A Jackson Hole Homecoming

by Cindy Kirk

  The second the word crossed her mind, she banished it to the hinterlands. She liked Tripp. Liked him a lot. When she was younger, she was convinced she loved him.

  Now she realized what she’d felt had been a version of puppy love. He was so cute and so nice, what teenage girl wouldn’t have fallen in love with him? But now Anna realized there needed to be more to a man than a sexy smile.

  To truly love someone, you had to know them. While she and Tripp were casual friends, she didn’t really know what made him tick. Like his suggesting they participate in this charade. Until that moment she hadn’t realized quite how important his family was to him.

  No, she didn’t love Tripp Randall. She didn’t know him well enough to love him. For some reason the realization made her feel better.

  They’d just finished speaking with the mayor and his wife when Anna heard Tripp mutter an expletive under his breath.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked in a tone low enough for his ears only.

  “Winn Ferris.” His own voice was more of a growl.

  Anna looked up to see Winn striding across the room with the two of them firmly in his crosshairs. She smiled, then turned to Tripp. “You told your parents you were buddies.”

  Okay, perhaps he hadn’t used the word buddy, but what he’d said gave that impression.

  “I lied.” Tripp’s jaw set in a hard angle even as a smile lifted his lips.

  “But why?”

  “I’ll tell you when we’re alone.” Tripp held out his hand when Winn drew near. “Fancy running into you here.”

  “This is the place to be tonight,” Winn said smoothly, shaking Tripp’s hand before shifting his gaze to Anna. “Aren’t you a vision of loveliness in that dress. You put all the other women in the room to shame.”

  “Hello, Winn.” Anna couldn’t help but smile. The man was full of it, but she rather liked his style.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Winn asked solicitously as if she was his date, not Tripp’s.

  Tripp’s scowl told Anna that fact hadn’t escaped his notice.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “It was nice seeing you, Winn.”

  Anna closed her fingers around Tripp’s arm and spoke to him as though they were alone. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” She turned to Winn. “I’m sure we’ll see you later.”

  She didn’t even give Winn a chance to respond, but pulled a quite willing Tripp through the crowd.

  “Who do you want me to meet?” he asked, appearing mildly curious.

  “No one,” she said.

  “No one? But you told Winn—”

  “Did you want to spend more time with him?” she asked as they turned the corner and entered a room displaying Native American folk art.

  “Not at all.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Anna paused to look at a piece of intricately painted pottery. “So, like a good girlfriend, I extricated us from the situation.”

  “Well done, Ms. Lee.”

  His approving smile sent warmth sluicing through her body.

  “I may just have to keep you around,” he added in a teasing tone.

  “I’m yours for a month,” she murmured.

  Tripp stepped close and brushed a strand of hair that had come loose back from her face. “I have a feeling that time is going to go by way too quickly.”

  Her breath stopped, then began again, ragged and unsteady. “What a sweet thing to say.”

  His eyes darkened and his hand lowered to her shoulder.

  Her body tightened in anticipation. Was he really going to kiss her here, surrounded by all these people?

  “There you are.”

  Kathy Randall’s words were like a splash of cold water. Anna took a step back as heat flooded her cheeks.

  “Ohmigoodness.” His mother’s gaze shifted from Anna to her son. “Did I interrupt something?”

  “Not at all,” Tripp said smoothly. “Anna and I were just having a private discussion.”

  Frank covered his snort of laughter with a cough.

  “When I saw you I meant to invite you both for dinner tomorrow. But it completely slipped my mind.” She shifted her gaze to her son. “I’m making pot roast.”

  From the way she looked at Tripp, Anna guessed it must be one of his favorites.

  “Tomorrow is Friday night, Mother.”

  “I know you two will probably be doing something,” Kathy said, not appearing deterred by his lack of enthusiasm. “I thought we could eat early, say around six, which will still give you the entire evening to do, well, whatever it is you have planned.”

  Anna wondered why Tripp was hesitating. If he wanted to spend more time with his dad, having dinner seemed a perfect way to do it. “I love pot roast.”

  “Perfect.” Kathy’s smile was blinding. “We’ll see you at six.”

  “What did Winn want—” Frank began.

  “Honey,” Kathy said, “we’ve monopolized them enough this evening.” Her eyes began to twinkle. “Let’s let them get back to their, uh, discussion.”

  “Sorry ’bout that.” Frank gave his son a wink, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Carry on.”

  Anna wanted to melt right through the floor.

  “I feel like a sixteen-year-old kid caught making out on our living room sofa,” Tripp said, shaking his head. “Except this time, instead of discouraging the intimacy, they’re encouraging it.”

  “Did they ever catch you and Gayle making out?” Anna wasn’t quite sure why she asked. Unless it was to remind herself that what he and Gayle had shared was special, while what she and Tripp shared was simply a business arrangement.

  Tripp gave a halfhearted laugh. “A couple of times.”

  Anna simply smiled, not sure how to respond.

  “How about you?” Tripp asked after a long moment. “Did your parents ever walk in on you and a guy?”

