Page 23 of The Texas Cowboy's Proposal

Sammi Jo was saved from a reply as the car pulled up to the front of the hotel’s tall marble entrance. Then their attention could be centered on arrival and getting settled into the two-bedroom suite that Laurel had arranged for them. Sammi Jo didn’t waste time getting unpacked, her dress for the evening ahead hanging in the closet, and then she had changed into her preferred attire: fresh jeans, a bright electric-blue, long-sleeved, Western-cut shirt with pearlized buttons down the front, and her brown leather Tony Lamas boots that had been shined for the occasion. She secured her long hair back into a ponytail; her only jewelry were the small, gold hoops that her grandfather had given her for her sixteenth birthday and she had worn each day since, unless her grandmother had made her dress up with what she termed “better jewelry,” which meant “flaunting our money,” in Sammi Jo’s way of thinking. All of that was now locked in vaults inside the bank, the fate of which still needed to be decided between herself and Laurel.

And, as her sister had rightly reminded her, being on display for the first time since her grandmother’s passing, she needed to represent the fact that a Burkitt or two still remained, and she was the face of the Aces High now. Her stomach gave a pitch. Not a time for that truth to hit home as she gazed at her reflection in the makeup mirror—the first time she had ever faced that bald fact. It was sobering.

You’re it,she said to the person looking back at her with a solemn gaze.How did this ever happen? And what the hell do I know about anything?Was this what a panic attack felt like?

She might have expected it later in the evening when she had to dress up and go among society, where she would truly be a duck out of water—but not now. She was headed to the fairgrounds and would be surrounded by what she knew best.

Get a grip. She had chosen to stand her ground and fight for her heritage, no matter what she had to walk through.Head up, gaze straight ahead—a Burkitt until the day you die.And she wasn’t about to examine why, in that moment of panic, the image of a tall cowboy named Beaudry appeared, along with a deep, calming determination. She placed the cream-colored Stetson on her head and took a deep breath, ready to face whatever was ahead.

Chapter Ten

The familiar sightsand sounds assailed Sammi Jo as soon as she rounded the corner of the livestock barn where the Aces High animals were assigned stalls. Stepping inside, she gave a moment’s pause to allow her eyesight to adjust from bright sunlight to the cavernous, dimmer, indoor fluorescent. Rows of horse stalls were in front of her, shooting off in long branches to the right and left of the main thoroughfare with its mixture of concrete flooring and hay chaff fallen loose from bales being hauled over it and horses being moved to and from performance arenas. There was a continual movement and hum of activity from the snorts of animals, rattle of food buckets, greetings between contestants, and the excitement of visitors, especially the younger set as they caught sight of the horses.

Some females thrived on the smells of exotic perfumes, but Sammi Jo felt the same enjoyment from the mixture of hay, manure, and horseflesh. If she was considered odd, then so be it. It put a smile on her face. She followed the signs on each aisle until she found the third aisle with the simple words Aces High on the sign. All eight stalls held some of the finest ranch horse stock to be found anywhere. Her heart swelled with pride as she moved along, stopping to rub a nose here and there as it was presented to her in greeting. She had watched each of these animals come into the world, studied their training, and cheered them from the arena sidelines.

Turning the corner, she came to a halt. Texas Moonshine stood quietly while Jaxson was finishing his rubdown before the animal would head back to his stall for some R and R before his next time in the arena. She stepped up to murmur a greeting and run a hand down the column of strong neck. “How goes it, big fella? You are looking mighty fine today.”

“He’s feeling his oats today for sure. A bit hardheaded in the arena, but he settled enough to take a first,” Jaxson responded, shooting a smile over the animal’s back at her. “See you made it. The ride smooth and uneventful?”

“Well, the plane part was smooth and uneventful, but the part where I shared it with my sister? That might not be described so much in those terms.” She laughed and shook her head.

“I see. Nothing changes much, does it?”

