How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (11 page)

“Well,
farewell to you too,” Cato mumbled, disappointed. Heath acted as if she were
the carrier of some dread disease. Before she could change her mind and leave,
Cato repaired her makeup, slipped on a pair of jeans that the salesgirl
guaranteed would stop traffic and pulled on a feminine red western shirt which
would show some cleavage but not get her butt thrown in jail. Before she left,
she inspected the comfortable room she’d been given. The bathroom was gorgeous,
tiled in bronze and cream tile. She opened the door of the shower and stepped
in, fully clothed. Placing her hands on the cool surface of the wall, she
imagined Heath behind her, rubbing his big soapy hands all over her body,
cupping her tits, sliding down her front to cup her vulva. “God,” she groaned,
wondering if she had time to masturbate. No, she wouldn’t do that—not when the
real thing was this close. Doing without an orgasm would be an incentive to try
and ensure the next one she enjoyed was with a partner.   
         

Unable
to resist, she checked out the closet, hanging up the few clothes she’d brought
with her. “Now, what’s this?” There was a whole control panel of buttons,
monitors and TV screens. “Wow, wonder if I get movie channels?” She flipped
some switches and turned some knobs but nothing happened that she could see.
“Well, foot. I guess I’m not hooked up. Oh well, time to be sociable.” Cato
left the closet door standing open, just in case she’d figure it out later and
be able to watch TV in bed. Yea, that sounded decadent.

Making
herself at home, she wandered through the house. Where was everyone? Outside,
she presumed. Heath’s home was gorgeous. She enjoyed checking out the warm wood
walls and cool tile floors. The décor wasn’t overly masculine or feminine, it
was a blend of textures and colors that just made her feel at home. A huge
stone fireplace dominated one wall and the other was lined with rich looking
bookshelves. She wondered if Heath enjoyed reading as much as she did.  

Heading
to the kitchen, she took time to admire how functional yet inviting it was.
Cato was a sucker for a good kitchen and this one would be a dream to cook in.
There was a large island and a long bar next to a trestle table big enough for
the whole family and guests to sit and eat. Two walls of windows faced the back
yard and a pair of patio doors opened up to a brick courtyard decorated with
big pots of tropical plants and sturdy, comfortable furniture. When she was
close enough to see outside, Cato noticed a group of people sitting around a
fire pit in a grassy area down the hill. Scoping out the crowd, she saw Heath.
“There you are.” Opening the doors, she went to join them.

As
she drew closer, she stopped in her tracks. She recognized the
McCoys
, of course, but there were also other people she
recognized—famous people. There was an Oscar winning actor, the handsome one
who always wanted to take off his shirt. What was his name? If Heath knew he
occupied her thoughts so much that she couldn’t remember the name of one of the
winners of the ‘sexiest man alive’ title, he’d take off running for sure. God,
and when she gathered her wits about her, she realized there were other
celebrities—actors, actresses, NFL football stars, singers, even a Tour de
France legend.

What
in the hell was she doing here?
           

Maybe
she should just leave. Before she could turn to go, a hand caught her arm. It
was Ryder. “Come join us and let me introduce you to everyone.”

“This,
I did not expect,” she admitted. Cato was impressed, but somehow she managed to
shake hands and exchange polite greetings without making a fool out of herself.
Cato didn’t think she’d ever wash her hand again. As requested, Ryder didn’t
make a big deal that she was deaf, she just made sure Cato was looking in the
right direction when people spoke to her or she repeated what they said.
Everyone was very gracious. Finally, Ryder escorted her over to another man who
stood as they approached. “And this is Heath’s best friend, Jimmy
Dushku
. Jimmy, this is Cato Vincent.”

“Hello,
Jimmy.” She extended her hand. “How nice to meet you.”

The
handsome man took her hand and kissed it. “My pleasure, beautiful lady. Let me
get you a drink.”

“Thank
you.”

Before
Jimmy could fulfill his promise, Heath intervened. “I got it, here you go.” He handed
her an ice cold bottle of beer. Cato didn’t particularly like beer, but she
took it with a smile. Tonight she’d be adventurous, no quibbling.

