Page 39 of Texas Destiny
“Is it pretty?”
“Dallas thinks so.”
“But you don’t think so.”
He heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t think you can really appreciate it until you’ve seen it.”
“Do you live there?”
“No, I got my own place about an hour’s ride away.”
“Is it big?” she asked.
“No. It’s smaller than this place. Just one room, but it suits me.”
Amelia drew the covers up to her chin and watched the shadows play over the wall as the flame inside the lamp quivered. She could well imagine Houston in a one-room house, tending his horses during the day and watching the stars at night.
“Good night,” she said softly, rolling over to her side.
“Amelia?”
“Yes?”
“If you hear that animal cry out like you did some time back . . just ignore it.”
She had suspected all along that it was his cry she had heard, but the sound hadn’t been that of an animal; rather the wail of someone who was lost.
“Sometimes, I cry out at night, too,” she said softly.
He didn’t reply. She didn’t really expect him to. She allowed the silence to ease in around her. She closed her eyes. The light from the lantern danced across her eyelids, comforting her with its presence. The bed shifted.
“Amelia?”
Rolling over, she came up on her elbow, only to find Houston had done the same. Their gazes locked, his only slightly higher than hers. She stilled, her breath held. She watched his Adam’s apple slowly slide up and down.
“I … uh … I wanted to thank you for the shave. I’ve never felt anything so fine in my whole life.”
“It was my pleasure. I … I’m going to shave Dallas after we’re married,” she felt compelled to add.
He gave a brusque nod. “He’ll like that. ‘Night.”
“Good night.” She snuggled beneath the covers, trying to forget the feel of Houston’s jaw cradled within her palm. Once she had tried to imagine what his smile might look like. Now she wondered how his mouth would look poised for a kiss.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She had done nothing wrong. She’d simply shaved her fiance’s brother as a way to repay him for his kindness … but her reasoning did little to ease her guilt.
Chapter Nine
As dawn eased over the horizon, Amelia hugged Beth tightly.
“We’ll try and come in the spring, during round-up,” Beth promised.
“I’ll look forward to it,” Amelia assured her just before she allowed Houston to hoist her onto the wagon. She tightened the ribbons on the bonnet Beth had given her. As the wagon began to roll forward, she turned and waved at the family left behind.
John slipped his arm around his wife. Amelia smiled. Soon she would have a husband to do the same with her. If only he would love her as much as John loved Beth.
Amelia faced forward. “Wasn’t it nice of Beth to give me a bonnet?”
Houston kept his opinion on that to himself. All he could see was the tip of her nose and as cute as it was, it wasn’t enough. He knew the bonnet would protect her from the sun and wind, would keep her face soft, her skin pale. But it didn’t mean he had to like it.
