On Lone Star Trail

by Amanda Cabot

  Gillian wasn’t like the boy TJ had been. She wouldn’t have minded being kissed, not even if it was only the tip of her nose, so long as TJ was the one doing the kissing. But it seemed he wasn’t interested. She must have been mistaken in believing something had changed and that he’d seen her as a woman, not simply a friend, last night.

  “Thanks,” Gillian said as calmly as she could when a lump the size of Texas had settled in her throat. “Do I look presentable now?” Thankfully, as far as she could tell, her face had not flushed despite the turmoil inside her.

  “You do indeed, Wonder Woman. I think we should celebrate your accomplishment. What do you say to a congratulatory milk shake?”

  “That sounds perfect!”

  She and TJ were halfway to the Sit ‘n’ Sip when a couple emerged from the diner. At first Gillian paid them little attention. School was over, and it was not uncommon to see teenage couples in town. But when the couple descended the two shallow steps to the sidewalk, Gillian stopped abruptly and stared, shocked by the identity of the couple.

  She touched TJ’s arm to get his attention. “That’s obviously Brianna, but who’s the guy? I’ve never seen him before.” And that bothered Gillian. Why was Brianna, who’d declared her intention of marrying Todd, with someone else?

  This man—for he was a man rather than a teenage boy—bore no resemblance to Todd. He had brown hair instead of blond, was a couple inches taller than Todd, and a good fifty pounds heavier with muscles straining at the seams of his T-shirt.

  TJ glanced at the couple before nodding slowly. “His name is Pete Darlington. He’s part of a new construction crew that’s working on Drew Carroll’s complex. One reason you haven’t seen him in town is they only started here last week.”

  Gillian felt her eyes widen in amazement. Her question about the man’s identity had been a rhetorical one. “How’d you learn all that?” She had expected TJ to be as clueless about the strange man’s identity as she was.

  TJ tipped his hat to the three women who were approaching before he responded. “I took my bike on a spin around town. When I got to the Carroll site, Pete was one of a group of men who wanted to talk about bikes.” As if anticipating Gillian’s next question, TJ continued. “He seems okay. A little rough around the edges. Not a bad guy, but definitely too old for Brianna.”

  “I agree. He’s got to be in his midtwenties.”

  The couple were heading for what Gillian assumed was Pete’s truck. Even from a distance, Gillian could see the way Brianna appeared to be hanging on Pete Darlington’s every word. Questions spiraled through her brain. Where had Brianna met Pete? Why was she attracted to him? And, most of all, what had happened to Todd?

  “They probably had a fight.”

  Despite the concern she couldn’t dismiss, laughter bubbled up inside Gillian. “Are you a mind reader? That’s twice you’ve answered questions before I could ask them.”

  “There are times I wish I could read minds,” TJ admitted. “It sure would make teaching easier. But in this case, the answer is simpler. I figured you were wondering the same thing I was: why Todd was no longer in the picture.”

  “Last week Brianna was ready to marry him.”

  TJ gave Gillian a knowing smile. “But a week is forever for a teenager. My guess is that Todd did something to annoy Brianna, and now her head’s turned by Pete’s attention. Besides the obvious appeal of having an older man interested, she’s probably using Pete to make Todd jealous.”

  “That sounds dangerous to me. I know it’s a cliché, but Brianna could be playing with fire.”

  TJ nodded. “Someone needs to set Pete straight.”

  As the truck bearing Brianna and her new crush raced away, Gillian looked at TJ. “Are you volunteering?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It sounds like infatuation to me.” Kate rested her hands on her baby bump and made a visible effort to relax. Though Gillian had thought she was joking about how nervous she was in the obstetrician’s waiting room, the pallor of Kate’s face as they’d entered the medical arts building had told her it was no joke. For some reason, normally unflappable Kate did not like even routine visits like today’s. Gillian hoped it had nothing to do with what happened to her mother, but she wouldn’t ask, because that might heighten Kate’s anxiety. She was nervous enough as it was.

