Betting on Texas

by Amanda Renee

  A local band played next to the dance floor the men laid earlier and quickly filled with people of all ages. Just about everyone in Ramblewood was there. Some out of friendship, but most out of curiosity about the new woman in their small town. Miranda delighted them all.

  Children gathered around Miranda as she sat under an oak tree and read them Mother Goose stories. They begged her for more each time she reached the end of another story. She didn’t seem to mind, and read until the children either fell asleep or wandered off in search of a new adventure.

  Jesse and Cole turned one of the corrals into a makeshift rodeo ring, while Aaron gave horseback rides to children of all ages. Old tin washtubs packed with ice overflowed with bottled beer and soda.

  Everyone took their turn on the dance floor in the setting sun. Miranda mastered the tush push and the Texas two-step, and was in the midst of learning another new line dance. For the event she wore red cowboy boots, a faded denim skirt and a white eyelet off-the-shoulder top. She was patriotic to a T. But Jesse saw more than that. She was home.

  Vicki, Brandon and little Randi Lynn stopped by for a brief visit. Vicki and the baby remained in the truck as Miranda peeked in the side window. The baby was the spitting image of her mother. Another Ramblewood High cheerleader in the making.

  “I had to swing by and see how your party was going,” Vicki gushed. “I wish we could stay, but a newborn and all.”

  “I understand.” Miranda hugged her through the window. “I’m taking lots of pictures so I can show you everything later.”

  Brandon walked to the back of the truck and picked up two bloodhound puppies from a tall padded box.

  “A gift,” Brandon said as he handed the squiggly bunches of energy to Miranda. “No ranch is complete without a few hounds running around.”

  Miranda almost cried as she held the puppies in her arms. Max stood on his hind legs to sniff the newest members of Double Trouble. Miranda knelt down so he could have a better look at his new playmates. Tail wagging, he checked each puppy over, making sure all parts were intact.

  Vicki had tied red, white and blue ribbons on their collars, with bows the size of their heads. One was a red female and the other a black-and-tan male.

  “I know the perfect names for these two,” Miranda said as she placed the puppies on the grass. “Scarlett and Rhett.”

  Jesse rolled his eyes at her name choices, but then again, this was the same woman who needed an entire bookcase for her romance novels. Miranda rubbed their pudgy puppy bellies and they all laughed when the puppies tripped over their own feet.

  “Brandon, honey,” Vicki said through the window. “Hand Jesse that gift bag. Miranda’s hands are full. Their food, shot records and a few toys are all in there. Call if you need anything.”

  “Vicki, this is so sweet of you.” Miranda squealed when Rhett nibbled at her earring.

  “I hope you think so a few days from now.” Vicki laughed. “You told me you wanted children someday. Here’s where you start. Welcome to mommyhood.”

  The ranch cleared out as everyone made their way down to Sparks Memorial Field for the fireworks display.

  A few folks volunteered to stay behind to clean up and watch the horses. Jesse was usually one of them, but not this year. He wanted Miranda to see her first Texas Independence Day celebration with him by her side. With Mable’s help, Jesse convinced her to leave the puppies with her and join him.

  Since the fireworks tended to spook the horses when they were in the corrals, Jesse moved them all inside the stables and played country music throughout the building. Aaron came up with the idea to dampen the sound of the fireworks the week before. It was a good one. Just another thing to add to Jesse’s “reasons I am such an ass” list.

  * * *

  JESSE AND MIRANDA FOLLOWED the trail of vehicles leaving the ranch. When everyone else headed toward the field, Jesse made a sharp right turn onto a winding dirt road that opened to Miller’s pecan grove. He stopped the truck on the top of a hill and turned off the engine.

  “Wait here,” he said as he hopped out of the truck.

  Miranda heard his boots in the bed of the truck and turned to see what he was doing.

  “No peeking!” he shouted.

  Miranda giggled and faced forward. He opened the passenger-side door, took her by the hand and helped her down. Around the back of the truck, the lowered tailgate revealed blankets, bowls of fresh blueberries and strawberries and a crock of whipped cream.

  “And what kind of night do you have in mind, cowboy?” Miranda said with her hands on her hips.

  “Not what you’re thinking, sugar.”

  “I’m thinking I see whipped cream.” Miranda dipped her finger in the white fluff and licked it off. “It can only mean one thing.”

  “Yep. It means I wanted to take you to the very spot my folks took us kids to watch fireworks when we were younger.” He hopped onto the tailgate and helped her up.

  “And how many women have you brought up here before?”

  “Only you, sugar.” Jesse patted a place beside him for her to sit. “To be honest, I had forgotten about this place until my brother brought it up the other day.”

  “This is really nice,” she said as she settled against his arm. “I bet you and your family did a lot of things together when you were growing up.”

  “Yes and no. There’s always a party or a celebration of some sort around here. Give Ramblewood a reason to get together and people will come. So yes, my family was always together, but it was never just us. It was the whole town.”

