She gasped and jumped to her feet, nearly knocking her soda cup over. “How dare you?” When she made like she was going to stomp off, he stopped her once more.
“Look, we don’t have to like each other to work together. Why don’t you sit back down, so we can finish our conversation?”
She huffed in indignation but did what he asked. “Why do you put up with the rude attitude of the men who work here? Other than Jarrod, they’re just the hired help.”
“Ashley, try to remember this bar is frequented by mostly bikers and construction worker types. It’s not the Sapphire Bar. If you look around,” he said, gesturing with his beer bottle, “you’ll notice, with a couple of notable exceptions, you’re the only woman in here. Since Margie and Maggie Boyle are about the same size as some of the men in here, you’re getting a lot more attention than you might truly be comfortable with. That’s the reason Jarrod would have one of the MacGregors escort you out. He might be rude at times, but he would make sure you got out of here without being assaulted.”
She looked around, for the first time noticing just how scarce women were in the bar. “Well, maybe I should leave.”
“You’ll be safe enough, as long as you stay here with me. Jarrod doesn’t allow any fighting in the place,” he mumbled, sounding disappointed. “That’s what the MacGregor bookends, Owen and Douglas, are for.”
She snorted, shaking her head at him. “Why do you sound disappointed?”
“Sometimes a guy needs to throw a few punches to work off a bad day.”
She shook her head again, deciding to change the subject. “So why, if you don’t mind my asking, if Amanda is so clearly not your type, do you want her back so badly?”
“It’s the only way to make Zane truly suffer.”
“How’s that?” she asked. She truly wasn’t following him at all and thought maybe he had lost his mind. It’s probably the amount of alcohol he consumes in one day.
He gave her a surprised look, wondering if she truly didn’t know or if she was in denial. “Are you telling me you don’t realize Zane’s in love with Amanda and has been since high school?”
“He is not,” she snapped, barely resisting the urge to stand up and stomp off. That’s crazy. Zane wouldn’t fall in love with the fat chick.
He gave her an amused look and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, live in denial if you must, but making her miserable, makes Zane miserable.”
She shook her head, wondering if she was hearing him right. “So, you’re saying, everything you’ve ever done to Amanda has been to get at Zane?”
“Of course,” he replied, taking a big swig of the fresh beer Jerimiah had just sat down in front of him. “She’s no more than a pawn in a very long complicated game of chess.”
“You’re sadistic,” she whispered, truly feeling impressed. And a little scared.
“Maybe,” he shrugged.
“You know, with Zane’s cop mentality, he would probably distance himself from her if you told him why you were terrorizing her. You know, in hopes of protecting her.”
He nodded his head thoughtfully. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“See?” she smirked. “We’re already working well together.”
Chapter 13
Saturday, August 9
Zane watched Ashley Mullins sashay across the bowling alley, doing his best not to gag on the bite of chili cheese fries he had just crammed in his mouth. She was skin and bones to the point there really was nothing attractive about her. She was heading in his general direction. If not for the obvious fact that she had already seen him, he might have actually tried to hide.
His reaction to the woman was a testament to how far he had sunk in his efforts to keep his mind off Amanda. He couldn’t remember a time in the past when he would have ever been desperate enough to get laid, to even talk to someone like her. Her being nothing but skin and bones aside, she was a vile and hateful person. He knew when she first started coming on to him, the only thing she was interested in was his money. She treated most people like they were nothing better than somewhere to wipe her very expensive spiked heels.
Amanda had just finished up her turn and had started to walk his way. He heard her say something about needing something to drink, so the moment she got close enough he could touch her, he reached out, pulling her down beside him. Keeping her close accomplished a couple of things. It showed Ashley she was still with him, and it kept her close enough, if Ashley said anything to her, he’d be able to hear.
“Zane,” she laughed. “I was going to get a soda.”
“In a minute,” he whispered in her ear. She immediately noted his tone and moved closer, understanding something had put him on full alert.
Ashley gave him a dirty look at the exchange, prompting him to bring Amanda’s legs over his knees and wrap his arm around her shoulders. He wanted her as close as possible. He would have already moved her behind him if they hadn’t been sitting down.
“Hey, Zane, it’s your turn to bowl,” Phillip called from the ball return.
“Bowl around me for now. I’ll catch up in a little bit.” His brother, along with the rest of their group, heard his tone and immediately turned to see what was going on.
Zane could almost read Phillip’s mind when his eyes landed on the hateful woman. He seemed to be experiencing a mix of feelings somewhere between relieved and aggravated. He knew her not being Austin didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to cause trouble. He’d asked Zane when they first started dating, if he had lost his mind. She had come on to him enough times in the past, he knew what she was all about. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn’t happy.
When Ashley finally come to a stop, she was standing right in front of him. “Well, I see you still have the innocent one with you,” she sneered. “Why don’t you just get some super glue and glue your bodies together?”
He rolled his eyes, wondering if the woman had even a small clue, how annoying she really was. “What do you want, Ashley?”