  Normally Greg accompanied Kate and held her hand both literally and figuratively, but today he was in San Antonio at a meeting of area hoteliers. That was why Gillian had asked Linda and Sheila to babysit and Alexa to work at Hill Country Pages so she could accompany Kate.

  “Once TJ talks to Pete, it’ll be over,” Kate continued. “Pete will leave her alone, and Brianna will go back to Todd.”

  Though she had doubts, Gillian hoped TJ and Kate were right. There had been definite undercurrents at Firefly Valley last night. Brianna and Todd had joined the group, but they’d sat on opposite sides of the campfire, and though Todd’s gaze had drifted toward his former girlfriend, Brianna had kept her attention focused on either TJ or the girls at her side.

  “How do you know the difference between infatuation and love?” Gillian asked. If she was lucky, Kate would think her question was precipitated by Brianna’s situation, not more personal concerns.

  Kate closed her eyes for a second as she caressed the bump. “I can’t claim to be an expert on either one.”

  “But you dated a couple guys seriously before you married Greg.” And that made Kate an expert compared to Gillian, who’d never progressed to the seriously dating stage.

  “You would bring that up, wouldn’t you?” The twist of Kate’s lips told Gillian she didn’t appreciate the direction the conversation had headed. “I loved them, but now I realize I wasn’t in love with them.”

  She uncapped her water bottle and took a sip. “It’s a critical difference. I enjoyed being with them, but I wasn’t willing to commit when they started talking about marriage.” Her brown eyes were warm with mirth as she said, “It’s supposed to be the guys who get cold feet, isn’t it? Leave it to me to do things differently. I couldn’t explain it at the time, and I’m not sure I can even now, but something was holding me back.”

  Gillian thought about the years Kate had been dating. “Is that the reason I never met them? I was in New York enough times that you could have arranged for us to get together, but you never did.” Kate had talked about the two men and had shown Gillian their pictures, but she’d never done more than speak casually about Gillian’s meeting either man.

  Kate’s eyebrows rose, and a flush stained her cheeks. “I hadn’t thought you’d be upset by that. I guess I just didn’t want to share the time you and I had together with anyone.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “That should have been my clue. When I met Greg, I wanted you to meet him. Not to check him out and give your approval but because I wanted my best friend to know the man I love. I wanted you to be friends.”

  And they were. Before Gillian could do more than nod, the nurse entered the waiting room and nodded at Kate. “The doctor’s ready for you.”

  Kate rose, her previous nervousness apparently gone as she followed the nurse. “This won’t take long. Twenty minutes tops.”

  But that was more time than Gillian needed to ponder Mike’s invitation to spend Sunday with his family. Sally had told her when men were serious about a woman, they took her home to meet their mothers. At the time, Gillian had believed that to be an old-fashioned custom. No one did that anymore, or did they? Though Gillian had vague memories of being the flower girl at George’s wedding, she had no idea how her brother had approached courtship and when Lisa had first met her future father-in-law.

  All that had happened more than twenty years ago. Times had changed. As if that weren’t enough, this was Texas, a state noted for its friendliness. In all likelihood, Mike was simply being friendly, offering Gillian a chance for a home-cooked meal
and a change of scenery. She had no reason to imagine other motives behind the invitation.

  Gillian took a deep breath and switched on her e-reader. Perhaps Patricia Bradley’s latest suspense novel would keep her from worrying about Mike and his invitation.

  She shouldn’t worry. The truth was, she was looking forward to Sunday. If the rest of the Tarkett family was like Mike, it would be a pleasant day. Gillian imagined she’d feel both welcomed and at home with his parents and the aunts, uncles, and cousins who continued the tradition of spending Sunday together. She already knew she enjoyed being with Mike. They had a camaraderie that made her look forward to their time together.

