by Tina Leonard
“Now that would be interesting on wedding invitations,” she said thoughtfully. “Formal wedding reception at Malfunction Junction—”
“See?” he said happily. “Let’s do it.”
He nearly made her smile with his spontaneity. “Nobody leaves one man and accepts another in two days. Particularly not a proposal over a cell phone from a man she doesn’t know that well.”
“Getting to know me is the fun part,” Bandera said. “Help me not end up like Mason. Old and curmudgeonly.”
She laughed. “Mason’s not old and curmudgeonly.”
“He can be a bit ornery,” Mimi said, putting her two cents in.
“You kissed me like you knew me,” Bandera reminded Holly, “and I enjoyed it.”
Holly blushed and was glad he couldn’t see. “That was the wild in me surfacing. I’ve calmed down now.”
“Mimi’s a bad influence,” he griped. “Tell her no more calming. I like you wild. I’m trying to liberate you. In ways you can’t even imagine. You can be my really wild Barbie doll.”
Her eyes went wide. “Is that how you see me? As a Barbie doll?”
Mimi snorted.
“Much more individual, but cute and leggy, yeah,” he said. “Not so much boobs. Definitely more flexible—”
“Bandera, you are living in an era of chauvinism long past.”
“And you find it appealing,” he said. “Tell Mimi to stop the truck so you can slap me.”
“No.” He was so going to seduce her if she wasn’t careful. Her willpower was starting to slip. “Bad boy wants good girl isn’t going to work.”
“Huh. It always works.”
“Not this time.”
He sighed. “All right. Here’s a new role—good girl wants good man. And you should.”
“Bandera!”
“Dang it,” Mimi said. “My truck’s overheating.”
“Oh, no!” Holly looked at the gauge. “Are you sure?”
“I am so sure, hot lady,” Bandera said. “I am not the kind of man who changes his mind.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Holly said hastily. “Mimi’s truck is overheating.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“That’s what I just said!”
“Sorry,” he replied. “I was trying to elaborate my position.”
“And you have. Succinctly. What should we do?”
“About me and you? Or the truck?”
“There is no me and you, because I am not going to be a woman on the rebound. ‘Rebound bride’ has a terrible ring to it.”
“Hmm. You have a point. Although I would never call you that. It’s my personal opinion that the wedding you ran from was only a dress rehearsal for the real, genuine big day in your life. Tell Mimi to pull over, well off the road, on the shoulder.”
Holly hung up and handed the phone back to Mimi. “Bandera says to pull over.”
“It’s amazing how the Jefferson men always end up with everything going their way,” Mimi complained. “My poor old truck.”
Carefully, she slowed down and pulled off the road to park. “At least Nanette wasn’t in the car when this happened. She doesn’t have much interest in being stranded, or sitting still.”
Holly got out of the truck. Bandera had already pulled up behind them. Climbing out, he walked past Holly and gestured for Mimi to pop the hood.
Holly stood beside him, peering at whatever he was looking at. “Does it need water?”
“I don’t know. But steam is not a good sign.”
Puffs of air were escaping from under the radiator cap. Holly frowned. “I don’t think you should touch it.”
“I won’t.” He grinned, rubbing her back. “Guess what? You get to ride with me.”
She tried not to melt. She refused to look into his eyes. She pulled away. “I’ve been thinking,” she said.
“You mean you’ve been talking to Mimi,” he said. “Mimi’s like my sister, and you know how little sisters always talk about their brothers. They’re not the most reliable, objective source of information.”
Holly grabbed her purse from inside Mimi’s truck. “Mimi, can I help you carry anything?”
“No, thank you. I’ve got everything.”
The three of them scooted into the truck, with Mimi making certain she got to the back seat first. That left Holly to sit up front with Bandera, because if she got in the back it would be too obvious a move.
“All I ask is that you don’t touch my radio,” Bandera said in a lordly tone. “We’ll get along just fine.”
“This is Mason’s truck,” Mimi reminded him from the back seat. “Technically, she can touch—”
“This is what I’m talking about, the sisterly thing,” Bandera interrupted. “You see she gives me little to no respect.” He turned around to look at Mimi. “Quiet as a mouse, now.”
