A spark of amusement lit her eyes. “Food and conversation,” she echoed dutifully.
And trouble, he thought to himself. Let’s not forget about the trouble. He knew with every fiber of his being that he was asking for it.
Eight
“Haven’t seen much of Val lately,” Harlan Patrick said, the casual tone belied by the wicked glint in his eyes. “Any idea what she’s been up to?”
Slade muttered a response he hoped would end the subject, though his boss wasn’t known for taking a hint.
“What was that?” Harlan Patrick asked, his expression innocent.
Slade looked up and met his gaze evenly. “I said go to hell.”
Harlan Patrick hooted, obviously undaunted by Slade’s bad temper. “Now is that any way to treat your boss and the man who brought Val into your life?” he taunted.
“Probably no way to treat the boss,” Slade agreed. “As for the other, I probably ought to kick your butt from here to Dallas for inflicting that woman on me. From the minute you suggested I entertain her while you and Laurie dealt with your own family crisis, she’s been pestering me to death.”
“Which bothers you so much that you’ve started having dinner with her every night, just so you can keep an eye on her,” Harlan Patrick teased. “Yep, you never know what a woman like Val might be up to. Gotta keep a close eye on her.” He grinned. “Real close, I’d say.”
“Like I said—”
“I know. I know. None of my business.” Harlan Patrick’s gaze turned serious. “Of course, Val and Laurie are more than business associates. They’re friends. I’m right fond of Val myself. She helped me out when I was chasing after Laurie and trying to convince her to marry me. I’d feel real badly if anyone were to hurt her.”
Slade regarded him evenly, accepting the fierce protectiveness that was typical of an Adams when one of their own was endangered. It extended to anyone they cared about. “Message received.”
“Good,” Harlan Patrick said with a sigh of relief. “Now I’ve done my duty. Maybe Laurie will get off my back.”
Slade grinned. “So it was your wife who put you up to bugging me about this?”
“She’s nesting,” Harlan Patrick said. “I’m told it’s natural with pregnant women. They want everyone around them settled down and happy.”
Slade regarded him with surprise. “Laurie’s pregnant?”
Harlan Patrick grinned, looking pleased as punch. “Yep. She found out yesterday, though Val told her she was weeks ago. I guess she recognized the signs from last time.”
He said the last without rancor, though Slade knew for a fact it had been a very sore point that Laurie had kept his baby from him. If it hadn’t been for a front-page picture in a tabloid, Harlan Patrick might never have known about his daughter, might never have made one last-ditch effort to get Laurie to marry him.
“Congratulations,” Slade said, pumping his boss’s hand. “I guess that means she won’t be doing any concert tours for a while, then. That must make you happy.” He also knew that Laurie’s music and the traveling it required had been a real bone of contention between them before they’d married. The battles over it had been legendary until someone had finally taught the two the meaning of compromise. They were still struggling to get the knack of it, though, from what Slade had observed.
“Actually, the tour’s still on,” Harlan Patrick said with an air of resignation. “She claims she’s healthy as a horse and there’s no reason not to go ahead with her plans. I made her promise not to be on the road for at least two weeks before the baby’s due. I’m not having my second child born in some other state with me nowhere to be found. I intend to be right by Laurie’s side this time.”
“You know, Harlan Patrick, sometimes Mother Nature has a mind of her own,” Slade pointed out. “The baby might not stick to your timetable.”
“Which is why I’m going on the road with her for the last two weeks of the tour. I’m not taking any chances on missing this kid’s arrival.” He studied Slade. “What about you? Were you there when Annie was born?”
Slade concentrated on cleaning Black Knight’s shoe. “Nope. I was on the circuit up in Wyoming then. Suzanne was back here in Texas. She never forgave me for it, either. My mama was at the hospital. She said Suzanne cursed me so loudly in the delivery room, it was a wonder I didn’t hear it all the way up in Cheyenne.”
“I think we get the blame most of the time when women are in labor,” Harlan Patrick said. “I’ve been at the hospital on a few occasions waiting for various kids in this family to be born. Most of the men got cursed out to their faces. Ten minutes after they held the baby, though, it had all blown over.”
“Yeah, but with Suzanne and me, it was the beginning of the end. When I think back, it’s probably a wonder our marriage lasted as long as it did after Annie came along. Suzanne was the kind of woman who required a lot of attention. I wasn’t around to give it to her, and once Annie started school, they couldn’t stay on the road with me.”
“That’s a concern you’d never have with Val,” Harlan Patrick noted, as if it were only an idle observation. “Woman’s as independent as they come.”
“So I’ve noticed,” Slade said, and let it go at that. Val might claim to be interested in him, might even turn up at his table for dinner most nights, but she could vanish without a trace for hours on end. She didn’t need him, not really. He was still struggling with himself over whether that was good or bad. Sometimes he found it more annoying than he cared to admit.
“Does that bother you?” Harlan Patrick asked, zeroing in on his thoughts as if able to read them.
