Chapter 1

 

“I can’t wait for you to meet Susan.”

Keith Callahan rolled his eyes at Paul Sheridan, his best friend. “I know, I know, she’s wonderful, she’s perfect, she’s awesome and you’re nuts about her.”

Paul’s expression became sheepish. “Yeah. She is pretty special.”

“So when am I going to meet her?”

“Tonight.”

Keith had arrived in Austin the previous evening. It was Paul’s spring break—he was a senior at the University of Texas—and he normally would have spent the time off with his frat brothers at Padre Island, or at home in Rainbow’s End where both boys had grown up. But Paul hadn’t wanted to leave Susan, who couldn’t afford to go anywhere or take time off work, so Keith had agreed to come to Austin instead.

Being there was no hardship for Keith. Rainbow’s End was only about sixty miles west of Austin, but the towns could have been in separate universes. Although Austin wasn’t mammoth like Dallas or Houston, it was huge compared to Rainbow’s End, whose total population was just under twelve thousand.

When Keith and Paul were young boys, they’d loved their hometown, but as they grew older, they’d felt stifled by its lack of excitement and opportunities for adventure. They’d spent many a long summer night fantasizing about leaving. They’d talked about how they would become forest rangers or wilderness guides somewhere like Wyoming or Alaska. Someplace exciting and different. The last place either wanted to end up was their boring hometown.

And yet it looked now as if that was where they would both spend the rest of their lives. Somehow, by high school graduation, Keith’s family had pressured him into working in his family’s construction business just like his two older brothers, and Paul had also succumbed to his father’s wishes and would become a lawyer just like his father and grandfather before him.

Sometimes, though, Keith still entertained secret dreams of getting away. Now the dreams weren’t centered around adventure so much as being free from the at-times smothering expectations of his family. And if it weren’t for Paul, he probably would make the break. He wondered if Paul ever felt he might have made the wrong choice. Maybe this week they’d get a chance to talk about it.

It was a funny thing, Keith mused. He had four brothers—two older and two younger—and they were a pretty close bunch, but Paul, who was not related by blood, was like his other half. Since kindergarten, they’d been inseparable. Keith remembered how his mother had always teased them, saying they must have been twins in another life.

“So what do you think?” Paul said now, breaking into Keith’s thoughts. “How about this afternoon we go over to Tony’s and shoot some pool?” He grinned. “Give me a chance to whup your ass.”

Keith laughed. “In your dreams.”

“Wanna put some money where your mouth is?”

‘‘Ten bucks a game?’’

“You got yourself a deal.”

They spent a pleasant afternoon playing pool and drinking a couple of beers. Then it was time to get ready for their evening with Susan.

“Where does she live?” Keith asked when they started out.

“She has an apartment about fifteen minutes from here.”

Keith frowned when Paul pulled his Jeep Wrangler up before a small, run-down complex in an area that had seen better days.

“I know,” Paul said, seeing Keith’s expression. “It’s kind of a dump, but Susan’s putting herself through school, and money’s tight.”

“Her parents don’t help at all?”

Paul shook his head. ‘‘Her dad skipped out on her mother when Susan was only two, and with what her mother was able to earn, they just managed to scrape by. Then, when Susan was a senior in high school, her mother got cancer.”

“That’s rough.”

“Yeah. Susan doesn’t talk about it much, but she took care of her mother the whole time she was sick. She died a couple of years ago. That’s why Susan’s barely a sophomore now instead of a senior, like she should be.”

Keith couldn’t imagine losing both his parents. Shoot, he couldn’t imagine losing one of his parents. Anytime he’d ever thought about it, he had pushed the thoughts away, because it wasn’t a place he wanted to go.

They walked across a cracked parking lot toward the apartments. Keith looked at the cars parked there—mostly old, inexpensive models. He studied the small complex. He couldn’t help comparing it— with its badly-in-need-of-paint exterior—to the bright, new complex Paul lived in, complete with sparkling pool, tennis courts and maid service. Of course, Paul’s digs were paid for by his mother, who doted on him, all the more so since his father had died unexpectedly the year before.

