Kiss Me (Fool's Gold #17)(72)

Funny—he would have thought telling her the truth about his past would have changed things. That he would feel distant or angry. Instead he found he didn’t mind her knowing. Phoebe had reacted true to form—with acceptance and a full heart.

Where did she get the courage to be so open?

Maya glanced up and saw him watching. She nudged Phoebe. “Zane has all the cattle bloodlines on the computer.”

“Isn’t that complicated? How would the program work?”

“I have no idea,” he told her, trying not to get lost in her pretty eyes. “Chase designed it.”

She turned to his brother. “Is that true? You designed the program?”

“Sure. It was no big deal.”

“I think it’s amazing.”

Chase lifted a shoulder, as if it didn’t matter, but Zane saw the pleasure he took in the compliment.

“Zane’s not much into computers, so I made it extra user-friendly,” Chase continued. “He just inputs the number of the animal in question, and the program leads him through a series of prompts.”

“Sounds great,” Phoebe said. “Can I see it in action when we get back to the house?”

Chase looked at Zane, who nodded. “Sure.”

“In some ways technology is making life easier,” Maya said, stretching her long legs out in front of her. “But it can also create trouble. This guy I work with accidentally left his phone at his girlfriend’s house. She went through the calendar and found out about all the other women he was dating.”

Phoebe winced. “I’m not sure that can be blamed on the phone. Maybe he should have been more honest.” She hesitated. “Of course his girlfriend shouldn’t have gone through his things.”

“If he hadn’t forgotten it in the first place,” Maya pointed out. “Nothing would have happened.”

Phoebe looked shocked. “You think it’s all right for a man to date more than one woman at a time?”

“If they’re not exclusive, what does it matter? She can do the same thing.”

Phoebe swallowed. “That’s just so...”

“Sophisticated?” Maya asked with a grin.

“Icky,” Phoebe told her.

Zane smiled. For all her years in the city, Phoebe was a simple girl at heart. She believed in honesty, one man and one woman and talking to anything that moved. Her heart was so big, it was no wonder she was always finding it bruised. Life didn’t offer many rewards for those who led with their emotions.

She couldn’t be more different, he thought. He lived in a world where emotions were irrelevant.

Tommy slid closer to Chase. “Do you write other kinds of programs?”

“Sure.” Chase ruffled the boy’s hair. “But programs are easy. Right now a buddy and me are working on a robotic cat.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Whatta ya mean?”

“You know those robot dogs you can buy? You teach ’em tricks and stuff?”

Tommy nodded.

“We’re building a cat, only way more sophisticated than that.” Chase’s face lit with excitement. “We’ve got some software bugs. I want the cat to chase mice.”

“Real ones?” the kid asked

“Yeah. We’ve started with little stuffed mice we’ve rigged up to move, but so far the cat’s not interested.”

Lucy moved next to her brother. “It won’t hurt the mice, will it?”

He shook his head. “Nah. We just want the cat to be able to catch them.”

He continued talking, explaining about the various programs, the problem of building custom parts. The adults didn’t pay attention, but Tommy and Lucy were riveted.

Zane had heard it all before. How many times had his brother talked through dinner, gesturing, making sketches on napkins and explaining technical details until his meal got cold? Zane had listened, but he’d never understood what Chase saw in it all. To him it was just mechanical parts—only interesting because of what they could do. He didn’t get the fun in putting them all together.

But he wasn’t Chase, and Chase wasn’t him.

“When do you think you’re gonna get it working?” Tommy asked.

Chase’s animated expression went flat. “I don’t know. We had a pretty serious crash and burn last week. I’d wanted to get it fixed this summer but...” He poked at the ground. “I have a lot of chores.”

“Too bad,” Tommy said.

Zane watched his brother. The chores in question were ranch work—both to pull his weight and to pay off the extra cost for the saddles and tents needed for the cattle drive.

While he knew it was important that Chase learn about responsibility and consequences, for the first time he realized that Chase’s interest in computers wasn’t a passing phase. It was what he wanted to do with his life.

Maybe he’d always known the truth, but he hadn’t wanted to see it. Maybe he’d hoped his brother would stick around for a while. But that wasn’t going to happen. Chase would never be happy at a small agriculture college. Instead he wanted to head east to attend MIT. Given his skills with and love of computers, Zane couldn’t blame him.

Thad checked his watch and rose. “Okay, kids. Time for bed.”

Tommy scrambled to his feet. “Thad, no. Give us a few more minutes. I want to hear more about Chase’s robot cat.”