Read Online After Tex by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online Page A

makeup, Megan retreated to the back steps, where she was pretty sure no one would find her. The fight with Jake had been absurd. She knew that. But it had set off a whole slew of insecurities and stirred up anger and resentment that she’d kept pretty well tucked away inside for the past couple of days.
    The anger had been misdirected, of course. It was Tex she was furious with, not Jake. She was mad at him for being sneaky and conniving and, most of all, for being dead.
    Now she’d never have the chance to tell him that she loved him, that she owed him or that she was sorry they’d fought. It was too late to take back what she’d said—not that she would have—about belonging in New York, not Wyoming, no matter how much it hurt him to hear it.
    The cold air was drying the tears on her cheeks and setting up goose bumps when she heard a soft, shuffling sound and noticed Tess creeping up beside her. The girl’s face was streaked with dried tears and dirt, and her hair was a tangle of mussed curls and straw. Obviously she’d paid another visit to the barn. Aspitiful as she appeared, she still shot a defiant look at Megan.
    â€œWhy are you crying?” Tess demanded, as if Megan had no right to shed tears over Tex.
    â€œSame reason as you, I imagine.”
    â€œYou didn’t care about Tex,” Tess accused.
    â€œYes, I did,” Megan corrected mildly.
    â€œSure didn’t show it. I been here six months and this is the first I’ve seen of you.”
    â€œBecause I work in New York.”
    â€œSo? You make a lot of money, least that’s what Tex said. You could have come home, if you’d wanted to.”
    Megan sighed. “Yes, I suppose I could have.”
    Tess seemed startled by the quick admission. “How come you didn’t, then?”
    â€œIt’s complicated,” Megan said, for lack of a better explanation.
    â€œComplicated how?” Tess asked, refusing to be put off.
    Was this what life was going to be like from now on? Was she going to be asked tough questions by a kid, rather than a reporter? Megan struggled to find a plausible answer that would satisfy an eight-year-old. “Tex and I didn’t always see eye to eye about the choices I made.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLike me living in New York.”
    â€œYou liked it better than here?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI don’t get it,” Tess said. “This place is the best. There’s stuff to do and it’s real pretty. Why would you rather be in some big, ugly city, all crowded in?”
    The characterization of New York had Tex’s stamp all over it. Megan had heard it often enough over the years. She supposed now was as good a time as any to contradict it, to get Tess excited about the prospect of moving east.
    â€œBecause my work is there,” she explained. “And because it’s filled with people from all over the world. It’s amazing, like no place else I’ve ever been. It’s bright and glitzy and energetic. There’s something going on every minute. There are museums and plays and wonderful restaurants. You’ll see.”
    Tess regarded her suspiciously. “What do you mean, I’ll see?”
    â€œWhen you come there to live with me.”
    Tess backed up, her expression as horrified as if Megan had suggested taking her on a spaceship to an alien world. “I’m not coming there. No way. You can’t make me, either.”
    Megan reached out a hand, but Tess moved farther away.
    â€œThis is where I live. It’s where I belong,” the girl all but shouted. “Tex said. He promised!”
    Tess turned then and ran, leaving Megan shaken. She hadn’t expected such a violent reaction. Why hadn’t Tex prepared Tess? Foolish question. Because he hadn’t believed he was going to die. Then again, there was the will, naming her as Tess’s guardian. That proved he had known. He’d