Page 101 of Boston
“Through next Saturday,” she said, giving him a grin too.
“Heya, Uncle Tex,” OJ said as he jogged up.
Tex’s heart only had more and more room for that kid, and he pulled OJ into a hug. “Where you been, huh?”
Bailey smiled at him as he came to her side. “He saw a friend as we walked by.”
“It was Billy Finley,” OJ said. “And he has a new snake, Uncle Tex, and he lets it out into the garden to find mice and stuff.”
Tex grinned at OJ. “Are there a lot of mice in a garden?”
“Or the barn or whatever,” OJ said.
“What kind of snake is it?” Bailey asked.
OJ turned his bright eyes on her, and oh, Tex saw so much of his son’s curiosity and excitement there. “You’ve done it now,” he said with a chuckle.
Bailey looked over OJ’s head as he started chattering excitedly about the different types of snakes and what they ate. “I did, right?” Still, she listened to him, even nodding along as OJ talked a mile a second.
Tex managed to extract himself before OJ got to pythons, which he was fairly certain no one in Coral Canyon owned, and he headed across the lawn to where his wife sat. She saw him coming, and he swore she put a cookie in her mouth before she got up and came to meet him.
“Are you eating cookies?”
Abby grinned at him as she finished chewing and swallowed. “Cheryl has a bunch in her bag.”
Tex chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his wife. “I’m pretty sure those are meant to placate children.”
“Yeah, right now, they’re placating all of us.” She gazed up at him. “She said she asked you to pay for Wade’s prosthetics.”
“Yeah.” Tex nodded. “Yep, I said I would—I brought it up.” He smiled over to Wes and Gray Hammond, noting that their adult children had come with them this year. They set up onthe outskirts of the group, and he raised his hand in greeting to Cord, Gray’s son-in-law, who loved Country Quad.
“I’m sure it’s not a problem, right?” He looked down at Abby, who wore worry between her eyes.
“I’m going to go talk to my brother,” she said.
“Be nice to him,” Tex said, which caused Abby to turn back to him.
Her eyes fired just like Pippa’s did when he didn’t unlock the door fast enough. “I’ll be nice.”
“Baby.” Tex moved into her and took her hand, then forced his step to slow down. “You don’t get what it’s like to be a man, okay?”
“Thank goodness,” she said dryly.
“I mean it, Abs.” Tex forced her to stop. “Wade already feels like a failure. I know you don’t get why, butIdo. He’s not going to spend his money on himself; hardly any man does.”
Thankfully, Abby had stopped, and she frowned, seemingly listening to him.
“He spends it on Cheryl and the kids,” Tex said. “And yes, Cheryl loves him to bits and pieces, even when she’s mad at him. But she also doesn’t understand what it’s like to be him; to be unable to protect and care for his wife and kids the way he really wants to.”
“So I need to help him see he has worth, even though he can’t pay for the prosthetics.”
Tex beamed at her. “Men struggle with their worth more than you might think.” He glanced over to where Denzel, Wade, and Daddy sat in a row. “Especially when they’re strong, talented, and perfectly sound in mind, and just have a body that they feel like has betrayed them.”
Abby followed his gaze over to the shady spot where they’d camped out. “We just want them to know how much we love them.”
“And they want to show you that they can take care of you.” He raised his eyebrows when she looked at him. “So make it about how, if he has better prosthetics, he’ll be able to do what he wants to do.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”
