Читать книгу That Wild Cowboy - Lenora Worth, Rachel Hauck - Страница 12

CHAPTER FOUR

VICTORIA DID A double take. “Excuse me?”

“Turn on that little machine,” Clint replied, pointing to her handheld. “Get this on tape, darlin’.” Then his voice grew louder. “Because this is my life now.”

All of the women stopped talking and stared at Victoria.

“What did you say?” the oldest one asked, giving Clint a sharply focused, brilliant gray-eyed appraisal.

“Mama, this is Victoria Calhoun. From TRN. She works on that show y’all like to watch. Cowboys, Cadillacs and—”

“Cowboys,” the fashion plate said, her angry frown turning to a fascinated smile. She went into instant star mode. “Really?”

“Really,” Victoria replied, wondering how his entire family had turned out to be females. And thinking this explained a lot about the man. He was obviously spoiled and used to being pampered with so many women around.

“I love that show,” the starlet woman replied, her attention now centered on Victoria. “But why on earth are you here?”

“She’s probably filming us,” the young rebel replied, her eyes a lot like Clint’s mother’s. “Did you get all of that? Are you gonna put that on television?” She turned in a panic. “I will die of embarrassment. I so don’t want anyone to see that on TV. Uncle Clint?”

“I haven’t filmed anything yet,” Victoria replied in a calm voice. “I came out a few days ago, scouting, and took a few candid shots. But...Mr. Griffin was the only one here.”

He gave her a look that said, “Right,” but he didn’t call her out on getting the leggy blonde on tape because if he said anything he’d have to confess to having a leggy blonde here. “That’s true,” he said. “And if you’ll all come in the house, I’ll explain everything.”

Victoria took that as her invitation to go inside with them. Had he made a decision? Probably not, since he hadn’t bothered to tell his family...or her...about it.

The older-looking sister in the casual outfit gave Victoria a look that suggested she hated this idea and she wasn’t going to budge. “Somebody go and check on the steaks,” she said, waiting for Victoria to get ahead of her in the procession. “I think we need to set an extra plate for dinner.”

“No, I couldn’t—”

“I insist,” Clint’s mother said.

Victoria knew that motherly tone. No arguments.

“I’m Bitsy,” the silver-haired lady continued. She guided Victoria toward the back of the house. “We’re having supper out on the porch by the pool. Do you eat meat?”

Stunned, Victoria nodded. “This is Texas, right?”

Bitsy chuckled, gave her son a quick glance. “Last time I checked. But my granddaughter—the one we call Tater—has decided she’s a vegan. So I always ask.”

Polite and elegant. Manners. This woman was a true Texas lady. A society dame, Victoria thought. What a nice contrast to Clint and his bad-boy ways. But why were they both here together?

* * *

CLINT SAT AT the head of the long pine table and took in the women surrounding him. How did a man escape such a sweet trap? He turned to Victoria, conscious of her quiet reserve. She observed people and watched the exchange of comments, criticisms and contradictions that was dinner at the Sunset Star. What was she thinking? That she needed to run as fast as her legs would carry her? Or that this was certainly fodder for her show?

He decided to ask her. “So, you think we could entertain people with our little family dynamic?”

Her green eyes locked horns with him. “Oh, yes. You have an interesting family dynamic.”

He chuckled, drained his iced tea. “We ain’t the Kardashians, darlin’, but we love each other.”

He saw the hint of admiration in her eyes. “I can see that, I think. But all of this chaos makes for good television.”

“Uh-huh.” Chaos, hormones, mood swings and his man-view. Couple that with all the mistakes he’d made and how his family clung to those mistakes like a rodeo pro clinging to a bucking bronco and well, who wouldn’t want to see that on television? That would make for great entertainment. But did he really want to reduce his family to ridicule and embarrassment just to make a buck or two? Hey, that was what this popular show was all about and his family was kind of used to it anyway.

Victoria perked up. “Have you decided to accept our offer?”

“I’ve been waiting to hear back from you on that account.”

She gave him a surprised frown. “We were waiting to hear back from your lawyers—”

“Forget the lawyers. This is my decision.”

“Well, I’m here now and we can decide, once and for all.”

“Did you come all the way out here to pin me down?”

“Yes, I did. My boss wasn’t happy with me the other day.”

“He can’t blame you. We have a whole passel of lawyers and one greedy manager looking into the matter but I told them to hold off. So this is my decision and my fault if I decide not to participate. Which I haven’t decided. Yet.”

“So you are interested?”

“Maybe.” He nodded toward his mother at the other end of the table. “But ultimately it will be up to her and the rest of them.”

“And here I thought you were the master of your domain.”

“An illusion. I’m just the dog-and-pony show.”

“Having family here will add to the drama of the show.”

