Page 100 of Legacy of Danger
Silence. Then Eric barked out a laugh. "She catches on quickly to the nosy Taggart clan. Good job changing the subject, Mariah. I like you." He jumped. "Ow, Shel. Why'd you have to pinch me?"
Shelby talked to the ceiling. "Why me, God? Why surround me with these idiots?" She winked at Ruth and Mariah. "Female company excepted."
"So, to take the conversational bait, as it were, it's lucky that Vaughn didn't get his geriatric ass pounded in last night," Kerr sucked on a tooth and lifted a shoulder. "I got the scoop from a friend who was at the fight."
Vaughn's hands curled into fists. "I'm not that old."
"You're too old to be running around and taking a beating like that. With each bout, you're not getting prettier, either." His younger brother rocked his chair back on two legs. "Hell, we could rough you up on a regular basis right here at home, if it will make you stick around."
Silence.
Ruth spoke up. "Any injuries?" A tight smile came and went. "Sorry, Mariah, old habits. You're the doctor."
"Not today. I'm off duty. Go right ahead. Maybe he'll listen to you." She ducked her head at Vaughn's scowl.
Ruth smiled. "I'm just happy you are both all right." With a quiet step, she excused herself from the room.
"Both of you?" Shelby stared at Mariah.
She rubbed her forehead again. The headaches weren't severe, just odd and fleeting. No numbness or burning pain, so not due to trigeminal neuralgia. No aura, so not a migraine. Happened around the Taggarts, which made zero sense. Hopefully the headache wasn't due to too much coffee. The cure would be unbearable.
"Shelby, quit it," Vaughn growled. Almost like she really did have something to do with Mariah's headache. No way.
His sister raised her orange brows. "Then spill. What really happened last night? At the fight."
She said it like she knew theafter the fightpart already.
Vaughn filled them in on Linc's antics, adding that Wyatt Brand showed up for the opponent's corner.
Shelby leaned forward. "Wyatt? What was that moron doing there?"
"That's a good question." Lines bracketed Vaughn's mouth. "Remember how Wyatt was fixated on you for a while?"
"I sure do," Eric spat.
Vaughn glanced at her. "Well, he's moved on. To Mariah."
Kerr made a fist. "Bastard."
"Agreed." Vaughn pressed his hand to the tabletop. "Either he's trying to make a pass at Mariah or he's doing it to retaliate against us."
"Against your family?" Mariah asked.
"As I mentioned before," Vaughn replied, "the Brands have it in for us. Wouldn't put it past them to get at one of us by using, uh..."
"Someone we care about?" Shelby grinned.
Mariah shifted in her seat, studying the last crumbs of her sandwich.
Vaughn cleared his throat. "Mariah, maybe I could give you the grand tour."
"Smooth move, Ex-Lax," Kerr quipped. "You two go on." He pointed to Shelby and Eric. "And you two invalids stay right there. I'll keep doing housework. No, no. Don't lift a finger on my behalf." He gave a dramatic sigh. "My work is never done."
Vaughn lifted his chin toward the door. "Ready?"
"Sure," Mariah answered. Anything to escape the friendly Taggart interrogation session.
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