by Cindi Myers
"I don't know what to think," Theresa said. "I'm a little stunned myself."
"I was hoping you'd be happy for me."
"I am." She nodded. "If this is what you want, then I'm happy."
Then why didn't she look happier? Standing there in that white lacy dress, she looked like a bride who'd been left at the altar.
They needed to talk more, but before he could say so another neighbor, Travis Wiley, grabbed Kyle's arm and insisted he join them for a game of horseshoes. "You can talk to that pretty gal of yours anytime," Old Man Wiley said. "You can only play horseshoes against me once a year."
"You just know you'll whip me because I'm out of practice," he said. "Maybe in a couple of minutes." He turned back to Theresa to continue their conversation, but she was already halfway to the house, her black hair flying like a horse's mane behind her, the full skirt of her white dress billowing out as she hurried across the yard.
THERESA FLUNG OPEN HER suitcase and blindly stuffed clothes into it. She went into the bathroom and swept the counter and the ledge of the tub clean, tossing toothbrush, shampoo and makeup into her travel case. She'd sort everything out when she got home. Right now she just had to get out of here.
When Kyle had faced down his sister and made his announcement, she'd silently cheered, applauding him for refusing to let Kristen bully him. Kyle had looked at her and she'd seen his silent plea for approval. But then Kristen had lashed out at her and she'd panicked.Was Kristen right? Had Kyle sold away his birthright for her? The idea terrified her. It was one thing to imagine that she was in love with Kyle, or even to hope he might love her. But for him to give up so much...and why? Was it really what he wanted? Or only what he thought she wanted?
Last night at the creek, they'd been so close. At one point, he'd started to tell her something and she'd immediately brushed him off. She'd been afraid he was going to tell her he loved her, and she wasn't ready for that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Had he seen the fear in her eyes and decided that instead of telling her his feelings he'd make some grand gesture to show them to her? He was just the kind of man to do something like that. After all, he'd made a bedroom under the stars and danced almost naked on her coffee table to impress her. Maybe giving up his share of the ranch was the same kind of thing.
She thought of what his friend Mike had said, about ranching being in his blood. If that was true, then turning his back on that for someone else--for a woman with no ties and family of her own--was asking for trouble. What would happen in a few years when he realized he'd made a mistake? Who would he blame his unhappiness on if not her?
She zipped the suitcase shut and glanced around the room, looking for anything she might have left behind. Then she grabbed her purse and the case and tiptoed down the stairs. She stashed the suitcase in the back of Ken's truck, then went to find him.
He was in the kitchen chipping ice, thankfully alone. "Does Wimberley have a bus station?" she asked.
He looked up, startled. "No, you have to go to San Marcos for that."
"Can you take me there? Now? I need to get back to Austin."
He frowned. "Why don't you ask Kyle to take you?"
"I don't want to spoil his fun." She tossed her hair back and tried to look unconcerned. "Something's come up."
Ken laid aside the ice pick and studied her. "You two have a fight or something?"
"No." She twisted her hands together. "Please, will you just take me to the bus station?"
She thought he was going to say no, but after a long silence, he nodded. "Okay, let me get my keys." She followed him out to the truck. "You know you're going to cause all kinds of gossip, don't you?" he said as they climbed in.
"What do you mean?" She fastened her seat belt.
"Everybody'll be talking about how I ran off with my brother-in-law's girlfriend."
"They'll find out the truth when you come back without me."
He grinned. "I don't know. I might just let them think we were up to something. It'll be good for my reputation."
She laughed in spite of the tension coiled in her chest. "You're incorrigible."
"So my wife tells me all the time." He started the engine. "I like to think that's why she married me."
As they pulled away from the house, she stared out the window at the rows of pickup trucks and cars parked under the trees along the drive. "What will you tell Kyle?"
"That you had to leave. That you said something came up. That you wouldn't tell me what it was."
She nodded. Kyle would probably be angry with her, but maybe that was for the best. If he got mad at her, maybe he'd think more about what he was doing.
"This isn't because he said he is selling his half of the ranch, is it?" Ken asked. "I mean, it's not like it's some big spread worth a lot of money or anything."
She shook her head. "No. It's not about the ranch. It's about me." That at least was the truth. She loved Kyle, but she didn't want him building his future around her. She couldn't handle that kind of responsibility. If you started counting on other people to make you happy, you'd only end up in trouble. Kyle needed to figure that out, and maybe he needed to do it without her.
15
BY THE TIME KYLE MADE IT INTO the house to talk to Theresa, there was no sign of her. When he found the guest bedroom vacant, without so much as a lipstick left behind, he felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut.
He descended the stairs two at a time and barreled into the kitchen, where he found Kristen angrily stabbing toothpicks into jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese. "Where's Theresa?" he demanded.She impaled another pepper and arranged it on a tray. "How should I know?"
"Her suitcase isn't in her room." He grabbed Kristen's arm and turned her around to face him. "Did you say something else to her? Something to make her want to leave?"
"I didn't say anything to her." She shook loose from him. "If she left, I didn't have anything to do with it."
"Except that you upset her, telling her it was her fault I was selling my share of the ranch. Don't you think I'm man enough to make my own decisions?"