Mimi snorted. “Pipe down, brother.”
“There.” Bandera made certain Holly was buckled in securely, then drove off. “Everything’s back to normal.”
“It’s not normal. My truck’s overheated,” Mimi wailed.
“I called Shoeshine Johnson. He’ll head this way to look at it. Unless you want me to call Triple A or something.”
“No.” Mimi sighed. “Shoeshine’s fine. Nobody knows vehicles like him.”
“Shoeshine?” Holly said. “Is that his given name?”
“Yeah, given to him by everybody in town.” Bandera patted her knee. “Do you have a nickname?”
“No!”
He laughed. Mimi did, too. So Holly settled back into the seat, relaxing, because it was kind laughter. Playful. Something she hadn’t had…in nearly a year, she realized. She’d been so busy planning, planning for nothing, with no time for laughter or fun.
She’d gotten too tied up in details that weren’t important, and she’d forgotten about the good things. These people made her happy. She liked them all: Mimi, Bandera, Mason, Jellyfish, Hawk…and she’d only met a few members of the family.
Suddenly, she felt sad. She would probably never meet the rest of the brothers. Or Shoeshine and Helga. All the people Bandera spoke of so easily…They seemed like one big happy family, getting on each other’s nerves but loving each other, too.
“So how is my little niece?” Bandera asked. “I need to come get her for her next pony ride.”
“She’ll like that.”
Holly hadn’t thought of Bandera as being the “uncle” type, but the note of caring in his voice was unmistakable.
“She’s a special little thing,” Bandera told Holly. “Makes a man want to write poetry when she pats your face with those little fingers and says, ‘Pony, Uncle Bandera.’”
Holly smiled at him. “So you do have a gentle side.”
He shook his head. “No. Just for that little one. And Calhoun and Olivia’s kids. Now those two are a piece of work. They can keep you hopping all day if you let them.” A grin crossed his face. “Minnie and Kenny make you wish you had kids of your own.”
Mimi leaned forward, her arms crossed on the seat as she looked at Bandera. “I don’t remember you ever saying that before. You’re beginning to sound like a proud father.”
“Uncle!” he corrected. “I like the uncle role. I can’t really see myself as a father.”
The two women nodded.
“On the other hand,” he said crossly, “I can’t really see myself not being a father.”
Holly laughed. “You don’t know what you want.”
He stared at her. “Yes, I do.”
She turned quickly to look out the window, startled.
Mimi thumped him lightly on the shoulder. “Rein it in a bit, wild man. Put your club away.”
He sighed. “So, Mimi, how’s your dad?”
Bandera’s fingers touched Holly’s side, giving her a little pinch. For some reason, it felt like sort of an apology. An I-didn’t-mean-to-scare-you type of thing. Holly looked at him, wondering why he was so persistent, and why she was beginning to appreciate his
attention so much.
“Well, I have to admit,” Mimi said, “the move to town agrees with him. He’s got my little girl, which surely started him on the road to recovery—a miracle, the doctors said. He’s got Barley, who visits frequently, and widows dropping by with pies.”
“Mmm,” Holly said. “That would make me happy. Especially in the fall. No, even in the summer. Apple pie.”
“You’re making me hungry!” Bandera said. “Hawk and Jellyfish made up a breakfast of twigs and branches this morning, survival stuff. I’m not too sorry to be missing the trip to Alaska.”
“What made you change your mind, Bandera?” Mimi asked in a sisterly, mocking jest.
Holly’s eyes widened. Bandera’s fingers tweaked her forearm lightly, where Mimi couldn’t see.
“I knew Thelma and Louise would probably need my assistance,” he explained. “It seemed like a bad idea, two girls going off in a truck by themselves.”
“Whatever,” Mimi said, laughing.
“We would have been just fine,” Holly declared, joining in.
“Okay,” Bandera said. “Just suppose I buy that lie for now. Be good girls and say that the trip home is much better with a big, strong guy like me.”
Holly and Mimi laughed.
He sighed, pretending to be hurt. “Or not. So, Mimi, what was the errand that brought you all the way out by Hawk’s and Jelly’s, anyway?”
