“You gotta be kidding me.” Chance’s growl, followed closely by the sound of chair legs scraping over the floorboards, broke through Lucky’s foggy mind. “I am not dragging your drunken ass out of this bar again.”
Lucky lifted his heavy head to see his older brother sitting in front of him at the small table, sporting a scowl mean enough to frighten small children after just a mere glimpse of it.
“Hey, brother,” he grumbled. “How nice of you to join me for breakfast. Even nicer of Rho to call you to come fetch me like I’m some damn kid.”
“Quit getting drunk off your ass and she’ll quit having to call me to come fetch you.”
“I’ve been getting drunk off my ass for years while you were nowhere near here,” Lucky reminded him. “I never needed anybody to come fetch me. I’m a grown man, and if I want to get drunk, by dammit, I’ll get drunk.”
“Why not actually work on fixing your damn problems instead of trying to drink them away?” Chance asked as he lifted one of the assorted empty bottles littering the table between them and set it aside in disgust. “You know they’re still gonna be there when you sober up.”
“Yeah, but at least I get a few moments of drunken bliss.” Lucky tipped back his last bottle and let the liquor slide down his throat to burn in his stomach with the other five bottles he’d drank. “A little self-pity never hurt no one.”
“I highly doubt it’s ever helped anyone, either. What’s the problem, Luck? I thought you’d moved past the thing with that woman.” Chance leaned forward. “We’ve been through this. You are not responsible for that woman’s death. Her own sister came to town to personally tell you the same thing I’m telling you now. Let it go.”
Lucky groaned as he wiped his tired eyes and raked a hand through hair he knew was probably facing every direction but south. Luck. Cammie had called him that too. Sweet, sweet Cammie who’d clung to his mind like a damn cobweb. He’d known the woman was innocent, but not that freaking innocent. Who was nowadays? He’d thought Kenzie was a rarity. He hadn’t expected to find a second woman in Cook County to make it to twenty-eight years of age untouched. And he damn sure hadn’t planned on being the one to defile her.
He tipped the bottle to his lips, growled to find it empty, and started to throw it across the dimly lit bar, but Chance snatched it out of his hand.
“Give me that. What the hell is the matter with you?”
“I destroy everything I touch,” Lucky grumbled.
“Yeah, well, don’t trash Rho’s bar just to add to that list.” Chance set the bottle on the table and plopped his Stetson next to it before leaning back in his chair, legs stretched out. “I’m not gonna quit riding your ass until you tell me what the trigger was this time, so I’d appreciate it if you’d remember I have a lot of work to get done before my wedding next weekend and just spit it on out. What did you supposedly destroy now?”
“Who.”
“What?”
“Who, not what,” Lucky growled. “It’s who I destroyed.”
“Oh, hell.” Chance rolled his eyes. “The woman was unstable. She would have killed herself no matter who she left the bar with that night.”
“I’m not talking about Sylvie Case.”
Chance frowned. “Who are we talking about, then?”
Lucky swallowed, his own spit tasting like bile. The taste of guilt, he decided as Cammie May’s angelic face flashed through his mind. He hadn’t been able to purge the image since he’d dropped her off at her house early that morning. Even with tear tracks staining her cheeks and eyes puffy from a night he assumed to have been as sleepless as his, she was beautiful. How he hadn’t noticed it before, he didn’t know. He’d once considered himself an expert on beautiful women. Now he didn’t consider himself an expert on any type of woman. He couldn’t save his mother from self-destruction, he’d picked up a suicidal woman in a bar, and now he’d taken a woman’s virginity without even being gentle. Sickness rolled around in his stomach every time he thought about it. If he’d hurt her...
He shook his head, unable to even process what he would have done if he had hurt her.
“Well?”
Lucky tried to meet his brother’s eyes, but couldn’t. “Cammie May,” he mumbled, ashamed to speak the name out loud, but he knew his brother wouldn’t ease up on him until he knew what had sent him on his most recent drinking binge.
“Who?” A dark undertone threaded its way into Chance’s voice.
“Cammie May,” he repeated softly, still unable to raise his gaze from the scratched tabletop.
“Kenzie’s best friend? Aw, hell. What did you do?”
“I didn’t know she was a virgin.”
“Son of a... Lucky, tell me you didn’t.”
“You don’t know how bad I wish I could.”
“Dammit.” Chance slapped the table before calling over to Rho for a longneck. “You realize she’s probably going to tell Kenzie,” he said as he straightened back around. “Then Kenzie’s going to castrate both of us. How the hell did this even happen? You swear off women for a while, and the first one you grab after tiring of that just happens to be Kenzie’s best friend?”
“She freaking pressed me up against the wall and shoved her tongue down my throat!” Lucky defended himself. “She told me she wanted it, and she stripped down in my bedroom. What was I supposed to do? I’m only a man... and a man who hadn’t touched a woman in months.”
