Free A Texas Family Reunion by Judy Christenberry Page B

I’ll call my agent in the morning. There shouldn’t be any problem.”
    “Oh, good, then you’ll be able to replace at least most of your stuff,” Alex said.
    “You sound like you think that should be fun,” David said. “I think it will be awful.”
    “Shopping, when you have the money, is a lot of fun, David. But if you don’t like it, I’ll be glad to help you.”
    “Be careful what you offer. I may take you up on that. A lot of my furnishings came from my college days. I’ll need some help picking out some nice furniture.”
    Alex was taking clean sheets out of her hall closetand she turned to stare at David. “Are you serious? Susan and I could do the job. We’d have so much fun!”
    “I’m not sure about Susan. Her tastes are a little…unusual.”
    “No, she’d be great. Haven’t you been in her condo?”
    “No.”
    Alex stared at him. “You haven’t? But she moved to her condo a year ago.”
    “I’ve been busy,” he said defensively.
    “You haven’t visited your baby sister’s condo for a year?”
    “Okay, Alex, I’ve been neglectful, but can we get past that tonight so I can get some sleep? I’m tired.”
    “I guess so,” she muttered. Then she turned and led him to her second bedroom. She pulled the spread off the bed and began putting sheets on it. David helped.
    “Here’s a blanket,” Alex said, pulling one from the closet. “That and the spread should keep you warm enough.”
    “I’ll be fine, Alex. Thanks.”
    “Great,” she muttered.
    David caught her arm as she tried to leave the room. “You’re mad at me and I don’t know why.”
    She whirled around. “How can you do that to Susan? You’re the only man in her life and you haven’t even visited her home? How do you think that makes her feel?”
    “I don’t know. It never occurred to me.”
    “Well, I’m not sure you deserve your new familywhen you aren’t taking care of your old family!” Alex stomped out of the extra bedroom, leaving David standing alone.
    After a minute he came out of the bedroom, looking for her. “Alex?”
    She stepped out of the kitchen, a glass of water in her hand. “Yes?”
    “I apologize and I’ll visit Susan’s condo as soon as possible.”
    “Fine!”
    “I’m going to go to bed now, if that’s all right.”
    “Yes, of course. There’s a bathroom connected to your bedroom.”
    “Thank you, Alex,” David said, and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. Then he disappeared into his bedroom.
    Alex stood there for several minutes. She regretted being angry with David. After all, he’d been through a lot today. He’d been shot at, met his family and lost his home.
    She finished her glass of water and decided to go to bed, too. Tomorrow was another day, and she was sure David would keep his word about installing security at his office.
     
    W HEN THE ALARM WOKE A LEX the next morning, she sniffed the air. Mmm. Coffee and frying bacon. She grabbed her robe and hurried to the kitchen.
    There was David, standing over the stove. “Goodmorning. I thought I should cook breakfast since you let me stay here. Sit down. I’ll bring you a cup of coffee.”
    “Thank you. I didn’t expect such service.”
    “I appreciate you taking me in last night. Oh, and I remembered last night that I had a lot of clothes at the cleaners. So I have some clothes. I called the place when it opened at seven, and my cleaning is ready to be picked up.”
    He was dressed in the clothes he’d worn last night.
    “We can go there as soon as I get dressed.”
    “Okay. I’ll call Pete after breakfast to let him know I’ll be late this morning,” David said as he brought her a cup of coffee.
    Alex jumped up and went to the front door and opened it to find her morning paper there, waiting for her. She brought it back to the kitchen, and sat down, scanning it for mention of the fire last night.
    “Here it is,” Alex said as David put a plate with eggs and bacon on the table. Then he put a plate of