by Sable Hunter
Since she’d met Avery and been drawn into a circle that included her own friend Savannah, her fiancé Patrick, Beau and Harley LeBlanc, and seemingly half of Texas, Cato felt right at home. So much so that she’d accepted a job with the Texas Culture Preservation Center when they’d offered. In fact, she’d spent the last two weeks moving her things from South Louisiana to a small house north of Austin near the town of Marble Falls.
A movement from the dais caught Cato’s eye. Turning back she saw Avery was speaking to Isaac. “With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I will worship yours.”
Cato almost giggled out loud when it looked like Avery’s father would choke. The reverend pulled on his tight collar, his face flushed red. Seeing his discomfort reminded Cato of what Avery had told her one night at Mulate’s over a pitcher of margaritas. “Isaac is my soul mate. He loves me just the way I am. He brings out the best in me, Cato. I was baptized in dirty water. Not that I’m totally a bad girl, but I’m certainly a good girl who enjoys making my man happy. I keep my copy of the Good Book in the saddlebag of a Harley Hogg and when my Isaac goes Dom on me, I go weak in the knees.”
Cato fanned herself, imagining a man demanding her submission. Did she want to try that? Hell yes, she did!
“I promise to honor and obey, love and cherish in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, till death do us part.”
When Avery said ‘obey,’ the cutest, wickedest grin crossed Isaac’s face. Cato couldn’t help smiling with them, knowing exactly what they were thinking. Avery had been honest with Cato about their BDSM lifestyle and she knew Avery couldn’t wait to obey her Isaac. Yep, she was one of the lucky ones, no doubt about that.
Someday…Cato promised herself. Someday she would find a man who could love her just the way she was—disability and all.
Her skin felt a bit prickly, as if someone were staring a hole right through her. Something told her to look around, but she was at the front of the crowd and didn’t want to be a distraction. Cato smoothed her pale blue satin skirt and sat up straighter. She was dressed similarly to the bridesmaids because Avery had asked her to be part of the wedding party and serve the punch at the reception. A slight tap on her arm caused her to turn her head. It was Patrick O’Rourke, Savannah’s fiancé, who was sitting right behind her. Ah, his scrutiny must have been what she was sensing. When he got her attention, she saw Savannah motion for Cato to come to the back with her. Realizing they needed to take their places for the after-party, she gave one last long look at the handsome groom and the beautiful bride before she rose to do her duty.
As Cato made her way down the far aisle, a handsome cowboy with dark brown hair and a fallen angel face caught her eye. He was staring right at her—hard. He looked…he looked familiar. There was little doubt he was related to the McCoy family, for the resemblance was strong, handsome as sin with their signature smirk on his face.
But that wasn’t it. This was something else entirely. Their gazes held and it was as if time stood still for Cato. It was as if she knew him. A sense of connection was almost overwhelming. She had read about two people seeing one another from across a crowded room and feeling an instant attraction, but she had never experienced it before. There was almost a magnetic pull. If a marriage ceremony wasn’t in full swing, she would’ve walked right up to him to get a closer look and see if what she was imagining was real.
As she stood there, frozen, the man gave Cato a slow once-over and her heart leapt. Intrigued as hell, she gave that same look right back to him, in spades. When his big navy blue eyes widened in surprise, she gave him a saucy wink for good measure.
He frowned. Ah, a challenge. Maybe he preferred skinny women. Guess she just might have to try and change his mind.
Good, she had something to look forward to.
A wedding should never be boring.
* * *
“Never thought I’d see the day Reverend Sinclair would be willingly tying the knot between his perfect daughter and the Badass of Kerr County,” Noah whispered in Joseph’s ear as they watched Isaac and Avery light the unity candle. George Strait sang I Cross My Heart as the bride and groom took two flames and made them one.
Joseph cut his eyes at his brother, holding back a knowing grin. “The idea of a grandchild makes all the difference, even to a strait-laced man of the cloth.”
