Naked Attraction

“To say?”

“The numbers never lie.”

“And…”

“Second, as a woman, I’d say…”

He leaned even closer. “Yes?”

“I always get my man.”

He would be better than Robby Robriquet in every way. Sexier. Smarter. Richer. Hotter in bed. And the only remaining question was his identity.

Chapter Three

DADDY EDDIE WOULD pick this booth, Robby thought, sighing as he finished off his burger. As he pushed aside his plate, he stared down to where, years ago, he’d carved his and Ellie’s initials into the wood of the table, a practice the proprietor of the Night Rider, Clancy O’Dell, had long encouraged. Blinking, Robby glanced away, adjusting his eyes to the dim interior, the long, ornate bar and mirror, pool table and jukebox.

He paused to survey a photograph signed by his best friend, J. D. Johnson, who was depicted playing his guitar. Ever since he’d become famous as a country-western singer, J.D.’s picture had graced the walls of all the local eateries and businesses, and Robby felt a surge of pride regarding his friend, not to mention relief, since their relationship had gotten back on an even keel. In fact, since J.D. and his wife, Susannah, had reunited, J.D. had come to the Night Rider on weekend nights to play for the locals.

Robby’s gaze returned to Daddy Eddie, and he wished it hadn’t. Some days, it was damn hard to look at the man, since Ellie was his spitting image. Every glance at the man made him think of Ellie. Just like his daughter, he looked as if he’d recently stepped off the boat from merry ole Ireland. He had the same wavy dark hair that was nearly black in most light, and the same pale, pink-toned skin and blue eyes. The only difference was that Daddy Eddie spent more time in the sun and was covered with freckles. Daddy Eddie’s lips were thin and usually pursed, too, while Ellie had been lucky in getting her mama’s mouth; she had luscious bee-stung lips she always glossed in pink. Otherwise, she was her father’s child, all right, in both looks and temperament.

“The future of Future Trends,” spat out Daddy Eddie, his voice exposing a competitive edge as he removed a plaid cap and placed it on the scarred, rough-hewn wood table. Leaning back, he sipped a frothy head off a lager as he continued to study the newspaper article about Ellie.

“‘It’s easy to see why so many clients have followed Ms. Lee from her father’s company. Poised and bristling with intelligence, Ms. Lee is one of those women who has it all. Brains, looks, ambition and a fearless go-getter attitude…’”

Daddy Eddie’s voice trailed off as he continued reading, mouthing the words. “Has it all,” he muttered, his blue eyes, so like Ellie’s, skewering Robby’s. “That girl doesn’t have jack. She’s running an office out of an apartment, for God’s sake, and in that degenerate hellhole that some people call New York City. Why, I could have gone there, myself, years ago. But no. I stayed right here in Banner, Mississippi, hiring local people and taking care of my own community.”

“You’re the biggest employer in the area,” Robby agreed, feeling compelled to acknowledge Daddy Eddie’s accomplishment. At a time when so many businesses had closed shop in the area, the contribution was even more valued.

“That’s right,” Daddy Eddie fumed. “I never outsourced, and I never laid off anyone, not even when times were at their toughest and the payroll was hard to meet. My grandpa somehow kept on everybody during the Great Depression. But Ellie? She’s run off to the big city now. She’d doesn’t give a rat’s behind about heritage. And she’s scarcely even had a boyfriend, which is downright pathetic at her age. Why, even if she found a man fool enough to date her, she can’t so much as boil an egg. Face it, my little girl is ruined.”

Pausing, Daddy Eddie shook his head. “You should have seen what happened the last time her mama asked her to help with a pot roast. A simple pot roast! Let me tell you, we had TV dinners that night! And she nearly burnt them to a crisp.”

“Cooking isn’t her strong point,” Robby couldn’t help but concur. If the truth be told, Ellie wasn’t any better at takeout. During their months of bliss, she preferred to lounge around, naked in bed, while Robby got dressed and drove to the Night Rider or the Pizza Palace to pick up victuals. Not that he could tell her father that.

“Even I can make a pot roast,” muttered Daddy Eddie. “And I’m a man! Why, when she was at college,” Daddy Eddie plunged on, “her mother and I would visit. You know, how parents do?”

Not really, Robby thought, but he nodded dutifully.

“I couldn’t believe the boys she introduced to me! Miserable excuses for men! Pure pansies. All of them into art and music and such. Probably even ballet. Tap dancing. Sewing and home economics. You know what I’m saying, Robby?”

