Playing for Keeps (Texas Scoundrels) (6 page)

With her digital tablet in hand, Griffen returned to the showroom. The sunlight was fading, but at least the days were growing longer.

A sparkle on Mattie’s ring finger suddenly caught Griffen’s attention. “What on earth is this?” she asked, reaching for her sister’s hand. A beautifully cut, three-step diamond and emerald engagement ring, occupied Mattie’s left hand. “Oh Matt, it’s so beautiful.”

Her sister smiled shyly. “Trenton proposed.”

“I can see that.” Tears blurred her vision as she reached for Mattie and gave her a hug. She couldn’t be more thrilled that her littler sister had found happiness again. For years Mattie had mourned Ford, who’d been shot down over the Mediterranean Sea during the war with Afghanistan.
 

Mattie and Ford had been high school sweethearts. Against both of their families’ advice, they’d married right after graduation and together they’d headed to Waco to attend Baylor. Then Ford had joined the Navy, went to Officer Candidate School, then flight school followed by SEAL training. Mattie had eventually joined Ford in San Diego, California. When he’d been assigned another top secret mission during Mattie’s ninth month of pregnancy, he’d insisted she come back to Texas to be with her family for the birth.
 

The night they’d learned Ford’s plane had been shot down, Mattie went into labor and delivered Phoebe. She’d been so devastated by Ford’s death, it’d taken her two months before she’d even held her daughter.

Griffen held Mattie’s hand up for a closer look at her engagement ring. “Wow,” she said, smiling at her sister. “Trenton has excellent taste.”

Mattie eased her hand out of Griffen’s grasp. “Hmmm,” she murmured. “I suppose he does.”

Griffen frowned. “When did he propose?”

“Last weekend.”

“When were you planning to tell me?”

“Over fried chicken and Goldie’s awesome gravy,” Mattie said. “I would’ve told you sooner, but I’ve been getting used to the idea. Besides, you’ve had a lot on your own plate lately.”

She had no intention of talking about her problems. “Have you set a date?”
 

“Fourth of July.”
 

Griffen tried not to look so surprised, but couldn’t help herself. “That’s barely three months away. That ring doesn’t exactly scream elopement, Matt. It’s a few hundred guests, frilly veil and a four tiered wedding cake kind of ring.”

“I know.” Mattie sounded worried. “I don’t want a big wedding, Griff. I’d be happy running off to Vegas.”

“But...”

“I’ve been married before. I don’t think a big wedding is appropriate.”

“Bullshit,” Griffen said and stood. She snagged her iPad from the cushion, then went to sit on the floor next to the stacks of records. “You can have any kind of wedding you want. And if you really want to run off to Vegas, then do it.”

“Trenton has partners and important clients of the law firm that he wants to impress.”

“Did he say that?”

“No, but I know he does. Appearances are important to him.”

And they weren’t to her sister. Her gaze slid to the old lantern still on the counter. Mattie Elizabeth Hart Grayson, the high school economics teacher who wanted nothing more out of life than to marry her high school sweetheart and raise a house full of his babies. Mattie preferred simple and elegant, not over-the-top and showy.

“We can talk wedding plans later. How’s Austin holding up?” Mattie asked. “He seemed a little quieter than usual this afternoon.”

Griffen sighed, her heart hurting all over again. “He needs time to deal.” Austin had been disappointed when she’d returned from Maitland's ridiculously expensive lake house in Possum Kingdom five days ago. The dejection in her son’s eyes had just about torn her heart to shreds. She’d hated telling him, but he’d needed to know Maitland wasn’t interested in playing daddy, no matter how painful.

“That’s pretty much how he’s been all week.” Leaning back on her hands, the tablet forgotten on her lap, Griffen let out a long breath. “He was so upset Maitland didn’t want anything to do with him. I think I could kill that lousy bastard.”

Mattie leaned forward, resting her forearms over her knees. “Why did you tell him? Do you think he might have been better off not knowing at all?”

