Tex was no longer the boy who’d left home.

He was now all man. He was all muscles, testosterone, and confidence.

“You should come over and have dinner with us tonight.” Gilbert tilted his head as he watched for her response. “Anna will be here.”

“Anna?” Tex questioned.

“I’m actually dating someone,” Gilbert said with a grin. “The guidance counselor at school. She’s a lovely woman, and I think you’ll really like her.”

“Good for you.”

Gilbert turned back to Chelsea. “So . . . would you like to come?”

The offer might have been sincere, but something about his gaze put her on edge. She and Gilbert were colleagues at the high school, but they didn’t run in the same circles.

Nor did shewantto run in the same circles.

There was something about the man she’d never trusted. Anna, however, seemed perfectly nice.

“I couldn’t possibly impose,” Chelsea finally said.

“It wouldn’t be imposing,” Gilbert said. “I’m making my famous spaghetti with garlic bread. I’ll have more than enough. You should come.”

Spaghetti and garlic bread. Gilbert often made that food for the varsity football team before their big games. All twenty-five players would pile into the house to eat, leaving with full stomachs and a game plan for the next day.

Right now, all Chelsea wanted was to get out of here. If that meant she needed to say yes, she would. She’d figure out everything else later.

“Can I bring anything?” Her voice sounded strained as she asked the question.

“How about a salad?”

She forced a smile, hoping it didn’t look too unnatural. “I’d be more than happy to.”

“Great.” Gilbert grinned. “Then we’ll see you at six.”

She glanced at her watch. That was only two hours away.

But at least she’d have some breathing room to think things through until then.

This entire situation—from breaking in to running into Tex—had been too close for comfort.

Because if what she suspected was true, Gilbert was in trouble.

Or hewastrouble. She couldn’t make up her mind which might be the case.

CHAPTER 2

Gilbert fixed Tex a cup of coffee, and Tex sat at the kitchen table, a place where he’d eaten many meals.

As Tex sipped his drink, Gilbert began to cook some ground beef for the spaghetti. The truth was there was only one homemade meal Gilbert had mastered, and that was spaghetti with meat sauce. Everything else had been prepackaged and frozen, and he’d just had to heat it.

Tex’s mind drifted to Chelsea again. He couldn’t believe she’d been in the house when he got here.

An image of her long, curly blonde hair and heart-shaped face filled his mind. He’d missed that face. That hair. Her smile.

Still to this day, she remained the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Not because of her outward looks either. She had an inner beauty that radiated warmth and kindness.

He hadn’t talked to her in years, though on occasion he would look for her online. But he’d forced himself to stop doing that several years ago. It was too hard to see how her life had gone on without him.