  Miranda pictured what it would have been like growing up in a small town. D.C. wasn’t a bad place to live. It had the Smithsonian museums, which she visited more times than she could count, and concerts at the mall. The cherry blossoms in spring were breathtaking. But D.C. lacked the hometown warmth she was looking for, and she certainly never did any of those things with her mother. She learned early on to be independent.

  It was hard to feel like you belonged in such a big city. You were just another face to the person you bumped into at the grocery store. In Ramblewood, you were a neighbor, a PTA member or the postmaster. You were someone who mattered. Someone whose name they all knew.

  “If you look straight ahead—” Jesse pointed toward the valley below “—you’ll see the fireworks come right up over there.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I saw fireworks.” Miranda reached for the bowl of strawberries. “I always took shifts on holidays, anything to get ahead.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Are you kidding? All I managed to do was clock more hours for the same lousy pay with no compensation whatsoever.”

  “Tell me something I don’t already know about you,” Jesse requested.

  “Mmm. Okay.” She hopped off the tailgate and turned to face him. A smile spread across her face. “I won your little side bet, Mr. Langtry. I pulled off an amazing Fourth of July picnic this town won’t soon forget.”

  Jesse laughed while Miranda reached over her shoulder and patted herself on the back. While she danced in victory, he jumped down from the tailgate and applauded her. The vanilla scent of her hair permeated the air and he found it hard to control his desire to kiss her neck.

  “Well done, sugar.”

  Miranda spun around and planted a kiss on his mouth. Fierce and deep with an urgency that wouldn’t quit, taking Jesse by surprise. He did all but fall over to pull her closer.

  Miranda shatt
ered the kiss between them.

  “That, Mr. Langtry, is what you’ll be missing when I win our other bet.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not.” He tugged her back to the truck and grabbed her hips. Her back pressed along the side of the truck, he ran his hands down her waist and around to her firm backside. A heat so intense made it nearly impossible to restrain himself any longer.

  “Congratulations on the picnic—” Jesse squeezed her rump, lifting her off the ground “—but the rest of the bet isn’t over yet. You forget, I’m one of the most successful horse trainers around. You’re going to need me to keep that end of the business going.”

  Jesse kissed a trail across her collarbone. He lifted her skirt as his hands drifted up her outer thighs.

  “If you’re so successful then why couldn’t you afford the ranch?” Miranda asked smugly. She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth.

  Jesse released her, shook his head and jumped into the truck bed. The fruit and whipped cream became one as they flew into the cooler. He balled up the blankets and pushed them onto the bench seat, through the window.

  “That was low,” he spat. “Congratulations, sweetheart. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  Miranda watched in amazement as he packed up.

  He slammed the tailgate. “You have five seconds to get in or I’m leaving you here.”

  “Jesse,” she pleaded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

  “Save it.” He opened the driver’s door. “And to think I thought there may be something between us. How could I be with someone who throws their money in my face?”

  “I won the money in the Maryland Lottery.”

  “What?”

  “I won the money.” Miranda took a deep breath. “It was the one year anniversary of my mother’s death. I bought a ticket at a gas station. And I won.”

  “I had no idea—”

  “Oh, you had ideas. They were wrong, though.” Miranda wanted everything out in the open. “I didn’t rob a bank. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I wasn’t always rich. And I’m still not rich. I didn’t win millions and millions. I just won the stupid state lottery.”

  Jesse tried to pull her into his arms. “I wish you had told me sooner. I wouldn’t have jumped to so many wrong conclusions.”

  “How could I with you spouting off about earning a living?” She waved her hands in the air, brushing him away. “How you despised having things handed to you, like your family’s ranch. How could I say Maryland handed me money and I didn’t earn it? You would have lit into me more than you did when you assumed I was born into it.”

  “You’re right. I would have.” Jesse held out his hand to her. “Forgive me, Miranda. I was out of line so many times.”

  Miranda gazed out over the moonlit pecan grove. She wanted to go to him, curl up in his arms and stay there forever. No more arguments, no tension, no more bets. She wanted to trust him, only she didn’t know how.

  “Miranda?” He reached into the cab of the truck for the blankets and spread them out. “Please join me.”

  She silently climbed into the truck bed and settled against the back window.

  “Let’s try this again,” Jesse said. “Tell me something about you I don’t already know.”

  Miranda shrugged. “There isn’t very much to tell.”

  “Sure there is. What were you like as a kid?”

  Miranda straightened. Her childhood wasn’t all unpleasant, just strange. And one she chose not to discuss with people. It was too painful since her mother’s death. This time it was different. She wanted to share her life with Jesse. She wanted to let him in and tell him all of her hopes and dreams.

  “My mom and I moved around a great deal when I was growing up.” Miranda opened the cooler and took a handful of the berries and cream mixture. “Just when I made friends, we moved.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jesse said.

