chapter Twenty-Three
Dear Journal,
Life is good. I got my memory back; I’ve got my groove back. Lassiter is planting a citrus tree for me, a lemon tree that smells so sweet and fragrant. And he’s teaching me how to make wine in a huge glass jar thing. What you really want to know about is the sex, right? The sex is phenomenal. Imagine waking up every morning with John Wayne in all his glory, and you’ve pretty much got why my middle-aged body feels like a well-tuned violin these days. I’m free of breast-cancer, and I quit smoking. My daughters have men in their lives who seem worthy, and it does my heart good to see my girls so happy. Tomorrow I’m the mayor of Pecan Creek’s parade, and we’re going to launch our business.
As much as I dreaded the journey, feared it even, I have become a new woman.
It’s like being reborn. Better even than I could have ever imagined. Brigadoon, only real.
And you weren’t the drag I thought you’d be, Journal. In fact, I really enjoy having the memories to look back on.
No longer participating on the sly,
Maggie
On the morning of the Christmas parade, Sugar had a case of nerves that wouldn’t quit. A niggling sense of guilt ate at her. Maybe she had performer’s nerves.
“It’s not every day I get dressed up in a short red Rockette’s outfit,” Sugar told Lucy. “I haven’t shown this much leg since I was on the high school drill team.”
Lucy checked her sister out. “Damn shame too. If I had your legs, I’d be kicking them up all over town.”
“Not since you’ve taken up with Bobby. He seems to have settled your desire to kick up your heels.”
“Yeah.” Lucy grinned, shrugging herself into the tiny, tight white turtleneck she’d chosen for their costumes. “The man is sex on a stick.”
“I won’t pretend to know what that means,” Sugar said, thinking Jake was probably likewise, “but I’m glad you’re happy. And Maggie’s happy.”
“We’re all happy,” Lucy said, “until we pull through the town with our nut wagon. Then we’ll see if we get tossed out on our cute red skirts with white fringe.” She swung her hips so the white fringe flew. “I should have been a flapper.”
Sugar shook her head and went to put the reindeer antlers on Paris and the jingle bell collar. “You get to ride in the float too, Paris! You can be our stowaway, since, technically, we’re not even supposed to be in the parade. Maybe you can smile that winning doggie smile of yours and keep us from the slammer.”
“Jake won’t let you go in the slammer. Besides which, I think if the dead body didn’t sour him on the romance, you two are probably heading for Happyville.”
“I had nothing to do with the body.” Sugar frowned. “How can you bring it up so nonchalantly?”
“Because I didn’t see it, A,” Lucy said, “and B, I got a new bedroom out of it, which I haven’t revealed even to Vivian. But today is the day. She’s coming over after the parade to see it. I want her to be the first.”
Sugar had been dying to peek in the room after the last load of furniture arrived, but Lucy had put her room off limits. Sugar respected limits, so she hadn’t indulged a fast snoop, but it hadn’t been easy.
She still thought about the gross cadaver lying in her sister’s room. Which wasn’t a very Christmassy thought.
Neither was what was making her feel guilty. “Jake really is a nice guy.”
“I know,” Lucy said. “Are you trying to convince yourself?”
“No.” She knew he was a great guy. And she’d fallen for him in the worst way. “I’ll feel better once we get past our publicity stunt.”
“So if you’re worried about it, why don’t you tell him that you have a float you’re going to crash the parade with?”
“Maybe I should.” But that would make Jake a conspirator if he didn’t try to shut their entry down. He was the mayor pro tem. She didn’t have the right to drag him into her adventure.
“You want me to try to get his blessing?” Lucy asked, and Sugar shook her head.
“No. I’m going with the element of surprise.”
“I guess,” Lucy said, her tone uncertain. “Are you trying to spring this on Jake, or the Pillars and Vivian?”
Jake had told her no advertising at the parade. He’d only recently told her he would go against the town council’s ruling, giving her two months advertising on the billboard. She knew he hadn’t breathed a word of this to the town council—he probably just thought he’d throw the advertising up there and let the chips fall, which was what he was doing with Kel’s sign, which coincidentally was going up today.
