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Chapter 2.2
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LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 2.3
“Yeah?” Tate said. “Then gimmie a fiver.”The sound of the boy’s voice reached down into the deep recesses of Wade’s brain and brought him back to awareness. He swallowed, hard, his mouth lined with cotton.Dixie seemed to be having as much trouble as he was. “Five?” she finally said, her gaze still locked on Wade. “A soda doesn’t cost that much.”“No,” Tate said with a snicker, “but you know how those delivery charges are. They just keep going up and up.”Dixie finally looked away, and Wade felt suddenly new and exposed, as if she’d taken a layer of his skin with her.“Highway robbery,” Dixie said to Tate, handing him a five from the purse in her lap. Her hand was shaking.Good, Wade thought. At least he wasn’t the only one who felt as if lightning had just struck.Wade watched her watch her youngest son traipse down the steps until the boy reached the ground and dashed the five yards to the concession stand. She seemed to have recovered faster and easier than he was able to.He clea
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 3
While the McCormick family gathered around the table for Sunday dinner, the morning’s rain moved east and the sun came out. Dixie managed to keep the boys in their seats long enough to finish eating, but the instant she gave the nod, she could have sworn their legs were spring loaded. They leaped from their chairs and flew out the back door. A moment later the basketball made a splat, splat, splat against the wet driveway.Dixie let out a sigh. “I know I used to have that much energy sometime in my past, but I sure don’t remember it.”“Old age settin’ in?” Pops asked, his tongue plainly in his cheek.He knew just the right buttons to push. Her back straightened as if she’d taken a hit with a cattle prod. “Bite your tongue.”Pops chuckled. “What you need, little girl, is a vacation.”“Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” She pushed herself up from the table and moved to the counter. “Pie?”“Did I cook it?” he asked. “Of course. It’s apple.”“Then I’ll take a slice. You know, if you were
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 3.1
“Yes, really. Are you going to go for it?” Carrie wanted to know. “Go for— Of course not.”“Liar, liar, pants on fire.”“I was going to offer you a piece of pie, on the house.” “What kind?”“Forget it,” Dixie said. “I don’t give freebies to people who call me a liar.”“So, you’re not hot for the dishwasher?”“Of course not,” Dixie protested. “Don’t be ridiculous.”Carrie grinned. Evilly. “Methinks thou doth protest too much.” “Methinks your imagination is running away in that little pea brain ofyours, girlfriend.”Carrie sighed heavily. “I give up. For now. But, girlfriend, you’ve been alone way too long. If you don’t do something about it soon, you’re liable to dry up and blow away.”Dixie rolled her eyes. “Lovely thought. I’ll leave you to your lunch.”She marched back into the kitchen, and there stood Wade, scraping the dishes he’d brought in from the dining room, just as he should be doing.Dammit, didn’t the man goof off or screw up or take too long on his break? Anything? Somet
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 3.2
“Costly, huh?” Wade sipped his beer. The town didn’t have the money? Ideas stirred in his mind.Down on the field, Tate’s team won the coin toss and lined up on the bench, presumably in batting order, while the opposing coach threw a couple of practice pitches.Wade had money. More than he could spend in a lifetime even if he was trying to empty his coffers. Why should seven-and eight-year-olds do without?Of course, nobody was saying that a machine was better than a coach.That angle merited investigation. There had to be some benefit for the batter to see an intense pair of eyes staring back at him from the pitcher’s mound. Had to get used to that.On the other hand, a nice, consistent pitch might help develop a batter’s skill.Or not. What the hell did he know about it? He would wait and learn.And ask.The first kid up to bat swung hard and connected, but the ball fouled out.“Do the teams want a pitching machine?”“I’d have to say yeah. Ever since they played in that tournament a
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 3.3
She had lost her mind. That was the only conclusion Dixie could draw after asking her dishwasher, for crying out loud, to a family picnic.Oh, my God, she thought. Did she really think that way? That a dishwasher somehow wasn’t, what, worthy of her?Dixie stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and slapped cleansing cream onto her face.“Snob. That’s what you are.”No. That wasn’t true. She was grasping at straws—as if his being her dishwasher, or any other employee, put him below her, beneath her—Beneath her. Now, didn’t that phrase conjure up a pretty picture in her head? Wade Harrison, beneath her. In bed.“Oh, good grief.” She smeared the cleansing cream around all over her face with jerky motions. What had she been thinking to invite him?You were thinking Carrie was right, you’ve got the hots for him.That, of course, was ridiculous. It had been so long since she’d had the hots for a man, she couldn’t even remember it. So what was it about this man that made her invite
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 4
Wade checked his hair in the mirror, then wiped his damp palms down the thighs of his jeans. It came as a shock to realize he was nervous. More nervous than the day he’d first walked into Dixie’s Diner, hoping to gather information about the boys.Years of board meetings, shareholders meetings, press and media interviews, the occasional congressional testimony—none of those held a candle to going on a picnic with James Donald McCormick’s family.His feelings for them were growing deep. He felt as if he’d known Pops all his life. Known, truly liked and bore a deep fondness for.He was attracted to Dixie, and had examined his feelings for her for days. In addition to attraction, there was respect, admiration, and a strong liking, different from what he felt for Pops. This was a man-woman liking.The boys…he didn’t have to examine his feelings for them. He flat-out loved them. No two ways about it. He didn’t think it mattered whether the feeling came from himself or from the new heart be
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 4.1
“Aw, shucks, ma’am,” he said in his best imitation of a Texas drawl. “Too good-looking for your own good, maybe,” she added.“And that means I should have been married by now?”“Why not? You look like you could have any woman you want. What the devil are you doing in Podunk, Texas, hanging around somebody like me?”“Hey, don’t sell yourself short, boss. What do you mean, somebody like you?”She shrugged. “You know. Single mother, average looks, workaholic.” Wade shook his head slowly. “You obviously don’t see yourself the wayI see you.”“Oh? And how is that?”“Now who’s fishing for compliments?” he teased. “Touché.”“But to answer your question—”“No, please.” She rolled her eyes and waved her hands. “Forget I asked.”“If you get to embarrass me, I get to embarrass you,” he said with a smile.“I didn’t notice you blushing.” “I was blushing on the inside.” “Do tell.”“You’re trying to sidetrack me.” “Is it working?”Wade looked her right in the eye. “When I look at you I see a very at
LOVE IN TEXAS Chapter 4.2
A commercial came on the air. Both boys flipped over to look at Wade. “Do you have to go?” Ben asked.“Can’t he stay?” Tater begged.“Hey, thanks, guys,” Wade said before Dixie could speak. “But I’ve gotta get home and get my beauty rest.”The boys snickered and made gagging noises.Dixie opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Wade said good-night to the boys and followed. He stood next to her, with the only light on the dark porch coming from the open front door behind him and the streetlight down the block. Two houses away, a dog barked. Such a normal sound. But Dixie didn’t feel normal. She felt…expectant. She wanted—“What?” Wade asked. “What, what?”“You looked like you wanted to say something.”Dixie chuckled. “Didn’t we have this conversation earlier today?” “It does sound familiar, albeit reversed. So, what’s on your mind?”She was tired of this seesawing of her emotions, of not knowing what to do about it. Of denying herself. She decided to go for it.“I’ve bee
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