Relentless Pursuit (14 page)

“But, what about Pierce?” Tammy worried.

“What about him? I’m inviting you and you’re coming. See you at six!” Paige gave a little wave and then hopped in her car, effectively ending Tammy’s ability to say no thanks. Sure, dinner at the Davies farm. Nothing to be worried about, right?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tammy pulled her car to a stop outside the crowded farmhouse. She was tired and sore from Bridget’s afternoon lesson. Although, she had to admit the combination of knowing how to protect herself and the silk panties she was wearing under her pale yellow sundress did give her a whole new level of confidence.

As she hurried toward the house, she saw Henry’s car and suddenly she was able to relax. It must be a working dinner. Phew, she had thought Paige might be setting her up and she didn’t want Pierce to think she was pushing a relationship. Nope, she wanted him to prove himself. Her days of jumping him were over—unless they were both naked.

Tammy climbed the steps to the door, but Marcy opened it with a smile before she could knock. “There’s the girl who’s been working so hard. Come in, come in, I made fried chicken and cheese biscuits. You’re just in time!” Marcy grabbed her hand and led her into the chaos.

Little Ryan and Sophie were pressing every musical toy they had, the men were congregated in a circle in animated discussion, and the women were sitting on the couch with their heads pressed together. However, it was Pierce who drew her attention immediately. He stood with his brothers, but she didn’t even see them. He looked so handsome in his black slacks and light blue oxford, which outlined his tall frame. Henry had to say her name twice before Tammy heard him.

“Tammy! I was just telling Pierce about the case law that you were able to find in relation to memory loss as a defense and how we can use that in case the rest of his memory doesn’t come back and the special prosecutor decides to go forward with the case.” Tammy smiled politely as she walked over to their group.

“Thank you, Tammy. I don’t think I can tell you what all your hard work means to me.” Pierce looked at her in such a way and Tammy seriously reconsidered the whole no-jumping rule she had just sworn off.

Marcy clapped her hands and instantly everyone quieted down, even the babies. “Dinner is ready!”

Paige and Annie scooped up their kids and set them in high chairs around the massive, country-style dining table. The family sat in their regular seats and Tammy waited to see which spot was left. She snagged an empty one and so did Henry. As everyone settled in, the noise died down and all eyes focused on the empty place setting next to Pierce.

Pierce looked at his mother’s fine china sitting empty next to him and cringed. Every man at the table knew what that meant. His mother was attempting to set him up. “Ma?”

“Yes, dear?”  Marcy smiled innocently and the knot in Pierce’s stomach tightened.

“Why is there an empty plate next to me?” Pierce asked just as innocently, even as his heart started to race with anxiety.

“Oh! That? I’m expecting another guest. But, she won’t be able to make it until dessert.” Marcy took another delicate bite of her dinner and smiled as her sons all looked in terror at the empty plate.

“Ma? Who did you invite to dinner?” Miles asked slowly.

“This nice girl I met at Pierce’s arraignment. She’s from Keeneston. She was even a cheerleader and is part of the Belles. She just moved back to Lexington and hasn’t been able to spend much time in Keeneston yet.”

“Don’t you think this is poorly timed, Ma?” Cade asked as he glanced between Tammy’s head buried in her plate and the way Pierce’s face was starting to turn red.

“There is never a poor time for love, dear,” Marcy said as she spread some butter on her cheese biscuit.

“Well, I have an exciting announcement.” Pierce smiled, even if it was a little overkill. “Tammy and I had a wonderful date the other night. Something I hope we can repeat very soon.” He shot her a wide grin and watched as Tammy turned bright red.

“That’s wonderful! It’s just a shame you haven’t asked her yet,” Marcy smiled pleasantly.

“So, Tammy, what is it about my little brother you find irresistible?” Marshall asked with an evil twinkle in his eye. Katelyn coughed politely into her napkin and then kicked Marshall under the table.

“I don’t understand why you’d wait around for him.” Cade shrugged. “What makes him so worth it? Ow!” Cade shot a look to Annie who sat calmly next to him. She slowly placed her fork back on the table.

“Well, it’s true.” Miles said in his dismissive tone. “Tammy, don’t you know you’re too good for him?” This time he sent her a wink and Pierce felt like banging his head against the table. This was payback.

