Sun Burnt

by Cat Miller

  It was fun to meet so many of the townspeople as she and Beau made their way through the fair. Beau held her hand and introduced to her everyone who stopped them. Everyone was so friendly and accepting. That was the nice thing about small towns. Most everyone was very welcoming. Except for a handful of women who’d turned their noses up at her and Beau. Kesslyn had a feeling they were Beau’s ex-sweethearts. She couldn’t blame them. If she lost Beau, she’d be a sourpuss, too.

  There was a carnival that would last into the night. The fireworks began shortly after nightfall. Beau helped her onto the Ferris wheel and jumped in next to her like an excited kid. The seat rocked back and forth making her giggle.

  “I love the sound of your laugh, baby.” Beau gave her a quick kiss and rocked the seat again.

  They were strapped in and holding hands like teenagers on their first date. She supposed this was their first date if you didn’t count sex in a hotel parking lot. They reached the top of the ride just as the fireworks began, and Beau’s face lit up. He’d planned the day around making it onto the Ferris wheel at the perfect time.

  “Wow! You can see everything from up here.” She looked out over the carnival with its flashing lights and spinning rides from high above it all.“Thank you for bringing me today, Beau. I’ve had so much fun. I think I needed a break from all of the pressure. This was right on time.”

  “Of course I brought my girl to the carnival. I had to show off the prettiest girl in town. I hope to have many, many more days like this with you, Yankee.” He kissed her again, slower and deeper, taking her breath away. She was beginning to enjoy the way he called her Yankee. It was a reminder of all of the Scottish historical romances she’d read. The highlanders always called the English women Sassenach, which should have been an insult, but eventually it became a term of endearment. Yes, it was growing on her. She wasn’t a yankee, but she didn’t mind too much being Beau’s yankee.

  The fireworks began, and the first loud crack of sound shocked them apart. The giant wheel went around and around while color and light exploded in the sky. It was amazing. She was tucked under Beau’s arm with her head tipped back to watch the show. It was a perfect summer day that Kesslyn would never forget.

  When the show was over, and they climbed off the ride, Beau was diverted by a few of the other cowboys from the W. They were playing a game with water guns that filled balloons and trash talking each other while Kesslyn looked on in amusement.

  Someone a few booths down called her name and Kesslyn was happy to see Bitsy the barmaid from Hooligans waving her over to the beer tent that was doing a brisk business. It was getting late, all the families had headed home. The carnival now belonged to the adult crowd, and everyone was having a great time. Kesslyn trotted down to say hello.

  “Thank you!” Kesslyn happily accepted the free beer Bitsy handed her.

  “You’re welcome. I was hoping I’d run into you. I’m planning an overnight trip to Dallas for some shopping. I was wondering if you might want to tag along. It’ll be fun, I promise! We’ll shop all day and hit the town for a little fun in the evening. What’d you think?” Bitsy looked up at her so hopefully.

  The woman was a cute little petite thing. Shopping with her might be depressing, but Kesslyn’s ego could handle it. She needed to find some more ranch friendly clothes, and a few new sundresses would be nice in this hot weather.

  “I’d love to. Just let me know when,” Kesslyn agreed.

  Bitsy squealed with delight and hugged her hard.“Yay! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

  They exchanged numbers, and Bitsy promised to contact her in the next couple of days with more details.

  When Kesslyn made it back to the game Beau and the other cowboys had been playing, everyone she knew was gone. She should have let him know before she wandered off. Beau was probably hunting for her. She walked further down the row of booths and games, but didn’t see him.

  Kesslyn wandered back in the other direction, thinking Beau might have walked passed her in the crowd of beer patrons and not even seen her. She was passing a cotton candy stand when Beau’s voice caught her attention.

  “I don’t have time for this shit, Luann. Kesslyn is probably looking for me by now, and I don’t want her to catch me with you,” Beau said to the gorgeous blonde.

