Mara McBain (19 page)

Gen slipped into the office, the tray with the coffee service clutched carefully in her hands. Trey leaned back in his chair with a roll of his powerful shoulders.

“It would’ve been easier to just tell me to walk my ass out to the kitchen and refill my mug,” he said with a little smile.

His wife blushed cutely and shook her head as she fussed with filling the mentioned mug and returned it to its spot with the handle facing his hand.

“You saying that wouldn’t have been easier, or you’re just not going to say that?” he asked, amused by her attention to detail.

“Easier for me possibly, but not you, and no, I can’t see myself ever saying that,” she answered, her smile shy.

“Come here and tell me why,” he said, pushing his chair back a bit and patting his leg. She shot him a look like he was crazy, and he laughed out loud. “Come here. I won’t bite.”

Coming around the desk, she perched carefully on his thigh. He shook his head and pulled her more firmly into his lap. She squirmed at his expectant silence. More color tinged her cheeks.

“I enjoy taking care of you,” she said softly. “It’s the least I can do with everything that you give me.”

“You take wonderful care of me, darlin', but I am a big boy. My mama didn’t raise us boys to expect to be waited on hand and foot or to need a lot of fuss. If you’d really wanted to refill my cup, you could’ve just came and got it.”

“And miss out on the muffins?” she asked, motioning to the baked goods on the tray.

He couldn’t hold back another chuckle. Stroking a strand of hair that had escaped the twist at the back of her head, he searched for the right words to reassure her. Finally, he shrugged and went with simple.

“If you like taking care of me, I appreciate it. If you’re doing it because you think I expect, it or that I will kick your ass if my coffee cup is empty, don’t.” 

The clock on the mantle was the only noise in the room as she seemed to mull over the statement. A couple of minutes ticked away before she spoke again. “Your mama sounds like a strong woman,” she said softly.

The turn in the conversation threw him for a moment, but then he nodded. “She was.”

“I loved my mom, but she was weak, like Rose,” she said, staring into the fire he’d started earlier.

“She didn’t protect you,” he said flatly. It wasn’t a question, but she still shook her head. Her next words made him smile in pride.

“I’ll protect mine.”

“We’ll protect them together, darlin', and raise them up strong,” he said turning her face to his. “But if you ever feel like I’m threatening your babies, I damn well expect you to get all shades of nasty on my ass.”

Gen laughed. The sound was beautiful. Trey closed his eyes as her arms went around his neck.

“I love your drawl, and if you thought I was protective of Lilly, wait until it’s ours,” she said, nuzzling the side of his neck. 

“I’m counting on it, darlin'.”

She let out a startled squeak as he stood with her in his arms. The coffee service teetered perilously on the edge of the desk as he made room for her.

“How about we get busy making those babies you’re going to be so damn protective of,” he said with a wink.

Rubbing the calf’s ears, Cole enjoyed the quiet warmth of the barn. If he’d been smart, he’d have come out here to begin with. Now he’d upset Gen and pissed off Trey, not to mention whatever he’d done with Adrienne. He sighed. Damn she’d tasted good. She looked good, tasted good, felt good, and smelled good. He groaned. He had it bad. He shook his head. He couldn’t keep looking for a woman that would get along with Trey. Cole chuckled. There was a good possibility that woman didn’t exist. Besides, they wouldn’t exactly live in the same house, and now there was Gen as a buffer.

The door slammed and he stood from his seat in the straw. Adrienne shivered in her fancy fur coat. Her hands trembled as she tried to light her cigarette.

“You shouldn’t smoke in here.”

Her head jerked up at his voice. A hand fluttered against her chest, and she gave a little laugh.

“You startled me. I was just looking for someplace out of the wind.”

“It’s not real safe to smoke in the barn with all the straw and hay. The place will go up like a match.”

“I’ll be careful, and you’re right here to take care of me, cowboy,” she said with a seductive smile.

Cole shook his head, watching the glow of the cigarette bathe her perfect features. She was stunning, and she knew it. She was used to wrapping men around her finger. It was funny how women had different ways of getting what they wanted, but they all did. Catherine had just spent money without asking or worry of consequence. Gen spoiled Trey until any tiny thing that she wanted seemed insignificant. He’d bet Adrienne dazzled with her beauty and wit until men were begging to do or buy things for her. Cole frowned. He didn’t have the kind of money this Clark from New York City boasted. Were the material things what mattered to Adri? Surely she was used to them, and what woman didn’t love them, but were they what was important?

“Do you miss New York?”

Adrienne’s bright eyes narrowed to slits, and she blew a lungful of smoke toward the rafters as she seemed to consider the question.

