Page 45 of The Honorable Texan
“It’s okay.We’re alone on the planet,” he assured her in a mock whisper.“We’re invisible to the rest ofhumanity.That being the case, how do you feel about linoleum?”he asked with a speculative glance toward the floor.
“Blake Kemp!”she exclaimed, smacking him on the arm.
He grinned at her.It was a genuine smile.He’d never felt such pleasure in a woman’s company.Well, not since Shannon.The thought of Shannon wiped the smile from his face and left him haunted.
She saw that, and her face fell.“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
He couldn’t tell her the truth.“I was thinking about your mother,” he lied.
“Oh.Oh, dear!”She bit her lip.“Blake, I can’t leave her alone.I wouldn’t dare.”
“How would you feel about having someone stay with her, around the clock, if we visited her often?”he asked, looking for compromises.
“I don’t know…”
“We won’t get married in the next two days,” he said with a comforting smile.“We’ve got plenty of time to work something out.”
“Yes,” she murmured, but she was wondering what he meant about plenty of time.He didn’t sound as if he was expecting to marry her soon.
He let go of her hand and reached for his coffee cup.“Don’t borrow worries, Violet,” he chided gently.“Everything falls into place, given time.”
“I suppose so.”
“Want dessert?”he asked.
She grimaced.“Not really,” she confessed.“It’s too hard to work it off once I gain it.”Then she remembered that she was going to be gaining a lot of weight, soon,and her spirits drooped.Her hormones were already reflecting her pregnancy.She was going to go through a lot more changes in the near future.
“I like the way you look,” he said, his voice deep and soft.
She lifted worried eyes to his.“Do you, honestly?”
He nodded.
She finished her own coffee, just as Jan, the young woman who worked for Barbara, brought Mrs.Hardy’s supper in a bag for Violet.
“Should we tell Mama yet?”she asked Blake.
He hesitated.He was still getting used to the idea of having to get married.He didn’t want to tell anybody.
“We could wait, a few days, at least,” she suggested.
“Do you want to?”he replied, surprised.
“Yes,” she said firmly.“I need time to get used to the idea myself,” she confessed with a shy smile.She didn’t add that she didn’t think he was serious about getting married, and she didn’t want her mother to be disappointed in case he found a reason to back out of it.Maybe it had been an impulse, asking her to marry him, and he was already regretting it.
“If that’s what you want,” he agreed easily.
* * *
He walked herto her car.The parking lot was crowded and he wasn’t keen to give local citizens any more reason for gossip.He caught her hand and touched it to his lips.“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said.
“Right.I enjoyed supper,” she added with a shy smile.
“So did I.We’ll have to spend more time together.I don’t know much about you, do I?”he asked gently.
“I don’t know a lot about you, either.”
“All the more reason.”He checked his watch.“I’ve got to go.I’m expecting a phone call about a case, at home.It’s almost time.See you tomorrow.”
