Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“ W ell, that’s what a Thanksgiving should be.” Mimi took a sip of her homemade elderberry wine. If her twinkling eyes were any indication, it wasn’t her first glass of the day. Nor was it Daddy’s. Hank didn’t care for large gatherings, but he seemed pretty pleased at the moment.
“You’re right, Mama,” he said as he held his glass of wine up and toasted his wife who was cuddled on the swing next to him. “To the best Thanksgiving ever!”
Mama took a sip of her wine and smiled softly. “It was a wonderful day, wasn’t it?”
“Perfect.” Hallie rested her head on Jace’s shoulder and smiled up at him as he stroked the fat cat sitting on his lap.
“The best.” Sunny clinked her glass against the one Noelle held. “Wasn’t it, Elle?”
Noelle tried her best to smile as she nodded, but it hadn’t been the best day for her.
Once again, Casey Remington had ruined things for her. She hadn’t even been able to enjoy one bite of food with him sitting so close. If he hadn’t invaded her space with his manly scent and brushes of his knee or broad shoulders, he’d distracted her with the moans and mmm’s he made every time he took a bite of food. She knew he’d done it on purpose. He had always loved ruining things for her.
And now he knew she was a virgin.
She didn’t doubt for a second he would use the knowledge against her if she didn’t make it clear on social media he wasn’t the cowboy hero who was madly in love with her. The only way to do that was to start dating Reid and get him to do a post with her. One cowboy in a Stetson was as good as another. Even if Reid didn’t want to date her, maybe he’d be nice enough to play along just until her new followers were hooked on her baking posts. He seemed like a nice guy.
Unlike Casey.
She set down her glass of wine. “Well, I think I’m going to walk off all the turkey I consumed.” She cringed when she realized what she’d said. Especially since she was sitting next to Sunny.
Sunny sent her an apologetic look before she slugged her in the arm. “I’ll go with you.”
“No, you stay here and enjoy the rest of your wine.” The hurt expression on Sunny’s face had Noelle leaning in to whisper, “I’m going to see Reid.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sunny whispered back. “I mean . . . Reid seems a little grumpy to me.”
“That could be because you punched him all through dinner.”
“What was I supposed to do? Punch Mimi?”
Mimi must have heard her name. “What are you two whispering about over there?”
“Nothin’!” they chimed together.
The walk to Cooper Springs didn’t take any time at all. The large spring-fed pool of water was surrounded by a copse of oaks and cypress trees. Corbin and Belle were building a house on the other side of those trees and Reid had parked his old trailer on this side, just to the left of the path leading from the Holiday house.
According to Hallie, Reid and Sophie were just planning on living in the trailer until Reid could find a place in town. Noelle hoped that was soon. The little hitch trailer looked too cramped for one person, let alone two, sitting amid the trees with its tiny windows glowing in the dark night.
Holding the pumpkin pie she’d brought in one hand, Noelle knocked on the tiny door. Only a few seconds later, it was pulled open by Sophie. She was a pretty teenager with shoulder-length dark brown hair and hazel eyes the same whiskey shade as her uncle’s. But like most teenage girls, she seemed to be struggling with how much makeup to wear. She’d showed up for Thanksgiving dinner looking like a Broadway stage actress. Now, most of that makeup was under her eyes, giving her the appearance of a demon child straight from hell.
Her greeting was just as friendly.
“Oh. It’s you.”
Noelle pinned on a smile. “Hey, Sophie!” She held up the pie. “I thought y’all would like some leftover pumpkin pie.”
“I don’t like pumpkin—”
Reid appeared behind his niece. He looked a little disheveled, but still hot as sin with his messed black hair and half-snapped western shirt. “That’s real nice of you, Miss Noelle.”
She shrugged. “Just being neighborly.”
Sophie crossed her arms and glared down at Noelle through the screen door. “Sure you are.”
“Watch your manners, Soph,” Reid scolded before he moved his niece out of the way and held open the door. “Would you like to come in?” He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Or maybe it would be better if I came out. Things are a little cramped in here.” Without touching the metal steps, his long legs easily covered the space from the trailer to the ground. He moved over to the two folding camping chairs set up under a raggedy striped awning. “Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? I think we have bottled water, Gatorade, and Dr Pepper.”
“No, thank you. I’m good. Like I said, I just stopped by to bring you some pie.” She glanced down at the pie tin in her hands. “Obviously, I should have brought apple. I didn’t realize you didn’t like pumpkin.”
“I like pumpkin just fine.” He took the pie tin from her and set it on a lopsided table before gesturing at one of the chairs. “Are you sure you won’t sit and stay awhile?”
“Well, maybe just a little while.” She sat down and he followed suit, taking the other chair. There was a long, awkward silence before she stumbled on a conversation starter. “So how do you like working on the ranch?”
“I like it just fine.”
“I guess you’ve been cowboying for a long time.”
“A while.”
“I heard Sophie was the kicker on the high school football team.”
“She was.”
Noelle had never struggled to talk to a man in her life, but she was struggling now. She tried at least five more conversation starters, but not one received anything other than a few words. She was thinking about just coming right out and asking him on a date, when the screen door opened and Sophie popped her head out.
