CHAPTER FIVE
AUSTIN STOOD IN the doorway and watched McCall hurry away as if she’d just been scalded. Maybe in a way that’s exactly how she felt. He’d been out of the romance loop for a while, but he still recognized an interested woman when he saw her.
McCall was definitely interested.
Hell, he was interested in her, too, but there were too many obstacles in their paths. Obstacles that five-minute foreplay and good sex weren’t going to fix.
Still...
“If you look at her much longer, you might start drooling,” Howie remarked, getting Austin’s attention.
He certainly hadn’t forgotten that Howie was standing right there or his we have to talk now demand, but Austin had let McCall temporarily distract him. Drooling wasn’t likely but a possible hard-on was. That’s why Austin tore his attention from McCall and closed the door so he could regain his focus and face down Howie.
“I’m not letting Edith and you take my kids,” Austin said right off. Best to get that out of the way. “And you know that’s not what Zoey would have wanted, either. Zoey knew I was a good father. Hell, I’m still a good father.”
Howie sighed, went to the kitchen and helped himself to a cup of coffee. “I know Zoey wouldn’t have wanted it, but Edith doesn’t see things that way. She wants what’s best for Avery and Gracie.”
“I’m what’s best for them,” Austin snapped. “They’re my kids, not yours and Edith’s.”
Howie nodded as if that’s exactly what he expected Austin to say. Probably because Austin had already voiced several variations of that with the hopes that it might finally sink in. This wasn’t his first rodeo with an overbearing grandmother who thought she was acting in the best interest of her grandchildren. Edith had been singing the same tune for nearly a year.
“Edith is still grieving,” Howie said, going to the mantel to look at the pictures. “We all are,” he added before Austin could remind him of that. “You lost your wife. Edith and I lost our only child. Avery and Gracie lost their mother.”
Austin sighed, too. “I want to cut Edith and you some slack because I know how much both of you loved Zoey. How much you miss her. But I’m not going to hand over my kids to help make that better for Edith and you.”
Howie turned around to face him. His forehead was bunched up, and there was worry all over his expression. “I think I’ve calmed Edith down for now. She did call our lawyer first thing this morning, but she hasn’t pulled the trigger yet on filing a petition for custody.”
“A petition she’ll lose.” Austin couldn’t tone down the snarl in his voice.
“Maybe.” Howie looked him straight in the eyes. “Courts and judges don’t always play fair. Edith’s family has a lot of contacts, a lot of pull.”
Yeah, and that’s what caused Austin to lose sleep at night and twisted his gut into a knot. Edith was old money. Old power. In contrast, Austin was the son of a washed-up country music singer with the morals of an alley cat.
“You would actually help Edith try to take my kids from me?” Austin demanded.
Howie sighed again. “No. But Edith’s my wife, and I love her. I won’t take her side on this, but I won’t take yours, either.”
“Sounds like a wishy-washy load of bullshit to me.” The temper came like a flashfire.
And it cooled just as quickly.
Austin had to force himself to remember that Howie had been a darn good father. A good grandfather, too. A good enough one that he might be able to keep Edith in check.
“You said Edith had calmed down,” Austin reminded him. “Any chance of keeping it that way?”
“Maybe.” Howie wearily scrubbed his hand over his face and repeated it. “My advice would be to keep everything, uh, low profile.”
Austin didn’t have to guess what Howie meant by that. “You mean I shouldn’t open my door in case an idiot bull rider is standing on the other side.” Yep, there was plenty of sarcasm in his voice.
“I know that wasn’t your fault,” Howie quickly assured him. “From what I’m hearing, it wasn’t McCall’s fault, either.” He paused. “By the way, why’d she come here to you?”
Austin shrugged as if the answer were obvious. “We’re old friends.” But it was possible it was more than that. Or it could be the unexpected heat between them was causing him to think that. “Zoey and McCall were friends, too.”
Howie stared at him for several long moments. “And there’s nothing more than friendship going on between McCall and you?”
