“But it has a kitchen, and we could have the food catered if you don’t want to get that up and going. There’d be no groping or anything hinky, just some yummy treats to eat and equally yummy eyeball candy for women looking for a fantasy experience.”
McCall didn’t automatically jump to playing devil’s advocate. She gave it some real thought and decided that it actually wasn’t a horrible idea. A shocker since most of Boo’s ideas were often well off the mark.
“We could call it Fanta-tea,” Boo went on, chuckling now. “You know, as a play on fantasy.”
Okay, that wasn’t especially good, but as excited as Boo was about this, she’d probably come up with plenty of other options. But McCall immediately thought of a hitch.
“What about the strippers?” McCall asked. “How would they feel about basically being replaced by a bunch of male waiters?”
“I’ll bet some won’t be excited,” Boo admitted. “But I think they’d all get on board with it as long as they have jobs. We could even work them into the playacting with some of the hot guys. Again, nothing gropy or sexual. They could just play the fantasy role of whatever room they’re serving.”
McCall figured there’d be no way to stop the sexual thoughts, but as long as they stayed thoughts and not actions, that’d be okay. And they already owned some costumes from when McCall had wanted the strippers to try out more conservative dance routines.
“Maybe we could even have some of the current strippers transfer to management,” McCall said, thinking out loud.
“Does that mean you’ll be too busy with Austin to do any management duties yourself?” Boo immediately said.
“No.” McCall answered fast, too. “I’m not sure what’ll happen with Austin. I just want to give him some time to sort out his feelings.”
And time to get Edith off his back with this custody suit.
“Write up this idea,” McCall told Boo, “and we’ll talk about it when I get to Dallas.”
She ended the call with a still enthusiastic Boo only to have her phone ring again with another call. It was Austin’s name that popped up on the screen again, and while McCall wanted to put off talking to him, she didn’t want him to worry about her.
Well, not worry more than he already was.
She could give him a quick assurance that she was okay and say that she’d call him back tonight. By then, McCall would have figured out what to say. She could hope so, anyway.
Taking a long breath, McCall hit the answer button on her steering wheel and expected to hear Austin’s voice pouring through her car. She didn’t.
“We’re playing cops and bobbers for real,” the little voice said. McCall was almost positive it was Avery. “And you’re the bobber.”
McCall knew that bobber was Avery’s word for robber, but she had no idea how that applied to her.
Then McCall heard the siren.
Her gaze flew to her rearview mirror, and she saw the flashing lights of the cruiser. And if she wasn’t mistaken, it was a Lone Star Ridge cruiser with Leyton behind the wheel.
Good grief.
“Sorry,” the voice said. Not Avery this time but Austin. “Please take the next exit so we can talk.”
McCall gritted her teeth, furious that he’d come after her like this, but she couldn’t verbally blast him because obviously he had Avery and Gracie in the cruiser.
Leyton kept on the flashers until McCall turned at the next exit, and he finally turned off both them and the siren. McCall pulled into the parking area of a gas station, stormed out of her car, whirling in the direction of where Leyton had stopped. She was ready to give Austin a piece of her mind, but the anger did a flash burn and was gone as fast as it’d come when she saw his face.
Yes, he’d been worried.
Austin came toward her, and she saw more of that worry in his eyes. He frowned. “You’ve been crying.”
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one without a poker face.
He went to her, pulled her into his incredibly strong arms and brushed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry for what Edith said to you.”
She so wished she could just dismiss that as not having played into her decision to return to Dallas, but she couldn’t. It hadn’t just played into it. It’d been the sole reason.
“My leaving is the only thing that makes sense,” she said.
He shook his head. “Nope, it’s the only thing that doesn’t make sense.”
McCall might have been able to argue that if he hadn’t kissed her. Not a peck on the cheek, either. This was a full-blown one on the mouth. Completely French, completely Austin. It seeped right into all the cold places that had gotten colder with each mile of distance she’d put between them.
“Hi, fairy lady,” Avery called out.
That pulled McCall out of the kiss trance, and she looked over Austin’s shoulder. Leyton had gotten the girls out of their car seats, but he had hold of their hands to keep them from rushing forward. He probably figured that Austin and she had to talk. They did. But they wouldn’t be able to solve anything here.
“Boo texted me and told me where you were on the interstate,” Austin explained. “We were already headed this direction so it wasn’t hard to catch up with you. Thank God that you drive well below the speed limit.”
She wanted to be pissed off at Boo, but the anger wouldn’t do any good right now. McCall kept her voice as level as she could considering she was still recovering from the scorching kiss. “We both could use some time to think,” she said.
“Bullshit.” And Austin kissed her again.
That threw her off-kilter once more, and when he finally let go of her, McCall tried again. Well, she tried after she regained her breath. “I don’t want you to lose your girls because of me.”
“I won’t, and I don’t want to lose you because of Edith.” He took her by the shoulders, looked her straight in the eyes. “McCall, I’m in love with you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AUSTIN HADN’T BEEN sure what McCall’s reaction would be when he told her he loved her, but he hadn’t expected her to get choked on her own breath. It wasn’t a little cough, either. She sucked in a huge chunk of air and then followed it with a hacking, strangling sound.
