Page 28 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

“What do you think you’re doing? Get back in the truck.” The first bale landed in a plume of dust just inside the barn’s doorway. The truck couldn’t pull all the way inside so he had gotten as close as he could. Laurel stepped inside the doorway and grabbed a side of the baling wire that held the bundle together. She could pull it enough to get it inside the barn and out of the wind and soon-to-come rain.

“We can do it faster together. You toss and I’ll get them under cover.”

Jaxson had to admit he was surprised. But then this wasn’t the first time the two of them had done such a thing together. The fact that Laurel had fallen right back into the swing of things a hand could be found doing on a typical ranch day was surprising. She remembered their early days of teamwork, and it caught him off guard. Maybe the tough Texas wildflower hadn’t become a hothouse orchid while in Tinseltown.

“Don’t look so surprised, cowboy,” she said, exerting her strength and concentration to move the dead weight. “I might not be able to lift these bales like I used to way back when, but there’s more than one way to get a job done. Grandfather taught us all that on more than one occasion. Besides, my gym money hasn’t completely gone to waste, I guess.” She tossed a grin over her shoulder as she gave the third bale another tug.

Guess it was true that while you could remove a girl from the country, you never quite removed all the roots. Jaxson was surprised by how much that pleased him. Although he doubted that she’d be called upon to do much ranch work over on her side of the ranch once all the Hollywood changes were in place. But still he had to hand it to her.

Eight bales were inside with two more to go when the sound of huge drops pelting the metal roof of the barn began to echo inside the darkening interior. Their intensity stung Jaxson’s bare arms.

“I’ve got these last two bales. Why don’t you make a run for the camp house before this stuff amps up more? I’ll follow in a minute, once I make sure all is settled in here and secure. We’ll sit it out while the line passes. Best not to be caught by surprise out in the open.”

*

Laurel nodded and,after pushing the last of her bales on the ground into place with the others, she sprinted toward the small house that stood between two live oak trees several yards away. The raindrops were cold and splattering the dust around her like pellets. She cleared the two steps and found reprieve under the cover of the porch.

The line camp was a converted farmhouse that had been refurbished after its first thirty-something years housing one of the ranch’s families. There was an adequate kitchen area and long wooden table with trestle-like benches that could sit a dozen or so cowhands. A bathroom was evident through an open door down a small hallway, and the rest of the rooms had been opened up to allow for six bunkbeds, a fireplace, a couch, and some rocking chairs. A brown-and-white tanned cow’s hide rug covered most of the wooden flooring in the main room area. A glance in the door beside her and there was an ample supply of canned goods and paper items.

“Your sister makes certain the line camps are stocked for whoever and whenever they are needed,” Jaxson supplied, coming into the cabin, which only made it feel smaller and more intimate with his presence. Laurel felt a different vibe settle into the air around her.

It has to be the storm.

“So don’t worry—we won’t starve if we’re stuck here for a while.”

“Stuck here? This is a fine hotel compared to the hut with a dirt floor and no indoor plumbing that we were stuck in while filming last summer in Peru. That microwave alone boosts this to five stars.”

Jaxson smiled. “There it is. I was afraid you might have lost your sense of humor while living among the pretentious.”

“And you gained a bit more snobbery in your rarefied world of fat cattle and pampered equines.”

A streak of bright blue lit the interior of the cabin. A loud crackle followed and a crash of sharp-edged rumbling thunder brought the crescendo.

“Looks like we’ll be staying put for a little while.”

“Great. And how long is ‘a little while’?”

Jaxson gave a brief shrug. “I’m not a weatherman nor a crystal ball gazer. If it’s fast moving, then maybe a half hour to forty-five minutes. If it takes its sweet time, then we might want to look for some food to prepare for an early dinner.”

“I have things to do.”

“Like a salon or spa date?”

“Like running spreadsheets with the cost overruns. Calling to see if the soundboard and equipment is on its way from the coast and arriving on time, so I can schedule the engineers to be here when it arrives to keep us on the track to finishing out the first studio hall. And the list goes on. I would suppose you have a hot date tonight while some of us are working.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” he said. “I need to make a quick phone call just in case I’ll be running late.” He slid his phone out of his back jeans pocket and stepped outside on the covered porch. He obviously wanted privacy for his phone call to Arabella or whomever else he had on his list. Laurel busied herself to ignore what he was up to, searching through the pantry and freezer.

*

“You’re at thesouth camp, sitting out the storm,” Beaudry repeated as he listened to his brother over the cell phone. “And you picked up Laurel and Sean along the way, and the three of you are stuck under the same roof now.”

“No, that is not what I said. I picked them up, yes. I need you to send someone out to bring in her truck when the storm passes. It’s two miles from the airstrip headed toward this camp. We made it here and were unloading the bales when the storm hit.”

“You passed the airstrip? Wasn’t Sean supposed to catch the plane?”

“Yes, and he did that.” Jaxson knew what was coming next. And his brother didn’t disappoint.

“I see. So, you and Laurel are stuck at the camp together. Alone.”

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