Page 27 of Piece Of Me

“Oh, I don’t love anyone like that.”

“We love Daddy,” Cameron said earnestly.

“He doesn’t count silly.” Ryan made a face.

The girls continued their conversation, though Taz ignored it for the most part. He turned up the music a bit as they headed for the other side of town. “Is Cal meeting us there?”

“Yes.” Millie Sue wiggled a bit, obviously uncomfortable. “Some of the guys in the band flew in this morning. He was getting them settled first.”

“He recording new stuff?”

She nodded. “We are. I finally gave in.”

“Good,” Taz replied, navigating his rig into the closest parking spot he could find. It would still be a bit of a hike to the park. “You’re too good to keep your talent under wraps.” He cut the engine and considered asking the thing he’d been thinking about all morning. The girls were still talking about Barbie and Ken, so he figured he was safe. He glanced at Millie Sue.

“Hey,” he began, clearing his throat a bit. “I was wondering if I could…” Shit, was he really going to do this? “I ah…”

“Jesus, Taz, spit it out. I don’t have a lot of time between bathroom visits these days and I have about a twenty-minute walk before I can find one.”

“I was wondering if you could give me Scarlett’s phone number.”

Millie’s eyebrows shot up at that and he wasn’t exactly encouraged by the expression on her face. “Why?” Her tone was sharp.

“You don’t need to know the details.”

“Yeah,” Millie shifted a bit, obviously uncomfortable. “I do.”

Why in hell had he started this with Millie? There had to be an easier way to get the information he needed. “I wanted to ask her something is all.”

“Ask her what?”

Annoyed, Taz sighed. “Look, if you don’t want to give it to me, that’s fine. I just thought I’d ask.”

“She’s my sister-in-law.”

“That’s not new news.”

“And I care about her.”

“Also, not new news.”

Millie leaned forward. “You can understand my concern, can’t you?”

Taz was moving quickly from annoyed to pissed off. “Look, forget it. Let’s just go.”

Millie bit her bottom lip and seemed to be considering something. “I heard the two of you got acquainted last night and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

Surprised, he frowned. “Who in hell told you that?”

She made a face. “It’s Big Bend. It’s the Sundowner.”

At his questioning look, she caved. “Dale the line cook, told Pat the guy who repairs the juke box. He’s apparently dating Lynn, the new server. I happened to be standing next to her when he shared the info.”

“That’s a convoluted gossip mill you got going in there.”

“It is what it is.”

“I don’t know if acquainted is exactly the right word.” He thought of the dance and how Scarlett had felt in his arms. Acquainted definitely wasn’t it.

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