A Texas Family Reunion (6 page)

“Thanks, Will.” She turned to Alex. “I’m ready if you are.”

“Oh, I love this job!” Alex said with enthusiasm.

Carrie chuckled. “I’ll remind you of that when you’re working overtime.”

“Willingly, I promise.”

When David arrived at the office late that afternoon with Jim, Alex had changed into the silky dress she’d bought for the evening. And the shoes she’d bought to match it.

“Wow! You look great, Alex,” David said.

Alex jumped up from her computer and hugged her cousin. “Are you okay? What did the police say?”

“They said to be careful.”

Alex looked over his shoulder at Jim, a question in her gaze.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lot of information for us,” Jim said.

“I got a lot more from Jim,” David said. “And if I believed such a thing would ever happen again, I’d do what he told me to do.”

“Which was what?”

“Alex, it wasn’t—”

“I want to hear what Jim told you,” Alex said.

“I pointed out some security issues I thought he should address,” Jim said with a smile. “But he’s the one who has to make that decision.”

“David! What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you tighten your security?”

“Alex, calm down. Take some deep breaths. It isn’t necessary. The shooting was random. Jim admitted they probably weren’t trying to kill me. If anything, they wanted to scare me.”

“Well, they sure scared
me!
” she exclaimed.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said, taking her by the shoulders. “I’m fine, and I’ll continue to be fine. Did you wear this to work this morning?”

“You’re trying to distract me,” Alex claimed.

“Yeah, is it working?” David asked with a grin.

“No!” she said, but she stopped arguing with him. Sitting down in her chair, she pretended to ignore him as she turned her attention to her computer screen.

“You ready to go home, honey?” Jim asked Carrie, leaning over her chair to give her a kiss.

“Can I have about fifteen minutes? I’ll be finished then.”

“Sure. Where’s Will?”

“He went home to see if he needed to help Viv with the evening.” Carrie kept typing as she talked.

“Okay. Come on, David. Will’s got some good magazines in here,” Jim ordered. The two men went into Will’s office and closed the door.

Alex turned and stared at the closed door, irritation on her face.

Carrie smiled at Alex. “Alex, if Jim thought he was in real trouble, he’d be forcing him to make some changes. You can tell by Jim’s attitude that David is all right.”

“Do you think so?” Alex asked.

“Definitely. You saw how he tore out of here when he wasn’t sure David was safe.”

“That’s true. Thank you, Carrie, for telling me that.”

“I just don’t want you to worry.” She stood. “Now that we’ve talked, I can leave. Remember, you and David can come to the house whenever you’re ready. Will told you that before he left, didn’t he? You don’t have to wait until six to head over there.”

“I know. It might be best if we go early and David can meet each of his sisters one at a time.”

“That’s a good point, Alex. And Jim and I won’t be long at home. We don’t live far away.”

“Good. David relies on Jim already.”

David rang the doorbell at Will’s home, grabbing Alex’s hand as he did so.

The door swung open to reveal an older man.

Alex reached out her right hand. “You must be Peter. I’m Alexandra Buford and this is David Buford, Jim’s brother.”

“Come right in. Mr. Will said you’d be here early. He and Miz Vivian are in the den. Come this way.”

“We shouldn’t have come early,” David whispered as they moved down the wide hall passing several closed doors. They heard some laughter as they drew close to an open door. Just as they reached it, a small boy came running out.

“Hi, Peter!” the child said, hugging Peter’s knees. Then he looked at David. “Uncle Jim?” he asked, looking a little confused.

“This must be Danny,” Alex said, bending down to greet him on his level.

“Yes, I’m Danny. Who are you?”

“My name is Alex. I work for your daddy.”

“Oh.” The child leaned closer. “Is that Uncle Jim?”

“No, it’s his brother, David.”

“Danny? Come back, dear,” a soft feminine voice called.

Danny gave them a wide smile. “That’s Mommy.” He turned and ran back into the room.

