“How did you avoid it? Surely at some point you both liked the same girl.”
“Turns out we have totally different tastes in women. For example, I was never attracted to Magda. I mean, I like her. She’s a great gal, but a romantic interest? Nope. Never.”
“Speaking of Magda, how come you were so sure last year about getting them together?”
He grinned. “Reno is the worst at keeping secrets, even when he thinks he’s great. Those two were sneaking around seeing each other. Thought the rest of us were clueless.” He snorted. “Not hardly. But then something happened in August last year that sent Magda flying out of town like she’d seen the devil. Reno was total hell to live with after she left. I talked to Mom about it and she hired Magda to work for us. Of course, I acted like I was going to hit on Magda, get her in the sack, really make some moves on her. You should have seen Reno’s face. He was grinding his teeth so hard, I’m surprised they didn’t crack. Threatened me if I so much as looked at her funny, much less touched her, he would cram my teeth down my throat. It was all I could do to keep a straight face. Once she moved in, the way they looked at each other made me want to get out of the room.”
“Puppy eyes, huh?”
“Let’s-go-to-bed eyes. I was so pissed when I broke my leg but it was the best thing that happened for them.” He laid his palm on her knee. “Thanks again for helping get them back together.”
His rough hand on her flesh felt as if someone had placed a lit match. Hot and burning. Except she didn’t have the pull-away response. Instead, she would be happy if he kept it there for the next fifty miles or so. When he put his hand back on the wheel, she was simultaneously relieved and disappointed.
She needed to keep reminding herself that he was too young for her and, more importantly, she just needed this break from life to think, not to start a romance. Not that being tangled up in bed sheets with Darren Montgomery wouldn’t be a luscious way to spend a few hours…or a few days. But he was her good friend and she was determined to keep it that way.
Now what were they talking about? She’d been so focused on his thick fingers that she’d lost track of the discussion.
“How did you get away from the bakery?”
Thank goodness, Darren threw her a lifeline.
“The bakery? Right. Well, the couple of months that Magda worked with me made me realize that I really need more help, especially when she left. I hired a couple of women to help, and then one day, the ideal baker came in. Have you met Mallory James? She works at night, so she’s probably been gone every time you’ve come in. Along with Callie’s help, she’s handling the kitchen. I’ve got a couple of women manning the counter. Plus, Tina promised to check in every day.” She chuckled. “Of course, that cost me a few pastries. Anyway, it’s not as if they can’t call me if there is a problem.” Her eyes widened. “We will have cell service where we’re going, right?”
“Spotty service. It comes and goes depending on where you are on the property. But sounds like you’ve got it covered, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Easy for him to say. He didn’t have Slade Madden breathing down his neck. Speaking of which…
“Listen, I have to tell you something,” she said.
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Besides your charming company, there’s another reason I needed to get out of town.”
He glanced at her with raised eyebrows. “Yeah? What’s that?”
“Remember the guy from the bakery? The one who was holding on to my arm?”
“Yeah,” he drew out. “What about him?”
“Well, he’s a guy I knew back in high school. Not an old boyfriend or anything like that. Just someone I knew. Anyway, he’s a little down on his luck and has been dogging old classmates for money.”
A little twist on the truth, but close enough.
“And you gave it to him?” he asked incredulously.
“No, no,” she hurriedly added. “But I am hoping he’ll move on if he can’t find me for a couple of weeks.”
“You talk to Singer about him?”
“Why would I talk to the sheriff about this? It’s no big deal. Just a pain in the ass I hope gets the message that he’s not getting any money from me when he can’t find me.”
“If he’s still bothering you when we get back, I’ll have a word with him.”
“You will not,” she exclaimed. “I don’t need you doing that. Really. But I felt like I had to explain why I don’t want to take you up on your offer to buy me out of this trip. We’re friends, and I’m sure we’ll have a great time. I just wanted to be honest with you about why I’m going.”
