"Martha, you are so lucky!"

"Lucky? What are you talking about?" Martha was wiping down the counter at the drugstore soda fountain where Barlow Connally had been sitting. Her friends Lisa and Tammy had rushed the counter as soon as he had let. They had been lurking in the store eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Barlow Connally wants you."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about. You said he places orders to be delivered at least twice a week and that he comes in for a soda at least once a week. That's been going on for what now, two months?"

"What about the way he looks at you and the things he says. I've never seen someone so confident. How do you keep from flirting back?"

"Stop it! He's not my type. He's way too cocky and to be honest I don't think he's attractive. Have you noticed how he kind of walks around and treats people like the world and everyone in it owes him something because he is just that amazing. I prefer someone with at least a touch of humility. Besides, my aunt and he were in the same class in high school and I've heard too much about how he treats women to ever even consider it.

"But Martha, he's loaded! You snag him and you can have anything you could possibly want."

"I'm not interested in 'snagging' him or anybody else for that matter. To tell you the truth, I feel kind of bad for him. I mean I know he has a ton of money and lots of things but I think that overly confident attitude may just be a cover. He seems...lonely."

The two girls exchanged a look before turning back to Martha, "You know you could help him out with that..."

"You two are awful!" Martha threw her towel at them but they both managed to dodge it. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

Martha contemplated that question herself as she was getting ready to walk home from work later that evening. What kind of girl was she? Sure she had enjoyed the attention Barlow gave her but there were no feelings there, at least not on her part. She started to become concerned. What if she was leading him on. She thought she had gotten to know him a little after chatting with him both in the store and when she would take orders out to him at him at his home or office. She was just being friendly, but what if he thought she wanted something more than that. She decided the next time she saw him that she would set the record straight. It turned out she didn't have to wait too long to follow through on her promise to herself.

As she walked out of the drugstore she saw Barlow leaning against his truck that was parked along the curb. He greeted her with a big smile, "Would you like a ride home this evening?"

Martha hesitated. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea but it would give her the perfect opportunity to make sure he knew that she was not interested in him romantically, "Okay."

He opened the door and helped her up into truck before walking around to the driver side. He pulled away from curb.

"So how's school going?"

"It's going well. Thank you for asking."

"You know, I think you'll be an excellent nurse. How many more classes do you have before you're finished with your degree?"

"Degree?" She was a little confused by his question and wondered what he meant.

He glanced briefly over at her, "Yeah, tell me, are you working on an associates or are you going straight for a BSN?" Barlow was proud that he had done a little research on nursing education.

Martha suddenly felt very nervous, "Oh, I'm not in college yet."

"I don't understand. When I went in to the Busy Bee the day after I saw you there Dorothy mentioned you were back at school. I assumed it was over in Sheridan."

Martha bit the inside of her lip, "I'm still in high school."

"Oh"

She watched him from the corner of her eye while keeping her face forward. Anticipation was thick in the cab of the truck as she waited to hear if Barlow would say anything else. She wasn't brave enough to turn and look directly at him.

"So, how old are you?"

"Sixteen...and you thought I was...?"

He pressed his lips together and nodded slowly, "I thought you were nineteen."

"I'm sorry." She felt like she had somehow done something wrong though she wasn't sure what it was. She had never told him her age but he had never asked either.

"I was going to ask you to dinner tonight, but considering the circumstances I don't think that's the best course of action right now."

Martha looked over at Barlow. His face was still.

"Barlow, I'm sorry...I didn't realize...I hope you know I would never intentionally mislead you."

He nodded.