Bryce straightened up. “Marty Klein? The agent?”
Marty visibly puffed up. “It’s good to know this isn’t the absolute ass end of civilization. I thought I was never going to find my way around. Why Trev had to come to this god-awful part of the world, I have no idea.”
“It’s his home,” Mouse pointed out. So far she wasn’t at all impressed with Marty Klein, but it was apparent that Bryce was.
“He knows that, Mouse. This man has negotiated some of the most lucrative deals in modern sports. Trev was his client. I assure you he knows Trev McNamara’s history. And his family. I’m Trev’s brother-in-law.” He put out his hand. The two men shook.
Mouse wondered if Bryce had just lost his mind. Everyone knew Bryce Hughes had been cursing his brother-in-law’s name since the day he’d been fired from the San Antonio Bandits. Mouse didn’t follow football, but she remembered that day. The whole town had been quiet, like a tragedy had happened. Bryce had been one of the men leading the talk about what a loser his brother-in-law turned out to be.
“Uh, yeah, Trev has a sister. I remember that. Sharon, yes. Lovely girl.” Marty touched his ear. He had one of those devices in his right ear that acted as a receiver for his cell phone. “Go for Marty. Yes. Absolutely. I’m in Texas right now. Sure as fuck, I’m going to get this deal done. You tell them he won’t come back for less than twenty million a season, and we’re going to do a media blitz. People, Sports Illustrated, the whole shebang. Cokehead quarterback makes a comeback. Yeah. We’ll be out there ASAP.”
Mouse stared. Trev hadn’t mentioned Marty was trying to recruit him back into the pros, but she was pretty sure that was a tremendously awful idea. “He’s got a job. Trev is working out at the O’Malley Ranch.”
Marty rolled his eyes. “Who the hell is she and why is she talking? It doesn’t matter. Where’s our boy? Did he tell you about the sweet deal I have cooking in LA?”
Bryce looked suitably impressed. “No, he didn’t mention that. They want to bring him in?”
“Didn’t you hear? Their QB tore his ACL and he’s on IR for the rest of the season.”
Mouse really wished the man would use words rather than letters. “Trev doesn’t want to see you.”
Bryce stepped in, smoothly pushing Mouse back. “Don’t worry about her. She’s nobody. I’m family. My office is right over here. I can set up a meeting with Trev.”
“Excellent.” Marty began to walk off with Bryce. “You seem like a man who knows what he’s doing. Maybe you can help me out. Tell me something. Is there anyone in this town who can hook me up?”
Bryce looked back, his eyes narrowing. He said something to Marty, but he whispered it. Mouse watched them walk away and hoped that Bryce wasn’t going to try to find some girl dumb enough to sleep with that nasty man. She was going to have to tell Trev to avoid Bryce for a while.
“Hey, you weren’t in the bank. I popped in, but they said you were already gone. I thought stuff like that took a long time.” Bo walked up, his boots resounding against the pavement. His dark-blond hair was curling over his shirt collar. He was so beautiful, but in a different way than Trev. His hand came out to touch her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
And he’d always been able to read her when he bothered to try. “I didn’t get the loan.”
She tensed a bit. Bo hadn’t wanted her to buy the house in the first place. He would probably tell her it was for the best and now she could sell the land to a developer and move someplace safer and way more boring.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Bo pulled her against his chest right there in the middle of Main Street. He wrapped his arms around her. “I know what that meant to you.”
She froze for a moment. He usually kept his affectionate nature private. It was sweet to be held by him, something she’d dreamed of a thousand times. He still smelled like the soap from the shower he’d insisted on taking before they left for town. His well-worn cotton shirt was soft against her cheek, but his chest was all muscle. After a moment, she let herself sink into him. The tears were back. She couldn’t hold them off when he was giving her a place to cry.
“I don’t know what to do. They said I don’t qualify. I have to have that money. I can’t fix up the house without it.”
His hand found her hair. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll find another bank. Hell, Aidan knows lots of people with money. You’ll see, it’s going to be okay. Now, come on, dry those tears and let’s go get some pie. I was talking to Jerry at the feed store, and he said Patty had pecan today.”
She loved pecan pie.
Relief washed over her as Bo began to lead her toward the diner. She’d been terrified that Bo would be angry that she was seeing Trev. She’d played it off as nothing, but she’d been scared he would turn away.
Instead, he opened the door for her and started to ask her about her plans. He seemed interested for the first time. Bo ordered for them both and then gave her his full attention. He was quieter than she’d ever seen him before. Well, except for that night when she’d had to find her way to Austin to get him. He’d been quieter then. He hadn’t talked for days. She didn’t like to think about that night.
“Hey,” Bo said, leaning over and putting a hand over hers. “It’s going to be okay, you know. We’ll find a way to get your house fixed up. Tell me something, is that boyfriend of yours going to be worth anything beyond hauling you into bathrooms in the middle of the day? Does he know anything about home repair?”
Mouse flushed, but Bo had said the words with no accusation in his tone, just a sad smile on his face. Mouse shook her head. “He told me to buy a book.”
Bo sighed. “We’re in trouble. Well, show me your plans. Let’s see how deeply screwed we are.”
He gave her that smile that lit up her world and reminded her of all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. He was a sunny presence. He always made her laugh, and deep down, he understood her.
Trev was her lover, but she would miss Bo. She would miss him so much.
She showed him her list, and by the time they were done, she felt better.
She would find a way. She would fix her house, and she would keep Trev and Bo in her life. She needed them.
An hour later, Mouse had a small coffeemaker, some filters, and a pound of French roast in hand as she got out of Bo’s truck and began to walk into her house. Despite the earlier problems, she was feeling unaccountably cheerful, and she knew why. Bo. She loved to be with him. She loved the way he teased her and got her to smile even when she was sad.
“Thanks,” she said as he hopped out of the truck.
“You’re welcome. You know I’ll always help you out. No matter what happens with the guy you’re dating.”
She hadn’t really known it. Somewhere deep inside she thought he would go away someday. And why? He’d never gone away before. He hadn’t exactly been with her, but he’d never let her down when she called. “Did you really get out of bed with Darla Jackson on prom night to come pick me up when my bike was stolen?”
She’d never asked. She’d heard the rumors, but she’d always thought they were made-up stories. No way did a guy give up sleeping with the head cheerleader to pick up a friend and then proceed to spend the rest of the night on her couch watching sitcoms and eating popcorn.
“She was mighty pissed with me. I don’t think she spoke to me the rest of the school year, and she left for Dallas after that.” His unspoken words were that so many of their classmates had left. So many friends had gone and found lives elsewhere.
“Why would you do that?”