  “Actually...” Anna paused, embarrassed by the admission she was about to make, yet not sure why. Lots of girls didn’t date in high school. “I never brought a guy home. I wasn’t much into dating when I was younger.”

  The sad fact was, boys hadn’t been into her. But it was humiliating enough to not have had a date until college without adding that little detail. And even more humiliating to recall once she had started dating how she’d let herself be played, even though she’d been old enough to know better.

  “Now that you say it, I don’t remember seeing you at any of the high school dances.”

  It was kind of him to act as though he’d noticed her back then, when they both knew she was about as far off his radar as one could get.

  “So no make-out sessions on the couch? Ever?”

  Anna sighed. “Not a one.”

  “During the next thirty days, we’ll have to remedy that situation.”

  Anna froze. Was he suggesting that they, that the two of them...make out? Oh, my. She resisted the urge to fan her flaming face.

  “Start walking.” Tripp took her arm. At her startled look, he smiled. “Mrs. Wieskamp from the hospital auxiliary is headed in our direction. Once she gets started talking about her cats, it’s hard to get away.”

  Anna liked wrapping her hand around Tripp’s hand. Even though she’d attended several of these types of events either alone or with Betsy or other friends, it felt good to be part of a couple.

  Oh, who are you kidding? You like being with Tripp.

  By the time the event began winding down, Anna had to admit that it was Tripp who’d made the evening memorable. He wowed her with his knowledge of folk art, and with him laughing at some of her pithy one-liners, she felt positively brilliant.

  People whom she’d felt uncomfortable with—probably because they were shy like her—blossomed under Tri
pp’s genuine interest and friendliness. By the time they walked to his truck, she felt as if she’d made some new friends.

  “That was fun,” she said, when he reached around and opened the passenger door for her.

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I guess I am,” she admitted. “Normally these events are a chore for me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I’m shy,” she told him, although she felt certain it was something he’d already observed. “It’s hard for me to make small talk.”

  Even as he slipped behind the wheel, he shook his head. “You have to be making that up. You appear so at ease.”

  Ah, no, that was him.

  “Thank you for that compliment,” she said, flushing with pleasure. “But you make it easy. You’re so good with people. You seem to genuinely care.”

  “I like people,” he admitted, backing up the truck and heading down the steep drive back to the highway. “And I do care. I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m toying with the idea of running for office.”

  Anna pulled her brows together and cocked her head. “What office?”

  “Mayor of Jackson,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Really? You’re interested in politics?”

  “I have been for a long time,” he admitted, sounding almost embarrassed by the admission.

  “I’m surprised Gayle never mentioned that to me.”

  Tripp’s smile disappeared. “Her stance on the issue was too little money for too much work.”

  “Oh.” Anna wasn’t sure what to say, though she had to admit that comment sounded like Gayle. “Well, I’m impressed. And the town would be lucky to have you.”

  Tripp appeared touched. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’ll make the right decision.”

  “I’d like to be able to have an impact on all the changes the town will be facing,” he said, almost eagerly. “The problem is, I enjoy what I’m doing. I’m not sure I’m ready to give that up.”

  A chill traveled up Anna’s spine as something occurred to her. “When you’re a politician, every aspect of you and your family’s life is under scrutiny.”

  “You’re right about that,” he said with a laugh. “Good thing I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “Yeah,” Anna said faintly, “good thing.”

  And it was a good thing that she wasn’t really his girlfriend and that there was no chance she’d ever be his wife. While he might not have anything to hide, she did.

  Chapter Ten

  Although Tripp had assured Anna that dinner in the Randall household was a casual affair, she couldn’t bring herself to show up in jeans. Because the area was still in the throes of Indian summer, she chose a flirty tan dress with rust-colored flowers and a pair of cork sandals.

  Tripp showed up on her doorstep in a pair of worn denim jeans and a graphic T-shirt. She liked him this way. When she saw him at the hospital his hair was always carefully controlled, but tonight the blond strands were allowed to be wild.

  On the way over to his parents’ ranch, she had to fight the urge to run her fingers through those silken curls.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind going over to Ryan and Betsy’s house later tonight?” she asked Tripp when they pulled into the long lane leading to his parents’ home.

  Betsy had called earlier and asked if Anna wanted to come over in the evening. She could tell her friend was shocked when she said that she had plans with Tripp. Apparently none of the women at the book club had spilled the news.

  When Betsy had told her to bring Tripp along, Anna had called him at work to see if he was interested.

  “Going over there is perfect,” Tripp said. “It’s just the kind of thing a couple dating would do. Plus it’ll give me a chance to catch up with Ryan on the latest with Keenan and you and Betsy can have your time.”

  She wanted to tell him that a date wasn’t where one person went off with their friend while the other person did the same, but then she reminded herself they weren’t on a date. Not really.

  “Thanks for agreeing to come to dinner,” Tripp said when they reached the front door. “I know it means a lot to my parents.”

  “I like them,” Anna said. “And I like pot roast.”

