Mara McBain (15 page)

“No one?”

“No one,” Gen confirmed with a firm shake of her head.

“Okay. You made your choice,” Adri said with a little sniff. “But if he is free, I wouldn’t pass him up.”

“To my knowledge you don’t have any competition,” Gen said, muttering under her breath, “as if any woman could compete.”

“Are you really going to get in a snit because I’m
not
panting after your man, Mrs. McCade?”

“Good point,” Gen said with a giggle. “Please direct your femme fatale skills to the younger one. I’ll settle for
not ugly
.” 

“He deserves smacked for that one. If he thought the last shot hurt, his ears will be ringing for a week.” 

“Be nice.”

“Husband or not, I won’t let him degrade you. You deserve better than that, Genevieve, and if you won’t stand up for yourself, I will.”

“Why?” Gen asked, her soapy hand wavering between them. “Why do I deserve better and why do you care? I’ve never understood that. Why would someone like you give a tinker’s damn about me?”

 "Someone like me? What does that even mean, Gen? I'm nothing special. Most people would just think of me as a whore in a fancy petticoat. I stand up for you and I give a damn about you because you're special to me. I care. What's so wrong about that?"

Genevieve’s mouth fell open in surprise, and she shook her head in bewilderment. “You are not a whore! My God, Adrienne, you’re classy, beautiful and so talented. You have no idea how I look up to you. You take care of yourself. You’re so strong, have the voice of an angel, a beautiful apartment—”

A harsh bark of laughter cut her off and it was Adrienne’s turn to shake her head. “I’m strong? Oh, Gen, baby. You are the strongest woman I know. Sometimes your faith and your heart make me feel so inadequate. Clark paid for that beautiful apartment and pretty much everything in it. How does that not make me a whore? I spent the last four years stupidly sleeping with a man that had no intention of marrying me,” she choked out, tears starting to roll down her face. A sob bubbled from her lips, and her composure shattered. “I have nothing to go back to. What the hell am I going to do?”

Gen grabbed her friend’s arm as Adrienne’s knees threatened to fold. Leaving the dishes, she ushered her to the living room and urged her onto the couch before running to the bathroom for tissues.

“I’m so sorry, Adri. I didn’t mean to upset you,” she whispered, hugging her crying friend awkwardly. “Aww, honey, you’re going to be okay. It’s his loss. There are men lining up around the block to sweep you up!” she said, holding her close and stroking her blue-black tresses. She felt helpless. Adri had always seemed so strong and self-sufficient. Could that really have all been a sham? Kissing the beauty’s temple, she rocked her softly. Adrienne had always been there for her; she would do whatever it took to return that favor now.

Adrienne finally pulled back and tried to smile, wiping at her tears. “I’m sorry. It’s silly. It’s not like I’m destitute, and a lot of people aren’t getting married at all these days. They just can’t afford it. I’ll be in good company.”

“Don’t count yourself out yet. You could always end up going for a marriage of convenience like I did. And you definitely have the benefit of not being ugly,” Gen said with a little giggle.

Adri giggled with her and blew her nose daintily before she shrugged, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. “It hasn’t worked out too bad for you. You didn’t end up with that filthy, toothless hillbilly in the one bedroom shack I kept warning you about.”

“No. Trey has a beautiful smile, and he bathes daily,” Gen said smacking her friend’s leg with the tissue box. “And for your information, I think his accent is sexy.”

“I would have to agree with you. The way they talk is quite attractive, but I think it’s that deep baritone of your husband’s that gets your panties in a knot.”

Color flooded Gen’s pale skin, but she tried valiantly to continue her friend’s risqué game. “There are quite a few things about my husband that get my panties in a knot, but you’re going to have to seduce Cole if you want a taste of a good southern man.”

Adri ran her tongue over her lips with a seductive smile. “As happy as you seem with that part of your marriage, maybe I should see what a southern boy tastes like.”

Gen’s blush darkened, and she choked on an embarrassed giggle. “I surrender,” she said, fleeing back to the kitchen sink.

Taking a long drag on her cigarette, Adrienne closed her eyes and let the familiar feeling wrap around her tattered nerves. Her conversation with Gen had been a doozy. She’d always suspected the kid had a bit of hero worship going, but the thought of herself as classy was beyond laughable. Stepping off the porch, she idly followed a worn path around the house, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar landscape. Pasture gave away to forest and in the distance, mountains rose toward the heavens. Patches of reds, oranges, and yellows still clung to the trees. Horses and cattle dotted the browning grass. It was a far cry from the hustle and bustle of New York City. It was beautiful.

