Free Wild Texas Rose by Jodi Thomas Page A

in his life, but he usually didn’t start until dark. “You want to talk about it?”
    “No. Just knowing I’m a fool is fact enough.” He laced his coffee with whiskey and offered Abe the bottle. “And I didn’t start early. I started last night and haven’t quit.”
    Abe shook his head as he fought down a smile. “Good. Since you don’t want to discuss whatever’s got your goat, how about we talk about me? I took your brother’s advice.”
    “What advice?” Killian straightened slightly out of his self-pity.
    “I did just like he said. I grabbed a woman and kissed her.”
    “What’d she do?”
    “She kissed me back.”
    Killian sobered a bit and stared at Abe. “The schoolteacher really did that?”
    “I didn’t say it was the schoolteacher.”
    “You didn’t have to.” Killian shook his head. “I’ve watched you moon over her for years. You really got the nerve to kiss her? You really did it? How? When?”
    “Yesterday and I told her not to come back in the storage room unless she wanted more.” Abe grinned. “She came back.”
    They leaned back and drank their coffee, both amazed at the possibility of what might happen next. Finally, Abe broke the silence. “You think I should ask her to marry me? Or maybe I should be asking your dead brother since he steered me right the last time.”
    “No,” Killian said after a long pause in thought. “You’ll frighten her. If she lived through the shock of you grabbing her and kissing her—twice—there’s no telling how much more her heart can take.”
    “So you think I should go slow?”
    “Hell, no. Abe, if you go any slower, you’ll probably be using the same flowers for your wedding and your funeral.”
    Abe frowned. “Then what do I do?”
    “Shawn says you should kiss her every time she comes back, only be more demanding every time. Show her who’s boss.”
    “I don’t think so. First, I already know who’s boss—she is. We only kiss when she comes back. I don’t have any say over when. And second, I think your brother may be a little out of his depth. How many women did he know before the war?”
    “None that he ever mentioned, but remember he was right about grabbing her and just kissing her.”
    Abe still didn’t look convinced. “Well, ask him how long I should wait to ask her to marry me.”
    Killian was silent for a while, then answered, “Before any kid who’d call you Pa comes along.” He leaned his head back bumping it hard on the window frame behind the bench. “But you got to give me some time before you ask her. I don’t think I could take being best man twice in one year. This first one may kill me.”
    “What first one?” Abe frowned. “And what makes you think I was going to ask you to stand up with me?”
    Killian rubbed his head. Finally, he answered, “You’d ask me because I’m your only friend.”
    Abe agreed, never one to argue the obvious.
    “As for being best man, I said I’d help out a guy from Austin I barely know. He’s a half-crazy newspaperman who’s always shouting wild ideas about relocating the South down in South America and how the Confederacy may rise again any day. After a few drinks I only listened to every tenth word or so. To tell the truth, I didn’t think he’d even remembered my name until he asked me a week ago to stand up with him. This morning I found out that he’s marrying a woman whose hand I was once brave enough to ask for. And, before you ask, I was stone cold sober at the time.”
    “She turned you down?”
    “No, her father did.” He swore. “Apparently they both said yes to this nut with a pen in his hand. We were all supposed to meet here in Fort Worth yesterday, but the guy took a turn at Dallas so he could cover some big trial going on. So I’m stuck in that Grand Hotel across the alley with the bridesmaid and the bride. To top it all off, Shawn hasn’t shown up for hours. He thinks I should try talking to the bride, maybe make one last plea for my