Page 118 of The Honorable Texan
“Mike had just sold it to a breeder,” she recalled sadly.“He was engaged to the sweetest, kindest girl I ever knew.It devastated her when he was killed.They had to sedate her for two days, and she couldn’t even go to the funeral.”She shook her head.“I felt as sorry for her as I did for Dad and me.”
“What happened to her?”Leo asked.
She finished her coffee.“She became a missionary and went to South America with a group of them.”She winced.“She had the worst luck…it was that plane that was mistaken for drug smugglers and shot down.I think she was one of the survivors, but she didn’t come back to America with the others.”
“Poor kid,” Rey said.
“Colter was upset over the shooting for a long time, too,” Leo recalled.“Just between you and me, he was sweet on Mike’s girl, but too much a gentleman to do anything about it.He thought the sun rose and set on Mike.”
“I never knew,” Meredith said softly.
“Neither did Mike.Or the girl,” Leo added with a smile.“Colter’s a clam.He never talks.”
“Is he still with the Texas Rangers?”Meredith asked.
Leo nodded.“Got promoted to lieutenant just recently.He’s good at his job.”
She pushed back from the table.“If you two arethrough, I’ll just wash up.Rey’s going to drive me up to see my dad tomorrow.”
“What a sweet guy!”Leo exclaimed with a wide-eyed look at his brother.
“He’s being nice to me, because I’m the only woman who ever proposed to him,” Meredith volunteered with a wicked grin.“He feels guilty because he turned me down.”
“Good.I’ll marry you, Meredith,” Leo volunteered at once.“You just name the time and place, and I’ll buy a new suit…!”
“Shut the hell up!”Rey said curtly, and hit his brother with his Stetson.
Leo protected his shoulder.“Meredith, he’s picking on me!”he wailed.
“Do you want biscuits for breakfast?”she asked Rey.
He stopped flogging his brother.“All right.But only for biscuits,” Rey said.He got up and deliberately bent and kissed Meredith, right in front of Leo.“Don’t stay up too late.Leo and I have to check the livestock in the barn.”
“Okay.Wear a jacket,” she said, smiling up at him.
He bent and brushed his mouth against hers one more time.“It’s not cold.”
“It is.Wear a jacket,” she insisted.
He sighed and made a face, but he picked up his lightweight denim jacket from the hat stand by the back door as he went out.
Leo followed him, but with a new expression on his face.He’d seen something he hadn’t expected during that teasing exchange.He wondered if Rey realized that he was in love with that sweet little biscuit-making woman.And unless he missed his guess, it was mutual.
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning,Meredith sat next to Rey in church and felt his hand holding hers almost all the way through the service.She felt different with him than she’d ever felt with anyone else.Rey made her feel as if she could do anything.He made her feel strong and confident and safe.
She glanced up at him while they shared a hymnal and he forgot what he was singing.They searched each other’s eyes slowly, until they realized that everybody else had stopped singing and were sitting down.Smiling sheepishly, Rey sat down and tugged her down beside him.
After the service, they got amused, affectionate looks from bystanders who knew Rey and had heard about his new cook.
But he didn’t seem to be the least bit embarrassed by the attention.In fact, he made a point of introducing Meredith to several people, adding the little known information that she was a licensed nurse practitioner as well as a great biscuit chef.
Meredith flushed, because it sounded as if he were very proud of her, especially when he related how her quick thinking had probably saved Billy Joe’s life at the target range.Billy Joe was well-known and liked locally, so that brought even more smiles.She clung to his hand with unashamed delight when they left.
“See, you’re already a local celebrity,” he teased.“And I didn’t even get around to mentioning the snake.”
“We should forget the snake,” she said quickly.
