Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
O ne of the perks of driving home with two mischievous puppies was that Casey didn’t have time to think about the kiss. He was too busy trying to keep Junie and Johnny from making him drive his truck off the road.
If they weren’t scrambling onto his lap to give him sloppy kisses and sharp nips from their tiny teeth, they were ducking under the seats and then squealing because they couldn’t get back out. He had to pull over twice to rescue them. The second time, he found a piece of rope in the boot and attached it to their collars, tying them to the passenger seat where they finally settled down. Junie went to sleep while Johnny teethed on the rope.
It was dark by the time Casey got home. He saw the light display long before he reached the house. The two-story ranch house could be seen from space. Multicolored Christmas lights hung from every possible branch, bush, eave, and rooftop. There were even lights on the barn and wrapped around the hitching post. Rome had outdone himself and Casey knew exactly who his brother had done it all for.
Cloe was no doubt thrilled and Casey couldn’t deny that he liked it too. It was nice being the Griswolds for a change, instead of the Grinches.
He pulled up next to the brand-new white Cadillac SUV parked in front and wondered who was visiting. Since they didn’t get many visitors, besides Cloe’s family, he figured one of the Holidays had gotten an early Christmas gift. Whoever it was, Casey planned to thank them. His daddy wouldn’t raise so much of a ruckus about the puppies with guests there.
He parked next to the SUV before glancing over at the puppies that were now sitting up in the seat and staring at their new Vegas lit-up home. “Now listen up, you two, the plan is to be as cute as possible with Cloe and Rome and as huntin’ dog as possible with my daddy. Got it?”
But the puppies never got a chance to follow his orders. As soon as he walked in the door with them tucked under each arm, he realized his mistake. It wasn’t one of Cloe’s sisters and her husband sitting on the leather couch in the living room sipping on Sam’s best brandy.
It was Melissa and her daddy the judge.
Johnny chose that moment to pee . . . all over Casey. He couldn’t even blame the dog. It was a pissy situation. Casey had completely forgotten Melissa and her father were coming for dinner tonight.
He ignored the pee soaking into his jeans and tried to brave his way through. “Pardon me. I forgot we were having guests tonight.”
Sam, who stood by the fireplace, looked as hot as the fire. The judge and Melissa didn’t look much happier. Or maybe that was just Melissa’s resting bitch face. The constant sour look was one of the reasons Casey hadn’t prolonged their relationship. That, and Melissa had been too calculating for his tastes.
“Oh, my goodness, would you look at those sweethearts?” Cloe came to the rescue and filled the awkward silence. She struggled to get up from the couch. At almost two weeks past her due date, she struggled to do a lot of things. Rome got up and helped her to her feet and they both came over to greet the puppies. Cloe gave him an are-you-trying-to-tick-off-your-father look and Rome smirked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“Whose dogs are these?” Cloe asked as she scratched Johnny’s ears.
Casey dropped the bomb. “Mine.”
“Yours?” At Sam’s gruff response, Junie decided it was her turn to release her bladder. Casey really should have taken the dogs to pee before he brought them in the house. Lesson learned.
Cloe realized his predicament and glanced at her husband. “Rome, why don’t you take these sweet babies outside to the barn so Casey can go get cleaned up before supper.”
Rome quickly did his wife’s bidding. As he took the puppies, he lifted his eyebrows at Casey. “Melba?”
Casey wasted no time getting showered and changed. He knew he was in big trouble, especially when he glanced at his cellphone after getting out of the shower and saw all the text messages from Cloe, Rome, and his daddy asking where he was. But it wasn’t the first time he’d been in trouble with his daddy and he figured it wouldn’t be the last. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried to get out of the dinner. His father should have listened when he’d said he didn’t need him playing matchmaker. Now Casey would have to make it clear to Melissa that he wasn’t interested.
The opportunity came much quicker than he thought. He had just pulled on a pair of boxer briefs when the door to his room opened and Melissa stepped in.
“Oops!” Her gaze swept over him from head to toe. “I guess this isn’t the bathroom, is it?”
He knew Melissa well enough to know that she hadn’t mistaken this door for the bathroom. This was confirmed when she walked in and closed—and locked—the door behind her. He pulled open the drawer where he kept his jeans, but before he could grab a pair, she stepped between him and the dresser.
