Texas Fandango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 3 (10 page)

In reality, she didn’t want to go. She wanted to be with Drake, but she didn’t see that happening. She sighed. She had to get back to her life. That’s what she’d promised herself…and him, if she thought about it. The party gave her an opportunity to try to restart her life, not that she had anything in her love life to restart. Oh well, she’d probably know everybody there and it’d give her something to do. Besides, last year’s pool party had provided fodder for the gossip mill for weeks, and she wouldn’t want to miss out on that.

After checking her calendar and seeing nothing scheduled for that night, she sent an acceptance email.

The first three days back at the office passed in a blur of appointments, paperwork and late nights playing catch up. She’d reached Caroline Graham on her cell phone and Caroline had assured her that she was doing fine. She didn’t want KC to worry about her and promised they would have lunch soon.

And still, Drake never called.

In a moment of weakness, Drake agreed to go with Elsie Bell Lambert to a combination football-watching/pool party. His mother had been waiting for him to come visit so he decided to knock out both on the same day. On Wednesday, he drove to Whispering Springs and took his mother to lunch at the Lone Star Diner. Not the finest food around but definitely the place to go if one wanted the latest gossip. Plus, most of the town’s professionals had lunch there.

“You look a little sad.” His mother touched his arm.

“No, Mom. I’m fine. Just a little anxious for the bar-exams results.” He tried to covertly glance around the room, checking to see if possibly KC was there.

“Oh, there’s the girl I’ve been talking about.”

“Who’s that?” He was barely listening. His mother was always on the lookout for the perfect mate for her son.

“Dr. Caroline Graham. My new doctor. Oh shoot. She’s leaving. I wanted to introduce you to her.”

Drake glanced up in time to catch a view of a shapely brunette. She was walking out the door with a man he didn’t know and Lydia Henson, Jason Montgomery’s fiancée. “She’s very pretty, Mom.”

“And smart too. Why, I just know you two would hit it off.”

He smiled, the only response his mother wouldn’t question.

After lunch, with a few hours to kill before he picked up Elsie Belle, he headed out to Halo M ranch. He found Travis Montgomery in the working arena on a brown and white appaloosa, putting the horse through a series of cutting maneuvers.

“Hey,” Travis yelled. “Long time no see. Give me a minute.”

Drake watched Travis work the cutting horse through a couple of more sharp turns before he swung down and walked over to the fence.

“Good to see you. What are you doing here?”

Drake shrugged. “Had a couple of hours to kill before I have to pick up Elsie Belle.”

“Date?”

“Sort of. She asked me to take her to the Hendersons’ annual party tonight. Didn’t have anything else to do, so I figured why not.”

“But Elsie Belle?”

Drake laughed. “We’re just friends. She’s trying to use me to make you jealous.”

Travis let himself out of the corral. “Sorry, man. She’s all yours.”

“Yeah, I told her that, but you know how she gets when she thinks she’s right.” He gestured toward the barn. “You got time for a ride?”

“Sure. Let me get Webster or one of the guys to take care of Mr. Stubborn in the pen.”

Fifteen minutes later, they rode out of the Halo M stables into a large field.

“Okay to run him?” Drake asked, referring to the gelding under him.

“Sure.”

Drake gave his horse his lead, and they shot across the field. He could hear Ransom, Travis’s horse, thud beside him. It felt good to be in the sun and let the jarring ride shake some sense into him, not that he believed that would happen. He missed KC. Thought about her all the time. Hell, the erotic dream from last night had almost killed him. Nothing he said to himself about leaving her alone worked. Now he hoped Travis could talk some sense into him.

They slowed as they topped the hill leading down to the large lake.

“So you want to tell me why you’re really here.”

Drake looked over at Travis. His friend had always had the ability to see through Drake’s bull.

“Trying to get over a woman.”

“So what’s new?” Travis said with a laugh. “There’s always a woman in the picture when a man’s miserable.”

“Mom suggested I should ask out her new doctor, Caroline Graham. Maybe that would help?”

He expected to see Travis nodding. Instead his friend was scowling at him.

“What?” Drake asked. “What’d I say wrong?”

“You won’t be asking Caroline out.”

Caroline? First-name basis. That was interesting.

“Why not?” Drake egged Travis on, recognizing there was something going on he didn’t know about.

Travis stopped his horse and Drake followed.

“You don’t get to date Caroline Graham.” Travis’s voice was forceful but still held a playful tone. “That’s my wife we’re talking about.”

A tap with a feather could have knocked Drake off his horse. As the men rode, Travis told him about the secret faux wedding, Caroline’s grandmother’s death and how Caroline had given him Singing Springs ranch. Every time he said Caroline’s name, Drake noticed a slight change in Travis’s expression.

“You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?” Drake asked, sure of the answer.

“Yep. And her contract with Whispering Springs Medical Clinic is over at the end of the year.”

“So, you’ve got four months to convince her to stay.”

Travis grinned. “Working on it. So now that we’ve eliminated my wife from possible replacements for this woman in your life, what’s wrong with this mystery woman?”

“Nothing, and that’s the problem.”

“Do I know her?”

Drake didn’t reply.

“Look, whoever it is, if she makes you feel one-tenth of what I feel when I’m with Caroline, you’d be a fool to give her up.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe nothing. What have you got to lose?”

As they rode back to the stables, Drake decided Travis was right. What did he have to lose?

KC studied the outfits she had laid out on her bed, trying to decide which one worked best for tonight’s pool party. One of them reminded her of the Jeep ride around Sugar Island with Drake. The shorts outfit on the left was the one that she’d worn for the striptease show she did for him. The emerald-green shirt of the third possibility was the exact shade of Drake’s eyes. She rubbed her neck in frustration. She had to forget him. He hadn’t called, or texted, or emailed or sent up smoke signals. After fifteen minutes of indecision, she gave in and called Lydia Henson.

