Sinful (21 page)

“H
OW DO YOU
think it’s going?” Eve asked Leah as she surveyed the three hundred or so people who’d shown up for the First Annual Safe Haven Barbecue and Dance. She had to speak loudly because the country band was playing the Cotton-Eyed Joe, and everyone on the dance floor set up on the lawn was yelling “Bullshit!” at intervals during the song.

Leah finished clearing one of the many tables covered with a red-checked cloth, adjusted a chair in the grass, and perused the bustle on the immense front lawn at Kingdom Come, where an entire spitted beef was being turned over a fire. “Good music. Good food. Good drinks. Open wallets. What’s not to like?”

“The glares shooting between Grayhawks and Flynns,” Eve said as she glanced from the table where her father had set up camp with Matt and his son, to the table where Connor’s father was surrounded by his sons and Matt’s daughter. “Why on earth would the Flynns show up at an event being held at Daddy’s ranch?”

“That’s Aiden’s doing,” Leah said. “I have it straight from the horse’s mouth—excuse the expression—that ‘Connor is doing important work that needs to be supported.’ Aiden made sure that everyone from Angus
on down showed up today and made a significant financial contribution.”

“I’m glad Devon showed up with Pippa, so Matt can see that she’s all right,” Eve said.

“On the other hand, Pippa hasn’t spoken to her father. There’s more going on there than meets the eye,” Leah said speculatively.

“You might be right,” Eve said. Leah was definitely right, but as far as Eve was concerned, Pippa’s secret was hers to keep for as long as she could.

Leah crossed to a convenient trash can, but before she could dump the paper plates and beer bottles she’d collected a waitress took them from her, smiled, and said, “I’ll take care of those for you, ma’am.”

Eve’s attention was distracted by the sight of Matt headed for the table where Pippa sat beside Devon. Eve dropped all the paper plates and beer bottles she’d collected into the appropriate cans and moved swiftly toward the confrontation she was afraid was about to happen. Matt wouldn’t dare create a scene. Not in front of all the benefactors they’d managed to get here today. But even as she approached the table where Devon and Pippa were seated, Matt’s voice got louder and harsher.

“You have no right to keep Pippa at some remote ranch in the mountains, especially with that wolf you keep for a pet in the house at night,” Matt said. “She needs—”

He cut himself off, and Eve realized that he’d almost blurted that Pippa needed to be making regular visits to her obstetrician.

Pippa’s face had bleached white, and she’d instinctively put a protective hand over her belly, where
her baby was growing. Eve wondered if anyone except her knew what the gesture meant.

“Please, Daddy,” she said as she looked up at him. “I’m where I want to be.”

Matt lowered his voice, but his tone was even more stringent. “Come home, Pippa. You need to be with your family.”

“She is with family,” Devon said in a quiet voice. “Sit down and stop making an ass of yourself. Pippa’s old enough to decide what she wants to do with her life.”

Eve was astonished at Devon’s defiant response. She watched Matt’s eyes narrow as Devon laid a protective hand on Pippa’s shoulder.

“Get your hands off of her,” Matt snarled.

Devon’s hand fell away as he rose to face Matt. “I only—”

Matt took a swing before Devon could finish his protest. To Eve’s amazement, Devon dodged sideways, and Matt’s fist never touched him. Matt was gathering himself for another swing when King arrived at the table and said, “That’s enough.”

Matt turned to King, his eyes tortured, his voice rough as gravel, and said, “Butt out, old man! You’ve done enough damage to my life, don’t you think? This is none of your business.”

Eve searched for Connor, who’d been having a beer with several of the veterans from Safe Haven. As though she’d summoned him, he suddenly appeared at her side.

“What seems to be the problem, Matt?” Connor asked.

“Nothing that concerns you,” Matt snapped, his
eyes darting from Connor to King to Devon and back again like a baited bear.

“You’re disturbing my guests,” Connor replied in an even voice. “Folks are here to enjoy some barbecue and beer, so let’s skip the fracas. You can settle this another time.”

“Please, Daddy,” Pippa said.

It was Pippa’s heartbreaking plea that made the difference. Eve watched Matt pull in his claws and saw his neck hairs unhackle, like a wildcat when the danger is past.

