“So for shits and giggles, she made up a pen name and started writing naughty romances. It was all very secret. The family didn’t know. In fact, no one knew except my other sister Brynn’s assistant.”
Meghan asked, “Brynn. She’s the one with the bakery, right? Her husband is the guy Caleb wants Alex to meet with about the Villa.”
“And my Caleb is Brynn’s husband’s brother!” Charlize sniggered.
Heather suggested a white board diagram to keep all the players straight.
Lacey quietly interjected, “I envy your big family.”
Her mom’s familiar twang delivered a truth. “You’re making a nice big family of your own, shugah!”
Tori looked at her mother and flashed a grateful smile. Cam and Lacey thought of her as the official honorary Cameron grandmother. Calder had a long-standing affection for Cam and though he bristled at the description of him as a father figure, he adored Dylan. Along with Danny and Wolf, they were making their own tribe. As Martha might say, and it was a good thing. A very good thing.
“But she doesn’t write anymore?” Angie asked.
Charlie half shrugged, and a flash of humor appeared on her face. “Liam can be somewhat implacable.”
Kelly groaned. “His uptightness is exhausting and relentless.”
“He’s not uptight. He’s just misguided. I remember Liam as a college student. The tight ass thing got him where he is. Rhiann is helping him come down from Mt. Olympus and mingle with us regular folk. All he needs is a chance.”
The quiet admonishment to Kelly where her brother was concerned was Charlie’s way of spreading the love. The quirky hippie girl taught Tori an important saying that she thought about often. Happiness is a choice. She wasn’t wrong.
Charlie continued her story as the ladies kept on coloring..
“It wasn’t that Liam objects. He just wanted her to use her real name. But she has other ideas and had every intention of letting the romance thing fade away.”
Meghan put the cap on her marker. “What’s this other idea?”
“She’s writing our grandmother’s biography.”
Her mother sat forward. She had Wolf on her lap and wasn’t coloring. “Oh, sweet Broadway lights! Are you talking the one and only Brianna Charles?”
Charlie snickered. “In all her glory!”
“Ah,” Meghan said with a head nod. “I get it. Can’t blend lady porn with a legend.”
“Exactly. But that’s where it gets interesting. And funny. Brynn’s assistant, Amy, was Rhiann’s secret sounding board while she was writing. When the time came to say goodbye to the pen name, Amy stepped up and said she’d like to give it a shot. So Rhiann gave her a box crammed with fan letters. Most of the letters read like racy fan fiction, and the rest is nothing short of inspired genius.”
“I like where this is going,” Lacey murmured. “I think my husband would seize up and vapor lock if he got an eyeful of what is on my Kindle.”
All of them snickered. This was a universal truth. The advent of the e-reader saved many a gal from judgmental bullshit over a paperback. Hell. Just the other day, Tori read most of Ahoy Baby aloud to Draegyn. The cover was pure manly eye candy. When he wasn’t laughing his sexy butt off, he was trying to re-enact the racy parts. Draegyn as a swinish, cocksure boat captain was pure gold.
“Basically what we have is this. Amy took the box of letters and came up with a series of dirty novellas for Rhiann’s pen name based on the sinful shares. The letters provide the story, and Amy embellishes. Caleb has threatened me with what he imagines is retribution if I supply a share.”
Tori could hear Angie’s brain ticking from across the room. Despite truly not wanting to know what went on in the Sullivan playroom, she wouldn’t turn away from an embellished treatment. Draegyn knew all about Parker’s filthy perversions although the descriptive words filthy and perversions were a bit dramatic. Parker and Angie playing master and slave or whatever the hell they called it was just a different side of a coin they all carried. She and her up for anything husband liked a bit of sexy role-playing. Especially if dress up and an in-character scene were part of the deal.
Heather and Kelly held up their coloring pages for a round of applause. Kelly’s extra swirls of spurting jizz earned a few catcalls.
Lacey left the group and headed into the kitchen. Tori considered following her for a private chat but didn’t. Draegyn was making her wear a device that counted her steps. He teased her about it too by pointing out that such a measure wouldn’t be necessary if she’d just promise to take it easy and then actually obey.
