Love Is a Battlefield (17 page)

Why had she ever thought playing matchmaker was a good idea? Kristy poured some food in Sam's bowl and looked at her watch one more time. Owen should have been here ten minutes ago. She was sure Robert and Dorothy were probably already waiting at the restaurant. And according to the phone call from her mother earlier in the day, Dorothy had told her twenty times in the past twenty-four hours that she hadn't been on a first date in over thirty years and she was a nervous wreck. Kristy was sure their tardiness would only add to Dorothy's stress.

A honk sounded in the driveway. She peeked out the blinds at Owen's truck. “Finally.” she grabbed her purse and rushed out the door, calling good-bye to Sam over her shoulder.

“Sorry I'm late,” Owen said as soon as she got inside the Bronco. “I didn't know what to wear.” He smoothed his green polo shirt. “Is this okay?”

She glanced over at him. Crisply ironed khakis and brown dress shoes completed his look. “You clean up nicely.” she grinned. “Seriously, who helped dress you?”

He looked sheepish. “My sister. I made the mistake of telling her you were introducing me to someone, and she showed up on my doorstep today with a JC Penney's bag.” He turned left onto Highway 22 and headed toward Pickwick. “I hated to turn down free clothes. She said this was my birthday gift.”

“Well, I think you look great. And don't be nervous. It's just dinner.”

“Right. Dinner.”

There was no mistaking the apprehension on his face.

“Tell me again where we're meeting them?” he asked, concentrating on the road.

“That new barbeque place that just opened.” barbeque had been Robert's idea. She'd thought for sure he'd have chosen Hagy's, knowing it was her favorite place, but he'd suggested barbeque instead.

“Every time I drive by there, the parking lot's full.”

“I'm sure it will be good. And I think Robert made reservations, so we won't have to wait.”

“Reservations?” Owen glanced at her. “For real?”

She nodded. “I don't think it's something they normally do, but I'm sure Robert insisted.”

Owen guided the truck into the crowded parking lot. “See? What'd I tell you? Packed.”

She looked out the window at the vehicles. She hadn't even known there were this many people in the county. “I guess I'm not surprised. A new restaurant opening is big news.”

“Me goin' out on a date is big news. I must be crazy,” Owen muttered as he opened his door and jumped out.

Before she could climb out, he was at her side opening her door. “Look at you. You're such a gentleman.” she glanced at him as they walked up to the entrance. “I bet Dorothy flips over you.”

Owen just sighed and held the heavy wooden door open for her.

The hostess looked at her expectantly. “We're meeting a couple of people here. The reservation was under the name Aaron.”

The hostess scanned her list. “Yes. They're already here. Just follow me.”

Kristy turned to Owen and noticed his worried expression.

“You'll be fine,” she whispered. “Just be yourself.”

“Myself is the kind of guy who spills barbeque down the front of his new shirt,” he whispered back.

She smiled. “Just eat carefully.”

Robert stood as they reached the table. “Hello.”

“Robert, Dorothy, this is Owen,” Kristy said.

Owen shook Robert's hand first then turned to Dorothy.

A hint of a blush touched Dorothy's round cheeks as she reached out to shake Owen's hand. “Nice to meet you, Owen.” she smiled sweetly, her blue eyes dancing.

“You, too.” Owen nodded at her as he took the seat across from her.

“Sorry we're a little late.” Kristy sat down across from Robert. “Have you been here long?”

“Just a few minutes.”

Kristy shot an encouraging smile in Dorothy's direction, taking in her short-sleeved sweater and black pants. If she were guessing, she'd say Owen wasn't the only one with a new outfit on tonight.

“So,” Owen said to Dorothy after they ordered. “Where do you work?”

“At the bank.” she patted Robert on the arm. “I guess working with numbers runs in our family.”

“Mother, being a teller isn't the same as being an account—”

Owen laughed like she'd made a great joke and acted like Robert hadn't spoken. “So I guess you know Larry Tidwell?”

“Sure do.” She fluffed up her short blond hair and leaned in a little closer to Owen.

“Larry and I go way back. We went to high school together.” He grinned mischievously. “I could tell you some stories.”

Dorothy giggled.

Kristy watched the exchange. It seemed like right before her eyes they'd transformed from two people pushing sixty to teenagers on a first date. It was sweet.

By the time their food arrived, Owen and Dorothy were still finding people they knew in common.

“It must just be a small world.” Dorothy beamed at him.

“So are you still having trouble with vandalism?” asked Robert, taking a sip of sweet tea.

Kristy and Owen both nodded.

“We still haven't caught the guy.” Owen carefully raised a forkful of barbequed pork to his mouth.

