Page 19 of The Texas Cowboy's Proposal

“Because I didn’t know if you were going to put glue in my hair or sneak that awful green grass snake inside my backpack. You did both on more than one occasion. Why else do you think I would be nervous?”

He had the decency to look ashamed. “Oh, no reason, I guess. Just silly pranks, but I am sorry about them now. The snake was a bit much. Too late to ask forgiveness on that one?”

*

Beaudry Hawkes hadalways had an abundant supply of charm when he applied it. Only that smile, with the dimple in his chin and the slight set of his head, had never been turned in her direction before. And those eyes! They wove a hypnotic green glow and warmed a path all the way into the intended’s chest and did funny things with the organ beating there. It made thoughts of moonlight and champagne kisses and satin sheets all float unbidden through her brain. No man had ever sparked that sort of reaction from her, and she knew she was in very deep water without a lifeline close at hand.

“I’ll have to think about both those requests—forgiveness and the stew. I’ll let you know.”

“I’m very glad you came over here this evening.” He said it with sincerity in his tone and his gaze as they came to a halt beside the Aces High truck. Beaudry stowed the pots and pan in the back seat and shut the door, facing her in the light from the porch. There was a lingering moment before either spoke; she continued to stare at him while he stood with his hand poised on the door handle.

“Second thoughts on how much you liked the meal? You look like something might be upsetting you now.”

There was a quick shake of his head and an attempt to bring back a partial smile, but it fell short.

“There was nothing wrong with the meal at all... nor the company. But I know I gave you a pep talk about how, if something needs to be laid out on the table and talked about, we need to do just that. Well, it’s time to take my own advice.” It was clear that whatever was coming was not a subject he cared for. “You might remember Jaxson alluded to an unexpected visitor that came by today before your arrival? The terms uninvited and unwanted can also be tacked on.”

Sammi nodded, her hip settling against the vehicle’s door, trying to prepare for whatever this bit of unsettling news was they needed to talk about. “That’s right. So who was it?”

“Sandy Lou. Showed up like the bad penny she is. The question I don’t know the answer to is, whynow?I have suspicions, but that’s all I have.”

This news made Sammi Jo’s stomach give a lurch. “I see. She just came back to town with no warning? It’s been a while since she’s even come around that I know of, even if her stepmother is still here. But that’s her only connection that I’m aware of.” Then Sammi Jo had another thought that was even more upsetting. “Oh no. Does this have to do with Lacy? Did Lacy see her? Is this her usual habit, dropping in unexpected to see Lacy?”

“No, Lacy didn’t see her, and no, it is not like her at all. We had an agreement when she signed over custody of Lacy to me. Only and until Lacy ever decided she wanted anything to do with her would we ever consider amending any agreements. Sandy Lou was banned from this ranch. And for the foreseeable future, that’s why the gate will be shut. I know Jaxson let you in when you arrived. I’m going to give you the code so you can come and go as you need to, even if one of us isn’t here to let you through the gate. Matt is trying to find out what she is up to.”

“But you have an idea, don’t you? I can see that there is something in the back of your mind. Does it have to do with us and our...arrangement?” Might as well get it out there. Sammi inwardly braced for whatever this next hurdle might be. They seemed to come in their direction in a never-ending series.

“She mentioned knowing that there was a pot of Burkitt gold in my future. And then she followed it up with one of her empty threats—getting an attorney and trying to get back into Lacy’s life. She claims that Lacy is old enough now to need a ‘mother’s touch.’ That’s a joke,” he said, the last words bit out as if he’d tasted something bitter. “She was never anything close to being a mother to Lacy. From the moment our daughter was born, Sandy Lou had the nurses keep her away. And then after she came home with Lacy, the housekeeper and I were the sole caregivers, while Sandy Lou found plenty of reasons to take off on week-long trips. The private investigator’s reports were enough that the judge had no problem giving me sole custody of my child. And until today, my threats to make her life miserable if she showed her face around Lacy have held her off. But she smells the one thing she covets above all else: money. So I am betting that is exactly what brought her back here. She thinks she can make me pay her to leave again. Or she’ll make whatever trouble she can, such as dragging me—and Lacy—into a legal fight.”

