She’d dressed in a denim skirt and white blouse with a wide leather belt and strappy sandals with faux turquoise stones set in silver. This was the most Western outfit she could come up with on short notice, and she’d told Raven what she was wearing so the other woman would recognize her.
The parking lot was filling with pickups, Suburbans and Expeditions. Her SRX looked as out of place as she felt when she pulled in next to a big Ford F250. Maybe, if she was going to stay here and renovate the motel, she should get a work vehicle.
But then, she wouldn’t be doing much of the actual construction, she thought as she turned off the engine. She’d chosen her vehicle because it was comfortable and safe. She shouldn’t get something else just to fit in, just as she wasn’t going to change just because people had certain expectations. People like Cal Crawford.
She walked across the asphalt parking lot as the afternoon heat rose in waves through the only slightly cooler early-evening air. Despite the closed doors and windows, country music drifted across the parking lot. The big red, white and blue sign welcomed her to Dewey’s, and the neon beer signs were cheerful beacons in the long shadows. Dewey’s looked much different at dinnertime, even before the sun set. Maybe she really needed a night out every now and then.
She entered Dewey’s just after a middle-aged couple dressed in starched denim, crisp plaid and straw cowboy hats. They went into the bar area, while Christie looked around the restaurant tables for familiar faces and a black-haired woman.
“Christie!” The familiar female voice came from the far right.
She turned and saw a long table of several people she recognized, and many she didn’t. The woman with long black hair must be Raven, and the man beside her resembled Cal, so that must be his brother, Troy.
Toni Casale was also there, along with a few older women Christie recognized from around town, and an older man she hadn’t seen before. Another young couple sat across from Raven and Troy. But where was Cal?
“Hi. I guess I’m at the right table.”
“I’m so glad you could make it,” Raven said. “I know we haven’t met in person yet, but I feel as if I know you already. Toni has been telling us about your plans for the old motel.” She turned to the others sitting at the table. “Everyone, this is Christie Simmons.”
She waved and smiled. “Hello.”
Raven leaned close and whispered, “You didn’t mention you were gorgeous. You look like a model!”
Christie laughed. “Hardly. I’m a working mother. Well, I’m getting ready to work. I’ve taken some time off for a career change. And for my son.”
“Where is he tonight?” one of the older ladies asked.
“With a babysitter. Toni’s niece is watching him. We’re staying in Graham.” What a stroke of luck to find someone who was experienced and reliable. She’d nearly forgotten what it was like to go out alone.
For the past nine months, she and Peter had been constant companions. Looking into the backseat of the SRX and not seeing his cute little face had seemed odd…and lonely. At least she had her cell phone and Amanda’s number so she could call to check on him.
“How old is your child?” another one of the women asked.
She didn’t want to tell anyone about Peter until Cal was ready, so she hedged and said, “Still in diapers.”
“Well, let me introduce everyone. This is my fiancé, Troy, whom you already know is Cal’s brother. And across the table are our newlyweds, James and Sandy Brody.” Raven smiled fondly. “She used to go by the name Scarlett, but now she’s Sandy. She does wonderful things with hair, just in case you need a cut while you’re here, and James is the attorney in town.”
Christie thought the man looked at her with a little extra scrutiny. Was he Cal’s attorney? Probably. Had Cal talked to him about her…and Peter? Maybe.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. Raven then went on to introduce Ida and Rodney Bell, Clarissa Bryant and Bobbi Jean Maxwell.
“I’m sorry my husband, Burl, couldn’t be here tonight,” Bobbi Jean said. “He’s getting over a nasty summer cold or he wouldn’t have missed this going-away party.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Christie said, hoping she could remember everyone’s names.
Just as the introductions were finished, Christie felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to discover Cal standing behind her, a longneck in his other hand and a hat pulled low over his military-short hair. He looked tall, fit and sexy, and her heartbeat increased as she drank him in.
“Christie,” he said, his only greeting. After the way they’d parted, she wasn’t sure of his mood. She had brushed him off. At that time she hadn’t expected to see him again so soon. She wasn’t ready to deal with their issues, she realized.
All she wanted was a night out.
“Cal,” she replied. Why did he have to be so close? Just the memory of him barging into Toni’s office that afternoon made her anxious about being in the same town with him, much less in the same honky-tonk. Not to mention the same house!
She couldn’t have imagined that any man would insist two near strangers get married because they’d accidentally made a baby together. A marriage had to be based on more than a child, especially when the mother could provide perfectly well for her baby. She understood why women had needed to get married years and years ago. But not now, not even in a small town with traditional values.
He leaned in close, which must look very intimate to everyone at the table, and whispered in her ear, “Where’s the baby?”
“Peter is at the motel with a good babysitter,” she whispered back, feeling instantly defensive. Cal wasn’t interested in her, despite his hand on her shoulder and his whispers in her ear. He just wanted to know about his son.
She straightened, smiled and looked at Raven and Troy. “So, when are you actually leaving?”
“Um, tomorrow around noon, probably. We still have to load the SUV,” Troy answered.
“Yes, we’re taking it to New Hampshire,” Raven said with a sigh. “My green Volvo, Pickles, isn’t quite up to the trip, so she’s staying in Texas.”
“It’s a wonder you made it down here,” Troy said with a shake of his head.
“She’s very loyal. She wouldn’t break down on the road.”
Cal snorted. Rudely, in Christie’s opinion. He probably didn’t think much of women who named their cars. Christie found it delightful to be living in a town with such interesting people…and one sexy, perplexing and stubborn baby-daddy.
“Take a seat,” Cal said, which probably seemed like a request for him but sounded like an order to her ears.
Christie saw that the only chair at the table was right next to him. With a smile plastered in place for everyone else at the gathering, she sat down. She did not want to take the focus off the going-away party atmosphere for Troy and Raven.
“Here are the drinks,” the waitress said as she arrived with a tray. She must have just noticed Christie, because she said, “Oh, hi again. Where’s your adorable baby?”
“Yes, where is my nephew?” Troy asked with a big grin.
Christie