Page 16 of Tex's Angel

“Yeah. They have entrance exams, and I scored high enough to get a scholarship.”

“That’s an amazing opportunity for you.”

He tosses me a frown. “I think you have that backwards. It’s me that’s doing them a favor. My high scores on standardized testing drags the whole school up.”

I can’t keep from smiling at his take on the situation. “I never really thought of it that way before, but you’re right. They’re lucky to have you.”

Giving me an assessing gaze, he discloses, “I never wanted to come here. But as long as I’m here I should probably make the best of it, don’t you think?”

“Well, sure. Being stubborn and grumpy never solved anyone’s problems.”

“If I did that, I’d end up turning into my old man. He’s cornered the market on stubborn and grumpy.”

I smother back a smile. “Your dad might be a little stubborn and grumpy but he’s also a good, decent person.”

His eyes flash up to mine. “He didn’t want to come here either. He loves Texas. Says it’s in his blood.”

“He must have had some good reason for moving to California. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to run off half-cocked, doing impulsive things.”

“It’s like you said, I’m a delinquent.”

“Now, Levi, I didn’t mean that when I said it. And I sincerely apologize. It was wrong of me to jump to conclusions and to say bad things “

“I know. I haven’t done bad things here, but in the past, I hung around with the wrong crowd while they committed petty crimes.”

“Any idea why you did that? Hanging out with people who are making bad decisions sounds dangerous.”

“I think after my mom died, I just stopped caring about stuff. I kind of drifted along. My friends back in Austin were nice people. They were just really messed up. I didn’t see exactly how messed up they were for the longest time. My dad saw it though. He saw it and decided to give me a fresh start here in Las Salinas.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how’s that working out for you?”

“Pretty good. School bores me. I found two men at the park who turned me on to chess. I studied the rule book and can’t wait to get a real chess partner. I’m gonna practice every move I ever saw in those books.”

“Well, that sounds all kinds of fun. I hope you have a ball.”

“Thank you,” he responds politely. “What about you? Why did your husband and your sister end up having an affair? Do you even know?”

I nod. This teen had come clean with me so It’s only fair that I do the same. “I already told your dad how impulsive and irresponsible my sister is. As for my husband, he’s always been the kind of man who thinks the world owes him a favor, and the rules that apply to everyone else, for some reason, don’t apply to him.”

“Did you have a bad marriage or something?”

“Absolutely not. But even if we did, it doesn’t justify cheating. You’d think people would talk about it, consider counselling, or couples therapy, before throwing their marriage down the plughole.”

“When things get bad between my dad and I, that’s what we do. We talk it out or get counseling. It’s helped in the past, particularly when my mom was dying.”

“I’m truly sorry for your loss, Levi. That must have been so hard on you.”

“Yeah. I had a lot of therapy and finally came to terms with it. Getting cancer is nobody’s fault, so there was no need to keep on blaming myself.”

“Oh God no, your mom getting cancer was in no way shape or form your fault, Levi.”

He sat quietly for a few moments before saying, “My dad’s coming. He’s got someone with him, probably company for me so the two of you can sort out your stalker issues.”

“How can you know that?” I ask curiously.

He presses his hand to the rug. “I know how my dad walks and can feel the vibrations of his footsteps. Put your hand down and see if you can feel it too.”

I pressed my hand to the carpet and felt very slight vibrations. It really does feel like someone walking up the steps. Within moments the door flings open. Tex and a younger brother wearing a prospects’ vest came into the room together.

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