Time Out (2 page)

Megan never
imagined he would have the nerve to admit to her face he wished she
had never been born. “Why did you provide financial support if you
never wanted me?”

He shoved his
hands into his pockets, a look of disgust on his face. “I didn’t
have a choice. Gloria threatened to take me to court, to make me
pay one way or the other. My lawyers and manager told me I couldn’t
afford the negative publicity. The record label would have gotten
rid of me if I did anything to tarnish my brand.”

“Your brand?”
She barely forced the words past the lump in her throat. All those
years, she’d held out hope. She’d wanted to believe her father felt
compelled to offer his financial support because he cared and it
was the least he could do.

“You think it’s
easy to make it in this business?” He gave her a scathing look from
head to toe. “Maybe you can use your looks and body to get ahead,
but I had to rely on talent.”

Megan didn’t
know she could feel such contempt for another human being. She had
a half-brother she barely knew who her mother had put up for
adoption four years before Megan was born and two half-sisters from
the monster before her. But when she looked into Manny’s icy eyes,
she knew she didn’t have any family left.

“I’m glad I
came,” she said, looking him directly in the eye. “I always had a
fantasy that my father was a kind, decent man. Now I can put that
fantasy to rest once and for all.”

“You can leave
now.”

“I intend to.”
She lifted her chin. Megan forced a slow smile to spread across her
face. That man had already taken enough from her. She wouldn’t let
him believe he still had the power to hurt her. “But before I do,
just know I intend to pay back every cent of ‘support’ you ever
provided while I was growing up. I didn’t need you then, and I sure
as hell don’t need you now.”

***

“Avery, I have
to find some way to get out of this contract.”

“I’m sorry
things didn’t work out the way you’d hoped they would with your
father, Megan. But you signed a one-year contract with the network,
and they expect you to honor that.”

“I don’t belong
here.” Living in the same city with
that man
made her skin
crawl.

“Why don’t you
come and stay with us until you find a place?”

“What are you
talking about? I couldn’t do that.” Finding a property owner
willing to accept a month-to-month lease wasn’t going well, but she
hadn’t given up hope. Megan intended to find some way out of that
contract, and as soon as she did, she’d be on the first plane back
to L.A. It may have felt like a jungle by the time she’d left, but
at least everything there was familiar to her. In Nashville she
felt as out of place as a toucan at a cattle farm.”

“Sure, you
could. There’s way too much space for just us. Besides, Ty and I
travel so much, we’re hardly ever there. You can’t deny it would be
better than staying in that impersonal hotel and eating in
restaurants every night.”

Megan couldn’t
deny a home-cooked meal or a kitchen to cook in sounded enticing,
but she could never impose on her publicist that way. Avery had
already been too generous. “Thanks for the offer, but-”

“I’m not taking
no for an answer,” Avery declared, coming around the desk. She
reached out and pulled Megan to her feet. “Come on, it’ll be fun.
Our daughter moved out a few years ago. I miss her so much. Having
a little girl time will be nice. I’m out-numbered by my husband and
son.”

“Your son still
lives at home?” Megan couldn’t hide her surprise. Judging by the
picture on Avery’s desk, the handsome cowboy had to be nearing
thirty. She’d just assumed he had his own place.

“Not exactly.
He has his own home on our property and runs the ranch.”

“I see.” She
didn’t, but if she asked any more questions, it would seem as
though she was prying.

“Please say
you’ll stay until you find a place.”

“Avery…”

“Please.”

Megan loved her
new publicist more than she should since they only had a temporary
working relationship. Avery McCall was everything Megan admired in
a woman: strong, beautiful, confident, smart. Not to mention she
was married to country superstar Ty McCall, and she obviously had a
beautiful family she adored. Megan couldn’t deny she was curious to
see how Avery managed to pull it all off. Maybe Megan could pick up
a few pointers and apply them to her own life, which seemed to be
spiralling out of control.

“Fine, but
don’t you have to talk to your husband and son about it first? How
will they feel about having a stranger invading their space?” Megan
asked.

