Belonging to Bandera (12 page)

Holly and Mimi laughed.

He sighed, pretending to be hurt. “Or not. So, Mimi, what was the errand that brought you all the way out by Hawk’s and Jelly’s, anyway?”

In that second, Holly felt tension return to the truck.

Mimi put her face down on her forearms. “Well, I’ve got this big problem.”

Bandera turned serious, going into protective brother mode. Holly watched his expression go from poking fun to true concern—and the change amazed her.

“Anything I can do?”

Mimi shook her head. “Not really.”

“This has to do with Mason, right? Or were you coming to seek his counsel?”

Mimi’s gaze dropped. “I needed to talk to him.”

“Mimi,” Bandera said. “Everything’s fine with the sheriff, right? And our little girl?”

Holly looked at Mimi, seeing distress in her blue eyes. “Bandera,” Holly said, “I should probably switch seats with Mimi. I could take a nap in the back while you two discuss this.”

“No, it’s fine,” Mimi said quickly. “I’ve got myself in a big mess, and I could probably use an objective opinion from someone who is not Mason’s brother.”

“I may be his brother,” Bandera said, “but I’m also yours. You know that, Mimi.”

“I do,” she said softly. “I’ve just been running and running. Too afraid to slow down. It started when Dad got sick. I was so frightened. I wanted him to be happy. The doctors said he was probably going to die—”

“I personally thought he was at the end of his days
on earth,” Bandera said. “It was crazy how quick he got worse.”

“Liver infection,” Mimi told Holly. “And though my dad is strong, and tough, and a fighter, there was awhile there where…”

Holly looked away as she realized Mimi was tearing up. She dug around in her bag, producing the tissues she’d put in there to dry her own tears over her nonwedding. Turned out she hadn’t needed the travel pack, she thought gratefully, handing them over the seat to Mimi with a sidelong glance at Bandera.

Every woman who had a wedding go awry should have a man like Bandera to make her feel like a queen again.

“So,” Mimi said, “I think I went wild, worrying about Dad. I remembered what a mischief maker I’d been as a girl—”

“An understatement,” Bandera agreed. “We all raised hell for the sheriff, but you were definitely the ringleader.”

Holly smiled. “Sort of like those stories about the preacher’s kids.”

“It’s true,” Mimi admitted. “I didn’t have a mother, really, to keep me in check. Dad was gone a lot. I found things to do that kept me—”

“Mimi,” Bandera interrupted. “You can’t blame yourself without blaming us, too. We were right there with you.”

“You seem so upright,” Holly said. “I’m amazed at this story.”

He patted her leg. “You have no idea how much disaster twelve boys and one ringleading girl can wreak upon a small town when left to their own devices. Although I will say,” he mused, “that Mason was kind of a pain in the ass. Always trying to be moral, dragging our butts to church every Sunday. Man, he’s always been a pill.”

Mimi laughed, wiping her eyes. “I shook him loose every once in a while.”

Bandera gazed at her in the rearview mirror. “Thank God for you, Mimi, or we would have all gone mad. At least you could lead him astray occasionally. And you know what? Sometimes the best, most righteous men love a little bit of bad girl.”

Mimi laughed.

“You weren’t really bad, though. It was all just Mimi-fun. And your daddy loved you when you made messes, Mimi. He was proud. You were like a son, only better, because you were so pretty.”

“He had all of y’all to be his sons,” Mimi said. “Bandera, I married Brian to give my father a chance to see me happily married.”

Bandera’s fingers tightened on Holly’s forearm. Her heart beat faster as she realized he was reaching out to her for comfort.

“I know,” he said simply. “We all knew that. Ex
cept for Mason, and I think he just never thought about it. Stubborn donkey.”

“You knew?” Mimi asked, surprised.

Bandera nodded. “Yeah. It was so obvious. The sheriff took sick, and you took over. We understood you wanted your daddy to see you with a stable home life, Mimi. Heck, people get married for a thousand different reasons. We liked Brian, even if he was a bit on the fancy side.”

Mimi tried to laugh, but it ended a sobbing hiccup. “He’s a nice man.”

