A Dark & Stormy Knight: A McKnight Romance (McKnight Romances) (14 page)

“This is the horse Aunt Del sent your
way, ain’t it?”

Daisy nodded.

It didn’t surprise Sol that their Aunt
Delilah could spot a potentially good barrel racer. She’d only spent the past
twenty years training horses. “Tell me again why she didn’t snap this horse up
for herself.”

“‘Coz her dance card’s already full,”
Daisy smirked. “Only so many hours in the day, y’know.”

Sol shook his head in amazement at Daisy’s
luck. “Her loss is your gain, then. I think you may have a winner on your
hands, Sis.”

Daisy grinned over her shoulder at him. “I
think so, too.”

Eden
’s
feet barely touched the ground as she bounced over to him. In one breath, she
said, “Aunt Daisy says she’s got to run Spitfire at some rodeos, so folks can
see her, but she’d rather train than ride.”

Sol wasn’t surprised. The best trainers
were perfectionists. Training allowed them to focus on form instead of pushing
the horse for speed the way you had to do in competition.

“I want to ride her,” Eden said, “but
Daisy says you have to give me permission. Can I, Daddy? Please, please,
please?”

Sol grinned back at his daughter. Then it
sank in what she was asking, and he felt his face drop. He looked over at
Daisy. “I thought Leah was going to ride your horses.”

Daisy shrugged. “You see her out here?”

Sol grimaced. So Leah was MIA, and Daisy
needed a rider. He hated being in this position. He knew Georgia would say no. She didn’t like Eden around rodeos. She said it was because she was afraid
their daughter would realize how dangerous bull riding was and she’d start to
worry about her daddy, but Sol wasn’t sure he believed that. Not that it
mattered because her answer was still going to be no. “We’ll need to ask your
mama.”

He watched the light go out of Eden’s eyes. She knew as well as he did what Georgia would say. Daisy had come up behind Eden, and Sol could see from the look on her face that she was disappointed for Eden but not surprised. She, too, knew what the answer would be, but Daisy had made sure
she wasn’t the one to stomp on Eden’s new dream. Just like he was pushing the
decision off on Georgia, making her play the heavy.

Damn. She was right. He didn’t make any
decisions about how Eden was raised.

So fuck Georgia.
He’d always thought he was doing the
right thing, letting her have all the say, but if she wanted him to make
decisions, then, by God, he would. And if barrel racing was what made his
daughter happy, he was going to make sure she at least got to try.

Before he could open his mouth to tell
his daughter, he stopped. This was not going to be popular with Georgia. It might even torpedo any chance of winning her back. But if he rolled over on
this, he was sacrificing his daughter’s dreams. Not to mention that he might as
well hand his balls over to Georgia because he obviously wouldn’t ever use them
again.

“You know what, dumplin’? I bet I can
find a Little Britches Rodeo next month. If that ain’t too small-time for
Daisy, I think you should make your world debut there. You think you and that
old plug’ll be ready?”

Eden
’s
face lit up as if someone had thrown a joy switch. She breathed heavily twice
as though she needed time to check the reality of his promise. “Really, Daddy?
Really?”

“Yes, really.” A grin tugged at his mouth,
but he held it in, just letting his lips turn up at the corners.

His daughter’s bright eyes grew wary. “What
about Mama? What’s she going to say?”

Careful not to let his certainty of Georgia’s reaction show in either his face or his voice, Sol said, “I’ll talk to your mama.
In the meantime, you got a lot of practicing to do.” He nodded toward Daisy and
Spitfire. “You best get to it.”

Eden
started to bounce away, but Sol called her back. “You know what else? You’re
old enough now to go up to the swimmin’ hole any time the rest of the kids go.”

Eden
’s
eyes grew round, but she didn’t question him. The swimmin’ hole was a rite of
passage for the McKnight kids, and she’d been dying for the okay to go. Sol had
bitten his tongue over Georgia’s refusal to give Eden permission, but those
days were over.

Georgia
had said she wanted him to make decisions. She should’ve been more careful what
she wished for.

