Single-Dad Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter Thirty
Although Zeke insisted on helping her out of his truck, Nell made short work of the maneuver and headed straight toward Ed’s ringside seat. Ed’s brand of humor was exactly what she needed. She didn’t look back as Zeke drove away.
Ed had a small cooler next to her and whatever she was eating had left dark crumbs on her jeans. She looked up as Nell approached. “Coming to join me?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Pardon my nosy question, but why are you here? I had the impression you and Zeke were going back to your house for some hoochie-coochie.”
“Changed my mind.”
“Ah. Then I’m glad to have the company. Take the front seat if you want a clear view. I’m keeping an eye on the proceedings. I have a vested interest.”
“Me, too.” Nell opened the front passenger door and sat sideways, like Ed.
“Want a mini chocolate cupcake?”
“Sure.” She took the cupcake Ed handed over the headrest. “Thanks.”
“Take two. They’re small.”
“Okay.” She accepted a second one. “Can you tell what’s happening?”
“I could if they’d start yelling, but they’re keeping it down, darn it. This is more like watching a silent movie with no subtitles.”
“Judging from their body language, Teague is trying to make his case and Val’s having none of it.”
“He shouldn’t have proposed so quick. I wish he’d talked to me about it first. Now his junk’s in the wringer.”
“He definitely screwed up. She told him from the beginning she didn’t want to make a commitment.”
“Men never believe that.”
“Some women don’t, either.” She devoured a cupcake in two bites. “These are great.”
“My chef is a genius. So you and Zeke are breaking up, too?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.” She popped the entire second cupcake into her mouth.
“Which means you’re splitsville. I’m sorry, honey.”
The cupcake practically melted in her mouth, almost no chewing necessary. “Me, too. Do you have more cupcakes?”
“Here. Take the cooler up there with you. Finish ’em off.”
“Thanks.” She hauled the cooler into her lap and counted ten of the little chocolate miracles. “Are you sure?”
“Help yourself. I don’t need any more.”
“Maybe I’ll save some for Val.”
“By all means. Hey, since Zeke’s history, can I interest you in Teague? From the looks of things, he’s striking out with Val and I like you a lot, too.”
She finished off another cupcake. “I’m flattered, but I—”
“You’re right. Never mind. Val’s your best friend. Bad idea. It’s a shame about you and Zeke, though.”
“FYI, we agreed to keep quiet about it. We don’t want to spoil Claire’s special weekend.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a vault. I have a secret about Jimmy that I’ll take to the grave.”
“Jimmy who?”
“Stewart.”
“You knew him?”
“Played cards with him on the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We—uh-oh, show’s over. Here comes Teague. He doesn’t look happy, poor guy.”
“Nope.” She winced as Val slammed the door.
“I’ll take your seat up front, if you don’t mind.”
“You bet. I’ll go check on Val.”
“Take the cooler with you.”
“Thanks, I will. Hey, Teague.”
He paused. “Nell? What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to Val.”
“But… where’s Zeke? Oh, no. You guys broke up. That’s the only reason you’d be—”
“Don’t say anything. We want to keep it quiet. For Claire’s sake.”
“Yeah, okay. Sorry, Nell.” He glanced at Ed. “Ready to go?”
“I am. Oh, wait a sec. Be a dear boy and fetch a bottle of champagne from the ice chest in the truck bed, please. Nell and Val need something to wash down the cupcakes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He headed toward the tailgate.
“Ed, you don’t need to give us that. It’s expensive stuff.”
“Honey, passing out bottles of champagne is what I do.” She lowered her voice. “Check with Val,” she murmured. “She might give you the green light.” She tilted her head in Teague’s direction. “Rebound sex can be fun.”
“Thanks for the tip, but I don’t think—”
“Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.” She turned as Teague approached with the champagne. “I was just saying to Nell that you two—”
“Thanks so much for the champagne.” Nell snatched the bottle from him and backed up the walkway toward the porch. “Have a nice… drive home.”
“Misery loves company!” Ed called over her shoulder as Teague helped her into the truck.
Nell waved as they drove away. Then she turned and started up the steps.
Val flung open the door. “So help me, Teague Sullivan—” She paused in mid-step, her mouth open. “Nell?”
