Authors: Lorelei James
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Adult, #Western, #Red Hots!, #Contemporary Romance
All Jacked Up (11 page)
Keely’s stomach clenched. “Why?”
“It doesn’t exactly seem to be a love match, and when you’re together…”
“Mom. You haven’t seen us together except the one time we told you we were engaged.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Maybe that’s why I’m concerned.”
Damn. Redirect. “We’re both busy. He’s been gone—”
“That’s another thing that worries me. I’m selfish enough to want you to live here with the rest of our family, but I’m enough of a realist to understand that might not be possible with Jack’s job. He’ll be your husband. You’ll need to be with him, wherever that is, and I doubt that’ll be in Wyoming.”
How was Keely supposed to allay her mother’s fears when they were groundless? “My clinic is here.
My life is here. My family is here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“As much as it pleases me to hear that, promise me you won’t marry Jack if you’re not absolutely sure he’s the right one.”
Keely frowned. “Why do you say that?”
Her mother brushed the hair from Keely’s cheek. “Because contrary to popular opinion in our family, you are
not
impulsive. This engagement blindsided everyone. I recognize the wild look in your eyes, Keely.
I wore that same fearful look when I became engaged to your father. Since you were a little girl I’ve worried you’d never find a man who’d measure up to the pedestal you’ve placed your brothers and your father on.”
“You don’t think Jack measures up?”
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“Sweetie, you oughta be asking yourself that question, not me.”
A knock sounded and a second later her dad stuck his head in. “People are startin’ to arrive, Caro.
Who’s on meet and greet detail?”
“AJ and Channing.”
“Have any idea where they are?”
“No. Hang on, I’ll be right there.”
He nodded and closed the door.
“Snoopy damn man,” her mother muttered. “Last thing, I promise. Hold out your arm.” A silver bracelet dangled from her fingertips. She wrapped it around Keely’s wrist and fastened it. “My mother gave this to me when I became engaged to your dad and now I’m passing it on to you.”
Between each crystal bead was a steel link giving the bracelet a strength that belied the delicate look.
Keely’s eyes swam with tears. Her throat tightened. “Oh, Mama, thank you. It’s beautiful.”
“So are you. You’re welcome. I hope it brings you good luck.” She kissed Keely’s forehead. “I love you, girlie. Be happy with Jack. If that means you’ll be living with him in Denver or the Congo, so be it.
Happiness in your
own
life is all I’ve ever wanted for you.” Her mother shuffled out.
Confused by the myriad of emotions, Keely hid in the office for another ten minutes. When she’d stalled long enough, she ventured out. She and Jack entered the main room at the same time.
Oh. My. Freakin’. God. Talk about being on a pedestal. No, the man was in a class by his handsome self. He wore a black suit that looked casual but the cut and fabric screamed expensive. No tie. He’d left the last button on his pristine white shirt undone, exposing the thick column of his throat. Keely had the uncontrollable urge to run to him, press her lips to the vulnerable spot above his collarbone and taste his skin.
But Jack didn’t flash her the smile that turned her knees wobbly. He scowled at her. Scowled. At her.
At her own damn engagement party.
Jerk.
Indifferent to their audience, Keely strolled across the room acting like she couldn’t give a crap he’d finally shown up. Which would tick him off.
Still, his heated eyes never left hers.
She latched onto his lapels, using them to draw herself to her tiptoes. “Perfect suit for a funeral, GQ.”
She smashed her mouth to his for a brief, hard kiss.
Jack’s hands circled her upper arms. He appeared to be hauling her closer, when in actuality, he was pushing her back. “You determined to piss me off first thing?”
“Yep. Is it working?”
“You have no idea how much.”
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“Oh joy, my life is complete.” She spoke against his throat. “If you would’ve pulled a no-show, I would’ve tracked you down and castrated you, Jack-
off
.”
“Big talk.”
“How so?”
“I guarantee if you ever put your hands on my junk again, chopping it off will be the last thing on your mind, buttercup.”
She snorted. “Cocky much?”
“Only when it’s warranted.” Jack kissed her temple and nuzzled his face against her head. “Don’t fucking push me, Keely, I’m not in the mood.”
