He’d seen her twice this week, and she appeared to enjoy his company. Regardless of the teasing he got from the other agents, Jude was on edge whenever he was with her.
She was a good-looking woman and he was a red-blooded male…so of course he wanted to take her to bed and get her out of his system. That wasn’t going to happen, although he’d gotten the impression from a couple of subtle comments she’d made that she wouldn’t be averse to the idea.
Sleeping with a suspect wasn’t part of his job description. He wouldn’t normally have a problem with the idea, except for the fact that his body went on full alert whenever he was around her. It was downright embarrassing.
Since Sunday evening when she’d made fun of him for not kissing her good-night, he’d made certain that, after each date when he walked her to the door of her apartment, he’d kissed her. Each kiss was more intense than the last one and by the time he’d left her last night, he was trembling with desire. The cold shower hadn’t helped much. Nor had his dream about going inside her apartment with her in his arms, finding her bed and making passionate love to her all night.
So Jude was in a lousy mood this evening and his recalcitrant tie hadn’t helped a whole hell of a lot.
He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of a chair and was headed toward the bedroom door when his phone rang.
He walked back and picked up the phone beside his bed.
“Crenshaw.”
He heard a familiar male laughter. “Hey, bro, just thought I’d let you know that there’s yet another Crenshaw male in the world now. He was born a couple of hours ago, weighed in at a little over eight pounds and has a healthy pair of lungs.”
Jude sat on the side of the bed and smiled for the first time that day. “Congratulations, Jake. That’s great news. How’s Ashley doing?”
“She’s exhausted, but she’s fine. She said she’d have much more sympathy the next time she helped to deliver a foal or a calf.” Ashley Crenshaw was a veterinarian and had offices in New Eden.
“Have you named him yet?”
“Nope. We can’t seem to agree on his name. Ashley wants to name him after her dad, Ken. I want to continue the tradition of using a name starting with J. Now that he’s here, we’ll have to come to some kind of agreement.”
“Maybe this is much too simple, but why not give him two names?”
“She might go along with that, but she doesn’t want to stick him with the name Jeremiah.”
“Ah. So you think he should be named after the founder of our family dynasty, I take it.”
“We could call him Jerry, but she doesn’t like it.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll work it out before long. Of course you could always call him B.B. Crenshaw.”
“Meaning what?”
“Baby Boy Crenshaw. Once he’s walking you can drop the Baby part of his name and call him Boy. Maybe by the time he graduates from high school you two strong-minded people will have agreed on a name you both like or he can pick a name for himself.”
“You know, Jude, you’re not being much help.”
Jude laughed. “I have faith that the two of you will amicably work out the matter.”
“So when are you coming up to meet your brand-new nephew? Heather’s eager to show him off and Dad wants to throw a barbecue.”
“Of course he does. Dad wants to have a barbecue every time the mail’s delivered. So Heather isn’t upset about having a little brother?”
“Not yet. Of course that might change once we get him home and the reality of not being the only child finally hits her. She’ll be going to kindergarten this fall, and we’re hoping that will make her feel all grown up, since she can do so many things her brother can’t.” Jake paused. “You didn’t answer my question, you know. When are you coming home to visit?”
Jude sighed. “Good question. The assignment is moving into its final phase and I don’t know how much time I can spare. I’ll get up there to meet my nephew as soon as I can.”
“The folks miss you.”
“I know. I miss them. Once this assignment is over, I promise to take a real vacation and come stay with you and Ashley for several days. It’s an uncle’s prerogative to spoil Heather and Baby Boy.”
“Get here when you can. I know you can’t talk about your assignment, but be careful, okay?”
“Always. Thanks for calling, Jake. Tell Ashley I’m very proud of her and to stick to her guns. If she wants that baby named after Ken, she should have her way.”
“Oh, great. So you want me to tell her my own brother supports her on this name thing!”
Jude smiled. “Yeah, I do. I’ll call when it looks as though I can get away from here.” He replaced the receiver and stood, still smiling.
When he went downstairs he saw that John, Hal and Ruth were watching a cable movie in the den. He wished he could join them. In fact, he’d be more eager to face a root canal than the date tonight.
Ruth glanced up and saw him. “My, oh, my. Don’t we look fine. So where are you going tonight, lover boy?”
The other two looked at him and waited for his answer.
There was no help for it. “We have tickets to see a ballet.” He mumbled the last word.
“A ballet?” Hal repeated, laughing. “The fun never stops for you, does it, pal?”
“Ballets are beautiful,” Ruth said, frowning at Hal. “I wish I could go.”
“Believe me, I wish you could go instead of me,” Jude replied.
Wouldn’t Jake have hooted if he’d known Jude’s plans for the evening? He would never let him live it down if the truth came out.
“See ya later,” he said to the trio and went to the garage where his baby waited.
One bright spot in this assignment was being able to use his car. He’d found a certain satisfaction watching her climb the winding hills like a mountain goat whenever he left town and headed for the Hill Country. He enjoyed putting her through her paces.
