Mara McBain (16 page)

Trey took the log from his wife’s fingers and shook his head as he hefted it to the top of the stack. He caught her braid as she turned to grab another piece from the pile. Drawing her head back against his body, he looked down at her and shook a chiding finger.

“You’re done. I told you to stick to the light ones. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” she protested with a little smile, but didn’t try to pull free of his hold. 

“I’m not going to deny that, darlin', but I can’t have my wife working like a man and showing me up.”

She giggled and reached back to stroke his bicep. “No chance of that, big man.”

He smiled and dropped a kiss on her lips before releasing her. “I’m ready to call it a day. This wood isn’t going anywhere. It’ll wait for another day.”

Gathering up the empty pitcher and glass, she ducked under his offered arm. Tucking her close, he headed for the house before playfully veering toward the barn door with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Gen blushed, but her laugh rang in the crisp air and she didn’t look opposed to another roll in the hay. He lifted her off her feet as she turned in that direction and carried her toward the house under his arm.

“Hussy.”

“It’s your fault,” she said with a cute sniff. “I was a good girl before you got a hold of me.”

“So now you’re blaming me for corrupting you?”

“If the shoe fits, Cinderella.”

“That’s an awfully big glass slipper,” he said with a laugh, bouncing her like a sack of grain for her sass. She giggled breathlessly.

Spinning around, he used her momentum to sweep her up to the porch on her feet and join her with an easy bound. Pressing close to the back of her, his hands slipped between them to move her along with gentle swats to her bottom. The warmth of the mudroom was welcome. He breathed deeply, the mingled aroma of roasting pork and pies making his mouth water and stomach growl.

In the process of shrugging out of his heavy coat, Gen gasped and let the garment fall as she hurried into the kitchen. Shaking his head, Trey hung it up and stepped to the doorway to see what had his wife in a tizzy now. She was carefully examining the cooling pies.

“Thank God Adri pulled them out,” she breathed. “I completely forgot about them.”

“Now that I might have had to beat ya for,” Trey drawled in her ear. She colored but snuggled back against him as he leaned over her.

“Not for any of the other things I’ve done, but pie’s a priority?” she whispered, her smile more tentative than he would of liked.

“Pie is definitely a priority, darlin',” he said, dropping his baritone down to make her shiver as he nuzzled the side of her neck. “Your husband has a serious sweet tooth.”

“Hmm…maybe marrying a baker’s daughter wasn’t just blind luck,” she mused, tapping her lips with a finger and fighting a smile.

“Guilty,” he growled, loving the way her breath caught and she pushed back against him with a little shiver. Her teeth sank into the full swell of her bottom lip, and she glanced nervously toward the living room as he rolled his hips. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall forward on her shoulder with a groan. Damn house guests. He cleared his throat and straightened reluctantly. When he turned his wife around to help her out of her own coat, she didn’t look any happier with the interruption than he was. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s napping,” Gen said, slipping past him to peek into the living room. She was coming back and looking up the stairs by the time he’d hung up her coat.

“A nap don’t sound like a bad idea,” he said crowding her up the steps.

She smothered a laugh and jogged up the stairs. He grimaced when she turned toward the guestroom instead of the master bedroom. She came back with a frown.

“She’s not here.”

“Hallelujah!” he said reaching for her, but he wasn’t too surprised to get his hand slapped as she started back down the stairs her friend’s name on her lips. Sighing, he descended the stairs as she searched the house.

“Her coat is gone.”

“Then she probably went for a walk.”

“I didn’t see her go by.”

“Maybe she went down the drive, or walked along the fence and we didn’t see her through the trees, darlin'. She’s more than capable of taking care of herself,” he said, pulling her into his arms to soothe her.

“She could be being eaten by a bear and you wouldn’t care at the moment,” she protested through a laugh as he rubbed against her.

“If she has her purse with her, I feel sorry for the damn bear.”

“Trey!” she admonished him, but he didn’t miss the smothered giggle. “Please. She doesn’t know the area and she’s upset. I was pretty harsh with her. What if she went into the woods? Look how easy I got lost, and if not a bear then another one of those wild boars. I doubt Adrienne has ever climbed a tree.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, as if he didn’t know the answer to that.

