Protecting Tricia (14 page)

Jack chuckled. “As much as I’d like to believe something
like that’s possible, I have my doubts.”

“We’ve known each other for years.”

Jack smiled at her. “Is that all you’re going to tell me? Is
it some big secret?”

“No. We met my senior year in high school, dated for a
while, then I went away to college and he left town.”

“And?” he prompted.

“And what?”

“How did you hook back up?”

“We didn’t,” she snapped. “We’re not
together
.”

“Okay,” Jack said slowly. “Don’t get your panties in a wad,
sweetie. I just got the definite impression that you were.”

Of course he had. After all, they had given a very
convincing performance at the bar.

“Things are not always as they appear to be.” Tricia
searched her mind for a way to change the course of the conversation before he
could continue any further with the inquisition. “I enjoyed hearing you play
the other night. You’re very talented. How long have you been playing?”

Jack lifted a shoulder. “About fifteen years. I thought it’d
help me pick up women.”

“Did it work?”

“It does attract some. Of course, my devastating good looks
help a bit too,” he added with a smile and a wink.

Tricia examined his face and had to admit the man was
handsome. But that silly hat plopped on his head shot the effect all to hell.

She held back her chuckle and struggled to maintain a
serious tone of voice. “Of course. So who taught you how to play?”

“I taught myself. Clint knew me when I first started. I was
pretty horrible, but he never told me that. He’d just sit there and listen to
me play this awful music and then he’d say ‘
Well, you’re getting better’
.”

“You guys have known each other that long?”

“Yeah. He used to spend the summers here.”

“I never knew that.” Tricia waved away a bee that was
buzzing around the opening of her soda can and then took another drink.

“A couple of years after his father took off, his mom
decided he needed a male influence in his life, so she sent him here for the
summer. After that he came every year.” Jack paused to tighten up the slack in
his line. “But once he finished high school and started working, he stopped
coming.”

“Sounds like he spent a lot of time here. Probably has a lot
of memories.” And yet, during the year she had spent with Clint, he had never
once mentioned it. “I guess that’s why he came back,” she mumbled, speaking
more to herself than to Jack. She had wondered why Clint had chosen to move so
far away from his daughter when he could have just sold the place and made a
nice addition to his bank account.

“Could be. But I think it was his way of starting over. He
was having a rough time then. His divorce had just become final, and his sister
had died not long before.”

Tricia’s head jerked up. “His sister? Which one?”

Jack glanced over at her. “Kelly. Did you know her?”

“Yes. No, not really,” she corrected. “I met her once.”

She’d met Clint’s mother and his two younger sisters when
she’d been invited to eat dinner with them on Christmas Eve. They’d been very
kind and had made her feel right at home. At the time, it had made her feel
special that he had introduced her to his family.

That was the night she’d lost her virginity. Mere months
later, Clint shattered any illusion she had that she was special to him.

She remembered Kelly, the youngest of the three siblings. At
the time she’d been fifteen and excited about the fact that in a matter of
months she’d be able to drive. She had one of those innocent looking faces that
lit up every time she smiled, and she had smiled a great deal.

“She was a sweet girl,” Jack said.

Tricia nodded. “How did she die?”

“She was murdered.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, laying a hand over her heart. “Did
they catch the person that did it?”

“Yeah, they caught him. They didn’t have to look very far.
It was her husband.”

Tricia leaned back against the trunk of the tree, stretched
her legs out in front of her, and crossed her ankles. The silence and total
lack of distractions provided the perfect atmosphere to contemplate her future
plans. But no matter how intently she tried to focus her thoughts, her mind
kept drifting to Kelly—the sweet little girl whose life had been cut short at
the hands of the man who’d promised to love and protect her.

As much as the thoughts disturbed her, she couldn’t seem to
shove them away.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Jack commented.

She glanced over at him. He was sitting on the grassy bank
of the pond, and the fishing rods were propped up beside him on forked sticks.

“You okay?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to upset you by telling
you about Kelly.”

“I’m fine.” She gave him a small smile, hoping it would
reassure him and ease the concern in his eyes. “It just shocked me. Clint never
mentioned it. What happened to her husband?”

“Life sentence. He should have gotten the death penalty.”

“At least he’s in prison so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

“I guess that’s something.” His tone, however, indicated the
insincerity of the statement. Jack returned his gaze to the colorful red
bobbers in the water.

“It doesn’t look like those fish have any intention of being
caught.”

“You just have to be patient.”

Tricia wondered how many more hours of patience would be
required. Frankly, she was ready to call it a day. Although tempted to ask Jack
to take her back to Clint’s house, she resisted the urge. She had known from
the beginning it wouldn’t be a quick outing, and still she’d agreed to come.
Therefore, she’d endure it for as long as she could.

Using the hem of her t-shirt, she wiped the perspiration off
her face. By her estimation, she figured she must have sweated off at least a
pound or two.

