Trouble Maker: A MacKenzie Family Novel (The MacKenzie Family) (6 page)

Next to the sheriff’s office was a separate structure with long front steps that led up to massive columns and heavy wooden oak doors. Once upon a time, it had been the largest bank in the territory, but as towns began getting their own banks there wasn’t a need for it anymore and the space went to waste. The people of Surrender weren’t fond of change, but they also weren’t fond of tearing down historic buildings, so it was turned into a library.

Beckett was halfway across the street when he heard Hazel yell out. Pedestrian traffic in town stopped as everyone’s eyes turned toward the latest entertainment. When she called out a second time, he had no choice but to acknowledge that he’d heard her.

He turned around slowly and plastered an easygoing grin on his face. She’d followed him out into the street and stood at the opposite end so they faced each other like gunslingers.

Looking at her now, he wasn’t sure what he’d ever seen in her. She was a pretty girl—or would’ve been if bitterness and anger hadn’t etched itself permanently on her face—but she was still in her early twenties and immature with it. She was petite and trim and blonde, which had been his type for the past fifteen years. His luck with brunettes had run out the day Marnie had left town. And he could appreciate the way Hazel filled out the jeans and red sweater she wore. But looks only went so far.

“You’re a goddamned liar, Beckett Hamilton,” she yelled from down the street.

His eyebrows rose at her language and he could see crowds growing on each side of the street as customers and shop owners came outside to watch.

“Watch your language, Hazel. There might be children in earshot. Why don’t we go inside and talk about this like adults?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you, mister high and mighty Hamilton.” She dashed a tear off her cheek and then planted both fists on her hips. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks, and you just ignore me. Well, I’m tired of being ignored. I’m gonna say what I have to say, and I’m going to do it right here.”

“If that’s the way you want to do it, then get it done. You’re giving everyone their entertainment for the evening, and you’ll be lucky if your mama doesn’t wash your mouth out with soap after hearing about your language. I said what I had to say to you weeks ago. We had some good times together. Nothing more. I told you from the start I’m not ready to settle down, and I’ve got no interest in a serious relationship. So if you’ve got something to add to that then let’s get this over with. I’ve got hay to bale this afternoon and I have no intention of being the center of the town’s gossip today.”

“Too late!” someone called out from the sidewalk. There was a smattering of chuckles, and he could see Thomas and Riley standing in front of the diner, arms crossed and smiling like loons. They were going to give him hell when this was over.

“You can’t tell me we didn’t have something special,” Hazel called out. “We could’ve made a life together. I would’ve given you everything if you’d let me.” She sniffled and her empowered speech was turning into a whine. “I believed in you. You said you loved me.”

“Oh, no,” Beckett said, reaching his limit. “Those words never crossed my lips. I’m sorry that you thought you could change my mind, but I was up-front with you from the beginning. I won’t be pressured into anything.”

“I’m pregnant,” she yelled out, finding her mad again.

“Hazel, you and I both know that’s a bald-faced lie.”

“How do you know? We had sex, didn’t we? Accidents happen.” She looked entirely too smug.

“Then you head over to the doctor and bring me the results of the pregnancy test. And of course, we’ll do a paternity test as well.”

She gasped, the insult clear. “How dare you insinuate that I sleep around.”

“It’s been more than long enough for you to find someone else to try and rope and wrangle. I wasn’t born yesterday and I know how these things work. If you were pregnant you would’ve known before today and would’ve been throwing it in my face and telling anyone who would listen. You’ve got marriage on the mind and I’m not biting. And you’re only embarrassing yourself and your family by doing this. So if you want to play out this farce, go get your test done and come back and see me.”

If looks could kill he’d already be six feet under. “I’m glad you’ve shown your true colors before I was saddled for a lifetime with you.”

“There you go. Always look on the bright side.”

She turned sharply on her heel and marched toward her car. Beckett sighed and ignored the curious stares of onlookers as he made his way toward Riley and Thomas.

“Shut up,” he said before either of them could open their mouths to speak.

“Hey, man,” Riley said, holding up his hands. “We’re innocent. Don’t take it out on us. Thomas will buy your lunch and make you feel better.”

