by Debra Holt
The arrival of their food interrupted the conversation, but just for a couple of minutes. He watched her take a bite of her food and waited for her verdict.
“I have to agree. This is very good. Thanks for recommending it to me.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled in turn before taking a forkful from his own plate. If she thought he had forgotten their conversation, he soon burst that bubble.
“Are you going to tell me your pen name or make me guess?”
“Sabrina Noelle,” she supplied. She was proud of her writing, so why make it a mystery? She just didn’t think he would find her genre to his taste.
“Sounds classy. How did you come up with that name? Or does your publisher decide?”
To his credit, he actually did sound interested. That was more than Donnie, or any of her other dates, had ever done. Not that Davis McKenna was a date! She cleared that up in her mind right away.
“Sabrina comes from the title of an old Audrey Hepburn movie that I love, and Noelle was the name of my first cat.”
Another grin was sent her way. “That’s interesting. My sister, Darcy, likes that same movie. She even made me sit through it a time or two with her when we were growing up and I had to find some way to bribe her into behaving and going to bed when I told her.”
“That’s the only way you would sit through an old movie like that is what you’re really saying.” Stacy teased in return.
“I think they call it a chick flick now, but I’ll admit I did prefer westerns growing up. Although, I like to think that my interests have expanded as an adult. I did see Les Miserables while I was in New York last fall.”
“That’s a very good way to expand your interests,” she replied.
“This is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. It’s a nice twist to my day,” Davis said, his eyes growing warm as he wiped the corners of his mouth and then laid his napkin beside his plate. His long fingers laced across the top of his tea glass as he settled his solemn gaze upon her.
“Thank you. It has been nice.”
“I detect a bit of surprise in your tone,” he noted, “and that leads me to ask a question that I wanted to ask the last time we were together, but you left too quickly.”
Stacy laid her own napkin down on the table and waited. “What’s the question?”
“Why don’t you date cowboys?”
There was a second or two of hesitation. Then she replied. “It’s complicated, but the short version would be they just aren’t my type.”
“And I suppose the man you were with earlier today at the capital… that would be your type?”
“You could say that.”
“You really don’t sound all that sure.”
“It isn’t so much a type. Maybe that’s the wrong word.” Stacy was trying to explain, but it was harder than she thought it would be, trying to formulate her belief into words. Why did it matter so much that the man seated across from her be able to understand her reasoning?
“What do you look for in a man? Is that a better way to put it?”
She took a moment or two to consider his question. Many descriptions came to mind but were sorted through and discarded. Especially the first response, that had come quickly to her mind… you. Had her brain had a short circuit? That would certainly never do and she had no idea why that had even occurred.
When she did reply, it was with careful consideration to her words. “Someone who can be trusted. He keeps his word. He cares about other people and their hopes and dreams. Someone strong, but with a sense of humor. He’ll be there no matter what comes… the good or the bad…” Her voice trailed off.
“For better or for worse, in sickness or health… for the rest of your life,” he completed slowly.
How many minutes did they sit staring into each other’s eyes? Maybe it was just a few moments, but it felt much longer.
“Does that sum it up?” His low voice brought her back to the moment.
“I suppose it does. Just consider me an old-fashioned sort of girl.”
“That’s a good way to be. There are a lot of us who think the same way. It’s just hard sometimes to find the right person who happens to believe in those same values.”
The chiming of a bell in a clock tower in the distance brought her back to the fact that it was growing later and time she got back to her work. That was what she should do. However, her feet weren’t moving very fast to send her in that direction. She stayed in her seat. It was a little disappointing when he made the move to end their lunch.
“I hate to say it, but I have a meeting in half an hour. That creates a big problem.”
Stacy was ready to stand and walk away. His words made her pause.
“Problem?”
“Actually, two problems. One I can’t change, but the other one may have a solution.”
She was intrigued as to where he was going with the explanation.
“I can’t get out of this meeting, so that problem has no solution. You won’t date a cowboy… in which category you have placed me, and I won’t argue with your estimation of me. However, I do have a solution.”
Was he serious? She couldn’t think what was on his mind. “I can’t imagine what that solution might be.”
“You may not date a cowboy, but how about being friends with a person who you just enjoyed a pleasant lunch with? Would that break any rule you have?”
He had definitely caught her off guard. Friends? With him? Could that even be an option?
“Dating is one thing—it means personal feelings of a more intimate nature could be involved. But there’s a lot to be said for friendship. One never has enough friends. Good ones. Don’t you agree?”
Stacy could only marvel in silence at the path his thinking took. The scary part was that she could understand it. And worse… she might even agree. But friendship… with this man? Was such a thing possible? He was nothing like the rest of her friends and certainly nothing like the men she usually dated. Except, they wouldn’t be dating. She reminded herself of that… again.
“Just how do you see this friendship playing out? Workouts at the gym? Pedicures?” Her light teasing was a definite attempt to cover her nervousness.