“Fine,” Matt said through clenched jaws. He turned to Devon and added, “But if I find out you’ve touched so much as a hair on my daughter’s head—”

“They’re related, for Christ’s sake!” Connor said.

Matt looked straight at Connor and said, “No. They’re not.”

Brian was out of his seat. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Angus kept his eyes on his hands, which were picking at the label on his ice-cold beer.

“Figure it out for yourselves,” Matt said. Then he turned and stalked away, King following after him.

“Dad?” Devon said. “What is he talking about?”

“He’s making trouble where it doesn’t exist,” Angus replied. But he never raised his gaze from his bottle of beer.

Eve was spellbound by what Matt had suggested. Devon wasn’t related to the rest of his family? She remembered how she’d noticed he was the only one of the Flynn boys who looked the least bit different from the others. Was that because another man besides Angus was his father?

Eve had another thought. Maybe the reason Angus Flynn had never remarried wasn’t because he could never love another woman as much as he’d loved Connor’s mother, but because he’d been betrayed by the woman he loved most, who then died bearing another man’s child.

The shock of Matt’s announcement still hadn’t left Devon’s face, or that of his brothers, when Leah arrived at Eve’s side and said, “It’s time you stopped playing peacemaker and started enjoying the party.”

She took the beer out of Connor’s hand, set Eve’s hand in its place, and said, “Dance with your wife.”

Connor seemed willing to comply, but he paused long enough to say to Devon, “We’ll talk about this later.”

“No,” Devon said. “We won’t. As far as I’m concerned the subject is closed. Would you like some more barbecue, Pippa?”

“Yes, I would,” she said in a surprisingly calm voice. “But I can get it myself.”

Connor opened his mouth to continue the conversation, but Eve tugged on his hand and said, “I’d love to dance.”

Connor shot one last glance at Devon, whose face revealed nothing of the turmoil he must be feeling, then smiled at Eve and said, “Come with me, Mrs. Flynn.”

Eve mouthed “Thank you!” over her shoulder at Leah, then followed Connor onto the dance floor. He set his arm around her waist and took her hand as they danced to the “Tennessee Waltz.”

“I can’t believe we’ve been married for six weeks, and we’re just now having our first dance,” Eve said. “You’re pretty good, by the way.”

“Molly always said…” He paused, then looked into her eyes without apology and finished, “I was light on my feet.”

“She mentioned that to me,” Eve said, acknowledging that memories of Molly would arise from time to time and would always be a part of their lives. “I have to agree,” she added with a laugh as he twirled her under his arm.

When the song ended, Eve realized that Leah and Aiden were standing together at the microphone in the center of the stage where the band was set up.

“Ladies and gents,” Aiden said. “I want to introduce my brother, Connor Flynn, who started Safe Haven, which is the reason we’re here today. Connor, come on up here.”

Over the applause from the gathered guests, Eve said, “Did you know he was going to ask you to speak?”

Connor nodded. He took her hand and helped her onto the stage, which was a step up from the dance floor.

“My wife and I want to thank all of you for coming here and supporting the veterans who find refuge at Safe Haven,” Connor said, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Now have a good time. Drink, dance, and eat lots of barbecue!”

The guests clapped and shouted their support.

Leah took the microphone from Connor and said, “You might have heard that my sister and Aiden’s brother recently married. They haven’t been properly feted, so this barbecue has just become a wedding reception for Mr. and Mrs. Connor Flynn.”

“Eve, welcome to the family,” Aiden said, kissing her cheek.

“Connor, welcome to the family,” Leah said, kissing his cheek.

Eve was struck dumb. Dozens of colorful balloons were suddenly released into the air. Frank showed up at the edge of the stage with Brooke and Sawyer in tow. Brooke was wearing a frilly party dress and Sawyer had on a tiny western suit. Taylor and Victoria pushed a cart onto the dance floor that held a three-tiered wedding cake.

“Did you have any idea they were going to do this?” Eve asked Connor.

He shook his head. He turned to Aiden and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Exactly what Leah said: a wedding reception. You may have noticed that I managed to get Dad here. Leah made sure King showed up when it looked like he might skip the whole thing. Against all odds, we got both families together in the same place.” Aiden shot him a crooked grin. “Of course, with the exception of Leah and myself, none of them are speaking to each other, but you can’t have everything.”

