Luckiest Cowboy of All--Two full books for the price of one

by Carolyn Brown

  “Nope, I did.” Jace argued but he had a wide smile.

  “You boys come on out here to the corral. Bulls that I’m interested in sellin’ are right there and we’ll go take a look at the heifers after that,” she said.

  Tall and lanky, she wore a dusty work coat, scuffed boots, and a cowboy hat. Strands of brown hair had slipped away from a ponytail hanging down her back. She moved in long strides toward the fence and pointed out the bulls by name. “I thought when Danny died that I’d keep the place, but my neighbor has made one of those deals I can’t turn down.”

  “You gonna stay in the area?” Brody asked.

  “I’ll be movin’ out to Virginia where our kids live now. How is Hope?”

  “Right now she should be in the air. She’s flyin’ to Florida for a week’s vacation on the beach,” Brody answered.

  “Good for her. She should be spendin’ some time doin’ fun things. I intend to do something other than look at the south end of a northbound bull for the rest of my lifetime.”

  Jace chuckled. “You got some fine-lookin’ stock here. It’d bring a high price at your fall sale. Only time I was up here was about twelve years ago and I came with Grandpa to your sale. I remember eatin’ some real good barbecue.”

  She shook her head at Jace’s crutches. “I was so glad when Danny got too old to ride bulls and broncs. Scared the bejesus out of me every time he got on one. You married?” she asked as they made their way back to the trucks after they’d seen all the stock.

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Well, take some advice from an old woman. Don’t get married before you get your fill of excitement. A good woman won’t ask you to give it up, but every ride will age her ten years. You boys talk it over and let me know in the next couple of days if you’re interested in buying.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jace got into the truck again.

  He weighed the pros and cons of that conversation as he and Brody talked about the two bulls and buying all the heifers. They finally decided that it was too good of a deal to pass up and that they’d buy two bulls and all the heifers and split them between the two ranches. Brody called Delores before they’d gone a mile back toward home and made her an offer. She took it and the deal was done.

  Delores’s words were still haunting Jace on the ride home, along with all the other advice he’d been weighing.

  Life only goes in one direction.

  Be willing to give up bulls and broncs.

  The first he could believe 100 percent. The second was going to require a little more thought.

  Chapter Twenty

  Henry met Hope halfway across the baggage area of the airport. She walked right into his open arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I missed you so much.” He cupped her cheeks in his big hands and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  He brought her fingertips to his lips and kissed each knuckle. “Those are the best two words I believe I’ve ever heard.”

  “You haven’t lost a bit of your charm.” Hope smiled.

  “Only with you, darlin’.” He kept her hand in his until they’d retrieved her two suitcases. “I had to park quite a ways, so you can enjoy the warm sunshine right over there on that bench while I go get the car.”

  Bright sunshine warmed her face as she watched the people leaving the terminal. Young folks with their arms around each other, maybe returning from a honeymoon. Parents corralling young children, who were so glad to be free from the confinements of the airplane. Older folks waiting for taxis, probably glad to be coming back home after visiting their children and grandchildren. There was life in every stage around her and she hadn’t felt so alive in years.

  She thought of Lila and Brody, who’d only been married a couple of months. Of Nash and Kasey, who were starting off their relationship with three children underfoot and doing a fine job of it. Then there was Carlene and Jace, who were meant to be together and would be if they could get past their own trust issues.

  A lady with slightly blue-tinted hair sat down beside her. “You comin’ or goin’?”

  “Just got here. Waitin’ for my ride,” Hope said.

  “Me too. My great-grandson is coming to get me. He’s getting married this weekend. Ever been to Florida before?”

  Hope shook her head “No, ma’am. And this was my first time to fly too.”

  “I hear some Southern accent. Where are you from?”

  “Texas,” Hope answered.

  “Two of my children live in Abilene, so I have to go there at least once a year.”

  “Where do you live?” Hope asked.

