Fool for You

by Elliott, Kelly

  “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

  The words came from Landon. When I turned to see him, he had his pants on but his shirt was still off.

  Hailey quickly stood up and faced her brother. “No, you’re not, Landon. He doesn’t know I know.”

  “He’s going to find out when he talks to her, and she says something about speaking with him,” I said.

  Hailey shook her head. “I have his phone. He thinks he lost it since he can’t find it anywhere.”

  “That motherfucker,” Landon said. “Let me pound my fists into him, Hail. Please.”

  With a weak smile, Hailey walked over to Landon and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “I cock-blocked y’all again, didn’t I?”

  I shook my head and quickly replied, “No.”

  “Yes,” Landon said at the same time.

  With a roll of my eyes, I made my way over to Hailey who was now face-down on my sofa. “Sweetie, let me go get dressed. Landon, make her something strong to drink, and we’ll all figure out how to get that asshole back.”

  Hailey rolled over and looked up at me. “God, I love you so much. You just get me.”

  With a nod, I replied, “Well, we are like sisters, and that’s what I would want to do if someone cheated on me. After I paid someone to cut his dick off, of course.”

  “Ouch,” Landon said, covering his junk.

  “Get me something strong, Landon,” Hailey said.

  Landon jumped to action. “Um, right. Something strong.”

  As he made his way over to my bar cart, I rushed into my bedroom and quickly pulled on some clothes and fixed my ponytail that had come a bit undone.

  I walked back into the living room to see Landon handing Hailey a glass of what looked like whiskey. “What are you going to do?” he asked her.

  I walked over and handed him his shirt. He slipped it on and said thank you, and then we both sat down on the love seat opposite the sofa.

  Hailey downed her drink. Landon and I stared at her in shock.

  “Christ, Hail. That was straight whiskey,” Landon said with a slight chuckle.

  She nodded and wiped her mouth before she placed the glass—which had had at least three shots of whiskey in it—down onto the table.

  “Mom invited us to have dinner with her tonight. I’m going to need you two to come as well.”

  Landon and I exchanged a look that said a million things. Would we ever catch a break?

  I brought my attention back to Hailey, who was still wiping at tears that wouldn’t seem to stop.

  “Or course we’ll be there,” I said, wrapping my fingers around Landon’s. He nodded, but I could see the disappointment on his face.

  “Then what are you going to do?” he asked.

  “Then I’m going to pull out Mike’s phone, put it on speaker, and call the bitch.”

  My mouth fell open as I asked, “In front of everyone?”

  An evil smile spread over Hailey’s face. “Yep. But I’m going to time it right when I get Mike to say something so she’ll start speaking.”

  “Dad will kill him, Hail,” Landon warned.

  If it was at all possible, she smiled even wider. Her look turned from evil to downright frightening. “I know. It’s going to be glorious.”

  Landon

  FROM ACROSS THE large dining table at my folks’ house, I looked into my sister’s eyes. They were clear, with no signs of the crying she had done only hours ago. I swung my gaze over to Mike. He was talking to my father, oblivious to how dangerously close he was to having my hands around his neck.

  I felt Emmerson’s hand on my leg, and I slightly relaxed.

  “You’re glaring at him, Landon,” she whispered, her hot breath causing my dick to jump in my pants. That wasn’t anything new when it came to this woman I’d known my whole life, but after having a taste of her and coming so close to more, I was still on edge.

  “Emmerson, we need to talk about the engagement party,” Hailey said from across the table.

  Emmerson casually removed her hand from my leg and smiled. “Autumn said she’d like to rent out the barn that’s on the McNally’s ranch. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve actually had a client get married there, and it would make for a great venue for the party.”

  Hailey smiled as if the news made her day. My sister could go up against any top actress in Hollywood with the performance she was putting on tonight. Mike had glanced over to Hailey and smiled, as if the idea of having the engagement party made him just as happy. Although, I had a feeling my mother sensed something wasn’t right. Addie Lewis could always tell when one of her kids were hurting. It was weird.

