Hot Quit

by Kathryn Roberts

  Jackson drew a deep breath. “No, Paul. I have to see Alex, and if I have to camp out here, I’m going to do it.” He made a show of looking around until he spied the leather couch. “I’m used to sleeping on the couch”—he went over and seated himself, bouncing a little to test the quality—“and this will be fine.” He flicked imaginary lint from his pants then crossed his arms and settled back. “I’d sure like a cup of coffee if you have one.”

  “You won’t have time to finish it.”

  “Then she’s here? I won’t have to wait that long?”

  Paul let go of the door and walked closer. “Morgan, she doesn’t want to see you. Why don’t you leave her alone? Haven’t you hurt her enough?”

  He stood, as tall as Maitland, but fifty pounds heavier than the wispy blond in the Armani suit. “I’ll leave after I’ve seen Alex, and it’s none of your business why I’m here.”

  “Alexandria and I are partners. Anything you can say to her, you can say to me.”

  As the two stood nose to nose, inches from igniting a direct confrontation, the mahogany door opened and a very prim-looking woman with a tight little bun walked in, arms loaded with file folders—some of which were about to escape.

  Thinking quickly, Jackson smiled and walked to her. “Can I carry anything?”

  “Well, yes, thank you.”

  “No, he can’t help,” Paul shouted, standing with his fists doubled at his sides like a child about to throw a tantrum.

  “Hesperia?” Jackson asked as he took the majority of the folders, certain she could be no other.

  “Yes?” she answered as she glanced between the two men.

  “I’d like to see Alex. Is she in?”

  Hesperia looked to Paul whose head went from side to side in a decisive no.

  She looked back to Jackson, smiled, and said, “Yes. Follow me.” She and Jackson went through the door on the right and left Paul sputtering in the receptionist’s area. Hesperia dumped her few files on a cluttered desk, motioning for Jackson to do the same. “She’s been here working all night, Mr. Morgan, and…well, you can go right in.”

  Very prim and proper, she sat down at her desk and, without looking up, suggested, “Take off your cowboy hat. You don’t want her to think you’re ill mannered.”

  Suddenly Jackson was nervous as a prostitute in church. There was no longer any doubt that he was sweating bullets and his pulse was a hundred times the normal rate. He swept the Stetson from his head, glad he’d brought it instead of the straw, and stepped to the door.

  He cleared his throat. Was this insanity? Should he leave now, before someone got hurt? No. This was going to keep them from being hurt. He grabbed the doorknob, twisted, and forged ahead.

  Inside, he saw her bent over her desk, head down, directing all her attention to what she was writing. “Just put them over there, Hesperia. I’ll go through them when I have time.”

  “It’s not Hesperia,” he said, suddenly not so sure she was the one who needed rescuing.

  Alexandria looked up and stood, tapping her pencil absently on the desktop. “What are you doing here?”

  His heart was in his throat. How should he begin when she held his whole life in her very capable hands?

  “It wasn’t a trick question.” Her voice wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been the first time. “Why did you come?”

  “I love you, Alex.”

  “We’ve already been through this.” He saw her sit quickly and realized her knees were as wobbly as his.

  “But we haven’t got it right yet.” He tossed his hat toward a pair of armchairs and it landed like a Frisbee. “You belong with me.”

  For all her bravado, it was clear that Alexandria wanted to turn and run. “Look,” she said, “my stomach has been ruined by all this, and I haven’t slept well for a long time. I just don’t know how to make you see that I’m right.”

  She wasn’t going to give up easily, but her hand trembled and suddenly he realized Everett was right. She was petrified. No one had ever stayed with her. Jackson strolled to her desk and leaned forward, placing both palms in front of him and leaning across the wide polished expanse until he was very close. “You’re not right. You’re afraid to go somewhere you’ve never been before because you have always hedged your bets and you can’t guarantee this one.”

