Page 25 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

“The name suits him. He is one amazingly lucky little guy.”

He smiled then, and it curled her toes. She responded the same.What was going on?

Chapter Eleven

“Igot atext from Lacy. She’s going to be running late from her job and wanted to know if I could somehow at least grab a collar so the pup could have something to put his tags on. She called him Lucky. So his name is settled and fits the little mutt. Take a breath and let it go.”

“There’s a lot more things in that basket than just a collar.”

“Let it go, Laurel. New babies get gifts when they arrive home, don’t they? Just make sure he gets trained and that includes how to behave around the other animals on this ranch. I don’t want to see him in the stables until he learns. That keeps the horses safe and him too.”

She held up her hand in a pledge. “I swear he will be on his best behavior.”

“We’ll see,” he replied. He went to turn away, but then stopped and turned back. “CeeCee—how long have you known her?”

“I met her right after I arrived in Hollywood the first time. She was working as an assistant at the event company the studio hired for a lot of their parties and openings. We began chatting and then met for brunch when we had free time, and a friendship developed. We ended up sharing a condo the last year. Why? Guess she made quite an impression on you. Does that mean Arabella has some competition? She might not like that.”

“What about Sean? How long has he known her?”

Laurel was getting an odd feeling. The last thing they needed was anyone, particularly someone as clever as Jaxson, getting wind of their plan. “What is this all about? Sean and CeeCee are good friends... all three of us are and have been for a long time now. You might say we formed a semi-family unit in Hollywood. We supported each other’s dreams.”

“Just trying to get a clearer picture of who these new faces are on the Aces High. There’s going to be quite a bit of activity here and in town the next few months, bringing this plan of yours into being and all. We have a lot of high-strung, very expensive stock on this land and in these stables. I need to keep them all safe and sound. That includes the two-legged people around them as well.”

“You’ve been taking care of this ranch and the animals and people as long as I can remember. Don’t you ever take a day off from it? Have a regular life? My advice—get married and have kids and go fishing once in a while. It would make you much more pleasant.”Why did she say all of that?

“As you also told me on more than one occasion, this place is my life, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I take that very seriously. I promised your grandfather I would do that when he knew he had little time left. Guess it’s in my DNA, just like you accused me.”

He was using some of the same words she had used over the many times they had parted beside the plane. How could she explain why she’d done that when she didn’t understand it herself? But she knew with clarity that she had been wrong to do it. She had been on her high horse. And she was wrong. Being a cowboy didn’t make him less of anything. In many ways, it made him superior to most.

“What did you promise my grandfather?”

“That I would spend my life protecting the Aces High and those he loved—your grandmother, Sammi Jo, and you. I gave my word, and that means more than any of your Hollywood contracts ever could. Does that sound like a line from an old Western?”

“In a way, it does. But it isn’t a line in a movie, yet it reminds me of your movie icon. It’s something he embodied. That’s what you do also, but in reality, and in this century. I’d say that you deserve a lot of thanks from my family and me. I know I’ve been remiss in saying that to you. But it’s time... past time. I’m sorry it took me so long. But I do appreciate you basically giving your life to this ranch. At what expense? That’s why I ask when are you going to give that same attention to your own life?”

“Maybe I’ve already begun. You gave me some advice last time you left, so maybe I’m finally taking care of that. We’ll see. Now I’ve got work to do. Can’t stand around here passing time talking to a lady, no matter how lovely she might be.” He touched a finger to the brim of his cowboy hat and then walked away toward the stables and his next project.

Laurel had to smile. He might have added a bit of the special saunter that the Duke was known for in his movies, just to put a smile out there. “You might need to practice that swagger a lot more, cowboy.” She sent the words his way on a laughing tease. It earned her thumbs-up while he just kept walking away.

“Jaxson Hawkes is one complicated man with lots of layers, Lucky. It’s going to take a woman with a lot of patience to tame him down.” Tame? Was that the word to use? How did one lasso a Texas tornado and then hang on for the ride of your life?And why was she thinking about that at all?

*

“There’s something brewing.My old football injury is acting up like crazy. The air’s heavy, so you can’t get a good breath. Haven’t seen this in a long time.” Beaudry swept the hat off his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead on the sleeve of his work shirt as he gave his weather forecast.

“Old football injury?” Jaxson was swinging a bale of hay into the back of the feed truck just inside the shade of the barn. “You mean that knee you hit when you fell over the bench you had been warming for half a season?”

“It counts whether it happened on the field or on the sidelines, Mr. Know-it-all.”

“Well, you can load those last two bales in here while I grab my shirt and a bottle of water.” He jumped down from the tailgate.

“By the way, just want you to know that there’s a betting pool going on with some people around here. Ones with too much time on their hands.”

Jaxson shrugged into the shirt but didn’t button it, leaving a way for air to get to his heated skin. His hat was pushed back from his forehead. “I’m going to regret this, but go ahead and tell me what the bet is all about.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger, brother. You had dessert last evening with Miss CeeCee, and then stayed busy on the dance floor with Arabella. It was noticed. So the bets are on which one you will choose.”

“People need to get a life and get busy like the rest of us. I suppose you led the way with the first bet? Which one did you put your money on?”

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