Page 20 of Texas Glory
When the last wagon filled with townspeople rolled into the night, the tension within him increased. He was beginning to think he might know how a length of rope felt when it was being made: stretched taut and wound.
He needed to find his wife, give her the opportunity to say farewell to her brothers, send them on their way, and get to the business of realizing his final dream.
He saw Houston leaning against the corral and didn’t waste any time in crossing the space separating them.
“You seen my wife lately?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“I took her trunk up to my bedroom, and now I can’t find her.”
Turning, Houston scanned the dwindling crowd that consisted of the lingering ranch hands. “She has to be here.”
“I’ve looked everywhere. Even in that gaudy thing she travels in.”
“I know what you’re thinking. Nobody stole her.”
“But she might have left.”
Houston nodded sagely as though he thought she probably had. “Let’s find Austin—”
“Houston!”
Both men turned at the sound of Amelia’s frantic voice.
“I can’t find Maggie,” she said as she skidded to a stop and dug her fingers into Houston’s arms.
“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Houston asked, panic threaded through his voice.
“I mean she’s lost. The men were supposed to take turns watching her, and they lost track of whose turn it was. I should have kept my eye on her. I shouldn’t have started dancing—”
Houston leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers to silence her. “We’ll find her.”
“But what if—”
“I know where she is,” Dallas said. Relief washed over Amelia’s face. “You’ve seen her?”
“No, but I know where she likes to hide out. If I’m right, she’s gonna go home with a big bellyache.”
He started walking toward the house, Amelia’s peace of mind taking precedence over his own.
“Have you seen my wife?” he asked Amelia as they neared the house.
“Not since you took her walking. Why?”
“I think she’s left.”
He shoved open the front door.
“Surely not,” Amelia said softly.
“I can’t find her, and I don’t imagine she’s hiding under my desk with Maggie.”
Dallas walked down the hallway. He quietly opened the door to his office and peered inside. He didn’t want to startle his niece if she had a lemon drop in her mouth.
He heard paper rattle and smiled. He so loved that little girl.
With Houston and Amelia following in his wake, he crept across the room and waited beside his desk until her heard the paper crackle again, a sign that she’d finished one lemon drop and was reaching for another. He’d taught her not to put more than one in her mouth at a time.