“Uncle Reid! Your cellphone’s ringing. It’s Hallie.”
Reid hopped up. “Pardon me. I should get that.”
Noelle got to her feet. “No problem. I need to get going anyway.”
“Thanks again for the pie!” he called before he stepped inside. “Go get the pie, Soph, and be sure and say thank you.”
Sophie pushed the screen door open so hard it slammed against the side of the trailer. Noelle took a step back as the scary-looking teenager thumped down the steps in baggy sweats and a pair of flip-flops.
“Thanks for the pie.”
Noelle cleared her throat. “You’re welcome. Next time, I’ll bring you an apple pie.”
Sophie’s black-ringed eyes narrowed. “You think I don’t know what you’re doin’? In just the last week, six women have knocked on our door, bearing all kinds of foil or plastic wrapped food in the hopes of getting my uncle into bed.”
Noelle should have known she wouldn’t be the first woman in Wilder to come calling on the new hot cowboy. She now understood why Sophie was so belligerent. It had to be annoying having horny women constantly arriving at the door with baked goods.
“Well, I’m not hoping to get your uncle into bed.” After what happened with Kenny, she didn’t know if she would ever try to get a man into bed again.
“Then what are you hoping for? Because from what I’ve seen on social media, you already have a boyfriend.”
Great. Even demon teenagers had seen the video. “Well, you can’t believe everything you see on social media.”
“So Casey’s not your boyfriend?”
Before she could answer, headlights came bouncing toward them. Noelle didn’t recognize Sunny’s Subaru until it came to a dust-spitting stop in front of the trailer—after running over both camp chairs. Sunny hopped out at the same time as Reid came out of the trailer.
“What the hell?” he said.
Sunny looked down at the black metal leg of a crumpled chair hanging out from beneath the grille of her car. “Oops! Sorry.” She glanced at Reid and shook her finger. “But that’s no excuse for cussing in front of a minor. Teenage years are the most impressionable.” She flashed a smile at Sophie. “Hello again. Love the smoky-eye look. I’d ask for a private tutorial, but I don’t have time.” Her gaze landed on Noelle. “We got to go. Your mama fell out of the swing and your Mimi thinks she broke her arm.”
Noelle was instantly concerned. “Is she okay?”
“I just got off the phone from Hallie,” Reid said. “She said your mama is fine.”
“Drunk would be a better word,” Sunny chimed in. “When they were getting in Jace’s truck to head to the county hospital, she and your daddy were giggling like a couple of kids from all the elderberry wine they’d had. So I doubt she feels a thing. But we should get going. I told them that we’d meet them there.”
Noelle said a quick goodbye to Reid and Sophie before getting into the passenger side of Sunny’s Subaru. She barely got her seat belt fastened before Sunny popped the car into reverse and backed out in a plume of dust . . . and the crunch of camp chairs.
“I’ll pay for those!” she yelled out the window as they took off.
When they finally hit paved road and weren’t being jostled around like beans in a bag, Noelle turned to her. “So what happened? How did my mama fall out of the porch swing?”
“Oh, she didn’t fall out of the porch swing. She fell out of the swing in the old oak tree. I guess your daddy was pushing her and pushed a little too hard.”
Noelle rolled her eyes. “For the love of Pete. Those two have been acting like two lovesick teenagers lately.”
“And what’s wrong with that—I mean, besides a broken arm. I think it’s sweet they’re spicing things up after being married for so long.” Sunny shot a glance over at her. “And speaking of spicing things up, how did your seduction of Reid go?”
“You sound like Sophie. I’m not trying to seduce Reid. I’m just trying to . . .” She struggled to find the right words and Sunny helped her out.
“Use him to fulfill your desire for social media likes.”
Noelle slumped down in the seat and sighed. “Something like that. And before you give me a lecture, I’ve changed my mind. Not only because using a nice guy is the wrong thing to do, but also because no one would mistake Reid for Casey.”
“You’re right. They are night and day. One is as grumpy as my daddy after too many Bud Lights and the other is nice as pie.”
“I’m assuming you think Casey is the pie,” she said sarcastically.
“He’s always been nice to me.” Sunny glanced over at her. “I think he’d be nice to you too if you’d let him.”
“If I’d let him?”
Sunny sent her a pointed look. “You bristle up like a porcupine whenever he’s around, Elle. It’s hard to be nice when you’re dodging sharp quills.”
“Because he’s always doing something to make me mad—on purpose, I might add.”
“Maybe he’s not trying to make you mad. Maybe he’s just trying to get your attention.”
“Well, he certainly isn’t happy about having my attention now. He’s terrified my posts will change his image from a womanizing playboy who can’t commit to a loving boyfriend who can.”
Sunny laughed. “The man does have commitment issues. But most men do. At least Casey is up front about his.” She hesitated. “Of course, all it takes is the love of a good woman to change all that. And maybe that’s what has your followers so enthralled. Everyone loves a bad boy gone good.”
“Maybe. But in this case, the bad boy has no intentions of going good.”
Sunny smiled slyly. “Then maybe a good girl needs to go bad.”