Page 61 of A Fortunes of Texas Christmas (Fortunes of Texas)

“Will I see you again?”

Amersen shrugged lightly. “Maybe.”

Gerald nodded. “Thank you. That’s more than I expected. Maybe more than I deserve.”

Amersen left the room and insisted on seeing himself out. He was out the front door and three steps down the pathway when he met another man coming in the other direction.

Ben Fortune Robinson.

His brother.

It took about two seconds for the other man to recognize him and another few seconds to realize he was shaking Ben’s hand.

“About time you showed up,” Ben said and grinned. “Olivia called me, she said you were coming to see the old man, so I thought I would drop by for some moral support.”

Amersen’s back straightened. “For me, or him?”

“For whoever needed it,” Ben replied. “Did you get the answers you wanted?”

“Some,” he admitted.

“Well, that’s a start, I guess. The thing is, he hurts people without trying...you might say it’s in his nature.”

“That doesn’t let him off the hook.”

“No,” Ben said agreeably. “But when you really think about things, I guess most of us are guilty of hurting the people or person we love most at some point...don’t you think?”

Amersen scowled. “Your point?”

“The Harbin girl,” Ben said matter-of-factly. “Olivia said you screwed up big-time.”

Amersen actually laughed. “Privacy is clearly not a big thing in your family.”

“Your family, too,” Ben reminded him. “So, you screwed up. Not the first time. Won’t be the last. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be a fool and let her slip through your fingers?”

“I hadn’t planned on it.”

“Then what did you plan?” Ben asked. “Is she a fling? Or is she the marrying kind?”

Marriage...

Amersen’s already knotted stomach was doing backflips. “Ah...yes...that kind.”

Ben offered a broad grin. “Then take some advice—go and get a ring and do the right thing.”

Amersen laughed loudly. If someone had told him a couple of weeks earlier that he would be standing outside his biological father’s house having a civil conversation about engagement rings with his half brother, he would have dismissed the notion entirely.

But by five o’clock he was driving toward Robin’s home with a ring in his pocket.

And hope in his heart.

Chapter Twelve

Robin was just coming out of the bedroom after taking a shower when she heard a knock on her front door. She glanced down at her gray sweats and purple moccasins and figured she looked decent enough for company. She half expected it to be her mother or Evan, who was staying with their folks for dinner, or even her dad coming to check on her. They had all spoken to her at some point over the course of the afternoon. She was grateful for their love and support, but she really just wanted to be miserable in private.

But it wasn’t her family at her door.

It was a ridiculously huge bouquet of flowers, followed by the last person she’d expected to see. Especially since she spent most of the afternoon convinced that they were over and done with.

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