A Texas Sky (Yellow Rose Trilogy) by Lori Wick Read Free Book Online Page B

her own personal need for a Savior, she'd been
    bawling over the silliest things.
    Not that Dakota's being shot is silly. I just wish I could control
    myself a little more.
    "Are you all right?" Dakota asked. He hadn't taken his
    eyes from her since they'd sat down. Nevertheless, she did
    not look at him when she answered.
    "I'm fine, Dakota, thank you. I'll just trust you to tell me
    if something's not right."
    "All right," Dakota said as he stood. "And 111 wait for
    you to tell me when you're ready to go. Like I said, any
    time is fine."
    He slipped back inside on Darvi's nod and found Merry
    and the girls in the kitchen. In the time he'd been gone,
    their fascination had melted away. They showed their faces
    long enough for an introduction but were terribly shy
    about looking at him. Dakota took pity on them and went
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    into his bedroom and shut the door.
    ^"S--^"
    "How do you feel?" Calder asked Dakota the moment
    he arrived home that evening and found him sitting alone
    in the living room.
    "Better. Thank you."
    x
    50 lori wick
    Dakota had been sitting and looking out the large
    window to the woods behind the house. It was a very tranquil
    scene, and as the minutes ticked by, he felt himself
    growing more relaxed.
    Calder sat down with him,
    "Any more bleeding?"
    "No. Thanks for helping me earlier. I think I needed rest
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    more than anything else."
    Calder smiled.
    "What does that look mean?" Dakota asked, his voice a
    bit dry.
    "Only that you sound like my brother."
    "Was that a compliment or not?"
    "Or not," the doctor replied, putting it plainly. "Most
    days, Chet has more guts than good sense."
    Dakota let himself smile over this, a smile that grew
    quite wide when two little girls suddenly joined them.
    "Papa!" they squealed in delight as the two scrambled
    for his lap.
    They were hugged, kissed, tickled, and snuggled in turn
    before settling in to stare at Dakota in adorable splendor.
    "Did you meet Mr. Rawlings?" their father asked.
    Both dark heads bobbed up and down. Flyaway hair fell
    softly around their faces, and round cheeks glowed pink
    below sparkling eyes. They smiled easily, and their noses
    were so soft-looking and rounded that Dakota wanted to
    tweak them.
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    "How do I tell who's Filar and who's Vivian?" Dakota
    asked as he studied their cookie-cutter images.
    The two girls stared right back, and Dakota had to
    shrug.
    Calder stepped in.
    "Show him, Vivvy."
    Vivian obediently pointed to her eye. Again Dakota
    studied her but still had to look to Calder questioningly.
    "Viwy has a tiny scar next to her eye," the older Scott
    explained. "Do you see it?"
    A Texas Sky 51
    "Oh, yes. How did that happen?"
    "She had just learned to walk and waited until she was
    next to a rock to take her first serious tumble/'
    Dakota smiled at both girls and then looked to Vivian,
    "Did it hurt?" he asked, but Vivian only smiled at him.
    Mercy, you two are cute! was all Dakota could think as he
    watched them. He didn't know how long he and Darvi
    would be in Stillwater, but he thought he could get very
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    attached to these two girls. Though younger, they reminded
    him of Lobby's sister, Laura.
    "Dinner's ready," Merry announced from the edge of
    the room.
    The men thanked her and stood.
    Calder gave Merry a kiss, and one of the girls went into
    her arms.
    "It smells good," Calder commented.
    "Beef stew, biscuits, watermelon, and iced tea."
    "Oh, my," Dakota said sofuy.
    Merry turned to him, her eyes sparkling a little. "Don't
    you care for beef stew, Mr. Rawlings?"
    "On the contrary, Mrs. Scott, quite suddenly I'm
    starving."
    Having figured he would appreciate a home-cooked
    meal, Merry was very pleased. She was even more pleased
    when she saw that the girls were not going to stare at him
    all evening and then hide their faces when he looked their
    way. She was exhausted these days--she suspected she
    was pregnant--and in her mother's pride, she wanted
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    Dakota and especially Darvi to see the twins at their