Chance’s beer had been delivered, and now he sat with it suspended in air halfway to his gaping mouth. He blinked. “Cammie May did that?”
“Damn straight.” Lucky folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I did what any other man would have done, and for the record, she never once even hinted at the fact it would be her first time. I wouldn’t have laid one finger on her if she had. I might be a horn-dog and a jackass, but even I’m not that big of a bastard.”
“Damn. I’m honestly not that surprised she was still a virgin. She always did give off an innocent vibe and I’m pretty sure she holds some sort of perfect attendance record at her church.” Chance tipped his beer back. “And now you’re drunk at Hell’s Belle. The aftermath must not have been too pretty.”
“She asked me if I had any venereal diseases.”
Chance choked, a thin stream of beer escaping his mouth before he guffawed. “Sorry, man, but I can picture it, and that is one damn funny scene. Hell, your face right now is cracking me up. You look all... indignant.”
Lucky glared at his laughing brother. “I imagine I do. What the hell kind of thing was that for her to ask me?”
“You’re not exactly a choir boy, Luck.” Chance shrugged. “She’s inexperienced, and your reputation precedes you. Even with a condom, I can understand someone like her being concerned. She’s always seemed like a very careful person.”
Lucky let his gaze fall to the floor as he felt heat suffuse his face. Of all the mistakes he’d made in his lifetime, he still couldn’t understand how he’d made one this huge. Going without a condom was a mistake he never made.
“Lucky? You used a condom, didn’t you?”
Gaze still firmly planted on the floor, he shook his head. “I meant to, but... It happened so fast, and things got out of control.”
“Dammit, Luck. You know better. Tell me she’s at least on the pill.”
“Virgin church-girl, remember? No birth control pill, and when I offered to take her to get a morning-after pill, she unleashed a fury on me like nothin’ I’ve ever seen in my whole freaking life. The woman acted like I’d asked her to murder a newborn baby.” Lucky nearly shuddered, recalling the heated exchange between them after he’d simply offered her a solution to ease her worried mind about being pregnant. He’d been with a lot of women, and though he wasn’t proud of it, he’d pissed off his fair share, but he’d never enraged one like he had this morning.
“If you got her pregnant—”
“I’ll marry her,” Lucky said quickly, with finality. He’d done some crappy things in his life, but he’d be damned if he’d ever walk away from a child. His father had done that to him and he’d never forgive the bastard, whoever the hell he was.
“Unplanned pregnancies aren’t the best starts to marriages, Luck.”
“No marriage involving me would have a good start, regardless.” He pulled a wad of bills out of his wallet and flung them on the table before standing, taking a moment to balance himself as the room swayed. “I think I’m sufficiently drunk enough I can go home and pass out now. Maybe I’ll get lucky and stay out cold for the next few weeks.”
“And miss my wedding next weekend? Not a chance.” His brother stood and set money on the table to cover the beer he’d ordered. “So, what are you going to do about her?”
“Stay as far away from her as possible,” Lucky answered as he made his way to the door. “Stay far, far away from her and every other woman on the planet. I’ve screwed up enough of them.”
“I won’t argue with you about that while you’re intoxicated,” Chance said from behind him as they stepped out into the way too bright afternoon sun. “But you’re only going to be able to stay away from Cammie for about a week. What then?”
Lucky turned toward his brother. “My willpower is a lot stronger than you think, bro. I can stay away from Flo’s Fixin’s and Cammie May for way longer than a week. I guaran-damn-tee you.”
“Uh, Luck... have you forgotten what next weekend is?”
Lucky frowned. “It’s your wedding. I know. What kind of jerk do you think I am that I would forget my brother’s wedding?”
“The clueless kind that forgets he’s best man and the woman he’s trying to stay away from is maid of honor. You’re going to be face to face with her all day, man. Hell, you’re walking down the aisle with her.”
*****
“WELL, THIS DRESS WILL certainly nip those pregnancy rumors in the bud,” Cammie said as she stepped back and looked at the beautiful, blushing bride-to-be.
Kenzie laughed as she turned in front of the full-length mirror, admiring the long, white, strapless dress that fit like a glove, showing off her tiny waistline. “Poor Delia will be so upset by the absence of a bulge.”
“She should just be grateful you invited her, the hag.”
“I didn’t really have much choice. This is Cook County. Everyone gets invited to everything.”
Cammie smoothed the back of her light pink bridesmaid dress and sat on the foot of Kenzie’s bed. She was happy for her friend, but at the same time, a heavy sadness weighed on her. Kenzie was walking down the aisle and exchanging vows with the man she loved and had waited for. She herself would walk down the aisle with the man she’d waited for, but instead of feeling joy, she felt sick to her stomach. Lucky had been coming into Flo’s Fixin’s almost every day that he was in town for the past fifteen years. It was why Cammie had taken the job during high school, and one of the reasons why she’d stayed instead of trying to find work that didn’t involve being on her feet all day dealing with people like Delia Mayberry. But Lucky hadn’t been in to Flo’s since their night together, and she feared he might never set foot into the diner again.