  Beau and Luann were on the other side of the cotton candy cart. Kesslyn stayed where she was. If they didn’t want her to listen to their conversation, they should have gone someplace private.

  “I don’t give a shit about the fat ass, man-stealing city slicker! I heard she can’t even sit on a horse! The car she drove into town was one of those Japanese electric things! No wonder she broke down!” Luann put her long, fake, hot pink nail tipped hands on her tiny hips and scowled up at Beau. The woman was nearly indecent in her booty shorts and low cut tank top.

  “Again, I don’t have time for this shit. What do you want?” Beau asked again.

  He didn’t defend her at all, and that hurt.

  “I’m here to tell you I ain’t gonna wait for you much longer, Beau Knox! Everybody knows Mr. Baird put you up to seducing that slut to keep her here in town. The whole town knows she’s gonna sell the ranch and all the land. You can’t stop her. It ain’t like you’re gonna marry her or anything. What does Mr. Baird think will happen when she realizes the two of you have been playing her for a fool?”

  Every word out of Luann’s mouth was like punch to Kesslyn’s gut. Her grandfather’s supposedly trusted lawyer instructed Beau to seduce her? She’d truly believed the old man was on her side. He’d given her a heavy guilt trip every time they met. That he understood. He was worried about what would happen to the peaceful little town if a corporation bought up the land. He was concerned for the ranch employees who would lose their jobs. That she could totally understand, but this? This was underhanded and hurtful.

  Kesslyn waited for Beau to deny the charges. She expected him to tell Luann he wanted Kesslyn. He was supposed to tell Luann that Kesslyn and he were together for real. He’d asked her to take a chance on a future with him. He was supposed to tell Luann to go to hell because Kesslyn was his girl. That’s not what happened.

  “You let me worry about Kesslyn and Mr. Baird, and keep your big mouth shut about it, Luann. You have no idea what’s going on, so stay out of it. I’ve got things under control. I’ve got to go before Kesslyn sees us together.” Beau turned and strode away from Luann.

  “You heard what I said, Beau! I’m not the one! I ain’t waiting around forever. You get your shit together quick or I’m moving on!” she shouted at his back and everyone turned to look at her.

  Kesslyn quickly stepped into the nearest booth so she wasn’t seen. Her heart felt torn in two. She had fallen in love with Beau, but he was just acting. She’d made it so easy for him, too. Luann was right. She had been played for a fool. But no longer.

  Kesslyn’s bruised heart was pounding loudly in her ears. She wanted to break down and cry. She wanted to scream and shout her pain to the open night sky, but that wouldn’t do her any good. She wiped away the tears that had begun spilling down her cheeks and steadied her nerves.

  “You alright, Ms. Walker?”

  Kesslyn turned to find the sheriff standing not far away. She wondered if he too was in on the plot.

  “I’m not feeling well, Sheriff, and I seem to have lost my date.” She smiled weakly.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Ms. Walker. Why don’t you come on with me, and I’ll give Beau a call.” He held out his arm for her take and pulled out his phone. He was leading her to the parking lot while he spoke to Beau.

  Dull emptiness and despair replaced the anguished feeling of betrayal and humiliation she’d felt after hearing Beau’s true reason for being with her. She’d been such a sucker. He didn’t want her. He was attracted to her, sure. She knew because he’d had no idea who she was the night they’d met at Hooligans. Or had he? Was it too coincidentally that she happened to meet him on her way to the ranch? He was
the man who was on a mission to manipulate a stupid city slicker, after all, and it had worked brilliantly. Kesslyn fell hard and fast when Beau turned that sexy cowboy charm on her.

  Anything was possible in this small close knit town. Luann said Mr. Baird had enlisted Beau to seduce her into staying. Someone at the hotel, the bar, or even the sheriff could have called Beau to tell him where to find her. Luann herself, had been calling everyone in town with the rumor of a stranger in the bar. She felt like such an idiot.

