Hot to Trot (Dancing in Texas #5)

Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

S CARLET SHIFTED THE picnic basket into the crook of her elbow and looked for her sister and Henry among the sea of blankets, lawn chairs, and tailgate tents.

"Scarlet!" She heard her sister's voice but could not locate her. She craned her head and felt very un-Scarlet like. Damn. No New Yorker showed up to a tiny park and acted lost. Hell to the no. But she didn't feel very New Yorker at the moment. She felt lost.

"Over here. By the zinnias," Rayne called.

What were zinnias? Scarlet swiveled her head and finally saw her sister waving her arms as if she were guiding in a jumbo jet. Scarlet picked her way through the crowd, very well aware everyone stared at her. In fact, conversations died as she passed by.

Maybe the whole country-girl-with-a-twist look had been a bad idea. The denim shorts skimmed her upper thighs and the gingham shirt knotted between her breasts bared her midriff. She'd parted her hair and braided it, finishing off with grosgrain ribbon. She'd purposely left her flip-flops in the car.

Brent gave her a once-over as she stepped onto her aunt Frances's quilt. "Did you just escape from a country-music video?"

Scarlet scowled. "It's a festive look."

Rayne snorted. “ Hee Haw hootchie mama?”

“Shush.” Scarlet dumped the picnic basket at her sister's feet. "Aunt Frances said I looked perfect. She sent chicken salad sandwiches and extra lemonade."

Rayne glanced at the small table laden with food. "Set it on the table, I guess. And you look... cute?"

Scarlet had been going for hot. Drop-that-sweatered-bitch-because-I-can-rock-your-world hot. But she guessed cute would work. She rifled through the contents of the basket, withdrawing the plastic-wrapped plate of sandwiches from the depths, along with the jug of lemonade. She used the busyness to secretly comb the area for a glimpse of Adam with his little friend.

She didn't see them.

"So," she said, pretending to casually survey the gathering, "looks like everyone in town showed up."

She didn't see Adam on the right side of the gazebo, either. Maybe he was behind the structure. Next to the bridge. It looked like a romantic spot. A little hideaway, perfect for some privacy. "Yeah, everyone usually comes. Mostly to see their kids sing or clog. Jasper Boyett will be doing his ventriloquist act in ten minutes. After that, the Dance Factory will perform a tribute to the Beach Boys."

Brent didn't look overly excited. Henry stuck his finger down his throat and pretended to gag.

"Has Roz's granddaughter sung yet?"

"I don't think so," Rayne muttered, fussing with the lid on a plastic storage dish.

''I think I'll go look for her. You know, to say hello to little Mary Ellen."

"Mary Claire," Rayne corrected her.

Scarlet pulled out cherry lip gloss and swiped it across her lips. "Yeah, whatever."

She stepped over Henry's feet, walked around a tent of older ladies playing gin rummy, then skirted the gazebo. A few people waved and one moron gave a wolf whistle. But she focused on finding Roz, which was totally her cover for finding her sexy lawman.

Scarlet spotted Roz near the temporary stage, dabbing rouge on a pudgy girl who looked to be about ten years old. But she didn't see Adam. Where in the world was he? Aunt Fran had said he had a date. Maybe he'd backed out. Maybe after their little adventure in the backyard, he'd realized no other woman compared to her. Maybe he'd canceled.

But then she saw the car.

She stopped right in the middle of Kate and Rick Mendez's quilt. And stared.

It was bright yellow and gleamed against the green shrubs sitting behind it. A classic muscle car with shiny rims and a fresh coat of wax. And sitting right on the hood was a thin blonde in a strapless sundress and thong sandals. In her hand was a plate holding a piece of pie... and she was feeding it to Adam.

Scarlet felt her heart drop to her toes.

That heifer. She was feeding pie to her-

To her what? Her man? Not hardly. But it felt that way, as though Sophie had her elegant, and no doubt sanitized, hands all over Scarlet's man.

That pissed her off and hurt her like nothing else she could recall. Not even when John had tenderly, and almost gentlemanly, revealed he no longer loved her. Unfathomable to think she felt this way about Adam, but it was true.

The waves of pain were followed very swiftly by rage. She clenched her hands and shot darts of poison at Adam, who chewed slowly, then gave a sweet smile to the laughing blonde.

