Page 9 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“Is that all?”
“Piece of cake.” Trenna lifted the lid of the box closest to her and winced at the jumble of paperwork crammed inside.Yeesh.
“By the way,” Audrey said in an apologetic voice. “I’d planned to call you tonight, to see if you were still interested in helping.”
Trenna gave her a surprised look, even though she knew exactly what Audrey was referring to. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She wasn’t fooling the woman, that was obvious, but Audrey didn’t call her on it.
“Unforeseen circumstances,” she replied.
“It’s no big deal,” Trenna replied.
Even if she’d known, she would have convinced herself that it was nothing to worry about. She gave Audrey a candid look. “It isn’t like Reed and I had an acrimonious divorce. We were kids and we broke up.”
And she’d been a dutiful daughter who looked up to her father at the time. The breakup with Reed had been the first crack in their relationship. Her first realization that her dad might be controlling too much of her life. Yes, he’d had reason to be concerned, because Reed had been the epitome of the wild young cowboy back in the day, but he’d been different with Trenna.
Even as she thought the words, she realized how cliché they sounded.“He’s different with me.”
But in this case, it had been true. He’d been calmer. More centered, less focused on seeing how he could next risk his life.
But for how long could he have kept being different? His marriage, which had been a veritable gut punch to her, hadn’t lasted, but on the other hand, he was obviously a dedicated father. If she’d hung in there, would they have made it?
There was no way to know, so instead of wondering about what might have happened, she needed to focus on what had.
“Shall we have a cup of tea and discuss time schedules?” Audrey asked.
“That sounds great,” Trenna said as she followed Audrey down the stairs. Then, just to prove to both of them how cool she was with the unexpected situation, she said, “Reed’s daughter is certainly the image of him.”
“Not as wild, thank goodness, but she can be headstrong.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Trenna said on a laugh followed by a whisper of relief.
She was doing this. Being casual about Reed and his family. The initial jolt she’d experienced upon seeing him—and his clone daughter—had been understandable, but that moment was passed and now they’d find their footing. Oh yes, they would.
“Speaking of Lex. I wonder where she went.” Audrey stopped in the middle of the empty kitchen. The scent of ginger and burned sugar hung in the air, but there was no sign of Reed’s daughter.
“There.” Trenna pointed out the window, where she’d seen a flash of movement heading past Reed’s truck on the far side.
“I wonder if she’s unpacking all by her lonesome.” Audrey went to the window, and Trenna followed in time to see the girl heft a box off the tailgate of the truck that made her knees give a little before she gained control and started toward the small house twenty or so yards from the main house. Grandma Keller’s house.
Audrey opened the window. “Lex!”
The box wobbled in the girl’s arms as she turned toward her grandmother.
“For heaven’s sake, let me help you with that.”
“I got it,” the girl said in a strained voice as she continued toward the house. Shades of Reed—stubborn once a plan was in action. Fortunately, Lex had the foresight to leave the gate and the front door open after her last trip.
Audrey caught Trenna’s eye, then glanced skyward. By the time Lex came back out of the house, the two woman were on their way to the truck.
“Can we help?” Trenna asked. The girl gave her a surprised look, which made Trenna wondered if Lex had figured out that she was an old girlfriend rather than an old friend as Reed had said. Would she care?
The way the girl eyed her, with the openness of a young teen who’d not yet learned to veil inquisitive looks in sensitive situations—not that this was a sensitive situation—made Trenna believe that yes, Lex had guessed at the truth.
Not that it mattered. Why would it matter?
It didn’t.