  “Upstate Pennsylvania. Up in the mountains. Is that good-looking man getting out of the truck your ride?” She pointed to Henry.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Hope smiled.

  “Well, you kids have a good time,” the lady said.

  “Kids?” Hope laughed.

  “Honey, I’m ninety-six years old. I bet neither of you are a day over seventy. In my eyes that makes you a kid,” she said.

  “You enjoy the wedding.” Hope headed toward the door that Henry held open for her.

  It was all relative. In her Texas world, Hope was the oldest relative, but today she was a kid and it felt good to be one again. When she started feeling old, she fully well intended to remember that comment from the sweet little lady.

  “How far is it from here to home?” she asked.

  Henry flashed a smile. “I like that you called it home. It’s about an hour. I’ve got some steaks marinating for supper. We’ll eat on the deck where we can catch the evening breeze off the ocean. Maybe if you’re not too tired, we’ll even walk down to the beach and you can get some sand between your toes.”

  “You live right on the beach?” she asked.

  “It’s a small house, but there’s a lovely beach right off the deck. You can go barefoot all week if you want.”

  “It’s still colder ’n a mother-in-law’s kiss in Texas, so I’m lookin’ forward to warm days and seeing the ocean for the first time,” she said.

  “It’s the Gulf, darlin’, not the ocean,” he told her.

  “Is the water salty?”

  He nodded.

  “Then it’s the ocean to me. But what appeals to me more than the ocean is just bein’ with you, Henry. I don’t care what we do as long as I can spend the time right beside you.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “Right beside me. I thought I’d take the fold-out sofa and give you my bedroom.”

  She laid a hand on his thigh. “Darlin’, you will not be sleepin’ on the sofa and neither will I.”

  “I’d love to wake up with you beside me every morning, Hope,” he said softly.

  Carlene had just checked out at Walmart and she was sitting on the bench in the foyer. A lady came out of the store with a cart piled so high that she could hardly see over it. When she saw Carlene looking her way, she smiled and said, “Moving into a new house. It’s amazing what all I didn’t have.”

  “I’ll be doing the same thing in three weeks,” Carlene said.

  “Good luck. It’s a big job.” The lady disappeared out the automatic doors.

  Three weeks—in that short amount of time Carlene and Tilly would leave the ranch. Thinking about leaving Jace behind, even when she’d only be across town, made her misty eyed, but before a tear could streak down her cheek, her phone rang.

  “Mama, Grandma wants to buy me a new dress for the father-daughter dance for Valentine’s Day. She says that we can go shoppin’ for it on Tuesday night. She’s goin’ to pick me up at school and she says you can come, too, if you want.”

  Carlene shut her eyes tightly. It was happening—and sharing her daughter wasn’t easy but every decision came with consequences.

  “Are you there, Mama?” Tilly asked.

  “Yes, I’m here and I think it’s a lovely idea. You and Grandma can spend the whole evening together and I trust her to help you pick out just the right
dress. But tell me, who are you going to ask to go with you to the dance?”

  Tilly sighed. “Is it goin’ to hurt your feelin’s if I don’t ask you this time, Mama? Maribel told me about it last week and I’ve been hopin’ that it wouldn’t make you sad if I asked Jace. Maribel is takin’ her daddy and do you think it’s all right if I ask him?”

  “Of course. That doesn’t make me sad or hurt my feelin’s. Are you havin’ fun with Grandma?”

  “I love Granny Hope but I really, really love Grandma the most. Don’t tell Granny Hope, though. She might cry.”

  “Cross my heart.” Carlene smiled. “It’s our secret and I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

  “Bye, Mama. We’re goin’ to watch Dory.”

  “Bye, love you to the moon and back,” Carlene said.

  “Bushels and pecks and a kiss on the cheek,” Tilly giggled.

  Carlene sighed heavily as she hung up and Kasey plopped down beside her.

  “Was that Tilly?” Kasey asked.

  With another sigh, Carlene said, “I wanted roots for her, but it’s hard lettin’ go. It’s just been me and her and my sister for so long.”