“Is you okay?” Gracie asked, pulling Leyton’s hand until he took the girls toward McCall.
McCall nodded, but she didn’t manage to actually say anything. She just kept coughing until Austin went back to the cruiser and got her a bottle of water that he’d brought along for the girls.
“It’s all right if you don’t wanta be a bobber,” Avery added, clearly concerned about McCall.
McCall shook her head, gave Avery a weird little wave that she’d likely meant to reassure the girl. It didn’t. Both Gracie and Avery looked on, and Gracie got bold enough to venture forward and pat McCall on the arm.
“I’m okay,” McCall eked out, and she guzzled down a huge amount of water when Austin uncapped the bottle and handed it to her.
Her expression definitely didn’t agree with her I’m okay assurance so she’d obviously said that to stop the girls from worrying. Once she had the coughing under control, McCall even stooped down and gave them a smile. “I don’t mind being a bobber at all,” she said.
“Good,” Avery declared, shifting her attention back to Leyton. “Book ’er, Nuckle Leyton.”
McCall laughed, though it was a little strained, and Leyton clearly picked up on that. Even though he hadn’t heard Austin tell McCall that he was in love with her, his brother knew something was up.
“Why don’t I take the girls in the gas station for a treat?” Leyton suggested. Of course, that got him a big yes, some jumps and squeals from the girls. “I’ll try to find something that isn’t total junk,” he added to Austin before he led them away.
Obviously, this wasn’t the best place to have a hea
rt-to-heart talk with McCall what with the cars pulling in and away from the pumps, the smell of gasoline fumes and the sticky heat, but it would have to do. He didn’t want McCall to leave until she understood how he felt about her. Then he still wouldn’t want her to leave.
“You didn’t mean what you said,” she insisted when Leyton and the girls were out of earshot.
“Yeah, I did.” And he turned her again to face him so that she could see this wasn’t BS. “I suppose you’re going to say that we haven’t been together that long. It’s true, but it’s plenty long enough for me to know my own feelings. I’m in love with you, McCall.”
That still wasn’t a “jump into his arms and let’s celebrate” kind of expression she was giving him. McCall was looking at him as if his confession had screwed up everything.
And in some ways, it did.
Because if McCall insisted on leaving, it was going to put his heart through the wringer. However, Austin was taking a gamble here that it would do the same to her heart. She might not be in love with him—not yet, anyway—but he was pretty sure her feelings for him ran deep. Hopefully, deep enough.
She kept staring at him as if he might take it back or say it was some kind of joke. That’s when Austin kissed her again so that she’d know he was serious. Also, he wasn’t an idiot and knew that his kisses did things to her body. Did things to his own body, too. And while the attraction between them didn’t equal love, it sure didn’t hurt especially when the attraction was this strong and hot.
McCall was a little breathless and starry-eyed when he pulled back from her. He saw the heat simmering. Saw it cool, too. “Edith,” was all she said.
His mother-in-law definitely played into this whether Austin wanted her to or not. “I heard she was at Rick’s to have him draw up the custody papers.”
And while he’d said that with as little emotion as he could manage, there was plenty emotion inside him. He despised Edith for what she was doing.
For what she felt she had the right to do.
“I find it hard to believe that a judge would take my kids because I’m in love with a woman who worked as a cocktail waitress twelve years ago,” Austin continued.
“I own a strip club,” she reminded him.
He nodded. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, and it damn sure doesn’t mean I’m a bad father. You care about my daughters, I can see that—”
“I do,” she interrupted, but then had to repeat it when a passing car practically drowned out her voice. “That’s why I don’t want to see them hurt. I don’t want you hurt.”
This, he thought, was one of the reasons he’d fallen in love with McCall. She would put him and the girls ahead of her own feelings.
“Then trust me,” he said. “Trust that I won’t let Edith get custody.”
Austin was certain he could do that. Well, almost certain. And it was that almost that ate away at him and only added to his whole despising feelings for Edith.
McCall stayed quiet, which he thought meant she was actually considering what he’d said. Again, though, there was no indication that she was about to jump on his bandwagon.
But then she nodded.
As far as Austin was concerned, that nod was as good as gold. He smiled, and this time when he kissed her, it wasn’t to cloud her mind or heat up her body. It was because seeing that nod had made him feel damn good.
“Daddy,” he heard Gracie call out. Both McCall and he turned in Gracie’s direction. “We got treats.”
They did indeed. Surprising, Avery and she were eating bananas, so Leyton had managed to find something healthy for them, after all. However, they also had boxes of chocolate milk, and Austin suspected that Leyton’s bulging shirt pocket held some kind of candy. That was okay. He allowed some spoilage rights when it came to aunts and uncles.
“We getta go back with Nuckle Leyton in the police car,” Avery announced, speaking through a mouthful of banana. “We getta play cops and bobbers the whole way.”
