If I Can Dream (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  When he pulled through the ranch gate it was well after midnight. Tennessee hoped to sneak in unnoticed. He needed a few more hours alone to get his head together before he endured the third degree and the lectures.

  No such luck.

  As soon as he opened the back kitchen door, Pepper was there to greet him. “What’s wrong? I saw the garage light come on.” She looked all around. “Where’s Molly?”

  “She didn’t come with me. Why weren’t you sleeping?” he asked, not looking directly at his pretty sister. If he didn’t make eye contact, maybe she wouldn’t see the hurt and betrayal on his face.

  “I woke up, so I was listening to some music,” she said, a bit mysteriously.

  “Judah James?” He cleared his throat, hoping to keep the topic of conversation away from why he was home early. “Still got a crush on him?”

  Pepper went to the cabinet and took down two mugs. “I do not have a crush on him. I admire his work. Now, why are you home unexpectedly, and where’s your new wife?”

  “I’m pretty tired…” he began, only to be interrupted by the arrival of another one of his siblings.

  “What are you doing home? Something wrong? God, you look terrible.”

  It was Philip. He’d always been the most discerning.

  “What’s going on? Are we having a party?” Ryder asked, coming down the back stairs.

  “Great.” Tennessee huffed. “Just what I don’t need.”

  “Ten’s home.” Philip called out, loud enough to wake the dead. Or Heath. Tennessee didn’t know which was worse.

  “Hey, Philip.” Ten hugged him.

  “What’s up buddy?” Philip put a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the family table.

  The thought struck Tennessee of how many problems and griefs had been hashed out at this table. “How’s Jaxson? Is he home yet?”

  “He’s upstairs. Should be up on crutches tomorrow.” Ryder answered, coming to sit by him. “Tell us what’s wrong. Your face is so sad.”

  Shit. Shit. He’d been trying to put on a brave front, but Ryder’s question made him choke up. He fuckin’ hated this. “My marriage is over,” he said in a low agonized voice.

  “What?” Pepper cried. “It can’t be.”

  “What happened?” Philip asked, a look of alarm on his face.

  Ten didn’t know why, but he was embarrassed. “Do you remember Greg O’Neil?”

  “Yea, that guy who blamed you for his Dad’s injury?” Ryder commented, handing Ten his mug of coffee Pepper had poured.

  Nodding, he took the cup. “He blamed me for his father’s death too.” Seeing his family all staring at him, he let out a long breath. “O’Neil was one of the bidders. Seems that he’d known Molly for a while. Bottom line, she betrayed me, gave Greg the amount of my bid so he could beat it. She’s been having an affair with him.”

  “No!” Pepper cried out, horrified. “How could she do that to you?”

  He ran his hand through his hair, totally frustrated. “I don’t know. Money? She seemed to have a vendetta against people with more than she had.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Ryder frowned. “It doesn’t sound like the Molly you described to us. Did you catch them together?”

  “No. Greg showed me where she texted him on his phone. You know, flirting. Sexting is what they call it. Dirty pictures. He gave me a copy of the text where she gave him my bid information. Plus, he told me where he’d left something in her trailer when he went there to fuck her. I found it, just where he said.”

  “So, he did this out of revenge?” Philip narrowed his eyes in understanding. After what he was going through, he was never surprised at the depths some people sank to hurt others.

  “I guess.” Tennessee was heartsick. He’d never hurt so much in his life.

  “What did Molly say?” Pepper came to sit on the other side of Ten.

  He held the mug between both hands, running his thumb up and down the side of the warm cup. “She denied everything, even when I found the message thread on her phone. She said she still loved me, she begged me not to leave.”

  “What if she’s telling the truth?” Ryder asked.

  Tennessee stared at his sister like she was nuts. “She was unfaithful to me. I have proof. She undermined me and betrayed me. I’m filing for divorce.”

  Behind them, they heard a noise. It was Heath. “Well, you’re home now. That’s all that matters. We’ll call Zane in the morning.” He patted Ten on the shoulder. “That old saying, marry in haste, repent at leisure is true.”

