Sophie Oak - Siren in Waiting

Was that who she had to be?

She stared down at the clothes. They looked like they might fit. Many of them were far too formal for dinner at Patty Cake’s, but there was a pretty yellow-and-white sundress. The skirt was gathered, and the neckline was far lower than anything she’d worn before. Surely it wouldn’t fit, but did it really hurt to try?

Ten minutes later, Bo knocked on her door. She let him in, grateful that the lights in the parlor worked. The hall light didn’t, but she had enough illumination from the parlor and the living room. She strode toward the back of the house to the living area and shut off the lamp, leaving only the soft light from the parlor on.

“Damn, girl, where did you get that dress? Why are you wearing a dress at all? You do know we’re going to Patty’s, right? Was I supposed to take you somewhere else?” Bo stood in her dilapidated hallway with a quizzical look on the face she loved so well.

Bo O’Malley was proof positive that the universe just loved some people. Six foot three with a crop of perfect gold hair and a drool-worthy body, no one ever would think to compare him to a rodent. He looked down at her, his blue eyes wide.

“No. I just thought it would look nice.” She felt self-conscious all of a sudden. She was brutally aware that her breasts were far more exposed than she was used to. The bodice of the sundress formed a deep V , and the dress clung where her usual clothes hung down. She normally wore shapeless clothes that gave the illusion that she weighed more than she did. Her breasts seemed curvy and round now. A moment ago, she thought they looked a little sexy. She’d stood in front of the mirror and vamped, giggling at the thought that Bo might take one look at her and fall at her feet.

Bo didn’t look like he was interested in her new look. All she could read on his face was disapproval. Maybe she didn’t look as nice as she thought.

His face was set in deep lines. He finally waved his hand as if dismissing the whole thing entirely. “It does look nice. I’m just surprised is all. Um. I didn’t think you really cared about looking nice.”

That was typical. Bo didn’t even see her as female. “Well, maybe I’m changing. I’m almost twenty-six. Maybe it’s about time I started dating.”

It really was time. She had several plans in place.

Bo actually laughed.

“I’ll go change.” She started to turn and changed her mind. She could change back into her old clothes, but her mind would be working all night. At this point, all she would think about all evening long would be the fact that Bo didn’t find her attractive. He couldn’t help that. Maybe she needed a bit of distance. “You know what, I think I’ll just eat here. You go on. I’m sure Clarissa needs a dinner date.”

His hand came out and caught her elbow. “Don’t be like that, Mouse. I was just surprised. And you never seemed interested in dating. I’m sorry. Come on. I don’t want to eat dinner with Clarissa. I want to spend some time with my best friend.”

Her heart softened. It was a strange friendship that she and Bo had formed, but she depended on it. “All right.”

And she didn’t want to be alone tonight. She’d been alone far too often since her father passed. The quiet had begun to eat away at her. It was all right when she had something to do, but at night when she was all alone, she felt the heavy weight of her loss.

“Besides, I’m meeting Clarissa at the honky-tonk after I drop you back off. I might not want to spend a lot of time talking to the girl, but she can sure dance.” Bo gave her a wink and opened the door.

Mouse sighed. It looked like she was in for a long night.

Trev looked down at the menu, though he didn’t really need to. The menu at Patty Cake’s hadn’t changed in thirty years. He had it memorized, but staring at the menu meant he didn’t have to deal with his brother-in-law. Or the fifteen other people staring a hole through him. It was way too much to think that the good people of Deer Run were above reading tabloids.

“And now you’re going to run someone else’s ranch?” Bryce’s voice sounded nasal to Trev’s ears.

He glanced over the menu at his brother-in-law. Bryce Hughes was handsome in an antiseptic fashion. He was always fastidiously clean. Bryce had come up from Houston and started a real estate company. He’d done well for himself. Even when the market had fallen out, Bryce seemed to make money.

Trev had no idea what his sister saw in the man.

“It’s called being a foreman. I know ranching.” At least he used to. He’d spent a couple of weeks at a ranch in Willow Fork recently. He’d been happy that it had all seemed to come back to him. He’d even enjoyed the easy camaraderie he’d had with the other hands. He was genuinely looking forward to getting started at O’Malley’s ranch.

“Yeah, well, I would have said you knew football, too,” Bryce grumbled.

“Stop,” Shelley said under her breath. “You promised.”

It had been like this ever since he’d walked in the door of his sister’s house. Bryce had tried to cut him down in a million different ways. Bryce had come home and immediately asked if Shelley had hired a new lawn-care man because the truck in the driveway obviously belonged to the help and should be parked in the back of the house where it wouldn’t offend anyone.

Yeah, he just loved his brother-in-law.

“Football and I didn’t get along,” Trev muttered, looking back at the menu. That was how Leo had explained it to him. He had the talent for the game, but he couldn’t handle the pressure. Leo had tried to get him to understand that didn’t mean he was a failure. The words had always rung hollow to Trev’s ears.

“Trev always was a cowboy.” Shelley seemed determined to put a positive light on everything. “He used to ride the fences with Daddy every morning. He wasn’t even eight years old, but he would get up before dawn and help out.”

He’d liked that time with his dad. Everything was peaceful and quiet. Later on in the day, his father had a million responsibilities, but in the pale light right after dawn, it had been just Trev and his father.

Maybe if he hadn’t discovered he could throw a damn football, he would have been riding the fences that morning his father had a heart attack. Maybe his father wouldn’t have died and Momma wouldn’t have had to find him out in the south field, his old horse nudging him like the damn thing was trying to wake the man up. Trev had just started junior year two-a-days. He’d rarely talked to his dad after he’d started football, but the old man had come to every game.

“Trev was always a natural with horses, too. He always did ride better than me. I miss riding.” Shelley took a sip of her tea. “Maybe Lexi wouldn’t mind if I came out and went riding.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Bryce said, frowning. “We talked about this, babe.”

A little bit of Shelley’s light faded, but she smiled anyway. “Of course. I have things I need to concentrate on, anyway. I got a new client. The mayor asked me to redesign his office.”

Bryce nodded. “Yes, that’s right. You need to concentrate on your business. Hey, did you hear the Hobbes girl bought old lady Bellows’s place? I had really hoped we could snap that sucker up. I assumed the auction would be months out, but they got that will through probate damn fast. Who would have guessed the old lady would leave everything she had to a damn animal shelter?”

“I thought it was smart of them to just auction it all off. They made a bundle,” Shelley said.

Bryce’s eyes narrowed, his irritation plain. “I would have paid them more. It’s the perfect place to put a strip mall.”