Read After Tex for Free Online Page B

resignation of someone who’d learned too early that love was never a guarantee, not even from a parent.
    â€œI can’t make her, no, but she will, honey. I know she will.” If he had to hog-tie her and explain a few facts of life, Megan O’Rourke would do right by thischild. Just as Tex had predicted, Jake would enjoy every single minute of seeing to it.
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    If it had been up to Megan, Tex’s funeral would have been private. It was Jake who handed her a letter with Tex’s wishes spelled out. He wanted something lavish, even though he hadn’t set foot inside of a church in years.
    â€œThe service isn’t for me. I’ll already be wherever I’m heading,” he’d written. “It’s for you, Megan. I want you to be surrounded by the steady, solid folks around here. Maybe it’ll help you to remember what it’s like to have friends who can share your grief, who’ll be there for you and expect nothing in return. Seems to me like you’ve accumulated enough of the other kind in New York.”
    She sighed at his words. Leave it to Tex to take a dig at her life-style while laying out his own funeral arrangements. She forced herself to read on.
    â€œAfter all the hoopla’s over, bury me quietly on that rise overlooking the creek,” he’d instructed. “I’ve already made arrangements for my tombstone. It’s nothing fancy, so don’t you go adding any flowery sentiments to it. Plain and simple will do me just fine.”
    When she’d finished reading, she folded the letter precisely and tucked it back into the plain white envelope with her name scrawled across the front in Tex’s careless script.
    â€œI suppose you know what it says,” she said to Jake, irritated that he’d been taken into her grandfather’s confidence when she had not.
    â€œThe gist of it,” he agreed. “Obviously, the details are up to you, but he made his feelings known.”
    â€œAnd, of course, I’ll do as he asked,” she said wearily.
    Jake studied her intently. “About everything?”
    â€œYou’re talking about Tess, aren’t you?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œJake, I can’t think about that now. I really can’t. I’m feeling…” Her voice trailed off and she held up her hands in a rare gesture of helplessness.
    â€œLost? Overwhelmed? Angry?” he supplied.
    She caught herself wanting to smile at the litany, which was eerily accurate, reminiscent of a time when Jake had read her mind with ease. “Pretty much,” she admitted.
    â€œSome of this you’ll have to handle yourself, but in terms of the funeral, if you’re agreeable to what Tex wanted, you can sit back and leave the rest to me,” Jake offered. “I’ll make the arrangements for the service and the burial.”
    She balked at letting him take on that task. Duty came to mind again. “It’s my responsibility.”
    He shook his head and grinned. “Ah, Meggie, you never did know when to let go, did you? I’m surprised you haven’t gone up in flames with all that’s on your plate in New York. Do you trust anyone to handle even the tiniest detail?”
    She thought of Todd and his incredible efficiency. “Of course,” she snapped.
    Jake’s steady gaze was skeptical. “Really?”
    Okay, she admitted to herself, the truth was that not much got past without her final approval. Her staff sometimes chafed at the lack of faith, but she reminded them repeatedly that it was her name on the magazine, her image on the television screen, her reputation on the line. Admitting any of that to Jake, though, was not an option.
    â€œIt’s a funeral, not a presidential inauguration. I can handle it,” she informed him. “I’ll be sure and call your office when the time is set.”
    He grinned and settled back in the easy chair opposite