  Every moment they’d spent together was now suspect. She couldn’t believe a word he’d ever muttered was true. He was a liar. A manipulator. And Kesslyn was the fool who’d believed him. She wondered how far he would have taken it. How long would he have strung her along before finding some reason to break it off?

  Kesslyn tried to close her mind to the pain and focused on getting through the next few moments. She didn’t want Beau to suspect the gig was up. She would make an excuse to go back to the house. Then she’d find a way to get through the night without expiring from embarrassment and heartache.

  In the morning she’d be heading home, back to the hustle and noise of city life. It was a different existence than ranch living, but no less beautiful for its different pace. It was the life she’d always known. At home in her familiar surroundings, Kesslyn knew when to be wary. In Walker Creek, people pretended to like her. They pretended to care. Beau had pretended to be falling for her. At least at home the danger was evident. The bad guys didn’t look like southern gentlemen and sweet old men who treated you like family.

  One month later . . .

  “Ward Realty, this is Kesslyn. How may I help you?” Kesslyn answered the phone and forwarded a call to her boss and best friend’s office.

  It was her first day back on the job and possibly the last if she didn’t get her shit together. She’d been making stupid mistakes all day. It was the story of her life these days. One mistake after another. Well, if Mitchell fired her, at least she wouldn’t need to figure out how to survive. She didn’t need to work, but if she spent one more day cooped up at home, she was going to lose her mind.

  After being out in the wide open space of Walker Ranch, she was feeling cramped in the brick row house she’d grown up in. There was plenty of room, and she’d never felt closed in before. Baltimore was still the same busy, eclectic city. Nothing had changed while she was gone. It wasn’t the house or the city, but Kesslyn herself, which was different now. She’d come home a changed woman.

  Kesslyn wished for the millionth time that she’d never met that handsome Texan in Hooligans on her first night in Walker Creek. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. She might have been able to hold herself apart from Beau if she hadn’t laughed with him, danced in his arms, or found unequalled passion under his hands and body. She might have made it out with her heart if she hadn’t begun to dream of little brown-eyed children running the halls of her family’s big old ranch house. But all of those things had happened.

  Now her life was like a purgatory. The days were endless. The nights even more so. She didn’t want to eat. Sleeping was nearly impossible. Mitchell had done his best to cheer her up. He’d offered to sell her property commission free. That was crazy. She wasn’t going to sell the land or company. She just wasn’t going to live there. That was all. She was considering finding a new lawyer after Mr. Baird’s scheming. She was sure it was against a lawyer’s oath of office to manipulate their clients for their own gain.

  As far as the ranch and the property she owned in Walker Creek went, Kesslyn had known shortly after arriving there that she couldn’t sell generations of her family’s hard work. Beau’s plot to seduce her into staying had been a waste of his time. She’d already spoken to the accountants. The account that paid out to the town when things were needed would stay in place. The firm would inform her when they disbursed the funds and where the money was going.

  There were cattlemen to run the ranch. She could oversee the business from Baltimore with the help of a manager on site in Texas. It would all work out. There was no need for her to ever see the place again. Even if she wanted to so badly it hurt.

  Heaving a sigh of resignation Kesslyn gathered her things and began the short walk from Ward Realty to home. The noise of traffic and rush-hour press of people brought her spirits even lower. The memory of staring up at the Texas night sky from a blanket crept up on her. It would be so peaceful at home. Home. Walker Creek wasn’t her home. She had to stop thinking that way. She was at home right where she was.

  Kesslyn stopped in her tracks a few houses from her own front door. She stood there blinking, sure she wasn’t seeing correctly. This was it. She’d gone over the deep end. Her broken heart was playing tricks on her.

  On the front stoop of her home in the downtown Baltimore sat a big man in jeans, cowboy boots, a Stetson, and a black t-shirt rolled up at the sleeves. His giant dually truck was taking up two parking spaces in front of her house and people passing by looked just as confused by the presence of the cowboy on a city street as he looked uncomfortable to be there.

