Rescued by a Wedding: Texas Wedding\A Marriage Between Friends by Kathleen O'Brien

Author:Kathleen O'Brien
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

“HOW’S THIS?” TEDDY asked, rocking back on his heels to survey his work, a paintbrush in each hand. He had an artistic bent and instead of choosing a plain color for the background of the signs Jill planned to post against the casino, her son had created psychedelic bursts with the purple and green paint left over from the last time they’d decorated his room.

“Brilliant,” Jill said. “Just a few more and we’ll call it a night.”

They worked on the uphill side of Shady Oak’s garage underneath a floodlight. Jill had been cutting plywood into two-foot-by-three-foot pieces with a cordless skill saw while Teddy worked his magic. The eye-catching swirls of color would contrast perfectly with the important message Jill planned to spray-paint with stenciled block letters in red—NO CASINO!

She returned her saw to its case and then propped up the last two boards against the garage wall, taking another look at Teddy’s artwork, while her mind wandered. She, the daughter of casino owners, was opposing a casino. Jill could picture the worried look in her mother’s eyes, her father’s disapproving frown and Vince’s face…

For years she’d recalled Vince’s youthful features fondly, but those images had been shattered tonight by a strong jaw, a suit he hadn’t bought off the rack and his corporate stance. Once she’d recovered from the shock of his arrival, it had been easy to see through his words, to see that he’d become one of them—someone like her parents and his grandfather. Vince planned to milk the heart out of Railroad Stop, turning it into a miniature Vegas.

When Jill left Las Vegas eleven years ago, she’d wanted to find a place where she could feel safe, where she could take people at their word. On a sweltering Saturday, less than a week later, she’d gotten a flat tire in Railroad Stop. Edda Mae had taken one look at Jill, wilting while she waited for her car, and herded her into Bernie’s Burger Joint. In no time the older woman had pried the pertinent facts out of Jill, told her a story about one of her Native American ancestors and convinced Jill that running away never solved anything. Jill had gone to work for Edda Mae at Shady Oak the next day.

Edda Mae was the mother figure Jill had always longed for, and for the most part, Railroad Stop embraced Jill. After Teddy was born she stayed on, unable to curb her overactive imagination when it came to Shady Oak. Jill was still her parents’ daughter and the hospitality industry was in her blood. Where others might have seen a hopeless money pit, Jill had envisioned charming success. When Edda Mae was ready to retire, Jill took out an exorbitantly scary loan cosigned by her parents and employee became employer.

“So.” Teddy crouched over one of the last two boards and began creating a curvy purple road. He was a gangly kid, all knobby elbows and knees, an aficionado of bad jokes, but he was her pride and joy.

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