Obey! Ha! She could have removed the stupid sensor and done as she pleased but to what end? To prove she didn’t have to listen?
“Oh, hey,” Meghan said as she broke into a huge smile. “The hula hoops were delivered. Ben dropped them off at the studio.”
“Hula hoops?” Heather asked.
Tori chuckled when her mother took ownership of this new fascination. She reached for her little brother and cuddled Wolf leaving her mom free to do her thing.
“I tried Lacey’s way. Loved the pole but it did not love me. Hurt my shoulder and ended up not being able to ride for weeks. When I saw the cute as shugah pie routine the junior gals are doing in the variety show, it got my pageant brain thinking. A bit of research later and a new world of recreation opened up. Hula-hooping. It’s whatever you make of it. Fast and energetic. Slow and seductive.”
Kelly sat up straight. “Seductive?”
Heather and Charlie both cackled with laughter.
Kelly flipped them off to Meghan’s amusement.
“Now don’t y’all fret. I’ve got Ingrid teaching me a few moves, and when I get something together worth sharing, there will be a private demo. I really think this is something that has the potential to drive the men crazy.”
Tori laughed at her mother’s beauty queen snark. While she didn’t want to invest energy into wondering about her mom’s sex life, she knew Calder and was well aware of what her mom was capable of. She didn’t doubt for a second that Calder was a contented man.
Kelly let out a sigh bigger than the little woman’s body. “I’m going to miss this.”
There were nods all around. Right after the variety show, Kelly and Roman had to head back east so they were in New York in time for Matty to begin school. She was so much a part of their group now that not having her around was going to be weird..
“Well, at least you’re going out with a bang,” Heather quipped.
Lacey came back and passed around a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies. “Are we talking about the after show?”
Joy sounded in Meghan’s laugh when she looked around the room. “I tried on my costume yesterday.” She chuckled. “Alex is going to shit his pants. My corset is the perfect shade of teal. Ooo lala, ladies! Boobage galore.”
“I fear for your bottoms.” Her mom sniggered.
Tori looked at her and asked why.
“There’s a reason I’m wearing the Steampunk Circus Mistress outfit and not the naughty costumes y’all are wearing. In public.”
Angie snorted. “She’s right. My husband won’t be thrilled.”
Charlie laughed loudest. “This is why I love coming here! You guys are frickin’ fantastic. You scare the snot out of Caleb—as if my sisters weren’t enough—making every Bendover visit quite memorable.”
Wolf giggled for no reason. Tori kissed his little face and whispered her love. She caught Meghan smiling at her. Brothers were special regardless of the sibling age difference.
“Lacey,” Kelly said. Her voice was amused and full of teasing. “Care to tell us what you and Domineau have planned?”
Tori looked at Ponytail and studied her reaction. Even though Draegyn limited visitors, she managed to spend quiet time with her first Justice sister. She knew Lacey had a thing for the enigmatic female Justice Brother and wasn’t surprised to hear they were up to something.
Lacey huffed. “I’ll tell you, b
ut you’ve got to be cool, okay?”
“Why?” Heather asked with a snide chuckle. “Whose delicate feelings are at stake?”
“I got both of them. Domineau and Remington.” Lacey looked and sounded pleased.
“Whoa,” Kelly murmured.
At this announcement, the energy in the room changed. She considered what this meant and asked the obvious. “May we ask what you have them doing?”
Lacey wrung her hands. “Please don’t scare them off with your interest. It took me forever to rope them in.”
“Okay, got it,” Meghan assured her. “But what are you up to, Mrs. Cameron?”
Tori bit back a snicker when Ponytail exploded.
“Cameron won’t let me show off my pole gymnastics. He thinks people will have dirty thoughts.”
Charlie booed. Tori kind of agreed.
“But I got him to let me perform at the private party.” She glanced at Meghan. “I guess you know about Finn and the stuff he did at Pete’s for the pole.”
“Uh, actually sweetie, I knew about Remy—not your pole specifications.”
