The Texan's Tennessee Romance (4 page)

She’d had phone calls, of course. Amber. Her dad. Her mom. All of them were worried about her, though only Amber and her father knew exactly why Natalie was no longer working for the firm in Nashville. She hadn’t even told her aunt Jewel the whole story, not wanting to upset her.

She had assured her callers that she was fine. She needed this time away. She needed the rest. She needed to regroup emotionally and wanted privacy in which to do some research on her own, while the private investigator she’d hired from the yellow pages did some discreet snooping back in Nashville. Her father was the only one who knew she’d hired the P.I.

Had her father lived in Nashville—or even in the same country—he might have gotten a bit more involved in the fight to clear his daughter’s name. But since he was currently working in the publishing industry in London, he’d been able to do little except offer long-distance advice and encouragement. Her mother, now married to a college professor in Oxford, Mississippi, tended to be more of a hand-wringer and worrier than a useful resource.

Natalie was pretty much on her own in this battle—but then, she was accustomed to taking care of herself. She’d done so since her parents had split up in a rather ugly divorce when she was eighteen.

Following the directions she’d been given, she parked in the driveway of Kyle and Molly’s lovely Gatlinburg home. They’d bought the house soon after their marriage just over four years ago. Before that, Molly had lived on a ranch in Texas and Kyle in one of the cabins they now rented out to vacationers.

A brightly colored, plastic, three-wheel riding toy partially blocked the stone walkway. Bypassing it, Natalie stepped onto the long porch that fronted the yellow frame house with pristine white trim and shutters. The inviting porch seemed well utilized. A swing at one end was padded with yellow and green patterned cushions; two rocking chairs with matching cushions sat nearby. Big planters held vibrant autumn chrysanthemums, and a couple more toys peeked from behind one of those pots.

She pressed the doorbell. What sounded like a small dog immediately went into a frenzy of barking inside, and she sighed. She wasn’t particularly fond of hyper, little purse puppies.

The door opened and Kyle greeted her with a slight smile. “Hi, Natalie. Did you have any trouble finding us?”

“Not a bit. Your directions were very good.”

“Come on in. Be quiet, Poppy,” he added with what sounded like weary resignation as he glanced down at the yapping brown-and-white Chihuahua at his feet.

“Sorry,” he said when Natalie walked in. “The stupid dog thinks he’s a Doberman. He doesn’t actually bite, he just wants you to think he will.”

“He? Didn’t you call it Poppy?”

He chuckled wryly. “Olivia named him. She loves the little fleabag.”

Poppy had already turned and ripped into another room, his job as guard dog apparently completed. Kyle gestured in the same direction, inviting Natalie to precede him. “Just follow the dog.”

Smiling, she moved toward an open doorway that led into what she assumed was a family room. The dog was now in the arms of a little girl with bright red curls and a freckled, pixie face. She looked strikingly like her mother, who rose from the couch as Natalie came in.

“Natalie,” Molly said, moving toward her. “We’re so glad you could come tonight.”

“I was delighted to be asked,” Natalie fibbed politely.

Something made her glance behind her. Casey sat quietly in a rocking chair holding an infant and meeting Natalie’s gaze with an openly amused expression that told her he knew she hadn’t expected to see him there. “Hi, Natalie.”

She managed to return the greeting casually enough. “Hello, Casey.”

“Kyle and I haven’t entertained since Micah was born, so we thought we’d turn this into a real dinner party,” Molly explained cheerily. “We invited Jewel and Mack, but Jewel had her Bible study group tonight, and Mack said he was a little tired.”

Natalie was on the verge of replying when something bumped her leg. She looked down to see Molly’s three-year old daughter tapping with one hand against Natalie’s gray slacks in an obvious bid for attention. “Hi.”

As an only child whose friends were mostly singles, Natalie had been around very few small children. She moistened her lips and said, “Hello, Olivia.”

“This is Poppy,” the child added, holding up the wriggling dog that seemed to be doing its best to lick every inch of Olivia’s cheeks.

