Cowboy 12 Pack
Page 145
“I’m too trusting, aren’t I? I’m naïve.”
“Yes, to put it simply. So, explain about Isaac again. When did he propose? And why did you turn him down?” Tricia calmed a bit and the two girls sat cross-legged, facing one another on the couch.
“I went to Hardbodies decked out in leather, riding my new motorcycle.” Her friend’s eyes grew big. The next part of the explanation, she said fast. “A bar fight started over me and the pole dance I did, according to Isaac—”
“You did a pole dance?”
Avery didn’t even hear her friend’s question. “After Isaac carted me off stage, we had sex. Dad found out. And, like I said before, he blamed Isaac because I tried to change everything about me so Isaac would think I could fit into his world.”
There was a thick silence. Finally, Tricia answered, all amusement gone from her voice. “You don’t seem different to me, you seem happy. Isaac makes you happy. Period.”
Avery thought for a moment. She picked at the hem of Isaac’s T-shirt, raising it to inhale the scent of his laundry detergent. How she wished he had recently worn it, although she had no trouble remembering his clean, sexy smell. “You may be right. I’ve always lived to please others, burying my dreams and desires, even my personality, to be what my family and friends thought I should be. Only when I thought about Isaac and how much I wanted him could I let the real me come out.”
“So the pole dancing and motorcycle leather is you and the good-girl was a front?” There was a bit of skepticism on her face.
Avery’s face fell. “No, I wouldn’t say that. What am I doing Tricia? I don’t think I’m either one, not really.”
“You, Avery Sinclair are a wonderful person, that’s what you are. Maybe, you’re a mix. The real Avery can be whatever she wants to be, a biker babe or an angel. That’s what I think.”
The events of the day bore down on her heart and mind. Avery felt raw. Her very heart was chafed. Despite her disquiet, she yawned big. Reading the situation, Tricia got up and held out her hand. “Girl, you are dead on your feet. We need to get a few hours’ sleep. Tomorrow, I have to open the shop at ten, and you’re going to make my deliveries. And guess what? One of them goes to Tebow for Joseph and Cady’s engagement party. They liked the prank flower arrangement we made per Joseph’s request so much, we got the booking for the party and we already had the double wedding. We, Miss Wild Child, are on a roll!”
A look of panic came over Avery’s face. The only thing she had garnered from Tricia’s speech was that she expected her to make a delivery into McCoy territory. “No, no. I don’t think so.”
With a sly smile, her friend ignored Avery’s trepidation. “Don’t be such a chicken! It’ll be early. Isaac won’t be around the pavilion before noon. You’ll be in and out of there as quick as a wink,” Tricia assured her as she showed her to the spare bedroom. “Sleep well, now. I’ll wake you up by eight.”
“Funny, I’m not sleepy anymore. I can’t believe you’d send me into the lion’s den!” Chunking her Hello Kitty duffel off to one side, Avery knelt on the bed and began pulling back the covers. “Knowing how my luck’s been running, Isaac will be standing guard at the gate.”
“It seems to me your luck has been pretty good, future Mrs. McCoy.” Tricia laughed as Avery stuck her tongue out. “Just keep your lips pressed together. Remember, you don’t have to tell everybody everything, you know?”
“Yes, Mother.” With a wink, Tricia left her alone. As Avery lay down to sleep, she couldn’t keep Isaac off her mind. Lord, she loved him. Saying her prayers was a nightly ritual, and tonight was no different. And when she prayed, Avery couldn’t lie. The truth always came out. So, tonight’s prayer ended this way, “Lord, if there’s any way you can let me have Isaac that would make him happy, please, let it happen. And keep him safe and in your care. Amen.”
*
“WHO’S THE PRETTY little blonde?” Ajax asked as he took a swig of the longneck. The bike rally at Luckenbach had attracted lots of hot babes, but Ajax was having trouble hooking up with one. Spitting on the ground, he cursed Isaac McCoy. That damn cowpoke had almost ruined him. Since he’d been blackballed, Ajax wasn’t welcome at any of his regular hangouts. Being accused of ‘excessive cruelty’ to his subs was the last straw as far as he was concerned. The fact that the charge was true was of no consequence. Isaac McCoy was going to pay.
