Page 87 of Texas Destiny
“I just never expected to see a man of God wearing a gun.”
“Life is different out here, Miss Carson. It’s still considered a wilderness. Renegades and outlaws run rampant. Frontier justice often becomes more of an injustice. I have no intention of meeting my Maker before I’m ready.”
“Would you kill a man?” she asked.
He averted his gaze and squinted into the distance. “Somebody’s coming.”
Amelia followed the direction of his gaze, and her heart leapt with joy. “It’s Dallas’s brother.”
She rushed off the porch and crossed the yard, keeping her distance as Houston brought Sorrel to a halt. He was leading the palomino beside him.
“You’ve tamed her,” she said, a hint of question in her voice.
“Yep.”
Cautiously, she approached and rubbed the horse’s neck. “She’s so beautiful. She’ll give you a fine herd of horses to sell.”
“I doubt that.” He leaned down and extended the reins toward her. “She’s yours.”
She stared at the leather strips threaded through his long tanned fingers. She took a step back. “I can’t accept her as a gift.”
“She’s your wedding gift. The saddle, too. It’s not a woman’s riding saddle, but it was the best I could find on such short notice.”
She touched her fingers to the detailed etching worked into the fine leather. The saddle was as beautiful as the horse, not something he’d simply run across.
“I’ve grown used to riding in men’s saddles,” she said.
“Figured you had, what with all the riding you do with Austin.”
She looked up. “I’m getting married tomorrow.”
“I know. Dallas sent word to me this morning.”
“That’s Reverend Tucker on the porch.”
He glanced toward the porch and touched a finger to the brim of his hat in acknowledgment. “He looks like a gunfighter.”
Amelia laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
“Did I ever tell you that I like the way you laugh?” he asked, his voice low.
She placed her hand over his, slowly threading her fingers through the reins, relishing the roughness of his palm against hers. “Take me for a ride.”
He straightened. “I’d best not.”
“Please. I think you should be with me the first time I ride Palomino so she’ll understand that she’s changing owners.”
He smiled as though secretly pleased with himself, and she wished she could have a lifetime of his smiles.
“I didn’t name her Palomino.”
“Golden?”
His smile increased. “Nope.”
“Mustang?”
He shook his head. “I named her after the woman who’d be riding her.”