“Yes, Poppy and I met already.”

“C’mon, Livvie, let’s get you washed up for dinner,” Kyle said, scooping up both daughter and dog. Natalie noticed his slight limp, but it didn’t seem to impede his progress as he carried the giggling child and yipping dog out of the room.

Molly followed her family toward the door. “Make yourself comfortable, Natalie. I’ll be ready to serve dinner in about five minutes.”

“Let me help you,” Natalie offered quickly.

But Molly shook her head. “Everything’s almost ready. You stay and keep Casey company while he babysits for me.”

Great. Casey and a baby. Both of whom made her unaccountably nervous.

She perched on the edge of an armchair, mentally groping for something to say. “How’s your hand?”

He held his hand up, palm out, to show her a fresh bandage. “Much better. I’m keeping it covered just as a precaution, but I can tell it’s going to heal quickly.”

“That’s good.” That subject exhausted, she nodded toward the baby in the crook of Casey’s arm. “You look pretty comfortable. Do you have a lot of experience with kids?”

Casey glanced down at the sleeping infant and chuckled. “In our family, it’s hard to avoid them. I have fourteen first cousins on my dad’s side—Molly’s side—and several of them have kids. The Walker clan’s pretty tight, always getting together for some occasion or another. It’s not at all unusual for thirty or more of us to be gathered at the ranch that belongs to Molly’s dad, my uncle, Jared.”

Daunted by the mental image of all those relatives in one place, many of them children, she swallowed. “Wow.”

Casey laughed, making the baby start a little, though he didn’t wake up. “Yeah, a lot of people react that way.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

He shook his head. “I’m an only. But I never lacked for playmates with so many cousins. Especially the twins, Andrew and Aaron. There’s just a few months’ difference between our ages and our fathers are identical twins, so we spent a lot of time together, along with our cousin Jason D’Alessandro, who’s a couple years older than I am.”

“Your father’s a twin?”

“Right. And his brother has twin sons of his own. We’re all used to seeing double.”

“I see.” Sounded a bit confusing to her, but then, she didn’t have that much experience with family.

Her mother had a brother, but they hadn’t lived in the same state for decades and didn’t see each other very often, so Natalie hardly knew her cousins on that side. Her father had been one of four brothers. Jewel was the youngest sibling and the only girl. Because her father and Jewel had been the closest of the Lofton siblings, Natalie had seen her aunt Jewel more than the rest of the family. She’d always looked forward to summer vacations in Gatlinburg, back when her family had been intact and at least outwardly happy together.

Though he’d been a few years older than Natalie, Tommy had always been a gracious and patient host, taking his younger cousin hiking in the mountains, teaching her to fish in the numerous area streams and accompanying her to a nearby amusement park. He had even taken her white-water rafting when he was a mature eighteen and she a hero-worshipping fourteen-year-old.

She still missed Tommy with a pang like a knife through her heart whenever she remembered those happy childhood times, before her parents’ divorce and before Tommy had joined the military. That had been one of the hardest things about coming here to lick her wounds and plan her future, knowing that she would be surrounded by memories of the cousin who’d been such a happy part of her past.

The baby in Casey’s lap made a rather surprised sound and opened his eyes. He looked up to see who was holding him, then broke into a toothless grin.

“Well,” Casey said, grinning back, “you wake up happy, don’t you, tiger?”

Little Micah hooted as if in agreement.

Casey was still smiling when he glanced up at Natalie. “I’ve always had that effect on kids. They start laughing as soon as they see my face.”

“You’re very good with him,” she repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.

Casey gave the babbling baby a couple of bounces, eliciting a shrill giggle. And then he glanced at her and startled her by asking, “You want to hold him?”

She quickly held up her hands in a backing-away gesture. “No, thank you. He looks quite happy where he is.”

Casey lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you like kids?”

“Sure I do. As long as someone else is taking care of them.”