“Of course not. She’s entitled to a life of her own. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Is that so?” Harlan Patrick inquired, his voice laced with skepticism. He grinned. “You are in such deep denial, it’s pitiful.”
Slade’s head shot up. “Denial about what?”
“The way that woman gets to you.”
“Don’t go getting any ideas,” he said, much as he did to Annie almost daily.
The trouble was, he was the one getting ideas. Some had to do with getting Val from the dinner table straight into his bed. Some had to do with the kind of permanence that scared him to death. Generally speaking, he figured it was better not to think about her at all. Unfortunately, ever since she’d taken over his kitchen, that had proved to be next to impossible.
Even on those occasions when she disappeared before he got home in the evening, her scent was everywhere. So was her touch. The table always had a bouquet of flowers on it. She and Annie had made curtains for the windows, sheer things that reminded him all too vividly of that provocative cover-up she’d worn at Annie’s party. The magazines he’d tossed on the floor late at night sat in a neat little pile on a table.
A few weeks ago he might have accused her of trying to take over his life. Now he saw it as taking care of him...and Annie, of course. Instead of blind panic, a warm feeling settled over him as a result of her subtle improvements in his living conditions. The house suddenly felt a lot like a home, the kind he remembered from his childhood, not the kind he and Suzanne had shared on the rare occasions when he was there. The ever-present tension between him and his wife had robbed their home of any warmth or affection. Val made sure there was plenty of both. Sometimes her casual, innocent touches just about drove him to the brink.
The whole thing was worrisome, though. He was getting used to these feelings of being settled, getting used to her. Defenses rock-solid a few weeks ago were crumbling now. If he wasn’t very, very careful he was going to forget all about his resolve to keep his distance—emotionally and physically.
With Harlan Patrick’s warning still ringing in his ears, he reminded himself that that could be very risky in more ways than one.
* * *
Her plan to insinuate herself into Slade’s life wa
sn’t going the way she’d planned at all, Val concluded after several weeks of staring at him across the dinner table. They chatted politely. They laughed. They even exchanged long, heated looks once Annie left the table.
But when the dishes were done and Annie had retreated to her room, Slade all but escorted her out the door. He’d come close to slamming it in her face a couple of times. If he hadn’t looked so panicked, she might have taken offense. Clearly the man didn’t trust himself to be alone with her. His obvious skittishness, which was increasing almost daily, should have been reward enough, but she wanted more. A lot more.
Steering clear of Slade had worked the last time. Maybe it was time to return to that strategy. Sometimes even more drastic measures were called for. Maybe she needed to up the ante by bringing some competition into the mix. Slade had thrived on challenges once. He’d had a fiercely competitive career. She doubted that sort of spirit had faded just because he was no longer fighting for rodeo championships. Maybe he needed to be lured into fighting for her.
“Laurie, a lot of your songs are just about ready to go,” she mentioned casually one morning as Laurie sipped some herbal tea to get her perpetually queasy stomach settled. “Why don’t you get the band down here for a few days and rehearse? See how they sound with all the pieces in place?”
“Any particular reason you want the band to come?” Laurie shot her a knowing look. “You aren’t, by any chance, thinking that a little attention from another man might make Slade jealous?”
“It could work,” Val said defensively, not even trying to hide her motives from her best friend. “He doesn’t have to know that none of the guys have ever looked at me twice.”
“It’s risky,” Laurie warned, looking worried. “He might just conclude that you really have something going with one of the guys, that he was just a stand-in while you were stuck down here with me. If his pride kicks in, you’ll be worse off than you are now.”
Val considered that, then decided it was still worth the risk. “I don’t think I could be any worse off. Besides, I’m desperate to get him to wake up. Nothing else I’ve tried has worked.”
“Ever heard of the word patience?”
“I’ve been patient,” Val countered.
“Not by my standards, but okay.” Laurie shrugged. “If it will stop you from moping around here, I’ll do it,” she agreed. “Call Nick and have him set it up.”
Val grinned and reached for the phone. “I’ll have them here by the weekend.”
“Have you decided which of the men is going to be your secret admirer? I’m sure any one of them would be happy to volunteer. Contrary to what you believe, they have all looked at you twice. Sometimes more. None of them pursued it, because you made it very clear that you thought of them as business colleagues and nothing more.” Laurie waved a finger under Val’s nose. “See to it none of them get hurt. I’ve seen this kind of thing split up a band and I won’t have it happening with mine, not because of some game you’re bent on playing.”
“I’ll lay it all out up front,” Val promised, chagrined by the understanding of what she was asking of Laurie, of the lengths her friend was willing to go to on her behalf.
When the band arrived on Friday, Val met them at the airport. On the drive to the ranch, she zeroed in on the drummer, who had a shy smile and sexy eyes. She knew from past experience that men grew very competitive when he was around. He was also engaged to be married, which ought to make it safe enough to ask him to be part of her plot.
“Would you mind flirting outrageously with me for the next three or four days?” she asked him as the others unloaded their bags at the hotel. “Nothing serious. It’s just to get someone’s attention. I know it’s a huge favor. I’ll understand if you say no.”