“Well,” Robby ventured diplomatically. “It’s not worth working yourself into a lather about it, Daddy Eddie. You know, you’re supposed to watch your blood pressure.”

“But you know what I’m saying?” Daddy Eddie demanded.

Unfortunately, Robby did. “Uh…yeah.”

“A man can’t get a grandbaby this way!”

About that, Robby wasn’t so sure. He and Ellie had a few scares, mostly because she was so hot and Robby couldn’t wait to find a condom. “Give her time,” Robby soothed.

Daddy Eddie didn’t even hear. “And her brothers are worse! Scoundrels, that’s all they are! They always go for the career women, the feminists. Why, absolutely none of my kids will reproduce, and I’m beginning to think it’s just to spite me. What did I ever do to them?

“Nothing!” he nearly shouted, answering himself. “Only worked my fingers to the bone, feeding and clothing them. I even got Ellie that convertible car on her sixteenth birthday!”

“You did.” She’d looked good in it, too, her hair flying behind her in the wind.

“And for what? To leave my legacy to whom?” Catching Robby’s gaze, he quickly amended. “I’m not talking about you running my company. If it weren’t for you, Robby, I don’t know what I’d do!”

“You know I hang around your sons. It’s no secret that if they were more interested in the family business…”

“Dammit,” Daddy Eddie muttered under his breath in frustration. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Robby let it pass. “Just don’t be hard on Ellie,” he coached, unable to believe he’d gotten boxed into taking up for her. Somehow, he’d wound up playing the role of go-between in the Lees. However, a million years could pass, and he’d still be stinging from Ellie’s parting speech, especially the part when she’d compared him to his father. It was the lowest possible blow and she knew better.

“Why on earth are you defending her?” Daddy Eddie gaped at Robby as if to say he had some nerve. “She’s decimated our business, boy. She’s used everything I taught her against me, every trick in my bag. Only a man like you could have kept her in line. Yes, maybe a man who acts like a man could have saved her. Made her want to do her duties as a woman. Of course, I can’t blame you for never being attracted to my little girl.” He blew out a sigh. “Any man in his right mind would steer clear. She’s a handful, all right. I wouldn’t wish her on any male, no, sir. Certainly not one I respect, such as yourself.”

“C’mon,” Robby put in quickly, hoping to change the direction of the conversation, “I’m about done with lunch. Why don’t you down the rest of that brewski, so we can get out of here? Work calls.”

“Can I please have just one more minute in which to finish my lager?” Daddy Eddie snapped, his eyes pinning Robby again. “And by the way, I’m still the only board member at Lee Polls, so I’ve got a right to speak my mind. I was saying, I suppose there’s no possibility of my little girl landing a real man, and this worries me, Robby. First, this country isn’t making men like it used to. And second, the girl’s too headstrong and selfish, not to mention too damn smart for her own good. And finally, I believe she lacks passion.”

Robby’s lips parted. “Lacks…passion?”

“Yes. Boys would come along, but she always seemed to chew them up and spit them out. Yes, sir, she used men like bubble gum.”

“Who?” Robby was starting to feel testy.

“Well, I don’t know all their names.”

“I didn’t think she was all that serious about guys in college.”

“So maybe she didn’t sleep with them. Even Ellie’s bright enough to know the only point to men is marriage, and the only point to marriage is having babies and carrying on the line.”

“That’s very old-fashioned.”

“Hmm. Believe what you will. And I don’t blame you in the least for not wanting to take a more critical look at Ellie. After all, you’ve had to work with her, and besides—unlike her—you’re nice, so you want to give her the benefit of the doubt, as her coworker. My point is she’s just not soft and womanly like her mama. I think those feminists turned her off men in college.”

Robby winced. “Times have changed, Daddy Eddie.”

“That’s what I keep saying!” Daddy Eddie exploded.

“Ellie’s more modern,” Robby admitted. “I’ll give you that. Still, it doesn’t mean she’s never going to meet somebody special.”

“When?”

“She’s not even thirty.”

“By the time her mama was thirty, she’d had four kids!”

The defense was starting to sound lame. “True, but nowadays, a lot of women wait longer.”

Daddy Eddie squinted, looking wounded and betrayed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d taken a fancy to her, yourself, given the way you come to her defense like some knight in shining armor.”

