Page 16 of Treasured

Tracy.

I'll admit I'd hoped to at least catch a glimpse of her in a photo or maybe Maxine would let something slip about her niece, but seeing her in the flesh sends my entire system into overdrive.

Same for Creed. He grabs my shoulder and tries to push me aside, but I am faster and head down the ladder with him right on my tail. The ladder wasn't made for two hefty and fast moving men and the whole thing collapses and we land in a heap of broken ladder, dirt, sweat and two cowboys.

We untangle ourselves and stand up, brushing grime from our clothes.

Tracy stares at us, like she's frozen in place. Her lips fall open in surprise and she doesn't say anything.

In the commotion, Maxine must have left the hallway because she returns with some damp towels that she hands to my brother and me. It's a drop in the bucket since we are filthy but at least I am able to get the top layer of grime off my face.

"Tracy," I manage to say. My voice is a whisper. Reverent. Like I'm seeing something in a dream and I'm afraid that if I talk too loud, I'll wake up and she'll disappear. I want to reach out and touch her, but I don't, for the same reason. Instead I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"Tracy," Creed says, as though he didn't hear me say the same thing. I take my gaze from our fated mate for a fleeting second and look at my twin. His eyes are glazed over as he gapes at her, like he's in a trance.

I feel that way myself.

Tracy still hasn't said anything and suddenly Maxine is nowhere to be seen.

Tracy’s pink tongue slides over her parted lips and a small smile forms. "Hi," she says, kind of shyly. She brushes her hands down over her jeans in a nervous gesture that I remember from years ago.

"It's great to see you," I say. I haven't felt this awkward since I was thirteen.

"You too," she says. "Really great."

CHAPTER8

Tracy

"You look very pretty, honey,"Aunt Max says to me as I walk down the staircase of her house. I'm wearing a dress that I’ve always liked. It’s a pretty shade of blue with small white flowers all over it and a long flowy skirt. It’s not super sexy, but this is just dinner with some old friends, right?

After the shock of seeing Jake and Creed this morning, we all had a rather awkward conversation. What do you say to people that you left behind after you come back and feel rather foolish and extremely sorry about everything?

They seemed kind of nervous too and considering the fact that they were both filthy from crawling around in the attic, we decided that it would be better to reconnect over dinner tonight. I'm surprised by how nervous and excited I am. I think about the arrow of love and the conversation at the knitting group. Did it strike back when we were kids? Will it happen again? Am I an idiot for even believing in such things? I think the answer to that is yes.

“Where are you going tonight?” Aunt Max asks. After orchestrating the whole thing to get Creed and Jake over here, then trapping them in the attic because I was gone, she’d left us alone to talk.

It's hard to know what to say, seeing them like that was such a surprise. Though I suppose I shouldn't have been shocked, considering that Aunt Max is undaunted in most situations and she seemed very interested in making sure that I got in touch with Creed and Jake.

All afternoon I've been in a bit of a flutter. It's been six years and I'm just not sure if that's time that we can make up for or not. Or if they even want to.

“We're going to the Library for dinner tonight,” I say to Aunt Max.

“Oh,” she says, “that sounds fun. I hope they have a good band for dancing tonight.” And then she winks at me.

Dancing at the Library can be pretty sexy with two men and one woman moving around the dance floor to the music. My insides warm at the thought and then I tell myself to settle down. There's a lot to be discussed. Apologies to be made. By me.

“I don't know if anything sexy is going to be happening tonight, Aunt Max. Or ever. It's been six years. I'm just going to look at this as an opportunity to spend time with old friends.”

She seems disappointed. “Oh come on now. I saw the way they looked at you. They feel the same as they always have. What about you?”

“I don't know, I really don't. A lot has happened since I left town.”

Before I can get too involved in this discussion there's a knock at the door. My dates have arrived.

I go to the door and open it. Creed and Jake are both standing there, each holding a massive bouquet of flowers. Creed pushes his bouquet toward me, it's a beautiful assortment of roses in varying colors, and says, “I got these for you, Tracy. I knew you'd like them.”

Jake elbows his brother out of the way and practically swats the roses from my hands as he shoves his bouquet of flowers toward me. “Tracy, I picked these for you myself from our mama's garden. I knew you'd like them better than roses.”

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