Page 76 of Texas Destiny
He averted his gaze and struggled to his feet. “All right.” He pointed a menacing finger at Austin. “This goes no further than you and me.”
Austin nodded, but Amelia saw the confusion in his eyes, a confusion she understood.
“Dallas will be all right,” she assured Austin as they walked to the house.
Once inside the kitchen, Dallas pulled a chair out from the table and dropped his aching body into place. Austin hitched up a hip and sat on the table.
“Make yourself useful and build a fire in the stove for Amelia. We’ll be needing warm water.”
Austin slid off the table and went about the task, dropping three logs in the process. Dallas had a feeling Austin had grown sweet on Amelia. He couldn’t blame the boy. They were a young man’s feelings, no threat to him.
He watched as Amelia warmed the water. He’d been so grateful to finally see her in person when she’d first arrived at the ranch that he hadn’t given a lot of thought to what she’d endured in getting here. He should have. He should have grilled Houston for an accounting of every day—
“How did you get hurt?” she asked as she set a bowl of warm water on the table and sat beside him. She dipped the cloth into the water and gently dabbed at his cheek.
Humiliation swamped him. He would have preferred a bullet to a fist. “I fell off my horse.”
Her hand stilled, and she searched his face. He kept it as still as stone, knowing she was looking for the truth, hoping she didn’t find it. He’d never lied before, and he had no idea if he was covering it up.
“I couldn’t sleep. I go riding when I can’t sleep.”
She smiled softly. “Well, then, I’m certainly marrying into the right family. You don’t sleep. Houston doesn’t sleep. I don’t sleep.” She glanced at Austin. He’d returned to his spot at the end of the table. “Do you sleep?”
“Not in the bunkhouse. Too many men snoring. Dallas is the worst. You won’t get any sleep at all after you marry him.”
“If I can sleep through Houston snoring, I can sleep through anyone snoring.”
“I’m probably louder,” Dallas said, wondering what had prompted such a childish response. He’d never felt competitive where Houston was concerned. He’d always known he was the better of the two. His father had drilled that lesson into him, every chance he got, pointing out Dallas’s strengths and Houston’s weaknesses.
Her smile increased. “I won’t hold that against you.” She withdrew the needle from her sleeve. “I think I should sew that up.”
He nodded toward Austin. “Go get the whiskey.”
Austin hopped off the table and headed for Dallas’s office. Amelia continued to dab at his face, so gently. Before he could think, he’d cradled her cheek in his palm and carried his lips to hers. She sighed in surprise, and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
She returned the kiss timidly, almost as though she were afraid. Lord, he didn’t want her to be afraid, not of him, not of anything. He drew back and studied her face. So innocent. He was ashamed of his earlier doubts. He’d deserved the punch Houston had given him; deserved it and a lot more.
“It’s gonna be a long two months,” he said.
She blushed prettily, so damned prettily, that for the first time, he saw the journey through his brother’s eyes. And he didn’t like what he saw. Not one damn bit.
Long before dawn, Amelia sat on the back porch, waiting, hoping that she was wrong.
She smiled as Austin appeared through the darkness, his long legs carrying him toward the back porch, his violin tucked beneath his arm.
“Mornin’,” he said as he sat beside her and positioned his violin beneath his chin.
“Did Dallas ride out with the men?”
“No, ma’am. He rode out right after we left you. Said he had some business to take care of.”
Panic swelled within her as she imagined exactly what that business might entail. She shouldn’t have waited. She should have ridden out by herself. “Will you take me to see Houston?”
Grimacing, he tapped the bow on the violin.
“Dallas told me not to take you out to Houston’s place.”
Her panic increased as she stood. “Then I’ll go alone.”