“Why
don’t you come sit with us?” Jimmy took her arm. “We’re just about to listen to
some music.”

She
allowed herself to be led away and did her very best to keep up with what was
going on. “What’s for supper?” she asked, her stomach grumbling. In her
excitement, Cato realized she had eaten nothing all day.

“Ah,
a woman with a healthy appetite.” Jimmy winked at her. “I like that. To answer
your question, I believe Heath is offering grilled prime rib. Right, buddy?”

“The
food’s almost ready, I just checked.” He followed closely along behind them and
when Jimmy came to a couch that sat a few feet from the fire pit and indicated
for Cato to sit, Heath joined them.

They
were surrounded by happy looking people milling around and sipping on drinks.
As promised, in a few moments a well-known singer, Judah James, sat on a stool
in front of them and sang a blockbuster he’d written and recorded
Are You
Real?
Cato got a lot of enjoyment just watching the singer perform and the
crowd’s reaction to him, especially Pepper. If Cato wasn’t mistaken, Heath’s
sister had a crush on the handsome crooner—big time.

“Did
you like that?” Jimmy asked, putting his arm along the back of the couch behind
her.  

“I
did enjoy watching him sing, yes,” she began, then felt she needed to be
honest. “I’m deaf, Jimmy.”

She
saw a look of compassion come across his face. “You look perfect to me.” He
smiled. “I’ll be your ears and you can be my eyes, as mine are busy gazing at
your gorgeous face.”

“Jimmy,”
Heath said lowly, catching his attention behind Cato’s back. “She’s off
limits.”

 “Oh,
really?” Jimmy smirked and raised his eyebrows. “Private stock?”

“No,
I’ll explain later.” He shook his head as Cato turned around to see what they
were doing behind her.

“I
think I’ll take a walk,” she announced, not knowing exactly what was going on,
but feeling like she was in the middle of something. When both of the men rose,
she smiled. “I’ll be back. I’m just going to go see what the girls are doing.”

The
musicians were still playing, but the famous singer was now surrounded by some
of Heath’s other guests. Cato saw a few more people she recognized, particularly
some of Avery’s brothers-in-law, the other branch of
McCoys
.
During the time she’d spent with Avery, she’d painted such a compelling picture
about her family that Cato had begun to have daydreams about being a part of
something so wonderful. She’d told her how all of them stuck together and what
good men they were, how they put their women first in their lives and the many
acts of kindness they performed for people in their communities.

 Pepper
joined her. “Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”  

Cato
almost told Pepper that she’d been sitting very near her just a few moments
before, but Pepper had only had eyes for Judah. Maybe she would, if she got an
opening. “I was sitting with Heath’s friend, Jimmy
Dushku
.
He seems nice.”   

“Jimmy’s
a hoot,” Pepper assured her. “He’s down to earth, likeable and a sweetheart.
One would never know that the President was roused out of bed last year to be
briefed on Jimmy’s whereabouts and activities.”

“What?
Why?”

Pepper
laughed. “He knows so many people and goes to so many different countries. I
think he makes the government nervous.”

“Now,
that’s power.” She let her eyes wander over to where Jimmy and Heath were
sitting. But no matter how many handsome men she saw or how many movie stars or
singers caught her attention, Cato only had eyes for one grouchy cowboy.

“I
wanted to talk to you about some games I have organized for tomorrow after they
finish with the steers.”

“Games?”
Cato didn’t know what she’d expected from this weekend—just dancing, eating and
drinking maybe.

“I
want people to interact and not just break off into groups. So, I’ve organized
several competitions and even a treasure hunt.”

“That
sounds like fun. Honestly, I never expected to be surrounded by so many
celebrities. It makes me want to stand on the sidelines and hide.”

“Stuff
and nonsense.” Pepper waved her hand dismissively and put an arm around her.
“They’re just people and most of them want to be treated like ordinary folk.
I’m sure they get tired of being kowtowed to all the time.”

“How
can I help you?” Cato asked, eager to pitch in.

“Well,
I tried to think up games that could be played by either men or women. I came
up with a few like skeet shooting, and pitching horseshoes. The guys might like
to throw knifes or make some archery shots. Men love to be competitive. Let me
show you my list and you tell me what you think.” Pepper pulled out a phone
from her pocket and opened up the note app. “I thought about water limbo over
by the pool or tug of war.”