Bandera turned to look at Holly. “Brian still does legal work for the family when we need him. He is a pretty cool guy, except for being fancy, as I say. Never even ridden a horse in his life, I don’t think, has he, Mimi?”

She didn’t answer. Holly turned to look at her. “Mimi? Are you all right? There are some drinks in a cooler in the back, if you need something—”

“Brian and I were never really married, if you know what I mean,” she stated quietly.

Holly turned to look at Bandera, wondering what was actually being said.

But Bandera knew the second she said it. His jaw dropped, and his neck went tight with corded tension as his eyes grew big in his face.

“Oh, heck, Mimi,” he said, “trust you to drop the bombshell of all time.”

Bandera couldn’t believe his ears—but his soul knew it was true. Nanette had her mother’s beauty, her wit, her passion for fun—and every ounce of Mason’s stubbornness. Mimi’s spoiled assurance that life was full of cherries to be picked; Mason’s confident knowledge that his choices were the right ones.

“Oh, boy,” Bandera said, “I’ve got myself my own little niece. Not that she was any less of a niece before, but she’s flesh and blood…. Now I’m going to override Mason’s objections and buy her her own pony. She needs to learn show riding. Maybe barrel racing.”

Mimi smiled and looked at Holly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to catch you up in this.”

“Actually, I’m thrilled to be part of it,” she exclaimed, making a fierce pride burst inside Bandera. “I feel as though I witnessed a birth.”

“It is a birth,” Bandera agreed, “’cause Mason’s
gonna act like this child sprang from his forehead, as Zeus did with one of his relations.”

Mimi giggled with relief and blew her nose. “Bandera, you can’t believe how many times I’ve wanted to tell Mason. But always in my heart I knew he wasn’t ready to be a father. He wasn’t ready to hear it. Not from me, anyway.”

Bandera sighed. It was, unfortunately, true. Mason had resisted Mimi for so long that they’d all begun to accept it. “You see? You’d fit right in with us,” Bandera told Holly. “We tend to go at everything backward.”

“Not true,” Mimi said. “We just see things from a different angle.”

Holly smiled. “I’ve enjoyed meeting your extended family. I might not have made it through my unfortunate incident if you hadn’t found me,” she said to Bandera.

“Gratitude is good, isn’t it?” he said with a wink.

“Probably not good enough,” Holly responded spritely.

“Oh, well,” Mimi said from the back seat. “I feel as though you’re my sister, Holly. Both of us with weddings that didn’t go off as we’d planned.”

“Yours was a pretty wedding, though, Mimi,” Bandera said. “You should have seen her, Holly. Your wedding planner heart would have been amazed.”

Holly smiled at Mimi. “I bet you were a beautiful bride.”

“So did Brian know you were, um, expecting when he married you?” Bandera asked.

“Oh. Yes.” Mimi tore some tissue and sat back in the seat. “We had an arrangement. He was Dad’s lawyer, you know, so he knew how to draw things up. Plus he was willing to keep it strictly friendly between us, because all I wanted at that point was a name for my baby, and my father to die happy, thinking I had a family of my own.” She sighed. “Holly, I know this all must sound cold-blooded to you, but truthfully, when I found out my father was dying, I just wasn’t myself.”

“So…I mean, I know this question may be indelicate, but…” Bandera hesitated. “It’s just that I don’t recall you and Mason having any type of…you know. Relationship.”

“We didn’t. We haven’t. One night does not a relationship make,” Mimi said.

“Ohh,” Bandera said. That was true. He’d had one night in Holly’s presence, and they didn’t have a damn thing to go on, except for the overwhelming feeling that he should be making love to her.

“I was really, really upset one night when Dad was in the hospital,” Mimi said, “and Mason—”

“That’s good. That’s all I need,” Bandera interrupted, feeling the back of his neck go red. “I wonder if I should kick some sense into my big brother.”

“Why?” Holly asked. “He didn’t know. He
doesn’t even suspect. It’s no fun to be the unsuspecting party, I can tell you.”

