August: Calendar Girl Book 8

by Audrey Carlan

  “Where are you now, Sis?” Maddy asked.

  “Dallas, Texas, on a full-on farm.” Full-on farm. Farm full. Farms full of farm. I snorted as I tried and failed to rethink how to say what I wanted to say correctly. The alcohol made things a tad fuzzy.

  “Oh, no way! That’s so cool. Do they have animals?”

  I nodded, though she couldn’t see it. “They do. And horses. I’m going to see if Max will take me for a ride.”

  “Man, you’re so lucky. Matt and I just finished up an intense day of signing up for fall classes.” Her voice changed, a hint of sadness so subtle it just barely lurked within the happiness she always exuded.

  Turning around, I realized I wasn’t alone. Cyndi and Aspen sat, watching me. Mostly Cyndi, as though she were hanging on every word I’d said. Aspen, on the other hand, would glance my way, smile, and suck down more lemonade. Hank would have a handful of tipsy blonde tonight if she kept up the drinking at the rate she was swallowing them down.

  If Maddy was signing up for fall classes, that meant she was puttering around not doing much. In the past, when she was between semesters, we’d spend the time together. Now though, with me working for the service, I didn’t have that luxury. “I’m sorry I can’t come to Vegas and spend the break with you.” I slumped back into the chair and put my hand to my temples rubbing out the thrum of stress that slowly crept in while thinking about how much I missed my girl.

  Maddy sniffed, and I knew she was crying. “It’s okay. I have Matt now…I guess.”

  “You guess? What changed?” I asked, instantly sobering up, the mama side in me coming fast and quick to the surface.

  “Nothing. We’re good. Really good, actually. Mia, he’s started talking about moving up the wedding.”

  Fear, heartache, and a devilish dose of anger hit me like a wrecking ball to the face. I felt like Wile E. Coyote chasing after that pesky roadrunner and never catching him, but always getting hurt in some ridiculously violent fashion.

  “Maddy, you cannot marry him so quickly…” I swallowed down the giant lump in my throat, trying to let the voice of reason come through and not the overbearing sister.

  Again with the sniffing, only this time, I could hear her let out the small snuffling sound I knew to be the waterworks. I’d spent years wiping those tears and comforting her enough to know exactly when she was dealing with something bigger than she was able to handle alone. I cursed our bastard father once more internally. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be there now, helping her deal with whatever life changing thing was plaguing her. “I don’t know, Mia. I want to be with him, but it’s too fast.” I shook my head along with her words. “We’re so young, and just moved in together.”

  Trying to put on my sister hat and not my mama bear Fedora, I asked her the million dollar question. “Are you happy?”

  “Oh my God, Mia, so happy. Everything’s perfect. I mean, living together the past couple months has been a dream. We just click, you know?”

  “I do.” I felt that way about being with Wes, but didn’t feel now was the time to mention my life change when she was struggling with something far more involved.

  Cyndi scooted over close to me, her eyes worried. She pressed a hand to my knee, and I covered it with my own, needing the womanly solidarity as I worked through this with Maddy, hoping against all hope that I could convince her that she needed to wait. Take the time to be young and in love and not rush into such a huge life change.

  Maddy sighed. “I feel like he just wants to hurry it all, and even though I know I want to marry him, and that he’s it for me, I still want to take it slower, you know?”

  I nodded rapidly and pushed my hair back behind my ear. “Did you tell him that?”

  A groan came through the line, and I heard a plop. Almost as if she’d fallen back on a soft surface like her bed, cradling the phone to her ear, the same way she used to when she was a teenager living at home with Pops and me. “Yeah, but then he got all sad like, thinking I didn’t really love him because I wouldn’t elope. He wanted to go to the strip and do one of those quickie chapels all by ourselves. Said we’d keep it a secret and then do it big when we graduated, like we planned.”

  No, no, no, no. I pressed my thumbs into my temples so hard I might actually have left marks. With extreme effort, I took several slow breaths before responding. “And what did you say to that?”

