“Can I get you anything to drink?”
Ronnie shook her head. “Thanks for letting me crash here.” She pointed at the empty plate on Penelope’s desk. “The sandwich was delicious and your lemon meringue pie is to die for. Where did you learn to bake like that?”
“Thanks. I went to culinary school in San Francisco.”
“Then what are you doing in Yuccaville?”
“Shortly after I graduated, my mom fell and hurt her hip, so I came home to help.”
“Where was Grady at the time?”
“In hell. It was right after Elizabeth pulled him through the wringer backward and then left him strung out to dry in front of the rest of the town.”
There was no love in Penny’s tone, making Ronnie like her even more.
“I had big pastry chef dreams at first, but over the last few years I’ve come to realize that being here with my family makes me happy. I’d have missed them after a while. And now I have this place and get to bake whatever I want each day. What more could I ask for?”
“You’re lucky.” Ronnie would love to switch places with Penny. Although she couldn’t bake for shit and would probably eat all of the profits. “Grady has nothing but kind things to say about you.”
“He better not say anything mean,” Penny said with a grin. “Or I’ll give him a rose garden on his arm that will make him cry like a little girl.” She looked Ronnie up and down. “How come my brother hasn’t brought you around to meet our mom or any other family members yet?”
That was Ronnie’s fault. She’d resisted his invitations to meet his family every time, telling him that she was happy to get to know his aunt Millie and would prefer to ease into the rest. In reality, she hadn’t figured she’d last long enough to merit a family visit, what with Ronnie’s sordid past bubbling up into Grady’s life like acid indigestion every week or so. She’d guarded her heart as much as she could, but the foolish organ had still fallen head over heels for him.
“I sort of have a not-so-clean-and-shiny history,” Ronnie said, grimacing.
“So what.”
“I wasn’t sure how your family would take to Grady dating someone with a tattered past.”
And a threadbare present.
And a frayed future.
Penny crossed her arms. “We’re not perfect, you know.”
“Yeah, but—”
“You’ve met Aunt Millie.”
“Sure, but underneath the white collar crime ring she wears is a big ol’ sweetheart.”
Penny laughed. “Oh boy, it’s no wonder Aunt Millie crows at the sun about you. I’m sure you’ve heard about our niece, Mindy Lou, too.”
Yeah, and then some. The last Ronnie knew, Mindy Lou was having kinky motel sex with Ruby’s ex. Small town drama had Hollywood beat by far. “Mindy is just looking for someone to fill the hole in her heart.”
“That’s one way of looking at it. Unfortunately, the rest of this town doesn’t agree with your point of view.”
“Screw what other people think.” As far as she was concerned, Mindy Lou wasn’t in much of a different situation than Ronnie. They’d both been hurt by ex-lovers and were trying to figure out who they were these days.
“Our family has plenty of dirty laundry, too,” Penny said. “To be blunt, I’m happy that Grady’s finally quit the monkhood life. I thought he’d given up on the female sex entirely after Elizabeth’s bullshit.”
Ronnie thought of the nights she’d spent in Grady’s bed. He was actually quite far from monkhood these days.
“I’m nuts about your brother,” she told Penny.
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ in there?”
“But your brother deserves a woman who will make the community proud.”
“No, my brother deserves a woman who will love him through thick and thin, and not try to manipulate him at every turn.”
“I’m not into running anyone else’s life,” Ronnie said. “Hell, I have trouble handling my own most days.”
Penny laughed. “I like you, Veronica. I’ve noticed a change in my brother since he’s started dating you. A good change. You make him happy.”
If Penny knew how much baggage Ronnie carried into the relationship that Grady was now shouldering, too, she might feel different.
She smiled in spite of her misgivings. “I hope so. And please, call me Ronnie. Grady’s the only one who insists on using my full name.” Well, Grady and Lyle, the sleazebag.
“Tell me something, Ronnie.” Penny crossed her arms, her eyes taking on that same intense stare her brother used during his informal interrogations both in and out of the bedroom.
“What?”
“Now that you’re sleeping with the sheriff of Cholla County, why do you have a damned FBI spook haunting you day and night, too?”
Chapter Fifteen
Claire was up to no good. Mac could tell by the way she wouldn’t hold his stare tonight, as if he might see something in her eyes that answered the question in his.
He stood behind the bar at The Shaft while the din of conversation, clink of glasses, howls of laughter, and throbs of classic rock ebbed and flowed around him. In the midst of pouring drinks and chatting with Coop, he kept an eye on Claire. He would rather have stayed home with her tonight, locked up safe and sound, but she would have none of that.
“Is this place always busy or is it just the holidays?” Coop asked him, finishing off his whiskey.
“It’s pretty hectic most nights. Butch has built up quite a clientele, especially since he expanded the menu. The upsurge over at the RV park has helped, too.”
Butch had closed the kitchen around nine, but most of the partiers were sticking around to bring in the New Year anyway, keeping Mac hopping most of the time. Claire, Ronnie, Kate, and Natalie were all making sure glasses stayed full while Butch bussed the tables and visited with