Avery laughed.
“Honey, you haven’t met them yet. As far as they’re concerned,
everyone’s a friend. Some friends they just haven’t met yet. Like
you. Come on, we’ll pick up your stuff on the way home.”

Home.
Megan couldn’t deny it had a nice ring to it.

***

Nick had had a
lousy day. He’d had it out with one of his ranch hands when he gave
Nick grief about mending fences, and one of the girls he’d been
seeing reamed him out when he’d called to cancel their date. She’d
told him that was the third time in a month he’d canceled, and he
was crazy if he thought she would sit around waiting for him to
make time for her. Like he cared.

When his
mother’s shiny black Mercedes SUV drove by, he barely lifted his
hand in acknowledgment. She stopped beside him and got out of the
car, as did her passenger.

Avery called to
him, “Nick, I want you to meet my friend and client, Megan Moore.
She hosts that new show
Players
. She’s staying with us for a
while.”

Nick tipped his
cowboy hat as his eyes roamed the beauty at his mother’s side.
Hotter than hell
were the first words that came to mind. He
took in her trim black business suit and heels. They added at least
five inches to her petite frame, and Nick found himself wondering
if she ever kept them on during…

“It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Nick,” Megan said.

She looked him
square in the eye, as though his perusal was par for the course. Of
course, a girl didn’t get through life looking like that without
learning how to cope with attention.

Nick nodded.
“You too. How long you gonna be stayin’ with us?”

“I’m not sure.
Not long.”

Avery squeezed
Megan’s hand. “She’s gonna stay just as long as she likes. She
signed a one-year deal with the network and hasn’t found a suitable
place to live yet. Maybe you could help her?”

Nick didn’t
know anything about real estate. Ask him about horses and he could
hold his own, but he’d found his little piece of paradise on the
McCall family ranch. “She’d be better off askin’ Sela, or even
Lauren, about that.”

“That’s a good
idea,” Avery said. “I should give you their numbers, Megan. I’m
sure they’d be more than happy to help.”

“Where are you
from?” Nick asked, suddenly aware of the fact the setting sun
seemed hotter than it had before she stepped out of the car.

“L.A.”

“Figures,” he
muttered. Megan was too polished to be a country girl. She reminded
him of a girl he’d dated a few years ago. Jayna was a country
singer, looking for her big break in Nashville. When his
connections couldn’t help her find it she decided to return to her
home in Los Angeles without a word to him.

“Do you have
something against big city girls?” Megan asked.

“In case you
haven’t noticed, Nashville isn’t exactly Mayberry.”

She laughed, a
deep husky sound that made him react in a way he had to struggle to
tamp down.
God help him.

“No, I guess it
isn’t. It’s just… different,” Megan said.

He stood up
straighter, frowning. “You think we’re all just a bunch of
rednecks, is that it? We’re not sophisticated enough? Not smart or
rich enough to move in your circles?” Nick was used to people
assuming he was content to live in his successful father’s shadow,
but something about her air of superiority grated on his
nerves.

“Nick…” Avery
said, gripping his forearm. “Mind your manners.”

“It’s okay,
Avery. Your son can’t say anything to me I haven’t heard
before.”

“That doesn’t
give him the right-” Avery’s cell phone rang. “It’s your dad. Hold
on a sec.” She wandered away to take the call.

Nick and Megan
stared each other down, waiting for the other to throw down the
gauntlet. Nick could tell she didn’t appreciate being challenged.
They had that in common, but he would bet his favorite pair of
custom cowboy boots their similarities ended there. She represented
everything he despised in a woman: fake from her fingernails to the
veneers on her teeth, polished from her designer shoes to her
glossy lips. He liked women who kicked up their heels at Jimmy’s
and appreciated a cold beer on a hot day, not hotshot TV
personalities who turned up their noses at his way of life.

“Sorry about
that,” Avery said, walking back. “Your dad just called to let me
know a furniture delivery I’ve been waiting on is here. You ready
to come up to the main house, Megan?”

“Why don’t you
go on ahead, Avery? I think I’ll hang out and get to know your son
a little better.” She bared her teeth, more of a sneer than a
smile. “I can walk up to the main house when I’m ready.”

