That Wild Cowboy

“I only wish,” he replied. “You want reality. Well, c’mon then.” He took her by the arm and dragged her down the steps and pushed her right in the middle of the squawking women. But his next words caused Victoria to almost drop her tiny not-even-turned-on video recorder.

“Victoria Calhoun, I’d like you to meet my mother, my two aggravating sisters and my hopping-mad niece. This is my reality.”

CHAPTER FOUR

VICTORIA DID A double take. “Excuse me?”

“Turn on that little machine,” Clint replied, pointing to her handheld. “Get this on tape, darlin’.” Then his voice grew louder. “Because this is my life now.”

All of the women stopped talking and stared at Victoria.

“What did you say?” the oldest one asked, giving Clint a sharply focused, brilliant gray-eyed appraisal.

“Mama, this is Victoria Calhoun. From TRN. She works on that show y’all like to watch. Cowboys, Cadillacs and—”

“Cowboys,” the fashion plate said, her angry frown turning to a fascinated smile. She went into instant star mode. “Really?”

“Really,” Victoria replied, wondering how his entire family had turned out to be females. And thinking this explained a lot about the man. He was obviously spoiled and used to being pampered with so many women around.

“I love that show,” the starlet woman replied, her attention now centered on Victoria. “But why on earth are you here?”

“She’s probably filming us,” the young rebel replied, her eyes a lot like Clint’s mother’s. “Did you get all of that? Are you gonna put that on television?” She turned in a panic. “I will die of embarrassment. I so don’t want anyone to see that on TV. Uncle Clint?”

“I haven’t filmed anything yet,” Victoria replied in a calm voice. “I came out a few days ago, scouting, and took a few candid shots. But...Mr. Griffin was the only one here.”

He gave her a look that said, “Right,” but he didn’t call her out on getting the leggy blonde on tape because if he said anything he’d have to confess to having a leggy blonde here. “That’s true,” he said. “And if you’ll all come in the house, I’ll explain everything.”

Victoria took that as her invitation to go inside with them. Had he made a decision? Probably not, since he hadn’t bothered to tell his family...or her...about it.

The older-looking sister in the casual outfit gave Victoria a look that suggested she hated this idea and she wasn’t going to budge. “Somebody go and check on the steaks,” she said, waiting for Victoria to get ahead of her in the procession. “I think we need to set an extra plate for dinner.”

“No, I couldn’t—”

“I insist,” Clint’s mother said.

Victoria knew that motherly tone. No arguments.

“I’m Bitsy,” the silver-haired lady continued. She guided Victoria toward the back of the house. “We’re having supper out on the porch by the pool. Do you eat meat?”

Stunned, Victoria nodded. “This is Texas, right?”

Bitsy chuckled, gave her son a quick glance. “Last time I checked. But my granddaughter—the one we call Tater—has decided she’s a vegan. So I always ask.”

Polite and elegant. Manners. This woman was a true Texas lady. A society dame, Victoria thought. What a nice contrast to Clint and his bad-boy ways. But why were they both here together?

* * *

CLINT SAT AT the head of the long pine table and took in the women surrounding him. How did a man escape such a sweet trap? He turned to Victoria, conscious of her quiet reserve. She observed people and watched the exchange of comments, criticisms and contradictions that was dinner at the Sunset Star. What was she thinking? That she needed to run as fast as her legs would carry her? Or that this was certainly fodder for her show?

He decided to ask her. “So, you think we could entertain people with our little family dynamic?”

Her green eyes locked horns with him. “Oh, yes. You have an interesting family dynamic.”

He chuckled, drained his iced tea. “We ain’t the Kardashians, darlin’, but we love each other.”

He saw the hint of admiration in her eyes. “I can see that, I think. But all of this chaos makes for good television.”

“Uh-huh.” Chaos, hormones, mood swings and his man-view. Couple that with all the mistakes he’d made and how his family clung to those mistakes like a rodeo pro clinging to a bucking bronco and well, who wouldn’t want to see that on television? That would make for great entertainment. But did he really want to reduce his family to ridicule and embarrassment just to make a buck or two? Hey, that was what this popular show was all about and his family was kind of used to it anyway.

Victoria perked up. “Have you decided to accept our offer?”

“I’ve been waiting to hear back from you on that account.”

She gave him a surprised frown. “We were waiting to hear back from your lawyers—”

“Forget the lawyers. This is my decision.”

“Well, I’m here now and we can decide, once and for all.”

“Did you come all the way out here to pin me down?”

“Yes, I did. My boss wasn’t happy with me the other day.”

“He can’t blame you. We have a whole passel of lawyers and one greedy manager looking into the matter but I told them to hold off. So this is my decision and my fault if I decide not to participate. Which I haven’t decided. Yet.”

“So you are interested?”

“Maybe.” He nodded toward his mother at the other end of the table. “But ultimately it will be up to her and the rest of them.”

“And here I thought you were the master of your domain.”

“An illusion. I’m just the dog-and-pony show.”

“Having family here will add to the drama of the show.”

“Maybe. We do have lots of drama around here. But I’m not so sure I want to put my family through anything that will make them uncomfortable. Or rather, anything more.”

Her disappointed look didn’t surprise him. Maybe she was just like everyone else. Greedy and needy and clueless about leaving a trail of stepped-on people behind her. Maybe he was the same way himself.

She leaned forward. “When we first thought of you, we didn’t know you had family here. I was under the impression you lived alone in this big house.”

He fingered the condensation on his glass. “I did for a while. The old family home is on the other side of the property. My folks lived there for many years. Then my daddy passed and my sister got a divorce and my other sister lost her job and...”

“You took them all in?”

“They kinda came one at a time. Mama didn’t really want to move into this house, so she stays out in the old place by the pond, but we see her just about every day. Denise didn’t want to move in but after her divorce, well, she couldn’t afford her own overblown home. So I finally convinced her by asking her to help me out around here. She’s the ranch manager but she does her own thing on the side. She has an online business selling clothes. The latest is Susie. She lost her high-fashion job in California, even though she’d tell you she was a struggling actress, so she came home for a visit about a month ago and...she stayed.” He grinned and lowered his voice. “But, bless her heart, she still thinks like a Californian.”

Victoria’s smile indicated she enjoyed bantering with the best of them. “And dresses like one, too.”