Royal Trouble (27 page)

His arms loosened, then dropped to his sides as misery poured through him. "I'm sorry, Rox..."

"What the hell did you say to her?" Roxanne asked again.

Wes drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.  "I blamed her--"

"Roxanne, where is your sister?" a shrill voice demanded from behind him and Wes spun around to see a woman that looked a helluva lot like Leigh Ann, only older and harder. 

"I've come to take her back to Dallas...she has responsibilities," the woman informed, tapping the toe of her extremely high heels on the dirt-packed floor.  Standing behind her, Wes saw an older man in an expensive-looking three piece suit with slicked-back white hair and a smug look.

Roxanne took a threatening step forward and shoved Wes behind her, "Mama, she's not going anywhere with you.  She told you she didn't want you here."

"Her fiancé has come to take her back home, the wedding is coming up soon, and I'm beside myself trying to arrange everything.  I need her help," she said firmly. 

Wes watched daggers fly between Rocky and her mother.  Wes almost got scorched by the anger radiating off of his friend, as she took another step forward to say, "She also told you she isn't marrying Lester Fallon."  Roxanne's eyes darted to the man behind her mother, so that verified to Wes that was who the man was.

"Leigh Ann will do what she is told to do," Mrs. Baker informed her older daughter.

"Not anymore mother, I think she's finally done with you managing her life."

"Nonsense, she needs me...she isn't capable of handling her affairs.  The USA state pageant director called, and the press wants her to do a media segment for this year's pageant.  They also want her to be a judge."

"She isn't Miss Texas anymore, Mama.  She doesn't have to make appearances on command like a trained seal.  That contract expired four years ago, and so did their right to make demands on her.  Just because they ask, doesn't mean she has to say yes."  Her eyes slid to Lester Fallon again, seeming to throw the man the same message.

Wes's chest constricted and he found it hard to take a breath.  "Miss Texas?"

Guilt flashed on Rocky's face at the same time her mother's face lit up with pride.  "Yes, don't you recognize her?  She was Miss Texas, USA, the best one they ever had according to the director.  She would have won Miss USA too, but everyone knows that pageant is fixed," the haughty woman grumbled, lifting her chin.

Wes's eyes latched onto Roxanne and he ground out through his teeth, "I'm out of here."  Roxanne had lied to him, both women had, by not giving him all the facts when he hired Leigh Ann. 

The puzzle pieces that didn't fit with Leigh Ann Baker finally clicked into place.  The pretty manners, her change from country girl to femme fatale when they went out to dinner, her practiced smile, all of the things that had been nagging him, finally explained things. 

Leigh Ann Baker was a fricking beauty queen, a celebrity, not a vet assistant, definitely not used to getting her hands dirty.  Wes hadn't been wrong at all.  Leigh Ann Baker was
exactly
like his ex-wife, a lying conniving bitch.  An attention hound looking for her next moment in the spotlight.  No better than the actress that Laura had wanted to be.

Both women were stage performers who had fooled him with their skill.

And Roxanne knew.  He thought Roxanne was his friend, an honest woman, looks like he had been wrong there too.  Why she suggested her sister to be his assistant, he would never figure out.  She knew Leigh Ann would be a disaster as his assistant.  Suspicion fueled his anger as he breezed past a slick black Mercedes sedan parked near the barn toward his truck.  Was Roxanne hiding her sister out at his place to protect her from her mother pressuring her to marry Lester Fallon?  Hell, for all he knew Roxanne had intended for Wes to marry her to prevent that from happening! 

He wouldn't put anything past the two women now.

Even though this morning when he discovered her gone, he acknowledged he had feelings for Leigh Ann, it didn't matter.  There was no way in hell he would ever act on them now.  Wes had been there and done that with another beautiful attention-seeking woman, and he wasn't going there again.  She could stand in that spotlight all by herself, and fight her own damned battles.

Leigh Ann woke up and groaned, realizing she had slept all day.  Well, she'd slept half the day, the other half she had cried uncontrollably.  Being able to purge herself of the sadness and grief she'd carried with her when she left Wes's house this morning was a good thing mentally, but physically it made her feel washed out, drained.

