Heart of Texas Vol. 3 (30 page)

“I don't know how to knit.”

“Then my mother would love to teach you—whether you want to learn or not,” he said with a chuckle. “Dad's a retired insurance broker, but he's busier now than he ever was working. He volunteers at the grade school tutoring children at risk. Last I heard, he was coaching Little League, too. He told me he simply hasn't got time to work, not when he's having this much fun.”

“It sounds like you have a wonderful family.”

“Just wait until you taste the barbecue. That's Dad's real speciality. He won't let anyone near the grill, not even my mother. He takes real pride in his slow-grilled ribs.” Wade went on to describe the apron and hat his father would be wearing. A complete wardrobe reserved for the Fourth of July.

Amy's laugh was carefree. “Now what about your sister?”

“She's mean and ugly.”

“Wade!”

“Well, she was when she was twelve and if she's changed I haven't noticed.”

Amy didn't believe him for a minute.

“I can't understand what prompted André to marry Janice Marie.”

“It might've had something to do with love.”

Wade snickered. “It might, but I doubt it. Janice Marie bakes the world's best applesauce cake, and André has a weakness for it.”

Amy rolled her eyes.

“Hey, he confessed it to me himself.”

“What about your brother?”

“Larry? He's spoiled rotten. Both him and Janice. I'm the only one who turned out decent.”

“Yeah, right.” She grinned. “I can't wait to ask your mother the
real
story. You know, I'm so looking forward to meeting them.” She paused. “What did they say when you told them you were bringing me?” She leaned back, patting her rounded stomach.

“They don't know you're coming.”

Amy's amusement died. “What do you mean, they don't know I'm coming?”

Wade didn't appear to notice how upset she was.

“I didn't tell them. Hey, it's no big deal.”

“Yes, it is,” she said, her panic rising. “Take me back to Promise,” she demanded. “I can't—I
won't
meet your family. Not like this. Not without them knowing…”

W
ADE PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE
of the road. Amy looked as if she was about to burst into tears. And he had no idea what he'd done wrong.

“Amy?”

She was breathing hard and tears welled in her eyes. She opened the car door and leaped out.

“What is it?” He followed her, not sure what to do.

“You didn't even tell your parents you'd invited me to the family get-together?”

He gave her a puzzled look. “We often invite impromptu guests. Mom prepares enough food to feed a small army. You're welcome with or without my parents' knowledge.”

“Then they don't know I'm pregnant, either.” She folded her arms and glared at the sky. “That was a stupid question, seeing they don't even know I exist!”

“My parents aren't going to judge you,” Wade promised. “They'll be thrilled I'm bringing you.”

She didn't seem convinced.

“All right, all right,” he said. “If it's that important, I'll use my cell phone and we'll call them from here.”

He watched her shoulders rise and then fall with a deep troubled sigh. “Are you going to tell them I'm almost seven months pregnant, too?”

“Ah…” He hesitated, not sure how to answer. If he admitted he was, Amy might find fault with him for warning his parents. If he reassured her he wasn't going to say a word, she might accuse him of setting them up for a shock. Either way, he feared he'd end up with just enough rope to hang himself. “What would
you
like me to say?” he asked.

“Tell them,” she said, then chewed on her lower lip.

“Okay.” He sat back in the car and reached for the phone.

He'd punched out four numbers when she cried out, stopping him. “No, don't!”

Wade replaced the receiver. “Maybe we'd better go over exactly what you do want me to say. Rehearse it in advance.”

Amy climbed back into the Blazer and sat there, arms crossed. After a long tense moment she glanced at him. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I could tell them we met in church.”

“Well…” Her beautiful eyes smiled once again. “Isn't that a bit deceptive?”

Wade grinned. “It's the truth—sort of.”

The amusement fled from her face. “Oh, Wade, I don't know what we should do.”

“Couldn't we simply enjoy the afternoon?” That seemed the obvious solution to him.

“But I'll be self-conscious the entire time.”

“Because you're pregnant?”

Amy covered her cheeks with both hands. “I can only imagine what your family will think of me.”

“What makes you assume they're going to think anything?”

“Because people do. It's only natural.”