Kristy watched in amusement. She'd been surprised he hadn't ordered ribs, since they were supposed to be the specialty. He was taking great pains to impress Dorothy.

“You've got a little sauce there.” Robert pointed at Kristy's chin.

She quickly put a napkin to her face. Honestly. No one should ever go out on a date to eat barbeque unless they were completely comfortable with one another. Although, as the evening progressed, she sensed that Owen and Dorothy were pretty comfortable. Maybe it was because they were older or something.

When the waitress brought the bill, Owen insisted on paying for everyone's dinner, even though Robert put up a fuss.

“My treat. As a thanks for introducing me to Dorothy.” He grinned at her.

Dorothy's cheeks turned a little pink, but she looked pleased.

Kristy fell in step beside Robert as they quietly made their way to the parking lot. She heard Owen and Dorothy behind them speaking animatedly about something.
Hmm.

Once in the parking lot, Dorothy turned to Robert. “Son, why don't you take Kristy home?” she said. “Owen offered to give me a ride.”

Kristy and Robert exchanged glances.

“Sure,” Kristy said. “That'd be great.”

She followed Robert to his Honda. He opened the passenger door for her. Just as she was climbing in, she heard Dorothy's and Owen's laughter from across the parking lot. They certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

She wished she could say the same for herself.

“That seemed to go well,” Kristy said as Robert turned toward the park.

He nodded. “I'm glad. It's about time my mom had a little fun.” He looked over at her. “It's been ages since I've heard her laugh like that.”

“Same goes for Owen. I'm not sure I've seen him look that happy. At least not in a long time.” she could barely make out the shape of the cannons as they got nearer to the park entrance. “And he's such a nice guy, too.”

“I can tell. Besides, I know you wouldn't set my mom up with some loser.” He brought the Honda to a stop in her driveway.

Kristy unfastened her seat belt and grabbed her purse. “Even if they only end up as friends, we've at least helped to bring two lonely people together.”

He silently got out of the car and came around to open her door.

She tried to rise gracefully from the Honda. It sat so low to the ground, she always hated how awkward it felt to get out of it.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked. She couldn't think of a polite way around inviting him inside, especially since he was already out of the car.

“Sure. But just for a few minutes. I know you have to work tomorrow.”

He held the storm door open for her while she unlocked the dead bolt on the wood door and then followed her inside.

She motioned toward the couch. “Have a seat.”

He strode across the living room and sat stiffly on the plush sofa.

Sam immediately jumped in his lap, licking a greeting.

“Sorry. Just move him if he annoys you.”

Robert promptly lifted Sam from his lap and set the dog on the floor.

Well, that was straightforward. And she'd never wanted to be one of those people who lived by a “Love me, love my dog” motto. Still, it stung. She forced a smile.

“Can I get you something to drink? I have sweet tea, water, and Coke.”

“Sweet tea would be great, thanks.”

Kristy hurried into the kitchen and filled two glasses. Sam scampered around at her feet, rolling a ball that was almost as big as he was. Every time the ball would move, he would pounce on it and growl. “You're such a tough guy,” she said as she stepped over him and his toy.

“Here you go.” she handed Robert a glass and sat down beside him.

He took a sip. “Yum. This is almost as good as my mom's.” “Thanks.”

At least she supposed she'd take that as a compliment. Either way, she sensed it was time for a distraction. She flipped on the television, and soon the living room was filled with the muted sounds of the Cosbys. Thank goodness for TV Land.

“So, Kristy...,” Robert began. “Why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself?”

She didn't know where to start. “Like what? You already know a lot about me.”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

She suddenly felt like she was in the middle of an awful job interview. “Hopefully still here, working as a ranger. Although my job security runs out Labor Day.” she had filled him in already about her job status, so he was aware that she might be out of a job come September. “Other than that, I don't know. It'd be nice if I owned a home by then.” she shrugged.

“What about a husband? Kids?”

“I'm not sure.”

“But you do want a husband and kids someday, right?”

She got the feeling he was fishing for information. And wasn't sure she liked it. “I guess. Maybe. With the right guy.”

He nodded. Her answer seemed to satisfy him.

“How about you?” she asked.

“Oh. In five years, I definitely want to be settled down. I'm closing on the house next week, so barring something unforeseen, I should definitely be a homeowner. And ideally, I'd like to be married and at least have already had one child by then.”

It was all so planned out. “Do you already have their names picked out?” she teased.

Without cracking a smile, he nodded. “Rose if it's a girl, after my grandmother. And if it's a boy, James Robert. After my grandfather and myself.”

Wow. She had totally been kidding. “That's nice,” she murmured.
Especially if your future wife has no desire to have any input in naming her children.

“I guess I should hit the road. It's nearly an hour back to Jackson.” He stood. “And I know you have to get up early for work tomorrow.”

