Seated on the living room sofa, Trixie fixed Holly with her gaze. “Holly Stanford, you like him.”
Holly shrugged, pretending the comment meant nothing to her, but she definitely regretted telling her sister that Jed had fixed her garage door, let alone about the dinner she’d shared with him afterward.
“Don’t try to fool me or yourself. You really like him.”
“Jed Henning is a nice man. You know that from the night you met him. And yes, he’s attractive. I can’t deny it. But I hardly know him, and I’m not likely to get to know him better. He won’t be here that long. He’s going back to Washington.”
“No.” Trixie shook her head. “You’re interested in him.”
Holly blew out a breath. “I’m not, Trix. I’m too busy with the restaurant and trying to keep my head above water. I don’t want to be involved with anybody. I’ve been down that road and it didn’t work. I don’t—” She stopped the confession from leaving her mouth, but finished silently, I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust my judgment.
“You know, sis. There are more ways to fix a broken heart besides working until you drop. You can’t swear off all relationships because Nathan was a bad egg.” Trixie twisted a strand of hair. “And there is something to be said for that pull of attraction, even before you know a guy well. When I met Brett, everything inside of me went zing!”
“Good for you. I’m glad you felt that way about him. But you and I are different.” She spoke firmly, leaving no doubt that she wanted to put an end to the subject. It brought up too many bad memories. She didn’t want a repeat of last Sunday, the sadness, the threat of tears. She might risk being friendly with a man, with someone like Jed. But she wouldn’t risk her heart again, no matter how nice he was.
With determination, she picked up another bridal magazine from the coffee table and opened it. “What do you think about this dress?” She pointed to the first one, not caring what it looked like.
Trixie wouldn’t be so easily distracted. “I remember, you know.”
“Remember what?”
“How devastated you were.”
Holly stiffened.
“I was here. I stayed with you for several weeks after Nathan broke things off. Remember? You cried yourself to sleep every night. It didn’t matter how much you tried to muffle the sound in your pillow. I could still hear you through the bedroom wall.”
“What has that to do with anything? I’m over it. I’m long over Nathan.”
“Not completely. He’s the reason you’ve closed yourself off. You’ve locked up your emotions. It’s like you’ve given up on the possibility of a real relationship. Given up on finding a real love. It’s as if you don’t think you can have it or maybe that you think you don’t deserve it. But you do deserve it. It was Nathan who didn’t deserve you.”
Holly stood, fearing her sister’s words might shatter her resolve. “This conversation has gotten out of control.” She walked into the kitchen where she filled a glass with water and stood near the refrigerator, drinking it.
“Sis, I love you. That’s all.” Trixie now stood in the archway between living room and kitchen.
Holly put the glass on the counter. “I know you do.”
“I’ll try not to interfere anymore.”
Holly’s smile was bittersweet. She shook her head, knowing Trixie might try but she would never succeed. Her younger sister was, by nature, the one who wanted to be certain that everyone was as happy as she was, even if she was clueless about how to make it happen. “Come on, Trix. Let’s get back to those magazines. There’s a lot to get done.”
The look in Trixie’s eyes said she knew she’d been forgiven. But, as if to be sure, she crossed the kitchen to give Holly a tight hug.
* * *
Jed stared at the short list of names on the screen of his laptop—names of his brother’s friends, people he thought Chris might trust with his whereabouts. Most of them, however, had been high school buddies. He wasn’t sure how many Chris had remained in touch with in the years since leaving school.
“We’re strangers, Chris and me,” he whispered, leaning back in his chair.
How much of the drifting apart was his fault? Could he have been more patient? Could he have said something or done something to straighten out his younger brother before it got this bad between them?
Or maybe he’d said too much. Maybe he’d butted in when he shouldn’t have.
He released a breath of frustration. Waste made him angry, and Chris had done nothing but waste his life and his talent. He was smart. Way smarter than he let on. He knew computers forward and backward. And his imagination. Whew. With or without all the Red Bull he chugged, Chris was always creating something new in his head. His mind raced at a hundred miles an hour. But he never would have done anything about any of that genius without Jed. It was Jed who’d harnessed Chris’s creativity and actually done something with it. Without Jed, Caliban would be nothing but an idea among dozens of others on his brother’s computer.
And where was his thanks for that?
“Get things right with your brother,” his dad’s voice echoed in his memory. “And I don’t mean simply getting him back to work. I mean what’s wrong between you two personally.”
Jed rose and began pacing the small living room. How was he supposed to fix something he didn’t understand? He didn’t know what was wrong between him and Chris, beyond that they were two entirely different personalities. How was he supposed to fix that? He was who he was, and Chris was who he was. Had their dad given that truth any consideration? Apparently not. Maybe he should tell his dad to go ahead and shut Laffriot down. Maybe he should—
His train of thought was broken by the ring of his phone. Seeing the call was from his cousin, he answered it, glad for any distraction.
“Hey, Ben.”
“Hi, Jed. Have I interrupted anything?”
“Nothing important.” He walked to the sofa and sat. “What’s up?”
