Finding Love in Payton

by Shelley Galloway

  "Because?"

  "Because I want to look at this place and know it is mine."

  His dad looked incredulous. "It will be. Believe me, your mom and I don't want to live there with you."

  Jeremy burst out laughing. "I don't want you to! No, it's just that there's something else ..."

  "Ah."

  Jeremy organized the papers again until they were in a neat pile then spoke. "This girl I met ... Dinah. I like her a lot, Dad."

  "I know Dinah. Know her parents, too."

  "She had me over for dinner the other night." Jeremy smiled at the memory. "Everything was a mess, but together we made it okay. I helped with Bryan, then she put him to bed and we did the dishes. I ... I had a great time." He paused, well aware that he had put himself out for ridicule. Hadn't he heard more than once that he should be having a good time? Dating lots of cute girls? Living more carefree?

  This was just the opportunity his parents loved to take advantage of. Before he knew it, they would be reminding him of his age, how he should be doing the things that Kevin and Cameron did when they were fresh out of college.

  As if the Reece kids needed to be carbon-copies of each other.

  But his dad only folded his hands on the table and looked wistful. "Your mom and I have had some great times just being home. I've done my share of dishes with her, discussing the day's events." He smiled at the memories. "Sometimes it's nice to do that. So ... you're serious about her?"

  Jeremy swallowed, thanking the fates for finally giving him a person who really wanted to know how he was feeling ... not just tell him what they thought. "Yeah. I'm serious about her, Dad." There. It was out in the open.

  "And the baby ...?"

  "He's amazing."

  "You don't mind the responsibility?"

  He shook his head.

  "I should have known. You never have, son."

  "What do you think I should do about the house?"

  His dad shrugged. "Don't know. I've lots of ideas, but something tells me that you'll figure it out in your own time." He leaned back and shared a smile with Jeremy as they heard his mom open the back door, followed by a rustling of what could only be shopping bags. "Ah, looks like your mom's back."

  Jeremy grinned. His mom was always carting in bags from somewhere. "In two minutes, she'll hear our voices and come in, telling us where she's been."

  "Two minutes after, she'll suggest we either grill some steaks or go out to eat."

  "Because it's just too nice to stay inside," Jeremy finished. "And she's so worn out from fighting the crowds."

  They shared a smile. "Bring over Dinah and Bryan one day soon. We'd like to get to know her."

  Jeremy glanced at the stack of paperwork again. "And you really don't have any idea about the house? I'm afraid I'm going to lose it if I wait too long."

  His dad shrugged. "I guess the pros and cons of living there would depend on who you want to live there with, wouldn't you say?"

  "I never thought of that."

  "You might want to," his dad said just as his mom's clipping heels headed in their direction. "Some day, someone might want to be there with you ... and then you'll find a way to make it happen, even if it means asking me for help." He stood up then, just as his mom charged in, a shopping bag in each hand. "Darling, you're home."

  "Jim, Jeremy, you wouldn't believe where I've been," Daphne gushed. "Kenwood Mall!"

  Jim winked at Jeremy. "What did you find?"

  "Oh, I'll show you everything, but I just realized it's almost dinner! Jeremy, are you working?"

  "No.

  "Well, let's either grill or go out. It's just too nice to stay inside."

  "We were just thinking that, honey. We'll do whatever you want."

  Without pretense, his mom kissed his dad right then and there on the mouth. "Oh, honey."

  Jeremy could almost imagine Dinah and himself in their places.

  The uniform was thick wool, and dark navy in color. Two rows of brass buttons lined the jacket, and frayed bits of braid and embroidery decorated the shoulders. It looked to fit a man who was smaller than today's regular-sized man, but maybe that was simply her own thoughts, making the Civil War soldiers seem far larger than life.

  But no matter what the reason, Dinah was glad she was visiting the historical museum, and seeing the special uniforms of the Union infantry. Though she'd been following the pattern Joanne had given her, just seeing the actual clothing soldiers wore gave her new insight into how they would need to look.

  The last three weeks had been busy. She'd divided her time between working at the store, caring for Bryan, and sewing the costumes.