Vivian was going to choke when she saw that Pecan Creek’s prime real estate for advertising had been usurped. “I’m tired of that damn phone ringing. Can’t we just disconnect it?”
“I don’t think so,” Lucy said. “Technically, this is not our domicile. Jake never dreamed the reporters would stir up such huge interest in Pecan Creek. We even got a call from Southern Living the other day. They want to come out and look at the house for a possible spread in the magazine. We must get twenty-five calls a day from the rich and famous who want the novelty of staying in the Best Little Sex Shack in Texas.”
Sugar shook her head and went out to the barn, Paris at her heels. She looked at the float for a long time, studying it from every angle. As floats went, it was huge and gaudy and eye-catching, a sure crowd-pleaser. She, Maggie, Lucy, Bobby and even Lassiter had worked like beavers to have it ready in time. Lucy had hired a photographer to snap photos, though it might not be necessary with all the reporters in town. Sugar had heard that two reporters had shown up at Pecan Fanny’s, bragging that they were planning to stake out what had become known as the Best Little Sex Shack in Texas, or simply, the Sex Shack. Unfortunately, the person the reporters had bragged to was Jake, who’d been over at Pecan Fanny’s taking inventory as he tried to figure out everything he wanted to do to the place. Jake had told the reporters if they got near his property—any of them, and he owned two restaurants and two houses, plus a good bit of land—they’d leave Pecan Creek with no story and some buckshot souvenirs.
Then he’d asked Sheriff Goody to assign some extra patrols and some cops around the Cassavechias’ place, to discourage any overly avid sightseers or reporters with a lust for their work.
She looked at the float again thinking about Jake and how much he meant to her. She looked at Paris in her reindeer get-up, smiling because even the dog was flourishing in Pecan Creek.
Yeah, life was good. It was good with Jake too. And it wasn’t just because of the nuts or the house or even the sex, which was pretty phenomenal. Mind-bending.
Some things in life had to be protected.
She reached for a paintbrush and a can of red paint.
Kel’s sign bloomed over Pecan Creek, heralding the entrance to the town that prided itself on being The Most Honest, Proper Town in Texas—sometimes.
Debbie, you make me stand up like a duck in weeds. There will never be another woman for me, because you’re my better half. I love you so much. Kel were the words written in red, encircled by a huge red heart. It was glittered up and flashy as hell, with red lights that would light up at night.
It would draw eyeballs for miles.
In Jake’s estimation it was a sign to be proud of, and he was proud of his buddy. The Pillars would have another opinion, because, admittedly, the sentiment wasn’t exactly Pillar-sanctified, but as mayor pro tem, he had Kel’s back on this one.
He thought about Sugar. Today would have been a beautiful day to launch her business, if life was normal, but all sorts of shit was going to hit the fan today. Sugar needed to work more on the pace of the Pillars, who kept their businesses on the down-low and developed fanatical word of mouth and discreet advertising. But Sugar wasn’t a down-low kind of girl. It was a hurdle between them he didn’t think could be solved. She didn’t have to change hotterthanhellnuts.com to suit PC. She wasn’t PC—that was why he was nuts for her.
He was thinking happy thoughts of Sugar, enjoying the half rise in his jeans and the stirring of fantasies that seemed to sweep him often whenever he daydreamed about her—when he saw a tall redhead in a shorter-than-a-second skirt and a busty white top flounce across the main street of PC wearing white cowboy boots—very Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader—and an excited smile.
He blinked. Sugar wore capri jeans and shorts almost exclusively, rarely a dress or skirt. Lucy wore the short-short skirts in the family. It could not have been Sugar.
A smaller redhead with a matching Christmas skirt and red heels higher than the PC billboard bounced along behind her sister.
His heart began a painful beat inside him. Sugar was up to no good, with the streets lined with excited parade-goers and sneaking reporters shuffling around for the best angle. And there was his girl, hot enough to kill a man.
Bad thought. No more dead men.
He parked his truck and hurried after the hot red skirts.
