by Elle Casey
I turn around to look at Mack. “How does he know how it goes?”
Mack shrugs. “Happens in the animal world too sometimes.”
I nod. This makes complete sense to me. I spent a little time before my nap with my first love, Google, and I learned quite a bit about the hormone tornado wreaking havoc on Andie’s body. It made me want to draw her a hot bath, but when I called her to discuss it she declined my offer.
“If you two want to go out some night, Candice and I could come over and watch her for you,” Ian says.
My heart spasms in my chest. How cute would that be? Ian and me, pretending to be parents for a little while.
My face goes white again. Parents? Ian and me? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ian asks. “You feeling okay? You look kind of pale.”
“Me?” My eyes bulge out. Is he reading minds now too? “Nothing at all. Not one thing.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Liar.”
“How’s the trip going so far, Candice?” Mack asks me. “Andie feels bad that she hasn’t had more time to spend with you.”
“Oh, it’s been great. Ian’s been keeping me occupied.” I want to die when the words come out of my mouth. More like his dick has been keeping me occupied. Holy crap. We totally did it in his parents’ house and their barn.
Ian glances at me, but keeps his mouth shut, thankfully.
“So I heard,” Mack says.
I’m speechless. Thank goodness Ian isn’t suffering the same problem.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, looking in his rearview mirror at Mack.
“Nothing. Just that I heard you all went to town a couple times together.” He laughs. “Heard she shot you at the range, too.”
“She did.” Ian nods. “In cold blood, I might add.”
I sigh, already tired of this conversation. “I didn’t shoot him, karma did. And I’ve never been called cold-blooded in my entire life, so don’t start now.”
He pats me on the leg and then runs his hand up to squeeze my thigh very close to places he shouldn’t be touching in public. “I’m sorry, babe. You’re right. You’re not cold blooded.”
I lift his hand off me and give him the look. “Hands off the merchandise.” The last thing I need is Mack reporting back to Andie about Ian and me feeling each other up. I’ll never hear the end of that for sure.
Ian glances at me, confused, but then goes back to his driving. We’re not far from the highway and this is the part that has the most holes in the road, so he needs to concentrate. I have a mission to accomplish tonight and I can’t do that in a ditch on the side of the road.
“So what’s the plan tonight?” Mack asks.
“Plan?” I’m all innocence. “What plan?”
“Just three people out for a drink, that’s all,” Ian says.
“You can ease up on the bullpucky,” Mack says. “Mom told me everything.”
I roll my eyes and snort out my disgust. “Can’t anyone keep a secret in this family?”
Ian’s smiling way too hard. “Nope. Hey, Mack … did Candice tell you that she and I are running away to Orlando?”
Mack leans over into the front seat and stares at me. “Why, no she didn’t, as a matter of fact.” He nudges me on the shoulder. “Do tell, Candice.”
My jaw is stuck open. The only sounds that will come out are ones of frustration and surprise.
“Yeah. I proposed the idea earlier today, and she’s all for it,” Ian says.
The words pop out of me before I can stop them. “I am not.”
“You aren’t?” Ian looks at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you serious?”
“No. Yes. No.” I take a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know what I am. Confused is probably the best word.” I stare out the side window so I don’t have to look at his impossibly gorgeous face.
Mack chuckles. “Well, I think it’s a good idea if anyone cares about my opinion.” He sits back in his seat.
I’m shocked. I have to turn around and look in the back to see if he’s just messing with me. “Are you serious?” He sure is doing a good imitation of someone who is with that cowboy hat on and those cold blue eyes of his. He’s definitely not smiling.
“Why not?” He shrugs. “I married my wife after knowing her only a few hours. I definitely believe in going for it. When you know, you just know.”
Ian pats me on the leg. “See? Told ya.”
I turn around and slump down in my seat a little. This is all moving so fast for me. I can’t believe the MacKenzies would just let Ian go like that, without a word against it. His parents will be furious for sure. A big brother can afford to be casual about it, but his mother, she’s going to be mad. She’ll probably want to run me over with her little truck.
