“What happened?” Lucky asked the woman.
“I just saw this.” Alice lifted the newspaper for them to see. The two kissing photos on the front page.
Cassie hadn’t thought the pictures could look any more tawdry than when Andrew had brought them over, but she’d been wrong. Whoever had arranged them in the paper had adjusted the lighting so that it appeared Cassie’s breasts were actually heaving. And the adjustment made Lucky appear to be past the well-endowed stage when it came to male genitalia.
Mackenzie and Brody hadn’t fared much better in the other picture. Their kiss looked more like a zombie attack with Mackenzie playing the role of the zombie.
“Are these pictures real?” Alice demanded. She wasn’t the cool, composed woman that’d visited the day before. In fact, she hadn’t brushed her hair and had clearly thrown on her clothes in a hurry. Her breasts were heaving, too, but Cassie was betting it wasn’t from lust. It was because she was breathing so hard she might hyperventilate.
“They’re real-ish,” Cassie admitted. “Obviously the reporter took a few liberties with the shots.”
But that obviously wasn’t obvious to Alice at all. Her mouth dropped open and she grabbed the entry table so she wouldn’t pitch right over.
“My niece is thirteen,” Alice said, stating the obvious. “And I’m assuming this is the same boy you let her take to the dance last night. Since the newspaper came out yesterday that means you knew about the photo before you let her go.”
There was no way around that; both Cassie and Lucky nodded. “But Cassie chaperoned the dance,” Lucky added.
“She shouldn’t have been allowed to go at all!” Alice was shouting again now. Well, as much as she could shout considering her breath was vanishing fast. “And I won’t even address the other picture.” But she did address it. “You’re both adults. What kind of an example does this set for impressionable young girls? Girls who have had their lives turned upside down?”
Cassie wanted to give Alice a really good explanation for all of this, but she didn’t have one. Lucky and she hadn’t made out in front of the girls, but it didn’t matter. They could see the photograph. Heck, anyone could.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Lucky and she had done all of that when they should have had their focus on Mia and Mackenzie.
Alice shook her head. “I can’t believe neither of you told me about this before now.”
Neither could Cassie. “I’m sorry. I meant to tell you, but it slipped my mind.” It shouldn’t have, and Cassie wanted to kick herself. “There are a lot of gossips in this town, and I figured even if you didn’t actually see the newspaper, then someone would let you know.”
“The maid at the inn did. She gave me a copy and said the photographer, Theo Kervin, even sold the pictures of Lucky and you to one of the big LA tabloids.”
Great. Cassie groaned. Now all of her friends, business associates and clients had seen it, as well.
“The maid told me about you, too,” Alice went on, her attention on Lucky now. “Apparently, you do this sort of thing all the time.” She stabbed her finger at the picture but probably wasn’t aware it was on Lucky’s photographed crotch. “You are not the kind of man who should be around my nieces.”
Since Lucky wasn’t defending himself, Cassie decided to step up. “Lucky’s a business owner. And a McCord. They’re a prominent family around here.”
“He’s also been arrested several times. And he went on a date last night with two women. One of them was a stripper. Did you know about that?” Alice didn’t give Cassie a chance to answer. “Of course you did, because the stripper works for your father.”
Obviously, the gossip had made its way to the garden room of the Bluebonnet Inn.
Cassie wanted to tell Alice that she had no connection to her father and the Slippery Pole, but that wasn’t exactly true. She had been there to steal the cats, and she’d just had a phone conversation with him that some could have construed as bribery. Hardly good bargaining examples to use to profess her innocence.
“And then there’s your job,” Alice went on. “I thought you were a real therapist. But you just appear on those terrible TV shows where people air their dirty laundry. How can that be good for the girls?”
“Cassie’s an excellent therapist,” Lucky spoke up.
Cassie appreciated him coming to her defense, but she doubted anything could change Alice’s opinion of either of them.
“I want you to get the girls ready,” Alice insisted. “Because I’m taking them away from this house—and away from the two of you—right now.”
* * *
LUCKY OPENED HIS mouth to say whatever it would take to keep Alice from taking the girls. But then he realized he was on the losing side of this. Everything Alice had said was true. Except for the part about Cassie. Though if he was being honest, even that had some truth to it.
Cassie must have come to the same realization because he heard the sigh leave her mouth. It was the sound of surrender.
“Now!” Alice repeated. “I don’t want them here a minute longer.”
Cassie nodded, and Lucky and she started toward the sunroom. Of course, Mackenzie and Mia were going to be upset about missing the wedding. Ditto for Mackenzie not being able to see Brody, but Lucky had known right from the start that this was temporary.
Well, temporary had come to an end.
Alice didn’t follow them to the sunroom. Maybe because she didn’t want to step another inch inside the house, but Lucky was glad for the small reprieve. This way, they would get a chance to break the news and have time for a short goodbye.
Or not.
When they got to the sunroom, they found Mia wearing a tiara and dancing around like a fairy princess while Livvy strung twinkling lights around the windows.
“Here to help?” Livvy asked. She was grinning, but the grinning came to a quick end when she saw their expressions.
“Their aunt is here to pick up the girls now,” Cassie told her.