The threesome followed. Peter announced, “Ms. Alexandra Buford and Mr. David Buford.”

“I wondered who Danny was talking to!” Vivian exclaimed as she came forward, followed by Will. “Welcome, Alex. Will has been raving about how good you are at your job. And, David, I’m so glad you’ve come to meet your family. They’re very anxious to see you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Greenfield,” David said. “It’s very kind of you to welcome us into your home.”

Vivian leaned forward to hug David. “I hope you’ll consider this home your home, too. After all, you are Vanessa’s brother. And please call me Vivian.”

“Thank you, Vivian.”

Will shook David’s hand and gave Alex a small hug. “Come in and sit down. We’re playing with Danny, but I promise he’ll head for the kitchen when we eat.”

“He doesn’t get to eat with us?” Alex asked. “We’d enjoy his company.” She took Danny’s hand when he came to her side.

“He’ll be having his own party with the other little
ones. Joey and Jamie, Rebecca’s children, will be there, too.”

“Rebecca has two children?” David asked in surprise.

“Yes, and Rachel is expecting her first child in a couple of months.”

“They drove up yesterday and are staying with Rebecca and Jeff,” Will explained.

“And Vanessa?” David asked.

“She should be here anytime. She’s been quite busy, working on her doctorate in psychology.” They could all hear the pride in Vivian’s voice.

“That’s wonderful,” Alex said. “It must be a very interesting study.”

“Oh, yes, it is,” Vivian said. “But we all try to be careful what we say around her. She loves to psychoanalyze us.”

“That must be weird,” David said.

Will laughed. “Vivian exaggerates. Vanessa is a delightful young woman.”

“She was a tiny baby the last time I saw her.” David raised his head as he heard a woman’s voice in the hallway.

Danny, too, reacted. Leaving Alex’s side, he began running toward the door. When a tall, graceful young woman entered, he leaped for her, his arms outstretched. “’Nessa, I missed you!”

She scooped the little boy up and hugged him. “I missed you, too, Danny.”

“Darling,” Vivian interjected, gesturing at Alex and David, “this is Alex Buford, Will’s new employee, and her cousin and your brother, David Buford.”

Vanessa let Danny return to the floor and stared at David. Then she imitated Danny, almost leaping into David’s embrace.

“Oh, David, I’m so glad we found you!” she said as she stepped back, tears in her eyes. “Now we can all be together.”

“Except for Wally,” David added.

“Yes. Jim always feels guilty when we mention Wally because he followed Jim into the Marines.”

“I know it’s not Jim’s fault. He’s pretty protective of his family. I’ve already experienced that,” David added with a laugh.

“What do you mean?” Vanessa asked.

“I had a little…incident today. Before I knew it, Jim was there.”

“Darling,” Vivian interjected again, “I know you’re excited about David, but you shouldn’t ignore Alex.”

“Oh!” Vanessa exclaimed, her cheeks turning red. “No, I’m so sorry! Please forgive me, Alex.”

“Of course I will. I would’ve reacted the same way if I was meeting my brother for the first time.”

“Thank you. So you and David are cousins?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes. I was five when I first met him.”

“How old was he?”

“He was eight, and he definitely thought he was in charge.”

Vanessa looked from Alex to David. Then she said, “Ah.”

Vivian laughed. “Careful, Vanessa. I warned them you would try to psychoanalyze them.”

“Mom, you didn’t!”

“I’m afraid I did.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Peter escorted Jim and Carrie into the room. Vivian hugged them both, then asked Carrie how she was feeling.

“Fine,” Carrie replied. “I’ll just be glad when I get to the second trimester so I’m not so tired all the time.”

“I understand exactly how you feel,” Vivian said.

Vanessa had taken a seat next to Alex. “I’m glad someone else hasn’t been pregnant, Alex. I was getting tired of being the only one who hasn’t had a baby or isn’t in the middle of a pregnancy.”

