Surprise Partners

by Gina Wilkins

  “So, Lydia,” Kelly said, sliding into a seat next to her, “you study germs and bacteria and stuff?”

  Smiling, Lydia nodded. “That’s all part of the microbiology field.”

  “So can you tell me about all those antibacterial products on the market now? They sound great, but some doctors seem to think they’re terrible.”

  Okay, Lydia, keep it brief, she warned herself. Don’t overexplain.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was still discussing the growing concern in the scientific community about the indiscriminate use of antibacterial agents and the potential increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a result. “People think coating their hands with antibacterial lotions and gels will keep them from contracting colds or flu, when those illnesses are actually caused by viruses, which are unaffected by antibacterial products,” she concluded.

  “But what about kitchen counters?” Judy asked, making Lydia suddenly aware that most of the others had gathered around to listen. “Isn’t it a good idea to use antibacterial cleaners there?”

  “The best household cleaner is ordinary bleach,” she answered. “It kills most germs without building resistance in remaining bacteria.”

  “So plain soap and water works best for hands, and bleach effectively cleans counters and bathroom fixtures,” Kelly summarized.

  “Exactly. Antibiotics and antibacterial agents are best reserved for a needs-only basis to maintain their effectiveness.”

  Judy still looked a bit confused. “Then why are more antibacterial products being produced all the time?”

  “Because they sell merchandise,” Dr. Steve Carter answered simply, approaching the group in time to hear the question. “The manufacturers are playing on the public’s fear of germs. And people are confused about what exactly antibiotics are best used for. That’s why they pressure doctors to prescribe antibiotics for every little cough and sniffle, even those caused by viruses. Antibiotics used in those cases cause more harm than good, actually, and we’re seeing the results in bacterial infections that are not responding to longtime standard antibiotics.”

  “That’s what Lydia was just explaining to us,” Kelly told him. “Thanks for clarifying this for me,” she added to Lydia. “All the conflicting news stories get confusing sometimes.”

  Scott crossed the room to lean cozily against the arm of Lydia’s chair. “Lydia has a knack for making complicated subjects relatively easy to understand. You should hear her talk about forensic DNA.”

  Steve smiled. “I would probably find that interesting, myself.”

  Heather, who’d been notably quiet for the past few minutes, suddenly spoke up. “Did I mention to anyone that Steve and I have been able to book the Elroys for our wedding reception?”

  “The Elroys?” Judy Chang almost squealed the name. “Oh, they’re wonderful! But I’ve heard they’re almost impossible to book locally these days because they’ve become so popular. How did you manage?”

  Looking quite pleased with herself, Heather beamed. “That’s a very funny story, actually.”

  She launched into a colorfully enthusiastically embellished anecdote that soon had the others laughing. It briefly occurred to Lydia that Heather had deliberately drawn everyone’s attention to herself and away from Lydia. But then she told herself it didn’t matter—nor was it further evidence that Heather didn’t care for her. People didn’t go to parties to hear about bacteria and the other things that especially interested her, she reminded herself. They wanted to laugh and gossip and have fun, not be lectured to by a microbiology professor.

  Cameron, it seemed, was still more interested in microbes than music groups. Discreetly drawing Lydia aside, he asked quietly, “I know Scott’s consulted with you occasionally about forensic DNA. Would you mind if I call you with a question now and then? In my reporting, I sometimes cover crime stories that hinge on DNA and the conflicting ‘expert opinions’ I hear in the courtroom often need clarifying.”

  “Conflicting opinions are the only defense against strong DNA evidence.” She dug in her purse and drew out a business card with her office number printed on it. On the back, she scribbled her home number. “Feel free to call anytime. I’m always happy to answer questions about my work.”

  Cameron pocketed the card and gave her a high-voltage smile. “That’s very generous of you.”

  From across the room where he had moved to munch chips and talk to Shane, Scott suddenly reappeared at Lydia’s side. He draped an arm around her shoulders and gave Cameron a bland smile. “Trying to make time with my date, Cam?”

