Page 98 of Texas Splendor
“Talk to Amelia.”
His brothers offered their advice at the same time, and he wondered why they hadn’t just told him that to begin with.
“You’re both useless, you know that?” he said.
“Well, this might cheer you up,” Dallas said. “I got a telegram from Wylan. He was playing in a private poker game and Boyd’s name came up. Something about cheating someone out of some land. So he’s gonna see what else he can find.”
Austin shook his head. “I’m sure he’s a good man, but after this long, he’s not gonna find anything. Whatever trails were left behind are nothing more than dust in the wind now.”
“I don’t want to go,” Loree insisted.
Austin sighed heavily. “Dee says you need to get out of the house—”
“I got out of the house last Sunday when you went to help Houston with his corral,” she pointed out.
She watched him work his jaw back and forth. She knew what she needed to do. She needed to tell him the truth and ask him for forgiveness. But what if he were unable to forgive her?
He held the tickets toward her. “This is a special performance. They’re only going to be in the theater tonight. Amelia offered to watch Grant—”
“And what if someone attacks you—”
Sympathy filled his eyes and he cradled her face. “Is that what’s worrying you? Now that you understand why I was attacked, you’re afraid I’ll get hurt?”
She nodded briskly. “Let’s just stay here, Austin.”
“Sugar, don’t you see? If we hide out here, then whoever attacked me has won. Whoever killed Boyd has won. And I’m not gonna let either of those bastards run my life.”
She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself. “I can’t go.”
She expected further protests, but instead she only heard the echo of his boot heels as he left the room. She could stop people from staring at him. She could stop people from whispering about him. She could stop people from attacking him. But she couldn’t give him back the five years she had unknowingly stolen from him. And without that, what good were the others?
She heard the sharp brief whine of the violin and spun around. Austin stood in the doorway, instrument in hand.
“Please?” He gave three quick strokes to the strings. “Please? Please? Please?”
She bit back her smile. “No.”
Three more quick strokes as he stepped into the room. “I’ll have to play something sad.” A forlorn sound filled the room. “And I’d rather play something happy.” He played a quick fast tune. “Give me a reason to play something happy.”
For him, she forced herself to set her fears aside. “All right.”
He whooped, tossed the violin onto the bed, clamped his hands on her waist, and lifted her toward the ceiling. “You’ll be glad, Sugar.”
She looked into his beloved face, his shining blue eyes, and wished to God that she’d never fallen in love with him.
The lobby was nearly empty when they arrived, and Loree couldn’t have been more grateful as Austin took her hand and rushed up the sweeping staircase to the balcony level.
He drew back the drapes and she stepped into the dark alcove. She barely made out Dee’s silhouette as the woman turned, smiled, and motioned them over. Loree eased down to the chair beside Dee.
Dee squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad you could come. This is a special performance.”
Austin leaned forward. “What play is it anyway?”
Dee’s smile grew. “It’s not a play.”
The stage curtains parted to reveal a group of people sitting in a half circle, instruments poised. Loree’s breath caught as Austin wrapped his hand around hers and shifted up in his chair.
A man walked onto the stage, bowed sharply from the waist, then stepped onto a box. He lifted a long thin stick, swept it through the air, and music reached up to the rafters.