  And thinking about Jeremy.

  He'd stopped by the store every few days, and once they'd even gone to The Grill for burgers. Things between them were good ... and more than a little disconcerting. She felt so many things for Jeremy: desire, friendship, wariness. It was going to be a relief when she could finally sort through her mixed-up emotions.

  Scribbling notes on paper, she hardly heard Joanne and Missy join her. "Aren't these incredible?" Joanne gushed. "I'm so thankful for Mr. Henry for letting us put them on display this month."

  "They are incredible," Dinah admitted, smiling at Missy. "Like I said, I've been getting those costumes done. Even though they aren't quite the work of art that these are, I think you'll be pleased. Jeremy's going to come over this afternoon before work and try his on."

  "I bet he's going to look great in it. You know, the other uniform is for Kevin."

  "I thought you said your husband was going to be too busy."

  "He thinks he is, but he might attend for Joanne."

  Dinah chuckled. "He might attend for you, Missy. I have a feeling he'd do just about anything for you ... but then, we both know that."

  "Even if he would go, I'm not sure if I'm going to ask him. Dressing up is just not his thing."

  Dinah glanced at the clock above the door. Four o'clock. "Are you about to close?"

  "We are. We close early on Thursdays to have a board meeting."

  "I'll get out of your way, then."

  "You're not in our way," Joanne said quickly. "Besides, I don't want you to do a thing until you tell us how dinner went."

  Dinah suddenly recalled how Joanne had spoken of Missy's dinner for her husband with reverent tones. "Not quite as nice as I heard yours was, Missy. The house was a mess, Bryan was crying, and I was a nervous wreck."

  "You?,

  'Me."

  "What did Jeremy do?"

  "Everything. Grilled steaks, played with Bryan. Helped with the dishes." She grimaced at the memory. Poor Jeremy had probably been thinking he couldn't get out of her life fast enough.

  Missy sighed. "He's a great guy. Just like his brother."

  Dinah wasn't about to disagree. She had enjoyed being with him, and the part of the evening they'd spent on the couch had been awfully nice. Feeling daring, she said, "And you can tell Mary Beth that she was right. He is a dreamboat."

  Joanne clapped her hands together. "I'm so pysched you told me before her. Mary Beth had been teasing Dinah, wanting to know how Jeremy kissed," she said to Missy.

  Missy perked her head up. "Well?"

  "I kiss very well, thank you," Jeremy said from the doorway.

  Dinah's drawing pad fell to the ground. "Oh my gosh. I didn't hear you."

  "I hope not. I'd hate to think you wanted me to hear you talking about ... me kissing?"

  Joanne blushed as well. "Just girl talk, little brother," she said quickly. "Now go take this girl of yours out of here so I can get some work done."

  Dinah wished Joanne would just toss her over the stair railing, she was so embarrassed. "What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet in an hour."

  He let her lead the way down the stairs, then answered her as they walked outside to the parking lot. "I called your mom and she said you were here. I'm going to have to postpone our fitting. Work."

  "I thought you waited tabl
es all night last night?"

  "I did. Plus I asked Payton for a few more hours."

  The day was so beautiful, she didn't see any reason to postpone their conversation. "Why?"

  He hung his head. "I'm really loving that house I told you about. And ... I don't quite have enough in savings to cover the down payment and everything else I want to do."

  Understanding dawned. "Oh. Gosh, that's such a shame, though. I mean, about the fitting."

  "Maybe we could do the fitting late tonight? Or tomorrow morning?"

  She thought quickly. "How about in the morning? That way I'll be wide awake and Bryan won't be fussy."

  Jeremy smiled in relief. "Great. Around eight?"

  "Around eight."

  "I'm glad you're not mad."

  "I'm disappointed, not mad. I was kind of looking forward to seeing you."

  "Really? That makes me happy." And with that, he took her hand. "You don't know how many times I've thought about kissing you again."

  She had a pretty good idea. It was at least as much as the idea had popped into her head.

  "I hope I'm not rushing you."

  "No.

