Page 19 of Christmas in the Shadows

Was that a lotion or shampoo? Or had she been baking cookies earlier?

He didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He was intrigued.

Before he led Chelsea out of the room, Patrick called to her again.

“Don’t forget dinner on Friday.”

She looked back at him, and her lips parted as if she wanted to refute his words. Then she looked at the stitches on her hand and let out an almost imperceivable sigh. Tex knew her well enough to know what he’d heard.

She wasn’t thrilled with the idea, was she?

“Text me,” she said.

To Tex, it sounded like Chelsea didn’t want to commit to anything.

But he was curious about what was going on between the two of them—and that curiosity had nothing to do with the fact he might feel a touch of jealousy and protectiveness.

He had no right to feel that emotion. No right at all.

Chelsea wished she could rewind today and do it all over again.

If so, she wouldn’t have sneaked into Gilbert’s house. Wouldn’t have been caught by Tex looking in the man’s office. And she wouldn’t have gone to the urgent care place with Tex where Patrick would treat her and she’d pass out.

But here she was, and now there was nothing she could do about it except grin and bear it.

Tension stretched between her and Tex as they started down the road back to her house.

“So you and Patrick, huh?” he said after a moment.

She’d known the comment was coming. She’d seen the curiosity in his gaze. “It’s not what you think. We’re just friends.”

“Does he know that?” He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her.

“I’ve told him, but he doesn’t seem to get the message.”

“He was always hardheaded about certain things. Once he set his mind to something, he didn’t change it.”

“I can see that. I’ve known him since high school, but he never really showed any interest in me until recently.”

“He always had a crush on you,” Tex said.

Her eyebrows flew up. “He did?”

Tex nodded. “He did. Then again, a lot of guys at school did.”

Her cheeks heated. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do.”

She cleared her throat, suddenly wanting to change the subject. “Anyway, I . . . I don’t want to hurt him. He’s a good man. But . . .” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the statement. She didn’t want to share too much.

A moment of silence passed before Tex asked, “How’s Patrick been doing lately? He made it sound like his loans were a bit overwhelming.”

Chelsea thought it was strange that Tex was talking about Patrick’s loans of all things. Especially when they had so much to catch up on—things that had nothing to do with Patrick.

“I’m not really sure how he’s doing,” Chelsea said.

Though she had thought Patrick had acted a little strange the past few times she’d seen him. He’d been jumpy and more on edge. She’d wondered about it but had figured it was just because of his job.

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