by Sable Hunter
When he kept sitting there, Jensen realized he was giving her the opportunity – albeit grumpily. “I’m fine. You can leave.”
“Good.” After placing his drink in the console, he fired up the truck and they continued their journey in silence.
Just because they weren’t speaking, didn’t mean Clint wasn’t thinking. He couldn’t believe this. First, a car runs him over in a rainy crosswalk – and there she is. Second, it’s raining cats and dogs and she cuts in front of him for a parking place and they end up in bed together. Now for a third time, a damn tornado blows her smack-dab into his path. What could be next? Could this all be coincidence? Or was someone trying to tell him something? “Well, if you are trying to tell me something – you’re making a damn fine mess of it.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“You said something – I heard you.”
“I was talking to myself.”
“You know what that’s a sign of,” she muttered, knowing full well she was guilty of the same thing.
“It’s a sign I don’t want to talk to you.”
“So be it,” she sighed.
“So be it?” he echoed. “Have you taken up witchcraft?”
“You’d better hope I haven’t.”
“Huh. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me now. You put a spell on me.”
This made Jensen laugh. “Right. That’s what’s wrong with you.” Tired of their byplay, she reached up to flip on the radio. “How about some music?”
Lightning fast, he covered her hand with his where it rested on the tuning knob. “I don’t want any music.”
“Clint…” She didn’t immediately pull her hand away. His touch gave her the oddest sense of exhilaration. Like she’d plugged into an energy source or walked in front of a cool vent on a blistering hot day. “Don’t.”
“Damn.” He jerked his hand from hers as if she burned him. “Don’t what? Touch you? Don’t worry.”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say.”
“Then what? You don’t want me to remind you how good it was between us?” He laughed with a mocking note. “Or how silly your reasons were for pushing me away? Oh, you might have had a good one – like you weren’t attracted to me. But that wasn’t the case, was it? Let’s see. Your first reason was distance. Well, that’s no longer an issue. And the age thing? Well, that wasn’t ever a factor on my part. Hmmm. Oh, yea. You’re hung up on what I do for a living. Well, if you’d ever bothered to ask, I would’ve told you I didn’t plan on playing football forever. Besides, I’m fine. Perfectly healthy. So, what reason can you come up with now? Give me one.”
“Other than the fact you despise the ground I walk on?”
“You don’t how I feel. Do you despise me?”
“No, but it just wouldn’t work.” She couldn’t tell him why. “We clash.”
“Yea, we clash. Fireworks. Rockets going off. We clash so good; I can well remember you screaming my name.”
A heated flush washed over Jensen. Yes, she remembered also. “Take the next left, it’s a short cut.”
“Excellent idea.”
There was another bout of silence and this time neither tried to break it. The sky was clearing and by the time they reached the northern outskirts of Georgetown, the sun was shining.
Just before they reached Jensen’s home, she knew this was her last opportunity to truly apologize. She’d made promises to herself and promises to God, bargaining chips, she supposed they could be called. And this was one of them, the main one. “Clint, before I go…I want to say again how truly sorry I am. I know what I did was wrong. I liked you and I trusted you. I just needed…”
“You needed – what? Sex?” He blew out a harsh breath. “Face it. You didn’t need me for me, you just needed a man. Haven’t you ever heard of a vibrator?”
He made it sound so terrible…and she guessed it was. “That’s not the way it happened. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Make me understand. I want to understand.”
She couldn’t – not without telling him the truth. And that was something she couldn’t do. She’d much rather he hated her than pitied her. “I can’t.”
“You can’t. I see.” Clint didn’t see, but it didn’t matter. They’d reached the end of their journey. “Here you are. Safe and sound.” As she gathered her purse, he couldn’t help but check out his surroundings. The house was a two-story cottage with a wide front porch. A pocket park lay just across the street and wide sidewalks invited long strolls. Huge trees flanked the property and there was a view of Georgetown Lake in the distance.
