Courting Trouble (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 3) (2 page)

Which was a very good thing in Diedra Palmer's opinion. It might not be so good, though, if Alec managed to get away from her and expose himself to three hundred people, a number of whom were his clients at his law firm.

The dance music died away and Alec attempted to pull back. Diedra held onto his tush even tighter.

"Alec, I need to tell you something."

"And I need to visit the men's room," he said with a desperate edge to his voice.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I don't think you want to go anywhere I can't come along with you."

"Diedra, after the car incident—"

"I told you that was an accident."

"Oh yeah? And what about when you hid the wedding rings? That was an accident too?"

"Well, no. That was a joke. But the car wasn't."

"All I want is to enjoy my cousin's wedding in relative peace and safety. Is that too much to ask?" Again he tried to pull away.

"Quit struggling. I'm trying to tell you something."

"Look, Diedra. The band is taking a break. I refuse to stay out here on the dance floor with you massaging my backside."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you."

"Talk fast."

"Did you ever see the movie
Bringing Up Baby
?"

"Never heard of it."

"It's an old movie. Cary Grant. Katherine Hepburn?"

"Nope."

"That makes it more difficult."

"What does? Can we just get on with whatever it is you need to tell me?"

"In the movie, Cary Grant steps on Katherine's dress and tears off the backside."

"Yeah?"

Diedra concentrated on holding up the torn flap on Alec's tuxedo pants, figuring he was really going to squirm when he heard what she had to say. "Well, tonight, you're Katherine."

It took only a second for light to dawn on Alec, she had to give him that. "You're saying you stepped on my pants and tore them?"

"Only I didn't step on them. Remember when you refused to dance with me at first and I grabbed the back of your pants?"

"Oh, God."

"If I let go of you now, you're going to give the wedding guests an entirely different kind of show than they were expecting."

"How bad is it?"

"It kind of looks like those pajamas with flaps on the backside."

"You're the most difficult woman I've met in my lifetime. You need a keeper. First the car stalling, then the wedding rings and now this. When we get out of here, promise me you'll leave me alone. Maybe join the Peace Corps."

"I promise, Alec. Just turn around slowly and I'll walk behind you."

They managed the maneuver without anyone being the wiser. Alec turned back to look down at Diedra as they headed to the door. "No goosing."

"Spoil sport."

Chapter 1

Just over two years later

Aunt Lilith's herb shop was a wonderful place. Diedra Colleen Palmer sighed contentedly. It was nothing like the mall where she'd tried working after she left the Peace Corps. Working at the mall had proved to be disastrous, from the alarm going off again and again, to the electronic gate banging up and down, nearly crushing unsuspecting customers. But here, in this small store at the end of a tiny strip shopping center, little could go wrong.

Diedra's aunt, or great aunt, to be more exact, assured her she had a gift, a talent, but try as she might, Diedra simply couldn't see it that way.

Not after she'd been asked, almost too politely, to turn in her resignation at the mall. Aunt Lilith had stepped in, offering training in store management. Now that Diedra had begun to get the hang of things, Aunt Lilith left her alone more and more often. She even went on an extended vacation and left Diedra totally in charge of the shop.

Little soothed her more than being surrounded by crystals and bundles of drying herbs hanging from the wooden rafters, fresh herbs and flowers growing in pots scattered all around and shelf upon shelf of herbs and vitamins. Diedra loved it all.

Her cousin, Heather Palmer, stood at the wooden counter inspecting some parsley leaves. Across the room, the man who owned the florist shop next door filled his shopping basket with lemon grass and sorrel.

Diedra gazed fondly at Heather, happy her favorite cousin had dropped by the shop for a visit.

Heather and her twin sister, Thistle, couldn't be less alike. While Thistle was serious and studious, Heather was fun and light-hearted. They had each just finished their first year of attaining a master's degree, Thistle in anatomy and Heather in recreational studies. Summer break had just started and neither of them was attending school this summer, but both would be busy. Thistle had a research internship coming up and Heather would be leaving in two weeks for a summer camp where she had been a counselor for years.

Something was bothering Heather, though. She kept glancing around the shop as if afraid someone would overhear their conversation. It seemed odd. They'd only talked about packing for camp and whether Diedra liked working in the shop, which she absolutely did. Nothing secret about any of that.

But now Heather leaned across the counter and whispered, "Do you think Aunt Lilith truly is a witch? Dad said she's always been a little—unusual."

"Of course she's not," Diedra replied more forcefully than she actually felt. "And so what if she's a little—unusual. We all have idiosyncrasies and, heaven knows, I have mine."

She really didn't need any reminder about hers.

Two issues ruled her life. First, she was extremely accident prone. For most people that would be more than calamity enough, but she was gifted in another department as well. She was a SLIder, which is the name for people who suffer from Street Light Interference phenomenon, or as her sister called her, electromagnetically impaired. Not that most SLIders' impairment stopped at street lights. For Diedra, it also included anything electrical or mechanical.

Between the accidents and the way everything around her broke or went wild, she was—no other way to describe it—a total, utter jinx. All her life people had made cutting comments. She'd been called a witch and other, less positive, names. Just because someone was different didn't make them a witch.

