At Bluebonnet Lake (Texas Crossroads Book #1): A Novel (11 page)

I
think we’re getting better.” Greg leaned back on the bench and took a long swig of water. Though the sun was almost directly overhead and Kate could have sworn it was at least a hundred degrees in the shade, he appeared only slightly winded. She, on the other hand, could barely manage to catch her breath. Those hours at the gym should have prepared her for a little tennis, but apparently they hadn’t. She was as out of breath as Sally the day they arrived. Could it have been only two days ago? Kate felt as if she’d been in Texas far longer.

She took a sip from the water bottle Greg had handed her before she responded. “Are you basing your statement on the fact that I actually scored in the last match?” Admittedly, she’d been proud of that accomplishment, even though it had felt like a fluke. It was difficult to believe she’d made any substantial improvement since yesterday.

Greg nodded, his green eyes dancing with mirth. “That and the fact that I managed to return more than one ball in ten. Another five or ten years and we might be passable players.”

“Another five or ten years and my muscles might have recovered.” Although that seemed about as likely as her playing at
Wimbledon. Kate rubbed her upper arm, trying to massage out the pain in her biceps, triceps—some muscle. “Rainbow’s End could use a hot tub.”

His bottle empty, Greg tossed it back into his bag and reached for another. “I was thinking the same thing. As I recall, hot tubs are pretty good for soaking out aches. You don’t have a patent on those, you know.” He flexed his arms and let out a melodramatic groan.

“Poor baby.” Kate gave him a patently false smile of commiseration as she added, “As I recall, tennis was your idea.”

“But you were the one who wanted exercise.”

“True, and now I want a hot tub. You sound as if it’s been a long time since you were in one, but I’ve had a close acquaintance with them and their therapeutic properties.”

“It’s been almost fifteen years,” Greg admitted. That didn’t surprise Kate. Somehow she couldn’t picture him at a gym or spa. It wasn’t simply that he claimed to have no natural talent for sports. More to the point, she imagined he had kept himself too focused on his college courses and then his job to have time for organized exercise. He struck her as someone who’d go for a long run late at night or early in the morning. Though Sally had accused Kate of choosing the sure path for her career—and Kate had to admit there was some truth in that observation—the path had included a gym membership. According to Grandpa Larry, gyms were good places to meet potential clients, and so she’d signed up for one as soon as she moved to New Jersey.

“I tried a hot tub my first year at Stanford,” Greg said. “After that, I was too busy studying and working as many hours as I could to have time for much more than a nightly run.”

It was what Kate had surmised. “So you worked while you were in college. I did too.” When Greg raised an eyebrow, encouraging her to continue, Kate said, “I was lucky to get a job on campus. Nothing glamorous, I assure you. I worked in
the stockroom at the bookstore, but that and two scholarships covered tuition.”

“Which left just room and board.”

Kate shook her head. “Not even that. I was a townie. I lived with Sally and Grandpa Larry and commuted to class. The only times I stayed in a dorm were when there was too much snow to drive home.” Kate smiled, remembering those nights. “I didn’t get much studying done then.”

“That’s because it was a novelty. You’d have settled into a routine if you’d lived there.” As a bright yellow bird flitted by, Greg turned his attention to it, watching until it was out of sight. “Do you know what kind that was?” When Kate shook her head, he nodded. “Me, neither. I need to buy a field guide the next time I’m in town. But we were talking about school. It’s interesting that you were content to stay at home while I couldn’t wait to escape.”

That made it sound as if she had no sense of adventure. If Sally were here, she’d probably say it was evidence that Kate was unwilling to take risks. Surely that wasn’t true. There had been other, more important reasons why she’d stayed at home.

