Seducing Zeb (Tarnished Saints Series) (12 page)

An hour later Cat was dressed and ready for Laney to pick her up and show her the town. Zeb had left for work earlier, wearing a suit and his Rolex and not liking the idea that his aunt was staying with them. But Cat rather liked having her around, because she seemed to keep Zeb on his toes.

“Oh, no, missy you’re not wearing that!” said Cappy waving a hand in the air as Cat walked out wearing a pair
of tight shorts, her spaghetti-strap sun top with no bra, and a pair of jeweled thong-type shoes on her feet.

“What do you mean?”

“You are dressed way too sexy,” said Cappy.

“But this is how I always dress. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“No,” said Cappy, reaching over and trying to pull up her sun top to show less cleavage. “Not if you’re trying to lose the deal you two have made. What is the prize going to be anyway?”

“I . . . well . . . I guess it’s that . . . we’ll stay married.”

“And Zeb agreed to that?” Cappy’s eyes about bugged out of her head.

“We kind of made the deal after we’d had a lot to drink and he was defending his ego taking up the challenge.
But if I lose and he wins, he’s going through with the annulment as planned.”

“Well, then I guess I’m going to have to see that both of you get new wardrobes.
Because Zeb can’t dress the way he did today when he left here either. And don’t worry, Cat because I’m going to make sure you win.”

The door buzzer sounded and Cat walked over to the speaker and pushed the button. “Who’s there?” she asked.

“Cat, it’s Laney. Are you ready to go or should I come up?”

“I’ll be right there
,” said Cat, grabbing her purse from the counter and heading towards the door.

“Wait for me.” Cappy grabbed her carpetbag and flung it over her shoulder and followed Cat.

“Laney and I have a day planned to see her shop and the town,” explained Cat, hoping the woman would get the hint that she wasn’t invited.

“Well,
the three of us can do that and then we’ll stop at the second-hand store before I take you and Laney to lunch. We should be able to find some . . . less sexy clothes for you and some less flashy ones for Zeb.” She pushed past Cat into the hall and looked back. “Well, what are you standing there for? Laney can help us and we’ll write up a contract over lunch for Zeb to sign. Won’t he be surprised when he gets home?”

“Oh yes, I’m sure he will,” said Cat, trying to visualize herself in second-hand clothes. Then she tried to visualize Zeb wearing them as well and smiled. She closed the door and headed down the hall at a good clip.
“Come on, Aunt Cappy, we’ve got a lot to do before Zeb gets home.”

Chapter 10

It was a hot September day and Cat was tired from not only touring Laney’s antique shop, but also the police station, the town hall, and the second-hand shop where Aunt Cappy had insisted on buying a lot of frumpy-looking clothes for Cat as well as for Zeb.

The town wa
s small and they walked everywhere once Laney had given them a ride from Zeb’s condo that was in the neighboring town, twenty-five miles away. They all struggled with the bags, and one of Zeb’s younger brothers, Nate, who Cat just met today, was nice enough to help them.

“So where to now?” asked Nate.

“We’re going to lunch at the Three Billy Goat’s Diner,” said Laney, leading the way pushing a stroller with her grandbaby, little Matthias sleeping inside. “But after this I’ll have to get back to the shop and relieve Mrs. Durnsby who was kind enough to watch the place so I could take a few hours off. And then J.D. will be home from school and I’ll have to get the baby back home so she can nurse it.”

“I’m really not up
for lunch,” said Nate, his coffee-colored eyes looking out from over the pile of packages, and several shopping bags looped over his arms. He was twenty-five years old and quite a handsome young man. His hair was trimmed short and the color was a dirty blond, so dark it looked light brown. His features were extraordinary as were all the Taylor boys, and his mouth was strong and seductive, reminding Cat of Zeb’s mouth. “If you want, I’ll take all these packages back to Thomas’s house where I’m staying and you can pick them up later. I’m going to be jamming with the band over at Burley’s later so I need to get back and practice.”

