Page 3 of The Texas Cowboy's Proposal

Then her grandfather, Samuel Burkitt, had set out to right a wrong. He offered Jaxson, and later Beaudry, jobs at the Aces High Ranch, and by the time Samuel had died, Jaxson was his foreman of ranch operations. Everyone knew that the man thought of Jaxson as the son he wished he had. Beaudry left for a military stint and then came back to run the day-to-day of the Hawkes ranch. He had made a name for himself with his prize ranch horses and had bested the Aces High’s showings on more than a few occasions. That was added to the long list of items that served to grate on her about the man, on top of the more personal reasons involving his ex.

Bury it deep and do what you need to do. Her grandmother had shared that pearl of wisdom with her from a very young age. Now that thought fueled her steps to slide out of the truck at the end of the sidewalk. It led to a gate with a low stone wall around the plot of a tree-covered hillside where the natural stone house sat under huge oak- and pecan trees. The green grass of the yard looked lush and healthy, and she had an urge to take off her boots and let her bare toes revel in it. It was an oasis that caught at her, and the single swing being pushed back and forth in the gentle breeze of the early afternoon brought an urge to sit a spell and close her eyes in a daydream. But she needed to keep her eyes wide open in the current nightmare where she walked.

The squeaking of a screened-porch door brought her back to reality. She looked up to find a little girl with twin ponytails trailing over her small shoulders, dressed in denim overalls and a red T-shirt, who had come to stand on the bottom step, her gaze interested, yet watchful. And then next to her appeared one of the most massive dogs Sammi Jo had ever seen. He was every bit as tall as the little girl whose hand reached over and buried itself in the thick, white fur of his shoulder. The child’s head tilted a bit as she looked at their visitor.

“This is Beast. That’s his scary name. I’m supposed to call him that when strangers are around. But I don’t think he scares you. You’re awfully pretty. What’s your name?”

“Samantha Josefina Burkitt,” said a tall man on her behalf who had come around the side of the house without being noticed. His voice was low and deep and well-remembered. As were the dark-jade eyes snapping their silent bold regard upon her. The jawline was set against an intruder. She supposed that was what she was in that moment. Sammi Jo certainly had not been invited. She wiped her sweaty palms along the denim fabric of her hips before her hands slid inside the pockets of her jacket to calm her nerves.

“That’s a long name. Mine is small. I’m Lacy Ann Hawkes.”

“It’s small, but it is very pretty. And people usually call me Sammi Jo. The other way is too fancy for me.” She and the little girl exchanged smiles.

But the cowboy drew her attention to where he had moved to stand, just to the other side of the closed iron gate, a silent reminder of the chasm between them. “Run finish your chores in the laundry room, Lacy. This lady is about to leave.”

He tossed the words over his shoulder while his gaze stayed riveted on Sammi Jo. The cotton material of his long-sleeved shirt had been rolled up to elbow length, and bare muscled arms moved to cross over his chest. His feet were planted in a protective stance.

“Yes, sir. Bye, Miss Sammi Jo.” She gave a small nod before turning to leave them alone, the Beast trailing right behind her.

Beaudry Hawkes’s silent regard hadn’t changed in its power to hold Sammi Jo still and was even more unnerving in the present circumstance. No way was he making anything easy for her. Except for making her feel her welcome was over even before it had been extended.

Now or never. “I’m here because I have some business to discuss with you. Very important business.”

His gaze didn’t waver. “I can’t think of anything we have to discuss. And I only talk business in my office when people make appointments. That includes a Burkitt. Appears you came out here for nothing.” He went to turn away.

“I need to talk to youtoday,and it can’t wait. And if you’ll hear me out, you just might find it’s your lucky day that I came here at all.”

The look he shot her told her that he highly doubted that last remark. After a few long seconds, he exhaled a deep breath from within him.

“I trust my gut. And my gut is telling me that luck is not what I might describe it as. But I also have a feeling you aren’t going to go away until you’ve said your piece. So, do it. You have one minute, and the clock is ticking right now.”

“I need less than that. Bottom line is my grandmother screwed me in her will. If I have any hope of keeping my home and the Aces High intact, I have to get married to the one person she decreed I have to marry and stick it out with for three years. That person is you, and God only knows the reason. Her lawyers have papers that will give you fifty thousand more acres of land, free and clear, and a boatload of cash for your cooperation. I need you to meet me at the courthouse at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, and we can get it all done and legal. Then you have your life and I have mine. Is that fast enough for you?”

Chapter Two

Fast enough?Herwords had come out like rapid rifle fire. Then she had turned and walked back to her truck, slammed the door to punctuate her feelings on the matter at hand, and left a cloud of dust in her wake. Beaudry had stood there like a statue. Only now was he moving. Leaving Lacy under the watchful eyes of Serafina, their housekeeper, he had left his own cloud of dust behind as he navigated the ranch road and then the blacktopped highway to end up in downtown Burkitt, his eyes locking on the familiar white truck with the Aces High logo on its door. It was backed up to a loading dock at the Burkitt Feed and Seed. Jaxson, his eldest brother, was signing off on the invoicing but looked up as Beaudry landed in an open space beside him, the gears grinding into park and his door slamming to announce his entrance.

“Is there a fire I don’t know about?” Jaxson’s shoulders relaxed into their usual ‘I’m ready for the trouble, whatever it is’ posture that seemed to be his normal stance of late.

“There’s about to be an eruption hotter than any hellfire,” Beaudry spit out the words between clinched teeth.

“So, I’m thinking we need to step inside Dawson’s and find a quiet corner rather than here on the main street. Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for Beaudry to follow. He had said what they were doing and that was enough.

Dawson’s Gastronomic Eatery and Saloon was housed in one of the oldest buildings in Burkitt, with a cornerstone dated back to the 1860s. With its eighteen-foot ceilings, carved wood trimming, and thick masonry walls, it provided respite from hot summers and warmth from freezing winters with its three roaring fireplaces too. It was filled with plants and animal heads, rowboats trailing white twinkling lights in an imaginary wake of sorts suspended from the ceiling, mirrors in all shapes and sizes behind the super long, highly polished teakwood bar that was the original bar when the saloon first served thirsty trail drivers from the south, cavalry soldiers from the north, myriad ranchers and farmers, and all sorts of in-betweens. But while the name was long enough to fit the sign over the entire length of the building outside, above the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was simply known by those far and near as Dawson’s.

The brothers moved from the front dining area favorited by those who wanted to see and be seen by those moving along the sidewalks outside and chose the inner dining area where conversations could be had in comparative quiet.

Jaxson chose a table for two in the far corner of the room. He nodded at one of the waitresses, who held up a tea pitcher. Two fingers indicated two glasses would be needed. He chose his seat, pushed his hat back on his forehead, and waited. The tea came in tall, Texas-sized glasses with lots of ice. Once the pleasantries had been exchanged with Ruby, their waitress, and he had taken a long gulp of the tea, he settled his attention on Beaudry.

“Speak. What’s got you riled this time?”

“Damn woman.”

“It’s a female, I’m guessing, then,” Jaxson countered. “So, what has your ex done now? More legal threats about visitation with Lacy?”

“No, not that one.”

“Well, then. I am glad to see there might still be hope for your sorry bachelor self if you have made an acquaintance of some female outside your household. This is a positive step.”

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