Page 43 of The Party Line

“We’ll have to remedy that sometime,” he said with a grin. “I was surprised when you called me after the pepper spray incident. Jasper kind of looped me in with those other two guys. I figured that you were done with the lot of us.”

“You were smart enough to run when he started counting—and youdidcome around with pizza and beer, so I gave you another chance.Of course, you might just have been trying to sweet-talk me into selling this place to you.”

“Let’s get something straight.” His tone and expression turned serious. “I would buy this property in a heartbeat, but our friendship means more to me than a few acres and an old house.”

“Why?” I took another bite of the cheesecake and then a sip of the wine. If strawberries and champagnewerebetter than this, I would have to splurge and try them together sometime.

“I’ve had a couple of fairly serious relationships, but there’s something between us that I can’t explain,” he said. “I wouldn’t jeopardize it by—what was it you said?—sweet-talkingyou into selling me this place. I noticed that one of the guys brought you flowers. Are you interested in him?”

I shook my head. “Nope. His name is Derrick—a classmate of mine from high school. Sounds like he’s wanting to buy up Ditto to put in marijuana fields if Texas legalizes pot in the near future. Even if I wanted to sell, he wouldn’t get a chance at it. I couldn’t bear the idea of anyone plowing under the strawberries. They are part of the legacy of this place. The older guy is Richie, and he wants to buy the place as a hobby farm. He knows your grandpa’s lease is up in January. I never thought about people coming out of the woodwork, wanting to purchase a couple of acres and an old house in Ditto, Texas.”

“Or quitting your job to work with your mother and Annie?” he asked.

“Aunt Gracie often said that everything happens for a reason,” I said, “but sometimes it’s tough to ferret out the purpose ofwhatandhowat the time.” I stopped long enough to take another bite of cheesecake. “Today, I went shopping with Mama for her trip. I bought luggage for her early Mother’s Day present. She’s worked all these years and supported me, but she’s never even owned a suitcase.” My voice quivered, and I had trouble swallowing the lump in my throat. “I feel guilty for taking her and Aunt Gracie for granted.”

Connor laid a hand on my arm. “Sometimes I feel the same about going off to another country when I could have come here and spent time with my grandparents. I was too busy with my own life to visit them like I should have done.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked, enjoying the little zing of sparks at the touch of his hand.

“Dad is retired from the military, and they live in the Bahamas these days.”

“Do they ever come back for visits?”

He shrugged. “They try to come for a couple of days at Christmas. Growing up an army brat had its pros and cons. Dad said he wanted nothing to do with settling down permanently, especially not in Ditto, Texas. Mother loved the life of traveling from base to base. Grandpa and Granny were my stability, but the way I was shifted around with my parents kept me from ever realizing the importance of roots.”

Even though we were talking about serious things, the chemistry was still there. Had the sparks been in living color, they would have looked like one of those fireworks that light up the sky with bright blue, purple, green, and red.

“Hindsight, and all that,” I said.

“Yep,” he agreed. “What else is new in your life? Have you found another job?”

“No, but I hired a housekeeper. Gina Lou from down at Annie’s Café is moving in with me on Saturday. She’ll be helping out with whatever needs to be done, and she’ll be busy for months.”

“If she gets caught up and needs some extra work, Grandpa could probably use her services. He’s been pretty stubborn about hiring help since Granny died. I do what I can in between all the other things he has me trying to learn,” Connor said with a shrug. “But the dust gets pretty deep before either of us has time to clean house, and Granny’s roses are downright pitiful looking.”

“Her dream is to be a teacher, but she doesn’t have the finances.” I told him about the sympathy cards. “I figure four or five months’ workwill get this place in order, and I can always find someone to come in a day or two a week. I’m thinking about paying her tuition and room and board at the college in the fall. Kind of paying it forward.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Connor said. “I’d be glad to help any way I can. Just let me know.”

“Thank you, and I will.” I took a long drink of the wine.

He leaned over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You are beautiful.”

A blush crawled up from my neck and made my face feel like it was on fire.

“Is that a blush?” he asked.

“Busted!” I set the empty glass on the coffee table. “I’m not used to compliments.”

“I wasn’t blowing smoke up your skirt,” Connor said. “I’m impressed by you more and more as I get to know you, and I was serious about helping pay for Gina Lou’s education.”

“Then thank you again, but I can cover it. I was about to watch a movie. Got time to stick around?” I asked.

“Love to,” he answered. “I get so bored in the hotel room at night. I don’t know why Grandpa doesn’t just drive back and forth when he has to have all these meetings once every quarter. DVDs in the cabinet under the television?”

“No such thing. Aunt Gracie was adamant about keeping things as they are, but she and Jasper loved their movies, so she subscribed to nearly all of the streaming services.” I picked up the remote and started pushing buttons. “Western, drama, comedy? Name your poison.”

“What did Miz Gracie like?”

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