Zane (Alluring Indulgence) (21 page)

“No,
why?” Regina looked confused as she glanced around, apparently trying to see
what V was looking at.

“No
reason.”

“Come,
sit down. It’s so good to see you, baby,” Regina grabbed her hand once more,
pulling her into the living room while Buttercup pounced along at her feet,
still yapping away.

“Buttercup,
hush,” Regina said sternly and the dog did as she asked. “We’re going to puppy
classes, and he’s doing really well.”

“What
made you get a dog, Mom?” V really wanted to know. All through her childhood
she had begged for a dog, but her mother had always insisted they didn’t have
time to take care of one. V had begged to differ, considering they were always
home, but she figured her mother had more important things on her mind than
taking care of an animal. Namely trying to bed a husband.

“I
don’t know. Lonely I guess.” Regina kept her eyes on Buttercup and V felt a
sudden sadness at the longing expression in those familiar dark brown eyes.

No,
Regina Carmichael had never found a husband, despite her many, many attempts.
She’d found some decent men over the years, and it pained V to know that her
mother had been more interested in their net worth than who they actually were.
Although V had learned a valuable lesson, thanks to her mother’s promiscuity.
Money didn’t make the man, that was for damned sure. There’d been a handful of
decent ones, but more not so decent ones. Speaking of...

“Where’s
Patrick?” That was the name of the most recent one of her mother’s boy toys.

“He’s...”
Regina glanced down at her hands. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

“What
happened?”

“I
don’t know,” Regina replied, still not looking up at V. “It just wasn’t working
out.”

V
wondered whether that was because Regina had actually gotten a good look at his
bank statement or for some other reason.

For
the last twenty five or so years, Regina had been on a long and steady path to
finding a husband. From what V knew, her mother had fallen head over heels in
love with V’s father, whom V still didn’t know. The only thing she knew about
him was that he was happily married – although V didn’t understand why a man
would be out messing around if he were happily married, but whatever. Once he
found out that Regina was pregnant, he informed her that he wasn’t interested.
So, Regina being Regina, she never looked back.

Not
that she ever had time because the woman always seemed to be looking forward.
Even when she was dating one guy, she was always looking for the next, trying
to find the one who would treat her like a princess and shower her with money.
V never understood her mother and her reasons, and over time, she’d stopped
trying to. The only thing her constant thinking had done was to put a riff
between the two of them. As a teenager, V hated her mother and her antics.
Hated that she was dubbed the town whore and had bedded half the town by the time
V was twenty.

Buttercup
began yapping once more, pawing at V’s legs until she reached down and started
scratching his head.

“I’m
so glad you stopped by,” Regina said, pulling V’s attention to her.

“Me
too,” V replied amicably. It might not be the whole truth, but V always did
feel better when she saw her mother. Their relationship was strained at best,
but despite her mother’s many flaws, V still loved her.

“How’s
Zoey?”

“She’s
great.” The last time V had visited, she’d informed Regina that Zoey was
getting married. She hadn’t bothered to mention her own relationship with
Kaleb’s youngest brother though.

As
a point, V tried not to delve into her own relationships when speaking to her
mother. She’d heard enough warnings about ensuring the man had enough money to
take care of her, a nice house, a stable job, blah, blah, blah. That seemed to
be Regina's only concern, and V found it almost humorous how that had all
backfired on her over the years, being left completely alone to raise her
daughter.

Not
that Regina did much in raising V. She spent most of her time on the prowl
while V spent more than her fair share of time over at Zoey’s. She’d come to
love Zoey’s mother just like her own, and even her ornery father. Not that she
ever told Regina that. For some reason, her mother was blind to most anything
except for her main goal and V had been left to raise herself.

Not
that she complained. Regina had done the best she knew how, and V accepted her
for who she was. It had just taken a long time to get to that point. In the
end, V felt as though she were a better person because of her mother’s
insecurities and her many indiscretions. At least she knew what
not
to
do when it came to relationships.

Although,
she feared she was beginning to blur those lines where Zane was concerned.

“Are
you hungry?”

“No.”
Funny how her mother always tried to feed her. “Tell me more about Buttercup.”

Two
hours later, after V had learned all there was to learn about Labrador puppies,
and after her mother fed her a grilled cheese sandwich, V was on her way home.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, she actually didn’t look
forward to leaving her mother.

Something
had certainly changed in Regina since the last time she was there. To her
surprise, there hadn’t been any discussions of a new man in her life. Her
mother hadn’t even shared anything more about Patrick, the last man V had known
her to be with. From what it looked like, Regina was looking to be single for a
while. Buttercup had somehow managed to fill a void in Regina’s life that even
V hadn’t been able to fill. The thought was bittersweet.

Having
grown up without a father, V knew she had her own issues with men. She didn’t
have a father figure who’d spent any time with her, aside from perhaps one of
the men from her mother’s past. For the most part, V had learned what she
didn’t want to end up like. And now, she saw how much of a toll that life had
taken on her mother as well.

V
hadn’t brought up Zane, and she didn’t intend to. She didn’t want to hear any
of the warnings, not to mention, she honestly didn’t know what was going on
between her and Zane. She knew what she felt, but she also didn’t trust her own
feelings at the moment. Being with Zane was way too comfortable, and she knew
she was falling fast and hard for him. Something she’d promised herself she
wouldn’t do.

V
focused on the road, trying to eradicate all of those pesky emotions from her
brain. She didn’t need to relive the
what ifs,
and she damn sure didn’t need
to walk down the path of
what might be
anytime soon.

