CHAPTER 8
Jimmy stood in the shade of the barn, chewing on a piece of hay and watching the limos and trucks pull up.
What a joke. As if a politician who arrived in a chauffeur-driven limousine could really understand the views of a farmer who drove himself in a pickup truck hauling a horse trailer.
Yeah, good luck to Jared with this little powwow.
Jack stood next to him, acting like he was incognito with his old straw cowboy hat pulled low on his forehead. He needn’t have worried about being photographed. So far the press only had eyes, or rather camera lenses, for the politicians.
To the reporters, Jimmy and Jack were just two farmhands loafing around when they should probably be shoveling manure instead.
Of course, a few of the farmers they’d grown up knowing had come over to welcome them home. But everyone went rushing back to the meeting tables set up under the big trees by the house when the politicians arrived.
“Mama’s been baking for two days straight. I was fixin’ to cut into one of her pies and got my butt smacked with a wooden spoon over it. I had memories of being ten again, when I cut into the pie before Christmas dinner the year Grandma and Grandpa Gordon were coming.” Jack shook his head as he reminisced.
Jimmy laughed. “You think you would have learned not to touch Mama’s pies after that time. If I remember correctly, you couldn’t sit down that Christmas.”
Jack rubbed his butt with the memory. “I learned. I just thought that when I turned thirty Mama couldn’t smack me anymore.”
“Well then, boy, you still have a lot left to learn. Mama can smack you no matter how old you are.”
Jack rolled his eyes, shadowed beneath the brim of his cowboy hat. “I never thought I’d say this, but going back to the commander will be an improvement over living with Mama for two weeks.”
Jimmy snorted. “How do you think I feel? I’ve been here a hell of a lot longer than you. When I first got out of the hospital, she wouldn’t even let me go to the toilet. She tried to make me use a bedpan. She was going to help me do it too. How would you like to be thirty-four and have your mama helping you take a piss or a dump?”
“All right, you win with the worst ‘living with Mama’ story. It’ll be good to get back to base for both of us.”
“Amen.” Jimmy agreed wholeheartedly on that one.
“Ooo, eee. Look at the hot number getting out of that limo. I never had me a redhead.”
Ignoring the object of Jack’s attention, Jimmy turned to glare at his brother. “You’ve got yourself a pretty hot brunette. What the hell, Jack?”
Jack frowned. “Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m only looking. Nicki’s the only girl I want. I’m just saying, I wonder if redheads are, you know, red all over.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
A horrible and wonderful image flashed through Jimmy’s mind of smooth skin punctuated by red curls that he’d never see again.
“They are,” Jimmy said.
Jack opened his eyes wide. “Whoa. Tell me everything.”
“No.” Jimmy turned away to make sure Jack knew he was serious. He wasn’t going to kiss and tell.
While he was pointedly ignoring his brother, he let his gaze wonder to the parking area near the house. That’s when he saw her and nearly choked on the piece of straw he’d been chewing on.
Next to one limo stood the redhead Jack had been ogling.
His redhead. Lia.
Jimmy’s mouth got so dry he had trouble swallowing. His pulse pounded so loud he wouldn’t be surprised if Jack heard it.
Even though Jimmy’s world had stopped dead at the sight of Lia, the rest of the universe kept on going. At that point, everyone who was expected must have arrived, because Jared walked up to the podium and began speaking into the microphone he’d borrowed from the Rotary Club.
Jimmy had no idea what his brother was saying. He only had eyes for Lia, who was escorted by the same VIP she’d been with at the party.
Was she his press secretary or something? He hoped so, because the thought that Lia could have been dating some older-than-dirt politician at the same time she’d had amazing sex with him made Jimmy ill.
Jared announced the names of a whole bunch of people Jimmy had no interest in. Finally, Jared got to the old guy and Lia and introduced them as Governor Carrington and—holy shit!—his lovely daughter, Amelia.
“Hey, doesn’t the hot redhead look kind of familiar? Where have I seen her before?” Jack’s attention was glued to the podium too. When Jimmy didn’t answer, he turned to him. “Jimmy. Hey, you a’ight?”
Not trusting his voice, Jimmy nodded as his brother continued to frown until recognition set in.
Jack’s eyes bulged. “The redhead was at that party. The night you went AWOL to get laid at the Hilton right before you left for Kosovo. Holy crap. Bro, you had sex with the governor’s daughter?”
“Shhh,” Jimmy hissed and glanced around to see if any of the farmhands were near enough to hear them. “And how the hell do you know about where I was that night? Damn gossiping Matt.”
“Don’t blame Matt. He’s usually a vault when it comes to this kind of stuff. But I know the combination to Matt’s vault. Bourbon.” Jack smiled. “So she’s how you know redheads are red all over. Did you know whose daughter she was when you were ah, you know?”
“No.” Jimmy ran his hands over his face.
This was a mess. Of all the many, many times he’d imagined seeing Lia again, it was never like this.
Jack snorted. “As if you knowing would have stopped you. Who are you kidding? Look at her. She could have been the devil’s own daughter and you still would have done it.”
Jimmy certainly wasn’t kidding himself about that. Jack was right. He wouldn’t have cared who she was at that point.
In fact, it probably would have made it even more exciting since he had no love of the current administration. The question was what the hell was he going to do now?
Hiding came to mind. So did grabbing her behind the big-ass limo parked by the house and kissing the hell out of her.
He’d have to make up his mind between the two somehow and soon, because it appeared as if Jared was about to give the entire group a tour of the barns, and walking next to his youngest brother was none other than Amelia Carrington herself.