Do Me Right (13 page)

"Cool. We can handle it." Scott grinned at Cherry, who quickly looked away.

"So where are you going?" Cherry asked.

"Oh, just on a short trip." Theresa waved her hand, as if the destination was of no consequence.

"You going by yourself?" Scott asked.

"Since when are you so nosy?" she asked.

He grinned. "You must be going with someone if you're getting so bent about a simple question." He looked at Cherry. "I bet it's that cowboy."

"His name is Kyle." Theresa snatched up the schedule book and flipped to the appointments for Saturday. "Now can the two of you figure out who works when, or do I have to sit down and make you a schedule?"

"We'll work it out," Cherry said. "I have a performance Saturday evening, but I can work before and after that as long as I can practice here."

"I don't see any problem with that." Theresa gave Scott a stern look. "Do you, Scott?"

Two patches of red showed high on his cheekbones, but he stuck up his chin and shrugged. "I don't care if she plays. Maybe it'll make those sign carriers think we're highbrow."

"Maybe so," Theresa said. Except the musician had spiky red hair and tattoos. "What about you, Scott? Are you free to work all weekend?"

He shrugged again, a gesture that was really beginning to annoy her. "I know a few chicks will be disappointed, but I'll make it up to them."

"Oh, you are so full of it." Cherry glared at him, then marched toward the back room.

Theresa leaned toward Scott and lowered her voice. "Pouring it on a little thick, aren't you, Casanova?"

"What? You don't believe a dude like me has chicks lining up for dates with him on a Saturday night? Woman, I have got a serious groove on. I can't believe you and that Cherry chick are dissing me."

She shook her head. "Right, Scott. You're obviously irresistible."

He straightened his shirt collar. "Damn straight I am. But hey, don't you worry about this weekend. I'll hold down the fort."

"Right. And maybe you can use some of that amazing sex appeal of yours to pull in a few more paying customers while you're at it." She glanced down at the appointment book. "This is looking pretty pathetic."

The bells on the back of the door jangled and Madeline breezed in. "Hey, girl," she said. "You're looking gorgeous as always." The two friends embraced. "I know you said you weren't interested in joining our campaign, but I thought I'd let you know the plan we've come up with."

"What are you going to do?" Theresa leaned back against the front counter.

"We're mounting a publicity campaign of our own. Our slogan is Save Sixth Street! Austin is known for the music scene and Sixth Street, and we think people need to remember that."

Theresa had to admit the slogan was kind of catchy. "Do you think it will help?"

"It can't hurt can it?" Madeline nodded. "And yes, I think it will help. We have Save Sixth Street! bumper stickers and T-shirts. We're asking all the businesses down here to take some. We're all chipping in to cover the printing costs. The bumper stickers are free to anyone who wants one, and the T-shirts are ten bucks. Who wouldn't pay a ten spot for a cool shirt?"

Theresa grinned. "It sounds great."

"Oh, it gets better. Shannon and the gang at Esther's Follies are writing a skit about 'Clean' Carter's dirty campaign, and they're going to make it a part of the show."

Considering that Esther's Follies comedy show was one of the biggest attractions on Sixth Street for both locals and out-of-town visitors, that was good news. "This does sound like a terrific way to fight Carter and his bunch," Theresa said.

"Then will you join us?" Madeline grinned.

Theresa nodded. "Okay. Count me in."

"Great! I knew you'd want to be a part of this."

"But don't ask me to come to a lot of boring meetings."

Madeline laughed. "With our group, the meetings are
anything
but boring. We're having a rally Saturday night. I'll let everyone on the committee know you'll be there."

Theresa's face fell. "I won't be able to make it Saturday night. I'm going out of town."

Madeline clapped her hands. "A vacation? You?" She laughed. "That's wonderful. Are you going by yourself?"

"Uh, with a friend."

"A
man
friend." Cherry emerged from the back room in time to insert her two cents.

Theresa glared at the girl, but Cherry was too busy watching Scott as he made a show of moving heavy boxes of supplies from one shelf to the other, muscles bulging, to pay any attention to Theresa. She sighed and turned back to Madeline.

The older woman leaned over and punched her on the arm. "You go, girl. Come down to the shop. I have some great new things in." She waggled her eyebrows. "Including some very sexy lingerie."

To her great consternation, Theresa felt her cheeks warm. "I don't think I need anything, really," she said. "This is very casual." Besides, she and Kyle had never bothered with formalities like lingerie before. Though maybe some new silk underwear wouldn't hurt.... "Maybe I'll stop by this afternoon," she said.

"You do that." Madeline moved toward the door. "I have to get back to work now, but I'll tell everyone you're on board. Someone will bring your T-shirts and stickers as soon as they're ready. And if you think of anything else we can do, let me know."

