Delores Fossen - Lone Star Nights

Riley was definitely the marrying sort. Anna, too. Logan was more in the to-be-determined group. And Lucky fell into the no-way-in-hell category. At least with Riley and Anna, Della and Stella would get those “grandbabies” they were always clamoring about.

Lucky had to give it to Claire, she didn’t step back or look shocked when her attention landed on the girls. She greeted them, even Mackenzie, and Cassie with the same warm smile she’d given him.

“Cassie.” Claire hugged her just as Della and Stella had done. She offered her condolences, too. Since Claire had lost her own grandmother only months earlier, Lucky was sure she knew how Cassie must feel.

“Sorry about all of this,” Claire said. “We’ll be out of your way soon. I hope,” she added when she glanced at Riley. He didn’t exactly look comfortable with whatever the reporter and photographer were saying to him. “It’s his first big interview.”

But not his last. Lucky knew Riley had gotten sucked into Logan’s hamster wheel of building McCord Cattle Brokers, making it as big as could be.

“So, when is this wedding again?” Lucky asked. Though he already knew the date. “And am I invited?” he added with his customary wink.

“Of course, you’re invited. It’s next month, the same day as the Founder’s Day picnic. It’ll be small, informal,” Claire added.

“Semi-informal,” Livvy corrected. “I talked Claire into doing the princess dress.”

Claire made a face. “That was a compromise, but I nixed the tiara and the glass slippers.”

“Nixed for now,” Livvy said. “But there’s plenty of time to change your mind about those. Also about the wand and hair glitter.”

The look on Claire’s face let Lucky know there’d be no reconsidering those things.

“You gonna be a princess?” Mia asked Claire.

“For an hour or so anyway. Want to be a princess, too? You can be a princess flower girl if you want, and wear the tiara. The hair glitter and slippers, as well. Ethan’s going to be a car boy. Instead of rose petals, he’ll be dropping toy cars from a basket.” Claire paused, seemed a little worried. “We’ll have to work on him not throwing them at the guests, though.”

“I could be a princess?” Mia pressed, sounding in awe and hopeful at the same time.

“Of course. All of you are invited,” Claire added looking at Cassie and Mackenzie. “And you can be one, too,” she said to Mackenzie.

“We’re not staying here that long,” Mackenzie grumbled.

“Oh. Well. I’m sorry to hear that. If you have a change in plans, though, the invitation stands.” Claire sounded genuine about that. “And what about you?” she asked Cassie.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to miss it. I’ll need to be back at work as soon as we’ve figured everything out with the custody, but I’m sure the wedding will be lovely. I always thought Riley and you would make a great couple.”

Mackenzie huffed. Why, Lucky didn’t know. Maybe because she’d gone more than a minute without doing it. Sort of like a pressure cooker letting off steam, but in this case Mackenzie was letting off some surliness so that she wouldn’t explode.

“She’s got stars,” Mia whispered to her sister. She nudged Mackenzie and pointed to Livvy.

That was Livvy’s cue to pluck one from her hair. It was apparently a stick-on, and she gave it to the little girl. “It’s magic,” Livvy declared. “But it’ll only give you one wish so use it wisely.”

Mia looked as if she’d just been handed a miracle, one that she’d have to give a lot of thought.

“I like your shoes,” Mackenzie said to Livvy. And she actually sounded, well, human. Human enough to be envious anyway.

“These?” Livvy pranced around like a ballerina. “Want to try them on?”

Mackenzie hesitated. Nodded. But then shook her head, probably because she sounded interested, which would have been equal in her mind to committing manslaughter. “No thanks.”

Livvy made a suit-yourself sound. “I buy them online, and I’ll give you the website.” She plucked another gold star from her hair. She offered it to Mackenzie, but the girl only shook her head.

“I don’t believe in magic,” Mackenzie declared.

“Too bad. Because magic’s how I got these.” Livvy glanced down at her massive boobs. Then at Mackenzie’s rather flat chest.

Mackenzie didn’t take the gold star, so Livvy stuck it in the girl’s spiky black hair. Livvy looked at Cassie next. No offer of a gold star, but she did extend her hand for Cassie to shake.

“I’m Livvy Larimer, and I’ve seen you on TV,” she said. “All those hot celebrities. Would love to get you drunk and see what kind of secrets you’d share.”

“No secrets,” Cassie assured her. Now Cassie’s gaze drifted to Lucky. Perhaps she was implying that extended to Lucky himself, but Livvy didn’t seem to be buying it. Livvy gave him a thumbs-up, apparently approving of a choice that Livvy thought he’d made. A choice to get in Cassie’s pants.

Cassie glanced down at Livvy’s shoes. “Though I would like the website for those.”

“Sure. Of course. I’ll email the link to Lucky and he can give it to you.”

Great. Now he was involved in the fuck-me-heels buying loop. A loop and link he’d never share with Cassie.

Thankfully, Della saved the day. “I’ll show the girls to their rooms,” she offered.

“We’ll go with you,” Lucky said at the same time Cassie said, “I’ll go, too.”

Mackenzie rolled her eyes because she no doubt knew this was about the running-away thing, and she took both her and Mia’s suitcases from him. “You can’t babysit me all the time,” Mackenzie grumbled, and she made it sound like a threat.

Lucky made a mental note to make sure someone did indeed watch her 24/7.

“You can spend some more time with your family and friend,” Cassie said to him. “I’ll go up with Della and the girls. I need to make a phone call anyway, and maybe I can do that in the guest room.”

All of that sounded, well, like something a visitor might say, but there was something wrong. Something other than the obvious. But Lucky couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

While Della led the three of them—Mia, Mackenzie and Cassie—up the stairs, Lucky was about to say goodbye to Claire and Livvy and head toward his own room just off the hall. But he didn’t get far because someone else called out his name.

Riley.

His brother stepped away from the others and went to him. Livvy and Claire must have realized a brother talk was about to happen because they suddenly got very busy with a discussion of where to move the furniture. Riveting stuff, apparently, judging from the speed at which the women moved away from him.

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