Though the dressing part did push Cassie’s buttons. Again, old baggage, because it reminded her of her trashy-dressing mother.
“Agreed,” Lucky said right away. “But stating the obvious here, I don’t know squat about kids. Much less ones who might or might not be suicidal.”
Cassie knew more about the suicidal part than she wanted to admit. “If you have another option about where to take them, I’m listening.”
Lucky had no doubt already gone through the options, and it wouldn’t have taken him that long. Because other options didn’t exist. With no next of kin, that left foster care, and while it could be a good thing for some kids, it could spell disaster for someone like Mackenzie, especially if she got placed in a separate home from her sister. Worse, once Cassie signed over the temporary custody, she wouldn’t even have any legal right to check on the girls and make sure they were in good homes.
The muscles in Lucky’s jaw started stirring. “And you really think it’ll only be a day or two at most?”
“I sure hope so. You’re not the only one who’d rather not be here.”
His eyes met hers, and she halfway expected him to ask if he was part of the reason she didn’t want to be there.
He was.
Lucky had a way of stirring things inside her that shouldn’t be stirred. Along with heating parts of her that should remain at room temperature. She had enough bears chasing her without adding Lucky McCord to the furry mix. But adding him was something she was apparently going to have to do.
At least for this guardianship facet of her life anyway. No heating or stirring allowed.
“With the Bluebonnet Inn booked, I don’t have a place to stay,” Cassie added. “And I need some office space. I have a client I have to see. It can’t wait, and she’ll be flying in to San Antonio in the morning. I can have her come to the house, or I can leave you with the girls while I go to San Antonio and meet—”
“You’re not leaving me with the girls. Especially when one might be suicidal. You can have your meeting at the house. There are two offices. My brother Riley’s been using one, but the other one should be free.”
“Thanks.” Of course, office space was really only a minor part of this. “You’ll need to keep the girls away from this particular client.”
That put some concern on his face. “What kind of client is this?”
“The worst kind. A person who’s a celebrity only because she’s a celebrity.”
Lucky really didn’t show any interest in this client anyway, but he probably would when she arrived tomorrow.
“Other than being with this client, you’re not to let Mackenzie out of your sight. Agreed?” Lucky pressed.
“Agreed. Well, except that I’d like to go back over to the funeral home and say a proper goodbye to my grandmother.”
Certainly, he couldn’t deny her that. Even though he looked as if he would do anything to avoid being alone with the girls.
“All right,” he finally said.
“I also left my rental car there,” she added. “My suitcase is in it.”
“I can have one of the ranch hands pick it up if you need it before you can make it back over to the funeral home.”
So, they had worked out the immediate details, but maybe this pact wouldn’t have to last long. And there were some things she could do to make sure it didn’t. Like hiring some private detectives to speed up the hunt for the girls’ next of kin.
“I’ll call ahead to the housekeepers and tell them to get a couple of guest rooms ready. I’ll also need to get another vehicle since my truck won’t hold all four of us. And I need to cancel out of the rodeo I’m supposed to be leaving for in the morning.” He reached for his phone but stopped when they heard the voice.
“Uh, we got a problem,” Bernie called out.
“What now?” Lucky grumbled, and he hurried toward the reception area with Cassie right behind him.
Bernie wasn’t in the hall where they’d left him. He was at the front door of his office, and he had a thunderstruck look on his face.
“The girls are gone,” he said.
* * *
“HURRY UP,” Mackenzie told her sister.
But Mia didn’t listen. She was poking along, looking back over her shoulder at the lawyer’s office. “Lucky was nice,” Mia insisted.
Sometimes, her sister could be so dumb. “It’s an act,” Mackenzie said. “He’s only being nice because he has to be, because he wants to get money or something.”
“How’d he get money or something?” Mia asked instead of hurrying.
Mackenzie ignored her. It wouldn’t be long now before the lawyer looked out and spotted them. Well, it wouldn’t be long if he ever managed to finish that text he’d been pecking out on his phone. Sheez. Old people and their fat, slow fingers!
“How’d Lucky get money or something?” Mia repeated, and since she probably wouldn’t shut up—or hurry—until she got an answer, Mackenzie ducked into an alley with her so they’d be off the sidewalk.
“Dixie Mae had money, stupid. Lucky and the lady doctor will probably get it if they have us. People leave that sort of stuff in wills.”
She nearly said shit instead of stuff, but Dixie Mae had said it wasn’t a good idea to cuss in front of little kids, that it could make them get into trouble. Dixie Mae had said that it happened to her. Since Mia was a little kid, Mackenzie had tried to cut back just in case Dixie Mae was right.
“I’m not stupid,” Mia protested.
Great. Now she was about to bawl again. “I didn’t mean it. Just quit asking so many questions and keep walking. Your feet don’t move fast when you keep saying things.”
“Where we going?” Mia asked less than two seconds later.
“Away from here. We’re not staying where we’re not wanted.”
Of course, they hadn’t been wanted in a long time, not since their grandmother had gone to heaven—and Mackenzie was sure that’s where she’d gone. Maybe Dixie Mae had, too, but maybe it was a different part of heaven from where Granny Maggie had gone because Dixie Mae probably wouldn’t like living with angels, nice people and shit. Plus, she wouldn’t be able to smoke up there and cuss.
