Lone Star Hero

“Yes, really.” She swatted him with the dishrag. “Besides, I need to know I can do this on my own. Not Daddy or Tommy, but me. I need to do this. I pay rent and everything.” Her stubborn chin lifted and she looked him in the eye.

He definitely understood wanting to prove yourself, but she might be going a bit overboard. “So the steps falling in on you or the kids are part of your plan for independence?”

“I noticed they rocked a bit. I thought it was just because they’re old.” She hesitated. “Can you show me how to fix them?”

“Vickie, I’ve been known to build and repair whole houses. I think I can manage your steps.” He leaned his elbows on the yellow-tinted counter. “It’s because they’re so old, they probably need to be replaced. I can get it done in less than a day.”

“No, I can do it. Just tell me what to buy. On second thought, don’t bother. I’m sure I can find instructions online and Dannie at Bergmann’s Lumberyard can help me.”

“Vickie, don’t be stubborn. I can give you a list of supplies and one day next week when we’re both off I can show you how to build steps. I think Seth should help. Where is he, anyway?”

“He’s with my dad in the horse barns. They should be back any moment.” She cleaned the same spot she had already wiped several times. With a heavy sigh, she brought her gaze back up to his. “I’m not sure Seth wants to go to the football thing. I’m kind of making him.” She turned away and opened the worn cabinet, gathering two tall glasses in one hand.

The clinking of the ice hitting glass filled the silence. Vickie pulled a pitcher of lemonade from the green refrigerator. She finally started talking again while she focused on pouring the drinks. “Tommy could be...well, not the most encouraging person at the best of times. But when it came to Seth he was...”

She wouldn’t look him in the eye as she passed the full glass over to him.

“Remember, I know Tommy.” He covered her hand with his, holding her in place until she met his gaze. “Don’t make excuses for him.”

Pulling her hand back, she shook her head. “I just don’t want Seth to get hurt.”

“No worries there. Between Pastor John, Rhody and me it’s more about fellowship and having fun.” He grinned as he swirled the glass, watching the liquid form a tornado with the ice. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re guys, so it gets competitive, but the egos stay home. Seth’ll be fine. It’s flag, so no tackling or hitting.” Jake took a sip of his drink. “Now, what about those cookies cooling by the stove?”

“What cookies?” She blocked his line of vision and held the spatula up like a weapon. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on, you’re killin’ me.” He knew they would still be warm and gooey. “You know how much I love cookies straight from the oven. I’ll let you build the steps all by yourself, and I’ll just watch from a distance. Please?”

Squinting, Vickie told herself not to look into his eyes. Whenever he’d managed to make eye contact, she’d never been good at telling him no. “These are for Ashley’s horse club.” She turned with a sigh and slid one on the stainless-steel spatula. Holding it from him, she glared. “Just one?”

He nodded. “Just one, promise.”

She watched him take the chocolate chip cookie. His smile warmed her heart in a way no one else ever could.

He closed his eyes and softly moaned as every morsel disappeared. His jaw worked slowly as her gaze followed the movement of his throat.

He looked back at her. “That tasted amazing.” He stood and moved next to her in the small kitchen. Reaching across the stove put him right in her space. “What about one...”

She popped the back of his hand with the spatula. “You promised.”

He gave a sigh and stepped back as if he had made a great sacrifice. “Yes, I did.”

“I used your mother’s recipe.” Feeling awkward, she moved to the sink and dumped her ice down the drain. “We ate a great deal of her cookies at this counter or in the barn when you managed to steal some.”

Chuckling, Jake nodded. “She refuses to make them for me anymore. Not until I give her grandchildren. Parental emotional blackmail at it’s worst.”

“Why don’t you?”

“What?” He blinked.

Whatever. She knew better. Today she was in the mood to push him. He’s the one that left her and then never got married. “Start a family of your own? You’d make an awesome father.”

He shrugged, intensely focused on his drink. “Never felt right. I was on the move with the marines, and then focused on my law-enforcement career. Now working with the church keeps me busy and there seems to be a great deal of kids without fathers in their lives.”

Well, that put her in her place, since her own kids were pretty much fatherless. She started stacking the cookies in an airtight container.

She stopped and turned to the radio. A giddy feeling made her heart bubble. “Jake, it’s our song!”

His brows shot up in a question. “I didn’t know we had a song.”

Hands on her hips she shook her head at his cluelessness. “As chair of the prom committee, I selected the song for the king and queen dance. I knew we had received the most votes.” A sad smile formed. “I picked it for us.”

His forehead wrinkled. “You danced it with Tommy.”

“’Cause you never showed up.” She pointed the spatula at him. “You had the most votes. You were voted king. Because you weren’t there I had to dance with Tommy.”

He dared raise his eyebrows and give her a stunned look. “I didn’t show up? I waited for two hours under the bridge. You told me you would meet me at Second Crossing Bridge. I was so worried I finally went to your house. Your mother took great pleasure in telling me you went with Tommy. What did you expect me to do?”

“Mother surprised me with Tommy and a limo.” She turned away from him and looked out the window. She had been such a coward. She needed to stop blaming her choices on her mother. “I didn’t tell her I was meeting you. She never told me you came by the house. It should’ve been our dance.” The last sentence dropped to a whisper, her chest tight. Silence and sadness surrounded her. The ticking of the old clock erased the years.

She felt the warmth of his presence as he moved closer to her. He stopped two steps away from where she stood.

“We could dance it now.” His voice low.

She looked over her shoulder. The half grin eased the hardness of his face and the pain in her chest.

“Miss Victoria Lawson, may I have this dance?”

She turned toward him. He stood so gallant, hand out to her, waiting. One heartbeat, two, she hesitated. With a deep sigh, she made a step forward and put her hand in his.

One quick turn and he had them out of the kitchen and in the living room. An arm placed at her waist gently guided her through the small gap. His strong hand intertwined with her fingers. He led her in a tight circle around the old coffee table.

She closed her eyes and the dingy trailer slipped away. A million tiny white lights filled the new space in her vision. The soft material of her long gown swirled around her legs.

Hanging on to the moment, she took in all the details of the night they should have experienced. “Why didn’t you come to the dance?” she whispered, afraid to break the mood but needing to know the answer.

“I did.” His voice low and hoarse. “You were dancing with Tommy.” Another turn as the music faded. “I figured you’d made your choice.”

It was her fault? “I think Mama might have known I was going with you and set it up to make sure I went with Tommy, instead. I thought I would ditch him and find you.” They stood face-to-face in the current reality, no music to transport here to another time. “When you didn’t show, I thought you had given up on me.”

He pressed his forehead against the top of hers.

Vickie remained still, listening to him breathe. Afraid, she kept her eyes closed, head down. “Do you ever wonder where we would be today if I had stood up to my mother and gone with you?”

Jake’s strong hands cupped her jaw and brought her gaze up to meet his dark chocolate eyes. “We were so young.” He gave her his best half grin. “And maybe a bit dumb. I don’t know what would have happened.”

She leaned forward and closed her eyes. “You left town, and I was so impatient and couldn’t wait to start my family. Now I’m a full-fledged, messed-up adult with two kids to raise. We can’t get this right, can we?”

Jake held her face in his large hands, tilting her head up. He studied her eyes with the most forceful look she had ever seen in him. Her throat went dry as he moved in closer. His stare now focused on her lips. She stopped breathing, his head lowered. His breath, sweet from the lemonade caressed her skin.