How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (5 page)

“Have
you seen
Ten
?” Ryder came up from behind them. “He
disappeared.”

Jaxson
lifted his chin and nodded toward the exit. “He got a phone call. Didn’t look
too happy about it either.”

A
country band struck up a tune. Heath was glad Isaac and Avery had foregone all
of the formal speeches and toasts. They’d just headed straight into the party
zone. He had to hand it to his cousins. They sure knew how to lay out a spread.
The fare wasn’t light either. Tables groaned under the weight of shrimp, huge
slabs of beef brisket, smoked hams and every kind of side and dessert
imaginable.

Scanning
the room, he kept an eye out for the sexy siren who’d captured his
imagination.   During the few moments they’d been aware of one
another, he’d filed away a wealth of details that had quickly become the fabric
of a fantasy. Heath loved long hair and she had thick dark tresses which hung
down her back, tapering in corkscrew curls which bounced tenderly against the
shapely curve of her ass. Her body had been lovingly draped in a form fitting
dress which did little to hide luscious, plump breasts. Just the thought of
getting her naked, learning the color of her nipples and the weight of the firm
globes made his cock twitch. Heath imagined sucking on her nipples till they
were flushed and tight against his tongue, palming them, rubbing his face
against the silky warm flesh. His heart began to pound as he undressed her in
his mind, peeling off that blue satin dress, unclasping her bra, slipping his
fingers in the waistband of barely there panties and tugging them down until he
could bury his face against the downy puff of springy dark curls which would
surely grace the mound of her femininity.

Lord,
it had been too long!

He
would give his eyeteeth to go to his knees in front of her and press his face
against the shadowy cleft between her thighs. Heath ached to grasp the cheeks
of her ass and pull her close, breathing in her womanly scent. If he had the
chance, he’d part her sweet pink folds and lap and suck until she screamed with
pleasure. Oh yea, he had plans for this girl. She’d looked into his eyes and
promised heaven and this McCoy was ready to collect.

“I’ll
see y’all later.” He started to step away when Tennessee grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong, Ten?”

“I’ve
got to talk to you.”

Hell.
Heath led him to one side. “What’s wrong?” His little brother looked worried.

“Molly
just called. She’s pregnant.”

Heath
bit back a curse. “Is she saying the baby’s yours?”

“Yes.”

“Is
it?”

“I
don’t know, could be.”

“Dammit!”
Heath wanted to hit something, but there was no use. They’d deal with this like
a family. “Tell her you want a paternity test.”

“Maybe
we should talk to Zane.” Tennessee suggested, his mind muddled with the
possibilities. “There he is, wave him over.”

Heath
did so, amazed at the fact that the first time he’d met Zane Saucier, the man
had been blind. But now, because of a radical surgical procedure, he could see.
Presley Love, his assistant and fiancée accompanied him.

“Hey,
McCoys
, I have news,” Zane began, not waiting for
Heath to speak. “Philip’s trial has been moved up. We start deliberations
before the end of next month.” They all dreaded the ordeal Philip was going to
have to go through. From out of the blue, he’d been arrested for the murder of
Dalton Smith, a man he barely knew. To make matters worse, the body had been
found on Highland property. The only connection Philip had to him, that he was
aware of, was that they’d been casual acquaintances and Smith dated a woman
Philip had known—Holly McBride. The prosecution was trying to make a big deal
about the woman, saying that Philip had killed Smith in a jealous rage.    

Philip
joined them in time to hear the news. “Moving the trial up, that’s good,
right?”

Zane
shrugged. “Maybe. I know you’re anxious to get this over with, but we still
have some work to do. The evidence Noah gave us is invaluable, but our best
defense would be to find the real killer.”

“Invaluable?”
Philip asked. “What sense have you been able to make out of all that info on
the thumb drive Noah found?”

“Not
as much as we’d hoped. I want us to sit down and go over all of this, but we
did determine that you and Dalton shared some interests—mainly the lost mine
you both were looking for. He had copied some old maps, Spanish land deeds and
diaries, even some current documents relating to the land, owners, and
geological tests. We really need to find some kind of expert on this kind of
thing.”

“I’m
an expert on it. This is my field of study.” Philip insisted.

Zane
clapped him on his shoulder. “In this case, you don’t count. It’s like getting
a physician to treat himself. We need a second opinion.”

“Whatever
it takes.” Heath felt overwhelmed. Both of his brothers were looking toward him
for strength and he would give it to them. “Zane, we’ll do our best. Why don’t
we put some feelers out and try to find us someone who knows about this topic?”
Heath turned to Philip. “Do you know anyone else down at the university who
might help?”

“I
don’t know, I’ll check into it.” Philip looked depressed.

“While
you’re here, if you don’t mind, talk to Ten, he needs some advice.”

“Will
do,” Zane answered as Heath walked away.

Damn,
he needed some air. As he was following the line toward the reception area a
loud squeal stopped everyone in their tracks.

“What
in the world?” Pepper came running up to Heath. She’d been manning the groom’s
cake table. The cousins from Highlands Ranch near Lake Buchanan were a familiar
sight at
Tebow
. Once they’d become acquainted, the
fact that they shared a name, a bloodline and common interests had fast
forwarded their friendship and family ties to a close-knit and trusted association.

“I
don’t know,” Heath admitted. “I can’t see through this crowd.”

           
“I think it sounded like Libby.” Pepper took off to see what was wrong, her
long sable hair streaming behind her. “I hope she didn’t fall down!”

           
“Pepper’s a born mother hen.” Jaxson remarked dryly as they watched the
youngest of their clan dash across the room.

“You’d
best sit down and get off that leg. Let me go get us both some punch. Why don’t
you give Dad a call and check on him? I’ll be right back.” He’d had hopes their
father would join them today, but his health hadn’t permitted it.

