Dirty Mind (Nashville Outlaws #2)

by Cheryl Douglas

  She clucked her tongue, shaking her head. “This house it too big for a man on his own.” She shook a blue fingernail at me. “I’ll tell ya what you need. A nice wife and a bunch of kids to fill all those bedrooms.” She looked up the stairs. “How many bedrooms are up there anyhow?”

  “Uh, five,” I said, biting my lip as Charli tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling.

  “Five, huh?” She nodded. “So three kids then. One spare room, for when they have friends sleep over.”

  “Are listening to yourself, old woman?” Charli snapped at her, hands fisted on her hips. “You’re crazy, that’s what you are! Dade doesn’t need you to tell him how many kids to have, or whether to get married. For God’s sake, go home and watch your Jeopardy re-runs or something.”

  Seeming unfazed by her daughter’s rebuke, Aidy continued wandering, pausing to look at framed family photos on tabletops. “Aw, these your folks?” she asked, holding up a picture of my parents on their fortieth wedding anniversary.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Give me that,” Charli said, trying to wrestle the photo out of her clenched hands. “You don’t walk into someone’s house and start manhandling their personal belongings. What is the matter with you?”

  Aidy scowled at she released her grip on the photo. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, girl. I’m just tryin’ to get to know your new boyfriend better is all.”

  “Dade is not my boyfriend,” Charli said, between clenched teeth. “I told you on the phone, this is a job. And a temporary one at that.”

  “Call it what you want,” she said, wandering to the window. “Y’all are shackin’ up together. And that picture online…” She fanned her face. “Well, I was there. And I don’t think the picture even did that kiss justice. Lordy, lordy—”

  “Havin’ another hot flash, Mama?” Charli said, smiling sweetly. “Best thing for that is a nice drive with the windows down. Don’t let us keep you now.” She curled her hands around her mother’s shoulders and started leading her to the door.

  “I am not havin’ a hot flash!” She slapped Charli’s hand. “And you stop tryin’ to get rid of me now.” She yanked on my hand and said, “I wanna talk to Dade. We barely had a chance to get to know each other at the wedding.”

  Aidy led me into my own living room while Charli followed behind us muttering about crazy mamas and shooting herself.

  “Be a doll,” she said to Charli once we were seated on the cream sectional in my living room. “Get me some tea?”

  “This isn’t my house,” Charli snapped. “And Dade already asked you if you’d like a drink. If you hadn’t been so busy poking your nose where it didn’t belong you might have heard him.”

  She huffed and raised her chin, fixing all her attention on me. “I hope when y’all have children they don’t grow up to be disrespectful little brats, Dade. I’ll tell you what, you try to do right by your kids, give them all you can and what thanks do you get?” She gestured to Charli. “They grow up and make you feel like you’re not wanted—”

  “You’re wanted,” Charli cut in. “I bet Daddy wants you at home right now.” She looked at her watch. “Look how late it’s getting. Your bedtime will be here before you know it.”

  Aidy fixed her youngest with a steely green gaze that would have made me squirm when she said, “I do not go to bed at nine o’clock, young lady, which you damn well know since you’ve been stayin’ with us for months.”

  “Uh, let me get us that tea,” I said, jumping up when Charli opened her mouth to snap back. “Any preference, Aidy? Charli? You want tea?” I didn’t even know if I had tea, since I never touched the stuff, but I hoped my housekeeper kept some on hand for company.

  “Would you like me to get it?” Charli asked, sighing. “My mama seems so determined to get to know you better, I wouldn’t want to deny her the privilege.”

  “Oh okay, thanks.” I sank back down, feeling like I’d just been thrown into the line of fire.

  “Now,” Aidy said, patting my hand. “I know what those vultures in the press say, but I wanna hear it from you. Why can’t you keep a wife?”

  “Mama!” Charli shouted from the adjoining kitchen. “Would you please try to act like a civilized human being who knows better than to ask inappropriate questions?”