  By the time they finished with dinner, Anna realized what she’d told Tripp when they’d arrived had been an understatement. She loved his mother’s pot roast.

  “That was a fabulous meal,” Anna told Kathy as they relaxed at the table over apple crisp and coffee. “I can’t remember when I’ve had better.”

  “I can’t tell you how happy I was when I learned you weren’t a vegetarian.”

  “Mo-om,” Hailey said in warning.

  “I mean, it would have been fine if you were,” Kathy hastily added. “But in this family we do love our beef and pork.”

  At first Anna didn’t make the connection until she remembered that Gayle had been a vegetarian.

  “Well, it was wonderful,” Anna said.

  The momentary silence that settled over the table was broken by Hailey.

  “Karla told me she’s so excited that you’re going to deliver her baby,” Hailey said.

  Kathy raised a brow. “Which Karla are we talking about?”

  “Karla Anderson,” Hailey explained. “You remember her. She and I hung out in high school.”

  Because of confidentiality concerns, anytime someone mentioned one of Anna’s patients, she was careful in what she divulged.

  “I ran into Karla at Hill of Beans,” Anna told Tripp’s sister. “We had lunch together.”

  “Karla Anderson is pregnant?” Surprise crossed Kathy Randall’s face. Her gaze settled on her daughter. “I didn’t realize she was even married.”

  “Oh, Mom.” Hailey rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be married to be pregnant.”

  “You do in this family,” her dad said from the other end of the table, shooting his daughter a pointed gaze.

  “Well, Karla thought she had found ‘The One,’ but in the end she tossed him back.” Tripp’s sister added a big dollop of homemade whipped cream to the top of her dessert.

  “Tossed him back?” Tripp frowned. “Like the father of her baby didn’t even matter?”

  “I’m probably not doing a good job of explaining it.” Hailey turned to Anna. “If I get it wrong, just correct me.”

  Anna gave a noncommittal smile and took a sip of coffee. She had no intention of discussing Karla’s personal life over the dinner table. If Hailey wanted to spill all her friend’s secrets, that was up to her.

  “Justin—he’s the baby’s father—had been engaged to this girl named Chelsea before he met Karla. Apparently she was this goddess and Karla always worried he was still hung up on her.”

  Hailey paused to take a bite of apple crisp.

  “So what happened?” Her mother rested her arms on the table, her own dessert forgotten.

  “Apparently the day Karla found out she was pregnant, Justin told her Chelsea wanted him back.”

  “Did he want Chelsea?” Kathy asked.

  “I guess so.” Hailey shrugged. “Anyway, Karla moved back to Jackson and Justin is in Kansas City. He keeps calling and pleading with her to move back, but she doesn’t want to be second best.”

  A silence settled over the table.

  “That would be hard,” Kathy said finally. “I’m glad you’re not in that situation.”

  “Pregnant?” Hailey said. “Or with a guy who’s hung up on another woman?”

  “Both,” Kathy said at the same time as Frank, and they all laughed.

  Anna joined in the laughter, although she didn’t find anything particularly funny about the situation. Karla’s story hit a little to
o close to home. She noticed Tripp’s smile appeared strained.

  Was he thinking what it would be like if his baby sister was in that situation? Or was he remembering Gayle and realizing that anyone who came after her would always be second best?

  * * *

  “I was so surprised when you told me that you were going out with Tripp this evening.” Betsy stroked the soft red fur of her Pomeranian, Puffy, who sat cuddled on the sofa beside her.

  The baby had been fed and burped and put to bed shortly after they arrived, and the last time they checked, had been sleeping soundly.

  Even though Ryan and Tripp were in the other room, Betsy kept her tone low, as if concerned about being overheard.

  Anna leaned forward. “I’m going to tell you something, Bets, but you have to promise me to keep this confidential. You can’t tell anyone. Not Lexi or July or Kate—none of our friends.”

  Betsy’s brows drew together. “Can I tell Ryan? We don’t keep secrets from each other. He won’t tell anyone.”

  Anna thought for a second. “Okay, but swear him to secrecy, too.”

  “What’s going on, Anna?” Betsy’s voice shook. “I have to admit you’re scaring me.”

  Anna gave a little chuckle. “There’s nothing scary about it, Bets. It’s just kind of sensitive.”

  “Well, don’t keep me waiting. Spill.”

  “Tripp and I aren’t really dating.” Anna found herself embarrassed by the admission. “His parents got this idea we were a couple. You know his dad has some serious health issues. Well, we didn’t want to tell him it wasn’t the case and make him feel badly—”

  Betsy’s entire face pulled together in a frown. “So you’re going to do the fake-dating thing indefinitely? Until he gets better or until he—”

  “No, of course not,” Anna said quickly. “It’s just for a month. Hopefully his dad will be doing better by then. But no matter how it’s going, at that point, we’ll break up and go our separate ways.”

  “You know I’ve always thought of you as one of my smartest friends.” Betty spoke slowly and deliberately. “But I’m having trouble making sense of this arrangement.”