  Cameron glanced pointedly across the room to where Alexis looked almost comatose with boredom. “Actually, I’m going to take my date home before she completely ruins the evening. She’s ticked off at me because I won’t go with her to some sort of family reunion next weekend. You know I don’t do family things.”

  “So this is your last date with Alexis?”

  Cameron nodded fatalistically. “I believe it is.”

  Scott’s smile had a wicked edge to it. “I’ll tell Heather. I’m sure she would be absolutely delighted to fix you up with someone. She says she has a talent for that sort of thing.”

  Cameron shuddered. “Thanks, but don’t bother. I’ll find my own companionship when I want it.”

  Scott looked pointedly at the shirt pocket in which Cameron had slipped Lydia’s card. “Is that right?”

  Cameron only smiled at Scott before turning to Lydia. “It’s been a pleasure talking to you. You’ll be hearing from me.”

  She nodded, well aware that Cameron was much more interested in her education than anything else about her. She wasn’t oblivious to the attractions of his bright blue eyes and flashing smile, but there was no real chemistry between them. Maybe they could be friends, she mused. She always welcomed new friends.

  Scott’s arm tightened a bit around her shoulders. If she didn’t know better, she would think his behavior indicated masculine possessiveness. She assumed he was putting on this act to further discourage his sister’s matchmaking, but she intended to ask him to stop. She had agreed to keep him company at a couple of social occasions, but she saw no reason to resort to outright deception.

  Chapter Four

  “Hey, Shane,” Michael said after Cameron and Alexis had departed, “did you get that new truck you were looking at?”

  Kelly groaned. “Yes, he did. And he’s hardly gotten out of it for the past three days.”

  Shane grinned expectantly. “You guys want to see it? It’s a real honey.”

  Michael, Steve and Scott all jumped at the offer to examine Shane’s new wheels. The women chose to remain inside. Inviting them all to sit down and make themselves comfortable in the den, Kelly poured coffee all around.

  “Kelly, have you heard from Amber lately?” Heather asked, settling on the couch beside Judy.

  From a wing chair that matched the one in which Lydia sat, Kelly nodded. “She called a couple of weeks ago. She loves living in Austin, and she’s dating a guy she says is really nice. It sounded like it’s getting serious.”

  “Oh, good. I hope she’s happy. She deserves to be.”

  Kelly glanced toward Lydia, seeming to realize that she was being left out of the conversation about someone she didn’t know. “Amber’s a friend who moved to Austin last spring. She was a part of our group for years, and it still seems odd at times for her not to be here.”

  “She made the mistake of getting involved with Cameron,” Heather added. “It was a disaster from the beginning, as everyone who knew them realized, but she wouldn’t listen when we tried to warn her, and she ended up with a broken heart.”

  Lydia wondered if Heather was trying to make a point toward her, then told herself again to stop being paranoid.

  “Cameron tried to make it work,” Kelly said mildly, sounding as though they’d had this discussion many times before. “He and Amber just didn’t want the same things in life.”

  Heather shrugged. “I knew from the sta
rt it was a bad match. I have a sixth sense for that sort of thing, you know. I knew the minute I saw Steve fourteen months ago that he was the man for me.”

  Judy looked encouragingly at Lydia as if she, too, wanted to make sure Lydia didn’t feel left out. “How long have you and Scott known each other, Lydia?”

  Aware of Heather watching her, she answered, “We met last year in the parking lot of our apartment complex.”

  “And have you been dating long?”

  Again, Lydia worded her answer carefully. “We’ve dined together a few times. And we attended the charity thing last weekend, of course.”

  “We’re all very fond of Scott,” Kelly commented with a smile. “My husband has known Scott and Heather since they were fourteen.”

  Heather nodded. “Shane and his father had just moved to Dallas. They moved into the apartment complex where we lived with our mother. Shane, Scott and I became such close friends that our parents made arrangements for us to see each other often, even though Shane went to a different school since he grew up here on the ranch. Cameron and Amber were our schoolmates and met Shane through us. The guys met Michael in college.”

