by Julie Benson
“I love you and will see you soon.” His throat tight from his fear, he forced the words out as he tried to memorize every detail of her beautiful face.
I don’t have any pictures of her.
“I love you, too.”
The orderly smiled at Cooper, patted his arm, and then wheeled Cheyenne out of the room. A sick lump settled in his gut when the double doors down the hallway closed behind her, blocking his view. He started shaking. The world around him narrowed as pain washed over him in waves.
He couldn’t move. Could barely breathe from the pressure in his chest. He’d told Cheyenne he’d see her in a few hours, but would he? People died in routine surgeries every day from unforeseen circumstances. Bleeding issues. Anesthesia problems. Heart difficulties. And if she came out of surgery, would she be the same? Blind, unable to speak, still having seizures they could deal with. He could handle anything if she was alive and fully herself. But what if she wasn’t herself mentally or emotionally? Pain, uncertainty, the dense fog of the unknown taunted him. A dark tunnel lay in front of him, an empty void. The only light a small pin prick in the distance. The only way out lay in going through the pain.
Guide my father’s hands and bring Cheyenne back to me safe and whole. Please, Lord, don’t let this be the last time I see her.
Epilogue
Cooper’s gaze found Cheyenne laughing with her friends on the opposite site of the patio. People said views of the Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, or from the summit of Mount Everest were breathtaking. To hell with those. He’d take this one over those any day. He smiled and marveled again at her strength. If it weren’t for the shaved right side of her head and the scar giving her an edgy punk rocker vibe, no one would guess she’d undergone brain surgery a month ago.
When Cooper joined her, the smile Cheyenne graced him with and the sparkle in her eyes lit up his world as he called for everyone’s attention. “Cheyenne and I wanted to thank you for what you’ve done these last weeks. If it hadn’t been for y’all, I don’t know what we’d have done.” He teared up thinking of how these people had rallied around them.
Ty and AJ held him together during the surgery. Thank the Lord for his buddies because otherwise Cheyenne’s mother would’ve driven him and Sheridan crazy. Pretty much every hour, on the hour, she melted down, positive she’d lose her daughter as she had her husband. The four of them rotated dealing with her, ensuring no one got overwhelmed.
During Cheyenne’s recovery, Grace, Cassie, and Aubrey acted as buffers when her mom became overbearing and organized everyone wanting to bring food. The whole crew ran errands and pitched in at the clinic to keep him afloat. He and Cheyenne had started interviewing candidates for the office. Of the people they’d interviewed, the person they both agreed had the most potential surprisingly was Austin’s mother, Denise.
Cooper raised his beer bottle. “To great friends, Cheyenne’s continued seizure-free good health, and her speedy return to barrel racing.”
Their friends cheered, and the clink of beer bottles rang out.
During Cheyenne’s recovery, they’d talked a lot about their future. When Cooper tossed out turning over complete control of the SeizureReader to Tucker, Cheyenne had told him in her blunt-as-hell way absolutely not. He’d given his word to Olivia to see the project through to completion and Cheyenne intended to make sure he did. Then she offered to work with Ty to screen possible production space if Cooper and Tucker developed a criteria list. He figured Cheyenne was right. He should see the SeizureReader through, but he no longer felt as tied to Olivia’s original vision.
“Cooper forgot to add I’ve gotten the okay to ride, and it’s real riding, not this brisk walk crap,” Cheyenne said, excitement shining on her face and in her eyes.
“This soon after brain surgery? That’s amazing,” Cassie said.
Thanks to Cooper’s father Cheyenne would be able to return to the rodeo when she was back in competition form. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact.
After the operation, his father informed them Cheyenne’s surgery, which lasted six hours and thirteen minutes, had proved lengthier because the tumor had grown further into her brain tissue than predicted. He also said had it not been for his new technique, it would’ve been impossible without her losing key brain function. After Cheyenne’s mother and Sheridan left to see Cheyenne in the recovery room, Cooper had thanked his father, saying he’d be forever grateful for what he’d done for Cheyenne. When he replied he’d been glad he could help, Cooper had almost asked him to repeat what he’d said. He’d added, he was sorry he hadn’t been able to help Olivia. Then they shook hands and his father told him to call him on his cell if he had any concerns about Cheyenne.
Maybe there was hope that he and his father could have a relationship, but no matter what happened between them, Cooper had let go of his childhood pain. He’d also realized he had all the family he needed right here in Wishing.
“It’ll take some time to get back in competition form, but I’ll get there,” Cheyenne said, pulling Cooper back to the conversation.
“Remember you promised to not ride hell for leather the first time out,” he said as his hand slid into his jeans pocket to rub the diamond ring he’d picked up earlier.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll wait for the second ride to go full throttle. Cross my heart,” Cheyenne said, marking an X across her chest.
Cooper chuckled at the mischievousness in her gaze. “Maybe I should go along on that first ride. That gleam in your eyes worries me.”
“Relax. I won’t cause trouble.”