  There was a long pause before her voice cracked. “I told him that I could never get married without you there. That it would break your heart, and I’d rather walk across hot coals than hurt you. I love you, Mia. I could never do that. I promised you.”

  I sighed and gripped my hair at the crown so hard the pain brought a little clarity. “I love you too, Sis, but you can’t make your decisions based on how I would respond. If that’s what you want to do, even though it would make me sad to miss it, I’d support you.”

  The sob that tore through the phone broke me into a shattering mess of emotions. I wanted to be there for her, to hold her, help her through this confusing time in her life. “No, it’s not just that. I do want you there. Period. And if Matt can’t understand that, well, tough titty.”

  “Tough titty?” I snickered and repeated it on a chuckle. “Tough titty? Maddy I can’t believe you just said that!” My prim and proper little sis had a bit of a mouth on her. One she’d never before used in front of me.

  She laughed. “It just came out.”

  “Well, it was funny. And honey, don’t worry. You and Matt will work this out. Part of being in a relationship, a real one, the forever kind, is working through the good, bad, and the ugly times. This is just one of those times where you’re going to have to agree to disagree. Tell him how you feel. Explain that you want to wait, spend more time being engaged and focused on school. The rest will come. If he loves you, honey, which I know he does, he’ll understand. Eventually. Don’t let him pressure you into something you’re not ready for, okay?”

  Another sigh, and then I heard a noise in the background. Maddy gasped and then the phone crackled with static. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have never tried to force you to get married now. I just love you so much. Forgive me. Forgive me. Don’t leave me.” I heard Matt’s muffled plea through the line.

  Then Maddy whispered, “I gotta go, Mia.” Her voice was choked up again.

  “Go get your man, baby girl. I love you.” I wiped an errant tear that had trickled down my cheek.

  “I love you more,” she said and then hung up.

  I clicked off the phone, crossed my arms over my chest and let the tears fall. Before I knew it, a set of big arms were around me, cuddling me close. “I miss her so much,” I said into the rock-hard chest I found myself against for the second time that day.

  Max squeezed me tight, and another hand rubbed up and down my back. Smaller, more feminine. Cyndi, I gathered.

  “Let’s bring your girl out to Texas,” Max said into my hair where he kissed my temple the way I imagined a brother would do for his real sister. But I wasn’t his sister and that thought made the tears come even harder.

  Sniffing in his leather and male scent, I pressed my palms into his chest. Damn, he really was hard as steel. “I can’t do that. You need me focused on the business, and besides, you’ve been so nice.”

  He shook his head, and his wife repeated the gesture. “Nope. We’d love to have her out if she can get away.”

  Technically, she was on school break my subconscious supplied helpfully. Then I remembered Matt. “She’d never come, anyway. She and her fiancé live together, very new, and I doubt he’d be okay with letting her come to Texas to be with a strange man.”

  Max frowned, and his wife looked around the room as if trying to find something else to focus on.

  “I’m not strange to you. Besides, we’ll bring them both out. We have plenty of room. The more the merrier,” Max said.

  I shot out of his arms, needing the space. The man’s arms and comfortable nature clouded all
judgment. “What? No. You can’t do that. You don’t even know them. Besides, why would you want to have my sister and her fiancé here? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Would it make you happy? You said you missed her.”

  I shook my head, expecting a moment of clarity to hit at some point, but nothing happened. Just more fog and confusion. “Well, yeah, but this trip is not about me. It’s about you and saving your assets.”

  That’s when nice, sweet, down-to-earth Max changed. His eyes narrowed into slits, his lips pursed so tight they were a thin line, and he clenched his jaw so tight he could probably cut glass. “My assets mean nothing without the love of my family. So we’ll bring your sister and her fella here. End of story. Cyndi, darlin’, will you make that happen?” His request brooked no argument.

  “Yes, honey. Mia and I will make it happen tomorrow. Go on, go calm down. Have a cigar and a scotch with Hank. I’ll talk with her,” she responded as if I weren’t in the room. In the room, hell, as if I wasn’t on the same god damned continent.

