Page 21 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

The man cast a sheepish look in her direction. “I was sort of sworn to secrecy about his visits. But you’ll keep this between you and Lacy and I... agreed?”

“I think we can handle that. Right, Lacy?” She looked at her niece and her suspicion was confirmed. Lacy couldn’t hide the guilty look quickly enough. Yep, they would have a discussion on the way home.

“When does this little one get to come home?”

“Well, as I told Jaxson this morning, I think as long as he has someone to handle his meds on the schedule he needs and he continues to eat the prescribed diet, then I will probably release him in a couple more days. But I was under the impression that Jaxson would be picking him up. Or are you the designated new owner? And, by the way, have you a name for this little orphan?”

“Jaxson thinks he is taking control of this puppy?” Laurel had other ideas about that one. “The person who names him is the owner, and I am doing that. His name is Lucky. It had to be pure luck we came across him when we did.”

“Well,” the assistant spoke for the first time, “I did hear Mr. Hawkes refer to him just this morning as Little Duke.”

“Hmmm, seems we have a naming battle about to be had. I think we’ll return this little John Doe to his quiet cage and let the humans settle this one on their own.” Doc Andrews nodded for the assistant to take the puppy bundle out of the room. “If all stays on track, one of you can pick him up on Monday morning. Have a good day, ladies!”

Laurel waited until they were on the highway, headed back to Burkitt. “You knew that Jaxson was coming to Abilene to see the pup each morning, didn’t you?”

“I might have made a promise, so I am pleading the Fifth.”

“Hmmm, so he’s corrupted you. Well, if he thinks he’s going to name him some ridiculous name as Little Duke... It was my idea to save him in the first place, so he’s mine to name.”

“But didn’t Uncle Jax do the actual saving of going into the awful drain pipe and getting him before the coyote could return?”

Laurel gave another sidelong glance. “And your point is? He wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t made him. But make no mistake, we shall settle this.”

*

The crowd thatassembled for the big news that afternoon was too large for the usual town council meeting chamber, so they moved it all to the outside of the courthouse, with the podium and main speakers positioned on the steps so all could see them. The press agents had done their due diligence and the major stations were represented from as far away as Dallas and San Antonio, with national feeds to both coasts. Radio and print also were represented. And that included Melba Tweet, positioned front and center.

The Aces High was represented by both Sammi Jo and Laurel, Sean, the mayor, and the sheriff. The prominent business leaders were lined up behind them. The front row held the home team—Beaudry, Jaxson, Lacy, Tally, CeeCee, and other friends. The mayor made a welcome on behalf of the town council and then made the announcement of the new business that would soon be bringing more notoriety and funds to their area. Clapping grew into a wave of heartfelt applause.

Laurel and Sean fielded the multitude of questions from the media with cool, calm assurance and smiled and did their best celebrity imitations. That was the part Laurel had found had lost its shine for her after the first year or two in Hollywood. Behind the scenes was much more to her liking, so she was quite happy to let Sean do the bulk of the celebrity nonsense.

But she studiously ignored Jaxson. She was growing even more miffed at him for daring to think he could step in and take ownership of the puppy. When had he ever shown an interest in an animal except for its value to working on the ranch? She’d set him straight.

She was about to step off the stage at the end of the press conference and do just that when she noticed that Arabella had latched onto Jaxson’s arm and was drawing him away from the crowd. What did she think she was doing in Burkitt? The image of placing a drawbridge across the road leading between Burkitt and Abilene flashed through Laurel’s brain for a moment. Then she dismissed it because that might be a bit too much, although her grandmother might have agreed to such a plan if she were still with them.

But that was set aside when she saw the Twit sidled up next to CeeCee, her tape recorder in one hand and her look of salacious glee apparent. And CeeCee was a novice. But Laurel knew that once Melba found a loose thread, she would work it until it was totally unraveled and exposed. She was about to jump into the breach when Beaudry stepped forward and basically led CeeCee away from the situation with a brief word and tip of his hat to Melba. It was clear the woman didn’t care for the interruption.Bless Beaudry!

“Turn that upside-down smile right side up,” Dawson said, stepping up and giving Laurel a hug. “Welcome back to stay among us privileged few again. I bet my brother, Tucker, you’d be back one day for good, and he just lost fifty big ones to me. So, thanks there, sweet lady. Come by anytime, and I’ll buy you a sweet tea, or something stronger, if needed.” They both laughed.

“Wow, so you are really going to do it this time—stay home in Burkitt and not fly off?” Tally had joined them.

“Be careful of bets on that one,” a deep voice said.

Jaxson.

Laurel clamped her mouth shut before the retort could fly out.

“The roar of those jet engines could be heard at any time.”

She took a deep breath, fixed a paparazzi-loathing smile on her face, and slowly turned to face the vile man who had joined their group again, sans the woman who had lured him away. “Isn’t he so amusing, our Jaxson? But he just hates to be proved wrong. Pardon me, but he and I do have some very important business to discuss.”

This time, it was her hand on his arm that drew him away from the crowd, but not in a sweet-girlfriend kind of way. She hoped he was feeling the grip of intent through the chambray material of his gray work shirt as he allowed her to steer them away, out of earshot, and then around the corner of the huge building, out of camera shot.

She dropped the arm and the smile as she faced him.

“You know, this brings back memories. Seems we stood here once before... was it your last trip here? The high-noon showdown, as you called it, between my brother and your sister? Funny how things repeat themselves, isn’t it?”

“There is nothing funny about this. There is only one comparison between the two events—it happened here at the courthouse. But there will be no happy cheers, no congratulations.”

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