“A little, in that I feel a little more sure of the role I play there. I feel a bit like a fish out of water here. On the other hand, Gen is here, and it is so quiet and clean with this laid back ease that you would never find in the city.”

“Do you ever just stop acting and be the real Adrienne?”

“I don’t think I know who she is anymore,” she said with a little laugh.

“Maybe it’s time you try to find her again,” he said slowly. “Don’t take this wrong. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Your situation at the moment ain’t a whole lot different than Gen’s. You’re on your own. You don’t have a place to go back to. It might be a good time to think about what you really want.”

Adrienne’s chin came up in pride and, for a moment, Cole thought she was going to let him have it, but she bit her lip.

“Gen and I are two very different people. Her options aren’t open to someone like me,” she said carefully.

“That’s bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said that’s bullshit,” Cole said with a shake of his head. “If you want to say that you don’t have the guts to do what Gen did, that’s one thing, but don’t say it’s not an option. You’re a stunningly beautiful woman. There are plenty of men that would marry you in a heartbeat.”

She shook her head, her smile sad. He wanted to pull her into his arms and erase that sadness. Her words were simple, but heartfelt. It was obvious she believed every word.

“Not with my past, Mr. McCade. Plenty of men are willing to slip between the sheets before marriage, and say whatever they need to in order to get there, but no one marries that girl."

“I would if I knew I could be what you want,” he said firmly.

Her mouth hung agape for a moment, and then she stiffened as if he’d slapped her. Stepping back, she gave a sharp bark of laughter.

“I know you didn’t care for my questioning the type of man your brother is, but that was cold, Mr. McCade,” she said, anger staining her fine features a furious hue. She backed away from him, her slender body shaking with the force of her emotions. She spun when her back hit wood and fled the barn leaving the door swinging in the wind. 

Cole closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. That had gone well. His brother was going to love this one.

The tension in the truck was stifling. Shifting carefully against her husband’s side, Gen cradled the pie that she’d made for the church dinner. A roasting pan nestled in a thick towel on the floorboards between Cole’s feet held a large ham. He stared straight out the passenger window. Adrienne sat ramrod stiff, smashed between him and Gen. Trey eased his arm up and laid it across the back of the seat, allowing Gen to ease a little closer. She peeked up at him and he shook his head, his eyes flickering to the other two.

Adrienne had come back in from having a cigarette the afternoon before, upset and red-eyed. She’d refused to discuss what had upset her, instead muttering a litany of curses aimed at men under her breath that made Gen blush just thinking about it. Trey had fared little better with Cole. The younger McCade had been unusually somber. She gave a sigh of relief when Trey parked in front of the church and gratefully accepted his help from the truck.

“They’ll work it out,” he drawled in her ear, cuddling her in the lee of the door. “Don’t let it ruin your day, darlin'.”

“Thank you. I needed that,” she whispered back with a smile.

He gave her a wink and wrapped his arm around her as he led her into the church. A handful of teenagers had been tasked with whisking the food off to the fellowship hall, freeing the adults up to socialize before the service. Several women greeted her as they were hanging up their coats, and Gen pulled Adrienne from her sulk to introduce her around. It seemed a good number of the men were interested in meeting her as well, but Gen politely avoided eye contact and allowed Trey to steer her and Adri through to the sanctuary.

She gave Adri’s fingers a squeeze as they slid into their pew. Her friend’s polite mask thawed a bit and she offered a reassuring smile.

“I’m fine. No need to fuss.”

Gen’s answer died in her throat as an awkward young man plopped down beside Adrienne. The lanky youth leaned close, his expression eager. Just as he opened his mouth Trey’s baritone boomed in the room’s babble,

“Ladies,” he said, motioning decisively for them to slide past him in the pew, effectively bookending them between him and the wall.

Adrienne shot her would be suitor a gentle look of regret, but pulled a horrified expression at Gen once they were safely reseated on the other side of Trey. The kid tried to lean around the big man, but Trey’s glower convinced him of the wisdom of retreat.

Adrienne smothered a giggle. “My hero,” she whispered teasingly, patting Trey’s arm. 

Trey rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched in amusement as they rose for the first hymn.

Assuring she had table service for the four in their group, Genevieve turned to scan the hall for her missing brother-in-law. Cole hadn’t joined them in their pew for services. She’d tried to discreetly locate him during the sermon, but a stern look from her husband had returned her gaze front and center like a naughty school girl. She grinned as he met her eye then, as if reading her mind. She smothered a laugh as he started toward her, deserting his conversation mate in mid-sentence. The man looked after Trey with his mouth hanging open, but her husband’s eyes were locked on her.

Warmth flooded her cheeks. She couldn’t begin to describe the feelings he could elicit in her with just a look. Adri obviously noticed. Her friend nudged her with a naughty giggle.