  “Hey, Heath. Yea, you were right. So, go ahead and say it.” Ten glanced at his big brother.

  “Say what?” Pepper asked.

  “I told you so.”

  “Nope, not going to do it.” Heath poured himself a cup of coffee. “Just know this,” he looked around at his sisters and brothers, “hell will freeze over before I give another woman a chance to burn me.” He took a big sip of coffee. “I don’t guess you got that pre-nup in place, did you?”

  “No.” Tennessee shook his head.

  “Well, we may have a fight on our hands. But one thing’s for certain, if she goes up against one of us, she goes up against us all.”

  “Thanks,” Tennessee said, standing up. Heath’s assurance didn’t really help his feelings. The bid wasn’t really the issue, the lies and betrayal were what nearly killed him. “I’m going to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day. I’ll get with Jaxson and see what needs to be done.”

  Making a hasty escape, Tennessee hurried up the stairs. The effort to make conversation and talk about what happened was getting to him. He wasn’t nearly as resigned to all of this as he was making out. He should feel better now that he was rid of Molly. She was a lying, conniving, cheat. But he didn’t. The truth – he was in agony. He’d loved Molly with all of his heart.

  Part of him wished he’d taken the time to ask her why she’d turned on him. What had she gained? He wanted to know, he just didn’t know if he could handle it. She’d made a fool out of him and the only consolation he had was that he’d found out quickly.

  Heading to his suite, he walked in and locked the door behind him, lying down on the bed without even taking off his clothes. His arms felt so empty, he didn’t think he could stand it.

  * * *

  A few days later, Molly sat before the legal aid lawyer and poured out her heart. “I just want to end this marriage as soon as possible.”

  The woman listened sympathetically. “I think I can help you. Although, if I were you, I’d try to find out who did this to you.”

  Molly knew who’d done it, but she had no way of proving it. “It’s hopeless. The evidence was damning, and he believed it completely. I begged him to listen. But he wouldn’t.”

  “My recommendation is that you speak to him. You’ve both had some time to calm down and see things clearly.” The kind woman in the austere grey suit smiled at her. “It’s my opinion that couples shouldn’t rush into a divorce.”

  “I don’t want to wait. Our marriage was a huge mistake.” She picked at the hem of her shirt. “I wish I could get an annulment, something that would erase the last few weeks.”

  The woman looked contemplative. “Divorce is never automatic and it’s hard to get an annulment in Texas.” She raised her forefinger in the air. “You could go over the border. Annulments and divorces are fairly easy to get in Mexico. I’m sure you still have connections down there. Don’t you?”

  “Yes, a few.” She’d lived down there with her aunt and uncle after her mother’s suicide. They had adopted her, giving her their last name since she didn’t have one of her own. It was only after her aunt’s husband passed away from cancer that they’d moved back to Alpine, her aunt taking a job at the same lodge her mother had worked at. It was then that she’d met Greg O’Neil. “Thanks,” she said slowly, rising. “I think that’s what I’ll do.” Gathering her purse, Molly left the legal aid office and walked out into the street. She had a make-up class tonight, but
this meeting hadn’t taken as long as she’d allowed for in her schedule. Seeing she had time, Molly did something she never expected to do. After several years of working for the Hunt’s, she knew Rita’s habits as well as she knew her own. Right about this time, she was finishing up a manicure. If she hurried, Molly could catch her. She had a few things she wanted to say to her former employer.

  Returning to the hotel felt funny. The beautiful place held both good memories and bad. She’d spent the night with Tennessee here, gave him a massage. Working at the spa had been a good job where she’d made friends, including Rita’s father. Molly didn’t know how, and she could prove nothing yet. But the more she’d thought about it, the more she was convinced that Rita was behind the lies that her husband had been told and believed.

  As she crossed the courtyard, she caught a glimpse of Selma heading toward the main office with the bank deposit. She started to call to her, but the sight of Rita coming out the door of the spa made her hurry. What she had to say would be best said in private. “Rita, I’d like to speak to you.”

