Jessie ran her fingers through her short dark hair and smiled. She was standing behind a bar, wiping classes as she reminisced about the past week. She was enrolled at Dallas University to finish her Ph.D. in Psychology and had finally found a part-time job. As a psychology major she was glad to find a job that allowed her to earn money and participate in her favourite activity…people-watching. She loved watching how people behaved and interacted, as well as listening to them talk. Being a bartender certainly gave her the opportunity to hear some great stories.

Although this was usually a busy place, Jessie was enjoying the slow Thursday afternoon crowd. She knew things would definitely pick up later because there was a college football game coming on cable later. For now, she would enjoy the peace.

She was starting on another glass when she heard the door open and close. Turning, she saw two men entering. One was a tall, good-looking Hispanic man who seemed to be walking rather slowly. ‘Hmmm’ wondered Jessie. ‘He looks like he’s in a bit of pain.’ She turned her attention to the other. He was blond, attractive and well, just a little bit sad, Jessie decided. As they approached the bar she smiled warmly.

"Howdy, Gentlemen. Can I get something for you?"

The dark one smiled. "Gentlemen, huh? She definitely hasn’t been talking to Butch, has she?" he asked his friend.

"No, I guess not." Turning to Jessie, the blond one said, "I’ll have a beer. My friend here will have coffee."

"I’d actually love a beer too, but I’m not allowed." He rolled his eyes for effect.

Jessie smiled at their easy manner. "Coming right up!" She grabbed the coffee first and placed it on the bar. When she got the beer from the cooler, she quickly grabbed a glass from behind here and placed them on the bar in one quick motion. She was suddenly aware of a presence behind her.

"Howdy, Boys! Glad to see y’all back!" The owner of the bar, Butch McMann stood behind her. "I see you have met my new bartender." Butch turned back to Jessie. "Jess, I’d like you to meet a couple of friends of mine. This here," he said, pointing to the dark one, "is Carlos Sandoval." Turning to the blond he said, "and this is Trent Malloy. Gentlemen, this is Jessie McNamara."

Carlos extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Jessie." A wince crossed his face.

"You okay, man?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, I’m fine. Just think I need another couple of pain-killers."

Trent held out this hand. "Nice to meet you, Jessie."

"Nice to meet both of you," Jessie said in return. "I haven’t seen you two here before."

A dark look crossed Trent’s face as he turned to Carlos. "It has been awhile," he said quietly.

Jessie was acutely aware that something had happened that neither man wanted to talk about. She saw the looks exchanged between Trent and Carlos, and even Butch. It was Butch who spoke first.

"Actually, Jess, Carlos just got himself out of the hospital. These two boys are the private investigators from upstairs I told you about. We are going to have a little party for Carlos tonight."

"Just let me know what you need," Jessie said. Although she wasn’t looking at him, she knew Trent was looking at her. ‘He’s wondering what I know,’ she thought. Turning she smiled at him. Just as she was about to say something, she heard a voice at the end of the bar. "Coming," she called, pulling herself away from the three men.

"So Carlos, you doing okay?" Butch sounded very fatherly. The truth was he considered both of the men in front of him to be as close as sons.

"Yeah, Butch. Just glad to be away from that hospital. A month is way too long to be there." He took a drink of coffee. "Doc says everything is almost as good as new."

"Good to hear." Butch turned his attention to Trent. "What about you?"

Trent looked into his beer. "Okay."

Butch wanted to press but didn’t. "Y’all starting back to work soon? It’s been pretty quiet around here."

"Pretty soon, Butch,’ Carlos said. "As soon as my doctor here lets me." Trent just smiled.

"I’ve got a few things to do. Like move out of Carlos’ place."

"Look, manno, I said you can stay as long as you like. There’s no rush," Carlos said gently.

"Yeah, I know buddy. But there isn’t a lot of space and I have to go back to the apartment sometime."

"Have you been back at all?" Butch asked.

"No," Trent sighed and rubbed his hand over his face as he took a long swallow of beer. "But I need to decide what I am going to do and send some stuff to Sarah." An uneasy quiet fell over the three men as they each wrestled with their thoughts of the past two months. Everything had changed in one quick, deadly explosion.

"Are you going to move back?" Butch finally inquired.

"I don’t know if I can. I’ll probably just rent it out."

"Do you know of a place to rent?" Jessie had come back beside Butch, catching them off guard. When they looked at her in surprise, she quickly added, "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. It’s just that I am looking for a place off campus so if you know of any, I’d appreciate it." Again, she saw the intense sadness in Trent.

"It’s okay, Jess. Jess here is doing her Ph.D. in Psychology at the university. It’s safe to say, Jess, that if you need any subjects to study in abnormal psychology, Carlos is your man."

"Hey," Carlos tried to sound offended. However, deep down he knew Butch was trying to lighten his friend’s dark mood. He was happy to see the slight smile on Trent’s face.

"Hi guys!" They all turned to see a redhead come bounding into the bar.

"Hey, Kimberly," Butch answered.

Kim Sutter, the office manager of Thunder Investigations approached the bar. She gave Carlos a quick kiss and said, "it sure is good to see you back in your natural habitat, Carlos."

"It’s good to be here," Carlos agreed.

Turning to Trent, Kim smiled. "And you too, Trent. I’m glad to see both of you back." She gave Trent a gentle hug.

