limp was part of her, and people could either accept her as she was or not. Most of the time that bravado worked.
But not today.
Seeing Cutler suddenly brought all her insecurities to the surface, making her sick to her stomach, which in turn made her furious with herself. What did she care what he or anyone else thought? Hadn’t she gotten over her concerns regarding other people’s reactions to her years ago? Why was she so bent out of shape wondering what this man would think?
“And now let’s welcome Miss Kaylee Benton.”
Kaylee froze.
“Hey, get the lead out, girl,” Sandy whispered from behind, swatting her on the rear.
Kaylee turned and faced her. “Why don’t you go instead?”
Sandy looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Is something going on I don’t know about?”
Kaylee shook herself mentally, then said, “Forget I said that. I’m fine.”
“If you’re sure,” Sandy responded in a tone that said she wasn’t at all sure.
After taking several deep breaths, Kaylee plastered a smile on her face and slowly made her way onstage, praying that she reached her destination without mishap.
She did, though when she reached the podium she clung to the sides until her knuckles almost cracked under the pressure.
“Let’s give this lady another round of applause,” the master of ceremonies added with a wide grin.
While they clapped and whistled, Kaylee looked into the audience. Her gaze landed on Cutler. For what seemed like an interminable length of time but was actually only seconds, their eyes met.
Then he turned his back and walked out.
Eight
Edgar felt her eyes on him long before she shared her thoughts.
“You’ve really been preoccupied lately,” Rebecca Goolsby said. “Have I done something to offend you?”
“Of course not, honey.”
He stared at the woman sitting across from him at the Starbucks coffee shop near the Galleria. They had been an “item” for a while now, and he was quite taken with her. She wasn’t beautiful; she really wasn’t even pretty.
Her face was too square and her eyes were too far apart. But she had a sweetness and grace about her that had captured his heart. And her smile—how could he forget that? He couldn’t. When Rebecca smiled, it lit up her face and everything around it, which reminded him of Kaylee. She was blessed with that same gift.
Rebecca was the first woman he’d cared about since his wife died, and that had been a lifetime ago, or so it seemed. Kaylee had always been enough.
He couldn’t say when that had changed or even if it had. His daughter and her needs would always come first. He’d made that promise the day of the accident. But apparently time had dulled the pain and hurt enough so that he could now move forward.
While a relationship with a woman hadn’t been on his mind, Rebecca had simply snuck in the back door of his heart without his knowing it.
He had met her at one of Drew’s parties. She worked for a brokerage firm with whom his boss had done business. When Drew introduced them they had clicked right away. She was easy to be with, didn’t make demands, didn’t push. Most of all, she didn’t seem to resent his devotion to Kaylee.
“Was my question out of line?”
He forced his attention back to Rebecca. “You know better than that.”
“Do I?”
Edgar smiled, then reached across the table, took her hand and squeezed it. “You can ask me anything you want.”
“Only, you reserve the right not to answer.” She tempered her bluntness with a smile. “Right?”
He smiled back. “Right. But not this time. I was thinking about Kaylee.”
“Aren’t you always?” she said without rancor.
His smile spread into a grin. “Not always. You have a tendency to interfere.”
“Good,” she said with obvious pleasure. “Somehow I sense you’re concerned. Has something happened I don’t know about?”
“Possibly.”
“Really?”
Edgar ran a hand over his thinning hair and squinted his eyes. “And it’s a good thing, too, though I’m making it sound the opposite.” He paused. “Or at least I think it is.”
“Now you’ve really got me curious. What on earth is going on?”
“I think she’s interested in a man.”
Rebecca’s gray eyes widened. “Why, that’s wonderful. If the feeling’s mutual, that is.”
“Ah, that’s the kicker.”
“How about you start at the beginning and fill in all the blanks.”
Edgar told her about Kaylee’s encounter with the cowboy at the chamber function. “She didn’t know I was watching, of course.”
“Oh, honey, I think that’s wonderful, but just because she seemed interested doesn’t mean she really is.”
He was taken aback and didn’t bother to hide it. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rebecca squeezed his hand again. “It means that Kaylee might’ve been charmed for the moment and that’s all.”
“You didn’t see her face,” Edgar responded, an obstinate set to his jaw.
“You’re right, I didn’t, which means I’m not qualified to make that call.”
“I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“You didn’t.” Rebecca paused and narrowed her eyes on him. “Where are you going with this? I know you have something up your sleeve.”
“I have to figure out a way to get the two of them together.”
“Who is he? Do you know?”
“When I first saw him, a niggling in the back of my mind told me I should know him. But for the life of me, I couldn’t place him.”
“Not then, maybe,” Rebecca said, harboring a smile, “but I bet you can now.”
“You bet right. His name is Cutler McFarland.”
Rebecca’s
