Pushing the Boundaries (Picking up the Pieces #3) (15 page)

“That’s right, Mr. Devareau. I opened my salon a few years ago.”

“And you didn’t want to do anything else with your life? I mean, not that a nail technician isn’t a…respectful career,” he said, clearly meaning he didn’t find it in the least bit respectful. “But you never wanted to do something more lucrative?”

“Dad,” Trevor growled in warning. But once again, Nana was on the case.

“She’s quite successful, I’ll have you know. She has clients from all the major surrounding cities. Her salon’s been written up in the Houston Chronicle and she’s currently booked up from now to the start of the New Year.”

I loved my Nana something fierce. She’d go toe to toe with anyone who dared to cross her family. And God help the person she directed her anger toward.

Carlisle said nothing else as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and dropped it on his plate as if he were in a restaurant as opposed to his son’s house, like he was waiting for a waiter to come scurrying from the kitchen any moment to retrieve his dirty dishes.

He ignored Nana’s comment and turned his attention back to his son. “So how’s business at the
tattoo parlor
?” He spoke the last words like it left a foul taste in his mouth. “I truly hope the people of this town can look past your outward appearance,” he said with a wave of his hand at Trevor’s ink-covered arms.

I jumped in before Trevor could get a word in edgewise. “Trevor’s shop is constantly booked solid. Your son is one of the best artists I’ve ever seen, and what he creates on people’s skin is something they’ll treasure for the rest of their lives. He’s beyond successful, and the people here in Cloverleaf love him.” I answered defensively.

Trevor’s hand reached for mine from under the table. He gave it an affectionate squeeze, causing me to look over into his smiling face.

“Please,” Coraline scoffed. “Tattoos are for criminals and trash. Good luck finding an acceptable job looking like you just stepped out of prison.”

I opened my mouth to smack the bitch down, but Carlisle was too quick. “Now, Coraline, don’t be so ill-mannered. Honestly, did you really expect much else from your brother? He’s always been the black sheep. He never did well in school. He chose the military over college. He moved to this backwoods, hick town to do tattoos as opposed to joining the family business. Then he went and married some small-town woman who owns a
beauty
shop.” With every word Carlisle spoke, my blood heated more and more until it finally boiled over. I glanced over at Trevor’s mother to see her head still down, covered by the curtain of her hair, no plans whatsoever to speak against her raging douchebag of a husband.

Trevor’s entire body tensed and I could sense he was about to speak out against his father. The rest of my family looked poised to pounce on the Devareaus, ready to rip all three a new one. But I jumped up before anyone else had a chance.

A loud screech echoed through the room as my chair scraped against the floor. I planted my palms on the table and stared the asshole right in the eyes.

“Get out,” I hissed between clenched teeth.

“Excuse me?” he asked with a shocked laugh.

“This is
our
house. That means we aren’t required to allow anyone to stay who isn’t welcome. And you and your band of stick-figure bitches are most certainly not welcome here. So get your snooty asses out of my chairs and get the hell out. I’ve had enough of you cutting my husband down in his own home. And I won’t allow it for one more goddamned second.”

“Young lady, just who in the hell do you think you are?”

I heard my Pop Pop choke on his laughter, knowing my redheaded fury was about be unleashed at its fullest. I looked around the table at my family, each of whom wore an expression of pride while looking back at me as I stood up for the man beside me.

“I’m the woman who’s married to your son. The son you’ve had the nerve to sit here and insult at his own dinner table! I’m the woman who’s officially fed the fuck up with listening to you and Stick-Figure Barbie over here,” I pointed at Coraline, “insult a man who is fifty times better than you will
ever
be. He chose to enlist and serve his country instead of sitting behind a desk all day long and line his own pockets. That makes him one of the most commendable and respectable men I’ve ever had the
honor
to know.

“These people,” I said with a wave of my hand at my family, “care about your son the way
you
should.
They
are his family.
I
am his family. You’re nothing but a sorry-ass excuse for a sperm donor, and you are no longer welcome around my husband. Now Get. Out.” By the time I was finished I was breathing heavily, my eyes narrowed on Carlisle, more than ready to go to the mat for Trevor.

“You heard the girl,” Nana chimed in. “Get gone! And may a house fall on you, too.”

“Uh, I think it’s
be
gone, Mom. Be gone, not get gone,” my mother said.

Nana waved her hand in the air. “What the hell ever. You got the point. I’m about two seconds from jumping over Lizzy to rip the stick outta this guy’s ass and beat him with it.”

The Devareaus stood from the table, Carlisle huffing and puffing the whole time. “Well, I see you’ve found someone just as low-class as yourself to be tied to for the rest of your life,” he spit out as he and his family stomped toward the front door, my entourage following closely behind.

“Damn straight I did,” Trevor answered. “And I couldn’t have found a better wife if I’d tried.” He cut a shit-eating grin at his father as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me flush to his side.