He looked at Paul. “So Susan was left with no money when her mother died?”

Paul shrugged. “She got a little bit. There was a small insurance policy from her mother’s job, just enough to pay the medical bills with some left over, but as far as I can tell, that’s mostly gone now. I’ve been trying to persuade her to move in with me.” By now they’d entered the complex and were headed toward Susan’s unit. “But she won’t.”

“Oh, yeah?” In Keith’s experience, most girls couldn’t wait to move in with a guy. They usually viewed living together as the first step on the road to getting the coveted wedding ring. “She’s holding out for marriage, huh?”

“Susan’s not like that,” Paul said stiffly. “She’s got high principles. I admire that about her.”

Keith was getting the feeling that Susan was just a little bit too good to be true. No one could be as perfect as Paul had painted her.

“This is her place.” Paul walked up to a door marked with the number eighteen and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened.

The girl who stood there was nothing like Keith had pictured her. Paul usually went for leggy, sexy blondes. Susan Carroll was small, maybe five foot three, with curly, light brown, shoulder-length hair held away from her face by a white headband. Her big brown eyes looked straight at you. She was the kind of girl Keith’s mother would describe as “cute,” with freckles sprinkled across her nose and a girl-next-door look, which was accentuated by her outfit of jeans, white blouse and dark blue flats.

“Hi,” she said, smiling up at Paul, who was grinning at her like a fool.

“Hi,” he said, bending down to kiss her. She had turned her head slightly, and the kiss landed on the corner of her mouth. For some reason, Keith got the feeling the movement had been intentional.

Paul introduced them, and Susan stuck out her right hand. Her handshake was firm, her eyes curious as she met Keith’s gaze. “It’s nice to meet you, Keith. Paul talks about you all the time.”

She had a low, husky voice. Bedroom voice, Keith thought, then was immediately embarrassed, even though she couldn’t know what he was thinking. “When he’s with me, he talks about you all the time.”

She laughed—a throaty chuckle that made Keith wish he could think of something else amusing to say.

Her eyes twinkled. “I’m not sure if that means he has good taste or bad taste.”

“Good taste, I’d say,” Keith said, realizing he really meant it.

“Hey, you can let her hand go anytime now,” Paul said.

Keith blinked. He hadn’t realized he was still holding her hand. “Sorry.” Feeling sheepish, he dropped it.

Paul threw his arm around Susan’s shoulders. “Ready, honey?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh. Just as soon as I lock up. Holly’s gone.”

“Holly’s her roommate,” Paul explained. “I was hoping she’d stick around this week, ’cause I thought you’d like her, but she went home to Dallas.”

“You would have liked her,” Susan said. “Holly’s gorgeous.”

“Hey,” Paul said, “I think you’re gorgeous.” The look on his face was beyond sappy.

Yep, he had it bad, Keith thought. Real bad. But to be fair, even though Susan wasn’t beautiful, the way Paul seemed to think, Keith could see what her appeal was. She made you feel good when you looked at her.

Susan locked the door, and they headed toward the truck. Politely, Keith insisted Susan ride in the front with Paul. Being polite had its advantages, he decided once they were on their way. By sitting in the back, he could study her without being obvious about it. He was very curious about her. She was so different from the girls Paul had dated in the past. Maybe all the good things Paul had said about her were true, after all, and not just the exaggerations of a guy blinded by an infatuation. Still, Keith would reserve his final opinion until he’d spent more time with her. Appearances could be deceiving, he reminded himself, remembering his own infatuation a few years back with a girl who had turned out to be something other than what he’d imagined.

“So what do you think?” Paul said. “Want to get something to eat first, then go to Maggie Mae’s?” Maggie Mae’s was a popular club on Sixth Street where they always had good music.

