by Ciana Stone
Damn him. Here she’d gone to Riley and said all that about how she was going to sleep with Riggs and Riggs hadn’t so much as said he’d be seeing her or stopping in at the bar.
She felt like a chump. She’d shot off her mouth not just to Riley, but to Riggs. She’d thought he was interested. She was sure he was, she’d felt the chemistry that night at the bar.
But now… now she wondered if she’d just imagined it because she’d wanted it to be so. She felt like such a fool. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. Feeling hurt and crying wasn’t her way and she couldn’t let herself be hurt by another man. No, it was easier to just be mad, so that was what she’d do. She’d not shed a tear over Jaxon Riggs. If he wasn’t interested that was just fine with her. Riley and Hannah were probably right. He was too old for her anyway.
She should find a man closer to her own age. Someone with as much energy as she had, someone with as much fire.
Yes, that was exactly what she’d do. She’d keep her eyes open and the next hot guy who asked her out, she’d say yes. Let Jaxon Riggs chew on that.
Chapter Eleven
“Good morning,” Cooper greeted Pressley as he entered the Cotton Creek Energy office.
She gave him a look that clearly said eat shit and die, turned and marched into her office. The door slammed shut hard enough to rattle the walls.
Damn, what the heck was going on? First Hannah tossed him out of her suite like yesterday’s trash and now Pressley had a case of something against him.
Cooper sat at his desk and considered it. There was only one way to find out what was going on. He stood back up and headed outside to his car. Half an hour later, he was pulling up in front of the house where his sister Liz lived with Kyle Stadler.
By the time he was getting out of the car, Liz was coming out of the front door. “What’s wrong?”
“Can’t I come by to see my sister without something being wrong?”
“No. What is it?”
Cooper smiled. He’d never been about to fool Liz about anything. “What’s up with Hannah and Pressley?”
Liz gestured. “Come on inside. I’ll fix you breakfast.”
“Where’s Kyle?”
“Working. Come on.”
Cooper followed her inside and took a seat at the kitchen table as she set about making him breakfast. “So?” he asked.
“One word.” She looked over her shoulder. “Devina.”
“What?”
“Devina.” Liz turned her attention to cracking eggs on the skillet. “She showed up at the Honky Tonk and told Cody she was your fiancée. Your pregnant fiancée.”
The word pregnant echoed in Cooper’s mind like something shouted into a bottomless well, just as dismal, hollow, and disturbing. “She’s not my fiancée. You know that.”
“I do.”
“And she’s not pregnant.”
“You sure?” Liz cut him a look.
“Yes I’m—” He suddenly lost the ability to speak. He’d been in Cotton Creek how long? Three months? And he’d broken up with Devina about a month before that. If she was pregnant, wouldn’t she be showing?
“Did she look pregnant?”
Liz shrugged. “Not according to Cody. Actually, Cody wondered if Devina was telling the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because she apparently sucked down four Cosmopolitans.” Liz scooped up the eggs from the frying pan and put them on a plate. “Not something most pregnant women do.”
“She can’t be pregnant.” Cooper felt sick—physically ill.
“Can’t be as in, it’s impossible or please god don’t let it be true?” Liz put the plate on the table in front of Cooper.
He pushed the plate away. “The latter.”
“Then she could be.”
“No. If she were pregnant, I’d have heard about it before now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?” Cooper felt anger rising. He knew he had no right to direct it at Liz but he needed to lash out at something or someone.
“Because you need to be sure, Coop. If she is pregnant, then you need to force a DNA test to see if the child is yours. If it is—well, you’ll have to do the right thing and support the child whether you support Devina or not. If it’s not, then your problem is solved. You tell the witch to get back on her broom and head out of town.”
“And what do I tell Hannah in the meantime?”
“The truth.”
“Yeah, that’ll go over well.”
“It will, Coop. The truth is that you broke it off with Devina months ago, before you ever knew Cotton Creek existed. Hannah will understand that. But you need to be honest with her about all of it.”
He nodded. He knew she was right. What was nagging at him at the moment was another question. “So how did she know where to find me?”
Liz stared at him for a moment. “One of two ways. She either read about the new company or she was told.”
“Devina read a trade publication?” He scoffed. “Yeah, right. That didn’t happen. She had to have been told. But by who?”
“You’re not seriously asking that question are you brother? Who else?”
Cooper’s gaze locked with hers. “Dad. Son of a bitch. But why? What purpose would it serve?”
“It brings annoyance and complication to your life—it’s a distraction.”
“A distraction.” He felt the jolt. “He’s up to something.”
Liz nodded. “That’d be my guess.”
“But what?”
She shrugged. “I imagine we’ll find out soon enough, and right now you need to settle things with Hannah—and with Devina, so one thing at a time, Coop.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m going to try and talk to her. Today.”
“Good idea. Now, if you’re not gonna eat, get outta here. Kyle will be back in less than an hour and we have a new horse to get started with. I want to be ready when he gets here.”
Cooper smiled as he stood. “Thanks, sis.”
She rounded the table to give him a hug. “I love you, Coop. Now go take care of your stuff and call me later.”
