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“Oh, rest assured it would be for nefarious purposes.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, laughing, “I probably wouldn’t mind.”
She leaned back in her seat and appeared to relax, which was good. First dates were always tough. Add to that his motive for taking her out…and the evening became even tougher.
They rode along in silence while Jude traversed the various streets that he could swear had originally been cow paths from the way they meandered through the city.
Once on the expressway, Carina said, “Tell me something about yourself, Jude. All I know is that you’re a native Texan and that you’re a member of the well-known Crenshaw family.”
Reasonable question. He’d stick to the truth as much as possible, with the exception of his playboy image.
“There’s not much to tell and what there is you’ll find boring. I’m thirty years old. I enjoy being outdoors and can’t imagine myself working in an office all day.” That was true enough.
“Where were you born? Where did you go to school? Tell me something about your family. Why did you invite me for dinner?”
He laughed. “The last one’s easy. Because I’m attracted to you and want to get to know you better.” He teased her by saying, “Why is it I feel as though I’m being interviewed? Will I read about myself in tomorrow’s paper?”
She laughed. “Oh, no. They’d never get an article into print that fast. Probably some time next week.”
“Oh. Well then, I suppose that’s all right.” They headed out of the city and the traffic thinned out a little before he spoke. “I was born in a little town you’ve probably never heard of, New Eden, which is located about a hundred miles northwest of here. My family’s been there since the 1840s, when one of my ancestors arrived in Texas and bought land in the Hill Country. My dad is the oldest of four brothers and he has four sons.”
“Oh, my. Did his brothers have that many children?”
“Not quite. My uncle Jeffrey has two sons, Jordan and Jackson. Uncle Josh has three sons: Jeremy, Justin and James, and Uncle Jerome has three sons: Jed, Jesse and Johnny.”
“Whew. That’s a lot of people with names starting with J. And what’s with the all-male households?”
“Well, there were women born to some of our ancestors, but not many. And my oldest brother, Jake, broke the cycle by producing a little girl—Heather—a few years ago.”
“Tell me about your brothers.”
Watson had been right. His background would hold up to any scrutiny if someone was checking on him because it wasn’t part of his cover.
He relaxed a little more and said, “Let’s see. Jake is almost thirty-four. He’s the rancher in our family. He married the foreman’s daughter, Ashley, last fall and they’re expecting their first child together any time now. Heather is from his first marriage and he has full custody of her.
“Jared, an oil geologist, got married a few weeks after Jake. He’s thirty-two. I was up at the ranch earlier this month for a big barbecue my dad put on welcoming Jared back from Saudi Arabia. We were all relieved to hear he won’t be going back.
“I’m the third son. My younger brother, Jason, is in Delta Force.”
“Is he married?”
“Nope. He and I enjoy our freedom too much to give serious thought to settling down. At least not for several years, anyway.”
“So you’re definitely a native Texan.”
“Yep. Went all the way through high school in New Eden and as soon as I graduated I joined the army…at the insistence of my father and the local sheriff.”
“The sheriff? What had you done?”
“Nothing too serious, actually, but I guess I was heading in that direction, or so my dad thought. I ran with a couple of guys who loved to pull pranks and push the limit. Let’s just say we were a little too rowdy for the small town. We’d sneak beer, race our cars down Main Street, give our teachers migraines and in general made a name for ourselves.
“My dad wasn’t impressed. He was the one who strongly suggested I find something more productive to do with my life than remove street signs, decorate people’s lawns with toilet paper and see who had the fastest wheels. I recall hearing the words learn a little discipline.”
“A delinquent, were you?” she asked with a grin.
He chuckled. “Close to it.”
“Then you went into the army.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then what?”
He gave her another glance before he said with a smile, “I got out of the army at the end of my enlistment and promised myself I’d never go back.” His first big lie. He’d enjoyed the army and had learned a lot about himself. He’d joined Delta Force a few months after he enlisted. The army had challenged him and he discovered that he thrived on challenge. They’d paid for his college education and promoted him to officer status when he graduated. He’d moved steadily up the ranks and would probably still be in the army if the NSA hadn’t approached him about working for them.
“A little too much discipline, I take it?” Carina asked.
“Something like that,” he replied. “So now you know my entire life story. I warned you it would be boring.”
“What made you move to San Antonio?”
“No one particular reason. My uncle Josh asked me to oversee some of the family property and businesses in the area. Since I didn’t have much else to do, I decided I’d check out the area, meet some people, that kind of thing. Speaking of my uncle, he was the one who first showed me how to find the restaurant where we’re going. I’ve been back several times since then. The food is great and the view outstanding.”
They lapsed into silence for a few miles before Jude looked at her and said, “Now it’s your turn. Tell me about you.”
He wondered how much information she would share with him.
“Compared to you, my life has been truly boring.”
He smiled but didn’t comment.
“I was born in San Antonio, went to school here, went to college in New York for a while and moved back home. That’s pretty much my story in a nutshell.”
“You don’t mention your music.”
“Oh. My music. I suppose that’s because it’s such an integral part of me I don’t think about it. It’s like having green eyes and dark hair. Music is part of who I am.”
“Do you intend to pursue a career in music?”
“I hope to. I need one more year at Juilliard to get my degree. I’m registered for this fall so I’ll be going back soon.”
“Good for you. Then I’m glad I met you before you moved away.”
Jude waited to see if she would mention her fiancé, Daniel Bowie. According to his information, Bowie had been killed fourteen months ago in a hit-and-run accident south of San Antonio. The police report stated that he must have been traveling at a high speed when he was sideswiped. He’d lost control of his car and it had flipped several times, killing him instantly. They’d never discovered who hit him or if the collision had been intentional. The case was still open but they’d run out of leads.