Jethro Diaz stood by the hulking bald man and eyed the delicate woman who was laughing way too loud and flirting with everything in pants. “That’s a little girl named Harper. Now, she’s exactly what you’ve been looking for, Ajax. From what I’ve heard, she can give you exactly what you need. You love to dish out pain and she is a pain junkie, if there ever was one.”
“Who is she? Do I know any of the Dom’s she’s subbed for?” His cousin Crowbar was supposed to be keeping him informed of any hot honeys that came to town. Ajax scratched his balls and imagined how good it would feel to make that bitch scream.
“I don’t know how you’ve missed her. She’s caused quite a ruckus in the underground. Can’t seem to make up her mind. Harper has fought who she is and what she wants. What I do know is that she used to keep company with one of those McCoy brothers. You know, the ones that own that big ranch out of Kerrville.” Jethro threw the comment out there, not knowing he’d just said the magic word that sealed the deal for Ajax.
So, this was the rich boy’s play-pretty. How friggin’ perfect could you get? Fate was smiling on poor ole’ Ajax Neal. Now, he had a new goal, to give McCoy’s sub more pain than she could handle. How sweet it would be to play rough with something that belonged to that jerk McCoy. Ajax intended to break Isaac’s toy and enjoy every scream he could beat out of her.
*
“WHAT DO YOU need me to do?” Isaac asked patiently. Libby was in a tizzy and he’d been instructed by Aron to consider himself at her disposal. People were scurrying right and left. The whole McCoy household was spinning in circles. Good thing, he had Levi to take up the slack at the bar. He wanted to help. Today was a red-letter day at Tebow and he needed to do his part. It was as simple as that. There was no way he could tell Libby that every cell in his body was screaming to go find Avery.
Isaac knew Aron would have been taking care of his fiancé’s to-do list, but several of his prize cows had decided to calve early this morning. They had learned the hard way that it was better if one of them attended the birth. Last year, one of the big Beefmasters had suffered from a uterine prolapse. Sometimes when the calf was big, they would actually have to get a tractor and hook it to the calf and pull it out. The whole process sounded brutal, but every once in a while, it was necessary. But last time, the strain had been too much and the cow’s uterus had come out with the calf and Aron had been forced to call in a vet to put the uterus back in place. If the cow received immediate attention, they didn’t have to be culled and could be bred again. These registered cows were so valuable that he couldn’t afford to risk their lives or the lives of their offspring, so duty called, and Isaac understood.
“I need you to go down to the pavilion and supervise everything. The party event and tent rental…people will be here by ten and I want you to make sure the tables and chairs and bar is set up the way it should be. Remember, the last time we had a gathering at the pavilion, the main tent collapsed and Mrs. Reynolds nearly had a heart attack.”
Libby looked tired, Isaac thought. “You’re trying to do too much, Libby. The house is full of people. Why don’t you put everybody to work?” Pulling out a dining table chair, he guided her down into it.
She crossed her hands over her baby bump, a typical pregnant woman’s gesture. Isaac thought it was sweet. How would Avery look pregnant? Libby’s words brought him back to the present. “Everybody has offered to help. I’ve delegated almost everything. The only thing I can’t get anybody to do is carry me around.”
“My brother will do that for you, gladly.” Isaac had no doubt. He cherished Libby. When she’d had her can
cer scare, Aron had been scared to death. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you.”
“I can’t wait to marry your brother, you know?” She took the glass of water that Isaac had handed her. “Although, as far as I’m concerned, we’re a family, right now. A piece of paper isn’t going to make me love any of you, including him, one bit more.” She pulled Isaac down and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for helping me today. I want Joseph and Cady to have the best party two engaged people ever had. Just think how scared we were the first night after Joseph was paralyzed, and tonight, he’ll dance with his beloved in his arms. Not every family is as blessed as ours, Isaac.”
“That is the gospel truth, Libby.” He knelt in front of her and hugged her tight. “Let me get out there and do what needs to be done. You take it easy. Promise?”
“Promise.”
