Georgie on His Mind (6 page)

Warm mittens that gave you a tingly feeling throughout
your entire body.

She snatched her hand back and tucked it under her arm.
"Yeah, you did act suspicious. But I think it was your beady
eyes that pushed me over the edge"

Walt chuckled. "Look, I'm sorry about how I reacted back
there. You threw me off guard. I wanted you to know that it's
no big deal. Let's put it behind us"

She frowned, giving him a sideways glance. This didn't sound like the Walt she'd remembered. If she didn't know
better, he sounded almost ... nice and respectful. What
was he trying to pull? Maybe she was being overly analytical, but she couldn't help it. After all, she was a science
major.

"Thank you," she said, still not trusting him. "I'm glad
you're not mad. But are you going to tell Brad about this?"

"Hmm, well, that's an interesting question," he said with a
mischievous smile. "I'm still on the fence. But don't worry;
I'm sure you'll get a favorable outcome with a little persuasion. Like maybe ... breakfast in bed tomorrow?"

Now that sounded like the Walt she'd remembered!

"Nothing fancy," he blurted when he saw her scowl. "Bacon, some scrambled eggs, fresh orange juice, oh, and rye
toast, but only if you have it. No need to make a special trip
to the store just for me" He casually leaned his elbow on the
counter and treated her to a charming grin.

She felt a smile threatening, but nipped it in the bud before he could see it. "You know you're a rat, don't you?"

Walt frowned, but the laughter still showed in his eyes.
"Hey, now that's not the way to sway my decision in your
favor."

"I'd love to hear more of this tantalizing extortion negotiation," Dee interrupted, walking over and waving a piece
of paper in her hand, "but Randall's in the can again, and I
can't read what drug this is."

"It says Biaxin five hundred milligrams." Georgie looked
back up at Walt and gestured to her friend with her thumb.
"Do you remember Dee? She's now our full-time technician
and all around resident smart mouth."

"Yeah, I remember you," he said, studying her face. "Except for the smart mouth part. That should make things interesting while I'm working here."

Georgie felt the blood drain from her face. "Huh? What
do you mean, you'll be working here?'

Walt shot her a challenging look. "Just what I said. Al and
I have become partners"

"Partners? Al never mentioned this to me. You mean
we're going to be living and working together?"

"Don't sound so thrilled. But yes, I didn't want to be any
more of a burden to my aunt while she's taking care of Al,
and I had to forget about renting a place. With the summer
almost here, everything is practically booked up. Brad was
cool enough to offer me your place until I can find a place of
my own to buy."

"Oh, yeah, that's Brad all right," she murmured. "Mr.
Benevolent." Except toward his own sister.

Dee fanned her face with the prescription and smirked.
"Well, isn't this going to be cozy? It's like right out of Bosom
Buddies. "

With an amused look, Walt scratched his head. "Uh, yeah,
except for the dressing like a woman part. Unless Brad's into
something I don't know about"

Dee laughed, and Georgie sighed.

"Hey, don't look so grim, Georgie," he said, giving her a
few pats on the hand. "We're practically like family. I promise to be on my best behavior the entire time. No head lice
jokes. Don't want you getting sick of me before I can find
my own place, right?"

Yeah, well, too late. She was already sick of him.

"Oh, and your Nancy Drew routine was pretty darn cute
back there, I admit," he added, "but next time leave the cops
and robbers playing to your brother. Accusing your customers
of stealing isn't good store policy."

She planted a fist on her hip. "You were snooping around
the aisle. It was a logical assumption."

"Ah, but you never gave me a chance to explain. The reason I was snooping was because I saw a lot of opened and
empty boxes of condoms on the shelf. I assume you realize
the store was robbed?"

Her anger deflated. She wondered if Al noticed the stolen
condoms too. "Yes, I noticed the empty boxes. That's why I
thought you were the thief."

"And returning to the scene of the crime? Not a very
bright thief, I might add" His smile blazed out at her, and
she noticed how white his teeth were against his tanned skin.
It made his smile all the more attractive. Almost too attractive for his own good.

