Forever Hidden (Forever Bluegrass #2) (19 page)

Miles smiled at Marshall. “Oh, come on, Marsh. You were starting to like him, too.”

“Maybe, but it’s a moot point now,” Marshall said, and Deacon detected a little remorse.

“I still don’t like him,”
Hey You
muttered.

“You don’t like anyone, Dylan,” Jackson teased.

Deacon looked up as Marcy came back into the dining room with two hot apple pies. Was his time really up? Marcy set the pies down without looking at him. Crap. He had blown it. She grabbed a knife, cut the pie, and slid a big piece onto a plate as her husband brought out ice cream. Marcy scooped out a spoonful and topped the pie with it.

“I always get the first slice,” her husband said gleefully as he reached for it.

“Not tonight. Tonight Sydney’s boyfriend does. Here you go, Deacon. I’m so glad my grandbaby found such a special man.”

Sydney almost collapsed against the back of her chair when her grandmother handed the first slice of pie to Deacon. She saw her family’s shocked expressions and wanted to jump up and do a happy dance. Somehow Deacon had survived. By the way her father casually shook Deacon’s hand, she knew the worst was over.

Sydney took a calming breath as her mom sent her a wink from across the table, and Sophie gave her a discreet nudge under the table.

“He did it. It’s a first. Did someone document this?” Sophie whispered from where she sat on one side of Syd.

“Look, even my dad is shaking his hand. Or maybe he’s trying to steal his pie. Either way, they’re smiling.
Smiling
!” Layne said, stunned as Miles, Deacon, and Cade all laughed.

“Maybe there’s hope for us yet,” Sophie said optimistically.

Two hours later, Sydney hugged her parents goodbye and waved to her family as she and Deacon walked toward the car. Deacon had fit right in once the macho tension had been sliced along with the apple pie.

Deacon walked next to Sydney with his arm around her, keeping her warm. The stars were clear in the cold sky above as she rested her head against his shoulder. She was both exhausted and excited. The day had been long, scary, and stressful, but at the same time her family had accepted Deacon. Mostly. Her dad wasn’t thrilled, but he also had stopped reaching for his gun. That was a pretty big win for the first family dinner.

“So you survived.” Syd grinned up to him as he opened the car door for her.

“It wasn’t so bad. You have a really great family. I think after your dad gets over wanting to shoot me, we’ll get along great.” Deacon smirked at her before closing the door.

“Now you see why I always come home. My whole family grows and leaves the nest, but they all come back again. I’ve just reached that part of my life where I’m coming home to stay. I still have my houses elsewhere, but this is home.”

“What about your new house in Georgia?” Deacon asked casually, although there was nothing casual about it.

Sydney felt the closest thing to panic she thought possible. She’d had nerves of steel growing up in the modeling world and then breaking into business. But the thought of being separated from Deacon, of going back to the way they were before they met was just too much.

“I’m going to keep it for now. Beyond that, I don’t know. I guess time will tell.”

“I’m glad you’re going to keep it. It’s such a historic place. You know, the Daughters of Atlanta had been begging Mrs. Wyatt to open the house to visitors. Since I was living there, I appreciated that she didn’t,” Deacon said wryly as he drove toward her house.

“I bet there have been plenty of Daughters of Atlanta in that house,” Syd teased back.

“Jealous, darlin’? I wouldn’t have guessed it,” Deacon said amused as he pulled into her garage. “Don’t you worry, there’s only one woman I want in my house and in my bed.”

Sydney felt a giddy rush of pleasure as Deacon sent her a wink. He opened her door for her and slung his arm over her shoulder. “It’s just too bad she isn’t here.”

Sydney gasped and smacked his stomach.

“What? I’ll miss that little squirt of a shoe-eating pup while she’s at obedience school,” Deacon sighed dramatically.

Sydney stepped into the kitchen and kicked off her shoes as she shook her head. She tossed her jacket onto the barstool and began to slide out of her jeans. She felt Deacon stop as soon as he entered the kitchen. She could feel his eyes on her as she pulled the sweater from her body and dropped it onto the floor. Sydney grinned to herself as she started to walk out of the kitchen.