Avery laughed.
“Honey, the main house is about a quarter of a mile from here.
You’ll never make it in those shoes. But don’t worry, I’m sure Nick
won’t mind giving you a lift when you’re ready. Will you, son?”

His mother’s
sharp look told Nick he’d better not even consider offering an
excuse. “Sure, I had to cancel my date, so I’ve got no place to
be.” Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned back against a
tree and propped his boot up on the trunk, as though he had all the
time in the world to waste with that little prima donna.

Megan waited
for Avery to get back in her vehicle and drive away before she
asked, “You got a problem with me, cowboy?”

Nick had to
give her credit for challenging him within minutes of their first
meeting. He was used to women playing coy, hinting at what they
wanted or backing away from confrontation. “Only if you plan to
take advantage of my parents’ generosity.”

She popped the
buttons on her suit jacket and slid it off to reveal a brightly
colored, silky tank top. “Now why would I want to take advantage of
your parents?”

Nick’s mouth
suddenly felt as if it was full of sawdust. A little bit of a thing
like her shouldn’t have curves like
that
. She obviously owed
some of them to a talented cosmetic surgeon, but that didn’t
explain the swell of her hips or that luscious bottom…

Snapping her
fingers in front of his face, she said, “I asked you a question.
Try to stay focused.”

Nick bit back a
curse when a familiar black pickup pulled up next to them.

“Goddamn it,
McCall,” Shaw Carver said, jumping out of the truck. “I thought I
told you to have the fences on the west side of your property
mended. Your-” He stopped mid-step, the finger he had pointed at
Nick falling to his side. He stared at Megan as though she was a
figment of some erotic hallucination and whispered, “Holy
hell.”

“Hi there.”
Megan turned her mega-watt smile on him and turned her back on
Nick.

Glaring at her
backside, Nick said, “I’ve got guys workin’ on it right now,
Carver. The fences will be fixed before nightfall.”

Shaw ignored
Nick and reached for Megan’s hand. He kissed the back of her hand.
“Shaw Carver. I’ve seen you on TV, haven’t I?”

“You probably
have,” she said, still holding his hand. “Megan Moore. It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Shaw. Great name by the way.” She winked.

Nick rolled his
eyes as Shaw moved in closer.

“What’re you
doin’ wastin’ time with this loser, darlin’?”

Withdrawing her
hand, she used it to shield her eyes from the setting sun. “I’m not
here to see Nick. Avery’s my publicist. She was kind enough to let
me stay here while I look for a place.”

“So you’re new
in town?” Shaw tipped his dusty black cowboy hat back.

Nick told
himself he had the same tightening in his gut whenever he saw his
rival. It had nothing to do with the fact Shaw was flirting with
Megan. When he heard her husky chuckle again, and saw Shaw’s
reaction, he wanted to threaten Shaw with trespassing the next time
he set foot on Nick’s property.

“I sure
am.”

“How do you
like it so far?”

“I like it just
fine,” she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“You need a
tour guide to show you around.”

She smiled
before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. “Is that so? Are you
volunteering?”

“I’d be
honored.” Shaw bowed at the waist.

Megan laughed,
and Nick clenched his fists as he glared at Shaw. Nick said, “You
can be on your way now, Carver. The fences are gonna be mended, no
worries.”

Shaw grinned at
Megan. “Oh, I’m not worried. If they’re not, I’ll have a good
excuse to come back.”

“You don’t need
an excuse to come back.” She looked at Nick over her shoulder.
“He’s always welcome, isn’t he, Nick?”

“Get the hell
off my property before I call the cops, Carver.”

Shaw chuckled.
“Ya always were a sore loser, McCall.”

“Man, you
couldn’t beat me on your best day.” They’d been competing over
something or another for as long as Nick could remember, but since
they were both racing horses in the Kentucky Derby, the stakes had
never been higher. Nick took home the big prize the year before,
and he had no intention of losing to Shaw that year.

“You got a
business card, beautiful?” Shaw asked Megan, trying hard to impress
her.