  Hearing Molly’s voice, Rita stopped. Instantly her chin went up and her expression hardened. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Maybe not, so I’ll do the talking.” Putting one hand on Rita’s shoulder, Molly pushed her backwards.

  “Don’t touch me,” she hissed. “I’ll call security.”

  “Oh, I’m not going to dirty my hands, Rita.” Molly kept walking toward her until she had the other woman backed into a corner behind the counter.

  Rita’s eyes darted to the right and to the left. “You’d better not pull a knife on me, Reyes. I know your type.”

  Molly laughed. “I’m not as stereotypical as you are, you rich…” She cut off the last word, refusing to lower herself to Rita’s level, knowing full well she could fill in the blank. “I just want you to know that I am on to you. You broke up my marriage.”

  Rita let out a mean laugh. “Your marriage didn’t need my help to fail. You and Tennessee were never suited. He has class…” Her eyes roved down Molly’s figure “And all you have is a big butt.”

  “Ten loved my body.”

  “Not enough to stay, apparently.”

  Molly moved a few inches closer, causing Rita to cringe and draw her body back slightly. “Somehow you used pictures from the security footage and gave them to Greg O’Neil. What were you planning on doing? Taking Ten for yourself?”

  “What Tennessee and I do is none of your business, Molly.”

  “Maybe not,” Molly agreed. “But I do know this, I will prove you set me up if it’s the last thing I do. Tennessee might never love me again, but he’ll certainly never love you.”

  “You’re just poor brown trash,” Rita smirked as if she’d made a joke.

  “I can’t change where I came from or how little money I have, but I’m a better woman than you’ll ever be. Watch your back, Rita.” With that, she left with her dignity intact and a new focus. The fact that Rita never denied doing those things hadn’t escaped her notice. It was almost as if she were proud of her actions. Molly vowed to get to the bottom of all of this, but first there was something more pressing she had to do – end her marriage.

  ***

  The lawyer’s suggestion seemed to be the answer Molly was looking for. Even though she wasn’t guilty of what Ten accused her of, the fact that he believed it so easily and refused to listen to her side, proved that their love was never meant to be. So, she made some enquiries and found out who to see and what to do to get the proper paperwork. Two weeks later, she had the annulment papers in hand. All she needed now was Tennessee McCoy’s signature.

  As if preordained, the timing was uncanny. She’d no sooner returned to Alpine from across the border before her cell phone rang. The display read Zane Saucier, Attorney at law. “Great.” Molly had no problem guessing what this was about. “Hello?”

  It was a woman. “Miss Reyes?”

  Molly started to correct her. After all, until the marriage was dissolved, she was technically still Tennessee McCoy’s wife. “Yes.”

  “My boss, Zane Saucier, is representing Mr. Tennessee McCoy is his effort to receive a bill of divorcement from you.”

  Bill of divorcement? That sounded so archaic. Molly looked at the phone, then returned it to her ear. “Yes.”

  “We are requesting that you and your lawyer attend a meeting in Austin on Friday at two p.m. to discuss terms. Would that be possible?”

  Molly didn’t attempt to explain what she’d already done. This would be as good a time as any to get Tennessee’s signature. “Sure, what’s the address?”

  Jotting down what the woman told her, Molly felt a tear roll down her cheek. She laid the phone down and wiped her face. All of this would be over very soon…

  * * *

  “Thanks for meeting me,” Rita Hunt slid into the booth across from Greg O’Neil.

  “No problem, I always enjoy spending time with a beautiful woman.” He was in a good mood. His windfarm was going to be a reality soon, he’d hired people to start the dirt and foundation work. Plus, the PI he’d hired was making headway on the investigation to see if Molly Reyes was a threat to him. All he needed was answers before he put the next step of his plan into motion. If she wasn’t… he’d move on. His initial focus had been revenge on McCoy. But if Molly was his father’s bastard, he wanted to deal with that before he sought further ways to torture Tennessee. “What can I do for you?” He gave the pretty blonde his most flirtatious smile.