As she opened her door, a young boy came rolling over in a wheelchair. “Hey! I’ve been waiting for you. Where’s your car?”
“Hey, Nicky…”
Jensen didn’t get time to say more before Nicky spotted Clint. “Oh, my God! It’s Clint Wilder! Hey! I never miss one of your games. You’re the greatest!”
Clint came forward to greet his young fan. “Thanks. I appreciate those kind words.”
“Clint, this is my neighbor, Nicky Wells.” She found her wallet and held out some bills. “Here’s the money I owe you.” She glanced at Clint. “He mows my yard.”
“Yea.” Nicky pocketed the money. “I still need you to get those rocks moved, Miss Jen. I’m having the devil of a time mowing around them. You know I can’t handle a weed whacker as well as most people.”
“Sorry, Nicky. I’ll hire somebody soon. I just haven’t had time to look for anyone.”
“Hire somebody strong. Like Clint.” Nicky got a wicked gleam in his eye as he stared at the football player. “For that matter, maybe you could help me, Clint. It would be a breeze for you.”
Emphatically Jensen shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. Don’t even think about bothering Mr. Wilder. He was good enough to give me a ride, but he has other things to do.”
A little devil on Clint’s shoulder whispered in his ear. He certainly didn’t want to disappoint the boy, but this would also be a prime opportunity to irritate Jensen. At least those arguments made sense to him at the present moment. Holding up his hand for Jensen to stop talking, he asked, “You need something moved, Nicky?”
“No, Nicky…”
Nicky’s voice overrode Jensen’s. “Yes. Some gargantuan boulders.”
“Landscape stones. They’re not that big.” She tried to intervene, but Nicky was already leading Clint to the back yard.
“Come on, Clint. I’ll show you.”
“Nicky! Oh, my stars.” She sighed with frustration, clearly agitated.
By the time she joined them, Clint was nodding his head. “Oh, yea. I have a heavy-duty dolly and a garden cart. I can move these easily.” He didn’t even glance at Jensen. “Where will they go?”
“By these orange flowers.” Nicky rolled toward the fence. “She’s been talking about moving them for months and I can’t mow like I’m supposed to with them in the way.”
“I can see how that would be a problem.” Clint folded his arms. “All right. This is definitely doable.”
“Oh, brother.” Jensen could see she’d totally lost control.
“Hey, could I interview you when you come to move the rocks?” Nicky looked up at Clint with hero-worship in his eyes.
“Interview me?”
Although neither of the males were paying her a bit of attention, she interjected into their conversation, “Nicky is a great videographer. He has a You-Tube channel that’s the envy of many influencers. How many subscribers do you have?”
“Over a million. I’ve already earned enough to put myself through college.”
Clint was flabbergasted. “So, why are you mowing lawns?”
Nicky edged his wheelchair closer to Clint, put his hand to his mouth to hide his words from Jensen, then whispered loudly, “She needs me.”
Clint still refused to look at Jensen, but he did lean in conspiratorially near Nicky. “Women can be useless creatures. “
; “All right.” Jensen put her hand on her hip. “I believe that’s enough.”
“I’ll be glad to sit for an interview, Nicky.”
“Great!” Nicky looked at Jensen. “You can link to it on your blog, Jen. Get us both some good exposure.”
Panic knifed through her. She didn’t want Clint to see her blog. If he found it, he might read some of the articles and put two and two together.
She needn’t have worried; he didn’t even react to the news.
“So, when can you come back?” Nicky asked, his eyes big with excitement.
Clint considered his schedule. “I can come the day after tomorrow.”
“That’s not good for me,” Jensen inserted. “I have to work.”
“Even better. As long as Nicky and I can get in the back yard, there’s no reason for you to be here at all.”
Feeling put in her place, Jensen supposed he was right. “I can leave the gate open.”