“Oh,” Lacey muttered. “Well yes, you see, I needed accompaniment, and Remy plays the piano so beautifully.”
“What about Domineau?” Kelly asked. “What’s her part in this?”
Lacey beamed. “Surprise! She sings. Also beautifully.”
Angie yawned and leaned Meghan’s shoulder. “Wake me when Sophie gets here.”
Kelly and Charlie got into a whispered conversation as Wolf went from Tori’s lap to her mother’s. It was time to wind things down. She enjoyed this get-together but was missing her boys.
Meghan started cleaning up. She scarfed down the last cookie and wiped the crumbs off her lips.
Heather pressed a hand to her stomach and grimaced. “Maybe sugary cookies and no lunch wasn’t my smartest move today.”
“Oh lord.” Tori sniggered. “I can eat anything right now. It’s a bit ridiculous. I must be burning calories in my sleep because I kid you not, yesterday I ate half a pizza all by myself. Two hours later, I was searching for munchies. The scale isn’t groaning, and I feel great, so go figure.”
“I don’t know if it’s this blasted heat or what, but lately, I’m all about homemade milkshakes. Brody got me a Ninja blender. Between that and the crazy awesome ice cream coming out of Red’s kitchen, I’m like a milkshake virtuoso.”
“You’re also one hell of a bartender,” Angie told her with an energetic thumbs-up. “Parker loves milkshakes. So does Alex,” she said with a nod to Meghan. “Why don’t we have a milkshake session? You can teach us how it’s done.” She patted her tummy and let out a short gasp. “Ballerina Barbie is active today.”
Tori’s heart ached when Heather hesitated and then awkwardly gestured to Angie’s bump. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all!” Angie happily chirped. “Here,” she said and took Heather’s fingers. “Feel that?” She giggled. “It’s like an amusement park in there.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Heather murmured. Her face was alive with awe. “Is she always that active?”
“Thank you for saying she. And yes. She’s a gymnast or a Riverdancer—depending on the day. She settles down when Daddy is around.”
Heather covered her mouth and what sounded like a short sob broke from her throat. Tori hurried to offer her support.
“It’s okay, Heather.” She looked at Red with anguished eyes. They all hated that everyone else got knocked up on a sneeze while Heather languished on the sidelines. It wasn’t fair. She was an amazing mom.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Meghan murmured to the two of them. “Let’s go out to Vortice Amore and have little fertility ritual. It’ll be fun, and who knows? Maybe the stork will be listening.”
“I’ll do anything,” Heather croaked. “I’m already drinking the Villa’s well water. My mom keeps telling me not to worry. That when we stop trying so hard, it’ll happen.”
“Mothers are always right,” Tori assured her. “Look at mine. Fifty years old for a few more days, happily in love with a wonderful guy, and holding my baby brother. Have a little faith, sweetie. Your time is coming, right, Meghan?”
“Absolutely,” Red said with a sly smile. “You let us take you out to the vortice and work some Justice magic. I’ll see if my husband wants to make Brody do a sweat lodge. Those are fun! And Tori is right. Faith is all you need.”
He whistled on his way to the parking lot. Setting up the videotaping equipment for the variety show turned out to be way easier than Cam imagined. Of course, before he could do that, there was the matter of the five grand he dropped on fancy equipment.
Shrugging off the expense was easy. It was only money, and now that he wasn’t worried about a full-time job to occupy his time, his growing fascination with photography kept him out of trouble.
After dropping a wad of cash on a whim, he worked up a plausible excuse by way of an explanation that involved Justice, a TV studio, video courses, and high-def professional conferencing.
It turned out, though, that the mental energy was wasted because there wasn’t anybody who didn’t want to play with his new toys.
Pulling keys from his pocket, he click-clicked as his SUV came into view. A faint sound caught his attention. Old habits kicked in and he shifted into warrior mode. Instinct warned him that someone was watching.
Remaining nonchalant while all of his senses went to high alert, he casually gathered trash from his vehicle and used the distraction to scan the entire parking area. The Double M was busy, so there were dozens of cars.
