“Indy’s standing up with me,” he cut me off to say bizarrely. “Trixie’s doin’ it for Nancy. We only need two witnesses, but I still want you and Duke standin’ beside me. Indy and Duke already agreed. I need you at the Justice of the Peace on Wednesday when I marry Nancy.”
Ho.
Lee.
Crap!
“What?” I whispered.
“On Wednesday, me and Nancy’re gettin’ hitched,” he stated, and I felt my body lock and my eyes get hot in that way that this was the kind of stuff I knew would take a miracle to hold back the tears.
Nancy was Jet’s mother. Nancy was the bomb. Nancy had also been Tex’s girlfriend for a good long while.
But Tex and a Justice of the Peace?
I started teetering and Tex started talking.
Fast.
“It’s no big deal. We just do our thing, get the f**k outta there, and Blanca’s givin’ us a little shindig in her backyard. Just family. You don’t even have to wear a dress. You can wear jeans.”
“I… you… Nancy…” I stammered, stopped and felt the wet hit my eyes. “Tex,” I whispered.
He stared at me, looking agitated, then more agitated then finally he declared, “The cats like her.”
I burst out laughing.
Still doing it, I threw myself at him and wrapped his massive bulk in my arms (as best I could, my arms didn’t go around).
His arms closed around me and they did this tight.
Tex and I had also never hugged it out.
Now that we were doing that, it felt amazing.
My body bucked as the emotion shoved itself up my throat and I barely managed to force it back down.
I felt his bulk bow as he put his lips to my ear and that was when Tex—yes, Tex—whispered, “I take it you’ll be there.”
I turned my head to get to his ear and my voice was croaky when I whispered back, “With bells on.”
“Thank you, darlin’.” He kept whispering.
My body bucked again and the swallow was audible, and loud, when I beat back the sob.
“What’s goin’ on?”
That was Ren.
I twisted my neck to look at Ren as Tex’s hold loosened and one of his massive mitts hit the small of my back in order to direct me into Ren’s arms.
When Ren had me, Tex answered, “Nuthin’. Gotta go.”
But he didn’t go.
He caught my eyes and held them before he lifted a beefy hand and rested it on the top of my head.
Warmth flowed through me.