“I’m not defending her,” Robby vowed. “I admit she’s a little tough.” When he thought about some of Ellie’s more aggressive moments, he wasn’t sure that was necessarily a bad thing, either. “Look, can we talk about something other than Ellie? Let’s not ruin our meal, okay?”

“You’re finished eating, anyway,” countered Daddy Eddie. “And Ellie’s the main problem we have today, so she must be dealt with.” Glancing down, he shook his head, now reading from the paper once more. “‘Showing she can put her money where her mouth is, Ms. Lee is now running the most interesting promotional campaign in the history of the polling business, a move that may well have those at Lee Polls eating their hearts out.’”

Since she’d broken his heart, Robby figured she might as well eat it, too. Again, he said nothing as Daddy Eddie read Ellie’s game plan, saying she meant to use her polling skills to find a man.

“Can you imagine?” Daddy Eddie implored, gasping in astonishment.

“No,” Robby admitted grimly.

“This proves my point. Love is nothing to her. Nothing! Why, she’d actually run a poll to find a mate, when we both know that the decision about a life partner is the most important in the world. Classic Ellie,” Daddy Eddie declared.

More than he knew. Ellie wasn’t just striking at the heart of Lee Polls, but at her ex-lover, too. And ending the affair sure hadn’t crimped her style. Every morning, when he looked in the mirror, Robby knew he was worse for wear. His hair was getting streaked with gray and the fine lines around his eyes had deepened, turning into crevices and lending him a weatherworn appearance.

Without Ellie reminding him to eat, he’d lost a few pounds, too, and he was starting to look gaunt. Since he wasn’t going to see Ellie at the office, he was letting his stubble grow, only shaving every other day. He’d always hated shaving, anyway.

Ellie, by contrast, looked better than ever. In the picture in the paper, she was wearing a beautiful rust-colored suit he didn’t recognize, probably bought for the occasion. Although, no matter what she put on, she looked stunning. Her gray-blue eyes bespoke a strange timelessness, and she had a habit of staring, as if she wasn’t at all inclined to blink. Often, when he looked at her, Robby had to force himself to finally look away.

Her body was just as captivating, communicating something eternal. She was tall and long-waisted, in good health, but never muscular, made of sloping curves. Her face was a near-perfect oval, but with a wide forehead, making her look as brainy as heck. In terms of dress, she had the sexy librarian thing down pat.

“Robby?”

He blinked, then damned himself for drifting once more into what he called “the Ellie zone.” Often, he’d start thinking about her, only to glance up, look at a clock and realize a full hour had passed. “Huh?”

“I said they’re not making men like they used to,” Daddy Eddie continued. “I don’t have to tell you that. Do I, Robby?” Before Robby could respond, the man started in once more. “I mean, these fellows I’m talking about, that my little girl used to date in college…why, they’d never even fished or hiked. I ask you, what kind of a fellow can’t make his own fish flies?”

“I make mine, so I couldn’t say.”

“Exactly.”

Frequently, Daddy Eddie implied Robby would have made a perfect match for Ellie. However, if he suspected the truth, the man would change his tune in a heartbeat. In fact, Robby’s backside would be chock-full of buckshot.

As if reading his mind, Daddy Eddie continued, “And you can sure as hell bet those boys couldn’t shoot a gun. What kind of woman would want a man who can’t shoot straight?”

That was probably a dangling double entendre, but Robby didn’t take the bait. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject. While conversing with Daddy Eddie, one often had to revert to non sequiturs. “I don’t really know how to bring this up,” Robby said, “but I need to take a few days off.”

“Don’t we all,” crooned Daddy Eddie.

“Sorry you’ve felt compelled to come back to work, sir,” Robby managed. “I do feel bad about it.” Suddenly, temper rose inside him. “And dammit,” he added, “I’m sorry about the way business is going, Daddy Eddie. I really am. I know you hoped I’d be able to step up to the plate.”

“Well, Ellie’s got us by the kahunas, son. Mostly because she’s female.”

There was some truth in it. Some clients had left because she was playing the underdog. Otherwise, her leaving had thrown Robby completely off his game, which didn’t help. He felt as deflated as an old birthday balloon. Lee Polls just wasn’t the same without her.

Daddy Eddie heaved a sigh. “That’s the hell of it, isn’t it? Women always have the upper hand. No matter what. And that’s the first thing any red-blooded male has to understand about the fairer sex. They rule the world.”

“But we have to pretend we do,” Robby agreed ruefully, not fully agreeing with Daddy Eddie’s point, but having heard this lecture many times.

