Walk the Line (Man of the Month 12)

Then again, maybe she couldn't hide her feelings at all.

Her stomach did a flip-flop simply from the sound of his voice, but she ignored it, her attention going first to her father. "I need to talk to you. And to you," she added to Brent, hoping she seemed casual and business-like. "It's about the bar and the historical commission, and it's important." She rattled off the words, looking at both their faces.

"Of course," Brent said, shooting a glance toward Tyree. "We can talk right now."

He signaled for Jenna and Reece to follow, and Elena gave herself a mental whack on the head. She'd zeroed in on Brent so quickly she hadn't even noticed his two best friends.

She didn't know the whole story, of course, but apparently Jenna and Reece and Brent had been friends since they were kids. Only it turned out that Reece and Jenna had secret crushes on each other--crushes that weren't so secret now that Jenna's pregnancy was showing.

Elena also hadn't noticed Griffin and Beverly when she'd hurried into the bar, but now she saw them sitting together, half-watching her, but mostly looking at each other. They looked surprisingly cozy, which made her smile--she knew that Bev had been attracted to Griffin for months, but Griffin did a good job of keeping his emotions to himself.

A burn victim, Griffin had been horribly scarred as a child. Elena had learned as much not long after she'd come to The Fix. She'd also learned how much he closed himself off and kept his scars covered.

Beverly, on the other hand, was a movie star, and absolutely gorgeous. Elena had to admit that she'd been doubtful that the two would ever get together. And although she'd never been happier to be wrong, she couldn't deny the unwelcome twinge of envy that cut through her--because she was damn sure that Brent would never surprise her in the same way.

She shook her head, banishing the thoughts, then shot Beverly a quick smile as she followed the men and Jenna into the back office.

"All right, mon bijou," Tyree said, his Cajon roots showing in the nickname he'd recently started calling her. He was leaning against his desk, his brow furrowed with worry. He was a big man, his skin as dark as hers, though that's about all she inherited from him. She had her mother's build and high cheekbones, not to mention her wide eyes. And now that Elena wore her hair short, mother and daughter looked almost like sisters.

Tyree had never said as much, but she knew that he'd been doubtful when she'd stepped into The Fix. He probably assumed she was David's kid. But David Anderson had married Eva after Tyree was killed in action. Or, at least, after Eva had believed as much.

Elena didn't remember David--the marriage had been arranged by Elena's grandfather, and Eva had finally divorced him when Elena was four--so Tyree was the only father she knew. She'd missed a lot, but it made this new time between them extra special.

And she really loved the nickname.

"What's going on?" Tyree continued. "You look about to burst with news, but I can't tell if it's good or bad."

"Mostly bad for me," Elena said. "But good for you. Or at least potentially good," she said with a shrug.

She saw Brent and Reece exchange quick glances as Tyree pushed off from the desk, the furrows deepening. "Bad for you how?"

"It's okay," she said, regretting that she'd spoken out of turn. "Really, I shouldn't have said anything. What I came to talk to you about is what I overheard."

Tyree looked like he was going to press the point, but Brent nodded to one of the chairs, indicating that she should sit. "Go ahead and tell us," he said. "You said it involved The Fix and the historical commission?"

"Right." She sat, her hands on her knees as she gathered her thoughts. "Okay, so you know I was working for the Austin Center for Downtown Conservation and Revitalization, right?"

"Was?" Brent repeated, because the man never missed a beat.

A second later Tyree took a step toward her, concern etched in his kind eyes. "Elena? What happened?"

She looked pointedly at them both. "Hold on. I'm getting there." She saw Brent's mouth twitch with amusement and told herself that she needed to not look at him if she was going to get through the story. The man was far too distracting.

"They called me in this morning--well, Cecily did. She's the woman I've been reporting to, and she said that they were so impressed with my work and that she thinks I'll go far in the business. Which was great to hear, but I could tell the meeting wasn't just about complimenting me."

She broke her own rule and glanced at Brent, who was looking at her intently. "Anyway," she continued, "after a few minutes of that, she told me that their board of directors had met recently and that times being what they were, that they were going to have to cut my position."

"Oh, sugar," Tyree said. "I'm so sorry."

"They assured me they wanted to keep me on, but said it just wasn't possible. But they did write a killer letter of recommendation." She sighed. All things considered, she'd rather have the job. "At any rate," she continued before they started throwing pity at her, "while I was clearing out some of my stuff, I overheard the conversation in the next room."

She glanced around, her eyes bouncing off of Brent and locking on her father. "The Center's just a nonprofit organization, but they work closely with the city, and apparently there's a push to raise awareness of the history of Sixth Street. Apparently a lot of folks don't even know that it used to be called Pecan Street. They're talking about asking businesses in historic buildings to offer tours and maybe host artifacts or hand out leaflets about the history of the area."

"That sounds like a good program," Jenna said. She was already seated in one of the chairs, her hand protectively over her belly.

"I thought so, too," Elena said, then turned to face Tyree. "And I also thought that we could take a lead. Now that I know it's coming, if we go ahead and start doing some of that, then not only might it mean extra publicity for the bar, but we'll end up being leaders in the campaign to increase historical awareness.

"I'm sure they'll put together some sort of committee," she added. "We show early that we're interested in the cause and you'll probably end up on their radar to be part of the core planning group. You could even approach them and let them know you want to raise awareness. Maybe see if they have some sort of plaque. Just to get the dialogue going, you know?"