Read The Cowgirl Rides Away (Bluebonnet Texas Book 1) for Free Online Page B

out on a date, Zachary?"
    "Would it make you feel any better if I said I wasn't gay?" he countered, growing angrier and more irritated by the minute.
    "No! No, it damned well would not. When's the last time you had sex? When—"
    Zack stood up with a scrape of his chair and grabbed his glass. "My personal life is none of your business." He took his scotch and his cigar out onto the enclosed porch and sank into a wicker rocker, knowing his father would follow. From outside the screened-in porch came night sounds: cicadas and small nocturnal animals, and the occasional stiff wind rattling branches that hadn't quite gotten their spring leaves yet. He breathed it all in, letting his temper cool in the process.
    "Zack," his dad spoke up from the doorway, "I'm not trying to pry."
    "But you are! Now quit trying to fix me."
    His father stepped out and sank onto the wicker ottoman in front of him. "The last time you kept so much to yourself was when you came home with Trav. I'm worried about you. I'm worried about all my kids," he added, his voice thick and gruff. "I didn't mean to try and... fix you ."
    He took a long hard look at his dad, surprised at the emotion in his voice. And the heavy lines of fatigue—or worry—on his face. Momma was the emotional one—loud and dramatic and always finding fault—but that was just her way. Dad was a rock, the quiet one who never yelled. Dad was the one you went to when you had a problem. Which probably explained why he tried to fix everything.
    "I know you mean well, but I've never had any luck with any of the women around here. And I'm busy. And I don't have time to go looking for a woman to date in San Antonio, or New Braunfels or wherever. And I've got Travis to think about." Travis who didn't deserve to have the whole town know the truth of his birth—before he did or otherwise. "Maybe I'm just too cynical," he confessed with a snort of laughter, hoping to ease the tension between them. He'd taken a page from Hope, who had wondered the same thing about him and Bluebonnet's women. "Dad, I promise, I'm fine. I'm sorry. Now what's going on with everyone else?"
    "Tim's his usual troublemaking self." They both chuckled. "And if Rene isn't careful, she'll end up repeating the fifth grade. I already talked to him about it, told him he needed to settle his ass down, but damnit, he's grown and I hate being the heavy. I haven't heard from Zander in ages and your Momma's harpin' on me to drive up to Dallas and see how he is. Last time she called him some woman answered the phone, and that put her all in a snit." After a heavy pause he softly added, "Ty and Rhea are doing really bad, Zack. I'm not sure what's going on over there but it scares the crap out of me. I've been...kind of keeping an eye on them since you said something back in November."
    Rhea had gone after Ty with a skillet but luckily hadn't caused much damage. It was one of the few times Zack had broken a promise to one of his brothers, but he'd thought his father needed to know. Everyone in the family knew that after twelve years of marriage, Ty and Rhea had an ongoing love-hate relationship. He loved her, and she hated him. And now if his dad could admit to being worried, things must be bad. "Try to talk to him?"
    "Nobody can get anything out of him. I caught 'em having a row in the beer garden last week, when y'all were on a break. The way she talks to him...it makes me... ill ! Which cancels out our last discussion about those two," he added with a nod.
    "You mean the one where you said what goes on between married people stays between them?"
    Dad slowly nodded. "Not only did your brother not try and get away or defend himself or…well hell, Zachary, he just sat there and took it! Like it never crossed his mind to raise his voice or even walk away."
    "I'd talk to him but he doesn't listen to me. Try Tim."
    "I'll do that. And just so we're clear here, I never thought you were gay. Damn, son." he snorted then slugged back the last