hold you – torments me! I can’t have you. Yet. I can’t forget you. I don’t get a chance to forget you. You keep turning like a bad penny.”
This wasn’t fair. He was breaking her heart. “You showed up here today of your own free will.”
“You weren’t supposed to be home.”
A surprised burst of laughter erupted from her lips. “Well, excuse the hell out of me.” She was shaking. “I have to go.” Walking around him, she took a few steps, then stopped. “Clint, if things were different…but they’re not. I understand how you must feel. Our association has been unorthodox. I accept all the blame. After today, I promise you’ll never see me again. Okay?”
“Is that what you want?” His hand caught her wrist, his fingers holding her firmly but gently. “To never see me again?”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
“So, there’s no chance of something more? Just friendship.”
Jensen swallowed the lump of pain in her throat. “Would friendship be so bad?”
Clint shook his head. “I’m sorry. I could never be satisfied just being your friend. I’d always want more. So…I guess this is goodbye.”
“I guess.” She held his gaze for one long moment. “I’ll try to keep my distance.”
He nodded solemnly. “Try? We’ll see how well you succeed.”
“Yea. We’ll see.” Jensen tamped down the urge to sprint to the garage. Instead, she took slow and even steps, refusing to let him see how much he affected her. “Thank you for coming today and being good to Nicky. Don’t think you have to move the rocks. Invent an excuse, get a phone call.”
“I don’t play that way.” Clint stood still to watch her go, waiting until her car left through the automatic gate. “Goodbye, Jensen.”
“Clint!” Nicky’s voice called from the side yard. “We need to get started. Mom said it might rain.”
“All right. I’m coming,” he answered. As he made his way through the yard to the street, the distant rumble of thunder could be heard. “Of course. Perfect timing.” He quickened his pace. “You need to go inside, Nick. I’ll take care of those rocks.”
“No, we can hurry.”
“Nope. Too dangerous.” He caught up with Nicky and walked him down the sidewalk until he came to his truck. “You head on in, I’ll get this done in no time.”
“How will you know where to put the boulders?”
“I remember what you told me.” He gave Nicky a smile. “And if they’re not where Jensen wants them, all she has to do is ask me and I’ll come back and try again.”
Even as the answer satisfied Nicky, Clint knew his words meant exactly what they said – and he wasn’t referring to moving a pile of damn rocks.
All she has to do is ask me, and I’ll come back and try again.
Chapter Five
As night drew near, Clint sat on the back porch of the Lago Vista house with his mother.
“Now that I have my inheritance money, I can pay you back all you’ve spent on us.”
Shaking his hand soundly, he put an end to that notion. “Absolutely not.”
“But this house was so expensive.”
Clint was proud of the Texas limestone house he’d found for his mother. “No, I got a good price. The owners were motivated.” He didn’t want to discuss prices with his mother. She still thought they’d overpaid for the fifty thousand-dollar tract home where they’d lived when Clint was in high school.
“You don’t think I’ll be too far from things?”
“No, I don’t. You’ll get used to the drive, it’s pretty. I’ll also show you a few shortcuts. Plus, I’ll just be up the road if you need anything.”
“When you’re home.”
Clint didn’t let his mother’s fretting worry him. If she wasn’t fretting about one thing, she was fretting about another. “This is the perfect location. You’re not only in the heart of Texas, you’re in the heart of your family. When I’m not here, I’m three hours south in Houston. Your other children are about the same distance north in Dallas and Fort Worth. Aron and the Tebow McCoys are south in Kerrville and Heath and his Highland McCoys are fairly close in Burnet to the north.” He went to plant a quick kiss on her cheek. “And you, my lady, are right smack dab in the middle of it all.”
“I just don’t drive like I used to.”
“You drive fine.” He pointed to the lake. “Plus, if you’re up for getting a boat, you could cross Travis and be in Austin in just a few minutes. We could keep a car