###

“So you don’t think I’m doing something
stupid?” Georgia asked. She wasn’t sure how she wanted Daniel to react. A hint
of, well, jealousy would be reassuring. Nothing Sol-sized, but maybe something
in his tone of voice? After all, for whatever reason, she was going on a date
with Tommy, a guy Daniel didn’t know anything about except what Georgia told him. For all Daniel knew, Tommy might be ready to rebound. He might even have
been carrying a torch for her since high school. He wasn’t, of course, but
Daniel didn’t know that. A touch of jealousy, a slightly discernible twinge,
was all Georgia was asking for, but no-o-o-o. Daniel had to act all reasonable
and understanding. He even empathized with Tommy. It was enough to make Georgia feel like sulking.

“You mean cheating on me?”

“What? No. Oh no, no.” Her heart was
pounding a mile a minute.

Daniel laughed. “Relax, Georgia. I’m teasing you. What I think is that you’re being generous and compassionate. If that’s
stupid, the world could use a lot more of that kind of stupidity.”

Daniel’s trust in her was sweet, but she’d
rather he’d meant the comment about her cheating on him. She was ready for a
more possessive sort of relationship. He should want all her generosity and
compassion directed at him. Exclusively.

She sighed. “I guess if you think helping
Tommy through this is okay, Sol can learn to deal with it. In the meantime,
maybe you can help me solve a real problem.”

“I live to solve problems for you. Shoot.”

Would that it were true, but just that he
said it made Georgia smile. “How do I tell Sol to stop swearing in front of Eden?”

“He’s been swearing in front of his
daughter?” Daniel’s voice conveyed his shock. “Did you hear him do it?”

“No, but I was on the phone with Eden yesterday and she nearly said ‘son of bitch.’ She has to be getting that from Sol.”

“She
nearly
said it? What does
that mean?”

“It means she said, ‘son of a
b-b-b-behind.”

Daniel laughed.

“Yeah, I can almost see the humor in it,
but it won’t be so funny when school starts and other parents complain.” The
tuition at the private school Eden attended was beyond Georgia’s means, but because Georgia taught there, Eden was eligible for a scholarship. That scholarship
wouldn’t last if Eden started teaching the other kids the finer points of
swearing.

“Yeah, that won’t be pretty,” Daniel
said, but he was still laughing.

“And you know the first one she’ll teach
those words to will be Deanne.”

There. That sobered him up.

“Okay. Then you have to talk to Sol. Just
tell him to knock it off.”

“You think it’s that simple?”

“Yeah, I do. This is his daughter. He’s
going to want to set a good example.”

And that was why Daniel was the perfect
man to build a family with. Because to him, it really was that simple. Nothing
with Sol was ever simple.

“Okay. I’ll tell him. And then when he
argues, I’ll tell him . . . what? What do I threaten him with?”

“Tell him . . . tell him
he can be replaced.”

She caught her breath. That almost
sounded like Daniel was volunteering. If it hadn’t come when she least expected
it, she could have steered the conversation farther down that road. She wished
she could see the look on his face.

While she was reeling, Daniel turned the
conversation to how Deanne’s visit with her mother was going. Georgia barely heard the first few sentence, but she must have made the appropriate noises because
he didn’t seem to notice. When she finally engaged her brain, she was glad to
hear that, so far, his daughter hadn’t called asking him to come get her. In
Daniel’s conversations with his ex, which he insisted on daily, he’d detected
no signs that she was drinking.

“She swears she’s on the wagon
permanently.”

“But you’re not so sure,” Georgia said, reading his tone.

“I don’t know. She’s never made it this
far before. Maybe I’m being cynical because I’m afraid to hope. It would be
great if she could bring something positive to Deanne’s life.”

“Yes, that’d be fantastic.” And it would
be for Deanne. And for Daniel. It had crossed Georgia’s mind to wonder what
that would do to her plans if Daniel’s ex turned her life around. At the
moment, it seemed like a silly thing to worry about. “Is Deanne still coming
home in two weeks?”

Daniel hesitated. “Tracy wants more time
with her, but she says it’s my call. She’s invited me to go down to Houston for a few days. I think she wants me to see for myself that she’s gotten her act
together.”

Well, maybe not completely silly. “Oh.
Are you going to?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon.
Tracy’s got a spare room I can stay in.”

