by Amie Stuart
Nicky’s smile never faltered. “Welcome to the family.”
“Nicky!”
Nicky chuckled. “You two can act like this is a sham engagement all you want. I know better.”
Rowdy couldn’t hold back his own chuckle as Nicky patted him on the arm and walked toward the front door. Rowdy turned and offered Jade his arm, and they followed just a few steps behind.
“Oh, Gawd. It’s just an hour or two, right?”
“Right! You’re beautiful, Jade, now walk the walk. Where’s that sashay I saw the other night at the dancehall when you were teasing me,” he whispered, hoping her brother didn’t hear him.
“Thank you, I know,” she shakily replied. Her hip bumped him and her pace slowed just a bit. She blew out another deep breath as they reached Nicky, who held the door open for them to pass through first.
But Jade stiffened right back up again once they stepped inside the air conditioned entryway. The walls were pale yellow and the floor was white and gold marble. A huge marble-topped table holding an equally large flower arrangement sat smack dab in the middle of the mirror-lined entryway.
To one side stood Her Honor, an older man who looked to have a firm grip on her arm, and a younger couple. The young woman reminded him more of Nicky than Jade. Despite the slight upward tilt to her nose, Rowdy could see the family resemblance. He smothered a grin, remembering the tart observations Jade had made about her sister and her odd name. Emerald. An attractive younger version of Her Honor, she clung to the arm of a pasty looking man with a beaked nose and even less hair than Rowdy.
Jade's mother greeted them and coolly performed the introductions. “Robert—”
“His name’s Rowdy,” Jade blurted out, before he could voice his own hot protest. In all his twenty-six years, no one had ever called him Robert, and he wasn’t about to start now.
“I beg your pardon?” Trudy demanded with a frown, while a smiling Dr. Ballard held out his hand and greeted Rowdy. Thinking of her as Trudy made her less intimidating.
“Rowdy’s a nickname, Trudy,” the doctor said, giving him another smile.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Ballard.”
“Please, call me Aaron. Emerald, come say hello to your sister’s fiancé.”
If Emerald’s cool expression and limp handshake were any indication, he didn’t pass inspection. Wayne, on the other hand, gave him a firm handshake. Almost too firm. Rowdy bit back another chuckle. The lawyer was intimidated by the computer repair man. Irony.
Dr. Ballard...Aaron tried to lead him away from the group, but Rowdy paused and snagged a very quiet Jade's arm. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight. The trio walked around a corner to a hostess station.
“It’s the birthday girl. Back for round two?” quipped a young blond, who could have passed for Emerald’s little sister. Perfect was the word that came to mind. They were all perfect. No wonder Jade had been in tears at the thought of coming here.
“Insulting my sister won’t get me to take you out, brat,” said Nicky from behind them.
“Geneva, could you please seat us?” Aaron quietly asked.
“Certainly, Dr. Ballard.” She smiled and led them into the crowded dining room.
As they wound their way among tables, Rowdy glanced at Jade to see how she was doing.
She had that haughty-snotty expression on her face—chin up, lips pursed, eyelashes lowered so you couldn’t see her eyes. It reminded him of Emerald, and Rowdy decided he had no use for perfect at all. “Hey.”
She glanced up at him, the expression in her eyes bordering on arctic.
“Don’t make me kiss you right here in front of all these people,” he softly threatened.
Her eyes widened and her lips twitched in the tiniest hint of a smile. “That’s better.”
From behind him, Rowdy heard a snicker. Nicky. Rowdy got the feeling he might have found a kindred spirit in Jade's brother—as long as he didn’t call her that damned name again. Pork Rind.
At the table, Rowdy seated Jade beside her father then sat on her other side. Nicky took the chair beside him while Trudy sat on the doctor’s other side. Emerald and Wayne took the two remaining chairs, leaving one vacant.
“Is someone else joining us?” Jade angrily demanded.
Rowdy draped an arm across the back of her chair, hoping a squeeze of her shoulder would bring her down from the ceiling. He didn’t miss how Trudy’s frown deepened at the placement of his arm either. He smiled at her and winked. Her lips were pursed so tight, you could barely see her lipstick. Rowdy hadn’t expected her to be so silent after their last vocal meeting.
