Page 50 of Steers and Stowaways
“Consider it done, bro.” Tucker waited until the kid met his gaze again. “Mal considers you to be family, and I’m about to become her number one guy. You know what that makes you and me?”
The emotions warring in Chip’s gaze were both heartrending and humorous—worry, astonishment, fear, and cautious joy. He was an emotional wreck, but Mallory was determined to champion him, which meant Tucker needed to do the same.
“I’m gonna talk to Mallory about moving you inside the house,” he added.
Chip’s jaw dropped. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Tucker wasn’t planning on taking no for an answer.
“My parents already don’t trust me,” the teen declared in a high-pitched voice. “I don’t wanna give them any reason to think I ratted ‘em out to the police.”
“You haven’t.”Mal isn’t the police.Technically, he was, but Chip didn’t know that.“I’m sure the boss lady will come up with a convincing reason to keep you close. Your only job is to play along so we can protect you.”
Chip leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees and drop his head into his hands. “If you guys can pull this off, I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.” He didn’tsound overly optimistic about the odds of their succeeding.
“Just play it cool,” Tucker advised. “There will be plenty of distractions to keep your parents occupied. My marriage to Mal is just the beginning.” There would likely be another showdown with the cartel soon. As a precaution, he was going to stick like glue to Mal.
They bumped their way up the gravel driveway leading to Evans Ranch and parked beside Mallory’s Jeep in the driveway. As Tucker climbed out of the truck, he could see her embracing Martina on the wrap-around porch.
“I have a huge surprise!” Mallory’s happy voice wafted their way as she hugged her dark-haired bookkeeper. “And I wanted you to be the first to know about it.”
After a brief hesitation, Martina hugged her back. She caught sight of her son walking their way. Her eyes flashed fire, then immediately gentled to a motherly smile. “Hey, sweetie! You’re back!” Her gaze moved to Tucker, and her expression grew withering. “What are you doing here?”
“He proposed, and I said yes.” Mallory danced joyfully to Tucker’s side to wrap her hands around his arm. “That’s my surprise. Technically, you’re the second person to find out, because we ran into Chip in town. He more or less caught us in the act of doing this.” She rose on her tiptoes to brush her lips against Tucker’s.
Go big or go home.He wasn’t about to let one of her kisses go to waste, so he gave as good as he got.
Chip indulged them in a few gagging noises like he’d done before, and Mallory was sporting a real blush by the time Tucker raised his head.
“Well!” Martina folded her arms, looking utterly astounded. “From spitting matches to…”
“To swapping spit,” Chip finished for her, with such a comical grimace that Mallory dissolved into laughter.
She wrapped her arms around Tucker’s middle. “It was meant to be.”
“When did this happen?” Martina gestured irritably at them. “I didn’t know you were even dating.”
“Recently.” Tucker grinned indulgently down at Mallory, thoroughly enjoying how discomfited Mrs. Silva was. He especially liked how the shock of finding out they were engaged seemed to be taking the heat off of Chip. “All it took was one kiss. The next thing I knew, she was down on one knee, and the rest is history.”
“Ha. Ha.” Mallory’s tone was scathing. “The way I tell it is different.”
He couldn’t wait to be regaled with her version of it. In the meantime, he took great satisfaction from announcing, “I’ll have a construction team out here tomorrow to get started on our remodel.”
“Remodel?” Looking alarmed, Martina glanced between the two of them. “What remodel?”
Though Tucker and Mallory hadn’t discussed anything of the sort, Mallory didn’t miss a beat. “Ours is a Miss Old-Fashioned meets Mr. New-Fangled kind of relationship. He doesn’t think my mid-century closets will hold all of his manly gear. Plus, he fancies himself the next Iron Chef, so the kitchen will receive a complete makeover.”
It wasn’t a bad comeback for a woman who’d received no forewarning of the topic. It was almost as if she’d popped off with her actual wish list.
The triumphant sparkle in her gaze confirmed his suspicions.Nicely played.He didn’t mind indulging her, though, since the two projects would give him the perfect excuse to come and go as he pleased.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Tucker snapped his fingers and pointed at Chip, who backed away from him in feigned terror. “This joker agreed to stand up as my best man.”
Martina coughed. “You agreed to do what?”
Mallory rolled her eyes dramatically. “Agreed might be a stretch. More like voluntold.” She sent a sunny smile to the woman she’d once considered a dear friend. “That’s what he gets for being like family to a gal who has no family.”
Martina struggled to school her expression into some semblance of empathy. It wasn’t easy, though, to mask the apoplectic color riding her cheeks.
