ONE SMALL VICTORY (20 page)

Alicia spotted Helen the minute she stepped
in and ran over. “Grandma!”

Thankful for the momentary respite as her
mother hugged Alicia, Jenny closed the door and leaned against it.
Isn’t this a pisser. I’m supposed to meet Steve in an hour. How in
the hell am I going to do that with this incredibly angry woman in
my living room?

“Alicia. Why don’t you take Grandma’s coat
and hang it up.”

Helen slipped out of her Bayberry and handed
it to the girl. Jenny stepped away from the door. “Can I get you
anything?”

“Something warm would be nice. It’s a bit
chilly tonight.”

Boy, I’ll say. “I’ll make tea.”

Alicia ran back into the living room. “We had
a party Monday. For Michael. And I made the cake.”

“That’s nice,” Helen said. “Had I known, I
would’ve come.”

Jenny was glad the sarcasm was lost on her
daughter. And she wasn’t sure how to respond. This wasn’t a normal
tact for her mother.

“We have cake left. You want some?” Alicia
took her grandmother’s hand.

Jenny risked a glance at her watch.
Fifty-five minutes and counting.

“Is Scott home?” Helen asked.

“In his room.” Jenny nodded toward the sound
of rock music bumping down the hall. “Alicia, why don’t you tell
him Grandma is here.”

The girl looked a little dubious about
letting go of Helen.

“Go ahead,” Jenny said. “I think Grandma can
find her way.”

Alicia moved toward the hallway and Jenny
motioned her mother to follow her into the kitchen. She put the
kettle on to boil and pulled cups out of the cabinet. If she
doesn’t say something soon, I may scream.

The tension eased a notch when Scott walked
in and gave his grandmother a quick hug. Then Helen managed a smile
for Alicia. “Where’s that cake you promised me?”

Jenny glanced at her watch again.
Oh,
shit.

“Am I keeping you from something?” If her
tone were any cooler icicles could’ve hung from it.

“Uh...no.”

The whistle of the tea kettle saved Jenny
from any further explanation, and she turned away from her mother’s
searching gaze. She poured the hot water over teabags in the cups
while Alicia took the leftover cake to the table.

The mood shifted as Alicia babbled on about a
friend at school who might take her horseback riding. When her
mother actually smiled, Jenny thought it would be okay to excuse
herself on a ruse of going to the restroom. She hurried into her
bedroom, picked up the phone, and dialed Steve’s cell number. He
answered on the second ring.

“I can’t meet you tonight.”

“Jenny?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. It’s just that my
mother stopped by.”

“I thought she was one person who wasn’t
hassling you.”

“She isn’t. At least not yet.”

“Listen, if this is getting too tough, just
say the word. We can stop anytime.”

Jenny sat down on the edge of the bed. The
offer was tempting. No more lies. No more aggravation. But no more
hope for vindication, either. “No, Steve. I’m not ready to quit
just yet.”

“Okay. You want to try for tomorrow
night?”

“Sure.” Jenny heard footsteps outside her
door, then a soft knock. “I’ve got to go.”

Without waiting for Steve’s reply, she
replaced the telephone receiver, then called out, “Just a
minute.”

She ran into her bathroom, flushed the toilet
and rinsed her hands. Then she went and opened the door, hoping her
guilt over the charade wasn’t written all over her face for Scott
to see. He gave her an appraising look then said, “Grandma asked me
to see if you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

He shrugged. “You’ve been gone a while.”

“Tell her I’ll be right out. I just have one
more thing to do.”

Scott hesitated a moment, then shrugged again
and headed down the hall. Jenny leaned against the doorframe and
took a few deep breaths to steady her emotions. If she had her game
face on maybe she could get through the rest of the visit without
probing questions from her mother.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jenny pulled into the parking lot at Billy
Bob’s, turned off her engine and doused her lights. It had been
ages since she’d been here, but she wasn’t surprised the lot was
packed on a Wednesday evening. As one of the “must see” places in
Fort Worth, it was always busy no matter the day of the week.