Leaves fluttered around her as she strolled under a canopy of trees. Everything was so crisp and clean. After the filth of the shantytown, she could see where this valley would seem like a little slice of heaven to Gen. She paused at a flash of white near the barn. Trey had stripped off his coat and was stacking wood in his jeans and thermal shirt. Watching the way his muscles played under the tight shirt, she worried her bottom lip. He was an imposing man with his height and natural bulk. Even with the number of men she’d met or seen, she couldn’t remember any that matched this giant. The mercurial mood swings Gen had mentioned concerned her.

“You going to hide over there in the trees or are you going to ask me what you want to know?”

Adri started at his voice. When she didn’t answer right away, Trey turned to regard her.

“I told you this morning that I appreciate a person that is direct and honest, no matter the gender. I meant that. If you have something to say, say it. I’ll either answer it, or I won’t.”

Stepping out of the stand of trees, Adrienne crossed the drive. She glanced back at where she’d been standing and then raised an eyebrow at the big man. “How did you know I was there?”

“Your cigarette smoke carried.”

“And you guessed it was me?”

“Cole went into town. Gen doesn’t smoke. Brute didn’t growl so it wasn’t a stranger.”

“You’re a lot smarter than you look.”

“I get that a lot,” Trey said dryly and started stacking wood again.

Pulling her fur tighter, Adrienne studied the lean-to, the rows of firewood, and the man working. He moved effortlessly, every motion compact and precise to accomplish his task. Leather gloves protected his hands. He had big mitts. She’d noticed that on Main Street when he’d straightened from the blackjack’s blow with clenched fists and fury in his eyes. Cole said that his brother would never hurt a woman. Gen had said that no matter how she’d tried his patience, he hadn’t so much as cuffed her yet. Those endorsements were a start, but she needed to be a lot surer before she left her best and only friend in this giant’s hands. She bit the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath.

“Why did you agree to marry Gen?”

“I was tired of hiring the housekeeping and cooking done, and I crave a warm body in my bed at night.”

She blinked. He wasn’t kidding about saying what he meant. She wet her lips, eyes narrowing on him.

“Why not a local girl?”

“The local girls either want love or think I should be locked in a bell tower. It’s pretty even.”

“She told me that she admitted to you that she loves you, and that your response was ‘
love isn’t part of the deal
,’” Adrienne said with a snort of anger. “I don’t know why I would be surprised by that type of callus response from a man whose first words to her were to tell her she wasn’t ugly, but she’d do.”

Trey straightened, taking off his hat. Running his hand over the top of his head, he flipped his ponytail over his shoulder, blue eyes boring into her. 

“Did she tell you that she described herself in her letters to me as being
plain
and a
big girl
?”

Adri winced, cursing Gen’s lack of confidence under her breath. She should have insisted on reading the letters before they were sent. She sighed. That was in the past. She was here now, and she was going to straighten this man out before she left.

“What in the hell is wrong with you? What man wants an ugly wife, and what is so wrong with loving a woman who loves you back? Do you even care that Gen would do anything,
anything
, to make you happy?”

“Love takes time. It’s possible down the road. I won’t lie just to make her, or you, happy,” he said shortly.

“Contrary to popular opinion, Quasimodo you are not. Gen said your first wife was beautiful. Why would you want an ugly woman?” Adri pressed.

“Gen hasn’t met Catherine so she has nothing to base that on.”

“Answer the question.”

“It’s none of your damn business,” Trey snarled.  

“You said that Gen
hasn’t met
your first wife, indicating there is a possibility that could happen. She’s not deceased?” Adri asked intently.

“We’re divorced.”

“Why?”

“Why does that matter to you?”

“Because you refuse to answer my question. Why would any man actively seek to marry an ugly woman? What happened to honesty and directness? Or does that only apply when you want it to?”

His blue eyes narrowed to icy slits, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking at him. Direct hit. The jut of his jaw and the color creeping up the side of his thick neck suggested his temper was very close to boiling over.

“It’s a simple question, Mr. McCade.”

Brutus stood up from where he’d been sunning himself, his tail wagging, and they both turned to meet Gen’s curious gaze.

“What’s a simple question?” she asked, eyes darting between the two.

“I was just asking your husband here if things like honesty and directness only applied when he felt they were convenient, but seeing how the cat's got his tongue, I think this conversation is over," Adri said with an indignant sniff.

Color suffused Trey’s face and, for the first time, Adri worried she might have pushed the man too far. Rage rolled off him. She risked a peek at Gen, but her eyes were locked on her livid husband.

“Do you really want me to answer that question?” Trey asked, his voice a husky whisper that made goose bumps erupt over her skin.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she contemplated that for the briefest of seconds. The sick knot in the pit of her stomach answered for her. She shook her head. “No. That is between you and Gen.”