Mackenzie led Mia to the other end of the alley and was about to cross the street when she spotted the Spring Hill Police Department. She definitely didn’t want to go in that direction, and if the lawyer had finally finished that text, he might have noticed they were missing. He could have already called the cops.
Or maybe he wouldn’t call anybody at all.
Those three beep-heads—that wasn’t the name Mackenzie really wanted to call them, but she was trying to think with less cussing, too—anyway, maybe the three would be glad Mia and she were gone so they wouldn’t have to upset their pretty little lives.
Mackenzie waited a sec to make sure the police weren’t going to come storming out of the building. No storming so far, though. But just in case that happened, she took Mia up the street and to the right, away from the police department.
She’d paid attention when Scooter had driven them in from San Antonio to Spring Hill, and there was a bus station just on the edge of town. If they could get there, she had enough money for two bus tickets to San Antonio. From there they could get to Dixie Mae’s house. As big as the place was, they could hide out there until Mackenzie could come up with something better. With the cash she had stuffed in her shoe, they could get by for maybe a whole week as long as they ate just French fries.
They passed in front of the grocery store, and Mackenzie tried to keep her head down, tried not to get noticed. But people noticed all right. Probably because of her clothes. Nobody dressed like her in this hick town. Too bad she hadn’t had anything else to put on. All her clothes were black.
Just ahead, Mackenzie spotted something that balle
d up her stomach. A cop wearing a blue uniform. And he had a gun. Jail might be better than going with Lucky and the doctor, but being locked up would probably just make Mia cry. A lot of things made her cry.
Mackenzie turned around, took a side street and tried to remember how to get to the bus station. She didn’t dare stop and ask, but maybe there was a map or sign or something.
“Looking for somebody?” a man asked from behind them.
“Just walking,” Mackenzie answered without even looking back at him. But he was walking now, too, and it didn’t take him long to catch up with them.
Her heart jumped so high she felt it in her throat.
Because it was Lucky.
Except he’d changed clothes real fast because he was wearing a suit jacket, and he didn’t have on that big rodeo buckle that had caught Mia’s eye. And he was standing in front of a big building. Probably once it’d been somebody’s house because it sort of looked like Dixie Mae’s place, but this one had a sign on the front of it.
McCord Cattle Brokers.
Mackenzie didn’t know what a cattle broker was, but McCord was Lucky’s last name. Maybe it meant he owned the place.
Mackenzie thought about taking off running, but he looked fast. A lot faster than Mia would be anyway. Mackenzie could get away on her own, but there was no way she’d leave her little sister behind.
“Are you ladies, uh, girls, lost?” he asked as if he didn’t even know them.
Mia looked at Mackenzie, probably for her to explain this. Maybe Lucky had got hit on the head or something and had amnesia, like what happened on the TV show that Dixie Mae watched.
“We were just headed to the bus station to meet one of our friends,” Mackenzie explained.
“What happened to the bull?” Mia asked before Mackenzie had even finished the lie.
“What bull?” Lucky asked.
Yeah, amnesia all right. Or maybe he could just be pretending that he didn’t know them so he wouldn’t have to take them. Grown-ups played all kinds of stupid games to get out of doing things they didn’t want to do.
“The shiny bull that looks like this.” Mia opened her hand and showed him the silver ball she’d made from the gum wrapper.
Lucky got a funny look on his face. He also glanced around before he tipped his head to the big building. “Why don’t you come in, and I’ll draw you a map to show you how to get to the bus station.”
Mackenzie didn’t like the sound of that at all. She’d met Lucky, but he was still a stranger, and if he got her into the house, he might call the police. Or try to do something even worse.
She stepped in front of Mia. “I already told you I’ll bust your face if you try to hurt my sister.”
Lucky held up his hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He mumbled something Mackenzie didn’t catch. “Let me guess—you two know my twin brother, Lucky?”
Twin? Mackenzie eyed him, trying to figure out if that was true, but she didn’t have time to decide because someone called out her name.
The lady doctor.
She was running toward them, and she wasn’t alone. Lucky was with her. At least it was a guy wearing a shiny bull buckle. Maybe there were three of these men who looked alike.
“Why did you run off like that?” the lady doctor asked at the same time Lucky asked, “What the heck were you thinking?” Both seemed to be aiming those questions at Mackenzie.
“So, you do know my twin brother, Lucky,” the other man grumbled. “Please tell me you have this, whatever this is, under control,” he said to Lucky.
“No, I clearly don’t.” Lucky knelt down in front of Mia. “Are you okay?”
Mia smiled and handed him the silver ball. It was just a gum wrapper, but it also made him smile. People usually smiled around Mia. But Lucky didn’t give Mackenzie a smile when he stood back up. Didn’t give his twin one, either.
“Remember that letter Dixie Mae gave me?” Lucky said to him. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, Cassie and I need to take these girls for a day or two.”
“Cassie,” the twin said in the same friendly way some people said hello. He didn’t look angry at her, only at Lucky.
