Tracy (Seven Sisters Book 5) Read online

  “And now you know! I should have gotten queso, but I will next time.” He winked at her. “Assuming you’ll come back to Comida with me.”

  “Trust me . . . I’d come to Comida with my worst enemy. Of course I’ll come with you.” She cut off a bite of her sour cream beef enchiladas and ate it, closing her eyes to let the flavors explode on her tongue. “They are the only people I have ever seen who use sour cream sauce on beef enchiladas. More restaurants should do this. Or I should learn to do it myself, but that would take effort.”

  He grinned at that. “Is that your way of warning me you don’t cook?”

  “Oh, I do cook. I’ve got Irish nachos down to perfection. I just don’t take a lot of time learning to cook new things that I won’t be able to serve in my pub.”

  He loved how her face lit up every time she mentioned the pub she was going to open. “What are you going to call it?”

  “McClain’s Irish Pub. The name McClain sounds nice and Irish, doesn’t it? It’s Scottish, but I’ll take the Irish sound for the name of my pub.”

  “It does sound Irish. Is that cheating your heritage, though?”

  “Not at all. It’s me doing what I need to do to make my pub a very Irish success.” She forked up another bite of her enchiladas. “I do wish I could serve these enchiladas, though. Maybe I’ll figure them out and do a one-night per week special with Mexican fare.” She tilted her head to one side, thinking about it. “Nah. There are Mexican restaurants on every corner in Texas. I want something different. I’ll just come here for lunch every day.”

  “That would work.” Steve loved watching how her mind worked. She amused him to no end. “When do you hope to have it open?”

  “I’m shooting for September first. I think around the time kids go back to school. There’s always a lot of job turnover then, and I’d rather not have to train people over and over. Once is enough for me.”

  “That makes sense. I’m really excited that your dream is coming true. And that’s pretty quick. It’s already May.”

  “It is. My sisters are getting married in a couple of weeks. Jessica and Gaylynn are doing a double wedding.”

  “Wow. I had no idea. I mean, I had heard they were both engaged, but a double wedding isn’t something you see every day in Bagley. Will Heather make it home?”

  “Yeah, Heather’s the reason they’re doing a double wedding. She didn’t want to have to fly home every other week. She likes her new husband or something crazy like that.”

  “She’s where now? Indiana? Or is it Iowa?”

  “Idaho. Some tiny little town there. And she’s loving it. Said the winter was a little rougher than she had thought it would be, but Michael made it all easy. And his Mom lives in a house on their property, and it sounds like they’ve gotten really close. She opened a dance school there, like she had here, and she’s always telling us fun stories about the girls. There wasn’t anything like it for a forty-five-minute drive in any direction, so she’s making a lot of girls and mamas happy. She is thinking about adding in a cheerleading class, because there’s nothing like that there either. She wants to make an impact on their little community there.”

  “She’d be really good at that. I followed the Cowboys a lot more closely when she was cheering for them. She was out of high school before we started, but I always felt a connection to her through you.”

  “Not through Rebekah at all? She was in your grade, and I have thought you had a crush on her for the past ten years . . .” Tracy was truly having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that he’d never cared for Rebekah. It seemed like he should have.

  He shook his head, wrinkling his nose a little. “Rebekah was never my type. I don’t know why. She just wasn’t quite as . . . vibrant as you.”

  Tracy smiled at that. “Well, I’m glad, because that would have made things more than a little awkward.”

  “If I’d had feelings for your sister and then you started dating me? Why? It’s done all the time in small towns like this.”

  “I know it is, but it just feels strange if it’s me. And one of my sisters.”

  “Well, you do have a lot of sisters . . .”

  “I know I do. I love them all, too.” She ate her last bite of enchiladas and pushed the plate away. “That’s what I needed.”

  “Sopapillas?” he asked.

  She frowned for a moment. “It’s a celebration, so the calories don’t count, right?”

  “Like you’ve ever counted calories. No, they don’t count, though.”

  “Then yes, I would love a sopapilla.”

  After they were finished with their meals and the sopapillas had been devoured, they walked back out to his new truck. “I’m not ready for the night to end,” he told her. “Why don’t we go see a movie?”

  “I could go for that. What’s playing?”

  “No idea. Let’s run by your place and call the number with all the movies on it. I’d say my place, but that’s a lot farther to drive.”

  “Or we could just drive past the theater . . .”

  “We could do that. All right. You talked me into it.” He drove them down Main Street, and she pointed out the location of the pub she would open.

  “I can just see a green and white sign with a shamrock on it.” Tracy stared dreamily at the building.

  “I can, too. I’m catching your dream!” He reached over and squeezed her hand as he pulled up in front of the theater. “Anything look good?”

  She frowned, shaking her head. “No, let’s go see what they have at the video store.”

  “Do you have a VCR?” he asked. He’d just gotten one the month before, and he loved his.

  “I do. My dad got it for me for Christmas. He said all eighties ladies should have VCRs.”

  “Sounds like your dad.” He didn’t know Bob McClain well, but he knew him by reputation. The man was positively addicted to gadgets.

