A Second Chance in the Show Me State - Jessie Gussman

Chapter 1

This airline fuel shortage thing could end up being a real problem.

Reid Hudson waited at the St. Louis International Airport for his son, Houston, to come around the corner and down the hall.

Houston had been flying most of his life, and even the long trip from Switzerland to St. Louis didn’t faze him.

In fact, both of his twin boys were perfectly okay with long flights.

They had to be, since he and his estranged wife, Emerson, had been flying them back and forth between Switzerland and St. Louis, Missouri, for most of their lives.

Dallas, Houston’s twin brother, fidgeted beside Reid.

Dallas took after Reid. Impulsive. Headstrong. And a lot more likely to open his mouth and say a bunch of things he shouldn’t.

Possibly, those were all characteristics that had led to the fact that he lived in Cowboy Crossing, Missouri, and his high school sweetheart, whom he married the summer after they graduated from college, now lived in Switzerland.

Normally, Dallas would be on an airplane heading toward Switzerland as he waited to pick Houston up.

But the fuel shortage had messed up all the flights, not just in St. Louis, but all over the country, and internationally as well.

Because, of course, Reid had waited until the last minute and hadn’t been able to book a flight for Dallas until three days from now. It had never been a problem before.

Emerson had not been happy.

She’d insisted that she get to spend three extra days with the boys in Switzerland the next time they switched.

Dallas bounced on his toes as people started coming down the hall. As the passageway filled, he jumped higher and higher to make himself taller to try to see over their heads. He wanted to be the first to see his brother.

Deliberately, Emerson and Reid did not let the boys spend a lot of time together. They had decided early on that was best for everyone, since it was hard for the boys, once they had spent a bunch of time playing together, to leave each other.

Maybe it seemed heartless, but they’d been able to keep their arrangement now for almost a decade. Eight years and three months, if one was counting, which Reid assured himself that he was not.

“Careful, son. It’s getting crowded, and you don’t want to hit anyone.”

He understood Dallas’s excitement. He also understood his inability to be still. That had been him his whole childhood.

Out of all of his brothers, he had been the one that had been in trouble the most for not being able to sit still in church. For not being able to keep his mouth shut. For talking back or just plain talking.

How many times had he been sent to the principal’s office for whispering to his neighbor in school? A couple of times he’d even gotten in trouble because his teacher had thought he was cheating.

He’d never cheated—dishonesty wasn’t one of his many flaws—and thankfully his parents had believed him, although he had been disciplined for the talking.

Constant talking, constant motion, impulsive and reckless.

Yep. Dallas had it all.

“This is their plane, isn’t it, Dad?” Dallas had quit jumping like he’d asked him to, but he still leaned up on his tiptoes, trying to keep his balance by swinging his arm.

A grumpy-looking, balding businessman shot an irritated glance at Dallas as he ducked the flying hand, his large black suitcase twisting and rolling behind him as he moved out of the way.

Dallas didn’t even notice.

The man gave Reid a glance that communicated clearly the man’s opinion of a father who couldn’t control his child.

“Sorry about that, sir.” Reid put a hand on Dallas’s shoulder. “Be careful, son. Watch the people around you. You can’t get so caught up in yourself that you don’t notice where your body is in space and whether or not your appendages are flying dangerously close to other people.”

Dallas looked at him with a quizzical expression. “What’d I do, Dad?”

Yeah, that’s exactly what he thought. Dallas didn’t even know. “Just try to stand still so you don’t hit anybody.”

Once again, Reid wondered at his mom’s amazing ability to be patient and firm. He didn’t recall her ever losing her temper at him, even though he knew he’d been exactly like Dallas. How had she done it with five other boys?

“I’m just trying to see Houston, Dad. Do you think something happened to him? Why isn’t he first?”

The question made Reid smile. Dallas was always first off the airline. Just like he would be if he were travelling.

He supposed when