“I will. Love you.”
He hurried out to his car, his mind already formulating the words he’d use to explain to Hannah that he wasn’t some asshole who’d cheat on a pregnant fiancée. He wasn’t just a guy who wanted to get in her pants.
Well, he’d started out being that guy, that he’d admit. But things had changed. He had changed. He had feelings for her and he wanted the chance to see where those feelings would take them.
So, maybe she’d kick him to the curb, he still had to try. He’d go to her and try to explain. With luck, she’d believe him and give him a second chance.
*****
Cody heard the scream and the sound of shattering glass before she reached the door of the bar. She couldn’t tell what the words were but recognized the voice as Hannah’s. Fear had her breaking into a run and banging the door open into the wall when she raced into the bar.
Hannah was in motion. A cocktail glass sailed out of her hand from where she stood behind the bar. On the opposite side, Cooper Quinlan covered his head with his arms and ducked, yelling. “Would you please just let me explain?”
“You bastard!” Hannah reached for another glass.
Cody ran as fast as her legs would carry her and managed to grab Hannah’s arm before she threw the next glass. “Hannah, stop!”
Hannah jerked away from her, chest heaving and face flushed with fury. “How can you stop me? You know what he did!”
“All I know is what that woman said. I told you that. At least let the man have his say. If you don’t believe him when he’s done, then toss him out on his ass and be done with him.”
“I don’t care what he has to say. I’ll never believe another word that comes out of his mouth!” Hannah held up both hands as if to ward Cody off when Cody took a step toward her.
“Fine.” Cody held up both
hands, palms out.
Hannah cut Cooper a look sharp enough to draw blood and fled toward the office. Cody watched her go, then looked at Cooper. “You so fucked up, dude.”
“I swear on all that’s holy that I didn’t lie to her, Cody.”
“So you weren’t engaged to that Devina chick?”
“I was. Once. But I broke that off four months ago—a month before I even knew Liz was here.”
“And you haven’t seen or talked to her since?” Cody grabbed a bottle of top-shelf tequila and two shot glasses. She put the glasses on the bar and filled both. “Come on, have a seat, Coop.”
Cooper sat down in a slump. They silently clinked glasses and tossed back the shots.
“I haven’t spoken with her since we broke up,” Cooper said, then straightened. “Wait!” He pulled out his phone and diddled with it, then put it on the bar. “Go ahead, look. I saved all of the text messages from her just in case something happened. She was pretty threatening.”
Cody picked up the phone and started reading. It wasn’t long before she handed the phone back to Cooper. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I believe you.”
“Will you talk to Hannah?”
She considered it for a few moments before nodding. “I will.”
“Thanks, Cody.”
“Don’t thank me yet. She’s got a strong case of mad on right now. No guarantee she’ll listen to me.”
“But you’ll try?”
“I will.”
“Thanks.”
“Yep.”
“Okay. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“See you, Coop.”
Cody watched him go then turned and headed for the office. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Hannah to listen, but she had to try. Cooper had turned out to be the one being wronged, and Cody had played a big part in getting Hannah mad at him. She had to try and make up for that.
*****
“Yeah, sounds like you fellas have your hands full,” Cade said and turned into the parking lot of the Honky Honk Angels Bar. He was on the phone with Jasper Weathers who had just told him some news about Wes Pursell and Cooper Quinlan’s families.
Herbert Pursell and Lucas Quinlan had formed a partnership with a venture capitalist with very deep pockets. As of this morning, they owned a building in Cotton Creek and their new company, King Oil, had offices in Cotton Creek, as well as oil rights from more than twenty property owners. And, according to scuttlebutt, acceptances from that many twice over to be finalized.
Jasper’s family, Wes, and Cooper were pissed to the gills. Not that there wasn’t plenty enough to go around, but the bad blood was bound to bring problems for both sides. Already Lucas Quinlan was trying to hire Jaxon Riggs from his son’s company by tripling the offer made by Cooper and Wes.
Cade could have started one hell of a high-roller bet on the upcoming battle between the fathers and sons of those families. It was a case of the old dogs trying to keep the young ones off the porch and it was going to be real interesting to see who ended up on top. He’d give Jaxon a call a later and see what the scoop was with him.
“Yeah, if I hear anything I’ll let you know, Jasper. Yep, you too buddy. Talk to you soon.”
Cade ended his call as he parked beside Cody’s truck at the back of the bar. Looks like she and Hannah were both already there. Funny, but he didn’t remember all three of them being scheduled for today. Well, maybe he’d made a mistake. His mind had been on other things lately.
Roxie. Damn if just the thought of her didn’t bring about a swell south of the belt and something warm and full in his chest as well. If this was love, then he was all for it, and planned on making their relationship permanent just as soon as possible.
He reminded himself to talk to Cody and Hannah about taking a few days, or even a week or so off. He and Roxie needed to get things settled with her husband and she needed to get a divorce. That would be an easy matter since she was still officially a resident of Nevada, but it still meant they needed to be away from Cotton Creek for a while.