“What’s Burley’s?” asked Cat. “We didn’t see that today, did we?”

“No, and that’s not the kind of place to bring a baby so we won’t be seeing it at all,” said Laney as they walked.

They approached the restaurant and Cat looked up to see
three goats. They were atop the roof of the restaurant, and munching on live grass, of all things, that was planted there. It was the oddest thing she’d ever seen in her life. “Now I know where the restaurant got its name,” she mumbled.

Levi opened the door from inside, holding it for the women to enter. “Candace has your table all set up,” he said. “I’
m sorry I can’t stay, but I did make up one of my favorite dishes for you gals for lunch. It’s grilled salmon with turmeric, sautéed mushrooms, black quinoa and steamed kale. I hope you like it. I’ve got to get back to the town hall for a meeting soon, but I’ll catch up with you later.”

“That sounds wonderful,” said Cat. “You must be an award-winning chef with meals like that.”

“Why, thank you so much. I try my best.” Levi flashed a smile at the compliment.

Aunt Cappy cleared her throat and leaned over to whisper to Cat. “You don’t need to do that, as the meal will be served with or without the compliments and flirting.”

“I . . . didn’t mean to do that,” Cat whispered back.

“Levi,
is there any way you can give me a lift back to Thomas’s first?” asked Nate from behind the tall stack of packages.

“Sure, Nate. But what’s all this?” He reached into one of the bags and pulled out a faded and oversized woman’
s t-shirt. It said Lounge Lizard on it and had a cartoon of a lizard with sunglasses lying on a lawnchair in the sun. It was a hideous light green color with pink writing. Then he frowned and looked into the bag and pulled out a pair of men’s jeans that were holey and faded and looked like they should have been thrown out years ago. “These things look even worse than what I wore in prison. Are you taking them to the second-hand shop?”

“They just bought these,” said Nate, and the two brothers exchanged glances between them that said they thought the women were crazy.

“It’s for the little competition Cat and Zeb are having,” said Cappy walking into the restaurant.

“Is this some kind of bad joke?” asked Levi with a grin.

“Yeah,” said Nate. “I can’t imagine Zeb ever getting near clothes that weren’t designer brand. He’s really not going to like this.”

“You boys better get going now,” said Cappy. “And Nate, see if Thomas will go over to Zeb’s condo and collect all his things and replace them with these.”

“Now I know why we always called you Crazy Aunt Penelope,” said Nate. “Thomas wouldn’t do that if you paid him a million bucks.”

“Crazy Aunt Penelope – that’s what the Cap in Cappy stands for?” asked
Cat.

“It is,” admitted Cappy, “even though these boys are all the crazy ones – not me.
Oh, and we’ll have to see to it that Zeb doesn’t drive the Mercedes either. That’s out of the question for the next week.”

“I could use a car,” said Nate, almost dropping the packages.

“By all mean then, you should drive it, Nate,” Cappy offered, though it wasn’t hers to give away. “And maybe Thomas has one of those old junkers he likes to fix and Zeb can use that instead.”

Cat almost laughed aloud when she heard this, knowing now that Aunt Cappy was the perfect woman for the job of moderator in their absurd little contest. She just couldn’t wait until Zeb got home from work.

* * *

Zeb was tired and hungry and glad this day was over. His court case didn’t go as smoothly as it should
have, not only because his client’s wife started demanding everything under the sun, but also because Zeb couldn’t stay focused. He found himself distracted every time he looked at his watch, thinking about what Cat had told him this morning about not being able to wear his Rolex.

The case finally ended in a continuance, but Zeb promised his client he’d do everything he could to make sure the man
gained full-custody of his child, and that they wouldn’t settle for joint-custody in the end.