  “I had a little visit from Molly. She’s not as dumb as we thought she was, she’s practically figured it out.”

  “Really?” The news came as a bit of a surprise. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. How would she prove anything?”

  “I don’t know.” Feeling flushed, Rita loosened the top button of her blouse. She was about to take a sip of water from the glass in front of her when she noticed O’Neil’s eyes on her breasts. He was handsome. She felt her nipples tighten. “See something you like?”

  O’Neil grinned. “Sure do.” He cleared his throat. “How would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

  Rita smiled. Greg wasn’t as handsome as Tennessee, but they did have a lot in common. “I like that idea, I happen to know a good place to eat.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “I love a woman with connections.”

  * * *

  Between the time that Molly was summoned to the lawyer’s office to the moment she walked through the large wooden doors of Saucier & Barclay, she’d imagined every scenario possible. As she stood waiting on the beautiful receptionist to spot her, Molly went through them again. In one fantasy, she glided through the door, looking so beautiful it made Ten’s teeth hurt, and he would rise from his chair, slowly walk toward her and take her in his arms. After apologizing for ever doubting her, he would proclaim his undying love and whisk her off to his ranch to have a half dozen little McCoys. Glancing down at her cheap shoes and cheaper black skirt, she admitted that probably wasn’t going to happen. The second, and most likely possibility, was that he would rise and begin to rail accusations at her again, blaming her for whatever ills might have plagued the McCoy’s since last they met. She still couldn’t explain what had happened. All Molly knew was that she hadn’t done it, she wouldn’t have hurt Ten for the world. Pity he couldn’t see that.

  “Miss Reyes? Follow me.” A willowy redhead crooked her finger at Molly and took off down the hall. Molly followed. She was beginning to think the woman’s habit of addressing her by her maiden name was some kind of subtle intimidation tactic. As they neared the conference room, she could feel her stomach clench with nerves. And once she stepped into the presence of the other interested parties, Molly knew the meeting wouldn’t be going in any way as she’d anticipated. The room was as silent as a tomb. A dark haired man sat making notes, looking down. The only eyes to meet hers was the man she’d married, and they were as cold as ice. He didn’t rise, he didn’t greet
her, he just watched her come in and sit, never saying a word. She felt like a mouse who’d just had the unfortunate luck to step into the room with an angry cat. Instead of cowing down like she wanted to, Molly placed the folder with her papers in front of her, raised her head and met his stare head on. Finally, he dropped his gaze and she allowed herself to take a breath.

  Tennessee felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. Molly was just as beautiful as ever. Since he’d walked away, his nights had been fraught with dreams about her. His body still ached for hers and he kept reaching for her in his sleep. When she took a seat across from him, he had to look away, reminding himself how she’d misled and deceived him.

  The lawyer looked up to Molly. “Good afternoon, I’m Zane Saucier. I’m assuming your legal counsel will be joining us?” His face wore a professional mask. There was no friendliness in his eyes, but at least they weren’t accusing like her husband’s.

  “I have none.”

  Both men looked at one another.

  “Miss Reyes…” Zane began…

  “Mrs. McCoy.” She corrected him and Tennessee coughed.

  “Mrs. McCoy,” the lawyer corrected, “I strongly recommend you seek counsel. Representing one’s self in any time of legal action isn’t smart.”

  Molly swallowed and shifted in her chair. She examined Ten’s face, watching for any reaction. “We won’t be getting a divorce.”

  Tennessee leaned forward, his eyes narrow slits, his jaw hard. “I’m certainly not staying married to the likes of you. And if you think you’re getting a penny of McCoy money, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  Memories of tender touches and loving words bombarded her. It was clear to Molly that the man she loved no longer existed. Well, soon their marriage wouldn’t either. Every muscle in her body tightened. She steeled herself to endure the next few minutes. “I don’t want to stay married to you either, Tennessee. It was a mistake. And I don’t want anything from you.” Opening the folder, she pulled out a paper. “All I need is your signature and our marriage will be annulled. It will be like it never happened at all.”