Walk the Line (Man of the Month 12)

Chapter One

Elena Anderson hurried up Austin's Congress Avenue on autopilot, dodging pedestrians, street musicians, and a cluster of middle school kids being herded by a harried looking teacher and a few stressed-out chaperones.

She swerved in and out of the post-lunch crowds, then breathed a sigh of relief when she finally turned east on Sixth Street. Just a few more blocks and she could deliver her news. Though she still wasn't certain if it was the good news or the bad news that was driving her forward motion.

With a sigh, she slowed her pace slightly, thinking about what had happened--and what she'd learned. An opportunity for her dad and his bar, The Fix on Sixth. And a missed opportunity for her.

Wasn't there some saying about life being a teeter-totter? Her dad was going up, but her boss had just sent her crashing down.

"Get over it, girl," she told herself, too loudly apparently, since a nearby woman in killer heels eyed her curiously.

She flashed the woman a smile and stepped up her pace again, so that she was breathless when she tugged open the heavy oak door that led into The Fix on Sixth.

Hard to believe that it had only been a few months since she'd left San Diego to come to Austin and find her father. Harder still to believe that for most of her twenty-three years she and her mother had believed him to be dead, the result of a horrible deception played out by Elena's grandfather who hadn't thought that Tyree was good enough for his daughter, Eva.

Elena had been so angry when she'd learned the truth. Angry at her grandfather. Angry at the world. And, yes, even angry at her mother and Tyree for not somehow magically discovering the truth and overcoming all the barriers that had been tossed between them.

She'd wallowed in that anger for a while, but it was uncomfortable and constraining, like wearing a dress that fit too tight. On the whole, she was an upbeat person, and that anger bubbling up from the past fizzled quickly away, replaced by what her mother always called her indelible optimism.

Back then, she'd known little more than Tyree Johnson's name and the fact that he'd served in the Navy. But the Internet is a wondrous thing, and she'd lost herself in search engines, following rabbit trail after rabbit trail until she'd finally found an article about a Tyree Johnson opening a bar in Austin, Texas. There'd been a picture, and she'd recognized him right away from the tattered snapshot she'd had from birth. A picture of her father that Eva had kept in Elena's crib, ensuring that she'd always be close to the father she could never know.

Except she could know him.

And now, thanks to the Internet and persistence, she did know him.

She'd come to Austin with the dream of finding her father and getting to know him. And, yes, she'd hoped that romance would brew again between Tyree and Eva. She believed in happily ever afters, after all. But she hadn't held her breath, and she'd told herself that all she wanted was a chance to know her father.

Now here she was. Her dad and mom were engaged, Elena had a half-brother who was a great kid, and she'd already become close with her dad, so much so that it felt like they had years of history and not just months.

So, yeah. Things worked out. She just needed to remember that. She'd find a better job; this wasn't a crisis, it was an opportunity. And she was going to help Tyree do everything necessary to solidify The Fix as Austin's premier local bar.

At two in the afternoon, the bar wasn't very crowded. A few customers were scattered at tables, but she barely noticed them as she stepped inside.

She did, however, immediately notice Brent. How could she not? He was, hands down, the most handsome man she'd ever seen. He had an athlete's body--tall and lean, with broad shoulders and chiseled arms. She'd never seen his bare chest, but she'd seen him enough in the black The Fix on Sixth logo t-shirt to imagine the taut muscles of his chest and abs. He had a strong face and whiskey-brown eyes that were quick to laugh, and the depth of love that she saw on his face when he looked at his five-year-old daughter always gave Elena butterflies.

She wanted him to look at her that way.

But no. That was not the direction she needed her thoughts to go. She hadn't even launched into her career, and she had no interest in getting tied down. Especially not with a single dad. He was settled. She craved adventures. She had two years of grad school in Austin in front of her, and then who knew

where she might land? With the career she'd chosen--urban planning--she could work almost anywhere. Even Europe, and wouldn't that be exciting?

And while she couldn't deny that a fling with that man would be amazing, she knew damn well that wouldn't happen. For one, although she felt all kinds of sparks when she was near him, he'd shown no interest in her except as a friend. For another, he was a full ten years older than her. Or, nine, actually, since she'd turn twenty-four next week. But that was still a big gap, especially since Brent was one of Tyree's closest friends, and how awkward was that?

No. She needed to keep her distance and her wits. A crush was okay, so long as he didn't realize she had one. Which he wouldn't, because she could hide her feelings just fine.

"What's wrong?" Brent asked, looking up as she hurried into The Fix.