Suddenly Texan (9 page)

He was about to get very excited at the evening's prospects when she pressed the seat belt release and opened the driver's side door.

He sank back into his own seat.
Well, damn,
he thought, opening his own door and climbing out.

“Lock it, please,” she said as she shut the rear door on her side once she'd taken out her clothes.

He did, then walked around the front of the car. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Dinner and a movie—that's all,” she said in a warning tone.

He nodded. “I'll even let you pick the movie.”

She hugged her purse to her chest. “Okay, then. See you at six o'clock.”

They walked together to the back entrance of the building. “Call me if you change your mind.”

“About dinner?” she asked as he held open the security door.

He stopped her just inside the hallway. “About anything.” Then he kissed her briefly on her swollen lips before heading up the stairs.

 

O
N
S
UNDAY MORNING
A
MANDA SLEPT
late. She'd stayed up a long time last night, barely trusting herself to remain in her condo after that steamy kiss. She'd really
wanted to run up the stairs to Leo's place and take him up on his offer to “sleep in” this morning.

But she knew she'd made the right decision. Making love with him would be wrong. She had enough on her plate right now.

She stretched, rubbing her bare feet against the soft sheets on the queen-size bed. Everything about this condo was comfortable, even luxurious. She could never afford to stay in a place like this, much less buy one, but boy was it nice to visit.

Today she had to get in touch with Myra Hammer, return Cassie's clothes and come up with a reason why she shouldn't have dinner with Leo. Agreeing to that had been a mistake because they'd be together, alone, in his condo, with no one to interrupt them. She could very well become weak in such a situation, especially if he kissed her like he'd done last night.

She sighed and threw off the covers. Lying between soft sheets on a comfortable mattress was not the place to think about Leo Casale.

As she showered, she went over what she was going to say to Myra. She needed to convince the older woman that she should confide in her. Myra had been her mother's friend, but how would Amanda explain knowing about their friendship without mentioning that she'd been chatting with the lunch ladies? Myra might find it upsetting that people had been talking about her. Amanda could tell her about the letters she'd found from Myra among her mother's possessions, but the woman might be startled to come face-to-face with Luanna's daughter.

Amanda closed her eyes and let the warm water run
over her head. Walking into this situation unprepared was as complicated as navigating a maze.

Maybe she should ask Leo. He seemed to be a pro at complicated relationships. Not that she would tell him everything. That would be unfair to Cal and Troy. They deserved to find out about their mother directly from Amanda.

After her shower and a quick breakfast, she looked at the clock and noticed it was “church time.” If Myra attended Sunday services, she'd still be away. Amanda called Cassie and made arrangements to return her clothes instead. She offered to get them cleaned, but Cassie insisted that she would have worn them anyway and it was the least she could do to support the community center.

“Come on by whenever you like,” she said. “I'm sitting here with my foot propped up, bored to tears.”

Amanda stopped by the coffee shop and bought two vanilla lattes and two cinnamon scones. She hoped Cassie liked the same things she did.

The sun was shining and the wind had died down as she drove to Cassie's apartment. She'd been here around twilight yesterday and the complex looked different in the morning light. Now she noticed the abundant wildflowers.

“Hi,” she said as she pushed open the glass storm door to the apartment. Cassie sat on the couch, her foot propped up on a pillow on the coffee table. On the television a home improvement show was instructing how to demolish a bathroom.

“Please, come in and sit down. I'd get up, but it hurts too much.” She hit the remote and turned off the TV.

Amanda settled on the couch. “I brought you a get
well surprise.” She passed a latte to Cassie, then a scone wrapped in a napkin.

“Oh, bless you! I thought I was just hungry for company until I smelled the coffee!”

“You're welcome,” Amanda said. “Is the bruise worse today?”

“A little. The foot's swollen but not broken, thankfully.” She sipped her coffee. “How was casino night? I was looking forward to working as a dealer.”

“Since I'd only run a roulette wheel before, Leo moved me there and shifted another person to the blackjack table. It all worked out fine, and from what I understand, the night was a big success.”

“That's great. Everyone uses the community center. It's the reason my boss's husband, Wyatt McCall, came back to town.” Cassie chuckled. “But that's a long story.”

Amanda wasn't sure she had time for a really long story. Church would be letting out soon and she needed to call Myra. “I saw him and his wife briefly last night, along with the ladies I met at lunch the other day at the café, and the Crawfords.”

“Yes. Darla stayed with the kids last night so Cal and Christie could go out. They must have gotten home early, though, because she was back here by ten-thirty.”