With the exception of the birds chirping overhead, silence
surrounded them. What she longed to hear was the rustle of the leaves blowing
in the breeze, but the hot, heavy air remained motionless.

As she looked out at the water, she couldn’t help but imagine
how refreshing it would be to jump in for a quick swim. Without a bathing suit,
she might not be able to swim, but she could wade. After slipping off her
shoes, she strolled to the shallow water at the edge of the pond. Stuffing her
hands in the pockets of her shorts, she wandered down the shoreline, the water
sloshing against her ankles.

She’d traveled about a hundred yards when the sound of an
engine had her turning and looking into the distance. Clint’s truck pulled to a
stop beside Jack’s. Clint got out of the truck, looked in Tricia’s direction,
and lifted his hand in greeting.

Automatically, she returned the gesture, grateful for his
arrival because it meant she could finally leave and wouldn’t have to impose on
Jack for a ride. As she headed back in their direction, Clint walked over and
spoke with Jack. By the time she reached them, they were gathering up the
fishing equipment.

“You’re leaving?” she asked Jack.

“I’ve got to go run an errand.”

Strange, he hadn’t mentioned an errand, and just half an
hour ago he’d seemed like a man who had every intention of sitting there for
the remainder of the day. And being perfectly content to do so.

“It was fun, Tricia. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

“Sure.” The very second Clint outfitted his entire herd in
hot pink tutus she’d be dialing Jack’s number and pleading with him to take her
fishing. She smiled at the mental image the thought evoked.

Tricia plopped down on the ground and reached for her shoes.
As she put them on, the two men loaded the rods and tackle into Jack’s truck.
Clint pulled some bills from his pocket and passed several to Jack who shoved
them in the pocket of his jeans. After calling a quick goodbye to her, Jack
climbed in his truck and took off.

Tricia stood and headed toward Clint, frowning when he
opened the passenger door of his truck and removed a small cooler. She hoped he
didn’t intend to take over Jack’s fishing spot. If he did, he’d have to take
her back to the house first.

“I brought lunch.” Clint set a cardboard box on top of the
cooler, then reached back inside his truck and pulled out a blanket. He tucked
the blanket under his arm, then picked up the cooler and box and headed toward
the pond. From the looks of it, he expected her to follow along behind him.

She supposed another hour or so in the great outdoors
wouldn’t kill her. Since the man had gone to all the trouble of fixing lunch
and bringing it to her, the least she could do was eat it.

After Clint had deposited everything beneath the shade of
the tree, he spread the blanket out on the ground. Tricia sank to her knees,
folded back the flaps of the box, and began to set the items out on the
blanket. Sandwiches, chips, chocolate chip cookies.

“Where did these come from?” she asked, holding up a huge
plastic bag of strawberries.

Clint hadn’t had any strawberries at his house. If he had
she would have found them long ago, and they wouldn’t have lasted long.

“Fruit stand,” he replied.

“I had a fruit stand when I was little.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mmm-hmm. I was about ten. I bugged my dad relentlessly
until he finally built me one.” Although simple, and not incredibly sturdy, it
had served the purpose. “I bought fruit from this old farmer my dad knew, and
then sold it for a profit. I didn’t make much on the strawberries though, which
might have had something to do with the fact that I kept eating the
merchandise. I think I actually lost money on those.”

Clint opened the cooler, removed two cans of soda, and
passed one to Tricia.

“But watermelon…now that was a different story. I bought
them for a dollar and sold them for two. Pretty good profit margin.”

“You were quite the little entrepreneur.”

Had Matt made that statement, he would have said the words
in a snarl, and they would have dripped with sarcasm. But not Clint. His tone
was one of…admiration almost.

“Yep. That was when I decided to go to business school.”
Looking back now, she realized her goal should have been a little more
specific—to go to business school
and
to graduate.

“Why didn’t you finish?” Clint asked, as if reading her
thoughts.

“When Mom and Dad died…” Pain jabbed at her heart, as it
always did when she thought of her parents. “I had a hard time dealing with it.
I couldn’t concentrate. My grades plummeted. It seemed like the practical thing
to do was take some time off and go back when I was more focused. I never made
it back.”

“You still could.”

“I’d have to go through the admission process all over
again. It takes time. Until then, I have to live, so my first goal is finding a
job. And speaking of a job, do you mind if I use your computer? I want to
create a resume.” The resume would be pretty flimsy in the way of experience,
but she did have basic office skills, along with some college business credits.
Hopefully, it would be sufficient to qualify for an entry-level position
somewhere.

That
somewhere
probably wouldn’t be Lexington. Small
towns equated to few jobs. She planned to search for work in the larger cities
and commute until she’d earned enough money to rent an apartment. She knew
Jenny and Neil would let her stay with them temporarily.

“I don’t mind. Knock yourself out, honey. Just let me know
if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” She smiled in appreciation.

Conversation ceased as they ate lunch, and they sat in companionable
silence.

Tricia fanned herself with her hand. When that had little
effect, she grasped the front of her shirt and pulled it to and fro.