“Help me look for her.”

He looked down into her pleading eyes and shook his head. He didn’t really have a choice short of throwing her over his shoulder like a mountain man and carrying her off to bed. There was a slim chance he could distract her long enough, but a much better chance she’d unleash waterworks on him.
Women.
“I’ll get our coats.”

Latching the suitcase, Gen dashed away a wayward tear before Trey could see it. Her husband had made it clear he’d had enough tears. Her worry last night had turned to heartsick when Cole had shown up to tell them that Adrienne had checked into a hotel. She rubbed at tired eyes. The hurt words she’d hurled at her friend had haunted her dreams. Ashamed of herself, she had no idea how to make things right.

Looking out the window, she watched Cole walk across the pasture. He’d been decidedly cool to her and Trey the night before. It was clear he sympathized with Adrienne. He’d offered to pack her things up and take them into town for her so that she didn’t have to confront them. Gen’s fingers fisted in the curtain. She couldn’t let Adri go back to New York without clearing the air. She’d already asked Trey’s permission to accompany Cole into town and been denied. Biting her lip, she searched for a way to get him to change his mind. Adri was too important to her to just let her go.

Carrying the last suitcase downstairs, she handed it to the waiting Cole.

“Can you please wait for a minute? I need to talk to Trey,” she asked, laying a hand on his arm.

Cole glanced to where his brother was stacking wood and nodded reluctantly. “The jackass isn’t going to change his mind, but I will wait while you talk to him, little sister.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, fighting back tears at both the bitterness and endearment. Brutus fell into step beside her as she crossed the yard. She scratched his broad head as they walked. What was she going to say? As horrible as she felt that Adrienne was upset, she understood her husband’s anger at the way Adri had handled things.

“Trey?”

He stiffened at her voice and, for a moment, she didn’t think that he would acknowledge her. Finally settling the piece of wood in his hands, he turned. Searching his hard features, she faltered. What could she say that she hadn’t already? There was nothing but the truth.

“I really need you to reconsider,” she whispered. “Before I was blessed with you, Adrienne was my only friend. I’ve told you before that she saved my life more than once. I can’t let her go back to New York without asking for her forgiveness. I’m begging you.”

“What did I tell you?”

Cringing at the harsh bark of his voice, Gen gritted her teeth. He’d made a point of telling her more than once that he respected a strong woman. She prayed he meant that. “You said that Adrienne owed me an apology. The point is: that can’t happen unless we’re allowed to see one another. Please don’t be angry, but consider this. Would your mother have accepted your refusal in my position?”

The muscles along his jaw knotted and she prayed. He took a deep breath, and she watched his eyes drift shut as he fought with his temper. Finally, his head fell forward. His chin rested on his chest, and he rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Give me a couple of minutes to clean up and we’ll go,” he said; his voice soft, but cold. He brushed past her without another word and disappeared into the house.

Letting out her breath, Gen unclasped her shaking hands. If this went badly, she might have just alienated her husband as well as her best friend. 

Adrienne’s expressive shamrock eyes opened wide when she answered the door. They shot to Cole in question. He shrugged.

“She insisted on coming and where she goes, he goes,” he said.

“Please come in. Have you had breakfast?” she asked, ushering them into the tiny sitting room. At Cole’s negative headshake, she nodded and stepped over to call for coffee and refreshments.

Gen bit her lip, struggling with what to say. When Adri returned, she nervously offered the remaining chair to Trey. He declined, seemingly content to loom over the back of her chair. Gen glanced back at her husband. His face was tense. She opened her mouth, but Adrienne beat her to it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Adri—”

“Please just let me get this out,” Adrienne said, holding up a trembling hand and turning her gaze on Trey. “I’m sorry. She’s all I have. I—I love her. I don’t know what she saw in me, but her innocence and her huge heart drew me in like a moth to flame. She’s all the things I’m not, and I just want to protect that in her.” She took a shuddering breath. “I didn’t have a right to pry, but I hope you can at least understand why. Regardless, I was wrong, and she was right. You’re good to her and she’s happy. That’s what matters. I’m sorry. You don’t have to like me, but please don’t keep me from her.”