"Scarlet?" Kate looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

Scarlet ripped her gaze from Adam and looked at the woman sitting at her feet cradling her baby bump. "Hmm?"

Kate wrinkled her nose, probably because Scarlet's bare foot had pinned down a paper plate holding several cookies. She then turned her head in the direction Scarlet had been staring. "Oh."

Scarlet didn't bother answering. She was too busy with the tsunami of emotions washing over her.

That bastard had never looked at her that way.

Sweet. Tender. Like a suitor.

She stepped off Kate's blanket and charged toward the couple. She may have stepped on a few quilts and she was fairly certain she'd knocked a kid's iPad from his grasp, but nothing would stop her from giving Adam Hinton a piece of her mind. Nothing. A freight train. Wild horses. And any other stupid euphemism that didn't make sense in the twenty-first century.

No one.

Except John.

Her former lover stepped right in front of her. "Scarlet."

She stopped. Took one step backward. Then another.

John?

John was here in Oak Stand. Adam held Sophie's hand. People stared at her dressed like a lunatic. Her heart thudded so loud in her ears that she lifted her hands to them.

"Scarlet." John reached out a hand as if in slow motion. She looked at him. At his hand. Then she saw a swoosh of color.

Green. Blue.

Black.

ADAM HAD NOTICED SCARLET heading his way just after he'd taken a bite of the lemon pie Sophie had made. He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and his mind sent out a warning. Because the fireball actress looked incensed. Like pissed off, pissed on, and ready to knock his teeth out.

Part of him had been secretly pleased she was jealous. And part of him lowered his hand to protect his fellas.

But then a man had stepped in front of her, and her expression had Adam pushing the plate Sophie held aside and sliding off the car. Scarlet looked scared. Stunned. Lost.

"Scarlet!" he called, his exclamation mixing with that of the older gentleman who had also said her name.

She stepped away from the man. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she went down like a lightweight riding a knockout punch.

Someone screamed amid several shrieks of dismay. Adam ran, but the older man reached for her first.

"Move back," Adam said, pushing against the man's shoulder. But the man didn't budge. Adam shifted to her other side and crouched. She had landed in the middle of Kitty Lou Monk's floral quilt, and her face had collided with a plate of potato salad.

He rolled her over. "Scarlet?"

She didn't move.

''Let's raise her feet," he said, relieved to see her chest rising steadily. He turned to the older gentleman who clutched Scarlet's hand. "Take her feet and lift them up."

"Huh?"

"Her feet. We need to elevate them."

"Do you want me to call 911?" Kate said, pushing people back from where they'd started gathering around Scarlet's inert form. She held red solo cup she handed to Kitty Lou as she knelt on the quilt.

"I am 911," Adam said, turning Scarlet's face toward him. He wiped a glob of potato salad from her cheek. Damn, she was pretty. Didn't matter what she was covered in. A warm, protective feeling stole over him. He tenderly tapped her cheek. "Scarlet?"

"I know you're the police chief," Kate said. Adam almost smiled because he had the feeling she had almost tacked on dumbass, but smiling was hard because Scarlet had him terrified. "I meant, an ambulance."

"Find Phillip Patterson," he said, "I saw him with his wife near the stage a few minutes ago."

Though he had basic life-saving certification, having a doctor around would be best. He looked at the older man, who had propped Scarlet's long, smooth legs on his shoulder. Something about that made Adam want to pop the man right in his patrician nose. He looked at the woman who had made him so crazy he needed a straitjacket. He slapped her cheeks a bit harder. "Scarlet? Wake up."

She didn't respond. He placed his hand where he'd so longed to place it for the past two weeks. Right between her breasts. She had a strong, steady heartbeat. He looked up at the circle of people who'd formed around the quilt.

Then he slapped Scarlet hard.

Her eyes flew open.

A few people gasped. Kitty Lou said, "Well, good lord, Chief."

Scarlet blinked once. Twice. "Adam?"

"Yeah, I'm here. You okay?" He smoothed a few stray hairs from her eyes. He knew it looked more tender than it should, but he didn't care what everyone thought at the moment. All he cared about was Scarlet.

"What...what happened?" she asked, trying to lift her head.

"No, no. Lie back." He gently pressed her shoulder. "You fainted."