“No,” Austin quickly answered. Because dirty thoughts about five-minute foreplay and sex didn’t count.
“Too bad,” Howie mumbled.
It was a good thing Austin hadn’t just had a gulp of coffee because he would have gotten choked on it. “Excuse me?”
Again, Howie’s gaze came to his. “It’s true that McCall had an unconventional upbringing as Edith pointed out, but I did some internet searches on her. She’s a do-gooder. She’s made something out of her life.”
She had indeed. “I pointed that out to Edith, too. She didn’t seem convinced or impressed.”
“Well, I showed her the articles on McCall’s foundation. Showed her the pictures that McCall had taken with some of her donors. Edith knew some of them.”
Because Edith and those donors had run in the same “silver spoons in their mouths” circles. And Austin suddenly saw where this was going. It was going in a direction that caused him to mentally curse.
“Now that Edith knows McCall hobnobs with rich people, she might be the kind of woman Edith would approve of,” Austin grumbled.
“She might,” Howie agreed, “and before you get your back up about that, consider this. One of Edith’s biggest gripes is that she doesn’t believe a man should be raising two little girls by himself. You don’t buy that. Hell, I don’t buy that. But Edith does, and if you had someone like McCall in your life, then maybe that would make Edith hush about trying for custody of the girls.”
It was too late—Austin already had his back up. “You want me to get together with McCall to appease Edith?”
“No.” Howie said it not only quickly but also with a firm voice. “That’d just be a side benefit. I want you to get together with McCall—or some other woman—because you deserve to be happy, Austin. You deserve to find love again.”
And just like that, all the wind went out of his pissed-off sails.
Austin mentally fumbled around with what he should say to that. Heck, maybe he wasn’t ready to be happy or to find love again. Maybe his girls weren’t ready for that, either. But that wasn’t what came out of his mouth.
“I haven’t asked out a woman in years,” Austin grumbled. “Not since Zoey.”
Howie set his coffee cup down and patted Austin on the back. “Well, maybe it’s something you oughta consider.”
* * *
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, the third text that McCall got on her way from the grocery store to Em’s was very unexpected. She hadn’t checked her phone during her quick shopping trip to get some things for Em, but now that she’d pulled up in front of the house, she could see that the first had been from Mr. Bolton.
Apparently, he hadn’t been able to pull off a five-minute foreplay.
The second text had been from Dottie Purcell—who’d been on the receiving end of Mr. Bolton’s quick-trigger lovemaking. Since Dottie was also her client, McCall would soon respond to both the woman and Mr. Bolton. But for now, it was the third text that got her attention.
If you’re still in town on Friday night around six, do you want to have dinner at my place? Fairy dress and tutu optional. Austin.
McCall wasn’t even sure how Austin had gotten her number, but she didn’t have to guess why he’d asked her out. It was that blasted heat again. Good grief. She’d thought that with Austin having his hands so full with his kids he wouldn�
��t have even tried to make time for her.
She smiled.
Then she frowned.
Groaning, McCall went through a flurry of emotions that were more appropriate for a teenage girl than a grown woman. A grown woman with a multitude of her own problems.
McCall grabbed the grocery bags and got out of her SUV to go inside, but the moment she reached the door it opened. Not Granny Em or Boo but rather her grandmother’s part-time housekeeper, who always seemed to have a full-time stick up her rear.
Bernice Biggs.
“Your sister and that weirdo assistant of yours are here,” Bernice immediately informed her.
Since everything the woman did or said seemed to be coated with a thick layer of disapproval, McCall merely smiled and did something she was certain would confuse Bernice. McCall dropped a quick kiss on her cheek.
“Thanks for letting me know,” McCall said, and her voice was coated with as much glee as she could muster. It was a decent accomplishment, considering there wasn’t much glee in her life right now.
Well, except for Austin asking her out on a date.
