Waltz With Me, Cowboy

by Debra Holt

  His palm reached to cup her chin as his mouth eased from hers, her eyes had to blink and refocus. He didn’t go far. “I think you agree with me on this level?”

  She nodded her head, her gaze falling back on those lips just an inch or so from hers. “It’s the best level.”

  “Now that I have your attention and agreement that we have moved on from friendship, I think it’s time I state my intentions.”

  That brought her gaze up to meet his. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “Calla Rose, from the first day I met you, my life has definitely not been the same. One moment it feels like a roller coaster, then the next is a slow boat ride on a lazy river, and then I’m dumped over rapids again. What I’m trying to say is that you make life worth it all… the smooth parts, the rocky ones… they are all adventures in a lifetime that I don’t want to miss a moment of.”

  Oh no…was he going to say the words? In a rowboat? They needed to be on land… now. Her eye caught sight of the oar beside her. Her hand latched on to it and she went onto her knees, trying to pull it forward and into the water while taking a seat behind her. Wrong move.

  The sudden movement sent the boat rocking and at the same time, her quick change caught Ty off-guard and he moved to right himself across from her. And then she dropped the oar into the water and they both made a grab for it. Really big mistake.

  Those words echoed through Calla’s brain as she went backwards into the cold water of the spring-fed river. The shock made her take a gulp of water and then she came up spitting it out. She caught sight of the boat, bottom up bobbing away from her. Then a body shot out of the water, a couple feet from her. Ty caught sight of her. An arm reached out to her and her hand was caught. He pulled her through the water to him. He was clearly able to touch the bottom a bit and he managed to move them until her toes were on something solid beneath her.

  But she was okay because she had landed in the best place of all, her arms locked around his neck, their bodies plastered to each other in a very pleasant way. The cold water was forgotten as heat began to course from one body to the other.

  Ty ran a hand over his face and pushed his hair back over his forehead, shaking his head. “Calla Rose. I swear we have to stay on dry land from now on. Boats are not your thing.”

  “I think you might be right. But it does give you the chance to be my hero and rescue me.”

  His grin made her all warm inside all over again. “That does make it worthwhile, I agree.” And then something akin to sheer panic changed his expression and his arms weren’t around her anymore, and she lost her footing and went under briefly. She caught the bottom and righted herself again, spluttering the water.

  “Hey! I thought you were being my hero.” She saw his attention was elsewhere, his eyes searching the clear water and looking for something underneath it. Then he was gone. He had dived under the water after something. He came up with a small box held high in his hands.

  “Have you gone crazy?”

  “Almost. I thought I had lost it. It wasn’t in my pocket any longer. Thank heavens we’re on a shelf of limestone. Any deeper and I’d be calling in the volunteer dive team right now. That’d give the town something to talk about.”

  “What’s so important that you dumped me for it?”

  Ty took a breath and his gaze grew serious. They stood toe to toe but he didn’t move to take hold of her, something she sorely missed.

  “I had made up my mind today that I was going to tell you that I wanted more than friendship between us. I haven’t exactly hidden the fact of how I feel about you. Seems everyone in town knew about it before I did but then I’m a stubborn man at times. And I was also afraid to say anything for fear that you might decide a small town isn’t where you want to spend the rest of your life. Truth be told, that day in San Antonio, I also went there not just to support you but to see if it would change your mind and take you back to wanting to be a big city attorney.”

  “I don’t want to be a big city attorney. I think McKenna Springs is just my size now. Someday I might want to hang out a lawyer shingle here… you never know. But this is my home now.”

  “Well, before we took this unexpected swim, I was about to ask you something I’ve never asked any woman before. It’s scarier than I thought it would be. And then I almost lost the ring and…”

  “Ring? What ring?”

  “I’m doing this all wrong. But here it goes.” He drew in a deep breath and then slowly the words came out. “I love you, Calla. I have from the moment you doused me with beer and then gave me attitude in my office. And I know for certain that you’re the woman I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with because it will never be boring. And the ring is this one,” he held the wet box in the palm of his hand, the diamonds catching and reflecting the bright rays of sunlight. “It’s been in my family for a long time. It’s been worn by some pretty special ladies. I think they would approve of my choice right now. Will you wear it?”

  Calla knew tears were mixing with river water dripping down her face, but she didn’t care. And she couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up without warning from inside her. She couldn’t contain it. She did try when she saw the perplexed look on Ty’s sincere face. He was thinking she was laughing at his proposal? Oh no.

