Texas Hustle

by Cynthia D'Alba

  “Hot plans for the evening.”

  “Really? Do tell.”

  Darren pointed to the glossy brochure Porchia had on the counter. “I’m up for bids.” He gave her a leer. “And, baby, let me tell you, you’ll get every dime’s worth.”

  A loud laugh bubbled up from deep inside Porchia, something she desperately needed after Slade’s little visit.

  “You are in the bachelor auction? You? Darren Montgomery? What is this world coming to when you have to sell your wares on the street?” She tsked. “D&R a little hard up for money this month?”

  Shaggy long dark hair brushed the collar of his denim shirt. Piercing-blue eyes that could make any woman drown in them. And his voice. Oh Lord. His deep Southern drawl combined with a husky laugh made her gut tumble to her knees.

  He chuckled. “What can I say? Aunt Jackie caught me in a good mood one day and I said yes. Besides, it’s for a good cause. It’s to raise money for an abused women and children’s shelter.”

  “I know.” She pointed toward the large plate-glass window at the front of her store. “I’ve had the flyer up for a couple of weeks.”

  “You coming tonight?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  He tapped on the brochure. “You have all the various information. I thought maybe you were checking out the manly goods.”

  She laughed again. One thing about Darren, he never failed to entertain her. If only he were her age instead of being years younger. The age thing was her problem, not his. But being thirty-two and dating a guy still in his twenties made her feel desperate, and she wasn’t.

  However, she didn’t make the best decisions when it came to men. Slade was only one example. Somehow every loser found his way to her doorstep.

  She really liked Darren and valued their friendship. If he had some fatal flaw, like every other guy in her past, she didn’t want to know.

  If she gave in and let herself get romantically involved with him and it didn’t work, there went their friendship. And since he was the brother-in-law of one of her good friends, a failed romance could also put a damper on her girl friendships.

  No, she had just too much to lose if everything went south. It was in her best interest to keep him as her friend and nothing more.

  “Manly goods? It might be worth it if there were any manly goods to be seen.”

  He leaned over to whisper in her ear. The scent of man and sugar and cinnamon was an aphrodisiac for her. She felt a tug in her gut just behind her navel. Her breath caught, holding all that deliciousness in.

  “The date I’m offering is very special. It’s not just any girl that I’d want to take. Check it out.”

  His warm breath on her neck had her knees going weak and her head wanting to turn until her lips could meet his. In the end, she grinned and pushed him back.

  “I’m sure you’ll raise a lot of money tonight. Have fun.”

  Six hours later, Porchia locked the back door of the bakery, exhausted and ready to put her feet up. Her car was the only one in the lot, which was not unusual. However, what was different was finding a piece of paper on her windshield held down by a wiper blade.

  “See you soon.”

  The note wasn’t signed, but it didn’t have to be. Slade Madden was fully aware of where she worked and what she drove. He’d probably already scoped out where she lived. That thought didn’t bring any comfort.

  During the drive from the bakery to her house, which was a mere five miles, Porchia watched her rearview mirror for any sign of Slade, but if he was back there, he was doing an excellent job staying hidden.

  Her house phone was ringing when she walked in. She dropped her purse and tote bag on the couch and hurried to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Kat. Nice house.”

  Her eyes shut in frustration. “Slade. There’s nothing here for you. I have nothing. If you don’t stop calling me, I’m going to go to the sheriff’s office and file a complaint.”

  “No, you won’t. I’ve asked around town about you. Everybody I’ve spoken to thinks you’re a wonderful addition to their little community. What would they think of their nice addition if they learned about your part in killing a nice little old lady?”

  Bile began rising in her throat as her nervous stomach spasmed.

  “I had nothing to do with the accident. The courts found you totally liable, and that’s why you went to jail and I didn’t. I’m sorry it happened, but it did. Like you said. You did your time and now you’re out. There’s nothing I can do to help you restart your life. Nothing.”