“More along the lines of nice lunches, such as this one when I’m in the city… maybe even a musical.” He flashed a grin to keep the tension level to a minimum. “And whatever else might come along. How about it? You game?”
“I really don’t have all that much free time. In fact, I have a lot of research to do for my next book, so I’ll be busy with that.”
“You have to eat, right? And all work and no play… or in this case… no food and little conversation… make for one dull girl. I bet it would even benefit your writing.”
He was too charming. Stacy should stand firm. She knew that. She had restated she wasn’t open to dating someone like him. “Nothing serious,” he had said. Friendship. What would be so bad about that? He’d probably grow tired of it anyway. An innocent lunch now and then… what would that hurt? Another thought struck her. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before.
“You may have something with this friendship idea of yours,” she replied. “The book I’m about to begin has some law enforcement aspects to it. Who better to ask than a real officer of the law? That is, if you’re really serious about a friendship.”
“I never say anything I don’t mean,” he responded. “I would be happy to help in your research. When do you want to get started?”
Stacy gave a small laugh. “Well, not right this moment. Here’s my phone and email,” she said, reaching inside her handbag, she withdrew a small business card and slid it across the table. “Give me a call when you’re in town next week, and we’ll see what my schedule looks like. Now, I really do have to go,” she said and pushed her chair back.
Davis grabbed his hat and fell into step beside her. They walked to the exit of the patio and stopped.
“Thank you for lunch,” she spoke, as a smil
e curved her mouth. Ignoring her protests, he had not allowed her to pick up the tab for the meal. “Next time, the lunch is on me.”
“Next time… I like the sound of those words. Agreed. Have a nice evening, Stacy. See you soon.” He flashed her one last smile as he placed his hat on his head and left her on the sidewalk.
Stacy would have stood and watched his departing back for a few more seconds, but she didn’t want him to turn suddenly and catch her staring after him. There was a definite smile on her face as she headed toward home. She had a new “friend”.
Chapter Three
“I knocked, but you looked deep in thought. Tough case?” Chaz Parker spoke the words as he fitted his tall frame into one of the two chairs across the desk from Davis. He drew a leg over the other knee and rested his cream Stetson on his lap, a folder dangling idly in the fingers of one hand.
Davis looked over at his fellow ranger and long-time friend. Tough case? He didn’t know the half of it. Davis wasn’t going to share any details though. Stacy Smith was a special case… and not even a case, but simply… special. He leaned back in his chair, dropping the pen his fingers had been idly twirling moments before, onto the stack of paper on his desk.
“What brings you up from the big city of Houston?”
“One of the leads I’m following has me here for a couple of days. In fact, one of the subjects resides not far from here in an office on the second floor of the annex. Harrington. You familiar with the name?”
Davis had a good poker face and it came in handy at that moment. Interesting. “Yes, I know of them. What’s up?”
“Looks like we’ve got some illegal campaign issues and bags of money passing under the table for political favors from a group of investors we’ve been surveilling for some other nefarious deals. The feds are coming in on it in a matter of days so we’re getting the ducks in a row to sit down with them. The captain put me as their liaison. Rangers won’t be in the main mix on this… at least not for a while. It’s interesting reading. Thought I’d get a second pair of eyes on it to see if there’s anything else I might need to look at since you cracked a couple of these yourself a while back.”
“Is that the file?” Davis nodded toward the file in Chaz’s hand. “I can give it a read and get back to you in a day or so.”
The file was handed over. “I’d appreciate it. I’ve got to be in San Antonio by six this evening, so I’ve got to hit the road. You can reach me on my cell with any questions. In the meantime, I’ll let you get back to whatever had you so deep in concentration.” He stood and they shook hands.
The door closed behind him and Davis opened the file, intent on just giving a cursory first glance over it. That was, until one name stood out from the written page and caused him to sit forward in his chair, bringing his full attention to the report. Stacy Smith. Why was she in a report on the Harrington family? Warning bells went off inside his brain. Things could get complicated quick. Everything else was forgotten on his desk.
*
“Is that the sound of your fingers on the keyboard I hear?” Trish Wyatt’s voice came through the phone, loud and clear. Stacy had been shut away from the world for the last three days, and had not responded to phone calls. Only a few minutes ago, she had turned away from her keyboard and as she stood in her kitchen, surveying the contents of her refrigerator, she finally took the time to listen to her phone messages. Three in a row had been from Trish, so she stopped amid her lunch decisions and dialed the agent’s number. Stacy slowly shook her head at the words.
“They’ve been on the keyboard for almost seventy-two hours. I hope that makes you happy.”
“That’s why I call you my little Energizer Bunny of Writing.” An easy laugh accompanied the words. “Everyone at the editor’s office is chomping at the bit to get their hands on those pages.”
“It’s a little premature for that, don’t you think? I’m at the point where I’ve got to get more research done. I can’t go any further until I do.”
“Then what are you waiting for? You’ve taken a long enough break talking to me. Just wanted to make sure you were still alive and pounding those keys. I’m going to hang up so you can get back to work. Bye, girl.” The line went dead.