Connor laughed. Then he turned and gave Eve a hard hug. “What do you say, sweetheart? Shall we go cut the cake?”

Eve took his hand as they left the stage and joined her sisters on the dance floor, where the cake had ended up.

Taylor handed Eve a knife and said, “Go to it!” while Victoria grinned and said, “Let them eat cake!”

To Eve’s surprise a photographer showed up and said, “I’m ready whenever you are.” Eve felt tears of gratitude fill her eyes as she met Leah’s gaze. Her simple wedding had been lovely, but it would be equally
lovely to have pictures of today’s events to savor in the days to come.

She waited for Connor to place his hand over hers as they cut the cake. Then she took a large chunk of the vanilla cake with lemon crème frosting—trust Leah to make it her favorite—and stuffed it into Connor’s mouth. It ended up being smeared around his face, and Eve was happy to kiss the sweet stuff away, all of the fun captured by photographs they could enjoy forever after.

Eve watched their two fathers, hoping that they would come over to congratulate them, but neither man moved. As Connor’s brothers approached, Eve’s sisters left, as though by some prearranged agreement to avoid conflict between them, and Connor’s brothers were suddenly slapping him on the back.

As Eve watched her sisters disappear back into the crowd, she felt a welling of gratitude for what Leah and Aiden had been able to accomplish. For this day, at least, both families had come together in a common cause, and despite the nasty scene between Matt and Devon—and Matt’s astonishing revelation—had stayed to celebrate a marriage between Grayhawk and Flynn. Separately, it was true. And neither parent had offered congratulations and best wishes. But it was a first step. A baby step. And who knew what the future might bring?

“Happy?” Connor whispered in her ear.

“Deliriously.”

He turned her in his arms and said, “I love you, Eve.”

Two small bodies slammed into Eve’s and Connor’s legs.

“Mommy! Daddy! Can we have some cake?” Brooke asked.

Eve tipped Brooke’s chin up. “You look beautiful, young lady.”

Brooke beamed.

“Do I look beautiful?” Sawyer asked.

“You look as handsome as your father,” Eve said.

“Can I have cake, too?” Sawyer asked.

Eve laughed. “Yes, to both of you.”

As they raced off to rejoin Leah, who was cutting pieces of cake for everyone, Eve turned her gaze back to Connor and said, “In case you were in any doubt, I love you, too.”

Connor smiled. “Glad to know we’re both equally crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Only two fools in love could believe that a marriage between a Grayhawk and a Flynn would ever work.”

Eve laughed. She threaded her fingers with his. “As one crazy fool to another, I’m glad to be in love with you.”

Connor kissed her hand, then pulled her into his arms. His voice was low and fierce as he said, “Now that I’ve got you, no matter how many flare-ups and fights there are between our two families, I’m never letting you go.”

Eve slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his beating heart. “Someday, somehow, peace will come. Until it does, I’m yours, today, tomorrow, and always.”

Eve turned her face up and kissed her husband.

Letter to Readers

Dear Faithful Reader,

I hope you enjoyed
Sinful
, the first in my King’s Brats series of Bitter Creek novels. Watch for
Shameless
, Pippa and Devon’s story, coming soon, followed by
Surrender
.

If you would like to learn more about veterans working with wild mustangs, check out the Mustang Mentor Program, which works through the Mustang Heritage Foundation. Veterans choose a Bureau of Land Management wild horse, untouched by humans, and transform it into a gentle, adoptable animal in only one hundred days (
www.mustangheritagefoundation.org
).

To learn more about how to protect America’s wild mustangs, check out Protect Mustangs.org (
http://protectmustangs.org
); Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Preservation and Sanctuary (
www.returntofreedom.org
), and Wild Horse Education (
http://wildhorseeducation.org
). You might also enjoy the inspiring documentary movie
The American Mustang: The Movie
.

More than forty of my novels are now available as eBooks. Those of you waiting for
Blackthorne’s Bride
, the final book in my Mail-Order Bride series, can stay updated by joining my website mailing list at
www.joanjohnston.com
, liking me at
Facebook.com/joanjohnstonauthor
, or tweeting me at
www.twitter.com/joanjohnston
.

Joan Johnston