The curtains were drawn, but she knew the sun had set, because not an ounce of light filtered into the room.  Heart racing, she fumbled on the bedside table, until she found the switch on the lamp to turn it on.  Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and the light blinded her for a second.  Through the swollen slits that were her eyes, Leigh Ann saw her sister sitting in a chair across the room. 

Her arms were wrapped around her body, and the look on her face worried the crap out of Leigh Ann.  Leigh Ann had never seen her tough sister look so heartsick.  Bracing herself, she asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?  What's wrong?" 

Leigh Ann thought it must be something really bad.  Considering her sister's dark expression, someone must've died.

"Wes hates us," she informed her flatly.

"That's not news, Annie...that's why I left his house," Leigh Ann told her with a short humorless laugh.  "I made a mess of his office, corrupted his son and almost killed his dog."

"That's not why he hates us.  I didn't tell him you were Miss Texas, and mama blurted it out when she showed up at the barn."  Roxanne didn't smile, her lips pinched tighter, then she released them and told Leigh Ann, "Lester Fallon is with her."

Someone did die, Leigh Ann died, inside anyway.  At least she wished she was dead, so she didn't have to face the music playing outside the door.  Her chest constricted with fear and trepidation as she asked, "Did you get rid of them?"

Roxanne snorted then said, "What do you think?"

Leigh Ann whimpered then fell back against the bed and covered her eyes with her forearm.  "What do they want?"

"You...mama says you're going back to Dallas to marry Lester."

"Mama can kiss my lily white ass," Leigh Ann said hoarsely.  That was going to happen when the moon fell from the sky and took out the trees like bowling pins.  Leigh Ann wasn't going anywhere.  And she wasn't marrying that disgusting old man, there wasn't enough money in the federal reserve to make that happen.

But what choice did she have though?  She was homeless and unemployed again.  It would be easier if she just caved in and let her mother control things.  Leigh Ann sighed deeply, and removed her arm from her eyes to look at Roxanne.  "I don't have much choice, do I?"

"There's always a choice, sister.  You just have to find your backbone and make it."

"Where are they staying?"

Roxanne groaned, then told her, "Here, unfortunately.  Mama booked into the spa for a week, and Lester signed up for the trail drive.  I think she intends on him spending time with you to try and convince you to marry him.  Maybe you could stay at Dylan's trailer until they leave?"

Anger shot through Leigh Ann and she nodded then made a decision that had been a long time coming.  "I'm not running this time," she said firmly. 

It was time she took control of her life and quit letting other people push her around.  That was going to start with her mother and Lester Fallon.

Surprise flitted over Roxanne's face and she lifted a brow.  "Really?  You're going to stay and face the piper?"

Leigh Ann understood why her sister didn't believe her.  Running was Leigh Ann's specialty.  All her life, that was the only way she could get some space from her mother's oppressive love.  She needed to learn to find that space by standing up to her mother and telling her to butt out.  That was going to start right now.

With a lift of her chin Leigh Ann met Roxanne's gray eyes evenly.  "Yes, Really.  She's come to the wrong place to mess with the wrong woman this time.  I'm done."

Done with her mother, done with Lester Fallon and done with Wes Jepson.  They all had better give her a wide berth, because if they didn't they were going to meet a new Leigh Ann Baker.  One she doubted they would recognize.

Roxanne threw back her head and let out a backwoods yell that left Leigh Ann's ears ringing.  When she looked back at her, Roxanne was grinning broadly.  "I think hell just froze over and the demons are ice skating."

A smile wiggled at the corner of Leigh Ann's lips and she finally released it, along with the long held fear of the demon that was her mother.  She could do this, would do this, and knew the only way she was going to reclaim her life was if she stuck to her guns.  Her mother wanted to stay at the ranch?  She wanted an adventure?  Maybe between her and Rocky they could give her an adventure she would never forget.  And get her the hell out of here quickly.

"I think we need to have a little talk with Tara and the ladies at the spa, and make sure they realize mother is
allergic
to almond oil.  It would be terrible if they
accidentally
used that on her during her spa treatments," she said sweetly with a sweep of her eyelashes, then asked, "And what was that horse's name that should be substantial enough to carry Lester around during the trail ride?"

