Free On Lone Star Trail by Amanda Cabot Page A

seemed ridiculously low, TJ nodded. He could afford that, but he couldn’t afford a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. “How long will it take?”
    Eric frowned. “The installation is less than a day. The problem is getting the part. I called local suppliers, and no one’s got one. I figure it’ll be about a week. Is that okay?”
    Two days ago, TJ would have shaken his head in frustration, but two days ago he hadn’t known how intriguing Rainbow’s End and a certain auburn-haired woman would be. Though he harbored no illusions that either one would be a permanent part of his life, he couldn’t deny that the last twenty-four hours had been the most memorable since he’d begun his vagabond existence.
    If he’d been allowed a redo, he certainly wouldn’t have crashed his bike, but he had to admit that being at Rainbow’s End had shifted his perspective, if only slightly. The location was one of the prettiest he’d seen. It wasn’t spectacular like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, and yet in its own quiet way, it touched him as much as they had.
    As for Gillian, something about her piqued his interest. It wasn’t a romantic interest. Far from it. When he’d lost Deb, TJ had known that his days of love and happily-ever-after were ended. TJ had had one chance, and he’d lost it. But he found himself thinking of Gillian more than he had any other woman besides Deb and wondering if they could be friends, at least for however long they were both at Rainbow’s End.
    Perhaps it was because she too had lost something important and was searching for her future. Perhaps it was because, although she projected a cool self-confidence, he’d seen the vulnerability beneath the outer shell. Perhaps it was simply that she had been his Good Samaritan. TJ didn’t know the reason, but he did know that it would be no hardship to remain here.
    He turned back to Eric and nodded. “The delay’s okay.”

    â€œYou look like a lady of leisure.”
    Startled by the sound of TJ’s voice, Gillian let out a small gasp. She’d been sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs in front of the lodge, staring at the lake ever since she finished reading Janice Thompson’s latest book. Her favorite author never failed to deliver a heartwarming story with more than one LOL moment, but today Gillian found herself wondering whether she’d ever find a happily-ever-after like Janice’s characters. Though they might be confused at the beginning of the book, by the end, they’d found their direction in life, not to mention the perfect husband.
    If only real life were as neat. All Gillian was looking for was a direction, but as it was, she felt as if her life had unraveled. Still, there was no reason to bore TJ with her problems. Gillian forced a light tone to her voice. “Is that a fancy way of saying I look lazy?”
    TJ shook his head. Dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans, he was the picture of relaxation, and yet there was nothing relaxed about his gaze. He appeared to be studying her, almost as if she were some kind of specimen. Did he think former concert pianists were an exotic species? Gillian could assure him that they were not.
    â€œLazy is the way you’re supposed to feel on vacation,” he said.
    â€œI wouldn’t know about that. Vacations were never a big partof my life.” Maybe that was the reason she had these moments of melancholy. Maybe she hadn’t known what to expect.
    This was Gillian’s fourth day at Rainbow’s End, and life had already settled into a pattern. After breakfast, she occupied herself with either a walk around the resort or an hour or so of reading while Kate handled the day’s business. Most of the day was spent with Kate, but after supper Gillian accompanied TJ to Firefly Valley.
    It was pleasant, and yet she felt an emptiness inside her that nothing seemed to fill. In the past,