"Well, my father would be happy. Thank you." Their eyes held for a moment, and again Drew was confused by what she saw there. If this was any other woman, not one who was in a long-term relationship, she'd acknowledge the attraction, acknowledge the subtle undercurrents of electricity that flowed between them. But this was Jay, a woman she'd talked to a handful of times, a woman she'd asked out to dinner and was told a polite no, she was in a relationship. So, Drew dismissed those thoughts and instead gave in to her own curiosity. "What about your name? Jay?"
"Oh, nothing exciting. In fact, I hated it at first. I was Jessica, which suited me just fine. But in high school, there were three of us, so obviously, nicknames abounded. Jay just stuck with me." She laughed. "In fact, no one ended up with Jessica. There was Jess, there was J.C., and then me, Jay."
"Where was high school? Are you from Austin?"
Jay smirked. "Lubbock."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. The armpit. But I stayed there long enough for a couple of years of college. And then, well, things happened."
Drew raised an eyebrow. "Family?"
"Yeah, family. There was no boyfriend. It started to raise questions. So much so that my brother started following me around. It didn't take long to figure things out, you know."
"I'm sorry."
"There was no happy ending. And I know it happens a lot, I just never thought it would happen to me. I never imagined my father chasing me out of the house, waving a Bible at me. I'm totally estranged from my family still. I've not tried to contact them since I left, and as far as I know, they've not tried to find me.
"Wow. That's sad. One brother, that's it?"
"A younger sister. We were close. And my grandmother. I was really close with her. I called her after it happened, in tears, but she hung up on me." Jay stared at her empty glass for a moment before looking up. "I was twenty when I left, so it's been a while. But my grandmother, that hurt. She was special to me. I guess I miss her the most."
Drew nodded. "I don't see my family much, but it's not because we're estranged or anything. They're all still down in Houston. And when I get a break from work and want to get away, Houston isn't it," she said with a smile. "I make a point to get down for Christmas though."
"They never come here?"
"My folks come every so often. My dad's health isn't great. My sisters, no. They're all married with a bunch of kids. They're big-city girls. They think of Austin as just a college town still. The last time they were here was when my grandfather died."
"I miss having a family," Jay said. She looked around for Rhonda, holding up her empty glass with a smile. "I shouldn't have another, but what the hell."
"But you've got your own family now, right?"
Jay frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Katherine?" Drew raised an eyebrow as a faint blush crept over Jay's face.
"Right, Katherine." Jay nodded. "Sure. I mean, we've been together eight years. It's just, well, she works so much, I hardly ever see her. The last year, anyway."
Drew nodded, not knowing what to say.
"But yeah, she's my only family, really. And Audrey, she's been my rock. She's always there."
"Your therapist?"
Jay laughed. "Right. My therapy sessions."
Drew met her gaze, holding her eyes captive for a moment. "Well, if you're adding friends to your life, I hope you'll consider me. Because I really enjoy your company."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jay tossed her keys on the bar, still surprised at the time. Their quick drink had turned into two, along with a plate of nachos they shared. And they'd talked. And talked. She couldn't understand why she enjoyed being around Drew so much. It went past the physical attraction she felt.
"Whoa," she said out loud. Physical attraction? Sure, Drew was cute, charming. But it wasn't like she was attracted to her in that way. Not seriously, anyway. She'd teased with Audrey about it, that was one thing. Just teasing.
Because there was Katherine.
"Right. There's Katherine."
And here it was, eight thirty in the evening and her phone never rang. There was no concerned call from Katherine wondering why they hadn't talked all day. No call to check on her, and no call just to say hello. Jay tilted her head, trying to remember the last time they did talk. Yesterday? No, they'd only exchanged voice mail. Sunday, Jay had a vague memory of Katherine in bed with her but that was all. She'd spent the morning in her office picking through swatches, and had spent the afternoon with Audrey at Barton Springs pool. And Saturday, the day after she'd left the bar early, she'd been in no mood for anyone's company and hadn't even considered complaining to Katherine about their lack of time together. When she got home from the bar Friday night, the house was dark and empty. She'd gone straight to bed. Katherine had come home at two in the morning, had crawled into bed after her shower and had attempted to wake Jay, wanting to make love. Jay had simply rolled away and drifted off to sleep again. When she woke, Katherine was already gone.
So she made her way up the stairs, past their bedroom and into her tiny office. She shut the door behind her as if that could shut out the reality of what her life had become. What she'd told Drew was true. Katherine was her only family. For eight years, there was always just Katherine. Oh, they had a small circle of friends, but no close, close friends. No one she'd consider donating a kidney to or anything. And for Jay, there was Audrey. This last year, she couldn't even fathom what her life would have been like if not for Audrey.
But again, that feeling of not belonging, that nagging feeling that left her stomach tied in knots, that feeling of apprehension, of uneasiness settled over her. She felt nearly disconnected with her world as she moved to her recliner, leaning back and closing her eyes.
Alone. That was all she was.
Alone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"You know, we've done this a hundred times, Drew. You don't need to supervise," Johnny told her days later as they planted shrubs around the front of the house.
"I'm not supervising. I like doing this sort of thing."
"You hate shrubs."
Drew stood and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Yeah. Shrubs are boring." She grinned. "So I'll let you guys finish and I'll go inside the house—where I hear the AC running—and see if Jay will let me wash up."
"I thought we weren't supposed to ever set foot inside a new house. What happened to that rule?"
"That rule still applies to you, Johnny. But since I make the rules, I can break them."
Johnny laughed. "So I'll guess that if it were, say Frankie Mason from Wilkes and Bonner in that house, you wouldn't be so interested in going inside four or five times a day."
"Jay has a distinct advantage over Frankie Mason, yes. But it's not like you think. She's attached. We're just friends."
"Yeah, just your luck, huh?"
Drew's smile faded. Yeah, just her luck. She and Jay were quickly becoming friends. They were comfortable in each other's presence. Conversation never lacked. And always, that underlying degree of attraction was there, both of them ignoring it as far as Drew could tell. Jay rarely spoke of Katherine. In fact, sometimes Drew wondered if Jay forgot that Katherine existed.
But it didn't matter. Drew knew her limitations as far as Jay was concerned. Friends. Nothing more. And that was enough. Although Jay never said, she suspected Jay craved Drew's friendship as much as Drew did Jay's. She couldn't explain it. It was just there. From the moment they met, from the moment Jay ran into her truck and Drew had looked in her eyes, it was there.
So that's why Drew now bounded up the steps, pausing to remove her dirty boots before going inside.