Delores Fossen - Lone Star Nights

More silence. If this went on, he might just take a nap. Lucky went with a different approach, though. “Is there a question you want to ask me?”

Mia looked up at her sister, and even though Mackenzie’s mouth barely moved, Lucky thought he saw the hint of a smile. The kind of smile that had some stink eye on it.

“Have you ever been arrested?” Mackenzie asked. Yeah, definitely some stink eye. “Because Scooter said you had been.”

“I have,” he admitted. “Nothing major, though, and I never spent more than a few hours in jail.”

Except that one time when there’d been a female deputy who’d come on to him. But that time he’d stayed longer by choice. Best not to mention that, though. In fact, there was a lot about his life he wouldn’t mention.

“What’d you get ’rrested for?” Mia asked.

Lucky smiled, not just at the pronunciation but the cute voice. Cute kid, too.

“Drinking beer.” Like Bernie had earlier, Lucky chose his words wisely. At any rate, beer or some other alcohol had usually been at the root of his bad behavior.

Mackenzie made a hmmp sound as if she didn’t believe him. Lucky didn’t elaborate even though there was no telling what Scooter had told them.

“Don’t drink beer,” Mia advised him in a serious tone that made him have to fight back another smile.

The little girl came closer, leaving her sister’s side and not even looking up for permission. She climbed into the seat next to him, tore the gum stick in half and gave him the bigger of the two pieces.

“Thanks,” Lucky managed to say.

Mia then offered half of her half to her sister, but Mackenzie only shook her head, grunted and deepened her scowl. Much more of that and she was going to get a face cramp.

“Is Lucky even your real name?” Mackenzie again. “Because if it is, it’s a stupid name.”

Such a cheery girl. “It’s a nickname. My real name’s Austin, but nobody ever calls me that.”

Heck, most people didn’t even know it.

“My grandpa McCord gave me the name when I was just three years old,” he explained. “I somehow managed to get into the corral with a mean bull. And despite the fact I was waving a red shirt at him so I could play matador, I came out without a scratch.”

Lucky, indeed. His grandpa could have just called him stupid considering the idiotic thing he’d done.

“What about the lady doctor?” Mackenzie asked, clearly not impressed with his story. She folded her arms over her chest. “Has she been arrested, too?”

“Can’t say,” Lucky answered honestly. “But I doubt it.” Though something was going on with Cassie. Those breathe mumblings weren’t a good sign.

“Is she gay?” Mackenzie continued.

“No,” he said, way too loud and way too fast. He paused. “Why do you ask?”

“Her shoes and clothes,” Mackenzie quickly supplied.

Lucky groaned. “It’s never a good idea to stereotype people.” That was the second time today he’d given such a warning, though Mackenzie probably didn’t have a clue what that word meant. She didn’t seem the sort to work on building her vocabulary.

He cursed himself. Huffed. He needed to take his own advice. Yeah, stereotypes weren’t a good idea.

“Are you two together, then?” Mackenzie asked. “The lady doctor and you?” she clarified, though her question needed no such clarification.

Lucky almost preferred the silence to this. “No. I was business partners with Cassie’s grandmother, Dixie Mae, and Cassie and I went to high school together.”

“I know who her grandmother is,” Mackenzie snapped. “Was,” she added, also in a snap. She didn’t offer more on the subject of Dixie Mae, but since Mackenzie didn’t complain about her, maybe that meant she’d gotten along with the woman.

That would be a first, but hey, miracles happened. Lucky had found a way to love the woman so maybe Mackenzie and Mia had, too. Or rather just Mia, he amended when Mackenzie’s scowl deepened.

“I just thought you and the lady doctor were...” Mackenzie said, but she waved it off. “It was just something Dixie Mae said.”

That got his attention. “What’d she say? Specifically what’d she say about Cassie and me? Because if this is Dixie Mae’s way of matchmaking from the grave—”

He stopped. Wished he hadn’t said it because of the look it put on Mia’s face. Little name, little girl. Whopping big ears. She’d already been shuffled around too much, and she didn’t need to hear that she might go through another shuffling all because Dixie Mae wanted her granddaughter and her “boy” to end up together.

Something that wouldn’t happen.

Cassie had already made that plenty clear.

“We need to get one thing straight,” Mackenzie continued a couple of seconds later. “If you hurt my sister, I’ll punch you and the lady doctor right in your faces.”

“Kenzie doesn’t mean it,” Mia whispered behind her hand. She unwrapped her piece of gum, tore it in half again. One piece she put in her mouth. The other, in her pocket.

“I do mean it,” Mackenzie insisted. “Nobody hurts my sister. Nobody.”

“I understand. I’ve got a kid sister of my own. Her name is Anna.” Because he thought it might give them some common ground, he started to tell her about Anna, that she was a college student in Florida, that he’d walk through fire for her. But Lucky stopped.

And he silently said another hell.

Had someone hurt Mia before? Was that why Mackenzie had doled out that threat? And for the record, he did think she meant it.

Mackenzie clammed up again, and even though he looked at Mia to see how she was dealing with all of this, she was swinging her legs, humming to herself and rolling the silver foil from her gum into a little ball. Lucky would have pressed Mackenzie for more info, or rather any info, but he heard the footsteps coming up the hall.

Finally.

He stood, moving in front of the girls in case Cassie and Bernie had to tell him something that wasn’t meant for those big ears. But selective muteness must have been catching because Bernie sure wasn’t talking, and Cassie dodged his gaze.

“Well?” Lucky finally prompted in a whisper. Probably not a soft enough one because Mackenzie and Mia weren’t doing any gaze-dodging at all. They had their baby blues pinned to him.

“We reached a solution,” Cassie said.

“Good?” And, yes, it was a question. One they didn’t answer. “All right, where are they going?”

Bernie and Cassie exchanged uneasy glances. “Home,” Bernie answered, looking right at Lucky. “With you.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“HOME, WITH ME?” Lucky said.

All in all, Lucky took the news about as well as Cassie had expected. He added, “No.” And he kept on adding to that no. “It’s crazy there now what with Riley and Claire’s wedding coming up. They’re getting married in the house.”

She knew Riley and Claire, of course. Had even heard about Riley leaving the Air Force and getting engaged to Claire. But Cassie hadn’t known about the wedding planning. Still, their options were limited here.

“It’ll only be for a day or two,” Cassie reminded him. She also tried to keep her voice at a whisper, but there wasn’t much distance between them and the kids. It didn’t help that Mackenzie was glaring at her.

“You don’t know that,” Lucky argued. “He doesn’t know that.” He flung an accusing finger at Bernie. “I’ll get us all rooms in the Bluebonnet Inn—”

“I’ve already tried,” Cassie explained, “and they’re all booked for the high school reunion, class of 1948.” Some might cancel because they weren’t spring chickens and might not be able to make it, but Cassie couldn’t count on that.