Read Online The Texan's Bride by Linda Warren - Free Book Online Page A

mistakes.”
    “That’s hard to do.”
    “Try.”
    Myra laughed. “Tell me about your evening.”
    “No. It’s private.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    Jessie kicked off her heels and they landed with a thud on the carpet. “He’s my husband and I’m not telling tales about our relationship.” And it would be a whopping tale. She could embellish with the best, but the truth was they were both feeling their way and she wasn’t giving Myra details. She wasn’t a teenager.
    “Wow! This is serious. We talk about everything.”
    “Not my husband, though.”
    A long pause.
    “Wanna hear about this lawyer who’s been giving me the eye?”
    “Oh, no. Not another one.” Jessie settled back to hear the rest of the story.
     
    C ADDE FLUNG HIS HAT ACROSS Roscoe’s study and it landed somewhere behind the brown leather sofa. He needed something strong. Opening the liquor cabinet, he pulled out a bottle of Scotch. He didn’t bother with a glass. He wasn’t going to need one.
    Unscrewing the top, he set the Scotch on the coffee table and plopped onto the sofa. Jessie needed time. She’d started this whole charade and now she wanted to wait. He didn’t get that, but then he didn’t get a lot about women. Maybe that’s why he was still…
    Single?
    He wasn’t single. He’d been married eighteen months—without sex.
    He reached for the bottle and took a sip, wincing as it went down. Damn! The stuff was potent. Taking a breath, he noticed the lights were on all over the house. What was that about? Rosa and Felix had gone to bed long ago. Many nights he came in late and the lights were always on. Why? He upped the bottle again.
    Rules! Jessie had rules. As much as he wanted to be irritated, he somehow understood. At his age he had come to realize that men and women were different in more ways than the obvious ones. Compliments, flowers, open hearts and love reached a woman faster than a bullet could strike a moving target. The first two most men handled without a problem. The last one…love…proved to be the stumbling block.
    He was no different. He wasn’t even sure what love was. His parents were supposed to love each other and look how that had turned out—tragically. But their defunct marriage wasn’t the reason he was single all theseyears. He hadn’t really known about his dad’s affair until recently.
    Deep down he must have known. He came home from school early one day and found his mother crying. She said she’d had some sad news about a friend. She’d lied to cover up…for him. And then his dad had worked a lot of overtime. He was rarely home. There were signs, but as a kid he didn’t recognize them.
    He tipped up the bottle again.
    Cadde loved his brothers, his aunt and uncle, Dane and the Belle sisters. Those relationships were permanent, solid. They’d never change. Even though there were disagreements at times, the bond still remained.
    Marriage was different. He took another swig. How did he make it work without straying? How would he stay faithful to his wife and commitment year after year? So many others had tried and failed. What hope was there for two people who weren’t in love?
    He only knew one thing for sure—he wasn’t going to be like his father. Straightforwardness and honesty was his plan. As he raised the bottle again, he wondered what Jessie expected from him…besides a baby. Did she expect him to love her?
    Oh, God. His head hurt. Was it the Scotch? Or thoughts of Jessie? Another drink might help.
    He should be at Shilah working. Now, the oil business he understood. He set the bottle on the coffee table and reached for the phone on his belt. Being out of contact this long wasn’t like him. He’d turned off his cell because he knew Jessie would get mad if he took calls during dinner.
    Reading through his messages he saw he had one from the engineer, the geologist, three from Kid and two from Chance. He closed his cell. They could wait until morning. Right now he couldn’t