"Me too...I don't have many girlfriends
left," Cassie told her honestly.
"Me either...I'm kind of a loner these days
too, I guess."
"What about your family?"
"My dad died a year ago, actually not long
after Kenny, and my mother left when I was really small. I don't
even remember her."
Sympathy filled Cassie for all Sabrina had
been through in recent years. "No brothers or sisters?"
"One older brother, Gabe...he lives in Mesa.
He's a private investigator. I don't see him often."
"Your daddy was a farmer right? How'd you
get into law enforcement?"
"My brother...he was military, then he was a
Phoenix cop for several years...I was young and idolized him."
"Sounds like you were close...why don't you
see him often now?" Cassie knew the value of family, but she also
knew how life could intrude on those close relationships. Look at
how her previously close relationship with her father had come down
to twice yearly visits when she lived in Phoenix.
Sabrina didn't immediately answer her
question, instead she twisted her hands in her lap and Cassie saw
her lip trembling. She put her hand on Bri's shoulder and told her
softly, "I'm sorry...we don't have to talk about it."
Sabrina nodded then said quietly, "Maybe
we'll save that one for that bottle of wine too."
"Okay, so how'd you like your dress?" Cassie
said brightening her tone and changing the subject to something to
lighten the mood.
"Loved it. You did a good job picking it
out."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Luke paced out on the porch, watching the
sun set in the distance in a bright orange ball, the same ball of
heat he felt curling in his gut. The path he paced was well-worn by
now as he tried to rein in the fear and anger that were warring
inside of him.
He could have lost Cassie and the baby
today, and it made his heart twist around in his chest like someone
was wringing it out with the laundry. Swallowing down the knot that
formed in his throat, he continued to pace.
Luke need some stress relief...a
distraction, that's what he needed. Something to take his mind off
of James Barton and his threat to Cassie. Luke was on the point of
obsession with it. He wanted to load Cassie up in his truck and
drive until the road ended to make sure she was safe and never had
to worry about that asshole again.
Walking back inside the house, he grabbed up
the phone and dialed Cole. "Hey, buddy..." Cole grunted into the
phone letting Luke know he was in the same mood as Luke was. "Wanna
go get a beer?" Luke asked hopefully.
Cole's response was another grunt, then he
said, "Not in the mood."
"You do know as my best friend and best man
you're obligated to get me drunk tonight right?"
Cole snorted and said, "Cassie would kill
me...."
Luke chuckled then said, "Nah, in the mood I
was in earlier, she'd understand...probably welcome it."
Cole hesitated for a second then he finally
said, "Aren't you worried Barton might try to make a move on
Cassie?"
"Of course, I am...but if I stay here to
protect her, I'm just going to piss her off again..." Luke said
then suggested, "I thought maybe you could get a couple of your
guys to come sit on the porch with shotguns, while we're gone. The
hands are still here setting up chairs for the wedding, and
finishing up the gazebo, so I'll get them to stand watch too."
Cole grunted again. "Sounds like you have it
all planned out, Slick..."
"I do my best, now get your ass over here,
and call your guys," Luke told him authoritatively, but in a
playful tone.
"Yes sir,
Sheriff
," Cole returned
snidely.
"Looks like you need an attitude adjustment
too, son."
"I need a lot more than that, but I guess
I'll have to settle for the beer. I'll be there in a few," Cole
told him, his voice lacking enthusiasm.
Luke hung up the phone, and wondered what
had gone on between his friend and Sabrina today to put him in such
a morose mood. It sounded like it must've been pretty bad, judging
from his sour attitude. Luke knew that mood, he was suffering from
it himself.
He hung up the phone and then went upstairs
to find Cassie. She and Sabrina were sitting on the bed talking
like two teenagers having a slumber party. Their eyes sparkled
happily as they lounged on the bed telling stories. Seeing Cassie
in a better mood did his heart good. At least she wasn't upset
anymore. Her fainting spell had been all his fault, and he had been
beating the hell out of himself, since he'd gone off on her.
How pompous and arrogant he'd sounded, even
to himself, when he replayed what exactly he'd said to her. He
should have known better than to take that tack with his stubborn
cowgirl. But he'd gone and stepped off in it, and almost made her
mad enough to cancel the wedding. Luke swallowed hard, and his
mouth dried up. He needed that beer, and he needed it soon.
"Hey, darlin'. Cole and I are going grab a
beer or two. Guess that's as close to a bachelor party as I'm gonna
have."
"Oh? How long are ya'll gonna be out?" she
asked with a little fear in her eyes. Luke saw Sabrina's eyes
narrow and her lips pinch.
"We're getting a couple of deputies to sit
out on the porch until we get back. And the hands are still here
working on your gazebo."
"Oh, good," she huffed a relieved sigh then
smiled and said, "Ya'll have a good time, sugar...but not
too
good," she chuckled and raised her eyebrow to give him a
warning stare.
"You don't have to worry bout that, cupcake.
Wild horses couldn't keep me from marrying you tomorrow." He walked
over to her and tried to give her a quick kiss goodbye, but she
wasn't having it and grabbed the side of his face to keep him there
then kissed him like she wouldn't see him for days, weeks.
When she finally released him and he stood
up, she said saucily, "Well, if you see Candy, tell her I said
howdy," and then she flipped him the bird.
He hooted and slapped his thigh, "I'll be
sure to do that, darlin'."
Luke was sitting out on the porch when Cole
pulled up in his SUV followed closely by a couple of police
cruisers. He smiled and stood to walk down the porch steps,
standing at the bottom with his hands on his hips.
Cole got out of the SUV and slammed the
door. His face was a thundercloud and Luke smiled trying to get him
to lighten up, but his lack of response, told Luke that wasn't
going to happen before a couple of beers.
