Chapter Nine #3
Taryn, outrageously flirting with him, and him doing his best not to notice, would make Shauna suspicious, too, if she didn’t know better.
She had a wild thought and bit the inside of her lip, because laughing right now wouldn’t look weird at all.
This must be what it felt like to run into your wife and your mistress at the same party.
Nix studied the door the way a drowning man eyed a life raft. “My ride’s waiting. Gotta run.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Taryn said, leaving out the part where a few dozen other teens would be seeing him too.
His eyes finally rested on Shauna. Heat rolled into them.
“Yep. See you,” he said.
He worked his way to the door, graceful hips avoiding contact with tables and chairs. He wore jeans the way another man might wear a three-thousand-dollar suit—as if they were made for him and he knew they made him look good. And to think that tomorrow night, for a few hours, he was all hers.
Tonight, however…
She had two teenagers with her, and anticipating an evening of sex with an incredibly hot cowboy was not the right direction for her thoughts to be taking.
They finished dessert. Shauna paid the bill.
Outside, on the street, night had fallen, and despite the smattering of streetlights, the stars in the velvety sky were on full display.
She took a deep breath and tipped her head back, allowing the air off the river to cool her warm skin.
She liked Montana. Everything about it was bigger and better than anywhere else in the world—including its men.
The girls chattered as they walked the short distance to the car. Shauna had enjoyed the evening, but there was only so much she had in common with teenagers and she was ready for her part in it to end.
A small group of people spilled through the wide wooden doors of Lou’s Pub.
“There’s my mom and dad,” Nora said.
Josh and Pam Harvey spotted her, too, then started toward them.
Josh was a big man, and in a camo jacket and jeans, he looked as country as his wife looked all business.
He owned his own company—something in financial securities, Shauna thought—so looks were deceiving.
This was his chance to see for himself that Taryn had a good family, despite the reputation she was building.
Except he radiated displeasure. His wife, trailing him, looked worried. Shauna’s smile faded. Her first thought was that someone had died. Nora had younger brothers and sisters. Maybe there had been an accident.
He ignored Shauna and Taryn and zeroed in on his daughter. “Go get in the car.”
Nora’s face fell. “My things are at—” she began uncertainly.
He cut her off. “Get in the car. Now.”
She scrambled to do as she was told, tripping hastily down the street in her high heels, with him riding herd. Pam stayed behind, no doubt to explain.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” Shauna asked her, concerned.
Pam’s face was a picture of conflicting motherly emotions. “I understand you meant well, and I’m sure the girls had a good time. But you can’t blame Josh for being upset. Our seventeen-year-old daughter looks like a prostitute. This isn’t how decent girls in Grand dress.”
Decent girls? What was she implying?
Then Shauna remembered the Mayhem’s Private Moments high school excursion and decided it was best not to raise a question when opposing counsel had a response already prepared.
“I had no idea,” she said, feeling both helpless and guilty. She’d wanted to help Taryn fit in. She hadn’t realized there was a dress code for what the girls in Grand wore outside of school. And she’d taken them to a family restaurant, not a nightclub.
“I know. Don’t worry, I’ll smooth things over with Josh. I’ll collect Nora’s things tomorrow.”
Pam dashed off after her husband and daughter.
Taryn had the good sense to remain quiet for once. Until they got in the car.
She flung herself into the passenger seat and slammed the car door. “I thought Nora’s mother was kind of drip. Turns out she’s boomer.”
Shauna didn’t know what a drip was, but she understood boomer. She might have tried too hard to be the former tonight, but since she wasn’t Taryn’s mother, boomer wasn’t the right thing for her to be either.
She did know that she wasn’t going to try to make her little sister conform to someone else’s ideal. Not when it came to her clothes. Not when it came to her hobbies. Not when there were bigger battles to fight.
Like Remi, and her lies about Nix.
She’d tackle those problems later though, when the timing was better. And maybe when she had something other than a lecture to deliver that wouldn’t be well received.
Right now, some positive sisterly reinforcement was needed. Taryn really liked Nora and hadn’t meant to get her in trouble. She’d tried to do something nice by lending her a dress that looked good on her.
“I think you and Nora looked really pretty,” she said. “It’s not you. Grand can be pretty vanilla.”
“Cheugy.” Taryn expressed her opinion of Shauna’s attempt to be lit, then gave her a thin, grudging smile. “But thanks.”