  I smiled, looking at poor Charli over my shoulder. I knew she was mortified by her mama’s outrageous behavior, but I wasn’t offended. I figured if my buddy Knox didn’t mind having her as a mother-in-law, she couldn’t be so bad.

  “Charli, relax.” I winked at her. “It’s okay.” I leaned back, putting some distance between myself and Aidy. “You wanna know why I can’t keep a wife?” I prodded my cheek with my tongue and considered a smart-ass remark that would have shut her up before I finally settled on the truth. “Made a few mistakes. Chose women who weren’t right for me.”

  She nodded, like she understood completely, even though it still didn’t make sense to me. I’d been smart enough to make it in the jungle known as Nashville. To multiply the fortune I’d made in music by investing it in other businesses, but I’d been dumb enough to ask the wrong woman to marry me three times.

  “It happens, honey,” she said, patting my knee. “Not everyone gets it right the first time.” She snorted. “Hell, look at Liz Taylor. That ‘ole girl never gave up.” Her expression softened. “And you shouldn’t either. I really believe the perfect girl is just waiting for you to find her.” She giggled, raising her shoulders. “Who knows, she might even be closer than you think.”

  Charli sighed as she set a tray down on the coffee table. Our eyes met and a look of understanding and sympathy passed between us. We’d both been caught off guard by well-meaning loved ones who thought they could run our lives better than we could. One more thing we had in common.

  “This is lovely, hon,” she said to Charli, reaching for a cookie my housekeeper must have baked before she left yesterday. “Hmm, butter pecan,” she said after taking a bite as she reached for a napkin. “Love these! Haven’t made them in years. I’m gonna have to go home and haul my recipe box out.”

  Charli poured two cups of tea into white cups before she raised an eyebrow to ask if I’d like one. When I shook my head, she smiled. “I didn’t figure you for a teetotaler.”

  “May not be,” Aidy said. “But at least he’s not a drunk like your last boyfriend. What the hell was his name again?” She snapped her fingers. “Josh, that’s it. She wouldn’t bring him ‘round to meet us,” she told me. “Thought we’d read him the riot act about drinkin’ too much and not bein’ able to hold down a job.”

  Charli set her tea down before she flung herself back on the chair opposite the sectional. “Gee, now why would I be afraid to bring a guy home to meet y’all?” She looked at me. “Can you see why, Dade?”

  I pinched my lips together and tried to keep a straight face before reaching for a cookie. Maybe if my mouth was full, I wouldn’t be drawn into their argument, but I had to admit, I was kind of curious about Charli’s ex-boyfriends. Might make me feel better knowing I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t pick decent partners.

  “What’d your folks think of your exes?” Aidy asked me. “Did they try to warn you that you were makin’ a mistake before y’all tied the knot?”

  “Again,” Charli said, throwing her hands up in the air. “None of your business.”

  She looked at me helplessly, mouthing “I’m sorry” as her cheeks turned pink.

  This girl was too cute, and must have spent half her life apologizing for her outrageous mama, but in my business, I was so used to people blowing smoke up my ass and kissing up that a woman like Aidy, who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, was a refreshing change.

  “They did,” I said, thinking of a conversation I’d had with my old man a week before I’d proposed for the last time. We’d been having dinner at my parents’ place and my ex pulled up a pic on her phone of the engagement ring she wanted. My folks shared a worried glance and I knew
I’d be getting an earful before I went home.

  They’d been right. I was dead wrong. But back then I’d still been holding on to that dream of a family and that blinded me to her faults.

  “But I guess I just wanted to be loved.” I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud until I heard Charli’s intake of breath and her eyes collided with mine.

  “Aww, hon,” Aidy said, patting my arm. “That’s what everyone wants. You’re no different. You just happen to have a few bucks in the bank and that makes you a target for these greedy little witches who believe money can buy happiness.” She smiled, raising her hand. “Don’t get me wrong now, not a damn thing wrong with money. I love that my daughter married a man who can take care of her, but I would have been the first one readin’ Cece the riot act if I thought for a second she was marryin’ Knox for the wrong reasons.”