  “Yeah, there is. Money. Starting over takes money, money you can provide. That’s a nice little shop you have. I bet you have it insured and everything. Be a shame if something happened to it.”

  His threat came through loud and clear. He wasn’t going away empty handed. What was arson to someone like him?

  “Give me some time. There’s no way I can get a million dollars, but I might be able to scrape up twenty thousand.”

  “Chump change.”

  “Twenty grand is it. Take or leave it.”

  “One week.”

  “Two, at least. I don’t have that kind of money lying around.”

  “Two weeks, and if I don’t have my money by then, I’ll look for ways you might could get it.”

  He hung up. Porchia stood with the phone receiver in her hand, tears flowing down her cheeks. She’d been so stupid getting in that car with Slade Madden. It’d been the perfect screw you to her parents, who’d never approved of any boy she liked, unless he happened to be the son of close friends in the same social class. Dating someone like Slade Madden had been completely out of the question.

  Where was she going to get twenty thousand dollars in two weeks?

  Asking her parents wasn’t an option. They didn’t approve of her living in Texas or of her owning a simple bakery. So they’d never give her money unless it was to move back closer to them.

  Getting into the small trust fund her paternal aunt had left her wasn’t an option either. She couldn’t access that until she was thirty-five or married. Right now, her father controlled it, so even if she could get into it, there’d be many questions.

  She had nothing she could sell worth twenty grand.

  She had to think. She’d bought herself a couple of weeks to come up with a solution to her Slade problem. What, she hadn’t a clue, but the answer had to be there…somewhere.

  Chapter Two

  Porchia had bought herself a small window of time to figure out how to handle Slade’s demands. She knew if she stayed in town, he would continue to dog her.

  Frankly, she didn’t know if he was dangerous or all hot air. If he was as threatening as he wanted her to believe, she could put her employees at risk if he kept coming to the bakery.

  She’d not known him all that well seventeen years ago, more by reputation than personal interaction. How far he would take his threats was anyone’s guess.

  Prison changed a man. Sometimes for the better. She was thinking not so much in this case.

  Slade Madden had been a popular senior at her high school. Captain of the football team. President of the senior class. But he’d also been known for being quite the party boy. Born into a lower middle-class family, he hadn’t met the criteria her parents believed acceptable for their daughter.

  They’d believed her too young to date at fifteen, other than the occasional country club dance where they could keep an eye on her.

  Plus, it was their opinion that any senior—particularly Slade Madden—was simply too fast for her. As her parents had told her numerous times, she was too immature to be dating a senior.

  However, Porchia believed the bottom line had been that his family simply hadn’t been in the same social and economic class as hers.

  One night, he’d come to a party where she was a guest. He’d been tall and handsome and smelled dreamy. When he’d asked her to take a ride with him, she’d jumped at the chance. All her friends had
been so envious.

  She knew he’d been drinking but had thought it was only beer. It hadn’t been real booze or anything. But she hadn’t realized how much he’d had to drink before she got in the car.

  He drove his car like he faced life…fast and reckless. A corner taken too fast. A missed stop at a stop sign. A momentary loss of control. An elderly woman standing in her yard.

  Everything had happened so fast. Lives had been irreparably changed.

  Porchia pulled herself back from the memories. She had to get out of her house tonight. She needed something to distract her, and nothing could be more distracting than a bachelor auction, not that she planned to bid on anyone. But Tina and Delene were going, and she’d said she’d try to come.

  At eight, she went to the Whispering Springs Country Club, purchased an admission ticket, was handed a bid paddle with a number on it and walked into a room of giggling, twitching, loud-talking women. The mix of perfumes, hair sprays and other assorted scents was almost overwhelming. The ladies of Whispering Springs and its surrounding areas had shown up in full force and dressed to grab attention.

  She looked down at the simple black slacks and multi-colored sweater set she wore. She was a simple glazed doughnut on a tray with fancy petit-fours.

  Whatever. She wasn’t here to impress. She was here for the entertainment.

  “Porchia!”

