SNOWFIRES (15 page)

And that was the truth. He was pretty sure
he’d forgotten to eat today. With business and personal errands,
he’d run out of time. Coffee only carried a man so far.

The hostess who doubled as cashier seated
them. Trent looked around the family restaurant. It looked better
on the inside than out, but the décor was nothing special. Vinyl
tablecloths, paper napkins, piñatas dangling here and there. Not at
all what he thought would appeal to a Highland Park society girl.
The crowd was mixed, and he spotted several Hispanic families. He
considered that a good sign the food would be genuine Tex Mex.

They started with Margaritas and chips. He
dug a tortilla chip into the salsa then swallowed. And choked. “Hot
damn, this stuff eats the lining right off your tongue.” He reached
for his drink and took a large swallow that he held in his mouth to
cool his tongue. “Whew, is smoke coming out my ears?”

“
Wimp.” Holly scooped a large blob
salsa on a chip and popped it into her mouth.

She chewed, swallowed, and smirked then
reached for more. “Maybe you should switch to queso. It’s mild
enough for foreigners.”

“
Foreigners?” He looked around the
restaurant half expecting to see someone obviously from another
country.

“
You know, any poor soul not born in
Texas.” Her cornflower blue eyes danced with mischief.

That heated him up more than the salsa
had.

He dug another chip into the fiery dip. “I
may be a recent immigrant, but I’m a Texan now.”

Danged if he’d let this woman beat him at a
simple thing like eating. He remembered the chili she’d prepared
during the blizzard. It had scorched his palate and she’d
complained it didn’t have enough chili powder in it.

Their food came and saved his tongue. They
chatted as they ate.

When he’d finished, he pushed his plate away.
“You’re right. This was the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten, and
that includes in Mexico.”

She tilted her head in thought. “When I was
there the food was much more bland than Tex Mex.”

“
Same here.” He took a last swig of his
drink. “I didn’t go that way often.”

“
My favorite Mexican restaurant is in
San Antonio. On the Riverwalk.” Her expression turned
wistful.

“
Never been there. It’s not far, is
it?” Well, dang, look at him. He wiped a spot of cheese from his
tie and hoped she hadn’t noticed his clumsiness.

But she smiled before she answered. “No, it’s
only about four hours away. You should go some weekend. It’s
unique. The Hill Country is pretty, too. In fact, there’s a lot to
see or do within a short drive from here.”

He’d like to take her to San Antonio. Hell,
he’d like to take her anywhere. Maybe someday. Now he wanted to
savor this evening. “Guess I’ll wait until I get a better
jalopy.”

She laughed. “I think that would be a good
idea.”

Hoping to keep her talking without the
animosity of work related topics, he asked, “What places do you
enjoy nearby?”

“
One of my favorite is my grandparents’
cabin at Lake Texoma.” She laughed. “They call it a cabin.
Actually, it’s a 4500 square foot house with five bedrooms, six
bathrooms and a great view of the lake.”

Damn. How much money did Joe Bob possess? Why
the hell hadn’t he bought his son-in-law’s shares?

Trent glanced at the tab before he tossed a
generous tip on the table and ushered her to the front of the
restaurant. “Some cabin.”

“
I know it’s over the top, but I love
it. It’s so quiet and peaceful, that’s where I go when I need to
think something through. They never give out the phone number, so
no one phones unless it’s an emergency. It’s kind of hard to find,
so no one drops by.”

He paid and they went to the car. “A perfect
retreat.”

“
It is. I don’t know why Grandpa keeps
it. He used to love fishing, but can’t handle launching the boat
any longer. He has heart trouble, you know, and he has to take
things easy. Mostly he stays at the ranch and lets Nana pamper
him.” She slid in and fastened her seat belt as he shut the
door.

He went around to the driver’s side and
climbed in. He remembered the way Ila Mae Grayson, the person Holly
called Nana, had almost hovered over her husband at Thanksgiving.
“I didn’t know about the heart problem. That answers a question I’d
been asking myself.”

She looked at him. “Oh, what’s that.”