  Gillian sighed as her brain refused to concentrate on the words she was trying to read. It was more than silly; it was downright annoying the way her thoughts kept drifting to TJ and the time they spent together.

  Why did her heart leap every time she saw TJ? He’d made it clear they had no future. Gillian had never been one to chase after lost causes or pine for something she could not have, but this was different. Though she told her brain there was no reason to cherish every moment she was with TJ, her heart was not listening.

  Infatuation. That must be the answer. What she felt was infatuation. Definitely not love.

  “Hey, dude, whatcha doing here today?” Pete Darlington called as TJ pulled into the job site. The muscular man was standing next to the construction trailer, a cold soda in his hand. “You gonna let me ride your bike?”

  TJ shook his head. “Nope. I wanted to talk to you about Brianna.” Though TJ rarely left school during his lunch break, he’d made an exception today, wanting to be certain he saw Pete before Brianna’s classes ended.

  “Brianna Carter?” The man’s innocent air did nothing to reassure TJ.

  “I heard you two are seeing a lot of each other.”

  “So what if we are? There’s no law against being friends.”

  “There is if it goes beyond friendship. She’s a minor.”

  The way Pete blanched confirmed TJ’s fear that the man had more than simple friendship in mind.

  “You’re kidding. She looks . . .”

  TJ shook his head. “I wouldn’t kid about something like that. She’s definitely underage.”

  Pete held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, man, I don’t plan to get into trouble.”

  As he returned to school, TJ couldn’t help noticing that Pete’s concern had been for himself and not Brianna.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Gillian asked when she entered Brianna’s trailer and found the girl with a tear-stained face. Though Brianna had seemed distant last night, she’d attended the campfire. Tonight she’d been conspicuously absent, and that had worried Gillian enough that she’d come looking for her.

  “Nope.” Brianna shook her head to emphasize her response. “There’s nothing you can do. Nothing anybody can do.”

  Recognizing the despair as a call for help, Gillian settled onto the couch. “Sometimes it helps to talk.”

  There was a moment of silence before Brianna gave a grudging nod. “Promise you won’t tell my mom?”

  It was Gillian’s turn to shake her head. “I can’t make that promise. If I think your life or someone else’s is in danger, I’d have to do something.”

  “It’s not my life. It’s my heart.” Brianna swiped a tear from her cheek. “I love him, but I don’t think he loves me anymore.”

  “Todd?” The boy had looked lovelorn the last time Gillian had seen him.

  “Todd?” Brianna spat the name as if it were a curse. “That’s over. Todd’s a boy. Pete’s a man.” Brianna’s face softened as she looked at Gillian. “I love Pete. He’s everything I ever wanted in a man. He’s even got a truck.”

  A truck and a driver’s license were an almost irresistible combination for a girl Brianna’s age. Add to that the appeal of having caught an older man’s attention and it didn’t take a genius to understand why Brianna was infatuated with Pete Darlington.

  “I’m probably going to sound like your mom, but what do you know about him?”

  “I know that he’s big and strong and handsome and he makes me feel like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  “But he’s kind of old, isn’t he?” Gillian tried to mute her concern, not wanting to discourage Brianna from confiding in her.

  Brianna shook her head again. “He’s not old. He’s grown up. Oh, Gillian, I want to marry him. He’s not like Todd.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I wanted to get married this summer, but Todd said we had to wait.”

  And that, Gillian suspected, was the reason for the rift between them.

  Brianna gestured toward the table with its heavy load of magazines and the dust bunny convention underneath. “Pete will take me away from this dump and give me a nice home and we’ll be so happy.”

  But that wouldn’t happen, because Natalie would never agree to the marriage, and—thanks to TJ’s conversation with him this afternoon—Pete now knew Brianna was far younger than she appeared.

  “Then, why are you crying?”

  “Because he says we can’t do anything until I’m older. Oh, Gillian, I don’t want to wait.”

