Semua Bab LOVE IN TEXAS : Bab 81 - Bab 90

Amy could have finished the Christmas presents for the three little girls in a matter of hours and delivered them to Riley Sinclair. Her task would becomplete.But she knew in her heart that she wouldn’t. She was going to drag it out as long as possible, because she needed to stay in town long enough to find out if Tribute could become the home she’d never had. She settled into her room at the motel and made herself comfortable.During the next few days she familiarized herself with the town of Tribute, exploring the shops and city facilities such as the library and courthouse on Main Street. She had sampled the offerings at every restaurant in town and already had a list of two or three favorite meals at each place.Amy had also done a little research and found out how to go about getting Brenda’s name added to the Tribute Wall in the park. She had to write a letter to the city council explaining why Brenda should be added. The mayor’s secretary warned her it wouldn’t be easy to con

Instantly his pickup echoed with little-girl chatter. In the short trip home he learned every important thing that had happened that day at Tribute Elementary. The chattering and giggling, even the arguing, was music to his ears. Especially the squeals of delight when he told them Amy was coming to supper and afterward would tell them a story about their mother.Brenda, thank you for sending Amy for the girls. They needed whatever pieces of their mother Amy could provide. Riley tried to tell them as much as he could, but Amy knew a part of Brenda that he didn’t. He was probably more eager to hear about it than the kids.The doorbell surprised him. He wasn’t ready. He’d wanted to clear her out of his mind before facing her again. Too late now.“It’s Sergeant Amy,” Pammy called from the front hall.He heard Amy answer, heard Jasmine and Cindy chime in. Laughter.Giggles.Riley washed his hands at the kitchen sink, and, still drying them, sauntered to the front hall to greet their guest.

The next afternoon, when Amy returned to her motel room from a longwalk after lunch, a message awaited her. Riley had called and left a number and a request for her to call him back.Amy sat on the side of her bed and stared at the phone. Last night something had happened. She’d been thinking about it all day and had yet to figure it out. One minute she’d been telling the girls about Brenda missing cottonwoods and grass, the next, Riley had been showing her to the door.She could only assume that hearing so much about Brenda had stirred up old memories and grief, and he had suddenly needed to be alone.Amy ached for him and prayed that the girls had not suffered the same reaction. They hadn’t seemed sad. They had seemed curious and interested in what she had to say about their mother. Of course, at their ages, Brenda wasn’t as real to them anymore as she was to Riley. His entire life with her must seem like yesterday.He was surely calling to tell her he didn’t want her to tell any m

“Black gold,” he agreed. “The whole town was pleased when they outgrew this site and built a new, larger place at the edge of town. A good bit of our economy depends on the oil industry. They do good, the town does good. The town does good, Sinclair Construction does good. Come on. I’ll show you around.”Why, she wondered. Why did he want her to see his office? But she wasn’t quite ready to ask. She figured he would explain himself soonenough. For now she would simply enjoy his company. Questions could come later.The front door of the business was locked; Riley had to use his key to let them in. “You don’t have full-time office help?” she asked.“Not yet. Fanny comes in a few hours a week and takes care of the bookkeeping. Sort of.”Amy chuckled at his dire tone. “How’s that working for you?” “Hmph. Not well. You want a job?”She laughed. When he didn’t, she gave him a closer look. He didn’t appear to be kidding. In fact, he looked, if anything, hopeful. “Are you serious?”“As a hea

He gave her a cheesy grin. “None taken.”If Amy thought she and Riley might be more comfortable with each other after that exchange, time proved her mistaken. Over the next days, shefound herself going out of her way to avoid eye contact, and making sure she didn’t put herself within touching range of him. She stepped over tolook out the window or looked down to study the contents of a drawer more times than she cared to count.By the time she realized what she was doing, she realized that he seemed to be pulling the same avoidance maneuvers. Of course, for her to realize he wouldn’t meet her gaze, she had to look at him. If anyone was watching the two of them, they were probably getting a good laugh. There they were, two grown people, so uneasy with each other that they scarcely talked, never got near each other, wouldn’t look at each other, used anyone handy—poor Fanny got it most often—as a go-between. And she looked suspiciously as if she was about to burst into laughter at any