Gen tried to stand, reaching for Adri, but Trey’s hand on her shoulder pushed her back down in the chair. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for understanding.

“I need to have a private word with Miss Lachance. Are you okay with going downstairs to wait for me with Cole?”

He was asking, not ordering. Biting back the flood of questions that danced on the tip of her tongue, Gen searched his hard face. He was staring at Adrienne. At her silence, he finally dragged his steely gaze away and looked down at her.

“It will just take a moment and then we’ll all get breakfast,” he said, his big hands squeezing her shoulders in reassurance.

Swallowing hard, she nodded. She needed to trust him. She prayed
all
included Adri, because she wasn’t leaving town without talking to her friend. Standing, she hugged Adri tight.

“I’ll see you downstairs,” she whispered.

The smile Adri gave her seemed a bit forced, but she nodded. Her brother-in-law put a hand on the small of her back and directed her to the door, but Gen didn’t miss the hard stare he gave Trey. She shivered as the door closed behind them and took Cole’s arm to descend the stairs.

“Are they going to be all right?”

“I don’t know,” Cole said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. “I’m not sure what he’s thinking.”

Gen’s steps faltered and she looked back over her shoulder. Glancing back up at Cole, she bit her lip. “Should we have stayed?”

“I don’t know. He won’t hurt her, but I’d feel better if I knew what was going through that stubborn head of his.”

The little songbird flinched as the door closed. He noted the tremble of her hands. He waved a hand to her chair. To her credit, she took a seat, her classic features composed.

“Our differences aren’t completely your fault. I did tell you to ask your questions, and I should’ve answered them,” he said slowly. Reaching up to rub at the tension in his neck, he sighed. “I divorced Catherine because I caught her cheating. As to the desire for an ugly wife, I’ve got a jealous streak six miles wide.”

Adrienne’s lips twisted in a wry smile and she shook her head. “Gen thinks you were looking for a plain wife because Catherine was so beautiful no other woman will ever compare. The truth is, that adulterous bitch put you through the wringer, and you didn’t want to have to work so hard to protect what’s yours.”

Trey’s chuckle sounded humorless, even to his ears. The truth stabbed deep, but he shrugged, ignoring the heat he felt creeping over his cheeks. “You see how well that worked out. Never trust a priest to assess a woman’s beauty.”

“You made it obvious you didn’t agree with the assessment at the woodpile. Actions speak louder than words sometimes and your body reacted,” she said with a knowing smirk.

He rolled his eyes at her smugness. He sure as hell wasn’t going to apologize for
reacting
to his own wife. He took a deep breath. It was time to clear the air. “Let’s get a few things straight. I might not be the city boy you would’ve picked for Gen, but I’m the man she married. I promised her that I’d take good care of her and I will. I get that after her daddy you’re both a little leery of men, but I’m not so insecure that I need to beat my wife when we don’t agree on something she said or did. I told her that if I wanted her to shake like a scared rabbit every time I growled, I could make that happen. That’s not the kind of man my mama raised,” he said, shifting forward in his chair until he was sure he had the woman’s attention.

She leaned back and her eyes crossed as his forefinger drove his point home.

“If you don’t want to be frozen out of Gen’s life then you better listen up. You’ve got a smart little mouth on you, but you best engage what’s between your ears. I promise if you try to poison my wife against me, I will forget every damn manner my mama ever taught me and you’ll regret it.”

Letting out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding, Gen stood from her seat on the sofa and crossed the lobby to her husband. He opened his arms, drawing her into the embrace she craved. Tilting her head back, her chin rested on his chest as she peered up at him. He smiled and stroked her cheek with his knuckles.

“Adrienne is checking out.”

“And going where?” Cole demanded.

Grimacing at his brother’s tone, Trey met his gaze over her head. “Back to the farm. I told her there’s no point in staying here when we have room.”

Gen relaxed against him, stroking his ribs in silent thanks.

“I figured that would make you happy, darlin',” he said, rubbing her back in a soft circle. His smile returned. “When she gets finished, we’ll get breakfast and then I believe she has some shopping she wants to do before we head back. That shouldn’t be too much of a hardship for you, should it?”