In that second, Holly felt tension return to the truck.
Mimi put her face down on her forearms. “Well, I’ve got this big problem.”
Bandera turned serious, going into protective brother mode. Holly watched his expression go from poking fun to true concern—and the change amazed her.
“Anything I can do?”
Mimi shook her head. “Not really.”
“This has to do with Mason, right? Or were you coming to seek his counsel?”
Mimi’s gaze dropped. “I needed to talk to him.”
“Mimi,” Bandera said. “Everything’s fine with the sheriff, right? And our little girl?”
Holly looked at Mimi, seeing distress in her blue eyes. “Bandera,” Holly said, “I should probably switch seats with Mimi. I could take a nap in the back while you two discuss this.”
“No, it’s fine,” Mimi said quickly. “I’ve got myself in a big mess, and I could probably use an objective opinion from someone who is not Mason’s brother.”
“I may be his brother,” Bandera said, “but I’m also yours. You know that, Mimi.”
“I do,” she said softly. “I’ve just been running and running. Too afraid to slow down. It started when Dad got sick. I was so frightened. I wanted him to be happy. The doctors said he was probably going to die—”
“I personally thought he was at the end of his days on earth,” Bandera said. “It was crazy how quick he got worse.”
“Liver infection,” Mimi told Holly. “And though my dad is strong, and tough, and a fighter, there was awhile there where…”
Holly looked away as she realized Mimi was tearing up. She dug around in her bag, producing the tissues she’d put in there to dry her own tears over her nonwedding. Turned out she hadn’t needed the travel pack, she thought gratefully, handing them over the seat to Mimi with a sidelong glance at Bandera.
Every woman who had a wedding go awry should have a man like Bandera to make her feel like a queen again.
“So,” Mimi said, “I think I went wild, worrying about Dad. I remembered what a mischief maker I’d been as a girl—”
“An understatement,” Bandera agreed. “We all raised hell for the sheriff, but you were definitely the ringleader.”
Holly smiled. “Sort of like those stories about the preacher’s kids.”
“It’s true,” Mimi admitted. “I didn’t have a mother, really, to keep me in check. Dad was gone a lot. I found things to do that kept me—”
“Mimi,” Bandera interrupted. “You can’t blame yourself without blaming us, too. We were right there with you.”
“You seem so upright,” Holly said. “I’m amazed at this story.”
He patted her leg. “You have no idea how much disaster twelve boys and one ringleading girl can wreak upon a small town when left to their own devices. Although I will say,” he mused, “that Mason was kind of a pain in the ass. Always trying to be moral, dragging our butts to church every Sunday. Man, he’s always been a pill.”
Mimi laughed, wiping her eyes. “I shook him loose every once in a while.”
Bandera gazed at her in the rearview mirror. “Thank God for you, Mimi, or we would have all gone mad. At least you could lead him astray occasionally. And you know what? Sometimes the best, most righteous men love a little bit of bad girl.”
Mimi laughed.
“You weren’t really bad, though. It was all just Mimi-fun. And your daddy loved you when you made messes, Mimi. He was proud. You were like a son, only better, because you were so pretty.”
“He had all of y’all to be his sons,” Mimi said. “Bandera, I married Brian to give my father a chance to see me happily married.”
Bandera’s fingers tightened on Holly’s forearm. Her heart beat faster as she realized he was reaching out to her for comfort.
“I know,” he said simply. “We all knew that. Except for Mason, and I think he just never thought about it. Stubborn donkey.”
“You knew?” Mimi asked, surprised.
Bandera nodded. “Yeah. It was so obvious. The sheriff took sick, and you took over. We understood you wanted your daddy to see you with a stable home life, Mimi. Heck, people get married for a thousand different reasons. We liked Brian, even if he was a bit on the fancy side.”
Mimi tried to laugh, but it ended a sobbing hiccup. “He’s a nice man.”
Bandera turned to look at Holly. “Brian still does legal work for the family when we need him. He is a pretty cool guy, except for being fancy, as I say. Never even ridden a horse in his life, I don’t think, has he, Mimi?”
