Page 8 of Sweet Obsession (Honeysuckle, Texas #5)

Dinner was barely over when Alice Sweet folded her napkin with purpose. “I think I’ll ride down to the bunkhouse tonight. Picked up some new curtains in town yesterday for Clint’s quarters.”

A beat passed.

“You’re putting curtains in the bunkhouse?” Rachel blinked.

Carson muttered something under his breath that sounded something like, just what the man needs . A sweet but reproving smile on her face, his wife elbowed him.

Their mother shot Carson a frosty glare, making them all feel five years old again. “The man works harder than any of us. I can’t pay him more than pocket money. The least I can do is make his home a little nicer. Besides, the fabric was on sale and Liz sewed them for me.”

“Tell me there are no rhinestones or sequins on them.” Garrett’s mouth puckered as if he’d sucked on a lemon.

Alice Sweet rolled her eyes heavenward. “Tell me, Charlie, when did our kids become such wise acres?”

Garrett held his hands up, palms out. “Sorry, Mom. But Aunt Liz does sell an awful lot of bling in her store.”

“Selling it and making it for a ranch hand are two different things and would require an extra kind of stupid—and your aunts are not stupid.”

“My apologies.” Garrett glanced upward momentarily, as he extended his regrets to both parents.

Blake watched the exchange with a smile tugging at his lips. He missed the good-natured ribbing of a loving family.

With Alice out the door, as soon as the sound of her horse’s hooves faded into the distance, Preston set down the dish towel he’d been using. “Dad’s office. Now.”

A collective sigh seemed to ripple through the room. The transition from family dinner to family pow-wow was seamless. Blake hung back, picking up a dish towel to finish where Preston left off.

“You might as well join us.” Preston tipped his head in the direction of their dad’s office. “You know as much as I do at the moment.”

Feeling a bit like a fifth wheel, Blake hesitated. As much as he felt a part of this family all those years ago, for something of this magnitude, he felt like an interloper.

“We promise not to bite.” Jillian smiled at him and nudged him forward. Had she said anything else, he wouldn’t have guessed she recognized his discomfort. Had the kid always been that intuitive?

Blake followed the siblings down the hall, Brady padding along behind them.

Preston settled behind the desk, papers already spread out in front of him. The rest of them found seats, a few sank onto throw pillows on the floor—a full house. Blake leaned against the doorframe.

“I’ve been running the numbers most of the night,” Preston began without preamble. “We’ve got funds for the next thirty days, maybe a week more if the ranch keeps producing profits. But then we’re going to be scrambling again.”

Jim leaned forward in his chair. “If we can hang on a few more weeks, bonuses will be distributed and I can—”

“If you two are going to build on Sweet land, you need to keep those bonuses,” Preston interrupted. “What we need is more marriage money.”

Blake felt his jaw tighten. These people—his second family—were talking about marriage like a business transaction. Again.

“Actually,” Jillian said quietly, “I may have some news on that front. One of the guys I’ve been corresponding with online has agreed to the arrangement.”

“Online?” Blake’s voice came out sharper than he intended.

Jillian’s cheeks flushed slightly. “It’s not like there’s a long line of eligible bachelors in Honeysuckle willing to enter into a marriage of convenience. Especially without letting on to Mom.”

“What are his terms?” Preston leaned forward on his elbows.

“Standard arrangement. Marriage, wait out the year, divorce.” Jillian paused, then blew out a short frustrated breath. “But he wants seed money after the divorce—quite a bit more than we’d planned for—in order to start his life over again.”

A cold dread settled in Blake’s stomach. He pictured the slimy types who’d prey on vulnerabilities. He gritted his teeth and pushed away from the doorframe. “Start his life over again? What is he, an ex-con?”

“Blake—” Jillian started.

“No, seriously. Who needs seed money to ‘start over’ unless they’ve got a record or massive debt or—”

The room erupted in overlapping conversations—peppering Jillian with questions from the practical where does he live, what does he do, to the more ridiculous, is he dying or sick? Garret, the only sensible one, was suggesting a background check while Preston spouted numbers and timelines.

Blake looked around the room. Staring up at him, head resting on his paws, even Brady seemed to have an opinion. The dog’s one eyebrow was cocked higher than the other as if asking what was he waiting for.

Finally, Blake stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. The room fell silent. “Y’all know this is totally nuts, right?” His gaze darted to each family member in the room.

Jillian shifted in her seat. “It’s probably not as awful as it sounds. Chet—”

“Chet?” Preston frowned. “What kind of name is that?”

Shaking her head, Jillian stared at her older brother. “What difference does it make? Other than wanting money to leave, he seems pretty normal.”

“Seems? Are you people listening to yourselves?” Even constantly on the road in his crazy music world, Blake had never felt so out of touch with reality in his life. This just had to be a dream—or a nightmare.

“It could work out.” Whether Rachel was trying to convince herself or the rest of her family, he didn’t have a clue.

Blake felt his own jaw clench. He knew—or at least had known—the Sweets as well if not better than his own family, and understood the weight on their shoulders.

