Page 32 of Tex's Angel

He jerks back and looks down at me before shaking his head. A smile creeps onto his face. “I pulled her out of a honky-tonk one night when she was disturbing the peace. She was older than me, nine years to be exact. We fought like cat and dog until we ended up in bed working out our frustration with each other in a different way. I was barely eighteen and a rookie cop.”

As I stare into his eyes, I try to imagine what that was like for him.

He chuckles, “Don’t look so shocked. “Ash was wilder than an acre of snakes. She loved to drink, dance, and party more than any woman I ever met. Me? I liked to help out on my parents’ farm, ride my horse, and play sports. We were together a few years before Levi came along.”

“Let me guess, when your son was born, she settled right down and became the perfect mom, right?”

Tex’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “She never lost her love for a cold beer and kickin’ up her heels. She just slowed down once she got sick. We didn’t know what it was for a long time and the doctors were useless in the beginning. I ended up takin’ her to a specialist and they told her it had progressed to late stage. I took a three month leave from work and the three of us went out every night she felt up to it. Even when she couldn’t dance, she enjoyed watchin’ everyone else hoof it. She sippedbeer right up until the end. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t an alcoholic or anything, she just liked a drink now and then. She passed five years ago, when Levi was nine.”

“I can’t imagine how hard that was for you both,” I tell him, staggered by his ability to find joy in such a tragic loss.

“It was hard, but Ash made me promise not to let my grief over her passing take over my whole life. She wanted me to move on and find a good woman to be a mom to Levi. I sometimes feel like I let her down with that. But I just couldn’t do it.”

“I think it’s hard to move on after the love of your life dies. I’m sure you did your best.”

“I got Levi and myself into therapy until we got over the worst. It was rough times, but we made it through it.”

“He’s really mature for his age.”

“Yeah. He mostly grown now and pretty independent. He might not take to having a mother figure in his life at this stage in the game.”

“No one’s ever going to be able to replace his mother and they’d be stupid to try. He doesn’t need a replacement mother. But maybe he could do with another adult who supports his interests and is willing to become his friend.”

Instead of answering me, Tex just hugs me closer, and his lips ghost across the top of my head.

I want to enjoy the moment, but after he’s opened his heart, I am kind of curious as to what’s going on between us. So I ask, “So you never met anyone you wanted to settle down with again?”

“Nope.” Just when I think I misread the situation, I feel his hand reach up to brush my hair behind my ear, “Not until I found myself falling for my hot schoolteacher neighbor.”

“This neighbor, would I approve of her? Because I’m kind of crushing on my neighbor too.”

“She’s got red hair, curves for days, and cooks a mean chicken alfredo,” his voice is teasing, and he wraps a curl around his fingers.

Just when I’m trying to think of a sassy comeback, Tex asks, “So are volunteering to be that person, for him and for me?”

I glance up at him, catching his eye. My lips curve into a smile, “Maybe. It depends on how long and arduous the trial period is.” I slide my hand down his chest to his stomach, “And what kind of fringe benefit package I’m looking at.”

Tex laughs. “There might be some benefits, if you wanna let your fingers walk down a bit further you might find out what they are.”

I pull my hand back up to rest on his chest and lay my head back down. I don’t want to be a rebound girlfriend or something casual. I need to know we’re on the same page, “So, are you looking for a committed relationship or are you still working your way through the club girls.”

He makes a surprised sound, “I ain’t gonna lie. I have a healthy sexual appetite, and I’ve had a lot of meaningless sex since my wife passed.”

“That’s what I figured,” I say as push myself up off him. Before I can get away, he pulls me right back down.

“Y’all can at least hear me out, I didn’t even get a chance to answer your damn question.”

I prop myself up on one elbow and shrug with the other shoulder. “Fine. Tell me all about it.”

“I was saying before y’all interrupted that I’ve had a lot of meaningless sex, but cold mechanical sex was getting old for me. I haven’t had a lot of sex since I moved in next door to you. It’s like my appetite for faceless fucking went AWOL.”

I don’t look up at him, but my heart is beating a little faster. “You’ve been living next door for over a year.”

“Well it feels like twenty years to my cock,” he grumbles.

I sneak a glance up at him. “No wonder you were such a grumpy bunny.”

He just shakes his head. “Yeah, I have a thing for redheads, and you were the prettiest one of all.”

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