She had changed her hair. In college, it had been a platinum blond. Now it was brown with a reddish tint. He had to admit it looked good. She was a beautiful woman . . . at least on the outside.
“My, how you’ve grown, Casey Remington.” Her icy blue eyes ran over his bare chest. “So much more muscular and manly than I remember.” She lifted a hand and ran one long French-manicured nail over his pec. The shiver that ran up his spine wasn’t sexual, but she thought it was. A sly smile slipped over her lips, lips that were painted a muted pink that didn’t tempt him nearly as much as a pair of candy apple-red lips.
Melissa finished outlining his man boob with her nail before she glanced up at him. “So what have you been doing with yourself, Casey?”
“Oh, same old, same old.”
A knowing look entered her eyes. “Ahh. So you’re still seeing how many women’s beds you can get into before you die.” She laughed.
That was one good thing about Melissa. She had never been jealous. Or clingy. When he had told her he wasn’t interested in hooking up again, she’d only shrugged, blown him a kiss, and walked away. Which, hopefully, would make this entire awkward situation much easier.
“Pretty much.” He pointed at the open drawer behind her. “Mind if I get dressed?”
“What’s your hurry?”
“I can’t really go down to supper in my underwear, Miss.”
“I don’t know why not. My daddy and your daddy would have a fit and we both love to piss off our daddies. Those puppies were a nice touch, by the way.” Her hand slid down to his stomach. He grabbed it before those nails could slip into his boxers and do some damage.
“So if you love to piss off your daddy, I’m surprised you came tonight.”
She stepped back and leaned against his dresser. “There are times to annoy my daddy and times to see the benefits of a good plan.”
“There are no benefits to dating me.” He moved her out of the way and grabbed a pair of jeans from the drawer. “Something you need to make clear to your daddy.” He pulled on the jeans and zipped them. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want a womanizing playboy as a son-in-law.”
She shrugged. “Daddy isn’t interested in those types of traits. He’s interested in connections that will help him win a seat in the senate.”
The light bulb went on. This was why Sam was pushing so hard for Casey to marry Melissa. A judge in the family was nice, but a senator was even better.
“Your daddy runs one of the biggest ranches in the state,” Melissa continued. “The Remington name holds a lot of respect and clout.”
“Rome’s and Sam’s names maybe, but not mine. I’m just the carefree younger son who can’t even be on time for supper.”
She laughed. “No argument there. You never cared much for money or power. And it doesn’t matter. Daddy and I will do all the caring. You just have to show up to the occasional fundraisers and political events and look pretty.” She reached out and pinched his cheek. “You’ve proven that social media loves that face of yours.”
His eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb, Casey. I know you carried a 4.0 all through college. You’re smart. You just have no drive. And that’s okay. I have enough drive for both of us. I want my daddy to win. Not because I care one way or another about his political career, but because one day I plan to take his place. And I’m not only looking at a senator seat. I’m looking at the presidency. When I saw that chubby little baker’s viral video, I realized you had the type of face and . . .” she made air quotes, “. . . ‘cowboy hero’ charisma to pull in, not only thousands of social media followers, but also thousands of young voters.” She smirked. “It looks like that little baker realizes it too. Which is why she’s been using you.”
He didn’t care about Melissa seeing the video. He cared about the other part. The crazy part. “You’re behind the idea of us getting married?”
She tipped her head and gave him a wide-eyed look that was more scary than innocent. “Who do you think sold my daddy on the idea? I knew it wouldn’t take much for him to persuade your daddy. In college, you spent one very drunk night telling me all about your daddy’s desire to continue the Remington name—in between rambling about some girl you loved to tease in grade school.”
“In case you didn’t notice, Rome is continuing the family name.”
“Oh, I noticed. It looks like Rome has quite the idyllic country life running this ranch. Perfect sweet little wife. Family on the way.” She hesitated. “While you seem to be the extra son who really doesn’t have a purpose. Yes, you’re the charming brother-in-law and soon-to-be-uncle. But what happens five years from now when Rome and Cloe have more kids and you’re just weird Uncle Casey who doesn’t have a life?”