His gaze burned into her. She wasn’t sure, but she thought there was a hint of relief along with the warning they held. His face softened a bit when he turned to Gen.

“Did you need me, darlin'?”

“I always need you,” Gen said, stepping forward to wrap her arms around his waist.

His stony countenance melted, and a half smile curved his lips as he enfolded her in a bear hug. Cheek resting against Gen’s copper mane and his blond lashes fanned closed, he looked like a different man. The fear in Adrienne’s chest eased. Know it or not, that man loved his wife.

“That’s what I needed,” Gen sighed, planting a tender kiss on her husband’s chest and then giving him another squeeze.

“Happy to oblige, darlin',” he said, lifting his head to look down at her.

“I have pies in the oven. I better take Adri out of your hair and let you get back to work,” Gen said, reluctance heavy in her voice as she stroked her splayed hands over his chest.

A low rumble of pleasure emitted from Trey, and Adri had to smother a giggle into the collar of her fur coat. The noise sounded like a purring cat.

“What kinda pie?”

“I’m brushing up on my pie baking skills for the holidays. One is pumpkin, and the other is mince.”

“Is it dinner time yet?”

Gen laughed at his deadpan humor and pushed up on tiptoe for a kiss. “Normally I would say dinner is when you say it is, but the pork shoulder isn’t close to done.”      

“I guess I’ll have to wait then,” he said, granting her another kiss and patting her bottom in an affectionate farewell.

Adrienne bit her lip as Gen grabbed her hand and headed for the house. The look the redhead gave her wasn’t much warmer than the parting glower from the giant.

“For someone who professes to have this grand desire to see me happy, you sure have a funny way of showing it!” Gen exploded as she slammed the mudroom door. “What were you thinking?”

Adri jerked her hand free with a small pout. She flexed the injured appendage as she shrugged out of her luxurious fur. “If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t be concerned about what kind of man you’re married to.”

“Damn it, Adri! I told you that he’s a good man. Why can’t you just believe me? Why do you have to poke at him like a lion in a cage?”

“And if you’re so sure he’s a
good man
and he isn’t going to beat you, then why are you getting all worked up over a couple of questions?” she fired back.

“Everyone has a breaking point, and did it ever occur to you that I’m more worried about you than me? I want him to like you!”

Gen sucked in a breath and tried to rein in her temper as the stubborn songbird stomped her foot and whirled away with a dismissive snort.

“He’s hiding something!”

Rolling her eyes at Adrienne’s drama, Gen slipped past her to check the pies. Her hands shook. The fury she’d seen on her husband’s face when she’d walked up wasn’t something she wanted to see again. Even if his anger didn’t escalate to the physical, it was terrifying. She eased the oven door closed and wearily massaged her throbbing temples.  

“What did you say to him?”

“Nothing bad. I just wanted to know his motivation for marrying a woman he’d never seen. You and I talked about this before. I know why you did it. I wanted to know why he did.”

“And he wouldn’t answer that?” Gen asked with a frown. That didn’t sound like Trey. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as Adri fidgeted. Her stomach churned. “What did he say?”

“He wanted someone to take care of the house and warm his bed.”

Gen let her breath out slowly and nodded. She’d known that. She studied her friend’s face while Adri fussed with her hair, nervously twisting a curl around her finger. 

“Just please tell me. What did he refuse to answer?”

Adrienne’s shoulders slumped, and she turned pleading shamrock eyes on her. The look of pity was almost Gen’s undoing. She twisted her fingers, willing herself to stay calm. Adri sighed when she refused to look away.

“I asked him why a man would want to marry an ugly woman. He refused to answer and then let it slip that his wife isn’t dead like you told me,” she said, steel slipping back into her voice.

“That is my fault,” Gen admitted. “When he said that he
lost
his wife, I just assumed. We talked and he told me that he divorced Catherine.”

“He divorced her?” Adri demanded. At Gen’s nod she frowned. “You’re sure?”

Sighing, Gen glanced at the door and then walked into the other room where she could see the barn from the window. Trey was still stacking the mountain of firewood they’d dumped from the trailer. She bit her lip. This whole conversation felt somehow disloyal to her husband. Regardless of their start, she’d taken vows. Though he could be stubborn, prideful and private, she’d fallen in love with the man that shared his body heat with her at night.

“Spill!” Adri demanded.

“You have to promise me you will not repeat this,” Gen said, still watching her husband’s smooth movements.

“Oh my Lord, will you just tell me?”

“She cheated on him,” she whispered.

“Oh shit,” Adrienne breathed. “Did he walk in on them?”

