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Chapter 31.1
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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
Last Updated : 2022-10-19LOVE 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
Last Updated : 2022-10-19LOVE 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?”“
Last Updated : 2022-10-19LOVE 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
Last Updated : 2022-10-19LOVE 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
Last Updated : 2022-10-19LOVE IN TEXAS CHAPTER 33
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 localshops 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
Last Updated : 2022-10-20LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 33.1
“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
Last Updated : 2022-10-20LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 33.2
She chuckled at his thick Gypsy accent. “Good point. However, they never predict a woman will meet a man who’s short, pale and ugly, either. He’s always tall, dark and handsome.”By tacit agreement, the talk did not return to the subject of we. They finished their dessert, then drove to a nearby multiplex movie theater. They couldn’t decide which movie to see. In the end, they nixed the love story, the romantic comedy, the family Christmas movie, the war epic, and went for the movie with no elements that spoke to their personal situation—a safe, sensible science-fiction action thriller.It was just their luck that there was a hot, erotic love scene near the end of the movie. The kind of scene that sent hot blood pulsing in intimate places. Riley and Amy both stared studiously at the screen, each making certain not to catch the other’s eye. But they would probably have bruises from the tightness of their grip on each other’s hand.They were silent on the way home. Not even the radio br
Last Updated : 2022-10-20
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LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 36.1
“How…? When…?”“Brenda had the photo with her. She knew she wanted to do something, but all she could think of was to blow it up. I ran across a guy on the Internet who does oil paintings from photos. I thought she would like that.”“What is it, Daddy?” Jasmine asked. He couldn’t move.“It’s us,” Pammy cried. “Mama and us girls in the backyard.”It had always been one of Riley’s favorite pictures of Brenda and the girls. In fact he had a copy of it right now in his wallet. Brenda, sitting in the grass, with Pammy and Jasmine on either side and Cindy in her lap. He had taken the picture himself just before Brenda shipped out, nearly two years ago.The artist had enlarged it and copied it in oil. It was perhaps the most beautiful portrait he’d ever seen. His vision blurred.“Lemme see, Daddy, lemme see,” Cindy cried.When he finally looked up at Amy, he didn’t know what to say.She leaned toward him and kissed each of his eyelids, then his mouth. “Merry Christmas, Riley.”Amy was gratif
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 36
The rest of the week until Christmas passed in a blur. Amy spent much of it with Riley and his girls.There were errands to run. There was more shopping to do, both in town and beyond. There were videos to rent and watch and a movie to see in Waco. There were friends and neighbors to meet.Amy wondered what those friends and neighbors thought of Rileyshowing up with her, but they were all friendly. They were especially nice when Riley told them that she had served with Brenda. That served as a good, acceptable reason for them to be together without too much overt speculation.They were seldom alone, she and Riley. There was little time for it with the girls always around. But Amy didn’t mind. There was always time for a few heated kisses when they weren’t looking, or after their bedtime if Amy drove herself home.She had her own last-minute Christmas things to take care of, too.Things she could not do around Riley or his girls. But with a few phone calls, a quick trip here and there
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 35.1
“Okay, bring them to the den. We’ll let him sit in his recliner while we doctor him,” Amy suggested. She craned her neck to peer down the hall.Seeing no sign of Riley, she led the girls a few feet away into the kitchen and gave them a conspiratorial wink.“Here’s the deal, girls. Your daddy’s barely hurt at all. No more than one of you falling off your bicycle and getting a few scrapes.”Pammy poked out her lower lip. “Are you sure?”“I’m sure. I was there in the hospital when the doctor checked him over.He does have stitches on the side of his head, but not much else. But the thing is, guys are different than girls. Guys are bigger and stronger than we are. At the same time, when they get the least little scrape, or catch a cold, they turn into helpless babies. They need help with every little thing.”That got a round of smiles out of the girls.“I’m telling you this so you won’t worry about your daddy just because he moans and groans now and then over his aches and pains. It’s jus
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 35
All the way to the hospital on the hill at the south edge of town Amy kept her mind blank. She couldn’t allow herself to think. She scarcely allowed herself to breathe. An accident. Riley. Deer. Truck. Ditch. The words hurled themselves at her one after the other, like heat-seeking missiles.At the last stop sign before the hill, she hit her brakes too hard and her tires slid across the intersection. She was lucky no other cars were coming. She held her breath until the car straightened out, then eased up the hill and skated into the parking lot of the hospital.With a prayer on her lips, she rushed into the hospital and demanded to see Riley.They told her she should sit down. They told her it shouldn’t be long.They told her she had to wait.She told them, “Point me toward Riley Sinclair right this minute and you might live to see the end of your shift.”“Security!”“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Amy said as she started down the hall. “If you’ve got a security guard here in the middle of
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 34.2
“Good morning.”She barely bit back the shriek that threatened at the scare his voice gave her when she hadn’t realized he’d come in. “Good morning,” she managed. She stared at her computer screen and typed in her password to log on.His footsteps crossed from the door to her desk. He stopped there. “I called you last night,” he said quietly.Amy’s stomach clenched. “Did you?” “Several times.”She could see his hand resting on the edge of her desk. “I must have been out.” Heaven help her, she’d turned into a liar, she thought with dismay.“Amy, will you look at me?”She had to. She knew she had to. She even wanted to. Maybe. Sort of. She swallowed, wishing she knew what to do, what she wanted, what was best for them. If there was a them.Slowly she raised her gaze. “Riley, I…”“Don’t, Amy. If it’s this hard for you even to look at me, I guess we have a bigger problem than moving too fast.”“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. I’m driving myself crazy here.”H
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 34.1
“I’m going to be tied up most of the day,” Riley said. “So I don’t know if I’ll be able to call you until late.”She smiled sadly. “You don’t need to call me. We’ll see each other at the office Monday. I’m not that insecure that I have to hear your voice and know where you are every day.” Ha. Liar.“Are you telling me you don’t want me to call?”With a groan and a laugh, Amy shook her head. “I guess I deserved that, but no, that’s not what I’m saying. If you want to call me and have time, I’d love to hear from you. If you don’t have the time, or merely don’t want to call, I promise not to take your lack of calling as a personal rejection. How’s that?”He chuckled. “I think you’re right. I think we don’t know each other as well as we thought we did. I’m going to leave now, before I make an even bigger ass of myself.”Amy sighed and watched him through her window until he drove out of her parking lot. Then she slid to the floor, exhausted. She had gone from letting Marva’s beauty consul
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 34
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 33.2
She chuckled at his thick Gypsy accent. “Good point. However, they never predict a woman will meet a man who’s short, pale and ugly, either. He’s always tall, dark and handsome.”By tacit agreement, the talk did not return to the subject of we. They finished their dessert, then drove to a nearby multiplex movie theater. They couldn’t decide which movie to see. In the end, they nixed the love story, the romantic comedy, the family Christmas movie, the war epic, and went for the movie with no elements that spoke to their personal situation—a safe, sensible science-fiction action thriller.It was just their luck that there was a hot, erotic love scene near the end of the movie. The kind of scene that sent hot blood pulsing in intimate places. Riley and Amy both stared studiously at the screen, each making certain not to catch the other’s eye. But they would probably have bruises from the tightness of their grip on each other’s hand.They were silent on the way home. Not even the radio br
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 33.1
“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