  She popped up, threw the pencil down, and maneuvered away from him to look out the plate glass window. “I’m not afraid. I just know it wouldn’t work, that’s all. The kind of love you’re talking about is not for me. I want exactly what I’ve got.”

  “Maybe you do want what you have now, but you also want more. I’m not saying you have to give up everything you have now; all I’m asking is that you let me in. We’re the same kind of people.” He moved closer, still speaking to her back. “We’re both very good at what we do; we just do different things.”

  She shook her head, but he continued. “You need me as much as I need you. You need someone to come home to at night who will celebrate your victories with you, you need someone to tell you you’re all right when things go wrong.” He touched her shoulder and turned her to face him. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks, and it nearly killed him. “You need someone to ride in the moonlight with you and someone to run his fingers through your hair and remind you not to be so stuffy.” He dipped to look into her eyes. “You need me.”

  “No. I don’t need—” He silenced her with a single finger over her lips.

  “Please, let me finish. In Ogden, I listened while you did the talking, but this time I have a lot to say, and I’m not going to be polite about this. I’m going to talk until I’m done, and even if I have to gag you, you’re going to listen.”

  She started to turn away. “I don’t think so—”

  He seized her arm and directed her to a chair where he sat her down. He then began walking around the room, wringing his hands, looking at the furnishings as he went. It was all shiny and dust-free. It was sterile; it was not the Alex he knew. He passed behind her. “I don’t know why it is that a person has to care for someone before all their faults come to the surface.”

  “Now I have faults?” She sniffed, mocking him.

  “Of course, we all do, but the point is that a man, or a woman, doesn’t fall in love until he looks deep inside the other person. About the time he’s hopelessly caught, he’s deep enough to see the skeletons.”

  He heard her theatrical sigh. “This isn’t sounding like love to me; it sounds like a witch hunt.”

  He was across the room when he stopped. “What I’m trying to say is I understand now about Rawlins. I’m sorry.”

  Alexandria looked at him, hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like a little boy.

  “Not that you needed it, but I’ve forgiven everything and I know that I was—”

  “An ass?”

  Ahh. He was making progress. “Well, maybe not an ass, but a mule for sure. Everett always said I was stubborn.” He came to her and sat on the corner of her desk. “If we take out all this business about Everett, Rawlins, and Paul, you have to admit we were very happy for a month.”

  She pushed back in her chair and rubbed her forehead with one hand. “That’s the point. A month is a very short time and then what happens when the Rawlins deals and the Trishas enter the picture again? What then?”

  “Then we’ll deal with them as they come. We’d both be fools to think we were going to have an argument-free relationship. You talked about reality, but in reality, all couples have disagreements, but”—a sparkle formed in his eyes that lit up his face—“couples get to make up afterwards. No, we aren’t going to live a fairy tale, but no one does. There are plenty of flawed relationships, and I don’t think ours is as flawed as some. After all, I’m not in jail and you haven’t slept with my brother.”

  “You have a brother?” Alexandria fought it, but a smile crept over her.

  “No. Don’t change the subject.”

  “OK,” she said, now steady and s
trong, “but look around. You don’t see a horse, a cow, or even grass. You can never be happy here.”

  He leaned over and lay on his side on her desk, propping his head on his hand. “I’m still not giving up. What I do see is you, and that’s all I need. I don’t want you to change; all I want you to do is love me.”

  He was too close. Alexandria was afraid he’d see how close to giving in she was. She wanted him more than anything, but knew she couldn’t live through having him leave once she took him into her heart. “I do love you. I’ve told you that,” she said, not giving an inch.

  “And that’s all we need, Alex. Trust me. Let me handle this. I won’t let you down.” He sat up, swinging his legs around so that she sat between them. “I promise I won’t leave. How could I leave someone who means as much to me as life itself? I’ve tried every way I know how to win you, but in the end, it’s going to be your decision. I know what I want, I always have. It’s you, and I think I’ve been waiting for you ever since I was born. I dreamed at night of someone to take me in her arms and kiss all my worries away and who would make everyday a birthday, someone who would have my kids and who would join me in making our home and our family.” He slid off the desk and drew her up as he stood. “I’ve kinda been on the outside looking in, just like you have. It’s time we shared our dreams.”

