Hotter than Texas (Pecan Creek) (18 page)

“And,” Evert said, “we did all agree that there’d be no ladies in the pit.”

“That’s right.” Kel’s face was unhappy. “We can’t have ladies down there, because then we’ll have to have our wives and significant others. Or else it’s cheating.”

“I know. I know.” Jake spread his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I lost control of myself, since I own this place.”

Kel shook his head. “That’s a sucky attitude.”

“Kel, look. You live with me. How am I being sucky?”

“Because you don’t care about us having one place that’s ours. The four of us. Just us.” Kel snatched the chef hat off his head. “I know you’ve been carrying me, Jake, and I know you’re not happy about it. That’s fine. I’ll move in with Bobby for now.”

“Come on, Kel.” Jake looked at his friends. They frowned at him as Kel walked out of the Bait and Burgers.

“Not cool,” Evert said.

“Extremely uncool,” Bobby said.

It hurt coming from his buddies. These men were the closest thing he had to family, besides Vivian, and that relationship didn’t always feel like family. “I’ll fix it with Kel. And I won’t take Sugar to the basement anymore. You’re right. It’s always been our hangout.”

Bobby went back to the grill. Evert followed his friend, dismissing Jake.

He was in hot water. Sighing, Jake turned, finding himself face-to-face with Averie.

“Hi, Averie,” he said.

“This is your last chance, Jake,” she told him. “You’re making an ass out of yourself chasing after that Florida floozy.”

“I’m not chasing after anyone.”

Averie clearly didn’t believe him, and he didn’t even believe himself.

“Whatever,” she said, looking gorgeous and aware of it. “Your mother’s been looking into the backgrounds of Pecan Creek’s newest residents. And it’s not pretty. So as I said, Jake, last chance to be with me. Because I’m not going to wait around on you while you chase after that slut.” She took a deep breath, looking up at him doll-like, and Jake wondered why he didn’t feel anything for Averie when even a dead man would get a stiff one if she walked past his casket.

“I’m sorry, Averie. We’re just not going to happen.”

She looked at him. “If you pick her, I think you’ll find you’ve made a very big mistake.”

Maybe it was true.

But Sugar made him hotter than Texas. She could be the devil’s mistress, and he’d still be happy just to run his hands up her smooth skin, driving himself crazy.

Very crazy.

Crazy hot.

Chapter Twelve

Sugar walked back to the house with Paris, worrying about Lucy and Maggie. Nothing had quite turned out the way she’d anticipated, which was fine, as long as her family was happy.

She thought about Jake, and knew she was deviating from the plan too.

But most of all, she worried about Lucy. She wasn’t sure why Jake had been so mysterious about her sister. Still, Jake wouldn’t let Lucy get into any trouble. That was one thing she knew about Jake—he seemed concerned about them and everyone else in Pecan Creek.

She opened the back door, gasping. “Lucy!”

Her sister turned away from the fridge. “Shit, Sugar, you almost made me bite my tongue.” She chewed on some pound cake she’d snagged from the fridge and hadn’t bothered to put on a plate.

“Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you.” Sugar got on the kitchen stool at the island block, after making certain Paris had plenty of fresh water in her dog bowl.

“I can’t tell you.” Lucy grinned. “But unless you’re sleeping with Jake, I bet I’m having more fun than you are.” She licked her fingers and reached for another sliver of cake. “Although sleeping with Jake is probably one of those oxymoron things. I doubt you could sleep if Jake was in your bed.”

“Tell me where you’ve been. I know very well you didn’t come home last night.”

“Actually, I did, around midnight. You were sleeping like one of those Chinese stone warriors, so I stole Paris for my bed.”

“That’s why she wasn’t in mine when I woke up.”

Lucy nodded. “And I left early this morning.” She pulled a wad of cash from her pocket, handing it to Sugar. “I’m hoping this will help make the rent. What is the rent on this joint, anyway?”

Sugar counted off six hundred dollars. She looked at her sister. “Tell me where you’re getting all this money, or I swear I will drag you down to the ground and tickle you until you wet your pants.”