Actually, Cade wondered if they shouldn’t just leave all together. It was a nice place, but neither of them had roots here, and it wasn’t like he would be walking away from a business he owned. Despite how interesting things were getting in Cotton Creek, he didn’t have a vested interest in any of it.
He walked into the bar and heard voices from the office. Cade didn’t think twice about entering in without knocking but one look at Hannah had him wishing he had. Her nose was red and her eyes were swollen and red as well. Clearly she’d been crying. He almost turned and left, but Cody spoke up.
“You know about that Devina chick, right?”
“The one who claimed to be Quinlan’s fiancée?”
“Yeah, that one.”
“I’ve heard the talk and seen her around town.”
“And?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t really spoken with her. Why?”
Cody quickly gave him the scoop. Cade listened and as he did, an idea occurred to him.
“So, you believe him?” he asked Cody.
“I do.”
“And you?” he asked Hannah.
“I’m starting to.”
“Okay then we need to call Roxie, Dini, and Cooper and have a sit down.”
“Why?” Hannah asked.
“Because I have an idea on how to get the truth straight from the source.”
“You do?” Hannah seemed to perk up a bit. “How?”
“Call Cooper. We’ve got a couple of hours before opening. Have him come over. I’ll go get Roxie and Dini.”
“Wait!” Cody called out as he turned to leave. “Can’t you at least give us a hint?”
“Nope,” he said and grinned. “I’ll be back in under an hour. Have Cooper here.”
With that he turned and left. No one in this town or his family knew, but in his younger years, Cade had fallen in with a couple of people who had taught him about more than finance and gambling. They’d taught him the art of the con.
It’d been a long time and he’d sworn never to run another con again. But this time was different. This time the goal wouldn’t be money. This time it would be to get at the truth and in doing so help his family.
That appealed to him. But then so did the planning of the con.
*****
Roxie laughed out loud when Cade laid out his plan. “You want me and Dini to be Cooper’s play for pay girls?”
“I want you to pretend to be.”
“I’m glad you clarified.” She gave Dini a wink and then looked at Cooper. “’Cuz no offense, but me and Dini all at once would kill you.”
Everyone burst out laughing, even Cooper. Cade grinned. No truer words had ever been spoken. Roxie was a firecracker and he got the feeling that Dini had a whole lot of heat behind that sweet smile and blonde hair.
“So, we pretend to be his hos and chummy up with this Devina lady,” Dini said. “Get her drunk and try to get her to admit that she’s either not pregnant or that it’s not Cooper’s. Right?”
“Right.” Cade looked around at everyone. “And you suggest that if she’s looking for a big score she’ll want to look at Cooper’s father, Lucas. Cotton Creek Energy is small potatoes next to Quinlan Energy and the new company Quinlan started with Pursell. If she were looking to get pregnant, the smart move would be to make Lucas the baby daddy.”
“I still say there’s a chance she’s working with him,” Cooper said. “My father would think of something like this, pointing Devina at me just to create a diversion and complications.”
“Then you need to find that out,” Cade said to Dini and Roxie.
“That’s going to take more than an evening of drinking, Beckett,” Roxie argued.
“She has a point,” Cody agreed. “She didn’t impress me as someone who’s going to let the cat out of the bag too easily.”
“Well, maybe we’re going at this the wrong way,” Roxie said.
&
nbsp; “Oh?” Cade looked at her.
“Maybe we need to attack on two fronts instead of just one.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning while we’re working on Devina, someone needs to be working on Cooper’s dad.”
“Like who?”
“The pissed new girlfriend.”
Everyone looked at Hannah and Dini clapped her hands. “Yes, that’s perfect. It’s already all over town that Hannah threw Cooper out of bed in San Antonio and won’t speak with him because he didn’t tell her he has a pregnant fiancée.”
“Yep.” Roxie smiled and turned her attention to Cooper. “I’d be willing to bet that your father would expect Hannah to be as interested in revenge as Devina, right?”
“He always expects the worst of people.”
“So, let’s give him what he wants. Maybe he’ll slip up and tell Hannah something he shouldn’t and we’ll catch both birds.”
“No,” Cooper barked. “I don’t want Hannah anywhere near my father.”
“Well, it’s not your decision is it?” Hannah asked in a testy tone.
“I think I should have a say.”
“Why?”
“Because…” He looked around at everyone, then back at Hannah. “Can we speak? In private?”
Hannah crossed her arms and stared at him for a moment, then blew out her breath. “Fine. The office.”
Cade and everyone else watched them leave. Cody got up to refill the pitcher with beer. When she returned to the table to fill the glasses, she cut a look over her shoulder before speaking.
“We may not have to set this plan in motion.”
“Why?” Roxie asked.
“Because of the look on Hannah’s face when Cade explained about you and Dini being all up close and personal with Cooper. Hannah didn’t like it.”
“She didn’t say anything,” Dini pointed out.
“She didn’t have to. I saw it on her face.”
“Ahhh,” Roxie said and grinned. “I get it. She might not be convinced that Miss Devina doesn’t have a bun in the oven but does believe that Cooper isn’t interested in Devina. And the idea of watching him carry on with me and Dini doesn’t exactly give her a case of the warm and fuzzies.”
