Page 9 of Christmas in the Shadows

At least she’d been raised in a loving home with a stable, secure environment. She’d always had a place to fall back on if she ever needed it.

Tex had never had any of those things.

For a while, Chelsea had hoped she could be that person for him, the one who always gave him a shoulder to lean on.

But that hadn’t worked out. It hadn’t been her choice, however. She hadn’t had a say in the decision.

She swallowed hard and shoved away those thoughts.

“It smells good in here.” Now that she was farther away from his cologne, the aroma of ground beef and garlic hit her.

“Gilbert has always been able to make a good pot of meat sauce and spaghetti.”

“That’s what I hear. Believe it or not, I’ve never had any of his.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Not in all these years living beside him? That is surprising.”

Chelsea had never been in Gilbert’s inner circle—and she was okay with that. She’d never had him over either.

“I can’t believe that you’re still living here,” Tex said as he walked with her down the hall. “I fully expected you to have spread your wings and found a life somewhere else.”

“I considered it. But my parents decided they wanted to downsize and move into a retirement community. They were going to sell their place, and I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else living in the house I’d grown up in.” She shrugged, feeling self-conscious at her words. “So I bought it. They gave me a great deal, of course. But I’ve made the place my own, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

Tex smiled, the first real smile she’d seen on him since they’d run into each other earlier. “I think that’s fantastic. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating your roots.”

If anyone knew what it was like not to have roots, it was Tex. He’d gotten his nickname because all the government knew about him when he’d been left outside a fire station at a week old was that he was from Texas, thus the nickname. He’d then been passed around different foster families for years, until finally being placed with Gilbert.

Before they could talk any more, they reached the kitchen—and Gilbert.

Any of the warm feelings that had started to simmer inside Chelsea quickly disappeared, and her nerves kicked in.

This dinner might be a good way to find out more information on Gilbert and what was going on in his life lately, but Chelsea would have to broach the subject very carefully.

“Where’s Anna?” Chelsea didn’t know the woman well, but she seemed nice enough.

“She just called and had to cancel. Something came up at school, and she needs to oversee the situation.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I was looking forward to meeting this woman who managed to rope the town’s confirmed bachelor,” Tex spoke up.

Gilbert laughed. “She’s a special one.”

Before their conversation could go any further, the sound of glass shattering in the distance filled the air.

In two seconds flat, Tex was in front of her, his broad shoulders blocking her from any incoming harm.

Her heart raced.

What had just happened?

CHAPTER 3

“Stay here.” Tex hurried toward the front of the house.

The picture window in the formal living room was shattered, with ragged edges of glass protruding like fangs all around it.

There, on the red-and-blue oriental rug, was a brick with a paper rubber-banded around it.

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