Austin lifted his eyebrow, looked at Leyton. His brother shrugged. “I thought maybe McCall and you would need some time to talk. I can take the girls back with me while you go with McCall in her car.”
It sounded like the perfect plan to Austin. They were only about thirty minutes from Lone Star Ridge, but that would indeed give McCall and him some time alone. However, when McCall didn’t voice any kind of agreement with that plan, all attention turned to her.
Austin didn’t like putting her on the spot like this, but he would have liked even less having her drive off before they had a chance to work this out.
“All right,” she finally said, and Austin did a fist pump before he could stop himself.
The gesture caused Gracie to giggle. “Will you getta play a game with the fairy lady?” she asked.
“I sure hope so,” Austin muttered, flashing McCall a grin.
That grin was a risk because he could tell she was still on the fence about what she should do. And she certainly didn’t grin back. However, she did hug the girls goodbye. Hugged and thanked Leyton, too. Before she started for her car.
“Come on,” McCall said, her voice as neutral as her expression. “Let’s go to your place and straighten things out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MCCALL WAS PRETTY sure going back with Austin was a mistake, but her crushed heart just didn’t have the strength to turn him down. And no, it didn’t have anything to do with him kissing her.
Well, not much, anyway.
It had to do more with her making sure that he understood that she wouldn’t be able to bear it if she caused him to lose custody of his girls.
“If I cave in to Edith on this,” Austin went on once they were in her car, “what’s to say that she won’t keep using that threat? What if she objects to the way I discipline the girls? Or don’t discipline them?”
He had a point, a good one, but apparently Austin felt the need to drill that point home while she got back on the interstate, heading south toward Lone Star Ridge.
“What if Edith just gets pissed off at me about anything, or nothing, and then decides that makes me an unfit father?” He shook his head. “I can’t live my life by her rules. That would make me an unfit father.”
Again, another good argument, and McCall could admit that something—something that didn’t have anything to do with her—could crop up. Maybe something to do with another woman in life. It was entirely possible that Edith might never approve of anyone who she saw as replacing her daughter.
Still...
“Edith gave me that card from Zoey so she must know that you’re moving on with your life,” McCall reminded him.
“Yeah, moving on with you. And yes, she’s riled right now over that picture, but she wouldn’t have given you that card if she hadn’t seen something in you that would make her believe you’d be right for me and the girls. I have to believe that Edith will eventually remember that and back off.”
Again, that was a solid argument, and McCall wanted to latch on to every word of it. Actually, she wanted to latch on to Austin. Leaving him was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do, and she wasn’t sure she could make herself do it again.
So, where did she go from here?
To his bed, came the little voice in the back of her head, but McCall doubted that sex would be the fix for this. However, before she could figure out possible fixes, her phone rang again, and she saw Boo’s name on the screen on her dash.
“I need to take this,” she told Austin. “I’ll have to let Boo know that I won’t be back in Dallas today.” She hit the button on her steering wheel to answer the call, but Boo started speaking before McCall could say anything.
“The Fine Booty or Studly Desires,” Boo blurted out.
McCall was certain she got a blank look on her face. Austin grinned.
“Those were tw
o of the suggestions for names when I ran the idea past some of the girls,” Boo added a moment later.
Oh, this was about Peekaboo, and it took McCall a few seconds to shift conversational gears. “Just put all the name possibilities in a report, flesh out your other ideas about how to set up the serving rooms, and I’ll go over it. I think it’s good idea that just might work,” she admitted. “Thank you for coming up with it.”
“You bet your fine butt it’ll work,” Boo insisted. “And speaking of fine butts, any word from Austin?”
Before McCall even slid him a glance, she knew he’d be grinning. He was. And it was that grin that made her a little weak in the knees. Of course, just about everything Austin did or said made her feel that way.
“Austin’s with me now,” McCall answered, then added, “You’re on the car speaker.”
“Hey, Boo,” Austin greeted. “Thanks for letting me know where McCall was on the interstate.”
“No problem. Do right by her, okay?”
“That’s the plan,” Austin answered.
McCall cleared her throat. She should probably scold Boo for ratting her out to Austin, but McCall just didn’t have it in her. “We’re heading back to Lone Star Ridge,” she told Boo. “I’ll call you later and let you know when I’ll be back in Dallas.”
“I hope that’s never,” Boo quickly said. “I mean, never as in you coming back to Dallas.”
McCall hadn’t been expecting that. Nor was she positive she wanted it. Heck, she wasn’t positive of anything right now.
“I can handle things here,” Boo went on, “and even the old meddling biddy won’t be able to object when we turn Peekaboo into a tea room.”
Oh, Edith could and probably would still object since it seemed as if this new idea would still have a sexual edge to it. An edge aimed toward women, yes, but McCall doubted Edith would be eating finger sandwiches in the Viking room served by burly bare-chested guys.
“One more thing,” Boo said a moment later. “Cody Joe called me a few minutes ago.”
Chasing Trouble in Texas Page 23