“You don’t expect me to believe that, after all we’ve been through, do you?” Cooper teased as he slipped his arm around Cheyenne’s shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” Aubrey said, a big, silly grin on her face. “Who would’ve thought when I suggested Cheyenne and I road trip to College Station, you two would end up together?”
AJ elbowed Cooper in the ribs. When he turned to his friend, he found him wearing the stupidest grin Cooper had ever seen. “Ty and I knew the day Cooper moved in here.”
“We sure did, and you owe us forty bucks each,” Ty said wearing an equally hokey smile.
When Cooper remembered their conversation that day, the stupid grins made sense. It had been Saturday after he’d talked with his mother. His buddies had given him the business about having Bruiser as a pet before starting in on Cheyenne. They’d said he couldn’t treat her as simply a roommate. He’d been so confident he could. He’d never been so thankful to be wrong.
“I need to warn you,” Cassie said to Cheyenne as she waved her hand at the men present. “These three and Zane bet all the time on the silliest things.”
“What was it this time?” Grace asked AJ, flashing her fiancé a disapproving look.
Cooper pulled out his wallet but discovered he was a couple twenties short. After handing what money he had to his friends, he turned to Cheyenne. “That day I said you and I were nothing more than roommates and coworkers.”
“We laughed at him,” Ty said, chuckling again at Cooper’s expense.
“The minute we heard he gave you a job, we knew he was a goner,” AJ added.
Cassie smiled at her husband, her face filled with adoration. “That’s what got us.”
“Sure was. Smartest move I ever made,” Ty agreed.
“I said in four months our relationship wouldn’t be any different than it was that day. While my buddies here,” Cooper hooked his thumb at his friends, “said we’d be right where we are today.”
Tugging at the neck of his suddenly tight T-shirt, he knelt beside the woman he loved. “I’ve been with two women, and I loved them both. Some people go their entire life and never experience what I’ve been blessed to find twice. Cheyenne, I don’t do casual. I’m not built that way.” He pulled the modest engagement ring out of his pocket. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Cheyenne launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, sending them sprawling in
a heap on the patio. The force of their landing sent the ring flying.
“I love your enthusiasm, but I dropped the ring. If we can’t find it, you’ll wait for a replacement until I save up to buy one.”
Cheyenne jumped off him and started crawling around on her hands and knees. “Help! Everyone start looking.”
“Is this a new party game?” a familiar voice called out.
Cooper glanced over his shoulder to see Zane step onto the patio. “What’re you doing here?”
“Look what the cat dragged in,” AJ tossed out in a good-natured jab.
“Damn, Coop, you should’ve locked the front door,” Ty teased.
“Thanks for making me feel welcome. Maybe I’ll leave,” Zane said.
“No, get over here and help find my ring. Wait! No, never mind. I found it!” Cheyenne snatched up the ring and moved to slip it on.
“Don’t you dare. Give it here.” Cooper held out his hand and she placed the ring in his palm. He slipped it on her finger and kissed her. “I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”
Applause, aws and requests to see the ring erupted around them.
“Ring?” Zane asked his face pale. “You’re getting married, too?”
“Yup, and I couldn’t be happier,” Cooper said, linking his hand with Cheyenne.
She kissed him on the cheek. “Right back at you, cowboy.”
Cooper looked at his friend and chuckled. “You realize this means you’re the last man standing. Anyone want to bet on how long Zane holds out?”
The End
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The Wishing, Texas series
Book 1: To Love a Texas Cowboy
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Book 2: To Catch a Texas Cowboy
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Book 3: To Tame a Texas Cowboy
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Book 4: Coming August 2020!
Enjoy an excerpt from
To Catch a Texas Cowboy
Julie Benson
Book 2 in the Wishing, Texas series
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“Getting dragged out in the middle of the night because two idiot teenagers vandalized the well is the perfect ending to one helluva day.” Light from the full moon spilled out from behind the clouds accentuating the harsh lines on Andrew Quinn’s face.
Even if Ty Barnett hadn’t been able to see AJ’s face, the irritation and sarcasm filling his best friend’s voice made his mood clear.
“Great job I’ve got,” AJ continued. “I was out of my mind when I took it.”
Ty knew his friend took the job as Wishing’s chief of police to stay in law enforcement. Two months ago AJ showed up at Ty’s east Texas ranch looking as if an angry mule had thrown him to the ground, dragged him for miles, and stomped on him a time or two. All he’d told Ty was he’d left the FBI. When AJ learned Wishing hadn’t hired a chief to replace their friend, Jack Mitchell, who’d died in a plane crash, AJ took the job.
“I can still call Sawyer. Isn’t he on the night shift?” Ty said, referring to AJ’s assistant chief.
“That’s all I need.” AJ strode across the field toward the small fenced off area surrounding the wishing well that the town had designated as a historic park. On the top of a soft rolling hill, the land flattened out. Clumps of trees stood in the distance, as if on guard.
But it wasn’t what city folks would call a park. There weren’t slides, swings, or benches. A simple area with a limestone well and four headstones. Simple, compared to the role it played for the town.