“What did you say?” Noah said too loudly, causing most every eye in the place to focus on him. He put his hand over his mouth, coughed and looked down. “Are you saying Avery’s pregnant?” he whispered.
Joseph chuckled, enjoying that he’d known something before his brother. Actually, it was hard to keep up with this family. They were marrying and giving in marriage, getting pregnant, giving birth and changing more rapidly than anyone had thought possible.
To the right, the loves of the McCoy men kept a close eye on their counterparts to the left. Libby wiggled her nose at Aron, rubbing her very pregnant tummy. She gazed at him with adoring eyes, telling him without words she was glad he was home and couldn’t wait till their babies entered the world. She raised Avery’s bouquet to her nose and sniffed the flowers, obviously happy that her family was seeing better days.
A swell of organ music accompanied Avery and Isaac back to their appointed place in front of her father just in time for him to pronounce them husband and wife.
“It is with, uh, pleasure…” he began and Aron, who was standing to Isaac’s right, couldn’t help but laugh at the preacher’s discomfiture. Reverend Sinclair stared over with a glare at the eldest McCoy as he declared, “As I said, it is with pleasure that I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac McCoy.”
A burst of rowdy cheers echoed through the pavilion as Isaac led a beaming Avery down the aisle, followed closely by Aron and Libby, Jacob and Jessie, Joseph and Cady, and Noah and Skye. Nathan had given the bride away and filed out behind them along with his girlfriend Tina, who had served as flower girl.
As people made their way toward the reception area, the McCoy cousins gathered to one side. “Zane’s here.” Philip pointed at his lawyer across the room.
“We’ll catch up with him.” Heath acknowledged the lawyer with a wave. “Now let’s get something to drink, I’m parched.” Actually, he was feeling a little warm. The hot little brunette who’d eye-fucked him on her way out of the ceremony had made his libido roar into overdrive.
To tell the truth, he’d dreaded coming to this wedding. If the groom hadn’t been one of his newfound family, he would’ve avoided the place like the plague. The last time he’d been in a church it had been him standing by the preacher, waiting and watching for a bride who never chose to walk down the aisle. Amy had left him standing there like a fool. She’d been a runaway bride and he had been the joke of the day. To this day, Heath could still feel the pang of the knowledge that Amy had just decided she didn’t want him. Heath had been rejected and found wanting by the one woman he’d vowed to love above all others.
His family had rallied around him, but Heath had been humiliated. How could a person change overnight like she had? Or had he been blind all along? Maybe Amy had never been the woman he’d built her up to be. Heath had put her on a pedestal and literally worshiped the ground she walked on.
Perhaps his judgment was simply lacking when it came to women. Well, he’d never have to worry about that anymore. Family and friends were one thing, but Heath didn’t intend to get involved with a woman again—not for the long term. Sex was a necessity, but a relationship wasn’t. When he made a move on the fairer sex nowadays, Heath made sure they knew the score. Casual, passionate and brief, that’s the way he wanted it. He had no intention of getting in over his head with another woman ever again, no matter how much he wanted her. Having his heart ripped out and stomped on once in a lifetime was enough for any man.
“Hey, I saw her, you know.” Jaxson grinned, propping his broken foot up on a chair and leaning on a crutch. A bull had stepped on him after pitching Jaxson’s head over spurs. At least he�
�d stuck the eight seconds and won a purse, but now he’d be laid up for at least six weeks. Heath wished to high heaven that Jaxson would quit the rodeo circuit. But he seemed to thrive on the danger and the sheer energy of the big animals as they spun and pounded the ground.
“Saw who?” Heath was lost in his own private purgatory.
“The woman who looked like she could eat you up with a spoon.” He gave Heath a knowing grin. “I think you can safely say she was sending you an engraved invitation, if you’re a mind to accept it.”