“That is not right. She’d willingly place Lacy in the middle of something like that? Has Lacy ever wanted to see her mother?”

“Never. She never asks about her. And just this afternoon, she told me the same thing again and that she doesn’t have any feelings toward her like a child would their mother. Lacy is a smart kid, and I know she’s heard stuff from other kids. Their parents talk about it, and there will always be rumors. I told Lacy that if the time comes that she wants to meet her mother, I will arrange it. But she has always said that she didn’t. And that is the way we’ve left it.”

“Well, since I’ve never been a mother—not to any human child, that is; plenty of the four-footed variety over the years, though—I know there is one thing in common among the species. A child can sense when they are loved and cared about and safe. That is an innate feeling. You can’t fool them. Lacy knows the people in her world who have done just that: you, Jaxson, your housekeeper. That is her family unit, and she is safe and loved within it. And she will let people in that she trusts and cares about when she is ready. But all of that is due in large part because you have given her the space and trust she needs to learn and grow. And that is the sum total of my knowledge on that subject.”

“You have more knowledge than you give yourself credit for. I have a feeling a lot of what you just said comes from a personal experience. Your parents both left you and your sister at an early age. They didn’t do it of their own free will, but you were left to form another family unit just the same. Plus, you have a heart the size of the state itself—something you try hard to keep hidden for whatever your reasons might be. Thanks for showing it a little bit when it comes to Lacy. I hope you’ll share more of it as time goes along, maybe to a few of the rest of us, if we’re lucky.”

The softening in his gaze was visible, as was the return of the easy smile. He opened the door but didn’t step away. Instead, he bent his head and bestowed a warm kiss on her forehead. She didn’t know exactly how to respond to it, so she just slid into her seat behind the wheel and allowed the door to shut behind her. Beaudry leaned into the open window. His expression was unreadable. Had he issued an invitation? What would happen if she reached over and placed a kiss on his cheek? But that would be too weird, maybe. She chose the safe route and fired the engine to life.

“Thanks again for the meal. Drive home safely.”

She fixed a smile on her face, drove around the circular driveway, and headed away from the house. The lone figure of the man in her rearview mirror melted into the shadows behind her. A long sigh escaped her. Sammi Jo hadn’t realized she had been holding it in.

The fact that his ex, her old nemesis, was back in town and probably up to no good came as a surprise. But while Beaudry seemed to have things under control and was content that Matt was on the case, she couldn’t quite be as confident. Sandy Lou was a sneaky, conniving, cold-hearted witch. Beaudry was right when he said that you chose those you loved and you would protect them to the end. Let Sandy Lou try her games now. This time Sammi Jo Burkitt wasn’t her victim—she was the one making the rules and handing out the consequences.

“It’s time to take out the trash,” she said aloud in the silence of the truck’s cab. And she felt a whole lot better.

But then those thoughts were replaced by the memory of Beaudry’s unexpected kiss goodnight. Granted, it wasn’t exactly what she pictured a goodnight kiss to be—and not from a man like Beaudry Hawkes. But then again, it had come in friendship, and that was the basis for what they needed most. Each of them knew that what they were jumping into would be hard enough without muddying the waters with other feelings.

Holding onto the Aces High was all that mattered. She had entered into a deal with Beaudry Hawkes and they had shook on it. They had a business arrangement that would be mutually beneficial to all parties. And that was just as cold as any arrangement her grandmother ever made.

“Business is business, little girl. You go forgetting that, and you might as well throw in all your cards in your hand. You lose.”

“I don’t intend to lose anything.” Sammi’s words were determined, spoken into the darkness of the night. She would hold the winning hand when all was said and done, or she wasn’t a Burkitt!

*

“Wow, look atthe stairs! And the ceiling has things painted on it, like that museum we went to in Dallas.” Lacy’s head was on a swivel as she progressed, wide-eyed, ahead of her father and Sammi Jo into the entry hall of the main house. Sammi had invited them over after Sunday church services for a tour of “her house,” as Lacy referred to it. Sammi Jo tried to envision what she had taken for granted most of her life through the eyes of the child seeing it for the first time.

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