“I was wondering how much longer you were going to be acting as her white knight this time,” she hissed, pointing at Amanda. “Haven’t you grown tired of playing house with her?”
He shrugged, kissing Amanda on the forehead. “As long as it takes. As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t ever have to move out. Even if and when Austin gets a clue and leaves her alone.” He felt Amanda’s body jerk in surprise but didn’t turn to look at her. He would have to wait and see what she thought later. He wanted to get Ashley out of their hair first.
“Well, good grief,” she huffed, stomping her foot. “You wouldn’t even hold my hand in public. You practically have her sitting in your lap. What happened to the man who doesn’t like public displays of affection?”
“Aside from the fact it’s not really any of your business, it wasn’t the displays I had a problem with. It was you.”
Zane’s tone was so dry, Phillip was surprised he didn’t have dust puffing out of his mouth with every word. Ashley didn’t seem to realize she was skating on thin ice though, or she might have already turned to leave.
She crossed her arms in front of her, showing hurt in what was obviously an act. “Are you saying you didn’t have any affection for me?”
“Oh, please,” he snorted. “You knew that going in. We weren’t in a relationship. We were screwing.” Amanda gasped and buried her face in his neck, nearly causing him to take his eyes off Ashley. He was concerned this little run-in might make her angry at him again.
“You were just using me for sex?” she whined, nearly moved to tears. If they were real, they were from anger over her finally realizing he wouldn’t be taking her back, no matter what. Not hurt. And Zane knew it.
“Yeah,” he nodded, glaring back at her. “And all you were trying to do, was get your hands on my money.”
She gasped, taking a step back out of shock. “Are you seriously calling me a gold digger?”
Zane chuckled when he didn’t even have to answer. There was a collec
tive, “Yes,” as everyone else did it for him.
“I hardly think this is any of your concern,” she huffed, turning to the group as a whole.
Phillip laughed, turning to face her. “It’s a good thing you’re never going to be part of the family then. We tend to interfere in each other’s business. All the time.”
“Well, stop interfering now,” she snapped, finally letting her true emotions show.
Mindi took a few steps closer, nearly stepping on Ashley’s expensive high-heel with her worn cowboy boot, causing the other woman to screech and hop back. “If you don’t want people in your business, you shouldn’t advertise it.”
“I wasn’t ad…”
“Yeah, you were,” everyone else said together, once again.
“Zane’s the one who…”
“Don’t try to blame me,” he growled. “You came over here and stuck your nose in my business. It’s not my fault you don’t like the results.”
She huffed, turning her back on the others. “You know, Austin still wants her back. I wouldn’t get too used to having her around, if I were you,” she smirked before finally turning to storm off.
“Well, that was pleasant.” Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “Just out of curiosity, Zane. Why?” he asked in one of his rare moments of confusion.
He shook his head, rubbing his temples. “I’m still trying to figure that out myself. Any of the women I had been with before her, I was able to be friends with.”
“No matter your reasons for dating her,” Luke said, throwing up air quotes, “I got a strong feeling she’s in cahoots with Austin. At the very least, she knows something about what he’s up to.”
“Yeah,” Phillip agreed, sounding concerned. “I’d keep an eye out.”
“I know” he nodded. “And I have been. I’ll tell you this much though, this run-in with her hasn’t made me feel any easier about things.”
“Come on, let’s get back to the game,” Amanda said, standing to her feet, reaching out to take Zane’s hand. “Let’s not let her ruin the fun we were having.”
He took her hand and stood to his own feet, smiling. “Yeah, let’s not.” He cupped her cheek in his other hand and leaned down to kiss her square on the mouth, causing a collective cheer to go up from all the others, with a few whistles thrown in. Amanda blushed and tried to hide her face in his chest. None of them realized Ashley had stopped outside the door and was standing there with her nose pressed to the glass. Or that she was on the phone with Austin, telling him everything that had just happened.
******
“I thought you would have already taken care of this little problem,” Ashley snarled over the phone.
Austin snorted, coming back with a growl. “What, Zane not acting the way you thought he would. I told you before, he’s not going to take you back. Even after I get Amanda back from him.”
“You don’t know that,” she snapped, stomping her foot, despite the fact he couldn’t see what she was doing.
“You’re going to have to face it eventually. He’s in love with her. Not you,” he answered back through a yawn, obviously getting bored with the conversation. “That’s the reason my tactics work.”
“As far as him being in love with me, I couldn’t care less. You don’t have to be in love with a person to marry them. He also doesn’t have to be in love with her for your tactics to work. He’s one of those ridiculously honorable people,” she huffed, waving her hand in the air like she was trying to signal traffic. “If she’s in distress, he’s going to try to help.”
“Ridiculously honorable people?” he snorted. “It doesn’t sound like you even like the guy.”
“You don’t even have to like a person to marry them,” she smirked. “Like he said, I’m just after him for his money. I’d just like to know how he figured that out. He’s just a stupid cop.”
