Page 83 of Texas Glory
The brusqueness in his voice hurt more than a dull-bladed knife plunged through her heart. After his abrupt departure last night, she had feared that she had somehow disappointed him. Now, she knew without a doubt that she had. She swallowed her tears. “I’ll fetch her.”
“Fine.”
He turned on his heel, took two long steps, halted, and glanced over his shoulder. “I need to talk with Tyler today. I’ll ride into town with you if you have no objection.”
Like a pebble thrown onto still waters, the joy rippled through her. “I’d like that. It’ll just take me a few moments to get ready.”
“Take your time. I’ll saddle our horses.”
She slipped into her room, pressed her back against the closed door, and splayed her fingers over her stomach. She wanted to give to Dallas as much as he’d given her. If only fortune had smiled on them last night.
Dallas had shared so much of himself with her, had given her such immense gratification, that she didn’t see how he could not have given her a child as well.
As Dallas rode beside Dee, he took pleasure in the smallest of things: the graceful slant of her back as she sat her horse, the loose strands of hair that toyed with the wind, the anticipation that sparkled within her eyes as they neared town.
Dallas had decided in the early hours of the morning, as sleep eluded him, that he would steer clear of his wife until she knew whether or not they hadgotten lucky.
That resolution had lasted until dawn’s fingers crept into his room, and he awoke alone with the thought of a day not shared with Dee stretching out before him.
He couldn’t deny that he wanted to be in her bed every night, buried deeply inside her, but he also recognized that he wanted more than that.
He wanted her warm smiles at breakfast, her laughter as she galloped across the prairie on Lemon Drop, the squeeze of her hand, the joy in her eyes, her soft voice when she spoke to him.
If he couldn’t share her nights, he had decided sitting at the breakfast table with no one but Austin for company that he would content himself with sharing her days and evenings.
She fairly stood in the saddle as the site for the hotel came into view.
“Oh, Dallas, they’ve started building it.”
“Of course they have. That’s why you broke the ground for them yesterday.”
“Still, I didn’t think it would happen so fast.”
She turned to him with such a radiant smile that it was all he could do not to reach across and plant a sound kiss on her mouth.
“Can we go in closer and watch?”
“It’s your hotel, Dee. You can hammer the nails into the wood if you want.”
“Can I?”
“Sure.”
As they brought their horses to a halt, Tyler Curtiss left the throng of workers, smiling broadly. “Morning!”
Before Dallas could dismount and assist his wife, Tyler was enjoying the privilege, his hands resting easily on Dee’s waist.
Jealousy, hot and blinding, shot through Dallas like molten lead, catching him off guard. Even when he’d suspected Houston had harbored feelings for Amelia, he’d never felt jealous. Anger, certainly, but nothing that made him want to snatch a man’s arm off simply because he’d helped his wife dismount.
Tyler stepped away from Dee and waved his hand in a wide circle. “What do you think?”
“It’s wonderful. I can’t believe you already have a portion of the frame up.”
“The bonus Dallas offered the men if they get the hotel finished within three months had the men sawing and hammering at daybreak,” Tyler explained.
Dee turned her attention to Dallas. He shifted his stance, uncomfortable with her scrutiny.
“You’re paying them a bonus?” she asked.