“That’s fine with me,” Susan said.

“I can always eat,” Keith said.

After a brief discussion about what they felt hungry for, they settled on a hamburger place. It was the kind of restaurant where you place your order at the counter, then get your drink and find your own table.

After they were seated and waiting for their food to be ready, Susan turned to Keith. “Has Paul told you how envious of you I am?”

“Me?” Keith said. “Why?”

“Because you come from such a big family,” she said wistfully. “I always wanted brothers and sisters, and the idea of having five siblings...well, I just can’t imagine it.”

“Believe me,” Keith said, “sometimes you wouldn’t want to imagine it.”

Paul chuckled. “Yeah. Like when they fought, which was most of the time.”

“You can say that again,” Keith agreed. “I used to get pounded on a lot.” He laughed at Susan’s horrified expression. “I’m exaggerating. They didn’t really pound on me. But I did get picked on.”

“They pounded on him,” Paul said, “but he deserved it. He was a pest.”

“We were both pests,” Keith corrected him. “Paul and I were always tagging along after my older brothers. They hated it. They always tried to sneak out without us.” Keith drank some of his tea. “But we all get along great now.”

“Like I said, you’re lucky,” Susan said. “Tell me about them.”

“You don’t really want to hear.”

“Yes, I do. I told you. I’m envious. Who’s the oldest?”

“The oldest is Patrick. Patrick Jr. I always think of him that way, but I know his wife calls him Pat. And when we were kids, our mother called him Two.”

“Two?”

“Yeah, you know...the second Patrick in the family.”

Susan laughed. “Oh, I love that. That’s great.”

There it was again, that laugh—sexy and contagious at the same time. It kind of gave him an odd feeling to hear it. Yeah, he could definitely see why Paul liked her so much.

“So how old is Patrick Jr.?” Susan asked.

“Twenty-eight. He’s the only one of us who’s married. In fact, he’s got two kids already. Two little girls.” He smiled thinking of them. Jana and Katie were so cute, they’d made Keith think that someday he might not mind having a kid of his own.

“And after Patrick Jr.?” Susan prompted.

“Then comes Kevin,” Paul said. “He’s twenty-six. Right, Keith?”

“Right. And after Kevin comes me.” He grinned. “I’m twenty-one, almost twenty-two.”

“That’s right,” Paul said. “I almost forgot. Your birthday is next month.”

“Yep. April 15th. Tax day. My dad always says I was the only good thing to ever come out of that day.”

“April 15th, really?” Susan said. “My birthday is April 16th.”

“It is?” Paul said. “You didn’t tell me.”

She shrugged. “Birthdays have never been a big deal in my family.”

Her tone was nonchalant, but there was something—some spark of emotion in her eyes—that told Keith she wasn’t as indifferent as she was trying to pretend. No, there was hurt there, he decided. And seeing it made him feel bad. He remembered how his mother had made a big production of their birthdays. Rose Callahan always said your birthday was the most special day of the year, because it belonged to you and no one else. In Keith’s family, for the entire day of your birthday, you felt like the most important person in the world. You got a cake and presents and you got to pick your favorite meal for dinner. And everybody had to be nice to you. In fact, at dinner on your birthday night, each member of the Callahan family had to say one thing about you that was special. Yeah, being the birthday kid had been a great feeling.

Paul started to say something else about Susan’s birthday, but she cut him off. Turning to Keith, she said, “We’re getting off the track. So after you comes who?”

“After me comes Rory,” Keith said, going along with Susan. If talking about what she’d missed out on made her feel bad, he wouldn’t add to her discomfort. “He’s nineteen. Then Glenn, who’s sixteen. And last but not least is Sheila. She’s twelve and the baby, but boy, does she ever hate it when you call her that.”

Paul laughed. “Yeah, she hauled off and punched me once when I called her ‘the baby.’ She’s got a mean right hook.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s our Sheila. Act first, think later. She was born on New Year’s day. That must have something to do with it."