She giggled against his side and let her hand slide down his back to pinch his bottom in retaliation for the teasing. He flinched and then laughed, drawing a funny look from Cole. He shook a finger in her face and cocked his head in playful warning. Patting the seat of his jeans, her hand climbed back to safer territory, hooking at his waist band under his coattails. She released him and gathered Adrienne into a crushing hug when she shyly joined them.

“Please tell me that we are okay?” she whispered against her raven hair.

“If you can forgive me, then I can surely overlook anything you think you did,” Adri said, squeezing her back.

“Before I have to break out the tissues, can we go get some breakfast? I didn’t even get coffee this morning,” Cole said plaintively.

“Whose fault was that?” Trey asked.

“Yours for being such an ass last night.”

“I didn’t tell you to go sleep over at the other house. I had breakfast.”

“Then why are we heading for the restaurant?” Cole asked in exasperation.

“I can always eat, and you’re too puny as it is. If I want any work outa you, I can’t let you waste away.”

“Puny? Just because I’m not ready for slaughter, lard ass. There’s nothing puny about me.”

Genevieve smothered a giggle as her handsome brother-in-law threw his coat open to display his well-muscled physique. Adrienne let out a sexy whistle.

“All show pony,” Trey snorted.      

“At least I have definition. You’re broader than a broodmare.”

“I can work you into the ground any day of the week, little man.”

“I’m sure that turns your wife on,” Cole said, dodging away from the head slap he knew was coming. He spun in surprise when Gen delivered one instead.

“I see him naked. Trey has a very sexy body, and that is just one of the things about him that turn me on, little brother.”

All three of them gaped at her in disbelief. Feeling color heat her cheeks, she raised her chin defiantly. A grin split Trey’s face. Adri giggled and showed her approval with two thumbs up. Cole sloughed a hand over his face, stretching his incredulous features in its wake. He opened his mouth and closed it again, shaking his head.

“If anyone still has an appetite after hearing that, let’s just go to breakfast,” he finally muttered and headed for the door.

Gen bit back a giggle and hooked her arm through Trey’s. She beamed up at him when he offered his other to Adri as soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk. Adrienne leaned forward to peek around him as they walked.

“Dear Lord. His bicep is as big around as my waist and hard as a rock,” she said in a giggling stage whisper.

“Aw come on,” Cole protested in front of them. “I’d really like to be able to keep my food down.”

“Makes you feel safe, doesn’t it?” Gen asked smugly. “And having a husband this big makes even me look dainty.”

“You know he can hear you, right? His ego is going to be unbearable.”

“You wouldn’t be jealous of your older brother would you?” Adri asked sweetly.

Cole spun in his tracks. “Jealous of him?” he asked, incredulity clear in his voice. He shook his head as both women giggled, enjoying their joke. He nodded, a sexy grin spreading across his face. “Okay. I guess there is a time and place for everything. I mean, he does have a beautiful woman on each arm.”   

“Perhaps if you asked him nicely, he might be willing to lighten his work load and pass off one of us to you,” Adrienne suggested, indicating herself with a flourish of her hand. “If you are willing to take on such a challenge, of course.”

“I have to admit you seem like you’d be a handful,” Cole said, looking her up and down. “What do you say, big brother? Can I take the lovely Miss Lachance off your hands?”

Trey rolled his eyes at the play, but moved his left arm forward to hand her off. “If she’ll have ya.”

Adrienne laughed and took Cole’s arm. Gen squeezed Trey’s bicep as they followed the other couple across the street. He looked down at her and winked.

Gen stretched her back and stepped out of the boutique. Adri was paying for her purchases at last. That woman made shopping an endurance event. She took a deep breath and looked up and down the sidewalk for her husband’s black Stetson. The crisp air was welcome after the cloying smell of perfumes that had permeated the small shop.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance?”

She jumped and spun to face a well dressed man with a slick smile.  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she shook her head, biting back a polite refusal. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she craned her neck, praying for a glimpse of Trey’s broad shoulders or Cole’s smiling face.

“Aw now, come on, doll. There ain’t no reason to be shy. I’m just trying to be friendly is all. Why don’t you let me take you back inside and buy you something pretty, or perhaps a cup of coffee to take off some of the chill?”