“Ashley wants to have you out to the farm for dinner on Saturday. Can you make it?”
“Sure. What time?”
“Come about three so I can show you around since we didn’t have time for that when you were out last. We’ll plan to eat about six or six thirty.”
“Okay. Sounds good to me.”
“Hey, why don’t you bring Holly? Ashley’d like to get to know her since the three of us go to the same church.”
Jed hesitated. The truth was he’d like to spend more time in Holly’s company. He’d thought about asking her out to dinner, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea. She’d been hurt by somebody. A failed relationship that had left her sad, she’d said. He suspected that her sadness ran deeper than she wanted to let on. Probably not a good idea to form any sort of relationship with her. Last thing he wanted was to be the rebound guy. Besides, he didn’t have a great track record when it came to dating. He’d been called a bona fide workaholic by an old girlfriend, and the last woman he’d taken out had compared him to a character in some movie, saying that his idea of a long-term relationship was giving his date time enough to order dessert.
“It was Ashley’s idea,” Ben added, drawing Jed’s attention to the present. “She’s new enough at Covenant that she’s still making friends.”
“All right. I’ll ask Holly. I’ll let her know it isn’t a date. Just getting to know more people from the church.”
“Sure. Whatever you say. And so you know, dinner won’t be anything fancy. Ashley’s all about what’s easiest when it comes to cooking. Both of us would rather be out with the horses than messing around in the kitchen.”
Jed decided to keep quiet about Holly’s cooking skills. He wouldn’t want Ashley to be intimidated. “Whatever it is, it’ll be fine with me.”
Ben asked if there was any news of Chris, and Jed told him they’d talked for a minute but that was all. He still didn’t know where his brother was or what his plans were.
After they ended the call, Jed checked the time as he set down the phone. Seven o’clock. Holly should be done eating her dinner by now. Should he call her or go to her back door? Back door, he decided. It would be better to ask her face-to-face. Especially since he wanted her to know this was dinner with her tenant and a couple of soon-to-be friends. Nothing more.
He frowned. Would it be so awful if it was a date? Holly was the most appealing woman he’d met in a long while, and right now nobody could call him a workaholic. Would it be so terrible to enjoy time with a beautiful woman? Then again, Jed wasn’t a catch-and-release kind of guy. He was in Boise temporarily, and five hundred miles separated this city from Tacoma. Once he found Chris, life would go back to normal. He’d be putting in long hours again.
So that was that. Friendship was the only option.
Decision made, he headed out of his apartment and up to the back door of the main house. He drew a quick breath and knocked. It wasn’t a long wait before Holly opened the door.
“Hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said.
“Is your power out again?”
He shook his head. “No.”
Her brows raised slightly as she waited for him to say more.
“Come in, Jed,” came Trixie’s voice—he recognized it at once—from inside the house. “Don’t just stand there on the steps.”
A smile touched the corners of Holly’s mouth, then was gone. So fast, he wasn’t sure it had been there. “Yes, please come in.” She turned and walked away, leaving the door open.
He waited a moment, then followed her inside.
Trixie stood in the kitchen, leaning a hip against the center island. “It’s great to see you.” She made it sound as if it had been years instead of six days.
“Thanks. You too. How are the wedding plans?”
“That’s why I’m here. Holly and I were going over wedding cake ideas and looking at all the bride magazines I could find.”
Jed took a half step back. “Sounds like I’m intruding after all.”
“No, you’re not. We’re done. I was about to head home.” Trixie tipped her head slightly to one side.
Jed had the sudden feeling that he was being measured, studied, put under a microscope. Not a comfortable sensation.
Trixie turned her gaze on Holly. “Don’t forget what I said earlier.” Then she grabbed a stack of magazines from a table near the door and let herself out.
Holly released an audible breath. “Our mom says everybody’s left winded in Trixie’s wake. And it’s true.”
“I believe it.”
She smiled again. “She’s so happy she’s contagious.”
“Lucky girl.”
“Yes.” Her smile faded. “Yes, she is a lucky girl.”
Her wistful tone caused his chest to tighten. It made him want to bring the smile back. “I came to ask if you’d like to join me for dinner on Saturday at Ben’s farm. Ashley, his fiancée, will be there, and she’s cooking dinner. Ben hoped we could make it a foursome, especially since the three of you attend the same church. And me, too, while I’m in Boise.”
“I don’t know.” She gave her head a slow shake. “I’ve got so many things to do. I should get caught up on my bookkeeping, and I—”
“You’d be doing me a favor,” he interrupted. “Seriously. I’ll feel like the odd man out if I’m there with only the two of them. They’re like your sister. Up to their ears in wedding plans.”
He watched as she considered the invitation. One thing that made him good at his job was his ability to read people. What he saw in Holly’s expression was trepidation, maybe even distrust. It seemed she was going to decline his invitation. But a look of resolve entered her eyes. Her mouth firmed. Then she nodded. “All right. It sounds nice. I’ll go with you. What time?”
“We’ll plan to leave here about two twenty.”
“I’ll be ready.”