She turned away from him again, shoulders hunched. "Not when it's such a stupid decision."
"It's not stupid." He took a deep breath, struggling to stay calm, to force his way past the blinders she wore, to make her understand why he'd done the right thing for all of them. "Look--I know you're my sister, but we aren't twins. We aren't alike. We don't think alike. You love this place and this life, but to me it's always felt like I was trying to wear boots that were too small or a shirt that's too tight." He raked his hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. "I'm almost thirty years old and I haven't done squat with my life. And you know why? It's because I felt some kind of, I don't know, some kind of obligation to keep my hand in here. To try to do what everyone thought I should do-- Mom and Dad and you and Ken and all the people we grew up with who looked at me and saw a rancher's son who would be a rancher, too." He shook his head. "But it never felt right to me. I could never make it fit. So I wasted time on the rodeo circuit, thinking if I waited long enough, things would come together for me. But they haven't."
"Maybe you haven't given ranching enough of a chance," she said. "Maybe if you tried--"
He took her hand in his, silencing her. "No. If I was going to make ranching my life, I would have done so by now. And all the waiting in the world isn't going to change anything or get me anywhere."
Twin worry lines stood out on her forehead. "Why now? It seems so sudden. I can't help thinking Theresa had something to do with your decision."
"All Theresa did was show me that there's no crime in living life the way you want to live it--in being yourself and not worrying that that's going to somehow hurt the people who really love you." He squeezed Kristen's hand in his. "You're always saying you want me to be happy. Well, this is what's going to make me happy. I need this chance to live the kind of life I want to live. I'd like to know you're okay with that, but even if you're not, t
his is something I have to do."
He saw the struggle reflected in Kristen's eyes as she weighed this ultimatum. She studied him for a long moment, as if searching for some confirmation that this wasn't another of his phases, that he was serious this time. At last she nodded, though her voice still held doubt. "If you're sure..."
"I'm sure."
She slipped her hand from his and straightened her shoulders. "What about Theresa? Where does she fit into all this?"
"I'm not sure. I guess that depends on her." He took a deep breath, trying to control the sudden alarming shakiness in his voice. "I thought when I first met her she'd just be a way to pass the time while I was recovering--a phase, like you said. But she's turned out to mean a lot more to me than that. I--I love her and I hope she feels the same way about me." Saying the words out loud made his heart pound and he folded his arms over his chest, as if he could keep in the combination of fear and giddiness rocketing around inside of him.
Kristen's expression softened. "Oh, Kyle. I had no idea...."
He gave one sharp bark of laughter. "It's wild, isn't it?" He looked around the kitchen. "And now she's gone haring off who knows where. What am I going to do?"
She came and put her arm around him. "You'll go find her and you'll grovel if you have to." She smiled. "Women appreciate that sometimes, you know."
"But what if she doesn't want anything to do with me?"
"Don't borrow trouble." She pushed him away. "Go on now. Go find her. You'll be all right. I promise."
"That's what you always say. Like you know everything."
"Sometimes I do." She smiled. "For instance, I know I haven't given you enough credit before now." She turned back to the tray of peppers. "I'm going to try to change that, but old habits die hard."
"If I can change, you can, too. And I hope Theresa can change a little, too, and let me into her life on a more permanent basis."
"Go. Don't waste any more time."
"That's true. I've wasted enough already." He kissed her cheek. "Thanks."
"But I didn't do anything."
"You listened. And you understood. That's a lot in my book."
"Go!"
THERESA TOOK A CAB FROM THE bus station to Austin Body Art. When she walked in, Cherry and Scott looked up from where they'd had their heads together over the computer, startled. "Theresa! What are you doing here?" Cherry asked.
"Let's just say the weekend didn't turn out to be as relaxing as I'd hoped." She stuffed her purse and suitcase behind the counter."Oh, no! Did something happen with Kyle?" Cherry asked. "Did you two have a fight?"
Maybe it would have been better if they'd had a real knock-down, drag-out battle. Instead they'd left too many things unsaid. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh." Cherry clearly was disappointed not to be getting the inside scoop. Then she brightened. "That's a great dress."
"Yeah," Scott agreed. "I've never seen you in a dress before."
"What's that supposed to mean?" In all the turmoil, she'd forgotten all about what she was wearing. Now she'd never hear the end of it. The tiger lady changed her leather and denim for a white lace dress? Who does she think she is? She straightened her shoulders and glared at him. "I can wear a dress if I want to."
He took a step back. "You can wear anything you want. I just meant you look nice, that's all."
"You do look really nice," Cherry said. "White is a great color with your dark hair. That fitted bodice is really flattering, too." She nodded. "You should wear dresses more often."
Just what she needed--fashion advice from a girl whose entire wardrobe looked as if it had been purchased at a rummage sale put on by Gypsies.
She flipped open the appointment book and scowled at it. "What's been going on here while I was gone?"
"Nothing too exciting." Scott looked over her shoulder. "It hasn't been busy, but it's been fairly steady. And hey, we got these." He picked up a stack of bumper stickers from beside the cash register and handed them to her. "Madeline brought them by yesterday."