Alex chuckled. “Well, when you do get pregnant, hopefully after a beautiful wedding, you’ll know exactly what to expect.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose that is a good thing.” Vanessa laughed, then asked, “Are you planning a wedding soon, Alex?”

Alex was taken aback. “No, I’m not. Are you?”

“No. It’s hard to find men like my brothers. And I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with anything less.”

Alex looked at David and Jim, both tall, sexy men,
and murmured, “I can see the problem. They are really special, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Of course, Mom found a good one, so I shouldn’t give up hope. And Rebecca and Rachel, too.”

“I do like Will. He’s a great boss.”

“He’s not bad as a stepfather, either,” Vanessa said with a grin.

Peter now appeared with Rachel and J. D. Stanley, and Rebecca and Jeff Jacobs.

David had more memory of the twins. Alex could see the emotion in his eyes as he met the two young women as adults, along with their husbands. When he glanced around for the children, Rebecca laughed.

“I’m afraid they are much more interested in Betty and Peter. You’ll get to meet them after dinner.”

“Did you hear that, Danny?” Will said. “Joey and Jamie are in the kitchen with Betty. Do you want to go with Peter so you can play with your cousins? I think Betty has some special treats for you all.”

After Peter left, Vivian said, “Betty has some special treats for us, too.”

J.D., owner of a ranch in West Texas, said, “I hope so. I was counting on her feeding us well.”

Rachel swatted his arm. “You make it sound like you’re starving, J.D. Rebecca made us a lovely lunch.”

“It was great, but it was six hours ago. Takes a lot of food to keep me going.”

Everyone laughed, especially as the door opened and Betty brought in two plates of hors d’oeuvres.

“Here you are, Betty,” J.D. greeted her. “I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed feeding you, Mr. J.D. You look like you’ve lost weight.”

“Well, when Rachel was first pregnant, a lot of things made her sick, so I had to give them up for a while, too. You know how it is.”

“That I do. And I’m proud of you putting your wife’s comfort in front of your stomach.”

Everyone laughed.

Jeff said, “You couldn’t tell he was suffering from the amount he had at lunch. I went home to join them and almost didn’t get anything to eat.”

“Here you go, Mr. Jeff. I made your favorites,” Betty said.

“Betty likes to feed hungry men,” Vanessa whispered to Alex. “But she eventually remembers us mere females.”

Carrie heard Vanessa’s remark. “You’ll have to admit, we never run out of food, and she does make your favorites, too.”

“I know. She takes good care of us. I guess that’s why I still live at home,” Vanessa admitted. She looked at Alex. “Do you still live at home?”

“No, my mother and David’s mother share a house. It would be hard enough to live with my mother, but I don’t really get along with David’s.”

“Why not?” Vanessa asked.

“Mmm, well, she likes to be the center of attention…all the time. She expects David to be at her beck and call constantly. And he tries. But she’s never satisfied.”

“She doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,” Vanessa said.

“Don’t say that to David. He’ll try to defend her,” Alex warned, as she glanced across the room and saw David talking to the twins.

“So did he have a happy childhood?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, I suppose so. His father was there to take care of his mother until a few years ago. David went into the family business and ended up running it. He’s done an incredible job, and his mother certainly enjoys her share of the profits.”

“Does she have a job?” Vanessa asked.

Alex laughed. “Absolutely not. That’s what men are for.”

“Oh, dear. I don’t think I like her, either.”

Alex frowned. “I shouldn’t have said so much. I’m probably a little biased. David has accomplished so much, but I’m not sure he gets credit for it.”

“I won’t say anything,” Vanessa promised.

Alex relaxed. She figured Vanessa would keep her word, like David and Jim. It seemed to be a Barlow trait.

David called her over and introduced her to his twin sisters, too. She liked both of them. And, as Carrie had pointed out, all David’s sisters were beauties. Alex was
surprised, however, when Rebecca pointed out that she looked a lot like them.

