Payback (19 page)

“It depends on how horny he is,” she said
, and then started to laugh.

Jason
laughed too. “God, I hope he gets the itch a lot over the next few weeks.”

“Unfortunately, he scratched it tonight with the redhead.”

“Oh, that’s not good. That’s Corinne Weston, and she’s been after Caden for years. He keeps dropping his drawers for her.  We’ve all been wondering if he’s ever going to bite, but he says that she reminds him of the stars he used to date in Hollywood. Sex is their only bargaining chip. I have to admit that I’ve let her use that chip a couple of times myself and it’s a really nice chip.”

“Oh, you mean because she does all that moaning? Her orgasms are phonier than her breasts.”

“Breasts? They’re real…aren’t they?”

Marie laughed. “Honey, I come from the land of good plastic surgeons
, and I’m afraid those wouldn’t even fool an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles.”

“Well, all I’m sayin’ is that you better not let her get her hooks in Caden
‘cause the girl likes sex—a lot. You’ll be out to pasture.”

“You need to go back down to your party
, and I need to get some sleep.”

“Do you think Caden will still be mad at me in the morning?”

“Nope. One thing I know about Caden, he’s very loyal to his friends. And as friends go, I think you’re on the top of his list.”

“Yeah. I kinda feel the same way. We’re good buddies
, but we’re both pathetic when it comes to women.” He sighed and thought a moment before standing up. “You know, he’s right.  If you hadn’t been the love of his life, I would have been all up in your grill.”

They both broke out in laughter. 

Caden was down in the great room with a pack of ice on his left jaw. He thought by exposing Marie as a whore, he’d be able to push her away again, make her a pariah to his friends.  But once again, he’d read everyone wrong. Jason was ready to defend her honor, and Chris looked at him as if he was the scum of the earth. Now he’d driven Jason into Marie’s arms, or maybe it was Marie into Jason’s arms. Whatever it was, it had backfired and Jason was in Marie’s bedroom with her.

“You know you’ve got to stop this
, Caden.”

Caden slowly turned to face Jason. “So did you enjoy yourself up there? Do I need to deduct three hundred from the whiteboard?”

Jason shook his head. “I would never touch Marie in that way. If you weren’t so busy keeping your pain and disappointment alive, you’d see that Marie’s heart is all yours. The poor girl made a stupid mistake; she believed your friend when he showed her photos of you and Valentine in bed together. The asshole spent months convincing her that you had dumped her for Valentine. She was young and wanted revenge, so she let him screw her.  You’re thirty-five, now. You should have pity for a twenty-five-year-old left alone in Hollywood.”

“She told you all that?  She’s lying
, because there weren’t any photos of us in bed.”

“Apparently
, your friend had stills from the shoot, the day that you and Valentine filmed your love scene. He pawned them off on her as photos taken when you weren’t shooting.”

Caden was speechless. “Why didn’t she tell me this?”

“Did you let her? Did you even ask her?”

Caden took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  He shook his head. “But she should have trusted me.”

“Yes. And maybe if she had been thirty, she would have, but at twenty-five, we tend to be a lot more gullible. I know I was.”

Jason could see that he had made an impact. For some reason
, Caden was ready to hear what had happened. If Marie had told him any sooner, he still wouldn’t have “heard.” Caden disappeared outside onto the deck, standing under one of the heaters that wasn’t being used by a smoker. Jason wasn’t sure what, if anything, Caden would do with the knowledge.  He only wished that he could find a woman who loved him as much as Marie loved Caden. Jason joined his friends and family downstairs and, after a few tequila shots, was happy that he didn’t have to drive home. Around one in the morning, he said good-bye to the last of the guests and then climbed the stairs to sleep in one of the empty guest rooms.

March started with a snowstorm that brought a foot of snow, hopefully the last big snowfall of the winter. Caden and Jason rode the range and talked as if nothing had happened. Part of their friendship had always been that they could be brutally honest and the next day their relationship had survived.

Marie came down to find a tsunami of trash and spilled food. She walked into the kitchen and studied the board, happy to see that she had less than two thousand dollars to work off. Between her daily work and her night services, she was certain that she could be gone by the end of the month.

At noon
, Marie was busy cleaning the kitchen while Jason and Caden sat at the table eating lunch.  She was happily singing to the CD on the stereo.  Jason and Caden exchanged glances. 

“Why are you so cheerful?” Jason asked.

“I think that I’ll be out of Caden’s hair by the end of the month.”

They all looked at the board. A few calculations and they knew that if she was to be out by the end of March, Caden would have to sleep with her a few times to make that happen. But everyone politely ignored that little fact
, except that Caden took a mental note. If he joined her for a nighttime visit another five times, along with her regular wages, she’d have paid for her car repairs and other debts.

“Excited about going home?” Jason asked.

“I’m excited about letting all of us get on with our lives. I’m a burden to Caden and a reminder of bad memories.” She turned to Caden. “I don’t want to disrupt your life any more than I have. Now, if you guys don’t mind, I have to get back to cleaning up the crap left by all your friends.” She grabbed the cleaning supplies and a bucket before tackling the downstairs. As she cleaned, she kept repeating to herself,
the best thing I can do for him is to walk out that door and never see him again.

“It’s going to be weird not having her around,” Jason remarked.

“She’s only been here five months.”

“Admit it; it will seem odd going back to making our own lunches and not having her smiling at us when we walk through the door.”

“That’s just it—what the hell did she have to smile about? I was making her life a living hell!”