He was stopped on the way by the Pillars, who were dressed in Mrs. Claus costumes, very Little House on the Prairie Goes to the North Pole.
“Jake,” Charlotte Dawson said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She looked very festive in her gray wig and pretend spectacles. “Averie is going to be our parade princess. Lucy got her for us when she decided to be princess for her sister’s float. Did you know Sugar has a float?”
This was bad. Very, very bad. Clearly, his girl was not a big believer in securing permits for her endeavors. This business of act now, obtain forgiveness later was something he was going to have to factor into their relationship. “Yes, ma’am, I did,” he fibbed, not wanting any disharmony on PC’s Big Day.
They all looked at him with concern.
“Have you seen the Cassavechia float? Their costumes?” Minda Hernandez asked.
He held up a hand. “I’m not the parade marshal this year,” he reminded them, “I believe that’s Mom’s job.”
They gasped, turning their eyes to his mother, who rounded out the group of four Pillars.
“Did you approve their float and costumes, Vivian?” Dodie asked.
His mother looked at him. “Why yes, I did,” she said. “I actually thought the Cassavechia float was an excellent freshman effort.”
He shot his mother a look of pure gratitude.
“Good to see you, ladies,” he said. “Best of luck in the judging today.”
He didn’t also say, They had a stall in a prime spot outside the courthouse where their wares were set up. From her vantage point, Vivian could see every second of the parade and sell her friends’ goods discreetly, from which Vivian made a portion for her time. And forbearance.and may your sales skyrocket on this day of purveying all things sexy.
Maggie went by, a round and cheerful figure in her black top hat, red jacket, white gloves and red sequined trousers.
“Sequins, Jake?” Vivian murmured.
“She likes sparkle,” Jake said.
Vivian nodded. “It becomes her very well. Hello, Maggie. Thank you so much for acting as our mayor today.” Vivian smiled a genuine smile at Maggie.
“It’s so much fun!” Maggie looked around. “Everybody is having a great time. Evert says he thinks this is the biggest crowd Pecan Creek has ever had!”
Yes, thanks to you and your daughters.
“I’m going to go look over the floats,” Jake said hurriedly. “I’ll catch you ladies after the parade.”
He hurried to the end of the street, where the floats were lined up in position, waiting on the “mayor” to give the signal to start moving at a leisurely pace through the town square. A band played at the head of the line, Christmas carols that the audience sang along to with holiday delight.
He scanned the floats—same-old, same-old, every year the same—in a hurry, striding from the top of the line to the middle where the Pillars’ float was. Averie waved at him, her poufy Cinderella outfit perfect for the parade.
“Jake!”
He stopped, chafing to further inspect the line and find the Hot Nuts. “Hi, Averie. Great costume.”
“Thanks! Lucy Cassavechia was supposed to be the princess, but she asked me to stand in for her. Isn’t that awesome?” Averie’s smile was delighted.
“Yeah. It’s great. Thanks for stepping in.”
She glowed under his praise. “I’d do it for you any time, Jake.”
That was his cue to head along. “See ya, Averie.” He hurried faster, hearing the typical tunes that signaled the parade’s start.
“Jake!”
He saw a Southern-belle-gloved hand waving at him wildly. Lucy’s face appeared over the side of a float that seemed sprung from the red-light district. Red glitter, red poles from which shot waving red streamers, hot-red lip prints all over the base of the float made the float an eye-catcher in the line of more demure, been-there-done-that floats. Sugar’s and Lucy’s short skirts also drew quite the crowd of whistling men, although it seemed to be all in good fun. The Cassavechias threw candy to the kids in the crowd and handed out peppermint candy canes to those nearer them. “Hi, Lucy,” Jake said, as he finally reached the float.
“Surprise, Jake!” Lucy exclaimed.