She didn’t answer. Holly turned to look at her. “Mimi? Are you all right? There are some drinks in a cooler in the back, if you need something—”
“Brian and I were never really married, if you know what I mean,” she stated quietly.
Holly turned to look at Bandera, wondering what was actually being said.
But Bandera knew the second she said it. His jaw dropped, and his neck went tight with corded tension as his eyes grew big in his face.
“Oh, heck, Mimi,” he said, “trust you to drop the bombshell of all time.”
Chapter Ten
Bandera couldn’t believe his ears—but his soul knew it was true. Nanette had her mother’s beauty, her wit, her passion for fun—and every ounce of Mason’s stubbornness. Mimi’s spoiled assurance that life was full of cherries to be picked; Mason’s confident knowledge that his choices were the right ones.
“Oh, boy,” Bandera said, “I’ve got myself my own little niece. Not that she was any less of a niece before, but she’s flesh and blood…. Now I’m going to override Mason’s objections and buy her her own pony. She needs to learn show riding. Maybe barrel racing.”
Mimi smiled and looked at Holly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to catch you up in this.”
“Actually, I’m thrilled to be part of it,” she exclaimed, making a fierce pride burst inside Bandera. “I feel as though I witnessed a birth.”
“It is a birth,” Bandera agreed, “’cause Mason’s gonna act like this child sprang from his forehead, as Zeus did with one of his relations.”
Mimi giggled with relief and blew her nose. “Bandera, you can’t believe how many times I’ve wanted to tell Mason. But always in my heart I knew he wasn’t ready to be a father. He wasn’t ready to hear it. Not from me, anyway.”
Bandera sighed. It was, unfortunately, true. Mason had resisted Mimi for so long that they’d all begun to accept it. “You see? You’d fit right in with us,” Bandera told Holly. “We tend to go at everything backward.”
“Not
true,” Mimi said. “We just see things from a different angle.”
Holly smiled. “I’ve enjoyed meeting your extended family. I might not have made it through my unfortunate incident if you hadn’t found me,” she said to Bandera.
“Gratitude is good, isn’t it?” he said with a wink.
“Probably not good enough,” Holly responded spritely.
“Oh, well,” Mimi said from the back seat. “I feel as though you’re my sister, Holly. Both of us with weddings that didn’t go off as we’d planned.”
“Yours was a pretty wedding, though, Mimi,” Bandera said. “You should have seen her, Holly. Your wedding planner heart would have been amazed.”
Holly smiled at Mimi. “I bet you were a beautiful bride.”
“So did Brian know you were, um, expecting when he married you?” Bandera asked.
“Oh. Yes.” Mimi tore some tissue and sat back in the seat. “We had an arrangement. He was Dad’s lawyer, you know, so he knew how to draw things up. Plus he was willing to keep it strictly friendly between us, because all I wanted at that point was a name for my baby, and my father to die happy, thinking I had a family of my own.” She sighed. “Holly, I know this all must sound cold-blooded to you, but truthfully, when I found out my father was dying, I just wasn’t myself.”
“So…I mean, I know this question may be indelicate, but…” Bandera hesitated. “It’s just that I don’t recall you and Mason having any type of…you know. Relationship.”
“We didn’t. We haven’t. One night does not a relationship make,” Mimi said.
“Ohh,” Bandera said. That was true. He’d had one night in Holly’s presence, and they didn’t have a damn thing to go on, except for the overwhelming feeling that he should be making love to her.
“I was really, really upset one night when Dad was in the hospital,” Mimi said, “and Mason—”
“That’s good. That’s all I need,” Bandera interrupted, feeling the back of his neck go red. “I wonder if I should kick some sense into my big brother.”
“Why?” Holly asked. “He didn’t know. He doesn’t even suspect. It’s no fun to be the unsuspecting party, I can tell you.”
“So what do you suggest?” Bandera asked. “As Mimi says, she’s in a bit of a mess. Which, if I may say, you’ve handled admirably. I wish I’d been more helpful, but truthfully, for the longest time none of us could figure out what the deal was between you and Brian. We knew something wasn’t all it should be, but Mason was always acting like he had a sore tooth, and then Last had his problems with Valentine, and frankly, we just tried to stay out of your business.”