"Well, I didn't have time to run an IQ test by you," she said
wryly. "I had to go by your dim-witted appearance alone."

"Cute. But I think it might be a good idea to keep this
from Al until after he's back from his surgery. No sense having him worry. I don't want anything interfering with his recovery. It might even be a matter of time before the store
gets hit for something bigger than just condoms. I'd like to
go over the books as soon as possible and check things out to
make sure we haven't lost money elsewhere."

She remembered what Brad had said the other day about
the pharmacy losing money and became concerned. "Do you
think there's a problem?"

"I'm not sure. Once I take a look at all the numbers, I can
make a fair assessment. Then I'll decide what to do."

"Well, since I'll be a pharmacist here soon, I hope you
plan on including me in what you find and what you plan
to do."

"Look, Georgie," he said with a sigh. "You don't need to
worry yourself about stuff like this. Just do your job, sit tight,
and don't do any more rash things."

His attitude was so condescending she became indignant. "Sit tight? That response is so typical of someone like you.
For your information, I'm very capable of handling these
things. I'm not someone who needs sheltering. Anyone who
thinks that is just ... just..

His eyes narrowed and he leaned in close, so close she
could see that his eyes weren't simply light brown like she'd
first thought. They had a fascinating mixture of green and
gold in them, which at the moment flashed at her like hot lava.

"Anyone who thinks that is just what, exactly?" he asked.
"At least I have enough sense not to try to pick up a possible
sex-starved stranger in the condom aisle."

"I wasn't trying to pick you up! I told you that" And stop
trying to distract me!

"Could have fooled me. And you were doing a lousy job
of it, by the way. No wonder you're having men problems."

She sucked in her breath as if she'd been kicked in the
stomach. "Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe you just said that.
Who told you I was having men problems? I am not having
men problems. Hey, Dee," she called over her shoulder, desperate for some restoration to her bruised ego. "Am I having
men problems?"

Dee paused in her typing and looked up. "She's having
men problems," she said flatly, then went back to typing.

Walt laughed out loud.

"Traitor," she muttered. "I'll remember that when I get my
license and become your boss"

"Just remember this," Dee said, whipping out the newspaper article on the Clay Hayes contest again, "and who gave
it to you when you finally meet your Mr. Dreamboat"

Walt's attention perked up and his eyes shot to Dee. Leaning over the counter, he snatched the newspaper from her
hands. "What's this about Mr. Dreamboat?" he asked with a
curious grin.

Georgie made a grab for the paper, but Walt was quicker and
held it just out of her reach. As he unfolded the article, his
brows narrowed as his eyes shifted over the words for several
long seconds. When he finished, he crumpled the paper and
tossed it in the trashcan behind her. "Wow," he said with a
scowl, "I can't believe women fall for stupid contests like that"

"Hey!" She lunged for the ball of paper and pulled it out
of the garbage. "I resent that. That contest isn't stupid," she
said, unraveling and smoothing the article out on the counter.
"I was thinking of entering."

"That's my girl," Dee cheered.

Walt gave a short laugh. "I'd think again if I were you"

Georgie stopped fiddling with the newspaper and looked
up. "Why would I need to think again? Clay Hayes is a
handsome television star, and I could spend a day with him.
He's smart and charming too-something you obviously
have no clue about. Sounds like the perfect date to me. And
since Brad has pretty much eliminated any eligible dating
man within a thirty-mile radius, I'd say it's the perfect solution to my so-called man problem."

"Oh, come on. Brad is not going to let you enter that contest. For one thing . . " He looked to Dee for help, but she
turned away, feigning more interest in filing the stack of
prescriptions. "All right ... for one thing," he said, turning
back, "you're too young"

He might as well have said she was too ugly or too skinny,
because it ticked her off just the same. "I'm twenty-four.
That's only seven years younger than you and Brad"

"Well, what makes you think you could win this contest
anyway?" He tapped his index finger down so hard on the
article she thought he was going to smear Clay Hayes' poor
face. She tried sliding it away from him, but he braced his
other hand on the article and held tight.