“So what do you suggest?” Bandera asked. “As Mimi says, she’s in a bit of a mess. Which, if I may say, you’ve handled admirably. I wish I’d been more helpful, but truthfully, for the longest time none of us could figure out what the deal was between you and Brian. We knew something wasn’t all it should be, but Mason was always acting like he had a sore tooth, and then Last had his problems with Valentine, and frankly, we just tried to stay out of your business.”

“I know. It was better that way, I think. And it’s all worked out for the best,” Mimi said. “I didn’t want Mason to marry me because of a baby. I wanted him to…well, to love me. To want me to be his wife. So I can’t say I regret anything I’ve done. It’s just that lately I’ve realized my daughter deserves to know who her father is.”

Mimi took a deep breath. “To her, all the male influences in her life have come from my dad, Calhoun’s father-in-law Barley, and the Jefferson brothers. Mostly Mason.”

“Yeah, and you probably hate to mess up a good thing. No telling how Mason might react. It could be good, but…” Bandera frowned. “It could also be very bad. So?” he said with a glance at Holly. “Miss Wedding Planner? Do you think the status quo should stay the way it is?”

“I just plan weddings,” Holly said, “I don’t do relationships. But judging from what little I saw of Mason, I don’t think finding out he’s a father is going to, um—”

Bandera looked at her. “Make him want to marry Mimi?”

“Well, he’d offer, but it wouldn’t be what Mimi wants.”

“I know,” Mimi stated. “I’ve always known that.”

“And yet,” Bandera said, “the Jefferson in me says his daughter has a right to our name. I’ll marry you, Mimi.”

Mimi laughed. “Thank you, Bandera. I love you, too.”

Bandera took Holly’s hand in his. “And you’re going to be my concubine.”

Both women slapped him on the shoulder at the same time.

“Ow!” He chuckled, enjoying the attention. “Ah, life is good. I’m a real uncle, not that I wasn’t before, but—”

“Bandera, we know what you mean,” Mimi said. “Thank you for trying to be sensitive.”

He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “I think she has my nose, by the way. The Jefferson stubborn nose.”

“I think…” Holly said. “Mason
does
have a deep love of family.”

Bandera and Mimi stared at her.

“That’s true,” he finally admitted. “It will hurt his feelings that he didn’t know about Nanette. Here’s a man who’s out desperately searching for the past, when the future is right under his nose.”

They sat silently after that. Bandera wanted to reach for Holly’s hand again, but she’d pulled away a few moments ago, and if there was one thing he’d learned, it was that determined people didn’t like to be pushed.

There had to be that something more between a man and a woman for it to be right—and Bandera was going to find out what was needed between him and Holly to get a yes out of her.

“There’s your balloon festival,” he told Holly as they passed it. “And your newest business.”

“Really?” Mimi asked. “This is what you were talking about?”

A balloon floated serenely above them in the sky. They could see it through the front window of the truck. The people in the basket looked very small, almost invisible.

A chase vehicle passed by, following the balloon, with the balloon’s colors emblazoned on the SUV door.

“A hot air balloon honeymoon retreat,” Holly said, and Bandera heard the dreamy note in her voice. “Something different, something that no one else has to offer.”

He thought Holly had plenty to offer that no one else had. “We’re going to be partners,” Bandera said.

“I heard,” Mimi stated. “Something about a thousand dollars up front.”

Bandera glanced at Holly, who blushed.

“Planning fee,” Mimi said, her voice teasing.

“That’s what it was,” Bandera agreed, going along with the ribbing because he knew Mimi meant it in fun. “Have to pay the planner.”

But the second he said it, he knew Holly wasn’t planning him into the picture at all. Her head was turned so she could look out the side window. When she swung back around to look at him, there was no smile on her face.

She seemed just as preoccupied as Mason had been when he’d left for the north.

Bandera had to do something. He had to win her over. “Shall we stop?” he asked. “Fish around for info on your investment dreams?”

“I’d love that,” Holly agreed instantly, glowing. He liked to see her happy, smiling, excited.

“You know,” Mimi said, “you added a ton of land when you all bought my place, Bandera.”

“Your point?”

She laughed. “That it would almost be
poetic
justice if Malfunction Junction became known for balloon honeymoon retreats.”