He waited but she didn’t say anything more. Finally, he asked, “What about brothers and sisters?”
“You met my two brothers at the benefit. Alfredo is sixteen years older than I and Benito is fourteen years older. They were already out of the house by the time I was old enough to remember them living at home. Al has taken over the role of my protector, which is a little irritating at my age. In fact, Al looks after everyone in the family. My dad was grateful that Al stepped in and took over running our business once we knew that Dad wouldn’t be able to continue.”
“Does your brother Ben work there, as well?”
“Yes. He’s the quiet one. His wife, Sara, complains that he’s always off on buying trips, but somebody has to do it and Al has enough to handle here. I’m always telling her she should go with him, but so far, she’s stayed at home.”
“Do you have any nieces and nephews?”
“Two nieces and a nephew. Chris and Tina Maria belong to Al and Marisa. Sara and Ben have a toddler, Beth.”
“And you? Do you want to have a family?”
She didn’t answer right away. Finally, she said, “I love children and I want a family, but I want to finish my studies first and see where that takes me.”
“So you’re footloose and fancy free, just like me.”
“I’m not sure about that. I doubt that we have much in common.”
He gave her a sharp look before returning his eyes to the road. “What makes you say that?”
“From everything I’ve heard about you, you lead a busy social life. Whenever your picture shows up in the paper, you seem to be with a different woman, while I seldom date.”
“Then I’m very pleased you’ve made an exception for me. As for the number of women I’ve dated, maybe it’s because I haven’t found the one I want to spend more time with.”
She smiled at him. “Well, good luck in your search.”
He couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Maybe he’d played up his playboy image a little too much, which would be ironic if he’d turned off the one person he needed to attract.
Jude turned off the highway and followed a winding road back into the hills. When the ground leveled off he pulled into a driveway that opened into a parking lot.
“What a beautiful place,” Carina said, looking at what had at one time been a vacation lodge. “The view is awesome.” She looked around. “I don’t see any signs to tell you this is a restaurant. How does anyone know it’s here?”
He took her hand and they walked up the front steps to the wide veranda. “Word of mouth. Reservations are at a premium.” He grinned at her. “I’m glad you like it.”
She gave his hand a quick squeeze. “I’m pleased that you brought me.”
Jude smiled at her obvious pleasure. He still held her hand and she made no effort to pull away. Instead, she stood looking at him with something like wonder and maybe a little bit of trepidation.
“Good evening, Mr. Crenshaw,” the maître d’said, as he approached them. “Your table is this way.” He escorted them outside onto a large deck overlooking a canyon and rolling hills. The sun was close to the horizon and the few clouds in the sky were already tinted with pink and gold.
Carina sank into her chair, unable to take her eyes from the view. “Oh, Jude,” she finally said in a soft voice. “Looking at the sunset makes me feel the same sense of reverence and awe I feel in church. “She looked across the small table at him, her eyes shining.
She was really a beautiful woman. He’d certainly had far worse assignments than spending time with this one.
Their waiter appeared, recited the specials for the night and took their drink orders.
“Does the restaurant have a name?”
“It’s listed in the phone book as the Crown Jewel, but the name doesn’t tell a person it’s a restaurant. You just have to know what it is and where it is.”
Once the sun set behind the hills, twinkle lights lit up the deck and the waiter lit the fat candle on their table for them.
“You picked a good night to be here,” the waiter said. “Last night it was too windy to use the deck.”
The time flew by for Jude. Carina had a delightful sense of humor, which was usually accompanied by her dazzling smile. He discovered that he really liked her. She was funny and without pretense and he enjoyed her company.
They didn’t talk much on the way back to San Antonio. He slipped a CD into the console, one with quiet instrumentals that continued their pleasant mood.
She gave him directions to her apartment building and he found it with no problem. After he opened the front door, he took her hand and didn’t release it as they walked up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallway to her apartment. She paused in front of the door and turned to him.
“This has been a magical evening for me,” Carina said. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“I’m glad to hear it because I’d like to see you again soon.”
She smiled. “How soon?”
“Tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that,” he said with a grin.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, is it? Seeing me will slow you down in your hunt for that perfect companion.”
He winced. “I’m really not that bad. I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a chance to redeem myself.”
Somehow they had moved closer to each other, so close he could lean over and kiss her. Because kissing her seemed so natural, he lowered his head as she raised hers.
He cupped her face in his hands and explored her delectable mouth. She stiffened when he first touched her and he started to pull away and apologize when she relaxed and flowed into his arms.
Jude had no idea how long they stood there. He continued to kiss her and caress her face and shoulders. He knew she could feel the effect she had on him. By the time he finally let her go, he was having trouble breathing and his heart was pumping like an overworked engine.
“I’m sor—” he began. She placed her fingers over his mouth.
“I’m not,” she said. “It was a perfect ending for the evening.” She stepped back and smiled at him.
He cleared his throat, but still sounded a little hoarse when he said, “You’d better go inside.”
Her smile was mischievous. “Yes, that’s probably a good idea.”
He offered her a rueful look and gave a tiny shrug. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” he asked, brushing his knuckles beneath her chin in a soft caress.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, and for a moment she looked a little uncertain. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until she nodded and said, “Okay, I’d like that,” and went inside, carefully closing the door between them.
Four
John, Hal and Ruth were in the living room when Jude walked into the house from the garage.
“How was your date?” Ruth asked.
“It’s a start. What’s going on with y’all?”
John laughed. “Oh, boy. That Texas twang has definitely gotten thicker since we got here, Crenshaw.”
Hal said, “I’ve got a couple of names for you to keep a watch out for—Ross Davies and Patrick Sullivan.”