Jaxson’s reminder of the dreamy-eyed girl rescued him from painful reminisces. “You may be right.” Heath couldn’t help but smile. The idea that the aggressive little honey could be interested in a quick fuck in the barn made his mouth water. “She wasn’t my usual type, but she seemed motivated. I think I’ll mosey around and see if I can find her.”
“Have you seen Ten?” Ryder came up from behind them. “He disappeared.”
Jaxson lifted his chin and nodded toward the exit. “He got a phone call. Didn’t look too happy about it either.”
A country band struck up a tune. Heath was glad Isaac and Avery had foregone all of the formal speeches and toasts. They’d just headed straight into the party zone. He had to hand it to his cousins. They sure knew how to lay out a spread. The fare wasn’t light either. Tables groaned under the weight of shrimp, huge slabs of beef brisket, smoked hams and every kind of side and dessert imaginable.
Scanning the room, he kept an eye out for the sexy siren who’d captured his imagination. During the few moments they’d been aware of one another, he’d filed away a wealth of details that had quickly become the fabric of a fantasy. Heath loved long hair and she had thick dark tresses which hung down her back, tapering in corkscrew curls which bounced tenderly against the shapely curve of her ass. Her body had been lovingly draped in a form fitting dress which did little to hide luscious, plump breasts. Just the thought of getting her naked, learning the color of her nipples and the weight of the firm globes made his cock twitch. Heath imagined sucking on her nipples till they were flushed and tight against his tongue, palming them, rubbing his face against the silky warm flesh. His heart began to pound as he undressed her in his mind, peeling off that blue satin dress, unclasping her bra, slipping his fingers in the waistband of barely there panties and tugging them down until he could bury his face against the downy puff of springy dark curls which would surely grace the mound of her femininity.
Lord, it had been too long!
He would give his eyeteeth to go to his knees in front of her and press his face against the shadowy cleft between her thighs. Heath ached to grasp the cheeks of her ass and pull her close, breathing in her womanly scent. If he had the chance, he’d part her sweet pink folds and lap and suck until she screamed with pleasure. Oh yea, he had plans for this girl. She’d looked into his eyes and promised heaven and this McCoy was ready to collect.
“I’ll see y’all later.” He started to step away when Tennessee grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong, Ten?”
“I’ve got to talk to you.”
Hell. Heath led him to one side. “What’s wrong?” His little brother looked worried.
“Molly just called. She’s pregnant.”
Heath bit back a curse. “Is she saying the baby’s yours?”
“Yes.”
“Is it?”
“I don’t know, could be.”
“Dammit!” Heath wanted to hit something, but there was no use. They’d deal with this like a family. “Tell her you want a paternity test.”
“Maybe we should talk to Zane.” Tennessee suggested, his mind muddled with the possibilities. “There he is, wave him over.”
Heath did so, amazed at the fact that the first time he’d met Zane Saucier, the man had been blind. But now, because of a radical surgical procedure, he could see. Presley Love, his assistant and fiancée accompanied him.
“Hey, McCoys, I have news,” Zane began, not waiting for Heath to speak. “Philip’s trial has been moved up. We start deliberations before the end of next month.” They all dreaded the ordeal Philip was going to have to go through. From out of the blue, he’d been arrested for the murder of Dalton Smith, a man he barely knew. To make matters worse, the body had been found on Highland property. The only connection Philip had to him, that he was aware of, was that they’d been casual acquaintances and Smith dated a woman Philip had known—Holly McBride. The prosecution was trying to make a big deal about the woman, saying that Philip had killed Smith in a jealous rage.
Philip joined them in time to hear the news. “Moving the trial up, that’s good, right?”
Zane shrugged. “Maybe. I know you’re anxious to get this over with, but we still have some work to do. The evidence Noah gave us is invaluable, but our best defense would be to find the real killer.”
“Invaluable?” Philip asked. “What sense have you been able to make out of all that info on the thumb drive Noah found?”
