Share
Chapter 30.1
Related chapters
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 30.2
Yes, dammit, she did. But tomorrow she wanted something else. She only wished she knew what that was. However, she knew where to go to find out.It was nearly noon. She locked up the office and drove in the direction she knew the elementary school to be. It wasn’t hard to find. It was the place with all the little morning kindergarten and pre-kindergarten kidsstreaming out the door to the buses and cars waiting to take them home. She looked at the driveways across the street from the school for the big sedanshe’d seen Mrs. Green drive, but all the driveways were vacant.It stood to reason that the Greens would keep a nice car like that in the garage, especially during cold weather, although it was in the upper forties today and sunny. But as it turned out, she didn’t need the appearance of the car to find the Green’s house, all she needed to do was follow Cindy as she zipped up the neatest yard to the front porch where Marva Green stood with open arms and a smile.“Brenda,” she whis
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 31
Early Saturday afternoon Amy paced her small living room and tried to calm her racing heart.Any minute Riley was going to pick her up for the first date she’d had in years. Unless she counted going to the canteen on base in Iraq, which she didn’t.One more look in the mirror.She kept wondering who that person was who stared back at her.Marva hadn’t stopped with the flowing pants and cashmere sweater on the lunch hour. Oh, no, not the dragon lady of Tribute, Texas. The local shops had all closed by the time Amy got off work Friday, but that didn’t deter Marva, not when she had an entire Saturday morning to work with.There’d been accessories: earrings—thank heaven Amy’s ears were already pierced or Marva might have done the deed herself, with her teeth if necessary—a necklace to complement the bold design and delicate texture of the sweater, a long, narrow scarf to drape around her neck.Then there were shoes. They selected plain black leather pumps with two-inch heels, but only bec
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 31.1
“I’m learning that,” she said. “Ernie the mailman says Jack over at the hardware store drank too much and wrecked his daddy’s car last week.”“Yup. And he had Ernie’s cousin’s daughter with him. Which explains why Ernie’s telling everyone in town. Jack’s lucky that Ernie doesn’t have a shotgun.”“Considering what Marva thought of me this time last week, I’m pretty glad she doesn’t, either.”“So,” he asked a moment later. “This isn’t what Marva helped you pick out, is it?”“Yes, it is. I know nothing about style or fashion. She and Darnelle basically had their way with me,” she added with a slight shudder.Riley laughed at her. “Maybe Marva’s getting smarter with the years. I would have thought she’d go for ruffles and bows and lace.”“She might have, but I reminded her I’m a crack shot with an M-16, and I know where she lives.”Riley laughed, then shook his head. “I wish Cindy had something like that she could hold over Marva’s head, and that she’d use it.”“Cindy? Why?”“I’m afraid s
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 31.2
They were silent on the way home. Not even the radio broke the humming monotony of tires on blacktop. A casual glance might makesomeone think that each was off in his or her own little world, paying noattention to the other. And in one respect, that was true. Amy was thinking how much quieter Riley’s nice sedan was than her old rattletrap andwishing it wasn’t so, for fear that in this quiet car he could hear herswallow, and hear her heart pound. Riley was thinking how lucky he was that the girls were spending the night with Marva and Frank, because he was in absolutely no hurry to go home.They’d been holding hands since before that steamy scene in the movie.Neither seemed inclined to let go. So they held on. All the way home.For two single adults on a Saturday-night date, they returned to Amy’s apartment at the embarrassingly early hour of eleven o’clock.For the first time since starting for home, Amy turned her head and looked at Riley. “I don’t have anything to offer you to
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 32
Amy regained her wits as she did her breath—slowly. The warm weight of Riley Sinclair anchored her where she lay. Was he the anchor she’d beenseeking all her life? The person with whom she could put down roots?Her heart, so recently slowed to normal, gave a leap. She wouldn’t make the mistake she’d seen so many of her friends make, that of thinking one night of good sex—okay, mind-numbing sex—meant happily ever after.She tightened her arms around Riley’s shoulders, still not sure of her own emotions, let alone his.“You’re thinking too hard.” She gave a start. “What?”He pushed himself up onto his forearms and cradled her face in his hands. “I guess I know you better than I thought. Right now you’re trying to decide if this means we know what we’re doing.”“Home builder, child rearer and now mind reader?” She ran her hands up and down his arms. “Or are you thinking the same thing?”“I won’t be capable of rational thought for a while yet.”She smiled and stared at his chin to avoid
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 32.1
“I don’t know,” she said honestly, tears stinging behind her eyes. “It just all seems too much, you know?”“Maybe I do,” he confessed. “This came on us so fast.”“How can it be real, coming on this fast?” She buried her face against his chest. “I think I’m looking for guarantees, and I know that’s crazy. Life doesn’t come with guarantees. But…”“But what? Do you want to take a step back? If you do, you’re going to have to say so, because I can’t really read your mind, and I don’t want to push you into something you’re not ready for.”Amy pulled away far enough to be able to look him in the face. “Why do you have to be so agreeable? Here I am, being all wishy-washy, ruining what was just about the most wonderful night of my life—”“Just about?”“And you’re being all nice and accommodating.”“You want me to complain? Tell you that you’re trying to pick apart something that should simply be accepted? Point out that we have feelings for each other, and we should see where they lead us?”“
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 32.2
She thought he wanted someone—anyone—to take Brenda’s place. There was no wrong or right response to that. Brenda had been his wife,and, yes, eventually he would probably want to remarry. But no, he didn’t want a carbon copy of Brenda. She’d been one of a kind. He had loved her with all his heart. No one could take that away or replace her. But there was room in his heart to love another woman. It didn’t have to take anything away from what he’d felt for Brenda. He wouldn’t let it.He’d thought, hoped, that Amy might be the one. She’d surprised him, because he hadn’t been ready to think about a new woman in his life yet. When thoughts of a new woman had sifted through his mind, it had always been for the future. Years away from now.And yet, there she’d stood, on his front porch that morning. Then she was in his home. At the café. At his dinner table. In the lens of his camera. In his office. Shopping for Christmas presents for his daughters. And finally, tonight, beneath him, surrou
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 32.3
He held her gaze for a long moment. “Are you going to push me away?”“You mean I haven’t already?”“No, you haven’t. I’m harder to push than that. You’ve asked for some room, some time. Is that what you want?”“Is time and room supposed to make things clear to me?”“Are you saying you don’t want— You just want to call it quits between us right now?”Amy felt the blood drain from her face. Was that what she wanted? To call it quits between them? She gave him a sad smile. “Is this your idea of giving me time?”“I just—” He waved one arm toward her, then ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I said I’d call, so I called.”“Is that what this is about? I didn’t answer my phone?”“I think I should go out and come in again so we can start this day over.”“Maybe you should go out and not come in again,” she muttered. “What was that?”She sighed. “Can we drop it?” “All of it? Drop us?”Amy wanted to scream. She could put enough pressure on herself, thank you very much. She didn’t n
Latest chapter
