Page 61 of Texas Splendor
Rawley stumbled to a stop and glanced over his shoulder.
“The theater is one of your mother’s dreams. She’s a little nervous about tonight,” Dallas said.
Rawley took a deep breath. “Then I reckon I oughta be there.”
“Reckon so.”
Rawley reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a sarsaparilla stick. Daintily, Faith walked up to him. “Gimme.”
“It’s my last one,” Rawley said, even as he broke it in half and handed a piece to her. Then he glared at Maggie as she sat in the corner, watching over her three sisters. “Reckon you want some, too.”
She held up a bag. “We still have the lemon drops Uncle Dallas brought.”
“If those women don’t hurry, the girls are all gonna have belly aches before we get out of here,” Houston said.
“As long as they’re riding in your wagon, that’s not a problem for me,” Dallas said.
“What’s keeping them?” Austin asked.
“Hell, you never know with women,” Dallas said.
Austin heard the patter of footsteps on the front porch. The door swung open. Amelia and Dee rushed in, looking like little girls trying to hold in an enormous secret. Then Loree stepped through the doorway and Austin felt as though a wild mustang had just kicked him in the chest. Sweet Lord, the little darling he’d married was going to catch the eye of every man in town.
Slowly he came to his feet. Loree’s smile faltered and she touched her gloved hand to the nape of her neck.
“You don’t like it?” she asked.
“I like it just fine,” he said, wondering where that raspy voice had come from.
“Amelia said you purchased the gown.”
“I did. I just didn’t know it was gonna look like that.”
“I could change—”
“No!” three male voices sounded at once.
Loree had seen the outside of the theater from the hotel, but she had never imagined the opulence that had been hidden inside. Candles flickered within crystal chandeliers. A thick red carpet with designs running through it covered every inch of the floor. Gilded mirrors adorned the walls. Wide sweeping stairs on either side of the foyer led to the balconies.
At one end of the foyer was a room where parents could leave their children in the capable hands of women paid to care for them. As far as Loree could determine, Dee had thought of everything and designed the theater to give the people of Leighton a night they’d never forget.
It seemed everyone within a thousand miles had come for the opening performance. Loree had never been in one room with so many people.
Austin took her elbow and leaned low. “They’re serving champagne over there. Do you want some?”
“Do you think they have some water?”
Smiling, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “If they don’t, I’ll find some. Why don’t you wait here with Rawley until Dee and Dallas get back from taking Faith to that baby room?”
She nodded slightly.
“Rawley, I’m leaving your aunt in your care. You watch after her, now.”
Rawley straightened his shoulders. “Yes, sir.”
Loree’s heart swelled as she watched her husband make his way through the crowd. Tall, lean, he looked incredibly handsome in his black jacket and white starched shirt.
“How long is a play anyway?” Rawley asked, drawing her attention away from Austin.
