Lenora Worth - That Wild Cowboy

“So you are interested?”

“Maybe.” He nodded toward his mother at the other end of the table. “But ultimately it will be up to her and the rest of them.”

“And here I thought you were the master of your domain.”

“An illusion. I’m just the dog-and-pony show.”

“Having family here will add to the drama of the show.”

“Maybe. We do have lots of drama around here. But I’m not so sure I want to put my family through anything that will make them uncomfortable. Or rather, anything more.”

Her disappointed look didn’t surprise him. Maybe she was just like everyone else. Greedy and needy and clueless about leaving a trail of stepped-on people behind her. Maybe he was the same way himself.

She leaned forward. “When we first thought of you, we didn’t know you had family here. I was under the impression you lived alone in this big house.”

He fingered the condensation on his glass. “I did for a while. The old family home is on the other side of the property. My folks lived there for many years. Then my daddy passed and my sister got a divorce and my other sister lost her job and...”

“You took them all in?”

“They kinda came one at a time. Mama didn’t really want to move into this house, so she stays out in the old place by the pond, but we see her just about every day. Denise didn’t want to move in but after her divorce, well, she couldn’t afford her own overblown home. So I finally convinced her by asking her to help me out around here. She’s the ranch manager but she does her own thing on the side. She has an online business selling clothes. The latest is Susie. She lost her high-fashion job in California, even though she’d tell you she was a struggling actress, so she came home for a visit about a month ago and...she stayed.” He grinned and lowered his voice. “But, bless her heart, she still thinks like a Californian.”

Victoria’s smile indicated she enjoyed bantering with the best of them. “And dresses like one, too.”

“Yep. She wants to be a star but she was forced to find a real job between auditions and bit parts. Rodeo Drive—not quite my kind of rodeo, but it paid the bills until the owner up and shut everything down.”

From down the table, his mother tapped a spoon on her glass. “Clint, are you going to explain about this television show or do I have to read about it in the local paper?”

He let go of Victoria’s gaze and looked at his mother. Bitsy Griffin hated scandal of any kind. She valued her privacy so much, she’d rather stay in that old farmhouse than stay in the nice room he’d fixed up for her upstairs. So what made him think she’d ever agree to a television crew filming her every move? And his every scandal?

Denny glared at him, always in perpetual distrust of any man, especially her playboy brother, who’d introduced her to her playboy husband, who’d become her ex-husband but was still very much a playboy. Too many issues with that one.

“Let me lay it out on the table,” he said, holding his breath and bracing for a storm of catty protests. “Ms. Calhoun came out here the other day as a representative of the show and offered me a contract to appear in several episodes of the show. We talked about the offer and discussed the pay. I told her I’d have to think about it.”

“And it never occurred to you to tell us this?” Denny asked, fire burning through her eyes.

“I’m telling you now,” he replied, a heavy fatigue drawing him down. “I never agreed to have any of you on the show anyway. If I decide to do this that doesn’t mean any of you have to participate.”

“Did you invite her to come and explain to us?” Susie asked, her long nails tapping on the table, her brown eyes full of interest.

“No, he didn’t,” Victoria said, sitting up in her chair. “I came back to see what he’d decided and to answer any questions he might still have. I didn’t know...about all of you.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Denny said, her tone bordering on hostile. “My brother likes to keep us all a secret. Gives him more of a spotlight.”

“Look,” Clint said, holding out a hand in defense. “I’m sorry for not telling y’all. That’s because I had to think long and hard about this before I said anything. I know how rumors get started, some of them right here at this table.”

That quieted everyone.

“Would we have cameras around twenty-four hours a day?” his mother asked, her tone caught between interest and exasperation.

“No,” Victoria answered. “We’d frame each episode. That means we’d plan it out to tape show segments at a certain time, say for an event such as this. But we won’t be here every day, all day.” She glanced around the table. “We’d do a few episodes and see how it goes.”

Clint nodded at her, impressed with her calm, professional tone.

“What do you expect from us?” Denny asked, still glaring.

Instead of turning snarky, Victoria smiled. “Our viewers love Texas. They want to see how a real cowboy lives. You know, the horses, the homes, the cattle. Oil and everything that entails. The saying that everything is bigger in Texas pretty much sums up this show. We like to show off our stars.”

Denny didn’t look happy. “So you’d be exploiting us?”

Clint gave her a warning look. Denny sent back a daring look.

“We don’t want to exploit anyone,” Victoria replied. “But we do want good ratings. Good ratings mean better sponsors and more dollars and not getting canceled. So I get to keep my job.”

Susie shot Clint a greedy glance. His ambitious little sister would be all over this like a duck on a June bug. “Well, I am unemployed right now and I do have some acting experience. I’m available.”

“We haven’t reached that part,” Clint retorted. “And you know I’ll take care of you while you’re looking for work.”

“I don’t want to be taken care of,” his sister said on a hiss of breath. “I can take care of myself. But I would benefit from being featured in this show.” She shifted her gaze to Victoria. “Of course, I don’t come cheap.”

“Susan,” her mother said, a hand on her daughter’s arm, “let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is your brother’s house, but we all have a say in this since we live on the property.”

“It’s your property, Mama,” Denny said. “He could have asked before he allowed these people out here.”

“He didn’t allow anything,” Victoria said. “I came looking for him because he didn’t return my calls.”

“And why exactly did the powers-that-be send you?” Denny asked, a killer glare in her brown eyes.

Victoria didn’t skip a beat. “My boss is Samuel Murray and he is both the producer and director of Cowboys, Cadillacs and Cowboys. He sent me—his production assistant and story producer—because I’ve done every job on the show from camera work to hair and makeup to just being a gofer for food and drinks. He trusts me to scout out people who will be able to handle being on a reality show.”

For the first time since her hissy fit earlier, Tater spoke up. “And do you think we’re those kind of people?”

Victoria shot Clint a glance that reassured him and terrified him. “Yes. Yes, I certainly do.”

* * *

“I’LL WALK YOU to your car,” Clint told Victoria after they’d cleared away the dinner dishes.

They were alone now and at least she’d survived the scrutiny of his overly protective family. They’d all listened, intrigued and repulsed in turn, and she believed they were curious enough to want to try this. Susie obviously wanted to be a part of things and was ready to sign tonight. Denny refused to even discuss it. But Victoria wasn’t sure she’d convinced his mother, or Tater for that matter, to open up their lives to the world. And honestly, Victoria couldn’t blame them. There was a reason she stayed on the other side of the camera.