  The stress of the day, spending quality time with Max, drinking the pink lemonade, talking Mads through her life decision, and now Max pushing his decisions on me had taken its toll. Stick a fork in me, I was done. D-O-N-E. I needed bed and about ten hours of sleep.

  Without a word, I stormed off toward my room.

  Cyndi called after me, catching me at the stairs. “Mia?”

  “Tomorrow. Right now, I need some space and sleep. Can you just give me that, or do you need your husband to order you to leave me alone?” I snapped.

  She gasped, and a pained expression stole across her features. Licking her lips, she nodded, turned, and waddled out of the room.

  With a heavy heart, I climbed the stairs. I’d apologize to Cyndi tomorrow. She didn’t deserve my wrath. It was just that not one thing since I’d come to Dallas made a lick of sense. Between Max’s constant need to call me his sister, to the emotional breakdowns of not only Max but Maddy, I was drained. Now my client, the man who had hired me to do a job, wanted to bring my sister and her fiancé out to stay with us in Texas. Who the hell does that?

  If I thought about it, really thought about it, most of the men I’d been hired by would have done the same thing if they’d seen me break down. I shouldn’t have done that, had that conversation with Maddy in front of an audience. Only, when I was talking to her, and she was so stressed, reality was stripped away, and the one thing that mattered was making sure she was okay.

  Maddy’s happiness had been the one thing most important to me. Now it seemed as if I had all of these people around me who actually cared about what I thought, what I needed. I was barely getting used to Weston giving me that kind of attention, let alone a horde of other people I now considered friends.

  Friends.

  That was it. Is that how a friend responded? I mean, if I took Ginelle for instance, that crazy broad would move Heaven and Earth to ensure I was safe and happy. Whatever she could give me within her power, she’d attempt. Was this situation the same thing? Max and Cyndi attempting to be friendly? I guessed so. Hell, I didn’t know. We hadn’t been what one would consider friends very long. Was there a time limit on how long you needed to be friends before they started offering expensive plane tickets and week-long stays with extended members of your family? A month, a year, a decade?

  Rubbing my eyes, I belly flopped onto the bed and snuggled in. Why did they care so much about a person who really wasn’t their family? Overwhelmed and emotionally drained, I decided there wasn’t anything I could do about it tonight. Sleep was in order. Tomorrow I’d deal with the overly generous Cunninghams, and I’d apologize to Cyndi for snapping at her and being rude. Everything would be clearer in the light of day.

  Chapter Seven

  Apparently the Cunninghams had absolutely no concern for another person’s privacy. By the time I’d woken up and checked my phone, there were texts from both Weston and Maddy. I scanned them both while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Maddy’s message proved my point perfectly.

  To: Mia Saunders

  From: Maddy

  OMG Matt and I are so excited about coming to Texas. Yee-haw! We’ll be there Friday! Your friend Cyndi was really nice BTW. Totally cool. Booked us on a private plane!

  To: Mia Saunders

  From: Maddy

  Did you get my last text?

  To: Mia Saunders

  From: Maddy

  Private plane!! Eeek! So cool!

  Jesus! It looked like little miss Cyndi-farm-girl worked fast. Somehow she got Maddy’s number from my phone without me noticing it. Then I looked around the room. My outfit from yesterday was folded up and sitting on the dresser, and a quick tug at my clothes showed I was in a man’s T-shirt. A really big T-shirt. Huge in fact. I exhaled on a long sigh. She’d changed me. Oh, man. Now I felt like a serious bitch. The sweet prego came into my room, found me face down, shoes and all, and took care of me. Even gave me one of her husband’s shirts. Crap. I hope she didn’t have Max help her. That would be doubly embarrassing. Then again, she did steal my phone and invade my privacy to do her husband’s bidding, which put her firmly in the not all together peaches-and-cream category.

  To: Mia Saunders

  From: Wes Channing

  Hey, sweetheart. Missed your voice last night. Let me know you’re okay.