“We started closing down the tables at nine-thirty and I was probably home the same time.”
And making out like a teenager in the front seat of my car.

“I heard that Cal Crawford bought the genealogy research certificate I donated to the silent auction,” Amanda continued. “He got it for his sister-in-law, Raven.”

“That's nice. I'm sure she'll be great to work with.
I've met her several times when they come down to visit.”

“Really?” Amanda paused, then asked, “What's her husband like?”

“Troy? He's great. Very easy-going. He's Cal's little brother, so there's a bit of that dynamic going on. Cal's the more opinionated one, not that he's narrow-minded or anything. I understand he's a lot more mellow since he and Christie got married, which was right before I moved to Brody's Crossing.”

“I didn't know you'd been here that long.”

“About two years.”

Amanda frowned. “But…I thought they'd been married longer because Peter is almost four.”

“Well, from what I understand, and this is just hearsay, Christie and Cal met before he went to active duty in the army reserves in Afghanistan. He didn't even know about Peter until he got back. They got married real soon after that.”

“Oh.” Wow, the brother who was more traditional, more like their father, had gotten Christie pregnant before they were married. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Those things happened. But she just wouldn't have expected her older brother to be careless, not if he was like their father. Her mother had always said Calvin Crawford was black and white; there was a right way, which was his way, and a wrong one, which was everyone else's. She'd pictured him as a sourpuss with no joy in his life. Cal did seem different from their father. He could at least smile and seemed to enjoy family and friends.

“They look like a lovely couple,” Amanda said casually.

“They're great, and crazy about their kids. Things worked out really well even though they started out a little unconventionally.”

“Does Cal get to see his brother often?”

“Occasionally. Troy and Raven have a farm in New Hampshire, so it's not all that easy to leave the animals. I think she raises sheep and goats for wool and milk and that sort of thing. Organic.”

“Ah. Have they been down lately?”

Cassie frowned. “I guess not since Christmas. Why?”

Amanda shrugged. “They sound like interesting people. I'd like to meet them while I'm in town, but it's no big deal. I can always contact Raven online.”

It was a very big deal, but she wasn't about to tell that to Cassie.

“So, how's Leo?” Cassie asked.

Amanda shifted on the couch, putting her coffee on the table in front of her. “Fine, I suppose. I saw him last night at the silent auction, of course, and he mentioned going to his parents' for lunch.” She wadded up her napkin. “Why? Are you two…you know, involved?”

“Leo and me? Heavens, no! We aren't suited at all.”

“I just thought maybe since you were both single, but that's jumping to conclusions.”

“It's not that I don't find him handsome and smart and all that, but he's like ‘an international man of mystery.'”

Amanda raised her eyebrows. “Really? I guess he did look a little James Bond-ish in his tuxedo last night.”

“He's traveled all over the world, too. He's only been back in Brody's Crossing about five years.”

“Really?” She'd been surprised last night when he'd told her his profession, but she could imagine him as a high roller.

“Sure. He's a native Texan, but he left to see the world. Me, I'm really into cowboys. Or I would be if I could ride a little better and practice dancing. I think I have two left feet in the stable
and
on the dance floor.”

Amanda looked down at Cassie's poor swollen foot. “How long have you had your horse?”

“Almost six months. He's my first and we're still getting used to each other.”

“You didn't grow up in Texas?”

“Heavens, no. I'm from California. I just loved Texas when I visited here two Christmases ago when I worked with Wyatt McCall. I decided to move here and work for Toni Casale, who is now married to Wyatt, of course. So that's another reason why I could never date Leo. He's at the office all the time, which makes him kind of like the brother I never had.”

“I can see how that wouldn't work out.”

“I'm an only child, but I was raised by my aunt and uncle.”

“Really? Me, too. My mother died when I was a teenager and I was raised by a couple who were like an aunt and uncle.”

Cassie smiled. “We have a lot in common. West coast, unusual childhood. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

The question caught Amanda off guard. She'd been thinking how nice it was to talk to another woman who was close to her age, who knew all these people. Cassie's life was interesting, and best of all, she hadn't been romantically involved with Leo.

Amanda shook her head. “I grew up as an only child.” She didn't want to lie, but there was no way she could tell her the truth. As much as she'd like to have Cassie as a friend, any relationship based on lies couldn't last.

So she finished her coffee and chatted away the time until Myra would be home from church and maybe lunch.

 

L
EO STOPPED BY
C
ASALE'S
Grocery for ingredients to make his great-grandmother's northern Italian specialty, bolognese sauce. It was lush, delicious, filling, and best of all, didn't contain garlic.