“I know he would’ve been.” Of course her son would’ve been better off not being rejected by another man in his life. But she also believed she’d done what her sister had wanted her to do, even if Dani’s wishes hadn’t coincided with her own.
 

“It’s what Dani wanted.” And that’s all she was going to say on the subject. She had done the right thing, and now her son had been hurt. Maitland was morally compromised and a jerk. What did he know about the feelings of a young boy? She could have kept quiet about the entire situation, but, no, morally
un
compromising as she was, she’d been honest. For once she should have done what her heart told her and kept the identity of Austin’s father to herself.

“Hey, I remember this.” Mattie stood and pulled the old lantern from the counter. She lifted it toward the light, a grin tugging the corners of her mouth. “You’re not selling this are you?”

“No.” She entered a few more names into the inventory program on her tablet. “Looks like it wasn’t a magic lamp after all. None of our wishes came true.”

Mattie picked up the dust cloth and wiped at the relic. “Maybe we just weren’t specific enough.”

“I wanted to be successful, remember?”

Mattie set the lamp on the low table near the sofa. “You are successful.”

Griffen stared at her sister in astonishment. “Look around you, Matt. I’m losing my business. One step ahead of bankruptcy doesn’t exactly scream success.”

Mattie crouched on the floor in front of her, a conspiratorial light in her eyes. “I don’t buy that. You can still turn this around.”

“And I’m sure you’re going to tell me how. What pearls of wisdom do you have for pulling a miracle out of this mess Ross left me?”

“You don’t have to sell out. Dad can loan—”

“No.” Griffen stood, stepping around the records and her sister. She dragged her hands through her hair. “I won’t do that. It’s my problem and I’ll handle it.”

Frustration lit her sister’s eyes. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

Griffen glared back at Mattie. She wasn’t being stubborn, she was being responsible. There was Austin to think of, and his future. She wouldn’t allow her son to go without just so she could follow through on some silly dream to own her own business. As much as she hated losing Antiquities, she was being practical, as usual.

Mattie crossed the room to stand in front of her. Compassion, understanding and love chased across her sister’s features. “I just hate to see you lose your dreams,” she said in a low voice. “I lost mine once. I know what that’s like.”

Griffen blinked back an unexpected rush of tears. She took her sister’s hand and squeezed. “A failed business doesn’t even compare to losing your husband, Matt.”

Mattie's smoky lashes swept closed and she pulled in a deep breath. When she opened them, she offered a shaky grin. “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “Goldie’s fried chicken and gravy is waiting. I feel the need to celebrate my engagement with carbs.”

“I can’t,” Griffen answered regretfully. She ducked behind the counter, pulling out the gift box with the Royal Albert tea service. “Here. Take it.”

“You sure? I know you need the money.”

“Not that much,” Griffen lied. “Consider it an engagement present.”

Mattie took the box. “Thank you,” she said. “Come on. Come with me, Griff. You need to eat.”

“I’ll pass. I’ve got tons to do here before tomorrow. Austin is staying with Dad so I can work late.”

“All work and no play will make you a very boring girl.”

Shaking her head, she ushered her sister out the door. “Say hi to Goldie for me,” she said, then flipped the sign to Closed. She’d had enough excitement the past few months to last her a lifetime. Boring was just fine by her.

*

After spending two nights in small towns that held little nightlife other than local taverns, Jed still hadn’t decided where he was headed. All he knew was the freedom felt amazing and he was in no hurry to return to the vultures waiting to peck over his remains. So far, no one had recognized him. He’d even enjoyed a few games of eight ball with the locals in the last town. He could get used to this. Maybe he should become a drifter, just float from one town to the next, take in the sights, the atmosphere and just enjoy the hell out of life for a change. No pressures, no worries, surviving on his wits rather than his name.