Sydney reached behind her and unhooked her bra before looking over her shoulder at Deacon. “It’s just too bad you have to sleep alone tonight,” Sydney said sympathetically as she dropped her bra to the floor.

“Like hell I am.” Deacon grinned as he shot toward her, pulling his shirt over his head as he ran. Sydney screamed and darted up the stairs. It didn’t take him long to catch her. “I love you, Sydney.”

Sydney didn’t have a chance to respond before he covered her mouth with his. And when his hand disappeared beneath the satin of her panties, she didn’t care if they even made it to the bed.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“This is torture,” Sophie whined as Sydney pinned the material she’d bought from Paige.

“Try doing this for a living,” Sydney mumbled around a mouthful of pins. “Now hold still. I just need to make one more adjustment.”

“I’ve been standing here forever,” Sophie complained as she took a drink of white wine. “I have to leave late tonight, and I’m not even going to have time to get some bread pudding from the café, especially at the rate you’re going. It’s dinner time!”

Sydney tried not to roll her eyes. Her cousin has been standing there for all of five minutes. “Where are you off to this time?”

“Washington,” Sophie sighed.

“What do you have to do there?” Sydney asked but was met with silence. “Oh, right. Some super-secret lab geek stuff. I swear you and Piper should be sisters.”

Sophie shifted, and Sydney poked her to stand upright. “Piper likes to play with viruses. I play with biometrics. Completely different.”

“If you say so,” Sydney muttered as she made the last tuck. “Okay, now hold very still while I get this off you.”

Sydney carefully extricated Sophie from the top and then helped her shimmy out of the short skirt. She’d been working all day on sewing the outfit. While Sophie was a little shorter than Sydney, she was close to the same size, and it helped to see how the finishing touches would look when the material was draped on a real person.

“Is that the hat Aunt Paige made?” Sophie asked as she pulled on her black slacks and cream sweater.

“Sure is.” Sydney opened the hatbox and gently brought out the large white hat.

“Oh, I love how she used some of the material from your dress as the band,” Sophie exclaimed as she set the hat on Sydney’s head. “How mysterious! It’s so large that it’s hard to tell it’s you. But the way it curves is so feminine at the same time. You’re going to kill it with this dress. Just don’t let Nash kill anyone,” Sophie laughed.

“Haven’t you heard?” Sydney asked with dread. While her cousin had never admitted it, the whole town knew there was something between Nash and Soph, or there could be if they’d allow it. It didn’t matter how much they denied it or seemed to avoid each other; something was definitely there.

“Heard what?” Sophie asked as she put the hat in the box.

“The king ordered Nash back to Rahmi,” Sydney said carefully.

Sophie shrugged. “He’s always sending Nash on assignments. Not that Nash will ever tell me about them. It’s his job. Just like mine, it involves a lot of travel.”

Sydney shook her head. “No, Soph. It’s more like a permanent assignment. Nash isn’t coming back this time.”

Sydney reached out to comfort her cousin, but Sophie shook her off as she downed her wine. “So he’s gone, and he didn’t bother saying goodbye?”

“He didn’t get a chance. From what Nabi told Deacon, Nash was called away immediately.”

“He could have called or something,” Sophie fumed as she poured another glass of wine and downed it.

“I know you care about him. I’m sure he’ll call,” Sydney said as she tried to sound optimistic.

“Why? There’s nothing between us. I don’t care about him. I could have any man I want. But you know what I want? Bread. Freaking. Pudding.”

Sydney had to scramble to keep up with Sophie as she marched toward her car. “Soph, let me drive. Deacon can pick me up from the café when he’s done with Ahmed and Nabi.” Sydney grabbed the keys. As Sophie got into the car, Syd texted the girls to meet them at the café.

Minutes later,Sydney hurried after Sophie as she slammed into the café. For once, the patrons were quiet. Everyone ducked their heads and took great interest in their food
.
Poppy saw them coming and placed glasses of ice water on the center of the round table.

“I have a special hot drink Miss Lily taught me. I’ll bring it right out. And chocolate. What else do you need, hon?” Poppy asked Sophie, who dropped into her chair.

