The Game of Denial (6 page)

"He's seen me fall many times before. He knows Les died in a fall, but I've never told him which obstacle."

"When did it happen?"

"I was pregnant with Tully when Les was killed. His horse balked and he didn't let go of the reins. He broke his neck because he was too damned competitive. One minute he was in the lead and the next he was dead."

"I'm so sorry," Joan said.

Evey looked up at Joan and forced a smile. "He died doing what he wanted. Not a terrible way to go, I guess."

"He left you alone to care for three children and a farm," Joan snapped.

Evey stopped and looked at her house guest. "It wasn't something he planned," she said.

Joan cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. So Tully never knew his father."

"None of the kids really did. Brad's the oldest and he was only six. Beth was two."

"And you've been alone all this time?"

"I wasn't alone. I had three little people who depended on me."

"Except for Meg, ours were almost grown when we lost Martine. I suppose that makes me slightly more fortunate than you."

"You're never fortunate when you lose someone you care for, no matter when or how it happens." Evey could feel the warmth of Joan's arm encircling her waist. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable about liking the feeling, but fought it off.

Evey unbuttoned her shirt and shrugged it off her shoulders. "How bad is it?" she asked. "My dress for the wedding will hopefully cover it."

"There are a couple of cuts. Not too bad, but your back will be an interesting blend of not-so-lovely colors for a few days. Take your shower. I'll check back in a little bit and tend to these cuts."

"Could you unfasten my bra before you leave?" Evey asked. "I can already feel my muscles tightening up."

Joan cleared her throat before stepping closer to Evey. "Of course," she said.

Evey held the bra as it was unfastened. She looked over her shoulder at Joan. "Thanks."

AS SOON AS Evey closed the bathroom door, Joan fled to her room. She shut the door and leaned against it. She closed her eyes and remembered the softness of Evey's skin, the paleness of it, her broad, muscled shoulders. She shook her head to throw the thoughts from her mind. What the hell is wrong with me?

Chapter Six

IT HAD BEEN a long, exhausting day of work and there were still seven days to go until the wedding. Evey sat slumped down on the couch with her legs stretched out in front of her. Her back was still a little sore, but she'd been hurt worse. Her baseball cap was pulled down over her face and her eyes were closed. Work around the farm was an everyday thing, but combined with hosting a houseful of guests and the wedding planning, she felt torn in three different directions at once. Then there had been that touch. Joan's fingers tender as they burned a path along Evey's back after her fall. She'd almost be willing to take another fall if Joan Carmichael would be her nurse afterward.

Evey's head bounced on the back of the couch when Beth plopped her arms over it.

"Ya sleepin'?" she asked.

"Not anymore," Evey said.

"I have an idea," she said.

Evey groaned and turned her head to look at her daughter. There was no way in hell she could stop the smile that crossed her face. Twinkling hazel eyes, that matched her own, stared back at her and short, light brown hair fell forward slightly. Evey missed having her daughter at home more often.

"What genius idea is that? If it involves more work I'm against it," she said.

"Thought we might get everyone out of here for a little fun tonight."

"Such as?"

"There's a dance at Mo's tonight with a live band. Dancing's not really work."

"I don't know, Beth."

"Even Tully said he wouldn't mind going."

"Really?"

"Yep. Ralph said he'd babysit Tucker's kids for a few hours. Maybe Millie and Harlan can join us. Ray's here to see Tully. He's a really good dancer so I'll invite him. Come on, Mom. You haven't been out anywhere in years."

"I don't know that the Carmichaels would be very thrilled about spending an evening in a beer joint slash dance hall."

"So far I've asked everyone but you and Ms. Carmichael. Thought I'd let you do that."

"Thanks a heap, kid." Evey grunted as she sat up. She looked at her daughter. "Meg agreed to go?"

"Yeah. We're boring them to death with all this healthy living and solitude."

"I'll ask her, but if she says no then I will watch the kids and give Ralph a break."

Beth thumped Evey on the back soundly, making her wince. "Thanks Mom."

"Hey! They know it's country-western, right?"

Beth shrugged. "What else would we have out here?"

