“Wyatt’s probably going to do the finishing work. He said he would until the studio gets busier. I hope that’s soon. One of my favorite things about photography is helping clients select the best shots.”
“I’ll tell Wyatt I want you to help me.”
“No, don’t. He might think I instigated it.”
Brenda left then, and Casey bustled about checking the light. After the triplets and Brenda were ready, she put Hadley in the middle, petting him and made faces to make the boys giggle. “Perfect,” she murmured. “Brenda, you’re photogenic. I predict your husband and your family will absolutely love these pictures.”
“At this rate I’ll have to get a loan to pay for all the copies I’m going to want. I hope Wyatt knows what a gem he has in you, Casey. I wouldn’t have thought about including the dog in the photos. Details like that are what make you an invaluable partner.”
“Employee,” Casey hastened to say. “Don’t use the term partner around Wyatt, please. That would surely remind him of Angela, and I wouldn’t want him to think I was trying to take her place.”
Brenda started to comment, but was interrupted by Casey’s cell phone. “It’s Wyatt,” Casey hissed. “I wonder what he wants.”
“Take the call and see,” she said drily.
Casey felt her nervous jitters return. “H-Hello,” she stuttered.
His voice boomed out through the phone. “Is everything all right at the Moores’?”
“Fine. Why?”
“The note you left said you were meeting Brenda at ten. It’s two o’clock now. If you’re going to take this long on every appointment, I’ll have to adjust our schedule.”
He spoke so loudly that Brenda no doubt heard. She grabbed the phone from Casey. “Wyatt, it’s Brenda. One of your darling godsons dumped two pots of African violets all over the carpet. The boys and Hadley had a grand old time playing in the dirt just before Casey arrived. No, it wasn’t funny. It meant the lot of them needed hosing down and the living room needed vacuuming. So it’s our fault the appointment’s run late. Don’t be chewing out poor Casey. She handled the delay like a pro. We’re almost done. But remember, this is a surprise for Greg. I’m buying an eight-by-ten for his office, a bigger one for over our fireplace, and different poses for Greg’s folks and my mom—at Casey’s suggestion. You’re lucky to have found her, Wyatt. She’s a keeper.”
There was silence, then Casey heard him say, “Tell her to stop by the studio before she goes home.”
With a self-satisfied smile, Brenda clicked off and passed Casey the phone. “Under all his growl, Wyatt’s sweet. Remember that, if he snaps. But don’t let him walk all over you, either.”
“I won’t,” she said, dropping down to fit her equipment back in her camera case. “If I can get past feeling so sorry for him for his loss. And if I can quit feeling guilty over lying to him.”
“It’s not lying. The way I see it, you’re saving him from making the bigger mistake of letting you get away. You know what? Legally, he can’t let you go because of your pregnancy. And knowing Wyatt as I do, I honestly don’t think he’d do that even if it hurts him to think of Angela when he sees you pregnant.”
Casey hugged Brenda. “I’m so glad you were my first assignment. Guilt’s been eating me up. You have a gift for putting things into perspective.”
“You deserve a break, and Wyatt deserves a chance to get back on his feet,” Brenda said, walking her to the door. “If you need me to smack that jerk ex-husband of yours, I’d be happy to.”
“I should have listened to my girlfriends. They tried to warn me not to trust him.”
“Don’t make excuses for the bum. Guys like that aren’t entitled to any.”
“You’re good for my ego. Next time I feel down, do you mind if I call you?”
“Not at all. Hey, why don’t I dig out that box of maternity things tomorrow, and we’ll set a date to go over them when I come to see my proofs. Out of Wyatt’s earshot, of course.”
The triplets toddled up and Casey dropped a kiss on each curly head. “I hope I have just one baby, Brenda, and that he or she is as cute and as healthy as your boys.”
“Thanks. I forget sometimes how cute they are. Incidents like this morning notwithstanding.” She laughed and the women said a final goodbye.
THE JOY CASEY FELT at making her first potential friend carried over, allowing her to sweep into the studio with a new bounce to her step. She set one of four boxes of announcement postcards on the counter. “I finished these last night, but I didn’t want to mail them until you had a look,” she told Wyatt as he emerged from the back room.
“You got them all done? Weren’t there about a thousand clients on that list?”
“Twelve hundred or so.”
Wyatt pulled one card from the box. “These look fantastic,” he said. “You must have worked all night on them.”
“That’s the way I am. Once I start a project, I like to see it finished. I probably only worked until midnight. And very likely I would’ve been up anyway.”
“A night owl, huh? Boy, I can relate.”
Casey felt her throat go dry. She swallowed hard and glanced away. He had no idea she knew why he spent sleepless nights. It made her feel ten times guiltier for knowing.
Wyatt seemed to have reached his limit for idle chatter. He cleared his throat and returned the card to the box. “Get them in the mail. I have an appointment in half an hour with a professor from the agriculture program at the University of Texas. They’ve sold the beef the students raised, but apparently have two promising young bulls they’d like to advertise in a stock magazine. It’ll take a little while, so I won’t be back here today. Please lock up when you leave. Forward any calls to my home. I wrote down how to do that, and left the note on my desk.”
“If you’re not coming back to the studio, should I print the photos I took for Brenda Moore?”
“I’ll do them tomorrow. You probably haven’t used my type of digital darkroom software.”
“I’ll bet I can figure it out. I used quite a few different programs in Dallas. I started working for the Howells when I was in eighth grade. And Len liked the latest, greatest innovations, too. Dolly teased him that they were going broke buying new stuff.” Thinking about the Howells sent a ripple of nostalgia through Casey.
Wyatt eyed her speculatively. “You certainly stuck with one job a long time. What made you leave it and move to Round Rock?”
Casey was sorely tempted to spill her guts. But remembering Brenda’s advice, she said simply, “I got married.” As she expected, Wyatt backed off from remarking on anything personal.
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