  TJ smiled at the muted roar of his bike engine. It didn’t have the same deep-throated sound as a Harley, but he liked it, in part because the modifications the previous owner had made gave it a distinctive sound. His bike was one of a kind, like Gillian.

  His smile faded, and he gripped the handlebars tighter than necessary. This was becoming absurd. Though he was a grown man who knew better, he was acting like one of his students, being distracted by a pretty face. He frowned and shook his head. Gillian was more than a pretty face. She was an intelligent, talented, caring woman. A woman with many depths. A woman any man would be proud to have by his side.

  TJ leaned to the right as he rounded a corner a bit faster than he might have had he not been so obsessed with Gillian. Obsessed was a strong word, and yet he couldn’t deny that it fit. No matter how he tried to stop it, he found himself daydreaming about her, trying to understand every facet of the woman who’d become such an important part of his life.

  Gillian had an intense loyalty to Kate and her grandmother, but there was more to her than that. She obviously cared deeply about complete strangers. Why else would she devote so much energy to the senior center? And look how she’d taken Brianna under her wing. Others might have been put off by the girl’s appearance, but Gillian had seen beneath that and was doing everything she could to make sure the girl had a good future.

  She was brave too. TJ was certain it had taken a lot of courage to agree to play the church organ, knowing everyone was expecting perfection and that she might not be able to deliver it. A lesser woman would have found an excuse to refuse, but Gillian had not. She’d accepted the challenge, and if TJ was right, she would meet it.

  And then there was her giving nature. Though she was a woman of obvious means, she was willing to contribute sweat equity rather than simply writing a check. Even more importantly, she seemed to gain an inordinate amount of pleasure from that sweat equity, almost as if she had been proving something to herself as she painted those walls. Perhaps she had been.

  Though he’d planned to stop by the senior center to see if there was anything else Gillian needed, TJ headed for the highway. He needed a couple miles of open road to clear his head. Somehow, some way, he needed to make sense of his thoughts.

  He wouldn’t deny that Gillian was a woman of contrasts, a woman who fascinated him. He also wouldn’t deny that he wanted to spend every day with her. But as Shakespeare said, there was the rub. No matter how he felt about Gillian, TJ knew he had little to offer her.

  Mike Tarkett had money, prestige, and social prominence. On top of that, he was a genuinely nice guy who obviously cared for her. He could give Gillian everything she deserved with no strings atta
ched. Mike was the kind of man she should marry.

  What did TJ have? Not even a whole heart. Slowly, ever so slowly, he was coming to accept that what Greg had said was true. Deb wouldn’t want him to give up a chance at happiness. But that didn’t mean TJ was ready to open his heart to another woman, not when all he could give her was a tiny sliver of that heart.

  Logic said he should back off, that he should limit their time together to supper and the evenings at Firefly Valley. TJ knew that. But his heart said something quite different.

  28

  I can’t believe it.” Gillian leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the arena. If she minded being at the top of the grandstands, she gave no sign. If this wasn’t the way she’d expected to spend a Saturday afternoon, again she gave no sign. Instead, she seemed fascinated by everything going on below. It was TJ who had second thoughts.

  He’d told himself to keep his distance. He’d told himself they could be nothing more than friends. He’d even told himself it didn’t bother him that Gillian would be spending most of tomorrow with Mike Tarkett and his family. None of those admonitions had had any effect, which was why TJ was seated next to Gillian on what could only be called a date.

  Coming here had been a last-minute decision, which was why they had seats in the nosebleed section. Though TJ was not normally impulsive, when he’d seen the ad for a rodeo less than an hour’s drive from Dupree, he’d found himself imagining it through Gillian’s eyes.

  To his surprise, she hadn’t needed much persuasion. When he’d mentioned it, a bright smile had lit her face, and she’d confirmed what he’d suspected: she’d never been to a rodeo. Her obvious eagerness to experience this quintessential western event had told TJ it wasn’t a mistake, no matter how his heart might ache. If today brought Gillian pleasure, that was all that mattered.