On Lone Star Trail Read Free Page B

friend’s resort. There was no way he would stay there, but the place would have a phone. And, if he was lucky, Dupree would have a motorcycle shop.
    As he glanced at the street sign, TJ blinked. “Lone Star Trail?”
    Gillian laughed, the sound so sweet it made him smile. “It sounds silly, doesn’t it? Kate told me it used to be called Main Street, but a hundred years ago, someone decided to go for something more Texan.” She turned, giving TJ a conspiratorial smile. “There’s more. We have to climb Ranger Hill to getto the resort. Believe it or not, Rainbow’s End is located on Bluebonnet Lake, and there’s even a place called Firefly Valley.”
    She probably didn’t realize it, but that was the longest speech TJ had heard her give. It seemed Gillian preferred talking about inanimate objects rather than people. He wondered why.
    Since he didn’t have to concentrate on driving, TJ looked around as they drove through what appeared to be an ordinary small town’s downtown area. A few empty stores were nestled among the collection of establishments typical for a town of less than six hundred: a theater, bank, grocery store, two churches, and a few other small businesses. Dupree was what TJ had always called a blink town. “Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it,” he used to tell Deb when they’d approach other similarly sized towns.
    He wasn’t blinking now, and he wasn’t blinking when Gillian told him they’d reached the summit of Ranger Hill. With the sun still high in the western sky, he saw the sparkle of a small lake and the metal roofs of cabins at what must be the resort. As his gaze turned to the left, TJ felt his heart begin to thud. RVs. A field filled with RVs.
    He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, willing his pulse to return to normal. He wouldn’t stay here. He couldn’t. This was not the place for him.
    TJ forced his eyes open but kept his gaze focused on the resort, as if by ignoring them, he could make the RVs disappear. He hadn’t been inside an RV campground in almost two years, and he wasn’t going to start now. Just being this close was making the sweat break out on his forehead.
    Seemingly unaware of his distress, Gillian gestured toward the wrought-iron gate as she turned onto a multicolored gravel driveway. “I like the sign. Don’t you?”
    TJ stared. Though the gate itself was ordinary, the sign was not. As might be expected, the sign featured a rainbow, but instead of the fabled pot of gold, this rainbow ended in what appeared to be Noah’s ark.
    Two years ago, TJ would have smiled in delight that instead of animals peering from the windows, the ark bore a heart with a cross in its center and that the sign proclaimed this to be Rainbow’s End, the Heart and Soul of the Hill Country. Today he could barely repress his shudder. An obviously Christian resort with RVs parked across the road was the last place he wanted to be.
    â€œIt’s . . .” He struggled for a word, finally settling on unique .
    â€œThat it is,” Gillian said as she drove a short distance along the road and parked in front of a Tyrolean-style building with a discreet sign identifying it as the office. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to Kate and Greg.”
    Though he was tempted to walk away, TJ knew that would accomplish nothing. As uncomfortable as he felt, he needed to get his bike repaired and find a place to sleep tonight.
    â€œMs. Hodge!” The teenager behind the desk of the nicely appointed office jumped up from her seat. “It’s so cool that you’re here.” The grin on her face and the light in her eyes did a good job of conveying more excitement than TJ had ever seen on a desk clerk’s face. Gillian’s friend must have told the staff to make her feel welcome. Apparently unfazed by the bubbling enthusiasm, Gillian simply