Mack is talking again, jerking me out of my thoughts. “Mom was just saying yesterday how she wished you’d find someone to go on an adventure with. She says that’s what you need. You’re just withering away in Baker.”
“She said that?” Ian shakes his head. “Damn. Even my own family is ready to throw me out.”
“You’ve got to admit,” Mack says, “you’ve pretty much been a pain in the keister for the last few years.”
“Yeah, well … I’m done with that.” Ian frowns. “Just going to remedy one little misunderstanding tonight and then I’ll be moving on.” He looks over at me. “Onward and upward.”
I try to smile, but inside I’m dying. What if I’m just a big disappointment to him? What if he walks into my salon and laughs at my work, my life, my friends? It’s so different from what he’s used to. Is it really possible for city and country to live in harmony together?
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to getting to know Candice’s world,” he says.
Oooph. I guess we’re going to find out. I try not to let that thought send me into a blind panic.
Chapter Forty-Three
THE BAR IS LAME. IT’S dark, it smells like stale beer, and it’s full of fat guys wearing flannel shirts. Someone burps as I walk in and I catch a whiff of salami.
“Aw, come on, Dave,” Ian says, stepping in between the offender and me. He waves his hand in front of his face as he grimaces.
“Hey, Ian, what’s up man?” The burper holds up a hand, but he can’t keep it still. Eventually he gives up on getting a high five from Ian and lets it drop to his leg with a slap.
“Already wasted at six o’clock? Man, you’re toast.” Ian walks over and pats him on the back hard. “How about a cup of coffee, dude? You up for it?”
“Yeah, thass a good idea, I think.” The guy is nodding, his eyes glassy.
I walk away before I accidentally see anymore. If that guy barfs, I will totally lose it, and I haven’t even gotten ten feet inside the door yet.
“So, we’re here to see Ginny, is that it?” Mack asks me.
I look over my shoulder at Ian. He’s holding his friend Dave up while the bartender pours him a coffee. I guess Mack is my new wingman.
“Yeah. I need to just chat with her for a second and then we can leave.”
Mack points. “You’ll find her in that back room over there. That’s where all the dart boards are. Watch out for the boards, though. Make sure you stay on the opposite end of the room from ‘em.”
He winks when he catches me about to unleash on him, so instead of yelling at him for insulting my intelligence, I say, “Thanks,” and leave him at the bar ordering beers.
I see Tate Montgomery across the room and wave at him. He looks as if he’s going to stand and come over, but I break eye contact and walk away. I don’t want Ian getting another black eye on my behalf. He’s already going to look like a hell raiser when he shows up in Florida with that shiner he’s sporting.
It’s then that I realize I’m seriously considering his offer to come home with me. I must be crazy. I shake my head to get it off that train of thought. I need to focus on the mission at hand. Andie now, Ian later.
I go through an archway and spot Ginny at the far end of the room. She’s in the middle of a couple guys and two other girls, one of them being Hannah. My eyes narrow as I take in the scene. Hannah wanted Ian and me to believe she was innocent in the scheme of things, but seeing her here tonight makes me doubt that.
I walk over, ignoring all the eyes that are on me. When I’m halfway to my destination, Hannah notices me and bumps Ginny on the arm. All the people in their little group turn to watch me arrive.
My heart starts hammering in my chest. Easy now, Candice. You have a gun. You’re a badass. Lions fear you. Don’t let her intimidate you. I lift my chin and stick out my boobs a little. No one, and I mean no one is going to talk shit about my best friend after tonight. My superpowers are on full alert. Just let Ginny try anything.
“Hello,” I say as I step up in front of her. I hate to admit it, but her hair looks amazing, and her boots are adorable. I have no idea how she’s walking in the snow with them, though. The soles are black and not inch-thick astronaut rubber like mine.
“Hello. Candice, right?” She looks over my shoulder. “Where’s Ian?”
