Texas Legacy by Lorraine Heath

Author:Lorraine Heath
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“Faith give you that black eye?”

Rawley had expected some comment about his bruised cheek but had thought it would come from Maggie, not her father. Houston gave him a knowing smirk, or at least the set of his mouth strongly resembled a smirk. Half his face had been scarred “on some godforsaken battlefield” when he was younger, and the rivulets of thick tissue tended to keep that portion of his face immobile so it was sometimes difficult to interpret his smiles. But there was no difficulty whatsoever when it came to reading Austin’s broad grin. The man was downright and irritatingly amused.

“I might have accidentally run into her fist when I got off the train,” he admitted.

Austin chuckled. “I heard tell she was fit to be tied when you hightailed it out of here without discussing the matter with her first.”

“I had my reasons for leaving as I did.”

“Whatever they were, we hope they’re behind you now,” Houston said. “We’re glad to have you home.” He was the peacemaker of the family, a quiet man of few words, but when he did speak, people tended to listen.

Taking a sip of whiskey, Rawley glanced around. Houston’s wife and four daughters were there, as were Austin’s wife, Loree, and their five sons. Callie had been fed and put to bed already. Faith was still getting dressed. After working on the fence, they’d returned to the house to get ready. When he sank into the tub of hot water, he’d imagined her doing the same thing in the room next to his, thought of the soapy linen caressing her skin, the water droplets raining down on her.

Repairing the fence together, talking, had helped to reestablish the bond between them, and he wasn’t altogether certain that was a good thing, because now Faith Leigh was a woman to be reckoned with. Maturity had added to her allure, and he wasn’t certain he had it within him to resist her this time, wasn’t sure he wanted to any longer. A woman of her courage was the sort any man would welcome at his side. Now that she was older, the years separating them didn’t seem as big a gap. He was no longer a man, she a girl. They were both adults.

“Dee shared those postcards you sent her,” Houston said. “You did a lot of traveling.”

“For a while. I was trying to figure out where to settle.”

“And in the end, you came back here. Just like Austin. He traveled the world playing his violin for folks, but when it came right down to it, he didn’t find anyplace he liked better.”

“Not quite true,” Austin said. “I didn’t find any people I like better. There’s something comforting about being in the bosom of your family.” He looked around, motioned with his hand. “And I wanted my sons to grow up with this. You, Dallas, and I—we only had each other. Now look at us.”

The room was filled with conversation, laughter, hugs, and smiles.

“What are y’all jawing about?” Dallas asked as he joined them.

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