“I’ll show you later,” he promises with a wink.
“I don’t know what’s sadder,” Cyan says.
“What’s that?” Janson asks.
“The fact that my mom gets more action than I do, or the fact that hearing about it is the highlight of my week.”
“Probably both, son,” Janson says.
“Enough about this topic, please? It’s almost dinner time and I need my appetite. Besides, I want to hear about Gray and his new woman.”
“Nothing to tell, Mags,” I grunt, cutting her off.
“Life is short, son. Don’t waste it pissing in the wind. One day, you’ll wake up all alone and stinking to high heaven with nothing but a basket of laundry.”
“That’s deep, Mom,” Cyan says with a laugh.
“Thank you, sweetie.”
“Well, if she’s anything like Grayson’s usual women, she’s an airhead,” Maggie says.
“Yeah, we’ll probably see more of her than we want in the tabloids soon enough,” Cyan agrees.
“She’s not like anyone else,” I growl.
“Do tell, brother.” This comes from White as he comes outside. The screen door squeaks in protest. He leans up against the porch post and looks at me. Shit.
“Mind your own business,” I growl.
White is my oldest brother and he’s a self-declared permanent bachelor, which is a shame because his best friend is a woman named Kayla—a damn good woman, at that. Plus, everyone knows she’s completely in love with White. Well, everyone but him. He doesn’t give a fuck about anything other than the next bull he’s going to ride. He’s on track to be the world’s champion.
Mom jokes she has a child in every profession and she’s not far from the truth. Bull riding, golf, baseball, fireman, cop, and rancher. Then there’s Cyan. Cyan tells everyone he’s still finding himself, but the truth is that he finds himself at the tables gambling most of the time. That’s just my brothers. My sisters are just as diverse, from a novelist to Maggie, who’s the principal at a local elementary school.
“Come on, Gray, give it up,” Maggie says.
I take a deep breath. “Fine. Cooper is smart, funny, beautiful… caring. She’s—”
“What kind of name is Cooper?”
“Cooper?” Cyan interrupts.
“Her name is Claudia Cooper. Everyone calls her CC.”
“Dude, that’s a rough ass name for a girl,” Cyan says.
“Oh please, like any of us could talk,” Maggie says. “Hello? Magnolia tree, front and center here.”
“It was a hell of a Magnolia tree,” Mom says. Maggie holds her head down.
We all laugh, even me, and I don’t really feel like it, especially since talking about CC reminds me of everything I’ve lost.
“If she’s so wonderful, what the fuck are you doing here without her?”
“White Hall Lucas, watch your mouth!”
“Yes, Mom,” he sighs.
“I still want to see the woman who has one of my brothers all twisted up,” Maggie says. I flip her off without letting mom see me.
“We may not have to wait long, dear,” Mom says.
“Why’s that?” Cyan asks, and I just listen to them chatter while I open my second beer. I wonder how long it would take me to get drunk on drinking nothing but beer.
“Because, unless I miss my guess, the woman in question is getting out of that taxi at the end of our drive,” Mom says.
My heart speeds up at her words and joy spreads through me. CC must have changed her mind! I’ll make sure I reward her later tonight.
“Fuck!” I growl.
“What? What’s wrong?” Mom asks, and she must know something is way off from my tone, because for once she doesn’t bitch at me for my cursing.
“That’s not CC. That’s David Riverton and his daughter Cammie,” I growl.
“Oh, shit,” Maggie whispers while everyone else goes quiet. I hold my head down, wondering how the fuck life got so complicated.
“Okay, so hit me,” Mer says, staring at me from across the table. If she only knew how inviting that was right now, she wouldn’t tempt me. It’s been five days since Gray left to visit his family in Texas. Five days and I haven’t seen nor heard from him. I mean, I guess we broke up, so I understand it, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought he might try to contact me. I thought I’d get the chance to… maybe rethink things? Get a do-over? Hell, I don’t know. Truthfully, I didn’t think much past hearing from Gray again. “Earth to C. You get about five minutes to start talking,” Mer adds.
“And you’ll what?”
“I’ll throw such a fit they will kick us out of here.”