“He went into town unexpectedly and saw them come out of the hotel together,” Gen said through clenched teeth. She turned to walk back into the kitchen and out to the mudroom.

“That’s all you’re going to say? Where are you going?”Adri asked, watching her pull on her coat.

“I’m going to take him some sweet tea. I think you should stay here.”

“Gen, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“You’re right. You didn’t know. I told you he is a good man. That should’ve been good enough for you. And just so you don’t feel the need to ask him anymore questions, he wants an ugly wife because Catherine was absolutely gorgeous and no woman will ever compare to her in his eyes. Now you know. If I can accept that, you should be able to,” Gen said flatly. Snatching the pitcher from the refrigerator and a glass, she swept past her stunned friend and out the back door.

Trey paused to catch his breath. Rolling his shoulders, he forced his temper to the back burner. There was no point working himself into the ground before the job was done. Grabbing another piece of wood, he settled back into a rhythm. The nosy little songbird’s questions had stung. He hadn’t expected that. He’d been honest with Genevieve from the beginning. Why the hell did love need to figure into the equation? They worked hard, got along well in the evenings, and better than well between the sheets. Wasn’t that enough? Obviously not. The ladies had been talking. Adrienne knew things he’d said that had to have come from Gen. He cursed under his breath. If Gen was unhappy, then having that little firecracker around wasn’t going to help. Adrienne had made it clear she didn’t think much of him.

What had that little scene earlier been? His wife had cuddled up to him like she’d meant it. Had it been a game? Were they playing him? He sighed. Sometimes he felt like the stupidest son-of-a-bitch in the world. Did other men understand women?

“I thought you might be thirsty.”

Trey swung around so fast he misjudged the stack and smashed his hand between the logs. Cursing, he settled the piece before jerking his glove off with his teeth and shaking his throbbing fingers.

“Are you okay? Let me see,” Gen said, her face awash with worry as she sat a pitcher and glass on top of the stack and reached for his hand.

“I’m fine.” He grumbled, but didn’t pull away when she cradled his hand in hers. The glove had kept the skin from breaking. It just throbbed. He jerked as her soft lips brushed across his knuckles.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said softly.

“It’s not your fault,” he said gruffly and pulled his hand back to flex it experimentally.

“I brought you some sweet tea.”

Trey’s eyes narrowed as she turned to pour a glass. He’d bet that no one understood women. He glanced around, wondering where the nasty little magpie was. Accepting the glass, he drained half before coming up for air and a little sigh. He nodded, licking his lips.

“That hits the spot, darlin'.”

The smile that lit her face at the simple compliment seemed genuine. He bit back a sigh and rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to remember why he’d thought it a good idea to get married again. Women confused the hell outa him. She shivered as gust of wind sent leaves skittering across the barnyard. Taking her arm, he moved her into the lee of the stacked wood. Downing the remainder of his tea, he handed her the empty glass and snatched his coat from atop the stack, giving it a shake before he draped it around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, not able to completely bite back a return smile.

“Would you like more tea?”

He nodded, wincing at the inane conversation. What next? The weather? His hand throbbed, and he considered calling it a day, but the thought of spending the next seven or eight hours until bed with Adrienne’s evil eyes burning into him made him reconsider.

“Where’s Adrienne?”

“I asked her to stay at the house. I’m sorry. She didn’t have a right to pry, and I told her that.”     

He nodded, not sure what to say. She seemed upset with her friend. He hadn’t anticipated that.

“I know Adri. She meant well. Under all that glitz and glam is a heart of gold,” Gen said softly and then shook her head with a sad smile. “She loves me, but she should’ve taken my word that you’re a good man instead of trying to make you prove it to her.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to her,” he snarled from behind clenched teeth.

Gen’s head snapped up, her eyes wide and troubled.

“I know that. I’m on your side in this.”

“In this?”

“In everything!” she cried, voice breaking and face crumbling so that he felt like an ass. Her hand reached out to touch his chest. “Trey, I’m your wife. I’m always going to take your side.”

“Whether you agree or not?” he asked flatly.

“Publicly, yes. I would like to think we could have a discussion in private where I was allowed to voice my opinion and hear more about yours, but I think that a wife should always support her husband.”  

“Of course you’re
allowed
to voice your opinion. I told you that I respect a strong woman.”

“And I respect you. You’ve been nothing but good to me since before we met,” she said, sincerity he couldn’t ignore shining from her beautiful face. “I won’t let Adrienne, or anyone else, say anything different.”

“I’ve had my asinine moments.”

“Once, Trey, only once have I felt like you said or did anything just to hurt me. We got through that. Give yourself a break. No one is perfect,” she said intently. “I’m trying with everything I have to be a good wife, the right wife for you, and I think that’s the trick here. We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be right for each other.”

