A Matter of Trust (2 page)

Trish nearly croaked. “No way, ladies,
no casino, okay? Anywhere else is fine, but I work too hard to
gamble away my money. Not my kind of place. At all.”

Eva and Callie both shrugged and went
on with the conversation, getting her promise that she wouldn’t try
to back out at the last minute and left.

Trish went back to planning and would
have worked through lunch had she not had another visitor. Callie’s
brother, Jake, cruised into the office with takeout.

“
Well, hey, Jake. What
brings you this way? And whatcha got there?”

“
I’m working on a job not
far from here, and knowing what a workaholic you are and not having
anyone to eat lunch with today, I thought I’d swing by with
Chinese. You game?”

“
Always game for Chinese.
That was sure nice of you. Thanks.”

“
You bet. And I’m a nice
guy.”

“
Yes, you really are.
Lexie asked about you before she went out of town with my folks.
She wanted to know when she would see her “Zake”.”

Jake took out the food as Trish
cleared a space on her desk for them to eat. “She’s my number one
girl. I forgot you were on your own for awhile. That’s gotta be a
nice break.”

“
I guess. It seems weird
not having the kids under foot. They only left yesterday, and I
already miss them. Ooo, beef and broccoli.”

“
And orange peel chicken.
How about some of each?”

“
Sure. Looks
delicious.”

“
So, how long will they be
gone?” Jake took a bit of the chicken.

“
Nearly a whole month. I
don’t know how I’ll stand it or what I’ll do with myself.” Trish
forked in a piece of broccoli. “Oh, this is so good.”

“
You should take advantage
of the break and solitude and relax a little bit. You work too
hard. Here, don’t forget your fortune cookie.” He reached over and
put one in front of her.

“
You know how it is when
you start a business. It takes awhile to get things off the ground.
Didn’t you have to work a lot when you started your construction
company?”

“
Yeah, and I still work
hard, only instead of trying to get more business, I’m trying to
juggle the business I have lined up. Gives a whole new meaning to
‘be careful what you wish for’. In the beginning, I worked so hard
to get established, and now I’m turning business away, I’m so
busy.”

“
You need to hire some
more help. Until you do, I don’t want you barking at me about being
a workaholic. It takes one to know one, buddy.”

“
I’m thinking about it,
hiring a foreman, maybe even two. I just hate to give up control. I
know if I supervise a job, it’ll be done right. I don’t know that I
want to turn that responsibility over to someone else. It’s my name
and my rep on the line.”

“
I can understand that.
The girls have been trying to get me to hire more help, but I feel
the same way you do. I know I can count on myself. I’m not going to
let me or the girls down, but I’d just as soon not trust anybody
else with that kind of stuff.”

“
For a new business, yours
is doing really well. Ever since you opened last summer, you’ve
been in the black. That’s unusual and a great testimony to all the
hours of hard work and planning you’ve put into the Lit
Center.”

“
Thank you, kind sir. I
have so much more that I want to do. I want to expand to include
teacher training and preschool instruction, and I’m going to look
into whether or not there’s a market for adult literacy classes.
I’ve got all these ideas running through my brain. Sometimes, I
can’t sleep for thinking about it all.”

“
So, that’s why you look
so exhausted. And here I thought it was the Lex-meister waking you
up at night.” Jake watched her closely as he took another bite of
chicken.

“
Oh, she does that plenty,
only sometimes, I’m awake already.”

“
It must be hard being a
single mother. You do such a great job. You make it look
effortless.”

“
Wow, you’re just full of
compliments today, Jake. It’s not even my birthday. I don’t really
think about it that much. I just do what needs to be done, that’s
all. I can do anything for the sake of my kids. They’re still so
little, they need a lot of attention, but I don’t mind.”

“
Don’t you ever miss going
out and being a grownup from time to time? I mean, I know you take
motherhood seriously and all, but I’d think taking some time for
yourself would be good for the kids in the long run. What is it
that Dr. Phil says? ‘When Mom’s not happy, nobody is
happy?’”

Trish smiled around her chicken.
“Something like that. I am happy. And the girls came by earlier and
twisted my arm to go out with them this weekend for a girls’ night,
so, see? I get out.”

“
When was the last time
you went out on a date?”

“
A date? I have no desire
whatsoever to go out on a date. Ever.”

Jake looked at her carefully. He’d
been watching her for the last six months waiting for an
opportunity to ask her out, and he wasn’t any closer now than he
had been when he started. The woman was downright anti-social, and
she didn’t seem the least bit interested in him as anything more
than a friend. Hell. He hadn’t been this tied up in knots over a
woman in … he’d never been this tied up. Trish was happy to be
friends, and she trusted him around her kids, but she didn’t trust
him as a man or even think of him in romantic terms at all. It was
damn frustrating.

“
You’re young, single, and
good looking. Don’t tell me you never think about men. You must.”
Jake watched her take a swig from the water bottle on her
desk.

“
I guess it’s like
trusting someone to help run the business. I know I’m not going to
let my kids or myself down. I guess I don’t trust anyone else where
we’re concerned. What about you, Jake? You were a real ladies’ man
when we were younger. Do you have someone special in your
life?”

“
Nope. I think about
settling down from time to time, but I haven’t ever dated anyone I
wanted to settle with. If I ever get married, I want what my
grandparents and my parents had together, a lifelong partnership
through the good and the bad. It was hard losing my parents as a
teenager, but I sometimes think it’s a blessing they were at least
together. Neither of them would’ve wanted to live without the
other. They would have for our sake, but they never would’ve gotten
over the loss. Granddad still pines for my grandmother. He makes
the best of things, but he’ll never stop missing her, and I doubt
he’ll ever remarry.”

