Georgie on His Mind

by Jennifer Shirk

  "Well, people besides her brother have been looking out for Georgie for a long time. I think the whole townincluding myself and your aunt-took her under their wing because she was so young when her parents died. It's only natural that she'd get tired of the attention and want some space to stand on her own two feet after a while."

  "Thanks a lot," he shot back. "You're a big help. So you think I should ignore my feelings and let her enjoy her independence, is that it?"

  "Not at all, son. What I'm saying is that Georgie may think she knows what she wants, but true feelings are always in the heart, not in the head. Unfortunately the mind is a pretty formidable opponent. Just show her the difference, and you'll be fine"

  Walt stared at Al for a few more moments, hoping more aged wisdom would come from his uncle's mouth. When nothing else came forth, Walt made a face. "That's it? That's the best advice you could give me? Am I the only person in this town that can make sense?"

  Al picked up the newspaper on the table and swatted Walt with it.

  "Ow!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head. "Why did you go and do that?"

  "To knock some sense into that thick skull of yours, boy. Listen up. I'm giving you some advice, but obviously you're too dang proud to hear it. If Georgie thinks you're acting like Brad, then for heaven's sake stop acting like a brother. Treat her like she wants to be treated, so she can realize her feelings. Don't just roll over and play dead"

  Walt lowered his hand and thought for a minute. "So you're saying I should ignore what she's been telling me and just go after her?"

  His uncle crossed his arms with a satisfied smile on his lips. "The man can be taught"

  Walt shook his head and chuckled. Obviously Uncle Al was a romantic at heart, but he didn't understand the complications of how a man and woman dealt with one another in this generation, especially when a man had to deal with as big of a complication as Georgie Mayer. But at this point, he had nothing to lose, aside from his friendship with her brother. It was a risk he had to take. Starting right then, Walt was going to show Georgie just how "unbrotherly" his feelings toward her were.

  Georgie narrowed her eyes and gazed around the room filled with people. Jake and Kendall's engagement party was jumping. Groups of people huddled together in various spots around the house, mingling and eating and laughing. She wanted to join them but she couldn't let herself relax and enjoy it quite yet. She had business to attend to first. She was determined to help Brad out, whether he wanted it or not.

  Jake's tiny rancher was jam-packed, only with very few single women. Two out of the three firefighter platoons had shown up to congratulate him on his engagement to Kendall. Quite a few cops from the police department showed up too. Kendall was beaming all night, but Georgie could tell she was disappointed that Brad wasn't there. He surprisingly decided to put in for some overtime at work at the last minute. He told Georgie that he'd try to swing by at the end of his three to eleven shift, but that news didn't make her or Kendall any happier. Brad seemed to be resorting to hermit status, purposely going out of his way to avoid a good time.

  What was going on with him?

  Georgie suddenly zeroed in on another potential date candidate for Brad and pulled out a small spiral notepad she'd brought with her. She jotted down the name, then reviewed the page. So far she had a pretty good list going. Eight women in all. Not too shabby, especially in this type of atmosphere. Georgie hated to use her friend's engagement party as a vehicle for acquiring dates for her brother, but the situation was desperate. She had just heard from Dee that Brad had already volunteered to be put on as one of the police escorts Clay Hayes would need when he got into town. Good Lord. Hopefully, Brad wouldn't get the assignment. All she needed was her brother accompanying her on a date. She wasn't sure how much more of his overprotectiveness she could take.

  "At it again, are we?"

  Georgie jumped even though Walt's question was said soft and sexy in her ear. Where had he snuck up from? She had seen him arrive at the party a little less than an hour ago but had craftily managed to avoid him-up until now, that is.

  She snapped her notebook shut and turned around, trying not to let the delicious smell of him distract her. "No, as a matter of fact, we are not at it again. I am at it again." She shot her hand to her mouth and winced. "Uh ... I mean, I'm not up to anything. Just standing here, uh, enjoying a lovely party."

  He grinned. "Right. I can see that," he said, motioning toward the notebook she had in her hand. "But as Brad's best friend, I think I have to warn him this time."

