Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,63
said heavily. “You don’t think you could handle it.”
“No!” She went close to him. “I’d be the outsider. The freak. They wouldn’t accept me.”
“Baloney,” he mused. He smiled as he tangled his fingers in her hair. “You have no idea how much they’d accept you. They’d go places with you, protect you if you needed protection. They’d sit with you when you were sick, when you have flares. It’s another whole world, baby. One you’ve never seen. It’s violent, yes. But the people are just like anybody else. The women are a close-knit group, because there’s always some danger involved that the men have to handle.” He winced at her expression. “I don’t know any other way of life, Bernie,” he concluded. “I can’t change what I am, what I do.” He shrugged. “I don’t want to. If that’s selfish, I’m selfish.”
She pressed herself close to him, sliding her arms around him. “I can try,” she whispered.
His heart jumped. It lifted as if a dark cloud had dissipated in the sunlight. His arms tightened around her. “That’s all I ask,” he said. “That’s all I want.”
She smiled and closed her eyes.
There was a click and the door opened. Sari looked in with pursed lips when they turned toward her. She chuckled. “I warned you,” she said, lifting the key to show them. “Supper.”
Mikey grinned. “We’re right behind you.”
“Yes,” Bernie agreed.
Mikey linked her fingers with his and the two of them looked, to Sari, like two halves of a whole. She had no doubt that there would be a wedding in the future.
Bernie clung to his hand and smiled. She looked up at Mikey with wonder, with adoration.
He saw that look and it made him feel a foot taller. His fingers contracted gently around hers. She tightened her own grip. She’d never known such wonder, such joy. It spilled out around her like sunshine. She smiled. So did Mikey. They both knew where this was leading, now more than ever.
Chapter Eleven
Supper was as uproarious as lunch had been. Paul had a dozen stories of things that had happened to him in the course of his duties. Foremost among those stories was the one he’d heard from Sari about agent Murdock. He recited it for Mikey and chuckled at his cousin’s amusement.
“I like Olivia,” Mikey said. “She seems very nice.”
“She is,” Bernie agreed. “Mr. Kemp hired her so that there would be another paralegal in the office on the days I can’t work,” she added, and felt uncomfortable talking about her limitations.
“You do very well, considering your obstacles,” Sari told her. “We don’t think of you as handicapped, you know,” she added. “You have a disability. Lots of people have them. Look at poor Glory. She had dangerously high blood pressure and a light heart attack. But she overcame that to work here, where she and her husband and little boy live.”
“I’d love a little boy,” Mikey said, glancing at Bernie, who flushed. “Or a little girl. I’ll bet little girls are sweet.”
Bernie laughed. “I was never sweet,” she teased. “I got into so much trouble when I was small. The worst time was when I climbed into the corncrib and couldn’t get out, and a king snake decided to come in with me. He was huge. Over six feet long. I was terrified. But he didn’t strike at me or even threaten me. He just stretched out on the corn and looked at me.”
“Probably hunting rodents,” Sari remarked. “They love corn.”
“Probably,” Bernie agreed. “All in all, he was a very polite snake. He didn’t even seem bothered when Daddy came to find me and lifted me out of the corncrib.”
“He might also have just eaten a few rats and was feeling lazy,” Paul chuckled.
“Equally possible,” Bernie laughed.
“Well, I’ve got briefs to read,” Sari said.
“And I’ve got cases to work,” Paul added as they both got to their feet. “You two can watch movies or just sit in the conservatory and watch the plants grow. You’re both always welcome. Anytime.”
“Thanks, Paul,” Bernie said.
Mikey echoed the sentiment.
They were left with Mandy, who started to clear away the dishes. “You two want coffee?” she asked with a warm smile.
“Not for me,” Mikey said. “I don’t sleep good. It keeps me awake.”
“Me, too,” Bernie said.
Mikey stood up and helped Bernie out of her chair. “I think we’ll go watch Sari’s plants grow for a while, if you don’t mind.”
“Help yourselves,” she said with a knowing grin.
Mikey led Bernie into the conservatory and locked the door.