Zack faced Logan. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I think you damn well know what it means. You and Tracy.
“What–”
“Have you ever considered if you would’ve told her that you loved her, she might not have ever done what she did?”
Pinning Logan with a scowl, Zack took a step forward. “She knew that I loved her!”
“How?” Before Zack could answer, Logan said, “Tracy came to Colton as a shy, gangly, cross-eyed girl that had only one boyfriend before you. You were the catch of Colton High. How many girls had you dated before Tracy? Ten, fifteen? What if Tracy figured she was just one more statistic? Holy hell, Zack, you’re the one who gave her the god-awful nickname of Olive Oyl.”
“I...” Zack paused and remembered. He’d never told Tracy he loved her and had no real good reason as to why he hadn’t confessed his feelings for her. “That still doesn’t excuse the fact I caught her in the middle of the act with my best friend.”
Logan stepped over to Zack and put his hand on his shoulder. “Ask her about that, will ya? And if y’all do have a shot at an encore, don’t assume she knows how you feel.” Logan stepped away and grabbed a pair of work gloves from the crate of tools. “Let’s get busy. I have a gig tonight, and we’re burnin’ daylight.”
Chapter 7
Zack pulled his official Tahoe in behind the brand, spanking new Chevy Silverado and called in the license plate, which was standard procedure, but a waste of time. He already knew who the driver was.
“Morning, Brent.” Zack pushed his Stetson farther back on his head to allow him a better look at the speeder through his mirrored sunglasses.
The youngest Parker brother looked over the star pinned on Zack’s uniform before meeting his eyes. With a what-can-I-do-for-ya grin, Brent said, “Howdy, Zack. Is there a problem?”
“Sure is.” It never failed to amaze him how often drivers breaking the law asked that question. “A big problem. You were going fifty-three in a twenty-five mile per hour speed zone.”
Zack was waiting for the rest of the script, where Brent would play coy and deny that he knew he was driving excessively. Instead, he said, “S’pose I was goin’ a little too fast.”
“Speeding in this part of town isn’t acceptable, especially with the elementary school on this street.” The school my daughter attends. “I’ll need your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.”
Brent chuckled, but it sounded a tad shaky. “C’mon, Zack, you aren’t really gonna give me a ticket, are you?”
A passing driver honked, so Zack turned to see a Ford Escape. He waved before looking back at Brent. “Yes. I’m giving you a ticket.”
“Boy, those Marines made you a hard-ass, huh?” Brent dug around in his glove box. He straightened with a grunt and pushed his lank dark hair from his face. “Here.”
With a curt nod, Zack took the information, went back to his SUV, and wrote the citation. Handing the ticket, license, registration and insurance card to Brent, Zack made a show of looking over the truck. “Nice wheels. Your driving gig with Jake must be paying well.”
Brent didn’t even glance at the slip of paper and cards before tossing them onto the seat beside him. From behind his sunglasses, Zack watched him closely. He’d known Brent as long as he’d known Jake, which amounted to Brent’s entire life. The air conditioner was working overtime, if the cool air escaping the open window was any indication, but Brent had sweat beading on his forehead. He also drummed his fingers in a fast tattoo. Brent looked out the windshield and said, “Yeah, it is.”
“Good. You’ve been out of work for a long time.”
“I’ve heard you’re seeing Tracy.” Brent looked back at Zack.
“What?”
“Jake mentioned he’d seen y’all at Bobby’s ball game. He said you and her looked pretty chummy.”
Zack wasn’t about to discuss Tracy with Jake’s brother. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Brent’s smile rounded his already pie face even more, and he shrugged his wide shoulders. “Oh, maybe that’s why she’s back with Logan, then. Are you done, here?”
“Yeah.” Zack stepped back and touched the brim of his Stetson. “Slow down.”
Brent glanced at Zack, nodded and put the truck into gear. Zack watched him ease away from the curb. “Oh, Brent, my boy, you’re such a tool.”
