“Oh, look. She brought a friend,” Christa said with a sarcastic grin. “I do believe she did that for you, Jack.”
Jack had the good sense to shudder. “I would hide behind Abigail, too, but Sam is taking up all the space.”
The dynamically tacky duo pushed their way across the crowded dance floor, making a beeline for Sam Fleetwood.
“You want to tell me who I’m protecting you from, Sam?” Abby had a guess.
“Melissa Paul.” Sam confirmed her suspicion. “She took advantage of me one night while I was drunk out of my mind, and then she had the horrible idea that she was my girlfriend.”
“Women get that way when you sleep with them, Sam,” Abby murmured.
“Well, they shouldn’t.” Sam’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “I assure you I didn’t mention it to her. I could have been stone drunk out of my mind, but the words I love you wouldn’t have passed my lips. I saved those words for you, baby.”
“Uh-huh,” Abby muttered with a resigned sigh. She looked back at her cowering future husband. “Does it bother you that you’re currently hiding behind a woman’s skirts?”
Jack laughed, but Sam looked unrepentant. “No, ma’am. You will find I am very flexible when it comes to your skirts. I will attempt to get into them as often as possible, and when the need arises, I will hide behind them shamelessly.”
Abby grinned because he was really heartbreakingly gorgeous. He was going to make her life a joy to live. She would never be bored with these two around. Abby couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She was going to marry them.
“Sam,” Melissa Paul breathed in a sultry voice. Abby wondered if she got paid by the minute to talk on a sex line. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re avoiding me.”
“Then you must know something we don’t.” Christa sounded sassy and confronted the blondes with one hand on her waist. “Because he is definitely trying to avoid you.”
There was a huffing sound from the secondary blonde, but Melissa Paul just rolled her eyes and focused on Sam. “Can we go somewhere and…talk? Leslie here can keep Jack company. She doesn’t mind at all, do you, Leslie?”
The other blonde was slightly unsteady as she took a step toward Jack. “I don’t. He looks hot. I don’t think he’s scary at all. Lissa thinks you’re too kinky for her, but that don’t scare me none.” She reached out and put a hand on Jack’s chest.
That was a little too much. Abby’s hand shot out and forcibly removed the hand that desperately needed a manicure. “Hands off, honey. This one is mine.”
“Maybe he should decide.” The blonde was now paying attention to Abby.
Jack was stumbling all over himself to get the words out of his mouth. “Oh, I am one hundred percent hers. Yup, all hers. We’re getting married on Thursday.” Abby heard Christa laugh and barely managed to contain her own, because Jack looked positively terrified at the idea of having to deal with the horny chick.
Melissa Paul looked infinitely pleased. “So old Jack is marrying the village whore. Good for him. I always knew he didn’t mind used goods.”
Sam suddenly wasn’t cowering anymore. He stood straight up, and Jack was out of his barstool, too. Leslie had the good sense to look afraid, but Melissa didn’t have the Darwinian instincts to know she was in trouble. She was still looking coyly at her prey. Abigail realized that if she wanted to defuse the situation, she would have to take it in hand. She laughed because it was really a silly thing.
Her throaty gut laugh got everyone’s attention. Sam, Jack, and Christa all looked at her like she’d gone the tiniest bit crazy. Abby gestured toward the blonde. She couldn’t stop laughing. It was making her cry a little.
“Look at her. She just called me a whore. Seriously? Honey, I can see your nipples. Don’t be ridiculous.” Abby took a deep breath. “Now, turn around, little girl, before you make a complete idiot of yourself.”
Melissa Paul’s head bobbed in outrage. “I’m not the one making a fool of myself. You’re some old cougar trying to get her hands on a man who could be her son.”
Abby’s hands went up in disgust. “What? Did I have him when I was five? I am not that much older than him. What have you done, Sam? Have you slept with every twenty-something blonde in the county?”
Sam looked at her with wide eyes. Abby was beginning to think of it as his kicked puppy look. “Not every single one. I’m sure there are some I missed, and now I promise my blonde-banging days are over. I swear I haven’t slept with a single other person since I met you. I am all about the redhead now.”
Abby sent a questioning look back at Jack.
He smiled angelically. “I don’t even like blondes. You’ll find I’ve practically been a saint compared to Sam.”
“I believe that,” Abby said flatly, shaking her head the whole time. She turned back to her younger rival. “Now, you’re scaring Sam. Please go away.”
Melissa looked between the two men and Abigail, a revelation slowly dawning. “It’s true, isn’t it? I thought that was just some ugly rumor. You two perverts like to share women. Well, hell, Sam, if that’s all you need, I can do Jack, I suppose. You don’t have to settle for some old chick. I can be kinky, too. Me and Leslie will even do a four-way if you like.”
“But I’m the whore.” Abby looked to Christa, who had the same look of disgust on her face. Abby realized this could get bad. Christa winked, letting her know she had Abby’s back. A strange sense of excitement thrilled through Abby. Her life had been relatively calm for the last couple of years. Christa had been right. This was the time to reclaim a little of her crazy youth, and it was definitely time to put the young girls in their place. “Keep your hands off my man, little girl. This one’s mine, too. I don’t know what he did to make you think he wants you, but he doesn’t. He’s very sorry to have led you on…”
“I didn’t…” Sam started, and then smartly shut his mouth at the look on Abby’s face.
“…but he is very committed to our relationship,” Abby explained firmly. “There will no more drunken hook-ups with bottle blondes. He’s going to curb his drinking so he can make more appropriate choices in the future. Sam is limited to three beers from now on.”
“What?” Sam looked around for help from some corner. There was none forthcoming. “Damn it.”
“So go find some other man to bother.” Abby dismissed the woman with a curt nod of her head.
Melissa Paul obviously wasn’t used to being dismissed. She leaned over and shoved a hand into Abby’s chest. “Listen here, bitch. I am not letting some old cougar push me around. You can have Jack. I think he’s a pervert, anyway, and I’m going to tell everyone in town that he’s forcing Sam to sleep with you. Everyone knows Sam depends on Jack for money. I’m going to ruin all of you if I don’t get Sam.”
Christa gasped beside her at the threats of the younger woman. Abby had had far more than enough. Her hand curled into a fist. “You forgot one thing about us cougars, little kitten. We have claws.” Abby reared her fist back and punched the younger woman straight in the face.
“What the hell are we supposed to do, Jack?” Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off the two women. Abby got Melissa in a chokehold. Leslie had tried to jump into the fray to help her friend, but Christa had given a loud rebel yell and leapt on the smaller woman. They were wrestling on the floor of the bar. This had caused a chain reaction as many of the women in the bar seemed to think a taboo had been broken. Three other girl fights had broken out, and it was hair-pulling, nail-scratching chaos.