Obviously, she’d have to figure out how to handle it, and by handle it—she’d have to tell him no without hurting his feelings. It wouldn’t be easy, but Austin didn’t need the kind of trouble she could bring to his life.
McCall made her way to the kitchen to put up the groceries, and she found the three women seated at the breakfast table. Boo, Granny Em and Sunny. Her sister immediately got up and pulled McCall into a hug that she very much needed. The rest of their family might qualify for the supreme dysfunctional label, but Sunny and she were still close. And normal-ish.
McCall was about to ask Sunny how her romantic weekend with Shaw had gone, but Granny Em spoke first. “Austin called me and asked for your number. Did he get in touch with you?”
Granny Em’s question brought silence and stares, all aimed at McCall. She nodded and hoped she didn’t have to get into why Austin had wanted her number.
“Good,” Em declared, grinning. “Because he’s gonna ask you out on a date. He didn’t come out and say that, but I could hear it in his voice. He sounds pretty smitten with you.”
That brought on more silence and stares, again aimed at McCall. Obviously, they were waiting for her to explain how Austin could have become so smitten with her when she’d been back in Lone Star Ridge less than twenty-four hours.
“Not smitten,” McCall corrected, and because she was in the company of people she trusted, she could be honest. “It’s lust.”
“Ah,” Granny Em said, giving an approving nod, and Sunny and Boo added nods of their own.
“Lust is a good way to start,” Boo commented.
“A good way to keep things going, too,” Sunny said, giving McCall a playful jab with her elbow.
“Yes, but that might not be good for Austin. Because of Edith,” McCall added, and she left it at that.
Judging from the next round of nods, the women had already gotten wind of Edith wanting custody of Avery and Gracie. McCall hoped the woman failed. She didn’t believe Edith was a bad person, but Austin had a right to raise his own children.
Pushing all of that aside, McCall turned to Sunny and took a long look at her. “I don’t have to ask if you’re happy. I can see it all over your face.”
“I am indeed over the moon,” Sunny confirmed, but she didn’t smile. “And I don’t have to ask if you’re feeling crappy. I can see it all over your face.” She slipped her arm around McCall’s waist. “Why don’t we go for a walk and you can tell me all about it?”
“It’s hotter than a hen laying hard-boiled eggs out there,” Em interrupted. “Y’all just stay in here and have your feeling crappy chat. I’ve downloaded some new music I want to listen to.”
“Oh, can I listen, too?” Boo asked.
“It’s okay,” McCall assured her assistant. “You can stay.”
“No, I really want to listen to the music,” Boo insisted. Her mouth stretched into an exaggerated grin. “Did you know Em has sort of trashy taste in tunes?”
McCall and Sunny both made sounds of agreement without a trace of surprise. Granny Em did seem to enjoy listening to the more explicit songs, and McCall wasn’t at all sure that Em didn’t know exactly what those lyrics meant.
“So, tell me about your hot affair with Shaw,” McCall prompted Sunny after Granny Em and Boo were out of the room.
Sunny’s smile was delicious and decadent. “You know I’ve been in love with him since I was old enough to know why I got tingles in my nether regions whenever I laid eyes on him.”
McCall had indeed known that. The “smitten” label had definitely been true in Sunny’s case. “What about the differences you two had?” McCall asked as she started putting up the groceries. “You’ve always wanted kids and Shaw didn’t.”
Sunny’s smile only intensified. “He’s changed his mind on that. We’re going to wait a few months until we’re married, and then the knocking-up sex will begin.”
Well, that a huge change for Shaw. McCall remembered him not being fond of kids since he’d had to deal with so many of his siblings and half siblings. As the oldest of the Jameson clan, a lot of responsibility had been placed on Shaw’s shoulders, and his father certainly hadn’t stepped up to the plate to help. Still, it sounded as if Shaw had figured out that he would have parenting help if he had a child with Sunny.
“I’m very happy for you,” McCall said. She paused putting up the groceries to give her sister another hug.
“But?” Sunny asked after she pulled back.