  “I was brought in when my best friend—Shane’s cousin—and I moved to Dallas a few years ago,” Kelly added. “Brynn and I were in a serious car accident the night we arrived in town. Brynn wasn’t hurt, but I messed my legs up pretty badly, which left me with a limp—and some very special friends among the kind people who took care of me.”

  Lydia had noticed the limp although it was slight. She found it interesting that Kelly seemed to think of the accident in positive rather than negative terms. She was, apparently, the type who looked for the silver lining in every dark cloud—a trait Lydia had always admired.

  “Michael and I married four months ago,” Judy said proudly. “Now I’m part of the gang, too.”

  Lydia couldn’t help smiling. Even though Judy made it sound as though she had been accepted into an exclusive society of some sort, Lydia suspected that they welcomed newcomers because they were so casual and friendly. They’d been very pleasant to Alexis, for example, even as badly as she had behaved in return.

  As for herself, everyone had been extremely nice. Heather had actually been the least friendly, Lydia mused with another glance at Scott’s twin. She remembered that Scott had told her Heather never approved of the women he chose to date. Was she threatened by outsiders in her brother’s life? Did she fear losing his affections?

  Lydia would have thought Heather’s upcoming wedding would reduce any separation anxiety she felt regarding her brother, but apparently it hadn’t, judging from the suspicious looks Heather kept sending her way.

  All talking at once, the men rejoined them then. “It’s a cool truck,” Michael said, unabashedly envious. “Just what I’ve been wanting for myself.”

  “Not in the budget this year,” Judy said firmly. “Maybe next year.”

  Michael sighed deeply. “Judy and I decided that she would handle our finances since she’s better with money than I am. She takes that responsibility very seriously.”

  Everyone else laughed at his wistful expression, followed by general teasing about his former play-now-pay-later philosophy.

  “We have a long drive home,” Scott murmured into Lydia’s ear a few minutes later. “Ready to get on the road?”

  “Yes.” As pleasant as his friends were, Lydia still felt very much the outsider, as if she was there under false pretenses. She wasn’t sure she would accompany him again to one of these intimate gatherings. She was much more comfortable having him all to herself—to discuss their work, she added hastily, reminding herself not to make more of their relationship than it was.

  While she thanked the Walkers for being such gracious hosts, Lydia was aware that Scott and Heather had stepped off to the side for a murmured conversation. It bothered Lydia that the twins seemed to be quarreling softly. She hoped it had nothing to do with her.

  Scott said something else to his sister in a rather stern tone, then both of them pasted on smiles and turned to rejoin the others. “It was nice to see you again, Lydia,” Heather said dutifully.

  It was almost funny. Heather looked so much like a child who’d been reprimanded and ordered to be on her best behavior.

  “Thank you, Heather,” Lydia said with a completely straight face. “It was nice to see you, too.”

  Steve looked completely oblivious to any under-tones. “We’ll have to all get together sometime. Maybe we can go out for dinner or something.”

  “Oh, yes,” Heather said, her smile almost glittering. “That would be lovely.”

  “We’ll do that sometime.” Scott’s tone was the one people use when they said what courtesy expected of them. And then he placed a hand on Lydia’s arm. “Ready, Lydia?”

  She agreed gratefully, hoping she wouldn’t have to deal with Scott’s perplexing twin again.

  They were in Scott’s car headed back to Dallas when Lydia spoke again. “Well. That was interesting.”

  Scott chuckled wryly. “‘Interesting’ is a good word to describe my friends.”

  “I like them,” she assured him. “They were all very nice.”

  “It’s okay for you to exclude Alexis from that description. She’s not one of my friends, and her behavior this evening wasn’t at all nice.”

  “No,” Lydia had to agree. “She was actually quite rude to Kelly and Shane, who went out of their way to be gracious hosts to her.”