He frowned in her direction. “So it’s not my sparkling personality and studly bod?”
She rolled her eyes and then laughed. “Yeah, it’s those too.”
He smiled. “Seriously, if this guy is a problem, let me or Singer have a talk with him when we get back.”
“Sure.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Still, it was nice that he’d offered. And now she could go into this vacation with a clear conscience.
Chapter Four
By the time Darren turned off the back road into the entrance for Whiskey Creek Preserve and stopped at the gate, his brother and Magda had long since left them behind. Pulling the trailer with the ATVs had them arriving after Reno by at least twenty minutes.
“I’ve got it,” Porchia said, jumping from the truck. “Hey,” she hollered back. “Want to share the code?”
He grinned and leaned out his window. “Yeah. That might help.” He pulled a piece of paper from his truck’s sun visor and leaned out again. “Five. Seven. Two. Seven. Four. Nine. Five.”
Her fingers worked the buttons and the gate swung open. He pulled forward and then stopped to let her climb back in.
Behind them, Drake Gentry’s Range Rover turned in and stopped. Darren waved out the window at his sister and her husband and drove forward. Drake followed closely on Darren’s trailer’s bumper and cleared the gate before it could close.
“I know that’s your sister and her husband, but I don’t know them very well.”
Darren glanced over. “KC’s pretty cool. Drake is okay, I guess. I’m sure by the end of this camping trip, you’ll know them well, if we can keep them out of their cabin.”
Porchia chuckled. “Really?’
“You have no idea. You’d think they invented sex.”
She coughed, and he figured she was choking back another laugh.
“Actually,” he went on, “I’m glad they’re together. I’ve never seen KC happier. Of course, Reno and I did warn Drake that if he did anything to make her cry, we’d see to it that he’d be crying next.”
Porchia rolled her eyes with a muttered, “Oh brother.”
The truck bounced over the ruts in the dirt.
“You know,” she said, “I don’t really know any of your family well other than Reno and Magda. I’ve met the women but hardly any of the men. And I’ve never met your parents.”
“You’ll love them. And I’m sure they’ll adore you.” As much as I do. Not that he could say that out loud.
She smiled and touched his arm. “Thanks.”
The drive from the gate to the lodge was a little over two miles. As each tenth of a mile passed, the tension in the truck cab rose. Porchia pulled her knee off the seat and put both feet on the floor. Then he noticed how straight she sat, eyes focused to the front. Her hands were folded in her lap. Her entire posture reminded him of the year KC had been a debutante. He and Reno had teased her mercilessly, but she’d gotten her revenge when both of them had served as debutante escorts a mere four years later.
The last bend in the road exposed the two-story log lodge. It’d been built in the early nineteen-fifties as a hunting camp for some rich banker who’d rarely ever used it. The preserve had changed hands a couple of times until it had been bought by some friends of the Montgomerys about twenty years ago. Six newer cabins had been added over the y
ears, with the seventh one still under construction.
The drive circled in front of each log cabin and the lodge and around a large fire pit. There were folding camp chairs already set up near the stone pit.
Outside the ring of buildings, two camping sites were available for tents or recreational vehicles. Cash Montgomery stood in one of those sites directing a truck backing a fifth wheel into a site.
“Whose fifth wheel?” Porchia asked.
Darren grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. “Marc Singer. He and Cash are pretty tight.” He chuckled. “With Lydia as his date, this could get interesting.”
He stopped his truck in front of the lodge and climbed out. Two hours of driving had him stiff. He wasn’t used to staying still for such long periods of time except when he was sleeping. Even then, if the sheets on his bed were to be believed, he tossed and turned a lot at night too.
Porchia hopped from the passenger side, flung her arms over her head and stretched. Then, bending from the waist, she touched her toes with a groan.
“Man, that feels good.” She stood and twisted side-to-side.
Darren made it around the hood of his truck in time to get a good look at her tight ass when she bent. He lost his train of thought the minute she touched her toes.