“Great! Let’s make it early. Best light for filming.” Nicky was thrilled. “I can interview you while you’re clean and not sweaty. When we’re through, I’ll help you move the rocks.
“Sounds good. Is eight too early?”
“Perfect.” Nicky pumped his fist in triumph. “This is going to be epic. Me, hanging out with Clint Wilder!”
From across the fence, a woman’s voice sounded. “Nicky! Hey, Nicky!”
“That’s my mom.” He gave Clint an apologetic look. “See you the day after tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here.” Clint stepped in behind Nicky as he rolled across the yard.
“I need to get my berries out of your truck,” Jensen said as she followed along behind them.
“I’ll put them on the front porch,” he spoke over his shoulder as he continued through the gate.
Deciding to cut through the house, Jensen emerged at the front door in time to see Nicky rolling up his sidewalk and Clint making his way toward her with the crate of berries and the brochures she’d accumulated on the trip.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” she told him. “Please don’t feel obligated to come move those stones. I can let Nicky down easy about the interview.”
“No, thanks.” Clint set the berries down on the seat of a white, wicker rocker. “I’ll do what I said I’d do. I wouldn’t want to disappoint the little boy. Besides, I’m not the type to just disappear without an explanation.”
Jensen picked up on the jab. “Fine. Listen…” she spoke up as he began to move off the porch. “I want to sincerely thank you for coming to my rescue today. I was very lucky you came along.” She folded her arms in front of her, then moved them to her sides when she realized the stance emphasized her chest area.
“Don’t worry about it.” Clint moved toward his truck without looking back. “We’re even now.”
Jensen said no more as he climbed behind the wheel. She remained on the steps, watching him go until he was out of sight. When he was gone, she let out a sigh and retreated into her home. “What a day,” she whispered to herself, contemplating all that had happened within the last few hours. The serendipity of Clint being the one to happen on her in the storm wasn’t lost on Jensen. Things like this were only supposed to happen in books and movies. Truly, truth was stranger than fiction. “Oh, well…after tomorrow that’ll be it. We’ll go our separate ways.”
Surely their paths wouldn’t cross again.
Chapter Four
“Five million dollars? Seriously? Dang…” Kyd grinned at his brother. “Mom won’t know how to act.”
“Probably not.” Clint studied the ground as they checked out the freshly dug ditch next to Possum Creek. “I hope she’ll do some things she’s always wanted to do – like travel. Maybe take a cruise to the Bahamas or something.”
“Yea, she’s sacrificed so much in her life.”
Clint pointed to where Kyd was walking. “Watch your step. One of the electricians saw a rattlesnake near here the other day.”
“Crap.” He fell back in line to move behind Clint. “That’s all I need. I got stung by a damn wasp last week.”
“Lucky you’re not allergic like Rowan.”
They stopped to check a length of pipe that lay to one side ready to be buried. “Everything has been done according to specs. I think we’re going to be all right.” Clint knelt down to run his finger around a joint. “I think we’ll pass inspection.”
“I hope so.” Kyd stepped away to stand by a small tree.
“What are you doing?” About that time Clint heard a zipper being undone. “You couldn’t wait?”
“Nope. Three cups of coffee.”
“If you’d get more sleep you wouldn’t have to drink so much caffeine.” Clint stood up and surveyed the land, gazing toward the building project. “We were lucky that tornado passed us by.”
“Yep.” Kyd adjusted his clothes. “Hey, what’s that?”
Clint turned to see what his brother was referring to. “I don’t see anything.”
“There’s some type of engine over here in this tall grass.” Kyd stepped gingerly toward the rusted mass of iron and aluminum. “It’s part of an old truck.”
“How old?” Clint came close enough to see. “Oh, that’s been there a long time. Maybe even back to the Jarrell tornado. Parts of trucks, cars, and farm machinery were strewn everywhere.”
“There’s more of it than I thought. Part of a bumper. Part of a windshield.”
