The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(106)

“Your wish, Mom, my command,” I replied, leaned into her, kissed her forehead and then walked to the stairs to get my Mom coffee.

Then I took it back up to her and we lounged on Max’s bed and I told her about rape, parking lot fisticuffs, restaurant wrestling, ice queens, sweet and wise twenty-four year old girls, mountain men and murder.

* * * * *

“Oh my God,” Mom breathed, standing by my side on Max’s porch, staring at Cotton walking up the steps, “is that Jimmy Cotton?”

“How do you know what Jimmy Cotton looks like?” I asked her.

“Internet,” she whispered, making her “I don’t do e-mail and internet” even more of a lie, her eyes still glued to Cotton and she appeared to be swaying.

“She swoons, Cotton, you’re the male in this scenario, you’ve got to catch her,” I told Cotton as he stopped in front of me.

“She wears fancy clothes, like you,” Cotton observed, giving Mom a once-over and giving me further evidence that my shopping with the goal to blend in during my Colorado adventure failed.

“She’s my mother,” I replied.

“I can see it,” Cotton remarked.

“Oh my God,” Mom breathed, staring at Cotton and looking like she was either going to faint, drop into a curtsy or throw herself in his arms.

Cotton looked at me and asked, “She say that a lot?”

“Twice as much as me and I say it a lot, a lot.” Or these days, I did in my head, but I didn’t share that with Cotton, I just told him, “She introduced me to your work. She’s a fan.”

“No kidding,” Cotton mumbled and I smiled. “Came by to see where you two hung the pictures,” Cotton told me, dipping his head toward the house.

“They’re hanging them today. My husband is helping,” Mom shared, sounding embarrassingly like a sycophant and Cotton’s brows knit together.

“What’s takin’ so long?” Cotton asked me.

“We’ve been, um… kind of busy,” I explained and he grinned.

“Neckin’?” Cotton enquired cheekily.

I shook my head and hoped it didn’t look like an “I wish” shake.

“Taking Bitsy to the Police Station and dealing with surprise visits from my Dad, yesterday, and Mom, today.” I gestured to Mom. “Then my car got vandalized, we think by Damon.” I pointed to the car and Cotton slowly turned to look at it then back to me as I continued. “And Brody’s in town so we had dinner with him and Mindy last night. Dinner included our table being visited by an unhappy Kami, a not-so-nice Shauna and then Harry wrestled around on the floor of The Rooster with Shauna’s date, turning over some tables and getting doused with ketchup and horseradish sauce.” Cotton stared at me speechless so I finished. “In between that we slept and, yes, there was some necking.”

“Nina gave me the lowdown a minute go,” Mom told him. “It would seem that Gnaw Bone is the Rocky Mountain Peyton Place.”

“Got that right,” Cotton replied and then turned to look over his shoulder.

I looked too and saw the Cherokee heading up the road. Then I felt my heart skip and I didn’t think this was because I was worried about the outcome of the confrontation with Dad. It was more likely because I was happy Max was home.

“Seein’ as I’m here,” Cotton said as he turned back to me, “I’ll supervise the hangin’ and bum a cup o’ joe.”

I smiled and replied, “You’re in luck; we just made a fresh pot.”

“I’m a lucky guy,” Cotton said back on a smile and we all watched Max turn up the lane and park.

My eyes stayed on him as he got out of the Cherokee and one look at his face, my body tensed.

“Oh my,” Mom mumbled.

She could say that again. Max looked angry.

Max hit the top of the steps at the same time an equally unhappy looking Steve made it to the foot.

Then Max’s eyes came to me and without greeting Cotton he told me the outcome of the confrontation.

“Babe, your Dad’s a dick.”

“Oh dear,” Mom was still mumbling.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Your Dad?” Max asked back. “Definitely jetlagged yesterday. You’re right. He’d wipe the floor with Kami at the same time takin’ on Shauna.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I noted.

“It wasn’t,” Steve, who had arrived at our group, put in.

“What happened?” Mom asked.

“Bottom line, he ain’t leavin’ mainly because Niles arrives tonight and they want Nina to ‘appear’, Lawrence’s word, at breakfast at the hotel tomorrow morning,” Steve explained and my eyes locked on Max as my heart skipped a beat and this one wasn’t happy.

“What?” I whispered.

Max got close and his hands came to either side of my neck. “You ain’t goin’.”

“But –”

“Fuck ‘em, playin’ these games with your head.”

“Max.”

“Nina, they can want whatever the f**k they want, that doesn’t mean you have to do it.”

I shook my head, short, dazed shakes and then it hit me.