Page 46 of Texas Splendor
“Married? Who in the world did he marry?” she whispered, her voice achingly low. Then as though just remembering she had a customer, she blinked several times and returned her attention to Loree. “I’m sorry. You wanted the gunsmith. You’ll find him at the end of Main Street, near the saloon. I know Mr. Wesson will be able to help you.” She turned back to the man. “Cameron, did he tell you about his wife?”
Loree didn’t want to hear the answer. She hurried out of the general store. Once outside, she slumped against the front of the building. The woman inside the store was beautiful. How in the world could she expect Austin not to think of that woman when his wife was incredibly plain?
Then she remembered what the man had said. He’d just seen Austin. She hurried along the boardwalk, back to the hotel. She rushed inside and up the stairs, bursting through the door to their room.
Austin stood near the bed, stuffing her clothes into her suitcase on the bed. He jerked back, his brow deeply furrowed. “Where have you been?”
She closed the door more quietly than she’d opened it and eased into the room. “I needed something. I went to the general store.”
He reached across the bed, grabbed her nightgown, and shoved it into the bag. “We’re going back to Dallas’s.”
“I met a woman at the general store. A Becky.”
He stiffened. Her heart pounded so hard that she was sure he heard it. “Is she your Becky?”
“No, she is notmyBecky,” he replied through a clenched jaw. He grabbed her hairbrush from the bedside table and threw it into the bag.
“Wasshe your Becky?” she asked, unable to let it go for reasons she couldn’t understand.
With one rapid-fire movement, he sent her bag and everything in it crashing to the floor. She stumbled back. She’d never seen him truly angry and wondered if she’d pushed him too far.
He dropped onto the bed, planted his elbows on his thighs, leaned forward, and buried his face in his hands. She heard his harsh breathing, saw the tenseness in his shoulders. He held out a hand. “Come here.”
But her feet remained rooted to the spot. She knew nothing about how he acted in anger. If he gave as much of himself to anger as he did to passion …
He looked up, the torment in his eyes deepening as he met her gaze. “Come here, Loree. Please.”
The anguish in his voice had her walking toward him, seeking to comfort him for the painful memories her constant badgering brought him. As she neared, he reached out, clamped his hand on her waist, and brought her to stand between his thighs.
He took a deep shuddering breath, staring at a button on her bodice. “Yes, shewasmy Becky.” He tilted his head back, his deep blue gaze capturing hers. “But she’s not anymore, and she never will be again.”
He pressed a kiss to her slightly rounded stomach, to the place where their child grew. “I need you, Loree,” he rasped.
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing his head against her belly. How could the woman have not waited for Austin? With demons haunting her and no family, the past five years had been an eternity, but at least she’d had the stars at night, the sunrise at dawn, and the freedom to walk wherever she wanted. “I hate her because she hurt you,” she said, her voice seething.
“She doesn’t deserve your hate.”
“She doesn’t deserve your loyalty or your love.”
He tipped his head back, meeting her gaze. “Five years is a long time.”
“I would have waited,” she said, surprised by the conviction in her voice, more surprised to realize the words were true. If she were fortunate enough to possess his love, she’d wait forever.
A corner of his mouth quirked up and he brushed the stray strands of her hair behind her ear. “You know, I do believe you would have.”
“I hate that she hurt you.”
“And I hate that I’ve hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me on purpose. I know that.”
“But I don’t imagine it lessened the pain.”
No, the pain had been sharp, agonizing but she was tired of letting the wound fester. She needed to lance it, clean it, and let it heal.
“She’s very pretty,” she admitted reluctantly.
He smiled broadly. “She is that.”
