Page 69 of Texas Destiny
“Oh, no, ma’am. I’m used to seeing Dallas angry, but I ain’t never seen Houston angry. I don’t want to say nothing that’s gonna make Houston angry, so I gotta practice talking to a lady like she’s supposed to be talked to. And I sure as hell, excuse me, heck, ain’t gonna mention that you slept together. I thought he was gonna tear me in two.”
Amelia scooted toward him slightly, clasped her hands together tightly, and rested her elbows on her thighs. “Dallas and Houston don’t seem to talk to each other much.”
“No, ma’am. They surely don’t. They never have as long as I can remember.”
“But they talk to you?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s kinda funny. When it’s just me and Dallas, he talks to me like I imagine a father would talk to a son, explaining things real patient-like. When it’s just me and Houston, he talks to me like I figure brothers would talk to each other, but I never see him and Dallas talking that way. When it’s the three of us, it’s just best to keep quiet.”
“Did you know that Houston was breeding the mustangs?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am. He told me. When he needs help, he lets me help him.”
“Dallas never helps him?”
“Oh, no, ma’am. Dallas ain’t never even been out to Houston’s place. When he needs Houston, he just sends me out there to fetch him.”
“Why?”
“I reckon ’cuz he needs to talk to him.”
Amelia smiled at the boy’s innocence, an innocence that was belied by the revolver he wore strapped to his thigh. She wasn’t certain if she’d ever grow accustomed to the abundance of guns and the ease with which young men carried them. “No, I mean why doesn’t Dallas go out there?”
Austin shrugged. “Busy, I guess. Least that’s what Houston says. Sometimes I think it bothers him that Dallas ain’t never been out there. I asked him about it once. He said Dallas has empires to build. He’s got no time for the little things, but visiting family don’t seem like a little thing to me. But I’m just a kid, so what do I know?”
She placed her hand on his arm. “I think you’re very close to being a man, and I think you know a lot. Could you take me to Houston’s place?”
“Sure could. It’s just two whoops and a holler away. As soon as the sun finishes coming up, we’ll head out. If you won’t tell Dallas, I’ll show you what the sun sounds like when it’s coming up.”
“Why would he mind?” she asked, taking her hand off his arm.
He lifted a shoulder. “Cookie is a fiddle player, and he taught me to play some songs. Dallas don’t mind those. But I hear songs … Dallas says they ain’t manly so I just play ’em when he’s not around. Since he ain’t here, you want to hear the one that I think sounds like a sunrise?”
Amelia wrapped her arms around herself and settled against the beam. “I’d like to hear it very much.”
Austin shifted his backside on the porch, brought one leg up and stretched the other one out. He slipped the rounded end of the violin beneath his chin and picked up the bow. He pointed the bow toward the far horizon. “Watch the sunrise.”
Amelia turned her attention to the distance, but as soon as she heard the first low strain of music, her attention drifted back to the boy sitting on the porch with her. He’d closed his eyes and swayed slightly in rhythm to the music he created. The music rose softly in pitch just as the sun did. She could see the sunrise without watching it, could feel its warmth without touching it, could sense its power as it brought light to the land.
How could Dallas not encourage the boy to expand on his gift? If he played this beautifully after taking lessons from a cook, she couldn’t imagine how well he would play if he had proper lessons. Dallas Leigh needed more than a wife. He needed someone who could teach him that life was composed of more than hard work.
The music drifted into a hushed whisper. Austin opened his eyes, tears shimmering within the incredible blue depths.
“That was beautiful,” Amelia said softly.
Austin sniffed and blinked until the tears disappeared. “Dawn is my favorite time of day, but I got a song for the sunset, and for all the seasons. They just sorta come to me. Like yesterday, when I saw you for the first time, a song just went into my head, but I ain’t had a chance to try it out yet.”
“I’d like to hear it when you’re ready to play it for me.”
He smiled broadly. “I’ll do that, as long as Dallas is off with the men.” He stood and tucked the violin beneath his arm. “You ready to head out to Houston’s place?”
She tried not to appear too eager as she stood, but the truth was: She couldn’t wait to see Houston again.
He was standing on the front porch of a small log cabin, his left shoulder pressed against the beam, his gaze focused on the horses milling around in the corral. He wore no hat, and the wind blew through his black hair much as it blew through Amelia’s blond tresses. She’d worn her hair pulled back, a strip of cloth keeping most of it in place, but much of it had worked itself free.
“Maybe we should yell so he’ll know we’re coming in,” Amelia suggested, anxious to have him turn and see her, wondering if he would be as pleased to see her as she was to see him.
“Won’t do no good. He can’t hear from that side,” Austin said.
