Free Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) by Kirsten Osbourne

don’t hate them.” He sighed. “My mother was a maid for a really rich family in Dallas when I was growing up. They were always kind but condescending. The kids of the family treated me like garbage. It’s hard to believe I married into something like that.” His mother had to leave a decent job to take care of him, so he’d always felt somewhat to blame for her having to work there.
    She frowned. “I probably knew them. Don’t tell me their names, because I just don’t want to know. Does she still work for them?”
    He shook his head. “She actually has her own business now. She runs this little twenty-four-hour daycare in Arlington. It’s government subsidized, so people who have to work in the middle of the night can leave their kids there, and it doesn’t cost a fortune.”
    “That’s really cool! I have a couple of nurse’s aides I’d love to send to her if they were closer. She should open a second one in Grapevine or Southlake.”
    He shook his head. “Those areas are too affluent. It wouldn’t make sense.”
    “I guess I can understand that.” She reached over and stroked his hand which he had resting on the console. “I’m sorry if the idea of me coming from money is intimidating for you. I promise, I am nothing like my parents.”
    “I can see that. I also saw you didn’t quite fit in with the craziness of your friends. You weren’t able to be as laid back and silly as they are.”
    She stared at him in shock. “I thought that was a bonus in your mind! You seemed pleased by the fact I wasn’t like them. Now you’re complaining ?” She really did want to start yelling at him. She was who she was and unable to change the fact that she was born into wealth.
    “I’ll survive.” He sighed. “It’s just a shock. We’ll get through it.”
    Her trust fund was in the high nine figures. She sure hoped they’d get through it, because she wasn’t going to divorce him just because she had money. She lived a simple life. Mostly.
    They stopped at Buc-ees, and she didn’t even want to go inside. All the fun had been taken out of the visit. Would he have reacted the same way if she’d been dirt poor and not working? Then he’d have been too good for her, probably. Well, it was just too bad she didn’t have a solid middle-class background.
    She went into the clean restroom Buc-ees was known for, just so she could get away from her new husband for a minute.
    When Jenni emerged, she went to the snack section she loved, and picked out a few snacks to take home with them. She sensed when Tony walked up behind her.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Jenni shrugged, not ready to accept his apology. She’d spent her whole life fighting to not be like the family she’d come from, and he was still judging her because of her birth. It wasn’t fair at all.
    She nodded once and took her purchases to the counter, whipping out a debit card to use. He stood to one side and watched, frowning. He’d messed up, and he knew it. Jenni was special, and he had no right to treat her as if she was even one iota less than perfect. What was he thinking?
    The rest of their drive back to Arlington passed mostly in silence, with only the songs on the radio for company. For once in her life, Jenni didn’t feel like singing along. How could she? She was married to a very opinionated man, and she wasn’t sure she was going to make it through marriage without his life being in danger.
     

Chapter Six
     
    Tony stopped at his apartment in Arlington, turning to her to speak. It had been hours since Jenni had said anything, and he was feeling more and more nervous by the minute. He knew he’d blown it.
    “I want to run in and get some clothes for tomorrow. Do you have a washer dryer?”
    “Yeah. Full connections in my apartment.”
    “Let me leave my suitcases here then and just run up for something to wear tomorrow. I have a feeling neither of us is going to feel like doing laundry tonight.”
    Jenni nodded, but other than that,