Double Identity Page 3

“You’re kidding me! He asked you out?”

  “Don’t sound so shocked. He asked me while we were dancing at the benefit last week.”

  “I guess I’m more shocked that you accepted him. You’ve known for days and you’re just now telling me about it? Boy, when you decide to start dating again, you don’t mess around! Jude Crenshaw. He’s one of the most talked-about bachelors in town! I can’t begin to imagine how many hearts he’s broken since he moved here.”

  Carina shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. He certainly won’t break mine. I’ve been thinking that I need to get back into some sort of social life. Since Dan died, I’ve hibernated in my apartment feeling sorry for myself. It’s time to move on and accept the fact that I have lousy taste in men. I figure Jude will be a good first step in letting people know I’m ready to start dating again.”

  “I know a couple of women who’ve dated him. They both had the same experience with him. He saw them a few times, they hit it off, he was a fun date, rarely if ever serious about anything and they were both really taken with him. And then, for no reason that either of them could fathom, he stopped calling them. Just like that.” Marisa snapped her fingers. “He gave no explanation to either one. The next thing either of them knew he was seeing someone else. He definitely believes in playing the field.”

  “Good. Then he’s perfect for me because that’s what I want to do. I admit I’m a little flattered that he even noticed me since I’m not his type. He seems to go for tall blondes. I haven’t gone out with that many men and I’ve never been serious about anyone but Dan. I’m sadly lacking in my dating skills.”

  “Not to mention lack of a sex life.”

  Carina grinned mischievously. “That, too. I may not put up much of a defense if Mr. Crenshaw insists on seducing me.”

  “Come to think of it,” Marisa said, sounding disgruntled, “Maybe I need to get a boyfriend on the side, then, since my sex life has all but disappeared.”

  They looked at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter.

  Carina changed the subject and they spent the rest of their time together discussing what had gone on at the board meeting of the symphony the night before. Carina had been on the board since she’d returned from New York after her father became ill.

  After a while, Marisa glanced at her watch. “Oops. Time to pick up the kiddos. Be sure to let me know how your date goes, okay?” They stood and walked toward the door of the small bakery.

  “I’ll do that, and say hi to the kids.”

  Marisa sighed. “Of course.” They paused once they were on the sidewalk. “You know, Carina, there are times when I don’t feel I even know Al any more. He’s certainly not the man I married.”

  Carina gently squeezed her hand. “Hang in there. I know you’ll make the best decision for all concerned.”

  Carina dressed for her dinner with Jude on Saturday wondering how the evening would go. Would he find her too boring for words?

  Carina sank down onto her bed and smoothed the hand-stitched coverlet her grandmother in Mexico had made for her several years ago. She closed her eyes and visualized Jude with his blond, expensively styled hair and those gorgeous blue eyes.

  He was much taller than she. Danny had only been a couple of inches taller when she wore high heels. Even in her highest heels, she had barely reached Jude’s shoulder.

  He’d been so gentle with her, almost as if he’d thought she might break. If he got to know her better, he’d quickly discover that she was far from fragile. She kept her body strong and supple with tai chi and yoga.

  Of course he was handsome. And rich. And something of a playboy. But did she care about his playing the field? She’d told Marisa the truth. She wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship.

  Carina glanced at her watch. Jude would be here soon and she didn’t want to keep him waiting. For all she knew, he might decide not to wait for her. He probably had a list of women’s names he could call at the last minute if he chose to leave. She smiled at the thought. I wonder if my name will be added to that list?

  Jude stopped his car in front of the gate to the grounds of the Patterson property, located in the Alamo Heights district of San Antonio. Some of these mansions had been in the same family for generations, so he wasn’t too surprised to discover that the Pattersons’ home was here. He pushed the button on the security box and a male voice immediately spoke. “Identification, please.”

  “Jude Crenshaw, here to see Carina Patterson.”

  There was a pause and then the double wrought-iron gates swung open. He drove through and followed the curving driveway up an incline to the front of the house.

  The Pattersons’ compound took up the entire block. Jude noted two other houses situated nearby. Guest houses, he presumed. The estate was almost large enough to hold a golf course!

  He parked in front of the antebellum-style home and got out. Before he reached the top of the three shallow steps to the veranda, one of the double doors swung open. The man who stood there looked more like a former cop than a butler.

  “Good evening, Mr. Crenshaw,” the man said. “Carina is in the music room. Follow the hallway past the stairs and enter the first door on your right.”

  The foyer was wide and ran the entire length of the house. The staircase rose in a graceful curve to the second floor. Jude glanced up, past the second-floor landing at the ceiling and saw a multi-beveled glass dome that let in light.

  When he reached the indicated door, Jude saw Carina seated at a piano, playing, her back him. He stood listening to her. Because her file had noted her passion for music, he’d immersed himself in classical music by attending concerts for the past several months. He was impressed by her skills, despite the fact that he much preferred country-and-western music.

  Now he was known as a patron of the arts.

  He doubted very much if his dad or his three brothers would believe that he’d actually come to appreciate the skill, practice and talent needed to play a musical instrument that wasn’t a guitar.