“I didn’t want my grandparents going into debt for my education,” she told Greg. It was what she’d told everyone at the time, and at the time she had believed it. Now, with Sally’s words fresh in her mind, Kate wondered if her grandparents’ finances had been her primary motivation. While no one would have called them wealthy, they weren’t poor. Furthermore, Grandpa Larry had taken Kate aside and told her that if she wanted to live in a dorm, they’d find the money. Was Sally right that Kate had been afraid to take the risk of moving away from home? By the time she’d graduated and been offered her first position in Manhattan, it hadn’t seemed like such an intimidating prospect, but when she’d been eighteen . . .

“I know what you mean.” Kate blinked, wondering if Greg
had somehow read her thoughts, but when he continued, she realized he was talking about college debt. “I couldn’t ask my parents for money, but I didn’t have a lot of choice. Even if I’d wanted to stay at home, there are no colleges within commuting range of Orchard Slope. Besides, I was determined to go to Stanford, so I wound up with enormous loans.”

“That must be hard now.” Kate couldn’t imagine how stressful unemployment combined with substantial debt must be, especially since he had four sisters who regarded him as an open checkbook. And yet Greg showed no signs of worry. A man who was concerned about money wouldn’t have bought top-of-the-line tennis racquets and clothes.

He shrugged and took another swig of water. “They’re paid off. I was one of the lucky ones. And, no, I didn’t win the lottery. I just worked really hard.”

He must have, and it must have been lucrative. “What kind of work did you do?”

“Software engineering.”

The pieces fit. Stanford. A job in Silicon Valley. The ease with which he’d helped her connect to the internet. Kate grinned. “No wonder you knew how to fix my laptop.”

Greg met her grin, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “That’s hardware, not software, but yeah, you could say I know my way around computers. When I was a kid, I used to stay late at school to use the ones there, and then I delivered papers and ran errands to buy my own.”

Kate’s grandparents had paid for her first computer. Compared to Greg, she felt like a pampered princess. While she’d worked as a teenager at one of the fast-food jobs that were practically a rite of passage, she’d never been as single-minded as Greg seemed to have been. He sounded like the definition of a workaholic. Perhaps that was part of the reason he was doing repairs here. “Do you miss it?”

“The work? Not really. Last year was . . . difficult.” The long pause told Kate that Greg was choosing his words carefully. Before she had the opportunity to ask him about the job that had paid so well, he shifted so that he was facing her directly. “How about you? Have you adjusted to being on vacation?”

“I’m getting there.” In Kate’s experience, it took the better part of a week to relax enough to forget work, and by then, the vacation was over. But this trip was different. It marked the first time she’d taken more than a single week’s vacation. It would be interesting to see how she felt next week. Right now she was definitely still in the adjustment phase.

“I’m really enjoying being able to spend more time with Sally, and Dupree has its charms.” When she closed her eyes, Kate could still picture Lauren Ahrens’s beautiful quilt and the exquisite tooling of Samantha’s boots. “I couldn’t imagine living there, though.”

“You’d miss the Golden Arches that much?”

Kate shook her head. “It’s the pace. Everyone here moves as if they have all the time in the world.”

“Maybe they do.”

Sally chuckled as she switched on her e-reader, thinking about her granddaughter’s reaction if she could see her. Kate thought she was napping each afternoon during those tennis matches. Admittedly, she’d done that yesterday. There was no denying that she’d been tired then, but today she felt energized and decided to read. She wouldn’t tell Kate, of course. If Kate knew, she’d stop playing tennis, and that was one thing Sally didn’t want to happen. Even if she didn’t realize it, the matches were important for Kate. She needed them, and not just for the exercise. Kate needed time with a man who viewed her as more than arm candy.

Sally chuckled again. That was such a silly term. She couldn’t recall where she’d heard it, but she’d found the whole concept ridiculous until she met Pete and Lou and realized that they regarded Kate as little more than arm candy. Greg was smarter than that.

Settling back in the comfortable chair, Sally scrolled through her books. Today Suzanne Woods Fisher would transport her to the seemingly simpler life of the Amish. And when she finished that, Sally knew she’d be caught up in a world of suspense, thanks to Irene Hannon’s latest release.