“Not as much as we’d hoped. I want us to sit down and go over all of this, but we did determine that you and Dalton shared some interests—mainly the lost mine you both were looking for. He had copied some old maps, Spanish land deeds and diaries, even some current documents relating to the land, owners, and geological tests. We really need to find some kind of expert on this kind of thing.”
“I’m an expert on it. This is my field of study.” Philip insisted.
Zane clapped him on his shoulder. “In this case, you don’t count. It’s like getting a physician to treat himself. We need a second opinion.”
“Whatever it takes.” Heath felt overwhelmed. Both of his brothers were looking toward him for strength and he would give it to them. “Zane, we’ll do our best. Why don’t we put some feelers out and try to find us someone who knows about this topic?” Heath turned to Philip. “Do you know anyone else down at the university who might help?”
“I don’t know, I’ll check into it.” Philip looked depressed.
“While you’re here, if you don’t mind, talk to Ten, he needs some advice.”
“Will do,” Zane answered as Heath walked away.
Damn, he needed some air. As he was following the line toward the reception area a loud squeal stopped everyone in their tracks.
“What in the world?” Pepper came running up to Heath. She’d been manning the groom’s cake table. The cousins from Highlands Ranch near Lake Buchanan were a familiar sight at Tebow. Once they’d become acquainted, the fact that they shared a name, a bloodline and common interests had fast forwarded their friendship and family ties to a close-knit and trusted association.
“I don’t know,” Heath admitted. “I can’t see through this crowd.”
“I think it sounded like Libby.” Pepper took off to see what was wrong, her long sable hair streaming behind her. “I hope she didn’t fall down!”
“Pepper’s a born mother hen.” Jaxson remarked dryly as they watched the youngest of their clan dash across the room.
“You’d best sit down and get off that leg. Let me go get us both some punch. Why don’t you give Dad a call and check on him? I’ll be right back.” He’d had hopes their father would join them today, but his health hadn’t permitted it.
“Okay, I’ll sit down. Don’t worry about punch for me, though, I’m not thirsty. Go and see if you can find your woman!” Jaxson called after his brother. The whole family was worried about Philip, but Heath bore the brunt of the burden. They all unloaded their problems on Heath. He was their rock. Guess that was why he was beginning to have a gray hair or two.
“I don’t have time for a woman now,” Heath replied as he strode across the room, weaving his way among the happy guests. What else could happen? How much more could the family take? Philip’s arrest had shaken them to their very foundations. Now Jaxson was injured and Ten’s ex-wife had thrown some outrageous accusation at him concerning the paternity of the baby she was carrying. Ryder had declared she was never going to get married and Pepper just inf
ormed him she had two dates this week with different men!
As the eldest of Christian McCoy’s children, Heath had spent most of his adult life trying to keep his brothers and sisters in line. Since they’d moved to Highlands, their father had taken a backseat in most family and business dealings, leaving the bulk of any decision making on Heath’s shoulders. Shoulders which were aching from the burden.
“What’s going on?” Ryder ran up to him.
“I don’t know. Sounded like there was trouble. You stay here. I’ll go see if there’s anything we can do.”
Ryder was having none of it. “Quit being so bossy, this is a free country. I’m coming with you.”
Heath sighed, knowing a family conference was long overdue. They made their way through the crowd and found their cousin Aron cradling Libby to his chest. She had grabbed hold of her stomach and her face was contorted with pain. “I think she’s in labor,” Aron explained with a tense look on his face. “Two weeks early.”
“Damn. Did you call an ambulance?” Heath asked as he held back the crowd of concerned friends.
“No, Jacob’s gone for the truck.” Aron explained, gazing down at Libby with worry on his face. “How you feeling, darling?”
“Anxious,” she muttered as she panted through a contraction.
Avery and Isaac ran up, the bride holding her long train over her arm. “We’re going with you,” she announced. Others of the family drew near.