She followed him to the door. Uh-oh. Thus far, she had avoided much physical contact with him. But her luck might've just run out. He definitely had that look in his eye, as if he thought it was time in the schedule to try for a kiss. And it wasn't that she was repulsed by him. It was just that she wasn't sure she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. At this point, they were just friends. But one kiss and she had the feeling Robert would think it meant they were headed for a future with little Rose and James Robert soon to follow.

“Thanks for dinner. It was fun.” she hung back a little to keep some distance between them.

He lingered at the door. “Why don't you walk me out?”

She desperately willed the phone to ring so she'd have an excuse to stay inside, but it didn't. She followed him out to the car.

“We'll have to do this again soon.” He grinned at her.

The next thing she knew, he'd pulled her in for a hug. “I had a nice time,” he said softly next to her ear.

The second he released her, she took a large step back and gave him a smile. “Talk to you soon.”

His brows drew together and he looked like he was about to say something, but he gave her a little wave and got in the car.

Whew. She'd dodged the kiss she was pretty sure he'd planned to attempt. She watched as he backed out of the driveway then turned to walk back to the porch.

Kristy froze. The trash cans at the side of her house had been knocked over. She stepped off the concrete to where the cans lay. All of her trash bags had been opened, and several days' worth of trash was strewn about. A frown settled on her face. She knew she'd closed the lids tightly as she always did. Something bigger than a cat must've knocked them over and pulled the lids off. A raccoon, maybe? she hated to blame General Grant for anything else. She'd already complained about him being the likely culprit who pulled up her flowers.

Kristy dragged the trash cans back to their normal spot and put them back upright. She glanced around at the mounds of garbage she could see strewn across her yard in the darkness. Had an animal wreaked this much havoc? Or had the vandal decided to branch out a little? Maybe pull up a few flowers and spread some trash around as kind of a vandalism appetizer? An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Whoever did this, it didn't feel like an animal.

It felt personal.

The next week, Kristy found herself wondering if she'd stepped into some kind of alternate universe. Not only had her trash cans been turned upside down again, making her late for work, but she came in to find Owen, starry-eyed, telling Ace and Matthew about his latest date.

It seemed like her matchmaking plan had worked a little too well. Owen and Dorothy had had a wonderful time at the concert and had even gotten together once since then. “And it's all thanks to Kristy,” Owen said as she slunk to the front desk, hoping they were all so engrossed in Owen's story they wouldn't notice that she was nearly fifteen minutes late. At least she hadn't run into Arnie or Hank on her way in.

Ace stepped into her office later, a gorgeous grin dancing across his face. “interesting that someone who doesn't believe in love would play Cupid.”

She looked up from her computer and rolled her eyes. “Companionship. That's what I was going for. Just someone for Owen to hang out with sometimes. No one said anything about love.”

“Try telling him that. He's in his office right now ordering flowers to be sent to her office.” He leaned against the file cabinet. “And the woman is who? Your boyfriend's mother?”

“He's not my boyfriend.”

Ace let out a disbelieving snort.

Kristy busied herself at the computer, hoping her silence would prompt Ace to leave her alone. But no such luck. He walked over and stood behind her, staring at the computer screen.

“Flowers pulled up. Trash cans knocked over. Trash cans knocked over
again,”
he read over her shoulder. She pushed the power button on her monitor and stared at the gray screen.

“What is this?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged. “Just a list of things.”

“Things? Things that have happened at your house lately?” The caring in his voice brought her gaze up to his face.

His brown eyes were full of concern. “I thought your flowers disappearing was an isolated event.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Why didn't you tell me?”

She shivered then quickly converted the shiver into another shrug. “I don't know. I wasn't sure it was anything.”
Get a handle on this, Ranger O'Neal, she warned herself. Shivering when he touches your shoulder falls dangerously near Cupid territory. “
besides, what are we going to have to do now? stake out my place?” she forced a chuckle.

He patted her shoulder and dropped his hand. “That might not be a bad idea.”

“Ace, I was kidding! You are not spending your off time at my house.”

He took a step back.

If she didn't know better, she'd have thought that was hurt that flashed across his face. Still, she hadn't meant to sound so blunt. “You know what I mean.”

He nodded. “I'll drop it for now if you promise to keep me posted on anything else that happens.”

“Scout's honor,” she said and crossed her heart with her finger.

He narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion. “You weren't a Girl scout, were you?”

“Nope. But I'm a ranger.” she grinned at him. “So ranger's honor. Is that better?”

He grinned. “I trust you.” He stepped out then stuck his head back in. “Completely.”

She sat there for several minutes thinking about that assurance. She believed he did completely trust her.

And to her surprise, the feeling was mutual.