“Stop staring at her and come hug your mother.”
He jerked his gaze from Porchia’s backside and up to the porch. His mother stood with her hands on her hips, a knowing smile on her lips.
“Hi, Mom.” He hurried up the stairs and lifted his mother off her feet in a bear hug.
“Stop that,” she said, slapping his shoulder.
He set her back on her feet. “When did you and Dad get here?”
“Yesterday. Your dad and Lane wanted to go riding before the rest of you got here.”
“Uncle Lane brought horses?”
Nadine Montgomery snorted. “I wish. Those two fools bought new ATVs. When your dad test drove the ones we got y’all, he had to have one.” She sighed dramatically. “I wonder which one of them will hit a tree first.”
Darren laughed. “Lucky for us that Travis had the foresight to marry a doctor.”
He sensed Porchia’s presence before she said a word. Heat washed over him, followed by a tingling at the base of his spine. In all his life, he never remembered having this type of physical reaction to just being near any one woman. He turned to face Porchia and the heat notched up about a hundred degrees or so.
“Mom. This is Porchia Summers. Porchia, this is my mother, Nadine.”
Porchia extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery.”
Nadine shook Porchia’s hand. “Please call me Nadine. If you yell Mrs. Montgomery this weekend, there’s no telling who’ll answer.”
Porchia’s smile was extremely polite and formal. “Of course. Nadine it is then.”
“Porchia’s the best baker in the world,” he said, draping his arm around Porchia’s shoulders. Beneath his arm, she straightened and grew stiff. What had he said wrong?
“I know,” Nadine said. “Jackie has told me about your wonderful treats. Maybe you could give me some tips while we’re here? I seem to have missed the baking gene.”
“I’d be honored.”
“Great. Come on in. Jackie assigned the cabins and I can’t remember where she put y’all.”
When they came out, keys to cabin five in hand, his dad and Uncle Lane came roaring up on two new, very muddy four-wheelers. His dad flew past the lodge, rounded the drive by cabin one and skidded to a stop. He stepped off his machine, pulled his helmet off his hair, laughing loudly and pointing at his brother, Lane.
“I win,” Clint shouted as Lane Montgomery came to an abrupt stop beside him.
Lane removed his helmet. “Enjoy your victory while you can. Tomorrow, you shall eat crow.”
“God. Those two idiots are going to kill themselves,” Nadine said.
“I don’t know about you, Nadine, but I made sure Lane’s life insurance was paid up.”
Darren looked over at his aunt who’d joined them on the porch and laughed. “I swear, Aunt Jackie. I don’t know if you’re kidding or not.”
“Not,” she deadpanned.
“I’m pretty sure you know Porchia Summers, right? Porchia. My Aunt Jackie.”
Jackie hugged her. “Of course I know Porchia. Why, at least ten of my pounds are totally her fault.”
Porchia laughed. “Sorry about that?”
“Don’t be. I enjoyed every delectable ounce.”
“If y’all will excuse us, we’ll get unpacked,” Darren said.
The two older women waved them off and headed over to where their husbands stood comparing their all-terrain vehicles.
“I bet those two were quite the handful growing up,” Porchia said. “Seems like they really enjoy each other.”
Darren grinned. “They do and they were. I understand why Dad moved to Florida to set up his ranch, but I also know he’s really missed Uncle Lane and living in Texas.”
They climbed back into the truck.
“I’m going to drop the trailer and ATVs before we unload. That work for you? Or do you need to, um, go inside first.”
This was pitiful. He was acting like a ninth grader on a first date with a senior.
“Do you mean do I need to pee?” Porchia grinned. “I’m fine. What can I do to help?”
“Not a thing. Sit tight.”
He followed the drive past cabin four, turned left toward Marc Singer’s fifth wheel, passed it and pulled to an open area where a couple of other trailers were parked. He whipped the truck and trailer around and backed them in.