“Hey,” she said when Lydia answered. “Jason says y’all are coming tonight to the Hendersons’ party. Are you wearing a swim suit?”

“Yes. Under my shorts. I suspect that will be the safest thing to do. Last year, remember how we all ended up in the pool in the fourth quarter?”

KC laughed. “I do. But didn’t that have something to do with a bet and your fiancé?”

Lydia snorted. “Just an excuse. Can’t remember a pool party at their house that I didn’t end up wet.”

“Okay then.” She held up the red bikini. “I’ve got the perfect suit.” It must look damned hot on her, because Drake had made her wear it pretty much the last two days at the resort…not that it stayed on very long each time she wore it.

The memory tugged at her heart strings. A sense of sadness fell over her like a heavy blanket.

“You okay? I think I lost you for a minute.”

“No, no. I’m fine,” KC said. “Better run. See you in an hour or so.”

By the time KC got to the party, it was in full swing and the game was closer to halftime than kick-off. Being greeted with hugs and kisses from friends made her glad she’d forced herself to come when what she’d wanted to do was stay home and stage round two of her personal pity party.

She found Lydia in the kitchen.

“Wow,” Lydia said. “Look at your tan. You look great. Must have been a hell of a good vacation.”

KC forced her mouth into a wide smile, as though memories of the past two weeks were pleasurable instead of painful. “Awesome. Totally awesome. You’d love where I went.”

“Tell me about the place.”

Before KC could answer, Jason rushed in. “Settle a bet,” he said to Lydia. “Which is worse for a guy? Mumps or the flu?”

“You’d feel awful with either, but because mumps can affect your testicles—”

“Told you,” he called back out the door. He gave her a quick kiss. “Thanks. Come on out. The game’s a blow-out so we’re getting together teams for water polo.” He hurried back outside to the patio and a group of men holding beers.

KC laughed. “Thank goodness I only have to share an office with him.”

Lydia smiled. “Sounds like pool time. You have a suit on?”

“Of course.” KC pulled her shirt over her head to show off her red bikini bra.

“Nice. New?”

“Yes.” She pulled off her shorts and turned in a circle with her arms in the air. “Look okay?”

Lydia whistled. “Wow. You look fabulous in that, not to mention the incredible tan.”

From outside, Jason hollered, “Come on, Lydia. We’re waiting.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and stripped off her T-shirt and shorts. Then they headed outside.

Drake slowed his SUV as he turned onto Muse Lane and started looking for the Henderson driveway. Man, he did not want to go to this damn party.

“Oh, sugar. Cheer up. It’ll be fun.”

He glanced over at Elsie Belle Lambert. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into these things.”

She threaded her fingers into his hair. “’Cause you’re my good friend who’s helping me make your good friend jealous.”

He shook his head. “Never going to work.”

“Sure it will,” she said, her tone confident. “You and Travis have that competitive relationship brothers usually have. Travis and I are perfect together. I just need you to take me here tonight and to the Whispering Springs Country Club dance on Saturday. When he sees me with you, he’ll want me.”

Her whole plan was crazy and would never work, especially since Drake knew that Travis was head over heels in love with Caroline Graham. But it wasn’t his place to tell the world, i.e. Elsie Bell Lambert, about Travis’s new love. Plus, he’d agreed to go tonight because, let’s face it…he didn’t have anything better to do.

Honestly, he’d rather have been with KC anywhere, doing anything, than go someplace with anyone else. He’d picked up the phone to call KC a dozen times since they’d gotten home from the Sand Castle Resort, but always put it down before he finished punching in the numbers. More than a dozen times, something had happened or he’d had a thought he’d wanted to share with her. But he hadn’t called, hadn’t texted. They’d made a deal. Both had agreed to it. It would violate her trust if he were to suddenly try to insert himself into her life.

But that agreement didn’t stop him from thinking about her a lot. He briefly wondered if she’d be at the party tonight. She’d been there last year. If she was there, maybe—

“Dance? Saturday?” Elsie Belle’s question broke into his ruminations, dragging his mind back to the upcoming weekend dance.

“Sure. No problem. What time?”

As they drove to a pool party he didn’t want to attend, she gave him his marching orders for the upcoming Saturday including what to wear and what time to pick her up. Fine with him. He didn’t care what Elsie Belle thought of him. He was a stand-in date since hers had to cancel at the last minute.

He and Elsie Belle had known each other since first grade, and he could truthfully say he’d never felt anything but friendship for her. In some ways, he felt a little sorry for her. She’d been through a couple of husbands, both jerks beyond description. Both had been after her money, but Jake Lambert, Elsie Belle’s father, was nobody’s fool. The pre-nups he’d made her ex-husbands sign before the weddings had kept Elsie Belle’s money in her bank account.

Her folks were nice, but they’d been absentee parents for a lot of Elsie Belle’s life. They were on the party circuit, rubbing elbows with big names in Washington and Hollywood. Her dad was a financier. Her mother a former Miss Texas. Both had come from money, which Jake had increased many times over.

Elsie Belle had inherited a trust from both sides of the family, so holding down a real job had never been on her radar. She’d been trained from birth in social etiquette—which she forgot from time to time—from how to properly set a table for a formal dinner to the proper saddling of a horse. She didn’t have many female friends and she was totally clueless why.

Drake knew why. He adored his friend but she could be a total bitch to women and an overt flirt toward men. The men didn’t mind her so much. However, their wives and girlfriends would probably chip in for a one-way ticket to the South Pole.

He wheeled his Range Rover into the Hendersons’ circular drive. Cars and trucks were parked on the lawn, in the street, the drive, wherever there was space. He pulled in behind a dirty truck.