“If you’re hot, we can always go for a swim,” Clint
suggested.

“No bathing suit.”

“What do you need a bathing suit for? Just strip down and go
in naked. There’s nobody here to see.”

She lifted a brow. “I don’t think so.”

His lips curved into a secretive smile. “We’ve done it
before. Don’t you remember?”

Yes, she did. Mental pictures of just what that night had involved
threatened to invade her mind. Since they weren’t images she had any desire to
view, she firmly denied them entrance.

“That was different.”

Tricia pulled a plump, red strawberry from the bag. As she
bit into it, juice dribbled down her chin. She started to wipe it off, but,
before she was able to, Clint reached over and wiped it off with his finger.

She watched as he slowly licked the juice off his finger.
Suddenly, she imagined his tongue stroking her skin, could almost feel it—wet
and soft and warm. Heat pooled in her belly, and she bit her lip to keep from
moaning aloud.

She raised her gaze to meet his. Desire flared in those blue
eyes staring back at her. But there was something more. A promise almost. A
promise of fulfillment, and all she had to do was consent. Though one part of
her was awfully tempted to do exactly that, her more rational side prevailed.

“I’m not sleeping with you again,” she said softly.

“You’ve already told me that.” Based on his words and his
tone, one might think that he understood and accepted her position. But his
eyes said something entirely different.

“I mean it,” she insisted.

“I have no reason to doubt you.” He sounded so agreeable.
Too agreeable.

“But you think you can change my mind.”

“I never said that.”

“You’re going to try.”

He paused for a moment before replying, “I won’t lie to you.
There’s nothing I’d love more than to change your mind about the subject.”

“You won’t be able to.”

His eyes examined her face. “You want to know what I think?
You’re spending a lot of time talking about this, almost as if you’re trying to
convince yourself.”

She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s ridiculous.”

He lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant gesture. “Okay.” He
smiled. “I have something for you.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “What?”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a grape sucker, and
held it out for her to take.

Then she remembered the night they’d gone to Bushwhackers to
hear Jack sing. As they’d danced Clint had mentioned her fondness of strawberries
and grape suckers.

I used to watch you suck on one of those things, and it
was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen. The way you’d slide it in and out of
your mouth, it put all kinds of naughty images in a man’s mind.

If he thought she had any intention of putting on a
show
for him, he was certifiable.

“Thanks.” She shoved the sucker in her pocket. “I’m going to
save it for later.”

His lips pulled down in a slight frown, and she thought she
might have glimpsed a sliver of disappointment in his eyes. Then it disappeared
to be replaced by amusement as he obviously realized why she’d been reluctant
to feast on the treat.

As she stared into those twinkling blue eyes of his, she was
reminded of his younger sister who’d had eyes the same color. Eyes that had lit
up every time she smiled.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Kelly?”

In an instant, his expression hardened. “I see Jack’s been
running his mouth.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked again.

“You didn’t ask.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I didn’t think it was the best story to share with a
woman…in your situation.”

More than likely that was the same reason Jenny hadn’t
mentioned it. They didn’t want to frighten her.

“I don’t talk about it,” Clint said. “
Ever
.”

“Sometimes talking helps.”

He snorted. “That’s a strange statement coming from you.
Haven’t you spent the last week refusing to talk to me about past events?”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“You know how. You intentionally hurt me, but you’re not
responsible for what happened to Kelly.”

“Yes, I am.” His words were spoken softly but with
conviction.

Stunned by the statement, it took her a moment to respond.
“How? You weren’t even here when it happened. Were you?”

“No.” He drew in a deep breath and then exhaled. “But I came
home for the wedding. I gave her away. I
gave her
to the man who ended
up killing her.”

“And because of that you feel responsible?” She managed to
bite her tongue before she tacked on the phrase
that’s ridiculous
.

He shook his head. “It’s more than that. About six or seven
months later I came home for Christmas, and Mom told me she suspected things
weren’t right. When I talked to Kelly about it, she insisted everything was
wonderful. So I blew it off as Mom’s overactive imagination and went back to
Texas. A week later Kelly was dead.”

He rubbed a spot in the middle of his chest as if trying to
massage away a physical ache. Without thinking, Tricia reached out and placed
her hand on his leg in a totally inadequate gesture of comfort.

“I should have…” His words trailed off.

“Should have what?”

“Done something.”

“Like you did with me. That’s why you were so determined to
help me.”

“Maybe that was part of it. I don’t know. All I knew was
that I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Never again will I stand
back and do nothing when someone I love is in danger.”

At the word
love
, her eyes widened and the breath
backed up in her lungs. She yanked her hand back and shook her head as if to
deny his words.

“Sorry, honey. Didn’t mean to scare you with the
L
word.” His tone was soothing and gentle. He lifted his mouth in a lazy smile
that she imagined was meant to be reassuring.

Clint began to gather the trash from their lunch and toss it
in the box.