Susan smiled. “They sound wonderful.”

Keith nodded. “I make cracks about them all the time, but the truth is, they’re a good bunch.”

Just then, their number was called. “I’ll go get the food,” Paul said. “You two stay here and talk.”

“Paul tells me your parents are terrific, too,” Susan said after Paul left.

“Yeah, they are. My dad, he’s tough. He doesn’t stand for any guff from us kids, but he’s fair. If he gets on us for something, we usually deserve it. And my mom...my mom, she’s the greatest.” At this last, he ducked his head a little, embarrassed by the sudden welling of emotion he felt talking about his family.

“Your mom, your whole family, they sound wonderful,” Susan said softly.

He looked up, and their eyes met across the table. In hers, he saw the glint of tears, and he knew she was thinking about her own mother. Something constricted in his chest. And in that moment, Keith knew Paul hadn’t exaggerated. Susan was everything he’d said she was—a sweet, sensitive, just-plain-nice girl. Keith liked her. He liked her a lot. In fact, he found himself wishing he’d met her first. Paul was a very lucky guy.

That opinion was reinforced as the evening wore on. Even so, one thing about Susan bothered Keith. He wasn’t sure she returned Paul’s feelings. You could tell she liked him, but anytime he got sappy around her, she seemed uncomfortable. One time, toward the end of evening, Paul leaned over and tried to nuzzle her ear. She didn’t make a big deal of it, yet she moved out of his reach. Her behavior puzzled Keith. If she wasn’t in love with Paul, why was she stringing him along?

With another girl Keith might have thought she recognized a good thing when she saw it, and in love or not, she’d decided Paul was a good catch. After all, it was obvious Paul had money. The apartment he lived in, the new Wrangler he drove, the nice clothes he wore, the abundance of spending money he had, and the fact that he didn’t work all attested to the fact that his family was, if not wealthy, very comfortable. To a girl like Susan, who had so little, Paul would seem to have so much.

Yet instinctively Keith felt money wasn’t important to Susan. At least not important enough to compromise her principles. Because Paul was right about that, too. Susan did have high principles. That was obvious in everything she’d said the entire evening. So what was going on?

Later, after they’d taken Susan home and were back in Paul’s apartment, Keith tried to think of a diplomatic way to introduce the subject of Susan’s seeming lack of ardor toward Paul, when Paul made it easy for him.

“So what did you think?” Paul asked. “Isn’t Susan great?”

“I liked her a lot.”

Paul smiled happily. “I knew you would.”

“So what’s the story between you two?” Keith asked casually.

“What do you mean?”

“You know. You serious about her?”

“Yeah. I’ve asked her to marry me.”

It surprised Keith to feel a stab of jealousy. “That’s great,” he said quickly. “You told your mother yet?’’

Paul shook his head. “No. Susan said she isn’t sure.”

“What do you mean? Not sure about what?”

“It’s no big deal. She’s just cautious, that’s all. I’m not worried,” he added confidently. “She just needs some time to get used to the idea.”

Paul’s answer didn’t reassure Keith. Paul had a tendency to see only what he wanted to see. He’d always been that way.

That night, lying awake on the sofa, Keith thought about the evening. He wondered if Susan and Paul were sleeping together. Somehow, he didn’t think so. When two people were having sex, they gave off vibes. And Keith hadn’t sensed any of those vibes tonight.

No matter what Paul said, Keith was concerned his buddy was going to get hurt. He almost said something, then thought better of it. He and Paul might be best friends, but there were some things friends didn’t say. This was one of them. Paul’s love life was his business and no one else’s.

Besides, Keith might be imagining problems where none existed. Maybe Susan was just cautious, the way Paul had said. After all, Keith had only spent one evening with her, whereas Paul had been seeing her for months.

That was probably it, he thought with relief, and pushed the last, lingering doubts out of his mind.