The Bachelor Project

“Not as long as I back you up. I’ll be glad to vouch for the presence of wild animals.”

“But not dangerous ones,” she replied before taking a sip of milk shake.

He smiled slightly, his gaze straying to her lips as they puckered around the straw. “You never know.”

Robin felt a blush creeping up her neck. She hadn’t blushed in years. Maybe she was reverting back to high school behavior. Maybe she was just really confused about all her feelings lately. She just hoped Bess hadn’t noticed anything…strange in their banter. Robin didn’t want to give one of her great-aunt’s best friends the wrong idea.

Because she really wasn’t interested in getting involved with anyone. Even someone as handsome and compelling as Ethan Parker. Even if he did make her pulse race. She wasn’t going back to Gig, but eventually she’d return to her real life in Houston. To her business, friends and family. A short fling with a small-town lawman wasn’t in her nature.

“Robin, you must come over and visit me tomorrow. I know you probably have better things to do than spend your day with an old lady, but I’d just adore the company.”

“I’d love to visit,” she said sincerely. “Just tell me when and where.”

“I live with Ethan, you know. He needs someone to take care of him.”

The police chief moaned. “Aunt Bess, you know I can get by on my own. You’re living with me because we both want it that way. You’re family.”

“Of course, dear,” Bess said in a tone that meant I’m rolling my eyes at you.

Robin stifled a chuckle. “Is there someplace we could go for lunch?”

Ethan took one of his cards from his wallet badge and wrote his home address on it for her. “And this is our home number,” he said, looking up with his sparkling blue eyes, “just in case you need to report any midnight visitors and prefer to bypass the emergency operator.”

BESS WAITED UNTIL Ethan went outside to water the garden before she called Sylvia in Houston. Her longtime friend had a condo in the same building as Robin, and spent a lot of time with the girl. When Sylvia had called to say her great-niece had finally come to her senses and called off the wedding, Bess had heard the relief in her friend’s voice. Sylvia obviously hadn’t thought the match was a good one. And she thought Robin needed to get away for a while. Someplace nice and quiet, away from worrisome parents and upset, would-be in-laws. Not to mention the jilted fiancé.

Bess had cringed a bit at the knowledge that Robin’s young man’s hopes had been dashed. After all, she’d been through that before with…But that was another story, and she wanted to focus on Sylvia’s great-niece. So she’d thought of the lovely Franklin house, sitting vacant on that wooded lot. What a wonderful place for Robin to recuperate from her wounded pride.

“Sylvia,” Bess greeted her friend. “I met your lovely great-niece today.” She proceeded to tell Sylvia about the chance meeting between Robin and Ethan at the hamburger place. “You should have seen the two of them tonight. The sparks fairly flew!”

“You don’t say!”

“Yes, I do, and I’m all for it. Ethan has just about given up on finding a wife, and I know Robin is understandably shy about getting involved again. That’s why I think we need to give them a little push in the right direction.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I think I need a little vacation.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Ethan is already convinced I’m getting forgetful because I didn’t tell him Robin was moving in. He thinks I work too hard. If I went to San Antonio to visit Grace and Margaret at the retirement home, then Ethan would need someone to come by his house and check on him. Maybe fix him a home-cooked meal. Watch a little television with him.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Oh, I know this will work. All I need to do is ask Robin to help me out by looking after Ethan for a short time. Then you can call Ethan and ask him to watch out for Robin while she’s staying in town. You could suggest he take her to a movie, or out to dinner.”

“I thought you only had two restaurants and no movie theater.”

“We’re not that far from Fredericksburg or Kerrville. What could be more romantic than a nice evening drive through the Hill Country?”

“You have a point.”

“Of course I do! Oh, Sylvia, I know I’m right about this. Those two would be perfect for each other, if they could just spend enough time together to realize it.”

“You may be right, and I’ll be glad to go along. There’s just one thing you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“My dear, sweet Robin can’t even microwave a frozen dinner without burning it to crisp.”

“AUNT BESS, I’M HOME,” Ethan announced as he stepped from the late-afternoon heat into the air-conditioned kitchen.

Ethan’s shift had been fairly chaotic for a normally quiet, midweek day in the summer. Some cattle escaped their fence and wandered onto the state highway, leading to a two-car accident. No one was seriously injured, but he and his deputy had spent most of the afternoon directing traffic away from the evasive beasts.

As he pulled into his driveway about a half-hour late for dinner, he hoped Aunt Bess hadn’t fixed anything that might fall, congeal or generally taste terrible if it wasn’t served exactly on time. She was rather proud of her cooking, and rightly so. He’d rather be trampled by a dozen stray cows than disappoint his favorite relative.

A dozen different smells filled the air, but he couldn’t pinpoint what she’d prepared for dinner. The cabinet was lined with various plastic containers, each one neatly labeled in his aunt’s precise handwriting.

“Ethan, I’m glad you’re home,” his aunt said briskly. “I’ve had such a hectic day.”

“You and me, both.” He walked to the normally cheerful, uncomplaining lady and kissed her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, just this and that. I spent some time thinking about what you said the other day, and I’m afraid you’re right. Perhaps I do sometimes try to do too much.”

“You’re not feeling ill, are you? Did you fall, or—”

“No, no,” Bess said, waving off his questions. “Not yet, anyway. I’m just not as young as I once was, and today I realized I need to take things a bit easier.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you that, Aunt Bess.” Ethan placed his arm around her shoulder, noticing how small she was. Of course, she’d always been tiny, but now she seemed even more frail. He steered her away from the kitchen and back into the living room. “Have you been to the doctor? You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would, dear.” She patted his hand as he urged her to sit on the sofa. “But I’ve decided I need a little vacation. I’m going to visit Margaret and Grace in San Antonio for a week or so. I’ll leave tomorrow morning after you go to work. That way I’ll get in to San Antonio after the morning rush.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time with your friends. Just relax and don’t worry about a thing here. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will, although I would feel better if I didn’t think you’d spend every night alone, watching baseball and reruns. Or working extra hours.” Bess sighed. “At least you won’t starve. I made some of your favorites—roast beef, meatballs and lasagna.”

His aunt didn’t paint a very flattering picture of him, although he couldn’t say it was totally inaccurate. He did enjoy an occasional baseball game in the evenings, and he had been known to go back to the office if he didn’t have a lot to do at home. But he also met with citizen groups and spoke on public safety. He filled in as an umpire at Little League games when one of the regulars couldn’t make it. And he worked out in the extra bedroom he’d set up with exercise equipment.

Ethan decided to deflect her fixation on his bachelor state, first by ignoring her comments, then by changing the subject. He’d learned more about evasive tactics in the last two years than he had during his FBI training.

His aunt pushed up from the couch and started toward the kitchen. “There is one thing you could do for me while I’m gone.”

“Anything, Aunt Bess. You know that.”

“Take a little time for yourself. Ask a nice young lady out to a movie and dinner. Don’t work all the time instead of sitting around the house.”

“Aunt Bess, this is a small town. The chief of police doesn’t need to be dating every single woman in the area.”

“How about just one single woman under the age of thirty-five?”