Again, she did the scary wide-eyed look. “Or you can marry me and have your own life. A life that I can promise will never be dull. If you’re worried I’m going to chain you to my bed, don’t be. I have no desire to be stuck having sex with one person for the rest of my life either. Once we have a couple kids, you never have to touch me again as long as you can pretend like we’re one big happy family in public and on social media. Out of the public eye, we can do what we please. Of course, I won’t live on a ranch out in the middle of nowhere. You’ll need to move to Austin. But I’m sure you’ll love the big city where there are plenty of gorgeous women to keep you entertained.”
She leaned in and rested a hand on his chest. “So what do you say, Casey? Should we kiss to seal the deal?”
Casey had never given much thought to the future. He was the type of person who lived in the present moment and let the future take care of itself. But Melissa had painted an extremely vivid picture. Of both scenarios. He had no desire to live in a big city and be married to some calculating politician who believed in an open marriage. He might not want a long-term relationship, but he had never slept with numerous women at the same time. Nor did he believe in breaking sacred vows said in front of God, your family, and friends. Not to mention using innocent kids for your image on social media.
But he didn’t want to be Crazy Bachelor Uncle Casey either.
Rome and Cloe had never made him feel like he was intruding on their lives, but who would want your single brother living with you for the rest of your life? Rome and Cloe were starting their own family. While Rome might be used to Casey hanging around, Cloe wasn’t. If Casey should have learned anything from his mama and Rome’s first wife, it was that living with three Remington men wasn’t fun and would eventually lead to divorce.
He didn’t want that for his brother and Cloe.
“Casey?” Melissa pulled him from his thoughts. “What’s the hesitation? Don’t tell me you actually fell in love with that fat baker.”
Casey wasn’t sure what happened. One second, he was staring in horror at the future, and the next, he was taking the lifeline Melissa threw him.
“Now watch your mouth, Melissa. That’s the woman I love you’re talking about. Ellie isn’t fat. She’s perfect.” That wasn’t a lie. Her body had fit perfectly in his arms. Too perfectly.
The look of disbelief and anger on Melissa’s face was damn satisfying.
“You’re kidding me? You have a chance to marry me and you’re choosing a silly little baker?”
He held up his hands. “Now don’t take it personally, Miss. You had a great plan. And if I hadn’t already found the love of my life, I might have considered becoming the first gentleman of the United States.” When hell froze over. “But true love comes before country.”
Melissa held up her middle finger. “Fuck you, Casey!” She whirled and stormed out of the room.
When she was gone, Casey sat down on the bed and blew out his breath. Damn. He’d really stepped into it his time. He’d been worried about people thinking he was in love and now he’d gone and confirmed it. He didn’t doubt for a second that Melissa would broadcast the news to everyone she knew—including everyone on her social media.
Oh, how he hated social media. It really screwed with a man’s life.
“What the hell did you do?” Sam came charging into the room. “Judge Matthews and Melissa just left.”
Casey wanted to tell his father the truth, but there were some parts of the truth Sam wouldn’t understand. Like Casey lying through his teeth. Sam hated liars even more than he hated Casey’s carousing.
“I simply informed Melissa that I’m not interested in marrying her.”
“Why? She’s smart, beautiful, and seems to find your bad behavior amusing. At least, she did until you were so rude to her.”
“Let’s talk about rude, shall we, Daddy? Rude is inviting Melissa and her father here in the first place to play matchmaker. Or maybe that’s controlling and arrogant more than rude.”
“I wasn’t forcing you to do anything. I was merely giving you an opportunity to make something of your life—an opportunity you were too stupid to take. Now I want you to pick up that cellphone sitting right over there and call Melissa and apologize. If you can charm every other woman in town, I’m sure you can charm Melissa into forgiving you.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. I’m not marrying Melissa.” He paused and lied through his teeth. Or not really lied. Just stretched the truth. “I’m already seeing someone.”
Sam stared at him. “Who?”
Before Casey had to answer, Rome appeared in the doorway. He didn’t look like the calm, collected brother Casey knew. He looked panicked. And it wasn’t over the judge and Melissa leaving before dinner.
“Cloe’s having the baby!”