  “Don’t be,” Miranda was quick to add. “Every new place was an adventure to me. A constant fresh start.”

  “And it didn’t bother you?”

  “Not after a while. I learned to adjust. You know how when you’re a kid and you get picked on at school, or you feel a teacher doesn’t like you?”

  Jesse nodded.

  “Well, I never had to worry about it.” She smiled. “I would make up all sorts of glamorous stories about where we had lived and why we moved. And my mom would always smile when I told her about them. I think she liked to believe the stories herself. We never moved far, just far enough to uproot my school and her job. When she had a job. Mostly we were running from evictions or everyone else she owed money to.”

  She leaned into Jesse’s hand when he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. It felt good to get everything off her chest. She had tried to talk to Ethan about her childhood, but he was never interested. Jesse gave her his full attention, urging her to tell him more.

  “I was usually one of the most popular kids in class.” Miranda stretched out on the blanket as she continued. “If anything, it made me a stronger person.”

  “What do you want most out of life?” Jesse asked, playing with the hem of her shirt.

  It was a question she hadn’t expected, although an easy one to answer.

  “Family,” she whispered.

  “Tell me again, sugar,” he murmured as he pulled her on top of him.

  “I want a family of my own. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I thought I would have one by now. But those dreams died months ago. It was why I came here.”

  A lone tear spilled onto her cheek. Jesse’s lips slowly followed its path. He turned her mouth toward his and deepened the kiss.

  “Tell me what you want, Jesse,” Miranda whispered.

  “The same thing you do.” Jesse kissed her again. “It’s the only reason I didn’t stay at Bridle Dance with my brothers. I want my own family. My own legacy. I never found the right woman. I never found you.”

  His roughhewn hands glided across her skin. Their strength excited her. Her breath quickened with each kiss as he rolled her onto her back.

  “Do you want me, Miranda?”

  “Yes.” The word escaped her lips.

  “I need you.” He eased her shirt over her head, kissing his way along her belly, to her bare breasts. “This has gone way past want. End this bet. Start a new legacy with me. Tonight. Right here.”

  His mouth came down upon hers before she could answer. The heat between their bodies grew, as did their need to become one. She gripped his arms, his muscles hard and tight.

  “You are so beautiful.” The huskiness in his voice alone sent Miranda dangerously near the edge. Jesse lifted her hips, sliding her skirt past them. “So very beautiful.”

  The moonlit sky began to burst forth with color, while Jesse and Miranda created fireworks of their own.

  Chapter Eleven

  Miranda bolted upright. The sun was on the horizon and they were still in the bed of Jesse’s pickup. She studied the man beside her. His dark hair fell across his forehead. It wasn’t often she saw him without his hat. The blankets fell dangerously low on his torso, almost revealing the pleasure she had experienced the night before.

  She couldn’t remember the fireworks in the sky. Then she remembered the one thing she wished she hadn’t. The bet. He still wanted Double Trouble. If the cowboy thinks I’ll give up that easily, he better hold on to his spurs.

  Miranda wasn’t about to repeat past mis
takes by getting too involved until she was certain Jesse truly wanted to be with her for herself and not because he wanted control of the ranch. With the bet ending this week, Miranda knew Double Trouble meant more to him than anything or anyone ever could.

  Fumbling around for her clothes, trying not to wake the sleeping form beside her, she tugged on her boots and hopped down, almost slipping on the dew-covered grass in front of the pecan grove. Even the birds were still asleep. The flashlight from the front seat guided her way, the sun began to peek over the horizon. She glanced back one last time, to the man who made love to her throughout the night.

  There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She loved him. Three weeks ago, she never imagined she would feel this way about anyone, let alone Jesse. He was mean and ornery to her the second her booted feet touched Texas soil. And he was determined to drive her away from what was rightfully hers. While she would be the first to admit there was an attraction to him the moment she arrived, she should have left it for what it was. A little roll in the hay every now and then never hurt anyone. Every woman needed the feel of a strong man once in a while. But to allow herself to fall in love with Jesse was another story altogether.

  He would never change. From his stupid bet to his lame proposal at Slater’s Mill, he was always after one thing. Last night he was after something else. A guarantee the ranch would be his. How could she have fallen for the “let’s start a legacy of our own” line?

  Miles away from home, Miranda set off toward town hoping the walk would help clear her head.

  * * *

  THE WARMTH OF THE MORNING sun roused Jesse. He reached quietly for his jeans and the box that was in his pocket. Now was the perfect time. Twenty-four hours earlier, his intentions were to propose so he could own the ranch. Now he wanted to propose because he was in love with Miranda. She’d worked her way into his heart just as she’d worked her way into the heart of Ramblewood. Double Trouble wouldn’t be the same without her. Jesse rolled over to wrap his arms around the woman he loved. Only she wasn’t there.