“Well! You finally admit it. Maybe she was willing to go through hell just to be near you?”

“Or you.”

“Marie Morrigan doesn’t have the hots for me.  Whenever you walk into the room, her eyes are all on you.” Jason continued, “I’m really going to miss her.”

Caden shook his head and threw up his hands, his eyes flashing. “I give up!  One day you’re telling me that she needs to go so that I can move on, and the next you’re telling me how much you’ll miss her.”

“They’re both true! She needs to go or you’re never going to heal, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss her.”

Caden still looked frustrated and bewildered.

Jason smi
led and leaned forward to speak. “Look, I’m just saying that I understand why you fell in love with her. She’s funny, bright, can hold her own in a conversation, not to mention that she’s curious-- willing to learn new things and help out.  She’s up for anything.  And she’s really very pretty, with her little freckled nose and cute body. If I thought you two could put the past behind you, I’d have to say that she’s perfect for you.”

“And not for you?”

He laughed. “I need a woman with a little more meat on her bones and someone who understands cowboys.”

“I’m a cowboy.”

Jason laughed. “You’re too pretty to be a cowboy.”

Caden laughed too. “I could say the same about you.”

“No one in the state is as pretty as you, Caden…just ask any female with a pulse. Although that bruise on your jaw does detract from those dreamy blue eyes.”

Caden felt his jaw. The ache when he touched the bruise caused him to wince. “My jaw hurts like hell. And I have a stitch in my right side where she kicked me.”

“Was she always a champion lightweight?”

Caden bit his lip. “This is the first time she’s hit me.”

“You really deserved it.”

Caden rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“I guess Larry is finally getting married this time. His fiancée is back from Washington, DC.”

“What the hell was she doing there?”

“Apparently, she’s the only analyst for a specific type of weapon, so they flew her out to DC to look at some satellite photos two days before the first wedding date.”

“Are you taking anyone to the reception?” Caden asked.

“I was thinking of taking Corrine.”

Caden raised an eyebrow. “Uh, really?  Are you sure you want to rattle that hornet’s nest?”

“Oh, you think I’m getting your sloppy seconds, huh?” he teased. “I thought that since she’s had a boy, it might be nice for her to get her hands on a real man.”

Caden grinned.
“She didn’t complain last night.”

“Let me guess; she moaned and squealed and screamed when she supposedly came, right?”

“She always does.”

“That’s just it. She always does…with every guy who gives her a go. Doesn’t she remind you of one of those really bad porn videos where the girl coos and screams no matter what the guy is doing to her?”

“She’s just touchy-feely.”

They both howled with laughter.

Caden and Jason, still hung over, made their way out to the meadow and began moving the cattle through the snow, into a new area. They both enjoyed the day, the sun on their faces, the temperature hovering around forty, the magnificence of the mountains in the background, and the teasing back and forth.  It was one of those rare days when there were no fires to put out and both men could enjoy a simple task and a beautiful day.

When Chris picked Jason up, she made a brief visit inside to see Marie. Dressed in her scrubs, Chris, a nurse, looked
tired from having worked a ten-hour shift. She sat on the breakfast bar stool as Marie finished cleaning the floor. “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” Marie was puzzled.

“Caden—I’ve never seen him be so cruel.  Whenever he’s around you, it’s like his evil twin pops out. I have to admit, I was very happy to see you land that right cross last night and the kick to his ribs. He deserved it.”

Marie chuckled. “He was very drunk last night and I got my licks in, so I’m happy.”

“I just wanted to make sure. When I saw you last night, I wanted to ask you if you were anemic. You look as if the last two months have whipped you. You look tired.”

She was tired, really tired, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “I’m okay. I had a little trouble sleeping the other night
, and then working all day to put the party together was rough. Don’t worry; I plan to start catching up on my sleep tonight.”

“Still, if you’ll come into the
clinic at the hospital, I’ll get the doc to look you over for free.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Okay. I’m going up to get the birthday boy.  How did he fare today?”

“They got up about nine-thirty
, and let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. Both of them looked as if a slug had crawled in their mouths and died.”

Chris laughed. “Gotta run. Talk to you later.  Are you going to the wedding?”

“What wedding?”

“Larry and Sylvia’s. I think they had the bachelor’s party here a month or so ago.”

“They didn’t get married back then?”

“Sylvia is in military intelligence—”

“Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

Chris nodded and then continued, “She was sent at the last minute to DC to do something.
Now she’s back, and they’re getting married the Saturday after next.”

“I haven’t been invited…frankly, I don’t know either one.”

“You met Larry; he was here for the bachelor party.”

“Yes, that’s right. But t
he answer is no, I’m not going. No one has invited me.”

“Sorry. I thought Caden or Jason would have brought you as a guest.”

“Nope. I’ll be staying home.”

Chris and Jason left a few minutes later, traveling down the lane at a
speed that made Marie nervous, even though the road had been plowed by Caden.

After setting the plate of food down on the table, Marie called out, “Dinner is on the table!” Marie grabbed her own plate of chicken enchiladas and went downstairs to eat at the bar.  She had just poured herself a soda when Caden came down
, carrying his dinner with him. He put it on the bar and took a stool two down from Marie. She stopped and stared at him, wondering what was up.

“So, get ready because Saturday afternoon we’re going into Kalispell, to the mall.”

“Why?”

“You need a dress for the wedding.”

“Larry’s wedding?”

He nodded.

“I’m going?”