How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (31 page)

“I’m
so sorry this is happening to you. But, yes, I’d love to go with you and the
timing is pretty good. If we have time, I have a surprise for you.” She was
already thinking about the possibility of him meeting
Culhane
.

“After
I get out of that meeting, I’m all yours. Today I’m headed to see
Jax
.”

“How
is he?”

“Well,
I’ll know more when I can look him in the face.”

“I’ll
be thinking about you.” She smiled shyly. “I can’t believe I’ll get to see you
again so soon.”

“I’m
finding it hard to stay away from you.” He considered something for a moment.
“Look, this time let me make the arrangements. You just pack some sexy
underwear and leave everything else to me.”

“Except
my surprise.”

Heath
laughed. “Okay, I love your surprises. Just don’t make it a metal jock strap
with a lock on it or something.”

“Okay,
I won’t.”

“And
be careful, dammit!”
You belong to me
went unspoken but that was exactly
what went through Heath’s mind.

*  *  *

“Can
I come in?” Heath tapped on the rough-hewn surface of the front door to the
cabin Jaxson had rented.

There
was a creak and the door opened, but it was Dan standing in front of him, not
Jaxson. “Been expecting you. ‘Bout time you got here.”

Heath
didn’t really know how to take that. “I could’ve been here at any time, all
you’d had to do was call.”

Dan
stepped aside and Heath moved into the sparsely furnished interior. All he saw
was a couch, a chair and a table—no Jaxson.

“He
wouldn’t let me.”

Damn,
that didn’t sound good. “Where is he?”

“Out
back.”

Heath
set down the stuff Ryder had sent and walked through the house to the back
door. He looked through the glass. There was a small dock leading off the bank
and out into the slow moving Comal. Jaxson sat on the end in a wheelchair. He
looked lost.

“Anything
I need to know?” he asked Dan before heading out to where his brother was
staring out into the river.

“He’s
selling his horse.”

“The
hell he is…” Heath pulled his hat down over his eyes and started across the
yard. “Jaxson? I
gotta
bone to pick with you…”

*  *  *

“I’m
going backstage.” Pepper announced. “You wait here.”

Ryder
gave Pepper a thumbs-up as she left stage right. She didn’t know everything
that was going on in her sister’s head, but Ryder had been aware of the looks
Pepper and Judah had exchanged. Even though the singer had put on a stellar
performance, he hadn’t been able to hide his awareness of the young woman who
sat in the front row.

Judah
James was a sensation, his music had dominated the charts,
his
soulful voice was known and loved world-wide. But if he hurt her sister, Ryder
thought, there wouldn’t be any safe place he could hide.   

Pepper
wasn’t worried. Eternally optimistic, she sidestepped groupies and weaved her
way between stage hands moving lights and sound equipment. Ahead, she could see
Judah’s dressing room guarded by a bald-headed behemoth who stood with crossed
arms and hooded eyes.

Until
he saw Pepper.

She
moved forward hesitantly and was relieved when the stoic giant smiled. “Hello,
Miss McCoy. Judah is expecting you.”

Pepper’s
heart soared. “Thank you, Arnold.”

Arnold
opened the door and Pepper entered. Surprisingly, the room was dim. It took a few
seconds for her eyes to adjust. When they did, she saw Judah sitting on a
couch, leaned forward, head in his hands. “Judah?”

Judah
jerked his head up, then he stared at Pepper oddly. “I didn’t hear the door
open.”

“Arnold
let me in. Your music was fabulous. I loved every moment.”

He
stood and moved toward her, putting out a hand to touch her shoulder.

If
Pepper didn’t know better, she’d have though he was making sure she was really
there. He looked relieved when she covered his hand with her own.

“You
shouldn’t have come.”

Dismay
and hurt washed over her. “I thought you wanted to see me.”

He
did. Judah steeled himself to lie to the one woman who could possibly be his
salvation. “You need to go home, Pepper. I don’t have time to baby-sit you.
There’s a real woman waiting for me in my bed at home.”

Pepper
reeled from the blow. His words hit her like bullets. “Oh, I’m sorry. I
misunderstood.”

