Texas Fandango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 3 by Cynthia D’Alba Page A

the Sand Castle? She’d laid out what she wanted. She’d been clear. Sex. Two weeks of sex. She’d gotten that, and now that she was home, she was moving on, leaving him and Sugar Island as memories.
    He needed to move on also. They’d only been together for those two weeks. Hell, he’d been taken with Magda Hobbs and Stella Adams quickly too. Was he trying to make nothing into a relationship?
    No, it’d been different with KC. He’d felt emotions for her he’d never felt before.
    He loved her. Deeply and profoundly loved her. But he had no idea what to do now.
    At five p.m. on Friday, his phone rang. His heart jumped when he read the caller ID. Montgomery and Montgomery. Finally .
    “Hello?”
    “Drake. It’s Jason.” As soon as Drake heard Jason’s voice, his stomach fell.
    “Hey. What can I do for you?” Drake tried to put a carefree tone in his voice that wouldn’t betray his disappointment.
    “Look, I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t really want to. All I know is that Margaret tells me that you’ve called multiple times over the past couple of days leaving messages for KC. KC tells me she doesn’t want to talk about you and will not speak with you. So I’m asking that you stop calling.”
    Drake dropped heavily into a chair. “Fuck,” he muttered.
    “Yeah. I thought it might be something like that.”
    “I’ve got to talk to her, Jason. You’ve got to get her to speak to me.”
    “Look—”
    “I pissed her off. I need to apologize.”
    Jason chuckled. “Yeah, I figured out all by myself that she’s pissed off. Whatever it is, she’ll cool off. Give her some time. And for Pete’s sake, stop calling. Have some dignity, man.”

Chapter Nine
    The next day was Saturday, the night of the End of Summer dance at the Whispering Springs Country Club. This was the first major event of the fall season and there was an almost mandatory attendance requirement for anyone in the town who was, or thought he was, a mover and shaker. Of course, Elsie Belle and her family would attend and as her date she wanted him dressed to the nines.
    She’d instructed him to wear a nice suit, blue shirt and striped tie and to pick her up at seven-thirty. He’d laughed about the suit. What did she think he would wear? Shorts and a golf shirt? When he’d arrived at her house, he had to admit his date looked spectacular in her long blue dress and diamonds. They may not be a real couple, but she’d look good on his arm tonight.
    He wondered if KC would be there. He suspected she would be. The dance was a community event to raise money for the local high school football team. The Montgomery clan was well-known in the area for their philanthropic support. As a Montgomery, he couldn’t imagine KC not being there. Granted, Travis had missed a few years, but dealing with the death of a wife had set him back on his heels for quite some time, and everyone in the community had understood and given him a pass.
    When he and Elsie Belle pulled into the WSCC lot, he noticed Dr. Caroline Graham standing at the base of the steps. Apparently, Elsie Belle had noticed her as well, because as soon as they were out of his SUV, the damn woman headed straight for Travis Montgomery’s date. Travis came hurrying up to join them, probably concerned about what venom Elsie Belle might be spewing. He needn’t have worried. Caroline Graham held her own against Elsie Belle’s Southern sugar-coated verbal jabs.
    Drake knew all about the marriage Travis and Caroline had staged, but now that he’d met her and seen the happiness in Travis’s face when he looked at Caroline, he hoped his friend had enough sense to make this faux temporary wife into a real one.
    As soon as Travis and Caroline headed up the stairs to the ballroom, he took Elsie Belle’s arm. “Let it go. Let him go, Elsie Belle.”
    She looked at him with a grippingly serious expression. “I just can’t, Drake. Daddy says I have to get married and stay married or