Page 49 of Texas Splendor
“Two-bits,” Loree told him, an ache in her heart. The boy very much reminded her of her brother. She judged him to be near her brother’s age before he died.
Rawley glanced over his shoulder, his face skewed up. “Who named him that?”
“I did,” Austin said. “Why don’t you take him around to the back? We’ll probably need to tie him up for the night so he won’t run off,” Austin said.
“He can stay in my room,” Rawley suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Dallas said.
Rawley’s face fell even as he gave his father a brusque nod. “Come on, Two-bits,” he called out as he began running. The dog chased after him like he’d found a new friend.
“Rawley!” Dallas yelled.
The boy stumbled to a stop and spun around.
“Yes, sir?”
“It’s warm enough, you can bed down on the back porch tonight if you’ve a mind to.”
Rawley smiled brightly. “Thanks, Mr. D!”
Loree turned her attention back to Dallas in time to catch a glimpse of a grimace before he wiped it from his face.
“Still can’t get him to call you ‘Pa’?” Austin asked.
Dallas shook his head. “Nope, but it doesn’t matter. He’s my son. I’ll find Dee. She’s bound to have an empty room or two that you can put your belongings in,” Dallas said.
Loree waited until Dallas disappeared into the house before asking, “Why doesn’t Rawley call him ‘Pa’?”
“Dallas and Dee adopted him. He wasn’t treated too kindly before they took him under their wing. Think he still finds it difficult to trust men.”
“Did someone beat him?”
“Among other things.” As though signaling an end to the conversation, Austin took her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you around the house.”
Had he not told her, Loree still would have known which bedroom had belonged to Austin. Smiling, she picked his rumpled shirt and britches off the floor.
“Guess Dee hasn’t been in here since I left,” he said as he set her suitcase on the bed.
She didn’t think anyone had been in the room. It carried his lingering scent, faint because of his absences, but ingrained because of the years he had slept here.
He jerked the blankets on the bed up to cover his pillows and grinned sheepishly. “Never saw much point in making a bed in the morning just to unmake it at night.”
He wiped his hands on his backside. “Let me talk to Dee about some clean sheets.”
He headed out the door, and Loree wandered around the room. She imagined it to be a reflection of the man he’d been before prison. It was sparsely furnished as though he’d never planned to stay: a bed, a bureau, a dresser.
No portraits adorned the walls. Nothing hinted at permanence, but it was his room and on the dresser rested a violin. Reverently, Loree trailed her finger over the dull varnish. A chip here, a scratch there did not diminish the beauty of the instrument. Still, it looked forlorn and lonely.
“Dee thought the maid had cleaned in here,” Austin said as he came back into the room. “She said she’ll send Maria in to take care of it for us.”
“I can change the bed—”
“Enjoy the luxury of being waited on because you’ll only get it while you’re here.”
“Your brother is very wealthy, isn’t he?”
“Yep, but 1 don’t envy him that. He worked hard for every penny.”