  Beau was scanning the busy street. His eyes passed over her once without really seeing her. The recognition dawned and he froze for a second. His throat worked as he swallowed hard. He got to his feet and stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets, walked toward her with that loose limbed gait that was all cowboy.

  Kesslyn’s heart beat a wild tattoo in her chest. He was not the figment of her tormented imagination. Beau was there, on her street, waiting for her. The torment of missing him was suddenly overshadowed by the pain of seeing his handsome face again.

  He stopped a couple of feet away and looked her over from head to toe. She must look like a completely different person in her business attire. They stood there, staring at each other, until Kesslyn couldn’t take it anymore. She walked past him at a brisk pace. She climbed the three steps to her door and dug out her keys. Opening the door, she went inside and attempted to shut it behind her, but a huge boot was jammed in the door. She hooked the security chain, but she couldn’t shut the door any further. Nor could he push his way in.

  “Kesslyn, baby, we need to talk,” he pleaded.“Please let me in. I’ve missed you so fucking bad. Please, Yankee, just give me a chance to explain.”

  The sight of him was bad enough, but hearing her name in that slow drawl and deep rumble of his voice shook something loose in her chest. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. She would not cry in front of the man who had shattered her heart. Why did he have to come here, to her home? She didn’t need memories of him here too.

  “There’s nothing to explain, Beau. I heard everything I needed to hear on the Fourth of July. You didn’t need to come all this way. I have no intention of selling. I never really did. You wasted your time. So you can run on home and tell all of your cohorts not to worry. Your work here is done. Maybe they’ll give you the key to the city.” She couldn’t hold back the tears.“You can go back to Luann now.” She choked on the words.“Just please leave me alone.”

  ****

  Beau couldn’t stand to hear the pain in her voice. It had taken him a few days to piece together exactly what had sent Kesslyn running without a word. He’d been hurt at first. Then he was angry as hell. What did a man do when everything he’d been certain of his entire life was wrong? He’d never imagined that he could be happy with just one woman. Now he felt like he’d never be happy again without one woman in particular. Kesslyn had left, and he wasn’t sure why. He only knew she’d taken his heart with him when she left. She hadn’t trusted him. She hadn’t even given him the chance to explain. She packed her bags and slipped away while he and the other men were out on the range.

  When he couldn’t take the silence any longer and his heart felt like the split in its center would never heal, Beau drove into town. He barged into Hodges Baird’s office and refused to leave until he had Kesslyn’s address. He was going to find his heartbreaking little yankee. He didn’t care what it took. He was going to mak
e her listen to him.

  “I don’t know what you think you heard, Kesslyn, but the time we spent together was not a game for me. Let me in, please, baby.”

  “I’m not your baby. Go away,” she said through the crack in the door.

  Kesslyn was crying. He could hear it in the way her voice cracked. It was all the proof he needed that she’d been just as hurt and miserable as he’d been since she left him. If she wouldn’t let him in he’d have to bare his heart to her nearly closed door and pray she would listen.

  “Kesslyn, just listen okay?” She didn’t answer but he knew she was still there leaning against the other side of the door. Trying to send him away. It was now or never.

  “Let’s start with Luann since she started this mess. I haven’t dated Luann since high school. She’s been waiting for me to crawl back to her ever since then. I wasn’t interested then and I’m not now. So let’s just get past that. Okay?” he asked but she didn’t respond. He supposed the conversation Kesslyn obviously overheard was playing through her mind.“When she was spouting off for the millionth time about not waiting for me forever I just let her go on. She likes to hear her own head rattle and I didn’t have it in me to fight with her. I didn’t give a damn about her opinion and at the moment I was furious that Hodges had been spreading rumors and running his mouth about conversations he’s had with me. I didn’t want people to believe I didn’t really love you. And I did love you. I still do. I was just too afraid to say it first.

  I love you, Kesslyn. Above anything else, that needs to be said. I love you, and I want to be with you. Not for your ranch or your money or the security of Walker Creek. I’m here give you my resignation as your foreman.”