That was the understatement of the year. Jake stared at the Cassavechia entourage. Bobby German had stationed himself near the front of the float, keeping an eye on the Cassavechias, which Jake thought was prudent given the length of Lucy’s skirt, but also smart as hell due to the reporters he could see snapping away. Lassiter was at the back, his gaze on Maggie, who walked nearby, greeting the visitors to Pecan Creek who’d brought strollers of children. Everyone wanted to shake the spangly mayor’s hand, which wasn’t hard to understand. Everybody loved Maggie.
“Yeah. Surprise,” Jake said. “I am surprised. Great float.”
She took his hand, pulled him up on the float. “Ride with us.”
He looked at Sugar, who hadn’t realized he was there yet. She leaned over the side of the float, her skirt giving him a heart attack and a hard-on as she shook hands with babies and children. “I might ride a bit of the way.”
If for no other reason than to hold off the riot that was bound to happen. The Cassavechias had a good double-portion of parade-goers clustered around their float than other floats had drawn—and since they were new to town, all their fans were mostly out-of-towners. Jake gulped. “Yeah. I’ll ride with you.”
Lucy grinned. “Bobby said you would.”
He glanced back at his friend, who grinned at him with a knowing expression.
“Killer, huh?” Bobby said to him.
“Right in the heart,” Jake said. He looked back at Sugar’s skirt, and all the long leg and sweet ass curve peeking out underneath. She turned, catching him gawking.
“Hi, Jake.” She came over, handed him a red-hot candy ball from her faux-fur-trimmed red bag of candy. He took it because she offered it, and he wasn’t ever going to say no to anything she wanted to give him. “I hope you’re not mad.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I couldn’t tell you. You didn’t want us to launch today, and I understood that. But we still wanted to be part of Pecan Creek.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“Did you see the side of the float?”
“No.” He shook his head, thinking that his life was going to be full of surprises, full of Sugar, if he played his cards right. Maybe he’d get it right this time. She’d give him a heart attack eventually, but he’d bribe the sheriff and the doc to keep some juice and paddles nearby to shock him back to life so he could keep enjoying the crazy ride she gave him. “I was too busy looking at your…at the theme.”
Lucy turned around at that moment. “Jake, today is the day!”
He leaned back, propping his arms on the side of the float, deciding to take it all in stride. The shocks really weren’t going to kill him, not when the excitement was so much fun. “What day?”
“The big reveal.” She grinned, a devilish elf taunting him. Maybe, maybe one day an aunt to his children, which was a pretty heavy thought.
His children would love Aunt Lucy. They’d adore Grandma Maggie too.
“What big reveal?” he asked, pretty sure he knew, but with a Cassavechia, clarification was always good.
“The new décor,” she said, as if he should have known. “At two o’clock, everyone is invited to tour the house.”
Jake blinked. “Tour?”
Lucy nodded, delighted. “The phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting a tour, to spend the night, to see where the old geezer died, to meet Sugar and me and Maggie. I told them there was a once-in-a-lifetime tour at two o’clock, the only one there would ever be, and we’re charging three dollars a head. Kel, Evert and Bobby are serving as ticket sellers and guard dogs. And I’m turning over the money to you,” Lucy said proudly. “It won’t be millions, but it’ll be enough to cover you until you get new tenants. And maybe cover our fines for not getting proper permits and all that jazz.”
Jake closed his eyes for a second. New tenants was all he heard. Shit, he didn’t want to think about new tenants. He wanted the tenants he had. Paris walked over and put her moist nose against him. He stroked her head, being careful of the antlers, his gaze going to Sugar.
“You’re not mad, are you, Jake?” Sugar asked.
“Hell, no. I continue to be amazed at the adrenalin shot you provide to this town.” Jake wasn’t going to be mad no matter what happened. He wasn’t going to be part of the Old Guard. It was better to embrace new experiences, new ideas.
The parade music changed to overenthusiastic holiday march, and the line began to move slowly. Bobby walked at the side, playing bodyguard, and Jake sat and kept his eye on Sugar as she worked the crowd, her smile huge, her short skirt swinging atop long, lean legs he loved to kiss, feeling pretty certain his heart and his life were never going to be the same.
Which felt pretty damn good.
He leaned back, stroking Paris’s fur, and enjoyed the ride.