Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MILLIE
I ’m pissy today.
I can totally admit it. My mood is dark. First of all, I’ve barely seen my husband since Monday night. He’s been up and out extra early the past two mornings because he has to get ready for branding day, and he’s cleaning up from the fires. He worked an eighteen-hour day yesterday, not getting home until almost midnight, and then he was up and out again before four this morning.
I freaking miss him.
On top of that, I overslept after he left this morning, so I didn’t get to work until ten minutes before opening, which is not enough time to get ready. Thankfully, because I have to leave for our monthly Iconic Women’s Collective luncheon today, I have Candy, Macy, and Andrea all here to work the whole day, so at least I don’t have to worry about Candy being here alone.
They’ll all be here tomorrow, too, so I can be at the ranch.
I’m so glad that I found some good, reliable help for the summer.
“Gladys!” I set the mocha on the counter as a middle-aged woman approaches to take it and smile at her. “Have a good day.”
“It’s busy today,” Andrea says with a smile. “I love it.”
“And I’m glad that you do.” I sigh and try to shrug off the attitude. I’m the only one suffering from it.
But just as I’m about to put myself into a brighter, sunshine mood, I hear, “I wouldn’t mind getting set up with Holden Lexington.”
I narrow my eyes and turn my head to look at the three women sitting at a nearby table, drinking coffee and gossiping.
“Right?” a blonde says. “He’s one hot cowboy. I’d like to ride him.”
“You know,” the original voice, a brunette, adds as the bell above my door rings with an incoming customer, “my sister knows his sister. I bet I could get introduced. I’d rock that man’s world. Those tattoos! I want to lick them.”
“I want to lick him all over.”
“Holden’s wife probably wouldn’t approve of that.”
All three heads whip around at the sound of my voice, their eyes widening as they look at my face.
I’m sure it’s fucking mutinous. It’s a good thing this counter separates us because I’d be pulling them out of here by the hair.
“He’s not married,” the blonde says with a scowl, and I hold up my hand, showing them my ring.
“Yeah, he is married. To me. And I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking about my husband. Trust me, if I ever find out that any of you tried to lay so much as the tip of your filthy tongues on my husband’s tattoos, it would be the last thing you ever tasted before I ripped them out of your heads.”
“Jesus, no need to be a bitch,” the brunette snarls. “We’re just talking about a hot guy. Calm down.”
“Fuck that. He’s my hot guy, and because I also own this business, you’ll get your dumb asses out of my chairs, march out of here, and don’t ever come back.”
Their jaws drop, but I just snarl at them, and when I watch them start to walk out, I see the man himself, standing near the entrance, smiling so widely at me, it’s blinding.
“Don’t fucking look at him,” I yell at the girls. “Don’t even breathe in his direction! Do you hear me?”
Finally, they’re out the door, and my husband crosses to me and lays the flowers on the counter before sliding his sexy, tattooed hand up my throat and brushing my jaw with his thumb. He plants his lips by my ear.
“You just made me harder than I’ve ever been in my entire fucking life, wife . I can’t wait until tonight, when I can fuck you so hard and for so long that you’ll be screaming my name.”
I swallow hard and press my thighs together in anticipation, and then his lips are on mine, hungry and possessive, and I hear the round of applause around us.
I laugh when he pulls away, staring at me with hot, blue eyes.
“Bravo,” Candy says, clapping the loudest. “Bravo!”
“I guess you didn’t like what they were saying?” Holden asks.
“No. I didn’t. That’ll teach them to talk about another woman’s man that way. Also, why do you have to be so hot? Is this going to be my life from now on?”
“Oh, baby girl, the things you do to me.” He kisses me again, lingering on my lips, before he pulls back and retrieves the flowers. “These are for you. I haven’t seen much of you, so I wanted to swing in and say hi.”
