Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)(81)

“I guess I’d have a hard time passing the football quiz.”

“I just hope to hell none of the ladies around here ever decides to challenge you.”

She was a bit tense during the landing at the small airstrip, but he brought the plane in so smoothly she barely felt it touch down. Was there anything he didn’t do well?

Once on the ground, he procured a car from one of his acquaintances at the airstrip and took her on a tour of the city, including the state capital building and the University of Texas campus. As the sunlight faded, they walked along Town Lake, a popular spot in downtown Austin.

“Pretty soon you’re going to see something you won’t ever see in New Grundy.”

She gazed at the imposing buildings that surrounded the lake and the bridge that ran across it. People sat in boats on the water as if they were waiting for a fireworks show to begin, and she noticed a large number of dark birds swooping in the sky. She also smelled an odor that was faintly acrid, reminding her of a zoo. “I’ve seen a lot of things like that today. What else is there?”

His grin seemed to hold a trace of mischief. “One of Mother Nature’s better shows. You like bats, honey?”

“Bats?” She stared up at the strange, dark birds. The vaguely feral scent pricked at her nostrils. She was aware of a squeaking sound. “I don’t think—Oh, my God!”

As if on cue, a great dark wave of bats flew out from their roost under the bridge, thousands of them. And then thousands more. As she watched, spellbound, more and more came out until hundreds of thousands of them filled the sky like thick, dense smoke. She let out a startled shriek as several swooped a bit too close for comfort.

Bobby Tom laughed and drew her against him.

Gracie wasn’t a fainthearted person, and she wouldn’t have missed this sight for the world, but bats were bats, and as another came nearer than she would have liked, she automatically ducked into his chest, which only encouraged him to laugh harder.

“I knew you’d like it.” He rubbed her back. “Austin has the biggest bat population of any city in the world. A whole bunch of them roost under that bridge. I don’t know exactly how they figure it, but they say these bats eat something like twenty thousand pounds of bugs a night. Usually they don’t come out until it’s darker, which makes them harder to see, but it’s been dry lately and they’ve been coming out a little earlier so they have enough time to feed, which reminds me that I’m getting hungry. How do you feel about some good Tex-Mex?”

“It sounds wonderful.”

As usual, eating out with Bobby Tom meant that she got to meet lots of new people. They ended up at Hole in the Wall, one of Austin’s traditional night spots, listening to some of the city’s famed local musicians. She wanted to pay for her own meal when it was time to leave, but since he had predictably picked up the tab for a roomful of people, she waited until they were walking to the car to press the bills she’d counted out from her wallet into his pocket.

He drew them back out. “What’s this?”

She braced herself, knowing he wasn’t going to like this. “I’m paying for my own dinner.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he looked as if he were going to explode. “You sure as hell are not!” He jammed the bills back into her purse.

She knew she’d lose a physical struggle with him, so she resolved to add the money to what she owed him. “I’m not going to forget about this, especially now that we’ve slept together. That makes it even more important that I pay my own way. I told you, Bobby Tom. I’m not taking anything from you.”

“We’re on a date!”

“Dutch treat.”

“I don’t do Dutch treat! I don’t ever do Dutch treat, so just put it right out of your mind! And that reminds me…I found a wad of cash in my desk drawer yesterday morning. I thought I must have left it there and forgot about it, but now I’m wondering. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“That’s money for rent—”

“Rent! You don’t owe me for any rent!”

“…and that black cocktail dress you bought me.”

“That dress was a present. Don’t you even think about giving me money for it.”

“I’m not in a position to accept presents from you.”

“We’re engaged!”

“We’re not engaged. I pay my own way, Bobby Tom. I realize this may be a hard thing for you to accept, but it’s very important to me and I want your promise that you’ll respect my wishes, especially now that we’ve slept together.”

He gritted his teeth. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. If you believe I’m going to touch a cent of your money, you can think again.”

“What you do with it is up to you, but I pay my debts.”

“They aren’t debts!”

“They are to me. I told you from the beginning. I’m not taking anything from you.”

He stalked away from her, cursing under his breath. As he reached the car, he drew off his hat and smacked it against his leg. She had the distinct impression that he would rather have smacked her.

Their flight back to Telarosa took place in silence. She didn’t like the fact that the good mood of the day had been spoiled, but he needed to understand that she wouldn’t be swayed about this. By the time they got home, he seemed to have settled down a bit. She thanked him for showing her such a wonderful time and headed up the stairs to her apartment, where she shed her clothes and stepped into the shower.