“Jeez. I just drank a glass of tea.” Lucy shrugged. “You’ll have to clean it up, because I’m not telling. I can’t. I’m sworn to secrecy, but trust me, it’s fun!”

“That comforts me.”

Lucy came around to hug her, laying her head on Sugar’s shoulder. “Aw, big sis. You worry too much. Have you ever stopped to think that I can take care of myself?”

Had she? Could Lucy take care of herself?

“I do worry,” Sugar said, and Lucy said, “No! Tell me something I don’t know,” so Sugar decided it was best to let it all hang out. “Kel’s getting a divorce.”

Frowning, Lucy sat across from Sugar, pushing the pound cake in between them. She cut her sister a slice, and though it wasn’t exactly what Sugar wanted after drinking a vodka shot with Jake, she broke off a chunk. “That’s too bad. I’m sorry to hear that,” Lucy said. “Kel’s a nice man. He’s cute, and he’s crazy about his kids.”

Sugar blinked. “According to the grapevine—”

“Jake,” Lucy filled in.

“Kel,” Sugar said, and Lucy looked up. “According to the grapevine, Kel’s wife has a problem with you.”

Lucy stared at her. “Me?”

Sugar nodded.

“That’s dumb,” Lucy said. “Kel doesn’t like me. Kel and I are friends. I talk to him as much as I talk to Evert and Bobby German.” She shrugged. “She sounds like a dumb broad, or maybe there’s another problem. I wouldn’t give up on such a darling guy just over gossip.” Lucy plowed into some more pound cake, completely unworried. “Go ahead. Taste it. I want your opinion.”

Sugar was so astonished by her sister’s comments that she obeyed. “This is delish. Who made it?”

“Yours truly.” Lucy beamed. “I’ve been getting cooking and baking lessons.”

Sugar put her fork down. “Do you ever think about going to college, Lucy?”

Her sister laughed. “No. Why would I? I served my country. I’m hanging out with you and Mom. I’m not going to waste my life sitting at a desk listening to a prof blab.”

“The thing is, I wonder if you’d be better off around people your own age, or closer, anyway,” Sugar said.

Lucy looked at her. “Sugar, I’ve never been around people my own age. Why would I start now? Frankly, everything I know I’ve learned is from people older than me. I feel like it’s made me wise beyond my years, which, to me, is a good thing.”

That was the problem—Lucy hadn’t really ever been around a friend set common to her years. She’d never had real girlfriends after high school. And now if Kel’s wife was going to have an issue with Lucy, Sugar wondered if Pecan Creek was the best place for her sister. “You could probably go on some kind of assistance. We could look into the GI Bill or whatever is available to us.”

“Yeah. Like the military would have anything nice to say about me. Pretty sure that’s a dead end.” Lucy’s voice was flat. “What’s bugging you? It can’t just be Dumb Debbie.”

“We don’t know that she’s dumb. It’s difficult when one spouse has been deployed for a long time. You know this.”

Lucy shrugged. “Whatever. She’s dumb. If she asks me, I’ll tell her so.”

Sugar closed her eyes for a second, hating the idea of such a confrontation taking place. “Honey, listen. I love you. But I think you need to go away.”

“Because of a catty broad?” Lucy was incredulous. “Sugar, I’m surprised at you. Besides, I’m really getting into the spirit of PC.”

“PC?” Sugar frowned. That was what Jake called the town.

“Look. Stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself.”

Sugar looked down at the green bills on the table. “I just don’t think there are any guys your age in Pecan Creek that are available.”

Lucy’s jaw sagged. “Sugar, I’m not looking. You know that. Men are the last thing on my mind.”

Sugar did know that. And it bothered her a bit, for her sister’s sake. Wasn’t that a rite of female passage—chasing guys? Until you found the right one for you?

Although she didn’t know if Jake was the “right” one for her. Even if he wasn’t, she was having a great time with him.