  "Well, as my friend, could you at least wait a few weeks before you go and blabber to him about it?"

  Walt's expression turned serious, and he dipped his head so he could look directly into her eyes. "I don't know. Are we still friends, Georgie?"

  She smiled and allowed herself to get lost in the greengray depths of his earnest eyes. For only a moment, her heart could afford just one small indulgence. "Yeah. I guess we are"

  Walt made a show of wiping imaginary sweat off his forehead.

  She chuckled, and her heart felt ten times lighter, knowing that they were still able to enjoy each other's company. The last couple of days since their fight had been rough. She'd missed this, his friendship, being able to laugh with him again.

  "Look, Walt, I've been meaning to say this to you but I haven't had the chance. I ... I want to apologize for overreacting the other day in the pharmacy. I was in a mood, and I took it out on you. I'm so sorry."

  "Apology accepted," he said with a solemn nod. "But only if you accept my apology first. I was way out of line too. I shouldn't have called you a flighty brat"

  "Thank you"

  "I should have called you a conscientious brat instead."

  She laughed but punched him on the arm. "Are you mocking me?"

  Walt took hold of her fist and flattened her hand against his heart. "Never," he said huskily.

  As startling as a needle being pulled off a record player, all joking ended between them in that split second. Red flags waved in front of her eyes, and she suddenly grew wary of his simple touch. She blinked and tried to weakly pull her hand away from his, but he wouldn't let it go. He just kept looking at her, his eyes steady and searching for something she wasn't ready for him to see. Suddenly, she felt as if she were standing in quicksand. And sinking fast.

  "Don't," she whispered, tugging her hand again.

  Walt tightened his grip, keeping her hand firmly against his chest. "Don't what? Don't look at you? Don't touch you? Don't be your friend? What exactly do you want from me, Georgie?"

  "I ... I .. " She groaned inwardly. What she wanted and what she was afraid to want seemed to be the same thing. Could she allow herself a little indulgence with Walt and still keep her emotions in check? She didn't think so. She was so afraid to let go and grow attached to someone again. Walt hadn't been in town long. He hadn't even found permanent housing yet. What if he decided to leave and move back to Philadelphia? She had to protect herself.

  "Well, well, Georgie," a woman's voice drawled from behind her, "you sure are batting a thousand this month"

  Georgie slipped her hand from Walt's grasp, turned around, and saw Vivian Reynolds. Vivian moved to town a few years ago with her husband, a frequent customer of the pharmacy. She was a few years older than Georgie, now di vorced, and dating one of Jake's buddies in the fire department. But at the moment she'd seemed to have forgotten that last little tidbit of information, seeing that her attention was solely and inappropriately directed toward Walt.

  "Hi, Vivian," Georgie said with a frown. "What do you mean I'm batting a thousand this month?"

  Vivian licked her clear-glossed lips, her half-lidded gaze still focused hungrily on Walt. "I just mean, first you win a date with that gorgeous Clay Hayes and now I find you holding hands with this charming specimen of a man. By the way, I don't believe we've met," she said, shifting around Georgie.

  Georgie folded her arms, not appreciating the sneaky way Vivia
n had just inserted herself between her and Walt. "Well, maybe if you shopped in the store more, you'd know that this `charming specimen of a man' happens to be the new pharmacist."

  Vivian cocked a blond penciled eyebrow at Georgie's curt tone, then turned her attention back to Walt. "You don't say. Well, I'm Vivian Reynolds," she told him, holding out her French-manicured hand to Walt, who politely took it with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be seeing me around the store a lot more"

  "Oh, and why is that?" Georgie asked with exaggerated innocence. "Did you hear about the sale we're having on foot odor products this month?"

  Walt raised his hand to muffle up his chuckle. Vivian shot Georgie an evil scowl. "Well, I can see I'm crossing a heavily guarded line here. Are you and Walt dating?"

  Georgie hesitated, feeling the color drain from her face. "Oh, well, no. Walt and I are ... we're just friends." Yeah. That was a perfectly good description for her and Walt. Friends. Although she found it a little disconcerting that the word almost got stuck on her tongue.