Paul studied her intently. “You know I’d do anything in the world for you, but you’re going to have to clue me in. Are you trying to snag this man or run him off?”
“Snag him,” she admitted.
He nodded, his expression serious. “Point him out and I’ll get to work. But if you ever tell Tracy about this, I’m a dead man. She won’t care that the flirting’s not for real. She always thought I had a thing for you.”
Val hesitated, remembering what Laurie had said about some of the band having been interested in her. “Maybe this is a bad idea, then. You and Tracy have something special. I don’t want to start trouble.”
“You won’t,” Paul assured her. “I know the score. This is nothing personal. Just don’t kiss me like you mean it in front of the guys. They’re the biggest blabbermouths I’ve ever run across.” He winked. “Of course, if you want to kiss me in private, that’s another story.”
“If this goes the way I hope, I won’t be kissing you at all,” she said, then patted his cheek. “Don’t look so disappointed. It’s for the best.”
At Val’s instigation, Laurie invited Slade and Annie to the rehearsal on Saturday evening, along with most of the Adamses. Annie dragged Slade over to sit next to Val on the crowded sofa. They were crushed together, thigh-to-thigh. Val could feel his heat burning into her. Unless she was very much mistaken, his temperature had climbed several degrees when he’d realized he couldn’t squirm away from her without causing a scene. To her amusement, he’d settled back stoically.
“I’m so excited,” Annie confided. “Do you think Laurie’s going to sing the song I helped her write? I know she did it at my party and all, but this is with the whole band, like it would be on the album.”
Val grinned. “I think you can count on it.”
Slade’s gaze locked with hers. “You haven’t been around much the last couple of days.”
“Did you miss me?”
“Missed your cooking,” he claimed, though the look in his eyes said it was more than that.
“I’ve been busy helping Laurie set up this rehearsal. I wanted to spend some time with the guys, too. You know, catching up.” She allowed her gaze to drift to Paul, who winked at her. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks.
“Who is that?” Slade asked, his tone suddenly testy.
“Paul McDaniels. He’s been with Laurie from the beginning. He’s a great drummer. A nice man, too.”
Paul came over then, standing close and resting his hand on her shoulder in a familiar, possessive gesture. Val introduced him to Slade and tried not to chuckle at Slade’s sour expression when Paul bent down to brush a kiss across her cheek before he went back to join the band.
“You two seem close,” Slade said tightly.
“Old friends,” she said simply, keeping her gaze on Paul as she said it. She managed to imbue her words with a significance that indicated the relationship went well beyond friendship.
“I see.”
The tension radiating from Slade was almost palpable as the rehearsal got underway. He stared at Paul and scowled, as Laurie sang song after song. Only when the first strains of Annie’s song filled the air did he manage to drag his attention away from the band to focus on Laurie.
“That’s it, Daddy,” Annie said, bouncing beside him. “That’s my song. Listen.”
He grinned at her enthusiasm. As Laurie sang about second chances and new self-discovery, his expression turned thoughtful. When the song ended, he leaned down and gave Annie a kiss.
“You should be real proud, angel. That was a beautiful song.” He gazed at Val. “Thank you for giving her the chance to be a part of it.”
He stood up then. “I think I’ll be going now. I’ve got an early day tomorrow. Have to get to Fort Worth. Annie’ll be staying with Dani and her kids while I’m gone. That should give you plenty of time to visit with your old friend.”
Val barely managed to conceal her disappointment, then and over the next few days, during which Slade remained out of town. By the time he came back, the band had returned to Nashville.
As near as she could tell, her scheme had
been a bust. For lack of anything more interesting to do, she saw no reason not to go back to the old pattern of cooking for Slade and Annie. For the next couple of weeks, she deliberately breezed in and out of their lives, leaving a trail of perfume and the aroma of freshly baked apple pie, Slade’s favorite after her decadent chocolate cake.
However, somewhere along the way, she had concluded that tactical retreat was still her best bet. She made sure she was never there to share the meals she and Annie prepared. Maybe he’d actually miss her—eventually.
She was slipping out the door on a Friday night when Slade managed to catch her.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the elusive homemaker,” he said, amusement threading through his voice. “What are you up to?”
“Just seeing that the two of you don’t starve to death, as usual.” She ducked under his arm. “See ya. Gotta run.”
He snagged her arm. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
“Slade,” she began, but the protest died on her lips. The glint in his eyes was worrisome. “Slade?”
“You brought enough dinner for two?” he asked.
Because her lips were suddenly too dry for her to speak, she nodded.
“Then you’ll have to stay and share. Annie’s gone for the evening. A slumber party.”
“Oh, really.” Annie hadn’t said a word to her when she’d left the house a little earlier. She’d made some excuse about running up to the main house. She’d even begged Val to wait until she got back.
“You didn’t know?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “I thought you two were thick as thieves.”
“I guess she forgot to mention it,” Val said, recalling the evasiveness Annie had displayed earlier. The little schemer had set her up.
“So, will you stay?”
West Texas Nights Page 28
