A Soldier's Return (9 page)

“No, I—I don’t know any eligible men.”

“Okay, I’ll round up a few so we can dance, too.”

Carrie ducked her head and ate quickly. As soon as she’d finished, she said, “I really need to get back to the office so Will and Jim can have lunch. They get hungry, you know.” She stood, ready to leave.

“But we don’t have our check yet,” Vanessa pointed out. Then, as if she had a brilliant idea, she said, “I know. I haven’t finished eating. Why don’t you send Will and Jim here? I’ll hold the table and they can call me on my cell phone and place their orders. Their food will be here when they arrive.”

“Fine. Here’s money for my lunch. I’ll talk to you soon,” Carrie said, and headed for the door.

Later when the switch had been completed, leaving
Carrie in the office on her own and the two men in the restaurant, Vanessa began again. “Oh, Jim, I’m thinking about having a party. Do you have any single male friends we can invite?”

Jim narrowed his eyes. “No. Why did you think I would?”

“Well, there are a lot of men in the marines. I thought maybe some of your friends were on leave here or might’ve come back to Dallas when they got out,” Vanessa explained as she tasted the peach cobbler she’d ordered.

“You don’t know any young men?” he asked, watching his sister.

“Yes,
I
do, but Carrie doesn’t know many single men. I think she needs someone to make her feel…you know, pretty.”

“She
is
pretty!” Jim returned, frowning at Vanessa.

“I know that, but I’m not sure she does.”

Will spoke up. “Carrie does seem to have a limited social life…. Maybe I can come up with a few guys for you to invite.”

“
I
think Carrie is just fine as she is,” Jim said. “Has she asked you to set her up with someone?”

“No,” Vanessa said calmly. “But I’ve known her for a long time. She has no one but us. I don’t want her to feel…I don’t know, like a fifth wheel. She needs her own personal family. You know?”

“I thought
we
were her family. That’s what both of you told me,” Jim pointed out.

“We are,” Will said firmly. “But she might want to
have a family of her own sometime in the future. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not,” Jim agreed, but he didn’t look happy about it.

Vanessa almost burst out laughing. She couldn’t wait to get home to her mother and tell her about the results of their plan.

“I got my invitation to Vanessa’s party.”

Carrie nearly cringed at the sound of Jim’s pronouncement several days later when they were working quietly at their computers. That party was looming like a big black hole at the end of her week.

After a moment she said, “Me, too.”

“Are you going?” Jim asked casually.

That was the real issue. She dreaded going to this party, but she had to go. She couldn’t bail on Vanessa.

“I have to,” she said finally. “At least for a little while.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

She debated discussing it with Jim, then got a grip on herself and returned to the file she’d opened onscreen. She was on the verge of proving another insurance fraud and was eager to close the case. Something made her turn around, though. Some niggling sense of being watched. When she did, she found Jim standing beside her desk.

“Carrie, do you know how to dance?”

She stared up at him, her eyes wide. “Well, yes, sort of.”

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?”

“I used to dance some, but it’s been a long time.”

“Could you teach me to dance? I want to make Vanessa proud of me, but I’ve never been to a dance. It sounds so high school.”

“Well, you can talk as well as dance.”

“But that’s what I’m telling you, Carrie. I don’t know how to dance. I didn’t go to dances in high school, and once I got into the military, it wasn’t a necessary skill.” When she didn’t respond at once, he said, “Will said you would help me.”

“I’m sure Vanessa can teach you. She knows all the latest steps.”

“I don’t want to ask Vanessa. I’d rather not confess my weaknesses to her.”

Carrie knew she was losing the argument. But she knew teaching Jim to dance would involve touching. “Jim, I—” Oh, what was the sense? She knew she’d never win. “Okay. I can teach you enough to get by.”

“I appreciate it, Carrie. I don’t want to embarrass Vanessa.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, Jim. Vanessa is very proud of you.” Carrie turned back to her desk and began shuffling papers, trying to look busy. Jim didn’t take the hint.

“Can we start tonight?” he asked. “The party’s at the end of the week and I want to be prepared.”

Carrie shrugged. “I guess so. For a little while.”

“How about I take you out to dinner first?”

She swung around to stare at him. “No!” Then she lowered her voice and explained, “that’s not necessary.”

Jim raised one brow. “It seems fair to me. We’ll stop somewhere on the way from work, get dinner and then practice dancing when we get home.”

Carrie continued to stare at him, unable to think of a good reason to protest. She couldn’t. She was stuck.

As if knowing he’d won this skirmish, Jim turned, picked up several files and said, “I’m going out for a couple of hours. See you when I get back.”

Carrie stared at the door through which he’d disappeared. She couldn’t believe she’d let him force her into another evening together.

