Love On The Brazos by Susan Leigh Carlton Read Free Book Online Page A

You can still work with me.  Do you think you’re pushing too hard?”
     
    “I don’t think so.  I don’t want to have another stroke.  There are some things your mother and I always wanted to do, and I think we are going to get around to doing them.  We want to see a bit more of the world before our time comes.”
     
    “Daddy, don’t talk like that.  I need you.”
     
    “Jordy, honey, you don’t need me.  I think we should put the business in your name and let you do your thing.”
     
    “No.  Not going to happen.  I won’t have my name on the business without yours.  I will not do it.  You can set things up to give me control, but it’s your business and always will be.  That is that, and I don’t want to hear any more about it.  I’ve got to go to work now, are you coming?”
     
    “No, I don’t think I’m going in.”
     
    “Daddy, don’t you dare quit on me.”
     
    “Honey, I’ll help out if you really need me, but I want to let it go.  It’s time.”
     
    Openly crying now, Jordy went to her Dad and hugged him fiercely.  “I hate you talking like that, and don’t do it again.  Now, I’ve got to go fix my makeup.  See what you did?”
     
    With that, she strode forcefully from the room.  She sat on the vanity chair in her bathroom until she had control of her emotions, stood before the mirror and repaired the damage to her face.  “I won’t let him quit.  He needs to work, and I need him.”
     
    * * *
     
    Jordy was sitting at her desk when her phone rang.  She picked it up and answered in her usual manner.  “This is Jordy.”  Then lightning struck.  It wasn’t really lightning; it was who was on the other end...
     
    “Jordy, this is Hank.”
     
    The call was the first time she had heard from him in over a year.  “Hi”, she answered in a voice devoid of any emotion or feeling.
     
    “I’m in Houston for a few days and thought we might get together while I’m here.”
     
    “Toward what end,” she asked coolly in the same voice.
     
    “We left with some bad feelings, and I would like to resolve them.  I care for you, Jordy.”
     
    “And you took eighteen months to decide this?”
     
    “Come on, Jordy.  Don’t be like that.  We were going to be married.  I cared for you, and you cared for me, or so I thought.”
     
    “I don’t think so Hank.  I’m pretty busy right now on a project and don’t have any spare time at all.”
     
    “How about if I come out to your parents tonight?  You’re staying with them, aren’t you?  I’d love to see them.”
     
    “Yes, I am.” She said and immediately regretted it.  She didn’t want to see him but didn’t see any way out of it.
     
    “Great, I’ll be there at seven.  It’ll be nice seeing you again.”
     
    * * *
     
    The evening was a total disaster.  Hank really turned on the charm with her parents, her Dad wasn’t buying his line.  Any of it.  Her mother was more receptive, but then she had always liked Hank.  Jordy had been raised never to be rude to anyone, but it was a struggle at times.
     
    When she walked in, Hank stood and held out his arms as if to kiss her.  She ignored him.  “You’re late, Jordy.  You should have called.”
     
    “Late for what?  Mom and Dad know not to expect me at a specific time.”
     
    “I told you I would be here at seven.”
     
    “Yes you did, but I didn’t invite you or even tell you I would be here.”  She walked out of the room to go change clothes.  She had brought work home and wanted to get to it before too late.
     
    She returned to the family room and sat next to her mother on the sofa.  Hank began talking about moving to Houston.  He had apparently been passed over for promotion with his company and was looking for greener pastures.  He thought these pastures might be in Houston.  When he began hinting about resuming their relationship, that was it.  Jordy had heard enough.  She said, “Hank, I’d like to talk with