*
ISAAC TOOK HIS truck and set out. Before heading to the pavilion, he checked on Jacob who was watching a surveyor mark off the spot where he hoped to build Jessie a new house. The blueprints were to be her wedding present. While he was there, they had strolled over to the place where their parents and grandparents were buried. It was a peaceful spot. “Do you think they’d be proud of us?” Isaac asked. Even though he’d made great strides in his life, there were days when he questioned himself.
“I have no doubt about it, Brother.” As they stood there looking at the pink granite headstone, Jacob held his hat in his hand and let out a long sigh. “You know, I’ve been meaning to tell you how proud I am of you. Sometimes, Aron and I have come down hard on you. We didn’t mean anything by it. We just wanted you to grow up and be the man Daddy always said you’d be. Do you remember what he called us?”
Isaac smiled. “Yeah, he and Mom referred to us as ‘the wrecking crew’. We were pretty rowdy, weren’t we? I can still see Mom’s face the day that she found me under the neighbor’s house with all those hound puppies. I thought she’d never get through yelling at me.”
“You know why, don’t you?” Isaac shook his head. They hadn’t reminisced like this in a long time. “She thought for sure you had fallen in that old uncovered well right over yonder. This spot was always one of our favorite places to play. I don’t know how many times she asked Dad to fill it in, but he never did get around to it. That’s one of the reasons we’ve never kept cows out here. That and all these damn stickers. Have you ever seen the like?” He pulled some of the Velcro like seedpods off of his pants.
“I guess we ought to fill in the well now. It’s still an accident waiting to happen.”
“Yes, I saw Crowbar peeking over in it a few minutes ago. I didn’t know he was working with the surveyor during the day. He helps you and Levi out at night, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah.” Isaac looked up and waved at Levi’s friend. “He does a lot of odd jobs for us.”
“I’m glad the people of the community are giving him a chance. You know, he isn’t really retarded, he’s just slow. The word is that his birth was hard and the doctor had to use forceps, damaging his brain. Why they didn’t do a Caesarian is a mystery to me.”
Isaac knew Crowbar was fascinated with his playroom. He often wondered if the man had ever been with a woman. Thinking of being with a woman drove his mind right to Avery. Lord, he needed to hunt for her. He wished it was him breaking ground to build Avery a house. “Are the surveyors doing a good job for you?” This was something the brothers had discussed. The big house was getting crowded and as soon as all the babies were born, all of them living together would be almost impossible. However, no one wanted to move too far from the fold. The McCoys were a close-knit family and they wanted it to stay that way.
“Seem to be. Jessie loves this spot. She’s going to be so happy here. It’s not so far from the main house that we can’t walk over, plus it’s close to the hunting cabin. I couldn’t ask for a prettier location.”
“Tebow will be overrun with children soon. I wonder if they’ll be as rambunctious as we were.” Isaac couldn’t help but imagine what a son of his would be like, or a daughter, one with violet eyes and big fat ringlets. A warm feeling came over his heart.
“I can almost guarantee they’ll be just as mischievous as we were. Remember the time you drilled all the holes in the basement wall with that electric drill?”
“Hell!” Isaac rubbed his hand over his backside. “I can still feel the burn after all this time. Dad whaled the tar out of me.”
Jacob chuckled. “Rightly so. You do realize that you missed electric wires by mere millimeters.” He measured with his fingers the minute distance.
Isaac smiled. “They loved us, didn’t they?”
“That they did, that they did.” Jacob slapped Isaac on the back. “Where are you headed? I know you didn’t come all the way out here just to check on me.” He looked at Isaac’s expression and whistled. “You pulled the short straw didn’t you? Do the women have you jumping through their hoops?”
