Red Hot Texan

by Katherine Garbera

  It had been hard to avoid her in the small town they lived in and he’d known they’d run into each other. It was bound to happen but he’d been hoping to have a bit more time… Maybe in a dozen years or so he wouldn’t still be so in love with her.

  Take a photo of your catch and put the fish back in the water.

  ~A Texan’s Guide to Fishing

  Chapter Seventeen

  Emma had the idea for what she wanted to do to show Red that she wanted him back. She’d had to put aside her fear of everyone talking about them and reach out to what had felt like the entire town of Last Stand but in reality was just her family and the Delaneys and Red’s parents.

  Red’s dad she’d known from growing up and she’d had a nice lunch with him and his wife. They loved her idea and were on board to help her with whatever they could do. She’d spent a lot of time talking to them and had come to realize that Red had a lot of his mom in him. She might not have been a part of his everyday life, but Emma could see the influence she’d had on her son. She was funny and kind and had a way of listening that made Emma feel like everything she had to say was important. She also spent every moment she could telling Emma about Red’s best qualities and taking the blame for him keeping Molly a secret.

  But Emma and Mrs. Aldean had quickly bonded over their love for Red. Both women wanted him happy and Mrs. Aldean was sure that Emma was the woman who could make him that way.

  Braden wasn’t as easy. “I’m not sure I should help you out. You hurt Red. I don’t know why you couldn’t see that he was doing what was best for you. I think you should know he was trying to find his way.”

  “Because I love him and I made a mistake, Braden Delaney. Something that you of all people should understand. You’ve made mistakes too,” Emma said.

  “I have. Which is why I’m willing to listen to you,” Braden said. “Plus we’re sort of related now that your sister is married to my brother.”

  “Exactly. I’m family now.”

  “So, what do you want me to do?” Braden asked.

  Emma outlined her plan and Braden just nodded and then stood up and hugged her. “I think you’ve come up with a really good plan. I’m in. Don’t tell Lea I was mean to you when you first got here. She said that I shouldn’t interfere with you and Red.”

  “I won’t mention it and technically I came to you, so you didn’t interfere.”

  “That’s right,” Braden said.

  Her parents were the hardest conversation she had. But it needed doing. She asked them to come to her house for dinner and they were both happy to oblige. They ate a meal that Emma had cooked with precise directions from Delilah and then afterward her mom and dad just waited.

  “Sorry to be so mysterious but Red and I broke up because…well I reacted badly to some news he had.”

  “What can we do?” Dad asked. “I assume you want to fix this?”

  “Yes, Daddy, I do. The thing is I have never been able to reconcile the fact that you and Mama loved us but never told us about Amelia. Mama and I talked about it not too long ago and I’m getting better about that but when Red told me about Molly, it seemed like the past and I just felt like love had let me down.”

  “Oh, sweetie, love didn’t let you down,” her mom said, taking her hand. Her dad put his hands on the table and then leaned toward her.

  “Em, these things…kids and custody, they aren’t easy issues to discuss. I imagine Red must have been feeling unsure or he would have told you. But you shouldn’t ever think that keeping that secret dimmed his love for you or our love for you.”

  She nodded. “I know. I think I knew it as soon as I drove away from Red’s house. I just needed time to get my head around it. I think I hurt Red really bad and I want to show him how much he means to me. Would you guys help me do that?”

  “You know we will,” her mom said. “What do you need from us?”

  She told them what she needed and they both agreed to help her. She had everything in place except Red. His parents had promised to keep him out of town so she could start putting her plan into action.

  The Delaneys and her sisters, as well as Joey and Lea and Lancey all helped her get everything together. She spent the afternoon when Red was in Austin with Molly and all of Molly’s grandparents putting up all of her bait and then she had to do the worst thing ever. She had to go back to her fishing hole and just wait.

  She had to hope he’d take the bait and come to her. Of course, she’d seeded the water a bit by enlisting the help of his family and friends. But in the end, she knew that it was going to be all down to her. Could she convince Red that her love was true and that she’d never leave him again?

  She was betting everything she had on the chance she was taking. There was no way she could ever deny that she loved Red Aldean. She’d pretty much chosen the most public way she could to show him what he meant to her.

  She hated being so exposed, hated the memories that it stirred from the last time she’d been in love and it had burned her. Yet at the same time, Red meant more to her than a little bit of embarrassment and truly loving him was the best thing she’d ever experienced. She’d do whatever she had to in order to win him back.

  Her dad had been helpful, digging into his Founder’s Day costume trunk and helping her to make their front yard look exactly like she wanted it to. But sitting in front of the mansion she’d grown up in, waiting for Red, was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

  *

  Red hit the brakes as he turned onto Main Street and saw the large sign in front of Good Boy! Lea Dunwoody’s shop. There was a cutout standee of Emma propped up next to it.