Uh-oh. What if she wanted him back? No, Georgia decided, still floating on Daniel’s earlier comment. She didn’t have to worry about
that. No matter what Tracy wanted, Daniel was too levelheaded to jump back into
that. Wasn’t he?

That quickly, her euphoria vanished. It
would be just her luck. While she’d been processing the risk, she’d let an
unnatural pause develop.
Be supportive. Be the woman he wants.
“I’m sure
Deanne will be excited to see you again.”

“I sure hope so. When you’re just boring
old dad, it’s hard to compete.”

“I know exactly how you feel. I talk to Eden almost every day, but our conversations rarely last more than five minutes. There are
just too many fun things for her to do on the ranch.” And of course, it would
never occur to an eleven-year-old that her mother missed her. “The excitement
will wear off eventually, I’m sure.”

“You’re probably right. You usually are
when it comes to the girls.”

Georgia
doubted that either of them really believed their brave words.

“Well, you have fun this weekend,” Georgia said. “And give Deanne my love.”

“I will. Give the same to Eden.”

After they hung up, Georgia decided life wasn’t fair. She had a date; Daniel had a sleepover.

The band was playing Garth Brooks’
Standing
Outside the Fire
when Georgia walked into The Lariat Friday evening. The
dance floor was busy but not yet packed. In the middle of the room, Zach and
Maddie’s party had shoved several tables together. Georgia headed for the bar
where Tommy was tapping a pitcher of beer for the waitress.

“What can I getcha, darlin’?” he asked
when he’d satisfied those waiting ahead of her.

“Scotch on the rocks.”

“Good stuff or rotgut?”

“Rotgut. The good stuff’s wasted on me.”

Tommy grabbed a rocks glass and a bottle
from the shelf behind him. “If you don’t like it, why are you drinking it?”

“If I don’t like it, it lasts longer.”

Tommy’s eyebrows rose. “I’m guessing you
ain’t talked to Sol yet.”

“No, and I need to be mostly sober to
tell him what we’re doing.” Though a little Dutch courage was welcome.

“You’re not going to bail on me tomorrow,
are ya?” After Tommy had heard one of Missy’s swains ask her to the drive-in,
he’d wheedled one of the other bartenders into taking his Saturday night shift.

“I won’t let you down.”

She took her drink and walked up behind
Sol’s chair.

Sitting across the table from Sol, Gideon
lifted his head and said, “Hey, Georgia.”

Georgia
waved a greeting at everyone.

Sol twisted in his chair and looked up at
her. “I didn’t think you was coming.”

“I didn’t either.” Georgia grabbed a chair from a nearby table as Sol made room for her. “But your mama showed up and
said she wanted to spend the evening visiting with my folks.”

Sol’s eyebrows rose and his eyes widened.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Our
folks get along okay, but they’ve never been close.” And tonight’s “visit”
wouldn’t change that. Her mama hadn’t wanted her to go—she didn’t need a bunch
of words for Georgia to know that—but Grams had jumped in and welcomed Ruth as
if they were old friends, so Georgia had gotten away relatively easily. “It
didn’t take long to figure out your mama was there so I wouldn’t miss the
party. She’s got a big heart.”

“And a sneaky streak.” Sol grinned. “She
didn’t let on at all.”

Georgia
looked around the table, taking note of who was there.

Sol’s brother Jake had a girl Georgia didn’t know on his lap, her arms draped around his neck. Even more than his
brothers, Jake never seemed to lack female companionship.

Their sister Rachel and her husband, Mac,
had driven up from Galveston. Georgia had only briefly met Rachel’s husband at
Zach and Maddie’s wedding the year before. Only married a few months, Rachel’s
normally sharp-edged personality seemed to have been blunted by a contentment Georgia had never seen in her before.

Ephram’s presence gave her a shock. He’d
been only eight or nine when she and Sol got married, and now he was old enough
to be in a bar. Gram’s was right about how quickly time passed.

While Zach was talking to Sol, Maddie
reached over and lifted the black cowboy hat off his head. Zach jolted a
little—the guys were all territorial about their hats—but when he saw it on his
wife, he smiled, tilted his head to get in under the brim, and kissed her.
After a moment of eye gazing, Maddie turned to talk to Rachel.

