Charming the Cowboy

by Liz Isaacson

  “Forty-seven thousand dollars!” the auctioneer roared. “Wow, Cornelius, you’ve got yourself a handsome sum going for this handsome horse.”

  Levi pushed Gary toward the fifty grand mark, hoping he’d back out then. With the bid at fifty-one thousand in Levi’s favor, Gary finally shook his head. The auctioneer checked for other bids, and Levi swore he’d slowed down his speech, taking several long moments before he declared Levi the winner at “fifty-one thousand dollars, folks! Give it up for Levi Rhodes!”

  The crowd did, and Levi ducked his head, a wide smile carving itself across his face.

  “Go get ‘er,” Dwayne said, taking his paddle.

  Levi didn’t need to be told twice. He jumped to his feet and pushed past the still-clapping people to go get the woman he loved.

  By the time he made it past the cash-out table, the auction was nearly over. Clarion’s horses had all been bought, and he jogged over to their stable, his receipt gaining him entrance past the cowboy standing there in a security vest.

  He passed the horses, desperately searching for Heather. His heart bobbed in the back of his throat, and he caught sight of Dylan. “Hey,” he said. “Where’s Heather Carver?” He had so many other questions, but he didn’t want to waste the time on them with Dylan.

  “With Galaxy. She’s brushin’ her down in the last stall.”

  Levi nodded. He may have said, “Thanks.” He wasn’t sure. His need to get to Heather overpowered everything, and he hurried down the aisle, the sound of his bootsteps covering any other sounds.

  She obviously heard him coming, because she appeared at the gate, her eyes searching in his direction. He paused, his chest heaving and his hopes crashing through his skull and the ceiling, and roaring into the sky.

  She turned back to the horse and patted her head. “I have to go talk to him,” she said so quietly Levi had to read her lips to catch the words. “I hope you’re right and that he understands.” Heather took a big breath and came out of the stall, twisting to make sure it clicked closed behind her. She tucked her hands into her back pockets and appraised him, a nervous look in her eye.

  Levi moved toward her, his hands itching to touch her.

  “Levi,” she started.

  “Don’t,” he said, his voice scratchy and probably too harsh. He swept her into his arms, thrilled when she giggled, lifted her feet off the ground, and held onto him. He twirled her around once, twice, three times, and set her on her feet. “I love you, and I don’t care about anything else.” He bent down to kiss her, glad when her eyes drifted closed as if she’d let him. Here he’d thought they’d have to have a long talk first, but as his lips touched hers, they both sighed into each other.

  He deepened the kiss, kneading her closer to him, desperate to never let her go again. “I’m sorry,” he said between kisses. “Please forgive me.”

  “I was gonna say that,” she said, a smile making their lips break apart. She pulled back slightly and leaned her forehead against his. They’d both lost their hats at some point, and Levi didn’t even care. “You don’t get to apologize.”

  “No?” he murmured, swaying with her. “So you’re okay with me walking out in the middle of the night? In the middle of a conversation?”

  “No, I—” She looked into his eyes. “I should’ve called you back. I should’ve been more understanding of how you felt about your son.”

  “And I shouldn’t have said it was a non-negotiable issue.” He swallowed, his fear of having another child right there at the back of his throat, ever-present in the back of his mind. “I went to Kentucky.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “You did?”

  “Last weekend. I went and told Montgomery all about you.” Levi tried to smile, but the gesture shook on his face. “It was really hard.”

  “I would’ve gone with you.”

  “You wouldn’t even call me back,” he said. “I called you from the cemetery.”

  Her bottom lip shook and tears gathered in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Levi wiped the errant tears from her cheeks. “It’s fine, sweetheart. You needed time. I hope I gave it to you.” After all, he’d asked for time too, after telling her so much in only a few days.

  “I love you,” she said through her tears. “I don’t want to lose any more time with you.” She pressed her cheek to his chest, and Levi loved holding her against his heart. “And while I’ve wanted to be a mother for as long as I can remember, it’s okay if it doesn’t happen.”

  Her words burned in Levi’s ears. “Heather.” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so admonishing, but it did. “You can’t give up what you want for me.” He’d just end up disappointing her, the way he had Johanna. “Believe me, sweetheart. I know how that ends.”

  “There are other ways to get children if we decide—together—that we want them.”

  Levi pulled back, his thoughts racing. “What do you mean?”

  Heather shrugged. “I don’t know. You seemed to think any pregnancy would end in a….” She swallowed.

  “He was stillborn, Heather. You can say it.”

  “That,” she said. “So maybe you’d be okay with adopting a baby that’s already….” She stepped out of his arms. “I’m crazy, aren’t I?” She laughed a little, but it was frustrated and not the carefree giggle he’d heard a few minutes ago.

  “You thought maybe I’d be okay if the baby was alive when we adopted it, is that it?”

  “Well…yeah.” She turned away from him to stroke Galaxy’s nose, and the horse, who had seemed so wild and free when Levi had seen her yesterday practically purred into Heather’s palm.

  “Heather.” He came up behind her and snaked his arms around her body. “If we have kids, I want them to all be girls and all look like you.”