“I have it on the best authority that it’s only family tonight,” Aaron replied with a slight nod.
A young waiter showed up, announcing that tonight’s selections were Chicken Marsala or Beef Wellington, and took their drink orders. Gin and tonic seemed to be the drink of the evening, though he and Nicky chose beer and Jade had her usual Lemon Drop. He gently squeezed her shoulder again when she asked the waiter to make it a double.
“So...Rowdy,” Wayne began, “what do you do for a living again?”
“A little of this and that, right?” Her Honor asked, eyeing him coolly.
“Yes, ma’am. Computers—”
“Really,” Wayne interrupted. “Do you do IT work?”
“I prefer being my own boss. I build and repair computers. And since I’ve lived in Bluebonnet all my life, I have a built-in clientele.”
“I thought you were a musician,” Trudy demanded.
“Oh, I do that, too. Three nights a week, and I help Susie out at the dancehall whenever she needs me,” he explained, feeling as if he were being cross examined. “During calving and foaling seasons, or if we have flooding, I help my brother-in-law with his ranch stock.”
“That tall, dark-haired young man I met with the...daughter?”
Rowdy bit his lip to keep from laughing. Rene had apparently left quite an impression on the judge. “Yes, ma’am.”
“He trains horses—Tim?” Trudy’s eyes flickered from him to Jade and back again. “And his ex-wife, your sister, is in prison for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.”
Jade's shocked plea for her mother to stop got mixed up with what sounded like a low warning from Aaron Ballard. But the Judge’s expression never wavered, and Rowdy struggled against the low boiling anger in his gut. That and fear. He had a good idea what was coming, even if Jade didn’t. Judge Trudy had been a busy little bee.
The waiter returned with their drinks and took their orders before disappearing again. Rowdy spent that few minutes getting himself under control so he didn’t lash out and make things worse for Jade—and himself. After all, she’d be his mother-in-law some day. Even so, he doubted they’d ever see much of one another.
“Yes, ma’am, my sister’s in prison, but you already know that, since you’ve obviously done your homework.”
“And you, yourself, were arrested for assaulting your own father. It must run in the family,” she softly added with a narrow-eyed look in Jade’s direction.
Jade scowled at her mother. Beneath the table, he felt her hand gently rubbing his thigh. Rowdy curled his fingers around hers, grateful for the comforting gesture. Any sign of weakness and Trudy would be all over him.
“I was booked and then released. I never actually went to jail.”
“Only because he died before you could stand trial,” Trudy countered, her voice whiplash sharp.
“That’s right, he did. And I’m sure the devil threw one hell of a party to welcome him home, ma’am.” Rowdy didn’t miss Emerald’s shocked gasp, or Nicky’s smothered laughter or Wayne’s indignant sounding mutterings.
And he didn’t miss the fact that Jade was dying right then and there. “Those charges were bull. Dad knew it, and Mom and the sheriff did, too!” Damn, he’d let the bitch get to him! Rowdy stood, struggling to keep his tone calm. “Let’s go. Let’s go home.”
Jade’s head drooped for just
a minute. She blew out a short, harsh breath then tilted her head back to look up at him. Her green eyes glittered and her expression was surprisingly calm. “Sit, Rowdy.”
CONFESSIONS OF A FAILED DEBUTANTE
“SIT!” I TUGGED AT the leg of Rowdy’s pants. Despite the knots in my stomach, it was time I took control of things.
Past time.
Unfortunately for me, getting mad often meant crying. I couldn’t help what amounted to an automatic reaction. Some people get the giggles when they’re nervous. Me, I bawled.
He finally lowered himself into his chair. Despite the tension that vibrated off him, I took comfort in the possessive arm he again draped across my shoulders. I was still working through everything I’d heard in the last few minutes. Obviously, Big Rob had more than his fair share of faults.
And so did my mother. How dare she go digging around in Rowdy’s past! Though, from what I knew and what I’d just heard, I doubted she had the whole story.