Though she was deeply engrossed in the story, the knock on the door brought her back to Rainbow’s End. “Sally, are you there?”

Her heart began to pound, and Sally felt her face flush as she laid the e-reader on the table and jumped to her feet. Her cardiologist might be alarmed, but Sally was not. She knew what was causing her to act like a schoolgirl. Roy. She’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she opened the door and ushered him inside.

The man was too handsome for his own good. Kate might not agree, but Sally found his old-fashioned glasses and those gray eyes endearing. And then there were his lips. Right now they curved in a mischievous smile, setting Sally’s heart to fluttering again.

“Is that any way to welcome the man who’s come to play chess with you?” Though the words could have sounded harsh, they were spoken with good humor.

“Chess?” Her heartbeat accelerated again at the unexpected but very welcome invitation. Sally knew she’d never even mentioned the game, much less told Roy that it was her favorite, yet here he was, offering to play with her. The man wasn’t just handsome; he was wonderful.

“Yes, chess. An ancient game with kings, queens, pawns, knights. I thought you might enjoy it.” As Roy shook his head, a lock of hair tumbled over his forehead. He needed a haircut, but Sally would be the last to tell him that. Though Roy’s hair might not be the latest style, it suited him, and the unruly locks gave him a boyish air.

“I know you like Clue, but it’s not much fun with only two players.” Roy’s expression turned slightly sheepish. “I guess I made an assumption. I’d better ask. Do you know how to play chess? We can do something else if you’d prefer.”

Sally grinned at the proof that chivalry was still alive. “Do I play chess? You bet your queen I do. There’s nothing I’d rather do today.” Especially since Roy would be her opponent. Though she played regularly online, there was nothing that compared to a real game, and one with an attractive man her own age . . . Sally felt her cheeks begin to flush again. “Prepare to be trounced.”

“In your dreams.” Roy nodded at the door. “I checked, and there’s a nice set in the main lodge.”

Sally looked for a pad and pencil. “I need to leave Kate a note.”

“No, you don’t. She and Greg are still on the tennis court. We can tell them what we’re doing as we walk by.”

When Roy had closed the door behind them, he bent his arm, placing Sally’s hand in the crook of his elbow. Seconds later, they were walking toward the lodge, arm in arm, her heart singing with pleasure.

It was odd. When Kate had linked arms with her, Sally had bristled, knowing her granddaughter thought she needed help. It was different with Roy. His gesture was one of chivalry, not concern, and that felt oh so good. The way Sally felt right now, she could walk all the way to Dupree. Wouldn’t that shock Kate?

“You are good,” Roy said twenty minutes later when she captured another of his pawns.

Sally leaned back in her chair and smiled. There were so many reasons to smile—the beautiful lodge with its views of the lake, the ivory and ebony chess set with the fancy inlaid board, the challenge of the game, and Roy. Most of all, Roy. “Did you think I was exaggerating?”

The man who’d proven to be a worthy opponent shook his head. “It wasn’t that. I know it’s been awhile since your husband died. I thought you might be out of practice.”

It was Sally’s turn to shake her head. “Larry didn’t have the patience for chess. I’ve been playing online.”

“Me too, but this is more fun.”

“It certainly is. Kate plays with me occasionally, but she’s not much of a challenge.” Roy was, but even if he hadn’t been an expert player, Sally would have enjoyed the game. There was something exciting about being with a man her age.

“Roy Junior’s the only one of my kids worth setting up a board for, but for the past few years, when we get together we’re so rushed that there’s no time for a game.”

Though Roy had alluded to children before, this was the first time he’d mentioned a name. Sally took the opening. “How many children do you have?”

“Three. Roy Junior, Toby, and Will.” Roy’s smile was one of obvious pride. “They’re all married, each with two kids. All boys. Barb was disappointed, because she wanted to buy dolls and frilly dresses, but I couldn’t be happier. Think of all those boys just waiting to learn to fish.”