“Well, maybe you should go on vacation.”

That was a surprise. “I should?”

Daddy Eddie nodded decisively. “Yes, indeed. You haven’t taken a day off since my witchlike daughter so rudely left town.” He shook his head in consternation. “She didn’t even give two-weeks’ notice. Or clean her desk.” He eyed Robby. “You and I had to do that, and I know, firsthand, she was raised with better manners than that.”

“I just need a couple days.”

“Take all the time you want.”

“Pardon me for saying so, but why are you trying to get rid of me now?”

Daddy Eddie eyed the newspaper article with a malicious glint in the gaze. “I’d like to be left to my own devices for a few days.”

“Great.” Long ago, Robby had learned not to trust Daddy Eddie. “What do you have up your sleeve?”

“My plan is still formulating.”

“I can’t wait to hear.” Daddy Eddie could fight just as hard as Ellie. She’d gotten all the man’s worst genes. Now God only knew what was brewing in the old coot’s devious mind. “Maybe I’d better stick around.”

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Ellie.”

“Not lethally,” Robby agreed. “That being the case, why don’t you share your diabolical plot?”

“Oh, no,” Daddy Eddie said with a sudden, soft chuckle that didn’t bode well in Robby’s humble opinion. “You need to clear your head, so you’d better go on vacation. In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the day off to organize your things?”

Hearing a ruckus behind him, and feeling half glad for the interruption, Robby glanced over his shoulder toward the door, just in time to see Max Sweeney cross the threshold. In a heartbeat, blind fury claimed Robby and pure killer instinct took over.

Daddy Eddie’s attention sharpened, too. “Bastard,” he muttered simply.

“That guy always makes me see red.”

Sweeney was definitely a weasel. Short and slight of build, he was pale-skinned, with a face constructed entirely of points—a sharp chin, beak nose, jutting cheekbones. Everybody knew he collected bets on races, but Sheriff Kemp had never caught him red-handed. Sweeney was no stranger to Robby, either. And now he tried not to think of how, years ago, Max would corner Robby’s old man, Charlie, in the Night Rider and ply him with booze, wearing down his resistance. Once Charlie couldn’t think straight, Max would get him to bet on various sports games. Horses, cars, football, you name it.

Then, when Charlie lost, there was no way to pay Max, since Max had already encouraged Charlie to spend his paycheck on booze. So then Max would turn around and demand exorbitant interest on whatever Charlie owed.

To add insult to injury, Max, himself, had a son only a few years older than Robby on whom Max had doted. Johnny Sweeney had the good grace not to look like his father, too, and some of the stupider girls around the surrounding bayous had fallen for him. The fact that he was always flush with cash helped.

Max had given his only son everything. He’d driven late model, high-end cars since he’d gotten a license, and he’d gone to top-of-the-line schools, both prep and college. He’d experienced a life of travel and privilege, and now he was a lawyer, practicing part-time in a nearby town called Sunset Bayou.

“Damn loan shark,” Daddy Eddie spat out with displeasure, speaking of Max.

Robby merely shrugged. What he wouldn’t do to bring the guy down, though. He wasn’t defending his old man, of course. The instinct was purely selfish. Sweeney belonged behind bars, if only for the nights Robby had gone hungry after he’d gotten Charlie Robriquet to squander the rent and grocery money.

If it hadn’t been for Patricia Lee, Ellie’s mother and Daddy Eddie’s wife, Robby figured he would have starved to death. To this day, he was fairly certain Daddy Eddie had no idea how many times his wife had come calling at the shack Charlie and Robby had called home. Always, she’d drop off leftovers or an “extra” pie she’d made.

Not that Robby had minded taking her charity. He’d once heard Daddy Eddie say that Patricia Lee’s smile could take the sting out of a bumblebee and that was the truth. She was, by far, the nicest, most maternal woman Robby had ever met. Sighing, he acknowledged once again that his ex-lover had gotten Daddy Eddie’s genes, not Patricia’s.

And that’s what drove Robby so crazy. Ellie was unpredictable, fiery and determined in everything she attempted, and Robby could never quite let go of the challenge…

Suddenly, his ears pricked up. At the bar, Clancy was showing Max the article about Ellie. Just the thought of the weasel’s eyes on a picture of Ellie made Robby’s blood boil. When he heard Max’s insinuating voice, his fingers curled into a fist.

