Page 65 of Texas Splendor
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she stepped on Dee’s foot. But Dee didn’t seem to notice as she waved them past, her gaze riveted on the stage. They stepped between the curtains, and Loree took a deep breath.
“You sure you’re all right?” Austin asked.
“I just felt a little faint.”
“You wanna go sit in the buggy?”
“Could we take a walk?”
“Sure.” He wrapped his hand around hers, and they descended the stairs.
“Could you understand anything them actors was saying?” Rawley asked as he tromped along behind them.
“Not a word,” Austin said.
They walked through the foyer, and Austin swung open the front door. Loree walked through. Austin glanced over his shoulder. “You coming?”
Loree noticed Rawley’s hesitation. She peered back inside. At the far end, in the baby room, Faith had her nose pressed to the pane of glass.
“Reckon I’ll go be with Faith,” Rawley muttered.
“There’s women inside watching them,” Austin assured him. “She’s fine.”
“She don’t look fine. She looks downright miserable,” Rawley said. “I don’t like for my sister to be unhappy.”
He stalked toward the room. Austin chuckled. “I reckon Faith couldn’t have asked for a better brother.” He glanced at Loree. “I couldn’t have asked for a finer wife.”
Loree felt herself blush as she stepped onto the boardwalk. Austin followed her outside and took her hand. “Where do you want to walk?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“We’ll head for the far end of town, then.”
He’d taken four long strides before he adjusted the length of his walk to accommodate her.
“So why did you need a gun?” he asked quietly.
Her step faltered, and she glanced up at him. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”
“There’s not a lot I forget.”
She sighed heavily. “I was in a strange town, I didn’t know if you’d come back—”
He came to an abrupt halt and spun her around to face him, hurt evident in his eyes. “You thought I’d abandoned you?”
“No, not really. I was just … I was just scared.”
She felt him searching her face, searching for something she could never let him see.
“What is it exactly that you fear?”
“The past. I’m afraid it has a stronger hold on us than either of us realizes.”
“Because of Becky?”
“Because of a lot of things.”
“I can’t change my past.”
