Cougar in Texas (Rugged and Risque 3)

“Well, there you go.”

Caleb nodded. “Why do we continue to get caught up in this shit?”

“I don’t know. There are strong wills conspiring against us half the time and—”

Caleb’s cell rang and he assumed Sam tapered off his discussion, thinking it might be Reese. He dug the phone out of his back pocket and checked the caller ID.

With a groan, he said to his brother, “Mom.” He answered the call. “Good afternoon. Survived the party, I see.”

“Your father and I had too much champagne. Neither one of us got out of bed before noon.”

He chuckled. “You haven’t partied that much in a while.”

“We were both upset. I’ll have you know, champagne does nothing to take the sting out of your sons not loving you enough to believe we have their best interests at heart.”

Caleb sighed and rolled his eyes. Here it comes.

“That’s hardly the case,” he said.

“Then why are you both doing this to us? It was bad enough trying to explain to everyone that you wanted to rescue horses instead of drill for oil. But to get Sam involved?”

“He’s a big boy. He knows what he’s doing.” He found it both amusing and annoying she sounded as though he’d conned his older, steadfast brother into a Ponzi scheme.

“And this woman you brought with you. What do you know about her, Caleb? Has she glommed onto you because of your money?”

The scales tipped in favor of annoyance. “I actually resent that, Mother. Had I not mentioned anything about the inn or that she owns a B&B, you would have been happy to include her in your club. But I know better. I know to be honest from the get-go. She went to a lot of trouble last night to fit in and to not embarrass you with her more simple style in front of all your friends. Quite frankly, she could have worn jeans and a sweater and she still would have been the only woman I had my eye on.”

A dramatic sigh ensued. “Are you sure you’re not doing all of this just to spite us?”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Caleb, wait.” In a more maternal tone, she asked, “Won’t you come to dinner on Tuesday to celebrate the New Year? I’ve already made the reservations with the Burtons and Missy. It would be terribly rude of you not to join us. You didn’t even greet the Burtons last night and they feel deeply slighted.”

He doubted that. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there’s a lot of work to be done here.” And back at the B&B. He needed to assess the situation with Reese and talk her out of breaking it off with him, if that was what she was contemplating.

“This is extremely important to me, Caleb. I don’t ask that often.”

Fighting back a groan, he said, “I’ll get back to you later this evening. I need to repair some fencing.”

“Fine. I’ll be expecting your call.”

He hit the disconnect button and returned the phone to his pocket.

Sam gave him a curious look. “What’s she up to now?”

“Dinner with the Burtons, Missy included.”

His brother whistled. “You take her up on that and she’ll have her hooks set in you. And I’m not just talking about Judith.”

“If I don’t go, she’ll keep plotting.”

Sam had to concede the point. “That is a true statement.”

“I need to think about this. Let’s fix this current catastrophe first,” he added as he reached for a post and adjusted it.

* * * * *

They ate dinner in town later that evening, where Caleb heard of Reese’s smackdown with Tommy.