“We need to take them to your house,” Cassie explained. “But they slipped out of Bernie’s office while we were trying to make arrangements to get them there.”
The twin glanced at all of them, like he was the boss or something. Even the boss of Lucky. He pulled Lucky aside, the way the lady doctor had at the lawyer’s office.
“Are these your kids?” the twin whispered to Lucky. He probably thought he was saying it soft enough, but Mackenzie had good ears.
“We’re not,” Mackenzie told the question-asking twin.
But Mia must have heard it, too. “Our daddy and mommy die-did,” Mia said.
“Died,” Mackenzie corrected. She huffed.
The twin had actually thought they were Lucky’s? No way. Of course, Lucky seemed to feel the same about them. In addition to her good ears, Mackenzie had also learned to pick up on that kind of stuff.
The boss twin studied them a few seconds longer as if trying to decide if that was true or not. Then he finally tipped his head to a fancy silver car next to the fancy building. He took some keys from his pocket and handed them to Lucky.
“Use my car,” the twin told him. “I’ll have somebody drop me off at home later. Good to see you again, Cassie. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Lucky made an I’m-watching-you gesture with his fingers, pointing to his eyes first, then aiming those pointed fingers at Mackenzie. He stooped down when he made eye contact with Mia.
“Will you promise me you won’t run off again?” he asked her.
Mia nodded. Smiled, even. “Yes, I promise.”
Lucky turned to Mackenzie next. “And now I need that same promise from you.”
She hated having to do what anyone said, but she wasn’t in a good position here. Not with these two staring at her.
“Say it, Kenzie,” Mia pressed, giving her skirt a tug.
So Mackenzie did because she knew if she didn’t that Mia would just keep at it. “I won’t run.”
It wasn’t a lie. Next time she wouldn’t run. Mackenzie would somehow get a ride to the bus station or else just walk. But first chance she got, she was getting Mia and herself out of there.
CHAPTER SIX
THREE CARS AND four trucks. That’s how many vehicles Lucky spotted in the large circular drive that fronted the ranch and house. Obviously, he was not going to be able to make a quiet entrance with Cassie and the girls.
“It’s really big,” Mia said, looking up at the place as Lucky drove closer.
Yeah, it was. Too big. Or at least it had been after his folks died and after both Anna and Riley had moved away. Of course, Lucky had moved even before that, and despite the pretty exterior, he didn’t see a home, not anymore. It was just a house where he used to live with his family.
Oh, man.
He tried to push all that back down into the pit of his stomach. It would churn there, but it was better than dealing with it now. Especially when he had a crap-load of other stuff to deal with.
“You told them we were coming?” Cassie asked.
Her nerves were showing. Her mouth was tight. She was gripping her purse. Of course, the nerves likely had more to do with all the things ahead of her rather than walking into what appeared to be some kind of gathering. Things like him. Dealing with Dixie Mae’s death. Their temporary custody of these kids.
But especially him.
Cassie had always had this oil/water thing when it came to him, and she wasn’t going to like being under the same roof. Lucky wasn’t going to like it much, either, not because she was under the same roof with him, but because he was under this roof, period.
�
��I told the housekeeper Della we were coming,” Lucky answered.
Della and her sister, Stella, had started working for his family when Lucky was just a kid, and the pair would make sure those guest rooms were ready. Lucky just hoped that the rooms wouldn’t be needed that long. Two nights max. He didn’t want this drawn out. Mia and the Runaway Goth Girl had been jacked around enough and needed some place permanent to stay, and this definitely didn’t qualify as permanent.
From the looks of it, Cassie had been jacked around, too.
“As soon as you’re settled into your room,” Cassie said to the girls, “we can talk. Would that be okay?”
Of course, Mia nodded right away. Mackenzie was practicing her “I suck lemons frequently” face. The thick makeup helped with that because it appeared to be cracking in places like meringue on a pie. It was amazing she’d perfected both the expression and the art of pancake makeup at such a young age.
“We gonna talk about Miss Dixie Mae?” Mia asked.
Cassie seemed a little surprised by that. “Would you like to talk about her?”
“Sure. I miss her. She was sparkly.”
Yeah, she was, and it only reminded Lucky that he had something else on his plate: grieving for Dixie Mae. He’d planned on having a date with some hundred-proof by now to help ease his pain, but booze would apparently have to wait. Although he might need a shot to get through this next hour.
“Dixie Mae die-did,” Mia said, sounding as sad about that as Lucky felt.
“Yes, she did,” Cassie confirmed. Heck, she sounded sad, as well. Lucky hoped they didn’t start crying, or there’d be several sets of wet eyes in the car. Mackenzie’s wouldn’t be one of them, he was betting. But his sure would be.
“What about you, Mackenzie?” Cassie asked. “Do you miss Dixie Mae?”
The look on her face intensified to “I suck lemons, and limes, too.”
“She misses her,” Mia said. “She just doesn’t like to say it.”
Wise words from such a little one. Too bad this package deal hadn’t included only Mia because Lucky wouldn’t have minded spending a day or two with her.
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