“
I’m with him, although
probably not for the same reasons.”

“
What do you
mean?”

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I
need to watch what I say
. “Oh, nothing,
really. It’s just that I have my kids, and I don’t have any
intention of sharing my life with anyone else much less ever
getting married again. Been there, done that. Don’t need to do it
again.”

Jake looked at her carefully. There
had to be more to it than that, but he didn’t press. He finished
his lunch and stood to leave.

“
Thanks again for lunch. I
owe you one.”

“
True. How about cooking
me dinner one of these nights? I’m not picky, but I’m also not much
of a cook outside grilling. What do you say?”

“
I don’t know. I’d hate to
think a bunch of women might start stalking me, thinking I’m moving
in on their territory.”

“
No need to worry about
that. I’m in between relationships at the moment. Hence, the
bumming of the meal.”

Trish smiled. “I guess I could manage
a meal. I have girls’ night on Saturday. Would Friday or Sunday
work better for you?”

“
Both?”

This time, she laughed out loud.
“Sure, why not? Of course, this means I’ll expect another lunch at
some point. Fair is fair.”

“
You’ve got yourself a
deal, lady. I’ll check you later.” He tossed his trash into the
waste basket as he stood to leave.

As he walked away, Trish continued to
smile. Jake was such a nice, good guy. Whoever ended up with him
would be a lucky girl. Too bad she hadn’t fallen for him instead of
Pete, when she’d still believed in marriage and spending your life
with someone, trusting them to always be there for you. Life had
taught her not to believe in any fairytale endings, and it was a
lesson she’d never forget.

Chapter 2

Before Trish knew it, another work
week had flown by, and Friday night rolled around. Jake had brought
by some Mexican food the day before for lunch, and tonight
constituted the first installment of payback. Since they’d had
Chinese and Mexican, Trish decided on Italian for the night’s meal.
She had manicotti in the oven and had started on the salad when she
heard him knock.

“
Hey, Jake.” She unlocked
the door and let him in. “Ooo, wine. Red, perfect. Why don’t you
open it for us and keep me company while I throw together the
salad. It’s been awhile since I’ve relaxed with a glass of wine and
good company.”

Jake followed her into the kitchen and
took the wine opener she offered him, pouring them both a
glass.

“
So, what do you have
planned for the weekend?” Trish tore more lettuce and added it to
growing bowl of greens.

“
I’m having dinner with
you tonight and Sunday. That’s about it, unless you want to have me
over tomorrow night, too.” Jake looked at her hopefully and
smiled.

She smiled back. “Can’t. Callie and
Eva are making me go with them for a girls’ night out on the town.
I’m still not sure what we’re doing, but I believe margaritas will
be involved.”

“
That’s right, you
mentioned that earlier in the week. You can even stay out late
since you’ve got the whole house to yourself, huh? Don’t go too
wild.”

“
Ha! Like that’s going to
happen. My wild days were over a long time ago, Jake.”

“
Jesus, Trish, you make it
sound like you’re a little old lady. You’re still in your prime,
woman.”

“
It sure feels like I’m a
little old lady sometimes. I definitely don’t have the energy I
once had. What about you, Jake? Are you still wild?”

“
Not so much. Oh, I like
to party every once in awhile, but believe it or not, I spend a lot
of time at home alone.”

“
You’re joking. You always
had a bunch of girls vying for your attention. You’re still
gorgeous, and you’re charming and a great flirt. Lexie’s definitely
in love with you.”

“
Men are not gorgeous,
Trish, although I’ll take the charming comment, and I do like to
flirt on occasion, especially with Lexie.”

Trish looked over at him, a sparkle in
her eye. “I hate to break it to you, Jake, but you are gorgeous.
Beautiful, too. Those dark blue eyes, that build of yours. Any girl
would kill for those long, thick eyelashes and curly
hair.”

“
Why, Trish, I never knew
you even noticed.” He batted his eyelashes at her, making her laugh
out loud.

“
Anyone with eyes would
notice, Jake. Don’t be modest. You’ve seen yourself in the mirror.
Between that face, that body, and the cross between cowboy and
businessman, you’ve got it going on.”

“
Well, aren’t you the one?
I can’t remember the last time I got so many complements in one
night.” He winked at her and took another sip of his wine, never
taking his eyes off of her.

“
How about every time you
walk into the room? Surely you’ve noticed women checking you out.
You could have your choice.” She took a sip of her own
wine.

I’m hoping so,
sweetheart
. “Maybe I should try out some
come on lines and flirting on you, Trish. What about it? Here’s
one.” Jake cleared his throat and got a sexy smile on his face.
“You must be tired, darlin’, because you’ve been running through my
mind all day.”

Trish erupted into a fit on giggles.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“
No? Okay, how about this
one. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you baby? It’s a long way down
here from Heaven.”

“
Please, Jake no more.”
Trish continued to laugh and rolled her eyes. “No wonder you’re
single. You might as well ask if she wants a burger and fries to go
with that shake.”

“
Let me write that one
down, Trish. It’s good to hear you laugh. You don’t do nearly
enough of that. As I recall, you always had a smile and a laugh
handy when you were a kid. Why so serious?”

Trish sobered. “I just grew up, I
guess. Life has a tendency to do that to you, especially when you
have kids.”

“
Kids are all the more
reason to laugh and cut up, if you ask me. God knows those two of
yours keep me laughing every time I’m around them.”

She smiled again. “Kids do say and do
the funniest things, don’t they? You should have a couple of your
own some day. You’re great with them.”

Now Jake got serious. “I’ve always
wanted kids. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I’ll just rent out
yours from time to time. You’ve got great kids, Trish. You’re doing
a great job with them. You’re a wonderful mother.”