“
I wondered why Joe Bob didn’t buy your
father’s shares and run it himself to keep Marvel in the
family.”

She sighed and looked away. For a minute he
thought she wouldn’t answer. “You don’t know how many times both of
my grandfathers bailed Dad out of trouble. My Tucker grandparents
died about ten years ago, so they weren’t around to help when Dad
lost our house.”

Holly let her head drop back against the
headrest and closed her eyes. “Grandpa Grayson immediately let us
move into his home—that’s where we are now—but he warned Dad he
would never raise another finger to help him. He stuck by his
pledge.”

Trent couldn’t take it all in. “Your father
lost your home?”

“
Yes. I’d just finished my degree and
started to work at Marvel, so I hadn’t any savings to share. It’s
true that place wasn’t as nice as the one we’re in now, but it was
a great house and worth a lot more than Dad got for it. What a
terrible time. We thought we were going to be homeless because he’d
lost all our cash, too.”

She exhaled a giant sigh. “That’s when
Grandpa and Grandma decided to move to the ranch and Grandpa let us
move into his home—though he’s left several sets of clothes for
whenever he’s in town. I love the house, always have. I’d dreamed
of living there, but not in the way it happened.”

“
Then no wonder you live at home
instead of getting your own place.” He’d take a place like that any
day.

She whirled in her seat and tilted her
head. “I don’t live with Geneva and my sisters, Trent. They live
with me. Grandpa gave the house to
me
personally—well, for IRS reasons he sold it
to me for a tiny amount. Taxes and upkeep nearly kill me, but I’ll
never give it up if I can avoid it.”

“
But why—“ he started to ask why she
didn’t help her father but let it go. He’d asked too much
already.

“
You were going to ask why I didn’t
help him, weren’t you?”

He nodded.

“
I was in Cancun with my friend Laura.
We’d planned the vacation for almost a year and booked a two-week
holiday. It was my first real vacation since I’d graduated from SMU
eight years ago. While I was gone Dad learned he’d lost everything
again. This time was worse than the others. For the first time he’d
lost a part of the company.”

Her hands fisted in her lap and she looked as
if she’d break from the tension. “I didn’t know about it until two
days before our vacation ended when Angie called me to come home
because Dad wasn’t expected to live. I got here only hours before
he died.”

“
I’m sorry, Princess. Didn’t mean to
resurrect bad memories.” Damn, why did the conversation have to
turn to this? She’d be off like a shot as soon as they hit the
parking lot of his building.

“
It’s all right.” She looked out the
passenger window. “I wouldn’t have let him have the house, Trent.”
She turned to face him and her eyes were moist with unshed tears.
“I loved him more than you can imagine, in spite of all he’d done.
But I couldn’t have let him have the house because he’d only have
lost it, too. Then we’d have had nothing.”

“
You didn’t have to make that
decision.” Thank God she hadn’t. She’d probably never have forgiven
herself for turning down her father. Maybe she still held Trent
responsible. He hoped not.

As if in answer to his thoughts she touched
his arm. “And I know you weren’t responsible. I was blind to think
you could be so callous. I don’t know what happened, but I know it
wasn’t anything you said or did.” She shrugged. “Guess we’ll never
know.”

He pulled into his building’s parking lot and
parked under a light. In his neighborhood a nice car was an
invitation to theft. Damn, his palms were sweating and he felt
nervous as a bead of water on a griddle.

When he opened her door, he held out his
hand. “Is this a Chinese fire drill, or will you come up?”

She looked undecided and as if maybe she was
as nervous as he was. “I-I guess I could see where you live. But
just for a few minutes.”

Thank you, God.

He locked her car and fished his key from his
pocket then led her up the stairs to what he considered his
temporary home. Very temporary. When he opened the door and flipped
on the light, he grimaced. “Damn, what was I thinking. You must
think I’m crazy to invite a woman like you to this dump.”

“
A woman like me?” She eyed the thrift
store sofa. “It’s not a dump, exactly. You might need to change
decorators.” She pitched her voice to match a pretentious
decorator’s image and used her hands to make a picture frame.
“Maybe a few slipcovers and several throw pillows.” She giggled and
he knew everything would be okay.