Judah
swallowed hard. “Yes, you did. I appreciate your family’s friendship and
support and I’d do anything for Jimmy
Dushku
, but
getting involved with an unsophisticated Pollyanna is more than can be
expected. Now, would you like an autograph?”    

Pepper
didn’t answer right away, she backed out of the room, never taking her gaze
from his face. Why did his eyes look so sad when his words were so hard? “I
won’t bother you again.”

She
fled.

As
soon as the door closed, Judah turned and slammed his fist into the wall. 

*  *  *

“You’re
not taking my baby away from me, Tennessee McCoy.”

Tennessee
blanched, he literally felt the color drain from his face. “I never considered
taking your child, Molly.” What kind of man did she think he was?

“Good.”
She felt behind her for the chair, feeling dizzy and unsteady on her feet.

Tennessee
was confused. “Why would you say something like that? We may have our problems
but…” As if a light had come on in his head illuminating the area around him,
Tennessee realized that Molly didn’t look well. “Are you sick? Is the baby
okay? What does the doctor say?”

Molly
hung her head. Of course he would be concerned about his child, but he didn’t
care about her. He was a McCoy, a rich man. Her baby was a McCoy.

She
was nobody.

“The
baby’s fine.”

She
was exhausted.

“Do
you need anything?” Tennessee didn’t want to love Molly, she had broken his trust
with her unfaithfulness.

“No,
I’m fine.” Fine? She had thirty-four dollars in her checking account, no place
to stay and a baby on the way.

But
one thing was for certain. She’d beg on the street before she took anything
from Tennessee.

Molly
had a plan.

“We’ll
be fine, Tennessee. You don’t have to worry.”

“You
called me, Molly, you must want something.”

“Yes,
I did. I wanted to see you to tell you that I’m letting you off the hook. We
don’t need anything from you. You can see the baby any time you want to, but I
can take care of everything by myself.”

“You
mean Greg is taking care of you, paying your bills.”

“Think
what you will, that’s what you’re going to do anyway.” Her voice rose, and
Molly fought to keep from crying. Viewing Tennessee through the sheen of tears
in her eyes, Molly admitted the truth. She loved this man to the very depth of
her soul. But he was lost to her, lost forever. And she didn’t really
understand why. She was a pawn, a pawn in some stupid game of revenge and
Tennessee was too blind to see it.

Which
told her everything, really.

Instead
of believing in her and her love, he’d chosen to take the word of his enemy.

And
there was no coming back from that.

“Goodbye,
Tennessee. I’ll call you when the baby is born.”

*  *  *

“Where
is Old Red?” Cato asked as she stood on the porch watching Heath walk up the
path to her house.

“I
was afraid he’d get scratched in the valet parking lot.” Heath voiced as he
wrapped her up in a hug and gave her a nipple-peaking kiss.

Cato
laughed because Heath probably wasn’t joking. “I don’t blame you. We have to
protect what we love.”

“True.”
He kissed her again, this time inserting his knee between her legs, giving her
a chance to ride his leg for one pussy-clenching minute. “Let’s go, we’ve got a
lot to do.” Taking her hand, he led her to the white Mercedes coupé and settled
her in the plush front seat.

Once
he was on the road, Heath let out a long breath. Cato saw him sigh. “How is
Jaxson?” She knew Heath had gone to visit him the day before.

“Not
good. I’m worried. He’s not trying to wear the prosthesis. He won’t get up on
the crutches and he wants to sell his horse.”

Knowing
the
McCoys
, she understood being willing to sell his
beloved horse was huge. All of it was cause for concern. Does he have a
therapist, is he going to have rehab?”

“I
insisted. I’ve made some calls and someone is going to visit him whether he
likes it or not.”

“Wouldn’t
it be easier if he came home?”      

“Of
course it would, but
Jax
is a grown man. I can only
push him so far.”

Cato
placed her hand on his leg, rubbing the denim material over his hard muscular
thigh, lovingly. “Jaxon is lucky. He has a family who loves and supports him.”