  Shaky knees, trembling hands, quavering voice—she’d never known someone who could promise exactly what she had been dreaming of. “What if all I can be is Alexandria?” she whispered. “What if I can’t be all those things?”

  “That’s the beauty of it all.” He gathered her gently in his arms. “You already are.”

  Alexandria buried her face in his chest, the crisp white shirt feeling so much like home to her. “Don’t you ever give up?”

  “No. And neither do you. Especially not when it’s the most important thing we’ll ever do.” He tipped her face toward his and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You have the power, Alex. You decide.” His lips brushed her forehead, then roamed over her face until he reached her mouth. The kiss was gentle, loving, and confident.

  He pulled back, and she smiled.

  “What if I need you to go to New York City with me and wear a tuxedo?”

  “I can do it.” He kissed her.

  She broke away. “What if we have to live down here part time?”

  “I’m sure Los Angeles has a place where we can have horses and a helicopter pad.” He drew her back to his kiss.

  “What if I get crabby and all twisted up about a deal?”

  Jackson grinned. “We’ll find a way to relieve the tension.”

  Alex smiled. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do this, Jackson, but you win. We can do it.” She grabbed his collar and, eager for his touch, brought his lips to hers once again. “I warn you, though, Alex is going to be as hard to satisfy as Alexandria is. I’m hooked on you and those cutting horses, and I’m even going to learn how to back that gigantic horse trailer, I’m—”

  “Whoa, there. First things first.” He reached behind her and removed her hair clip, then ran his fingers through her hair, fluffing it around her face and neck. He got down on one knee. He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

  He looked up to her, opened his mouth, then closed it and swallowed hard. “I don’t mind telling you that my heart is thumping like a jumping bean gone wild and I’ve never been so damned afraid in my life. I’ve never talked so much or prayed so hard.”

  “So stop chattering and get to the point.”

  With a grin as big as Texas, he said, “Will you marry me?”

  “What if I want a big formal wedding?”

  “You can have anything you want, just marry me.”

  “What if—”

  He stood, scooped her up in his arms, and twirled her around. When he stopped, he grew serious. “Stop asking questions. We’re smart people. Together we will figure out a way to make it work. We are both looking for someone to be there for us. Someone to grow old with, someone to remember the good times with, someone to—”

  Alex suddenly kissed Jackson. She pulled back and smiled. “Stop talking. The answer is yes. Forever…yes.”

  The wedding was huge. That was for Alex. It was held outdoors in a field of poppies. That was for Jackson. Her wedding gown was a designer original that cost more than the training bargain that first brought them together. That was most certainly for Alex since all Jackson could think about was taking it off after the ceremony and reception.

  He was dressed handsomely in a black tie tuxedo and black felt hat. Alex peeked from the window of the luxury motor home that was her dressing room and wondered once again how she’d ever been lucky enough to have a man like Jackson fall in love with her. She glanced at the guests and laughed to herself. This was the first time she’d had a moment to actually look at what was the beginning of her new life.

  Guests on the bride’s side were dressed to the nines. Besides her dress, designer clothing stock must have jumped ten points. Everyone from Valentino to Vera Wang was represented. Most were business associates who wouldn’t have missed this high-priced social affair for anything. Paul was present with a starlet whose dress revealed way too much cleavage.

  The groom’s guests were quite another story. From the rear, it looked like a sea of black felt. For every woman dressed sensibly smart, there was at least one man crowned with a Stetson. She shivered. It was perfect. The sight seemed like living proof that their worlds could mesh.

  A quiet knock on her door and Hesperia’s voice told her it was time. She opened the door and saw the older lady smiling.

