Page 39 of The Texas Cowboy's Lady

“Yes, there was. It was a big success. Sorry you missed it.”

“And now you are sitting here eating cake and drinking milk from a champagne flute. And that green footwear... is that the latest style from the West Coast?”

He might be catching on.

“It is if you’d been on the dance floor far too much in a pair of ridiculous heels. Care for some cake? It is incredibly good. Sorry I didn’t bring along any champagne. I wasn’t expecting company.”

Jaxson took her offer of a seat next to her on the bale. That only made the nervous butterflies in her stomach take flight. She offered him the plate with the cake. He shook his head. She took a sip of the milk, wishing it was something a bit stronger to help calm her nerves.

He smiled and she almost choked. Jaxson removed his leather gloves and, with one thumb, reached over and wiped the corners of her mouth. “The milk mustache doesn’t go with the outfit.”

“You said you saw them take off. Where were you that you saw them?” The question popped into her brain and forestalled anything else.

“I was on the ridge at the end of the runway. It doesn’t have the best view, but then I got there a bit late.”

“Why did you...?”

“I was asking the questions first.”

Here goes nothing.Laurel dove in. “Sean and CeeCee got married. The subterfuge worked, and all went well for them.”

“Yes. It worked. Sean gave her the dream wedding, and nothing was allowed to spoil it for them. CeeCee was gorgeous and so happy. They both were. And I know that you were very angry earlier. And I’m sorry for that. But I gave my word, and I’d do it again. We three are a family. We helped each other hang on to our dreams and saw them survive and take off. I agreed to help, and we used the deal with the studios to provide a decoy... and if anyone got too nosy, there was a Burkitt wedding we could feed them. It all worked. But I’m sorry that it upset you as it did. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. Far from it. I have trusted you for most of my life... with my life. I hope you can forgive me.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jaxson had alot of mixed emotions. He had worried about things that were just smokescreens. And all could have been a lot easier if Laurel had just shared what was going on with him. As much as he wanted to stay angry about that angle, he was a lot more relieved than anything else. There was still a vestige of overriding fear that remained. Would Laurel tire of the project? Would Hollywood draw her back to its bright lights? Suitcases could easily come out of the closet.

Laurel’s words got his attention.

“I had about five seconds’ worth of doubt about my idea, but once I saw everything lined out on paper and the models laid out on the boardroom table for the studios, I knew it was meant to be. And you know me... once I make a decision, I am in it for the long haul. But I also realize that you have every right to doubt my decision because... well, you once expressed some feelings, and I was wrong in how I handled all of that. It makes me cringe to think back to that time. I was flippant and sarcastic and while I often use that as my way of pushing away tough subjects, as you rightly accused me a time or two in the past, I was way out of line. I am truly sorry for being such a witch like that and hurting you.

“And I was wrong about a lot of things. I take after Grandmother in that I don’t do well with apologies. But it’s true what is said about leaving home and then realizing that no matter where you go or what you do, home is still inside you. And it is still what calls you back, good, or bad. But dreams can rearrange themselves and become even better. Thanks to those two little gold statuettes, I suddenly had some major bargaining chips at the table. I found that I could combine my need to follow my dream of writing and making movies with being back home, where my family is and where all those I love and care about still wait for me to realize all of that. It is hokey and trite but so very true: home is right where your heart is.”

“That’s true.” Jaxson nodded. “You might have left us, but I know there are a lot of people here who never quite let you go. They always figured you might find your way back to where you belonged. That’s the thing about hearts. They can be stomped on quite a bit, but they manage to get up and keep going no matter what.” This time he held her squarely to the spot with his steady gaze. “Looks like there’s something else you need to get off your chest, so let’s have it. Just plain talk between us.”

Laurel drew in another deep breath and squared her shoulders. Jaxson had seen that stance once before when she told him goodbye and flew away. He had asked for it, and it looked like she was about to deliver it.

“I’m thinking you were talking about your heart just now. Is that what you did? You put it back together and now you’re happy again since you have someone that fits the bill of that rancher’s wife you had in mind? You and Arabella seem a pretty good match.”

“She’s a beautiful lady with a good heart, and yes, she will make a fine wife. Someday.” He paused. But he couldn’t draw it out as he saw the light in those expressive blue jewels of hers dim. There was a hope there that he wanted to hold on to with all his might. “But it won’t be asmywife. Nope. I’m afraid that I’ve gotten too used to balancing on a thin wire over a blazing pit of fire. Being constantly surprised and aggravated at times, often at the same time. Life might be a bit too quiet with her.”

Laurel had snapped back to alertness. “So, who is this paragon you seem to be describing as your preference over ‘quiet’ Arabella? Would I happen to know her? Because I’m thinking she sounds like someone I might get along with. I’m sure we just might have similar traits when it comes to arrogant, stubborn cowboys.”

Jaxson reached up and swept the hat off his head, the other hand running through and pushing the thick hair from his forehead. The hat went onto a fencepost next to him. The leather work gloves he held went on the stool next to the stall. Then he leveled his gaze on the woman standing directly in front of him, her chin raised to take whatever he was ready to dish out.

“A man would have to be a glutton for punishment to hitch his rope to a firebrand like you. And if he lived to be a hundred, he’d never figure out how to know which way his day was going to go. You call me stubborn. Well, lady, you wrote the whole book on it. A cowboy does need some quiet and space once in a while in his life.” He couldn’t help the errant smile that made a corner of his mouth twitch then. She saw it. But she kept quiet, much to his surprise.

But then there are a half million acres or so that he can find that space and quiet on any given day. The problem is that he might already have become addicted to hanging on for dear life the rest of the time. Plain words: I knew a long time ago you were going to be trouble. And your granddad gave me some advice one day to let go of you and move on. You might not be back, but life needed to go on. And I took part of his words and did that. Life went on. But letting you go…well, that just never seemed to work. So here we are in a smelly, dusty barn with several pairs of eyes watching us over their late snack chomping.

“You deserve something better like one of your fancy restaurants in Hollywood or Paris or wherever in the world you could be right now except here. But here is where you are and where I am, and this gets settled tonight. I don’t even have the ring that’s sitting in the safe at the house all this time for you, but if you’ll wait until—”

“No.”

That one word stopped him cold. It short-circuited his brain. Was she saying no to his proposal or at least the one he was making a mess of now?

“No, I am not waiting. Not one more hour or even a minute. And we are both growing old standing here right now while you say all those lovely words that are coming from your heart—and I do want to hear each and every one of them, I do—but right now, is there a question you are asking me? And does it require a yes or no?”

This was the woman he wanted to take on for the rest of his life. She had turned the tables again on him in a heartbeat. “I am asking the same question I have asked you before. I love you, Laurel Burkitt…always have, always will. Will you stay here and be this cowboy’s wife?”

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