Her Texas Family (13 page)

She waved a hand in front of him. “You still there?” They were sitting on the floor, their plates on the coffee table. A few minutes ago, Mattie had finished a small helping and climbed onto the couch behind Lucy.

Graham had checked her forehead, stated that her fever was back, then returned to eating.

Lucy's back was against the couch, and she could feel Mattie's fingers holding on to her shirt with a slight grip. Endearing little gesture.

“I'm still here.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Nope.” Graham tempered his comment with a half smile. “Tell me a story. Something about you I don't know.”

Going home would be a better option. The way this man directed her heartstrings was getting pathetic. She wanted to make him smile and laugh. She wanted her Graham back. Whatever Brooke's parents had said to him certainly hadn't gone well.

“I'll say three things. Two true. One made up. You guess which one isn't true.”

“Okay.” Graham studied her with amusement, and she fought the desire to lean across the table and give him a smacking kiss. Happy. Angry. Sad. The man looked good wearing any emotion.

Good thing she had this
crush
of hers under control.

“I've jumped out of an airplane. I've been to Europe. I've been hunting.”

He set his plate to the side and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “That's easy. You've never been hunting.”

“Ha! I have been hunting. I haven't jumped out of a plane.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.” Lucy propped a hand under her chin. “Would this face lie?”

Graham chuckled, and no matter who won the game, Lucy already had her victory in the bag.

“What kind of hunting? I'm not sure I believe this scenario. Does this involve an old boyfriend?”

“No.” She scoffed. “I wouldn't go hunting for a boy. In junior high, my friend wanted to go with her dad. We were joined at the hip and did everything together, so we both went. I didn't shoot anything.” She raised a finger. “But I did go.”

“Okay, I believe you.”

“You're up, Hollywood.”

“Hang on. I'm thinking.” He took his time, closing food containers and stacking dishes. Lucy tapped her fingers on the coffee table. She rolled her neck. She could probably teach a dance class and get back before he came up with anything.

Finally Graham stopped cleaning up everything on the coffee table. “I've delivered a baby. I've always lived in Texas. I've never broken a bone.”

“I think, despite your cautious nature, that you've definitely broken a bone.”

“Actually, I never have.”

“What? That doesn't make sense, then, because I'm pretty sure you've always lived in Texas, and you're a doctor, so you must have delivered a baby at some point in your career.”

“Technically I haven't always lived in Texas.” He looked like a kid who'd just got away with an extra dessert. “One summer I spent a month with my cousin in Idaho.”

“That's practically cheating.” Not that she cared with that grin claiming his mouth. She loved seeing him happy after whatever had happened with his in-laws. “Next you'll tell me the baby you delivered was Mattie. I'm not sure that counts, either.”

His smile fell. “What? No, of course not. Brooke was considered high risk with cystic fibrosis. The two of them had a team of doctors far more qualified than me for Mattie's delivery.”

“Oh.” Guess that made sense. Although, the way Graham talked...

“Spill, Duchess. I can tell you're thinking something.”

Lucy toyed with the edges of the throw she had over her lap. “You're a great doctor, Graham. You do know that, right? I would trust you with my life.”

He busied himself collecting their silverware. “How do you know? You're working in the front office, not in on the appointments.”

Could he seriously doubt himself?

“I hear plenty.” Lucy shrugged. “I know your patients love you, that they trust you and keep coming back.”

“I do my best, but I'm still human. Sometimes I wonder...”

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head, then motioned to the couch behind Lucy. She glanced over her shoulder to find Mattie asleep, lashes grazing her cheeks, pink skin giving hints of the fever within. She still had one hand near Lucy, as if she'd held on until sleep won.

Lucy turned back to Graham. “I kind of have a thing for her.”

“I've noticed.” His gaze roamed her face. “It's nice. Thank you. And thanks for coming over. She was a mess before you got here.”

Lucy knew the feeling. A bit like she felt now. “You're welcome. Graham, are you sure the Wellings don't want me to stay away from Mattie?” Ever since she'd been upstairs with Mattie, the thought had been clanging around in her head. She'd tried to ignore it. She'd tried to believe what Graham had told her earlier when she came downstairs, but she really needed to know the truth.

If she couldn't see Mattie anymore, Lucy would need someone to sew her shredded heart back together. It was bad enough she harbored these feelings for Graham. Not having either of them in her life might do her in.