The pretty girl on Jake’s lap whispered
into his ear. Whatever she said made his eyebrows rise. Then he nuzzled her
neck and she laughed.

The night was young enough that the band
was still throwing an occasional slow song into the mix. When they started
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s
Simple Man
, Georgia sat back and listened.

A verse into it, Sol was leaning toward
her in a way that shut everyone else out. “You like this song?”

Georgia
nodded. “I haven’t heard it in a long time. Daddy’s band used to play it.”

“I didn’t know your daddy played music.”

“He hasn’t for a long time.” Not since
she was twelve or so.

“What did he play?”

“Lead guitar. He was really good.” The
guitar was still in the garage, but her father never picked it up.

“Why’d he quit?”

“Mama didn’t like it. She thought he wasn’t
around enough what with working all day and then playing in the bars or going
off to practice with the band.” Georgia hadn’t thought about that time of her
life for ages. The Before Years. That was how she thought of them. She wondered
now if there had been more to it. If her mother had worried about what
opportunities her daddy had with other women when he played the bars. “They
almost got divorced.”

“How old were you when that happened?”

“I was eleven when Daddy moved out.”

Sol’s head came forward. “He actually
left y’all?”

“For about a year.” It had been the worst
year of her life. Even worse than the year she’d married Sol.

“I didn’t know that.”

“Why would you? It was old news by the
time we got together.” Georgia shrugged. “And he came back.”

“But a year. That’s a long time when you’re
a kid.” He watched her as though he was looking for evidence of the emotional
scars. “But at least they worked it out.”

“Yeah.” Sort of. Her daddy had come home
and hung up his guitar. Her parents had squabbled for a while, but they hadn’t
fought like they had before. Mostly, Georgia thought, because the heart had
gone out of her father. But when her mama wasn’t around and it had been him and
his daughters, it was wonderful. Almost like it had been before.

Even then, Georgia was old enough to know
that sometimes married people stayed together “for the children.” So she
figured he’d come home for her and Bethany. At twelve, she’d sworn she would
never have a marriage like her parents’, but only six years later, that was
exactly what she’d had. A case of repetition compulsion? Sure looked like it to
her.

“Hey, Zach,” Jake said loud enough to be
heard over the upbeat song the band had started. “Do you know the difference
between a hooker, a nymphomaniac, and a wife?”

The question pulled everyone’s attention.
Zach’s gaze shifted to Maddie for a split second before he said, “Nope.”

“A hooker says, ‘Ain’t it over yet?’ A
nympho says, ‘Is it over already?’ A wife says, ‘I think I’ll paint the ceiling
beige.’“ Jake broke up and everyone laughed with him.

“Is that what you think about, darlin’?”
Zach asked.

Maddie’s eyes sparkled. “No. I don’t
really like beige. But I have thought about a nice blue with fluffy, white
clouds.”

After they laughed, Mac said, “You know
the definition of nympho, don’t you, Jake?”

Everyone waited.

“It’s a woman who wants it one more time
than you can give it to her.”

Rachel slapped his arm while everyone
laughed.

Mac grinned, not bothered in the least. “That’s
why Rachel did most of the driving. I had to rest, so I can keep her happy.”

“Whoa,” Jake yelled. “Too much
information. I don’t need to know that about my sister.”

“I
really
don’t need to know that,”
Sol said. “‘Specially since they’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”

So Sol had given up his trailer for them.
That was nice. It also ensured that Georgia couldn’t have a stupid attack and
go home with him. It occurred to her that she couldn’t even think about that
while pretending to date Tommy.
That’s good. I think.

“If you’re trying to embarrass me,”
Rachel said to her husband, “maybe I should tell them about the hotel guest who
had you drooling so bad that you were almost stepping on your tongue.”

Even in the bar lighting, Mac’s blush was
obvious. “I wasn’t drooling,” Mac said as the table hooted encouragement to
hear the story.

“You most certainly were. One look and
your head circled around like an owl’s,”—Rachel spun a finger in the air –”because
you couldn’t take your eyes off that guest. I thought your head was going to
come unscrewed.”

Mac’s blush deepened.

“And you weren’t jealous?” Maddie asked
the question Georgia had been thinking. If she had a husband who looked at
other women that blatantly, she’d have been a widow seconds later.