  One of the walls had floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over a lush garden, making a colorful backdrop to the grand piano and the musician. He waited until she finished the song and then clapped his hands in appreciation. Carina’s head swung around in surprise and she rose from the piano. “Jude, please forgive me for being so rude. Helmuth didn’t tell me you were here and I’m afraid I lose all track of time when I’m playing.”

  She walked toward him, wearing a cool-looking sleeveless dress that matched the green of her eyes.

  “Then I can only thank Helmuth for the oversight,” he replied, “because I would have missed hearing you play just now. You take my breath away… I mean, your playing…” He stopped, knowing that he would only dig a hole for himself by attempting to clarify his comment.

  Jude took her hands in his. “You have such small hands to be able to make such beautiful music.”

  “Believe me, I wish they were larger. I’ve had to compensate for my lack of reach over the keyboard all my life.”

  “If you’re ready, shall we go?”

  When they reached the front entrance he saw that Helmuth hovered by the door. Carina paused in front of him. “Jude, I’d like you to meet Helmuth Gregorian. Helmuth has been with our family since before I was born.”

  Jude held out his hand. “Good to meet you.”

  Helmuth shook his hand and nodded. A man of few words, obviously.

  When Carina saw his car, her eyes widened. “Oh, my. That’s quite a car you have there, Mr. Crenshaw.”

  “Jude. My name is Jude.”

  “How long have you had it?” she asked, as he opened the passenger door and helped her inside. He closed the door and walked around to the other side. Once he started the car, he replied.

  “A couple of years, now.”

  “It looks brand new. You must take good care of it.”

  He grinned. “One of my many vices.”

  Once he reached the end of the drive
way and turned onto the street, Jude glanced at her and said, “I made reservations for us at a place north of town with a nice view. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes. I hope that’s all right with you.”

  She patted the butter-soft leather of the upholstery and chuckled. “Are you kidding? I could ride in this for weeks.”

  “That’s good to know. So if I decide to kidnap you one of these days, does that mean you won’t put up much of a struggle?”

  “Well,” she said slowly, “that would depend on why you’d kidnapped me.”

  “Oh, rest assured it would be for nefarious purposes.”

  “Well, in that case,” she said, laughing, “I probably wouldn’t mind.”

  She leaned back in her seat and appeared to relax, which was good. First dates were always tough. Add to that his motive for taking her out…and the evening became even tougher.

  They rode along in silence while Jude traversed the various streets that he could swear had originally been cow paths from the way they meandered through the city.

  Once on the expressway, Carina said, “Tell me something about yourself, Jude. All I know is that you’re a native Texan and that you’re a member of the well-known Crenshaw family.”

  Reasonable question. He’d stick to the truth as much as possible, with the exception of his playboy image.

  “There’s not much to tell and what there is you’ll find boring. I’m thirty years old. I enjoy being outdoors and can’t imagine myself working in an office all day.” That was true enough.

  “Where were you born? Where did you go to school? Tell me something about your family. Why did you invite me for dinner?”

  He laughed. “The last one’s easy. Because I’m attracted to you and want to get to know you better.” He teased her by saying, “Why is it I feel as though I’m being interviewed? Will I read about myself in tomorrow’s paper?”

  She laughed. “Oh, no. They’d never get an article into print that fast. Probably some time next week.”

  “Oh. Well then, I suppose that’s all right.” They headed out of the city and the traffic thinned out a little before he spoke. “I was born in a little town you’ve probably never heard of, New Eden, which is located about a hundred miles northwest of here. My family’s been there since the 1840s, when one of my ancestors arrived in Texas and bought land in the Hill Country. My dad is the oldest of four brothers and he has four sons.”

  “Oh, my. Did his brothers have that many children?”

  “Not quite. My uncle Jeffrey has two sons, Jordan and Jackson. Uncle Josh has three sons: Jeremy, Justin and James, and Uncle Jerome has three sons: Jed, Jesse and Johnny.”

  “Whew. That’s a lot of people with names starting with J. And what’s with the all-male households?”

  “Well, there were women born to some of our ancestors, but not many. And my oldest brother, Jake, broke the cycle by producing a little girl—Heather—a few years ago.”

  “Tell me about your brothers.”

  Watson had been right. His background would hold up to any scrutiny if someone was checking on him because it wasn’t part of his cover.

  He relaxed a little more and said, “Let’s see. Jake is almost thirty-four. He’s the rancher in our family. He married the foreman’s daughter, Ashley, last fall and they’re expecting their first child together any time now. Heather is from his first marriage and he has full custody of her.

  “Jared, an oil geologist, got married a few weeks after Jake. He’s thirty-two. I was up at the ranch earlier this month for a big barbecue my dad put on welcoming Jared back from Saudi Arabia. We were all relieved to hear he won’t be going back.

  “I’m the third son. My younger brother, Jason, is in Delta Force.”

  “Is he married?”

  “Nope. He and I enjoy our freedom too much to give serious thought to settling down. At least not for several years, anyway.”

  “So you’re definitely a native Texan.”