“They aren't allowed to think that. I told them you were good for Mattie and that you would be in her life.”

Though he'd conveniently avoided answering what the Wellings thought, Lucy accepted his reply. Relief that she wasn't going to lose Mattie rolled down her spine, and she stretched back against the couch before realizing there must be more. “So if it wasn't that, then...”

“I really don't want to talk about it.”

“It must have something to do with me. They barely acknowledged my presence.” Lucy felt as though she were poking a hornet's nest, but she couldn't stop herself.

“They just love their daughter, and the thought of me moving on with anyone is hurting them.”

Moving on.
The thing Graham never planned to do. “So did you tell them—”

“Yes, I did.” He looked everywhere but at her, then popped up and grabbed items from the coffee table. “I told them. I mean, of course we know we're not together, that our relationship is built around Mattie and work.”

Lucy's heart felt squeezed in a massive fist. What had she expected? She'd hoped she could get through the evening by concentrating on Mattie. She'd thought she could ignore her feelings for Graham, but tonight had made her do anything but. Being with them, all cozy and tucked in—even with Mattie sick—felt right.

Her feelings were going beyond crush into crushing.

Lucy should be thankful that the Wellings had appeared unexpectedly tonight. They'd saved her some heartache. Because despite the fact that Graham must have stood up for her and defended her relationship with Mattie, Lucy knew the truth.

She didn't fit. Not in the Wellings' world, and not with Graham and Mattie.

Chapter Thirteen

D
uring the hour Mattie had been at dance class, Graham had grabbed a coffee and done their grocery shopping for the week. And Lucy thought he never did anything fun.

Thankfully, his little girl had started feeling better late yesterday. Graham had tried to talk Mattie out of dance this morning, telling her she might be a bit weak from having a fever the past few days, but she'd adamantly refused to miss it. He'd let Lucy know when he'd dropped Mattie off this morning that she might not make it through the whole class.

After the week they'd had, Graham wouldn't mind doing nothing besides church for the rest of the weekend. But that wasn't an option.

The last thing he wanted to do was spend his Saturday night with the Wellings after their confrontation on Wednesday. But that was exactly what he had to do. Once a year, they hosted a gala to raise funds for Brooke's charity. All of their rich friends attended, and last year Graham had spent the evening feeling alone in the middle of a crowd. This year would be no different. It was the one thing he agreed to attend for the charity, and the Wellings would never understand his not being there.

His phone rang just as he got out of the car. He shut the door and answered his cell. “Hey, Dad.”

“Graham, I hate to be the bearer of bad news...”

“What's wrong?” His mind raced with all kinds of bad scenarios.

“Mom's sick. She has a fever. Her eyes are glassed over and she's going at quarter speed.”

“From Mattie.” He felt horrible. “I'm sorry, Dad. If she hadn't taken care of Mattie, then she wouldn't—”

“Enough. Your mother will be fine. She loves taking care of Mattie, sick or not. I'm calling because you'd wanted me to go with you tonight, but Mom can't watch Mattie. I can stay home and watch her.”

Graham had asked his dad to go with him a few weeks ago, but as the gala drew near, the importance of his father being there was growing. “Don't make me handle all of those people on my own.” Especially the Wellings. Since Graham had moved back to Fredericksburg, Dad had become one of his closest friends. Graham wanted a support person there tonight. Someone to keep him from telling the Wellings what he really wanted to say. Someone wise and calm like his father. Mattie's relationship with her grandparents had to come first. No matter what other things Phillip and Belinda accused Graham of.

“I'm fine going, but what are you going to do about Mattie? I already checked with your sisters before I called you and neither of them can watch her.”

Graham sighed. He didn't even want to go tonight, and now he had to stick Mattie with a sitter. “I'll find someone.” They hung up, and Graham thumbed through the contact list on his phone.

He rarely had to hire anyone with family in town, but there were a few high school girls he could check with. He found the first number and pressed Send. On the fourth ring, a sleepy voice answered.

“Hey, Kieta, this is Graham Redmond. I'm sorry if I woke you up. I'm looking for a babysitter for tonight for Mattie. I know it's late notice—”

“I'm sorry, Dr. Redmond, but there's a big party tonight. You'll probably have a hard time finding someone.”

Perfect. “Okay, thanks for letting me know.” They hung up, and Graham rubbed the stress from his eyes. He could call the Wellings and tell them he couldn't find a sitter, but knowing them, they'd call a service and send someone to his door.