  Vivian's mouth curved into a slow seductive smile. "That's very fortunate for me then. Kenny and I broke up a few weeks ago."

  "You did?" Georgie could hear the disappointment in her own voice and winced. She hoped Walt and Vivian didn't have as acute hearing.

  "Yes, I'm afraid so," Vivian said with a fake sigh. "I guess you can say I'm on the market again." Gazing longingly at Walt, she added, "I bet you haven't gotten out much since you've been in town. I could show you around to all the great hot spots"

  "That's very kind of you to offer," Walt said.

  Georgie took one look at the charming smile Walt was shooting at Vivian and had the sudden desire to kick Vivian's three-inch heels out from under her. "Well, that's all very interesting to hear, Vivian," she said hastily, grabbing Walt's arm and pulling her with him. "But Walt and I have to discuss something else, er, business. We have to discuss pharmacy business. Top secret stuff. Walt will look you up, I'm sure, though. See ya around"

  Georgie continued to pull Walt across the crowded room and out the front door-stopping only briefly to make sure Dee was not witnessing any of this-until they ended up outside on the porch. The evening air was breezy and chilly and thankfully just what she needed to cool herself down in a hurry.

  "Just what were you doing back there?" she accused.

  Walt blinked, then let out a laugh. "I was going to ask you the same thing. `Oh, did you hear about our sale on foot odor products?'" He held his stomach and started laughing again. "Oh, come on. That was just plain cruel. Hilarious, but cruel."

  Georgie reluctantly gave in to a smile. "Okay. So maybe that was a teensy weensy bit mean, but she deserved it. Vivian is too much, and I didn't like the way she was looking at you."

  "Oh, yeah?" Walt angled his head, still smiling. "You didn't like how she was looking at me?"

  "No, I didn't." She swallowed hard, realizing she had just stupidly backed herself into a corner. "But ... only because ... well, I didn't want you being selfish and taking any potential dates away from Brad. That's all. I could have added her to my list, you know," she pointedly informed him, waving her notebook in front of his face.

  Walt snatched the book out of her hand and tossed it on the ground. "Why, Georgie?" He raised both hands, his fingers raking the air in frustration. "You're so focused on your brother's love life that you're ignoring your own. And mine, by the way. So, tell me. Why are you so intent on finding a woman for Brad?"

  "I told you," she said, thrusting her chin up. "I don't want him to worry about me. I can't concentrate on my own love life if he's too busy worrying about mine. He needs a life. I feel like a huge burden to him right now."

  "You're not. Brad-"

  She held up a hand. "I know. He loves me." She let out a heavy sigh. Frustrated with Brad, with Walt, with Vivian, but mostly with herself. Brad had so much love to give. Someday he was going to make a woman extremely happyif he ever got out of the slump he was in and found one, that is.

  Georgie lowered her eyes and stared at her notebook of names, lying haphazardly on the grass. Maybe her method of finding Brad a woman was a little unconventional, but her brother deserved a little happiness.

  Was that so wrong to want that for at least one of them?

  She released another breath and a little bit of tension drained from her shoulders. "Look, I don't want to fight with you, Walt."

  "All right. Let's get out of here then"

  Her eyes widened. "You want to leave? But you haven't even been here an hour yet"

  "Ah-ha!" he said triumphantly, pointing his finger at her. "I knew you were avoiding me. So you did see me come in."

  Her face heated. Thank goodness half the firefighters in town were just a few short yards away, because she had a feeling her cheeks would ignite off her face at any second.

  "Well, of course I saw you come in," she said in a huff. "Anyone with an ounce of estrogen in her body saw you walk into the party tonight. I'm sure Vivian had you in her radar as soon as she heard your truck pull up"

  Walt grinned, looking like he'd just won Man of the Year. "Come on," he said, taking hold of her hand and leading her down the porch steps.

  Georgie followed, too tired to fight with him anymore, but when he opened the door of his truck for her, her heart chickened out and she dug in her heels. "Where are we going?" she demanded.