  “Yep. Went all the way through high school in New Eden and as soon as I graduated I joined the army…at the insistence of my father and the local sheriff.”

  “The sheriff? What had you done?”

  “Nothing too serious, actually, but I guess I was heading in that direction, or so my dad thought. I ran with a couple of guys who loved to pull pranks and push the limit. Let’s just say we were a little too rowdy for the small town. We’d sneak beer, race our cars down Main Street, give our teachers migraines and in general made a name for ourselves.

  “My dad wasn’t impressed. He was the one who strongly suggested I find something more productive to do with my life than remove street signs, decorate people’s lawns with toilet paper and see who had the fastest wheels. I recall hearing the words learn a little discipline.”

  “A delinquent, were you?” she asked with a grin.

  He chuckled. “Close to it.”

  “Then you went into the army.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Then what?”

  He gave her another glance before he said with a smile, “I got out of the army at the end of my enlistment and promised myself I’d never go back.” His first big lie. He’d enjoyed the army and had learned a lot about himself. He’d joined Delta Force a few months after he enlisted. The army had challenged him and he discovered that he thrived on challenge. They’d paid for his college education and promoted him to officer status when he graduated. He’d moved steadily up the ranks and would probably still be in the army if the NSA hadn’t approached him about working for them.

  “A little too much discipline, I take it?” Carina asked.

  “Something like that,” he replied. “So now you know my entire life story. I warned you it would be boring.”

  “What made you move to San Antonio?”

  “No one particular reason. My uncle Josh asked me to oversee some of the family property and businesses in the area. Since I didn’t have much else to do, I decided I’d check out the area, meet some people, that kind of thing. Speaking of my uncle, he was the one who first showed me how to find the restaurant where we’re going. I’ve been back several times since then. The food is great and the view outstanding.”

  They lapsed into silence for a few miles before Jude looked at her and said, “Now it’s your turn. Tell me about you.”

  He wondered how much information she would share with him.

  “Compared to you, my life has been truly boring.”

  He smiled but didn’t comment.

  “I was born in San Antonio, went to school here, went to college in New York for a while and moved back home. That’s pretty much my story in a nutshell.”

  “You don’t mention your music.”

  “Oh. My music. I suppose that’s because it’s such an integral part of me I don’t think about it. It’s like having green eyes and dark hair. Music is part of who I am.”

  “Do you intend to pursue a career in music?”

  “I hope to. I need one more year at Juilliard to get my degree. I’m registered for this fall so I’ll be going back soon.”

  “Good for you. Then I’m glad I met you before you moved away.”

  Jude waited to see if she would mention her fiancé, Daniel Bowie. According to his information, Bowie had been killed fourteen months ago in a hit-and-run accident south of San Antonio. The police report stated that he must have been traveling at a high speed when he was sideswiped. He’d lost control of his car and it had flipped several times, killing him instantly. They’d never discovered who hit him or if the collision had been intentional. The case was still open but they’d run out of leads.

  He waited but she didn’t say anything more. Finally, he asked, “What about brothers and sisters?”

  “You met my two brothers at the benefit. Alfredo is sixteen years older than I and Benito is fourteen years older. They were already out of the house by the time I was old enough to remember them living at home. Al has taken over the role of my protector, which is a little irritating at m
y age. In fact, Al looks after everyone in the family. My dad was grateful that Al stepped in and took over running our business once we knew that Dad wouldn’t be able to continue.”

  “Does your brother Ben work there, as well?”

  “Yes. He’s the quiet one. His wife, Sara, complains that he’s always off on buying trips, but somebody has to do it and Al has enough to handle here. I’m always telling her she should go with him, but so far, she’s stayed at home.”

  “Do you have any nieces and nephews?”

  “Two nieces and a nephew. Chris and Tina Maria belong to Al and Marisa. Sara and Ben have a toddler, Beth.”

  “And you? Do you want to have a family?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Finally, she said, “I love children and I want a family, but I want to finish my studies first and see where that takes me.”

  “So you’re footloose and fancy free, just like me.”

  “I’m not sure about that. I doubt that we have much in common.”

  He gave her a sharp look before returning his eyes to the road. “What makes you say that?”

  “From everything I’ve heard about you, you lead a busy social life. Whenever your picture shows up in the paper, you seem to be with a different woman, while I seldom date.”

  “Then I’m very pleased you’ve made an exception for me. As for the number of women I’ve dated, maybe it’s because I haven’t found the one I want to spend more time with.”

  She smiled at him. “Well, good luck in your search.”

  He couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Maybe he’d played up his playboy image a little too much, which would be ironic if he’d turned off the one person he needed to attract.

  Jude turned off the highway and followed a winding road back into the hills. When the ground leveled off he pulled into a driveway that opened into a parking lot.

  “What a beautiful place,” Carina said, looking at what had at one time been a vacation lodge. “The view is awesome.” She looked around. “I don’t see any signs to tell you this is a restaurant. How does anyone know it’s here?”

  He took her hand and they walked up the front steps to the wide veranda. “Word of mouth. Reservations are at a premium.” He grinned at her. “I’m glad you like it.”