An Informal Introduction (Informal Romance Book 3)

by Heather Gray

  “I’m searching for something specific, and…” Caleb’s words fell into silence as he pulled over to the side of the road.

  “And?”

  “And I found it.” One of those mobile food trucks was parked several car lengths ahead of them. Positioned in front of a bar that spat the sound of pounding bass out onto the sidewalk every time its doors opened, the truck was drawing quite a crowd.

  “I’m not sure that qualifies as quiet.”

  “Stay here,” Caleb said with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll procure the food. Then we’ll go somewhere less boisterous to eat. You allergic to anything? Is there something you don’t like?”

  “Nothing with nuts.”

  He hopped out of the truck on those words and pushed the button on his keychain to make sure it locked behind him. He jogged around the hood and onto the sidewalk. The line at the food truck was long, but he didn’t seem to mind. Other people visited with each other or tapped their toes impatiently. Caleb stood by himself, his hands calmly tucked into his pockets, his feet still. The activity surrounded him but didn’t touch him.

  She needed to get a grip. Just because he was handsome and she’d had a thing for guys in uniform ever since she’d been in braces…

  Twenty minutes passed before Caleb returned to the truck. He brought two bags with him. The aroma — somewhere between savory and downright decadent — set her taste buds to dancing.

  And her stomach gave a loud rumble.

  “Hungry, are you?” Turn signal engaged, he steered them back out into traffic.

  “You’re not taking us far, are you?”

  “Ten minutes, tops. The one bag is full of drinks if you’re thirsty.”

  Lily peeked into one of the bags and discovered canned beverages. “Couldn’t make up your mind?” He’d gotten one can each of every major soda brand, plus some additional cans of diet.

  The corner of Caleb’s mouth tilted up. “I forgot to ask what you like, so I decided to cover all the bases. You had a rough evening. The least you deserve is a drink you can enjoy.”

  She popped the top on the can of lemon-flavored tea and enjoyed the wash of cool liquid soothing her parched throat. “I want to be clear. I don’t ordinarily accept rides from strange people, especially ones who have pulled me over recently.”

  His eyebrow arched upward. “I figure we’re acquainted well enough. I’ve seen how you drive, how you work, and how you handle stress. Besides, I wear a badge, which means I’m one of the good guys.”

  “Where did you go to charm school? Tennessee or Texas?”

  Silent laughter shook Caleb’s shoulders as he left the main road and entered a shopping center parking lot.

  “I thought you promised me quiet.”

  “Hey, if it were up to me, we’d head out to the boonies, pull into the woods somewhere, and sit on the tailgate to eat. You’re a city girl, though, and I didn’t want to scare you with my countrified ways.”

  Caleb navigated his truck around to the back corner of the parking lot and into a spot that faced a wall of trees. He inched closer, though, and Lily understood why he’d selected that exact location. A gap in the tree line gave them a view down at a fountain lit from below. Their parking lot was elevated thanks to the uneven terrain. With a twenty foot height advantage, the view of the fountain was spectacular. The lights beneath the pool of water changed color as streams shot up into the air in different patterns.

  Lily had seen the fountain before on the news. It got a lot of press during the holidays. She’d never been there in person, though. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Not as beautiful as you, but it’ll do.”

  Lily glanced over at her truck mate. “Flattery’s not going to get you very far unless you feed me, and even then I make no guarantee.”

  Caleb began pulling out containers of food from the other bag. “You can choose from beef, chicken, or pork tacos, a steak burrito, some tortilla chips and queso, and tres leche for dessert.”

  “One, how did that all fit into a single bag? Two, you may have overestimated how much I can eat.”

  They weren’t parked under one, but enough lights were scattered throughout the parking lot that Lily had no trouble spotting the flush that climbed Caleb’s neck.

  Had she embarrassed him, or was he shy around the fairer sex? He was all man, so she tossed shy to the side. She imagined women had been trying to catch his eye for years now, so he should be used to the banter. Not that she planned to catch his eye. Or even try. Curse those random thoughts.