As Zack got back into the SUV, his mind suddenly replayed a snippet of Brent’s last comment. Back with Logan? What the hell did that mean? Tracy and Logan were never together–or were they? He knew they’d become friends over the years. He remembered the few times Tracy showed up at honky-tonks where Logan’s band played. The first time had been back in April down in Waco where she’d dressed to turn heads. Had it been Logan she’d hoped to impress? The bitter twist in his gut reminded him of the feelings he had when Tracy had cheated on him. He didn’t care what Tracy did. He couldn’t care. She meant nothing to him. They were barely friends.
Then why did he suddenly want to see her?
Why had she been at the forefront of every thought he’d had since her brother’s wedding?
He stopped at the intersection and took a deep breath. As he let it out, he corralled his conflicted feelings for Tracy into a corner of his mind and focused on Brent. Something was up with him. He’d asked Tracy to keep her ears open. Maybe she’d heard something he hadn’t.
When the light turned green, he circled the block and headed to Tracy’s salon.
* * * *
After Tracy removed the glasses she only wore to do computer work and to read, she sat back in her office chair. The letter from Jake’s lawyer, informing her of his intentions to reopen their custody case, came to mind. She wasn’t ready for a battle. Her father had advised her to dump her crappy lawyer and get a real one; after all, she could afford one. And she knew who she wanted to handle the case. Hopefully, she hadn’t waited too long. They were due in court in less than two weeks.
She wasn’t the type to cause waves, though Lord knew, she’d caused more than her share indirectly. Shaking her head, Tracy put her real problem aside to think of a less painful one. She couldn’t afford to become a sobbing mess for the afternoon. Her schedule was too full–one color, two perms, and two cuts and styles. Then she’d have to concentrate on the calculus class she’d been crazy enough to sign up for.
Melissa was doing well, and she’d cover the Thursday evening hours, but she was new and it would take a while before the women Tracy serviced trusted her with their hair.
She sipped her coffee and thought about what Melissa had asked earlier. What was she going to do with the apartment above the shop? That was much more conducive to getting through her day than thinking about living without her baby.
Renting it out made the most sense, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She’d bought the old Victorian house on College Street a few months after her divorce became final. The downstairs had been a mom and pop store that had gone out of business. The upstairs had been remodeled into a two-bedroom apartment. It had been perfect for her and Bobby; they lived in the apartment, and she’d set up her styling salon on the main floor.
She understood her attachment to the apartment stemmed from it being the first and only place she could ever call truly her own. The big ranch house was beautiful and she could redecorate it in any way she wanted to, but it wasn’t hers. Dylan owned it.
Besides, her parents lived there as well. She had no idea how long that was going to work. Her parents hadn’t been around since she was eighteen, when her father had been assigned to Pennsylvania, and her mother had left to be with him while Tracy entered college in Colton.
“Oh, stop stalling.” The small place would be perfect for college students. A great many of her clientele came from the college at the northeast edge of town, just up the street. Making up her mind, she decided she’d call Mrs. Pratt, who owned a boarding house a few blocks away. She’d know how to go about h
aving her place listed in the college housing office.
With that problem solved, her mind was again free. However, it wasn’t the pending custody battle with Jake that came to mind. She closed her eyes and replayed her evening with Zack at the football game last Wednesday. He’d actually flirted with her, though what had touched her more was his treating her like a friend.
The bell over the front door tinkled, and Tracy glanced at her watch. Her ten o’clock appointment had cancelled at the last minute, and she wasn’t expecting anyone until one. She moved down the short hall into the reception area of her shop.
The smile she’d pasted on to greet the potential customer became genuine the moment she noticed Logan Cartwright closing the door. “My goodness, I know certain people call me an artist, but I’m not sure anyone could make you beautiful.”
“Well, since I’m already drop dead gorgeous, it’s a good thing I’m not here for your services.” He laughed and embraced her in a tight hug.
“Is that what all the groupies are telling you?” Tracy stepped away from one of her best friends in the world. “How many times do I have to tell you not to believe them?” Although she was partial to only one of the Cartwright men, Logan was considered by most of the females in town to be as sexy, if not a little sexier than his cowboy-turned-Marine-turned-sheriff brother. She figured it had more to do with the fact he was a successful lawyer in his cousin’s law firm and just happened to be a fantastic singer.