He planned on kissing Amanda tonight, despite what she'd said about “dinner and a movie” only. Finding out her background was becoming secondary to finding out who she was emotionally. She kissed with the abandon of a starving person at a feast, but he knew her motivation wasn't just sexual. If she'd wanted indiscriminate sex with a willing stranger, he would have recognized that from their first encounter in the coffee shop.

He'd met women like that, probably too many, while he was away. He'd always known what they needed. Amanda's need was different. She was searching for something she couldn't find between the sheets.

Not that he'd mind helping her look there.

Right now, though, he needed to concentrate on his shopping. He went through produce and selected a sweet onion, some carrots and celery, placing them in his basket with whipping cream and a box of beef stock. Then he headed for the meat department.

“Hey there, Leo.” The butcher was his cousin on his mother's side. Most people thought he was called Ham because he worked at the meat counter when he wasn't in college or following the rodeo circuit, but his name was actually Hamund, which was a Norse family name. “What are you looking for today?”

“Hi, Ham.” Leo looked in the case. “I'd like about a half a pound of thinly sliced prosciutto, and I need you to grind some lean beef and pork together, real fine. A pound will do it.”

Ham reached in the case for the marbled prosciutto. “Fixing a fancy dinner?”

“I'm using a family recipe for bolognese sauce.” He smiled. “Italian side.”

“I understand,” Ham replied, placing the meat in the slicer. “So, is this special dinner for the little lady from Oregon you've been seeing every day?”

“Yeah, I'm a one man welcoming committee,” Leo said, hoping he wouldn't get too much ribbing from his cousin.

“Uh-huh. I haven't met her, but I've been told she's pretty and very interested in what's going on around town. Maybe she's looking for a place to settle down. You watch out or you'll find yourself leg-shackled like most of your friends.”

“She's not going to stay. She's just doing some research.”

Ham slapped a white-wrapped package on top of the counter. “Well, if she needs any help you can't provide, she can come see me. I'm an excellent researcher.”

“Yeah, I see that happening,” Leo scoffed. “I think I can provide all the resources she needs.”

Ham laughed and went off to grind the meat. Leo waited impatiently, ready to get home and start the sauce.

And trying not to think about what other purposes he could come up with for the whipping cream in his basket.

 

“I'
M DOING SOME GENEALOGY
research on someone who used to live here,” Amanda said carefully as she leaned over the desk, phone to her ear. “I was told that you
might have known the person and I'm trying to fill in some blanks about her life.”

“It's true I knew or know just about everyone around here,” Myra Hammer said warily, “but I don't know you and I don't answer personal questions about folks I know to strangers.”

“I understand. Let me just tell you that I'm looking for information on Luanna Crawford. I have a copy of her death certificate from Oregon, but no personal stories about her life here in Brody's Crossing.”

“Her sons sure won't talk about her,” Myra said with a hint of bitterness. “She left them, ya know? Folks around here don't understand that kind of behavior.”

“Yes, I know.” Boy, did she ever. Cal had made that very clear. “So, she just had the two boys?” Amanda asked cautiously, drumming her pen on the yellow pad in front of her.

“Why would you ask that? Didn't folks tell you she only had two sons with that hard-ass Calvin?”

“Yes, but there are conflicting records. Sometimes there's another person with a similar name, and as researchers, we have to look at all possibilities when we're doing a family pedigree chart.”

“I'd like to see this chart. Sounds like something a purebred horse or dog might have.”

“It's a standard genealogy tool that lists parents, grandparents and so on for each person.”

“Who wants this chart?”

“Someone related to Luanna Crawford.”

There was a silence on the phone, then Myra said, “Who is this?”

Amanda's heart began to beat faster. “I think you know me. My name is Amanda.”

Something like a hand slapping wood sounded over the line. “You listen here. If you want my help, you'd danged better be able to prove to me that you're who I think you are and not some shady wheeler-dealer.”

“I can prove who I am.”

“You meet me at the little park between the antiques store and the law office there on Main Street. It's right across from the hardware store. You can't miss it. Be there tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.”

“I—I'll be there, Mrs. Hammer.”

“You call me Myra and we'll just see what I call you tomorrow.” And then she hung up the phone.

Amanda sat there, slightly stunned by the “difficult” woman's abrupt words and her insistence on meeting face-to-face. Tomorrow morning, ten o'clock, she wrote on her yellow pad. Across from the hardware store.
Leo's
store. She'd be there, but she wasn't real sure what she'd find when she came face-to-face with Myra.