He walked up on the porch then told Luke
sullenly, "Let's get this over with."
The deputies walked up behind him and after
Luke talked to them, and they assured him they'd keep a good eye on
the ladies. Luke put his arm around Cole's shoulder and walked him
back to the truck, then slid into the passenger side.
Cole lifted an eyebrow at him then said,
"So, looks like you're going to be the only one drinking tonight,
huh?"
"Nope, we'll park your vehicle at the
station and walk to the bar. If we celebrate too much, we'll call
someone to come get us. We're going to throw a good one tonight,
friend."
"I need it," Cole told him then slid behind
the wheel and twisted the key forcefully.
Being a Friday night, their old watering
hole, the same one they'd been in when Luke met Candy, and
basically the only one in town worth anything, was filled with a
rowdy crowd whooping and hollering, dancing, drinking and having a
high old time. It was a scene that Luke had enjoyed before Cassie
had reappeared in his life, but not anymore. The bar was smoky and
crowded and Luke just wanted to find a little relief in a few beers
then go back home to her.
He smiled at the irony of how much his life
had changed in the last month, because of the reappearance of the
last woman he'd wanted to see again. With a pat on Cole's back and
a firm hand on his shoulder he pushed him toward the bar.
Luke leaned around Cole and told the
bartender, "Two tall boys."
"How the hell do you know that's what I
want?" Cole grumped and pinned him with angry eyes.
"It's what you're having. No glasses
tonight, we're celebrating...no tears in your beer," Luke told him
then smiled at a pretty blonde at the end of the bar who was eyeing
him and Cole.
"Looks like that cute blonde at the end of
the counter, wants a piece of us."
"You've already got all the pieces you can
handle, Slick," Cole said gloomily.
"But you on the other hand..." Luke raised
his hand and invited her to come down and sit with them.
The green-eyed blonde in the tight white
tank top, which showed off her more than ample assets, winked and
slid off the stool then grabbed her drink off the bar and pushed
her way through the crowd toward them. When she got there, she slid
her arm through Luke's and pressed her breasts against his arm. He
looked down at her and what would have sent him into overdrive a
month ago, did nothing to rev his engine now.
"Hello, darlin'," he drawled and took in the
scenery anyway. It was what he was supposed to do, this was his
last night as a single man. Luke took a long slow drink from his
beer then sighed and licked his lips. He saw the woman following
his movements, then decided he needed to pawn her off on Cole
quickly before he got into trouble out of habit. Cole was the one
who really needed her attention.
"My friend here had a really bad day, and he
could use some cheering up. You think you could do that,
sugar?"
The pretty blonde looked up at him, then
over at Cole whose stiff back was to them, while he nursed his
beer. He hadn't even turned around when the bombshell had walked up
to say hello.
"I don't know...he doesn't look like he's in
a friendly mood."
Luke elbowed Cole in the back and he
grunted. "Turn around here Cole and meet the pretty lady, who's
gonna put a smile back on that ugly mug of yours."
Cole took another deep draw on his beer then
turned around to face them with a sigh. "Hello pretty lady..." he
said in a gruff tone, then he softened it with a twist of his lips.
Luke watched as his friend's eyes wandered over her t-shirt that
announced to the world that she was a 'country girl' then moved
back up to her interested green eyes. "Why you're right, Luke,
she's as pretty as a ray of sunshine..."
He set his beer on the bar and then stood
and grabbed her hand, "Let's dance, sugar," he said then pulled her
into the crowd toward the dance floor without waiting for an
answer. Yeah, maybe she could put his normally affable friend back
in a better frame of mind. At least Luke hoped so anyway. Luke sat
back down at the bar and finished his beer, then ordered
another.
Cole didn't come back for a long while, but
Luke had seen him on the floor spinning the blonde around the
floor, seeming to be having a good time. When they finally walked
back to the bar, breathing heavily, Luke smiled and Cole returned
it this time. A good sign, he thought. The woman was glued to his
side with her arm around his back. Another good sign.
"What'll you have, darlin'?" Cole looked
down at her with a smile.
"Bud, please."
"A woman after my own heart," he said then
ordered two and leaned on his elbow on the bar, with his arm still
around the woman whose name Luke still didn't know.
"You're a miracle worker, sugar. You put a
smile on his face," Luke tapped his bottle with hers the one that
Cole had just handed her.
She lifted her head and took a long drink of
her beer, then said, "Wasn't too hard, he's a great dancer," she
told Luke then looked up at Cole and winked at him, "Was pretty
hard by the time we finished though."
Luke sputtered and almost spewed his beer
across the room, then hooted, "Darlin' not much shocks me, but you
just managed to do that."
"Glad to oblige," she told him with a saucy
grin. She squeezed Cole's waist and then turned to give him a hug.
Cole growled then set his beer down and pulled her to him and bent
down to put his lips over hers.
Luke didn't want to see him making out with
her, so he turned back around to the bar and motioned the bartender
for another longneck. The tension that had him wound tighter than
Dick's hatband earlier, had eased a little more with each beer he
drank...and he was on number four, so he was pretty near loose
now.
In the mirror behind the bar, Luke's eyes
snagged on a nice looking brunette who'd just walked in the door.
His eyes skimmed over her curvy toned body in the tight jeans she
wore with a low cut red western shirt with rhinestones on the chest
that spelled out 'cowgirl'.
Luke had seen that shirt before...Cassie had
one just like it. And she had a black Stetson with a rhinestone
band just like the one the woman wore too. He noticed the woman had
her long dark hair curled and tucked behind her ears to show off
her dangly feather earrings.