The front of the building was a blaze of
Christmas lights, and a giant Santa and sleigh were mounted on the
roof. Man, I do not need another reminder that Christmas is swiftly
approaching.

Jenny stepped through the heavy wooden doors
to see a crowd of people jamming the entry area. The wail of
country music drifted in from the main dance area, and a haze of
smoke hovered over the bar.

It took a minute for her to recognize Steve
in his jeans, suede jacket, and white Stetson. Should’a known he’d
be the guy in the white hat. A woman all in denim, wearing enough
turquoise jewelry to open a boutique, stood next to him. As she
talked, she gestured expansively and her face was so animated it
could have been lit from inside.

Jenny watched for a moment until she
recognized the feeling that stirred deep inside. Cool it, girl. You
have nothing to be jealous of.

Steve glanced over and she gave a little
wave. He said something to the woman, then approached with a
smile.

“Thanks for rescuing me,” Steve said.

“Rescue?” Jenny glanced at the woman.

“Yeah. I think she was here all through
happy-hour, had a few snacks and was looking for desert to take
home.”

“Do you mean...?

“Exactly.” He took her arm and led her toward
the bar area.

“We could always reschedule again if you’d
like to accept her offer.”

He stopped so suddenly, Jenny had to
laugh.

“Not on your life,” he said. “I told her you
were my main squeeze.”

Something serious flashed through his eyes
for just a second, then the exaggerated smile returned. “Undercover
work makes you a good liar.”

“Guess that must take a few years to
master.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t always come easy.” He
gestured to a small table near the entrance to the dance floor.
“Why don’t you snag that, and I’ll get us drinks.”

“I’ll take a beer. Something dark.”

Jenny took off her jacket and hung it across
the back of a chair, then sat down and watched Steve weave through
the crowd to the bar. She couldn’t help but notice the fit of his
jeans on an incredibly sexy butt and the way he carried himself
with a fluid grace.

And are you going to ask him home for
desert, too
? Jenny stifled a laugh. Better not let him see you
looking at him that way. This is business. Purely business. She
glanced over the dance-floor where several couples were line
dancing.

She took a deep breath to relax, but even the
environment seemed charged with an edict to make her heart pound
and her blood race. The music was loud, throbbing, and voices were
raised to shrill levels in competition.

“I can’t believe you suggested this place,”
she said when Steve came back, a long-neck in one hand and a frosty
mug in the other.

“It’s perfect.” He handed her the mug of beer
and sat down. “No one can hear a word we say.”

“I’m not sure I can hear a word we say.”

He set his bottle down on the table. “I can
fix that.”

He stood, took the beer out of her hand and
led her around the railing to the dance floor. Almost as if cued,
the music segued into a slow number, but the volume dropped only
slightly. He pulled her close enough that she could see a small
cluster of whiskers just under his jaw that had been missed by his
razor.

“This works,” he said. “It has something to
do with distance and proximity. But don’t ask for details. I never
was much good at science.”

For the rest of the dance, Jenny again
entertained the fantasy that this was a regular date - with a
not-so-regular guy. She had to admit being this close reminded her
of how many years had passed since last she’d been in someone’s
arms.

And they seemed to fit together so well, like
two ends of the same piece of fabric.

The fantasy was shattered when Steve spoke.
“Tell me again what happened the other night, detail by
detail.”

So, unlike the condensed version she’d given
him on the phone the night it happened, Jenny replayed her little
adventure with Frank and Leon. And again, she edited out the fact
that she’d recognized George. She still hadn’t figured out what to
do about that, but it didn’t seem right to turn him in. Not yet,
anyway. And there was the little problem of her loyalty to Carol to
consider.

“They never explained what happened to
Chico?”

“No.”

“Hmmmm.”

It was such a benign response, Jenny wished
she could believe that it wasn’t bothering him that Chico had gone
missing. Hell, she wished it wasn’t bothering her so much.

The music ended and Steve led her back to the
table. He pulled his chair around and sat so close his knee brushed
hers. “You okay about going ahead?”