“Okay,
I’ll sit down. Don’t worry about punch for me, though, I’m not thirsty. Go and
see if you can find your woman!” Jaxson called after his brother. The whole
family was worried about Philip, but Heath bore the brunt of the burden. They
all unloaded their problems on Heath. He was their rock. Guess that was why he
was beginning to have a gray hair or two.

           
“I don’t have time for a woman now,” Heath replied as he strode across the
room, weaving his way among the happy guests. What else could happen? How much
more could the family take? Philip’s arrest had shaken them to their very
foundations. Now Jaxson was injured and Ten’s ex-wife had thrown some outrageous
accusation at him concerning the paternity of the baby she was carrying. Ryder
had declared she was never going to get married and Pepper just informed him
she had two dates this week with different men!

As
the eldest of Christian McCoy’s children, Heath had spent most of his adult
life trying to keep his brothers and sisters in line. Since they’d moved to
Highlands, their father had taken a backseat in most family and business
dealings, leaving the bulk of any decision making on Heath’s shoulders.
Shoulders which were aching from the burden.

“What’s
going on?” Ryder ran up to him.

“I
don’t know. Sounded like there was trouble. You stay here. I’ll go see if
there’s anything we can do.”

           
Ryder was having none of it. “Quit being so bossy, this is a free country. I’m
coming with you.”

           
Heath sighed, knowing a family conference was long overdue. They made their way
through the crowd and found their cousin Aron cradling Libby to his chest. She
had grabbed hold of her stomach and her face was contorted with pain. “I think
she’s in labor,” Aron explained with a tense look on his face. “Two weeks
early.”

           
“Damn. Did you call an ambulance?” Heath asked as he held back the crowd of
concerned friends.

           
“No, Jacob’s gone for the truck.” Aron explained, gazing down at Libby with
worry on his face. “How you feeling, darling?”

           
“Anxious,” she muttered as she panted through a contraction.

Avery
and Isaac ran up, the bride holding her long train over her arm. “We’re going
with you,” she announced. Others of the family drew near.

“No,
no,” Libby protested. “This is your wedding day!”

“Hush
now,” Cady, Joseph’s wife, chided her. “None of us would miss this for the
world.”

“What
about the guests?” Libby wailed as another contraction hit.

Isaac
looked over at Heath, Ryder and Pepper. “Could y’all handle the party so we can
go to the hospital?”

Heath
nodded with assurance. “Of course we will.” It was obvious all of Aron’s
brothers and their women wanted to be present at the birth of Libby’s twins.
“You all get going. We’ll play host. Don’t worry about it for a minute.”

They
took him at his word and all of the guests applauded as a caravan of pickups
left
Tebow
and headed for the hospital to welcome a
pair of twin boys into the world.

*  *  *

Cato
watched Savannah and Patrick dancing, her head lying on his shoulder. How happy
they looked. Swaying next to them were Beau and Harley. The big Cajun seemed so
protective of his petite wife even though Cato knew Harley’s reputation as a
bomb tech was legendary.    Both couples had traveled over from
Louisiana together. Not too far away, Avery’s friend Tricia was dancing with
another man who resembled the
McCoys
, but he wasn’t
the handsome devil she’d spied earlier.
Hmmmm
, now
where could he be? Her eyes perused the crowd, looking for him. Thinking about
how broad his shoulders were and how she’d love to knead the hard muscles, Cato
couldn’t be still. She moved a little bit to the beat of the music, aware of
the vibrations from the drums and the bass guitar. Helping out was great, but
she longed to mix and mingle. Darn, it was hot. She twisted her hair into a
knot and secured it with a piece of blue ribbon she’d placed in the pocket of
the apron tied around her waist, protecting the pristine gown from splashes of
red punch. 

Behind
her, Heath asked, “Can I have something to drink, ma’am?”

Oblivious,
Cato took a sip of the punch, smiling when she saw Patrick dip Savannah and
then kiss her. She could still remember how Savannah had suffered when she’d
thought Patrick had been killed in the war. His homecoming had truly been a
miracle.

Hot
and tired, Heath tried to get the woman’s attention again. He was beginning to
lose his cool. “Hey! What does someone have to do to get a drink in this
place?”

Happily
Cato patted her foot, wishing someone would relieve her of punch patrol so she
could kick up her heels.

“Huh?”

A
sudden jerk on her arm startled her and she swung abruptly around, the contents
of her punch cup flying through the air and all over the face, jacket and shirt
of the very cowboy she’d been mooning over.
Kabluey
!

“Oops.
Oh, no!”

“It’s
you!” Heath bellowed as red liquid dripped off his hat, down his chin and onto
his white shirt. “Are you deaf?”

Cato
didn’t need auditory skills to hear him that time. She was reading him loud and
clear. An angrier visage she had never seen.

Oaf.

“Me,
deaf? Yes, as a matter of fact, I am,” she answered defensively. This
relationship wasn’t exactly getting off to the start she’d hope. “If you’d calm
down a second and just let me ex—”

While
she was trying to answer and pour him another cup of punch, the handsome
jackass proceeded to lecture her on the techniques of proper punch
distribution.

“If
you’re going to take on a job, you ought to do that job and stop staring off
into space like some wall-eyed owl.” Heath was voicing his objections so
loudly, he’d missed what she said. He was about to ask her to repeat herself,
but he didn’t get the chance.

WHOOSH!
SPLAT!

The
little vixen doused him again.

Cato
lunged forward.

“What?”
Oh, my God! She’d just baptized cutie-pie again. If she hadn’t grabbed the
table, Cato would have fallen herself. Somebody had pushed her. Whirling
around, she found three little girls in pink frilly dresses, giggling. They
were running from a little boy and had used Cato’s wide butt as ‘home.’