Conviction had steeled her grey eyes, and she clutched a handful of his thermal shirt as if forcing him to listen to what she had to say. He covered her hand and she blushed, loosening her hold to smooth the material under his light touch.

“I’m glad to hear you say that because I ain’t perfect, darlin'. Far from it.”

“Only God is perfect, big man, and you aren’t God.”

He shifted uncomfortably, looking for a way to ease the tension in his shoulders and the air between them.

“Glad you got that straight. I thought I heard you call me by his name the other night,” he muttered and chuckled when she doubled up her small fist and thumped him in the chest.

“That was me thanking him for giving me to you,” she said, stroking the place she’d punched. A grin curved her lips, and he caught the sparkle in her eyes that warned of a bit of sass coming. “You might want to make sure you’re right with him. I’m not sure what you did wrong to deserve me.”

Trey couldn’t hold back a bark of laughter. Catching her chin, he tilted her head back and leaned down to give her a kiss.

“Whatever it was, darlin', I’m certainly enjoying the punishment.”

One cold hand wrapped behind his neck and pulled his head down to meld her lips to his. He smiled against the press and, slipping his forearm under her bottom, lifted her so he wasn’t hunched over. Both of her arms wound around his neck this time and she deepened the kiss. Cupping the back of her head in his big hand, he returned the kiss lazily, teasing her with the sweep of his tongue and little nips from his teeth.

“If you keep up this tactic, I’m going to think you pick fights just to make up,” he mumbled between kisses. Her laughter vibrated against his lips.

Tugging her mink hat down over her ears, Adrienne tried unsuccessfully to lose herself in the rustic beauty she’d been admiring earlier. Her heart ached. Genevieve’s anger had cut deep. She couldn’t remember the innocent redhead ever being so much as miffed with her. She angrily dashed another tear away. Gen was much more than miffed, and that hadn’t been an empty show of support for her husband. She was in love with the stubborn ass.

She nibbled her lip. As livid as the bull of a man had looked today, he’d reined in his temper. The way he’d softened with Gen said that he cared, even if his words didn’t support that. Was he still in love with this beautiful little tramp that had cheated on him? Supposedly he’d been the one to file for divorce. She sighed. Everything about the man was contradictory. He might not be the hermit hillbilly she’d teased Gen with, but he was more than a little backward. Everything from his sense of style to his narrow outlook and quaint manners were stuck in a different era. 

 The sound of a vehicle broke the silence, and she looked uncertainly toward the trees lining the drive. Trey had said Cole had gone into town. Was this him returning? She eased uncertainly into the slight ditch. She felt more than a little out of her element away from the city’s lights, hustle and bustle. She blew her breath out in relief when the shiny blue truck came around the curve. Cole stopped the vehicle and had the window rolled down before she clambered back to the drive.

“What’s a beautiful woman like you doing in a place like this,” he teased, eyes twinkling.

Adrienne laughed, shaking her head. She’d heard that one a time or two, but she had to admit his drawling delivery put a fresh spin on it. “I needed to get away,” she admitted. 

“You’re packed a little light for running away and it’s chilly. Why don’t you hop in?”

Adrienne hesitated. Her nose was cold. She glanced back up the drive, not ready to face Genevieve’s anger again or a cold shoulder. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Maybe it would be best to pack her stuff and ask Cole for a ride into town. She had enough finances in the bank to get a hotel room while she decided what she wanted to do. One thing was for sure. She couldn’t leave things the way they were with Gen. She was not losing her best friend over a man.

“If you don’t want to go back to the house right now, we can go over to my place for a while and you can tell me what my big brother did to piss you off,” Cole offered from the still idling truck.

“Your place?” she asked, eyes narrowing slightly in question.

“The original farmstead is just down the road. Trey said when I decide to settle down the house is mine if I want it.”

Glancing in the direction he indicated with a wave of his hand, Adrienne could see nothing but trees. She looked back at the handsome man and finally nodded. He startled her as he tossed open the door. She remained rooted as he stepped out and offered his arm. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he just smiled and waited for her to take his arm

“Country boys have manners too you know,” he said helping her into the passenger side.

She didn’t say anything as he closed the door and ran back around to his side. She held her fingers to the heat as he tossed his arm across the back of the seat and shifted into reverse. He didn’t try to start a conversation in the short drive. She was grateful for the few minutes to mull over what to say. Though Gen had said Cole liked to harass his older brother, siblings often were protective of one another against outsiders. The last thing she needed was another incident like her conversation with Gen, but she needed someone to talk to.