Kara Lennox - One Stubborn Texan

“I figured getting a flight out would be near impossible with the weather, so I wasn’t too worried. Are you at your aunt Carol’s?”

“No, I’m…Oh, Dad, the most wonderful, terrible thing has happened. I’m in love.”

“No kidding? So that’s what this mysterious trip was all about.”

“It didn’t start out that way, but that’s how it’s finishing up.”

“You don’t sound completely happy. Don’t tell me the fella doesn’t love you back.”

“I honestly don’t know. It’s just that, regardless of how he feels, he’s here and I’m there and that makes things difficult.”

“Well, now, it shouldn’t,” Lowell said. “Don’t forget your mom and I were from different parts of the country, too. But we worked it out.”

“Yeah, you moved to New York. But that’s never going to happen in this case. Russ would never leave his precious Hill Country. And I wouldn’t want him to. He wouldn’t be happy in the city.”

“Even with you?”

“Not even with me.”

“Well, there must be some way to work it out. Couldn’t you move down there?”

Sydney was surprised her father would suggest such a thing. For the past year he’d been completely dependent on her and they both knew it. “Oh, I don’t think so, Dad. New York is my home.”

“Now, if you’re just sticking around because you’re worried about your old man, don’t. I’ll get by.”

But he wouldn’t. He needed her, at least for a while longer.

“We’ll talk about it when I get back,” she said. “I don’t have to make any decisions right now.”

“Sydney, honey, if you love this man, don’t let him get away. Maybe it’s an old-fashioned notion to believe in fate, but I do. I know there was one woman fated for me and I found her. Once I found her, I didn’t let her go. Not till I had to, anyway.” He paused and she knew he was struggling once again with his grief.

Please don’t let him start crying. She couldn’t stand it when her formerly invincible father resorted to tears.

To her surprise, however, he continued speaking, his voice clear and strong. “Don’t let your life be filled with thoughts of what might have been. Don’t settle for almost good enough.”

Sydney swallowed hard at the reminder of the love between her parents. They’d been so different from each other and yet they’d had the happiest of marriages. Was it at all possible that she and Russ…Her heart beat a little faster just thinking of the possibilities.

Maybe she didn’t have to say goodbye forever. Oh, but she didn’t even know if Russ felt the same way. He might freak out if she told him how she felt. Lots of guys wanted nothing to do with love and commitment. Maybe there was a reason he’d reached his thirties without marrying-such as an aversion to commitment.

“Sydney, you still there?”

“Yeah, Dad. Just thinking about things. Are you taking the sleeping pills Dr. Stevens prescribed?”

“Nah. I’m not taking any of those pills anymore. I want to feel like myself again.”

Sydney wasn’t sure that was such a hot idea, but she had to admit, her dad sounded a little stronger than he had for a while. Maybe he was coming around.

Or maybe she was simply trying to justify her completely irrational desire to chuck everything and move to Texas to be with a man who might not even want her.

After concluding her call with her father, Sydney realized with a start that Nero was lying on the sofa next to her and she was patting him absently. “I bet you’re not supposed to be on the furniture,” she said. He yawned and rolled over, apparently wanting her to scratch his belly. “I like you, but I don’t like you that much. Try not to take advantage.”

Russ awoke feeling pleasantly warm and drowsy, but something was missing. He reached beside him to find nothing but empty bed.

Damn it! If she’d slipped out of bed and sneaked away in the night, he was going to kill her. Maybe she wanted to skip the painful goodbye, but he’d been counting on a last coffee together. He’d wanted to give her a memorable send-off. No sense making it easy for her to walk out of his life.

He threw back the covers and leaped from the bed. The bathroom was dark.

As he exited the dimly lit bedroom he almost tripped over her shoes, then saw that her stockings and bra were still on the floor, right where they’d left them last night in their hurry to reach the bed.

Russ relaxed slightly. She wouldn’t leave so fast she’d forget her clothes. But where was she? His experience with her morning habits was scanty, but he didn’t peg her for a cheerful early riser.

He found her curled up on the sofa staring into the fire’s dying embers, a cell phone in her hand-stroking Nero, who was stretched out beside her.

“Sydney?”

She and Nero jumped at the same time. Nero slinked off the couch and tried to become invisible.

“Yeah, you better hide.”

“Sorry,” Sydney said. “I figured he wasn’t allowed on the furniture, but he ignored me when I told him to get down.” She was wearing his shirt and nothing else. He liked the look. But he didn’t like the sheen of tears in her eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just couldn’t sleep. I decided to call my father and let him know when to expect me home, since I forgot to do it earlier.”

Even on New York time, it would still be an ungodly hour. “You called your father in the middle of the night?”

“I intended to simply leave a message. He turns off the ringer at night. But he was awake, so we talked for a bit.”

“You’re upset.”

She waved away his concern. “No, I’m okay. We were just talking about Mom, that’s all.”

Russ sat down beside her and, conscious of the fact he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, grabbed a fleece throw he kept on the sofa and threw it over both of them. “I guess you still miss her a lot.”

“Yeah. But it’s Dad I’m worried about. He hasn’t been the same since she died. I’ve helped as much as I could without losing all my own clients, but without my mom it’s not enough. He’s going to lose the business.”

“What? You mean, bankruptcy?”

Sydney nodded. “I’ve put it off as long as I could. But Mom was sick for a while before she died and they lost some business then. When she got sicker, her medical bills really went through the roof, then their insurance, well, you know how it is for self-employed people. Since then it’s only been getting worse. The budget only has so much give and it’s given all it’s going to.”

“I’m sorry, Sydney. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a business you’ve built up your whole life. I’ve put less than ten years into mine, but it’s my lifeblood.”

“I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. Nothing drearier than someone complaining about her money problems. I hear it from my clients all the time when I’m trying to get them to pay their bills.”

Russ felt lower than an armadillo’s toes. “I wish you’d told me earlier about this.” He’d had no idea she was in financial trouble. In fact, looking at her clothes, her car and her jewelry, he’d figured just the opposite.

“I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me, so stop it,” she said, her voice severe. “Most of his debts are secured by the business, which means they can’t touch his retirement fund, so he won’t be out on the street or anything like that. We’ll just get through it-”

“I could do more than offer sympathy. I could sign your contract.”

It looked like she had stopped breathing for a moment. But then she shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that, especially after meeting Winnie. I’d be messing up two lives and there’s no guarantee I could fix things for my dad even if I had the money to do it. You said it best-throwing money at a problem isn’t always the answer. Maybe it’s simply time for-”