"I CANNOT BELIEVE they talked Meg into this," Joan said to Charmaine as they followed the small herd of people into the building with Mo's Barn painted in white on the red roof. The parking lot was filling up fast when they arrived a little before nine that evening.

"I can't believe they talked
you
into it," Charmaine said. "Maybe Meg is developing a case of the hots for civilization," she added as she entered the building and let her hips pick up the beat of the music filling the room.

Beth followed Tully to two empty tables. They moved the chairs and pushed the tables together to make room for everyone. Despite that, it was still a close fit. As soon as they were all seated, a young woman wearing Daisy Dukes and a short-sleeved plaid shirt tied into a knot above her navel, revealing a wide expanse of skin, stopped at the tables. Her hair was plaited into a long single braid down her back.

"Hey, Tully. Miz Chase. Brad. Beth. Long time, no see. Beers all around?"

Joan was amused at the way the young woman looked at Tully and occasionally found a way to touch his arm or shoulder. Beth scanned the table to make sure no one wanted anything different before nodding to the woman. Joan leaned back slightly in her chair as the girl sashayed to the bar. While she appreciated the view, she was trying to figure out how the girl had managed to wiggle her ass into the tight shorts.

"I don't know how Jeanine breathes in those shorts," Evey said as if reading Joan's mind. "But the men certainly seem to appreciate her efforts."

"It's a miracle of modern fabric, I suppose," Joan said.

Jeanine set a tray of frosted mugs on the table and passed them out. She stopped when she reached Meg and smiled. "I'll need to see an ID, sweetie," she said.

Meg pulled her wallet from her jeans and took her driver's license out, handing it to Jeanine. The waitress examined it carefully before handing it back. "Just barely made it, huh?"

Joan caught Meg's eye and winked at her. At home, Meg was allowed to drink and always had been, but as far as Joan knew this was the first time she had ordered an alcoholic beverage in public.

They had just settled in when a pair of arms wrapped around Evey's neck and hugged her. At the same time Joan saw an attractive young man run a hand over Tully's shoulder as he leaned down to speak. Tully's face darkened and he sharply shrugged the hand off his shoulder. Evey scooted her chair back and stood to embrace the woman behind her. She also hugged an older man who accompanied the woman before turning to Joan. Instinctively, Joan stood.

"Joan, these are my friends, Millie and Harlan Grisham. They own the farm next to ours." She pointed to the young man who was now speaking to Meg. "And that is their son, Ray. He and Tully have been best friends since they were toddlers." Evey looked back at Millie. "When did Ray get home?"

"Yesterday afternoon. First person he wanted to see was Tully." Millie turned her attention to Joan. "Is that your daughter Ray is talking to? She's a cute one."

Joan nodded. "Thank you. That's Megan."

Millie elbowed Evey. "Guess we'll have to keep our eyes on the boys."

"Millie, this is Fran's mother, Joan Carmichael," Evey said.

Millie pumped Joan's arm vigorously. "Pleased to finally meetcha," she said. "Frannie's a wonderful young woman. We all just love her to death."

Joan managed to extract her hand from Millie's. "Thank you again," she said before Millie and her husband wandered away to locate seats. Evey returned to her chair and leaned toward Joan. "Ray's been away at college and came home for the wedding. I'm surprised he didn't come to the house."

A few minutes later the band was tuned up and ready to play. When the first twangs of a country-western song began, Joan saw Meg slap herself in the face. Apparently no one had warned Meg about the type of music she could expect at Mo's Barn. However, it wasn't long before Tully pulled Meg onto the saw-dust dance floor and showed her how to two-step. A tap on Joan's shoulder drew her attention.

"Since you wouldn't let me bring Giancarlo, you'll be forced to be my dance partner tonight," Charmaine said. When Joan hesitated, Charmaine huffed, "You're my
mother
, for God's sake. Hell, I'll even let you lead. Just don't get fresh with me, woman."

Joan followed Charmaine, took her lightly in her arms, and stepped off to the slower secondary beat of the music. Halfway through the song, Charmaine grinned. "I know you can do better than this, Mom."

"Is that a dare?"