“Maybe. We do have lots of drama around here. But I’m not so sure I want to put my family through anything that will make them uncomfortable. Or rather, anything more.”

Her disappointed look didn’t surprise him. Maybe she was just like everyone else. Greedy and needy and clueless about leaving a trail of stepped-on people behind her. Maybe he was the same way himself.

She leaned forward. “When we first thought of you, we didn’t know you had family here. I was under the impression you lived alone in this big house.”

He fingered the condensation on his glass. “I did for a while. The old family home is on the other side of the property. My folks lived there for many years. Then my daddy passed and my sister got a divorce and my other sister lost her job and...”

“You took them all in?”

“They kinda came one at a time. Mama didn’t really want to move into this house, so she stays out in the old place by the pond, but we see her just about every day. Denise didn’t want to move in but after her divorce, well, she couldn’t afford her own overblown home. So I finally convinced her by asking her to help me out around here. She’s the ranch manager but she does her own thing on the side. She has an online business selling clothes. The latest is Susie. She lost her high-fashion job in California, even though she’d tell you she was a struggling actress, so she came home for a visit about a month ago and...she stayed.” He grinned and lowered his voice. “But, bless her heart, she still thinks like a Californian.”

Victoria’s smile indicated she enjoyed bantering with the best of them. “And dresses like one, too.”

“Yep. She wants to be a star but she was forced to find a real job between auditions and bit parts. Rodeo Drive—not quite my kind of rodeo, but it paid the bills until the owner up and shut everything down.”

From down the table, his mother tapped a spoon on her glass. “Clint, are you going to explain about this television show or do I have to read about it in the local paper?”

He let go of Victoria’s gaze and looked at his mother. Bitsy Griffin hated scandal of any kind. She valued her privacy so much, she’d rather stay in that old farmhouse than stay in the nice room he’d fixed up for her upstairs. So what made him think she’d ever agree to a television crew filming her every move? And his every scandal?

Denny glared at him, always in perpetual distrust of any man, especially her playboy brother, who’d introduced her to her playboy husband, who’d become her ex-husband but was still very much a playboy. Too many issues with that one.

“Let me lay it out on the table,” he said, holding his breath and bracing for a storm of catty protests. “Ms. Calhoun came out here the other day as a representative of the show and offered me a contract to appear in several episodes of the show. We talked about the offer and discussed the pay. I told her I’d have to think about it.”

“And it never occurred to you to tell us this?” Denny asked, fire burning through her eyes.

“I’m telling you now,” he replied, a heavy fatigue drawing him down. “I never agreed to have any of you on the show anyway. If I decide to do this that doesn’t mean any of you have to participate.”

“Did you invite her to come and explain to us?” Susie asked, her long nails tapping on the table, her brown eyes full of interest.

“No, he didn’t,” Victoria said, sitting up in her chair. “I came back to see what he’d decided and to answer any questions he might still have. I didn’t know...about all of you.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Denny said, her tone bordering on hostile. “My brother likes to keep us all a secret. Gives him more of a spotlight.”

“Look,” Clint said, holding out a hand in defense. “I’m sorry for not telling y’all. That’s because I had to think long and hard about this before I said anything. I know how rumors get started, some of them right here at this table.”

That quieted everyone.

“Would we have cameras around twenty-four hours a day?” his mother asked, her tone caught between interest and exasperation.

“No,” Victoria answered. “We’d frame each episode. That means we’d plan it out to tape show segments at a certain time, say for an event such as this. But we won’t be here every day, all day.” She glanced around the table. “We’d do a few episodes and see how it goes.”

Clint nodded at her, impressed with her calm, professional tone.

“What do you expect from us?” Denny asked, still glaring.

Instead of turning snarky, Victoria smiled. “Our viewers love Texas. They want to see how a real cowboy lives. You know, the horses, the homes, the cattle. Oil and everything that entails. The saying that everything is bigger in Texas pretty much sums up this show. We like to show off our stars.”

Denny didn’t look happy. “So you’d be exploiting us?”

Clint gave her a warning look. Denny sent back a daring look.

“We don’t want to exploit anyone,” Victoria replied. “But we do want good ratings. Good ratings mean better sponsors and more dollars and not getting canceled. So I get to keep my job.”

Susie shot Clint a greedy glance. His ambitious little sister would be all over this like a duck on a June bug. “Well, I am unemployed right now and I do have some acting experience. I’m available.”

“We haven’t reached that part,” Clint retorted. “And you know I’ll take care of you while you’re looking for work.”

“I don’t want to be taken care of,” his sister said on a hiss of breath. “I can take care of myself. But I would benefit from being featured in this show.” She shifted her gaze to Victoria. “Of course, I don’t come cheap.”

“Susan,” her mother said, a hand on her daughter’s arm, “let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is your brother’s house, but we all have a say in this since we live on the property.”

