by SJ McCoy
Cassidy sat in the back office of the gallery eating her lunch. She put her sandwich down and took a swig of her soda before resting her chin in her hands as she leaned on the desk. She looked up at Gina. “How’s your dad doing?”
“Not too great by the sounds of him, but that’s more about having a hangover from drinking whiskey with Chance than anything else.”
Cassidy laughed. “So that was why Chance was in such a hurry to leave when we all got back last night? I thought he’d just had enough of being with everyone.”
Gina shook her head. “No, he doesn’t mind it when it’s all of us. It’s just other people he doesn’t like. He doesn’t have too high an opinion of people in general, but he’s fiercely loyal to the people he loves. The Remingtons, his sister and their friends down in California, he’d do anything for.”
Cassidy nodded. “Yeah. That was the impression I got. It worries me just what kind of anything he might do when it comes to Guy.”
Gina sighed. “Last night he went back up to my dad’s and spent the night there. I think he’d like us all to believe that he was just making sure he was safe, but it wasn’t just that.”
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. “What then?”
“He’s pretty perceptive; he sees how people feel and he tries to make them feel better without them ever knowing that’s what he’s doing. He could see my dad was shaken up, and he also knew that he wouldn’t want to appear so weak as to need a bodyguard. Dad would have felt like he was running scared if he’d come back to the cottage with Mason and me. But I think he was scared. Apparently, Chance went back and did his big macho man thing—he wasn’t taking any arguments, he was staying the night and that was that. Dad got what he needed, which was someone to stay with him and he got to pass it off as he was just humoring Chance.”
Cassidy smiled. “And he says he’s the brawn and not the brains.”
Gina nodded. “I think he may be the smartest of them all in a lot of ways. He’s seen a lot more of life than the others have.”
“He went to prison, didn’t he?”
“A long time ago, before he ever came here.”
Cassidy felt as though Gina was getting defensive, which surprised her. She held up a hand. “Hey, I’m not saying anything against him. I adore him. I’m just curious what made him the way he is.”
“Sorry.” Gina sighed. “I do get defensive about him. People think he’s this badass, but he isn’t. He’s just…I don’t know. I’ve always thought of it as he’s just the same as all the Remington boys, except something inside him got broken when his girlfriend died. He has a big heart, and he cares deeply. But he’s seen the darker side of life and he’s not afraid to look it in the eye. The rest of us muddle through our happy little lives, nothing really bad ever happens, it’s as though we live inside this warm and fuzzy bubble that keeps out the harsh realities of the world. Chance, though, he knows the harsh realities all too well. He knows how to face them and he wants to protect the rest of us from them.” Gina stared at the floor for a long moment. “He’d sacrifice himself to protect the rest of us and that scares me.”
“What do you mean?” Cassidy thought she knew, but she wanted Gina to spell it out.
The buzzer sounded, announcing that someone had entered the gallery.
Gina smiled. “I’ll get that. You finish your lunch.”
Cassidy watched her go. She couldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to spell out exactly what she meant. Maybe it was better left unsaid.
A few moments later Gina popped her head back around the door. “Are you done? It’s Wanda.”
Cassidy grinned. “I’ll be right out.” She loved Wanda. She screwed up her sandwich wrapper and tossed it into the trash can before hurrying out.
“Hey, trouble!” she greeted the older woman with a hug. “What can I do you for?”
Wanda grinned. “I wanted to let you know I won’t be able to make the class this week.”
“No problem.” Cassidy had a feeling there was more to her visit than that. Whenever one of the ladies had to miss the seniors’ art class she ran on Thursday evenings, they normally gave her a call—or just apologized the following week. It wasn’t exactly a big deal. They weren’t following a curriculum or anything. Basically they were just having fun. She raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Wanda laughed. “There’s no fooling you, is there, missy?”
“Nope. So why don’t you tell me what’s really up?”
“I’m worried about Beau.”
That took Cassidy by surprise. She thought Beau was doing great these days. “Why? What’s up?”
