Page 5 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

“Okay, now I feel like we need to have our pajamas on, a tub of strawberry ice cream and two spoons, and having applied facial masks while we gossip about boys. Aren’t we a bit old for that scenario?”

“Hmmm, interesting.” Sammi Jo eyed her sister. “Since this is the first time my sister has dared to bring home a live fiancé, I guess I just expected a bit moregushing. Guess thingsarereally laid back in Tinseltown.”

Laurel shook her head. “Gushing? When have you known me to be a gushing type of gal? That sounds like you have me confused with all those oil wells we flew over. They were gushing their guts out.”

Sammi Jo threw back her head and laughed outright. “Now, who is the confused one? They have already gushed, been capped, and now are pumping their little hearts out for the oil that is keeping this all afloat. But look at you... what a change. And that hairdo—now that is quite a change. You always loved having long locks. Guess your fiancé prefers this new style?”

“I wouldn’t know. I thought I’d give it a try. So much easier to handle and all. If I don’t like it, it’ll be grown out soon enough. You look like the glowing bride I left, but surely the honeymoon is over by now?”

“I’d say the honeymoon is still going quite strong.”

Laurel grinned. “You are blushing too. I won’t dare ask for particulars. I’d just be jealous.” Then there was silence.

Sammi Jo’s gaze homed in on the slip, like a mouse to a bit of cheese, before the cat could strike. “Jealous? When you have a fiancé who surely must make you blush sometimes? Or is that something Hollywood males don’t do either?” She didn’t wait for her sister’s response.

“You and Jaxson didn’t speak to each other. You both were definitely ignoring the other. What’s that about?”

“We nodded. Since when should we be expected to gush over each other? And maybe he was too occupied with thoughts of Miss Abilene and all. You didn’t mention he was seeing anyone in your emails.”

“Andthatdoes seem to interest you. Interesting. Hope your fiancé is not the jealous type. But then, you certainly moved on, so why should you be surprised when Jaxson does the same? It’s time he had the home he deserves and the wife and kids. You’ll see how good he is with Lacy... she follows him like a shadow. I, for one, hope he is about to settle down. We’ll throw them a great party. You still love a good party, don’t you?”

“I think it’s time I stop ignoring my fiancé upstairs. I need a long soak in the tub before dinner. And then maybe you and I can sit down and catch up on some things.”

“Well, if it is business things, those will wait until morning. Tonight, we relax and enjoy some of Freddy’s great cooking. He has been preparing this dinner and the recipes all week. All your favorite things. So even if you lost your love for home cooking in California, too, do try and pretend for his sake?”

Laurel paused with her hand on the doorknob and shot her a nod. “Of course, I will lavish the praise. I can see I’ll need to step up my morning runs in order to fight the pounds facing me while I’m here. See you at dinner.”

She found her living area and bedroom empty when she entered. She made her way across and through the dressing area off her walk-in closet, where the door was open in front of her. She stepped in and found Sean busy unpacking his suitcase.

His footfalls were muted on the carpet, and she smiled. “I see the new boots lasted until the door closed behind Beaudry. Socks comfy?”

She moved over to the windows to push the drapes back and let the wide vista beyond share its light into the room.

“My God. My feet may be deformed after all of this. People actually walk in those things?”

“Yes, they do. In fact, there is nothing better than a pair of boots, properly broken in, of course. I have a few pair that I still enjoy wearing now and then. Are you going to be comfy here?”

“Yes. This is comparable to a five-star experience in a high-end hotel. I never expected to find Egyptian-cotton sheets and thick carpeting. The bathroom is a spa in itself. I just need a masseuse and I might never leave.”

“Well, if you want one of those, we do have one who will come out to the ranch. Just say the word. Carmella will make it happen.” Laurel turned her attention to the view. She had no idea how much she had missed so many things. The smells, the cool tiles of the patio, and the shadows of the tall pecan and oak trees that bordered the drive and walkways. Entering her bedroom, it was as if she had only just left that morning and not years before. The strangeness she had expected upon her arrival had not materialized. Except... except for one thing.

Her gaze moved beyond the drive outside the window and toward the first sequence of barns at the bottom of the small rise of hill. That would be the foreman’s office—the offices for the horse operations and the cattle would be housed in another area. And that would be where Jaxson Hawkes ruled his world from. When he was there. Most of the time, he would do his work from the back of his horse for hours at a time or inside his big black truck. A sedentary desk was not meant for him.

And out of habit, she noted that the truck sat in its usual parking space beside a couple of others. She saw several stock trailers were pulling into the barns or vice versa. Ranchers were either bringing in horses for training or buying them or both. Jaxson Hawkes would be in his element.

She felt that unfamiliar shaft of disappointment again. The only thing that had changed in her homecoming from all the other times... was him. He had always been present when she stepped through the doorway of the plane and let her gaze land on him, usually standing silently beside his truck, waiting for her to make the final step. Then he would be there to take the luggage from the flight attendant and place inside the vehicle, hold her door for her, and they would set off for the drive to the main house. It was a relatively short couple of miles, but he always managed it slower than most. They would have small talk. And then there would be that silence that always said more than their talking had.

Only today, he hadn’t been there for her to catch the first glimpse of a welcome home from. Another person loaded their luggage. She made small talk with her sister and niece and Sean. As she stood outside the vehicle at the house, then he had been there. Only they had not spoken. A very wide gulf had formed between them, unseen but felt. And there had been a hollow pain between her ribs. It shocked her into stillness.

All she wanted to do was tell Sean to get back on the plane. He was the jarring note in the whole moment. But then, that would have been wrong as well. Jaxson was different. Something had changed in him or around him or because of him. But she didn’t like it. And then it hit her full force. There was this mystery woman in Abilene. He was having dinner with her and not with them and the family. And in the past, that never would have happened.

In the past.

“You know you’re wrong, right?” Sean’s voice jarred her back into the room, away from the barns and away from Jaxson. She turned toward him. He stood watching her, hands on hips, his head tilted in the manner when he was giving something his deepest attention.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You told me that I would find your brother-in-law, Beaudry, to be the perfect leading man for a movie about these rough-and-tumble cowboys. And you were wrong. Beaudry is quite photogenic; I would grant you. However, my cinematic eye tells me that Jaxson is the one that a camera would eat up and make females gush in more ways than one, my friend. I am really surprised that you haven’t figured that one out for yourself.”

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