  “How has the wedding planning been going, ladies?” my mother asked, looking directly at Hailey.

  Another brilliant smile lit up my sister’s face, and this time Mike took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. Was that…was that guilt in his eyes? Regret, maybe? The fucker. I wanted to jump across the goddamn table and pound his face with my fist.

  “It’s going brilliantly! There’s a reason why our Emmerson here is so good at what she does.”

  “Yeah, she had an entire packet for us with to-do lists, numbers for different venues and photographers, as well as bakeries. I’ve got to say, I’m impressed,” Mike said.

  The cheating bastard.

  “Thanks, Mike,” Emmerson said tightly. “But it’s my job, so I need to be as organized as I can.”

  “Emmerson and I are going on a fake wedding cake tasting this Friday.” I wasn’t really sure why I brought it up. My father raised his brows as my mother dabbed at the corners of her mouth.

  “Is that right?” my mother asked, looking between me and Emmerson. “Cake tasting, huh?”

  Emmerson spoke before I could. “I think it will be really good research for me to see what happens on the other side; plus, this is a new and upcoming bakery. I haven’t had any clients use them yet.”

  “And it’ll be great content for your Instagram!” Hailey said, showing the first real sign of excitement since we’d sat down.

  My father cleared his throat, and I swore he was attempting to hide a smile.

  “I think it will as well,” I said with a grin.

  My father caught my gaze and slowly nodded. “I agree.”

  When my mother looked at me, too, I saw it in her eyes. She knew the truth. Or she at least suspected something else was going on.

  Jesus…what was it about my parents? Did they have some weird sixth sense where they could reach into their kids’ minds and see what was really going on? Because the way my father’s eyes bounced from me to Emmerson, and then back to me, made it feel like he was silently warning me about something.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hailey pull out Mike’s phone. The way she was handling this was all wrong. I knew she was hurt, and I knew she wanted some sort of revenge or power over the situation…but this was not the way to do it in front of everyone.

  I looked at Emmerson, who was staring at Hailey.

  “Hailey,” Emmerson said quickly, causing Hailey to glance over at her. “Do you remember that one time when we were little and we were up in the treehouse my daddy made for us in the olive orchard?”

  Slipping the phone back under the table, Hailey tilted her head and asked with a laugh, “Which time, Emme? We were up there a lot.”

  “The time we promised each other that we would never let the other one make a mistake that could be harmful in any way, no matter what.”

  Hailey narrowed her eyes. “I remember.”

  “You’ve had my back so many times and kept me from making some stupid mistakes.”

  “And pushed her into some pretty dumb ones, too, I remember,” my father stated.

  Everyone swung their gaze to him as my mother hit him on the arm.

  Emmerson’s voice brought the attention back to her and Hailey. “Don’t do it like this, Hail.”

  My sister’s throat worked as she attempted to swallow, tears filling her ey
es.

  “Hailey, what in the world is wrong? You look like you’re about to cry,” my mother asked. She stood and made her way over to my sister.

  Hailey put up a hand to stop her. “Mom, I’m fine. Honestly, please sit back down.” Then she stood and looked at Mike. “If you’ll excuse me and Mike, there’s something urgent we need to talk about regarding the wedding.”

  Mike looked confused, but at the same time, the guilt was written all over his face. He slowly put his napkin on the table and stood. He looked down at the phone Hailey handed him and then snapped his gaze back up to meet hers. “Hailey, let me explain. It was—”

  Lifting her hand, she said, “Not here.”

  Turning, Hailey quickly walked out of the dining room with Mike hot on her trail. Everyone watched as they left.

  The sound of the front door shutting had my father clearing his throat and sitting back in his seat. “How long has he been cheating on her?”

  I was positive my mouth dropped open.