No wonder his trip to Baytown had been so difficult. I saw another talk in our very near future. But Rowdy had spent the last fifteen minutes defending us both against everything, shielding me, protecting me, physically and verbally. Now everything finally fell into place.
I was his.
He’d protect me against all enemies—even my own mother. Even if he hadn’t said it, even if he couldn’t say it, I knew he cared about me. Susie was right.
And I’d be damned if I’d sit by and let Her Honorable, The Queen Bitch, run him into the ground.
“Jade, I can’t condone you marrying a man who assaulted his own father and put him in the hospital where he later died. My God, his sister’s a felon.”
“His sister’s a felon because she screwed up. She made a mistake. That’s life! Though, of course, you know nothing about making mistakes, do you, Your Honorableness?” I struggled to walk a fine line between anger and not making a scene. I’d be damned if I’d give her more ammunition.
HH’s pursed lips opened, but I charged ahead before the building tears hit. “I’m sorry...No, on second thought, I’m damned well not! I’m not sorry. For anything. For not being perfect,” I spat out the word as if it were a bite of raw liver, “—like you and Emerald. For wanting to live my own life, on my terms. For wanting more than this...this shit!” I waved my hands to indicate the club’s posh dining room and well-dressed guests.
“Leave me out of your mess, Jade.” Emerald’s haughty tone came straight from HH’s bag of tricks. Beside her, Wayne looked constipated.
“Clone,” I tossed back. Two could play that game. I could match her haughty word for word. “I will never be what you want me to be. And you know what? I’m glad! You know what else? I wanna live, I wanna laugh, I want him!” I jerked my head in Rowdy’s direction and barely paused for air. “I love him!”
Nicky chuckled.
“Stifle it,” I said, pointed a finger in his direction before turning back to my mother. “And what the hell gives you the right to go digging in his past? Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Jade, you have no idea what you’re saying. My God, you don’t even know what love is,” HH hissed, an ugly frown on her face. The brief crack in her façade disappeared as she schooled her features into something sufficiently bland.
From between my grinding molars, I let loose a zinger. “I might not know what love is, but thanks to you, I know what it isn’t.”
She sat bolt upright, her cheeks blazing red as if I’d slapped her. I was so angry and nerved up, I shook. God please don’t let me cry now.
At the same time, I felt exhilarated. I was lightheaded. Or maybe riding a high from my first—albeit minor—victory. I stood up to her and lived to tell about it.
“And for what it’s worth, Trudy,” Rowdy added. “I love your daughter. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
He called my mother Trudy! I didn’t dare laugh. I’m not sure what surprised me more, that or hearing him publicly announce he loved me. Rowdy might bullshit, but he wouldn’t tell an out and out lie. Not about something so important. I took a deep breath and leaned into him, smiling at my mother as my insides turned all warm and mushy.
He loved me.
“Love isn’t about control, or making someone into what you want them to be, but about appreciating them for who and what they are. I’ll never be thin,” I spat, watching HH flinch. “I’ll never be blond. I’ll never marry a man like Allan, who, by the way, is a pig, and if you can’t see that, I seriously question your abilities as a judge, Mother. I like my unimportant job, I like my tiny townhome, I like Rowdy’s huge, close-knit family, and I can’t wait to meet his mother tomorrow at that family reunion. That’s right, his mother!”
By the time I was through, HH was as pale as flour paste.
“Well,” Daddy interrupted, clearing his throat. “You both have my most sincere blessings. And, if this is what living away from home has done for you, Jade, maybe we should send Emerald away for a while before her wedding.”
“Dad-dy!” Emerald whined.
I almost burst out laughing at the look of horror on my sister’s face. I settled on giving Daddy a grateful smile and a squeeze of his fingers. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, Dear. Trudy, she’s made her choice and he’s a good, solid, hard-working young man who loves her. You’re not the only one who’s done their homework. Now leave her be. I want my girls to be happy. And my son, too,” he added with a wink.
“You checked up on Rowdy too, Daddy?”
“Only after he answered your phone the other morning.”
That point I couldn’t argue, especially knowing how red my cheeks were right then.
