Page 11 of The Texas Cowboy's Proposal

Sammi Jo nodded, a memory or two of those days coloring her response. “Luckily, I loved history and English and most other things. Except for math.” She laughed along with Lacy. “But I had to keep trying. My grandmother told me that I needed to think of making a B as the same as making a C. And C’s were not acceptable in her way of thinking. I had to study very hard on a subject or two, so I can understand what you meant just now. Just know that it is important that you study hard and learn what you can, but never think that not making an A all the time means you have failed at something. It just tells you that you can always do better next time. You fail only when you stop trying.”

“That’s a better way to look at something. I’m going to remember that.”

“I think it’s time that we take a little break, head to the cafeteria, and see what we can find there to eat and drink. Sound like a plan?” Beaudry smiled at his daughter.

He had heard their conversation. Sammi Jo hoped she hadn’t overstepped. She needed to consider what she said around an impressionable child. But what experience did she have? Maybe there was a book or two in all the thousands of books in the library at the ranch that could teach her a thing or two about children. Just like she had told Lacy, you could only fail if you don’t try. And she didn’t want to fail for all their sakes over the next three years.

Sammi Jo sank down thankfully in a chair at a table off to one side, out of the flow of the traffic in the large, open room that served as the cafeteria for all six grades. At the end of the room was a broad stage. That was where the emcee was making announcements and explaining that the art found around the walls had been done by students, faculty, and staff. A few pieces had been donated. What wasn’t auctioned off that evening would be donated to the local library for display.

“Here you go. One iced lemonade for you and this scrumptious-looking pastry with strawberry filling. You do like strawberry, I hope.” Beaudry made the announcement as he took the empty chair beside her, handing over the plastic glass with her drink and setting the pastry on the table in front of her.

“Did you lose Lacy someplace along the way?”

“She asked to go visit her two friends at their table across the room. I told her to stay in this area and she could do that. And I figured you would like some time to rest your feet. I don’t imagine you spend all that much time wearing high heels around the ranch. Or maybe you do?”

She gave him a shake of her head and a smile that she was certain was more of a grimace. “You guessed it right. High heels are not exactly filling my closet. In fact, I borrowed these from Laurel’s stash in one of her many closets at the ranch. It comes in handy to be almost the same size in many ways. If I have to wear fancy duds, I just raid her closets. She’ll never miss them.”

“I see. Very smart of you and cost-effective. Does she share willingly?”

“Well, she might not have known about a few of the times. She truly has so many clothes, I doubted she even realized that she had purchased whatever I was wearing at the time. But it did take me a while this afternoon. I had no idea what to wear to something like this, and I didn’t want to stand out or look silly or make Lacy embarrassed she asked me. I ended up asking the racing secretary down at the barns what she wore to these things. She has four kids in school, so I thought she would be an expert. She was very helpful in choosing this outfit.”

“Well, it’s a perfect choice. The look suits you.” Beaudry gave the easy compliment and then took a sip of his iced tea. His smile caused a piece of the pastry to stick as she swallowed, and she quickly gulped a sip of her drink. A compliment of a personal nature from Beaudry Hawkes could be almost lethal. She needed to keep that in mind. Change the subject.

“I hope you didn’t mind what I said to Lacy about the grades and all. I just knew from personal experience that there might be a different way to think about the differences in letter grades. She is such a good student, and I imagine she can be hard on herself. I remember how it was.”

“Actually, I’m glad for what you said. Your grandmother can’t have been easy to please—at least I imagine that from just having professional business dealings with her. She was a hard lady much of the time.”

Sammi Jo nodded, wiping her hands on the napkin he had produced. “That would be putting it mildly. On the one hand, she was hard. But on the other, she took my sister and me in and raised us when she could have easily put us in some fancy boarding school and been done with it. But she taught us a lot, and in her own way, she taught us that she loved us too. But I will forever wish she had not done this final thing as sort of her last hurrah to her power. It will affect so many lives in ways she never gave a thought to sometimes.

“What if I can’t hold the ranch together? What happens to all the hundreds of people, the families who have lived and worked this ranch for their own generations? Did she not give a thought to them? Where do they go? There aren’t that many big ranches left in this world where their way of life can survive, where their skills are needed. I have to at least try to keep them here on the land that is as much theirs as it is mine. Sorry. I got carried away.”

Beaudry was silent for a few moments. Had she sounded like a babbling fool? Laurel always tried to tone down her soapbox moments. Where was her sister when she was needed?

“Don’t apologize for caring about those hardworking men and women. That you gave even one thought to them when this happened to you is pretty amazing. And I am finding that I have to revise some of my long-held notions about you and your family. Not all at once, mind you,”—he smiled and motioned his hand—“but there are moments when you do surprise.”

Why did it feel as if she had just been awarded something akin to the Nobel Peace Prize? A Hawkes—Beaudry Hawkes, to be more precise—had simply made an observation about her, and yet, it made her feel like skipping across the way to the refreshment table, high heels, and all. And what would happen if she in turn admitted to the man next to her that he’d had his share of surprises for her as well? He wasn’t all pompous and know-it-all... most of the time. And he hadn’t belittled or laughed at her once. Instead, he had been more complimentary than he had ever been before, even when Lacy wasn’t around to hear. Had she misjudged him in some way?

A chair scraped across the tile floor, and Miss Crawford appeared in it next to Beaudry. Her smile of apology was for him, not her.

“I finally managed to escape for a bit and wanted to be here when they hand out the art awards. Where did Lacy get off to? She left you two on your own?” She finally tossed a smile and glance in Sammi Jo’s direction.

“With her friends right now,” Beaudry responded. For some reason, he didn’t seem as warm toward the woman as he had earlier. Sammi Jo needed to delve into the subject of Miss Crawford further when they were next alone. They needed to have no surprises if they were to stay on the road to matrimony.

“Well, I’ll keep you company, then.” Any closer and the woman would be sitting in his chair too. Sammi Jo took another long sip of her drink.

“Do you have any children, Miss Burkitt?”Cut the wide-eyed innocent act.Were men so blind that they didn’t see through such bad acting? Sammi Jo never had time for such shallow people, and it seemed Miss Crawford was quite comfortable in the hypocrisy she was wallowing in at the moment.

Sammi Jo smiled and responded as sweetly as possible. “No, I do not. At least not yet,” she amended. Let her think on that one. But she couldn’t help adding, “I just have cows and horses right now to deal with... a fewthousandof them. Along with the new oil wells and what not too. Guess those will have to keep me busy until those children come along.”

And the woman had been left with no way for a suitable comeback after that. Sammi Jo had learned Cattiness 101 from the world’s best teachers: her sister and grandmother. She could take it to an Olympic-sport level if the teacher wanted. But Miss Crawford evidently knew when to cut and run.

“I better go check in with the art committee before they start. I’ll see you later.” She couldn’t get away fast enough.

“Well, that was a nice chat.” Beaudry’s comment was dry and to the point. “You two might be destined for friends.”

“Look, let’s put the cards on the table. We don’t have time to pussyfoot around such things. Are you and Miss Crawford an item? Because the vows are for two people, not three.”

Beaudry looked a bit stunned for a moment. Then he met her gaze head-on. “Are you jealous?”

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