“Aw. And I so give a flying fuck what kind of bad day you’ve had when I’ve been here alone for the last three goddamn days, fielding questions about our supposed relationship.”
“For Christsake, it wasn’t like I was on vacation. I’ve been in Iowa. In cornfield hell.”
“Did you say you got cornholed in Iowa?”
Jack actually growled.
She grinned. Keely one; Jack zero.
Anyone who watched them would see lovers embracing in a private moment. Not the nip Keely placed on his jaw or the answering bite he gave the top of her ear. She sucked in a harsh breath at the sharp pain. “Bastard.”
“Did you miss me?”
“Like I’d miss an oozing canker sore.”
Jack laughed and released her. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to track down my mother.” He pivoted on his dress shoe and sauntered to the kitchen.
Damn frustrating man. She headed the opposite direction even when she wanted to follow him to see what he was up to.
The second Jack disappeared from Keely’s line of vision he closed his eyes and collapsed against the wall. Pulse racing, cock hard, mouth dry.
Dammit. That smart-mouthed cowgirl would be the death of him yet. Jesus. Did she have to look so goddamn fantastic? One look at Keely’s sinfully curvy body in that skintight porn-star-meets-country-girl dress, and any objectivity sailed right out of his lust-addled brain. He couldn’t think beyond stopping her insults with his mouth. His lips. His teeth. His tongue.
Get control for fuck’s sake.
“Got a minute, Donohue?”
Startled, Jack’s eyes opened. How had Cord McKay snuck up on him so fast?
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Lorelei James
You were stuck in a fantasy featuring your sexy fiancée, a woman who’d rather spit on you than swap
spit with you.
“Sure, Cord. Glad you could make it to the party.”
The man planted himself in front of Jack, arms crossed, menace in his posture. “Here’s where I’m comin’ from. If you do a single damn thing to hurt her, I will gut you.”
Jack waited, expecting Cord to grin and say, “Just kiddin’, man, welcome to the family.”
But Cord’s fiery blue eyes, identical to Keely’s, refused to break contact. “Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Cord walked past without another word. But slow enough that Jack glimpsed the knife case attached to Cord’s belt.
This was going to be one goddamn long night.
For the next hour, while friends and family mingled, Jack and Keely stayed as far away from each other as possible. No one noticed, and for the first time Jack was grateful for Keely’s large family.
But he watched her. Constantly. She had a dark-haired, dark-eyed baby girl cocked on her hip as she talked to her cousin Chassie. Two men—Chassie’s husbands—approached, and each kissed Keely’s cheek.
Trevor plucked the grinning baby girl from Keely’s arms while Edgard rubbed Chassie’s belly and murmured to her. A blond boy streaked through their circle before rejoining the roving gang of kids—which looked to be about twenty strong.
More family members joined the group and Jack tried to place them all.
Why? It’s not like it matters if you know their names. This is a charade, remember?
He listened to two older women speculating on how wild Keely’s bachelorette party would be. He refilled his cup for the third time, wishing someone had spiked the punch.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Jack slowly turned around. Great. McKay number two.
“Colby. Nice to see you.”
Colby grunted. He looked around and leaned in. “Consider this your one and only warnin’, Donohue.
You ever hurt her, I’ll gut you.”
Jesus. “So noted.”
“Just wanted to be up front.”
“I appreciate it.”
Without another word, Colby strolled back to his sweet-looking wife and rowdy kids.
Jack indulged in small talk with a couple of ranchers who’d worked with the McKays for years. But as he listened politely to talk of drought, high feed prices, low returns and government interference, his gaze continually sought Keely out. She laughed and flitted from group to group, the lovely embodiment of a free spirit. Then he noticed her hand was clenched into a tight fist at her side. Was she looking to punch someone? Who?
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All Jacked Up
You probably.
For some reason, that made Jack smile.
“So as long as you’re hidin’ over here, I wanna take the opportunity to tell you if you harm a single hair on Keely’s head, I will gut you.”
His smile dried up and he looked sideways at Colt McKay.
“We clear on that?”
