Four Weddings & A Vendetta (Remington Ranch #5)

by SJ McCoy

  He smiled. “I do have to, and so does Carter. It’s just the way we’re made. So, if you don’t mind humoring us, and Ruby doesn’t mind spending a little more time with her uncles than she usually does, then it’s all good, right?”

  “It is. She’s loving it, and honestly, so am I. She’s been after making everyone her family, as she puts it, and this is certainly doing that.” She hesitated, but decided to ask. “And you don’t mind her calling you Uncle Chancey?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Nah, it’s cute. Just don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  “And she doesn’t give you any trouble?”

  “None at all. She’s a feisty little madam, don’t get me wrong, but I prefer that. In fact, she reminds me a lot of my little sister, Missy. Missy’s hell on wheels when she wants to be and stubborn as a mule. She’s the only person in the world who dared call me Chancey, till I met Ruby.” He smiled. “I guess I have a soft spot for little ladies with big hearts—who talk too much.”

  Corinne laughed. “I hope I get to meet Missy someday soon. It sounds as though she and Ruby would get along. Will she be coming to the weddings?”

  Chance looked puzzled. “No. Why would she?”

  That took Corinne aback a little—why wouldn’t she?

  Chance frowned. “Sorry. She’s never met any of the guys. My two worlds have never collided.”

  “Maybe they will someday.”

  “Maybe.” It didn’t look like the idea appealed to him too much.

  Shane came down the hallway toward them. “Hey, Chance. You looking for me?”

  Chance crammed his hat back on his head and winked at Corinne. “Nah, I was just leaving.” He turned and walked away.

  Shane looked at Corinne. “Is he okay?”

  “He seems it. He was just letting me know that Carter’s picking Ruby up today since he has to go up and check fences.”

  “What fences?”

  “The top pasture, he said.”

  Shane frowned.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so. It’s just that with everything that’s going on, I’m second-guessing everything Chance and Carter do. They seem to be able to smell trouble coming a mile off, while I’m constantly trying to play catch up.”

  Corinne knew how he felt. “I don’t think there’s anything going on. It was just a change of plan and he wanted to keep me in the loop.”

  “Yeah. Sorry.” Shane ran a hand through his hair.

  Corinne felt bad for him. He was normally the life and soul of the party, the happy-go-lucky one. “There’s no need. I think we’re all on edge.”

  “We sure are. I don’t suppose your fiancé has come up with anything to get Guy out of the picture, has he?”

  “No, though I’m sure he will. I just hope he comes up with something soon. He’s totally preoccupied with it.”

  “I know, I’ve seen him. If I didn’t know any better I’d think he was reverting to his grumpy old self. That can’t be much fun to live with.”

  Corinne smiled. “It’s fine. He does get a bit intense, but you just need to distract him. I keep talking to him about the new house, and Ruby keeps tugging his sleeve till he plays with her.”

  “You two are the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

  That made her heart happy. “And he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us.” He truly was. She loved him with all her heart, and so did Ruby. He was good to them and good for them. She smiled as she thought about him, and about the fact that if everything went well, they’d be married by this time next month. She caught Shane’s eye and came back to reality with a bump. He was still her boss, and they were still at work.

  Shane grinned. “Do you think you’ll ever loosen up?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know. Part of me would like to. We’re going to be family, after all. But part of me needs to hang on to the professional persona. It took me years of hard work to earn respect and acceptance in this industry.”

  “I doubt that,” said Shane. “You earn them just by being you. You don’t need a persona. Your character speaks for itself. I hope you’ll let the walls down over time. You’ve got efficiency covered, it might be nice to start letting people in. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  Wow! Corinne stared after him. She’d been trying so hard to keep up the front and there was Shane telling her she might do better without it. She nodded. He might be right.

  ~ ~ ~

  Summer ran to the door when she heard Carter’s truck pull up outside the house. She went out and stood on the front deck with a smile.

  He made his way up the steps and wrapped her in a hug. “Hey, darlin’.”

  She loved it when he called her that. “Hi. Are you okay?”

  He nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they went inside. “I am now I’m here.”

  She looked up at him. He seemed tired and troubled. “Want to tell me about it?”

  He nodded and went to the fridge. “Yeah, outside over a beer?”

  “I’ll get myself a glass of wine.”

  When they were seated on the back deck overlooking the river, she took hold of his hand. “Has something happened?”

  “No. But I’m starting to get uneasy.”

  “Why?”

  “When I went to fetch Ruby from school this afternoon, Guy’s truck was parked at the end of the driveway. He wasn’t in it when I pulled in, but when I came back out with Ruby, he was sitting there grinning at me. He looked like he’d lost it, Summer. Like he’s really gone crazy. It was like he was just messing with my head, trying to put the wind up me, show me that he could get Ruby if he wanted to. It worked, too. If I hadn’t had her in the truck…” he shook his head. “I think he’s just trying to provoke me, but maybe he really has cracked up, and if he has, then who knows what he’s capable of?”

  Summer swallowed. Her throat felt like sandpaper. “Did you tell Corinne?”