  “It really does.”

  Steve turned the truck around and drove to the other end of town, where the video store was. “Any idea what you want to see?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Something funny maybe. Or a musical. I’m a sucker for musicals.”

  “I was hoping for something scary so you would jump into my arms.”

  She laughed. “Sounds like you.” She led him into the store and went straight to the musical section. “How about Sound of Music? King and I? Oooo . . . Grease!”

  “Yeah, let’s watch Grease. That one’s fun.”

  “I’m going to warn you now . . . I plan to sing along with all the songs.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ve always thought you had a nice voice.”

  Tracy shook her head. “I have a nice speaking voice. It’s not so nice when I sing. I promise.”

  “I guess I’m about to find out.”

  They took the movie to the front of the store, and he paid for it on his account. “I wasn’t sure I would ever really rent movies here, but I’m glad I got an account when I purchased my VCR.”

  “Me too.” She clutched the movie, and some snacks for movie-watching, in her hands as they left the store. She couldn’t wait to watch a movie with him. It would be nice. “My place or yours?”

  He frowned, wondering how messy he’d left the place. He couldn’t even remember. “Let’s watch it at yours.”

  “Did you leave underwear on the floor?”

  “I’m not sure! That’s why we have to watch at your place. If I did, it would totally ruin the ambience of the evening, don’t you think?”

  “I do think. We will watch at my place. I’ll make up some popcorn, and we’ll have Cokes. And Raisinets of course. What’s a movie without Raisinets?”

  “I haven’t ever really seen your place. I mean, I saw it when it was the Samuels’ house, but I haven’t seen it since it’s been yours.” Steve couldn’t wait to see how this girl he’d dreamed of for years decorated her place. Maybe it was a bit odd, but he wanted to learn as much about her as he could, and that seemed li
ke a good way to learn.

  When they got to her house, Tracy unlocked the door. “I wouldn’t lock, but Dad told me he was going to stop by randomly and check and he’d skin me alive if he found out it wasn’t locked. He’s paranoid about his little girls.”

  “I can see that. I’m glad you lock. I think you should every time you leave.”

  “I do. I promise.” She opened the door and was happy to see that everything was neat and tidy. She was pretty anal about keeping things perfect, so she usually did. She’d put her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher before leaving for work that morning.

  The door opened up into her living area, and he settled on the couch while she put the movie into the VCR. Then she went to get drinks from the fridge. She opened two bottles of Coke and took him one and took one for herself. For some reason, she preferred to drink straight out of the glass bottle. “Do you want popcorn now? Or should I wait with it?”

  “I couldn’t eat another bite right now. Let’s wait ’til later for popcorn.”

  She walked back into the living room and handed him one of the bottles. He wasn’t all the way to one side of the couch, but he wasn’t in the middle either. She wondered if she should sit hugging one side or sit toward the middle. But if she sat in the middle, would he think she was forward?

  He answered it all for her by catching her wrist and pulling her down onto the couch. “The credits are almost over. You don’t want to miss the opening song!”

  “No, I really don’t.” She grinned at him, feeling tingles throughout her body. Her friend was sitting beside her, and she was thinking about kissing him. What was wrong with her? She leaned back against the back of the couch, trying to be casual, but it was hard. She was so aware of him beside her, she forgot to sing along with the first song.

  “Why aren’t you singing?”

  She shrugged, a little too embarrassed to explain her thought process. “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”

  “As long as you were thinking about me, I don’t mind that one bit.” When she blushed at that, he laughed softly. “I’m glad you’re thinking about me. I’m thinking about you, too.” He turned her face to him and looked down into her eyes. “I think it’s time for that kiss we talked about . . .”

  Chapter Three

  Tracy felt a moment of panic in her belly, but she wanted this kiss. She’d waited over ten years for this kiss. Instead of giving into the panic, she wrapped her arms around his neck and raised her lips. No, she was going to make the most of this first kiss with her Steve. No one was going to stop her. “Sounds like a good idea to me,” she whispered softly.

  Steve grinned at her, lowering his lips to hers. As soon as their lips touched, Tracy felt as if a spark had ignited between them. She pressed closer to him, trying to prolong the kiss.

  He lifted his head. “I’m glad you didn’t giggle.”

  She shook her head. “That was the furthest thing from my mind. Better try again, though, and make sure we have a trend going.” She pulled his head back toward her, kissing him again, but this time she was the aggressor.

  When he finally lifted his head, she sighed contentedly. “It’s a good thing we didn’t do that in high school.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I never would have made it to Ireland or college. I would have stayed right here in town and been content to be a housewife. I don’t think that’s what I was meant to do.”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Maybe we should go back to watching the movie.”

  “Maybe we should.” Tracy couldn’t concentrate on the movie now, though. She could only think about how her life would have been different if that kiss had happened ten years before. She wasn’t sure if she should strangle Danny or thank him profusely.

  When the movie was over, she walked him to the door, kissing him goodnight. “I’ll see you soon, I expect.”

  “Like tomorrow at church?”

