Tall, Dark, and Texan by THOMAS JODI

Author:THOMAS, JODI [THOMAS, JODI]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2012-06-25T22:20:59+00:00

CHAPTER 19

A MINUTE AFTER THE JUDGE SAID THEY WERE MARRIED, Teagen walked on the porch and told the lawyer the news. To his credit, Wenderman took the development with disappointment but grace. Teagen couldn’t help but think maybe a small part of the man didn’t like the job he’d been hired to do. He asked if he could be allowed to see the girls before he departed so that he could give a report of their well-being to his client.

Teagen saw no harm in the request. “All right, but they are not to know why you’re here.”

“Fair enough,” Mr. Wenderman agreed.

Sage offered the men lunch, and everyone began moving into the dining room of the house.

To his surprise, the sheriff looked happy about the marriage. He pumped Teagen’s hand and wished him the best, then kissed Jessie on the cheek. He’d be repeating the story when he got back to Austin. The McMurrays were a well-known family in Texas, and Teagen’s marriage would be news.

Teagen told himself he felt nothing. He’d done the right thing. He always did the right thing, no matter the cost to him. The friend he’d had for years had asked him to take care of his family, and he’d done just that.

He heard the women welcoming Martha and the girls out of the cellar, but he was gone before everyone sat down to lunch. He rode toward Lookout Point, needing to be alone. Sage would tell them he had ranch business to see about. That was what she’d told the few people who asked about him from time to time.

Once on the point, in the shade of the hills, he stood, looking over his land. The spread was big, one of the biggest in Texas, the land rich and perfect for pasture. He could breed twice the horses and ten times the cattle if he wanted to. Before he turned forty, he could be one of the most powerful men in Texas if he wanted to be, and no one could take this place from him. That had been his dream for years, not the power but the security.

Only why, now, did he feel so alone?

He’d always done what was right, done what he had to do. He’d never put himself first, and no matter how much it hurt, he’d always told the truth. Then why did doing the right thing hurt so badly deep down inside?

The marriage didn’t matter. He’d never planned to marry, so if Jessie needed his name to be safe, it seemed a small enough gift. The girls would be fun to watch grow up. They already meant more to him than he’d admit.

So why did what he’d done eat away in his gut?

Teagen climbed back on his horse and began to ride. He crossed the hidden trail his father had been shown by the Apache thirty years ago. Only Teagen didn’t follow the path. This time he wasn’t riding to the trading post. He was riding away from the ranch house and as far away from Jessie as he could.

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