  With an intensity bordering on artistic, Caleb finished removing the food containers from their bag and arranged them on the dashboard. Then he handed her one of those plastic-coated foam plates. “Pick what you want. I also brought salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.” He drew out the little plastic cups with their lids on them. “Silverwear, too.”

  Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and began putting food on her plate. “What’s tres leche? Never heard of it.” The burrito, still wrapped in foil, wasn’t as tempting as the scrumptious-looking tacos. It was too big, too. If she ate the burrito, she wouldn’t have room for tacos, and that wasn’t an option.

  “It means three milks. Technically, it’s cake, but you won’t think of it like that when you take a bite. Ever eaten flan before?”

  She nodded absently as she claimed the guacamole and scooped a glob onto her plate.

  “That’s the closest comparison I can give you.”

  Once she was satisfied with the items she planned to eat, Lily turned in her seat and leaned her back against the door. “Go ahead. Fix yours. I’ll wait.”

  Caleb didn’t need a lot of prompting. He went straight for the burrito as he threw a wink her way. “Don’t worry. I’ll save you a bite.”

  When did winking become so sexy? Maybe he had an eye disorder. That was it. It was a twitch, not a wink. Twitching wasn’t nearly as sexy. He had an unsexy twitch. Oh, who was she kidding? Even twitching, this guy oozed more sex appeal than anyone she’d ever met.

  “Do you mind if I pray?”

  Lily snapped back to reality and shook her head.

  “Dear Father, thank you for keeping Lily safe tonight and for helping Ma to get better. I lift Ken Miller and his wife to you, as well as the young man responsible for the accident. Better than any of us, you understand the hurts and the hardships they’re each going to deal with in the coming months. Please help them through it. I also ask that you give Lily peace of mind after her scare tonight. In Jesus’ name I pray these things. Amen.”

  “Amen.” She was touched that he’d not only remembered her in prayer, but that he’d cared enough about everyone involved to include the Millers and the man who’d accosted her. At the thought of the parking garage, though, her anxiety started to climb. She needed to alter the direction of her thoughts. She wasn’t ready to revisit those events yet.

  “So why aren’t you married?” Worst. Change. Of. Subject. Ever. Especially since the previous conversation had only been in her head.

  Caleb, who used a plastic knife and fork to saw off a two-inch section of his burrito, flashed white teeth. Was that humor or a grimace? “Surely Ma gave you the scoop.”

  “Mm, sort of.” Lily wasn’t sure she should tell him what Mrs. Graham had said on the subject.

  “Let me guess.” His voice was dry. “I’m not married because I’m purposefully waiting until she’s too old to play with her grandchildren before I give her any.”

  She chuckled. “Um, not exactly. But you’re close.” Mrs. Graham had indeed mentioned grandchildren somewhere in between the part about her son’s desire to follow God’s lead and a long run-on sentence about his integrity and honor.

  Caleb scooped up the part of the burrito he’d cut and moved it to Lily’s plate. “Now you can try it, too. The steak’s delicious.”

  “Thank you.” She picked up a taco and asked, “So why aren’t you married? Is there something wrong with you?”

  He couldn’t maneuver as effort
lessly behind the steering wheel as she could in the passenger seat, but he managed to wedge his back against the door and look at her. “I’ve been praying for a wife for almost a decade, but God hasn’t seen fit to give me one yet.”

  A good-looking man who talked about marriage as if it was desirable. Sexy just went to a whole new level of dangerous.

  “In all that time you haven’t received any offers?”

  Color crept up his neck again. “A few, but I’m not sure I’d count the drunk women who proposition me to try to avoid a ticket.”

  It was Lily’s turn to blush. Heat climbed her chest, and she hoped the matching flush stopped its ascent before becoming visible.

  Between bites of his burrito, Caleb told her, “The older I get, the more I want marriage, but God’s had different plans. Who knows? Had I been married with a passel of kids when Dad died, I might not’ve been able to come up here and help out Ma. Tell me. What would have happened to her if she passed out with ketoacidosis and I wasn’t around to check on her?”