No, that wasn’t true. She’d
let
him, because she hadn’t been prepared. If she had been, she would have managed to avoid being alone with him. So she needed to get her thoughts organized so she didn’t lose ground tonight.

Maybe at the party she would find someone she was interested in. Someone besides Jim. She groaned. Life seemed to have gotten much more difficult since Jim came home. And she’d thought it a happy day when he’d walked into the office!

“Carrie, are you okay?” Will asked from his door.

“Oh, yes, of course, Will. I was just thinking about—about something.”

“Something unpleasant?”

“Not exactly.”

“Where’s Jim?”

“He’s out working on several cases.”

Will propped himself against the door frame. “He’s caught on pretty quickly, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, he has.”

She didn’t look up until she realized Will was still standing there staring at her.

“Did you need something, Will?”

“No, honey, I was just thinking. So you think it will be all right for Jim to join us?”

“Has it been a week already?”

“Over a week, actually. I don’t see any need to wait as long as you approve.”

“Yes, Will, Jim is going to work out well, I’m sure.” And that was true. She just wasn’t sure that she could remain with them.

In spite of what Will said, Carrie knew the time might come when she’d have to leave her second home. That thought made her stomach queasy, but she was determined to face facts. Even so, she couldn’t insist that Will send Jim away just because she had a crush on him.

“Okay, good. When he comes back in, I’ll talk to him.”

“Of course.”

“If I don’t hear him come in, you’ll send him in to my office?”

“Yes, Will.”

O
N HIS WAY
back to the office, Jim picked up his new cell phone and called the office.

“Greenfield and Associates.” Carrie’s crisp tones brought a smile to his lips.

“Hi, Carrie. Is Will in?”

“Yes, Jim. Just a minute.”

Jim was glad when Carrie put him on hold for Will. He was anxious to tell him his news. “Will, I think I’ve
got evidence on the Olney case. I’m coming back with the photos to check.”

“Great! That’s wonderful. And fast. Are you on your way back to the office now? I’d like to speak with you.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you in about five minutes.” Jim paused, then asked, “Uh, Will, where is a nice restaurant to take a lady to dinner? It doesn’t have to be fancy.”

Jim could tell from the hesitation in Will’s response that he was no doubt trying to guess the identity of the lady in question. For some reason, Jim didn’t want to get into it—maybe because even he wasn’t exactly sure why he was taking Carrie to dinner. He told himself it was payback for all her time, but he feared it went deeper than that.

First of all, he felt guilty. He hadn’t exactly lied to Carrie when he said he couldn’t dance. He’d managed to get around a dance floor before, though he suspected the women at Vanessa’s party would expect more expertise than he had.

But why ask Carrie for help? asked a niggling voice inside his head.

Why, indeed. He could’ve asked Vanessa, after all, sure his youngest sister would have jumped at the chance to help. That he’d asked Carrie meant something he didn’t want to admit.

No, he told himself. He didn’t have to worry. He’d built up a wall of resistance to Carrie’s charms, since he knew a relationship wasn’t in his future. And Carrie wasn’t even interested in him. In the end, then, Jim figured the dinner was harmless.

Thankfully Will didn’t press him for details. He sim
ply said, “There’s a little Italian place called Amore over in Snider Plaza. Viv and I like it. It’s cozy.”

“Sounds good. Thanks.” Then he said goodbye before Will’s curiosity got the better of him.

When he got back to the office, he went directly in to see his boss.

“Everything okay?” Will asked as he directed him to a seat opposite his desk.

That question got Jim’s attention. Did Carrie say something about him? Then he remembered he’d been with Greenfield and Associates over a week, and he realized the purpose of the talk. “The work? I like it. I know I still have a lot to learn, but you were right, it fits my skills.”

Will sat back in his desk chair. “I think you can make a big difference in the amount of cases we process.”

“Have you talked to Carrie about me joining you?” Jim wanted to be sure it was okay with her.

“Of course. And she agreed that you should.”

“Then I’d like to be a part of your firm.” Jim admitted then what he’d been thinking of for the past several days. “In fact, how much would it cost me to buy in as a partner?”

Will seemed surprised. “You have money to invest?”

He mentioned the amount he had available. “Is that sufficient to be a partner?”

“That’ll buy you—” Will did some quick calculations “—thirty-five percent. Actually I’d love it. Now that we’ve got Danny, I’d been wanting to spend more time at home. Having you as a partner would take the load off. But you understand, Jim, that I’d have to consult
Carrie first. She bought twenty percent when her mother died. Even though I’d still hold the majority percentage, Carrie would be the deciding vote in any disagreement.”

“Of course,” Jim said. But he didn’t share Will’s confidence about Carrie’s positive reaction. He couldn’t read her facial expression when Will called her in and related the new development. She sat there blandly, with no hint of emotion in her demeanor. Finally she said, “Will, you know I would never vote against you.”