Rachel laughed. “Oh, no. I understood,
believe me. I’d kill for legs like that. And the dress showed off every asset.
But I knew something Mac didn’t.” If Rachel’s grin didn’t promise a good finish
to her story, Mac’s attempt to clamp his hand over her mouth did. Rachel kept
talking while she fought him off. “You see, the guest was there for a
convention.”

“Rachel, please,” Mac begged.

Rachel’s eyes sparkled as she leaned
toward her audience. “A cross-dresser’s convention.”

Mac sagged in his chair as everyone howled.

Rachel let her brothers razz Mac for a
couple of minutes before she pulled up a picture on her cell phone and, without
a word, passed it around the table. The teasing quickly changed to expressions
of disbelief that the person in the picture—a long-legged, statuesque beauty in
a red formal gown slit up to the thigh—was a man.

She—he, Georgia mentally corrected
herself when the picture reached her, stood in that beveled stance Vegas
showgirls often posed in, with one leg in front of the other. The forward leg,
revealed in the dress’ side slit, deserved the envy of women everywhere.

“Holy cow,” Sol said, leaning in to see
the phone in Georgia’s hands. “Are you sure that’s a guy?”

“Flip to the next picture,” Rachel said.

The next picture showed Mac, Rachel, and
another woman with the man in the killer dress.

“The other woman in the picture,” Rachel
said. “That’s his wife. She was really nice.”

“I notice Mac’s on the end,” Sol said.

Rachel laughed. “Yes, by then he didn’t
know whether to shit or go blind.” She poked her husband in the ribs playfully.
“He’s not used to being attracted to men.”

They were still talking about the unusual
convention after Rachel put her phone away.

When the band started playing Gary Allen’s
Drinking Dark Whiskey
, a girl asked Ephram to dance. Georgia was surprised it had taken so long. The McKnight boys were highly sought-after dance
partners.

“Hey, Mac,” Jake yelled down the table. “Get
out there and show those kids how it’s done.” He winked at Georgia. “Taught him everything he knows.”

“Now there’s a scary thought,” Sol said.

“On the dance floor, you ass,” Jake said.
The girl on Jake’s lap stood and tugged on his hand. Zach and Maddie followed
them onto the dance floor.

“Wanna dance?” Sol asked.

She would have loved to, but Missy had
just walked in with another girl. They were dressed to attract men, with lots
of visible cleavage and tight, tight jeans. Georgia shook her head. She took a
deep breath. “We need to talk.”

Like any man, Sol hated hearing those
words, but she hadn’t expected the panicky look she saw on his face.

“Okay,” he said in a measured tone that
revealed his reluctance.

Just get it over with. Tell him.
But she was enjoying herself and didn’t
want to ruin it before she had to, which could happen since Sol wasn’t going to
like what she and Tommy were planning.

He might even think she was lying to keep
him from interfering with her love life as he’d done on numerous occasions in
the past.

Now why had she never thought of that?
Really,
Sol, there’s nothing romantic going on. I’m just helping him make his ex
jealous.

Would it have worked? Probably not but it
would have been worth a try.

Knowing Tommy and Missy, however, Sol
might accept the situation for what it was. In spite of what she’d told Tommy,
the biggest danger was Sol spilling everything to Missy.

“Not now,” she said, not ready to give up
the good time yet. “But sometime before the night’s over.”

Sol leaned back in his chair, looking
like a man reprieved. A second later, he grabbed her hand. “There ain’t no
reason we can’t dance, then.” He dragged her to the dance floor, not listening
to her protests, and before she could stop him, he was guiding her across the
floor.

As long as they were dancing country
swing, she was okay. There was an unwritten rule somewhere that a woman who
dated bartenders or members of the band could dance with other men as long as
she didn’t slow dance or let one guy monopolize her. With that in mind, after
two songs, Georgia caught the girl who was dancing with Ephram and got her to
swap partners for a song.

Sol held his hands in a what-the-hell
gesture, but she only laughed and pushed the girl toward him.

Ephram wasn’t as smooth as Sol, but he
was almost a decade younger. Even so, he clearly had the McKnight gene for
dancing, and Georgia had fun. Dancing with the McKnight boys was a treat she
didn’t get to enjoy often.