Theresa stared after her friend, absently chewing her lower lip. It was great that the business owners were banding together to fight the protesters, but would it be enough?

"So where are you going this weekend?" Cherry asked. She scooped up one of the cats, Mick, and cuddled him to her chin.

"Oh, uh, Kyle's family's ranch. It's near Wimberley, I think. I guess I should get you the number in case there's an emergency."

"Nah, we've got your cell phone. Besides, nothing's going to happen."

"Nothing I can't handle, anyway," Scott said.

Cherry rolled her eyes in Scott's direction, then looked back at Theresa. "So he's taking you home to meet the family--that sounds serious."

She shook her head. "No, it's not like that at all. There's nothing serious between me and Kyle." She gripped the countertop until her knuckles ached. "We're just going to get away and have a little fun."

It was all fun and games for the two of them, wasn't it? Neither one of them was interested in settling down. Why spoil a good thing by getting all serious, anyway?

"Nobody ever said falling in love couldn't be fun," Cherry said. "The way I figure, it ought to be."

"Shows what you know then," Theresa mumbled. Cherry was smart about a lot of things but love wasn't one of them, otherwise she'd have picked up on how much Scott was mooning over her and put him out of his misery.

"What was that?" Cherry asked.

"Nothing." She grabbed a magazine from a side table and flipped it open, pretending to concentrate on an article about new tattoo machines. She needed to get her head on straight here. She was obviously getting too emotional about this whole thing with Kyle.

They were friends. Good friends showing each other a good time. She wasn't going to let herself get serious about him or anyone else. Thinking like that was a sure way to end up in trouble.

She straightened and tore her gaze from the side window. "What makes you think I'm nervous?" She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them and smoothed her hands down the thighs of her favorite leather pants.

"You haven't said a word since we turned off 290. Anybody looking at you would think you were on your way to jail instead of a relaxing weekend away." He grinned. "But you don't have anything to worry about. Kristen's a nice person. You'll get along fine."

She tried to coax her face into a more pleasant expression. Okay, so maybe she was a little tense. Only because she hated situations where she didn't know what to expect next. Who didn't? "I'm sure she is a nice person. And no offense, but I'm not worried whether she likes me or not. I accepted a long time ago that I strike certain, well, conventional people the wrong way."

He glanced at her. "Is that why you're dressed to kill today?"

She looked down at her leather pants, high-heeled boots, leather halter top and multiple necklaces and bracelets. She might have dressed in her bad-girl best, but no sense in giving any false impressions. "I like this outfit," she said, glancing in the visor mirror at her heavily mascaraed eyes and red, red lips.

"Oh, I like it, too." He reached over and squeezed her knee. "You look hot. I can't wait to get you alone."

She shifted, ignoring the flare of heat his touch sent through her. Yeah, she'd go for getting him alone. The more time she spent with just him--away from his family--the better she'd feel. Any way you looked at it, she wasn't the kind of woman men brought home for their family's approval. That was another reason for her in-your-face attire. This way, they'd get any doubts out of the way up-front as to exactly what kind of relationship she and Kyle were involved in. A woman dressed the way she was dressed was obviously a passing sexual fling and not a serious girlfriend.

"It's not much farther," he said as they passed a long, low barn and a sign advertising Stud Service. "Maybe another ten, fifteen minutes."

"I can understand why you don't want to live way out here." She gestured to the pastureland around them. "There's nothing and no one out here."

"Believe it or not, it used to be a lot more isolated. Now there are all kinds of people and houses. Some of the old ranches have been sold and the land turned into subdivisions."

"Did your family ever think about doing that?"

He shook his head. "No, and it's probably selfish of me, but I'm glad of it. I may not want to live on the ranch, but part of me likes knowing it's still in the family. Fortunately Kristen and Ken love the place. I can count on them to keep it going."

"Your brother-in-law's name is Ken?" She made a face. "What were your parents' names?"

"Karen and Kurt."

He laughed at her expression. "I know, it's too much, isn't it? Good thing I didn't have any more brothers or sisters or they'd have run out of names that started with
K
."

"What happened to your parents? I mean, if you don't mind my asking."

"I don't mind. My mom died of cancer when I was fifteen. My dad was killed a few years later in an accident. He was coming home from a stock sale one morning. It was raining and the road was slick and he missed a curve. They said he was killed instantly."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Even at the time, torn up as I was, I thought maybe he was happier. He never was the same after Mama died."

"Wow. It's hard to imagine loving someone that much."

He glanced at her. "It is. But I think that's what a really good marriage does for you. You start out thinking you love someone, but after a while you find out you love them even more."

"Like I said, it's hard to imagine." Did marriages like that even exist anymore--if they ever had? Was it possible to live with someone day after day for years and grow closer, instead of further apart? Maybe. She knew a few couples who might qualify, but still, the odds didn't seem to be in anyone's favor to find that kind of, well,
soul mate.
"Who ran the ranch after your father died?" she asked.