Wanda shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s a new man since Corinne and little Ruby came into his life. Or at least he has been. Till this morning. This morning it’s like the new Beau left town and the old Beau is back, and even grumpier. He’s bitten my head off three times, even when I tried to joke him past it. Something’s really upset him and I don’t know what.” She folded her arms under her ample bosom and looked as close to embarrassed as Cassidy had ever seen her. “Don’t you ever dare tell him, but I love him like he was my own. I’m worried. I know I shouldn’t be busybodying, but I can’t help it.” She looked from Cassidy to Gina. “Do you know if he’s okay? Did something happen last night that would have set him off?”
It was Cassidy’s turn to look at Gina. She didn’t want to run her mouth, but, if anything, she was surprised that Wanda hadn’t already heard about the fire at Al’s.
Gina shrugged. “He’s probably worried about my dad.”
“Oh, no! Why?”
“He’s okay, but there was a fire last night. He lost the barn.”
“Holy crap. It wasn’t anything to do with Guy Preston was it?”
Cassidy and Gina exchanged a look. “Why would you think that?
“Oh, come on. There’s enough rumors flying around town already about the O’Connell fire and the one out at the Gibsons’ place. Seems Guy is turning into a regular pyromaniac!”
Gina nodded. “We think he had something to do with it, yes.”
“But why? Your dad keeps to himself. What would Guy have against him?”
Gina shook her head. “Mostly he does, but he won’t be bullied, and from what he said, Guy’s been trying to get at him.”
“Shit!”
Gina nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Cassidy looked at them both, not sure she understood.
Wanda nodded. “Now there’s going to be a whole posse of Remingtons going after Guy, who, by the sounds of it, is already losing his grip on sanity. Sounds like we’ve got the makings of one big-ass vendetta on our hands.” She nodded again. “And it would explain why Beau’s in such a crappy mood. You know what he’s like. He hates it when things slip out of his control. He’s no doubt trying to scheme up some way to take Guy down the smart way, avoid any bloodshed.”
Cassidy laughed. “That sounds a bit far-fetched, Wanda, don’t you think?”
Wanda shook her head adamantly. “You ask Chance how far-fetched it is. Or Carter.” She held Gina’s gaze. “Or your Mason for that matter. None of them are the kind to sit back and wait for justice to run its course. Any one of them would take Guy down before they’d let him hurt one of their own.” She nodded to herself. “And Beau’s no doubt trying to figure out a way to put an end to it all before one of them takes the law into his own hands.” She nodded again. “I’d better get back there. “I’m going to pick up some lunch for him on the way.”
She stopped and looked back when she reached the door. “You girls be careful, okay? And don’t worry. I won’t say a word.”
Once the door had closed behind her, Cassidy looked at Gina. “Is she for real? Please tell me that was just Wanda getting carried away, telling us to be careful and talking about bloodshed and vendettas?”
Gina made a face and shook her head. “I wish I could.”
“Oh.” For once Cassidy had nothing to say.
“Let’s forget it f
or now, can we? We’ve got enough to do around here without spending our time worrying about all of that. Hopefully tonight Mase will be able to tell us what Luke had to say and that might help.”
“Okay.” Cassidy didn’t know what to think about it all, so she’d be happy to wait for more information, but she had no clue how it might help. Gina was right. They had a lot of work to be getting on with.
~ ~ ~
Summer scratched Hero behind the ears and the cat mewled and jumped up into her lap. “You can’t stay long, sweetie,” she said as Hero began to knead at her, hoping to turn her into a comfy snooze spot.