  The sign read:

  I could read books for days and never find the heart you gave me.

  He continued driving and in front of Yippee Ki Yay—her mom’s shop—there was a second sign and another Emma cutout.

  This one said:

  You could bet I’d be practicing making lemon box pie if I could reel you in.

  He just shook his head and started laughing.

  “What’s funny, Papa?” Molly asked, chewing on the ear of her stuffed armadillo.

  “A friend of mine is making me laugh,” he said. Not sure how to explain to his daughter what Emma had done.

  This was as public as she could get and after weeks of sneaking around so that no one would talk about them she was putting her love on display for the entire town to see. He told himself this had to be a good thing. He knew that it wouldn’t be this easy to sort it all out, but this was the kind of sign he’d never expected to see.

  He realized that though he hadn’t wanted to go back to the same fishing spot to try to win her again, Emma had definitely returned.

  He drove a little further and at the People’s Bank of Last Stand—the town bank that the Corbyns had run since the town started—he saw one more sign.

  Bait, tackle and the right spot, there is one man for Emma Corbyn and that is Red Aldean if he’ll still have her.

  Red looked around for Emma but then noticed that there was a line of Emma and Red standees leading to her parents’ house and when he got there she sat on her front yard wearing a pair of denim shorts, her cowboy boots and hat and a scoop-neck top that made his heart beat a bit faster. He parked his truck and went around to get Molly out of her car seat. He held his daughter loosely in his arms as he walked over to where Emma was sitting and waiting for him.

  She had her fingers twisted together and he knew she had to be nervous. She was sitting out here for everyone to see, just waiting for him. Molly squirmed to get down and he let her out of his arms. She took a step and then stopped, reaching back for his hand. He took her little hand in his and turned to Emma.

  “Molly, this is my friend Miss Emma. Emma, this is my daughter Molly,” Red said.

  Emma smiled over at his daughter and got up to walk over to them. She stooped down to be on Molly’s level. “Hello, Molly. I’ve been waiting to meet you. Who’s that?”

  “Hi,” Molly sa
id. “This is Dilly.”

  She held up her stuffed armadillo and Molly patted it on the head. He heard Emma talking to Molly, but he could only watch the two of them and wonder if he was imagining this. He’d never expected Emma to make a big gesture like this. No one had ever done anything like this for him.

  Finally, he just couldn’t wait any longer—he stooped down to the same level as Molly and Emma.

  “What does this mean?” he asked Emma.

  “I’ve put out some bait and figured I’d better do it publicly so that you’d know I was serious. Not just some day-tripper looking for any old Texan but a serious fisherwoman looking for the one.”

  “Papa fishes,” Molly said.

  “That’s right I do,” Red said. “But I think Miss Emma was fishing for someone in particular.”

  “Who?” Molly asked.

  “The both of you,” Emma said.

  Red nodded at her as their eyes met. “I guess you didn’t slip my line after all.”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry but something spooked me, and I had to go a little deeper to regain my perspective,” Emma said.

  “I might have jerked the line too quickly,” he said, going with her metaphor. Molly saw Lane as Braden and his brothers showed up and she darted over to him.

  “I’m sorry, Red. I think I might have overreacted,” she said.

  But he stopped her before she could say anything else. “I’m sorry too. I should have trusted you…I did trust you. I guess I didn’t trust myself.”

  “I love you so much. I’ve missed you and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without you,” she said. “I know that we have to still figure a lot of things out, but I don’t want to spend any more time apart. I want you for my own, Red Aldean.”

  “I love you too and that suits me just fine. I have wanted to reach out to you since the moment you left but I wasn’t sure how to fix this. And you’ve always been the kind of woman who doesn’t give second chances.”

  “I guess I wasn’t before you. But if ever there was a man I wanted to give all my chances to it’s you, Red.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her because he couldn’t wait another moment. He heard the sound of applause and when he lifted his head from their kiss and they stood up, he realized that his entire family was here. The Delaneys and their women, the Corbyns, his parents and the Odems. Molly and Lane were busy talking and playing but the adults were all smiling at them. Red realized that he had the family he’d always wanted and secretly craved right here.

  Red had once thought he’d never met a river he couldn’t fish, a rapid he couldn’t expertly navigate through or a problem he couldn’t solve. At least that was what he’d thought before he’d started falling for Emma Corbyn. But now he knew with her by his side he would be able to handle whatever life threw his way.

  *

  Molly was exhausted after a long day and Emma followed Red up the stairs as he carried her to her room. They placed her in her toddler bed and she realized for the first time that Red had been giving her clues about Molly all along; she just hadn’t seen them.

  “This room seems to suit her,” Emma said quietly.

  “It does. She loves it. Would you get her pajamas out of the top drawer?” Red asked.

  Emma brought the pajamas over to Red and helped him get her ready for sleep. She was soon tucked under the covers with Dilly cuddled under one arm.