"What?" She looked confused. "I don't faint. I've never-"

Then she stopped talking, and her beautiful hazel eyes widened. "John."

“Right here, Scarlet," the older man said, patting her calf.

Adam glared at the man. Was this the man she'd been in love with? This old dude? He looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps Adam had seen him in a movie or two. A commercial maybe?

Scarlet struggled against his hand. "Let me up."

"Kate went to get a doctor. Lie still," he said, pushing her back. But she wouldn't comply. Why was he not surprised? Had she ever complied with anything he'd asked her to do over the time he'd known her?

She sat up and stared at the man patting her leg. She pulled her feet from his shoulders and tucked them beneath her bottom, moving closer to Adam.

John gave her a crooked smile. "Wasn't quite the greeting I'd hoped for."

"Oh, really?" Scarlet asked, narrowing her eyes.

"My Scarlet. Always making a-"

But he didn't finish his sentence because Scarlet's fist collided with his cheek. The older man wobbled, grasping the air as he fell back. He sat down hard and looked absolutely stunned. He didn't say a word. Just cradled his cheek with one hand.

Scarlet looked taken aback that she'd decked the man. She stared at her fist, then at Adam, who was wondering if the old dude was going to press charges because he really didn’t want to arrest Scarlet again.

''And you."

Adam drew back at her tone and met her gaze. The look she gave him had him prepared to duck her fist. “Me?”

“You, you-" Her gaze locked on Sophie standing on the perimeter, still holding the plate. Scarlet's eyes filled with tears.

She’d might as well have punched him because that was easier than the pain he glimpsed in her eyes before she shuttered them.

"You men need to stop staring at that girl and get her out of this heat." Kitty Lou's bright blue eyes gave him that snap-to-it-quick look moms had perfected around the dawn of time.

Of course. He needed to get Scarlet out of the heat to await the doctor.

"We're going to take you to Tucker House. It will be cool there. You need to see a doctor."

"No, I-"

"Yeah, you do," John said, struggling to his feet. Adam didn't wait for any further protest or agreement. He scooped Scarlet into his arms and pushed through the gathering crowd, toward the senior center housed in the antebellum mansion across the street.

Scarlet didn't say anything. For once. It was as if all her fire had been extinguished, which bothered the hell out of him. He ignored John, who tagged along, and said to Kitty Lou, "Send the doc over."

The sun was hot and Adam tried to avoid Sophie's eyes. She gave him a halfhearted smile as he strode past. Well, hell, if she wanted to be in the running for his wife, she’d have to learn to step aside when his job called.

Not that she had even indicated she wanted to run for the position of the chief's wife.

He climbed the steps to Tucker House and knocked once before entering the cool parlor. He set Scarlet on the sofa that seemed more decorative than comfortable.

"Okay?" he asked, settling her against the flowered pillow.

"Fine."

John lowered himself onto an armchair. A bright red spot marred his left cheekbone. Scarlet's punch wouldn't leave a mark, but Adam turned to the man. “And you? You okay? Do you need medical attention?”

John started. “Of course not.”

“Because I’m the chief of police and technically that was assault.”

John shook his head. “No. I’m not pressing charges or whatever. I deserved that.”

"How could you?" she muttered, staring at the white ceiling above her.

Was she talking to Adam? Or the older guy? Or the ceiling?

"What?" Adam asked.

"How could you look at her that way? Like you could fall in love with her."

He took a step back. "Fall in love?"

Her eyes shimmered, and he saw it within the depths. Something elusive and precious, an emotion that both warmed and terrified him.

For most of the time he'd known Scarlet, he'd assumed she'd been playing with him. The way Angi had. A little fun. No harm. No foul. But this didn't feel that way. Scarlet looked heartbroken. "Scar-"

"No, don't say anything. Don't." She waved her hands frantically before easing back and closing her eyes. Tears leaked from the corners and dripped into her braids. A soft sob heaved in her chest.

Adam felt his stomach sour.

He hadn't known. Or he hadn't wanted to know. Hadn't wanted to know she'd been doing more than biding her time with a small-town police chief. What had grown between them was about more than sex. More than friendship. More than admiration. And Scarlet had embraced it. Felt it.

Just like he had.

But they denied it. Wouldn’t allow it to grow. Still, like the flower growing in the middle of a cracked sidewalk, something had clearly taken root and blossomed.