Heath
nodded. “We do rally around our own. I don’t know what went on at the Judah
James concert last night but Ryder came home mad as a little wet hen. Pepper
didn’t say much, but it was clear something happened. Those girls have grown up
before I knew it and it just strikes terror in my heart that some jerk will
hurt them and take advantage of their innocent and tender hearts.”

“Everybody
makes choices, Heath.”

Heath
could see she was looking at him with true concern. Who was going to look after
her? “Do you have any family, Cato, anyone you’re close to?”

“No.”
She shook her head. “I told you about my friends in Louisiana. And there’s
Avery here, but I don’t get to see her often. Mother’s gone and I never knew my
father. My aunt and uncle moved away after Tessa died.” Seeing the serious look
on his face, she lightened the mood. “I’ll make other friends, I’m sure. Lately
I’ve been busy getting settled in my job…and…”

Spending
time with him, Heath knew what she wasn’t saying.

Neither
finished the thought out loud, so she went on. “Later, I’m planning on joining
a few meet-up groups interested in wine making and keeping bees.”

“I
can just see you raiding a hive for honey.”

“Hey,
I’ve always wanted to try. I love honey on my biscuits.” She decided to ask
about Ryder. Cato couldn’t help but think about Samson and his brother. “Is
Ryder seeing anyone?”

“No,
thank God. I don’t think either one of them is seriously interested in anybody.
I’m glad too. What with
Jax’s
ordeal, Ten’s problem
with Molly and Philip’s trial, I don’t have time to break the heads of any
randy males trying to take advantage of my sisters.”

“Maybe
they want to be taken advantage of.” She teased, thinking of their own
situation. “Sometimes women want to be with a particular man—no matter what.”

“My
sisters aren’t sluts, Cato.”

Cato
felt like she’d been slapped. “No, they’re not,” she responded evenly. “And
neither am I.”

Heath
almost ran off the road. “I didn’t say you were.”

Cato
wasn’t looking, she’d turned her face to the window, effectively shutting him
out. Dammit! “Don’t ever let me hear you refer to yourself that way again.”
Heath was talking to the wind, but he didn’t care. He touched her arm, but she
didn’t move or look at him so he could repeat himself. God, he was doing
exactly what those men did that he warned his sisters about. He was taking
advantage of a woman who gave him everything yet asked for nothing.

Who
was going to be there for Cato? Who was going to defend her virtue? She needed
some knight in shining armor to stand between her and whatever or whoever would
cause her pain. She deserved someone to love her. And all Heath could think was
how he would kill any other man who tried to touch her.

“Look
out, Heath!” Cato cried.

Heath
had been so lost in his thoughts, he’d almost ran up on a tractor trailer which
had crashed into the back of a small car. The accident must’ve just happened,
no other vehicles had stopped to help and flames were shooting out of the
engine of the little Volvo. “Call 911.” Heath barked as he pulled over and ran
out to help.

“Heath!
Be careful!” She called 911 and was able to make them understand her. Thank
goodness for face-time. Opening her door, she raced up to see what was going
on. Only moments before she was almost ready to ask Heath to take her home or
put her out somewhere and let her find her own way home. The idea that he might
think less of her because she’d given herself to him without benefit of a
commitment just made her sick. But she couldn’t honestly say he felt that way,
not about her. He didn’t act like it. When he touched her, when he kissed her,
when he made love to her—she could swear she felt love. And now, seeing him
place himself in danger, her heart felt like it was going to burst from her
chest. He was pulling on the door. “There are children in here, Cato!” She
swallowed a silent scream and ran over to where he was frantically pulling on
the door.

“Let
me help.”

“Get
back!” he yelled at her. “This thing may blow!”

“That’s
why you need me,” she yelled back. Cato went to the other door, it was crumpled
but there was a gap. Inside the window she could see two small girls, their
mother was lying across the steering wheel in the front seat. There was one
good thing about being deaf, all she had to do to say she didn’t hear something
was just not to look, so she refused to look. Instead, she yanked on the door
until it opened, thankfully, and pulled out first one little girl and then the
other. Through the haze of smoke, she saw Heath was cutting the seat belt to
get the woman free. She led the two crying girls a few yards back near a tree.
The driver of the semi was crawling out of the cab. “Are you all right?” she
called to him.