Page 29 of The Texas Cowboy's Proposal

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“You aren’t serious.This is thelastthing I ever expected to hear from you. You fought for this chance. You wouldn’t just...quit,” Laurel spat out the word as if it had a horrid taste. “It’s almost four in the morning here. Only bad news comes after midnight, and this is unbelievably bad news. What brought all of this about?” Laurel was definitely wide awake at this point.

“I took those blinders off finally, the ones you always accused me of wearing so often over the years. You should be pleased that I finally took some advice from you.” Sammi Jo was seated on the floor of her bedroom, the only light in the room coming from the small desk lamp in the far corner. She preferred sitting in the shadows. It fit her frame of mind. After waking up to the truth earlier in town, she had come home to work a lot of lists and rows of figures on many pieces of paper, running over different scenarios through her brain over the last several hours. Now, in the dark quiet of the early morning hours, she knew she had to reach out to her sister. Laurel was the only one there was really, and that only made the whole situation feel worse.

“Forget about my sayings and telling me I’m right. Lay it out straight for me. You begged for this chance. You dove in with both feet, ready to do whatever it took to keep the Aces High intact. What about the ranch hands and their families? You were so concerned for them if strangers came in and tore everything up. You were going to be the protector of the family’s history. I need to understand this about-face before you go and do something that can’t be stopped when you snap out of whatever this is that has you so upset. I can be on the plane in the morning and—”

“No, that isn’t what I need. I just need to say this out loud and let you know what I have decided. I worked the numbers for hours, and I have a plan to give a good severance package to each of the families. They can retire, or the younger ones will have a good start toward their own ranches or colleges or whatever to make things easier for them. It will all come out of my share of the selling price and mine alone. And I’m going to visit with the attorneys and see what it takes to at least preserve the house and maybe a barn or two as some sort of state historical site. Maybe not all of the Burkitts and their place in early Texas history will be discarded. We all have to face facts. And when it comes down to it, people who are still alive are the ones who matter the most. Grandmother was wrong to try to manipulate people even after she died. I can put an end to that, and I will.”

“And what does Beaudry Hawkes have to say about all of this change of heart?”

Sammi Jo allowed a moment of silence to rest on the phone connection. Mainly, she needed to tamp down the sudden surge of emotion his name evoked. The more she had gotten to know the real man, the more she had wanted to know. And the more she cared, the more she had allowed her heart to open and let a tall, green-eyed cowboy saunter in and stake a place. Easy as that. And just as painful. Because he had no place there—she had made certain of that. Someday the pain would fade... when she was old and gray maybe.

No more tears.

“Lacy needs stability. It was wrong of us all to think that we could do this and then shake hands, give over the check, and walk away. Lacy will be the one hurt. What made me think I knew how to be a mother figure? I would just make a mess of it. And I am not going to do that. She needs a home and a mother—two parents in a solid home. And I can clear the way for that. It’s just land. It’ll still be here in one form or another when we are all gone.”

“It’s just land.” She could almost feel Laurel shaking her head. “Now I know that something has really happened. I don’t know what. But I will find out.”

“Laurel, you said this was my decision. As such, I have the right to rescind it and go another direction. No papers have been signed. No money has been exchanged. And certainly no wedding rings. I just needed you to know what I am doing. And I need you to support me in this. Aren’t you the one who told me that I wasn’t thinking straight in what a couple hundred million dollars could do for me? I’ll find my own ranch someplace and start my own heritage. Not too many people have that going for them. It’s not like I will be destitute or on the street. It’s time we all got some perspective. Just trust me, okay?”

“I am totally confused. I will admit that. Maybe I’ll understand better in the morning, but I doubt it. You want my support, then I will give it. But I still can’t help feeling that you really need to step back, wait a couple days, and think about it some more.”

“I did my thinking. The sun is about to come up here, and I haven’t had any sleep yet. Remember that Granddad always said to rise before the sun and beat the devil to his work? Get some beauty sleep—you need it. Later, big sister.”

Sammi Jo didn’t stay on the phone long enough to hear any comeback Laurel might have made. She had tried to end on a teasing, lighthearted note. But her heart felt far from being light. The world she knew was about to change forever. How did one go about dismantling more than two centuries of history? She’d own her share of the blame for it, but her brain laid a good deal of credit for it on the deceased matriarch of the Burkitts.

Had it been her intent all along for the land and their beginnings, won in a hand of poker with the Hawkes all those many moons ago, to finally end in such a way? Sammi Jo wished she could have one last conversation with the woman. Whatever had been in her mind? But it was all about to be too late to think about those things. She moved to stretch out for a moment or two on her bed, her eyes closing as she fought to silence her brain. Just a little quiet... perhaps a nice dream? One more dream that all would be right again with the new day.

Chapter Thirteen

“Thank you forcoming out here, Matt. I know you have busy days, but I thought we could have a quieter chat here, along with some lunch.” Sammi Jo led the way into the dining room as Matt Matteo followed along, his interest evident in the great house as they passed along the halls and then stepped into the glass-walled informal dining room.

“How could I resist lunch with a lovely lady and a chance to see the inside of the Burkitt domain?” He took the chair Sammi Jo indicated opposite her own. His gray Stetson settled into the empty chair beside him.

“It has been a while since you’ve actually been out here, hasn’t it? I just realized that. Time does indeed get away from us.”

“The last time I was inside this house, at least in the ballroom, was the graduation party for you and Laurel and the sendoff for your cousins, Kenzie and MacKenna. It has indeed been twelve, thirteen years?” He took a sip of his iced tea. His dark eyes were unreadable.

“I remember all of us growing up here. We’d meet down at the river swimming hole Granddad had made for us, or we’d swim in the pool Grandmother had built when we got to high school. Those were good times. Too bad we all sort of drifted away after that party.”

“Well, you four ladies were off to college, and I headed to the military. Much different paths took us away from here.”

“Three of us girls did return to Burkitt. I’m sorry that MacKenna didn’t. I miss her. She always made us laugh so much.” Sammi Jo saw the slight change in his smile. It wasn’t as bright. Maybe a little hint of melancholy? Or was it more?

“Do you and our cousin keep in touch? You know, I always hoped you’d be joining our family one day. I thought you two were the perfect childhood sweethearts who would marry and have four or five kids, and we’d celebrate your fiftieth anniversary right here in that ballroom one day. Funny, the thoughts we have in our heads as we grow up.”

“Yes, funny they can be. Unfortunately, I’ve never heard a word from her since she left Burkitt behind. And, in reality, very few school crushes ever make it past graduation. But I’m thinking you didn’t invite me out here to taste this delicious steak in front of me and reminisce about our childhoods. What’s on your mind, Miss Sammi?”

She could see that Matt wasn’t one to take a stroll down a memory lane that involved her cousin or their past. It was time for the business at hand.

“There are two things. The first I am hoping is relatively easy. Once the dust settles from the present legal issue between the Burkitts and Hawkes, please consider representing me as legal counsel in business matters, and personal when needed. I would like to retain you if that is the correct terminology.”

He sat his fork on the edge of his plate and gave her his full attention.

“My first reaction to that would be, why? The Burkitts have always had the best legal counsel team this side of the Mississippi. The firm in Fort Worth is impeccable. Why would you want to change?”

“I will be making some changes—personal ones. I would like to have someone that I know personally and I trust. Don’t get me wrong. Grandmother’s attorneys are the best, but they are—were—herchoice. I plan on making quite a few changes, and I would like to offer you that opportunity, if you would be interested.”

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