“Oh, no, I can’t compare with you three,” she protested.

“I think she does,” David said. “I always thought of the three of you when I was around Alex.”

“Well, you certainly didn’t show it!” Alex exclaimed.

Everyone laughed.

“No, I didn’t,” David agreed. “I was trying hard not to remember my old family.”

“Why, David?” Jim asked.

It took several moments for David to answer. “Mom told me I should never think about my birth family. I was disloyal to her and Dad if I did.”

“How terrible!” Vivian exclaimed.

“Yes. I should’ve ignored her,” David said, his head down.

Jim crossed to David’s side. “No, Vivian didn’t mean you were terrible. She means your mother was terrible to tell you that. I bet you were just a little boy when she began telling you that.”

“Of course I wasn’t talking about you when I said that was terrible,” Vivian said. “I think it was very wrong of your mother to try to get rid of your memories!”

David raised his head. “I appreciate your understanding my situation. I…I need to forgive myself. And be grateful that you found me.”

Alex stood aside as the Barlows participated in a
warm group hug. She thought about David’s old rigidity about his adopted mother. Maybe now she understood. Even when her mom was upset with her, Alex had never doubted her mother’s love. It seemed David didn’t have that security.

Betty returned and told them dinner was served.

David moved to Alex’s side. “Sorry if I embarrassed you,” he murmured.

She took his hand. “Of course you didn’t. Aunt June’s behavior was awful.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to acknowledge Jim when we first met. I figured he’d hate me for not having done anything about finding him or the others.”

“Now you know differently. They all love you,” Alex whispered.

David took her hand to go into the dining room. “I haven’t done anything to make them love me.”

“That’s the great thing about family. They love you no matter what.”

He squeezed her hand but said nothing else.

T
HEY STAYED
at Will and Vivian’s much later than planned. David had felt sure the evening would not last long, but he hadn’t counted on finding a loving family just waiting for his appearance.

“They’re incredible, aren’t they?” he asked as they drove away from the party.

“Yes, they are. You’re very lucky.”

“I know I am. But you are, too, aren’t you? I mean, your mom is nice and you have Janet, Susan and me.”

“Yes, of course,” she agreed.

“Okay, so you and your mom aren’t that close and Janet…well, no one’s close to Janet except Mom. But you have Susan and me.”

“Yes, and I appreciate that.”

A cell phone rang. Alex, driving, frowned and looked around her.

“That’s my cell,” David said. “I left it in your car while we were inside. Do you mind if I answer it?”

“Of course not.” She continued driving while he held the phone to his ear and said little.

When he closed the phone and remained silent, she asked, “David, is something wrong?”

“What time is it?”

“It’s almost eleven-thirty. Why? Is your mom expecting you to do something for her?”

“No. That was the Plano Fire Department. My condo burned down tonight.”

Alex stared straight ahead as her mind dealt with his words. “Your condo burned down? David, that’s dreadful. How…? What are you going to do? Is everything destroyed?”

“I won’t know until I get there.”

Alex pressed down on the accelerator.

“Don’t get a ticket, Alex.”

“No, I won’t, but…isn’t it strange that such a thing should happen to you after you were shot at today?”

“Don’t read anything into this, honey. It’s just a coincidence.”

“I think I should call Jim.”

“No!”

“Why not? Afraid of what he’ll say?” she asked, a challenge in her voice.

“No, I’d like him to think of me as a man, not a cowardly little boy!”

“Jim wouldn’t. He just wants to keep you safe.”

“I’m planning on being safe!” He sat silent for a minute. “Honey, I’m not taking any chances. If the fire was arson, I’ll start putting in the security Jim recommended.”

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

Alex took a deep breath. “Okay.”

The fire trucks were still on the scene when they reached David’s condo. Fortunately, the condos had a firewall between each, so none of the units burned except David’s. They got out of the car and approached a policeman standing nearby. David introduced himself and asked if he could look more closely at his belongings.