  “God has a purpose for everything.” It wasn’t exactly an answer, but Lily believed it with all her being. Even though good people — the ones who filled her heart with hope for mankind —were forced to deal with horrendous situations, often through no fault of their own, she chose to trust God’s sovereignty. She didn’t bother denying that it sometimes rocked her faith. She always found her footing again, but some days came and went where every conversation with God was of the single-syllable variety. Why?

  “Not only a purpose, but a plan, too.” Caleb spoke with surety. “God doesn’t throw us into something and abandon us there. He’s mapped a way out of the mess and confusion. We simply need to take our eyes off the obstacles and terrain to look at His map. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in what’s right in front of us, though, and to forget where we really ought to be turning for direction.”

  Lily polished off another taco and reached for a napkin. “How long have you been in Virginia?”

  A terminal diagnosis couldn’t have been delivered with any more cheer. “Almost four months.” He took a drink of his soda. “What about you? Born and raised?”

  “Divorced parents. Grew up in Chicago with my mom but visited my dad here during the summers.”

  “Is he still in the area?”

  Lily shook her head. “Dad works in technology, and not too long after I started nursing, the bottom fell out from under the tech industry. A lot of people around here got laid off. He figured it would reach him before too much longer, so he shifted careers and ended up down south.”

  “Texas is south,” Caleb drawled with a smile.

  She finished off her tea and put the empty can back into the cup holder. “His home’s in Louisiana, but he travels all along the Gulf and through the bayous. When he lived here, he worked on the machines that make microchips. Now, instead, he works on the equipment used in some kind of environmental science. He tries to explain, but I don’t follow most of what he’s saying.”

  “You want anything else?”

  Glancing down, Lily realized she’d eaten all her food. “No, I’m full. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to eat it all to begin with.”

  Caleb took her empty plate and cleared the assorted containers off the dashboard. Then he produced two clear plastic clamshells, each with a wedge of juicy-looking cake inside. He handed one to her with a clean fork. “Tres leche.”

  She eyed the concoction dubiously. Lily wasn’t one for soggy food. Unless it was soup. Sometimes even stew. His kindness was touching, though, and she didn’t want her time with him to end. Proper etiquette — as proper as etiquette could be in the cab of a truck — demanded that she at least try it. With trepidation, she popped the top of the clamshell container open and used her fork to break off a small piece of the cake.

  She gingerly put it in her mouth, Caleb’s eyes laughing at her the whole time. Once the cake hit her tongue, flavor exploded and she found a new favorite food.

  Three bites later, she finally spoke. “I admit, the idea of wet cake didn’t quite do it for me, but this is delicious. How did you discover it?”

  “The wife of one of the guys at the sheriff’s department where I worked back in Texas — she would bring it in to the station every now and again. It was so good I started bribing her to make me some. This is the closest I’ve come across since moving here.”

  “Let me get this right. You’ve only been in the area four months, and you already know the best places to park, the best burritos and tacos, and the best dessert.”

  He nodded sheepishly.

  “Yet you didn’t realize Lee Highway was so pitted with potholes, ruts, and bumps that a conscientious driver might learn where they’re at so she could avoid them all?”

  Caleb rolled his eyes. “Are you ever going to let me hear the end of that?”

  She shook her head.

  “I was in a car chase out that way early this morning. The car was going over a hundred miles an hour, and in a blink it was out of control. Seems they hit a bad patch of road that sent them careening into the other lane. They might have swerved to avoid a rut. Either way, it looks like the highway’s condition played a part.”

  Lily winced. “Was everyone okay?”

  “Physically, yes. Legally, not so much. But that’s a story for another day. You want to tell me about what happened tonight?”