He detected nothing and ground his teeth in frustration. There was no way he was imagining things. As he walked to the dumpster against the building, he jolted when a car started and in the same second floored it from the lot.
Turning toward the sound, he leaned to get a better view and a description of the car when his foot connected with something and he nearly lost his balance. Double skipping back a few steps, he looked down to see what he stepped on and got the surprise of his life.
A wretched looking dog with forlorn eyes struggled to its feet. Right away, he saw that the pooch was limping. A whimper split the air, and he went into action without thinking it through.
Crouching, he held out his hand. “Hey, buddy. It’s okay. Come here. Let me see that paw.”
The filthy animal hobbled slowly—cautiously. When Cam tried to touch its leg, the dog howled and fell over. Judging by the ribs he saw through the matted hair, the poor animal was starving.
And buddy was also a she.
Feeling an odd kinship with the damaged animal, he hardly hesitated before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to his car. She whimpered, and his heart hurt from the sound.
“Easy, girl. I’ve got you.”
He laid her gently on the passenger seat and softly patted her head.
Once he was strapped in behind the wheel, he looked at the half-dead animal and knew he was destined to save her.
“My name is Cam, by the way.”
He started the car up and got them on the road. Connecting to the Justice canine facility with his phone’s Bluetooth, he demanded to speak to Brody.
“What’s up, Cam?”
“Do we have a vet?”
“A what? You mean a veterinarian? As in, on site?”
“Yeah. Do we have one, and if the answer is no, why the fuck not?”
Brody chuckled. “Funny you should bring that up. Stephanie has identified a couple of candidates. Soon as she gets some help, she will start interviewing.”
“Fuck,” Cam grumbled.
“What’s the problem, man? You rescue a coyote or something?”
“Nah,” he answered. “A dog. Found her behind the dumpster at the family center. She’s a fucking mess, Brody. And I think her paw is broken.”
“You’re on your way here, I hope.”
“Of course. Why else do you think I called?”
“Well, actually”—Brody snickered—“I was
hoping the purpose of this call was because you wanted to practice. You’re the only one who barely knows the routine.”
He groaned. Cam hated performing, but the goddamn variety show was one of those all hands on deck things.
“Look, you duct tape this pup back together, and I’ll practice. Okay?”
“Holy fuck,” Brody stammered. “This dog your soulmate or something? That’s quite a change of heart.”
“She’s broken, man. And being broken is sort of my thing. Ya know?”
He heard Jensen’s understanding sigh. “I’ll get things ready. Bring her round to the back and we’ll see what can be done.”
“Thanks, Brody.”
“No problem, Cam. That’s how these things go. Sort of like the wand choosing the wizard—sometimes the dog chooses the human.”
Dylan fell over with giggles and got Lily to laugh along. Lacey was practicing some of the dance moves Ingrid had taught the girls while also straightening up the kid’s playroom. The Double M variety show turned into a major event for Bendover and along the way, the G-rated public performance spawned an adults-only after party at Pete’s.
An anonymous source named Ben told Ria who couldn’t wait to tell Carmen that the boys had a few performance tricks up the sleeves—namely what Ben insisted was a super smooth Magic Mike routine. Hearing that made the women take the whole thing way more seriously.
Right now, she was entertaining her kiddos with some raunchy bump and grind for the girl’s version of “Lady Marmalade.” Tongues would be on the floor when they were done. Even pregnant Angie played a saucy part and delivered the rap sequence better than anyone.
But it was the secret project she, Domineau, and Remy were working on that had the potential to bring the shock and awe. She wasn’t sharing her performance vision and was keeping a zipped lip. But now that a slight technical consideration was under control, she couldn’t wait to show Cameron.
Speaking of her husband, where the heck was he? Dinner would be ready soon, and he usually called if he was running late.
Lily banged a rattle on her aqua colored Bumbo. The floor seat put her at Dylan’s level and gave them a chance to play together. Her son was an attentive and loving big brother. Dylan adored Lily Rose and never complained about sharing Mommy and Daddy’s attention with his sibling.
Enduring (Family Justice Book 8) Page 25