“Then they'll think I'm the luckiest man alive to have convinced such a beautiful woman to share the Fourth of July with me.” His mother and father were kindhearted generous people, but she wouldn't know that until she'd met them. Never in all his life had he seen either of his parents intentionally shun or hurt anyone. They just weren't like that. He wanted to tell Amy, but feared she wouldn't believe him.

“They'll think I'm one of your charity cases,” she muttered.

Wade didn't mean to laugh, but the idea was so ludicrous, he couldn't help it.

“I'm glad you find this funny,” she said. “Unfortunately, I don't.”

His laughter died, and Wade turned to grasp her by the shoulders. “Oh, Amy, you're about as far from being a charity case as it's possible to get.”

She blinked. “How do you mean?”

“Every time I look at you, I have to remind myself that I'm a pastor.”

She frowned, and he released her.

“Don't you know?” he asked. “Every time I'm with you, I end up fighting with myself because I want…” He dared not finish the sentence, afraid he'd reveal the depth of his feelings. “Every time I'm with you I want to kiss you again,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Oh, Wade, how can you find me attractive with my stomach like this and…and my feet swollen?”

He smiled, wondering if she honestly didn't know. She was beautiful, so damned beautiful—inside and out. “I've never been more attracted to a woman than I am to you right this minute,” he confessed. Gently he brushed the hair from her cheek.

Not to kiss her then would have been a travesty. Before he could question the wisdom of it, he leaned across the seat and pulled her forward for a slow deep kiss. Amy sighed, and her arms went around his neck and she melted against him. Kissing Amy was pure emotion, pure sensation…pure ecstasy. Because he was a minister, he sometimes forgot he was a man, with a man's needs and desires. That was the real reason Dovie had wanted him to start seeing Amy. He understood that now, although he hadn't appreciated her interference at the time. At the moment, however, he didn't need any reminders of his humanness. None whatsoever.

They kissed again and again, until he felt his control slipping. “Amy…” he groaned, needing to break this off while some shred of sanity remained. Already his thinking had become clouded by desire. He pulled away and cleared his throat. “I'm taking you to meet my parents,” he said.

Amy didn't argue and Wade was grateful. He started the engine, and after glancing in the rearview mirror, edged the Blazer back onto the highway. “You don't have anything to worry about,” he assured her, reaching for her hand. “Mom and Dad are going to love you.”

Amy said nothing but gave him a worried look.

“All I ask…” He hesitated.

“Yes?” she prompted.

“Just remember this is my mother. She's proud of me…”

“Then she won't appreciate someone like me messing up your life. That's what you're trying to tell me, isn't it?”

The pain in her voice hurt him. “No, I was about to ask you not to listen to her tales of how well I took to potty training. That kind of thing.”

Obviously relieved, Amy laughed. “She wouldn't say anything like that, would she?”

“I'm afraid so.”

The tension eased from her face, and the beginnings of a smile took over.

“Mom dragged out my baby book the last time I brought a woman home for her and Dad to meet. You can't imagine how embarrassing it is to have a woman I'm dating examine naked baby pictures of me.”

Amy cast him a skeptical glance. “You do this often, do you? Bring women home for your family to meet?” Her eyes held a teasing glint.

He'd walked into that one with his eyes open. “Well…not exactly.”

“When was the last time?”

This was a test of Wade's memory. “It must be four or five years ago.”

She raised her eyebrows as though she wasn't sure she should believe him.

“It's true,” he insisted. “You can ask Mom yourself if you like.” He wanted to let her know how special she was to him.

After almost three hours' driving, they reached Wade's hometown just outside Houston, a small community not unlike Promise.

The second Wade pulled into the driveway, the screen door opened and both his parents came out. His nieces and nephews, whom he loved beyond measure, followed right on their heels.

Wade squeezed Amy's hand. “You're going to be great. You don't have a thing to worry about.”

Her smile was brave as Wade helped her out of the car. His parents hugged him briefly, then stepped back and waited for an introduction. Wade scooped up his two nieces and hugged them both, then gave his attention to the two boys.

“Mom, Dad, this is Amy Thornton,” he said, his hand on her shoulder. “Amy, my parents, Charles and Karen McMillen.”

Both his parents smiled and at precisely the same moment, as though rehearsed in advance, they lowered their eyes to Amy's stomach.

