Page 24 of Tex's Angel

“He’s a cop. Helping you is right up his alley.”

“He just wants a good night’s sleep,” I say. “Thanks for helping me there, Wade.”

“That’s what families are for. Or it was, I guess now I’m not with your sister we aren’t gonna be family anymore,” his voice is sad.

“You know that you’re always going to be part of our family, Wade. It doesn’t matter if you and my sister end up divorced. You’re still my niece and nephew’s father and nothing is ever going to change that. What just happened only proves that we need you in our life.”

“Maybe,” he admits. “All I know is I need to see my kids.”

I suddenly have an idea and pull out my cell phone, then call my sister. She answers right away. “Clara? Is that you?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking. Maybe you’re right about putting this behind us. How about if I pick up the kids in the morning so you can Chris can spend the whole day together? Would that be a step in the right direction towards fixing this?”

My sister perks up, “Yeah, that would be nice. We haven’t had a whole day together in a long time.”

“Alright then. I’ll be there at eight in the morning and bring them back around seven or eight in the evening.”

“Thank you, Clara. I knew this would all work itself out.”

When the screen went black, I tell Wade, “Ready to spend the day with your kids? We can bring them here. I think they’d really enjoy it.”

The relief on his face is nice to see. “She’s gonna be pissed when she finds out that you let me spend the day with them too.”

I shrug, “Bitch slept with my husband. Ask me if I care.”

He gives me a genuine smile. “I can already see that you don’t. Thanks, Clara. I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t, Wade. Family does things for each other. If I can outsmart my sister long enough for you to get some face time with your kids, I consider that fair play.”

“I agree. We’d best get back inside before Tex comes looking for us. I don’t want to get my ass chewed for hogging all your time.”

Just then we hear someone snorting like a pig from the other side of the porch. Tex steps forward out of the shadows. “You two are so fucking sweet to each other, like real siblings. The world can be a shitty place. I’m glad y’all have each other to rely on.”

I come to my feet and walk over to him. “There’s always room for one more friend.”

“Wade’s right. I’ve been crushing on y’all just a little. Don’t worry, I know now’s not the time and this ain’t the place, so I’ll stuff it. But y’all should know that sometime soon, I’mgonna ask y’all out. And you’re gonna say yes, sugar pie.” He turns and walks to the front door. “Food’s on the table. Best come eat before it gets cold.”

We follow him in and for once there’s nothing but pure happiness in my heart. We sit back down at our table, but it’s now covered with steak, baked potatoes, and a salad. The guys have cold beers, and the prospect has given me a wine cooler. I look over at the bar, catch Nick’s eye and give him a thumbs up with one hand while holding up the bottle with the other.

He grins and jerks his chin at me. When I turn around, Tex rolls his eyes. “Whatever man ends up with you, won’t be able to keep y’all if he has an ounce of insecurity. I can tell y’all that right now.”

I grin at him, “What do you mean?”

“You’re a flirt,” he says. There’s a twinkle in his eye so I decide to tease him right back.

“And are you a jealous man?”

“Honey pie, once a woman gets an eyeful of what I’m packing, she ain’t going no place else.”

I was about to tell him that this is some arrogance, when he bursts into laughter. He was pulling my leg with the alpha male act. Or was he? I’d kind of gotten a glimpse of what he was packing when he came outside that night my alarm wouldn’t shut up. Not that I’m a size queen, for me it’s personality all round, and I have to say that this big, handsome joker of a man is lighting all kinds of sparks in me.

We dig into our food, and I watch Wade start off by shoving food around on his plate and the more bites he getsdown the hungrier he seems to get. It’s good to see his appetite come back so fast. Seeing him like this makes me hate my cheating husband and sister all the more.

When I glance at Tex my heart squeezes. He’s the reason Wade is doing better in such a short length of time. He somehow instinctively knew that the key to getting Wade to come to the clubhouse was making him feel needed. I don’t know about Tex, but I do need Wade. He’s the other victim in the cheating that imploded my world. We should be supporting each other. I can’t help myself, I reach out to give Tex’s hand a quick squeeze.

He looks surprised but pleased.

Chapter 10

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