  “No! No!” Then she realized she had shouted the words out loud and saw he had taken those words to heart. “Yes! Yes! I mean yes, I want to marry you. I want to wear the ring. I said no because I was afraid you misunderstood me and …”

  The words were cut off when he swept her up against him and smothered her speech with his mouth. The kiss was delicious and hot and joyful and a little sinful all rolled into one… much like she was certain their lives would be from that moment forward.

  EPILOGUE

  “Mind explaining to me why there’s a rowboat filled with ice and being used as a drink dispenser in the garden next to the beautiful wedding cake?” Jaz stood at the top of the front porch steps surveying the transformation of the garden. Late June in the Texas Hill Country. Lily had won the lottery. Ty and Calla had not wanted to waste another moment of their future together as they put it when announcing the date.

  “All I can say is that each time I have questioned the bride and groom on that particular subject, I get that syrupy-look cast between them and then silence. I don’t think they plan on sharing all those details with us. And I, for one, am probably glad of it.” Lily handed the bouquet of red, pink, and yellow roses off to Jaz. They were both in shades of turquoise in chiffon street-length dresses of their own choosing. Calla had chosen a tea-length gown of traditional lace top and full-chiffon skirts that billowed around her as she walked down the staircase to join them just inside the house. A mini-veil was held in place by her signature red rosebuds. She chose to carry three long-stemmed roses in each of their designated colors wrapped in satin streamers as a homage to the mother who had named them and called them her most precious rosebuds.

  She and Ty had chosen to recite their vows to each other under the gazebo in the center of the rose garden that was just coming into its first full bloom under the gentle hands of Lily. Life was coming back to the Yellow Rose and their childhood home.

  “We still have a few minutes so I’m going to check one more time on the caterer in the kitchen and be right back. Don’t start without me.” Lily made the joke and ran off down the hall.

  “You’ve been awfully quiet these last few days. We haven’t had much time to talk, but I think there’s something up.” Calla had watched her sister and noted the uncommon quietness and she often seemed to be in deep thoughts and elsewhere during conversations. It wasn’t like her and she was worried about her. She didn’t want to leave not knowing if things weren’t okay. Jaz would be keeping an eye on the Yellow Rose while she was gone, and Calla had been grateful beyond measure for her taking vacation time to do that.

  “Remember when you had that idea I should put some time in and make the back area of the Yellow
Rose into a restaurant?”

  “Yes. You didn’t seem too interested so we decided to shelve it for a later time.”

  “Well, that later time might have come sooner than we thought. I didn’t want to rain on anything but three weeks ago, Dave sold the restaurant to someone else… a chain. And all my work was for nothing it seems.”

  “No, Jaz. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Perhaps I could have…”

  “Stop it! That’s why I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want any of my stuff to rain on your happy day. I’m okay. I got over the anger… well, most of it. And now, I just have to go through that open window that mom always told us opens when the door shuts in our face. So, we can discuss it when you return from your honeymoon. We are all going to be fine. And you are living that dream we all had that day in this very garden remember?”

  “I remember!” Lily spoke up, joining them at that moment. “We planned this elaborate wedding in the corner of the garden, much where the gazebo is right now. We robbed all those petticoats and prom dresses from mom’s trunk in the attic, and stole her heels, and jewelry. We chose our music and even made cupcakes for the reception. Then we played music as we each took turns walking down the aisle to our dream guy. It was a hoot.”

  “I remember that Jaz’s guy was the Fonz… you said you liked older, hip guys.” Calla laughed.

  “Yours was Johnny Depp… talk about a walk on the wild-side.” Jaz kidded Lily on her choice.

  “And yours Calla was… George Strait. Go figure. Here you are marrying your cowboy.”

  “Well, he can’t sing. But he can certainly fill a pair of jeans.” Calla giggled as she felt her cheeks grow warm.

  “Calla Rose! You’re blushing! And I thought no one but Lily did that. We better get you down that aisle right now.” Jaz pushed them toward the door. “Hey, you never showed us what Ty gave you last night after the rehearsal dinner. I saw him hand you the wrapped gift and then you two disappeared outside into the moonlight. What was it?”

  “I guess you’d call it my last ‘front porch gift.’ It was a sign he had made for me.”

  “A sign? What did it say?”

  “Calla Rose Conners… Attorney-At-Law. He said I would need it to hang outside the office space I had looked at once or twice over the last few weeks. He took the space, furnished it and made the sign. He said I should follow my dream all the way.”

  “Damn.” Jaz said the word with some force.

  “What’s that for?” Lily demanded.

  “I think our sister just got the last truly romantic guy out there. That leaves us with zip.”

