Page 73 of Texas Splendor
Standing on the second floor landing, Austin turned up the collar on his sheepskin jacket. Through the paned glass window, he saw the scraggly boughs of a tree that looked as though it might have been left over from a past Christmas—or brought in quickly to accommodate last minute plans.
Cameron had never celebrated Christmas at Dallas’s house before Austin had gone to prison, but he supposed since he was Dee’s brother, his family had welcomed him into their home after Austin left. He shoved his trembling, damp hands into his jacket pockets. He should have brought Loree with him. Sometimes he thought he could face anything if Loree stood beside him. What was it Houston had said to Amelia the day he married her? “With you by my side, I’m a better man than I’ve ever been alone.” Austin hadn’t understood the significance of the words at the time—but they were certainly beginning to make sense now.
Taking a deep breath, he pounded on the door. The heavy footsteps echoed on the other side. Cameron opened the door, and Austin watched as shock quickly gave way to concern.
“Has something happened to Dee?” Cameron asked.
“Nope. To Maggie.”
“Ah, Jesus. What do you need us to do?”
Austin turned away as memories swamped him, and the stinging in his eyes had little to do with the bitter wind. Cameron had been his first—his best—friend, the kind of man who had always put others before himself.
“Let me get the keys to the store and I’ll open it up. You can just take what you need—”
“I need reindeer hay.”
Cameron’s mouth fell open. “What? You said something had happened to Maggie.”
“Yep. She got her heart broke when she found out you weren’t coming with your special reindeer hay so pack up your family. I want to get back before dark.”
“You don’t need me. Just put some hay in burlap sacks and tell them it’s reindeer hay. I’ve got some sacks in the store that I can get for you.” Cameron turned to go back into the house.
“Not good enough,” Austin said. Cameron halted and glanced over his shoulder. “They think you’re the only one who can deliver special hay.”
“Look, Austin—”
“I figure you’ve got two choices. You can either come with me now or go with Dallas later because as soon as he sees the sad faces on those children—”
“Becky, pack up!” Cameron called out. “We’re going to spend Christmas with my sister.”
Austin chuckled low as Cameron disappeared into the house. It felt good after all this time to find something that had remained exactly the same over the years: Cameron was still scared to death of Dallas.
“Uncle Cameron, you came!” Maggie cried as she hopped up from the floor, spilling the bowl of popcorn she’d been threading. “Did you bring the reindeer hay?”
Standing in the doorway of the front parlor, Austin watched with interest as his family welcomed the visitors into their midst. Smiles grew bigger. Laughter erupted along with hugs and backslapping.
Wearing a wide grin, Dee strolled over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I know it was hard for you.”
He glanced at Loree as she greeted Becky with a warm smile and held a cookie out to Drew.
“You’ve got no idea,” Austin said roughly. “I need to unhitch the horses.”
He went outside, taking his time drawing the buggy into the barn and unhitching the horses. The wind howling through the cracks wasn’t strong enough to drown the sound of laughter he’d heard inside the house. He slapped each horse on the rump, sending it into the corral through the side door of the barn.
Twilight was closing in. Dallas would have a house full of people tonight. He wondered if he and Loree should head back to their own place rather than sleep in his old room with the new furniture as they’d planned.
“Are you all right?” a quiet voice asked from behind him.
Turning he smiled, took Loree’s hand, and drew her near. “I am now.”
Her cheeks took on a rosy hue as though she’d spent the afternoon sitting before a cozy fire. Suddenly he wished that they were home, sitting before the crackling hearth, wrapped around each other.
“Was the journey back awkward?” she asked.
He shrugged. “We didn’t talk. You would have thought we were heading for a funeral if Drew hadn’t been bouncing on the seat, singing ‘Jingle Bells’ the whole way.”
Her eyes widened. “Becky said he’s only eighteen months old. I think it’s impressive that he can sing a song—”
