around the big man, but Trey’s glower convinced him of the wisdom of retreat.

  Adrienne smothered a giggle. “My hero,” she whispered teasingly, patting Trey’s arm.

  Trey rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched in amusement as they rose for the first hymn.

  Assuring she had table service for the four in their group, Genevieve turned to scan the hall for her missing brother-in-law. Cole hadn’t joined them in their pew for services. She’d tried to discreetly locate him during the sermon, but a stern look from her husband had returned her gaze front and center like a naughty school girl. She grinned as he met her eye then, as if reading her mind. She smothered a laugh as he started toward her, deserting his conversation mate in mid-sentence. The man looked after Trey with his mouth hanging open, but her husband’s eyes were locked on her.

  Warmth flooded her cheeks. She couldn’t begin to describe the feelings he could elicit in her with just a look. Adri obviously noticed. Her friend nudged her with a naughty giggle.

  “Cole’s right. You look at him like he’s ten foot tall and bullet proof.”

  “He’s everything I never dared dream of and more, Adri. I love him,” she whispered, still watching him work his way through the crowd.

  “I’m happy for you, sister. I couldn’t ask for more for you,” Adrienne said giving her a hug.

  Trey’s step faltered. He blinked. Pain twisted his handsome features. Gen’s heart skipped a beat and she pulled away from the embrace, already pushing through the crowd. Her husband’s head shook back and forth. Color drained from his face and, for a moment, Gen thought his knees were going to buckle. Then, like the flip of a switch, all the softness fled the big man. His eyes narrowed in an arctic glare, and his white teeth clenched in a snarl. He looked down at someone she couldn’t see, and she prayed that he nev
er looked at her like that.

  She’d almost reached him when she spotted Cole coming from the other direction. His gaze was riveted on his brother and concern stamped his chiseled face. Gen froze at her first glimpse of Trey’s adversary. The diminutive blonde was so perfect she was a living doll. She gazed up at Trey with a look Gen could only describe as hungry and possessive. There was no doubt in her mind this was Catherine.

  A circle was forming around the two as people watched and waited in sick fascination to see what was going to happen. Gen swallowed hard, fighting to draw a breath into her starved lungs. Her stomach twisted. Forcing one foot in front of the other, she slipped through to the inner circle and instantly wished she hadn’t. Perched on Catherine’s hip was a tiny replica of her, right down to blue silk dress that highlighted their bright eyes.

  Breakfast threatened to rebel. Gen swallowed hard and tried to blend back into the crowd, but Adri stopped her.

  “Don’t you dare run,” she hissed. “Get over there and fight for your man. You love him, and I promise you that he loves you.”

  Gen stumbled forward with the little shove her best friend delivered. Straightening her shoulders, she walked to Trey’s side, drawing a gasp from those watching. His gaze flickered to her and for a moment she thought she’d made a mistake, but his arm encircled her waist, drawing her against him. Catherine’s eyes narrowed at the reception. Gen could feel her calculating stare and knew the second that she’d been judged lacking and dismissed.

  Grinding her teeth, she turned into Trey’s side slightly, laying her hand across the flat expanse of his stomach. Adri was right. She was not going down without a fight.

  “They’re uncovering the last of the food. The pastor’s going to offer grace and then it will be time to eat,” she said softly.

  Trey’s eyes dropped back to hers and, this time, the corner of his mouth tipped up in that crooked grin she loved so much.

  “Thank you, darlin',” he said softly and turned her toward the table she’d chosen for them.

  “We have a lot to talk about, Trey,” Catherine said, bouncing the little one lightly on her hip.