Page 4 of Texas Made
“As far as I know. Unless someone new has moved to town, and I’d have heard if that were so. Never mind me. What about you? What happened to that last guy you were dating? Ed? Wasn’t that his name?”
Jaclyn was curious about her response but refrained from pushing her friend. For now. She waved a hand. “Oh, him. Yes, that was Ed.” She took a sip of wine before continuing. “He said I was a workaholic and he was tired of coming in last.”
“Was he right?”
She shrugged. “Kind of. But that’s no excuse,” she said as Damaris laughed.
“Good riddance, then. I’ve got someone I can set you up with.”
“No thanks. I remember the last time you set me up.” She shuddered. “He had eight hands.”
“Oh, come on,” Damaris protested. “That was years ago and I didn’t know he was a perv. I promise, Nate’s not like that.”
“Nope.” She had someone else in mind but she wasn’t sure she wanted to admit it to Damaris. For one thing, she was pretty sure that she and Marshall getting together wasn’t a good idea. On the other hand, did she care? What was the harm, really? He still flipped every stinking one of her switches. She’d thought that was just a teenage thing, but apparently it wasn’t.
“What are you up to? I know that look.”
Oh, hell, she might as well talk to her. If anything happened her friend would know soon enough anyway. “I had a crush on Marshall when we were in college.”
“I know.” Damaris drank more wine.
“You do?” She’d thought she’d hidden it well. “How? I never told you.”
“You used to go all goo-goo eyes at him whenever he was around.”
She laughed. “I guess I did. I didn’t think you’d noticed.”
“Hard not to.” Damaris studied her for a minute. “Don’t tell me you still have a crush on him.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“You do,” Damaris exclaimed. “You still have the hots for Marshall.”
“What if I do? We’re both single. You said he wasn’t dating anyone.”
“Not that I know of. He doesn’t go out much so I’m pretty sure he isn’t.”
“I know he’s your brother, but he’s really hot.” Jaclyn fanned herself. “And all that brooding manliness—”
Damaris burst out laughing. “Brooding? Marshall doesn’t brood.”
“No? What do you call it when he’s silent and looks so serious?”
“I call that Marshall thinking about which mare he’s going to breed next. Or what horse he should sell. Or which dog needs his shots. Or if the stable boy is going to be here to muck out the stalls or if he’s going to have to do it himself. Or any of a zillion other things. But brooding?” She shook her head. “No way.”
“Never mind. I don’t think he’s interested anyway.” She sighed regretfully.
“You’re wrong about that. I’ve seen him watching you. He’s interested all right.”
“Really?” she asked, perking up.
“Looks like it to me.” Damaris was quiet for a moment. “Jaclyn, you’re not thinking of anything serious, are you?”
Surprised at the question, Jaclyn said, “I was thinking of having fun. Why?”
“I don’t want either of you getting hurt. You know I love you but I can’t imagine you living here.”
Neither could she, honestly. “Don’t worry. I don’t think the two of us would work long term.”
