One year later
Tex shifted little Olive in his arms and glanced down the pew, past all nine orphans, to where his wife, Ravena, sat, listening earnestly to the pastor’s sermon. The good man had married six months earlier—to Tex’s delight. He’d felt a prick of sadness at the pastor’s hound-dog expression when he’d presided at Tex and Ravena’s wedding last year.
As if sensing his staring, Ravena turned her head and smiled at him. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her look so radiant. Perhaps it was the glow of new motherhood, but he suspected it was more than that. There was peace in her, just as there was inside himself, and it was a glorious thing to behold.
He leaned toward Ginny seated next to him and whispered, “Tell Mama Ravena that she’s beautiful.” The girl smiled, then passed the message on to Ralphey, and so on down the line, until Fanny shared it with Ravena.
Her gaze jumped to his and she tried to frown, though he could see she was really fighting a smile. Bending toward Fanny’s ear, she whispered something. The message ran the line of children until Ginny murmured in his ear, “Don’t talk in church. And Daddy Tex looks handsome.”
He coughed to hide his laughter as he glanced at Ravena. “I love you,” she mouthed before focusing on the pastor again.
Pressing a kiss to his daughter’s dark hairline, he did his best to concentrate on the man’s words as well. But something deep inside him kept nudging at him that there was a change in the air. He’d quickly come to appreciate and respect the inklings about the land and the weather that came to him as a farmer now. Looking at his family, he hoped whatever the change, it was good. All of the children were thriving and so was the farm. His side business of making furniture had taken off in the past year too.
At last the meeting was over and he led his family outside. He handed Olive off to Ravena and helped everyone into the wagon.
“Everything all right?” she asked as he drove away from the church.
“Sure, why?”
She smiled and nodded at the horses. “You seem in a hurry to get home.”
Realizing she was right, he slowed the team. But the feeling of change grew stronger within him the closer they came to the farm. When he drove into the yard and saw another wagon parked out front of the big house, he wasn’t surprised. He could see a man and woman standing on the porch, though he couldn’t quite make out their faces.
“Who do you think that is?” Ravena shaded her eyes.
Tex shrugged. “Not sure.”
He drove toward the barn and parked the wagon. After helping Ravena and the baby down, he strode toward the front of the house to see who the visitors might be. He made it to the center of the yard as the man rounded the other wagon, giving Tex a clear view of his face.
“Tate?” Tex halted to a stop, more than a little shocked at the sight of his twin brother. It had been more than nine years since he’d last seen him.
Tate stopped as well. “Hello, Tex.”
They stood there watching each other. Tex tried to decipher what Tate was thinking, but he couldn’t read his brother’s expression. Was he still angry at Tex? Or happy to see him?
“We’ve been looking for you,” he said; at the same moment, Tate declared, “We only just found you.” Tex had been trying to locate his brother since last year, but with no results.
Both of them chuckled, easing the tension in the air. “We didn’t know if you were home.” Tate waved toward the porch, where a pretty blonde woman stood smiling.
“We were at church,” Tex said by way of an answer.
The woman’s bright laugh rang out. “I told Tate that’s where I thought you were.”
This time it wasn’t hard for Tex to read his brother’s expression—it was one of pure astonishment. “You were at church?”
“He’s been there every week for the past year.” Ravena came to stand beside Tex, her hand resting on his arm. “It’s good to see you, Tate.”
“You too, Ravena.” Tate darted a glance at the baby in her arms, and a surprisingly soft smile lifted his mouth. “Looks like I’ve missed some things,” he said, looking at Tex again.
There was no anger in those blue eyes identical to Tex’s. No resentment or bitterness. Only cautious hope. And hope was something Tex had a solid understanding of now.
“I reckon we both have a bit of catching up to do.” Tex reached into his pocket, extracted their mother’s earrings and held them out for Tate to see. “Starting with these. I never did sell them, Tate.”
His brother studied the earrings, while everyone seemed to hold a collective breath. Then Tate pulled him in for a tight embrace, heartily clapping him on the back. “It’s real good to see you, Tex.”
“You too, Tate,” Tex whispered over the lump in his throat as he hugged his brother. He and Tate had both come home at last and there was no other place on earth Tex would ever prefer to be than right here.
* * * * *
If you missed Tate’s romance, be sure to go back
and get swept away with
Find this and other great reads
at www.LoveInspired.com.
Get rewarded every time you buy a Harlequin ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003