Summer chewed on the end of her pencil. She was supposed to be writing, but it wasn’t working. All she’d managed to come up with was a few trite lines, which she’d scrumpled and thrown in the trash half an hour ago. She’d do well to admit that she just wasn’t feeling it today. You couldn’t write a good song when you weren’t feeling it. She stared out the window. She wasn’t feeling anything. Well. Maybe that wasn’t true. If she was honest, she was feeling scared. A heavy lump of dread had settled in her stomach last night—right after Mason got off the phone and said they had to go. She hadn’t known why she felt so strongly at the time. Yes, she was worried about Gina’s dad and his ranch, but even that didn’t explain feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
Carter had been odd yesterday—even before they got to the cabin for dinner. He’d told her a little about Guy Preston. Then when they’d driven home after the fire was put out, Carter had told her that it seemed Guy was responsible for it. She wasn’t sure if the reason she felt so scared was down to Carter or Guy. She’d never seen Carter like that before. He was like a big teddy bear normally. He was a big man: strong, muscly, but he was a gentle giant. He wouldn’t harm a fly. Last night was the first time she’d seen him as a stranger might see him—big, strong, intimidating, a force to be reckoned with. Someone you wouldn’t want to cross. And Guy Preston had crossed him. He was still his sweet self with her, with the family, but for the first time, she was now aware that there was more to him. That all his muscles and his power made him something other than good-looking.
Hero pawed at her hand and she absently started stroking her again. She couldn’t write. She couldn’t do anything about Guy Preston, Gina’s dad, or anyone at all really. She hated that feeling, so she did what she always did. She decided to get on with something constructive she could do. Whatever was going on now, it would hopefully all be resolved by the end of August. And she would love to be able to work things out so she and Carter could get married at the end of August—with the rest of the family. She reached for her phone. The first thing she needed to do was to talk to her sister and see if the timing might work for her. She dialed the number and waited.
“Hey, sis.” Autumn answered. “How are you?”
“I’m doing fine, thanks. How about you? How are things going?”
“I’m good, and better than you by the sounds of it. That’s the first time since you moved there you haven’t answered with a bubbly, gushy I’m great and Carter’s wonderful. Is everything okay?”
“It is. I’m just feeling a bit down today. She didn’t want to start telling Autumn about the fire and the suspicious circumstances. She’d only worry. “You know me. When I’m down, I try to do something constructive to buck myself up.”
“Okay, what are you thinking?”
Summer smiled. “That I want to get married at the end of August, but only if you can be here.”
“Wow! That’s soon. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
“Not yet, no. But we’re working on it. We want to start a family straight away, but that’s not the reason we want to get married so soon. Mason and Gina are getting married then and we all think it’d be pretty awesome to have all four weddings on the same day. What do you think?
“It wouldn’t be what I’d want. I’d want all the limelight on my big day, but I can see how it would appeal to you. How do the others feel about it?”
“They love the idea too. It’s about four weddings and one big family.”
“Yeah I can see that, but I mean how do they feel about you? You know you’re going to be the main focus of attention. I can see the other girls not liking that.”
Summer hadn’t even considered that. “No. It won’t be like that. I don’t want any media attention. I’ll keep it really, really quiet. And besides, why would I be news anyway? I’m not singing anymore.”
Autumn laughed. “Don’t be so naïve, Summer. You’re still a story, most people think you’re pulling some kind of publicity stunt, staying away so that you can make a big comeback when your voice is recovered. You sound great, by the way.”
“Thanks. It feels like it’s back to normal, unless I get stressed, which doesn’t happen much. Carter takes care of that.”
“That’s more like it, back to gushing about the big guy. How is he? What does he think of this one big wedding idea? I can’t see him wanting his family in the middle of a media circus.”
“It’s not going to be like that. He loves the idea. He keeps saying we should do what I want, but I know he’d love for it to be about family, too. Anyway, all I really wanted to know is if you can be here?”
“That’s a silly question. You know I will. Whenever it is.”
“What about the tour? How’s it going? How’s Matt.”
“The tour’s going well; Matt is Matt. I’ll have to find him a nanny or something for a few days while I’m gone.”
Summer laughed. “He’s a lot of fun.”
Autumn snorted. “I can think of other words. He’s a pain in the ass most of the time. His fun as you call it, gets him in all kinds of trouble. Trouble that I have to drag him out of. He’s like a kid.”