  She waited, but the anxiety didn’t come. “I was a few feet away from my car when a shadow moved. I jumped and dropped my keys. I thought it was my imagination and bent over to pick them up. All of a sudden, his boots were there next to me. Once I stood, he kept stepping closer to me as he talked. Every time I backed up, he took another step…”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “No. He scared me, but he didn’t touch me. He might have. His eyes were so weird, like he was on drugs, but different somehow. Just when I started to panic, the security guard drove around the corner. I owe you my thanks for his perfect timing. He told me they weren’t scheduled to patrol that garage for another thirty minutes.”

  “You were in shock when I came on the scene.”

  “It was a long day at work, and I hadn’t eaten since lunch. Add the adrenaline crash, and I was wiped out.” She swept her hand across the bags from the food truck, adding a flourish at the end. “I’m back to normal now. This was kind of you.”

  Caleb nodded. “You seem better. I was worried about you there for a while.”

  The silence settled around them as they both finished off their cake.

  “Sure you’re not leaving anything out?”

  Add protective to the list of the man’s sterling qualities.

  “I’m fine. Honest.”

  “All right, then. Buckle up and I’ll take you home.”

  His gaze rested on her long enough that she expected more questions. He finally turned away, though, and the tension in Lily’s shoulders eased.

  Caleb clicked his seatbelt into place a second before he brought the truck’s engine to life. “Grab another drink out of the bag if you want. I bought plenty.”

  Caleb insisted on walking Lily all the way to her apartment door. Safety first and all that. It had nothing to do with not wanting to say goodnight to a particular fair-haired nurse.

  “You don’t have to walk me in. I’m a big girl.”

  “If you lived in a house, I might let you talk me into staying in my truck, but even then I’d wait till you were safely inside the front door. I can’t sit in my truck and see your front door, though, so I’m coming in with you.”

  Her eyes snapped, telling him he wouldn’t get off so easy next time. Her fatigue was probably saving him from experiencing the rebellious streak he was sure lurked beneath the surface.

  Lily opened her apartment door and angled back around to Caleb before stepping through. “Thank you for the ride home. You’re right. I wasn’t safe to drive myself. The fountain was lovely, too. It helped me unwind.”

  “Happy to be of service, ma�
��am.” He tipped his cowboy hat to her.

  She rolled her eyes. “G’night.”

  Then the door closed, and Caleb was left standing in the hallway. He exited the building and climbed back into his truck. The jangle of bells —the ring tone he’d assigned to his mom — filled the cab.

  Keys still in one hand, he answered. “What’s up, Ma? Is everything all right?”

  “I’m dandy. Did you find Lily?”

  A quick glance at the dashboard clock told him Ma should be asleep, not calling him. “She’s fine. She had a scare, but it’s okay now. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”

  “Oh, that’s good.” Then, “Where are you?”

  “I dropped Lily off at her place and am heading your way as soon as I hang up.”

  His mom’s good cheer was unmistakable. “You gave her a ride home? So you have her number now, right? Did she agree to a date?”

  Caleb pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t think to ask for her number.”

  “What?” His mother had perfected the art of exasperation. “What do you mean, you didn’t think to ask?”

  He weighed his options. “I need to run a quick errand. I’ll be home after. Get some sleep, Ma. Everything’s fine.”

  “Son, I realize you like to do things your own way, but take my word for it. You won’t ever marry the girl if you can’t contact her.”

  “I’m losing you.” Caleb raised his voice. “You must be going through a tunnel. The connection’s breaking up!”

  He disconnected the call and started his truck with a grin. There were only so many ways a grown son could politely escape a conversation with his mother. The tunnel was his.

  Two days later, as Caleb walked into the station, he got a text. Found your note. Thanks again for the ride.

  He smiled and typed his reply. Anytime. Back to work yet?

  Lily answered, Tomorrow. Picking up car tonight.

  The night he’d taken her home, Caleb had offered to give her a ride the next day so she could collect her car. She’d declined, saying she would call a friend when the time came. He might have stood a chance at changing her mind… if he’d gotten her number. As his mom continued to kindly point out, convincing Lily they were meant to be together would be difficult without a means of contacting her.