Susan nodded and walked back toward the kitchen with Bethany.
Eric shoved his idle hands into his front pockets. He should have let Bethany come on her own. Just being in Susan’s personal space was making him itchy. The neighborhood wasn’t upper class, but it wasn’t sketchy either. The outside of the townhouse was in need of some repairs, but she seemed to have made the inside something special.
Each room, that he could see, was boldly painted. The living room was yellow and the dining room blue. He looked up the steps, which no doubt led to her bedroom. The walls were red; black and white photos lined the wall almost like an art gallery.
The photos weren’t of faces. There were people and places—things. A collection of sewing items. A girl on a swing with her hair blowing as she reached the sky. An old tractor. A wilted rose.
But the one that caught his attention was a pair of tennis shoes. It was very simple, but it was captivating.
“Eric, you shouldn’t walk around people’s houses without them,” Bethany said and he realized he’d walked all the way up the stairs looking at the art.
“Sorry. I got caught up in the photos.”
Bethany looked at them and her eyes grew wide. “Oh, these are lovely. Did you do them?”
Susan looked up at him as if to judge his appreciation, or lack of it, toward her artwork.
“It’s a hobby of mine. I took some classes when I lived in Colorado.”
Bethany continued her appreciation of the photos as she climbed the steps, but Susan hadn’t released her stare from him. And he hadn’t let his gaze wander—not yet.
“This is brilliant,” Bethany’s tone rose and each of them broke their stare and focused on the photo in front of her. “Who is this?”
“That would be my grandmother, my mother, and me,” she said in an uneven tone.
Eric stepped down to stand behind his cousin. There were three sets of hands holding one another. Each set grew older. And each set had a wedding ring adorning the ring finger.
Eric felt the pang of jealousy hit him in the chest. Well, wasn’t that stupid? He’d known the woman all of a few hours. What the hell did he care if she was or had been married?
Bethany caught his attention as she wiped at her eyes.
“Are you crying?” he asked and she turned toward him shooting him an angry look.
“It’s beautiful. It moved me.”
He looked back toward Susan now, but her eyes never met his.
“I’ll let you two finish your tour,” he said stepping past Bethany on the steps.
“I have more photos in my room.” She lifted her eyes to his. “Would you like to see them?”
No. No, he most certainly didn’t want to see her bedroom.
Eric swallowed hard. Okay, that wasn’t what she’d said. When he didn’t give an answer, she walked past him and Bethany followed.
He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the photo of the hands. It was a moving photo.
Oh, hell. What would it kill him to look at the rest of her art?
Susan walked through the door of her bedroom with Bethany in tow still oohing over her photos. Eric, however, didn’t seem to be right behind them. All the better.
“These are ones I took of the Flatirons in Boulder,” Susan said explaining the rock formations in the pictures. “And these are near Red Rocks Amphitheater.”
“Was that where you lived?”
His voice carried through the room and had rattled right into her bones.
She looked up at him leaning so casually against the doorjamb.
“Yes.”
“That’s a nice area.”
Why did he look so sexy with that scowl standing there watching her?
“It’s beautiful.”
“So what made you decide to be a caterer? Obviously you’re an amazing photographer.”
That was an uncomfortable question, and it shouldn’t have been. But it didn’t need an answer—really.
“It’s just a hobby to decorate my walls.” She let out a slow breath. “Let’s go down the hall to the other room.”
Susan noticed that Eric hadn’t moved from his position as she neared the door. She slid past him, fully aware that his eyes were on her as she did so.
“This is the bigger room. It has an adjoined bathroom and a small deck off the back.”
“Oh, awesome!” Bethany said as she walked into the room. “Why didn’t you keep this one for yourself? This is beautiful. Oh, look at the view!” she said, pulling the blind up on the window.
The city showcased itself just above the treetops in the distance.
“Quite a change from L.A.,” Eric’s voice again carried through the room and had Bethany turning toward him.
“That would be the point of change.” She walked toward the closet and pulled open the doors. “Look at the room! Really, why didn’t you keep this room?”
Susan shrugged. “Easier to rent if the person is getting something for their money.”
“How much money?” he asked.
Susan straightened her shoulders. “We can discuss numbers. Bethany and I.”
He gave her a slow nod. “You’re kindly telling me to butt out.”
“Unless you’re paying her rent.”
“Business woman.”
“To the core,” she retorted as she watched him and wondered what it was he was digging for.
“I love it,” Bethany chimed in. “If we can work something out I’d love to live here. Does the bed come with the room? I don’t have anything but a suitcase.”
Susan chuckled. “Yes. It comes with the room.”
“Good.” She looked back at Eric. “You’re off the hook, cuz. If we can work this out, you won’t have me on your couch at all.”
“You’re going to negotiate this now? Dane and I are hungry.”
“Dane?” Susan asked.
“My brother. He’s in the truck.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to keep you.”
Bethany shook her head. “They’re men. They think with their stomachs. Don’t pay any mind to them.”