“A few more times, at least.” He lost the smirk. “How’s college treating you?”
“Okay. I guess. But I still think I need someone to pound sense into me.”
He laughed and looked around the reception area. “Here I thought someone already had done that.” He met her gaze, and in typical Logan directness, asked, “What’s going on with you and my big brother?”
She groaned. “Please, tell me your aunt Winnie isn’t already ordering the china for our wedding.”
“Not quite, but she is as happy as a lark. Mom, on the other hand, would like to hire a hit man. You aren’t one of her favorite people.”
“Tell your mother she can save her money and avoid jail time because nothing is going on between Zack and me. We’re friends. If you can call barely tolerating each other a friendship.” She leaned her backside against the antique desk in her reception area.
“But you’d like to be more?” Logan sat his designer suit clad, six foot, two-inch frame on the replica of a Victorian couch in front of the windows. He outstretched his arms over the back of the sofa and rested a custom-booted foreleg on his knee. He was totally relaxed as he watched her squirm.
Other than their last names and the above average height and good looks, Zack and Logan were polar opposites. Zack had blond hair and blue eyes; Logan’s hair was brown and his eyes were green. Zack was more serious, while Logan didn’t take much seriously–unless it dealt with domestic and estate law or music. Many considered Logan the more successful of the two brothers in spite of Zack’s rodeo wins, military service, being the county sheriff, and his substantial bank account. Tracy knew Logan’s dream wasn’t about battling it out in divorce court for the Dallas rich. Logan wanted to sing his way to the top. Every Friday and Saturday night and every chance he got, he played guitar and sang lead with his band Texas Justice. And looked absolutely nothing like the wealthy lawyer sitting in her salon at this moment.
“You know I’d like to be more.” Lying to Logan was impossible. “But he’s still in love with a dead woman. Also, Jake’s trying to make it an issue.”
“Are you so sure he loves Lisa?”
His question gave her pause, but she refused to let the implication cause her hope. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll never forgive me.”
“I forgave you, and so will Zack.”
“You forgave me for breaking your brother’s heart. It was his heart I broke. I think that’s a little different, don’t you?”
Logan shrugged and straightened to peer into her eyes. “Maybe. But I know my brother thinks about you. At the Fourth of July ball, he couldn’t keep his eyes off you. And then, there was the wedding. The man was in torture with that dance. Just as I planned him to be.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and he chuckled. “He wanted you, T.C. He wanted you so damned bad he was afraid that touching you would be the match to the fuse.”
Logan’s words reassured her a little, but she also knew Zack. He’d never forgive her because he still believed the worst about her, that she was a cheater. “I know he wants me. There’s no denying the sparks flying between us. But I want more than just sex.” She closed her eyes. “God, if I’d only known what he’d felt for me, Logan, our lives would have been so different.”
“Sure.” He didn’t seem convinced. “You’d be saving lives and Zack would be risking his on some half-crazed horse. But neither of you would have your kids. And I, for one, wouldn’t ever wish Mandy away. I’d bet you wouldn’t Bobby either.”
The sigh she thrust out was from her soul. “You’re right, of course. Can I wish Jake away, then?”
Logan chuckled, and then became serious. “Let me see that letter you got from his lawyer. Preston Tilley, right?” Tracy nodded, and he let out a disgusted huff. “Yeah, he’s a shark, but Lance and I are the best family law attorneys in the Big D. And I do mean Dallas,” he sang the last, causing her to laugh.
She left him to return with the letter from Jake’s lawyer. As she handed Logan the overlarge envelope, she said, “The court date is next Friday. Can we be ready?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Logan read the letter and then looked up at her. “Since when have you been promiscuous and not a good judge of character?”