“Nothing. Why would I need anything? I’m hunky-dory, peachy-keen, in fact. I have a great job, an apartment in DC, and a small house here that I’m never at. But it’s here when I want it. And shoes, you should see all the shoes I have. What else does a woman need?”

Poppy nodded. “So, more chocolate then?”

“Yes,” Sophie said with a sigh.

The bell over the door tinkled as Sienna, Layne, and Piper rushed in. The three women were completely different. Sienna was average height and curvy, with auburn hair. Raven-haired Layne was a little taller and athletically built. Piper was the shortest, with dirty-blond hair pulled back into a sloppy bun. But the looks of concern were the same on all their faces as they sat down.

“So, you heard about Nash?” Piper asked slowly.

“Why should I care about Nash?” Sophie asked nonchalantly as Poppy set down the warm drinks that were probably laced with a healthy dose of Kentucky bourbon.

“Sophie, you don’t have to pretend with us. We know something happened between you two,” Sienna said kindly as she took a sip of the drink and coughed.

“I don’t know what—” Sophie started only to be cut off by Layne.

“Oh, knock it off, Soph. You wouldn’t be upset and on your second cup of whatever this drink is if you weren’t upset. Now, talk,” Layne ordered. It was easy to see that her father and mother had rubbed off on her. Miles was the head of a company and a former leader in the Special Forces. Morgan was a take-no-prisoners-in-business type as well.

The bell over the door to the café tinkled, and Sydney glanced quickly to see who came in. “Crap on a cracker,” she muttered as she saw Nikki Canter and her Keeneston Belle squad saunter in as if the café were a catwalk.

The Keeneston Belles had started as a charitable organization for seniors at Keeneston High. They were the pretty, popular women in high school who wanted to do good and had no trouble getting others to help them with a bat of their lashes. Sadly, the power went to their heads, and every other generation or so, the Belles forgot their charitable purpose and instead were busy husband-hunting from the crème de la crème of Keeneston bachelors. When they married, they joined the Keeneston Ladies, the real power behind the town. Now the seniors they recruited in high school were more like pledges of a sort. The ones in charge were the girls who were back from college where they perfected their claw sharpening on frat boys and professors.

The queen bee of the Belles was newly elected Nikki Canter. She sashayed into the café in skinny jeans, knee-high leather boots, and a jacket so tight she couldn’t button it over her newly enhanced boobs. According to Ryan’s sister, Greer, who was one year younger than Nikki, Nikki was the ignored girl in school, always number two. It was her best friend who was the prom queen and the most popular girl. Nikki took it as a challenge when she went away to college to come back and take over the Belles.

Nikki had lost fifteen pounds and moved that weight to her tits, along with injecting her lips and dyeing her brown hair mahogany red. Furthermore, she refused to remain in the background any longer. She had swept into the Belles and demanded they bow down to her new rule. She ousted the last president in a negative campaign that made national elections seem friendly. Nikki had her eye on the prize, and that prize was the most powerful bachelor in Keeneston, Zain Ali Rahman. Nothing was going to stop her until she was a princess.

Within the Belles was also a secret list ranking the most eligible bachelors. So while Nikki focused on Zain, her followers had targeted the others deemed most likely to hold power, money, and prestige. Most of Sydney’s friends and cousins were on that list, including Nash. And by the way Nikki zeroed in on Sophie, there was no doubt what was on her mind.

“Oh, Belles! Look how sad.” Nikki exaggerated a pout that made her over-injected lower lip cover her chin. “There’s poor Sophie drowning her sorrows in chocolate over losing Nash. Too bad she doesn’t even know what she lost out on, huh?” Nikki winked and held out her hands to demonstrate how much of Nash she had missed out on.

The patrons of the café gasped. The women tittered for it was no small measurement Nikki had held up. Sydney started to look up Kenna’s number because her friend was about to be arrested for murdering a Belle and would need a lawyer.

“I’m sorry, Nikki, but I couldn’t hear you. Your lips melted into your boobs and all I heard was a muffled cry for attention,” Sophie said with a chilling smile.

Nikki turned red as she narrowed her eyes. “It’s so pathetic to see a woman chasing after a man she could never get. Someone like Nash needs an exciting woman to keep his interest. Something a boring lab rat would know nothing about.”