"Aunt Lilith is a wonderful woman. Meagan and I owe her hugely for taking us in after our folks died. She's been nothing but sweet and kind."

From the knowing look Heather shot her, she didn't appear to be convinced.

Diedra added, "Trust me, I would know. I'd have seen her ride a broomstick or wield a magic wand."

Heather glanced around the shop. "I was kind of hoping she
was
a witch and she could help me out."

Someone else who needed help. Diedra already had more than enough on her mind. Her sister Meagan had left her marriage behind in Colorado and returned to Dallas, where she'd promptly moved in with Diedra and did little beyond mope and cry. Within days, Jeff was back, too, trying to reconcile with Meagan, but she refused to talk things over. Matters had reached the crisis point, so Diedra was feeling compelled to—intervene.

It wouldn't be long before she could get started. She shot a look at the wall clock and hoped it was correct, but with the way she affected clocks, she couldn't be certain. Time, for her, was always an estimate.

Heather sighed, apparently waiting for a sympathetic response. Diedra couldn't keep herself from trying to make her cousin feel better. "Tell me what's wrong and maybe I can help you."

"Not unless you have a love potion hidden under the counter."

"Man troubles, huh?"

Heather looked at her with wide blue eyes. "I've done everything I can think of to get him to notice me, short of beating him over the head."

"I don't have any love potions, but maybe I could interest you in some aphrodisiacs?" Considering how gorgeous Heather was, the man had to be blind as a bat. Maybe Diedra could add some beta-carotene to Heather's grocery bag.

The florist, Bert Brockway, joined them at the counter. "Did I hear you mention aphrodisiacs?"

Customers like Bert were a perk of working in the shop. She'd known him since Aunt Lilith opened the store several years ago. Diedra had almost learned to enjoy Bert's incessant teasing. Aside from that, he was a really nice guy, but there was no accounting for her bad taste in men. Why couldn't she fall for a great guy like him? Her libido seemed to prefer men in neckties and starched collars, all the better for mussing, instead of men who came already mussed.

Bert winked as he stroked Tommy, a tabby cat sitting on the weathered oak counter. "In my opinion, you can never have enough aphrodisiacs on hand. What do you use?"

"Alec Sparks," Diedra mumbled to herself.

Heather squealed. "You like Alec?"

As Diedra realized she'd spoken out loud, hot color traveled up her neck and face. She absolutely had to keep her mind off Alec. "No. I mean, of course I like him. He's just been on my mind lately."

Heather raised her eyebrows.

Diedra waved her hand. "He's supposed to stop by this morning."

"Ohh. He is, is he?"

"It's no big deal." They would both want to get involved if she told them why he was coming by.

Heather turned to Bert. "I don't believe a word she's saying. Do you?"

"Methinks she doth protest way too much." Bert placed his shopping basket on the counter. "I always hoped
I
was your visual aphrodisiac."

In an attempt to change the subject, Diedra grabbed a bottle of vitamin B from Bert's basket. "You realize our house brand is fifty cents less?"

"Ah, but I have a coupon." Bert smiled and pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, then leaned flirtatiously closer to Heather.

Either Diedra's diversion worked to get the topic of conversation off Alec, or perhaps Heather's feminine wiles did the trick. Diedra was grateful, no matter how it happened. To keep a tight rein on her emotions, Diedra needed to keep her thoughts off the subject of Alec.

She checked the clock again. Considering his militarylike punctuality, he'd be here any minute, as he'd agreed when she'd phoned him that morning.

She knew he'd said yes only because she suggested discussing ways to reunite Meagan and Jeff.

Much to her disappointment, Alec usually did his best to avoid her. Why did her pulse have to race at the thought of seeing him again? Why couldn't time away have helped her forget him?

She tallied Bert's purchase on the register. "That will be twenty-three dollars and forty-two cents, please."

Alec and aphrodisiacs. Even the idea of putting them together in the same sentence was enough to make her feel dizzy. Annoyed with the way her thoughts were heading, Diedra vented by slapping the register.

It beeped. Then it beeped again.

She must have hit a wrong button. Maybe she could find the right one. She pushed the closest. Nothing. She tried another, but the beeping continued.

She gave the cash register a good shove.

A loud sprooonnngg noise echoed through the shop. Guess that had been a big mistake.

Bert stopped flirting with Heather and looked at Diedra as if expecting her to do something—now.

"Maybe you need to push the clear button," suggested Heather.

"I've already tried that." Her insides froze and she fought an urge to panic. This couldn't be happening again.

She pounded on the machine. The beeping started up again but now lights flashed on and off across the face of the cash register.

That's what she got for getting worked up. She knew better than to allow her emotions to get out of control. But they always ran rampant when she thought of Alec.

As she reached for the key to turn the machine off, the cash drawer hurled open, slinging out money like a slot machine flings out coins.

A nickel hit Diedra directly in the face and Heather and Bert jumped back. She didn't blame them.

Within seconds the flying change littered the counter and floor. Thankfully, the cash register quieted down.