  She leaned into his body, and he kissed her ear and then a little lower on her shoulder. “Stop it.” She pushed playfully against him and straightened again. She faced him, her dark eyes blazing with determination.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I don’t want children if it means I can’t have you.”

  Levi’s heart melted for this good woman. For her strength. For her free spirit, and he suddenly realized that the reason he’d fallen for her so fast was because she reminded him so much of himself.

  “I’m willing to talk about having kids,” he said, his voice thick. “I’m going—I mean—it’ll be hard for me. I might need to go talk to a grief counselor or something. But when I was in the cemetery, looking at my son’s grave, all I could think about was you, and how happy I’d been for those few days, and that’s when I called you.” He reached for her hand and caught the tips of her fingers in his. “I want to be happy, and I like me better when I’m with you. You make me happy.”

  Heather smiled and inched a little closer. “So we’ll talk about it.”

  And for the first time, Levi didn’t think talking about something was the worst thing that could happen. “Yeah.” He aligned his mouth with hers. “We’ll talk about it.” Then he kissed her, and that didn’t require any talking at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Heather discreetly pinched herself to make sure what was happening was real. Her skin yelped in pain, and she flinched away from her self-inflicted injury. But it meant Levi’s hand in hers was real, made of flesh and bone.

  It means his whispered words of “I love you, Heather,” were true, not just made of air and fantasy.

  It meant she’d gotten her boyfriend back. She grinned as he said, “Should we go to dinner?”

  “What about your horse?” She glanced over her shoulder toward where the stables and barns at the fairgrounds were shrinking behind them.

  “Dwayne’ll get ‘im.” Levi’s fingers tightened on hers. “I was thinking I’d ride home with you.”

  Warmth rose through Heather. “Yeah, that sounds fun.”

  “And you’ll have to come stay with me again,” he said.

  Alarm sang through
her. “I don’t think so, Levi.” She laughed. “I’m not on heavy painkillers anymore, and my arm is fine.”

  “I miss you, though.”

  “I’ve been back at work for a week. Well, I didn’t go yesterday, but no, I’m not coming to stay with you again.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “I’m back at my place, and it’s not that far from you.”

  “So…will you just come in until I’m settled?”

  She looked at him, noticing the healthy blush in his neck. “Settled?”

  “I’ve been sleeping in my office at the stables,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t go back to the house without you there.”

  She held onto his arm with her free hand. “I’ll help you get settled. But you’re going to have to marry me fast if you want me back in that house.”

  Levi froze, and Heather stepped in front of him. “Uh oh. I think I said another scary thing.”

  “How long would you need?”

  She choked and tried to cover it with a cough. “Excuse me?”

  “How long would you need to plan a wedding and get married?”

  “I…don’t know.”

  He gave her a wry smile. “I may not know every single thing about you, but I know you well enough to know you’ve thought extensively about your wedding.” He leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Extensively.”

  “Maybe by Christmas?” she said, her voice weak and her whole world brightening with the thought of actually becoming Levi’s wife.

  “All right,” he said. “I guess I can hang on alone in that house for three more months.” He started walking again. “Unless you want to live in your house?”

  “No way,” she said. “My cats will be happy on the farm, and I’m sure I can sell my place. My dad helped me make a lot of improvements and renovations when I first bought it.”

  He smiled and studied the ground as he walked. “And I’ll work on an epic proposal.”

  “Don’t strain yourself,” she teased, and they laughed together, Heather the happiest she’d ever been.

  Levi started joining Heather in the afternoons in her classroom, and she was more grateful than she could express. She was tired still, and recovering, and she thought maybe she could survive another twenty years in the classroom if he was there with her. The final bell rang and she leaned into his arms, borrowing his strength. “Rehearsal dinner tonight,” he said, sifting his fingers through her hair. “You up for it?”

  “Do I have a choice?” She groaned and then smiled. But of course she was up for it. Dwayne and Felicity were getting married the following day, and Heather had a four-day weekend in front of her as Friday was a preparation day for teachers and she didn’t have to work. That weekend was the Fall Festival, and as Heather still wasn’t wearing an engagement ring, her wedding plans had stalled.

  She and her mom had booked the church for a December twenty-eighth wedding. She’d booked the banquet room at Sotheby’s, though she’d noticed May’s pained expression. She’d gone to Austin and then Houston to find her perfect wedding dress. It was currently in alterations.

  But she couldn’t move forward with photography, announcements, or bridesmaids until more solid things were in place. More solid things like a diamond on her finger.

  She hadn’t asked Levi about it, though he questioned her about her wedding prep almost every day. He knew he needed to ask her to marry him, and she was really hoping it would happen before Dwayne’s wedding so she could show Thatcher and his wife, Piper, her friends, and anyone else who happened to show up for Felicity and Dwayne’s nuptials.

  “Let me grab my purse,” she said, stepping out of his arms and straightening the folder of sub plans on her desk one last time before opening the cupboard behind her to get her bag.

  A ring box sat there, and Heather sucked in a breath, one hand flying to her mouth while the other pressed over her heart. She’d grown used to the weight of the cast after five weeks, and it was coming off in only eight days.

