On Lone Star Trail (19 page)

I
think I should call you Wonder Woman.”

Gillian turned at the sound of his voice, her pulse beginning to race at the sight of TJ standing in the doorway of the center. How silly. She wasn't a schoolgirl in the throes of a crush.

“I thought I was going to spend the afternoon painting,” he said, “but it's obvious I'm too late. Again.” He shook his head in mock dismay. “When the staff meeting was cancelled, I was sure I'd get here in time to help.”

Gillian shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance when all the while her heart was pounding. Though she'd been pleased to finish the painting before school ended, pride had nothing to do with the dance her heart was performing. “I had a whole day without interruptions.”

Stepping inside, TJ settled his fists on his hips as if he were exasperated. “Are you calling me an interruption? I thought you were glad to see me yesterday.” The mocking tone of voice belied his belligerent posture.

“No and yes.” When he said nothing, Gillian continued. “No, I wasn't calling you an interruption. Emma Ingersoll was here for the better part of half an hour yesterday, and I spent time
at the Sit ‘n' Sip. Those were interruptions.” She flashed TJ a smile that said she knew he had only been kidding. “Yes, I was glad to see you yesterday, and I'm glad to see you today.”

Gillian was babbling, something she rarely did, but the sight of TJ had sent her into a tizzy. She was overreacting, probably the result of Kate's continued assertion that she was in love. As if that weren't enough, one of the Matchers had stopped her as she was unlocking the center and had asked about Mike. But it wasn't Mike who Gillian was thinking about now.

She'd lain awake last night, replaying the day. Though she still had concerns about being the organist on Sunday based on both Mike and TJ's reactions, the image that whirled through her brain and kept her from sleeping was the expression on TJ's face when they'd returned from Firefly Valley and had sorted through the pictures he'd taken.

Nothing in his voice had seemed different as they'd chosen a dozen photos to hang on the walls, but twice Gillian had caught him looking at her, his eyes filled with what appeared to be wonder, as if he were seeing her differently. Though she couldn't imagine what had caused the difference, Gillian had found herself responding with brighter than normal smiles. Now he was here, sending tingles through her body.

“You don't need me today.” TJ gestured toward the walls with their drying paint.

“Maybe not to paint, but I could use a cheer team.” It was only an excuse. The reality was, Gillian wanted a reason for TJ to stay. She wanted to explore these new feelings and see if they were something more than a passing fancy. She nodded at the walls. “How do you think they turned out?”

“Now who's being insecure? You've been breathing too many paint fumes if you think this looks anything other than phenomenal.”

TJ walked around the room slowly, apparently inspecting every square inch she'd covered with paint. “I couldn't have
done better myself. Of course,” he said with a self-deprecating smile when the circuit was complete, “that's not saying much. After the time I tipped over a full gallon of paint, my mother wouldn't let me near a brush or roller. I was the one-man cleanup crew, but you haven't even left that for me.”

His eyes narrowed, and the grin changed to a mischievous smile. “I spoke too soon.” Leaning forward, he scraped the bridge of Gillian's nose with his fingernail.

“Ouch.”

“Sorry, but you missed a spot. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I doubted you'd want to go out in public looking anything less than perfect.”

Gillian smiled at the idea of anyone considering her perfect. She wasn't. Far from it.

Her eyes widened as TJ kissed the tips of his index and middle fingers, then pressed them to her nose. It was hardly a romantic gesture, and yet it caused her pulse to accelerate again. It seemed as if mere proximity to TJ was enough to put her senses on high alert.

“Better now?” he asked. “That was my mother's cure for cuts and scrapes once I turned seven or eight. She knew I didn't want her to kiss me, so she figured that touching me with fingers she'd kissed was the next best thing.”

Gillian wasn't like the boy TJ had been. She wouldn't have minded being kissed, not even if it was only the tip of her nose, so long as TJ was the one doing the kissing. But it seemed he wasn't interested. She must have been mistaken in believing something had changed and that he'd seen her as a woman, not simply a friend, last night.

“Thanks,” Gillian said as calmly as she could when a lump the size of Texas had settled in her throat. “Do I look presentable now?” Thankfully, as far as she could tell, her face had not flushed despite the turmoil inside her.

“You do indeed, Wonder Woman. I think we should celebrate
your accomplishment. What do you say to a congratulatory milk shake?”

“That sounds perfect!”

She and TJ were halfway to the Sit ‘n' Sip when a couple emerged from the diner. At first Gillian paid them little attention. School was over, and it was not uncommon to see teenage couples in town. But when the couple descended the two shallow steps to the sidewalk, Gillian stopped abruptly and stared, shocked by the identity of the couple.

She touched TJ's arm to get his attention. “That's obviously Brianna, but who's the guy? I've never seen him before.” And that bothered Gillian. Why was Brianna, who'd declared her intention of marrying Todd, with someone else?

This man—for he was a man rather than a teenage boy—bore no resemblance to Todd. He had brown hair instead of blond, was a couple inches taller than Todd, and a good fifty pounds heavier with muscles straining at the seams of his T-shirt.

TJ glanced at the couple before nodding slowly. “His name is Pete Darlington. He's part of a new construction crew that's working on Drew Carroll's complex. One reason you haven't seen him in town is they only started here last week.”