“It’s your property, Mama,” Denny said. “He could have asked before he allowed these people out here.”

“He didn’t allow anything,” Victoria said. “I came looking for him because he didn’t return my calls.”

“And why exactly did the powers-that-be send you?” Denny asked, a killer glare in her brown eyes.

Victoria didn’t skip a beat. “My boss is Samuel Murray and he is both the producer and director of Cowboys, Cadillacs and Cowboys. He sent me—his production assistant and story producer—because I’ve done every job on the show from camera work to hair and makeup to just being a gofer for food and drinks. He trusts me to scout out people who will be able to handle being on a reality show.”

For the first time since her hissy fit earlier, Tater spoke up. “And do you think we’re those kind of people?”

Victoria shot Clint a glance that reassured him and terrified him. “Yes. Yes, I certainly do.”

* * *

“I’LL WALK YOU to your car,” Clint told Victoria after they’d cleared away the dinner dishes.

They were alone now and at least she’d survived the scrutiny of his overly protective family. They’d all listened, intrigued and repulsed in turn, and she believed they were curious enough to want to try this. Susie obviously wanted to be a part of things and was ready to sign tonight. Denny refused to even discuss it. But Victoria wasn’t sure she’d convinced his mother, or Tater for that matter, to open up their lives to the world. And honestly, Victoria couldn’t blame them. There was a reason she stayed on the other side of the camera.

“Thanks,” she told him now, putting her guilt and her own reservations out of her mind. “That was a great dinner.”

His self-deprecating smile sizzled with charm. “I almost burned the steak.”

“The steak was just right but I was talking about the undercurrents around the table.”

“Oh, I see. You’d like to get that on the screen?”

“That’s the kind of family interaction we dream about getting on TV.”

“Keep dreaming then, darlin’.” He strolled her to her car then leaned back against it to stare down at her. “I don’t think my girls are quite ready for prime time.”

Victoria didn’t want to lose this chance, especially after meeting his family. At first, she’d only been intent on showing Clint Griffin in his worst light because she wanted to reveal him for the player he’d always been. She’d wanted nothing more than to expose his shenanigans to the world because viewers loved to see others in misery. But she had a gut feeling that showing him interacting with all of his female relatives would send a new message and make the ratings skyrocket. Women loved a man who knew how to handle women. It was a bit sexist but true. Clint’s handling of his many girlfriends would contrast nicely with how he interacted with his family. Plus, everyone loved watching notorious people having meltdowns. It was a sad paradox, but it was there. She had every reason to want to cash in on that.

“What can I do to convince you?”

“I’m almost in,” he said, nodding. “But even before you showed up tonight, I was gonna explain it to all of them and ask them to let me work around them—not include them, unless they agreed to it.”

“Susie seems interested,” she pointed out. “And she does have an impressive acting résumé from what she told me.”

“Yes, that and an ego the size of our great state,” he said on a guarded chuckle. “I’ll have to think about bringing her in but she just might work out and she does need some means of an income.”

“We could start with you,” Victoria replied. “We’d just coordinate scenes with you, doing your thing. Nothing too hard. Then we’d ease into the family stuff.”

“Me?” He puffed up. “Well, that’s what you came for, right?”

Right. But she was getting more than she bargained for. Just being in the same space with him upped her ante and made her have interesting, dangerous daydreams. “You don’t seem too worried, either way. Your picture is in the papers a lot and you make the local news on a weekly basis. This would just be another day at work for you.”

“With one infraction or another, yep.”

She tried another tactic. “Maybe you don’t want people to know that you’re really a decent man who’s trying to hold his family together, a man who takes in his sister and niece because they’re going through a rough patch. A man who takes in his other unemployed sister to save her pride. Or a man who makes sure his widowed mother has a home when she needs a place to get away and be by herself.”

“You got all of that from dinner?”

Victoria couldn’t deny what she’d seen with her own eyes. “I got all of that from watching you and your family and asking you questions. I think the viewers would be surprised, too.”

His gray eyes turned to silver and swept over her with a liquid heat. “Well, I like to surprise people.”

She wondered about that while she tried to shield herself from that predatory gaze. “So, what if we just go with taping you first and then see how everyone else feels?”

“How ’bout I think it over and call you tomorrow?”

Victoria needed more than that. She’d like to march triumphantly into Samuel’s office first thing in the morning and tell him she’d nabbed the infamous Clint Griffin for their show. But that would have to wait. “Okay. Call me early. I have a busy day tomorrow.”

“I have your card,” he replied. “I’ll get back to you.”

How many times had she heard that from a man?

Victoria left knowing she’d never see him again unless she subscribed to all the papers and magazines in town. He’d go on being him and she’d miss out on getting it all down on tape.

A shame, too. She really liked his mother.