“And we’re all glad you did,” Andrea assures him with a laugh. “Now I need to find a boyfriend because that was the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
“Thank you.” Ignoring her, I bury my nose in the red roses and sunflowers. “They’re beautiful.”
“What do you have going today?” he asks, leaning on the counter and giving me his undivided attention.
I run my fingers over the pink rose on his arm.
“I have an IWC lunch in just a few minutes, and then I’ll be heading home. I want to plant some flowers.”
That has his eyebrows climbing in surprise. “Really? What kind?”
“I don’t know. I need to spend some time in the yard, plotting my strategy. I’m not sure what gets shade and what gets full sun and so on. So, I’ll be home early today.”
“Unfortunately, I won’t be.” He sighs heavily.
“Should I come out to the ranch instead and help? I don’t mind at all.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Enjoy the yard. I have a lot of help out there. Brady and Rem are even coming by for a couple of hours this afternoon.”
My eyes widen at that news. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“Wow. Well, that’s good.”
“I’d better go.” He kisses me once more and then heads for the door, slapping his ball cap onto his head. “Have a good day, baby girl.”
“You, too.”
“Oh, trust me, the whole town has heard what happened at BVCC this morning,” Erin says with a grin as we help Summer put flower arrangements on the tables at Snow Ghost, our favorite pub up at the ski hill, where we like to host our monthly luncheons.
The Iconic Women’s Collective is a passion project, a club , for lack of a better word, that my sisters-in-law and I founded a couple of years ago. All five of us are businesswomen, and we wanted to find a way to support other women in business. To be hype girls for each other, network, and share tips and tricks for success.
Because at the end of the day, there’s room for all of us to kick major ass.
Except for those three home-wreckers in my coffee shop this morning, that is.
“No one should talk about someone’s husband that way,” I insist and prop my hands on my hips as Summer and Polly share a grin. “You guys wouldn’t like it if you overheard some broad saying that she’d like to eat your husband for dinner.”
That makes Abbi scowl. “No. No, I wouldn’t like that.”
“See? Anyway, maybe they’ll have better manners when they’re out in public and save that kind of talk for private girls’ nights, like a lady should.”
Erin snorts at that. “Summer, these peonies are so gorgeous . ”
“I know. Feel free to take some after the meeting.” Summer owns Paula’s Poseys, the flower shop in town, and always brings fresh bouquets for the tables. “Erin, tell us about our guest speaker today. You said her name’s Cora?”
“Cora’s awesome,” Erin replies. “I don’t know her that well. Her family knows my family somehow , and she’s from New Orleans. She was born into a killer tycoon-type family. She’ll tell you all about it today, I’m sure. I happened to see her when Rem and I snuck away to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and asked her to come speak to us.”
“I have a question,” I say, waving my hand. “Is there literally anyone in the world who’s famous and important that your family doesn’t know?”
Erin taps her chin, narrows her eyes, and then grins. “No.”
“Hey, that’s good for us,” Abbi reminds me. “We get to have some amazing guest speakers at our meetings as a result.”
“True that,” Polly agrees, as people start to arrive for the meeting.
I always love seeing everyone. We have photographers and real estate agents. Attorneys and doctors, nurses, and a dog trainer.
It’s such a diverse, amazing group of people that I’m always surprised by the turnout, even though I shouldn’t be.
“There you are!”
I turn and grin as Charlie strides over to me, holding a glass of Coke.
“Hey!” She hugs me, and it doesn’t even make me feel weird. “How’s it going?”
“We’re moving into wedding season, which means that it’s fabulous and I’m busy, but I also never have time to catch my breath.” Charlie shrugs a shoulder. “But it’s all good, and I have zero complaints. But here’s the real question. How are you ?”
“I don’t think we have time to go into that.” I can’t help but laugh. “But at the heart of it all, I’m also doing well.”
“Glad to hear it. Now, who’s talking to us today?”
I notice a redhead with a face of freckles and shrewd green eyes walk into the room, and I’m pretty sure that’s our guest speaker.