Mia stopped in mid–dance step. “We gotta go?”
Lucky nodded, not trusting his voice.
Livvy nodded, too, and she hiked her thumb to the door. “Mackenzie went out to see the bulls.”
“I’ll find her,” Lucky volunteered, and he turned to Cassie. “You can help Mia start packing.”
“We gotta go?” Mia repeated, and Lucky nearly lost it when he saw her big eyes get all shiny with tears. Her bottom lip started to tremble.
He went to her, going down on his knees so he could pull her into his arms. Lucky wanted to assure Mia that this wasn’t a real goodbye, that he’d see her again, but after the way Alice had just reacted, he’d be surprised if the woman didn’t try to file restraining orders against Cassie and him. Not that she had actual cause to do that, but their behavior might not sit well with a custody lawyer.
“Everything will be okay,” Lucky told her, and he prayed that wasn’t a lie. Mia deserved the best. Mackenzie, too.
Lucky stood, meeting Cassie’s gaze. The sadness he saw in her eyes matched his own. He brushed a kiss on her cheek and headed out to find Mackenzie for what would no doubt be an even more emotional encounter than the one he’d just had with Mia.
Mackenzie wasn’t by the corral, and he didn’t see her in the pastures. However, Lucky did hear something in the barn. It sounded as if some kind of struggle was going on. Lucky ran toward the noise and rage filled him the moment he reached the barn.
Brody had Mackenzie pinned to the wall. From what Lucky could see, Brody was trying to kiss her. And Mackenzie was resisting. She had her hands on his chest and was trying to push him away, but Brody was shoving right back.
After that, all Lucky saw was red.
He charged toward them and caught onto the back of Brody’s shirt, and
Lucky slammed him against the barn door so hard that it rattled. Lucky figured Mackenzie would jump to defend this dickhead.
She didn’t.
Mackenzie stood there, shaking, with tears in her eyes. The red that Lucky had seen before was a drop in the bucket compared to what went through him now. It didn’t get better.
“She wanted me to kiss her,” Brody snarled. “She wanted a lot more than that.”
Obviously not. Lucky gave Brody another slam and had to rein in his rage to keep himself from ripping off the guy’s arm and beating him to death with it.
Lucky’s teeth were clenched so tight his jaw was throbbing. His fist, too, but that was just because he’d never wanted to punch someone as much as he wanted to punch this kid. And he forced himself to remember that Brody was indeed a kid.
“You have two options,” Lucky managed to say. “You can go to the police, turn yourself in and admit to attempted assault, or I beat the shit out of you. Your choice.”
Lucky was really hoping Brody picked option two.
“Assault?” Brody howled. “I barely touched her.”
“Barely is enough, asshole. When a girl says no, she means no. Even if she doesn’t say it, if she’s trying to get away from you, the answer’s still no.” Lucky hadn’t even realized he was yelling until Hank came running into the barn.
“You need some help, Lucky?” Hank asked.
“I think I might. Brody’s either going to need to go to the hospital or the cops. And I’ll need someone to escort him.”
Brody’s glare turned to a stare. Then he looked away from Lucky. “The cops.”
Lucky forced himself to back away, and Hank took over from there. He waited until Hank had Brody out of earshot before Lucky looked at Mackenzie.
“Are you going to tell me that I overstepped my boundaries—” he started. But he didn’t get to finish.
Mackenzie hurried right into his arms. “I was so scared,” she whispered through the broken sobs.
That did two things to Lucky. It made him want to give Brody that shit-kicking he deserved, but it also crushed him to think of Mackenzie afraid while a bully groped her. Part of him knew he should lecture her about never risking anything like that again, but Lucky could tell from her tears that it was a lesson she’d already learned.
“I wish I could promise you that you’ll never run into another guy like Brody,” he said, brushing a kiss against her temple. “I can’t. But if it ever happens again, just call me. Or better yet, just knee the idiot in the balls.”
She nodded and kept crying. So Lucky just stood there, feeling like shit because he hadn’t been able to protect her from this. However, he also felt something else. He felt what it was like to be a father.
Hell.
This wasn’t any fun at all, but the fact that Mackenzie was here, crying on his shoulder—literally—also made him feel, well, loved. Too bad the feeling wasn’t going to last. Also too bad he still had to tell Mackenzie about what else had gone on.
“Your aunt saw the pictures in the paper,” he explained. “She’s upset about the one with Cassie and me. And she should be. We didn’t set a very good example for Mia and you.”
Mackenzie pulled back and looked at him. “You’re wrong. You and Cassie did okay.”
Coming from her that was high praise, and Lucky felt that L-word again along with another round of getting his heart crushed.
“Your aunt’s insisting you and Mia leave with her right away,” Lucky added.
The tears hadn’t stopped yet, but that put a fresh batch of them in her eyes, and Mackenzie took off running toward the house. Lucky wasn’t sure if that meant she was ready to get out of there—a strong possibility after what’d just happened to her—or if she was upset about having to leave so soon.
He hurried after her, but she didn’t go through the sunroom. She went in the back door and headed straight for the foyer. Cassie and Mia were there, and Mia’s suitcase was beside her. She had her little hand outstretched, and Lucky could see the gold star that she was offering to her aunt.
