Semua Bab LOVE IN TEXAS : Bab 91 - Bab 100

It took a good thirty minutes for his heart rate to settle.But when he slept that night, he dreamed of her. She came to him in his sleep and smiled. “I hope you like the present I sent you.” Then she waved good-bye and left.When he woke he realized he felt good. Cheerful. Usually when he dreamed of Brenda, he woke sad and lonely.By the time he and the girls were ready to leave for the day, he remembered that he’d dreamed of Brenda, but couldn’t remember what it had been about.All he could do was put it aside and face the new day. To that end, when he got to work he decided that this close to Christmas, no one should have to be alone. Including his sergeant.“What are you doing tomorrow morning?” he asked Amy. “Uh, tomorrow’s Saturday, right? My day off?”“I’m not talking about work. The girls and I are picking out our Christmas tree tomorrow morning. Why don’t you come with us?”She stood there and stared at him, her eyes blinking, looking as if she might be calculating the nation

“What have you got there?” Riley asked.She had to blink the moisture from her eyes before she could look up at Riley standing over her. “It’s beautiful.”“Yes.” He took the ball from her and held it gently in the palm of his hand. That was the dichotomy of the man, right there. Big, tough, calloused hands gently cupping a ball so delicate that he could crush it with a harsh look, but it was his family, precious and safe in his protection. The hard protecting the delicate, delicately. A strong man with a softness to capture a woman’s heart.“Is it us, Daddy?” Pammy asked, breaking the spell. “It’s us,” he said softly.“Lemme see,” Cindy cried.“Me, too.” Jasmine stretched sideways to see around Cindy.Riley knelt and held out the ornament so all his girls could see. Then he stood. “Now, where should we put it?”“Right here.”“No, up there.” “Over here.”“Okay,” he said with a chuckle. “Now that we’re all agreed, I’ll just put it right here.” He chose a spot halfway up, facing the room

Amy was glad that Monday was so busy at the office. Neither she norRiley had time to say more than ten words to each other, and those were all business.Tuesday proved more of the same, until four o’clock when Marva and the girls descended on the office with boxes and bags in tow.Amy was delighted to see the girls, and they her.As for Marva, this was only the second time Amy had seen her. She wasn’t expecting warm hugs, and it was just as well, because she barely got a civil nod as Marva passed her desk and headed in to see Riley.There being no such thing as privacy in the office, outside of the restroom or the storage closet, Amy couldn’t help but overhear when Marva explained the reason for their visit.“I hear you finally put up your Christmas tree at home,” the woman said to Riley.“Yes. We did it Saturday. You’ll have to come by and see it.”“Yes, well, I drove by this place and noticed you haven’t done anything here, at least nothing that’s visible from the street. So we’ve

Yes, dammit, she did. But tomorrow she wanted something else. She only wished she knew what that was. However, she knew where to go to find out.It was nearly noon. She locked up the office and drove in the direction she knew the elementary school to be. It wasn’t hard to find. It was the place with all the little morning kindergarten and pre-kindergarten kidsstreaming out the door to the buses and cars waiting to take them home. She looked at the driveways across the street from the school for the big sedanshe’d seen Mrs. Green drive, but all the driveways were vacant.It stood to reason that the Greens would keep a nice car like that in the garage, especially during cold weather, although it was in the upper forties today and sunny. But as it turned out, she didn’t need the appearance of the car to find the Green’s house, all she needed to do was follow Cindy as she zipped up the neatest yard to the front porch where Marva Green stood with open arms and a smile.“Brenda,” she whis

“I’m learning that,” she said. “Ernie the mailman says Jack over at the hardware store drank too much and wrecked his daddy’s car last week.”“Yup. And he had Ernie’s cousin’s daughter with him. Which explains why Ernie’s telling everyone in town. Jack’s lucky that Ernie doesn’t have a shotgun.”“Considering what Marva thought of me this time last week, I’m pretty glad she doesn’t, either.”“So,” he asked a moment later. “This isn’t what Marva helped you pick out, is it?”“Yes, it is. I know nothing about style or fashion. She and Darnelle basically had their way with me,” she added with a slight shudder.Riley laughed at her. “Maybe Marva’s getting smarter with the years. I would have thought she’d go for ruffles and bows and lace.”“She might have, but I reminded her I’m a crack shot with an M-16, and I know where she lives.”Riley laughed, then shook his head. “I wish Cindy had something like that she could hold over Marva’s head, and that she’d use it.”“Cindy? Why?”“I’m afraid s