Page 8 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

Laurel gave Sammi Jo one of her usual looks that spoke its own language, along with a toss of her head against the back of the leather settee. She propped her sock-clad feet up on the low coffee table in front of her.

“So now, instead of twin sister, you have settled for younger. You must be feeling those years after all.” She took a sip of the wine her sister had handed her as she sat down. “Say, is this the wine I sent you and Beau from California right after the wedding?”

“Sorry, but afraid not. Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

Laurel had taken a second taste. “Far from it. This is really good.”

“Glad you approve, as it is one of our Texas wines. Those grapes came from right up the road, a couple of hours away from Lubbock. And the rest of the country is discovering them too. Just something else we have, and you all want.” The smile was pure smugness in a sweet sisterly way. They both laughed.

“Funny you should put it that way. It’s a perfect segue into the topic at hand. The second reason I came here besides seeing you, which is first and always.”

Sammi Jo scrunched deeper into the cushions of her chair and nodded. “I’m all ears.”

“I want to return home.”

Laurel grinned. The look on her sister’s face was priceless, a combination of shock and total disbelief.

Sammi Jo shook her head.

“My hearing might be going.” She gave another, harder, shake of her head as if trying to dislodge something from her ear.

“Very funny. You heard right. I have a plan, or rather, Sean and I do. This would be a joint venture that he and I believe in totally. All those wide-open spaces I inherited figure into the plan. But I want you to know what is in my mind and hopefully give your blessing to it. I wouldn’t think of going ahead with it if you have a problem with any of the plan.”

“This sounds a bit ominous. Why would you need or want my blessing in order to come home and use the land you inherited? Wait... you aren’t planning to build a few hundred housing subdivisions or smoke-belching plants or something even worse out there, are you?”

Laurel laughed and turned on the couch to face her sister full-on, legs tucked under her. “No to all of that. But Iwouldbe building on a small part of the land. The idea, though, is to keep as much of it as pristine and natural as possible, because that is the drawing card.”

“Oh, geez.” Sammi Jo sat her glass of juice down on the low table and mirrored Laurel’s position on the couch. “You aren’t thinking of bringing in tenderfoots from the city for some cowboy experience, are you?”

“That would be a hugeno way.” Laurel cut to the heart of the matter. “I want to build state-of-the-art soundstages to film movies, television series, documentaries, you name it. It would be all-inclusive, along with a filmmaker mini-campus, if you will. We would be fostering the filmmakers of tomorrow. Filmmakers would have a vastness of unspoiled space to make out to be the Wild West or a faraway planet—whatever their imaginations can create. It would be a canvas for them to be creative. Of course, it would mean that Burkitt might gain a couple more stores and places to eat or whatever, but that would be good. And locals would be the first employed. It’s our land, our facilities, and we control all of it, and that includes growth and the rules. And if cowboys are needed, Aces High could supply them—if they are available and want to earn some very nice amounts of extra money. We would also pay top dollar for good horseflesh when needed. It would be a win-win situation for all of us.”

She paused to catch her breath and allow Sammi Jo to ingest the ideas thus far.

“But the also-good news is that we already have a couple of the really big industry studios and names who want to jump on board and schedule use of facilities we haven’t even built yet for projects they have been dying to get moving on.”

Sammi Jo nodded. “I can tell you’ve given this some thought. And it sounds like a major undertaking.”

“And I promise that, first and foremost, none of this would interfere in any way with the Aces High. This would all be many miles from even the closest fence line to the northeast of Burkitt. All entrances and buildings would be on the far side, with state-of-the-art security systems in place.”

“Sounds to me like you’ve thought this all out for some time,” Sammi Jo responded. Good. She wasn’t totally tossing the idea into the closest wastebasket but plying each layer of information before slamming any gates shut. “And I will wager that your briefcase probably contains all kinds of surveys and drawings and spreadsheets. Because you always cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I’ and then triple-check it all. How you managed to contain yourself until now is surprising to me.”

“I thought I’d lay out all of those things later on that long table in the library, and then Sean would thrill you with his acumen on square footage and costs compared to value. I wanted to test the waters with you first. So have I totally blown your mind?”

Sammi Jo sat still, her face giving away nothing of what her thoughts might be. Laurel might have really gone too far in her estimation of what her sister would think of the whole idea.

“Okay, so let me have it.” Laurel finally broke the silence. “I can take anything but the silence, which is usually not your standard reaction.”

Sammi Jo’s face changed slowly, ending with a broad grin. “I enjoy seeing you sweat occasionally. It has its own feeling of supreme power, so I was just enjoying it for the moment.”

“You would.”

“My first reaction is to the first statement you made: ‘I want to come home.’ That holds the most importance for me. I am hoping that means just that—you would be coming home for good. Not just to check on things now and then leave. To have you back here on Burkitt land, to have our small family whole, is the answer to a long-held prayer of mine. Whatever brings you back here is going to get my full endorsement, you know that! And you have this whole floor of the house to stay in until you decide where or if you want to move or build or whatever. I am so excited!”

“Home for good... if you can stand me around all the time.”

The hug that followed made all the possibilities of the future seem even more real in Laurel’s mind. “I’m super-excited too. This is going to be incredible, and I know it will be a big step, but Grandmother always told us, ‘Go biggest or get out of Dodge.’ I cannot imagine what she would say about this idea or the fact that I came back to this ranch.”

“I think she knew you’d be back, sooner or later. The land always wins in the end—one of Grandad’s sayings. And I discover how true that is every day I walk across it.” Sammi Jo stood. “Let’s go downstairs and find Beau and share the good news. Then we should celebrate with dinner in town at Dawson’s. How does that sound?”

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