  She snorted. “Course I didn’t have to worry ‘bout that. My girls couldn’t give two hoots about money. Cece’d sing for free and this one,” she said, pointing at Charli, “Probably would too, if she didn’t have to worry about supporting herself.”

  “Would you?” I asked Charli softly. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, would you want to make music? Perform?”

  She looked away before muttering, “Sure, that’d be my dream, but not everyone can live the dream, can they?”

  Most people would say I was living the dream, but they didn’t see me rattling around this big, empty house alone. Money could buy companionship, fake friends, decent company, but it sure as hell couldn’t buy your soul mate.

  “You’re young, Charli,” Aidy said. “Got your whole life ahead of you. And now you’re livin’ here, makin’ friends with people like Dade, who knows what might happen?”

  Charli shook her head, looking flabbergasted. “I’m not making friends with Dade because I think he can help me with my career. In fact, we’re not friends at all. He’s my boss, nothing more.”

  Damn. That hurt more than it should have. Technically, she was right, but after last night I’d hoped we’d crossed that casual acquaintance boundary into something more.

  “I don’t believe you,” Aidy said, reaching for her tea. “I don’t care what you say.” She pointed from me to Charli. “There’s somethin’ between y’all. You can’t tell me nothin’ happened after the wedding. I know you were still there after we left.”

  Charli opened her mouth then snapped it shut, looking at me like she was hoping I could save her. But I was so stunned that Aidy had actually called us out I was speechless too.

  Aidy looked from me to her daughter to me slowly before a smile lit up her face. “Well, I’ll be damned. Y’all slept together, didn’t ya?”

  Charli dropped her face in her hands, screaming quietly in frustration.

  When it was obvious we weren’t gonna convince her otherwise, I said, “Aidy, we’d uh, kinda like to keep this under wraps. I don’t want my friends in the press harassing Charli and that’s exactly what’s gonna happen if they think she and I are a thing.”

  “Of course,” she said, setting her cup down as she nodded vigorously. “You’re right to play it safe. You don’t need strangers gettin’ all up in your business—”

  “No,” Charli said, peeking at her mother through her hands. “We have you for that.”

  “I don’t know why you’re actin’ like you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar,” Aidy said, rolling her eyes. “So, you had sex. You’re both single. Why the hell shouldn’t ya be havin’ fun?”

  “For the love of God,” Charli said, ignoring her endorsement. “Do not tell Daddy about this. He’s supposed to avoid stress, remember?”

  “I know, I know.” She waved her hand. “He’s so overprotective of you girls. He’s gonna have to accept the fact that you’re a grown woman and can sleep with anyone you want.” She gave me a sly look before she said, “And I for one, am glad your taste just got a hell of a lot better.”

  Charli palmed her forehead. “Mama, sometimes I have no words.”

  I laughed as Aidy stood, reaching for my hand. When I stood, she linked her arm through mine. “Now Dade, you listen here,” she said, walking me to the door. “I’m trustin’ you to take good care of my baby now.”

  “Please,” Charli groaned. “Just stop.”

  “You hush,” she said, over her shoulder.

  “Aidy,” I said, smirking. “I can assure you as long as she’s staying here with me Charli will be safe.”

  “Well, it wasn’t really her safety I was thinkin’ about.” She grinned, showing off the same dimples both of her daughters had. “I was talkin’ more about her… satisfaction.”

  “That’s it!” Charli said, throwing her hands up in the air as she curled her hands around her mama’s shoulders. “You’re leavin’ now.” She kissed her mama on the cheek before she said, “I love you, crazy lady. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I kept walking with Aidy, guiding her down the wide stone steps to her Ford Explorer.

  She unlocked the door and I opened it for her before she turned to face me. “I meant what I said, Dade. You’re a good man. Don’t give up on love just because you haven’t found a woman who appreciates you.”