  “I knew there was something wrong the moment she walked in the door,” my mother said with a displeased expression on her face. “Her behavior this evening makes total sense now.

  “How…how did you both know?” Emmerson asked.

  “I’ve seen enough men in my day get caught with their hand in the cookie jar,” Dad said. “The way he looked at her, it was written all over his face.”

  I clenched my fists. “And you didn’t want to kill him? Because it took every ounce of strength I had not to jump over this table and kill him.”

  My parents exchanged a look. Emmerson placed her hand on mine and gave it a little squeeze. “Hailey told us earlier at my place, right after she found out.”

  “I have a feeling that little walk down memory lane stopped her from doing something she shouldn’t,” Mom said.

  With a nod, I said, “She was going to out him right in front of everyone. I think it was just her anger driving that decision. I’m glad you said something, Emme.” I turned and our eyes met. She smiled the sweetest smile, and I had to force myself not to lean down and kiss her.

  “Well, I know if I was about to do something stupid, she would stop me,” Emmerson said.

  “Ha!” my folks shouted in unison.

  I shook my head and looked at Emmerson, who simply chuckled, knowing that she and Hailey had gotten themselves into some pretty sticky situations over the years.

  My father pointed his finger at Emmerson. “Do you know the high school principal called us and your folks more times about you two girls than they did about Landon and Noah? You were both trouble!”

  The front door closed and we all turned to see if Hailey would walk back in alone or with Mike. She came in alone.

  “That was fast,” I mused.

  “Well, it didn’t take me long to tell him the engagement was off, and he was free to go back and fuck—sorry, Mom and Dad—his ex-girlfriend as much as he wanted. Of course he begged for forgiveness, said it would never happen again, he had too much to drink that night, it only happened once. He did admit to talking to her on the phone since then a few times, but said that was also a mistake.”

  “And you still told him the engagement was off, right?” I asked, praying to God she’d told him to take a hike.

  Hailey wiped away a tear that had slipped free. “I told him to leave, that I would never be able to trust him again.”

  My father stood and wrapped Hailey in his arms. “I’m so sorry, baby girl, but you did the right thing.”

  Mom stood and made her way over as well. “Your father is right. You made the right decision. No matter how much he tells you it was a mistake, once you lose that trust, it’s gone forever.”

  “If he loved you like he said he did, drunk or not, he wouldn’t have even entertained the idea,” I added as I joined my folks and wrapped Hailey up in a cocoon of our love and protection. Emmerson sat at the table and wiped her tears away.

  Finally, we withdrew from smothering my poor sister and she smiled at each of us. “I love y’all.” Facing Emmerson, she said, “And thank you for showing me I needed to take the higher road.”

  With a nod, Emmerson said, “I’ve always got your back.”

  “And I’ve got yours. There is a positive to all of this.”

  “What’s that, Hail?” I asked.

  “I can help y’all plan your fake wedding! Oh my God, I have so many ideas for the fake engagement party.”

  “We should probably stop calling it fake so we don’t slip in public,” Emmerson giggled.

  And just like that, my sister launched into planning our fake—er, our engagement party. I knew it was her way of trying not to think about Mike, and so did my folks, because they didn’t make a single comment about the engagement party for a wedding that wasn’t really happening. Any other time, I would attempt to pull my sister back some with her sudden enthusiasm, but with one glance at my father, I decided to let my sister go full throttle. Even though I knew she had a hidden agenda when it came to me and Emmerson.

  With the way my mother was smiling, a part of me knew she saw right through our charade of still being friends and nothing more.

  “Are you sure the two of you don’t want to stay for game night?” my mother asked, making a sad attempt at pouting.

  “I’ve got to get caught up on some work for a wedding this weekend,” Emmerson said as she hugged my mother and then my father goodbye.

  “And I’ve got to run by the shop after I drop Emmerson off to check on a fifty-five we’re working on.”

  Pulling me in for a hug and kiss, my mother said, “Rain check, then.”

