Dakota Homecoming by Lisa Mondello Page B

of being in South Dakota, spending time with Julian’s family and…liking them, Georgie was beginning to feel like a fraud.
    A rush of cold air startled her as Julian opened the car door. He held out his hand to help her out of the car.
    She took his hand, but once again, felt uncomfortable. “You don’t have to do this.”
    He frowned. “Do what?”
    “No one is watching us. There’s no need to pretend with me now. The only light that is on in the house is the kitchen light. You don’t have to pretend for your family.”
    She didn’t wait for Julian by the car. Instead, she pulled her jacket tighter against her chest and headed to the house. When she didn’t hear the car door slam, she turned around. Julian was still standing by the car.
    “Are you coming?”
    His look of bewilderment made her pause. She retraced what she’d just done. It had been a kneejerk reaction, one she’d had many times in her life when a man had given her unwanted attention. But Julian wasn’t doing that. He’d been nothing but a gentleman despite the difficult circumstances they’d found themselves in.
    “I’m sorry.”
    He shut the car door and walked up the walkway she’d just traveled. The cold was biting into her exposed cheeks and her fingers, but she waited.
    “What happened?”
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    “I’m tired. I know that’s no excuse for my snapping at you,” Georgie said.
    They walked to the porch and climbed the steps to the door in silence. Julian unlocked the door and pushed it aside, waiting for Georgie to walk inside before he did. Then he shut off the outside light and locked the door behind him.
    He felt the familiar mix of emotions he always felt when he came home. He took in the scent that assaulted his nose. His mother always burned eucalyptus during the day and Julian had come to associate that smell with home. He’d missed the familiarity of it.
    The house was quiet. His parents had gone to bed. They usually went to bed early and he’d stayed up and watch television until the wee hours of the morning. It had been a habit of his since he was in high school.
    They hung their jackets up in the mudroom. Before Georgie could disappear upstairs, he clutched her arm and kept her from leaving the mudroom where he knew they’d be alone in case someone got up and walked into the kitchen.
    “You didn’t answer me,” he said, looking down at her face. She was tired. He could see it in her eyes. But he wasn’t sure if it was mere fatigue or if being with his family had been an emotion drain for her. All he knew for sure was that he was tired too. Tired of this game. Tired of holding his emotions at bay.
    “Didn’t I?” Her voice was quiet, but it still sounded loud with no other sound in the house competing with it.
    “Did something happen that I should know about?”
    Her gaze drifted lower.
    “Did Eduardo call you tonight?”
    She glanced up at him quickly. “No. I would have told you if he’d called. Besides, you said my phone was being monitored.”
    “It is. But I thought…”
    “What?”
    “Are you worried about Angela?”
    She nodded. “I wish she would call. It’s the only way I know that she’s okay. Not hearing from her is killing me. But I know she won’t call unless it’s safe.”
    “You’re worried. That’s natural.”
    Georgie sighed. “Your aunt and sister asked me how we met. I didn’t know what to tell them.”
    “What did you tell them?”
    “The truth.”
    His mouth dropped open.
    “Not everything. I just told them how we met at the store. When you first approached me and how the grocery bag broke.”
    He nodded, feeling relief at her answer. “That’s good.”
    “I didn’t know what else to say. But I feel guilty. I don’t like lying. I don’t like all this pretending. I want it to be over.”
    He reached out to her, touching her chin with his fingers lightly to make her look up at him. He hated seeing her this way. “It will be soon. They’re