“Never mind where Ian is. I’m here to discuss Andie.”
She smiles, pursing her lips a little before she responds. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it is so. Listen …,” I gesture at Hannah, “I hear through the grapevine that you’ve been spreading rumors about my friend Andie MacKenzie.”
“Not me.” She’s so smug I want to slap her, but I resist.
“Hannah says you’ve been telling people Andie broke you and Ian up.”
“That true, Hannah?” She asks without even looking at her friend.
“Nope.” Hannah takes a drink of her beer. “I didn’t say that.”
“You’re a liar,” I say, pointing at her over Ginny’s shoulder. “I’ll deal with you later.” I turn my attention back to Ginny. “But for now, I’m here for you.”
“Oh, I’m flattered.” Ginny puts her hand on her heart and bats her eyelashes.
I narrow my eyes at her. “So when you were being all friendly in the hospital, you were just bullshitting me, huh?”
“You’re so intelligent.” She tilts her head and speaks in a saccharine sweet tone. “Did you go to college?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. UF. Graduated summa cum laude. Did you?”
“Yes.” She sticks her chin out. “In La Grande.”
“Community college,” Hannah says, leaning towards us to clarify.
Ginny loses her uppity expression in an instant. “Shut up, Hannah.”
“You shut up, Ginny.” Hannah glares at her friend and takes another sip of her beer.
Ginny’s smile is tight. “Anyway, we have nothing to say about your friend Andie, so you can move along.” She gestures to the targets at the other side of the room, three feathered darts sticking out of the top of her fingers. “We’re in the middle of a tournament here.”
I snatch the darts out of her hand and throw all three of them at her board together. One sticks in the edge and the rest hit the wall sideways and fall to the floor.
“Hey!”
“That’s your turn,” says a guy on the other team. “You got ..” He looks at the target. “A whole lotta nothin’.” His entire team snickers.
She pushes my shoulder. “You messed up my score!”
I push her back. “You messed up my best friend’s life!”
Ginny looks like she’s about to combust. Her face is bright red and her eyes are nearly falling out of her head. “You touch me again and we are so going to fight.”
“You say one more word about Andie or Ian and you’re damn straight we’re going to fight.” I bob my head a little so she knows I’m serious.
Her mouth twists up into something seriously ugly. “Andie MacKenzie is a no-good slut who not only ruined my wedding to Ian and my entire life, but Hannah’s life too.”
I drop my purse on the ground behind me and push up my sleeves. “All right, that’s it. I warned you.”
Hannah looks worried, but Ginny doesn’t. She looks strangely excited by the prospect of me whooping her butt.
The guys back away and start laughing, nudging each other in anticipation. You’d think we were about to jump in a tub of Jell-O the way they’re leering at us. Idiots.
I’m so busy making sure the material of my blouse is up high enough on my elbows that it won’t get ruined that I’m not prepared for Ginny’s first move. She blindsides me with a bitch slap to the face, whipping my head sideways.
I recover a split-second later and leap on her without thinking, going for her hair. I know that’s the easiest way to get a girl like her on her knees. I’m a fucking ninja when it comes to this shit.
She screams. “Ow! That’s my hair, you bitch!”
I yank for all I’m worth, bringing her to her knees with the pain. “If you want to keep it you’ll promise to leave Andie alone.”
“Screw Andie! And screw you too, you lunatic!”
I pull harder. “What was that?”
She has her hands up, trying to undo my grip, but there’s no way. I’m using my all-steel kung-fu grip. An earthquake couldn’t get me off her, even though she’s killing me messing with my stitches the way she is.
“Ow, quit!” She gives up on trying to get me to let go and instead punches my thighs and my calves repeatedly.
The crowd is going wild, cheering us on. God, Baker City is full of complete imbeciles. I’m never going to live here. I don’t care how cute Ian is. It makes me all the more dedicated to fixing things for Andie. She’s stuck here, she doesn’t have a choice, but there’s no reason why she should have to suffer bitches like this one giving her grief.