  “I understand,” Kasey said. “I liked when my first husband was in the army and we could be away from so much family. Adam and I had each other—and the kids when they came along—and we were forging ahead with our own lives.”

  “Why’d you come back here, then?” Carlene asked.

  “Well, after Adam died, Granny turned the ranch over to Jace and Brody last spring and my lease was up on the house I was living in. My brothers needed me to help get them through the transition and I needed to move on and away from all those memories. Then last fall everything started to snowball. Brody got married and Mama decided to let Jace have Prairie Rose and Nash moved in next door.”

  “Does it feel right?” Carlene asked.

  Kasey nodded very slowly. “Finally, lookin’ back, it all came together perfectly. So what about you and Jace? Mama says that she offered to give you a parcel of land to build a house on so Tilly could grow up on the ranch.”

  “It would be too awkward. Jace and I…”

  “What if he got married?” Lila joined them, catching the last of the conversation. “I’m sure that Carlene is thinking of that scenario. There she’d be on the land with the new wife and Tilly would be running back and forth between her house and the ranch house. Lord, it could turn into a nightmare. Can’t you just picture Carlene running by to see if Tilly was there and catching Jace and his new bride in bed?”

  Carlene felt the blush starting at her neck but there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. The picture Lila had painted was burned into her brain like it had been branded there. And the new wife was tall, had gorgeous dark hair and big blue eyes, and she shot pure evil at Tilly every time she looked at her.

  “Okay, ladies,” Carlene said. “Let’s go get something fattening like one of those oversized muffins at the coffee shop and a cappuccino with so many calories that it makes the bathroom scales moan.”

  “And get that picture of Jace’s new wife out of your head, right?” Kasey said. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. Those spots of red on your cheeks are not from too much makeup and believe me, if Lila had just said all that about Nash, I’d be thinkin’ up ways to get away with homicide.”

  Lila leaned over the cart and whispered, “If you ever want some help gettin’ rid of a body, me and Kasey will be there with three sharpened shovels before you can hang up the phone.”

  “Just call and say the word,” Kasey giggled.

  Carlene stood up and started pushing her cart toward the door. “You two are hilarious, but I got to admit it’s good to know you’ve got my back. It’s good to have family close by. Other than those years here with Aunt Rosalie, I never had that. I was always jealous of Jace when we were dating because of that very thing.” She lowered her voice to an evil whisper. “Though, Kasey, you’d be killin’ your own brother’s wife.”

  “Sometimes blood isn’t thicker than water,” Lila threw over her shoulder as they pushed their carts out to Kasey’s vehicle.

  A quarter moon hung proudly in the midst of millions of twinkling stars that evening when Kasey parked in front of the ranch house. She didn’t waste any time getting out of the minivan and grabbing up an armload of bags to help Carlene get her things into the house.

  “Thanks so much for the day,” Carlene said as they both entered the house.

  Kasey went straight to the kitchen and set the bags on the table. “It was like a breath of fresh air to get out with you and Lila. We’ve got to do this more often.”

  “Mama, Mama.” Tilly ran into the room. “Hi, Aunt Kasey.”

  “Hi, kiddo.” Kasey gave her a hug. “Did you have a good time at Grandma’s today?”

  “Yes! And, Mama, Grandma wants to know if I can spend the night. I packed a bag and got it all ready in case you said yes and—”

  “And I promise to get her to school on time. I’m picking up Rustin in the morning for Kasey too. We’ve had such a good time that neither of us want it to end,” Valerie said as she made her way into the kitchen.

  “I’ll remember to brush my teeth and Grandma is going to braid my hair tomorrow. She knows how because Aunt Kasey has hair like mine and she used to fix it in French braids. Please, Mama.” Tilly hugged Carlene tightly.

  “I can attest to the fact that she does beautiful braids on curly hair,” Kasey said. “When Emma starts school, she’s going to come to my house every morning just to help with her hair.”