“Nope. She is still full of sisterly advice. Although, she did seem grateful to be back in fresh air and fairly open spaces. But who knows? She was and will always be a mystery, that sister of mine.”

Jaxon tossed the coarse brush into a nearby tack box and nodded to one of the ranch hands nearby, handing over the reins to him. “My brother should just be finishing up his first ride. Let’s go see how he did.”

They walked toward the far side of the stall area, where a large group of people were emptying from the stands. “Looks like we missed it. Where is...?” Sammi Jo swiveled her head in the direction that Jaxson’s gaze had landed, a frown creasing his forehead. And she could see why.

Beaudry stood beside his large, gray horse, reins in one hand. His other hand was on the upper arm of the woman he was deep in conversation with. Sammi Jo recognized who he was speaking with at about the same time he lifted his head and caught sight of her and Jaxson. Then the female turned full on toward her, and Sandy Lou Hawkes sent a slow smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Jaxson ground out beside her. “Just a bad penny, true to form.”

Sammi Jo had some vestige of mind left from the shock of seeing her old nemesis—and with Beaudry. “Where’s Lacy?”

“Don’t worry about her. She’s off watching her friend Mariela show sheep in the barn next door. I’m glad she doesn’t know anything about that woman being here.”

“Good.” Sammi Jo had a sudden desire to be anyplace else but where she was at the moment also. But before she could formulate a plan of escape, Beaudry was walking straight toward her, Sandy Lou in his wake. People around them, some of them known to both parties, had stopped to watch whether a cat fight might break out. What were they expecting?

But the most surprised person of them all turned out to be Sammi Jo. Beaudry did not stop, and his gaze had locked on hers. Contrition, embarrassment—none of that shown in the jade gleam that homed in on hers. Only steady determination, and he did not slow his steps until he was inches from her. Then his free hand slid around her waist and drew her into him in one swift movement. Her lips parted, but no words could come out because his lips had taken full possession of hers.

Vaguely, she heard, “Well, I’ll be damned” from Jaxson somewhere in the far reaches beside her, and then there was nothing but Beaudry. It was too late to forbid him entrance, and when he slipped his seeking tongue between her parted lips, she felt a searing thrill all the way to the tips of her toes. Her hands went to grab a firm hold on his shirtfront, lest the faintness in her head sent her downward in a quivering heap at his feet. The kiss lasted no more than a minute or so, but she could have sworn it was much longer. He lifted his head and, when she looked into those eyes, the determination had been replaced with a mixture of shock and something else that grabbed hold of her and made it impossible to speak. Desire? His mouth was still close enough to hers that she felt the warmth of his breath continue to entice her lips and hold her in the spell.

“Hello.”

“Hello.” Neither would win the award for originality after such a mind-numbing kiss. Or did that one word mean something different from just a mere salutation? It was more like two strangers had just met for the first time and just discovered something totally unexpected in the other.

Someone cleared their throat. “In case you’re wondering, she’s gone after shooting daggers at you both. The audience is leaving happy with cell phones already alerting those left behind in town, but there is one very surprised person you might want to be aware of, as she is headed this way.”

They both turned their heads in time to see Lacy on a full-out, full-throttle approach toward them from the other side of the arena, a look of amazement on her beaming face. Jaxson took the reins out of Beaudry’s other hand in time to allow him to swoop up his daughter for what was a full bear hug around his neck.

“You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend now? Right? Please say yes!”

Beaudry looked around them and then down at Sammi Jo before he responded. “Well, it would seem the secret’s out of the bag, Miss Sammi Jo. What do you think about that?”

Was he serious? What was she to think? Her brain was still trying to find words that made sense of anything. But she saw the waiting look on the child’s face and the expectant one on Beaudry’s... rimmed with a hint of challenge now.

That first step had left the safe side of the cliff, and he was waiting for her to join him.“Hell, girl, it’s never the fall that kills you, it’s the landing. So might as well enjoy the ride down.”Words of wisdom from the woman who had landed both Beaudry and her in this fine mess, thanks to a will and her meddling.

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