Judy Christenberry - The Texan's Reluctant Bride

He grinned. “I enjoy my work.”

He volunteered no vital statistics, though Tommie suspected he couldn’t be beyond his early thirties. She immediately got down to business. “On this map of Fort Worth I’ve targeted three areas that I think you might like. The blue area is located near Texas Christian University. It has a mixture of old and new housing. It’s centrally located and has good schools and shopping. The yellow area—” She looked up to find Mr. Schofield staring at her, not the map.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. Why would you ask that?”

“You weren’t looking at the map.” In fact, his eyes continued to peer into her own, making her extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh, I was just distracted,” he said matter-of-factly. “By your beautiful voice.” He cleared his throat and continued without skipping a beat, though her heart had suddenly decided to skip a few. “I’m familiar with Fort Worth. I was born and raised here. Area C is my choice.”

“I knew you grew up here, but I wasn’t sure you’d selected a particular location yet.”

“Yes, I should have told Isabel, but I wasn’t positive until I got back home.” He looked at her, an apologetic expression on his face.

“I guess I don’t have to tell you the advantages of the area, then.”

He shook his head, then reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a sheaf of papers. “These are the wish lists from the executives who are making the move. I’m afraid they know nothing of Fort Worth, but I thought the information would help you find houses to fit their needs.”

“Thank you so much. You’re making my job much easier.”

“And more efficient, I hope.”

“So I’m assuming time is of the essence?”

He nodded, and the friendly client instantly transformed to a diligent boss. “The sooner we all get settled, the sooner we’ll be back at work.”

“Very well. Would you like to start looking for your own house first? Or shall I line up houses for your staff?”

“Let’s start with me. The others won’t be flying in until next week. I’d like to be settled by then.”

Tommie thought he was being overly optimistic, but she wasn’t going to say anything to discourage him. “I understand. Shall we meet at, say, ten o’clock tomorrow morning? I’ll have a list of homes for you to see then.”

“Let’s meet at nine and I’ll buy you breakfast,” he countered.

“Fine. Tell me your hotel and I’ll pick you up there.”

“I’m not staying in a hotel. My mother insisted I stay with her. Here’s the address.” He leaned in and adopted a conspiratorial tone. “I love the woman, but I can assure you I’m highly motivated to get a place of my own.”

Tommie’s lips trembled with laughter. She understood exactly what he meant.

Pete found himself smiling the rest of the day as he thought about his Realtor. When Isabel Landon had told him his company move would be handled by Tommie Tyler, Pete had pictured a smarmy salesman and had worried about how he and his executives would work with the man.

Then the door had opened and Tommie Tyler had entered. He figured he’d be seeing the woman in his dreams. She was a beauty. And she’d done her homework. He’d looked at the areas she’d chosen, knowing any of the three would’ve been fine. He’d chosen the third because his mother and brother lived nearby.

He’d been planning to return to Texas a few years down the road, but he’d pushed up his schedule because of his mother’s health. After all, it wasn’t fair to leave his brother with all the responsibility.

But there was always a bright side. And he’d met her today. Suddenly, the idea of house hunting would be fun. With Tommie.

When he reached his mother’s rambling house, in the most upscale neighborhood in Fort Worth, his brother’s car was in the driveway. Pete felt his day was looking up even more. He’d missed Jim. They were twins, and though not identical, they shared the closeness associated with twins.

Jim had stayed at home and attended Texas Christian University, while Pete had gone away to Harvard, and he’d remained in Boston to start his business. Though over a thousand miles apart, they spoke several times a week and Pete knew every detail of his twin’s rise to partner at a small local CPA firm.

Their demanding schedules didn’t allow for much free time, but they did manage to fit in time for each other and for their mother. Last year she and Jim had visited him in Boston, and they’d recently sent their mother and her friend on the Alaska cruise she’d always spoken of. Pete considered them fortunate to afford such luxuries.

Ms. Tommie Tyler looked as if she appreciated the good things in life herself, judging by her expensive clothes, manicure and coiffed hair. But she’d also demonstrated the priceless things that made life worthwhile. A sense of humor, an active mind and delightful manners.

Pete hoped to delve even further into her personality in the coming days. So far, he’d found nothing to dislike.

He opened the front door to his mother’s house.

“Anyone home?” he called.

“Hey, bro, I heard you were back in town,” Jim said with a grin as he embraced his brother. He’d worked late the night before and hadn’t gotten to see Pete when he’d arrived.

“I’m back to stay this time. How’s everything going?”

“According to Mom, everything’s coming up daisies since her favorite is back home.” Jim rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance.

Pete laughed. “Don’t worry. Now that I’m back, I’ll soon share the guilt for all the wrongs of the world.”

“Damn, I hope so. The burden has been so heavy,” Jim teased, joining his brother in laughter.

Arm in arm, they walked into the family room where their mother sat in an oversize upholstered club chair by the window. She was focused, as always, on her knitting. Luckily for the brothers, she no longer made them things; instead, she sent her handmade articles to shelters for the needy.

Evelyn Schofield looked up. Her hair was now more gray than brown and she’d put on a few pounds, but her eyes were as sharp as ever. “Well, I am honored. My two boys here at once. How did the meeting go with Isabel, Pete?”

“Better than I expected, Mom,” Pete said with a big smile. “She turned me over to Tommie.”

“You’re excited about being turned over to Tommie?” Jim asked, frowning.

“You haven’t met Tommie. Twenty-six, blond hair, big blue eyes, gorgeous. And I’m taking her to breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Hey, can I come along?” Jim asked eagerly, apparently having caught on to the fact that the Realtor was a woman.

“Not on your life! Find your own girl.”

“Damn, it’s good to have you back,” Jim said, hugging Pete again.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it,” his mother said, smiling at her boys. “Now, who is this Tommie?”

“Her last name is Tyler, but that’s all I know. So far.”

“Oh,” his mother said, suddenly turning her attention to her knitting once again.

“You know her?” Pete asked.

“Why, no, dear, I don’t.” She got to her feet. “I’m going to start dinner. Jim has agreed to suffer my cooking this evening, so just make yourselves comfortable.”

Jim stared after his mother.

“What?” Pete asked, knowing his brother would understand the question.

“Why would Mom lie about knowing Tommie Tyler?”

“Did she?” Pete asked.

“You’ve been gone too long, brother. She definitely knows something about the lady. Maybe she knows her mother.”

Suddenly a horrific thought struck Pete. “You don’t think…” He groaned. “This is all I need, Mom match-making. And I’m not even back twenty-four hours.”