  “No. I called Beau. He said he’d tell her about it when he got home. The two of them can talk about what they want to do. I wish they’d go stay with her sister till this is all over.” He cupped her face between his hands. “I wish you’d go and stay with yours.”

  “I’m fine. What could he do to me?”

  Carter’s face clouded over and again she could see the man a stranger might see when they looked at him—he was pretty intimidating. “I don’t even want to imagine.”

  That sent shivers down her spine. “Let’s not, then.” Summer didn’t want to think about it any longer. “Let’s talk about something happy instead, shall we?”

  The corners of his mouth turned up in the hint of a smile. “Like what?”

  “Like when you’re going to make an honest woman out of me.”

  Carter grinned. “Just as soon as we can.”

  “Good, because I have my heart set on the end of August, along with the rest of your family, and instead of putting me off anymore, I want you to admit that you love the idea and we should make it happen.”

  “What about Autumn?”

  “I already talked to her; she’ll be there no matter what.”

  He smiled. “And Clay?”

  “He said the same. He’ll be there come hell or high water, even if it’s only for a couple of hours.”

  “And you’re sure you want to get married the same day as the others? You’re not just doing it for me, or for them?”

  “Carter, it’s my wedding day. I want to do whatever will mean the most.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “To me, as well as to you.”

  He raised his other eyebrow.

  “And the others,” she admitted. “But you have to understand that what makes me happy is seeing you happy and knowing that I’m at least partly responsible for the smile on your face.”

  “You are wholly responsible. I didn’t think I’d ever be happy again till I met you. I thought content was just fine.”

  She shook her
head and closed her arms around his neck. “You deserve so much more than contentment.”

  “And I found it.” He closed his arms around her and drew her closer.

  “We both have, and I don’t want anything overshadowing it.”

  “Neither do I. I just wish we could come up with some way to make him stop.”

  Summer nodded. “Can’t the police do anything?”

  “I talked to Mason. Luke says they’re working on pinning the fires on him, and that if he does anything else, we can get a restraining order.” He shrugged. “Like that’d do any good. I’m depending on Beau to come up with something smart.”

  “Someone needs to. I hate to think we’ll all be looking over our shoulders still on our wedding day.”

  Carter’s eyebrows came down. “No way will I let him spoil that day. Hopefully we’ll be able to put a stop to him before then.”

  Summer stroked his arm. “Let’s forget about him for now, can we? Are you hungry? I haven’t done anything about dinner yet.”

  The gentle smile she was used to seeing on his face was back. “How about frozen pizza followed by ice cream?”

  She loved the sound of that. It was comfort food plus it always reminded her of their first date. “Perfect. I’ll go set the oven to preheat.”

  She stood up, but he caught her hand and pulled her back down to sit in his lap. “And maybe after dinner we can work on trying to grow our family again?” As he spoke his hand slid down her back sending little ripples of desire coursing through her. She wriggled around in his lap until she was straddling him and clung to his shoulders as she pressed her breasts into his face.

  “Or maybe before dinner?”

  “Maybe.”

  His hands closed around her ass and he mouthed her nipple through her shirt, making her moan.

  They both knew there was no maybe about it.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Tell me what I can do, Beau?” Wanda stood in his office doorway with her hands on her hips.

  “I would if I knew. I’m sorry I’m being such a grumpy asshole, but I have to figure something out.”

  Wanda smiled. “I never thought I’d hear you apologize for being a grumpy asshole, and I never thought I’d say, don’t you worry about it, I understand.”

  Beau smiled back. “Can you say that again while I record it?”

  She waved a hand at him. “No way. I’ll deny ever having said it in the first place. But, damn, Beau, there has to be something we can do. Just the thought of that slimy bastard sitting outside the kids’ school gives me the heebie-jeebies. To think about him laying a finger on sweet little Ruby—or any of them for that matter.” She held his gaze. “I could start a rumor.”

  Beau narrowed his eyes. “What kind of rumor?”

  She shrugged. “How long do you think he’d last if people thought he was trying to take a kid?”

  Beau sighed. “Not long, but do we really have to stoop to his level?”

  Wanda made a face.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean you were stooping.”

  “Oh, I am. And I’ll go a lot lower than that. All’s fair in love and war as far as I’m concerned and this is war. If the law won’t go after him, and none of you Remingtons are prepared to beat the crap out of him and teach him what’s what, then I’ll just have to resort to whatever means are at my disposal.” She huffed. “I’ll put a stop to him. I ain’t scared!”

  “Come on, Wanda. I’m not scared, Chance and Carter most definitely aren’t. I’m having to hold the two of them off from beating the crap out of him, and Mason too. What good would it do if they did? Tell me that? They’d be in trouble with the law and Preston would still be walking around free to cause trouble.”

  “I doubt he’d be walking after Chance and Carter got done with him.”

  So did Beau. “That’s not the point, and it’s exactly the point. You can be damned sure they’d be charged with assault, or worse.” He was worried about Chance; the look he got in his eye whenever Guy’s name came up could only be called murderous. Beau shuddered. He had to do something before he or Carter took the law into their own hands.