Rocky snorted and her lips quivered, as she replied, "Titan?"  That was the horse that Roxanne had put Terri on when she first arrived at the R & R as a joke.  That story had become urban legend around the ranch.  As did Terri's retribution for it.

"Oh, yeah, that's the one.  And we need to round up some menthol from the spa, I think your trail cook's special liniment is missing that to make it super effective for the saddle sores Lester's going to have.  His fat ass hasn't been on a horse in decades."

"Oh, sister...I never knew you had it in you," Rocky said with a short bark of laughter that turned into a guffaw, before she said with admiration in her eyes, "Maybe we are related after all."

"I learned from the best, ma'am.  I still haven't forgotten the lessons you taught me growing up."  Frogs in her bed, thorny stickers in her underwear drawer, only scratched the surface of the revenge her sister was capable of.  "It won't kill them, just make them wish they were dead, and maybe give them incentive to get the hell out of here."

The next morning, Leigh Ann practically whistled as she walked into the dining room, dressed in a bright yellow sundress and heels, with her hair and makeup done.  It felt damned good to be herself again, not trying to be someone she wasn't to play a part she wasn't suited to play.  Leigh Ann was not a country girl, a vet assistant, or a damned whipping post for a sour, jaded vet whose ex-wife had hurt him. 

From now on, she was going to be herself.  Never again would she hide herself from the world to be accepted.  If anyone didn't like it, they could kiss her lily white ass.  That was her new mantra, and it felt damned good.

Of course, since it was before noon, her mother was not in the dining room when she walked in and the conversation stopped.  It was past breakfast time though, so the only two people in the room were women in terry-cloth monogrammed robes that said they were visitors for the spa adventure.  As she walked toward the far side of the table to sit across from them, Leigh Ann smiled widely and said, "Morning, ya'll.  Did you sleep well?"

Taking her chair, she put her napkin in her lap, then reached for the serving spoon in the scrambled eggs on a platter in the center between them.

"Slept like a baby.  That massage I had yesterday was amazing," one of them related with a friendly smile.

"I'm having one today," Leigh Ann said then chewed a bite off the end of a slice of crisp bacon.  "Tara is so good, I'll probably be in a massage coma afterwards."

"I'm having a facial," the other woman informed shyly then stared at her hands. 

Unlike her friend whose dark blonde hair was curled and fluffed around her shoulders, the smaller woman's mousy brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and her face bare of makeup.  Leigh Ann guessed that both women were probably mid forties, but the quieter one definitely looked older. 

One of the women just brimmed with confidence and spirit, the other one was slightly slumped down in the chair and had her chin tucked, her body language telling anyone who looked that she felt self-conscious and out of place.  The woman looked sad and downtrodden, like she had given up hope or something. 

Since Leigh Ann was just brimming with confidence this morning, she had some to spare.  Maybe she could make some new friends of the ladies, and help the quiet one.

"So, what do you ladies do?" she asked conversationally.

"I'm a stock broker," the more assertive of the two told her.  "I work at a firm in Dallas, and needed a break before I went over the deep end.  So, here I am."

The mousy woman met her eyes, but didn't respond until she had chewed her food thoroughly and washed it down with a long sip of orange juice.  "I work at home, my husband is a Senator."

"Your husband is a jerk is what he is..." the bolder woman inserted.

"Are ya'll friends?" Leigh Ann asked curiously, because the women seemed close, had to be close for her friend to say something like that.

"Sorority sisters," the mousy one explained, and her cheeks flushed.

Leigh Ann nodded and took a sip of her juice, but almost choked when the other woman said, "Her husband is a Senator who can't seem to keep his pants up.  I think I'm going to buy him suspenders for Christmas."

"Lou Ellen, please," the mousy woman pleaded putting a hand on her friend's arm.

"I'm not saying anything that isn't true, Allison."

"True or not, it's my fault he doesn't want me anymore...I've let myself go," the woman named Allison protested.  "He's a good man, an important man."

Lou Ellen harrumphed, then poked her fork into a piece of sausage on her plate forcefully, before biting off the end.  Leigh Ann imagined that's what she would like to do to the man who was hurting her friend.