  “Oh, I am?” Valerie raised a dark eyebrow.

  “I’ll ask nicely later. Bye, y’all.” She waved on her way out.

  “Mama?” Tilly asked.

  “Yes, of course you can go spend the night with your grandma. Call me when you are tucked into bed so I can tell you good night,” Carlene said.

  “I’ll see to it and thank you, Carlene.” Valerie smiled and then lowered her voice. “That kid has stolen my heart.”

  “I’m sure the feelin’ is mutual.” This meant that she and Jace would be alone in the house.

  They were on their way out when Valerie turned back around. “Jace is upstairs in his own room. He said he was feelin’ better and he wasn’t spending another night in that chair. His daddy was like that, too, impossible to keep down.”

  “Has he had supper?” The idea of having the whole night with Jace created excitement all though her.

  “Didn’t ask. Figured if he could get up the steps, he could get down them to fix himself something. He’s a big boy. Don’t worry about him.” Valerie waved over her shoulder.

  Carlene put away the perishables and loaded all the toiletries into one of the empty bags. Then she grumbled all the way up to the second floor. Some men were so damned stubborn that they couldn’t listen to orders. The doctor said for him to be careful for at least four days. His door was wide open so she waltzed right in without even knocking.

  She folded her arms over her chest and tried to shoot her meanest look across he room but Lord have mercy, he was downright sexy. Wearing a white undershirt that stretched out over all those ripped stomach muscles and a pair of Texas Longhorn flannel pajama pants, he looked like the poster cowboy for some kind of whiskey commercial.

  She was quick to note that his king-sized bed took up a big portion of the room. A recliner was situated on the far side between the bed and a window that overlooked the front yard. A wall-mounted television hung above a tall chest of drawers that had a few pictures of his family arranged neatly on it. Nothing spectacular about the room except the faint scent of Stetson—and a little whiff of that always took her thoughts back in time to the bed of his truck or that old barn over on the Texas Star.

  “Did you have a good time with the girls?” he asked.

  “Clearly I can’t even leave you alone for a couple of hours without you getting into trouble,” she huffed.

  “I’m tired of the chair. Come here, darlin�
��, and stretch out beside me.” He patted the spot beside him on the big bed. “Besides, I’m almost well.”

  She crossed the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

  “You got a hand grenade in your bra?” he teased.

  “You never know what I might have hidden away just for stubborn cowboys who won’t listen to doctor’s orders,” she answered.

  “Lie down here beside me and let me hold you,” he said.

  She glanced at his ribs and shook her head.

  “This is my good side. It’s the other one that’s bruised and it’s a lot better.”

  She absolutely should not get into bed with him. That was just asking for trouble. But no matter how much her mind argued, her heart won out. She kicked off her shoes and cuddled against him. “You’ll be honest and tell me if it hurts, right?”

  “This will heal me quicker than anything,” he whispered as he buried his face in her thick blond hair.

  Lying there in the crook of his arm with her head on his chest brought back memories of the last night they had together in the old hayloft. She’d bit back the tears and kissed him good-bye after midnight. She’d known that she was pregnant and the timing couldn’t have been better with her father’s transfer to Georgia. She’d never thought she’d see the town again, much less spend time in Jace’s arms.

  Now, hot desire felt like whiskey in her veins.

  He moved his head away from her hair but then toyed with a strand of it. “It’s so silky. Did you girls get into trouble today?”

  “What’s said on a shopping trip stays on a shopping trip. It’s another Las Vegas thing. Did you get into trouble today? Other than coming upstairs when you weren’t supposed to?”

  “I guess I’d better fess up to all my sins today,” he said.

  “Please tell me that you did not get on a bull,” she gasped.

  “I did not get on a bull, but I will as soon as I’m able. We’ve got a feisty one over on Hope Springs that I might try out before I go for a rodeo-trained one again. You know what they say about gettin’ back on a horse soon as it bucks you off.”