“What about Sheena? Are they really dating, or is that just a thing for the press?”
“Ha! They are, in theory, really dating. You know what I think of her, but it seems Matt is besotted, or something. It’s weird, I’ve never seen him take an interest in a girl that’s lasted more than a week, but it seems Sheena has cast some kind of spell on him. I don’t like it.”
“And why’s that?” Summer had always thought her sister was sweet on Matt McConnell. He was one good-looking, bad-boy, country singer. Summer liked him, a lot. He was a bad boy with a good heart as far as she could see—just her sister’s type.
“What do you mean?” Autumn’s voice had risen an octave.
“I mean, is it because you like him yourself that you don’t want Sheena casting a spell on him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s because I know it’s only going to come to a horrible end, and I don’t need to deal with all the publicity that will no doubt surround a messy breakup.”
“Are you sure?”
Autumn sighed. “I like him, okay? But I know better. Getting involved with one of my artists would be a really dumb move at this stage in my career. Getting involved with Matt, in particular, would be even dumber.”
“I say you should go for it. He’s a good guy.”
Autumn laughed. “You’re just a sappy little romantic, Summer. You found your Mr. Right and I’m happy for you. I don’t need one, so please be happy for me, too? I can’t talk all day. I’ve got a shit ton of work to get through. So, do you know what date you’re talking about for this big wedding of yours?”
“Not yet, but it’ll be the last week of August.”
“Okay. I shall do everything within my power to clear my schedule for that whole week. Which means that worst case scenario I will definitely be able to get away for at least one full day.”
Summer laughed. “Thanks, Autumn.”
“Of course. Have you talked to Clay about it? No matter how quiet you want to try and keep this, you know you’d break his heart if you don’t invite him.”
“I know, and I haven’t yet. I had to talk to you first. I’m going to call him next.”
“Good. I’d leave it half an hour and then try him. H
e had a meeting with a new producer this morning.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll let you go then.”
“Talk soon. Love you.”
“Love you. Oh, and…” The line buzzed. Autumn had hung up. Summer shrugged. She was a busy girl these days. She was running McAdam Records for Clay and still managing Matt personally. She smiled to herself; she had a feeling that Autumn and Matt would be getting up close and personal before too long.
Chapter Six
“Why don’t you finish up early, Corinne?” asked Shane. “There’s nothing that won’t keep till morning, and you’ve still got to collect Ruby before you can come over to the cottage, right?”
Corinne nodded. She liked to keep things strictly business when she was at work. She didn’t allow her personal life to creep in, and she’d been much more aware of that since she’d come to work at Remington Ranch. It was hard not to let business and personal got muddled considering she was working for her fiancé’s brother – her future brother-in-law. She decided she may as well make an exception today, though. She was tired. Last night’s events—the fire up at Gina’s dad’s place, and the way Beau had been afterward had made for a sleepless night for her. And tonight they were all meeting up at Gina and Mason’s cottage to come up with a battle plan for how they were going to deal with Guy Preston—at least that was how it sounded to her.
“Are you okay?” Shane was watching her.
She smiled. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just wrestling with my conscience. I don’t like to leave early, but I think I’m going to take you up on the offer.”
Shane smiled. “Come on, if you want to be a stickler about it, then I owe you at least a couple of weeks’ time off to make up for all the extra hours you’ve worked.”
“I guess.”
“I know it. So go on. Scoot. Go get Ruby and I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay.”
As she drove up to Susie’s to collect Ruby, she finally let herself think about what it might mean to have a crazy man out to get them all. She blew out a little laugh. Maybe she was just overly tired. It wasn’t that bad, was it? Or was it? That was why she hadn’t let herself think about it all day—it was too scary! If Guy Preston was running around setting people’s barns on fire… No, she shook her head. She wasn’t going to think about it. She’d wait to hear what Mason had to say later. Hopefully there’d be some innocent explanation for Al’s fire.