“Maybe later,” Zane mumbled before returning to park his ass on the love seat, where he caught McKenna’s eye.
Her right eyebrow rose. Could he make a quick exit while Campbell was changing? No. He wasn’t a coward and wouldn’t leave McKenna to weather the storm.
“Campbell, you best hurry if you want Zane to see you in the dress he chose. He has a conference call at two, and it’s one forty-five,” McKenna said.
He resisted the urge to stare at McKenna in shock. How had she known he’d reached his limit? “Thanks for reminding me. I’d forgotten about it.”
A second later, Campbell popped out from behind the screen and flounced over. She twirled and bounced in front of him while he plastered a smile on his face, pretended to give a flip, and said she looked great. He stood to go, but before he could scoot out, she grabbed his arm.
“Before you go, I want to ask you to join me at the Horseshoe tonight. There’s a great band playing. We can have margaritas, dance, and take it from there.”
No way. Not unless he lost everything north of his ears. He knew a woman bent on finding a man to fix her life, and Campbell had pegged him as her ticket to California.
“I’d love to, but McKenna and I are working on the budget tonight,” he said, straight-faced without a twinge of guilt.
“Do you have to? It can’t wait?” Campbell pouted and rubbed her hand over his arm. She should know her practiced feminine wiles wouldn’t work on him. “We could have fun like we used to.”
“We can’t put it off, can we, McKenna?”
“We do have to work, but the budget’s tomorrow. Tonight, we’re meeting Grace and AJ at the Horseshoe to help negotiate with the band for their reception.”
Why would she change his excuse for another? No matter. He was adaptable and one alibi was as good as another.
“That’s right. I got my days confused.” Then he said it had been good to see Campbell and Susannah and scurried out fast as he could.
As he closed the door behind him, he wondered what McKenna backing him up would cost him. Probably a good chunk of his hide.
*
After Susannah andCampbell left, McKenna stepped outside to cool off. The tranquility of the sprawling land around her, the melodic songs of cardinals and mockingbirds singing above her in decades-old trees failed to dampen her ire. The strain and stress of remaining calm and collected during the dress fiasco swamped her. Handling an entitled bride wasn’t a big deal, and while Campbell’s inconsiderate behavior annoyed her, McKenna had dealt with self-centered maids of honor before, too.
What left her fuming was Zane’s behavior. How dare he horn in? If he hadn’t been there, dealing with Campbell would’ve been simple.
Despite all the problems, pride filled McKenna over how she’d held together with Susannah leaving unaware how upset she’d been. Not even Campbell arguing over McKenna’s insistence she call someone to drive her car home made her to lose her cool.
I’m fine. I can handle my liquor. I don’t need a plain-Jane-nobody telling me what to do.
McKenna massaged her temples trying to ease her budding headache. Lord help her during the reception if today was an example of Campbell’s behavior. However, knowing the potential for difficulties allowed McKenna to short circuit them. Returning to the office, she opened a new document entitledStrategies to Deal with MoHand started typing. After compiling a healthy list, she saved the file to her Timmons wedding folder and turned her attention to her bigger problem. Zane.
Today, she’d been lucky with the outcome, but the situation could’ve morphed into a major disaster. Her anger reignited. When Campbell asked Zane to stay, he should’ve said an appointment to select a bridesmaid dress wasn’t the appropriate place for getting reacquainted. Instead, when Campbell batted her eyes, pouted, and snuggled against him, he’d folded like a tent in a Texas thunderstorm. Then, worse, he’d let her inappropriate behavior escalate to groping.
McKenna intended to make it clear amorous interactions such as happened today would not be repeated. Not while she worked for Lucky Stars Weddings. She had career plans, and no one would put those at risk. Unable to bear her pent-up exasperation and refusing to let her ire stew and fester, she stormed outside again to track down Zane.
Heading to the large, main ranch house, McKenna rang the bell. When the door opened, a tall, slender woman with high cheekbones and large turquoise eyes answered. Her golden blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her ample curves strained against her scrubs top, giving the cartoon dogs and wordswoofanddog loverodd, misshapen appearances.
While McKenna would have hired a mature nurse with whom Ginny would have more in common, someone she could chat with, who could be a companion, Zane’s choice looked as if she was still in high school.
After introducing herself, Amber said if she was here to see Ginny, she was with her physical therapist.
“Actually, I’m looking for Zane. Is he here?”
“He’s cleaning stalls in the old barn,” Amber said, referring to Lucky Stars original barn which housed the horses, both personal and those used for couples to arrive on horseback or via a carriage. A big smile spilled across the young woman’s face, and her eyes turned dreamy. “Zane is fabulous. How many grandkids would help out like he is? My cousins sure wouldn’t move back here for our grandma, and I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done for me.”
Of course, Amber thought Zane wasfabulous. Had he bothered to check her qualifications and references? Or had the pretty blonde cozied up against him, heaped him with praise during the interview, and that was all she needed to get the job?
“Most people wouldn’t hire someone straight out of nursing school to care for Ginny. They’d want someone closer to her age with more experience. But Zane knew how much I needed the money with my daddy’s Parkinson’s getting so bad since Mama died and my younger brother and sister still at home. My job at the Horseshoe doesn’t pay all the bills. With the experience from working with Ginny, it’ll be easier to get a permanent nursing job.”
A twinge of guilt shot through McKenna. Okay, so she’d jumped far enough to give the state long-jump champ a challenge. There had been more to Zane’s decision than simply Amber’s looks, but that failed to excuse his behavior with Campbell.
