Page 41 of Texas Splendor
“Something smaller,” she assured him. Then she smiled brightly. “Something much smaller.”
He returned her smile. “I ought to be able to give you that.”
She slipped Two-bits into his box on the floorboards. He no longer looked like a puppy and was rapidly outgrowing the box. Austin had promised to build a shelter for the dog as soon as they arrived.
“Are we going to stay with your brother?”
“For a while. Till we get settled. Decide what we want, where we want to live. I have a little money saved up, but it won’t get us far.”
The wagon rolled past a huge barn that bore no resemblance to the one that had sat on her property. She heard the clanging of iron from the blacksmith who worked near the barn. Horses trotted around a large corral. In the distance, she saw a long narrow clapboard house and a brick building. She felt as though she were traveling through a miniature town. Men wearing chaps and dusty hats sauntered between the buildings. Only a couple acknowledged Austin as he drove the wagon by them.
She might have thought he didn’t know the others if it weren’t for the tightening in his jaw. He brought the wagon to a halt in front of the veranda. A man and woman sitting on a bench swing slowly came to their feet. The man stood as tall as Austin did, and she knew from the facial features that he was Austin’s brother. The woman was nearly as tall. Slender, she moved gracefully across the porch.
“You should have sent word that you were on your way home,” she said as she floated down the steps.
Austin leapt from the wagon, walked briskly to her, and hugged her fiercely. “Didn’t know how long we’d be. Didn’t want you worrying about us.”
“Did you find out anything?” his brother asked, and Loree sensed in the tone of his voice that he was a man who gave no quarter.
“Not a damn thing,” Austin said as he stepped toward the wagon and held his arms up to her.
Loree wiped her sweating palms on her skirt before she placed her hands on his shoulders. He grabbed her waist, and she felt his trembling through her clothes. She met his gaze and saw the worry in his eyes. She tried to give him a smile of reassurance, but feared that she had failed miserably.
He brought her to the ground and slipped his arm around her. “This is my brother Dallas and his wife, Dee.”
Dee smiled prettily and Dallas looked as though he were waiting for a clap of thunder to sound.
“Did your parents name all their sons after towns?” Loree asked.
“Yeah, they did.” Austin met his brother’s darkening gaze. “This is Loree. My wife.”
Dallas narrowed his eyes. “Your wife?”
Shock rippled across Dee’s face, before her eyes warmed, and she gave Loree a sincere smile. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around Loree’s shoulders. “How wonderful! Welcome to the family.”
As Dee released her hold, a wave of nausea hit Loree, and the world suddenly spun around her. She staggered backward. Austin reached out, steadying her. Her cheeks burned as concern swept over Dee’s face.
“Are you all right?” Dee asked.
Loree nodded. “It’s just the baby. I get light-headed when I go too long without eating.”
“The baby?” Dallas ground out in a clipped voice. “And when is this blessed event to take place?”
From the tone of his voice, Loree wasn’t certain he truly considered it to be a blessed event, but she wasn’t going to let him think she was ashamed of carrying his brother’s child. She angled her chin. “End of January.”
“Dee, why don’t you take Loree inside and get her something cool to drink?” Austin suggested. “I’m afraid I might have pushed us a little too hard trying to get here before nightfall.”
Dee wrapped her arm around Loree’s waist. “I’d love to get her out of this heat. Come on inside.”
Loree glanced over her shoulder at Austin.
“Go on,” he urged.
Austin watched Dee guide his wife into the house. Then he met Dallas’s blazing glare.
“She’s your wife and she didn’t know your brother’s name?” he asked.
“I told her I had brothers. I mentioned Houston to her. Guess I just never got around to mentioning your name. Don’t take it personal.” Austin stepped onto the porch. Dallas grabbed his arm and jerked him back down.