But by Friday afternoon, his wits had deserted him when he steered his SUV off the highway to the secondary road that would take him to Hart, Texas. Maybe it was a morbid sense of curiosity or something more he wasn’t quite ready to face, but as he neared the main drag of the charming little town, answers still evaded him.
 

He pulled up to the stop sign in the center of town. A group of boys ran across the street, backpacks and book bags bouncing as they darted across the street into a place called Goldie’s. They looked to be around twelve or thirteen. Perhaps Austin was one of them. Not that he cared. Mere curiosity, nothing more.

He continued to cruise down Main Street, then flipped-a-bitch at the edge of town to circle back. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and his stomach had started growling thirty miles ago.

He parked in front of the diner and killed the engine. A warm wind blew in from the west as he left the Escalade, signaling the heat of summer would be arriving much sooner than the calendar dictated. Green still covered the countryside, but it wouldn’t be much longer before the blazing heat of the Texas sun would burn nearly everything it touched, turning the landscape varying shades of brown. Local ranchers would gather in town diners, complaining about the low return on beef and rising operation costs in general. School would let out for summer break and the local hot spot would make a mint from video arcades and soda sales.
 

The small town of Hart wasn't much different than the swampy, southern town where he’d been raised by his grandparents. A part of him missed those days, he realized with a pang of longing. Back then, no one had expected anything from him, other than a decent report card and a somewhat clean bedroom.

He gaze wandered over the sleepy little town. A tavern sat on the corner, a neon beer sign flashing in the window. He stood by the front of the Escalade, staring at the entrance to The Hangout, thinking the taste of scotch could soothe his appetite just as well as anything on Goldie’s menu.
 

Deciding he’d be better off with a solid meal rather than a liquid one, he crossed the sidewalk and stepped into the diner. This late in the afternoon, only a few patrons occupied the booths, one with the group of boys he’d spotted earlier. Their raucous laughter filled the restaurant, competing with the Carrie Underwood tune playing on the jukebox in the corner.

He took a seat at the counter and reached for the red plastic menu. The fare was classic diner—burgers, fries and a variety of deep fried dinners with enough cholesterol to clog the arteries of an elephant. An insert boasted a fish platter as the Friday special.

“What’ll it be?”
 

Jed looked up and grinned at the silver-haired waitress with Goldie embroidered on her more-gray-than-blue uniform. “How’s the special?”

She pulled a pencil from behind her ear and looked at him over the rim of her bifocals. “Good. Everything we have is good.” She didn’t bother to return his grin.

“I’ll try my luck with the special.”

“Coffee with that?”

“Sweet tea.” He gave her another grin. “And a piece of that peach cobbler you’ve got cooling over there for desert.”

She grinned then, the lines in her face deepening. “Got yourself a good nose.” She reached behind the counter and set a glass filled with ice in front of him.

“My grandmother used to feed it to me when I brought home A’s,” he said, pouring on the Maitland charm. He wasn’t above bribery when it came to peach cobbler, especially one that smelled as good as the one cooling behind the counter.
 

She poured the tea from a pitcher, then spun away, hanging the ticket with his order on a metal ring. “Buck! Order!”
 

She returned with clean silverware. “Don’t look the type to bring home too many of them A’s, if you ask me.”

He leaned back when she set silverware in front of him. “I managed my fair share.”

Goldie grunted, only he wasn’t sure if it was from disbelief or approval. She turned her attention to the booth filled with boys, lowered her bifocals to the edge of her nose and had more than a hint of stern lecture creeping into her hazel eyes.
 

As he waited for Buck to dish up the daily special, he listened to Brad Paisley on the jukebox and just enjoyed the relative peace of the place. Maybe he
should
retire, he thought. Return to his hometown, back to the house his grandfather had left him when he’d passed away. He still had a degree in history he’d managed to earn from Ole Miss, and enough money to last him ten lifetimes. Maybe he should disappear into the state school system. His grin turned caustic. Bet that would tick off the vultures.