“I promise to take good care of her, sir.”
I patted Rowdy’s leg under the table, and he covered my fingers with his. “And I promise to take good care of him.”
“I’ll hold you both to that, and one more thing.”
“What’s that, Dr. Ballard?” Rowdy asked, his voice gentle.
“Aaron, remember...and grandkids. I want grandkids. Lots of them.”
I swallowed and blinked in surprise, caught off guard at my father’s request for grandchildren. Rowdy, however, was completely calm. “As long as you don’t ask me to name one Forest, we’re fine.”
I frowned up at him. “Forest?”
“Green,” Rowdy solemnly announced. “We already have a Forest in the family.” Everyone but HH and Emerald chuckled at that.
“What about Kelly?” Nicky quipped.
“Very funny. Quit naming my babies.” The thought of babies like Hope to cuddle with made me smile, but I didn’t miss my mother’s flinch. I’d won the battle, but our personal war would probably rage for years. She’d never accept that I needed to be my own person.
After dinner was served and our waiter disappeared again, Daddy spoke up. “You do know where Jade and Emerald came from?” My father sat back in his chair and fairly preened.
“Aaron, I’m not sure this is the place for a talk on reproduction.” Rowdy’s calm tone matched Daddy’s and that made it all the funnier.
My fork halfway to my mouth, I paused to snort. But when Wayne spewed gin and tonic in his Beef Wellington, I gave it up and howled with laughter, not caring who heard me. Beside me, Rowdy chuckled.
“Oh, dear God,” HH mumbled. “Jade, stop laughing.” I’m not sure whose face was redder, hers or Emerald’s. “Please don’t tell that story, Aaron.”
The sound of my mother practically begging stifled my giggles. Spill it, Daddy-O!
“Oh come now, Dear, it’s past time they heard this,” Daddy replied, cutting off a piece of his Beef Wellington and forking it up. I ignored my own dinner and waited for him to finish chewing and continue. “You know, in her younger days, your mother wasn’t near as uptight as she is now.”
Yeah right! I practically bit my tongue in order to not say the words out loud.
“Aaron!”
“Well, you are, Dear,” he
replied. “Anyway, your grandmother, Pearl had a sister—”
“Ruby?” Rowdy asked with a grin.
Daddy chuckled. “No, son, Opal. Two stones that are similar but different. Both white, but beautiful in their own right. Unless it’s a freshwater pearl, which has an iridescence similar to an opal, pearls are smooth, creamy perfection.”
“Classy,” Rowdy said softly while squeezing my shoulder.
“Right, where opals are full of fire and a rainbow of colors. Trudy’s favorite color is green, and when the girls were born, she wanted to name them after different green gemstones to honor her mother and aunt.”
“Why haven’t we ever heard this story before?” Emerald demanded.
“Because your mother thinks it’s silly.”
“So why didn’t I get a green name?” Nick asked.
“Because I named you,” Daddy said with the tiniest smirk.
“Daddy named you after a rock, Nicholas Stone Ballard,” I teased, forking a bite of chicken in my mouth.
Daddy and Rowdy chuckled while HH rolled her eyes and did her best to apparently tune us out, her eyes focused on something or nothing behind me.
I’d nearly finished chewing a bite of my Chicken Marsala when a voice behind me had me gagging.
“Evening, Sweet Nothing.”
Allan! I glared at my mother, happily surprised to watch her eyes widen in shock.
“Trudy!” Daddy admonished
“I didn’t invite him, Dear. It’s a free country and he’s a member of the club, too.” She looked truly worried. This one she apparently hadn’t planned.
No one spoke. I struggled not to spit out the chicken in my mouth as Rowdy stood up. Visions of him brawling in the club danced through my head.
I forced the dry lump down, then coughed and sputtered on a gulp of water as I struggled to my feet against the force of Rowdy’s hand on my shoulder. The palm of my hand itched to wipe the condescending smirk off Allan’s face as he looked Rowdy up and down.
“Is this the best you could do, Jade?”
My lip curled and I sneered up at him. “At least with him I don’t have to fake it,” I said softly.