“In the flesh.”
“Why aren’t you with Zeke?”
“Because—”
“His dad? Claire?”
“We broke up.”
“No. Damn it, Nell. I hate hearing that.”
“I hate saying it, but it’s true.”
Val sighed. “Come on in.” She stepped back. Then she blinked as Nell walked through the door. “Is that a bottle of Ed’s champagne?”
“Yep. She just gave it to me before they left.”
“When I heard the truck leave and footsteps, I thought Teague had talked her into going home and leaving him here.” She closed the door.
“Nope, just me.” She held up the cooler. “I also have eight of those mini chocolate cupcakes.”
“Ed’s the best. Come on in the kitchen. We’ll uncork that bad boy and drown our sorrows while you tell me what happened.” Opening a cupboard, she took down a couple of wine glasses. “I don’t have flutes, so these will have to do.”
“I’d drink this out of a water glass.” Nell put the bottle and the cooler on the kitchen table and started peeling off the foil. “Are you good at opening champagne? I hardly ever buy it and the few times I have I’ve made a mess.”
“Me, too. But who cares? Everything’s a mess tonight.”
Nell started unscrewing the cork. “Then you’d better put the glasses on the table so I can start pouring if it—oh, God, there it goes!” As champagne erupted from the neck of the bottle, she splashed as much as she could into the wine glasses.
She set the dripping bottle on the table away from the puddle of champagne surrounding the glasses. “Don’t ever tell Ed I wasted some of her expensive champagne.”
“Who says it’s wasted?” Holding back her hair, Val leaned down and began slurping up the champagne.
Nell joined her. “We’re never telling anybody about this, either.”
“Like Ed says, I’m a vault.”
“Did you know she played cards with Jimmy Stewart?”
“Did you know she had a fling with Clint Eastwood? I wanna be Ed when I grow up.”
“I’ll bet Ed never licked champagne off the kitchen table.”
“I’ll bet she’s licked it off some hot guy’s six-pack, though.” Val straightened. “That’s most of it. I’ll get a dishcloth to get the rest and wipe off the glasses.”
When she finished, she picked up one and handed the other to Nell.
Nell gazed at her. “What shall we drink to?”
“To Ed, the founder of the feast.”
“To Ed.” Nell clicked her glass against Val’s and sipped. “It tastes better in a glass.”
“I dunno. The taste of dissolving varnish gave it a little extra zip.”
“Varnish?”
“I’m teasing. It wasn’t on there long enough to dissolve very much.” She pulled out one of the kitchen chairs. “Let’s break out those cupcakes while you tell me what happened.”
After Nell relayed the info about Henri’s offer and Zeke’s dismissal of it, Val sighed. “It’s ironic. You want a commitment from your guy and I’m running as fast as I can to avoid one with… well, he’s not my guy.”
“Ed suggested I check with you first, and if you’re okay with it, I should have rebound sex with Teague.”
Val’s gaze met hers. “Would you do that?”
“Of course not! And he is so your guy. You should see your face. What are you going to do if he starts dating someone?”
“He said tonight he has no interest in going out with anyone else.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t want to, but he gets this intense look in his eyes when he says it.”
“He’s planning to wait you out.”
“Then he’ll have a long damn wait.” She poured them each more champagne. “How about you? What if Zeke takes up with some sweetie-pie?”
“I doubt he will.” But the possibility made her insides twist. “I’m the first since his divorce, and Claire pushed him into dating me. She’s a loyal little kid. I doubt she’d like it if he dated someone else.”
“Claire. I forgot about how this will affect her.”
“I’m not going to let on that we broke up and Zeke said he wouldn’t, either.”
“Right, because Claire’s so dense. She’ll never pick up on the fact that you’re acting weird with each other.” Val rolled her eyes. “Airtight plan, girlfriend.”
“What am I supposed to do? He acts like he’s madly in love with me, but he won’t consider taking the next step.”
“You could keep having once-a-week sex with him, I suppose.”
“That’s no longer an option. Not when he has no faith in me. Not if he doesn’t believe in us.”
“Nell, he can’t.” Val reached over and squeezed her arm. “He doesn’t even believe in himself.”