“Um, well. I…” Tammy stammered.

Pierce couldn’t stand to see Tammy so flustered. The woman who had been his rock was sinking as his brothers interrogated her. “Okay! That’s enough. Tammy, just ignore them.”

Everyone at the table froze when the doorbell rang. Pierce began to sweat as his mother went to answer the door. First his mom invites another girl to dinner, then his brothers interrogate Tammy, and now she was going to have to sit here and watch a stranger flirt with him because his mom told some random single girl that she had a son desperate to marry. If his mom were really laying it on, then she’d tell this helpless victim that she taught her sons how to do laundry and cook. She probably left out that whole murder charge though. All he knew was that by the end of this night, there would be little chance of Tammy agreeing to another date.

The voices grew nearer and Pierce kept his eyes locked on Tammy. He wouldn't go along with his mother’s matchmaking shenanigans while the woman who had found a place in his heart was sitting across the table from him. Tammy looked torn between embarrassment and anger. He’d vote for anger. That was what he was feeling anyway.

“Everyone!” Marcy clapped. They all had their eyes focused squarely on the door to the dining room. “This is Neely Grace Sinclair. You know Martha at the D.A.’s office? This is her granddaughter.”

Pierce watched as Tammy’s eyes widened and she lowered them to her plate in defeat. What had this woman done with just one look? Pierce chanced a glimpse and almost groaned. She was a knockout. Neely Grace was tall with long chestnut brown hair in shining waves over her shoulders that stopped at her perfectly rounded breasts. She was dressed to perfection in a pair of black slacks and an almost sheer sleeveless white silk blouse. Two weeks ago, Pierce would have scooped his mom up and kissed her for bringing Neely Grace to dinner. But not now. Not as Tammy looked like someone had just kicked her dog. Pierce tried to get Tammy’s attention, but she refused to look at him.

“Neely Grace just moved back from Washington, D.C. She finished up a clerkship with our senator! Isn’t that fascinating? Now she’s an associate attorney in Lexington. Neely dear, do you remember Pierce from high school?”

Pierce thought back to high school and remembered what his mother had said about Neely Grace being a cheerleader.

“I think so. You weren’t in my class, though, were you?” Pierce asked reluctantly.

Neely Grace smiled and Tammy tossed her napkin to the table. Henry preened next to her as she answered, “No, I wasn’t. I was in between you and Paige. It’s nice to see you again, though. I’m sorry for the trouble you’re going through. Anyone who remembers you would know you'd never harm anyone,” she said with a perfect tone she inherited from the Belles and perfected on the Hill. “Paige! I remember you, too. It’s so nice to see you after all these years. Congratulations on your marriage and the addition to your family.”

Oh, she was smooth. A born and bred Belle—the original version, not the new model like Jasmine. When Neely Grace left for college, the Belles were perfection in speech, manners, and grace.

“Let me introduce you!” Marcy started at the head of the table with his dad and worked her way around to Pierce and then across the table to Tammy. But then Tammy surprised him. She held her head high and introduced herself.

“I don’t suppose you remember me. I wasn’t part of the same circles as you traveled in.”

Neely Grace cocked her head to the side and looked hard at Tammy. “Trailer Park Tammy,” she whispered. Tammy refused to cower and held her gaze. “Kids can be so cruel. I hope I never did anything hurtful to you. But if I did, I am so very sorry. I always remember you as the nicest girl. You always had a smile on your face and believe it or not, that’s what I remember the most about you.”

“Thank you. You were never mean to my face and I guess that’s about all I can say. Before she left, my mother taught me to treat others with respect and manners. Something the Belles should have learned.”

Pierce wanted to pump his fist in the air and leap across the table to plant a kiss on Tammy’s lips. She was beautiful in her confidence. She may be a good six inches shorter than Neely Grace, but right now she was the most regal woman he’d ever seen.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. It's one of the reasons I haven’t been back to Keeneston much. The Belles have already reached out to invite me back into their fold, but Jasmine was a snob in high school and I fear it’s only gotten worse.”

Tammy gave a little nod and then returned Neely Grace’s smile. Just like that, a peace agreement was made between them.

“And this is the man I was telling you about, Henry Rooney,” Marcy said with a huge grin on her face. Mouths dropped, including Henry’s, as Pierce stared at his mother. She had played him. She had played them all.

