Page 62 of Texas Destiny
Houston shifted in his chair on the other side of the desk, grateful Amelia was in a room upstairs taking a bath. He was accustomed to Dallas grimacing whenever he was in a fit of temper and looked Houston’s way. When he wasn’t in a fit of temper, he remembered that he couldn’t stomach the sight of his brother. Houston knew the reason Dallas preferred not to look at him. It was a testament of Dallas’s love and strength of character that he’d never thrown the reason into Houston’s face.
“I got her here as fast as I could.”
Dallas leaned back in his chair and raised a dark brow. “You just happened to find a bunch of horses tied together on a rope?”
“Wild horses are gettin’ scarce. I thought—”
“I don’t need horses. I need a son!”
“So send somebody to fetch the preacher back,” Austin suggested as he hitched up a hip and sat on the edge of the desk.
Dallas glared at him. “Was I talking to you?”
Austin’s face split into a wide grin. “Nah, but I was listenin’.”
“Why don’t you go listen somewhere else?” Dallas asked.
“ ’Cuz I wanna know what happened to the wagon.”
Dallas thrummed his fingers on the desk. His jaw clenched. “What did happen to the wagon?”
“Lost it when I tried to cross a swollen river.”
“Why in the hell did you do that?” Dallas roared.
“Because we’d already lost some time, and I thought you’d be worrying.”
“He was worryin’ all right. Just like an old woman—”
Dallas slammed his hand on the desk and came out of his chair. Austin slid off the desk and took a step back, the grin easing off his face, his gaze never leaving his brother’s.
“Children are to be seen and not heard,” Dallas said in a low deep voice.
“I ain’t a child,” Austin said, his chin quivering, his voice anything but deep. He balled his fists at his side. Houston could see that he was trying to decide if this was the moment when he should stand his ground … or if he should save his hide and run.
“As long as you live under my roof, eat the food from my table …”
Houston resisted the urge to cover his ears as Dallas continued his tirade much as their father had before him. Houston could remember those very words directed his way. He’d been eight, sitting in a patch of clover, tying the little flowers together, making his mother a necklace. He’d made the mistake of slipping the chain of flowers over his head to see if it was big enough. His father had torn the flowers off, scattering them on the wind before he’d told Houston how he should behave in the ways of a man. Houston had felt smaller than the ants crawling beneath the clover.
“He didn’t mean any harm,” Houston said quietly.
Dallas stopped his tirade midsentence and shook his head. “What did you say?”
“I said that Austin didn’t mean any harm. You’re angry at me, not him. So take your anger out on me, not him.”
“It’s my fault,” a soft voice said from the doorway.
Houston bolted out of the chair, nearly knocking it over.
Amelia walked into the room wearing a scoop-necked peasant blouse and skirt like the women wore in Mexico, her feet bare, her hair loose. She looked like an angel, only Houston knew differently. He could see the anger reflected in her eyes. Reflexes had him taking a step back. Curiosity had him wondering if Dallas had just met his match.
Dallas cleared his throat. “Miss Carson, I’m certain you did nothing wrong—”
“I didn’t say I did anything wrong,” she corrected him as she stopped before him and tilted her face. The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, bathing her in a yellow halo. “You’re angry because our trip was delayed, and I don’t blame you for that. I’m certain you were concerned and that’s enough to make anyone irritable. But when we saw the horses …” She sighed sweetly. “They were magnificent. If you’d heard Houston’s voice when he said he’d come back for them … I knew they’d be gone, that he knew he’d never possess them. So I talked him into taking the time to capture them. We lost a few travel days, but we’re here now.”
She made it sound as though they would have been fools if they’d passed up the horses. Dallas was staring at her as though he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“And the horses were so important now that Houston is breeding them.”