"Kristen was twenty-three then. She and Ken had just gotten married and were living on the ranch already. So they took over. I was already on the rodeo circuit. I thought maybe I should quit and come home to help her, but when I visited, it was obvious the two of them were doing a good job and didn't need me."

"But your sister still wants you to live there and help?"

He nodded. "Not because they need the help but because she's really big on family and everything. She can't understand why I wouldn't
want
to have a part in running the ranch."

"But you've told her how you feel?"

"Hell yes, I've told her. But she only hears what she wants to hear." He shook his head. "She's great, really. I don't want you to get the wrong idea. But when she gets an idea in her head, it's hard to change her mind."

She glanced at the mustang tattoo on his arm. Guess that kind of stubbornness was a family trait.

After a few minutes more, he slowed the truck and turned onto a lane. He shifted into Park and got out to open the gate, then got back in and drove forward. On the other side, he glanced at Theresa. "Ranch etiquette says that the passenger is in charge of opening and closing gates. I'm just telling you that in case you go riding with someone else while you're here this weekend."

"Sure." She unsnapped her seat belt and grasped the door handle. "I can get it."

"You don't have to get it now," he said. "I was just telling you."

"No, I'll do it." She opened the door and slid out of the truck, then hurried back to shut the gate. She had to wrestle with it a little to slide the catch back in the slot, but she finally managed and brushed her hands off on the seat of her pants as she walked back to the truck. One thing she could definitely do was pull her own weight this weekend. She might be a city girl, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to help out.

The curving drive up to the main house was lined with live oaks, their dark, glossy leaves and curving branches forming a shaded alley for the truck to pass through. Kyle stopped outside a chain-link fence that encircled a white-frame house. Two stories high with a broad front porch and rose bushes blooming along the front, the house looked like something out of a storybook. Or a tourist magazine.

The front door burst open, the screen banging against the house, and a petite woman with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail hurtled out the door and down the crushed-gravel walk. She hesitated only a moment at the gate before throwing it open and rushing into Kyle's arms. "Bubba! I thought you'd never get here!"

The woman was followed at a slower pace by two little blond girls, one of whom carried a diapered baby. They stood on the other side of the fence and stared at Theresa.

"Kris, I want you to meet Theresa."

Theresa gave Kyle's sister credit. She only hesitated half a second, her gaze flickering over her visitor's all-leather outfit and heavy makeup before she plastered a big smile on her face and stuck out her hand. "Theresa, pleased to meet you. Welcome to the Two Ks."

"Pleased to meet you." She brushed her hand across Kristen's, doing her own version of the smile. Hey, if the country girl could fake a welcome, Theresa could do it, too.

"Y'all come on in and have some tea. And I made a cake." Kristen slipped her arms around Kyle's waist. "Lemon pound cake. Your favorite."

"Maybe later. We just stopped by to say hi before we headed over to the guesthouse."

Kristen's smile hardly wavered. "I meant to tell you when you called, but I decided I might as well wait. You can't stay at the guesthouse."

Kyle slipped out of her grasp. "Why not?"

"One of our hands, Rolly Fernandez, is staying there with his family. Their trailer burned in an electrical fire a couple weeks ago and they lost almost everything. So of course we told them they could use the guesthouse as long as they needed. Rolly's a good hand, and we don't want to lose him."

Kyle frowned. "So why didn't you tell me about this on the phone?"

Her smile slipped a little and she glanced at Theresa. "To tell the truth, I was afraid if I did, you'd change your mind about coming to see us. I didn't want to risk it."

Kyle sighed. "You're right about that. Theresa and I just wanted to come up and relax a little."

"And you
can
relax." She patted his shoulder. "Now get your bags out of that truck and I'll show you your rooms." Another tentative look at Theresa. "I'm sure Theresa would like to freshen up a little after that long drive."

"Rooms?" Kyle put the emphasis on the
s.

She flushed. "Yes, rooms." She glanced toward the gate. "After all, I've got an example to set for the children." She turned to Theresa again, smile back in place. "I put you in the guest room upstairs. It's very nice. It has an antique bed that belonged to our grandparents."

"And where am I staying?" Kyle asked.

Kristen laughed. "In your old room, silly. Kelly said he wouldn't mind sharing at all. Kelly's my oldest boy," she added for Theresa's benefit. "He's out at the corral helping his dad right now. You'll meet him at supper, though."

Kyle collected their bags and they followed Kristen up the walk to the house. He fell into step beside Theresa. "I'm sorry about this," he whispered. "I had no idea."

"It's all right." Maybe it was just as well she and Kyle wouldn't be able to spend too much time alone this weekend. She was going to have a hard enough time keeping her sanity with Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and the K Team without dealing with her mixed up feelings for Kyle, too.