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Still, for the millionth time, she wished she could have a real family. All her life, she’d dreamed of having a dad who mowed the lawn and called her some kind of lame pet name, and a mom who didn’t get drunk and keep losing jobs and having sex with everybody. All of them would live in a real house, not ones you rented and got evicted from. She’d be able to take advanced classes without everybody making fun of her and hang out with nice kids, not just burn-outs. She could be in some clubs, and sing in the choir, and boys who didn’t do drugs would like her. That’s what she wanted.
She stabbed angrily at the bedspread with the end of her finger. She wasn’t going to get what she wanted, and there was no use pretending she would. Right now, she had to think about her sister, and that meant she needed to get Jorik and Nell together. It wouldn’t be easy because they were both smart, but Lucy figured she was smarter. All she had to do was push them in the right direction.
And try to keep them from getting to Iowa too soon.
Button waited until they were in Indiana before she fell apart. This time Mat didn’t have to be convinced to stop. They’d left West Virginia and Ohio behind them, Mabel hadn’t broken down again, and he was feeling more optimistic about actually making it to Iowa.
He drove into the small campground they’d chosen for the night and smiled at the variety of barnyard noises coming from behind him as Nell tried to appease the baby. She was something, smart and funny. But it was her subtle sexiness that kept sending a whole filmstrip of X-rated images flashing through his mind.
All afternoon he’d been driving in a haze of lust. Every time she crossed those too-slender legs, let a sandal dangle from her toes, brushed her arm against him, he felt as if he were going to explode. The mystery lady might not have completely accepted it yet, but she was about to take herself a lover. And if he had anything to say about it—which he damn well did—she was going to take that lover tonight.
It would be tricky since they were sharing a small space with two kids, but the door at the back had a lock on it, and both girls seemed to be sound sleepers. It wasn’t an ideal solution—he wanted to make her scream—but he couldn’t wait any longer.
As they bumped along the gravel road to the campsite, he wondered how long those flawless upper-crust manners would last in bed. If only they could have some real privacy . . . The small part of his brain that was still functioning rationally warned him to wait, but some predatory instinct told him he needed to put his mark on her as soon as possible.
Put his mark on her? Where had that idea come from? If he weren’t careful, he’d be dragging her into the trees by her hair. He smiled as he imagined how she’d react to that, then maneuvered Mabel into their campsite and turned off the ignition.
The Demon was starting to hiccup from screaming, and Nell rushed to unfasten her from the car seat. Her cheeks were flushed from all the animal noises, and as she leaned forward, he could see the outline of her breasts falling against the soft cotton top. He was in bad need of fresh air.
He stepped outside, even though he knew he’d have to come right back in to settle the baby down himself. As he looked around, he congratulated himself on choosing a small campground instead of one of those big commercial ones. Here they’d have some privacy.
Just then, a chubby woman in a floral print top, bright blue shorts, and plaid sneakers came charging toward him, a pair of reading glasses bobbing on a multicolored chain around her neck. She was trailed by a thin man dapperly dressed in neatly pressed navy shorts, a plaid sports shirt, black socks, and brown leather sandals.
“Hi, there!” the woman trilled. “We’re the Waynes from Fort Wayne. I’m Bertis, and this is my husband Charlie. We were hoping a nice young family would camp next to us.”
Mat felt all his plans for solitude and quiet seduction crumbling around him.
“Your little one seems to be kicking up in there,” Charlie said. “Our granddaughter used to scream like that, but Bertis here could always make her stop, isn’t that right, Bertis? Bring that baby out here and let Grandma settle her down.”
At that moment Nell emerged with Button twisting in her arms and screaming away at the top of her lungs. Her cheeks were wet, her rosy mouth crumpled in outrage.
“I thought maybe some fresh air would—” Nell broke off as she saw the Waynes.
“Hi, there, honey.” Bertis went through the introductions again, then slipped on her glasses and reached for Button. “Let me have her. I’ll calm her down.”
No way was Mat letting a stranger
get her hands on the Demon, and he whipped her out of Nell’s arms before the other woman could touch her. “Pipe down, brat.”
A 747 could have landed on her bottom lip, but she stopped howling.
“That’s better.”
Her bottom lip retracted. She hiccuped and gave him an injured pout, the kind that suggested she expected a diamond bracelet or, at the very least, a fur jacket, as a make-up present.
“Will you look at that? You have a way with that little girl, now, don’t you? It’s just not fair.” Bertis gave Nell a conspiratorial look. “We go to all the trouble of giving birth to them, then they turn to their daddies.”
“I didn’t give birth to her,” Nell said. “I’m—”
“Mommy? Daddy? Thank you so much for that wonderful book you bought me. It was really educational.”
He looked up to see Lucy step out of the motor home, her demure expression completely at odds with her hooker makeup. “Hi, I’m Lucy Jorik.”
Mat winced. He still couldn’t believe Sandy had given her kids his last name.
“This is my dad Mat and my mom Nell and our baby Button. Isn’t she cute? They were going to get a divorce because my father was having an affair with my best friend, but then they got back together, and Button was their make-up present.”
Mat looked at Nell. “I think I’m going to hurl.”