  Wanda nodded. “I know. You’re right. Just like you always are, smart-ass. We know everything we can’t do, but we need to come up with something we can do.”

  “Which brings us full circle. I’m being a grumpy asshole because I’m totally preoccupied with figuring something out.”

  “So I should shut up, butt out, and leave you to it?” Wanda looked close to apologetic.

  “No, I’m only banging my head against the wall. You can help me figure out what I tell Corinne about Guy hanging out by the school again.”

  “You tell her exactly what Carter told you.”

  “But I don’t want to scare her.”

  “You don’t think she’s already scared? You can bet your ass she’s terrified. But she’s also one smart momma. You tell her everything and you let her decide what she wants to do about it—and you support whatever she says, you hear me?”

  Beau smiled through pursed lips. “Yes, Mom. Thanks. Mom.”

  Wanda pushed away from the wall. “You know I’m right,” she muttered as she wandered back out to the reception area.

  He did, too. He didn’t like it though. He didn’t want Ruby in danger, and he didn’t want Corinne scared for her daughter. He did want to come up with something that could stop Guy once and for all.

  He racked his brain again. There had to something. What was he missing? He sighed as he ran through it again. Guy had nothing left to lose. His wife was gone, along with his son. He was broke, and he had the threat of foreclosure hanging over him. He had no fear to hold him back. He was angry and vindictive. There wasn’t going to be a way to change his attitude.

  Beau rested his head in his hands. There was nothing to threaten him with and nothing to appeal to him with. What could they appeal to? He didn’t have a better nature. No, it’d be more like appeal to his greed. But even if Beau knew what he might be greedy for… He stopped and stared out the window. There was a connection he hadn’t made before. Guy was greedy for money. No. He couldn’t be bought off.

  It was the law that should be taking care of him. He should be locked up, that was the truth of the matter, but the law took time. Beau understood due process. His brothers didn’t.

  He looked at the clock on the wall. He needed to be getting home. He and Corinne needed to talk tonight about her and Ruby getting out of town. No matter what Wanda might have said about supporting whatever Corinne wanted, Beau wanted her and Ruby as far away from the threat as possible.

  Chapter Ten

  Carter smiled and waved at Ruby when he pulled up in front of the cabin. She was a little cutie. Apparently, him picking her up for school in the mornings like this had improved her morning routine. According to Corinne, she no longer dawdled over her breakfast, but gobbled it down so she could go sit in the window to look out for him.

  He couldn’t wait for the day he and Summer had little ones of their own. It couldn’t be too far away at the rate they were trying!

  Ruby came flying out the front door and down the path to greet him.

  “Uncle Carter, Uncle Carter!” She wrapped her arms around his knees and hugged hard.

  “Hey, sweet pea. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes. I just have to get my bag. Come see Mommy and my Beau?” She tugged at his hand and led him to the front door.

  “Come on in,” said Beau.

  “Thanks.” Carter took his hat off and stood in the hallway.

  “Sorry, Carter,” called Corinne. “We’ll be right with you. Ruby, come here.”

  Carter smiled at Beau. “Regular morning madness, huh?”

  “I wish. It’s a long way from the regular kind, what with our crazy friend out there.”

  “Yeah, I wondered if you guys would even want her to go today.”

  From the look on his face, Beau didn’t. “While she’s going with you, and Chance is picking her up, it’s not
so bad. Then we’ve got the weekend.” He looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “When I’m hoping that I can convince Corinne to take her and stay with her sister.”

  Carter nodded. He’d do the same. “Good luck with that.”

  “With what?” asked Corinne as she rustled Ruby back into the hallway where they were still standing.

  “Nothing.”

  Carter smiled. “Let’s go, sweet pea.”

  Ruby kissed Corinne’s cheek and then went to Beau. “Bye, Daddy.”

  Carter felt his eyes sting. He’d never heard her call Beau that before. From the look on their faces, Beau and Corinne hadn’t either. He made for the door. If this was a special moment for them, he didn’t want to be in the middle of it.

  A few moments later, Beau brought Ruby out to the truck. “Thanks, bro. I’ll be able to do this myself soon. It’s just been crazy at the office and I’ve been needing to get up there early.”

  “No worries. We like our time together, don’t we, Ruby.”

  “Yes!” She grinned at him while Beau fastened her in.

  “You both have a great day. I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Daddy,” she said again.

  Carter raised an eyebrow at Beau over her head. Beau just grinned. “See you later, pumpkin.”

  Carter found himself gripping the steering wheel tighter as he got closer to school. He smiled at Ruby as she chatted away about her pony Gypsy and how she was going to ride out with her daddy soon. He couldn’t focus on what she was saying, though. He was too busy looking out for Guy. His heart was pounding as he rounded the corner to the spot where Guy had been parked yesterday. There was no sign of him. Carter nodded to himself and let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

  “Are you okay, Uncle Carter?”

  “I’m great, sweet pea.”

  “Are you coming to get me after school again?”

  “No, Uncle Chance is coming today.”

  “Okay. I like Uncle Chancey.”