  She smiled. “Like tomorrow at church.” They’d run in the same circles for so long, she’d forgotten he went to the same church she did. The congregation was big enough that she didn’t have time to talk to everyone every week. And like most people in large groups, she tended to talk to the same people every week. “You should come over for lunch after. My parents would love it.”

  He frowned for a moment before nodding. “I can do that.”

  “Why would that make you frown?”

  “Some of your sisters scare me . . .”

  “Like?”

  “Marti. She’s always been too outspoken for me. I’m afraid she’ll ask me something that will embarrass me, and I won’t know how to respond, and then I’ll stand there looking like an idiot in front of my girl . . .”

  Tracy stood on tiptoe and kissed him once more. “I like being called your girl.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She stood in her doorway watching him leave. Once his taillights had completely disappeared from her sight, she closed the door and leaned back against it. Who would have thought that she would someday be dating Steve? Not her. Never her.

  Tracy took special pains with her appearance the next morning, wanting to look her absolute best, knowing Steve would be going to her parents’ house with her after. He had a point about Marti. Her youngest sister was a mess, but Tracy wasn’t even sure if she was home for the weekend. She didn’t think so.

  Then it hit her. Of course Marti wouldn’t be home. She was taking her finals this week and graduating next weekend. It was hard to believe her youngest sister would soon be a college graduate.

  Tracy decided to walk to church that day. Since she knew that Steve would need to drive, she could get a ride with him anywhere she wanted.

  When she got to church, she joined her family as she always did, and sure enough, Marti wasn’t there. They were all going to her graduation ceremony on Saturday of the next weekend. She only wished she’d remembered to tell Steve that the night before.

  The people sitting with her family were rapidly dwindling. Now, all of her older sisters sat with their fiancés. It was only her, Candice, and Marti when Marti was around. It was strange that all of them weren’t there, but she understood as well. They were all in a new season of life as sisters married and got engaged. Soon one of them was bound to have a baby, and she would become Aunt Tracy. How she looked forward to that day.

  She walked to her mother, Barbara, and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Mom, I sold four cars yesterday, and you know what that means . . .”

  “You have the money to buy the property?” her mother asked, her face as excited as Tracy felt inside.

  “Yes! I’m going to get in touch with Janice and make an offer.” Janice was the real estate agent who had sold Tracy and her sisters their houses. She was a good friend of her mother’s, so she knew her mom would know exactly who she meant.

  “That’s wonderful! I can’t wait for opening night. I’m going to sit there and order a shepherd’s pie. Or maybe those Irish nachos I keep hearing about. What are they again?”

  “House-made potato chips, a queso made with beer, so you get a tiny bit of the taste, bacon chunks, chives, and sour cream. They are so good, Mom. I can’t wait to share them with the world.”

  “Well, I happen to love that shepherd’s pie you developed. I’ve been dreaming about it again. Maybe you can help me be in charge of lunch next week, and we can make that.”

  “Are we all caravaning for the graduation on Saturday?”

  “It’s hard to believe my youngest daughter is about to graduate from college. Where have the years gone?”

  Tracy felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and she turned, knowing already who it was by the electricity zinging its way through her body. She turned and smiled at Steve. “Hey, you. We’re making plans for the graduation next week.”

  “Graduation?”

  “Marti’s graduating from college. She’s not in town this week because she had to stay at school to study for finals.” She
did her best not to giggle aloud at the look of relief on his face about her youngest sister not being there. “You remember my mom.”

  “Good to see you, Mrs. McClain.” Steve kept a casual arm around Tracy’s shoulders. He knew he was being very blatant in his possession, but he wanted it known that Tracy was no longer up for grabs. She was his. He planned to sit with her as well, and in their tiny town, that was almost as good as an engagement ring. The good women of town would have them married off within the week.

  Barbara McClain looked back and forth between Steve and Tracy, a smile on her face. “I hope this means what I think it does. I’ve thought you two should be together for years.”

  Steve grinned. “So have I.”

  Tracy kept quiet, determined not to be embarrassed. It was hard because she felt every eye in the entire church on them. She watched as the pastor walked to the pulpit and moved to sit down. She expected Steve to go sit where he usually did toward the back of the church, but instead, he sat down beside her in her family’s pew. She turned to him, whispering, “You know people will talk.”

  “Let them. I’m ready to make a declaration if that’s what happens when I sit with you at church. And we both know it is.”

  Tracy bit her lip, refusing to comment. She couldn’t think of anything else throughout the service, though, and she prayed silently that no one would ask her what it was about, because the truth was, she had no clue. None.

  As soon as church was over, she got to her feet, looking at Steve. “Do you want to walk to Mom and Dad’s with me? It’s only a couple of blocks. I walked here today.”

  He shrugged. “Let’s take my truck, if you don’t mind. I want to have the ability to make an easy escape.”

  “You won’t need it with Marti out of town. Of course, she’ll be back for good next weekend. I want to know what she’s going to do with a business administration degree in this town. Don’t you?”

  “It does bear some thought.”

  Tracy turned to her mother. “Mom, I invited Steve to Sunday lunch. I hope that’s all right.”