Save Sixth Street! the bumper sticker proclaimed.
"The business owners' coalition has been busy," Cherry said. "They held a big press conference and rally yesterday and hope to get some good coverage. They're trying to show that Sixth Street isn't as sleazy as 'Clean' Carter and his bunch have made out."
"Hmph. Good luck with that. I just hope it's not too late. The election is only a couple of weeks away."
"I think that's enough time," Cherry said.
"Maybe." Even if the coalition succeeded in defeating Carter and bringing business back to the area, she wasn't sure she wanted to stay here anymore. Maybe she'd let Scott run the shop while she visited Zach in Chicago. She might even decide to stay in the Windy City, or she could go to New Orleans or even New York. She'd spent her whole life in Austin; maybe it was time she saw more of the world. After all, she didn't have anything or anyone to hold her here. The thought made her stomach hurt.
"I designed a new tat," Scott said. "Want to see?"
"Sure." Anything to avoid more talk about her own screwed-up situation. She summoned a look of interest.
He flipped open a sketchbook and showed her a drawing of a tree branch and a star. "Is that a pecan tree?" she asked.
He grinned. "Exactly."
"Why? Because you're nuts?"
He made a face at her. "No, it's because before they switched to numbering streets, this was Pecan Street."
"And the star is for Austin, the capital," Cherry added.
"Very nice." Theresa nodded. "Where are you going to put it?"
He pointed to his forearm. "Right here. I want to be able to see it all the time."
She glanced at the appointment book again. "There's no one scheduled. I can do it for you right now." Nothing like work to take her mind off her personal problems.
"You can't do that!" Cherry put out her hand as if to physically stop her. "You'll ruin that gorgeous dress."
Theresa glanced down at the dress. "It doesn't matter. I don't plan to ever wear it again." Too many bad memories were tied up in this dress.
"It's still too beautiful to ruin."
"Besides, I kind of wanted Cherry to ink this one." Scott flushed as he cast a sideways look at his co-worker. "I mean, she and I came up with this together."
"That's right." Cherry picked up a pen from the counter, then set it back down. "I mean, we weren't expecting you back or anything." The tips of the girl's ears were as red as her hair.
Some of the fog lifted from Theresa's brain. All the shared glances, the physical closeness and the conspiratorial smiles suddenly made sense. She looked at the two more closely. "I thought you two didn't like each other."
"Why would you think that?" It was Cherry's turn to look defensive.
Scott coughed. "We didn't know each other very well, that's all."
Cherry glanced at him. "Once I figured out the whole playboy thing was just an act, I discovered he wasn't so bad after all."
"Just an act?" Theresa gave him a skeptical look. "All those different women? All the parties?"
He flushed. "Maybe I exaggerated a little bit."
"Uh-huh." She bet there was a hell of a story behind that little confession, but she was too weary to pursue it at the moment.
"So, uh, is it okay if Cherry does this tattoo?"
"Sure. Cherry can do it. I was just offering."
"You look worn out," Cherry said. "Why don't you go on home and get some rest? We can take care of things here."
Scott nodded. "Yeah. We'll hold down the fort while you get some rest."
They both looked at her as though they expected her to keel over at any moment. "When did I turn into an old lady who has to go home and take a nap in the middle of the afternoon?" Besides, the last thing she wanted right now was to be alone. Once there was no one else around to distract her, she was sure her own thoughts would close in and she'd start doubting her decision to run away from Kyle.
Cherry gave he
r a funny look. "I didn't say you were old--you just seem a little upset."
"I am not upset!" She cringed when she heard the shrillness of her voice. Okay, she needed to get a grip here. She took a deep breath. "I'll be fine. And I don't want to go home. I'll just...go over the accounts or something." Sure. Nothing like a little number crunching to depress her even further. Then again, no sense saving the task for later and risking spoiling a good mood. If she was going to wallow in misery, might as well go whole-hog.
THE FIRST THING KYLE SAW when he reached downtown Austin was a banner stretched over Lamar announcing Save Sixth Street! About time somebody gave Carter a dose of his own medicine, he thought as he turned onto East Sixth. Now if he could just make Theresa listen to reason....
When he walked into Austin Body Art, he saw that he'd guessed right--she'd come here rather than to her apartment. She was frowning at the computer screen, looking a little out of place against the backdrop of colorful flashes in that white, lacy dress. Seeing that dress reminded him that there was a soft, romantic woman beneath her tough-girl disguise. The idea gave him hope. The romantic woman was the one he needed to reach right now."Theresa?"
She looked up from the computer, and the flash of pain in her eyes wounded him. But then she covered it up with a hard look. She pushed her chair back from the computer and stood. "What are you doing here?"
He walked over and stood at the counter. "I could ask you the same thing. Last I checked, you were supposed to be at a barbecue at my sister's house. Why did you run out of there that way?"
The lines around her mouth tightened. "Kristen's right. I don't belong with that crowd."
"Who says? My friends liked meeting you. They were asking about you."
She looked away from him. "I didn't see any point in hanging around any longer," she mumbled.
"Oh, you didn't? You didn't think there were a few things you and I needed to talk about?"