“You let her believe it was magic,” Alice said, shaking her head. Clearly, the woman had something else to be pissed about now. “Put that away, Mia. And Mackenzie, get your things. We’re leaving now.”
“Please, no,” Mackenzie begged. “Just let us stay for the wedding. Please.”
Alice huffed. “This is about that boy, isn’t it? The one in the picture—”
“No, that’s over,” Mackenzie assured her. She exchanged a glance with Lucky. A glance that Cassie noticed. He’d tell her all about Brody soon, but he had no intention of mentioning what had just happened in front of Alice. If the woman heard anything about it, it would come from Mackenzie.
“Well, good,” Alice answered. “But there’s no reason for you to stay here. Not with these people.”
“But I gonna be a star girl,” Mia said. “I’m gonna throw gold stars and wear a princess crown.”
“And Claire wanted me to be an usher,” Mackenzie added. “Please. The McCords have treated us good. Like family. We want to stay for the wedding. After that, we’ll leave with you.” She added another please. Mia chipped in a couple, as well.
Lucky could see the debate going on in Alice’s head. Could also see her displeasure anytime her attention landed on Cassie and him. Thankfully that displeasure wasn’t for the kids, though.
“All right,” Alice finally said. “We can stay one more day for the wedding. But not here. Get your things and you can stay at the Bluebonnet Inn tonight. I’ll bring you back for the wedding, and we’ll leave right afterward.”
All four of them mumbled a version of “thank you.” Mia even hugged Alice. Then Lucky and Cassie. It wasn’t goodbye, yet, but Lucky knew he had less than twenty-four hours before he’d have to say a real one.
Mackenzie and Cassie went upstairs to get her suitcase, and Lucky was about to assure Mia that everything was going to be okay, but his phone buzzed and he saw Bernie’s name on the screen. It was instant hope.
Stupid hope, too.
Because for just a couple of seconds, Lucky thought the lawyer might be calling with some kind of info that would stall Alice from taking the girls.
“I know you’re probably in the middle of wedding stuff, but I need Cassie, you, Mia and Mackenzie to come to my office first thing tomorrow morning,” Bernie said the moment Lucky answered. “I don’t normally go into the office on Sundays, but it’s important.” That sure didn’t sound like the kind of news that would give Cassie and him some extra time with the girls.
“What’s this about?” Lucky asked.
Bernie cleared his throat. “Dixie Mae’s will. Per her specific instructions, it’s to be read at eight in the morning. Brace yourself, Lucky. There are some surprises.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CASSIE WAS SO not in the mood for a girls’ night, but this was for Claire. A last-minute bachelorette party. Claire more than deserved something like this the night before her big day, but Cassie just wasn’t up to a celebration.
The only redeeming thing about it was that it was small—just Claire, Livvy, Helene and her—and it was in the sunroom at the ranch. It meant Cassie could put in an appearance and then excuse herself.
So she could go to her room and cry.
And pack.
Which would only result in more tears. But by tomorrow, she’d be ready to cry again. She always cried at weddings, and this one would be a tearjerker because shortly afterward Lucky and she would have to say goodbye to the girls.
The house already seemed way too quiet without them. And that was saying something since Livvy was doing the “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” to the popular Brooks & Dunn song.
“This would have been so much better with strippers,” Livvy insisted, tossing back anoth
er glass of wine.
“No, it wouldn’t have,” Claire replied. Both Helene and Cassie agreed. Helene probably for a totally different reason than Cassie, though. Helene didn’t appear to be the stripper-watching type.
Claire had apparently had very specific instructions. No male strippers or anyone else that Livvy might try to sneak in to liven things up. Claire had instead wanted wine, cheese and girl talk. Other than the dancing and the Brooks & Dunn, Livvy had abided by that.
“I understand you’re the owner of three more cats,” Claire said to Cassie.
She nodded. “I bought them from my father. Had Bernie draw up ownership papers that I signed this afternoon. It’s all official now—I’m the owner of six cats.” Of course, on the way to the lawyer’s office, Cassie had parked in front of the Bluebonnet Inn hoping to get a glimpse of the girls. She hadn’t, though.
“And I’m happy to say that after the wedding, the cats will be brought here,” Helene explained. “Not that we weren’t happy to have them at the office, but some of the clients are allergic.”
Cassie thanked Helene again for taking care of them and assured her she was already working out something more permanent. With a single phone call, she’d put her LA condo up for sale and had asked her Realtor to look for a place that allowed more than two pets. However, the idea of taking six cats still seemed a little daunting.
“Cats?” Livvy huffed. “That’s what we’re going to talk about tonight?”
“No subject is off-limits,” Helene said.
“Except for the kids. Sorry,” Livvy immediately added.
“That’s okay,” Cassie assured her. “They’re on my mind whether we talk about them or not.”
Which was a serious mood killer.
This time Livvy groaned. “Can we at least talk about sex, then?” Livvy asked. “Dirty sex,” she qualified. “The nastiest sex you can think of. How about I start? Blow jobs—yea or nay?”
Lone Star Nights Page 25