"You bet your ass. Let's show them what us city slickers can do. Yee-haw!"

Joan laughed and increased the pace of the dance into faster and more intricate steps as she moved to the pounding primary beat, spinning Charmaine around the floor and between slower couples. By the time the music temporarily ended, Joan was a little out of breath. "I haven't done that in years," she said.

She picked up her beer mug as soon as she sat down. While she drank she saw Evey staring at her.

"You're a really good dancer," Evey said.

"I'm amazed I remembered all of that," Joan said after she swallowed. "Surprised?"

"A little."

"Dance lessons were Martine's idea after I stepped on her toes one too many times."

"I'M NEXT," FRAN announced, bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet.

Joan groaned as she set her glass down, but smiled. "Is this let's keep Mom occupied night?" she asked as Fran pulled her off her chair.

Thankfully Fran had chosen a song with a much slower pace. With anyone other than her daughter, Joan would have considered it romantic. As they moved around the floor, she glimpsed toward their table. Evey was watching them. Joan would have enjoyed the slow dance with Evey in her arms, but dancing with your daughter and an attractive woman who happened to be her future son-inlaw's mother were two totally different things.

"Mom?" Fran said.

"Yes, baby."

"You like Brad's family, don't you?"

"They seem very nice. I hope having all of us here isn't running them ragged." Joan looked over Fran's shoulder and saw Meg dancing with Ray Grisham. She wasn't as experienced a dancer as her older sisters, but seemed to be enjoying herself. Partway through the dance she saw another young man tap Ray on the shoulder to break in to the dance. Ray patted him on the shoulder and rejoined his parents at their table. Joan frowned as the young man slid his hand down Meg's back to her butt and pulled her hips tightly against his. Meg reached back and moved his hand, stepping away from him slightly to create space between them. Despite that, he continued attempting to force Meg closer to him.

Joan sat heavily in her chair and welcomed the respite from the dance floor. So far she had danced with all of her daughters, her son, and her daughter-in-law. She was grateful that her daily runs kept her legs in shape. Otherwise they would feel like limp spaghetti. She chatted with Evey for a few minutes and caught her breath.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Carmichael," a voice said. Joan looked up and saw Beth's face. The young woman looked around and appeared nervous. "Would you care to dance?" Beth finally asked.

Another dance was the last thing Joan wanted at that moment, but she managed a smile and pushed her chair back.

"You don't have to," Evey whispered.

"It's okay," Joan said as she took the hand Beth offered.

When they reached the dance floor Beth said in a low voice, "I usually lead. I suck at following."

Joan smiled at the young woman. "Whatever's most comfortable for you," she said.

Halfway through the dance Joan asked, "Do your mother and brothers know?"

"No one knows," Beth answered.

"I do," Joan said. Then as if she were reading Beth's mind, she added, "I won't tell."

Beth smiled. "Thanks." As almost an afterthought, she added, "I like Fran a lot." She saw the look on Joan's face. "She's been like a sister to me and Brad's a lucky guy."

When the dance ended, Joan sat down again, but saw Beth and Tully having words at the far end of the table. Finally Beth laughed and pulled Tully up to force him to dance with his sister.

Joan continued to watch the interaction between Meg and the young man who had been intent on groping her earlier. The young man was attractive in a rough sort of way and apparently knew it. He had pulled a chair over to their table and wedged himself into a small space next to Meg. All of her children were hers and Martine's, but she had given birth to Meg and even though the girl had been a pain in her ass as a teenager, Joan would defend and protect her. So far Joan wasn't liking what seemed to be developing at the far end of the table.

Joan was finishing her second beer of the evening when Charmaine squatted down next to her. Joan smiled at her and rested a hand on the back of her daughter's neck.

"Are you watching Meg?" Charmaine asked in a low voice.

"Yep," Joan answered, looking around.

"Just checking. Tucker's watching, too."

"Kind of a sticky wicket. Think Meg can handle it?"

"Guess we'll see."

"I don't want to step in unless she asks me to. How much has she had to drink?"

"One beer and not even all of that. It's not her favorite drink. But Tully and that other guy have been slamming them down pretty quickly."

"Okay."