On Lone Star Trail Read Online Free PDF

western-style shirt before heading for the dining room. A quick glance at his watch confirmed he would be on time. Greg had explained that there was only one seating for supper, adding that the meal was served family style. If TJ had had any doubt about God’s sense of humor, that would have clinched it. He no longer had a family.
    Though part of the same building as the office and reachable from the long hallway on the east side, the dining room also had an outside entrance. As TJ entered the room, he barely had time to register the coffered ceiling, the beautifully paneled walls featuring more of the finely made quilts he’d seen in his cabin, and the unusual tables before Greg clapped him on the shoulder.
    â€œLooks like you did more than take a shower. I almost didn’t recognize you,” Greg said as he directed TJ toward one of the tables. There were five of them, all round and seating eighteach. Nothing unusual about that, but what appeared to be lazy Susans laden with pitchers and serving bowls in their center did surprise TJ. He’d never seen tables like these. Of course, he’d never been in a resort like Rainbow’s End before.
    As he approached the table, Gillian’s eyes widened, probably in a reaction to TJ’s new appearance. Her self-confessed bossiness seemed to have vanished, and she had been engrossed in an animated discussion with a pretty blonde whose rounded belly left no doubt that she was pregnant.
    â€œThis is my wife Kate.” Greg gave the blonde’s shoulder a gentle squeeze that sent pain ricocheting through TJ. How many times had he touched Deb in the same way? Though the first raw grief had faded, there were still times like this when the memory of all he’d lost ambushed him. He took a deep breath, trying to tamp down the pain.
    â€œOf course you know Gillian.” Greg was still speaking. “Let me introduce you to the others at our table.” They turned out to be two brothers and their wives, who spent at least one vacation together each year and who’d come to the Hill Country in search of wildflowers.
    TJ gave them a perfunctory smile as his pulse returned to normal. Fortunately the attacks, as he referred to the waves of sorrow that turned his legs to rubber and made him feel as if his heart were being squeezed by a vise, now lasted only seconds rather than debilitating him for hours.
    When everyone was seated and TJ found himself between Gillian and Kate, Greg rose to give thanks for the food as well as Gillian and TJ’s safe arrival.
    â€œYou picked the perfect day to arrive,” Kate told TJ after the amen. Like Gillian’s, her voice bore no trace of a Texas drawl, confirming Gillian’s story that Kate was a transplant. In her casual maternity clothes, she did not look like a former Manhattan advertising executive, but what did TJ know about Manhattan advertising executives?
    â€œTonight’s one of my favorite meals,” Kate told him.
    A soft chuckle was Gillian’s response. “Don’t let her fool you. I’m sure she says the same thing every day.”
    â€œCan I help it if I like Carmen’s cooking? Besides, I’m eating for two, and right now everything tastes wonderful.” Kate spun the lazy Susan slightly and reached for a biscuit. “Don’t be shy, TJ. I know for a fact that there’s at least one more tray of biscuits in the oven in case anyone wants second helpings.”
    It was ordinary conversation, the gentle banter of friends and family, and though he hadn’t expected it, TJ found himself relaxing as the meal progressed. The food was delicious and more plentiful than any he’d had in the past year. Chicken fricassee on top of what were probably prize-winning flaky biscuits, accompanied by bowls of peas, glazed carrots, a green salad, coleslaw, and a molded salad. It might not be a gourmet meal, but TJ couldn’t recall when he’d enjoyed one