After he tapped on Carina’s door, he happened to glance at his watch and saw that he was a little early. Traffic had been lighter than he’d expected and he’d caught most of the lights green on the way to her place.
When she opened the door, she was wearing a soft, shimmering robe that lovingly hugged her curves and he almost groaned out loud.
“I’m sorry,” he said before she had a chance to speak. “I didn’t realize how early I was until after I tapped on the door. You want me to drive around the block a few times?”
She laughed and took his hand, pulling him into the apartment. “Don’t be silly. Have a seat and I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
A whiff of her perfume wafted around him, causing his muscles to contract. He deliberately turned away and sat in one of her chairs. “Take your time,” he said. “There’s no rush.”
Once he was alone, Jude looked around her apartment. Hal had already been through it this week while she was with Jude. He hadn’t found anything incriminating. In fact, he had found nothing relating to the family business at all.
So now what? Maybe Carina wasn’t part of the smuggling operation but at this point he had no way of knowing. As far as he was concerned, being a Patterson was reason enough to suspect her.
When she returned, Carina wore an elegant black dress and stiletto heels. Tonight she wore her hair loose around her shoulders. Being totally objective, Jude decided that she looked stunning.
He stood and said, “Ready?”
She picked up a small purse lying on a table nearby. “Yes, I am. Thank you for your patience.”
“No problem.”
Once outside her apartment he took the keys from her hand and locked the door. “You need a security system,” he said, thinking of Hal’s visit. There wasn’t a lock made that couldn’t be disengaged by a pro. The idea was to make it as difficult as possible in order to discourage any would-be burglar.
Once in the car, Carina said, “You seem unusually quiet tonight. Is there something wrong?”
Pulled out of his reverie, he quickly said, “Oh! Nothing’s wrong.” If you didn’t count the fact that he would soon be sitting for a couple of hours watching people prancing around on their tiptoes. “As a matter of fact, I received some good news just before I left. My brother Jake called to say his son was born this afternoon.”
“Oh, that’s great news. Jake’s your oldest brother, right?”
“Right.”
“And his wife’s name is— I’m sorry, I forget.”
“Ashley. She was raised on the ranch with us. Since she’s two years younger than me, I’ve known her all her life. She and Jake make a great team.”
“Oh! Speaking of family. Al is having a cookout at his place tomorrow afternoon and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me.”
A jolt of adrenaline shot through him. Yes! This was what he’d been waiting for.
“Sure. Sounds fun. What time?”
“Around two or so. We probably won’t eat until five or thereabout. Be sure to bring a swimsuit. He and Marisa have a huge swimming pool tucked away behind sturdy fencing, so the children can’t go near it without an adult.”
He made a mental note to buy a swimsuit tomorrow. He figured cut-off jeans wouldn’t do for a Patterson family gathering.
They arrived at the theatre a few minutes before the opening act. Once seated, Jude unobtrusively adjusted his legs in an attempt to find adequate legroom.
Carina leaned over to him and asked, “Have you seen this ballet before?”
He gave her a straight look. “Guess it’s confession time. The truth is that I’ve never seen any ballet before.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?” she asked, looking more amused than the comment warranted.
“’Fraid not.”
“Then why did you ask me to go to this one?”
“Because you mentioned earlier in the week that the touring group would be here this weekend, so I figured you might want to see it.”
She kissed him on the cheek and said, “You are full of surprises, Mr. Crenshaw.”
He could feel his face heating up. “Yeah, well…” What could he say? I have orders to spend as much time with you as I can? I’m actually getting paid for this? Somehow, he didn’t figure she’d be pleased to hear the truth.
The orchestra started the overture and they fell silent.
It was sometime during the last act that Carina nudged him. He opened his eyes, realizing that he’d fallen asleep. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I don’t mind your sleeping through the performance but your snoring is disturbing others!”
He quickly glanced around him with an apologetic look. A man behind him grinned and whispered, “My sentiments exactly,” which earned him an elbow in his ribs from his wife.
When the thing was finally over—had it really lasted the entire weekend or did it just seem that way?—he stood with the rest of the audience and clapped politely. Actually, he was so glad to have it over that he clapped with great sincerity.
Carina waited until they left the building and were on the way to the car before she said, “I take it you don’t care much for ballet.”
He glanced at her and saw her face filled with mirth. “I’m truly sorry for embarrassing you this evening. I must have been more tired than I thought.”
“How do you feel about opera?”
“Opera?” he repeated, attempting to hide his horror. “Uh, well, I’m not sure…”
“Because you’ve never been to an opera, either, right?”
“I confess, ma’am. You’ve got me dead to rights.”
She broke into infectious laughter and he finally joined her. Once in the car she said, “Tell me this. If you could do anything you want tonight, what would it be? And I want an honest answer.”