I hold tight, blocking out the pain of Ginny’s assault. If I let her up she’s bound to kill me or pop one of my boobs at least, and I don’t want to have to go through that surgery again for sure. It took forever before I could hold up a dryer again after my implants went in.
“Candice, what the hell?” It’s Ian and he’s standing off to my right.
“Just stay back, Ian. I’ve got this under control.” I’m grunting with the effort of absorbing Ginny’s punches. She has some really boney knuckles.
“What’s wrong with you people?!” Mack yells, addressing Hannah and the other spectators. He puts two beers down on the nearest high top table.
“Ginny, get up.” He comes around behind her and lifts her to her feet.
Ian takes me from behind, but I’m not letting go of the wench’s hair for anything. This is my only leverage to get what I came here for.
“Let go, bitch!” Ginny screeches.
“Not ’til you promise to stop making up lies about my friend!”
“I’m not telling any lies about that whore!”
“Now, wait a second,” Mack says.
That’s when I let go of Ginny’s hair. This is about as good as a confession as I think I’m going to get, but it’s good enough for me. Now Mack knows what’s going on and soon everyone else will too.
I let Ian pull me back and put some distance between us and her. My stitches are on fire, but I don’t feel any blood escaping, so I consider that a win.
“What’d you call my wife?” Mack is standing at his full height now and it’s pretty impressive.
Ginny stands and tries to right her messed-up hair. It looks like a family of rats had a party in it, so it’s pretty much hopeless. That makes me happy.
“You heard me,” Ginny spits out. “Whore.” And then she really does spit, right at Mack’s feet.
I move to go after her again, but Ian grabs me from behind. “Easy there, killer. Let her have her say.”
“Have her say? She’s lying about Andie, your sister-in-law.”
“She’s just hurt,” he says in a really calm voice.
Ginny turns a murderous gaze in his direction. “Fuck you, Ian. You ruined everything.”
“Me? I ruined everything?” He laughs, but it
’s pretty bitter-sounding.
It seems like everyone in the entire bar has come into the dart room to witness the spectacle. I try to fix my sleeves so they’re more presentable and move to stand next to Ian instead of in front of him. He takes me by the hand and makes sure that everyone sees it by lifting our entwined arms and kissing me on the back of my fingers.
“Yes, you,” Ginny says. “We had a plan, okay? A life we were living together, and you walked away from all of it. From ten years of living our lives together, Ian. Of making plans for our future.”
Mack lets out a long hiss of air. “Your plans, not his.”
She whips her head around to look at Ian’s defender. “Shut up, Mack, what do you know? You never had the time of day for your little brother. Didn’t then and you still don’t now.”
“Hey, that’s out of line,” Ian says, taking a step towards her.
Mack shakes his head. “Maybe you’re right, Ginny, but that doesn’t make what you did okay.”
“Hey, don’t listen to her,” Ian says. He’s talking to his brother at first but then he lifts his gaze to the room, scanning all the faces of the people listening in and watching. “None of you listen to her, you hear? She’s full of anger and jealousy. Everything coming out of her mouth is a damn lie.”
“Is not!” she screams. She points at Ian. “You walked out on me!”
“You cheated on me!” he yells back. “With my brother of all people!”
She sneers. “He asked for it. He basically begged me for it.”
Mack looks at her with a shocked expression. “Are you serious?” He looks at Ian. “You can’t possibly believe her.”
“Of course I don’t believe her.” Ian is disgusted. “God, how ridiculous can you be, Ginny? Jesus, why didn’t I ever see that before?” Ian backs up, like he can’t stand to be too close to her. He drags me with him, shaking his head.
She’s crying but furious. “You loved me, Ian. You still do. I know you do! That’s why you’re always out drinking and carrying on. You miss me. You miss us.” She takes a step towards him with her hand held out.
“Don’t touch me!” he yells, throwing an arm out in front of him in a defensive gesture. “Don’t even come near me.”