Reno followed them down the trail and had the ramp on the trailer lowered and was on one of the new Hondas before Darren could get out of his truck. Reno revved the engine and then backed the machine off. Darren climbed onto the second one and followed Reno down the ramp. Once they had their new four-wheelers unloaded, Reno uncoupled the trailer from the truck and Darren pulled a couple of feet forward.
“Want to drive the ATV to our cabin?”
Porchia’s face reflected her surprise. “Really?”
“Sure. You ever been on one?”
“Not in years. Why don’t I drive the truck and you ride over?”
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Porchia slid into the driver’s seat. Darren got on his ATV, as did Reno. The guys headed back toward the main lodge with Porchia following.
Cabin five was directly across from the lodge, separated by the drive and the large fire-pit area.
Darren pulled into a dirt parking area and jumped from his machine. “Home sweet home for the next ten days.”
“This place is incredible.” Porchia hopped down from the truck. “Listen to how quiet it is.”
Wind rustled through the needles of the tall pines. Sunlight dappled on the ground. Somewhere in the distance, a bird trilled. Suddenly, the roar of an ATV broke the silence.
“Oh well. It was nice while it lasted,” she said.
The cabin was definitely a step up from Porchia’s expectations. When camping had first been mentioned, she’d envisioned tents, blow-up mattresses and hard ground. Then Darren had pointed out that they would have their own cabin.
Since the only camping in cabins she’d done was with her Brownie troop, she hadn’t been too excited at the prospect. At Brownie camp, a cabin had uncomfortable cots and communal bathrooms, not to mention the rats that had begged for food at night. She’d gotten used to the environment and loved being with her friends, but camping had never found its way into her favorite to-do list.
Cabin five was definitely not her Brownie cabin. The first clue was the cedar swing that hung from the rafters on the porch. Brownie cabins didn’t have swings, much less a nice porch.
When she opened the door, she didn’t need any more clues that this wasn’t Girl Scout camp. She walked into a small living room with hardwood floors covered with a large, geometrically designed area
rug. A burgundy-colored leather sofa dominated the space. The sofa was angled to give a view of the flat-screen television and a large fireplace.
After walking through the living room, she took one step up into a small open kitchen equipped with a refrigerator, stovetop and microwave. The kitchen cabinets held dishes and glassware for four.
A short hall led to the single bedroom and bath. The king-sized bed swallowed most of the space in the small room. Also in the room was a tiny closet, a four-drawer dresser and fireplace. On the far wall, a door lead to a standard bathroom, if one considered multiple showerheads standard.
She dropped her bags on the bed and turned toward Darren who’d followed her journey through the cabin. She knew her mouth was hanging agape.
“You like?” he asked.
She got the impression he wasn’t kidding and that her reaction was important to him.
“I’m stunned. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t expecting anything this nice.”
A brief moment of relief shuttered across his face and then he smiled. “We have the newest cabin. I think Aunt Jackie was trying to impress you since there aren’t any two bedroom cabins. I think that living room sofa is a pull-out bed.”
“Impress me?” She frowned and then scoffed. “I’m nobody to impress. That’s for sure. Still, her intention or not, I’m blown away.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her mouth against his. “I love it.”
She’d kissed Darren before, but usually on the cheek or in completely different, non-romantic circumstances. This slight touch of lips ricocheted like a lightning bolt through her. She jerked her arms from around his neck, afraid to leave them there longer. She liked the feeling a little too much.
“Well, then,” she said on a long exhale. “I think I’ll get unpacked.”
Darren still stood where he’d been when she’d kissed him.
“You okay?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “I’m fine. I’ll put my stuff in here. I’m sure there are some extra sheets for the couch.”
She cocked her hands on her hips. “Let’s talk about this, okay? We’re friends. Good friends. If you want to sleep on the sofa, or if you want me to sleep on it, fine. No problem.”
Texas Hustle Page 4