  “Of the women Cameron has dated in the past year—about a dozen, I would estimate—Alexis is my least favorite. Cam was apparently too distracted by her, um, physical attributes to notice that she’s basically a—”

  “I get the picture,” Lydia cut in quickly.

  Scott chuckled. “At least that’s over now. I doubt they’ll see each other again after tonight.”

  “I take it Cameron believes in playing the field.”

  “You could say that. Nice guy—one of my closest friends—but not a good bet for a long-term relationship. He has an allergy to commitment. You might want to keep that in mind.”

  Lydia lifted an eyebrow. “Any particular reason?”

  “Cameron can be very charming. I’ve known women to fall for him even when they knew better from the start.”

  “Like your friend Amber?” she hazarded.

  “You heard about her, did you?”

  “Your sister mentioned her—in context with her own matchmaking talent, I believe. She said she knew Cameron and Amber wouldn’t work out and that she wished everyone had listened to her at the time. She added that she has a knack of knowing when a couple is wrong for each other. Oddly enough, she was looking directly at me when she said it.”

  Scott winced. “Sheer coincidence, I’m sure.”

  “Of course,” she agreed without believing it any more than he did.

  “Anyway, about Cameron…”

  “He asked if I would mind answering DNA questions for him when he works on relevant news stories. I told him I would be happy to do so…a similar arrangement to the one I have with you,” she added. Scott muttered something she didn’t quite catch. She decided not to ask him to repeat it. Instead, she changed the subject. “Shane’s ranch looked nice. I’d like to see it in the daylight sometime.”

  “It’s a great place. He owns it with his father and stepmother, Jared and Cassie Walker. They and their teenage daughter, Molly, live in the main ranch house, which is about a quarter mile on down the road from Shane’s place. They raise registered cattle and a few horses. They don’t expect to get rich, but they’re making enough to support themselves.”

  “Shane certainly looks the part of a rancher. The lean, tanned cowboy image suits him.”

  “He’s cultivated it,” Scott said with a quick grin. “You should see him decked out for a rodeo in his chaps and buckles.”

  Lydia pictured the result and nodded. “I’m sure he looks very dashing.”

  Scott cleared his throat. “I ride pretty
well myself.”

  “Is that right?”

  He nodded. “Don’t let the sports car and lawyer-casual clothes fool you. At heart, I’m still a Texan.”

  “Have you competed in rodeo?”

  “Er—yeah. Once. It wasn’t pretty,” he admitted ruefully.

  Lydia laughed, and Scott joined in.

  “I’m glad you came with me this evening, Lydia.”

  Her amusement faded. “Your sister wasn’t pleased to see me. I’m not imagining it, Scott. She doesn’t like me.”

  “She doesn’t even know you.”

  “Nor does she want to. There’s obviously something about me that bothers her.”

  “It’s simply that she didn’t personally select you. I’m afraid Heather’s gotten rather clingy since our mother died unexpectedly a few months ago.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  He nodded to acknowledge the expression of sympathy. “It’s left us without any other family except for a few relatives we never knew well. Even though she’s with Steve now, she still wants to keep me close by. Picking out my dates for me is her way of keeping me under control, I guess.”

  He had just unwittingly confirmed her earlier speculation. “She’s afraid the two of you will grow apart.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We’re twins, for Pete’s sake. Just because we have our own lives away from each other doesn’t mean we’re growing apart.”

  “You lost your mother recently and Heather’s getting married in a few months. That’s a lot of change in a short time. It’s only natural for her to want some things to stay the same.”

  Scott nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll try to be more patient with her. But I’m not going to date her friends just to keep her feeling secure.”

  Lydia kept her approval of that resolution to herself just in case he took it the wrong way. After all, it was hardly her business whom Scott dated.

  “Still,” she said, bothered that she had come between the twins when there was so little justification for it, “you really should make it clear to her that you and I are only friends. There’s no need to worry her unnecessarily.”