“I don’t think Will is suggesting we might come to blows over anything, Carrie,” Jim said, smiling when she finally looked at him.

“Of course not,” Will agreed, chuckling. Then he looked more serious. “But I do need to know if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, we’ll work things out as we go, as long as we’re all in agreement.” Will stood and shook Jim’s hand.

Then Jim extended a hand to Carrie. She shook his hand, but pulled it away as soon as possible.

“If that’s all, I’m in the middle of something,” Carrie said, edging toward the door.

After she left the office, closing the door behind her, Will said, “Something seems to be bothering her.”

“I don’t think she’s quite comfortable with me,” Jim said. “But I’m working on it.”

“Say, Vivian and I could take you and Carrie to dinner tonight to celebrate our agreement! That would—”

“Uh, Will, why don’t we do that another night?”

“Sure.” Will studied Jim. “Well, I’m glad we’ve settled the future at least.”

Jim stood and shook Will’s hand again. “I’m glad, too.”

He returned to the outer office and settled behind his desk. After making notations in the two files he’d been working on, he turned on his computer and made the rounds of several sites he’d bookmarked.

When Carrie began packing up to go home, he said, “I thought we’d go to dinner on the way home. But if you prefer, I’ll pick you up at quarter to six.”

She appeared startled. “Really, Jim, there’s no need—”

“I’ve already made the reservations. I’ll see you in a little while.” Then he bent his head as if he intended to end the debate.

After a moment of silence, when he refused to look up, Carrie left the office. Jim sat back and let out a deep breath. For a minute there he’d feared she would refuse once and for all.

He didn’t want to examine why that thought was so disappointing.

O
VER DINNER
Jim kept the conversation on general subjects until Carrie lost that wide-eyed look. He teased her about her choice of meal, assuring her he could afford a more expensive dinner.

“But I like lasagna,” Carrie protested. “And you ordered it, too.”

“All right, I’ll concede that point. Tell me how you and Vanessa became friends.” He’d wondered about that all along.

“We met in college, at SMU.”

“I know that, but— Well, people don’t seem to
move outside their own group. Vanessa comes from money.”

“Back then I did, too.”

“What happened?”

“My father died suddenly. We—Mom and I—discovered we were sitting atop a house of cards that collapsed. He left a lot of debts.” She said those words unemotionally, as if she’d said them all before.

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t exactly have it easy yourself,” she pointed out. “Were your foster parents nice?”

“A couple of them were. One was…bad. They had sixteen children in their home, so they could collect more money. I was glad when they took me out of that home.”

“Have you kept in touch with the other foster parents you had?”

“No. It wasn’t like you see on television. It was a job for money. Or maybe it was me. I didn’t trust any of them.”

“Why the marines?”

“Because I was mad,” Jim said with a soft laugh. “I wanted to hit someone. I got my shot, too, but I had a wise sergeant who taught me a lot.”

“He taught you computer skills?”

“No, he taught me about being a man, about self-discipline, giving your word, things my dad might have taught me if he’d still been alive.”

“It must’ve been hard,” Carrie said softly.

“For both of us,” he said. “It kind of sets us apart, doesn’t it? I mean, I love Vanessa, but I’m not sure she will ever understand. And I hope she doesn’t ever have to.”

“Maybe not. But Rebecca and Rachel understand. And maybe David, when we find him.”

“Do you think we will?”

“Of course. We found the rest of you, didn’t we?”

“When are we going to start looking for David?”

“As soon as we get caught up on the insurance cases. We would’ve already been working on it, but Will signed with the third company and we got so far behind.”

“I cleared up one of the cases today.”

“Which one?” Carrie asked eagerly, her edginess disappearing completely.

Jim told her about the Olney case and the details of his discovery, pleased to see she accepted his work. Which meant whatever problem she had with him had nothing to do with his becoming a part of the firm.

So what was it?

He was convinced the problem was personal when they reached their apartments at the end of their meal. The closer they got to home, the more tense Carrie became.

“Sh—shall we practice in my apartment?” she asked.

“I think I’ve got less furniture, so why don’t we use my place?”

“Do you have some CDs?”

“Yeah, a few.”

“I’ll go get some of mine and bring them over,” she said, rushing away after he’d parked the car as if she was escaping.

He slowly got out of his car, keeping his gaze on Carrie as she rushed inside and up the stairs. If she showed that much eagerness running toward him, he’d be wor
ried. Wouldn’t he? After all, he had no intention of marrying and settling down.

That wouldn’t be smart.

After he unlocked the door to his apartment, he did a visual sweep to be sure he hadn’t left a mess. Not that he was a messy person. He’d been trained as a foster child to take care of what little he owned. The marines had completed his training.

Carrie’s knock interrupted his thoughts. He opened the door to her.