“We’ll have to get it moved out. We don’t want kids from the complex playing back here and getting cut on the sharp pieces of metal.”
Clint waited for Kyd to turn around. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s blue. A Ford F150.”
“Yea?” Clint came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kyd. From this vantage point he could see the flakes of blue paint still adhered to the mangled metal. “I see that.”
“It looks like it could be Dad’s old truck, Clint.”
“Oh…I don’t…”
“What if it is?” Kyd whirled to face his older brother. “What if this is Dad’s truck?”
“Well, I don’t know how we’d tell.”
Oblivious to the danger, Kyd went closer, climbing onto the remnants of the old truck. “There’s a vin number here, Clint. Take this number down.”
Clint took out his phone and called up a note app. “All right.” He typed the numbers his brother read off the shattered windshield.
“We can have ownership traced through this number, can’t we?”
“I think so,” Clint muttered. “We can give it a try. There’s no trace of a license plate or anything is there?”
Kyd scrambled around to look more closely. “No, I don’t see one.” Both men stood a moment, staring at the rusty remnants. “You know what this would mean, don’t you?”
“Yea, if this is Dad’s truck, he didn’t abandon us,” Clint spoke softly. “Let’s don’t jump to conclusions until we know something for certain. And let’s keep it to ourselves for now. No use upsetting mom and the girls until we know more.”
“I agree.”
“Come on. The utility line looks fine.” Clint began to make his way across the property.
“Who are we gonna call to check out ownership of the truck?”
“I’ll get in touch with Aron’s friend, Kane Saucier. He’s sheriff of Kerr County and he’ll keep it quiet.”
Kyd laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know. Anything involving you is news.”
“Right. Things get blown all out of proportion. I’d rather we just deal with this on our own.”
“Sounds good.”
As they approached the building site, the sound of concrete mixers and automatic nail guns could be heard. “The work is coming right along. If there’s nothing else you need me for,” Clint said as he pocketed his phone, “I’ve got some errands to run.”
“Like what? Anything you need help with?”
“No, not really. I’m meeting a real estate agent to go look at a piece of property
.”
“Where at?” The two brothers made their way over to where they were parked.
“Down Nameless Road, just before you get into Jonestown on 1431. The place is called Sunrise Ranch. It’s only four hundred acres, but I don’t need more land than that. Just enough to give me the privacy I need and run a few head of horses.”
“Does it have a house on it?”
“Yea, a nice house with all the amenities. Of course, all I’ve seen are pictures.”
“Sure, you never really know until you see something in person.” Kyd leaned on the hood of his Dodge truck. “When’s Mom and Cassidy supposed to come home?”
“Just as soon as the contest winner is announced. It’s being filmed for television, so it takes longer.”
“Bethany’s birthday dinner is scheduled for Friday night.”
Clint shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll work out. If not, we’ll just reschedule.”
This made Kyd laugh. “Bethany would not be happy. Do you remember the fit she threw when her birthday party at the park got rained out?”
“She was only eight, but she’ll always be the baby. We’ve all spoiled her rotten.”
Opening the door to his truck, Kyd placed one booted foot on the running board. “So, what’s your week look like?”
“Pretty busy.”
“After the party are you staying in Lago or going back to Houston?”
“I’m staying close to Austin. I’ve got a few things to do. There aren’t any team meetings scheduled for a few weeks. I don’t know the details yet, but I plan on attending the orientation for Joseph and Ten’s search and rescue outfit.”
“Oh, yea. I remember you mentioning something about that. Do you think you’ll enjoy yourself?”
“I do. The time outdoors will do me good.”
“Plus, you can bond with Joseph and Ten.”
“I don’t know about that. Why? Did you need me to do something?”
Kyd shook his head. “Not really. I thought we might drive over to check on Rowan together one evening if you have time.”
“Is there something wrong?” Clint looked worried.
“No, not particularly. He’s just having a hard time, the anniversary of the shooting was just a few days ago, you know.”