“She’s a kickass woman from New Orleans. That’s really all I know, so I’m excited to hear what she has to say.”
“Me, too.” Charlie pats my shoulder. “I’ll go find a seat. I’ll talk to you later.”
I nod and watch her go and then join my friends as Erin greets Cora.
“It’s so good to see you again,” Erin says with a smile.
“You, too. Holy shit, this town is gorgeous.” I love her accent. It reminds me of warm, humid nights in the Bayou, and I’ve never even been to the Bayou. “I’ll have to bring my cousins up here sometime.”
“Oh, you absolutely should,” Erin says with a nod. “That would be so fun.”
We’re all introduced to Cora, who seems incredibly friendly, and I can see in those green eyes a woman of high intelligence. I’m excited for her to speak.
Once everyone is seated with their lunch, Erin goes to the front of the room to introduce her friend, and we all take our seats. The five of us try to spread out through the room so we can also network and chat with the ladies.
“Hi, everyone,” Erin says, grabbing our attention. “Thanks for coming to this month’s IWC luncheon. Don’t forget, we have our spring formal event happening in two weeks. We will be posting on socials and in the newsletter, so keep an eye on that.”
That’s right, it’s coming up! Four times a year, we host a big, fancy party and invite spouses or significant others to join us to celebrate everyone’s successes.
This time, I get to bring my husband as my date, and that makes the murder hornets wake up in my belly and do the cha-cha.
“Now, without further ado, I’d like to introduce my friend, Cora. She came all the way from New Orleans to be here with us today. Cora’s family is in the shipbuilding business, and well, I’m going to let her tell you all about it. Give Cora a hand!”
As we applaud, the beautiful redhead in her pretty green dress takes the mic from Erin and smiles at all of us.
“Wow, this is an intimidating room to stand in front of. Erin has told me so much about what she and her besties are doing with your Iconic Women’s Collective, and when she asked me to come speak to you, I jumped at the opportunity. Normally, I’m on the shy side, but I kind of wanted to come be a part of the cool kids’ club.”
There’s some laughter in the audience, and Cora continues.
“My name is Cora Boudreaux, and Erin was correct when she said I’m from New Orleans. I have a big, loud, crazy family down there that I’m pretty wild about. My great-great- great-grandfather started building ships on the Mississippi River about a million years ago, and our company is called Boudreaux Enterprises. My father, Eli Boudreaux, is the CEO of the company, but I am interning with him because he’d like to eventually retire and spend the rest of his many years spoiling the hell out of my mom.”
She grins when we chuckle again and settles into a rhythm of talking about the challenges of running a multi-billion dollar enterprise, one that’s so high profile and important.
And I can tell that some of the women here are thinking, But how can this help my small business ?
“I have a question,” I say, putting up a hand. “How do you find ways to reach out to your community and help the local people that you employ?”
Cora grins at me. “Good question. Because although we are global, and pretty damn big, we’re also committed to being involved in our local community.”
Finally, she shifts to talking about what Boudreaux Enterprises does in New Orleans, and now I see more interest sparking around me.
I glance over at Erin, who mouths thank you , and I grin at her.
Two hours later, once everyone has left and we’ve cleared out the flowers and helped with some of the big cleanup, we walk out to our vehicles.
“That was awesome,” Polly says with a sigh. “Also, we keep upping our guest speaker game. That was impressive.”
“Also, also, when she said that her uncle was a baseball player, and her cousin is currently a pro baseball player, it made me want to know more about their family. They sound like yours, Erin,” Abbi says.
“They’re pretty cool, yeah.” Erin grins. “Hopefully, Cora will bring them out here for a visit, and we’ll have a big party at Ryan’s house.”
“We’re in,” Polly says. “Okay, ladies, I have to get home to the bambino. Lottie should be waking up from her nap anytime.”