  Chapter 5

  Charli

  I was pretty sure if dying from embarrassment was a thing Dade would have been calling 911 by the time mama pulled away. She’d humiliated me plenty of times before but not in front of Dade-freakin’-Jarvis. Was she crazy? I was gonna talk to Cece about having her tested ‘cause she clearly wasn’t firing on all cylinders anymore.

  “Dade,” I said, holding my hand up before he could enter his own house. “I’m sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

  He surprised me by pulling me into his arms. “Relax, okay? I like your mama. And she seems to like me. No harm done.”

  I tipped my head back to look him in the eye, but I dipped it again when my cheeks started to burn. “But the things she said, the questions she asked…” I shook my head. “There are no words.”

  He chuckled, making his powerful chest rumble before he slid a finger under my chin and forced me to look at him. “Hey, I like people who are real with me, Charli. Is your mama a little too real? Maybe. But I’ve had enough fake to last a lifetime.”

  I felt like he was begging me to be real with him, but if I told him what was really on my mind, I didn’t think I’d be sleeping alone tonight. And that was risky. He was my boss now. We had to draw some new boundary lines.

  “I appreciate you being so understanding about this. Most guys would—”

  He pressed his fingertip against my lips. “I’m not most guys. I like you. And I like your family. Cece and Knox are two of my best friends, so whatever happens, I don’t want you to worry about offending me. You won’t.” He smiled. “I’ve had to develop a pretty thick skin over the years. Not much anyone can say or do to offend me anymore.”

  Yet he’d had a hard time dealing with the fall-out after his last break-up. That told me he wasn’t as resilient as he pretended to be. His heart wasn’t made of stone. Callous comments and judgements still hurt him.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  I slipped out of his embrace, needing some distance to think straight. “I’m sure you’ve learned to let a lot of things bounce off you, Dade. But you’re not made of Teflon. No one is. And I don’t think you should have to pretend to be.” I was probably overstepping, but I didn’t care. If we were going to be working together he’d get to know the real me eventually.

  He watched me wander toward the kitchen before he said, “I appreciate knowing I can be real with you.” His expression was pensive as he followed. “It’s not easy for me to trust people. Especially women. Yet I feel like I can trust you already, so that’s a pretty big deal for me.”

  I liked knowing that I’d earned his trust. I hoped that meant we could have a solid working relationship and maybe even a friendship. “I’m glad.” I walked past him into the living room to collect the tray
of dishes. “That’ll make this easier, don’t you think?”

  He took the tray out of my hands when I broached the step that separated the living room and kitchen. “Let me get that.”

  “Thanks.” It was his house, and I wasn’t even an invited guest, but I felt the least I could do was clean up after my mother’s visit. “Um, if you just wanna show me to that guest house, I’ll get out of your hair. I’m sure you have better things to do tonight than entertain me.”

  “Actually, I was thinking since it’s getting late, why don’t you just crash here tonight? I can set you up in the pool house in the morning. I’d like to make sure it’s stocked first anyhow. I didn’t have a chance to mention to my housekeeper that you’d be staying there, since honestly, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

  I watched him put dishes in the dishwasher before coming around the island to hand wash the teapot. “I hate that one stupid little kiss turned your life upside down like this.” I didn’t like feeling like a nuisance and even though I might be of some value to Dade as his assistant, I was sure he didn’t want a house guest.

  He side-eyed me as I filled the farm style copper sink with warm water and soap. “I kissed you, not the other way around. So if anyone should be apologizing for this mess, it’s me.”

  I couldn’t regret a single thing that happened between us. I teased him about some stupid bucket list, but truth be told, it had been a long time since I’d had the kind of connection with a man that I’d had with him. The sex was incredible, but beyond that, for those few brief hours, I felt like someone other than my family and friends actually cared about me.

  “Don’t apologize.” I turned the water off and dipped my hands into the lavender scented bubbles. “I’m not sorry about what happened, Dade. Not that very public kiss…” I looked up at him. “Or what happened after.”

  “Really?”

  I loved that someone who was so outwardly confident still had some uncertainty. It let me know that he wasn’t so full of himself that he assumed every woman wanted him. “Really.”