♂♀

By
the time Saturday evening rolled around, Zane was feeling a little more
relaxed, if not a tad out of sorts. The week had gone better than expected, and
there hadn’t been any more speed bumps; nothing more from the sheriff, nothing
about Jake being seen in town, and no awkward moments with V or Beau either.
Zane had resigned himself to talking to Beau about their incident; he just
hadn’t had the opportunity yet – not for lack of trying.

All
that behind him, he looked forward to spending a little time with his brothers
at Moonshiners, and if he were lucky, V would be there. She’d managed to keep
her distance on Friday, using the excuse that she and Zoey needed to play catch
up on the houses they missed on Thursday, and she also needed to make an
impromptu visit to her mother. She didn’t say why. Zane didn’t get the
impression she was avoiding him, but he hadn’t pushed her when she insisted she
was going to go home by herself that Thursday night either.

Thanks
to Travis, Zane knew there was someone watching her house, so he felt mildly
better about leaving her alone. If it hadn’t been for his fear of pushing her
away after what happened with Beau, Zane wouldn’t have thought twice about
insisting he stay with her.

That
didn’t stop him from calling her Thursday night though, and surprisingly, he
and V had had one of those teenage conversations where they both laid in their respective
beds and talked to each other for hours. It didn’t even contain phone sex, and
quite frankly, talking to V had been better than sex in any form. Ok, maybe not
any
form, but still, it helped ease the fact that he couldn’t be with
her.

She’d
been open with him about her visit with her mother, which according to her went
better than expected. Zane didn’t know Regina personally, nor had he ever
actually met her. The rumors in town were the only bits and pieces of the woman
he’d ever heard until V told him a few more intimate details. No matter what he
thought originally about V and her relationship with her mother, he knew for a
fact that she loved her. Unconditionally.

Having
been raised in a loving home with a supportive set of parents, Zane wasn’t
familiar with a family dynamic like V’s. Even Beau’s parents had been more like
his own, and they were just as welcoming to him in their home when he’d been
growing up as his parents were with Beau.

After
an unusually deep discussion, they had even been reluctant to hang up, which
was a strange feeling for Zane because he wasn’t much for talking. On the phone
or otherwise.

Walking
into Moonshiners a few minutes later, Zane glanced around the small, dimly lit country
bar and located his brothers right away. They were in the back surrounding one
of the pool tables, and, to his surprise, Travis and Brendon were playing each
other. Brendon always had trouble finding someone to play against him, but that
was because the man couldn’t be beat. Ever. It didn’t even matter how many
beers they poured down him, Brendon rarely missed.

Zane
thought back to V and the way she’d hustled him and Beau at pool the night
before. The woman had another hidden talent, and he wondered whether she’d be
willing to play Brendon. That would be a sight to see.

Tipping
his hat, acknowledging Kaleb and Sawyer when they glanced his way, Zane
silently greeted his brothers while he stopped at the bar to order a beer.

“It’s
about damn time you showed up,” Sawyer harassed him once he approached the
table, grabbing one of the stools in the corner and pulling it closer to Sawyer
and Kaleb who were sitting off to one side.

“Travis
got brave tonight, did he?” Zane asked, watching the two men at the pool table.

“Something’s
gotten into him,” Sawyer confirmed, tipping his beer bottle to his lips.

The
men played for ten more minutes before Brendon cleared the table again. A round
of applause erupted from around them as several of the bar patrons gathered to
watch the action, mostly women who were being entertained by Braydon while his
twin played pool. Brendon didn’t talk shit when he played, he just played, and
he drew attention from his talent alone. Travis, being Travis, didn’t say much,
but at the end of the game, he wasn’t a sore loser either. He clapped Brendon
on the back and then grabbed one of the stools beside Sawyer.

Beau
showed up twenty minutes later, adding to the ruckus they were causing in the
back. The group of them laughed and joked while razzing one another like usual.
Right before things got too out of hand, in walked Zoey and V. Zane’s mouth
literally went dry at the sight of V walking across the room toward him.

The
woman knew how to make an outfit look good, and that short jean skirt paired
with those cowboy boots damn near knocked him off of his stool. He was used to
seeing her in heels, but right now, she looked like a country angel and he was
ready to sneak her into the bathroom one more time just for the hell of it.

All
of the Walker brothers stood simultaneously, a response that was as natural as
breathing. Zoey walked up to Kaleb, pulling his head down to hers while she
planted a scorching kiss on him that was steamy enough to have Beau blushing
and turning away. V was a little more reluctant, but Zane solved that problem
when he pulled her close, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

“Damn
you look good.” He breathed against her ear. “Awww, hell, you smell good too.”

V
pulled back and looked at him, smiling from ear to ear. It was nice to see a
smile on her face. Most of the time, he didn’t know whether she would be
smiling or snarling. He’d take her either way, but when she smiled, the woman
glowed. And the way she grinned at him now was enough to drive a shock directly
to his heart. Zane had no idea what it was V had over him, but it was damn sure
something. Something he wasn’t willing to fight, and from the looks of it, she
wasn’t fighting it either.

When
V’s eyes darted to Beau, Zane noticed the heat burning in her gaze. It mirrored
the blush that tinted her cheeks a pretty pink. His best friend grinned back,
and Zane was pretty sure V knew what was going to go down in the very near
future. At least Zane hoped like hell it would be. Even though he’d been a
little nervous after the last time and what had happened, Zane was willing to
give it another shot.