  "And Sunday night? Will you and Bryan still come over for dinner?"

  "We will."

  "My parents can get a little ... involved, but you'll like being around them."

  "I'm sure I will."

  "And I have a feeling at least one of my siblings will finagle a dinner invitation, too. And since all of them are married, that will be at least two more people." He looked at her steadily. "When my family gets together, things can get a little crazy."

  "I'll consider myself warned." She said it in a way to make him smile, but it looked as thought Jeremy was about to do anything but.

  "So you're sure about this? I don't want to do anything you don't want to."

  "You won't."

  Gray eyes glowed. "You're right. I ... I really like you, Dinah." His cheeks colored. "What is it about you that makes me sound like such an idiot? I didn't mean to say it like that. I meant-"

  But she didn't give him a minute to say anything. Quickly, she kissed him. Not hard, not especially passionate ... but just enough for him to realize that she was right there with him, by choice.

  And at that moment, there was nowhere she would rather be.

  'You've sure been putting in a lot of hours, lately," Priscilla said to Jeremy just as he was taking a break.

  "Yeah. Might as well bring a sleeping bag here."

  She pointed to the circles under his eyes. "You do look pretty tired."

  "I worked that wedding reception last night. The bride and groom were in no hurry to start their wedding night."

  "They catered in, so I had the night off."

  "Must have been nice for you." He glanced at Priscilla, noticed the concern in her eyes, so he decided to admit the whole truth about what had been going on with him. "I haven't been sleeping too well."

  Priscilla blew the wisps of bangs from her eyes. "I haven't either! Isn't that something?"

  "What's your excuse?"

  Priscilla looked embarrassed. "Just trying to get used to the changes here, I guess."

  "Things a lot different from Houston?"

  "Like night and day. The job, anyway. The people are just as nice." She sipped on a soda. "Your turn."

  "I'm trying to figure out my future."

  She frowned. "I thought yours was already planned out. Won't you be teaching in the fall?"

  "Yeah. It's not the job, it's all the other stuff."

  "Such as ..."

  "Such as there's a house I found to live in that I really like, but I don't know if I can afford it."

  "My experience has always been to be prudent, though I didn't do that with this job." She paused. "And what else?"

  He swallowed. "Dinah."

  "Ah. So we're really telling the truth now? Well, in that case, my thoughts have been turned to a certain blue-eyed man."

  "Is he who you'd thought you'd fall in love with?"

  Priscilla looked shocked. "Um ... I don't think we're in love ... and as for your question, no. No, he's not. What about you?"

  "I've always been attracted to happy people. And she's as pretty as any girl I've ever met. But I feel like such an idiot when I'm around her, like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not."

  "Who are you pretending to be?"

  He felt his skin flush. "I don't know. I've always been confident, and she makes me feel insecure, inadequate ... then that makes me feel worse."

  "I don't know Dinah well, but I must say I'm surprised she makes you feel that way."

  "Sometimes I think she feels that way, too."

  "Who feels what way?" Payton asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee and joined them.

  Priscilla blushed. "No one."

  "Must have been someone," he prodded.

  Fire entered her eyes just as her shoulders pulled back. "No one you know."

  "I know more people than you," he pointed out.

  "That's not necessarily true. You just know more people here."

  Payton narrowed his eyes. "That's what we were talking about."

  "No," she corrected. "You made a blanket statement. An incorrect one."

  Jeremy glanced from one to the other. Like a ball in the tennis match, they seemed perfectly content to lob one-liners at the other with no signs of fatigue. "I better get back to work. Bye, guys!"

  And before they could say another word, he took off.

  "Hold still, Jeremy. I need to mark the places where I need to fix the seams."

  "This itches."

  "It's going to itch something fierce when you wear it for the reenactment."

  He frowned. "Don't remind me. It's going to be as hot as can be. I'm going to have to give up a whole day's work at the club, too."

  "I'll be there."

  "You'll be the only reason the day won't be a complete washout."

  The word made her think of possible good news. "Maybe it will rain?"