With her hands pressed into her hips, Tracy paced again. “That’s what burns me up. The last man I had sex with was Jake Parker. Before him, your brother took my virginity when we were both seventeen, and then I got involved with Jake. I haven’t slept with any of the jerks I’ve dated since him. Sure there’s been quite a few, and I’ll admit the last few men were a bit shady, but Bobby hasn’t ever met any of them. I only go out when he’s with Jake. Dammit! I’m tired of being considered the town floozy because I made a mistake–when I was eighteen!” She slapped her fists against her thighs and faced Logan. “And then there’s that whole business about you and me having an affair... Ugh!”
Logan stood, took her by the shoulders, and spoke gently. “Tracy, listen to me. Jake can’t win.”
She wanted to believe him. “Jake told me he won’t tolerate Bobby being around Zack. He plans on using Zack’s PTSD to prove his thing about the men I dated not being safe, just because he reprimanded Bobby at the wedding. He also brought up my taking in Dylan.”
“Have you talked to Bobby about any of this?”
“No.” Shaking her head, she said, “Besides, he’s with Jake this week.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’ll have to speak with him. If anyone has ever been destructive around Bobby, it’s been Jake. I’ve seen that bastard when he’s coaching. Jake will not win, Tracy. Not if we bring up all the lies he’s told you and how manipulative he is.”
“Logan, you know that’s water under the bridge.” Tracy averted her gaze and rubbed her hands over her dark denim skirt. “I could have left him long before I did. I should have when you came to me, before Zack married Lisa, but I just had Bobby.” She sighed and turned away. “Hell, I could have said no when he wanted to have sex the first time.”
“Why didn’t you?” There wasn’t any censure to his tone; oddly, it was gentle understanding.
“You know why.” God, how many times had she asked herself that question?
Logan sat back on the couch. “Yes, I know as your friend. Now, tell me because I’m your lawyer.”
Heaving in a breath, she sat down beside him and folded her hands in her lap. “He tricked me into believing Zack was sleeping with Dawn Madison. He told me he went to your parents’ house and walked in on him and Dawn having sex. Dear God, he even explain
ed exactly what they were doing.” The sting of tears burned her sinuses as the memory replayed. “I didn’t doubt him because I knew your parents were away. And...” The angry fire was dying, extinguished by pain and shame. She swallowed hard. “Zack was known for being a player. I just figured he was tired of me and decided to move on. I thought he was cheating on me. Zack was my first serious boyfriend, and I never understood what he saw in me.” The sob was out before she could stop it. “I could never compete with someone as beautiful as Dawn. Jake wanted me, and I guess I lost all perspective. He told me he loved me.” Logan wrapped her up in his arms and held her to his chest.
“I’m sorry, T.C.,” he murmured into her hair.
She pulled away and stood again. “Damn, I was so stupid!”
He regarded her for a long time before he said with a note of incredulity, “Tracy, you really believe that, don’t you?”
“What? That I’m stupid? I know I am.”
“No, you are not. And that wasn’t what I meant. I was talking about Zack not possibly loving you and having a fling with Dawn because you think she’s prettier than you.”
Now she was puzzled. Logan knew she didn’t believe that lie anymore. Not after Logan showed Tracy the ring Zack had bought her with his rodeo prize money. Prior to Zack’s first National Finals Rodeo, he’d given the ring to Logan to sell to help him pay for college, even though he already had a college fund that sent him to Stanford University. Tracy had just given birth to Bobby and had been sucked totally into Jake’s lies. Logan had helped her realize the awful truth–entirely too late.
He stood and took her into his arms again. “Tracy, when you finally figure it out, you’ll understand. But no one can explain it to you.”
She looked up at him and pressed on a smile as stiff as Mr. Potato Head’s. “Have you taken up fortune telling, too?”
Logan touched her nose with his index finger in such a brotherly way her heart ached. She loved Logan with the same bone-deep affection she felt for her brother. “No, but I know this for certain. Jake’s hoping to use the past to his advantage, and his sudden interest in Bobby has everything to do with you becoming a rich woman. Tracy, according to that letter, Jake wants you to pay him child support and alimony if he wins custody.”
Gambling On a Heart Page 10