  “You are radiant,” said Hesperia.

  Alex stood speechless for a second, then smiled. “You also look wonderful. I am so thankful you agreed to be my matron of honor.”

  “I can’t think of anything more important. Now, you need to emerge from your cocoon so you don’t keep that saint of a man waiting any longer.”

  When the door opened and Alex floated down the stairs onto the white runner leading toward him, Jackson was struck dumb. He heard nothing; he could say nothing. He saw nothing but his angel coming nearer. He knew by the way his heart leaped at the sight of Alex and by the way his body was drawn to her that he had won it all.

  Forever was written in her eyes as she reached out for him. Suddenly nervous, he swallowed. Life would be good. It would be hot. But there would be no quitting.

  Alex smiled. Jackson took her hand and instantly both grew strong. Instantly love sheltered and inspired. Forever began now.

  EPILOGUE

  Life was good. Alex handed Jackson the bridle for the palomino and kissed him for luck. They were in Fort Worth at the Will Rogers Equestrian Center, and Jackson was one ride from winning the biggest and most prestigious prize the National Cutting Horse Association offered.

  “That baby’s gonna have some big boots to fill,” said Everett as he walked up. “Appears to me that you could fall off in there and still win.”

  “As long as there are no hot quits, I’m happy.” Alex ran her hand across the top of her expanding stomach.

  “We don’t do hot quits,” Jackson said, a gleam in his eye. “One look at that huge belly you have should prove that.”

  Alex grinned. “You sure are proud of yourself, cowboy.”

  Jackson nodded as he mounted up. “Yep. I’m a proud man. I’ve got everything I ever wanted—a wife, a good start on a family, and—”

  “And don’t forget the most eager godparents-to-be who ever walked the earth.”

  Alex turned to find Trisha stepping closer to Everett and claiming his arm possessively. If there were miracles in this world, and she knew there were, then the marriage of Everett and Trisha had to be one. From the day Everett took her to dinner and explained how his lady would act, she had been a different woman. They had taken vows the month after she and Jackson had, and Alex was certain it would be until death do them part.

  Everett, the tough business man, the man’s m
an, loved the way Trisha fawned over him, and Trisha was way more interested in Everett’s happiness than she was in spending money. A miracle.

  Not that she and Jackson hadn’t found their own miracle. The balance between his life and hers had been easier than she had ever thought it would be. Paul had taken over as CEO of APM, and through the modern wonders of computer conference meetings, e-mail, and cell phones, Alexandria’s business prowess was as sharp as ever. There was a decided change in her direction as far as ripping and tearing viable businesses, but as soon as Paul found out he still made more money than he could spend, even he agreed to the modifications.

  Alex heard the announcer call Jackson to the arena and watched him ride forward. He was the man of her dreams. He was a cowboy in every sense. He lived every day with courage. He usually talked less and said more, and he always finished what he started. He sat tall, proud of who he was and what he did, but the most important thing to Alex was that he loved her.

  The cool smell of tanbark and shavings and cows hit her. A sudden and overwhelming sense of comfort and ease struck, and slowly she was mesmerized by the sight of him and the palomino, the sound and the feel of this lone rider working in a huge covered arena as if there was no one and nothing else on earth. It was just as it had been the first time she’d seen him; Jackson was a conductor guiding a symphony orchestra.

  He moved easily into the herd, cut out a black baldy, and let the palomino work. Fluid, smooth, and powerful, the team of horse and rider were flawless. Alex never ceased to be impressed while watching Jackson. As strong and powerful as he was, he was the most gentle and caring man she’d ever known.

  At the conclusion of his ride, the crowd went wild. There was no doubt that he’d won the cutting as easily as he’d won her heart. Everett whooped beside her. Trisha jumped for joy, and Alex suddenly clutched her belly. The baby kicked in appreciation of the win, and that was the moment that Alex knew, without a doubt, that she was the luckiest woman alive.