“Cole’s right. You look at him like he’s ten foot tall and bullet proof.”

“He’s everything I never dared dream of and more, Adri. I love him,” she whispered, still watching him work his way through the crowd.

“I’m happy for you, sister. I couldn’t ask for more for you,” Adrienne said giving her a hug.

Trey’s step faltered. He blinked. Pain twisted his handsome features. Gen’s heart skipped a beat and she pulled away from the embrace, already pushing through the crowd. Her husband’s head shook back and forth. Color drained from his face and, for a moment, Gen thought his knees were going to buckle. Then, like the flip of a switch, all the softness fled the big man. His eyes narrowed in an arctic glare, and his white teeth clenched in a snarl. He looked down at someone she couldn’t see, and she prayed that he never looked at her like that.

She’d almost reached him when she spotted Cole coming from the other direction. His gaze was riveted on his brother and concern stamped his chiseled face. Gen froze at her first glimpse of Trey’s adversary. The diminutive blonde was so perfect she was a living doll.  She gazed up at Trey with a look Gen could only describe as hungry and possessive. There was no doubt in her mind this was Catherine. 

A circle was forming around the two as people watched and waited in sick fascination to see what was going to happen. Gen swallowed hard, fighting to draw a breath into her starved lungs. Her stomach twisted. Forcing one foot in front of the other, she slipped through to the inner circle and instantly wished she hadn’t. Perched on Catherine’s hip was a tiny replica of her, right down to blue silk dress that highlighted their bright eyes.

Breakfast threatened to rebel. Gen swallowed hard and tried to blend back into the crowd, but Adri stopped her.

“Don’t you dare run,” she hissed. “Get over there and fight for your man. You love him, and I promise you that he loves you.”

Gen stumbled forward with the little shove her best friend delivered. Straightening her shoulders, she walked to Trey’s side, drawing a gasp from those watching. His gaze flickered to her and for a moment she thought she’d made a mistake, but his arm encircled her waist, drawing her against him. Catherine’s eyes narrowed at the reception. Gen could feel her calculating stare and knew the second that she’d been judged lacking and dismissed.

Grinding her teeth, she turned into Trey’s side slightly, laying her hand across the flat expanse of his stomach. Adri was right. She was not going down without a fight.

“They’re uncovering the last of the food. The pastor’s going to offer grace and then it will be time to eat,” she said softly.

Trey’s eyes dropped back to hers and, this time, the corner of his mouth tipped up in that crooked grin she loved so much.

“Thank you, darlin',” he said softly and turned her toward the table she’d chosen for them.

“We have a lot to talk about, Trey,” Catherine said, bouncing the little one lightly on her hip.

“Right now I’m going to enjoy dinner with my wife. Anything that we have to talk about has waited this long. It will keep a little longer,” Trey rumbled, and turned his back on her to lead Gen through the murmuring crowd.

“Don’t you want to at least meet your daughter?” Catherine asked, drawing another horrified gasp from their audience.

Trey paused and rolled his shoulders. Gen saw the muscle in his jaw tick and held her breath. He turned back toward the petite beauty without relinquishing his hold on her.

“You don’t really want to start this conversation, here, now, in a church, do you?” he drawled pointedly.

Her painted lips pressed into a tight line of displeasure, but she stayed silent. He gave her a curt nod and spun on his heel. Cole joined them, his expression worried, but Trey just gave him a tight shake of his head and two simple words: “Not here.”

Lunch was tense. All around them the whispers carried their names, but yet no one attempted to involve the McCade group in the conversation. The food like sawdust in her mouth, Gen kept her head high. Her hand slid under the table, and she stroked Trey’s corded thigh. His hand covered hers, giving her fingers a squeeze before lacing his fingers through hers. When it came time to clean up, he kissed the inside of her wrist before releasing her with a tight smile and a nod.

Even the normally blunt Adrienne kept her mouth shut as they worked with the other ladies in the fellowship hall’s kitchen. Gen kept an eye on Trey through the doors as the men started to mingle and socialize. Only Cole tried to talk to him. When his attempts were met with silence, Cole slouched in his chair, his leg bouncing in barely restrained aggravation or anxiety.

Skirting the group of young women surrounding Catherine and her daughter in one corner of the kitchen, Gen bit the inside of her cheek. She peeked at the little girl, searching for any sign of a McCade family resemblance. She was the spitting image of her mother. Discreetly rubbing at the dull throb in her temple, Gen tried to guess the tot’s age. Her stomach churned as she remembered the look in Trey’s eyes when he’d talked about children. How many times had she thought to herself what a great father he was going to make? There was no doubt in her mind. The only question now was if they’d be hers.

