A Texas Chance Read Online Free PDF

chips, so all got fed but no one felt like a beggar. Every one of them thought the world of Jenna, that much was clear, and he couldn’t fault their taste. His baby sister had a heart of pure gold, one she took no care to guard. In the world of the downtrodden, Jenna was a rock star.
    Good-natured as the gathering was, however, there were too many people for him, and their first question was always “what do you do?” After an hour or so, he slipped out the back door and decided to take a walk.
    Instantly he was reminded that he was in a city. Jenna’s little street was not much traveled, but South Congress was only a handful of blocks away. Sirens and traffic, music escaping from some club, all within hearing distance.
    Why had he said yes to coming here? If he was going to be grounded somewhere, West Texas suited him far better. There you could go a whole night and only hear the occasional coyote and the sound of the wind.
    In West Texas, however, his family would watch his every move, alert to any sign he was pushing himself too hard—or worse, doing nothing at all—and worrying over how long it would be until they saw him again once he left. They loved him, of course, or they’d never have put up with the life he’d chosen. But acknowledging that love meant he’d have to acknowledge the guilt that came with it. He was a lousy son and brother, he saw now, and wondered why he’d been so blind to that before.
    Maybe he should return and offer to work on his dad’s ranch. Hang around for a while.
    And wasn’t that just a dandy way to dodge the fact that he didn’t know if he could ever resume the career that had been all he’d ever wanted since the day his dad had placed a camera in his ten-year-old hands?
    Damn, but he was sick of himself. He’d never in his life felt lost or uncertain and now he was swamped by both feelings. To top it all off, he’d skipped out on Jenna’s party when all she’d asked was for him to help out a friend.
    He’d go back inside and make nice soon, but for now, he just had to move. He let himself out through the front gate and onto the sidewalk.
    S OPHIE DECIDED TO WALK to Jenna’s party. The hotel was only eight blocks away, and she knew Jenna’s street didn’t have many parking spaces. Plus, the pickup she’d traded her snappy convertible for had proven invaluable, but it wasn’t good in crowded parking conditions.
    The day had cooled a little, thank goodness, though summer nights remained very warm in Austin. She crossed South Congress Avenue, went down a block and turned west onto the street that would intersect with Jenna’s. The trees in this part of town were old, their branches creating canopies that cast shadows on the streets. The homes were small in the neighborhood, most of them frame and surrounded by abundant foliage. Roses scented the air, and once she caught a whiff of honeysuckle, which made her smile. She’d uncovered a patch of it on the grounds near the carriage house, and that had decided her to go with her instinct and make the apartment above it into the honeymoon suite.
    Just then her heel twisted on the cracked, uneven sidewalk and she grabbed the nearby picket fence, silently cursing the high heels of her sandals. She was clearly out of practice at walking in anything but work boots or sneakers. The thought brought a grin. Who from her former corporate life would have imagined such from Sophie of the trim suits and killer heels?
    “You okay, child?” called out a voice from the porch of the frame dwelling.
    So much for thinking no one had witnessed her gracelessness. “I’m fine, thank you.”
    “Nice night for a walk, but you be careful, hear? World’s got some meanness in it nowadays.”
    “I’m always careful, but thank you for your concern. I’m just headed over to a friend’s house.”
    “Don’t you walk yourself home late, child. You get a cab or have some nice young fella walk you back.”
    Sophie grinned to herself. She’d