“Yeah. If I didn’t blow it the other
day.”

“I doubt it. They don’t want to walk away
from an extra hundred grand.” Steve took a pull on his longneck,
then set the bottle down. “Call them and say your people want the
deal done in two days. See what reaction you get.”

“And if they say ‘no’?”

“We come up with a plan B.”

Jenny fiddled with the edge of her napkin and
tried to think of what an alternative plan could be. Something that
wouldn’t involve her? And would she like for the final scene to
play without her? On one hand, it would be a relief to be out of
this whole mess. Then again, it would be a huge disappointment not
to be there for the big showdown.

Somewhere along the line, proving herself had
become almost as important as getting the bad guys. Maybe it had
something to do with that first look of skepticism on Chief
Gonzales’ face that was still crystal clear in her memory.

“Jenny?”

She looked over at Steve. “Sorry.”

He smiled. “You were off somewhere.”

“Bad habit, I guess. Comes with living alone
for so long. I tend to go inward.”

He hesitated a moment as if considering his
next question. “How long have you been divorced?”

“Seven years.” She took a swallow of her
beer, acutely aware of his leg touching hers every time he
shifted.

“Would you rather not talk about it?”

“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “Not much to talk
about. My Ex has pretty much been out of our lives since then.”

Steve studied her for a moment, the dim
lights turning his eyes almost black. “What’s his reaction to all
this.”

By ‘all this’ she assumed he meant her walk
on the dark side. She smiled. “He’s done some blustering. I think I
told you.”

Steve nodded.

“Then it was okay for several weeks until
recently. He’s put a little heat on me again.”

“As in?”

Jenny took a sip of her beer, then set the
mug down. “Apparently Scott has dumped on him a few times about Mom
not being home much. Since Ralph doesn’t know any other way, his
response is to attack me.”

Steve looked at her intently. “You talking
physical?”

Jenny laughed. “Pretty hard to do long
distance. No. Just threats to seek custody.”

“You think he’d really do it?”

“I’m not sure.” Jenny mopped a few drops of
condensation off the side of her mug. “He’s never been the devoted
father. On the other hand, he’d do anything to hurt me.”

“What about Scott?”

Good question. What about Scott? She couldn’t
remember the last time they’d managed to move beyond cool civility.
She sighed, hoping for the truth in what she was going to say.

“I think I can handle him. He’s just going
through that horrible mid-teen time. Michael...” her voice cracked
and she cleared her throat. “Michael did the same thing at that
age. Eventually he grew out of it. And I made a deal with Scott to
give me some time.”

Steve seemed to take a minute to think about
all that, then leaned back. “Maybe Ralph is all bluster.”

Jenny wanted to grab the assurance, but the
truth was, she wasn’t sure about Ralph at all. And despite the
temporary truce with Scott, she knew that could blow up any
day.

As if sensing her inner anxiety, Steve
touched her hand lightly. “If he’s planning some legal action, that
takes time. We could have this all wrapped up even before any
papers are filed.”

The words were comforting, but the touch was
disconcerting: Too much warmth tempting her. Jenny pulled her hand
away. “Maybe we should be going.”

She couldn’t read the expression on Steve’s
face. Was it disappointment? Could it be that he noticed her now
and then as a woman and not just the CI he was responsible for?

“Maybe we should have one more dance,” he
said. “People might wonder if we leave too soon.”

He followed that comment with a smile, and
Jenny couldn’t resist. “You’re the expert.”

The fact that another slow tune was playing
at just the right moment made her wonder if Steve had somehow
arranged all this. Then she touched her mouth to hold back a laugh.
How ludicrous to think he would have gone to that kind of
trouble.

This time they didn’t talk as they danced,
allowing Jenny to savor the feel of him and the rhythm of the
music. He danced as fluidly as he walked and held her just close
enough that she could feel the warmth of his chest and smell the
musk from his aftershave.

Halfway through the number she realized that
they’d somehow become closer. She didn’t know if she’d stepped in
to him, or the other way around, but now she was aware of more
about his body than was probably appropriate for their
relationship.