A Thousand Miles

Part 18

"So." JoLynn tapped a stack of printer generated research on the second-hand table of the conference room and glanced first to Curtis, then to Mel. But not to Shane, who had taken the seat directly opposite and proceeded to pin her with a relentless stare. She cleared her throat and bit down on the tip of her tongue to stifle the idiotic grin that kept trying to break out.

    "So." She began again. "Labor Day weekend is in a few weeks. That's the weekend of the Oatmeal Festival in Bertram."

    "The Oatmeal Festival?" Shane leaned forward and rested his folded arms on the table.

    "The Oatmeal Festival," Curtis broke in, "has a long and noble history of promoting all things oatmeal related. I, myself, have longed to go and witness the...the...uh..." He reached for the top page of her research and scanned it quickly. "the Grits Guzzler...being...tarred and feathered." He shot a pointed glace at Shane, nodded slowly, and leaned back again.

    JoLynn dared to glance at Shane, whose grin widened. "Is there a beauty pageant? Does some lucky Texas girl get to be crowned Miss Oatmeal?"

    Mel gave a little snort and rolled her eyes.

    "I mean, I guess it's better than Miss Spring Ho." He pinned JoLynn with that unwavering gaze again. This time she couldn't look away. "But, really. You Texans and your festivals."

    "You know," Curtis piped up again. "This weekend is the DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival. And I think that, even if JoLynn doesn't want to feature that one on the show, Shane and I should go have a look around. To scope it out for next year. They have a beauty pageant there, too."

    "Miss Peach and Melons?" Shane barely contained his laughter.

    "Melon!" JoLynn blurted out. "Not melons."

    "I'm with you, Curtis." Shane drawled, leaning back, not taking his eyes from JoLynn's. "I'd like to see the lucky girl who wins that one."

    Awkward did not begin to describe how she felt this morning, sitting across the table from him. JoLynn tried hard, but couldn't stifle the smile that emerged at the memory of the time they'd shared on Saturday.

    He sat here now, so smooth and witty, teasing them all. But it was an act. She'd seen the real him as he comforted her in her grandmother's small kitchen. And then he took her up into the hills and showed her a view unlike any she'd ever seen before. He'd opened up to her. Shared with her one of his life's most traumatic events. Let her in, like she'd let him in when she'd taken him to meet her family. She felt her smile soften and watched his do the same.

    "Oh, my word!" Mel erupted. "You know we were still there on the front porch when you two took off on Saturday, right? When you took off holding hands."

    JoLynn blinked.

    "There's no need to try and hide it," she continued. "We've seen it coming since day one."

    "Well, maybe more like day ten." Curtis added. "Day one didn't actually go very well, as I recall."

    "We're not blind, or stupid. So just tell us. Are you or aren't you?"

    "Are we, or aren't we what?" Shane asked.

    "Together. An item. Going steady. Whatever you want to call it."

    "Going steady?" JoLynn grinned.

    "Yes! Are you, or aren't you?" Now Mel pinned her with a glare.

     "Um..." JoLynn glanced at Shane, heat creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. Were they? She kind of thought so. But she couldn't just come right out and say so. Not in front of him. What if he didn't see the situation the same way? "Well, we um..."

    "I think what JoLynn is trying to say is, yes." Shane offered. "We are." He grinned. "Going steady. I gave her my letter jacket Saturday, and she wrote my name over and over in her diary with little hearts doodled all around it."

    "You know what I mean." Mel wadded up a piece of paper and threw it across the table at him. He caught it, and threw it back.

    "All right, I think everyone gets the point." JoLynn pressed both palms to the table. "Back to the Oatmeal Festival. It's two days. It starts on Friday with a barbeque in the town of Oatmeal. Then Saturday morning a trail ride moves the festivities from there to Bertram. There's lots of stuff to do. There's a three-point-three mile run, a cook-off, a pet parade..." She glanced down and shuffled through the pages in front of her, pretending to consult her notes. "Mutton busting, and, yes, there's a beauty pageant."

    "What about the Peach and Melon Festival?" Curtis asked. "It's this Friday and Saturday."

    JoLynn nodded, feeling her equilibrium returning to normal, or at least something closer to normal. "We have the rest of the shows for this year scheduled, Curtis. I don't think we need to go to DeLeon to see the melons."

    "Aw, come on, JoLynn. It's melons."

    "And peaches." Shane added.

    Her glance vacillated between Curtis and Shane. "Oh, all right. I'll do some research, and I'll let you know for sure tomorrow morning. But any video we get in DeLeon will have to be for a show next year."

    And, just that easily, the awkwardness vanished. JoLynn took a deep breath and eased it out silently as Shane filled them in on a few ideas for the new Naturalized Texans segment. Mel and Curtis listened intently, offering suggestions. So, crossing this bridge where they all discovered her feelings for Shane wasn't so bad. Maybe this could work after all. Maybe her apprehension about the working relationship among them had been completely unfounded.

    The meeting ended, and Curtis and Mel went to their computers, back to editing. Usually Shane accompanied them, fascinated by the process, wanting to learn how to do it. And JoLynn went back to her desk to research upcoming events, or make travel arrangements, or compose an email explaining herself to Truman. But today Shane followed her, pulling a chair up next to her desk as she sat.

    He leaned in close and smiled, his mouth wide and soft. "I almost couldn't keep from calling you this morning."

    "You called me four times yesterday."

    "I'm really not as cool as I seem."

JoLynn's laugh caught her off guard. But she stopped and bit her lip when she noticed Mel's glance directed over her computer screen and straight at them. Mel rolled her eyes, and went back to work, clicking and scrolling with her mouse.

    Curtis slipped past her desk headed for the front door with a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

    "Um. I was wondering..." Shane's voice drew her attention back, then trailed off. He glanced down and fidgeted with the notebook he carried from their meeting.

    Was he nervous? Him?

    "Are you about to ask me to the prom?"

    He grinned and looked down for a brief moment. "I was wondering if you would come with me to the nursing home and meet my dad."

    Her playful grin vanished as a lump formed in her throat. She swallowed. He wanted her to meet his dad. The man who had been his whole world and, to her knowledge, was the only family he had. "Yes, Shane. I'd love to meet him."

    "Tonight?"

    JoLynn nodded. "Yes. Tonight."

    "We'll grab a quick bite to eat after work, then drive out to Round Rock for an hour or so. Would that be OK?"

    She nodded, surprised to silence by the sudden change in his demeanor. His normally smooth, unflappable personality now seemed subdued, even unsure.

There had been a moment, their first day on the road together. After the Suburban had been towed, and they were unloaded at the motel. She'd taken her work to him and offered it up like a sacrifice for criticism. And for just a moment, as he asked her what changed her mind about working with him, he had looked so hungry for acceptance. Just like now.

No. He really wasn't as cool as he let on. He never had been.

Her heart melted just a little more.