“She sure knows how to call ‘em,” Max said, his high-pitched, nasal voice traveling. “Knowledge like hers would sure come in handy at a racetrack.” He chortled. “Not that I’m a gambling man.”

“It’s a good thing my daughter uses her talents for nobler causes,” Daddy Eddie called, raising his voice just enough to be heard over the jukebox, which was now playing one of J. D. Johnson’s songs. The tune was a slow, soul-wrenching love song that only served to remind Robby of Ellie.

“Oh, Eddie,” returned Max. “Hey, there. I didn’t see you.”

“Look before you leap,” Daddy Eddie suggested.

Max arched an eyebrow. “Did I say something to offend you? Why, I figured you’d feel proud to see your daughter in a big-city newspaper like that.”

But Max had said Ellie’s talents might be useful to him. “I’m proud of my daughter,” Daddy Eddie returned, “whether she makes the papers or not.”

Fortunately, Max was only getting a six-pack to go, and as soon as Clancy bagged the brews, Robby figured he’d be out the door. No such luck. Once he’d shoved the bag under his arm, Max sauntered toward them and stopped in front of the table.

“A lot’s going on around here, eh? Ellie’s her daddy’s own competitor now?” he said conversationally. “And last time I was down at Delia’s Diner, listening to the gossip, I heard Robby’s got some exciting news, himself.”

Robby said nothing. All his senses were on heightened alert, and maybe if he was lucky, he would manage not to rise and throttle the man. Already, he was imagining the pleasure of contact when his fist pummeled Max Sweeney’s jaw. He could hear the crack, the ugly split of flesh, feel a trickle of blood. “What do you want, Max?”

“Just starting a conversation,” Max said innocently.

“Well, I think Robby just finished it,” said Daddy Eddie.

“I’m being neighborly,” attested Max. “And I figured he must be feeling good today. In fact, I figured maybe you two were having lunch to celebrate.”

The weasel was referring to Charlie’s homecoming next week. After eight years in jail for manslaughter, Robby’s father was finally being released. “Why do you always try to talk to me about my old man, Max?” Robby found himself challenging, his low voice controlled and scarcely audible over the sound of one of the jukeboxes. “I mean, you never did either of us any favors. So what’s it to you?”

“Just being neighborly, like I said. A man’s got to care about his community.”

What hogwash. Luckily, the door swung open again, and a slice of autumnal light cut across the linoleum floor of the bar. For a second, despite the circumstances, Robby almost smiled, since J. D. Johnson had appeared in the open doorway, backlit by the sun, which threw him into silhouette. He sported a thin white shirt, despite the day being cool for October in Mississippi, and he wore threadbare jeans, boots and a Stetson hat. “Looks like my gunslinger friend just showed up,” Robby said. “So why don’t you get lost, Sweeney.”

Taking the hint, the man turned away, passing J.D. as he came toward Robby and Daddy Eddie’s table, with his wife, Susannah, right behind him. Over his shoulder, Max called, “I’ll be wishing the best for your family, Robby.”

“Bastard,” muttered J.D., standing in front of the booth, exactly where Max had been just a moment before.

“That’s what I said,” returned Daddy Eddie. Then, “Hi, Susannah. Sorry you had to hear the rough language, sweetheart. ”

“Nothing I don’t hear from J.D. at home.”

“Hey, Suze,” said Robby.

She smiled, and when she did, it brought Robby a whole new wave of heartbreak, recalling the good times he and Ellie had hanging around J.D. and Susannah. Why, Ellie and Susannah had been inseparable from birth, and although Ellie was doing well in New York, Robby couldn’t help but imagine she wouldn’t be happier back at home in Banner. Face it, he thought now, she’d be a fish out of water in the city. Successful, but without her family and friends.

Nowadays, Susannah always made things worse for Robby—always talking about how good Ellie looked, how happy she was working for herself, and how she seemed to secretly miss him, something Robby very much doubted.

“Hey, stranger,” Susannah said, ruffling Robby’s hair.

“Careful,” he warned, catching her hand.

“Afraid I’ll make your girlfriends jealous?” she teased.

“That or your husband,” said J.D.

Robby rolled his eyes. He had no girlfriends. Everybody knew that, and most, except Patricia and Daddy Eddie, knew why, too. Ellie had left him in the dirt because he’d ascended the ranks at Lee Polls.

“Hey, there,” he said on a sigh. “Pull up a chair, you two, although I warn you, Daddy Eddie and I are headed back to work soon.”