Page 14 of Tex's Angel

It only takes Tex a few minutes to leave his house, but it seems like ages. When I realize he has his teenage son in tow I panic and jump up to alert them. “Don’t let your son come any closer. There are big breasted porn stars on every cover.”

They both walk up on the porch anyway. Tex looks amused. “I’m sure my son will be fine seeing a fully clothed woman in a low-cut shirt.”

I fling my arms open wide and set the record straight. “They’re wearing skimpy swimsuits and leather miniskirts and booty shorts. Seriously, one is even a sexy nurse.”

His son picks up one of the magazines and turns it around for us to see. “Look Dad, they’ve even got a sexy teacher.”

I snatch the magazine out of his hands and stare down at the cover. It’s a woman wearing a plaid skirt, white button up shirt and thigh high stocking. Snorting a laugh, I say, “She not a teacher. How did you get that?”

Tex leans over to have a look. “The pigtails and horn-rimmed glasses give it away.”

I bring the magazine closer to my face and stare at it. Whatever. I don’t see it. Tossing it back down onto the ground, Igesture at them. “I don’t understand why anyone would mail me dirty magazines.”

“They didn’t,” Tex responds. “Look how they’re all laid out. All of them are face up and oriented towards the door, for maximum shock value when y’all opened your door.”

I gasp. “You’re right. Why would a mail carrier do that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he says gently. “There’s no postage on any of the magazines. Whoever did this, hand delivered this mess of porn to you.”

When my eyes rise from the magazines strewn about on my porch to look at him, I ask, “How do I get this to stop?”

He reaches out to me and tugs me closer, wrapping one arm protectively around me. “The only way to make it stop is to figure out who’s doing this.”

“What about those teens from last night? Do you think they had anything to do with this?” I ask.

“What teenage boy is gonna waste good porn,” Tex mutters.

“It’s all online nowadays,” Levi adds. “Only old people buy magazines.”

Tex glances at his son and pulls out his phone. “We met a handful of rich pricks a block away from here. Do you recognize them?”

His son’s face lights up with recognition. “Yeah, they’re brothers, except this one,” he says pointing to the photo of the one with dark hair. “The Darbys go to my school. They’reobsessed with getting into medical school or something. I don’t think they’d get their kicks harassing a teacher.”

Tex admits, “They gave me fake IDs last night. If I were a betting man, I’d say they didn’t have anything to with your vehicle alarm or the magazines. Though I’m gonna have a word with their parents about the underage drinking.”

“Dad, don’t I don’t want to be called a snitch,” Levi moans.

Rubbing his chin, he thinks it over. “We’ll see. This feels more like something an adult would do. Especially given the cost of the magazines. This haul must have cost at least a hundred and fifty dollars.”

I raise my eyebrows. Both at the cost and how Tex can calculate that. I have no idea how much porn magazines cost.

He continues, “I’m liking your ex for this whole mess. What do y’all think, Clara?”

I explain, “To be honest, he was pretty pissed that I wouldn’t listen to his excuses about cheating, that I threw him out, and immediately filed for divorce. He slept with my sister and honestly thought I would just get over it if we talked about it.”

“What about your sister? Is she as pissed as he is?”

I frown at him. “She was pissed that I didn’t just put this behind me and forgive her. She’s got a birthday party coming up that I refused to attend.”

“So, y’all are saying she’s a maybe?”

I sigh, “Gina has a serious impulse control problem. She doesn’t marry up actions with consequences in her own mind and can’t seem to stay on task long enough to execute anything. Life happens to her, and she reacts.” Gesturing to the multitude of magazines, I tell him, “I don’t see her pulling something like this off, much less being sneaky enough to set off my car alarm without me seeing her.”

“Tell me about the two of them, are they together, or do they blame each other for blowing up your marriage?”

“She threw her husband out and my soon-to-be-ex is living with her even as we speak. So, I’m gonna say they get along great.”

Tex stretches and I get a glimpse of his stomach when his t-shirt pulls up. Hot damn, he’s got abs of stone. “I agree that your sister might not be involved but I believe your husband might be responsible for this whole debacle. If y’all lost your job, would he think y’all might get hard up enough to take him back?”

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