Gillian felt her eyes widen in amazement. Her question about the man's identity had been a rhetorical one. “How'd you learn all that?” She had expected TJ to be as clueless about the strange man's identity as she was.

TJ tipped his hat to the three women who were approaching before he responded. “I took my bike on a spin around town. When I got to the Carroll site, Pete was one of a group of men who wanted to talk about bikes.” As if anticipating Gillian's next question, TJ continued. “He seems okay. A little rough around the edges. Not a bad guy, but definitely too old for Brianna.”

“I agree. He's got to be in his midtwenties.”

The couple were heading for what Gillian assumed was Pete's truck. Even from a distance, Gillian could see the way Brianna
appeared to be hanging on Pete Darlington's every word. Questions spiraled through her brain. Where had Brianna met Pete? Why was she attracted to him? And, most of all, what had happened to Todd?

“They probably had a fight.”

Despite the concern she couldn't dismiss, laughter bubbled up inside Gillian. “Are you a mind reader? That's twice you've answered questions before I could ask them.”

“There are times I wish I could read minds,” TJ admitted. “It sure would make teaching easier. But in this case, the answer is simpler. I figured you were wondering the same thing I was: why Todd was no longer in the picture.”

“Last week Brianna was ready to marry him.”

TJ gave Gillian a knowing smile. “But a week is forever for a teenager. My guess is that Todd did something to annoy Brianna, and now her head's turned by Pete's attention. Besides the obvious appeal of having an older man interested, she's probably using Pete to make Todd jealous.”

“That sounds dangerous to me. I know it's a cliché, but Brianna could be playing with fire.”

TJ nodded. “Someone needs to set Pete straight.”

As the truck bearing Brianna and her new crush raced away, Gillian looked at TJ. “Are you volunteering?”

“Yeah.”

“It sounds like infatuation to me.” Kate rested her hands on her baby bump and made a visible effort to relax. Though Gillian had thought she was joking about how nervous she was in the obstetrician's waiting room, the pallor of Kate's face as they'd entered the medical arts building had told her it was no joke. For some reason, normally unflappable Kate did not like even routine visits like today's. Gillian hoped it had nothing to
do with what happened to her mother, but she wouldn't ask, because that might heighten Kate's anxiety. She was nervous enough as it was.

Normally Greg accompanied Kate and held her hand both literally and figuratively, but today he was in San Antonio at a meeting of area hoteliers. That was why Gillian had asked Linda and Sheila to babysit and Alexa to work at Hill Country Pages so she could accompany Kate.

“Once TJ talks to Pete, it'll be over,” Kate continued. “Pete will leave her alone, and Brianna will go back to Todd.”

Though she had doubts, Gillian hoped TJ and Kate were right. There had been definite undercurrents at Firefly Valley last night. Brianna and Todd had joined the group, but they'd sat on opposite sides of the campfire, and though Todd's gaze had drifted toward his former girlfriend, Brianna had kept her attention focused on either TJ or the girls at her side.

“How do you know the difference between infatuation and love?” Gillian asked. If she was lucky, Kate would think her question was precipitated by Brianna's situation, not more personal concerns.

Kate closed her eyes for a second as she caressed the bump. “I can't claim to be an expert on either one.”

“But you dated a couple guys seriously before you married Greg.” And that made Kate an expert compared to Gillian, who'd never progressed to the seriously dating stage.

“You would bring that up, wouldn't you?” The twist of Kate's lips told Gillian she didn't appreciate the direction the conversation had headed. “I loved them, but now I realize I wasn't in love with them.”

She uncapped her water bottle and took a sip. “It's a critical difference. I enjoyed being with them, but I wasn't willing to commit when they started talking about marriage.” Her brown eyes were warm with mirth as she said, “It's supposed to be the guys who get cold feet, isn't it? Leave it to me to do things
differently. I couldn't explain it at the time, and I'm not sure I can even now, but something was holding me back.”

Gillian thought about the years Kate had been dating. “Is that the reason I never met them? I was in New York enough times that you could have arranged for us to get together, but you never did.” Kate had talked about the two men and had shown Gillian their pictures, but she'd never done more than speak casually about Gillian's meeting either man.

Kate's eyebrows rose, and a flush stained her cheeks. “I hadn't thought you'd be upset by that. I guess I just didn't want to share the time you and I had together with anyone.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “That should have been my clue. When I met Greg, I wanted you to meet him. Not to check him out and give your approval but because I wanted my best friend to know the man I love. I wanted you to be friends.”

And they were. Before Gillian could do more than nod, the nurse entered the waiting room and nodded at Kate. “The doctor's ready for you.”

Kate rose, her previous nervousness apparently gone as she followed the nurse. “This won't take long. Twenty minutes tops.”

But that was more time than Gillian needed to ponder Mike's invitation to spend Sunday with his family. Sally had told her when men were serious about a woman, they took her home to meet their mothers. At the time, Gillian had believed that to be an old-fashioned custom. No one did that anymore, or did they? Though Gillian had vague memories of being the flower girl at George's wedding, she had no idea how her brother had approached courtship and when Lisa had first met her future father-in-law.