Hotter than Texas (Pecan Creek) - By Tina Leonard Page 0,100
“I’d do it for you any time, Jake.”
That was his cue to head along. “See ya, Averie.” He hurried faster, hearing the typical tunes that signaled the parade’s start.
“Jake!”
He saw a Southern-belle-gloved hand waving at him wildly. Lucy’s face appeared over the side of a float that seemed sprung from the red-light district. Red glitter, red poles from which shot waving red streamers, hot-red lip prints all over the base of the float made the float an eye-catcher in the line of more demure, been-there-done-that floats. Sugar’s and Lucy’s short skirts also drew quite the crowd of whistling men, although it seemed to be all in good fun. The Cassavechias threw candy to the kids in the crowd and handed out peppermint candy canes to those nearer them. “Hi, Lucy,” Jake said, as he finally reached the float.
“Surprise, Jake!” Lucy exclaimed.
That was the understatement of the year. Jake stared at the Cassavechia entourage. Bobby German had stationed himself near the front of the float, keeping an eye on the Cassavechias, which Jake thought was prudent given the length of Lucy’s skirt, but also smart as hell due to the reporters he could see snapping away. Lassiter was at the back, his gaze on Maggie, who walked nearby, greeting the visitors to Pecan Creek who’d brought strollers of children. Everyone wanted to shake the spangly mayor’s hand, which wasn’t hard to understand. Everybody loved Maggie.
“Yeah. Surprise,” Jake said. “I am surprised. Great float.”
She took his hand, pulled him up on the float. “Ride with us.”
He looked at Sugar, who hadn’t realized he was there yet. She leaned over the side of the float, her skirt giving him a heart attack and a hard-on as she shook hands with babies and children. “I might ride a bit of the way.”
If for no other reason than to hold off the riot that was bound to happen. The Cassavechias had a good double-portion of parade-goers clustered around their float than other floats had drawn—and since they were new to town, all their fans were mostly out-of-towners. Jake gulped. “Yeah. I’ll ride with you.”
Lucy grinned. “Bobby said you would.”
He glanced back at his friend, who grinned at him with a knowing expression.
“Killer, huh?” Bobby said to him.
“Right in the heart,” Jake said. He looked back at Sugar’s skirt, and all the long leg and sweet ass curve peeking out underneath. She turned, catching him gawking.
“Hi, Jake.” She came over, handed him a red-hot candy ball from her faux-fur-trimmed red bag of candy. He took it because she offered it, and he wasn’t ever going to say no to anything she wanted to give him. “I hope you’re not mad.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I couldn’t tell you. You didn’t want us to launch today, and I understood that. But we still wanted to be part of Pecan Creek.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“Did you see the side of the float?”
“No.” He shook his head, thinking that his life was going to be full of surprises, full of Sugar, if he played his cards right. Maybe he’d get it right this time. She’d give him a heart attack eventually, but he’d bribe the sheriff and the doc to keep some juice and paddles nearby to shock him back to life so he could keep enjoying the crazy ride she gave him. “I was too busy looking at your…at the theme.”
Lucy turned around at that moment. “Jake, today is the day!”
He leaned back, propping his arms on the side of the float, deciding to take it all in stride. The shocks really weren’t going to kill him, not when the excitement was so much fun. “What day?”
“The big reveal.” She grinned, a devilish elf taunting him. Maybe, maybe one day an aunt to his children, which was a pretty heavy thought.
His children would love Aunt Lucy. They’d adore Grandma Maggie too.
“What big reveal?” he asked, pretty sure he knew, but with a Cassavechia, clarification was always good.
“The new décor,” she said, as if he should have known. “At two o’clock, everyone is invited to tour the house.”
Jake blinked. “Tour?”
Lucy nodded, delighted. “The phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting a tour, to spend the night, to see where the old geezer died, to meet Sugar and me and Maggie. I told them there was a once-in-a-lifetime tour at two o’clock, the only one there would ever be, and we’re charging three dollars a head. Kel, Evert and Bobby are serving as ticket sellers and guard dogs. And I’m