Colorado 01 The Gamble (40 page)

“Some of those,” I whispered.

He grinned. “So is that who we can expect
tomorrow?”

My cousins were as nutty as my mother and if
she made calls to my aunts, who were also loons, this could be a
possibility. Therefore instead of answering, I fell forward and
pressed my face into his Henley.

“See I got mostly Nina Zombie,” Max said,
his lips at my hair. “Get yourself sorted out, darlin’. I’ll go
down and see that your mother doesn’t move into the barn.”

My head shot back and I whispered, “Oh God,
Max, don’t tell her you have a barn. Seriously, she’ll consider it.
She’ll have contractors here tomorrow to talk about a
conversion.”

He was still grinning when he kissed me,
pulled away and stated, “My lips are sealed.”

Then he let me go and walked to the
stairs.

I ran to the bathroom and rushed through my
morning ritual and didn’t bother dressing because I didn’t want to
leave Max alone with my mother that long. And anyway, Max’s shirt
provided far more coverage than my nightie or even one of his
t-shirts and it was Mom and Steve. Mom and Steve lived in Arizona
now so Steve had been seeing me in pajamas and bathing suits ever
since he was promoted to “companion” status.

I ran down the stairs, rolling the sleeves
up and heard Mom banging away and talking at the same time.

“…
then she got in a debate, with the
quizmaster
,
on
television
and
took him to task for his superior, sexist attitude.”

Oh my
God
. Mom was sharing the Dreaded High School Brain Team
Story.

“Mom,” I cut in.

“Quiet, sweetie, I’m telling Max the Brain
Team Story.”

I hit the kitchen seeing Max was at his
usual place against the sink, Steve was at a stool and Mom was at
the counter surrounded by what looked like everything in Max’s
cupboards.

I had no time to ask about Mom’s apparent
surprise kitchen inventory, I had to stop the Brain Team Story.

“I know, Mom, and I wish you wouldn’t.”

She stopped and looked at me with raised
brows. “I’ll never know why you’re embarrassed by that story.”

“How many reasons do you want?” I asked.

“Three!” Mom shot back.

I lifted my hand and counted them down.
“One, I did it on local television and everyone saw. Two, I was
kicked off the Brain Team and suspended from school. And three, I
was on the Brain Team
at all
.”

“Men like smart girls,” she retorted.

“Yes, that’s what you told me when I didn’t
have a date to the senior prom.”

She leaned forward and returned, “You
didn’t have a date to the senior prom because that silly Flannery
boy broke up with you for that terrible Sipowicz girl.” Mom turned
to Max and added, “She had too much hair, always flouncing it
around, and she was
loose
.”

Mom spoke the truth. Perry Sipowicz had a
lot of hair she was always flouncing around and she definitely was
loose.

“
Anyway,” Mom turned back to the counter
and started moving stuff around what appeared to be randomly, “I
was proud of my Neenee Bean for sticking up to that
awful
television person. He thought
he was
God’s
gift
and everyone could
see he was wearing a hairpiece. And he
was
being sexist. He wouldn’t let Nina answer any of
the questions and she was the only girl on either school’s team. So
I was
glad
she told
him off.” She turned back to Max and finished, “It was then I knew
she’d make a brilliant attorney. She got into
every
school she applied to.”

“Mom,” I said, moving toward the coffeepot,
“enough.”

“You did,” Mom muttered, looked at Max and
repeated, “She did.”

I looked at Max and rolled my eyes. Max
smiled.

I asked the room, “Who wants coffee?”

“Me!” Mom cried as if I wasn’t standing
right next to her which I was.

I looked over my shoulder at Steve, pulling
down mugs from the cupboard. “Steve?”

“A cup would hit the spot, Nina.”

I looked at Max as I went to the fridge for
milk. “Max?”

“Yeah, baby.”

Mom leaned into me when I made it back to
the counter by her side and she whispered loudly even though if she
whispered softly Max could still hear her as he was maybe two feet
away. “I like that, the ‘baby’ thing. He’s yummy.”

“Stop calling Max yummy in front of
Steve.”