Adam looked at John. He gave a slight shake of his head, clearly not willing to touch this situation. Adam couldn't blame him. Scarlet had heartbreak written all over her and, this time, it wasn't John's fault. It was Adam's.

And he didn’t know how to fix this. He had a date waiting on him, an ex-boyfriend waiting on God only knows what. And Scarlet, eyes closed, tears leaking from the corners.

Seconds ticked by.

Adam knew the logical thing was to stand up, organize the scene, clear a path for the doctor. But logical, practical actions had led to Scarlet nearly broken.

So he did the most illogical of things.

He kissed her.

SCARLET HAD BEEN THINKING about the least painful way to die when she felt someone move above her.

Adam.

His hands slid up her cheeks, smudging the stupid tears that had escaped, mixing them with something she must have fallen in, something with pickles in it. They threaded a bit painfully through her braided hair, tugging a bit at her temple. She opened her eyes as he lowered his head.

His lips met hers.

"Oh," she said against his lips, but she didn't stop him. It felt too good. He tasted like lemon pie and his lips were soft and sweet. He kissed her the way he'd looked at that stupid Sophie.

Tender. Romantic. With all the emotion she’d ever craved from him.

Scarlet felt his kiss all the way to her toes so she moved up to her elbows and kissed him back.

In the back of her mind, she knew they shouldn't be sprawled in the parlor of a senior citizens center kissing like love-starved fools, but that knowledge wasn't enough to stop her from drinking Adam in, reveling in his mouth on hers. She wasn't turned-on, though it could easily shift that way if she opened her mouth a bit.

No, this was something... wonderful.

Then it ended.

"Are you giving her mouth to mouth? Cause if so, you’re doing it wrong.” The man’s voice broke into Scarlet's subconscious and ripped her from the world she and Adam had created.

Adam jerked his head up. "Not necessarily.”

Heat suffused her cheeks. Was she blushing? She never blushed. She looked at the man who had interrupted their intimate moment. He wore khaki trousers and a golf shirt, but had a commanding sort of presence. Totally a doctor.

"She fainted," Adam said, rising and offering his hand to the man. "I think she's okay, but you might want to check her out."

“But not the way you were checking her out. I’d lose my license.” The man took Adam's spot on the edge of the settee. "Hi, Ms. Rose, I'm Dr. Patterson. Let's make sure you’re okay.”

Scarlet shook her head. "I'm fine."

The door to Tucker House flew open and Rayne skidded in, followed by her assistant, Meg, and Meg's boyfriend, Bubba Malone. "What the hell is going on?"

No one said anything.

Finally, John leaned forward. "Scarlet fainted and this guy gave her mouth to mouth."

"What?" Rayne looked at Scarlet then Adam. Then she looked at John, whose hands dangled off his knees.

The sight of the red mark on his cheek should have made Scarlet feel bad, but it didn't. He'd deserved it. Thirteen months of pain had driven her fist. Not in the least ladylike, but Scarlet had never been one for decorum.

Rayne turned on John. "Who are you? And why would Adam give mouth to mouth? Did she stop breathing?"

Dr. Patterson stopped his whispered counting. "Not the medical kind of mouth to mouth. The fun kind. Your sister passed out."

"I'm John Hammerstein." John stood and offered his hand. Rayne took it, but didn't look interested. She was more focused on Adam, who had the appearance of a kid caught raiding her cookie jar.

Everyone exchanged looks, before finally landing on the doctor, who was busy trying to get the timer on his diver's watch to work. Meg and Bubba shifted their feet and inched toward the door. Discomfort was the name of the game. Scarlet felt she'd fallen into a sitcom. All they needed was a hipster doofus to skid into the room and crash into the piano in order the break the tension.

Scarlet took in a deep breath.

"Relax," Dr. Patterson said, pressing an insistent hand on her shoulder, but she didn't want to lie back. It felt too vulnerable, and after all that had occurred, she didn't want to be lying down when the shit hit the fan.

Because it would.

She'd fainted into something squishy and picklely.

She'd slugged her ex in front of the whole town.

And Adam had kissed her in front John and Dr. Patterson... who felt obliged to share the 411 with her sister. Not to mention Bubba and Meg had heard the scoop.

Dr. Patterson grabbed her wrist and started taking her pulse again.

