Page 36 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

“I suppose you’re going to tell me what that is whether I ask you to do so or not?”

“Smart man. And yes, you didn’t mention that you don’t care to watch Laurel make a mistake in marrying the wrong man. Because I know that you love her. And I know how much it can hurt when you face the possibility of losing that chance at love. So, I am not going to push it. I am going to do this...” And she went up on tiptoe, pulling on his shoulder to bend down, allowing her to place a kiss on his cheek. “Laurel is waiting for me at the house on a matter of urgency with the wedding, so I need to get moving.” Then she stepped out of the doorway.

“I won’t say anything else. Safe travels. Come home soon.”

Jaxson watched her go. Not for the first time did he think what a lucky man his brother was when he had wised up to the fact that Sammi Jo was the love of his life, and he wasn’t going to let her go. Beaudry was a lucky man to have had the woman feel the same about him.

It was time. Time for him to deal with the truth and to let Laurel live her life and make her choices. When he got back, she’d be a married woman and that would make things easier, right?

You are a fool if you think that, Jaxson Hawkes.

Chapter Sixteen

Things were movingat the speed of sound. What had seemed like plenty of time a week before now seemed like they were losing daylight fast and sliding downhill. The more decisions made left even more to decide. The checklist for the small wedding had grown in length. At least once an hour, Laurel had paused to rethink the sanity in her agreeing to pull off a wedding of any size in almost total anonymity of the real participants. She paced the length of the room again. The clock chimed the hour. And she heard the sound of Sammi Jo’s voice in the hall. She drew in a deep breath and released slowly. It was time to clue in the family.

“Sorry.” Sammi Jo entered with a contrite smile and a small jar of her favorite pickle juice in hand. “I had to go through the kitchen and grab this. The cravings are getting worse.” She kicked off her boots and settled in the overstuffed chair that she had come to prefer over any other chair in the house. Laurel remained standing.

“I can’t believe that you are craving pickle juice and strawberry ice cream... together.”

“I can’t either, but it is really good. And Beaudry is picking up another gallon of the ice cream in town right now. So the juice will have to do. Is this something bad? You’re still standing.”

“No.” Laurel hastened to lay that thought to rest. “I just think better when on my feet, and this is something that goes better that way.”

Sammi Jo plumped another pillow behind her. “Okay, spill it. You’ll feel so much better.”

“It’s the wedding.”

“I knew it. You’ve come to your senses.”

Laurel frowned. “My senses? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t mind me. These pregnancy hormones just make me say and do all sorts of strange things. Continue.”

“I’m not buying that, but let’s get on with it.” Laurel took a deep breath. “I’m not getting married.” Then she hastened to add at the shock on Sammi Jo’s face, “But there will be a wedding.”

“And now I am wondering if there is something I can add to this pickle juice to make it a little stronger.”

“Good one. But here goes the story. You know that Sean and CeeCee and I met on my first trip to LA. We sort of gravitated together. Sean was already making a name for himself. And I needed a way to get my work in the door. As an unknown entity and a female, the chances were slim it would happen in this decade. But he went to work and pushed some people who owed him a favor or two and got me in the door... at least the first couple. Then I turned around and did much the same with CeeCee, getting her some small parties, and then Sean got some of his important friends to hire her.”

“Sounds like a good movie script,” Sammi Jo responded.

“Well, it gets better. Sean fell for CeeCee and vice versa, but it wasn’t all roses. CeeCee comes from a really rough childhood and family life, and she wanted to keep that away from her life she was building. It was very important to her. Anyway, so he agreed to invest in this dream of the movie studio here, and in return, he wants to give CeeCee the wedding of her dreams without her life spread across pages in a gossip column. So, there will be another surprise when she steps in as the true bride and, hopefully, we will have been able to pull off a great wedding for two people who I dearly love.”

“She is putting together a dream wedding for you, but it will be hers?”

“Yes. And I gave my word to Sean. We managed to keep the press looking elsewhere for their stories. The studio news worked to be a perfect foil and drew all attention away from anything else. This is the very least I could do for them for all the things they’ve done for me in LA. I hated letting people get the wrong ideas, but in the world the three of us have to survive in out west, you find you’ll do some strange things to hang on to even a tiny bit of peace and normalcy in your life.

“If I could help Sean give CeeCee her dream and also pull it off without anything marring the day, then I was in. I kept all of you in the dark as a layer of deniability for you. With local snoops like Melba getting in the mix, it’s been like walking a tightrope. I had to trust that when I was finally able to tell you all the truth, you would understand why I did it and know that none of it was meant to hurt anyone, but rather to help two people who were there for me when I needed them. Are you very angry?”

Sammi Jo did not respond for a few seconds, a thoughtful look replacing the shocked gaze.

“Not angry. Maybe a little hurt you didn’t whisper the truth to me when you arrived, but I also can understand you giving your word to your friends. And it is clear that there is a strong bond between you three. No one has been hurt in all of this.” Then she paused. “Except, if I were you, I would find Jaxson and clear the air sooner rather than later. To him, this is all very real.” Sammi Jo stood and slid her arm around her sister’s shoulders. She gave a reassuring squeeze. “But there is something that I ask of you.”

“Name it.”

“Be kind with Jaxson. He gives off that gruff, tough exterior, but it is only skin deep. He has a heart just like the rest of us. And for some reason, he laid his at your feet a long time ago. It’s been hard for him, your return this time. I love you both and just want mywholefamily to be happy... whatever that looks like.”

The groom-to-be was no help. He was sitting in a quiet spot writing and rewriting his vows. He said they were going to be the most important words he would ever pen in his life, and they had to be perfect.

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