  “Levi,” she drew out the last vowel of his name. With shaking fingers she picked up the box and faced him. “What is this?”

  He kept his head down, that sexy cowboy hat obscuring his eyes. He finally looked up, and the emotion in his eyes nearly undid Heather’s composure. Her heart thumped and flopped and she felt a bit faint.

  “Open it,” he said.

  She focused on the box and pulled against the springs until it cracked open. A beautiful—and huge—diamond sat inside. She braced herself against her desk as Levi swiped the box from her and dropped to one knee.

  “Heather Carver, I absolutely adore you. I want you by my side through everything life brings. Will you be my wife?”

  “Yes.” The word lodged in her throat. She nodded, her tears spilling down her cheeks. “Yes!”

  Levi stood and swept her into his arms, kissing her completely before sliding the diamond onto her finger. She admired it, and then gazed at him with such love she was sure she would burst. Or somehow wake up and find that everything since being thrown from Starscape’s back would be a dream.

  “Well, let’s go,” he said. “You’ve got to change, and I need to check on Genie and her baby.”

  “You just want to talk to Galaxy,” Heather said.

  “That too. But we can’t be late. I promised Dwayne I wouldn’t steal any of Felicity’s spotlight with the engagement, so we’re meeting your family fifteen minutes before the rehearsal dinner to make the announcement.”

  “We are?”

  “Yeah, Dwayne and I planned it.”

  “You and Dwayne plan everything without me,” she grumbled.

  “You and Dwayne have plenty of your own secrets,” Levi countered back.

  “Name one.”

  “How about that he knew you were at the auction and didn’t tell me?”

  “Is it my fault he came to look at the Clarion horses and saw me? No.”

  “Is it my fault I’m so sensitive to the needs of others and making sure they’re feeling good about things?” He bumped her with his hip. “No.”

  So he’d had a good idea not to overshadow Felicity and Dwayne’s wedding with the news of their engagement. “Maybe you should’ve asked me to marry you weeks ago.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have liked the only diamond in the state of Texas that was impossible to get.”

  Heather tipped her head back and laughed. “All right. You win.”

  An hour later, they met Dwayne and Felicity, Thatcher and Piper, and Heather’s mom and dad outside the Bluebird, where the rehearsal dinner would be held.

  “Mom.” Heather practically pranced over to her mother, a squeal building in the back of her throat. They embraced, and Heather stepped back to show her the engagement ring. Her dad whistled between his teeth, and Felicity crowded in, her face alight with joy.

  “Heather, congratulations.” They hugged, and Thatcher’s wife joined them, though she was naturally reserved and quiet.

  “It’s beautiful,” Piper said, and Heather turned to face both of her brothers.

  They beamed at her, and she stepped into their arms, enjoying a three-way hug with her siblings. “Love you,” Thatcher said while Dwayne whispered, “I can’t believe you charmed Levi Rhodes. I didn’t think it was possible.”

  She stepped back and grinned at them both. Levi put his arm around her shoulders, and said, “We’re getting married on December twenty-eighth. Hopefully it won’t interfere with your holiday plans.”

  “We’ll be around,” Dwayne said.

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Thatcher added, and Heather went with Levi when he turned her toward the restaurant. They faced her parents next, and everyone started handing out hugs like they were chocolates. Her dad even hugged Levi and said something to him that made Levi smile and nod.

  “Let’s go eat,” Dwayne announced. “Someone’s getting married tomorrow, and his stomach is a bit nervous.”

  Thatcher clapped Dwayne on the shoulder and said, “You can do this.”

>   “Do this?” Felicity said, incredulity high in her voice. “Like I’m going to be hard to live with?”

  “I can’t wait to live with you,” Dwayne said in a low voice, and Thatcher laughed. They moved into the restaurant, leaving Heather and Levi on the sidewalk with the setting sun.

  “I can’t wait to live with you either,” Levi said, pulling her close. “Tell me what to do to help with the wedding.”

  “We need a photographer,” she said. “And we’ll need to get pictures taken as soon as possible so we can get announcements sent out.”

  “I can do that.”

  “You can do anything.” She smiled up at him, sobering when he gazed down at her with the look of a man in love. “I love you, Levi,” she said.

  “I love you too, Heather.” He tipped his hat back with one hand and lifted his other to cradle her face just before he leaned down to give her the sweetest kiss from her fiancé.

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  Sneak Peek! Courting the Cowboy Chapter One

  May Sotheby escaped the truck and hurried up her front steps, with barely a wave over her shoulder at the cowboy that had taken her to dinner. Barbeque. Again. Stale conversation. Again. Wandering hands. Again.

  She yanked open the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her and locking it before breathing properly. She pressed her back into the wood and sighed. Tipping her chin toward the ceiling, she asked, “Is this all Texas has to offer?”

  This time, she’d expanded outside of the Grape Seed Falls cowboys. A big mistake. Apparently the cowboys at the ranch forty minutes away were just as unsavory as all the ones she’d dated here.

  A keen sense of disappointment cut through her as her dog’s nails clicked against the high-end tile in her entryway. Exhausted with all things relationship-related, May bent down and patted the miniature poodle’s head.