“Oh, Steve doesn’t mind,” Mom dismissed with
a wave of her hand.

“
Okay, then stop calling Max yummy in front
of
Max.
”

Mom leaned back to look behind me at Max and
informed him, “Nina can be a bit uptight.”

Max burst out laughing.

I cried, “Mother!”

Mom turned wide eyes to me. “You can!”

I looked to the ceiling and called, “God?
Can I have a time machine? Please. I just want to go back
thirty-five years, crawl out of my pram, get lost in the wilds and
be raised by stray dogs.”

Mom leaned back and said to Max, “She can
also be dramatic.” She turned back to whatever she was doing at the
counter and murmured, “Though, it’s good, she’s always had
an
excellent
imagination.”

I handed Max his mug and took Steve’s coffee
to him, saying, “Mom, Max likes me, okay? You don’t have to
convince him seeing as I’m standing in his kitchen in his
shirt.”

“All right,” Mom snapped and looked back at
Max. “She can get testy too.”

I closed my eyes and dropped my head back. I
stood there in supplication for half a second before an arm hooked
at my waist and my back was up against Max’s front.

“Grab your coffee, Duchess and let your Mom
be,” Max ordered in my ear.

I leaned forward and grabbed my coffee,
muttering, “Whatever.” Then I looked at Mom and found I couldn’t
let her be so I asked, “What are you doing, anyway?”

“I’m in the mood to concoct something,” Mom
answered and my entire body got tense.

“Mom –” I started and Steve was with me for
he said in a low, warning tone, “Nellie, not sure that’s a good
idea.”

“My concoctions are the best,” Mom declared
in Steve’s direction.

“Your concoctions are hit and miss. Mostly
miss,” I told her.

Mom whirled on me, aghast. “You
loved
my blueberry, rhubarb
soufflé.”

“
Mom, I
lied
. It tasted a lot like vomit.”

Max’s body started shaking against mine but
I was forced to ignore it when Mom emitted an outraged gasp.

“
It did
not
taste like vomit!”

“Please, just let me make toast.”

Mom, if it could be believed, was even more
aghast and she cried, “What will Max think, he gets toast?”

“
It’s his house, Mom,
you’re
the guest,” I reminded her.

“
I’m the Mom in
any
circumstances and children don’t get toast.
Ever.
”

“She’s got you there, Duchess,” Max
whispered.

I twisted and looked up at Max. “You’re not
a child, Max.”

“As long’s we’re alive, you’re always
children, doll,” Steve put in and I looked at Steve and my
shoulders slumped.

But I didn’t give in gracefully and
therefore mumbled, “Ganged up on.”

“
Deal with it, sweetie,” Mom muttered,
turned to the plethora of foodstuffs on the counter and went on,
hands up, wiggling her fingers, “Now, I’m thinking…
something
strawberry
.”

I decided to take a sip of coffee and let
events unfold without my participation.

It was then I realized I was leaning against
Max and he still had his arm around my waist. It wasn’t weird or
uncomfortable. In fact it felt natural and entirely comfortable. It
was also then I realized I liked this.

“
Oh my
God!
” Mom suddenly shouted, I jumped and looked at her to see
she was holding up the new creamer I bought Max. “This is
divine
, Max. You
have
such
good
taste
.
”

“Nina bought that for me,” Max informed her
and Mom’s eyes got happy wide, her face beaming and she looked at
Steve.

“You hear that, Steve, darling? Nina bought
Max a creamer.” And Mom said this like she would say, “You hear
that, Steve darling? Nina just declared her undying love to Max and
they’re going to be surgically attached at the hip tomorrow.”

“I heard it, love,” Steve said, grinning at
Mom’s obvious happiness for it was doubtful Steve was thrilled
about the creamer.

“Lovely,” Mom muttered and put down the
creamer and then started opening and closing cupboards, still
muttering when she said, “Now, bowls.”

“Max,” Steve called, I looked to him and I
suspected Max did too for Steve kept talking. “I hate to cut into
the usual madcap Nellie-Nina reunion but we gotta talk about that
jackass Lawrence.”