“Sawyer’s a decent cop, but he worries too much about what people think, rather than what he should do. I don’t get why Jack promoted him. Hell, why he thought the town needed an assistant chief.”
“Jack didn’t. When Chief Weston announced his retirement, he created the job, and promoted his buddy’s middle boy.”
“That explains a lot.”
Ty nodded. “Jack couldn’t walk in and say the position his predecessor created was unnecessary. That would’ve been a great way to start the working relationship with his staff, especially Sawyer.”
“Thanks for calling me instead. If you’d called Sawyer, he would’ve called the mayor, Mary Ann at the historical society, and then considered calling me. Can you imagine what panic we’d have?”
As they strolled across the grass to the far side of the well, Ty thought it odd that if it weren’t for the fence and the small iron post with the brass plaque explaining the legend, no one would realize the rough limestone well with the weathered roof held any importance.
Wishing’s economy revolved around cattle and horse ranching, the local medical devices components factory and tourism generated from the town’s wishing well.
Long before Ty’s time, smart and enterprising businessmen used the legend originating with two sisters to draw regional tourists, figuring those who came to make a wish would spend money at Wishing’s hotels, B&Bs, shops, and restaurants.
The oldest sister, Anne met and married Sam Watson out east where she’d grown up, but then the couple moved to Texas. Anne’s life here with her husband and three children was perfect, except for missing her sister, Alice. When the Civil War started, Sam enlisted, leaving his wife to run the farm and care for the children. Overwhelmed, Anne begged Alice to come to Texas, and Alice agreed.
The women held onto the land and kept the children fed. When the men who’d survived the war started returning home, Sam wasn’t among them. The more time passed, the more hopeless Anne grew, eventually taking to her bed.
Worried, Alice stood crying at the family well and tossed in a coin, wishing for Sam to return to the family who loved and needed him. According to the legend, a couple of days later, Sam returned, brought home by a stranger who’d nursed him back to health after finding him by the side of the road.
“While I’m glad you were here to run off the teenagers, what were you doing at the well?” AJ asked. “Don’t tell me you were making a wish. I thought you didn’t believe in the legend.”
A year ago Ty would’ve said all he cared about was the money the well and its legend brought to town. He’d have laughed at anyone insisting a wish he’d made for someone “out of the deep and abiding love the sisters shared” had come true. But since Cassie, Ty wondered if there wasn’t something to it.
“I was checking on a mare due to foal, and discovered Lulabelle had gone exploring again,” Ty said referring to his seventeen-year-old escape artist mare. “Her tracks led this way. For some reason, it’s one of her favorite spots. That’s how I stumbled onto Shane and Ethan creating their little art project.”
“Who knows how much damage they would’ve done if you hadn’t found them.”
AJ stared at the black spray-painted words: losers count on wishes. “This needs to stay between you and me.”
“As the head of the Chamber of Commerce, I agree.” Ty nodded. “If word gets out, everyone will call for special meetings to deal with ‘the issue’, and Mary Ann will lead the charge.”
AJ rubbed the back of his neck. “Yup, I can see her insisting I post a guard twenty-four seven to protect the well, and Mayor Timmons would jump right on that band wagon.”
“I know this job can be a pain in the ass,” Ty said. “It’s sure as hell not glamorous, and won’t get you big-time atta boy pats on the back, but how you deal with this will have a huge impact on the town.”
“I need to put the fear of God into Shane and Ethan to keep their mouths shut.”
“I know both boys’ parents, and they’ll back you up. They won’t want this getting out either.”
“Hopefully a hefty fine and threate
ning them with a night or two in jail will scare them enough to keep them from pulling another bonehead move like this.”
“With Ethan you’ve got extra leverage. He’s got a football scholarship at A&M—”
“Enough said. I know how I’ll play that one. I’ll start with the Aggie Code of Honor.” An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do. While technically this wasn’t one of those, the stunt fit the spirit of the code.
“I’ll get white paint from home, and be back in ten minutes. While you’re fixing the fence, I’ll talk to our painters and their parents.” AJ shook his head. “Six months ago I was infiltrating a human trafficking ring, and now I’m dealing with teenager graffiti. I can’t believe this is what my professional life has become.”
Ty let the comment slide, but as AJ stalked off, he grew more concerned about his friend. Funny how a tour in Afghanistan and the atrocities AJ had seen with the FBI hadn’t dampened his true-blue change-the-world spirit or made him bitter, but becoming Wishing’s chief of police was coming close.
Ty glanced over his shoulder at the well. He’d never believed in the legend, but since his sister, Aubrey, told him about the wish she’d made for him, Ty wondered. Then there had been the wish he’d made for Cassie when he thought she’d left for New York. He’d have lost his soon-to-be wife if not for this wishing well.
Maybe there was something to the legend after all, and if there wasn’t? What the hell? Making a wish couldn’t hurt. Ty shoved his hand into his pocket, pulled out a coin, and returned to the well. He tossed the money into the darkness. “I wish AJ would figure out what he wants out of life, ’cause right now he sure as hell doesn’t know, and he’s becoming a pain in the ass.”
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