Sophie nodded her head. “You’re right. It is pathetic to see a woman chasing after a man she could never get. Someone like Zain, for example, needs a woman with class to get his attention. Something an over-injected bimbo like you would know nothing about.”

Nikki shrieked and came toward the table with her claws out. Then she yelped like a puppy and dropped to the ground in a passed-out heap of boobs, lips, and hair. Her followers all looked at her just lying there, not knowing what to do. Sydney looked at her friends who all stared opened-mouthed except for a smiling and serene Sophie who closed her purse and started eating her bread pudding.

“Mmm.  Poppy, this is excellent,” Sophie said, breaking the silence as the patrons all stared at Nikki.

“Sophie, what did you do?” Sydney whispered as Nikki’s minions started poking her with their sharp-toed shoes.

“Me?” Sophie asked way too innocently. “Why would you think I had anything to do with that? Besides, she’s fine. She’ll probably start waking up in ten minutes or so.”

“You have to tell me how you did that. I want it, whatever it is.” Layne winked as the table erupted into giggles when Nikki farted loudly. Then whispers were no longer needed as the patrons all started talking at once.

The bell over the door rang again, and Sydney saw Andy, Deputy Sheriff Dinky’s son, come in.  Nikki farted again and Andy grinned. Bless his redheaded heart, Andy wasn’t on the Belle’s bachelor list. He was around five-foot-seven with shocking carrot-orange hair and freckles. And he had been the high school’s mascot. It had doomed him to uncool status all throughout high school, even if he was one of the nicest guys in town. He was also just one year older than Nikki. By the smile on his face, he was enjoying the scene as only a guy scorned could.

Andy stepped around the Belles and stopped at Sydney’s table. “So, what’s going on there?”

“She just yelped like a lap dog and went down. Maybe it’s a seizure,” Sophie said gleefully as she motioned to Poppy to refill her spiked drink.

“Please tell me someone is videoing this,” Andy chuckled.

“Oh, I’m on it.” Piper grinned as she recorded Nikki who had now added moaning to the farting.

“Man, as much as I love this, these damn southern gentlemen manners won’t let me leave her there,” Andy groaned as he headed over to the Belles. “Ladies, may I be of assistance?”

Nikki let one rip in response, and the Belles looked as if they were thinking of abandoning their leader. They grabbed on to Andy’s offer and had him carry a very musical Nikki out the door a minute later—a door that was held open by a very sexy man.

“Hey,” Sydney whispered to the girls, “who’s that?”

She saw all their heads turn to look at the newcomer. He was around five-feet-eleven inches, with light brown hair and a runner’s build. In his late twenties, he looked pretty damn good in those jeans and a black leather jacket.

“He’s not from here, but I likey,” Sophie grinned as she slammed down another empty cup.

Sydney shook her head as Sophie came to a wobbly stand. “What are you doing?” Sydney asked.

“Getting some. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?” Sophie asked rather loudly.

“I’m sure your father is happy about that,” Miss Lily called out from across the room. Cade Davies would be thrilled to hear the news. And by the way Miss Lily was tweeting, he would be hearing it pretty darn soon.

The stranger obviously heard, too, smiled to himself, and took a seat at a nearby table. Poppy hurried over and took a drink order before handing him a menu. As she passed him walking toward the back of the café to get his drink, Layne called her over.

“Do you know him?” Layne asked.

Poppy shook her head. “Never seen him before.”

“I call dibs.” Sophie ran a hand over her hair and licked her lips. She stood up and walked as straight as possible to the newcomer.

Sydney and the girls grinned at each other. “It’s like watching a train wreck. You know it isn’t going to be pretty, but you can’t look away.”

Piper shrugged. “Maybe she’ll get to have sloppy-drunk sex and leave town happy.”

“I guess it’s a good way to get over Nash,” Sienna said unconvincingly.

Sophie stopped in front of the table, and the man stood up to greet her. That had to be a good start. At least he had manners.

“I’m Sophie Davies, and who might you be?” Sophie all but purred.

The man held out his hand. “Ben Jacobs. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Davies.”

Sophie smiled predatorily. “Can I have a seat?”