Part 11 (2/2)
He looked up from his plate.
Tracy put down a fry and quickly averted her eyes. ”What did you want to know?”
”Do you know anything about Jake's truck driving gig?” Zack picked up his burger and took a bite.
Tracy took a deep breath and picked up her fork. ”Henrietta Parker was in the shop yesterday for her bi-weekly wash and set. I asked her about Brent, and she wasn't too nice in her comments. But she never is, concerning her grandsons.”
Zack set his burger back on the plate. ”What did she have to say?”
”Henrietta doesn't know how he can afford that truck either. He apparently is still mooching off her and his mother. He lives at Sandy's until his mother gets fed up with his lazy b.u.t.t, and then he goes to Henrietta's for a few weeks. Promises to help her out around the house, but he never does. As far as I can tell from what Bobby has said, Jake must be doing well. He's been buying new furniture for the trailer and can afford to sue me for custody. But what I don't get is, if it's so lucrative, why is he still running the garage?”
Zack leaned back in the booth seat and crossed his arms over his chest. ”Do you know where Jake's cargo is coming from?”
She popped a french fry into her mouth. ”Maybe Waco or Killeen. Or even Austin.”
They ate in silence for a few moments, and Tracy couldn't keep her eyes off Zack, while everyone in the diner seemed to be watching them. The rumor around Colton was Zack never dated. According to his aunt Winnie, he claimed he didn't have time for a woman in his life. Nor did he want to confuse Amanda, who still believed her mother would come home someday. Tracy remembered her conversation with the little girl at the football game.
Wait, you mean y'all can't get married?
What did she mean by that? Surely, Amanda wasn't implying she wanted Zack and Tracy to get married.
She shook her head and smiled.
He wiped his mouth with the paper napkin, and his brow wrinkled into a frown. ”What's so funny?”
She met his intense blue eyes and decided to throw everything down. ”I was thinking about what Mandy said about us...ah...getting married the other day when we were talking about how...our families are connected.”
His bewildered expression turned hard. ”Mandy is going through a stage. She overheard Winnie and Mom talking about me needing a girlfriend. Now, Mandy got it in her head that I need another wife.”
Tracy blinked at the idea and laid her hand over her chest. ”And she picked me?”
Zack stared at her with cold, unforgiving eyes as he said, ”Yes, but it isn't going to happen.”
She looked away and swallowed her heart along with her pride.
”But I'm still a man in need of a woman. I'm just not looking for a wife.”
His voice was so low she wondered if she'd heard him correctly. Tracy brought her gaze back to his and the fire had melted the ice in his eyes. Unless Zack Cartwright had changed in the past fourteen years, she knew he was a man with a very healthy s.e.x drive. He didn't want her; he wanted a woman. Any woman would do.
Was she willing to risk her heart if Zack never forgave her? Could she deny him if he wanted her to be the woman to appease his l.u.s.t?
She had no answers, but the way her body ached for his touch made her want to find out. ”I was wondering...”
He raised a brow in quiet question, and she forced herself not to look away. She sucked in her lip and wasn't sure she wanted to ask.
”Yes?” he prompted when she didn't continue.
”I was wondering if you and Amanda would like to come over to Oak Springs tomorrow evening for dinner. Mom and Dad have to go back to Was.h.i.+ngton for a week or two and are leaving in the morning...” When his lips flattened out, she realized she couldn't push him. He had to come to her. Reaching for a possible explanation for wanting him to have dinner with her, she added, ”Bobby and Amanda seemed to get along so well at the wedding, and I thought they might like to see each other again. She could bring along her bathing suit and the two of them could play in the pool.” When his expression didn't soften, she averted her eyes to her half-eaten burger and murmured, ”Oh, never mind. I don't”
”What time?”
Her jaw went slack as she looked up. She could barely force words past her suddenly dry throat. ”Is five okay? That way the kids can play for a while before we eat.”
”Sounds Good. Should I bring my trunks?”
”Trunks?”
He picked up his gla.s.s of c.o.ke and the air buzzed with electricity as he pinned her with his gaze. ”You said something about swimming.”
As soon as Tracy got home, she found her mother in the kitchen. ”Mom, what was I thinking?”
Her mother laughed and continued stirring something delicious smelling in a large pot on the stove. ”h.e.l.lo, to you too, sweetheart. So, now what have you done?” Then she lost all the amus.e.m.e.nt. ”Is Bobby okay?”
”Bobby's fine.” Tracy plopped onto a barstool and huffed.
Her mom faced Tracy. ”Logan can't take your case?”
”No. I mean, Logan is all gung-ho about it. He's convinced we can win.”
”Then what's wrong? Is school going okay?”
Tracy fought the impulse to roll her eyes, but barely. What was it with everyone's fascination with her going back to school? ”Yes, school is fine. I invited Zack to dinner tomorrow night.”
”That's wonderful!”
”No, it's not!” Tracy pushed a lock of hair from her face, deciding in that second she was cutting it. ”Mom, you know I can't cook. I wish you would be here to whip something wonderful up.”
With a wistful smile, her mother said, ”I wish I was, too. I'd have made my cranberry glazed pork chops.” She shook her head and laughed. ”Actually, I'm glad Daddy and I won't be here. This is a great opportunity for you.”
Her mother opened the oversized refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of lemonadefresh squeezed with lemon slices floating on top. She poured a gla.s.s and set it before Tracy.
”Mom, what am I going to do? I can't make a meal like your pork chops.”
Her mother pursed her lips and opened her mouth to speak.
Tracy cut her off. ”And no, I won't have you cook for me so all I'll have to do is warm the meal. This was my brilliant idea. I guess I could make spaghetti or bake some chicken. With my luck the noodles will be soggy and the chicken dry like they always are.”
”How about steaks on the grill?”
”I can't grill steaks.” Tracy jumped up from the bar and paced the kitchen. ”The last time I even tried cooking steaks, one of them was raw and the other one was burnt.” She wasn't at all sure what she wanted her mother to do about her situation. ”I shouldn't have been so impulsive. But we were having lunch together and...Mom, I think we might actually have something going for us. I just wanted to do something that didn't happen by chance. Like lunch today or the football game the other evening. But I shouldn't have”
”Tracy, don't panic.”
”Don't panic?” She squeaked. ”I'll ruin any chance we have by cooking. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Ha! Not if I'm doing the cooking, it's not. I think I'll call and cancel. He'll never want me again anyway. I broke his heart, and he's still hung up on his dead wife. Zack just wants a roll in the hay”
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