doesn’t surprise me.”
“I’m surprised he approves of you working for the enemy.”
“Actually, he doesn’t know because I haven’t told him.” Just one more secret in her arsenal.
Austin pushed away from the wall, giving her a little more room to breathe. “That’s probably wise. It’s not fun to suffer the wrath of George Romero. But he’s bound to find out eventually.”
She shrugged. “Yes, but it really doesn’t matter. I’m all grown up now and I make my own decisions, not him.”
He winked. “Yep, you’re all grown up for sure.”
Her heart executed a little-pitter patter in her chest. “I need to get back to work now.”
“Me, too. If I don’t get busy soon, I’m going to suffer the wrath of Dallas.”
If she didn’t leave soon, she might be subjected to another journey into their shared past, including their sex life. Former sex life. “I’ve got a very busy day ahead of me, so I’ll see you later.”
He moved closer, as if he didn’t want her to leave. “Then business is good?”
“So far.” Yet she wouldn’t be tending to livestock for the remaining hours. She would be sending her son off on a trip without her for the first time since his birth.
“I’m glad you’ve returned, Georgie,” he said as he finally stepped back. “And by the way, if you’re not busy this evening, Maria wants you to have dinner with us. All the usual suspects will be there. Have you met Worth or his mom, Jenny?”
“No. I haven’t had the opportunity yet.”
“All the more reason for you to come.”
But being close to Austin was the best reason to decline. “I’m not sure I’ll be finished with everything before dinnertime.”
“We don’t usually eat until around seven. If you decide to join us, and we really hope you will, just show up. We’ll set a place for you.”
If she agreed, she would have to spend even more time with him, all the while trying to conceal her true feelings. If she didn’t, she would insult Maria. “I’ll think about it.”
He grinned, started away then said without turning around, “I’ll see you tonight.”
His confidence drove her crazy. He drove her crazy. But right then she had only one immediate concern... Her son’s impending departure.
Georgie climbed into her truck and headed home to face what would probably prove to be one of the most difficult times of her life. After she pulled into the drive and slid from the cab, Chance rushed out of the door and ran to her as fast as his little legs would let him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared up at her, his grin showing the space where he’d just lost his first tooth. “Mama, did you see the rolling house?”
Georgie glanced to her right to find the massive RV parked on the dirt road leading to the barn. “I see that, baby. It’s huge.”
Chance let her go and rocked back and forth on his heels, as if he was too excited to stand still. “Aunt Debbie said I could ride up front with Uncle Ben and she could stay in the back and play cards with Grandma.”
No doubt the wily pair would be engaging in poker. “That sounds like a plan. Are you packed?”
He nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh. I gotta get some toys.” He grabbed her by the hand and jerked her forward with his usual exuberance. “Come on, Mama.”
“All right, already. Just hold your horses.”
Chance released his grasp on her and threw open the front screen door. Georgie followed him inside to find her mother’s sister, Debbie, decked out in a blue floral sundress and an inordinate amount of jewelry, and her Uncle Ben wearing a yellow polo and white shorts that revealed his usual golf tan that ran from the top of his bald head to his beefy legs. Not exactly December attire, but luckily the region had yet to experience any significant cold weather. But that was all about to change in the next two days, according to the forecast.
“Georgia May!” Debbie said as she crossed the room and drew Georgie into a hug. “You are still as pretty as ever.”
Georgie stepped back and smiled. “You look great, too, Aunt Debbie. I love the blond hair.”
Debbie patted her neatly coifed bob. “Glad you like it. I just wish I could say the same for my husband. When I got it done, he didn’t say a word. I don’t think he’s even noticed.”
“I noticed, woman.” Uncle Ben crossed the room, picked Georgie up off her feet, hugged her hard and then put her back down. “You’re still no bigger than a peanut, Georgie. And don’t listen to Deb. She knows I’m jealous because she still has all her hair.”
“So how are you enjoying retirement?” Georgie asked.
“Love it,” Ben said. “We just drove all the way from California.”
Debbie smiled. “Los Angeles was so wonderful and warm, but the traffic was horrible.”
Chance tugged on Georgie’s hand to garner her attention. “Can we go now, Mama?”
Georgie swallowed around an annoying lump in her throat when she thought about watching him leave without her. “Don’t you need to pick out some toys?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Don’t bring too many things, Chance.” Her directive was lost on her child as he sprinted out of the room.
“Your place is really precious, Georgie,” Debbie said as she surveyed the area. “And it’s been so well done.”
Quite the change from when Georgie had first seen it—a basic two-bedroom, one-bath rental with outdated everything. But the appeal had been in the ten surrounding acres, complete privacy and the four-stall red barn. “You can thank Mom for the restoration. She had the hardwoods refinished, put new carpet in the bedrooms, remodeled the kitchen, including appliances, and redid the entire bathroom before I moved in. As much as I appreciated the effort, I do think it was overkill for a house I don’t own.”
Right on cue, Lila Romero breezed into the room, her silver hair pulled back in a low bun, her peach slacks and white blouse heralding her classic taste in clothing. “I couldn’t let you live in squalor, dear daughter.”
Leave it to Lila to overexaggerate. “It wasn’t that bad, Mom.”
“It wasn’t that good, either.” Lila turned to her sister and sighed. “Georgie is such a nervous Nellie, I’m surprised she’s actually allowing my grandson to go with us to Florida.”
Ben turned to Georgie. “He’ll be fine, pumpkin. I used to fly big jets holding hundreds of passengers, so rest assured, I can handle a forty-five-foot