The diner was a throwback to another era. The floor was black-and-white squares of linoleum. The counter was long, and a freshly baked pie sat in a glass dome at the end. Red vinyl barstools sat like soldiers in front of the counter. Booths lined the perimeter of the diner and the seats were covered in the same red vinyl.

Gladys Dubois and her husband Milt had opened the diner just after their marriage more than fifty years before. Gladys had been seventeen at the time and Milt closer to thirty, and they figured if people were going to gossip about them anyway then they might as well give them a place to do it. Gladys had the disposition of a drill sergeant with hemorrhoids, and she still worked the front counter and waited tables. Her hair was flame red and added at least an extra foot to her height, and her lipstick bled into the wrinkles around her mouth.

Milt had worked the grill back in the kitchen, but he’d passed on about a decade before, so Gladys had hired Snoopy Gaines to flip hamburger patties and his wife Cori to handle the rest of the menu. Business had gone up a lot since Cori started working her magic in the kitchen. No one could make better fried chicken anywhere in the state.

“You’ve sure gotten yourself in a pickle, Beckett Hamilton,” Gladys said from behind the counter. She was working a crossword puzzle and dividing her attention between that and the soap opera on the TV in the corner.

“No, ma’am,” he said back, wishing once again he would’ve listened to his father and just stayed home. “I think I got my point across.”

She cackled and slapped her bony hand on the counter. “Boy, you don’t know nothin’ about women. You mark my words, she’s not ready to give up yet. I guarantee she had the wedding reception booked and a dress picked out. A woman doesn’t go to that much trouble to quit after being rejected.”

“She can book whatever she wants as long as she understands she’ll have to knock me unconscious to get me to the church. Besides, in another month we’re going to be right in the thick of calving season. Out of sight, out of mind. She’ll forget all about me and find some other poor single sap.”

Gladys shook her head. “I never realized you were so dumb. Good thing she’s lying about that pregnancy. Oldest trick in the book. Between the two of you that baby wouldn’t have had a prayer.”

“Thank you, Gladys. I appreciate that. But there are plenty of single men left in Surrender.”

“Honey, when you get to be my age everyone is either dead or everything droops so low they’re not worth looking at without their clothes on.” She turned her attention to Riley and Thomas. “You tell that cousin of yours to come see me and I’ll give him some fried chicken on the house. Not a woman in this town would turn that man away from her bed, even without a leg. I could show him a thing or two.”

“We’ll let him know,” Thomas said, the look on his face somewhere between amusement and horror.

They made their way to a corner booth and Thomas and Riley stopped along the way to say hi to Danny Patterson and Lane Greyson, two of the deputies that worked for their brother Cooper.

Beckett slid in so his back was to the wall and checked his phone. It had been buzzing constantly since his little showdown with Hazel. He winced at the thought. He hated being the center of anyone’s attention, not to mention the fact that he didn’t like airing his dirty laundry. He’d always been private and discreet when it came to his relationships.

The diner was filling up fast, and heads turned and looked his way before going about their business. A couple walked in that immediately caught Beckett’s attention. The man was tall and built like a truck. His blond hair was cut close to the scalp and he looked military. And dangerous. The woman with him was young and pretty and so city she might as well have been wearing a sign on her back. She had the body of a pinup, and her hair was long and black. Every eye in the place moved from looking at him to them. Thank God.

Thomas groaned and looked at the military guy. “Dammit, Devon, why can’t I get rid of you? You’re everywhere I turn.”

“I guess I’m just your cross to bear. That’s what you get for marrying my sister.”

“Which should tell you how much I love that woman. When are you leaving again?”

“Kylie and I are on our way out, and we’ll be out of your hair. But don’t worry. I’ll be back for Christmas.”

“Good. I was worried you wouldn’t make it,” Thomas said dryly.

Devon grinned and then the two men shook hands.

“Y’all have a safe trip,” Thomas said, and then he and Riley slid into the booth across from Beckett.

“My brother-in-law,” Thomas said by way of explanation. “He’s a new fixture in our lives and takes a little getting used to.”

