Page 37 of Cowboy's Last Stand
Missy left with the chair she’d asked for.She placed it between the boys like a buffer before returning to the seat beside her taciturn husband.
“Why do you sleep on the porch?”Marcus asked.
“I like it out there,” Jason replied.
“If Mom invited you to sleep inside, would you?”
“Yes, I would,” he said and watched her flush.
“Jason isn’t staying in Texas,” Natalie said.“He’s going to California soon.”
Marcus perked up at the news.“California?Is that in Mexico?”
“No.”
“Where is it?”
“By the ocean,” Natalie said.
Marcus nodded and dropped the subject.He didn’t seem distressed by the thought of Jason leaving.He’d go whenever she wished, but he hoped it wouldn’t be soon.He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet.She looked lovely in her dark blue dress and wine-colored sweater.Her skin was gorgeous, hair in soft curls.Her lips had been painted a deep red.God, her mouth was lush.He couldn’t stop staring.
“Can I get dessert?”Marcus asked.
“Finish your ham,” Natalie said.
Marcus stuck his fork in the ham, lifted up the whole piece, and bit off a hunk.He made a growling sound for emphasis.
Jason coughed to cover his laugh.Marcus appeared to be doing an exaggerated impression of him.Natalie ignored the behavior.Instead of insisting on good manners as well as healthy eating, she let him be.He admired her parenting style, as well as her personal style.He liked the way she’d handled Missy, with kindness and caring.
He liked everything about her, actually.He liked her too much to tell her the truth.The story would break her heart.
Tell her.
The final words of his fallen comrade, a fellow Marine on the bomb squad, echoed in his ears.Cut off mid-sentence, Jason could only imagine what the man had meant to say.There were a number of possibilities.
“Cousin Gabe is here,” Marcus said.
Natalie waved at a young man on the other side of the banquet hall.Jason recognized him as a friend of Billy’s.
“Was he at the bar?”Jason asked.
“Yes,” Natalie said.
“Is he old enough to drink?”
“He’s twenty.”
Jason studied Gabe.Though he didn’t resemble Mike, he was handsome, with dark eyes and a sullen face.He looked like a teenager with a chip on his shoulder.There was a hint of wariness or unease in his expression.
“I should go say hi,” Natalie said.“Do you mind?”
Jason inferred that she was leaving him behind.He nodded because he didn’t mind at all.He’d rather avoid meeting people.
As she crossed the room with Marcus, Jason took the opportunity to scan the crowd.Wade Hendricks was seated at a round table in the front.Although he’d brought a date with him, his eyes followed Natalie with interest.The blonde at his side was watching Wade watch Natalie.A stocky man with a buzz haircut had his gaze affixed to the blonde’s cleavage.This must be Sheriff Hendricks.He looked like an older version of Billy.
Jason didn’t want to get caught staring at the lawmen, so he turned his attention back to Natalie.She was saying hello to Gabe’s family.Gabe greeted Marcus with a fist bump.A young woman, perhaps his sister, kissed Natalie’s cheek and hugged Marcus.
Gabe left almost as soon as Natalie arrived.He disappeared into the men’s restroom.Jason wondered if the boy was afraid Natalie would tell his parents he’d been hanging out with riffraff at the bar.