“Those
sound good. How about something more western, more cowboy oriented?”

“Like
what?”

“Well,
I’d like to learn how to rope things.” Cato offered. “Or how about playing
Texas Hold-
Em
?”

“I
love both those ideas.” Pepper entered them into the list. “Best of all, they
need no equipment other than ropes and a few decks of cards. Brilliant!” Pepper
put an arm around her. “I’m going to enjoy having you here.” They walked away
from the crowd, down the hill toward a vine-covered arbor. When they were back
into a well illuminated area, Pepper asked, “So, have you talked to Heath?”

“Briefly.”
Cato sat sideways on a bench so she could see Pepper. “I thought I’d try to
coerce him into a moonlight walk after supper.”

“Would
you mind if I were honest with you?”

“No,
I’d prefer it,” Cato encouraged.

“I’m
trying to come out of my shell, romantically speaking, or at least I’m putting
on a good front.” She smiled at Cato. “I invited several different men to the
BBQ, mainly just to let my brothers know I had a mind of my own.” She looked
over her shoulder. “If they had their way, Ryder and I would be old maids till
the day we die.” Conspiratorially, she leaned closer to Cato. “I invited
several eligible men to spice things up for both of us.”  

“For
me?” Cato didn’t understand. She thought the sisters had wanted her to spend
time with Heath. “But—”

“Oh,
don’t worry.” Pepper caught her hand. “I have a plan.”

Why
didn’t that comfort her? “You’ve lost me.” Cato didn’t know how she felt about
what Pepper had done.

“Do
you like my brother?”

Cato
considered her answer, then went for vague honesty. “Yes, Heath seems to be a
very nice man.”

“When
I saw you two together, his face was animated and it looked like he was
enjoying himself so much.” Pepper’s face became sad. “He’s rarely happy anymore.”

“What
happened?”

“What
hasn’t
happened.
” Pepper looked off in the distance.
“We lost our home and our mother during a storm. You might as well say we lost
our father too, for he never really recovered. Heath pulled us all together and
we moved north. I think he and Father thought the more miles they put between
us and Belle Chasse the better off we’d be.”

“Wait
a minute.” Cato stopped her. “Heath helped raise all of you?” She was beginning
to get an entirely different impression about the man.

“Yes,
and when it became clear we couldn’t be happy in Montana, we moved back.
Highlands belonged to one of our ancestors, but I don’t know the details. We’ve
been happy here for the most part, but it seems our family is never free of
trouble.”

“I
know about Philip’s trial, but not the details.”

Pepper
wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s been hard. To think of gentle Philip being
accused of murder is ludicrous. But Heath has had a hard time also.” She placed
a hand over her heart like she was taking a deep breath. “He fell in love and
was to be married.”

“Something
happened to her? Did she die?” Cato was horrified.

“No,”
she frowned, “the shrew left him at the altar.”

Cato
was shocked. “How awful.” She couldn’t imagine any woman walking away from
someone like Heath McCoy.

“I
don’t why she did it,” Pepper shook her head, “but whatever happened, it
changed him. He hasn’t had a real relationship since then with anyone. We know
he has companionship, one night stands, but nothing serious. Heath declares he
will never love again nor will he ever marry.”

Hmmm,
well darn. “Maybe he just hasn’t met the right girl.”

“That’s
what we’re thinking.” Pepper had the good grace to look a bit guilty.

Cato
shook her head. “Goodness, don’t pin your hopes on me. Compared to the guests
gathered here today, I’m an unsophisticated country bumpkin.”

“Don’t
sell yourself short. I know you’re attracted to him and it’s obvious he’s
attracted to you.”  

Cato
blushed. “I’m not sure about that.”

“Forgive
me.” Pepper backed off a bit. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“That’s
okay, but I have to ask you something.” She pinned Pepper with a stare. “Why
did you tell me about the other men you’ve invited?”

“I
mentioned it to you because Ryder and I made a point to tell Heath about them.”
At Cato’s perplexed expression, Pepper smiled. “Jealousy is a very powerful
motivator.”