“No buts,” McCall assured her.
However, there was one. McCall was indeed happy for Sunny and Shaw, but a little piece of her was sorry that she hadn’t found that kind of happiness. It wasn’t jealousy. Okay, maybe it was, just a little. But it was frustrating that a therapist couldn’t heal herself.
“I know that look.” Sunny studied her eyes. “Using one of Granny Em’s sayings—you look lower than the basement of a gopher hole.”
McCall tried to change her expression. Tried to brighten up. Because there was no way she wanted to bring Sunny down anywhere near a gopher’s basement.
“Any chance Austin could be the cure for what ails you?” Sunny asked.
McCall shouldn’t have been surprised that her sister had seen right through her. Sunny and she had always had a telepathy type thing going on. Some people would have said that’s because they’d shared the same womb for the first eight months or so of their lives, but since McCall had no such connection with Hadley, that wasn’t it. It was probably because Sunny and she were more birds of a feather. Family and doing the right thing were important to them.
Unlike Hadley and Hayes.
Their Hollywood lives put them in a different sphere than Sunny and her. That and their crappy attitudes toward life. McCall and all her siblings had been subjected to the same insane upbringing, but it had sucker punched Hayes and Hadley more than it had Sunny and her.
“Well?” Sunny nudged when McCall stayed quiet.
McCall took out her phone and showed her the “dinner date” text from Austin, and it caused Sunny to squeal with delight. And give her another hug.
“No, I’m not all gushy because we could be hooked up with brothers,” Sunny assured her. “I’m gushy because I think Austin could scratch an itch for you that hasn’t been scratched in a while.”
“I don’t doubt that,” McCall admitted. Austin definitely looked like an itch scratcher. “But there’s a problem.”
Sunny continued to study her. “You mean Zoey?”
“She could be part of it,” McCall admitted, and then paused. “I remember Zoey and Austin together, and it was nothing like what I had with him. Everything that Austin and I had together was part of a script.” Well, that was true on his part, anyway. “But it was the real deal wit
h Zoey and him.”
Sunny slid her hand over McCall’s. “It was. They were very much in love. But surely you don’t think Austin should keep on being in love with her even after she’s gone?”
“No, but part of him will always love her.” McCall shook her head to cut off any assurances from Sunny that Austin could and would have a life after Zoey. “If Austin gets involved with me, that could end up hurting him.”
“You mean because of what happened last night with the bull rider?” Sunny asked.
“No.” McCall dragged in a long breath. “It’s because of something I did when I was in college. Also, because of something I own.”
Apparently, triplet telepathy wasn’t working so well on this because Sunny just looked confused. “Uh, what exactly did you do and what do you own?”
Best just to say this fast, and over the years McCall had sort of rehearsed it. She’d known that someday she would have to tell Sunny or Granny Em. “I ran short of money when I was in grad school so I worked in a gentleman’s club called Peekaboo in Dallas.”
Sunny’s mouth fell open, the stunned surprise all over her face. Then she gasped. Then laughed. “You were a stripper?”
McCall understood the shock. After all, she’d been the “good” Little Cowgirl. “No, but I was a waitress there, and I wore a very skimpy outfit that barely covered my nipples and my butt. It was so skimpy that customers often mistook me for one of the strippers.” Thankfully, the place had good bouncers so things never got out of hand.
“Wow,” Sunny said, not disapproval but with awe. “But you were able to watch the strippers and see what they do?”
That was a big yes. McCall hadn’t had a choice about the watching and seeing since the women had been “performing” on the stage that jutted out onto the floor. The very floor where McCall had served drinks.
“Yes, I got to see a lot of the shows and routines,” McCall settled for saying. Ditto for getting plenty of behind-the-scene glimpses of the women shoving and prying themselves into costumes.
Sunny’s eyes seemed to light up. “Do you think you could teach me some moves the strippers used? Shaw would appreciate something like that.”
Chasing Trouble in Texas Page 6