If he wasn't concerned about sending their currently tumultuous relationship into further turmoil, he'd just cancel for tonight. Nothing would make him happier right now.

“Dad!” Mattie skipped across the sidewalk to him. “Class is over. What are you doing?” He scooped her up, burying his nose in her peach-shampoo hair. After a short hug, Mattie squirmed, forcing him to set her down. She propped her hands on her hips and tapped one toe, a move that reminded him of Lucy. The woman was definitely rubbing off on his daughter.

“What's going on, Daddy? Your face looks all scrunchy.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Thanks for the compliment.” Her little giggle would never get old. “How did class go? Did you make it all the way through?”

“Of course. Why wouldn't I?”

Kids. They always bounced back faster than adults. “No reason.”

“We had to practice for the recital. I can't miss class, Daddy. It's very important. We got to see the dresses today, and they're beautiful.” Mattie stretched out the word and spun in a circle, arms wide.

“What recital?”

“The spring recital,” Lucy answered, approaching behind Mattie. “It's in two weeks. Mattie's in two dances.”

“I didn't know anything about it.”

Lucy was wearing her typical leggings and long, fitted T-shirt, though today her hair was in a braid sneaking over her shoulder. She wore pink Converse shoes and she looked...adorable. But not in a little-girl way. Nope. She just looked like beautiful, carefree Lucy.

“At first I didn't tell you about it because I thought you'd say no.”

He dropped a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Me? That's crazy.” When she smiled, his gaze landed on her lips. He scrambled to distract himself. “Doesn't Mattie need a dress or outfit?”

“Yep.”

“Where do we get it?”

“You don't. We order way in advance, and since you were tentative about dance in the beginning—”

“Ha. That's a nice way of putting it.”

The skin surrounding her eyes crinkled. “I ordered her stuff without telling you so that she'd have it for recital. I knew we needed to get it right away in order for her to have it in time.”

“And so you did it without my knowledge.” When Graham had first met Lucy, this conversation would have irked him. Now he just felt relieved. She'd gone behind his back and taken care of everything so that his little girl would have what she needed. “Thank you for doing that.”

Lucy visibly relaxed. “You're welcome.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“We'll figure it out.” She waved a hand. “It's not that big of a deal.”

Mattie tugged on his arm. “Daddy, I heard Mrs. Knoll say the dresses were fifty dollars.”

He leveled Lucy a look. “I'm paying for the dress.”

“That's fine. I wasn't saying you couldn't.”

“Okay, good.” The conversation stalled. He wanted to say something more about the other night, but words failed him. After Lucy left Wednesday, Graham had fought the feeling that he'd made an even bigger mess out of everything. Not that he knew how to fix any of it.

He was more attracted and more drawn to Lucy with each passing day, but with Phillip and Belinda threatening to walk out of Mattie's life if he dated her, the woman was off-limits.

“I'm going to my grandparents' house tonight, Ms. Lucy.” Mattie did a small dance of excitement.

“That's great, Mattie Grace.”

“Actually, they can't watch you tonight, Mattie. You're going to have a sitter.”

Her lower lip protruded. “I don't want a sitter.”

“I don't want you to have one either, but that's the way it has to happen.”

Lucy stepped closer. “Why? What's the deal?”

“Nothing.” Graham really, really didn't want to talk about any of this with Lucy. “Come on, Mattie. Let's go.”

“Why can't Ms. Lucy watch me tonight?” His sweet little girl crossed her arms and huffed. Actually huffed. Next she'd probably throw herself down on the ground and have one of the fits she'd skipped out on during the first five years of her life.

“Because I'm sure Lucy has plans. Maybe with her sister. Or maybe she even has a...date.” The word tasted weird on his tongue, then bowled him right over. Here he was, analyzing whether his feelings for Lucy were changing, and she might be dating someone. She might not think of him as anything more than old. And lame.

Those were two very real possibilities.

“Had a date last night.”

That answered that question. The disappointment roaring through him couldn't be a good sign.

“But not tonight.” Lucy bent to Mattie's level. “And I think a girls' night is a great idea. We can do our nails, put on makeup—”

“She's not wearing makeup.”

She winked at Mattie, then faced Graham. “Come on, Hollywood. You've been doing so much better with just letting me do what I want. A little makeup that washes right off isn't going to hurt.”

