Page 38 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“Damn it, Trenn.” He was about to say he wasn’t the enemy, but she was looking at him like he was. Then her gaze shifted, softened an iota, and she pushed her free hand through her hair.
“Sorry, Reed. I had a bad night, and I’m taking it out on you.”
Before he could ask, she glanced past him to the house where his mother and daughter were waiting for her, then met his eyes. “We’ll talk.” She patted her tote, and he caught sight of the thermos inside. “After I have a major caffeine infusion. Where will you be when I get done? It’ll be around noon.”
“Fencing, but I can—”
“I’ll find you.”
He glanced up at the sky. The clouds were hugging the trees, and he needed to get going before the weather moved in. “Right.”
“See you then.” She ducked her head and moved past him. He watched her go, wondering if she really was going to find him, and if so, was she going to tell him what the deal was? Or was she going to tell him it was all okay and that she’d just been tired?
It could go either way, especially after she’d had her caffeine and engaged her iron will.
He walked to the driver’s side of the truck, telling himself that it wasn’t his business, and he needed to be happy with whatever Trenn was willing to tell him. And even though that was true, even though he would respect her privacy, if he suspected that the guy she’d gone out with had anything to do with her mood this morning, well, it was going to be difficult for him to keep from having a word.
*
Going with therip-the-Band-Aid-off-rapidly strategy, Trenna stepped into Audrey’s office and announced, “The date was a disaster. The guy didn’t show up and I lost my phone. Let’s get to work.” She dropped her jacket over the back of a chair to punctuate the statement.
“He didn’t show up?” Audrey put her hand on her chest.
Trenna gave a c’est-la-vie shrug. “In his defense, he didn’t know I was coming. He chose to stay home and study for the LSAT.”
“Why didn’t they tell him?”
Trenna gave Audrey a thoughtful look. “I didn’t ask.” She smiled then. “Maybe I didn’t want to know?”
“What’s the LSAT?” Lex asked.
“The test to get into law school,” Audrey explained before turning her attention back to Trenna. “And you lost your phone?”
“I did. Is that a night, or what?” She made a show of putting on her gloves. “I did have fun dancing, though.” The night had been fun, until Jay showed up.
“Do you think you might go out with this guy after he gets done studying for the lawyer test?” Lex asked.
“Depends on whether my friend Jill tries again.”
“So you might give him another chance.” Lex looked up from the note she was reading.
“He didn’t know he had the first chance,” Trenna said with a laugh.
“Daniel missed our first date,” Audrey said, making Trenna think she’d really like to hear the story of their romance. “He broke his collarbone riding a horse he shouldn’t have gotten on.” She smiled a little. “I gave him a second chance.”
Lex didn’t comment, but Trenna could see the girl filing away the information.Grandparents? Romance? Hmmm.
By the time they’d finished for the day, Trenna’s nerves were decidedly on edge. She’d said she’d talk to Reed, and she would. He needed to know about Jay, so he wouldn’t be ambushed by the man as she’d been. So why was she feeling so nervous about it?
Because she was afraid of him going off on Jay. That was a given. They may no longer be a couple, but Reed would love an excuse to settle things with Jay.
And because she had to fight not to fall into old habits. The need was there and surprisingly strong. It was all she could do not to put an answering hand on Reed’s arm when he’d touched hers that morning, but touching was not in the game plan. Developing a working relationship was.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said to Audrey and Lex, who were about to start baking for the upcoming library bake sale. “And I’ll be on time. I’m heading to town to see about getting a new phone.”
“Good luck with that,” Audrey said. “Funny how we can’t get along without something that we didn’t need five or ten years ago.”
“Things have changed,” she agreed before heading out the door. As had certain people. Reed, for one. She still caught the occasional glimpse of her wild young cowboy, but mostly she saw a man who was negotiating the curves life had thrown him. A man co-parenting with his ex and her husband and focused on building a stable life for his daughter. He seemed to be doing a decent job of it.