  She turned toward the voice. Tina stood on a chair waving her arms. Leave it to Tina and Delene to get a front-row table.

  Getting to them was a challenge. She weaved among throngs of ladies crowded around small tables littered with empty glasses. Apparently, the organizers believed the better oiled the crowd, the looser the purse strings.

  “You made it,” Delene said, giving Porchia a quick shoulder hug.

  “I’m here. Now who do you two have your eyes on?” Porchia held up the auction date brochure. “There are some juicy ones here.”

  Tina and Delene exchanged glances.

  “Okay, which one of you is buying Sheriff Singer?” Marc Singer had recently been voted in as county sheriff, and she knew both her friends had laid claims.

  “Neither,” said Tina. “We figure he’ll go high and neither of us has the money. And second, Delene can kick my ass.”

  Delene laughed. “You know it.” She looked at Porchia. “You got your eye on anyone?”

  Porchia shook her head. “Just bored, so I came to watch you two.”

  “You sure? Darren Montgomery is on the auction block.”

  “I’m sure,” Porchia said with a smile. “And why would you think I would be interested in a date with Darren?”

  “Good evening,” a tall, older woman yelled into a microphone on the stage. “I’m Reese McClure, your host for the evening. Thank you all for coming and supporting this very worthwhile cause. Each bachelor has outlined his planned date that’s up for sale.” She held up the glossy brochure. “If you don’t have a program, please see the ladies at the ticket counter. You can’t know the players without a program.”

  The room of ladies chuckled.

  “Let’s get started, shall we? First up is Michael Buchannan. Michael is a lawyer with Montgomery and Montgomery Law Offices. He’s new to Whispering Springs, so let’s make him feel welcome. Bid high and bid often.”

  An attractive blond man strutted onto the stage wearing a three-piece suit. Smiling, he waved to the crowd. And the auction got underway. Porchia leaned back in her chair and enjoyed watching the bidding frenzy as one attractive bachelor after another came on the stage. While the three ladies laughed, gossiped and critiqued the bachelors and the bidders, there were no bids offered up from their table.

  “Okay, ladies,” Reese McClure said. “Everybody loves a firefighter, right? Welcome Chad Jamison.”

  The rookie firefighter walked onto the stage wearing his turnout pants with the suspenders hanging down around his hips. The tight muscles in his chest were nicely highlighted by the spotlight operator as he’d apparently lost his shirt.

  There was a ripple of female sighs through the crowd. The opening bid was fifty dollars and Porchia was a little concerned. The last bachelor had sold for over three hundred dollars.

  Then Chad grinned and flexed his biceps and the bidding became fierce.

  Tina stood and waved her bid paddle at the emcee. “Three twenty-five,” she shouted.

  A woman Porchia didn’t know called, “Three seventy-five.”

  Tina glared at the other bidder. Porchia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Chad continued to strut the stage, pausing to flex and pose.

  “Five hundred,” Tina shouted.

  “Are you kidding?” Porchia said. “Where are you going to come up with five hundred dollars?”

  Tina waved her off. “VISA.”

  Delene shrugged. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

  The other bidder blew a kiss to Chad and sat.

  “I have five hundred dollars. Do I have another bid?” the emcee asked. When there were no more bids, she said, “I have five hundred going once, going twice, sold to paddle number one-forty-five. Go meet your date, Bachelor Chad.”

  Chad jumped from the stage and headed for their table.

  “I’m dying,” Tina said. “I can’t believe I just did that. But O-M-G, is he cute or what?”

  Chad came over and kissed Tina on the cheek. “Thank you.” He took her arm and led her back to the cashier’s stand. Porchia had noticed that as soon as the bachelor sold, the group running the auction got their payment. She figured each man had been instructed to take his winner to the cashier immediately.

  “We are so honored to have the next bachelor tonight. Help me welcome our new sheriff to the stage. Marc Singer.”