  Red pulled Emma into his arms and looked down into her face. She remembered this room when it was empty and now it was full of love, Emma thought.

  He took her hand and led her out of the room and down to the patio, carrying the baby monitor in one hand.

  “Thank you for doing that today. For showing me that you accept me as I am,” he said.

  “I always did, Red,” she admitted. “I was just afraid to let myself love you.”

  “I wanted to be a better man for you, a different man, but when I talked to Mom I realized that was where I messed up. I should have been myself all along. I’m not good at pretending.”

  “I’m glad,” she said. “I love you just the way you are.”

  “I love you too, Emma. Forever and always. I want to make this permanent. I want Molly to have brothers and sisters—when you are ready—but I want a big family with you.”

  “I want that too, Red,” she said. He pulled her into his arms and they made love on the double lounger they were sitting on and then afterward he held her close. They talked about their dreams for the future and the life they both wanted with each other.

  The End

  Want more? Check out Amelia and Cal’s story in Her Texas Ex!

  Buy now!

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  Memaw Corbyn’s Lavender Lemonade

  The sugar/lemon balance will depend on what types of lemons you are using (Meyer lemons are less tart than regular lemons), and your own preference for sweetness.

  While all varieties of lavender are edible, English lavender and Provence lavender are most often used for culinary purposes.

  If you use fresh, garden flowers, make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides. Do not use florist flowers.

  INGREDIENTS

  • A small handful of freshly picked and rinsed lavender flowers or a tablespoon of dried lavender flowers

  • 1 cup white, granulated sugar

  • 2 cups of boiling water for the infusion

  • 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 2 cups or more of cold water

  • Ice

  Delilah Corbyn’s Lemon Icebox pie

  INGREDIENTS

  1. For the crust:

  • 14 whole graham crackers or digestive biscuits

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm

  2. For the filling:

  • 2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk

  • 1 1/4 cups strained lemon juice (from the 2 zested lemons below plus an additional 4–6)

  • Zest of 2 lemons

  • 8 large egg yolks

  3. For the chantilly cream:

  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

  PREPARATION

  1. To make the crust:

  1. Heat the oven to 325°F/170C. Break the graham crackers into small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar and salt. Pulse 8 times, until the cracker crumbs are semi-fine (they shouldn’t be powdery but not in large shards either) and the crackers and sugar are combined. Pour in the butter and pulse until the butter is blended in and the mixture isn’t crumbly and holds its shape when you squeeze it, about twelve 1-second pulses. Transfer the crust to a 9-inch springform pan and push and press the crumb mixture into the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crust into place. Set aside.

  2. To make the filling:

  1. Whisk the condensed milk with the lemon juice and set aside. Whisk the zest with the egg yolks in a medium bowl until pale, 30 to 60 seconds, and then whisk in the lemon juice-condensed milk mixture.

  2. Place the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet, pour the mixture into the crust, and carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake until the center jiggles slightly, like a soft-setting custard, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 hour on a cooling rack. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap (be careful not to let the plastic wrap touch the top of the pie) and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

  3. To make the chantilly cream:

  1. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Add the vanilla and sift in the confectioners’ sugar. Whip on low speed to combine and then increase the speed to medium-high and whip until medium-stiff peaks form, abo
ut 1 1/2 minutes.

  2. Before serving, wrap a wet, warm kitchen towel around the edges of the springform pan to release the pie from the pan’s sides. Unclasp the pan and remove the pie. Fill a pitcher with hot water, dunk your knife in, wipe off the blade, and slice. Top with a dollop of chantilly cream and serve immediately, or keep in the freezer for up to 1 week.

  If you enjoyed Red Hot Texan, you’ll love the next books in….

  The Corbyn Sisters of Last Stand series

  Book 1: Red Hot Texan

  View the series here!

  Book 2: Texas Christmas Baby

  Coming November 2020!

  Book 3: Texan for the Taking

  Coming January 2021!

  More books by Katherine Garbera

  The Dangerous Delaneys series

  Book 1: Her Texas Ex

  Buy now!

  Book 2: Full Texas Throttle

  Buy now!

  Book 3: Texas Christmas Tycoon

  Buy now!

  The Scott Brothers of Montana series

  Book 1: A Cowboy for Christmas

  Buy now!

  Book 2: The Cowboy’s Reluctant Bride

  Buy now!

  Book 3: Her Summer Cowboy

  Buy now!

  Book 4: Cowboy, It’s Cold Outside

  Buy now!

  Book 5: Her Christmas Cowboy

  Buy now!

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  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Katherine Garbera is a two-time Maggie winner who has written more than 60 books. A Florida native who grew up to travel the globe, Katherine now makes her home in the Midlands of the UK with her husband, two children and a very spoiled miniature dachshund.