  Jeremy managed to look even more miserable. "Haven't you heard? The real Civil War soldiers actually fought in the rain. Joanne says we'll do this reenactment rain or shine."

  Dinah couldn't help but imagine how uncomfortable the real soldiers must have been, especially when hunger, weariness, and despair had set in. "We'll just have to hope for cool, sunny skies, and a quick battle."

  "You're such an optimist. I sound like a spoiled kid next to you. Sorry."

  As she smoothed the fabric across his broad shoulders and placed a pin in one or two of the seams, she shook her head. "You don't sound like that at all. Just like a guy who would rather be wearing shorts in ninety degree weather instead of a navy blue uniform."

  Slowly he lowered his head to meet her gaze, and within moments Dinah felt transfixed, all over again. What was it about Jeremy that made her feel so young again? So carefree?

  Probably his easy smile, beautiful eyes, and his lithe build.

  And his kindness. His gentle way with Bryan. The sexy way he kissed, like he was savoring her.

  She sighed. Whenever she thought of Jeremy, she couldn't help but feel a jolt to her heart, the kind she used to feel in seventh grade when Brad Franklin sat down beside her in homeroom. From that instant, nothing had existed but him. She'd forgotten the name of her teacher, her two friends she'd known from choir the year before. Brad had filled her world completely, even though all he'd done was smile.

  That was how she felt around Jeremy, and the overwhelming puppy-love feelings made her feel scared and uncomfortable, like she was too old for such things but her body didn't realize that.

  He shifted and looked away, then cleared his throat, making her sure that he was just as spellbound as she was. "Who's the other uniform for, again?"

  "Well, it was for your brother Kevin, but now it's for Stratton Sawyer."

  He grinned at that. "I knew Kevin was going to get out of it."

  "Actually, Stratton seemed pretty excited about the idea."


  Jeremy figured Stratton was just trying to please Joanne. "So ... fitted him yet?"

  "Only the basics. I took his measurements the other day. He's going to stop by the store one night next week to do this with me." She smoothed her hands down the length of his left leg, tried not to think about how muscular that leg felt, and began marking off the hem.

  Jeremy's eyes turned stormy just as his left leg stiffened. "It doesn't bother you, doing all this ... pinning?"

  "Relax your leg. And not in the slightest," she said, bravely trying to ignore how her body was reacting to being so close to him. "I like to sew." She finished the marks, then stood up, circling Jeremy one more time.

  "Maybe Joanne could help you with Stratton." His eyes lit up as she faced him again. "Or she could come with him!"

  "Now why would she want to do that?" Dinah asked, smoothing the fabric along the planes of his back, then kneeling in front of him to check the line of the jacket.

  His cheeks flushed. "I don't know."

  Dinah bit her lip. What was bothering him? The idea of fitting Stratton's costume ... or this particular fitting itself? Unable to help herself, she ran her fingers along his leg, from his knee on down. "Does this feel all right? I made it a little longer than normal, but I figured with your boots and all-"

  Jeremy jerked his leg away. "Yes," he bit out. "Dinah, aren't we done yet?"

  "I'm going as quickly as I can. What's wrong?"

  "I don't know. I feel funny standing here with you kneeling at my feet," he said, and Dinah was amazed to see a faint line of red creep up his neck.

  She couldn't resist teasing him. "And here I thought that was every man's dreams."

  "Not mine. Dinah-"

  She stood up. "I'm done," she said, unable to keep a few chuckles from escaping. "All you have to do now is get out of those clothes without removing any pins."

  "Or sticking myself."

  "Of course."

  He padded away, grumbling, just as Bryan wandered over, his hands full of two plastic containers and a stuffed brown dog. "Jy?"

  Dinah knelt down as he approached. "Jy's changing, but he'll be right back." She patted a spot next to her. "Show me what you got."

  Bryan had just let her give his dog a hug when Jeremy appeared again. She watched him scan the room quickly for her, then his eyes light up when he spotted the two of them. Seeing such a reaction made her so happy. It was nice to know he didn't resent Bryan's appearance. "We're over here," she called out. "Bry's been showing me his dog."