Tammy snickered, Morgan snorted, Katelyn politely hid her laugh behind a cough, and Annie let out a belly laugh. Soon the whole table was full of laughter. Pierce stood up and grabbed the clean china next to him. “Sweetheart, why don’t you come sit by me and Neely Grace and Henry can get to know each other better,” Pierce said with a grin made large with laughter and relief.

Tammy hurried around the table and settled in next to Pierce. Something in their relationship had just shifted. She felt it. As he rested his hand on her thigh underneath the tablecloth, she felt his heat burn through her skirt. He had just claimed her as his in front of his whole family, if she'd have him. Who was she kidding! She’d have him even if his fingers weren’t dancing lightly up her inner thigh making her thoughts completely muddled.

Henry cleared his throat and checked Neely Grace out as she sat down next to him. He looked like a cat that had just caught a mouse. “Mmm, if being sexy was a crime, you’d be guilty as charged.” Henry smirked as he checked her out.

Tammy whispered a curse word and shook her head as Neely Grace just smiled at Henry as if he were a little boy. “Don’t you think you should've led with, ‘Is there an airport nearby because my heart just took off?’”

“With lines like that I could love you beyond a reasonable doubt,” Henry said with a cockiness that he used in court. And, it usually worked on women. Henry was pretty attractive when he wasn’t being a goober.

“If loving you is a crime, then I’m in for a life sentence,” Neely Grace sweetly joked back to him.

“This is like watching a bizarre, 'You’ve Been Served' dance-off, but with pick-up lines,” Pierce whispered in Tammy’s ear before placing a quick kiss right behind her ear, causing her to shiver with excitement.

Henry sneezed and then looked up at her with smoldering eyes. “I sneezed because God blessed me with you.”

“Apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living?” Neely Grace asked with an innocent smile.

“I’m a lawyer. Wanna take a look at my briefs?”

“Is that all you got, hot stuff?” Neely Grace asked him with a wink.

“Nice shoes, want to f…”

“I’m so glad you all have so many things in common!” Marcy interrupted. “Morgan, dear, when are you and Miles going on your honeymoon?”

Miles cleared his throat in an attempt to stop laughing before answered his mother. “We’ll go as soon as all the charges have been dropped.”

“Thank you all. I’m so grateful for everything you've done for me. I just wish Cy were here,” Pierce sighed and felt bad for even saying anything about Cy.

“Who’s Cy? Wait, you mean your older brother? Where is he?” Neely Grace asked as she looked around at the quite table.

“He’s overseas for work at the moment,” Miles responded politely before turning to Pierce. “You know he'd be here in a heartbeat if you needed him to be,” Miles said gently.

“I know. I’ve talked to him a couple of times and he’s told me. I shouldn’t have said anything. I just miss him.”

“I hope to have all the charges dismissed against you before he could ever get home,” Henry said reassuringly.

Tammy felt her stomach plummet as Pierce’s attention drifted away from her again—just as it did the other night at his apartment. Instead of turning to her for support, he turned away. Tammy’s leg was nudged and she turned to look at Paige. Paige’s eyes were wide as she tried to gesture quietly to start plan “B”.

After the women had talked about catching the bad guys and before looking over lingerie, they had come up with a plan to catch Pierce’s attention and hold it.

“Now is
so
not the time,” Tammy whispered. “He’s upset.”

“It’s the perfect time. It’ll take his mind off of it.” Paige shot her a quick smile. “Well! Thanks for dinner, Ma. It was wonderful as always. Annie, should we take the children into the living room to play?”

“Oh! Can I come, too? I’d love a little girl talk. Tammy, would you care to join us?” Katelyn asked as she stood up.

“What a wonderful idea!” Marcy clasped her hands together and looked at the table. “Well, boys, why don’t you clean up while we chat. Neely Grace, maybe if we ask nicely enough, Tammy will tell us all about that incredibly gorgeous man she brought to the wedding.” Marcy gracefully arose from the table with Neely Grace and followed the women into the living room. Annie hid a laugh in the baby blanket as she lifted Sophie out of the high chair.

“Jeez, Paige, did you have to tell your mom?” Tammy asked mortified at what was unfolding in front of her.