Stacy looked at the phone in her hand. The woman would never change, but Stacy was glad Trish was an amazing agent. Stacy had begun her career writing romances for contemporary series. Then her books had grown longer, stories more involved, and became standalone novels. Along came a couple of books that were filmed and now, she was taking the next step she had always wanted to take… writing lengthy romantic suspense novels. Perhaps a full-blown thriller or two were in the cards also. She hoped the move would be met with applause from her reader base. The publisher was hoping the same thing.
Stacy punched the button on the answering machine again. The next message came over the speaker. It was Donnie. He wanted to take her to dinner on Saturday. He would call back. He had done just that… two more times. Donnie had to learn early on that when she was in her “tower” writing, it might be a while before she came back to reality again. He wasn’t too pleased with her not dropping everything and being available for whatever he wanted to do, but he also learned it would do little good to try to wear down her resolve with repeated cajoling. He sounded irritated.
Stacy’s eyes swiftly abandoned the container of yogurt she was considering and swung toward the machine when the next voice came through the speaker. The deep tones made it sound like he was right in the room with her. Her pulse did a couple of quick steps before settling again. She reached to turn up the volume and hit replay.
“Hello, my new friend. How about a drive in the country this Friday afternoon? You wanted to do some research and pick my brain, and I would like to have some company while I drive out in the county to deliver some paperwork. How about it? It’s supposed to be another beautiful spring day.”
Stacy’s eyes widened. Friday afternoon… that would be this afternoon! Checking the date and time stamp, she realized he had called yesterday morning. He probably thought she was ignoring him. Stacy grabbed her cell phone and found the number she had entered from his business card. On the fourth ring, the call was picked up.
“McKenna.” His voice was brisk and to the point. It was enough to send butterflies taking flight through her stomach again. Stop being silly.
“This is Stacy. I’m sorry. I just listened to my messages and found yours. I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you or anything along those lines. It’s just when I get into my writing zone I sometimes go days without checking the messages.” She was rambling and paused to take a deep breath, grimacing in silence. He must think she sounded like an idiot. Stacy clamped her mouth shut.
There was a soft chuckle. Instantly, she could imagine the crinkle lines beside his blue eyes. “I’m glad you aren’t ignoring me, but I figured you were deep in the writing mode. I hope you’re calling to let me know you accept my invitation for that drive this afternoon.”
The invitation… yes, that was why he had called. Her mind tried to focus on that. She had simply grabbed the phone and dialed. Now, her brain needed to settle and play catch up. For almost three days, she had worked diligently… only breaking for food, bathroom, and sleep. Her eyes went to the view outside the windows. It did look to be another perfect day outside. She really did need some fresh air…
“Are you trying to think of an excuse not to go?”
His voice brought her back to the matter at hand.
“I think a drive sounds quite nice. Some fresh air will help clear the cobwebs from my brain.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
*
The elevator door opened and Stacy stepped into the atrium lobby of her building with five minutes to spare. Her heart did a few skips when she saw the familiar back of the tall figure talking to Gerard. The doorman saw her first and smiled. Davis McKenna turned in her direction and the appreciative warmth of his blue eyes made her glad o
f her wardrobe choice.
Slim-legged black slacks, with a turtleneck sweater in lightweight neon blue knit that fell past her waist, and a black leather belt accented the slenderness of it. Stacy had placed pearl studs in her ears and swept her hair back in a ponytail. Soft, black leather flats were on her feet. For a moment, she wished she had chosen different footwear. She realized she appeared even shorter beside his tall frame, but instead of feeling intimidated by it, she felt protected. It was a new feeling. Strange, but nice.
“Ready for our adventure?” Davis grinned, raising the Stetson he held in his fingertips to his head.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a couple of female occupants of the building lingering a bit as they crossed the lobby, their eyes interested in the tall ranger. She could certainly agree with them. A dark blue shirt, open-throated today, partially concealed by a dark gray jacket, and dark navy jeans, all served to make his eyes appear even more blue. The boots and hat reminded her that he was still a cowboy… but that was okay. They had an understanding.
“Ready,” she replied.
Stepping through the revolving doors, the hand at the small of her back guided her toward the silver pickup parked just outside the entrance. The light touch made her very much aware of the man beside her. It was such a simple gesture, yet oddly sensuous and, therefore, very disturbing of her equilibrium. He opened the door for her and made sure she was seated comfortably before he closed it. For a moment, she had to stifle an ironic thought. Here she was taking a drive in the country, in a pickup, seated next to a cowboy. Her staunch rule had certainly developed a bend to it.
The interior of the truck was very spacious and comfortable with its leather seats separated in the front by a console that held something that looked like a mini laptop screen, and she noted the hand radio mounted just above it on the dash. There were other buttons and compartments that reminded her that this was not a normal vehicle. It was outfitted for law enforcement. Her writer’s mind was at work.