"Scarlet had a little episode, but she seems fine now." Adam looked less guilty and more determined to control the situation.

Scarlet was glad he felt better about things because she certainly did not. She'd allowed her emotions to boil over and ruin the agreement she and Adam had... the one where they kept their feelings for each other under lock and key.

"So why did you kiss her?" Rayne kneeled beside the sofa and pushed Scarlet's hair back to study her eyes. ''Are you okay? Do you feel lightheaded?"

Scarlet shrugged off her sister's ministrations. "I'm fine. Totally fine."

"Is she okay?" Rayne asked the doctor.

"I can't be absolutely certain without running tests, but her color is good and her pulse is normal."

Scarlet pushed her sister away and stood. Her legs felt a bit shaky, but she could stand just fine. She waited for Adam to say something, but his expression was shuttered. He was in take-charge mode. Or clean-up-in-aisle-Scarlet mode.

"Adam?" she queried, very aware everyone wanted the answer to Rayne's earlier question. She could feel their curiosity. What had the good-as-gold police chief and the bad-girl actress been up to? How long had they been getting it on? Why would he risk his career for a woman who would be gone before the first cold front came through East Texas?

He shrugged. "I'm no saint."

Rayne shook her head, making her corkscrew curls fly around her shoulders. "What's going on here?"

"Come on, Rayne," Scarlet said. "You know I love a challenge. Do you know how long I've been trying to seduce this man? If I had known fainting would do the trick, I'd have hit the pavement a week ago."

"Well, hell, Summer Rose," Bubba Malone said in a deadpan tone. "If you needed a kiss that badly, l'd a done you a solid."

Meg elbowed him in the gut, causing him to grunt, but Adam didn't move. His unflinching gaze held Scarlet's. She was the first to cut eye contact.

"This one was hard to break. Thought I'd have to pull the ol' catsuit out of the closet and play Veronica to get him to notice me." She rubbed her sweating hands against her denim short shorts, unwilling to risk glancing at Adam in case the truth - that she'd screwed up the moment she put her bare foot on the town square - was plain on her face.

Bubba chortled. "Well, if you ain't using that catsuit, can Meg borrow it? I've got this fantasy where-"

Meg reached up and twisted her boyfriend's ear.

"Ow!" Bubba hollered, swatting at her hand.

"Pardon this hick for a moment. I need to remind him of the manners his mother taught him, and I think you guys need some privacy. Come on, Brandon." Meg tugged on Bubba's arm and they escaped to the front porch, where Scarlet could see Adam's date sitting on the steps.

Guilt erupted around the corner of Scarlet's conscience.

Sophie was probably a nice girl, but Scarlet wasn't as nice. She didn't want someone so pretty, so thin and, well so good to have Adam. If any man needed a little kinky in his life it was him. Case in point, he wore pristine running shoes, a tucked in t-shirt, and not one single strand of hair was out of place. This man needed some mussing. He needed some untucking, some potato salad on his shirt.

She was just the woman to give it to him, somewhat literally if the chunks of food on her shirt was any indication. But now wasn’t the time so she pretended to crack her knuckles. "Well, guess my mission here is accomplished. Now, who else can I go out there and seduce? Who’s the toughest nut to crack?”

“For you? Probably Harvey Primm,” Rayne drawled, tilting her head.

“Pass,” Scarlets joked, knowing her sister was in the process of making connections, drawing conclusions, and creating a game plan for dealing with Scarlet, her ex-lover, and her not-yet-but-she'd-really-like-him-to-be-next lover.

“Well, y0u might have some success," Dr. Patterson said. "I heard from Lolita Frasier over at the library that the old man asked for a copy of the protested book, and she saw him reading it in his car.”

Scarlet faked a little smile. “I still don’t want to kiss him.”

Actually, she felt a bit sick, not from fainting, but from the fact she and Adam had blown it. Her little charade had fooled no one. “Guess that means I can loan Meg my catsuit after all."

Rayne put her hands on her hips. "You can stop with the whole acting thing. Everyone can see what's going on here."

"Well, if you've got a handle on it, I wish you would share it with me because I don't know my up from my down anymore," Scarlet said, feeling better, stronger, and not willing to deal with her sister's admonishments. ''And did I hear right? Did Meg just call Bubba Brandon?"