Whatever Casey might have said in response was interrupted when Molly reappeared in the doorway. “Dinner is served, you two. Oh, the baby’s awake. Here, Casey, I’ll take him. You can show our guest of honor into the dining room.”

Passing off the baby, Casey turned with a flourish to offer his arm to Natalie. “Looks like you’re the guest of honor,” he said lightly. “And I’m the designated escort. Madam?”

She hoped no one noticed her slight hesitation before she rested her hand lightly on his arm.

Casey was charming. Articulate, amusing, quick-witted. Natalie couldn’t help wondering why he was working as a less-than-proficient maintenance man. He seemed very fond of Molly, friendly with Kyle, indulgent with Olivia. He gave every appearance of being a happy young man without a care in the world. And yet…

There was something in his eyes. Something about the very faint lines that appeared around his mouth on those rare occasions when she caught him not smiling. Maybe it was because she had her own secrets, but she had the distinct feeling that Casey’s smiles and jokes were hiding something not so happy. She didn’t know how he’d ended up working for his cousin’s husband, but something told her he had a story as depressing as her own.

She didn’t ask questions, partially because she didn’t want to encourage him to ask questions in return. She had asked her aunt and uncle not to tell anyone why she’d left her job in Nashville. Molly and Kyle knew only that she was no longer affiliated with the firm and was taking some time off while making some inquiries toward a new position. She figured they knew there was more to it than that, but they respected her privacy.

No one mentioned careers during dinner, keeping the conversation focused on the children and on local events. They talked about the summer tourist season that had recently ended and the upcoming winter season which would bring in holiday travelers and snow skiers. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the surrounding towns were all decorating for Christmas, with light displays and special Christmas shows and attractions to entice visitors.

“Maybe you’ll see some of the lights before you go back to Nashville,” Molly said to Natalie while wiping blackberry cobbler from Olivia’s chin.

“Maybe,” Natalie said noncommittally, though holiday displays were pretty much the last thing on her mind right then. She wasn’t in a holiday mood.

Though she consented to let Natalie help her clear the table after the meal, Molly refused to allow her to help clean the kitchen. “There’s very little left to do. Kyle and I will take care of it together after we put the kids to bed.”

Natalie lingered only a few minutes after the meal ended, just long enough that she hoped her visit wouldn’t qualify as an eat-and-run. Her chance to escape appeared when Micah began to fuss and Molly explained that he was ready to be fed. Natalie excused herself then, thanking both Molly and Kyle for the nice meal and telling them she’d like to get back up the mountain before it got too late.

Casey stood when she did. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“That isn’t—”

But he’d already opened the door and was motioning for her to go out ahead of him. She stepped out, snuggling into her black leather coat when a cool night breeze swirled around her. Casey closed the door behind them then fell into step beside her. He hadn’t donned a coat over the long-sleeve denim shirt he wore loose over a light gray T-shirt and jeans, but he didn’t seem to notice the chill.

“Nice meal, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “Very.”

“My cousin’s quite a talker.”

“I like her.”

“Everyone does. She’s a lot like her mom. My aunt Cassie.”

“Cassie? Were you named after her?”

“No. Mine’s a family name. On my mother’s side.” He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I thought I’d come do some work on the outside of your cabin tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”

“On a Saturday? Don’t you take weekends off?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really have anything else to do. And the weather’s supposed to be nice tomorrow. In the sixties. Might as well take advantage of it.”

Once again, she wondered about his background, and why he had nothing better to do on a nice Saturday than work on her cabin. But she simply said, “It doesn’t matter to me if you come tomorrow. I’ll be at my computer most of the day.”

She suspected that he was as curious about her as she was about him, but he seemed no more willing to open the door to questions. He nodded. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow then. I won’t come too early, so you don’t have to worry that I’ll wake you at dawn hammering or anything.”

“I tend to be an early riser anyway.” She opened her car door. “Good night, Casey.”

“Good night, Natalie. Drive carefully.”

“Yes, I will. Thanks.”

She noted in her rearview mirror that he waited until she’d started her car and exited the driveway before he turned to go back inside.