"Thanks for looking after things, Kim. If Carlos here is up to it we may be back to work Monday morning," Trent told her.

"Well, whenever you’re ready, guys. Truth is, there been a few calls but not a lot." Kim took a seat beside Trent. Extending her hand, she introduced herself to Jessie.

"Sorry, Kim," Butch implored, "this here is my new bartender, Jessie."

"Pleased to meet you Jessie. It's kinda nice to have another female face in here." Jessie didn’t miss the fact that both Butch and Carlos looked at Trent after the comment. Kim turned to Trent. "I did what you asked me to and I found a florist over on Cumberland that sells lilacs. They said the have some in now if you want them today."

"Thanks, Kim. Gentlemen," he said, addressing Carlos and Butch. "I have an errand to run but I will be back in about an hour." Trent finished his beer and headed for the door. As he left, a number of patrons entered. Jessie’s busy night had just begun.

**

"How is he really doing, Carlos?" Kim asked the question almost before Trent had gotten out the door.

"Better, I guess. It’s hard to tell with him because even to me he doesn’t say much. Truth is, I think he is still trying to deal with the guilt. He still blames himself for everything, including my hospital stay."

Just then the door opened and a few more patrons entered. Butch quickly called out to them. "Hey, Walker, Alex. Come join the party."

"Hey Carlos, good to see you," Walker said, clapping the Hispanic man on the back. "Where is your partner in crime?"

"Gone to see Sam," Carlos told him. They nodded knowingly.

"Well, if the two of you are up to it, I’ve got a case for you to help me on. I know you’ll be interested because it involves undercover work with co-eds."

A large smile lit up Carlos’ face. "I get to hang around with college girls?"

"Yes sir. Think you can handle it?" Walker said with a smile.

"I was born for this case, Walker," Carlos implored.

"It is actually quite serious. There have been numerous sexual assaults and murders on the campus of the university. The profiler seems to think that the guy attends the university or at the very least, meets the girls there. We need eyes and ears there. Think Trent will be willing?"

"Yeah. I think the best thing for him right now is to get back into work. Might help him get his mind off of everything else."

**

‘Gosh, I hate Mondays,’ Jess thought. She was hurrying to her 10:00 o’clock psychology class and had only a few minutes to get there. As she approached the classroom, her briefcase fell out of her hand, hitting the floor with a thud. As she was about to reach over and pick it up she realized someone had beaten her to it. She looked up into the face of Trent Malloy.

"Hi Jessie," he said with a smile.

"Trent! What are you doing here?" She quickly opened the door and the other students filed in.

"I’m taking a class. I didn’t know you taught here."

"Yes. I have to do a number of classes along with my research. Are you on a case?"

Trent looked quickly around and motioned her to keep it quiet. "Look, why don’t we go for coffee after his and I’ll explain, okay?" Jess nodded. "In the meantime, don’t say anything about me being a PI."

"Sure," Jess said, slightly puzzled.

As Trent sat down, Jess stepped to the podium and addressed her class. As the class went on, and for some reason she couldn’t explain, she had a hard time keeping focused. Was it Trent? ‘Surely not’ she told herself. ‘I hardly know him. Besides he’s got that wedding ring on his finger. Stop being silly,’ she told herself. ‘It must be because it is a Monday.’

**

"So what is all this mystery about?" Jess asked as Trent sat down in front of her at the campus coffee shop.

"Carlos and I are working on a case, helping the Texas Rangers. You met Walker the other night, didn’t you?"

"Yes," Jess nodded.

"Well, there is someone stalking women on this campus. We are simply hanging around trying to see if we can come up with any leads. Carlos won the draw and got the art department. I got psychology."

Jess smiled. "Does that mean you lost?"

Trent smiled back. "No. He just got to pick first. I think he’s heard too many stories about naked models."

Jessie laughed along with Trent. For the first time, she saw a brightness in his eyes. "Is Carlos really that bad?" she asked.

"No," Trent told her. "He’s just been cooped up too long." The brightness was gone.

"Well, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open. I’ll help you guys if I can."

"NO!" Jessie was surprised by the vehemence in Trent’s voice. "I don’t want you involved, Jessie. If you see anything suspicious, you call Walker, Carlos or me. Don’t do anything on your own."

"But…"

"I said, ‘no’, Jessie. I mean it." An uncomfortable silence fell over the two. Finally, Jessie spoke.

"Trent, I know something traumatic has happened involving you and Carlos. I don’t know what but I can tell you are struggling to deal with it. I know you don’t know me that well but I am at the point where I am qualified to be a licensed therapist. If you ever want to talk about anything, I’m more that willing to listen." She looked directly into his eyes, seeing the depth of his pain.

Trent sat for what seemed like an eternity. Jess was about to apologize for not minding her own business when he spoke. "You’re right something did happen, and it involved a lot more that just me and Carlos. I appreciate your offer but I can’t; not yet. I’m just not ready to talk about it." ‘Sam was the one I would always talk to,’ he thought. "But thanks," he said aloud. "Now I better go. I’ll see you later."

As he walked away, Jess sat and wondered if she had done the right thing. From her experience in psychology she knew that talking would help. She also knew that you couldn’t make someone talk if they didn’t want to.

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