Amanda wanted to know the whole story about her mother's reasons for leaving her boys, but could Myra keep a secret? She said she didn't talk about people. Amanda had to make sure their conversation stayed quiet until she spoken with her brother Cal and headed out of town as fast as her Subaru could carry her.

 

“O
H, MY GOODNESS, THAT SMELLS
wonderful,” Amanda gushed as she walked into Leo's condo.

He stepped back and opened the door all the way. “Come on in. I hope it tastes as good as it smells.”

“Oh, I do, too.” She loved Italian food and hadn't had anything except pizza in longer than she could remember.

The door to Leo's condo closed with a heavy click
that made her jump. She had to remember she wasn't in a fancy restaurant, but Leo's private residence.

Very, very private. No chance of interruptions here.

“I've opened a bottle of Chianti, but if you'd like something else—”

“No, that's fine.” She wandered into the living area as he walked to a wine cabinet on the wall. Out of the corner of her eye she watched him grab two wineglasses between his fingers. He wore a thin knit shirt and jeans that fit his long legs so very, very well.

She had the strongest and most inappropriate urge to run her hands up the length of his thighs.

She blinked and turned away to watch the low flames in the antique, marble-fronted fireplace. Dinner and a movie. That's all she wanted. Right?

“Here you go,” he said from beside her.

She startled again, then held out her hand. “Thank you.” Not trusting herself to be steady enough to hold the stem, she cradled the bowl of the glass.

“For dinner we're having my great-grandmother Casale's recipe, brought over when she was a bride. She and my great-grandfather came through Ellis Island with one trunk of all their possessions and a lot of hopes and dreams.”

“And a really good recipe for…what is that?”

“Bolognese sauce. It's a northern Italian specialty.” He gestured with his free hand. “Would you like to sit down, sip your wine? Or are you starving?”

“I'll sit for a few minutes. Whenever you're ready to eat is fine. And let me know if I can help. I'm not a great cook, but I know my way around a kitchen.”

“I think we're good. Just relax.”

She fidgeted on the upholstered chair across from a sleek leather sofa. “I'm not sure why I'm so jumpy.”

“Really? I think I have a clue. You don't trust me.”

She looked up. “I do trust you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't.”

“Ah.” He sipped his wine, looking at her over the rim.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Surely he hadn't already picked up on the fact that she didn't trust
herself
around him. “Nothing.”

She glanced away and noticed a few old sepia toned photos on the mantel. “The Casale family?”

“When they first arrived in Texas. They came out on the railroad from New York City to open a restaurant in Fort Worth.”

“Sounds like a real adventure. Did the restaurant work out?”

“Yes, but after they had three children, they decided to change professions. My great-grandfather got in the wholesale grocery business. Back then it was mostly staples and fresh produce when available. Produce and staples went real well with the stockyards in Fort Worth.”

“So they became the suppliers to restaurants.”

“And eventually, retail grocers. It runs in the family.”

“But you have a hardware store.”

He grinned. “Yes, but I can cook.”

She relaxed and smiled. “Smells like it.”

“Tastes like it, too.” He put his glass down on the coffee table, which she noticed was actually an old trunk covered by a glass top.

She leaned forward and looked at some of the old labels. Genoa. Rome. New York City. “Is this their original trunk?”

“Yes, it is. My father gave it to me when I moved in here. It's one of our most prized possessions.”

“The patina is beautiful. And the labels are in such good shape.” How much would something like this sell for? She'd never sold a trunk online before so she had no idea, but she'd seen a few in antiques stores. None this nice, though.

“It's not valuable to us because of its condition,” he said softly. “It's priceless because of what it represents.”

She looked up into his blue eyes. “What does it mean to you?”

“The strength to leave everything you know and start over. The bravery to go to a country where you can't speak the language and don't know the customs. The confidence that you can succeed, no matter what, that your life will be better.”

She felt an unexpected well of tears in her eyes. Leo's words were like poetry.

“You're a lot like them,” he continued softly. “Packing up everything you own in your car, making your own way in the world the best you can, using your skills. You came to a new place, and I think,” he said, taking her hand in his, “that you also came to Texas to make your life better. Just like Leonardo and Aria Casale.”

She shook her head and blinked back the tears. “I'm not as brave as they were.”

“I think you are. I don't understand what you want or need, but I would like to know you better.”

Oh, God, how easy it would be to talk to him. To
tell him how frightened she was when her mother died. How angry and confused she felt, knowing she had a family in Texas who had no idea she existed. How many times had she thought about picking up the phone and calling Information to get their number, to tell them the truth?