Jack knew his attempts to reassure the assorted male McKays that he’d never cause precious Keely distress would backfire when the “engagement” went to hell. He kept his lie simple. “Understood.”
Colt nodded and meandered away.
Another two hours remained of the party. If Jack stuck to the crowds, maybe he could avoid the oh-so-fun, one-on-one threat time with Keely’s remaining brothers.
As if she sensed him gawking at her, Keely cocked her head and looked straight at him. Her tight-lipped smile was better than flipping him off, he supposed, but not by much.
“Funny how my little sis ain’t wearing the googly-eyed look of a woman wildly in love. She looks like she wants to punch you in the face,” Cam McKay commented behind Jack.
Fan-fucking-tastic. “You know Keely. She gets mad first, listens to reason second. She’ll be fine once we’re alone to hash it out.”
“That being said… I’m speaking off the record, not as a deputy, but as Keely’s brother.”
Jack waited.
“If you cause her a second’s pain, I will gut you. Understand?”
“Loud and clear.”
Cam grunted and shuffled off.
Imagining his bloody guts dragging in the dirt was getting old. Maybe no one would notice if he snuck out, since most of the attendees were Keely’s family and friends.
What did that say about him?
A hand landed hard in the middle of his back and Carter McKay sidled up beside him. “So you and Keely, huh? Gotta admit, I didn’t see
that
one coming.”
“I did,” he grumbled. “I’ve had it bad for her since the first time I met her at your house when she was jailbait.”
Carter laughed. Not pleasantly. “Good thing you never told me that before you put a ring on her finger.”
“Why?”
“She’s my baby sis. I gotta look out for her and make sure she isn’t hooking up with some scumbag.”
Jack bristled. “You suggesting I’m not good enough for her?”
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“Yep. If I ever get the barest whisper you’ve hurt her in any way, well, fair warning, I’m gonna gut you, Donohue, old friend or not. Dig?”
“I dig.”
“Good.” Carter clapped him on the shoulder again. “Smart man. I see the boys are back to sneaking cookies. Gotta bust them.” And Carter was gone.
Could this day get any more bizarre?
Another set of footsteps stopped behind him. Jack braced himself for a new “friendly” warning from another male member of the knife-happy, psycho McKay clan. But his mother’s sweet voice rang out. “It’s a lovely party, isn’t it?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve heard.” Jack hugged her tightly, feeling ridiculous at the boyish need for his mother. He was immediately comforted by her presence, her softness and the familiar scent of her always-present Jean Nate perfume. “Sorry I was gone this week when you were here.”
“No worries, son. For all intents and purposes, I’m retired. I know you’re a busy man. I enjoyed spending time with Keely. Such a ball of fire, that girl. And her family is wonderful.”
Yeah, they’re a swell bunch when they’re not threatening to gut you.
His mother picked a piece of lint from his lapel. “I’m thrilled you’re marrying such a perfect woman for you.”
Jack’s gaze zeroed in on tantalizing Keely, gesturing wildly as she talked to cluster of white-haired women. Young. Old. Male. Female. Didn’t matter. She was always surrounded by people. Keely drew them to her like bees to flowers. Man, she was sweet. And hot. And pissed as hell at him.
Keely caught him looking again, and not so subtly scratched her cheek with her middle finger.
His dick stirred and he grinned at her.
Yeah, he had it bad that it turned him on when she flipped him off.
“I see you watching her all the time.”
Guiltily, he returned attention to his mother. “She’s my intended. Naturally I’m looking at her. Do you find that odd?”
“No. I find it sweet. You don’t show that side of yourself often these days and I’m glad you’re sharing it with her.”
Before Jack formulated a response, his mother added, “But I am surprised you are insistent about starting a family right away.” Her gaze drifted to the band of McKay offspring running amok through the crowd.
His eyes zoomed to hers. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Keely told me.”
“When did Keely share that tidbit?”
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All Jacked Up
“Earlier today. She said you weren’t getting any younger and she didn’t want people mistaking you for your kid’s grandfather at school events.”
What a troublemaker. That little snot-nosed cowgirl had earned serious payback.
“I recognize that
mind your own business
scowl, Jack.”