Trey wove his way through the tombstones, a deep frown carving his features. He felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under him. Just seeing the bitch had turned his world upside down. Sure, he’d considered how he’d react if he ran into her again, but the baby had never been part of the picture. He’d wracked his brain all the way through lunch, trying to pinpoint the last time she’d actually deigned to have sex with him. He snorted. Sex with her husband hadn’t been high on Catherine’s list of priorities. She’d whined that it was painful no matter what he did. It didn’t seem to be a big issue with Gen. He shook his head. She’d had every excuse in the book, and most of them his fault. Little had he known, she was scratching that itch somewhere else.

“Trey?”

He spun at the sound of his name. He sighed when he spotted the pastor working his way across the cemetery, but paused to wait for him. The gregarious man joined him and they continued walking.

“I take it you have some doubts about little Catherine?”

Trey grimaced. “I have doubts about a lot of things. My ex-wife happens to be at the root of many of them.”

“Are you denying the child?”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Trey shrugged. “I don’t know. I have questions, doubts. I’d sure like the chance to do the math.”

“No man or woman is perfect, Trey. That is reserved for our Lord.”

“I’m aware, and I will accept a portion of the blame for our failed marriage. I’m not perfect.”

“Yet you expected Catherine to be.”

Trey glared at the portly pastor, his jaw jutting in anger. “I never asked her to be perfect, just faithful.”

“I’m just saying, son—”

“Well you can stop saying, and I ain’t your son,” Trey growled.

“I didn’t mean to upset you. Please accept my apologies.”

“What is it you think I should have done differently? Was I supposed to let her sleep with half the town and turn the other cheek? I guess I’m not that strong of a Christian. You’re damn lucky you weren’t officiating at a couple of funerals.”

“I’m not condoning her behavior at all, Trey, but there is a child—”

“I don’t deny that the child is innocent, but Catherine’s shown her colors. It will take a lot more than her
word
to convince me that child is mine.”

“All I’m asking is that you listen and consider all involved before you do or say anything rash,” the pastor soothed.

Trey shook his head with a harsh bark of laughter.

“You know what I find interesting? How about the fact that she broke the marriage vows, but I’m the one that everyone stares at and avoids like the village hunchback? And while you’re worrying about the innocents in this mess, don’t forget about Genevieve. I think I’ve tolerated about all the socializing I can handle for one day. I’m going home,” he said and walked away without another word.

The sharp crack of snapping fingers made the kitchen fall silent. Trey didn’t bother with niceties.

“Let’s go.”

Pulling her hands from the dishwater, Gen gave them a shake as she searched fruitlessly for a towel. Abandoning the thought, she gathered her roaster, piling the pie plate and the folded towel on top. Adrienne met her at the door, surprisingly without comment on their abrupt summons. Gen kept her head held high and nodded politely to any who would meet her gaze, wishing all a happy Thanksgiving. Trey’s hand in the middle of her back kept her moving, and within minutes they’d gathered coats, hats, and Cole and were walking down the front steps. She lengthened her stride, struggling to keep up with her husband, but Adri had to break into a trot. Cole rescued her, whisking her from Trey on the fly.

Gen’s foot barely touched the truck’s running board as Trey thrust her in. She shot Adrienne a worried look as she scrambled in from the other side. Cole’s door closed as they pulled out of the parking lot. Gen peeked up at her livid husband. Corded muscle stood out in his thick neck and along his jaw-line. His hard eyes carried a glitter that sent a chill down her spine. She swallowed hard and laid a tentative hand on his leg. Tension vibrated through his taut muscles. Without saying a word, she offered her support.

Images of the tiny china doll on Catherine’s hip stuck with her. The child was an absolute angel. What must’ve been going through Trey’s mind? As much as he despised his ex-wife for what she’d done to him, Gen couldn’t imagine this strong and moral man denying his child. What was he going to do? Would Catherine allow him to be part of the child’s life without being part of hers? A lump in her throat made it difficult to breathe. His anger was understandable. No one liked to be backed into a corner and a man like Trey even less than most.

Fighting a sudden wave of self-pity, Gen bit the inside of her cheek. There was a child involved. This wasn’t about her. Part of what she loved about Trey was his strong sense of right and wrong. She would never ask him to compromise that, just like she’d never ask him to choose between her and his child. If push came to shove, she would have to free him to be where he needed to be. The thought made swallowing all the more difficult. Blinking, she took a deep breath and nodded resolutely. Trey wasn’t the only one that could do the right thing.

He helped Gen from the truck and kissed the top of her head. The pain in his chest intensified as she pressed close, offering him a warm hug he didn’t deserve at the moment.

“I’m going for a ride. Don’t wait dinner on me.”

“Alone?” she asked softly, her eyes worried as she searched his face.