The dog was right, he had to do something.

“I have some cash I don’t need. This place was my second home, practically. It’s the least I can do.”

“We’re not asking for charity.” Jillian’s chin jetted out in indignation.

Charity was not good, but marrying a stranger in it for money was? Some things, like why the sky is blue and bears sleep in the winter, were simply not meant for him to understand. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

The room went dead silent.

“You’ll what?” Jillian’s soft voice was almost inaudible.

Blake ran a hand through his hair. “Marry me. I’m on the road most of the time anyway.

It’ll be a believable reason for a divorce in a year.

I won’t take your money. I’m not a criminal, and other than what we’re about to do, I’m not insane.

Besides, it will make it easier to check on Grams. Problems solved.

” Until someone figured out what was going on and had him committed.

Jillian stared at Blake. Snapping her mouth shut, she did her best to process what was going on in the room.

“This is serious.” Rachel stared sternly at Blake. “Do you realize what you’re agreeing to? Marrying Jillian, convincing the entire town—and our mother—that this is real.”

“You’re a public figure,” Preston added. “Could this have ramifications for you?”

For him? Jillian’s mouth had gone dry. She couldn’t decide what was worse, being married to a stranger who could be a complete psycho as easily as the perfect match, or Blake Kirby, the famous country singer and the one guy she’d had a schoolgirl crush on since she was, well, a schoolgirl.

“Trust me. I think I understand how serious being taken advantage of for your money is more than any of you.” Blake crossed his arms. “Unless someone has a better idea than marrying a deadbeat.”

“In all fairness,” Carson leaned forward, “we don’t know if this Chet character is a deadbeat or a godsend, but if we’re taking votes, I’d trust Kirby with my sister any day of the week.”

Heads nodded and Jillian’s breath caught in her chest. A million things ran through her mind. All of which sent skitters up her spine and made her palms sweat.

Now lying at her side, his head resting on his paws, Brady’s ears suddenly snapped to attention, followed by a low muttered woof.

Thankful for something to do with her hands until her mouth could form words, Jillian leaned over the side of her chair and scratched the scruff of his neck.

A moment later, the dog lifted his head and stared at a distant point, focusing on something none of them could hear.

“Brady?” Preston glanced at the dog. “What is it, boy?”

“Probably just Mom coming back.” Carson shrugged, though he was carefully eyeing where Brady focused.

Another moment and the dog went from lying on the floor to sitting upright, and offering a low deep bark.

“That’s not his Alice is home bark.” Sarah Sue echoed Jillian’s thoughts.

Suddenly Brady was on his feet, spinning in circles like a puppy. He raced to the office doorway. Without looking back at his family, the animal bolted down the hallway toward the front hall. The sounds of him jumping up at the door, scratching, and barking filled the house.

“What the hell?” Preston pushed back from the desk.

Every person in the room was on their feet, no doubt fearing the worst, like the day that Brady had led them to their mother trapped on a barbed wire fence.

The sound of gravel crunching under tires drifted through the open windows, followed by a car door slamming. Brady’s barking intensified, mixed with whines and the dog swiping at the door with a fervor she’d never seen before.

“Brady, settle down!” Carson called, but the dog ignored him completely.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the front porch.

“Isn’t anyone going to open the door and see who it is?” Rachel stood behind her siblings all gathered by the door, staring at the dog.

Before anyone would react, the door swung open and Brady pounced forward, his massive paws landing on broad shoulders.

“Hey there, Brady boy,” Kade laughed, catching the dog and nearly stumbling backward. “Miss me?”

Every inch of the dog’s body was wiggling with sheer delight.

“Holy moly,” Carson whispered.

“Kade!” several voices shouted at once, each one dripping with surprise and delight.

Jillian felt tears spring to her eyes. Her big brother was home. Her big brother, who’d been gone for what felt like forever, who they worried about every single day, was standing in the front hall, grinning that same crooked grin he’d had for as long as she could remember.

The family converged on him in a mass of hugs and chaos. Jillian managed to get her arms around his neck. “What are you doing here?”

Before he could answer, he was peppered with more questions. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” “How long can you stay?” “Is anything wrong, you’re not sick or something?”

“Hang on.” Kade squatted to give Brady some more scratches. “I’m fine. I’ve got a temporary duty assignment starting next month, so I’m here for a little….” His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on Blake. “Holy, mother of Moses. What the hell are you doing here?”

In an instant he and his childhood best friend were engulfed in a back-slapping hug with a few jabs and pokes tossed in. Both laughing, memories of just how inseparable they’d been growing up came crashing down.

“About bloody time you showed your face around here.” Kade yanked his almost brother into another bone crushing hug.

“Hey,” Carson patted Kade gently on the shoulder, “be careful. You don’t want to break your new brother-in-law before the wedding.”

Kade’s expression shifted faster than the speed of light, the sparkle in his eyes giving way to a narrowed gaze. “My new what ?”

Smart man that he was, Blake took a step in retreat—outside fist throwing distance—and flashed a toothy smile. “Surprise?”