“Pretty much.” Isaac headed back toward the truck. “Speaking of, I guess I’d better head out. What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I’ll be heading over that way to check the grub. Cady requested that I make my famous Jack Daniel’s sauce for the pulled pork.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you there.” He left his brother studying blueprints for the big log home he was determined to build for Jessie and the baby. Driving the short distance to the pavilion, Isaac noticed there were some dark clouds on the horizon. Crap! He hoped no rainstorms came to put a damper on the festivities. The ‘gathering place’ as his Mom had called it was set in a grove of oak and pecan trees, and a picturesque stream bubbled nearby. A few of the cowhands had been called over to do whatever they were told. Lance and Skye were tending the huge BBQ smoker where the briskets and pork shoulders were smoking and the whole pig roasted slowly in a special pit that had been dug in the ground. Parking, he checked with everyone and passed on a few messages from Libby. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait very long before the panel trucks arrived with all the stuff they’d rented—serving tables, round tables, chairs, tents, staging and audio equipment, plus all the stemware, plates and linens. The event planners had brought a crew, but Isaac instructed several of their men to pitch in and soon everything was set up. Now, all that was lacking were the decorations, and that wasn’t his problem. Flowers and balloons were not his forte. But the very thought of all that frivolity seemed to conjure up the florist van. He was just about to go ask if he could help unload when one of his men called his name.
“Isaac, what do you want me to do with this portable PA system? It doesn’t go with the band’s stuff, does it?” Trace, Lance’s right hand man was new, but he was working out well. He’d been hired to take the place of Morton, who had been arrested for kidnapping the sheriff’s fiancé. From now on, Roscoe would do a background check before hiring anyone. Trace was a keeper. Isaac was impressed with his willingness to pitch in and his easy-going personality.
“It goes up here on the main table. That’s where the toasts will be made. After you hook it up, just lay that microphone on the table. I’ll find the stand in a minute.” He signed a delivery receipt, handed it to the bored truck driver and gave Trace a hand as he helped a couple of teenagers set up the steam tables where the food would be kept warm for the buffet. When he came back to the pavilion, there were centerpieces on some of the tables, and up on the stage there was a figure. Isaac took a second look. What in the hell was going on? “Avery?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. “Hell, yeah!” Things were looking up!
*
THERE WAS A God, and he was mad at her. This, Avery knew to be fact. Why, o why, had she let Tricia talk her into delivering the flowers to Tebow? ‘Oh, you’ll be out of there long before Isaac shows up, I’m sure he sleeps late. It’ll be a breeze,’ she’d said. Tricia’s ass was grass. Hell, it was her own fault, she knew it. Isaac McCoy wasn’t helping matters either, that was for certain. At this very moment, she was so mad at him she could spit.
But unfortunately, her mouth was otherwise occupied.
Her tall, broad-shouldered bad-boy was laughing at her.
“How did you get your lips stretched around that big old thang, Darlin?” He looked at her with a twinkle in his sapphire blue eyes.
There was no way she could talk with the broad, round head in her mouth, so she glared at Isaac for all she was worth. He was having entirely too much fun at her expense. It wouldn’t be so bad, if she could just forget how they’d parted. He had proposed and she had turned him down. Yes, she was certifiable. Great! They were beginning to attract an audience. Several of the ranch hands and deliverymen were gathering around to stare at her. That’s all she needed! Now her reputation was permanently in the toilet. Oh, yeah, that’s right, it had already been in the toilet. Everyone thought she was a loose woman. ‘Somebody flush, already!’
Good gravy, he was trying to help her. Avery felt her face flame. “Can you open your mouth any wider, Baby? I can’t seem to pull it out.” A loud guffaw from behind him made Avery clamp her teeth down on the smooth surface instead of trying to let go. It was obvious that Isaac’s double entendres were not going unnoticed. “Now, don’t you bite down on my Peavey, Sugar.” Titters of amusement floated across the stage and Avery growled, making Isaac laugh all the harder. “What kind of engagement party can we have if you swallow the microphone, Doll?”
That was it! Avery planned his demise as the man of her dreams had the audacity to chuff her under the chin and even kiss her on the nose! Sheesh! Any other time, she would have given her Elvis Presley record collection to feel his mouth on her skin. And the humiliation wasn’t over, oh, no. It just kept getting better. “You know, there are better things you could have between these lips. All you had to do was ask.”
A knowing look from him told her that he knew exactly how pissed off he was making her. Arrgghh! With a gasp of indignation, her jaws opened just wide enough for Isaac to pull the microphone free. “That’s my girl,” he praised her.