  "You'll see," he said, reaching out and gently running a finger along her cheekbone. "I want to show you something."

  She backed away from his truck-and more importantly, from his touch. "Oh, no. I don't think so. I've heard that line before"

  Walt cocked his head, letting a sexy little grin slip out. "Georgie, if you're worried that I want to take you somewhere so I can take advantage of you, well, then you'd probably be smart to worry. But as it turns out, I would really like to show you something. It won't take long. In fact, I doubt we'll even be missed."

  Georgie bit her lip as she stared at the mischievous glint in Walt's eyes. Don't go! Don't go! her mind screamed. He looked far too good tonight in his faded blue jeans. The way his navy V-neck polo dipped just south enough for her to get an eyeful of that sexy little patch of chest hair made a wicked part of her want to reach out and run her finger all along the exposed area of his skin. She swallowed hard. The more time she spent with him, the more he was getting to her.

  Going somewhere-anywhere-with Walt Somers had bad idea tattooed all over it. If she were a smart woman, she'd say no thank you, and turn away. What was she doing encouraging a man who had been engaged before and therefore probably still looking for some woman to settle down with?

  Walt deserved better than her.

  If she were smart, she'd pick up her notebook off the ground, march right back to the party, and have herself a cold drink. Maybe two. That's what a smart woman would do. A smart woman with no interest in getting involved in any type of relationship with a man as dangerous and sexy as Walt. The only thing was ...

  She wasn't very smart.

  It wasn't smart picking up and leaving the engagement party with Georgie like that. In fact, Walt was darn positive gossip was already spreading about the two of them at that very moment. But he didn't care. If he didn't steal a moment alone with Georgie now, he wasn't sure when he'd be given another chance-or if he would even have the nerve again.

  Walt put his turn signal on and made a left. The destination he had in mind was just a mile ahead now. Georgie stared out the window in silence as he continued to drive. She didn't know it, but every once in a while he would glance over at her, taking in the lovely shape of her profile bathed in the moonlight and stars.

  He waited for some reaction or question from her. He knew her well enough to know that her curiosity about where they were going had to be killing her. But she hadn't said much since he'd started the truck, and if Georgie had an inkling of where they were headed she hadn't made it known.

  He slowed down and pulled into a long dirt driveway at the corner of the street. When
he reached the end, he shut off the engine and turned to her expectantly. "Well, what do you think?" he asked.

  Georgie's brows furrowed as she gazed out the windshield. "Um, what do I think about what?"

  "This," he said, raising his hand and indicating the yellow rancher in a sweeping gesture. "I close on it Monday."

  "You bought a house?" Her interest perked up with each blink of her eye. "This house? Already?"

  Walt chuckled at the shocked look on her face and dangled a pair of keys in front of her eyes. "Technically, it's not mine just yet, but my Uncle Al is good friends with the owner so they gave me the keys early. Come on, I want to show you the inside." He opened his car door and felt a sense of pride as he looked at his soon-to-be investment for the future.

  "Oh, so this is it? You're really moving out then?" she asked, following him up the sidewalk.

  Hearing the disappointment in her voice, Walt tried not to smile. He knew it. Georgie was going to miss having him around. Good, because he had plans that would put her exactly where he wanted her-living with him. Without her brother.

  "Well, that's what one does when one buys his own house," he remarked casually. "I'll start packing up this weekend, so I'm ready to move out by Monday night." He stuck the key in the lock and opened the front door. Weaving her arm through his, he then nudged her stiff body forward. "Hey, don't tell me you're actually going to miss me"

  "Miss you?" She laughed, but he could tell it was forced. "This is a dream come true to finally be rid of you. It'll be fantastic not to have your luggage in my room anymore, and now I won't have you drinking up all the coffee on me in the .. " Her words trailed off as she gazed around the living room space. The stone gas fireplace that had just been put in made an eye-catching focal point to the room, and the bleached hardwood floor shined in the dimmed recess lightning. "Oh, my gosh," she gasped, dropping her arms to her sides. "This is lovely, Walt."