“Sure. Would you mind, guys?”
Hank nodded and stood from his chair, “Of course not. It’ll give us a chance to congratulate the grooms. You sure you’ll be okay? I think the wine hit you kind of hard.”
Veronica nodded as she rose from her seat and smiled. “It did but I’m fine now. Give me a few minutes with Maizy and then we can go if you’d like.”
Hank and Travis watched as she walked away with Grace, and Hank groaned. “You let her go eleven years ago?”
“She was a baby, Hank. I would’ve felt like a cradle robber.”
“She sure as hell isn’t a baby now.”
When he’d met her, he’d been at the point in his career where he was making a name for himself and his trajectory pointed straight at Washington, DC. But here he was now, forty-one years old, disillusioned by life in a town that spouted on about change but the only thing changing was money and influence from one set of powerful hands to another.
His family’s house had sat vacant in Divine so long he’d finally sold it and now his life fit in a suitcase and a cold apartment in a town he knew he’d never call home. He was beginning to think that returning permanently to Divine, Texas, might be just what he needed.
Chapter Five
Hank helped Veronica into the tall chair at the Dancing Pony, which had a packed house that night. He flagged down a waitress as several members of their party showed up and took seats at the table, and Veronica was pulled into a conversation with Lydia Carlisle by Grace.
The waitress had just brought their beers and a virgin margarita for Veronica when Jack walked over, seriousness in his eyes. Ethan and Adam flanked him. “Can we chat with you two gentlemen?”
Having a suspicion of what they wanted to talk about, Hank said, “Sure, Jack.”
He laid his hand on Veronica’s in her lap and said, “We’ll be right back.”
She nodded, seeming like she was doing okay, but she watched them as they moved toward the other end of the bar, by the front door.
Jack said, “We were watching you with Veronica at the reception. Seems like there’s more than a casual interest between the two of you and her.”
While Hank could understand Jack’s concern, he wasn’t about to submit to a grilling. “There is definite interest, Jack.”
Ethan leaned in and said, “You know she’s here for a limited time, right?”
“We haven’t discussed it yet. How long?”
“She hasn’t decided yet, last I heard. She could leave next week, or she may stay through Christmas.”
“I guess our new goal then is getting her to stay until Christmas.”
Adam lifted his eyebrows. “You’re that interested? What then?”
Hank knew he’d be asking the same questions if he was in their boots so he didn’t get riled. “Last I looked, she was a grown woman capable of making her own choices.”
Jack put his hands up. “All we want to know is whether your intentions are honorable. She’s shy, Hank, and…she seems fragile, too. This has been more work than vacation for her, judging by the way the lights burn at the old foreman’s house all night long.”
Hank nodded. “She told us she keeps odd hours when she’s working.”
Ethan looked him in the eye and said, “We know how Grace gets when she’s on a deadline, so we thought talking to you was a good idea. I know it may go against your nature, Hank, but don’t push her too much about her hours. If you don’t let her get her work done, it’s only going to create more tension for her, and she already seems tense enough. And Jack’s right—she’s pretty shy. I’m—we’re just worried about her getting hurt.”
Hank shook his head. “Guys, Travis and I don’t want a hookup with her. Remember how you felt about Grace? You wanted to take care of her, right?”
“Hell, yeah,” Adam said.
“It’s the same for us.”
Jack smiled, “So you’re thinking about building something with her while she’s here? Something that might convince her to stay or make a change of address? I heard her tell Grace that she can work from anywhere as long as she has strong Internet.”
That was an encouraging piece of news.
He glanced over at Veronica and gestured with his chin for Travis to look, too. She was distracted from her cell phone by a couple of guys who tried to woo her onto the dance floor but she smiled shyly and turned them both down.
Hank noticed the slight frown on her face as she watched the dance floor, eyeing it like it was her enemy before she put her phone away and went back to her conversation with the girls. He wanted to dance with her something fierce. Feel her gorgeous curves pressed up against him. Just the thought made him feel warm. The sensation was only partly sexual, which got his attention. He could picture himself dancing with that woman for many years, and seasons, to come.