  Calla put her arms around them both and hugged. “I have absolute confidence that when you girls least expect it, the men who hold the other half of your hearts will appear. And when they do… grab them ladies… and never let go. Now, I have a walk to take down an aisle.”

  Calla didn’t need anyone to guide her once she turned onto the sidewalk leading to the gazebo. She knew there were smiling guests seated in chairs on either side of her, but she didn’t really see them. Her eyes were locked on a pair of green ones who held her in their spell the whole length of petal-strewn aisle. She couldn’t much remember about the words the preacher spoke. But she could feel the warmth of the solid arm beside hers and the strength of the hand holding hers so protectively inside his. That was what she would forever remember of her real wedding day. The man beside her promising to have and to hold from that day forward and for all eternity beyond that. He was better than any dream groom. He was her home. Calla Rose had at last come home to the Yellow Rose.

  Beware the Ranger

  (Texas Lawmen Series – Book 1)

  Twelve years ago, Kaitlyn Russell had a dream: living happily ever after with Clay Morgan. Except her grandmother had bigger plans for her beloved granddaughter and they didn't include life in the small town of McKenna Springs as the wife of a young, poor deputy. Kaitlyn's heart was broken when Clay and her grandmother convinced her to pursue her second love, Broadway stardom.

  Texas Ranger Clay Morgan is a widower with a young son to raise. A dozen years before, he had to make the most difficult decision of his life when he agreed to let go of the only woman he'd ever loved so that she could pursue her dreams.

  Now, fate and an old woman’s guilty conscience conspire to bring Clay and Kaitlyn back together once more. Will they be able to lay the past to rest and rekindle their love from the ashes?

  Claiming the

  Maverick’s Heart

  (The Cartwright Series – Book One)

  “He’s back.”

  Words Macy Donovan hoped to never hear.

  Trace Cartwright was the maverick rodeo cowboy who broke her heart, leaving her on the steps of the church on the eve of their wedding. Now he's returned to build his home and to lay claim to her heart ... again. Macy barely survived the broken heart the first time. Does he think he can walk back into her life and take up where he left off?

  Love Beneath the Blue Texas Sky

  J.D. Sterling shook the dirt of the small Texas town from his boot heels a dozen years before. Now, he’s returned… not as the poor country boy who left to follow his dream, but as country music’s sexy superstar. He has everything he always wanted except for the girl who holds his heart. Mandy.

  Years come and go and people change. Amanda Lawson has grown up. From heartbreak and struggling to survive to becoming a successful businesswoman, she has taught herself to never look back. Once before, she had survived the wild, green-eyed cowboy with only a guitar to his name and a pocketful of dreams. Then he left her behind with nothing but his hollow vows and a shattered heart.

  Mandy was his muse. J.D. was her dream. But tragedy and broken vows can be insurmountable obstacles. Can they find their way home to each other again… or is it too late?

  His Country Bride

  "Sheriff's Department! Raise your hands above your head and don't move." She’s a runaway bride who left her two-timing fiancé at the altar. He’s a county sheriff determined to keep the peace in his country and leave city girls alone after his own fiancé left him for the bright lights of the city. Neither of them planned on running straight into each other...over a burning wedding dress. Ellie and Lucas planned on never trusting their hearts to love again. When danger follows her from the city, the sheriff must do his duty to protect her. However, it isn’t long before he discovers the real danger may be to his heart. Ellie just might teach him that even a city girl can be a country girl at heart.

  About the Author

  Debra Holt Born and raised in the Lone Star state of Texas, Debra grew up among horses, cowboys, wide open spaces, and real Texas Rangers. Pride in her state and ancestry knows no bounds and it is these heroes and heroines she loves to write about the most. She also draws upon a variety of life experiences including working with abused children, caring for baby animals at a major zoo, and planning high-end weddings (ah, romance!).

  Debra's real pride and joys, however, are her son, an aspiring film actor, and a daughter with aspirations to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (more story ideas!) When she isn't busy writing about tall Texans and feisty heroines, she can be found cheering on her Texas Tech Red Raiders, or heading off on another cruise adventure. She read her first romance...Janet Dailey's Fiesta San Antonio, over thirty years ago and became hooked on the genre. Writing contemporary western romances, is both her passion and dream come true, and she hopes her books will bring smiles...and sighs... to all who believe in happily-ever-after's.

  Debra invites you to visit her website at

  www.debraholtbooks.com.

  She loves to hear from other aspiring authors or readers via:

  Email : debraholtbooks@gmail.com.

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraholtbooks/

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