  “Absolutely, Mom.”

  It took everything in me not to grab Emmerson by the hand and drag her to my truck.

  After we both got in, shut the doors, and were heading down the driveway, Emmerson started talking. “I don’t care anymore where we do it, Landon. I can’t take it anymore. I feel like I’m going to die. Can you die from being so horny? I’m thinking yes, you can! Did you have to keep touching me so much with your leg under the table?”

  “Me! You kept putting your hand on my leg! Do you know how close you were to my dick? I’m pretty sure you brushed up against my balls. I was so fucking hard I could hardly walk!”

  She giggled. “Where is the closest place we can go?”

  “I’m not making love to you in the barn or the backseat of my truck.”

  “Then let’s go to our spot.”

  “The north pasture?”

  She chuckled. “I know for a fact you carry at least two quilts in this truck of yours at all times.”

  I turned to look at her. “Those are for emergencies, Emme. We’re not that far from your place, only ten minutes away.”

  “This is an emergency, Landon. If we go back to my place, or even yours, I know we’re going to get interrupted. No one can find us in the pasture. It’s dark out now. It’ll just be us.”

  Before I got to the gate, I made a turn onto one of the side roads that ran across our folks’ property.

  Emmerson clapped and bounced in her seat as I laughed. It only took us a few minutes to get to what she called our spot. It was under a large pecan tree—the first place we had ever had a picnic. Not alone, though, because someone was always with us back then, it seemed. Nonetheless, this was the spot we came to when we wanted to talk, sit, and stare up at the stars, or just be away from the world. It was where I often came when I was home and not racing. It was quiet and peaceful, which was something I craved desperately right at this moment, and Emmerson knew it.

  I pulled up and parked the front of the truck under the large branches that extended from the tree trunk. I left the bed sticking out from under the canopy, so we could look up and see the stars. Stargazing was one of Emmerson’s favorite things to do. Ever since she was little, she would beg for us all to lie down and try to come up with shapes in the stars. While most people did it with clouds, Emmerson did it with stars.

  After I got the two quilts�
�and one blanket that Emmerson didn’t know about—out from behind my backseat, I laid them out on the bed of my truck.

  Emmerson stood a few feet away with her arms folded across her chest, simply staring out over the dark Hill Country. The light from the stars and the half-moon cast the perfect amount of illumination to still be able to make out things in the distance, like the hills and the vineyards that weren’t that far from here.

  I turned on the radio to the local country station and walked over, stopping right next to her.

  “Did you miss this when you were racing?” she asked, her voice so soft I hardly heard.

  “I missed a lot of things when I was racing.”

  Turning, she gazed up at me with that smile that made my heart want to beat right out of my chest. “Like what?”

  “I missed my folks, Hailey, my horse.”

  She laughed and shook her head.

  “I missed my best friend.”

  Her brows rose. “Oh?”

  With a nod, I leaned in closer and placed my mouth against her ear. “She didn’t know it at the time, but I was madly in love with her.”

  Emmerson clutched my arms as if she needed me to hold her up. Kenny Chesney’s “Me and You” came on the radio, and I drew back and met her gaze. Her smile grew bigger and she tilted her head, giving me a shy look. “Did you plan for this song to come on?”

  With a wink, I asked, “Will you do me the honor and dance with me, Ms. Wallace?”

  She bit into her lower lip before giving me a nod and allowing me to draw her body against mine.

  Dancing with Emmerson had always been one of my favorite things. We had both learned how by dancing with each other and Noah and Hailey. But when the two of us danced together, it just worked. It was like we were made for each other in so many ways.

  Emmerson rested her head on my chest as we slowly danced under the stars and let everything and everyone else slip away. The fake engagement, Hailey and Mike’s breakup, the fact that we were keeping our relationship a secret from our folks. It all seemed to disappear until it was only the two of us and the millions of stars above our heads.