"Shows how much you know," she countered, still trying
to pry his hands away from the newspaper. "I have as good a
chance as anyone else. Clay Hayes loves this town. He's
probably here a lot when he's not working. When I win, I'll
give him my own personal tour."

Walt's mouth hung open. "Well, if you win-and that's a
big if-you're going to draw a lot of attention. Do you want
that? There'll probably be a bunch of publicity involved and
reporters and people hanging around, not to mention-"
Walt stopped himself short and hung back slightly. A funny
expression crossed his face-not a pleased look but not a totally unhappy one either, almost as if he was hearing Polka
music play in his head.

"Not to mention what?" she asked, forgetting their tug-ofwar with the newspaper.

Walt opened his mouth again but closed it when Al came
up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Walt. Randall's in the stockroom. I want to introduce you two and go
over your schedules. You and Georgie will have plenty of
time to catch up later."

Walt nodded, but he still had a dazed look on his face.
"Sure, Uncle Al. Be right there"

Al smiled, giving Georgie a quick wink, then walked
away. Walt watched him go, keeping his eyes trained on his
uncle's back. His eyes narrowed slightly, and from the way
the vein in his left temple became visible, she was sure his
brain was about to explode at any second.

"Not to mention what?" she asked again when Al had disappeared into the storeroom.

He whipped his head back to look at her and blinked.
"Uh, nothing. Just don't enter that thing," he said, tapping
down on the article for emphasis. The pointed look he gave
told her there was nothing left to discuss. As if he didn't trust her, he swept the crumpled up newspaper off the counter and
shoved it under his arm, then stormed away.

Annoyed that Walt would pull the big brother routine on
her only twenty minutes into their reunion, Georgie planted
a hand on her hip. "Did you hear that, Dee?"

"Yep. Heard it and saw it."

"See? He's just as bad as Brad. No, worse. I didn't think
something like that was possible. Who is he to tell me not to
enter?"

Dee cocked her head, not hiding her amusement. "Ah,
yes, spite. Always a good reason to enter a contest"

Georgie looked at her with surprise. "Oh, no. I'm not entering myself, Dee. I just said that stuff back there because Walt
irked me. No, I'm going to enter Brad in that contest. I think
it'll be good for him if he could win a date with Rae Roberts"

"Brad? You're going to enter Brad? Honey, are you sure
that's a good idea?"

"Positive. This is just the kind of diversion my brother
needs. He has to stop worrying about my love life and start
concentrating on his own. If he wins, that could really loosen
him up and get him back into the dating swing again."

"Uh, maybe you should reconsider the stripper option."

She laughed. "No, Dee. No stripper. He needs a real date."

In fact, Brad needed a long-term distraction; if she were lucky he might even enter into a relationship with the woman.
That would really take his mind off mothering her-or
brothering her as the case may be-and she could get her own
life back.

"Okay," Dee said. "But are you absolutely sure you want
to do this for Brad and not just because Walt thinks it's a
stupid contest?"

She waved her friend's question away and began pacing
the floor. "Yes, yes, of course. What kind of person would that make me out to be?" Petty? Selfish? No, she was considerate. She was a caring, considerate sister. In fact, she's
sure she would've thought about entering Brad in the contest
even if Walt hadn't made such a stink about it.

Pretty sure, anyway.

But she only had until midnight to enter him. Would she
be able to find yesterday's newspaper and get the information in time? Maybe she could cause some sort of diversion
and grab the newspaper article from Walt, get the e-mail address, and slip it back before he noticed anything amiss.
Yeah, that sounded good. But that job was going to require
some tricky maneuvering on her part.

"Well, I'm glad you're sure." Dee stood and pulled out a
slip of paper from her lab coat pocket. A droll grin curved
her lips as she held the paper out between her first two fingers. "Because I copied down the e-mail address right here
just in case you chickened out"

Georgie let out a laugh. Who needed tricky maneuvers
when you had tricky friends?

"Oh, Dee," she said, hugging her friend, "remind me never
to underestimate your sly talents."

"Don't you worry. I won't. But if Brad wins and suddenly
decides to declare jihad on anyone involved in this scheme,
you didn't get that e-mail address from me"