Page 26 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

Beaudry landed the last bale onto the back of the truck with a loud grunt and a thud. He turned to look at Jaxson and waited for the response. There was a small, secretive grin on Beaudry’s face. “I don’t think either one will be the chosen. I saved my money.”

“Well, that’s surprising. But you always said I’d be a confirmed bachelor, so it figures.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be a bachelor. I just don’t believe the lady who has you wrapped up like a Thanksgiving turkey has her name in the betting pool. So, no reason to throw away my money.”

Jaxson leveled a cool gaze on his sibling across the back of the truck. “I’m not going to even ask, and you’re way off base.”

“Remember who you’re talking to. I watched you be a lovesick calf in your teens since the first moment you saw Laurel Burkitt climb up and sit on that corral fence while you were trying to break that mustang. And I recall the impression you made on her too.”

“I remember getting the hell stomped out of me after I landed in a pile of fresh manure.”

“Yep, there was that. But there was just something about the way you looked up with that dark smear across your forehead and locked eyes with her. Then she made that face and burst out laughing. That was the moment I knew she was going to be special.”

“You are so full of—”

Cell phone ringing cut off Jaxson’s comment. They both reached for their phones and read the message coming across each of them. It was the automatic weather system update.

“Yep, whose knee was correct? There is a front coming in from Colorado and gaining speed. It’s pushing a squall line ahead of it. Better get moving. I’ll handle things here and get the others out to their areas to do the same.” Beaudry was all business.

“On my way,” Jaxson responded, already swinging into the driver’s seat and revving the engine into gear.

The road was dirt and rutted, and Jaxson tried to pick up some speed when he could. His brother’s words running through his brain didn’t help his mood, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

Beaudry didn’t need to stir up memories from the past where Laurel was concerned. Jaxson had more than enough of them over the years. Mostly, they left him feeling like a prized fool. It was a feeling he only knew when she came around. Then she’d fly off and he’d get his head straight again... until the next visit. Now she wasn’t leaving... or so she said. What would that daily interaction look like? Watching her and Sean marry and settle into their lives on the Aces High—and that was where his thought process would stop, like hitting a brick wall.

The thought of her with a man like Sean didn’t sit well. He didn’t trust him. There was something between him and CeeCee. Jaxson’s gut had told him that from almost the first day. He figured if he could stay close enough to the woman, he might find the key. And Laurel was a smart lady. Why didn’t she sense it? Or did she and she chose not to notice or maybe not to care? Why should he care?

Because you do. You always have, and you always will.

*

“I’ve got toget to the airport. I don’t have time for this. Why can’t we call someone? There are a hundred cowboys around until you need one.” Sean’s words had echoed in her mind more than once. A ranch full of people except when you needed one. She could agree with that. But Laurel was moving into action because the low line of clouds headed in their direction was picking up speed. Sean needed to get to the airfield, get on the plane that was waiting to take him to a connecting flight in Lubbock. But the clock was ticking before the weather shut things down, and then Sean would be a basket case. The moment he had seen the flat tire that had stopped them on the side of the road, he was pacing back and forth, trying to find a spot for cell reception with no luck, and then launching into loud tirades about the plus side of being in California, where there was civilization, as opposed to the middle of nowhere.

Laurel had set about removing the spare tire from the undercarriage of the SUV. The gravel of the road cut into her back as she tried to position herself so she could see how the tire was attached.

“Why are you under there? What do you think you can do?” Sean stopped his pacing to note the fact she had placed herself in such a position.

“At least I’m trying to do something about changing the tire so we can get moving again. Make yourself useful. Look in the back of the vehicle and hand me the tire iron or lug wrench.”

“The what? What does it look like? Does it say tire iron on it?” She could hear him rummaging around in the tool chest and muttering his displeasure. They weren’t getting anywhere. She eased herself over the rocky bed and then raised up.

“Let me look, Sean. Why don’t you go sit in the truck and let me get this done so we can get back on the road?”

He stopped and then became animated. “It’s about time! We’re saved. We can grab a ride with this person in the truck.”

Laurel turned as the vehicle slowed and pulled up beside them. The driver draped his arm over the open window bottom and flashed a smile. Her heart sunk. Of course, it had to be Jaxson.

“You really would do better with a round tire on that truck. They tend to move best that way.”

Sean’s smile had faded when he recognized their savior. “I need to get to the plane that’s waiting, and we don’t have time for rotten jokes.”

Laurel bit back her reply. It wouldn’t do any good to make matters worse. A rule of thumb on the ranch was that you didn’t push your luck, and certainly you didn’t tease or poke a rattler with that look in their eyes. It would never end well for you. And Sean was about to see Jaxson’s venom. She stepped away from the back of the SUV, having come up empty-handed in her search for the necessary tool.

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. Then added ten more for good measure.

“If you can lend us a tire iron, I can get this changed out.”

Jaxson had already exited his truck and was surveying the flat. “No can do.”

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