He turned in his seat and looked at her. The light from the street lamp made her fair skin glow in the shadows. “Honestly?” He thought about it for a minute or two and then said, “I would probably be at a country-and-western bar that had live music.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
He studied her searchingly. She wasn’t the bar-scene type, unless it was a coffee bar. “You sure?”
“Absolutely. And if I start snoring, you can poke me.”
He laughed. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll fall asleep.”
He pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the Crazy Eights roadhouse. They could hear the music blasting from a half block away. By the time they parked, Carina was the one laughing, “Do they offer earplugs?” she asked, when he opened her door for her.
Jude grinned and shook his head. “We don’t have to go inside, you know.”
She stood and straightened her spine. “Of course we do. You did something tonight you’ve never done before. Now it’s my turn.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Carina was a pistol, sure enough. She was every inch a lady as she stood there looking at him with strong determination.
“Well, if we’re going in there, I’m going to get rid of this—” he yanked off his tie “—and this…” His coat came off next. He tossed both of them into the car, “and roll up my sleeves,” which he proceeded to do. He opened the top two buttons on his shirt, let out a sigh of satisfaction and held out his hand. “C’mon, tiger, you’re about to have an experience you’ll never forget!”
Jude had to admit the band had overdone it a little with the volume on the amps. Of course the place was huge, with a dance floor big enough to accommodate a slew of dancers moving in a comfortable circle as they did various dances. The place was packed, so maybe the band wanted to make sure they were heard.
He glanced at Carina, who was looking around her as though she’d been dropped onto another planet. He stepped ahead of her, still grasping her hand, while he wove a path in and around people and tables until he saw a waitress clearing off several glasses and beer bottles from a tall table with high seats. He casually lifted Carina onto one of them.
“Now that wasn’t necessary,” she said, laughing. “I’m not that short!”
“Just thought I’d save you some time.”
“What can I get you?” the waitress asked, holding a full tray of empties.
Jude glanced at Carina and raised his brows. “Uh, whatever you’re having,” she said in response.
Trying to hide his amusement, he ordered two bottles of beer and the waitress left.
“Have you ever had beer before?”
“No. But this is my night for firsts, right?”
“Looks like it.”
He made a point not to react when she made a slight face at her first taste of her drink once it arrived. After that, she carefully sipped while she watched the dancers.
“Wanna dance?” he asked after ten minutes or so.
She glanced at her shoes. “I’m not sure I can. Those are some fairly vigorous dances they’re doing.”
“I’ll be gentle. I won’t swing you around like that guy just did. He and his partner have been dancing together long enough to know each other’s moves.”
She took a large swallow of beer, tried not to choke and nodded to him. “Okay. I’ll try it,” she said, sounding a little hoarse.
Her feet were several inches off the floor, sitting there. “May I?” he asked, placing his hands at her waist. She nodded and he picked her up and placed her on the floor.
Once on the dance floor he stayed on the edges and showed her the steps. She quickly learned them and her natural sense of rhythm took over. Before long, they were out there dancing with the best of them.
When the band finally took a break, they were warm and breathless. As soon as they sat down, she finished off her glass of rather stale beer. He signaled for two more and when they arrived, she drank almost half of hers without stopping. “Whew!” she said, waving her hands at her face. “That was quite a workout!”
“You did just fine out there.”
She grinned with delight. “I did, didn’t I? The steps aren’t hard and it’s fun to sail
around the room like that.”
He poured the rest of her beer into her glass. “How’s the beer?”
“Oh! Well, actually it tastes good after all that exercise.” She drank some more. “I didn’t think I was going to like it at first, but it grows on you, doesn’t it?”
He nodded solemnly. “It certainly does that.” He looked around and saw that several couples were leaving. “Are you ready to go?”
She looked shocked by the idea. “Oh, no! Isn’t the band going to play some more?”
“Yeah, they have another set.”
“Then if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay.”
“Good enough.”
They closed the roadhouse down. Since she’d been drinking beer as though it was water, Carina was a little unsteady on her feet by the time they left. He managed to get her into the car, fastened her seat belt and went around to the driver’s side. Once he was in the car, Carina said, “Jude?”
“Mmm?”
He started the car and backed out of the parking space.
“Tell me something.” She carefully enunciated each word.
“If I can.”
They drove through empty streets for several minutes before she asked, “Can you get drunk on beer?”
He bit the inside of his cheek, determined not to show his amusement. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I drink wine once in a while but I never felt quite like this before.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get you home and you can sleep it off.”
“Jude.”
“Yes?”
“I didn’t fall asleep tonight.”
“No, ma’am, you certainly didn’t.”
“Nobody could sleep with all that noise going on.”
“True.”
“I’ve gotta admit going dancing was more fun than the ballet, although the ballet was good, too.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed your evening.”
Silence.
“Jude.”
“Yes, Carina?”
“I like you.”
“Thank you. I like you, too.”
“You’re fun to be with.”
“Right back at you.”
“And you’re a good dancer.”
Double Identity Page 5