Susan thought that might be hard to do. The man seemed to be consuming her mind this afternoon.
“Why don’t you come with us? To dinner.” Bethany offered. “I’ll bet Dane would find you fascinating.”
“Oh, I don’t…”
“Yes. You’re coming,” Bethany grabbed her hand and pulled her through the door past Eric once again. She was sure she heard a grunt from him as they passed.
Suddenly, she did want to go—especially if it was annoying him.
Chapter Six
Susan had quickly gathered her jacket and her purse as Bethany drug her from the house.
“Tell me where you’re going and I’ll meet you there,” she said as she noticed Eric getting into his truck. “There isn’t room for three of you in that truck let alone four of us.”
The man who had been waiting in the truck stepped out. She recognized him from the funeral and the reception at the house. He wasn’t near as tall as Eric, but they had similar features. He too was handsome, but with a more forlorn look.
“Susan, this is Dane,” Bethany said as he stepped out of the truck.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” she said with a gracious smile. “So where are we going?”
“The Rookery,” Eric said flatly.
“On Cherry?”
He gave her a nod. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Dane, go with her. I can’t tell her how to get there. I don’t even know where I’m at,” Bethany added as she climbed into the truck.
Did he wince? Susan was sure that was what he’d done. How was this going to be a fun night?
Bethany shut the door to Eric’s truck and they pulled away from the curb.
“He’s short tempered, isn’t he?” she asked as she walked toward her car in the driveway.
“He likes his space. He hasn’t had much of that the past few days. Now he’s i
n town going out for dinner. Not much his style.”
As she opened the door to the car and eased in behind the wheel, she decided that Dane wasn’t as dull as he’d appeared to be. This was a man with a lot on his mind.
“He’s just a hermit, huh?”
Dane shrugged. “He’s the protector, I suppose. You know, the one who makes sure everyone gets where they’re supposed to.”
“But at his own cost.”
“Maybe. He’s lived on the ranch his whole life. Lost his mom at eight. My mom loves him as her own, but it’s always different. And now…” He turned his head toward her as she pulled onto the street. “Maybe he doesn’t want anyone outside the family to know what’s going on.”
“I’m not put out. I was just the caterer.”
Dane nodded. “I’ll bet you pick up a lot of information just hanging out in the kitchen.”
She grinned. “I always thought it would be interesting to be a mail carrier or even a trash collector. Can you even imagine what they know?”
“Society’s silent observers?”
“Exactly,” she said on a laugh and Dane relaxed into the seat.
Perhaps he wouldn’t be as dull as she thought he might be.
Eric drove without a word, but he could feel Bethany’s eyes on him.
Finally, he shifted a glance her way. “What?”
“I’m just trying to figure you out. You’re a mystery to me.”
“Likewise.”
Tossing her mane of curls behind her shoulder, she looked out the window. “I used to dream about you. Did I ever tell you that?”
“That sounds a bit incestuous.”
“No, no,” she laughed as she turned back toward him. “I used to dream that you were my brother. In fact, when I was much younger, I would tell my friends that I had a brother who lived in Georgia.”
“Why would you do that?” he asked as he turned down Cherry Street.
“The few times I’d been around you…I mattered.”
Eric shifted in his seat. He wasn’t one for deep, family talks and it looked as though this was where she was going.
“Of course you matter.”
“Not to my father.” Her voice softened. “My brothers and sisters don’t know me very well. I’m sure there are a lot of harsh feelings there. But you were always nice to me.”
“I’m old enough to be your father. I wasn’t going to be mean to you.”
She was still smiling. “Let’s just say I appreciate it. I hope that now that I’m here the others will learn to accept me.”
He wanted to assure her that they would, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure if it would be a lie or not.
Eric pulled into the parking lot and was surprised to find Dane and Susan standing by her car waiting.
“Did you fly here?” he quipped as he opened his door and climbed from the truck.
“You must have taken the long way. She knew a short cut.” Dane chuckled.
“I’m a city girl,” Susan said with a shrug. “I learn my way around fairly quickly. And…I’ve been here for nine months. This isn’t my first meal here.”
Eric nodded as they walked toward the building. “You still drink unsweetened tea, don’t you?”
She laughed easily and touched his arm. “I don’t eat meat either. Truly not a Southern girl.”
“You have a pair of Birkenstocks in your closet?”
She nudged him now and his blood grew hot in his veins with her flirtatious laugh.
“I own two pairs and socks to go with them.”
Bethany spun around to look at her as she walked backward across the parking lot. “You don’t seriously wear that in public do you?”
“In the comfort of my own home.”
“Whew, I thought you were going to need a fashion intervention,” she said as she turned around and walked through the door, which Dane held open for her.
“I still might,” she joked, as she too walked through the door.
Dane shook his head as he and Eric walked in. “These two are going to get along just fine aren’t they?”
Eric nodded. They were a couple of Western misfits in a town of Southern gossip. Lord knew what people were already thinking.