“Same,” Summer agrees. “August is teething, and he’s moody. But we’ll see you tomorrow, Millie. We’re all coming out to help at your ranch. Joy’s going to watch all the kids for us.”
I blink at her, surprised. “You’re all coming?”
“Of course,” Erin says, patting me on the shoulder. “It’s branding day.”
She winks, and then everyone gets into their vehicles to go home. I climb into mine, too, so full of gratitude and emotion, I have to pause before pulling out of the parking space.
For generations, it’s been a firm policy that the Wilds and the Lexingtons do not help each other out on their ranches. Other neighbors do, but not those two rival families.
Never.
But now that that evil man is dead and buried, and Holden and I are married, things are changing, and I love it so much.
“It’s about time things start to change. Now, if my dad would just come around.”
I start my car to leave, but my phone rings, and I frown when I see that it’s Bridger.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey, are you busy for the next few hours?” I hear the fatigue in his voice. He needs a sitter for Birdie. I can feel it in my bones. Since his parents moved to Florida, the poor guy can’t catch a break when it comes to help with his sweet little girl.
“Not especially. What’s going on?”
“I had to go to a meeting in Missoula, and my childcare for the rest of the day has fallen through. Do you mind going to watch Birdie until I get home? It’ll be around eight when I get back to town.”
Well, there goes garden planning, but that’s okay. I love that little girl.
“Sure, of course. Where is she? And do you mind if I take her to my place?”
“I don’t mind at all.” The relief in his deep voice is real . “She’s at home with the only babysitter I could find, but she’s just bailed on me.”
“Okay, don’t worry about it. I’ve got her. Just swing by when you get back to town.”
“Thanks, Mill. I appreciate it.”
“Drive safe.”
I hang up and head into town, bypassing my house and driving a couple of blocks farther to Bridger’s place on the edge of town. His house is cute, with a well-kept yard, but it’s a total bachelor pad. There are no flowers, no patio or porch furniture. No wind chimes. And I know that the inside is just as simple. He and Birdie have all the conveniences, but there are no pictures on the wall or extra pretty pillows on the couch. It’s so… bland.
He's such a man.
I pull into the driveway, and a teenager that I don’t know comes running out the door toward me.
“Are you picking up Birdie?” She sounds way too excited at the prospect of being rid of the kid.
“Yes. Who are you?”
“Shayna,” she says, as if I should just automatically know. “Sorry, I just can’t stay the rest of the day. I have stuff to do.”
“But you took the job.”
“Yeah, because have you seen Bridger? But then I realized that he wasn’t even here . It’s just the kid, and that’s such a drag. I have a party to go to. See you!”
And then she runs to her car and zooms out of here so fast, I’m surprised there isn’t smoke coming off her tires.
Birdie and I stare at each other for a minute, and then I can’t help but laugh.
Birdie grins and plays with her little dark braid.
“Hi, sweet girl.”
“Hi, Aunt Millie. She didn’t like me.”
“Oh, you’re pretty much impossible to dislike. I think Shayna just had a crush on your daddy and didn’t think this through. You wanna come hang with me at my new house?”
She jumps up and down, so excited, and I’m suddenly glad that my day took an unexpected turn. I haven’t spent much time with this little one lately, and I’ve missed her.
“ Yes! ”
“Good. Let’s go in and grab you a few things, and then we’ll go to my house. I’ll fix you something to eat. How have you been feeling?”
Birdie’s been dealing with an illness that no one seems to be able to pinpoint. She has good days and bad days, more good recently, which is a huge relief.
Some doctors think that it might be something that she just grows out of, but it would be better if we knew what in the hell it was.
“I feel fine. Kind of sleepy.”
Being lethargic was the biggest culprit. Keeping this kid awake has been a chore for the better part of a year.
“Do you need a little nap?”
“Not right now.” She slips her little hand into mine as we go inside. “I want to see your house.”
“Okay, baby. Let’s do that.”