There it was, the reason for their visit,
just as I would have guessed if I’d had time to make a guess.

Mom was dumping stuff into a bowl but she
leaned into me and stated, “Steve has a plan. Steve always has a
plan.” Then she winked at me and went back to dumping stuff in the
bowl.

“What’re you thinkin’?” Max asked.

“I’m thinkin’ after breakfast we leave the
women up here and go down the mountain and have a talk with
Lawrence at his hotel.”

My body got tense again.

“Works for me,” Max said instantly.

“Um… I don’t –” I started but stopped when
Max squeezed my waist.

“We’ll be back, less than an hour,” Max told
me and I twisted to look at him.

“Max –”

“Duchess,” Max cut me off, “it’s as good as
done.”

I hadn’t had time to contemplate my
predicament, my escape or scrutinize the fact that I consistently
seemed to allow myself to get thwarted and end each day in bed with
Max. However I was relatively certain that I didn’t want Max to
team up with Steve to send my father packing. I didn’t know why, I
just thought that was family business and Max wasn’t family. And I
didn’t know why, but I thought if he
did
do this, he’d be that one step closer to
being
family. What I did know was
that I
wanted
him to be
family and I also knew I shouldn’t.

“Max, can we talk about this?” I asked.

“We can though you ain’t gonna change my
mind.”

“Max –”

He used his hand at my waist to turn me to
face him then his arm went back around my waist and pulled me
close.

“Let me explain somethin’, Nina. He’s in
town and he’s thinkin’ about fuckin’ with you. You said your piece
yesterday, made your point clear and he still thinks he can fuck
with you. A man’s any man at all, no one fucks with his woman, not
even her father. He thinks he can, until I make it clear he can’t,
he’ll always think he can. So better now than later he learns he
can’t. Yeah?”

“Max, I just don’t think it should be you.
Maybe I –” I stopped talking when I got another squeeze.

“Honey, he showed you zero respect yesterday
and he upset you. You think I’m gonna let that happen again?”

“Max –”

“I’m not.”

“Max –”

“He won’t have a choice but to show me
respect.”

“Max –”

“Especially if I got your family at my
back.”

“Max!” I shouted.

“What?”

“All right, go see Dad.”

There it was. I gave in again. I had no idea
why I constantly did this except perhaps the soft look and
beautiful smile Max was giving me now.

To avoid it and its effect on my entire
system, I turned within Max’s arm and leaned against him again.

“Steve, when we get back, could use your
help hangin’ the Cotton,” Max said to Steve and I closed my
eyes.

Steve was always busy, always doing
something, always had a project. He’d
love
helping Max hang the Cotton.

“Sure thing, Max,” Steve said amiably, I
heard Mom sniff and looked at her but she had her head ducked.

Then she whispered, “Powder my nose.”

Then she rushed away as Max called gently,
“Door to the right, under the loft.”

I sighed because I knew Mom was crying and I
had a suspicion Mom had a lot more reasons to like Max now.

I looked at Steve and Steve was watching me.
His eyes dropped to Max’s arm at my waist then they came back to my
face. His smile was slow and so was his wink.

I smiled back even though panic gripped
me.

If I was honest, I knew why I didn’t escape,
even though I knew I was facing disaster.

Because I didn’t want to escape.

Now, Mom and Steve might disown me if I
tried.

I sighed, leaned further into Max and his
arm got tight.

I took a sip of coffee while the men stayed
comfortably silent.

Then I asked, “Do you think we have time to
sneak in some toast before she gets back?”

My timing was bad and Max’s excellent
construction foiled me for Mom had opened the door and its
noiseless hinges were my undoing.

“I heard that,” Mom snapped, rounding the
counter.

“No,” Max answered my question and Steve
laughed.

I sighed again and took another sip of
coffee.

“
Not to be rude or anything, Max,” Mom
started when she hit the counter, “I adore the Cottons but I must
say that piece of art you have out front is… um… how do I put it?”
She paused then finished in a tone that belied her word,
“
interesting
.”