Eric watched Susan nibble at a salad and drink a glass of water as if the meal didn’t matter to her. She engaged in conversation, laughed a lot, and her eyes always sparkled. Dane eased around her and he wasn’t usually that laid back.
Bethany certainly wouldn’t be as talkative or excitable if Susan wasn’t with them, he was sure of that.
He was on his second beer, his burger long eaten, listening to Susan talk about a catering job at the library—and he was enthralled. There was a dimple at the corner of her mouth on the right side. She had a tiny little beauty mark on the edge of her left eye. Her ears were pierced four times, but she only wore one set of delicate silver hoops.
Eric wasn’t a man to touch others. A fine woman who was willing, that was another story. But he wasn’t a hugger or a person toucher, but she was.
She’d touched his arm in the parking lot and his head had nearly blown off from his blood pressure spiking. In the course of her nibbling on her salad, she’d touched Bethany’s shoulder and Dane’s arm. It was safer to sit across from her and just observe.
“Why Georgia? Why Macon? Why not Atlanta?”
Bethany was perched with her elbows on the table, absolutely enthralled with the conversation she was having with her new roommate.
Susan shrugged. “Atlanta is too expensive. And I needed a total change of scenery.”
Her voice dropped when she said it. There was more to moving across the country than a change of scenery and he found himself needing to know why.
The conversation shifted quickly to Bethany and her move.
“When my mom died there was nothing left for me,” she said. “I’m not sure what is here for me…”
“Your family,” Eric finally spoke.
“You and Dane are the only two who have even acknowledged me. And your mother,” she said as if it were an afterthought.
Dane nodded. “Of course she did. You can count on her to get the rest of them to come around.”
Susan leaned in over the table. “How often did you see your dad?”
Bethany pushed a French fry around with another. “I’ve been here maybe ten times. I’ve heard my father was infatuated with my mother, but you would have thought he’d have made more effort if that was the case.”
Eric set his beer on the table. “There is little effort given when it comes to your father. Sorry,” he added in case he’d hurt any feelings.
“I caught that today at your parents’ house. No one expects too much from him.”
“You pave a path for yourself. His has been paved with mistakes the entire family has had to pay for.”
“Including you.”
Eric winced when she mentioned it and he looked toward Susan, who had stopped mid drink to watch his reaction.
He wasn’t good conversation or company. “I’m going to find our waitress and settle the check.”
“Oh,” Susan said setting her drink down. “Here I need to give you money.”
“For what? Your garden and your water? I got it.”
“I wasn’t looking for a free dinner.”
“You owe me one,” he said and walked away from the table.
Bethany chuckled as she pushed her plate away. “He just asked you out on a date.”
“He did not,” Susan argued.
Dane nodded. “In his very horrible way…he did.”
“Trust me, the last thing I need is a man who is that short tempered. I have a lot on my plate right now and it sounds like he does too.”
She watched as Eric returned to the table and simply looked down at them all as if they knew that was their queue to stand.
Bethany and Dane both pushed back from the table and stood. Obviously he had control over his family. Even the members he didn’t seem to know too well.
When she looked up at him, she swore she saw panic in his eyes. What had they hit on over dinner? Something more had happened while she was fixing up trays of food for his family this afternoon.
The curious nature that had gotten her into more trouble as a child, and even as an adult, buzzed inside of her. Suddenly she wondered how he would feel if she showed up at his place tomorrow with lunch.
Chapter Seven
There was peace…finally.
Eric kicked his feet up on the coffee table and rested his aching head against the back of his chair.
Dinner had been longer and a whole lot more involved than he’d anticipated when he’d offered to feed Bethany.
But the payoff was that she wasn’t sleeping on his couch.
Actually it didn’t help to think about where she was sleeping because then his mind only wandered to Susan.
His stepmother randomly hires some woman to serve sandwiches at his grandfather’s funeral and now his head is filled with images of her face.
He dropped his feet to the floor. There were pressing issues in his life right now. The fact that his uncle had lost Eric’s home in a poker match with one of Eric’s unknown relatives should be foremost on his mind.
So why wasn’t that the pressing thought in his head?
How come all he could think about was that dimple, that beauty mark, those blue eyes, and that photo of her hands?
He looked at his watch. It was nearly eleven and his body was exhausted. Tomorrow he’d need to fix that gate in the south pasture before he moved the herd over next week. That was going to take the better part of his day, so he had no time to sit around and think about anything, but getting some sleep.
Eric stood, turned off the lamp, and walked to his bedroom. Susan’s bed had been made, he thought as he looked at his unkempt room. It had smelled of her—lilacs.
He scrubbed his hands over his face.
It had been a mistake to go with Bethany into that house. How come he hadn’t stayed in the truck with Dane?
Because he hadn’t wanted to, he realized as he undressed and fell onto the bed. He’d wanted to see where she lived—how she lived.
Walker Pride (The Walker Family Book 1) Page 4
