Page 63 of Christmas with the Cowboy
She wanted more.
Tears started to prick the corners of her eyes as she realized how much more, but she blinked them back. Damned if she was going to muddy the waters by crying.
“You’re right.” Reed pressed a hand to his forehead. “You’re right.” He dropped his hand. “We can’t half-ass this.”
“No,” Trenna agreed softly as she wrapped her arms around herself. The self-hug was inadequate as far as comfort went, but it kept her hands where they needed to be. Away from Reed.
He studied the floor then glanced up at her, an unreadable expression on his face. “I wish things were—”
Trenna cut him off with a look. She was not going to draw this out, and she was not going to risk crying.
“Don’t,” she said softly. “Just…don’t.”
Chapter Thirteen
Trenna called Audreythe morning after Reed’s visit to say that she needed to take a couple days off. She almost said, “To deal with a personal matter,” but Audrey was astute, and Trenna wasn’t going to risk Reed’s mom guessing that the personal matter concerned her eldest son.
Audrey assured her that it was a good time for a short break. They’d worked their way through most of the material, and she had a system in place for organizing. The next step would be scanning before storing, and Audrey had decided to purchase a state-of-the-art scanner—her Christmas present to herself—which would not arrive until after the holidays. Trenna promised to come back after Christmas, hoping that by then she’d be at peace with the situation between her and Reed—which was, of course, no situation—and waiting for word on the Shardlow job.
Of course to do that, she needed to apply.
Two days in and she had done little more than open the application and close it again. The deadline was looming, and she was not acting.
Was Shardlow really her dream job?
Maybe her professional dreams had changed. Maybe this stint with the community college in Marietta was more than a stopgap until she found a bigger and better job. Maybe she needed to delve deeply into hometown history and make that her forte.
Maybe she was looking for an excuse to stay close to Reed and keep reopening the wound.
It was that thought that set her into action.
Once again, she opened the link Dr. Gilbert had sent, only this time she began filling in fields, not allowing herself to stop until she’d finished and proofread twice. Finally, she pushed the submit button and then leaned back in her chair as the application launched into cyberspace.
Done and done.
Trenna shut the laptop, got up and poured herself a healthy glass of chardonnay, then leaned against the kitchen doorjamb as she sipped, contemplating the sparsely decorated Christmas tree.
She would miss Lex, and Lex’s dad, but facts had to be faced. Even if she stayed in Marietta—which was a possibility, because despite Dr. Gilbert, there might be a more favored candidate—she was not going to beat her head on this rock.
It hurt too much.
A little before three o’clock on the day of the fundraising soiree at the lodge, she put the black sparkly tube dress into a canvas tote on top of strappy black shoes and dropped her makeup kit on top. The plan was for her to arrive early and help Dawn with the last-minute details. Not that Dawn would need help. She was a wonder at organization, but she’d asked, and Trenna agreed. Funny how everything with her dad was a matter of strategy. Do this to get that. She would play nicely with Dawn, and in return she’d be in a better position to negotiate with her dad if need be.
Nothing had come of the Keller adverse possession issue, that she knew of, and although the wheels of justice turned slowly, she was hopeful that her father had given up on the matter. Dawn had hinted as much the last time they’d spoken, and Trenna was keeping her fingers crossed. Maybe her dad would be decent about this. Yes, he had a shot in court—she’d investigated the matter—but maybe some of the things she’d said had taken hold.
Or maybe he decided stealing a strip of land wasn’t worth the trouble.
The latter was more likely, but she didn’t care if he stopped pursuing adverse possession because she’d asked him to or because he ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the legal expense as long as he dropped the matter. Regardless of what had happened between her and Reed, she would always have a soft spot for the Kellers.
She was on her way out the door when her phone rang. It was Audrey, so she answered, and was then surprised to find Daniel on the line. “I have a favor to ask,” he said simply.
“Shoot.”
“It involves Christmas. I need some help.”
*
Lex and Reedcelebrated Lex’s last day of online classes with hot apple cider. They’d just added the cinnamon sticks when they got a call from Candice saying that Gregg’s pneumonia was under control, and they would proceed with the first treatment in a matter of days. Lex downed her now lukewarm cider in a couple of gulps after saying goodbye to her mother.