“I didn't even agree to you watching her. It's out of the question.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why? Don't you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. It's just, besides the fact that you already do too much for Mattie, this thing tonight... It's for Brooke's charity.”

“That's great!”

“With the Wellings.”

“Oh.” Hurt flashed, but after one look at Mattie, she squared her shoulders. “Well, are they coming to your house before?”

“No.”

“Then what time should I be there?”

* * *

Only ten minutes behind schedule, Lucy knocked on Graham and Mattie's front door. It had taken her some time this morning to convince Graham that not only would she watch Mattie tonight, but that if he offered to pay her, it would signal the end of their friendship for eternity.

While it was rather stinky to be just the babysitter, at least Lucy got to hang with her favorite little girl. And in lieu of Graham declaring he couldn't live without her, she would take a girls' night with a five-year-old.

“Hey, it's getting cold out here,” she yelled at the still-closed front door. And by cold, she meant sixty degrees and drizzling rain. Yikes. She'd grown way too accustomed to the warm Texas weather.

The door flew open. “It is not cold. Aren't you supposed to be used to snow and freezing weather, Colorado girl?”

Graham was wearing a black tux with a crisp white shirt, his bow tie undone and hanging around his neck.
Good night.
Lucy was going to need at least five minutes before she could speak coherently.

His head tilted. “Why are you still standing out there? Quick—get in out of the cold.”

“Ha.” She managed a strangled response to his sarcasm—her
ha
sounding a little pirate-y and more like a
har-har
. She moved past him, catching a whiff of his cologne as she did. Her eyelids slid shut. She'd got used to how he smelled, being around him so much, but tonight, combined with the tux,
ai yai yai
.

“Where's Mattie?”
Please, go get Mattie. I need her to stop me from ruining everything between us by declaring my undying devotion to your cologne.

“She's upstairs.” Graham faced the mirror above the small entry table and started tying his bow tie. What man knew how to tie one of those without help? He looked movie-premiere good, and he was headed out to spend the evening in a world Lucy didn't belong in.

Good times on a Saturday night.

At least she'd been able to drop that line earlier about her date with Bodie last night. It wasn't so much that she'd wanted to gauge Graham's response—though that part had been nice—but more that she'd wanted him to know. Because, every so often, she wondered if Graham felt something between them, too. And she just wanted to be honest that she was dating other people. One other person. On one date. Over FaceTime.

Oh, maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all.

But Bodie had been an amazing date, even over a computer screen. He'd had flowers and dinner delivered to her door.

“What's going on with you tonight?” Graham had turned from the mirror and was studying her. “I told you I could have found a sitter. Mattie's not—”

“You ordering us pizza?”

He nodded.

“Then we're good. In fact, the sooner you go, the better. We have girl things to do.” She set the bag she'd brought along on the coffee table. It included makeup—despite Graham's protests—movies, nail polish and hair chalk. Lucy didn't think she was brave enough to use that last one on Mattie even though it would wash right out. Graham would lose his mind. On second thought, it might be kind of fun if he saw Mattie in the morning with bright-colored streaks in her hair and thought it was permanent.

“What's in there?”

She tossed a look over her shoulder. “Nothing you need to know about.”

Graham followed her into the living room, looking a bit like a lost puppy. “I don't want to go.”

Oh, honey.
Lucy stepped toward him. “I know things have been tough between you guys, pretty much because of me—”

“That's not true.”

She raised an eyebrow and continued. “But you're doing this for Brooke, not them. And for Mattie. You can do it.”

He drank her in, and her knees just about went into retirement right then and there. Finally, he sighed and scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “You're right.”

“Always.”

“Right.” His tone was low and wry and made her stomach take a roller-coaster ride. “Always.” His smile made an appearance. Combined with the tux, the woodsy cologne and the man, she needed to sit down.

She sank to the couch. “So, exciting date for tonight?”

“Yep.”

The comment had been meant as a joke, something to get her mind off her close proximity to Graham, but it had backfired big-time. Had he changed his mind about dating? What had happened? Was he really going out with—

“My dad.”

Oh. Oh. Oh.
Sweet Graham. Lucy loved that he'd go to his father for support. She also loved that she wasn't watching Mattie while Graham went on a date with another woman. “Sounds like a good person to help you survive tonight.” In more ways than one. She assumed tonight would be hard for him with thoughts of Brooke bombarding him throughout the evening.