Holly wondered if she’d lost her mind. A man
invited a woman to his apartment for one reason. Yes, that’s what
she hoped and, yes, she was definitely insane to come here. She
tossed her coat on the atrocious sofa and surveyed the room. Not
bad for a low budget place, and neat as a pin.

“
Looks ship shape.” She giggled again
at her bad joke. The extra margarita must have gone to her
head.

Slowly she walked across the living room.
He’d hung inexpensive looking framed prints on the wall and used
discount store shelving for his books. “Oh, I remember we like some
of the same authors.” She ran a finger along the titles.

He followed her, shrugging out of his jacket
and removing his tie as she walked around the room.

One photo sat on an end table and she held it
up. “This must be you and the captain.”

His hand rested against her waist. “Yeah,
that’s John Swenson and me, taken when he gave me part interest in
his ship. Guess he was as close to a father as I ever came.”

She set the photo back and walked toward the
kitchen. The apartment was so tiny she didn’t have to go far. She
opened the refrigerator then turned to give him a look. “Nothing
but beer and a bottle of wine?”

He shrugged. “I’m not here much. I tried
keeping milk and stuff, but it spoiled. There’re a couple of frozen
dinners in the freezer in case I get hungry. And Pop Tarts in the
cupboard.” He took her hand. “Let me show you the rest of the
apartment.”

She lost her nerve and froze in place. She
shouldn’t be here with a man with whom she had no chance of at a
lasting relationship. He was a gambler, for heaven sakes. “Trent,
um, maybe I should go.”

“
Later.” He tugged her with him down a
short hall. “Have to give you the complete tour.”

When they stepped into the bedroom, she
stopped. The cover was turned back and rose petals—a little wilted
now—were strewn across the sheets and pillows. A bouquet of fresh
flowers stuffed into a vase sat on the nightstand. A dozen candles
dotted the room ready for a match’s touch.

She took a hesitant step forward. An
inexpensive CD player sat on a chest by a stack of CD’s. The top
one was Rod Stewart’s torchy “It Had To Be You.” Her breath hitched
and she couldn’t swallow. He’d done this for her.

“
Holly? Don’t be upset with me.” He
slid his arms around her.

Upset because an attractive man wanted to
romance her? She looked up at him, trying to read his expression.
“You planned this for me? Were you so sure I’d come with you?” Was
she so transparent? All those looks from people at the office and
now this.

“
Princess, I wasn’t even sure you’d go
to dinner with me. I only hoped. Prayed.” He trailed a finger down
her cheek. “Frankly, I figured I’d come back alone and all of
this”—he gestured toward the bed—“would remind me how stupid I’d
been to think you’d consider coming here.”

He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve needed you
so badly. Are you angry with me?”

“
It’s hard to be annoyed with someone
who’s done something so sweet and romantic.” She knew this could
only be a sexual encounter—an affair—because of the difference in
the way he looked at life, but she wanted this man with a driving
need that consumer her. Giving in to her hormones and the moment,
she raised her lips to his.

His embrace tightened as he lowered his mouth
to hers. She leaned into him and slid her arms around his waist.
His tongue delved against hers and she matched his probing.

When he broke the kiss he tucked her head to
his chest. “I wanted this to be perfect for you but this is the
best I could do in this crummy apartment.” Trailing kisses, he
started at her eyelids and moved slowly across her cheeks and down
her throat. “You deserve more, more than I can give you.”

“
This is a pretty romantic setting to
live up to.”

She pulled his shirt from his waistband.
“Let’s see how much you have to give, Macleod.

He chuckled. “I’ll give you all I have.” He
unbuttoned his shirt and hung it on the doorknob.

“
Wait. You start the music.” She picked
up the matches and made her way from one candle to the next. When
she reached the candles on the nightstand, a dozen foil packets
waited there. She held one up. “You think you can last through all
of these?”

He dropped another CD in the player and
smiled at her. “I’m willing to die trying.”