“That's either Sarah or Joseph,” Wade continued.

“Good classic names,” his mother said, recovering first.

Maybe he should've given them some warning, after all.

“Amy, this is Peter, Paul, Margaret and Mary,” Karen McMillen said, gathering her grandchildren around her. “Welcome to our home.”

Amy's hands trembled with nerves, Wade saw, but she smiled politely and extended her hand.

“We don't stand much on ceremony here,” his mother said. Putting an arm around Amy's waist, she led her toward the house. “Come on inside and I'll introduce you to the rest of the family. Janice and her husband and Larry and his wife are already here.”

Wade couldn't remember a time he'd loved or appreciated his mother more. As soon as his mother and Amy were out of earshot, his father cornered him.

“She's pregnant.”

Wade grinned. “So I noticed.”

“Does someone intend to make an honest woman of her?” his father asked.

Wade's gaze followed Amy and he experienced a rush of emotion. “She's already honest—but I think I'm going to love her and her child.”

His father nodded his head vigorously. “Good answer, son. No need to say more.”

A
MY HAD NEVER KNOWN A FAMILY
like this, so close and fun-loving, generous and expressive. Because she was new here and still self-conscious, she felt most comfortable observing their interactions from a distance. Everyone treated her in a warm, genuinely friendly way. The kids were full of questions about her and Wade. She answered the ones she could and referred the ones she couldn't to him.

Amy immediately liked his brother and sister, especially Janice, who was quick to point out that her name wasn't Janice Marie but Janice Lynn. Apparently only Wade called her Janice Marie. As a six-year-old allowed to help choose a name for his baby sister, he'd been adamant that his parents use Marie. Lynn, he'd insisted, sounded too much like a last name. Wade's younger brother didn't look at all like Wade. He was shorter and heavier set, while Wade was tall and lean. Larry was an insurance broker like his dad had been, and Janice ran a graphic-design business from her home.

More than once Amy found herself drawn into the family's activity, not because anyone tried to persuade her but because of the sheer fun they were having. Karen's grandchildren couldn't wait for dark before lighting their fireworks, so she gave them each a sparkler. Mary, who was just five, was terrified of the sparks and the sputtering, but refused to allow her brother and cousins to know it. She held her arm out as far as possible and squeezed her eyes shut as if she expected the sparkler to explode any second.

Midafternoon Charles McMillen donned his apron and chef's hat and began his stint at the barbecue. He was definitely in charge and very serious about it, too. But he allowed Amy to assist him with basting the ribs and the chicken. She had a wonderful time as they exchanged outrageous jokes and silly remarks. To have had a father like this…

Once dinner was ready, it lasted a full hour. Wade hadn't been exaggerating when he claimed his mother prepared enough food to feed an army; they needed two picnic tables to hold it all.

What amazed Amy most was the laughter and the noise. She didn't know families had this much fun together. The kids raced around the backyard, chasing each other, and if not each other, then butterflies. Games followed, croquet and a hotly contested game of basketball between Wade, his brother and brother-in-law.

“They used to play as boys,” Janice said, sitting next to Amy. “Mom used to have to drag them off the court when it was time for supper.”

Late in the afternoon Wade and Larry set up a badminton net and insisted everyone had to participate. Amy wasn't sure she'd be an asset, but Wade convinced her to join in.

“But I'm not any good at this.” It was too humiliating to confess she'd never played.

“It's easy,” he insisted. “Besides, I'll cover for you.” He winked as he said it, as though he could actually manage to be in two places at once.

“All right, but don't be mad if I lose the game for us.”

“Not to worry, I won't let that happen.”

“What line of bull is my brother feeding you?” Janice shouted from the other side of the net.

“My advice is not to listen to him,” Wade's brother declared.

Once the game started, Amy was delighted by how much fun it was. They played a sort of free-for-all style, with the children running furiously after each serve, shouting and laughing. The birdie apparently had a mind of its own and flew in every which direction except the one intended. It wasn't long before everyone dissolved into giggles.

At one point the birdie came right toward Amy. Every time it was anywhere close to her, Wade stepped forward and returned it with surprising ease.

Not this time.

“Get it, Amy,” he shouted from behind her.