“What’s wrong, Cammie? You’re not allowed to be upset on my wedding day.”
She looked up to see Kenzie frowning and realized she must have allowed her emotions to show on her face. She’d never been good at hiding what she felt. “I’m fine. Quit worrying about me and start looking forward to the start of forever with the man of your dreams.”
Cammie stood, fighting back the nausea clinging to her, and helped her to smooth her wavy hair into a low chignon before securing it with a pearl hair clip. “Perfect.”
Kenzie smiled at her reflection in the mirror before turning to encompass Cammie in a hug. “Can you believe it? I’m getting married to Chance Masters today! My childhood dream is actually coming true. Who knows, maybe walking down the aisle with you will put an idea or two in Lucky’s head.”
She forced a smile, ignoring the sting behind her eyes as tears threatened to fall. She hadn’t told Kenzie she’d slept with Lucky, so her friend had no idea how her statement hurt, or how much of a struggle it was for her to follow through with this commitment. The last thing she needed was to walk down the aisle with Lucky, each step torture because she now knew without any doubt that Lucky would never want her, and he would hate every second spent with her during the ceremony. He hadn’t even shown up for the rehearsal. If not for the brothers’ closeness, Cammie would fear him not showing up for the ceremony either, but he wouldn’t do that to Chance.
“Of course, if he doesn’t show up for the ceremony, I’m going to put a few taps of my baseball bat against his head,” Kenzie muttered as she studied herself in the full-length mirror, smoothing her hands over the bodice of her dress.
“You know he’ll be here,” Cammie assured her. “And the wedding will be perfect. Delia Mayberry and the other busybodies won’t be able to say one negative thing.”
“Unless Lucky shows up drunk.” Kenzie brushed a ringlet behind her ear. “Chance had to drag him out of Hell’s Belle last Friday morning. We thought his drunken binges were finally dying down, but he’s sinking right back into that black hole again.”
“Last Friday morning, huh?”
“Yeah, he was on a real bender. Spent the entire weekend locked inside that awful trailer. I don’t know how he can live there with the memory of his mother. It has to be suffocating.”
Last Friday morning. The morning after from hell, although Cammie considered it more of an extension of Thursday night, seeing as how she hadn’t gotten one second of sleep. To her knowledge, neither had Lucky. She’d lain in his bed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she heard the creaking of the couch he tossed and turned on.
After the sun poured through his bedroom window, indicating she’d pretended to sleep long enough, she’d made her way to the small living room to find him lying supine on the couch. She’d hoped that the few hours he’d had to contemplate the events of the night would have softened his demeanor, made him at least entertain the idea of them establishing a relationship, but the first words out of his mouth were, “Are you on the pill?” quickly followed by an offer to take her to get the morning-after pill after she’d answered in the negative. He hadn’t even asked her how she felt. He’d just focused on the possible “mistake” they’d made and didn’t waste any time with an offer to “fix” it.
“You okay, Cam?”
Cammie snapped out of her recollection of that awful morning, and followed Kenzie’s gaze to her belly, which she had been absently rubbing.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She dropped her hand to her side and took a deep, calming breath. “It’s about that time.”
Her friend smiled and nodded in agreement as she looked at the clock on her nightstand. “Let’s head on out before they send in the troops to drag us out there.”
“You sound as if you’re being forced to do this.”
The bride chuckled as she opened the door and slipped out into the hallway. “I’m being forced to overcome my nerves as I walk down an aisle in front of the whole county. All eyes will be on me while the jealous, catty women of Cook County are picking me apart. But believe me, I do not need to be forced to marry Chance Masters.” She smiled impishly. “And I’m definitely not being forced to enjoy every moment of knowing that Cook County’s little collection of buckle bunnies are now mourning the loss of one Chance Masters, whose boots will permanently be parked beneath my bed forever and ever, until death do us part.”
Cammie smiled back at her friend, happy that after all the years of having to watch Chance run through more than his fair share of women, Kenzie had finally proven to him that he was in fact, a good man and her perfect mate.
If only Lucky could see his potential as well and let his demons go...
They entered the kitchen, where the bridesmaids and groomsmen awaited. Cammie sucked in a breath as her gaze collided with Lucky’s glossy blue eyes. Glossy and red-rimmed. As dashing a figure as he made in his black suit and tie, there was no mistaking what she’d seen in his eyes. Lucky Masters had indeed arrived for his brother’s wedding drunk as the proverbial skunk.