Lucy got up and retrieved two glasses of tea from the pitcher in the fridge. She set one down in front of Sugar. “I made this cake. I’m proud of this cake. I’m learning more here in PC than I would in a stuffy old lecture hall. And I’m only twenty-five. Why would I want a stupid boyfriend when you don’t have one? You’re thirty. You didn’t marry Ramon until you were—”

“Almost twenty-five,” Sugar murmured, regretting the painful memories.

“And that’s what you get for settling down too soon,” Lucy said. “Ramon was a nice guy. I see how you made that mistake. But I’m the little sister. I get to learn from your mistakes. I’m going to keep swinging from the trees.”

“Jane eventually got her Tarzan.”

“Yeah, well. When I meet my Tarzan, I’ll know, but it sure as heck’s not Kel, so quit trying to send me out of town on the train of shame. Jeez.”

She whistled for Paris and took her pound cake and tea upstairs. Sugar sat looking at the money, worried and not sure why.

“I’m here,” Jake called to his mother as he let himself inside. “Mom?”

Vivian came into the kitchen. “How nice of you to spare some time.”

So it was going to be Angry Visit Redux Jake sighed. “So your message said you needed to talk to me.”

She nodded. “Come into the den, please.”

Jake grabbed a soda from the fridge, wishing he was steering Sugar down Bad Boy Road with vodka and conversation and maybe some more of those kisses that sent him straight up. “What’s up?”

He sat across from his mother on the prissy sofa.

She set a sheaf of papers in front of him on the coffee table. “This is what’s up.”

He had a bad feeling he knew what was in the papers—all the skeletons in the Cassavechia closet. “I don’t want that.”

“I think it’s your responsibility to know. You should have done a background check on them before you rented them our family home.”

“Damn it.” Jake let out a heartfelt sigh. “Once again, the house had been empty for years. It’s come alive since they’ve been there. I know you don’t like them, I know you wanted some Vanderbilts to rent the place, but I swear they didn’t take my calls. I think they were out of the country on their yacht or something.”

Vivian sniffed. “Any reputable business does a background check.”

Jake eyed the thick sheaf. “Not quite like you do. If your team is this thorough, how come you couldn’t ever find Dad?”

Vivian sucked in a breath. “That’s uncalled for.”

“Yeah. It is.” He leaned back, suddenly tired. “Look, I know you’re whispering in Averie’s ear about how awful the Cassavechias are. I know you want to block Maggie from being the mayor at the parade, and that you think Sugar is one step away from Satan’s princess minion.”

“Please don’t forget the tattooed and bellybutton-ring-wearing little sister with the middle finger forever poised as her trademark,” Vivian said.

Jake closed his eyes for a moment. “So what does the Encyclopedia Britannica of background checks say?”

“Read it.”

How bad could it be? The Cassavechias were human beings, and God only knew, he had his share of skeletons. So did Vivian. “Mom, I’m entirely uncomfortable with this. I really don’t care what gets dug up on them.”

“You’re that crazy about Miss Cassavechia?” Vivian picked up the folder. “Maybe you’d be interested to know that she and her sister were in the military.”

“I know. So was I. So?”

“But little sister was dishonorably discharged. Apparently there was a fracas with an officer.”

His gut cramped. Dishonorably discharged could mean anything, but it wasn’t good. “It doesn’t say why?”

“No. But there’s all kinds of ramifications involved in such a thing, and as an officer, you’ll appreciate it’s not a high mark.”

“Okay.” Jake sighed. “Go on, if you must.”

“The mother has been married twice. I don’t know if she ever got a divorce from husband number two. The detective couldn’t find a record. No one knows what happened to the husband, which I find a bit strange.”

Jake figured this was Lassiter’s problem. “Go ahead. What’s behind door number three?”

“And Sugar,” his mother said with relish, “has recently been divorced. Apparently, she caught her ex with his hands in the cookie jar.”

He winced. Made a note to stay far away from Averie, or Sugar was never going to trust him. “Half the people in this country get divorced. Sad but true statistic, I guess. Unless you’re married to a bastard, which it sounds like Sugar’s ex must have been.”

“The only thing is,” Vivian said, “there’s some question as to whatever happened to dear old dad. The ex knows. And when the detective approached Capt. Ramon Higueras to chat about it—”