  Without delay, I hit Weston’s name and called him, needing that connection I only had with the man I’d now come to love with my whole being. Sitting on the bed and crossing my legs, I waited rather impatiently for him to answer.

  Just as I thought I’d have to leave a message, his breathy tone came through the line. “Mia,” he said in lieu of a greeting, “you okay?”

  I snorted, thinking I was pretty far from okay but not in any real danger. Only the losing my mind kind. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t call last night. I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow. It was a really long day. Unbelievably long.”

  “Oh, yeah, tell me about it. I’ve got some time now, and I missed you.”

  Hearing him say he missed me made my chest tighten and my sex quicken. Damn, the things this man did to me. A couple more weeks and I’d be doing something about it. At that point though, without the benefit of having his physical form to work out the tension I carried, I went through the entire day, even breaking boy code and telling him about Max’s collapse at the company, even the way Cyndi reacted strangely around me as if she were walking on eggshells. I also told him about Max’s cousin Sofia Cunningham and how she was less than pleased about my sudden appearance in the family, right when she was about to get a fat portion of that forty-nine percent take of Cunningham Oil & Gas. Then I explained the situation with Maddy and what went down last night, including how Cyndi had taken care of me and then invaded my personal things and contacted Maddy without asking me.

  For a long time Wes didn’t say anything. “Babe, you there?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m here. Just not too happy about everything you said. I knew it was odd when you told me about the job initially, and my investigator has found nothing but good things about the guy. He’s solid, a family man, big in business and heir to the Cunningham Oil & Gas fortune. Apparently, the Cunninghams are keeping the sister and percentage deal under wraps because my guy said he couldn’t find a word of it in his research.”

  “Really? Hmm, I guess it makes sense to keep it quiet until they figure it all out.” I pushed a lock of hair back behind my ear and worried my lip. “Wes, it’s hard being here. The more time I spend with this family, the more I wish it were real,” I whispered, afraid if I said it any louder the truth might swallow me whole.

  Wes exhaled loudly. “Sweetheart, I know you crave that connection. Just don’t get too attached. Besides, you’ve got me and Maddy. We’re your family. You’ll always have a home with me, babe, and my family. And someday down the road, we’ll be making that legal.” His tone was matter of fact, but the words hit my heart like a shock to the system, fraying th
e edges of my nerves beyond distinction. I was now a ball of nervous energy awaiting the next magnetic pulse. Holy fuck. Did he just insinuate what I think he insinuated?

  “Wes…” I warned, not wanting to address it at all, but knowing if I didn’t, it would fuck with my head something awful.

  “I know, I know. You’re not ready for marriage talk.” He chuckled, and it lightened the intensity of the conversation. “Just know, sweetheart, that I’m committed to you for good. Your home is with me and we are family now. Okay?”

  Family. The mere suggestion of it prickled against my skin in a rather pleasant tingling sensation. “Yeah, baby. Okay. How’s the movie-making biz going?” I asked, not wanting everything to always be about me and my problems.

  “Good. Though I’m working through a romantic section I could use some real world help with.” His voice took on that gravelly swallowed-a-box-of-rocks timbre that made me giddy with lust and achy for his touch. “Know any hot, long-legged brunettes with tits so big I salivate just thinking about them and an ass I could write an entire ten-page scene to?”

  I laughed and twirled a lock of hair around my finger. “Hmm, I could think of someone,” I said, using the sultry, raspy lilt I knew drove him wild.

  He groaned. “Christ, sweetheart, I’m already hard.”

  “Mmm, pull it out.” I could hear the sound of a zipper sliding down and a shuffling of clothing.

  “Okay,” he responded. The needy tone set my confidence-meter spiraling into space.

  Leaning back against the headboard, I held the phone close to my ear so I could capture every breath. “Wrap your hand around the base and pretend it’s my hand. Squeeze with just enough pressure, but go easy, not too much.” He groaned. “Now lick your thumb and circle it around the tip. Think about my mouth sucking at the crown of your hard cock. Flicking my tongue against the little patch of skin that makes you crazy.”