Despite what’d happened, Eve was her mom, and Tessie loved her. Still, it was going to take a little more time for her to get to a point where her stomach didn’t twist into a knot at the thought of that lie. A lie that hadn’t been for Tessie’s benefit, either, but for her own. Eve hadn’t wanted her hornies fans to know that she’d gotten knocked up because it would have ruined her kick-ass, perfect image.
Tessie started the car and looked at the front doorway of the bar. There was another guy in jeans and a cowboy hat, and he was watching them. She hadn’t wanted to start any gossip for her mom, but this would probably do it. The effed-up daughter had returned to eff-up things even more.
The glaring cowboy behind her mom would see it that way.
She shifted her attention back to Eve. She’d seen her a couple of times since learning the truth that she was her real mother. And just like those other times, Tessie tried to pick through the features of her face to see if she could see any part of herself there.
She couldn’t.
Her mom with her blond hair and green eyes, and there she was with brown hair and blue eyes. That was why Tessie had never once suspected that they shared any DNA.
But...
The cowboy was a different story. Dark brown hair. Like hers. But then, lots of people had hair that color.
He came closer, and the streetlights caught his eyes just right so she could see the color. Blue. Again, like hers. But again, lots of people had blue eyes.
How many of those blue-eyed, brown-haired men, though, had she ever seen kissing her mother?
Just this one.
Tessie got that knot in her stomach again and was ready to hit the accelerator and get out of there. However, when she went to shut the car door, the cowboy caught onto it as if to help her.
“If you don’t tell your mom, I will,” he whispered just loud enough so that only Tessie would hear it.
She didn’t have to guess what he meant. He was talking about her getting drunk. And while Tessie was indeed concerned about that, she had a new concern. A new knot in her stomach. Because she glanced at both her mom and him.
And that’s when Tessie knew her mother had yet one more truth she needed to come clean about.
*
WHEN LAWSON CAME out of the barn, he saw Cassidy and his mom on the back porch of the Granger house. Cassidy had the baby in one of those front-facing pouch carriers, and with Aiden’s little arms and legs flailing around, it made it look as if she had a turtle strapped to her.
Seeing them was a surprise since the porch had been empty about fifteen minutes earlier. That’s when Lawson had left the office inside the house to go to the barn to have a chat with one of the horse trainers.
What was especially bad was that Cassidy and his mom appeared to be waiting for him.
When he first spotted them, both were looking down at the baby and grinning, but that stopped when their eyes landed on him.
“Is there a fire inside?” he asked, only half joking. “Is that why you’re out here?”
“No fire,” his mother jumped to answer. “I was on my way to the barn to find you. I didn’t know Cassidy was coming, too, but we’re here to talk to you.”
Lawson sighed. “Is this about Eve, Darby or that stain you found on your red silk dress when I was seven?”
Regina had already opened her mouth to answer until he threw in that last one. She did indeed want to know about the stain that he had denied many times over the years, but obviously, she wasn’t going to let that distract her.
“Eve,” his mom said.
Cassidy made a sound of agreement. Aiden just belched and then giggled about it. Lawson thought maybe the kid had the right reaction. There was nothing he could do to stop whatever lecture he was about to get, so maybe belching was the answer. He tried it and got a laugh from Aiden. His mom and Cassidy weren’t as easily amused though.
Since it was hot and he didn’t want the baby outside for too long, Lawson walked past them and into the sunroom so they would follow him.
They did.
Lawson turned to meet head-on whatever his mother’s beef was. “Okay, hit me with what you got, but do it one at a time and do it fast because I’ve got a mountain of paperwork on my desk.”
Regina apparently thought she had first dibs because she started. “It’s all over town about you kissing Eve outside the Longhorn last night.”
He was about to ask how the heck that had gotten around. To the best of his knowledge, no one other than Tessie had seen them kissing, and he doubted that she’d blabbed. The other couple making out likely hadn’t looked away from each other long enough to draw breath, much less see what had gone on. But in Wrangler’s Creek, the gossips seemed to have mind-reading skills to assist them.
“You know I hate to interfere with your life,” Regina went on, “but I feel I have to say something.”
It was true for the most part. Regina didn’t interfere because she was rarely around. But when she did show up, yes, interference for at least one of her kids was on the agenda.
“Are you telling me not to get involved with Eve again?” Lawson came out and asked.
Regina nodded. “But not for the reason you think. I’ve given up on Darby and you. I can see that it’s just not going to work. But Eve’s in a vulnerable place right now. She just had that precious baby, and she’s upset about her breakup with Kellan Carver. It’s all over the tabloids that she’s falling apart over losing him.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes, verifying what Lawson already knew from personal knowledge. Eve was indeed upset, but it had nothing to do with the horn-boy. It was all because of Tessie. And maybe because the kissing that Lawson and she had been doing was confusing her some. It was certainly confusing him.
“Anyway, I’m here to ask you to give Eve some time to work out her feelings. You’d be just a Band-Aid now to her broken heart, which means you could end up getting hurt again, too.”
Part of that was true. He could end up getting hurt. But he could have argued about Eve’s broken heart since she’d been the one to leave him. If he did that though, it would only lengthen the lecture, and that was the last thing he wanted to do since it appeared his mom was winding down.
She smiled, kissed Aiden on the top of his head and turned to Cassidy. “Make sure you come by so I can introduce you to Lucian.” Regina winked at Cassidy.
Lawson hoped that unholy intro didn’t happen, but Cassidy was a grown woman, and he didn’t want to interfere—as his mom had just done. And as Cassidy was likely about to do.
“And you come by the house, too,” Regina added to Lawson. He also got a kiss on the cheek before his mom headed out back.
One down, one to go. He took a deep breath to steel himself for the next round, which might have more bite to it than motherly concern.
Cassidy put her hands over Aiden’s ears. “Don’t dick around with Eve’s feelings. Got that?” And with the shortest lecture in recent history, she would have just walked out if Lawson hadn’t stepped in front of Cassidy to stop her.