“I…” He thought about that, liking the sound of the idea, but he needed to dodge his enthusiasm for Holly’s sake. He didn’t want her to pull back more
than she already had. “I think Mason would blow a gasket.”

Mimi sighed. “You have a point.”

“Fortunately, Marielle offered some land to Holly.”

Holly nodded. “She had a pretty place. Very picturesque.”

“Cat, cookies…what more do you need to make a home?” he said dryly.

“Sex,” Mimi said. “Men usually rank sex right up there with cats and cookies as being the comforts of home.”

Holly blushed furiously, which Bandera enjoyed. “Well, now that you mention it…” he said teasingly.

He parked and they got out, walking together to the festival grounds. Holly kept her distance from him, he noted, staying on the other side of Mimi. For now, he’d bide his time, let her work out her feelings of unease.

“This balloon is pretty,” she said, stopping abruptly. “A waterfall has been painted on it.”

“It is lovely,” Mimi agreed. “Get in and try it out.”

“We already tried one,” Holly said, “and it didn’t go so well. Bandera has a fear of heights.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Mimi stated. “I know this for a fact, because he chased Janie—”

“Mimi,” Bandera said warningly.

“I’m just saying that if her daddy hadn’t gotten out his shotgun, you’d still be up on that roof—”

“I believe I will get in this balloon,” Bandera said to keep her from saying more. “Because I didn’t learn my lesson the first time.”

Mimi laughed. “You never know. This time might be better. I’m going to go find some popcorn. I can smell it cooking. See y’all back here in maybe an hour. Take good notes.”

She walked off, smiling. A man in overalls stood by his truck, watching people look at the three balloons he owned. “Howdy,” Mimi said.

“Ma’am,” he answered, tipping his hat.

“That waterfall balloon is pretty,” she told him.

“It’s a good one. Bought it a couple years ago from a couple who decided to give up the sport.”

“Sport, huh?” She looked over at Bandera and Holly, who were now inside the balloon’s basket, talking. “Ever lose one for maybe an hour, in a private place?”

“Could be arranged,” he said.

“For a price?”

“Exactly.” He grinned. “Those two lovebirds?”

“Actually, no,” she said, lowering her voice. “You could think of them more as jailbirds.”

His brows raised.

“Yeah, they broke out of a little country jail. Mind you, they’re not armed and dangerous, but they did have a little spat with the sheriff’s wife over whose peaches were on whose side of the fence.”

“I know you’re up to trouble, young lady,” the
man said with a smile, “but I’m not really interested in your reasons. Show me the cash, and they’re as good as lost.”

“For a full hour.”

“Hell, make it two. I have kids to feed.”

Mimi pulled her wallet from her purse. “My brother has this coming to him. He has a fear of heights, you know.”

He laughed. “I believe you’re getting closer to the truth, but I’m really not interested.”

Mimi sighed. “You’re almost no fun, you know. All my life, I’ve been known for being—”

“Mischievous.”

She raised her chin. “Have a nice day, sir. Can you point me in the direction of the food tents?”

“Peach pies are piping hot over there,” the man said, obviously amused by Mimi. “Shall I send up a snack for those two?”

Mimi glanced over her shoulder. “Nah. Let them live on love.”

He laughed.

“S
O HERE
,” Holly said, running her hands over the side rails of the basket, “I would tie big ribbons the color of the bride’s wedding party, or the couple’s favorite colors. Mint and lilac for spring, maybe—”

“Deer and duck head patterns for the guys,” Bandera suggested.

She cocked her head. “I never thought about that before. Guy decor.”

“Well, yeah. Remember what we liked about Marielle’s place? It was comfortable for both sexes. And believe me, if a guy is going to get talked into going up in one of these pear-shaped contraptions, he’d better have some decor that’s comforting.”

“You know, I don’t think you read
Around the World in Eighty Days,
” Holly said, laughing at him. “Or saw the movie. Wasn’t there recently a billionaire bachelor who took to the skies—”

“Remember, I told you that most gents prefer to keep their boots on the nice hard ground, where matters are as secure as possible,” Bandera said. “Possible being the operative…” He hesitated as the balloon shifted, and Holly watched his eyes grow huge. “Wait a minute…are we going up?”