  Marc walked out dressed in his sheriff uniform. His hair was tousled as though he’d been running his fingers through it. The excitement in the audience was electric. Porchia knew this was one of the organizers’ big draws. She expected Delene to bid on him since Tina had bought Chad, but she was wrong. Delene stayed true to her word and let the bidding go on around her.

  Five hundred came and went quickly. As did seven-fifty. As the bidding neared a thousand, the bidders began dropping out, but there were still a few diehards who apparently wanted to be patted down by their sheriff.

  From a dark corner at the back of the room, a voice rang out. “Five thousand dollars.”

  There was a momentary stunned silence at the bid before the emcee collected herself.

  “I have a five-thousand-dollar bid from paddle number two-ninety-five. Do I have any other bids? Going once. Going twice. Sold to the lady in the back for five thousand dollars.”

  Marc hopped from the stage and made his way to the back of the room. When he and his bidder made their way to the cashier, there was a growing murmur through the audience. His buyer was Dr. Lydia Henson, fiancée of Jason Montgomery.

  “What’s going on?” Porchia asked. “That’s Jason Montgomery’s fiancée. Why in the world did she buy Marc Singer?”

  Delene shrugged. “No clue. I don’t run in those circles. Here comes Tina. Maybe she’ll know something.”

  “Did y’all see what I just saw?” Tina asked, dropping back into her chair.

  “You mean Dr. Lydia Henson with Marc Singer?”

  “Yeah. Crazy, huh?”

  “We were just wondering what was going on?”

  “Don’t know. They were pretty closed mouth as she was paying.”

  The emcee tapped on the microphone. “Now here’s an interesting date for sure. A ten-day camping trip with a cowboy. Who wouldn’t want that? Help me welcome Darren Montgomery to our stage.”

  Darren strode from the right-side wing wearing jeans, a plaid snap shirt, highly polished cowboy boots and a black hat. He lifted the hat as he entered and bowed to the audience, which drove the ladies into a giggling mania and sent Porchia’s heart racing. Just as every time she saw him, a familiar swirl of lust began to churn in her gut.

  Then, befor
e the bidding started, he blew a couple of kisses from the stage, one directly toward their table. Porchia pretended it was meant for all three women, but she would have sworn she felt his lips touch her cheek.

  She settled in to watch the women claw each other to death for Darren, resigned that she and Darren were simply not meant to be more than the best of friends.

  The opening bid came from Porchia’s right. Five hundred dollars. That made her sit upright. An opening bid of five hundred? For a camping trip? She, and many other women in the room, twisted in their seats trying to get a look at the bidder. Sarah Jane Mackey was waving her paddle and glaring around as though daring anyone else to buy her man, not that Darren was her man. Last year, she’d tried to trap Darren into marriage by stabbing needles into his condom stash. It hadn’t worked, but that hadn’t slowed her obsession.

  Another girl stood and raised her paddle. “Seven-fifty.”

  “Who’s that?” Delene whispered.

  “I was going to ask you guys that same question.”

  Tina leaned in. “New chick in town. Name’s Rose or Violet or some flower. I forget. She’s the new nursing director at the hospital. She was in the shop last week. Seems nice enough. Look.” Tina tilted her head toward Sarah Jane. “I think Sarah Jane is trying to kill her competition with a death stare.”

  All three women turned and Porchia chuckled. Sarah Jane didn’t stand a candle to June Randolph, Porchia’s mother. Nobody had perfected a death stare like June Randolph. Porchia should know. She’d been on the receiving end more than once.

  Tonight, Sarah Jane stood with her hands on her hips, her lips pulled tight across her teeth and glared at the new bidder. Then she raised her paddle again. “One thousand.”

  Porchia turned toward the stage to watch Darren’s reaction. She knew him well enough to recognize he was not happy. A date with Sarah Jane had to rank high on his not-to-do list. A two-week vacation with the harpy would be nightmarish.

  “Fifteen hundred,” the nurse countered.

  “Two thousand.” Sarah Jane continued her threatening stance, which seemed to be working as the nurse pulled down her bidding paddle and sat.