He decided he would go back to the condo and just tell Cat that they sh
ould forget all about the contest. He did draw up a contract in his spare time for her to sign, but he really didn’t want to sign anything she had concocted for him. And now that Cat had pulled Cappy into this, he was already sorry he’d said someone should moderate. Cappy was as crazy as they came, and there was no telling what she would do. She wouldn’t let him get away with anything, that much he knew.

It was going to be hard enough to kick her out of the condo once he got there, but
he had every intention of doing it. Because there was no way in hell she was going to be staying with him, especially since he only had one bedroom.

He pulled into the parking gara
ge, angrier than ever to see an old clunker parked in his spot. And not only that, but in his second spot was a huge van with airbrushed paintings of naked women and skeleton heads and the name Death Vices splashed across it. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, and squealed his tires as he pulled out to go and park in the street. He walked up to the front of the building to see Walter the doorman doing his best to act busy and avoid making eye contact with him.

“Walt
, what’s going on?” he growled. “There’s an obnoxious van and an old clunker in my parking spot. Damn it, now I’m going to have to call the cops and have them towed away.”

“Zeb, maybe you’d better just go up to the condo first. But I swear, I had nothing to do with this.”
The man finally looked up and held up his hands in surrender.

“What do you mean?” he asked, already feeling his stomach clench.

“I’m not saying anything, but that wife of yours and your crazy aunt have this whole place turned upside down. I’m afraid the other tenants are going to start complaining.”

“About what?” asked
Zeb.

“Just go on up and see for yourself,” said Walter
, holding the door open.

Zeb knew he was goi
ng to probably walk into some sort of havoc, but had no idea what he was really in for until he got off the elevator on the fourth floor and headed for his apartment. He had his key in the lock and almost jumped when all of a sudden loud screeching music came from inside. He opened the door quickly and rushed inside and his jaw just dropped.

“Hi honey, welcome home,” called Cat over the loud music.

There, in the center of his living room, all the furniture was pushed aside and his brother Nate was playing his electric guitar. There was a band around him with a keyboard player, another guitar player, amps, a bunch of microphones and even a drummer.

“What the hell!” He
threw this briefcase down on the coffee table and held his hands up to his ears to block the noise. Then he waved them around in the air and yelled again. “Stop. Stop already, will ya!”

Nate looked up and gave the signal and the band’s loud music subsided.

“Damn it, Nate, what is going on?”

“Just band practice,” said Nate,
looking back to the rest of his friends dressed in dirty jeans and torn shirts. “Maybe we’d better call it quits for today, guys. We’ll continue tomorrow, so just leave all the equipment here.”

“Like hell you will,” said Zeb. “Get all this shit out of here right now!”

“Calm down,” said Cappy rushing over from the kitchen. “Nate’s going to be living here now, so I told him it’s fine to have band practice if he wants.”

“
No, it’s not fine, Aunt Cappy. There are bi-laws to follow living here, and besides, this is my house and I want everyone out!” He looked over to Cat who was wearing the frumpiest clothes he’d ever seen in his life. Baggy sweats and a faded t-shirt that said, Lounge Lizard of all things. She had no makeup on, and her hair was pulled up into a sloppy bun. It was far from flattering. “And what in God’s name are you wearing?” he asked her.

The band members filed out one by one, and Zeb slammed the door behind them.

“I’m keeping our part of the agreement,” she said. “I’m wearing things that are not sexy. And weren’t you the one who told me I couldn’t wear makeup?”

Zeb ran a weary hand over his face, wanting nothing more than to si
t down with a good stiff drink and put his feet up and listen to some music. Some soft, classical music. “Look, Cat, I decided we don’t have to go thru with this whole thing after all.”

“T
oo late,” she said, holding forward a piece of paper. “We made up a contract and I’m expecting you to sign it.”

“We?” he asked with a raised brow, taking the paper into his hand to read it.

“That’s right,” Nate broke in. “She wrote it along with Laney and Aunt Cappy. And Judas had an input from a cop’s point of view, and even Levi put in a few clauses being mayor and all.”