Heather Macallister - Personal Relations

Talk about lazy. If Courtney could just be bothered to walk a few extra steps, then Brooke could exit now instead of being forced to drive the entire circuit of the parking lot. She shook her head, but Courtney beckoned again.

It had been a long day, a day in which Brooke should have stayed an extra half hour at work and would have, if she hadn’t had to pick up Courtney. In spite of the two cars behind her, Brooke shook her head again and gestured back.

Courtney was mad. She stormed over to the car, jerked open the door, then slammed it shut. “Why wouldn’t you come over there?”

Brooke got in line for the traffic light. “I didn’t feel like driving all the way around the parking lot just because you were in diva mode.”

Courtney jammed her shoulder belt into the clasp. “I only wanted you to meet Jeff’s brother.”

“Who’s Jeff?”

“You know, the guy who’s working on the sets. That was his brother’s car.” She gave Brooke a sideways look. “His single brother. I told him about you. He acted interested.”

“Interested in one thing.”

“Oh, come on Brooke! Lighten up and maybe you could go out with him.”

“Go out with him?” Brooke crossed her fingers in a warding-off-evil-spirits sign. “An older single man with a Porsche? Have I taught you nothing?”

“Yeah, how to spend weekends cleaning the house, then rewarding ourselves with microwave popcorn and a video. Whoopee.”

Brooke actually looked forward to Saturday nights with her sister. “You’re not dateless every Saturday.”

“You are,” Courtney said quietly.

“I’m too tired to date!” Brooke laughed.

Courtney didn’t. “I really wish you’d meet Jeff’s brother.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

The last thing Brooke needed right now was first-date stress, followed by will-he-call stress, and if he did call, and she did start going out with him, the should-I-or-shouldn’t-I stress. With Courtney watching her every move, it was darn well going to be shouldn’t. Besides, most men didn’t understand why a single woman in her twenties had a self-imposed midnight curfew. But Brooke couldn’t apply one set of rules to her dating life and another to Courtney’s even though Courtney was still in high school. Brooke shuddered just imagining the arguments. It wasn’t worth it.

What would be worth it was the satisfaction she’d feel when she got Courtney into a good college.

Then Brooke could enter the dating scene.

Until then, she didn’t need the stress.

“YA GOTTA MEET HER, MAN,” Jeff insisted. “If she’s anything like Courtney, she’s hot.”

Chase Davenport gave his brother a long look, then flicked on his turn signal.

“I mean hot in a good way,” Jeff tried to explain. “A classy way. Yeah. Classical hot.” He dug in his backpack and withdrew a piece of crumpled notebook paper. “Here’s her phone number.”

“No thanks,” Chase said. “I can find my own women.”

“For a guy who drives a serious chick magnet like this, you aren’t doing such a good job.” Jeff picked up Chase’s cell phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Programing in Courtney’s number in case you change your mind.”

Chase didn’t bother to object. He could always erase it later. “I was surprised to hear that you were on the stage crew. I didn’t know you were interested in that kind of thing.” Chase supposed he should be thankful that Jeff was finally showing interest in something, but he never would have guessed it would be the school musical.

“Oh, yeah. It’s cool.”

“Is that how you met Courtney?”

“Everybody knows Courtney,” he said.

Chase was beginning to get the picture. Jeff was more interested in this Courtney than he was in the play. He thought back to the girl he’d just met. She was pretty, in a drama student way. She’d had on a bright red sweater and lips to match and long silver earrings that had brushed against her cheeks when she talked. No one could accuse her of being the mousy type, which Chase would have figured more as Jeff’s style.

Chase smiled to himself as Jeff went on about lights and computer programs and the sets he was going to help build. This Courtney had high-maintenance written all over her. Jeff might as well learn about high-maintenance women now when he had time for them, because he sure wouldn’t have time when he started college in the fall.

And, as Chase had discovered, he wouldn’t have time for them when he was trying to establish a career, either.

Chase, himself, didn’t even have time for low-maintenance women. But that was all right. Contrary to popular belief, he’d discovered there were actually no maintenance women out there—women who agreed that work took precedence for now.

Chase downshifted for the approaching traffic light. The problems started when casual became not-so-casual. That’s when the expectations started. And, Chase had to admit, he’d been guilty of changing the terms of a relationship a couple of times, himself. But no more. He had a plan. It was a beautifully simple plan—make a potful of money and semiretire so he could enter the ultimate high-maintenance relationship—a wife and family.

He glanced over at Jeff. They were a lot alike—both children of parents who’d had children before they’d worked through all their selfishness. Jeff’s mother still wasn’t ready for children, which was why Chase was getting a sneak preview of parenting a teenager. He didn’t mind. Jeff was basically a good kid and Chase was flattered that he’d considered fixing him up with Courtney’s sister.

But since he suspected high-maintenance ran in the family, he’d have to pass this time.

“JEFF? THIS ISN’T working. It’s been days and they won’t even wave hello to each other.”

“I know. And Chase said he’s not going to call your sister.”

“It’s really too bad, because I think they’d be good together. You know where we went wrong? We shouldn’t have tried to set them up. We should have had them accidentally meet somehow.”

“Yeah, but they’re not going to fall for it now.”

“Unless we give them a good enough reason to get together. And we’ll have to come up with something soon, because I have to have my film school application and deposit postmarked the day after Valentine’s Day.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’ll need the money! Brooke won’t approve it and without Brooke’s okay, my parents won’t fork over the cash.”

“I still don’t—”

“If we come up with something drastic, then film school will look good by comparison, and Chase will be thrilled to let you do what you want to do.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.”

“You’d better decide soon, because you’re going to be in a great bargaining position.”

“MARRIED? Don’t make me laugh.” But Brooke didn’t feel like laughing. Actually, she felt a little sick and was getting sicker by the moment. Watching her bowl of high-fiber, vitamin-fortified cereal swell into a gray mass as it soaked up the milk didn’t help.

“So you’d rather we just live together first?” Courtney smirked. “Mom and Dad will be interested to hear that, especially after their little dairy lecture.”

Brooke blinked.

“You know, why would a man buy the cow when he can get the milk for free?” Courtney took a bite of cereal. Hers still crunched.

“Well, if you want to consider yourself a cow, then I can’t stop you,” Brooke retorted, goaded by the I’ve-got-you look on Courtney’s face.

“And since I’m eighteen, you can’t stop me from getting married, either.”

True, true, horribly true. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.