“Hell, he’s the least of our problems,” Riley said. “I’m more concerned about what Gladys is planning on teaching Shane. I can’t decide whether to tell him to keep hiding in his house or convince him to come out just so I can watch Gladys put the moves on him.” He shuddered and then lowered his voice to a whisper. “And I hate to admit it, but as soon as she said what she did I imagined her naked with Shane strapped to her bed. I’m going to have to go to therapy to erase that one.”

Thomas laughed out loud and Beckett grinned at the thought of Riley laid out on a couch trying to describe that little fantasy.

Shane MacKenzie had been a Navy SEAL commander, but he’d been on leave and back home at the MacKenzie compound when an enemy had shown up on their doorstep, endangering the whole family. Shane had managed to save his sister-in-law, but the explosion had taken one of his legs and badly damaged the other. It was fortunate Thomas, who was a doctor, had been close by, otherwise Shane probably would’ve died.

It was something none of the MacKenzies liked to talk about because they all felt helpless when it came to Shane. He’d gone from a decorated soldier who’d commanded others to losing his leg and career in one fell swoop. He wasn’t adjusting well. And they were all concerned for him.

“You’re sick, man,” Thomas said. “And that’s saying something. Because now it’s in my head and I blame you. I’m going to punch you later as compensation for the trauma.”

“You haven’t been able to punch me since you were fifteen.”

“That’s not true. I got in a doozy a couple of Christmases ago. You just didn’t notice because you were on the bottom of the dog pile.”

“That was you?” Riley asked, his eyes narrowed. “I had a black eye for almost two weeks.”

“It’s nice to see some things never change,” Beckett said. “Though I’m surprised your wives let you get away with stuff like that anymore. Y’all have kids.”

“Hell, are you kidding?” Riley asked. “They’re the ones betting money on it. Aunt Mary usually ends it by turning the hose on everyone.”

“If you think Aunt Mary’s bad, what do you think
your
mother is going to do when she hears about this stunt Hazel tried to pull?” Thomas asked.

As if by some magical mother’s intuition, Beckett’s cell phone started to buzz on the table. He let it ring.

“I almost feel sorry for Hazel,” Riley said. “You know how bad Judy’s been wanting a grandchild. She even offered to be an honorary grandmother to our kids since you won’t do your duty. Your mama’s got a vicious streak. She’ll probably let the air out of Hazel’s tires for giving her false hope.”

“Are you kidding?” Beckett said. “She’s been jumping for joy ever since we stopped seeing each other. It’s been almost two months and Mom still gives me a thumbs up whenever she sees me.” Beckett shook his head and they took a break to order their drinks and food. The waitress was one he’d never seen before, but she didn’t seem to mind Gladys’s gruffness. She seemed very efficient, though it was hard to miss the baby bump growing under her apron.

He waited until their drinks were served before finishing the story. “I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Hazel stopped by the house one day while Mom was there. Then Hazel proceeded to tell her how precious she looked and that she really carried off the look well despite her age.”

Riley and Thomas gave identical dumbfounded looks and Beckett grinned at the memory. “If Mom had been holding a butcher knife you’d have gotten a phone call to come help me hide the body. I’ve never seen her so mad.”

“Is that why you broke up?” Thomas asked.

“No, I broke up with her because she’s never read a book. Or watched anything other than reality TV. I don’t know who the Kardashians are. I don’t know why she kept talking about them or why I should care. I’m sure she’ll make someone a fine wife someday. Thank Christ it isn’t going to be me.”

“She’ll figure it out soon enough,” Thomas said, shrugging the matter off. “I’m more interested to hear what your thoughts are on the newest business moving into town. Have you seen her yet?”

“What business? Seen who?”

Riley’s eyebrows almost went to his hairline in surprise. He slapped Thomas on the shoulder and grinned wide. “I can’t believe you haven’t heard. Judy is losing her touch.”

“I haven’t seen my mother in almost a week. I’ve been neck deep in pregnant cows, vaccines, and broken balers. What the hell are you talking about?”

“The little photography studio moving in next door to the sheriff’s office. Where that fancy cake decorating place was that tried to put the bakery out of business. Didn’t last two months with their high prices and snooty cakes.”