“At least he had the balls to marry a woman with a backbone. Which is more than I can say for that sorry excuse for a woman and mother you’ve got cowering behind you right now.” As soon as they crossed the threshold, I slammed and locked the door behind them, turning to see the smiling faces of my family and Trevor.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Trevor exclaimed, lifting me off the ground as he spun us around before planting a passionate, bone-melting kiss on my lips, sucking the air from my lungs.

When he finally put my feet back on the ground, I had to lean against him in order to stay up right.

When I was able to breathe normally again, I turned back to see everyone laughing at my dazed expression.

Finally Pop Pop cut in. “Who wants more pie?”

And just like that, everything went back to normal.

Taking advantage of the hot Texas weather, we all decided to head out to the lake for the day and relax after a long work week. Me and the guys loaded up coolers of beer, wine coolers for the sissy girls, sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water in the back of our trucks and took off.

When we pulled up next to Savannah and Jeremy at the lake, Lizzy jumped out and ran to Savvy. The girls took off for the water, leaving Jeremy and I to unload the trucks ourselves. Brett, Stacia and Gavin were already set up down near the shoreline, and Luke and Emmy and Ben and Mickey pulled up shortly after us. The guys and I set everything up with no help from the ladies whatsoever, and by the time I finished carrying the last cooler and unfolding the loungers, I was sweating like a whore in church.

Goddamn Texas humidity. It was suffocating most days. When you stepped outside, the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Whipping my sweat-soaked shirt off, I plopped back in a lounge chair with an ice-cold beer in my hand. The second my eyes hit the water, what I saw sucked all the air from my lungs.

Lizzy stood knee-deep in the water, her thick red curls pulled back in a messy knot at the top of her head. The only thing she was wearing was a jade-green bikini which showed off more skin than it covered. And it was the sexiest peaches and cream skin I’d ever seen in my life. Every inch of her sweet, pale complexion was absolutely flawless. The only place on her body that had any freckles was her nose; everything else was unmarred, pure perfection. And just looking at her had my dick standing at attention. I had to throw a beach towel over my lap to hide the hard-on tenting my swim trunks.

“You getting in the water?” Brett asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Uh, no. Not right now,” I answered as I discreetly tried to adjust my junk.

Brett shrugged a shoulder, turned, and bolted for the water. As soon as he got close to Lizzy, he scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder as he barreled into the water with her laughing and screaming the whole way.

The minute I saw Brett’s hands on my girl’s bare skin, I lost it. All rational thought flew out the window as red coated my vision.

Hard-on all but forgotten, I stomped to the shoreline and stood staring in their direction with my hands on my hips as they played around in the water.

“Trevor, you getting in?” Lizzy called from a couple yards away when she saw me standing there.

“You mind getting your filthy troll hands off my woman, asshole?” I shouted loud enough for everyone in the general vicinity to hear. Our friends all laughed at my outburst as an uptight mother a little ways down from us scowled and dragged her kid off, out of earshot.

“Trevor! There are children around!” Lizzy yelled as she and Brett made their way back to the shore. Brett smiled like a son of a bitch the whole way.

“Don’t give a shit. Want me to watch my mouth then that needle dick needs to keep his hands to himself.” Lizzy rolled her eyes as Brett’s head tipped back in laughter. That douche loved messing with me when it came to Lizzy.

“You’re being ridiculous,” Lizzy stated, matching my stance with her little hands propped on her curvy hips.

“And you’re hot,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. “You need to wear more clothes when we’re around other people. Like a suit of armor or something. You got one of those?”

Letting out a frustrated huff, Lizzy put her hands on my bare chest and shoved me out of the way before stomping off in the direction of the rest of our group. I stayed planted where I was and watched her as she walked away, staring at the sexy globes of her ass peeking out from her bikini bottoms as she moved. Jesus, damn it! And I was hard again.

“You know I’m just fuckin’ with you, right, man?” Brett told me, slapping me on the shoulder playfully.

“I imagine you falling down a flight of stairs and breaking every bone in your body. It makes me happy,” I said drily.

Brett just laughed again.

“Just trying to give you a shove in the right direction,” he told me, holding his hands up. “You and your girl need to get your heads outta your asses, man. Y’all are taking too long. Just thought I’d help a brother out and get the ball rolling.”

His words made me stop and think for a second. He wasn’t totally wrong. Things really needed to start progressing; if not, I was afraid my balls were going to shrivel up and fall the fuck off.

“You want to help get the ball rolling?” I asked, looking intently at Brett.

“Yeah, buddy. What do you have in mind?”

“I’ve got an idea. But I need you to keep it on the DL for a while. You think you can do that?”

“You got it. Now what’s the plan?”

As the sun lowered over the tops of the trees, we all sat in a circle near the lake, basking in the last remaining minutes of sunlight.