He laughed so hard, if she could have seen him, she would have found him holding his jiggling gut. He wasn’t going to bother telling her, he might not like Zane at all, but the man wasn’t stupid, by any means. “Zane’s not going to marry anyone he’s not in love with. Do you not know anything about the family you’re trying so hard to become a part of? I guess all you see when you see any of them is dollar signs. I’ve seen you hitting on Phillip. He wouldn’t even give you the time of day. When this thing doesn’t work out with Zane, who are you going to try next? Isn’t the next oldest brother sixteen or seventeen? And if I can remember correctly, he’s even more blunt in his opinions than Phillip or even Zane. Phillip pretty much ignored you and Zane told you he was only using you for sex. Alex, I think his name is, is likely to tell you to go jump off the nearest cliff. And he’ll probably tell you, you’re too old for him, to boot.”
She huffed, stomping her foot again. “This thing, as you put it, with Zane is going to work fine. I’m not going after someone who is basically still a child,” she hissed.
“Do you always live in a dream world, or is it just where Zane is concerned? You need to get it through that thick skull of yours, the guy is done with you,” he stressed, wondering why he was even trying. It wasn’t as if he really cared one way or the other what she thought. “He took what he wanted and now he doesn’t want anymore.”
She gasped, gripping the phone so tightly, she turned her knuckles white. “How dare you talk to me that way?”
“Hey, I’m only trying to be your reality check,” he answered, the indifference in his voice coming through the phone, loud and clear. “If you want to live in fantasy land, go right ahead. I won’t try to stop you again.”
“You need to make sure Zane knows why you terrorize Amanda,” she growled, getting things back on topic. “And you better get it done soon.”
“What are you going to do about it, if I don’t?”
“Do you want Amanda back or not?” she snapped.
“You know the answer to that,” he snarled back.
“Well, you better get moving, or you’re going to lose your chance. Because if they manage to get married before you get her out of his clutches, you won’t get her back.” She didn’t really believe they were that close to getting married, but Austin didn’t need to know that.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, actually sounding alarmed.
“I’ve never known the man to even hold hands in public. He had her practically sitting on his lap and was kissing her on the forehead before he eventually kissed her on the mouth. What do you think that means?”
“It’s irrelevant,” he answered, his snarl coming through the line loud and clear. “I will get her back.”
“Whatever,” she snorted. “How is it you know so much about their family, anyway?”
“I went to school with him and I paid attention.”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “Sounds like you might be a little obsessed.”
“It’s all about revenge, Baby. Nothing else.”
“Don’t call me baby,” she snapped. He just chuckled in response.
******
Another hour later and they had all finished up their games and were getting ready to leave. Amanda and Mindi were standing at the snack bar, waiting on George to get them a couple of sodas and were neither really paying attention to what was going on behind them. Someone tapped Mindi on her shoulder, causing both of them to jump nearly out of their skin. After earlier, they were understandably a little antsy.
Noting the look on the man’s face, Amanda turned to stare at him like she thought he had lost his mind. He was obviously hitting on Mindi. Maybe he knows nothing about who she’s married to.
“Hey, Mindi, how’s it going?” Grant Bradley said, bobbing his eyebrows at her.
Mindi gave him a dirty look and turned back to the snack counter. “I’d advise you to watch yourself. My husband’s here with me, along with most of my family. You’ll be in danger of extinction if you mess with me too much.”
“Oh, please,” he said, eyeing Amanda with a little too much interest for her peace-
of-mind. “I’m not afraid of him.”
“You’re crazy,” Amanda uttered without realizing she had said it out loud.
Mindi did her best to cover a chuckle at her statement before turning back to give him a hard look. “Do you know who my husband is?”
“Yes,” he snorted, motioning in Amanda’s direction. “Who’s your friend? She could always join us.”
“Not a chance,” Amanda mumbled, her eyes growing huge. “You’re disgusting.”
Mindi glanced at her, rolling her eyes in agreement. “You’re a lot stupider than I thought. Messing with me is bad enough, but now you think you’re going to mess with Amanda. You’re going to have Luke and Zane both out for your head.”
“Whose Zane?” he asked, trying to seem nonchalant.
“One of my older brothers,” she replied dryly. “And he’s extremely protective of Amanda.”
He shrugged, turning to look behind him as if he was looking for the man in question. “I’m not afraid of him, either.”
“You’re not just stupid,” she said, looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “You’re suicidal. If anyone’s going to be worse than my husband, it’s my brother.”
“Now that wasn’t nice,” he said, stepping forward to attempt to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her close.
She promptly knocked his hand away and took a step back out of his reach, glaring at him. “Keep your hands to yourself. You really don’t want my husband to see you do that.”
“Come on,” he snorted. “How long have you been married to the guy? Surely, you’re ready for something new? You’ve got to be tired of having the same man every night.”
“You are really disgusting, you know that?” she stressed, before giving Amanda a pleading look. Amanda got the idea and started to turn to go get help. She hadn’t got two feet when she noticed Luke was already heading in their direction, Zane right beside him.
“Of course,” Mindi continued. “I can see how a woman would get tired of having you to come home to every night, but that’s not the case with my husband. Luke is an amazing husband. I don’t need anything else, and I never will.”
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