A Wedding in Red Creek: Rori and Jackson (The Sons of Dusty Walker Book 9)

A Wedding in Red Creek

Rori and Jackson: The Sons of Dusty
Walker, Book 9

by

Randi
Alexander

“A WEDDING IN RED CREEK - RORI AND JACKSON: THE
SONS OF DUSTY WALKER, BOOK 9”
Copyright © 2016 Randi Alexander
*~*~*~*
Edited by Larri Servin
*~*~*~*
Cover by Diana Carlisle
*~*~*~*

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like
to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for
each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was
not purchased for your use only, then please return to place of purchase and
purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval
system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web -without permission in writing
from the author.

Special thanks to
Jackson Young for inspiring the hero of this story. Jackson
is
a true
hero in my book. Spend some time with him at
Jackson Young Country
and find out
for yourself how much fun it is to be a member of the Rowdy Nation!

*~*~*~*

“You want to do
what
?” The voice blasted from the
speaker phone in the company conference room where Jackson Walker sat at the
large table with two of his brothers, Dylan and Killian. The question had come
from their other brother, Rogue, who was out of town on business.

Their weekly meeting, held at the D. Walker Mineral’s
building on Main Street, Red Creek, Kansas had just come to a grinding halt at
Jackson’s announcement.

Jackson waited a beat, shoving down a burst of nervousness
caused by Rogue’s question and by the startled looks pointed his way from Dylan
and Killian. Jackson repeated his statement. “I want to build a stadium.
Outdoors. For rodeos.”

Dylan grinned and Killian looked deep in thought.

“That’s what I thought you said.” Rogue chuckled. “So, are
you going to be the star of this rodeo? And Rori gets to be rodeo queen?”

Now Killian smiled, too.

Jackson had been a rodeo bronc rider for ten years, since he
turned fifteen. He’d just settled down in this too-quiet town six months ago
after his father had died, and he’d learned he had three brothers who’d been as
oblivious to Jackson’s existence as he was to theirs. Now, the four of them
managed the family business.

Relaxing his fist, he straightened the paper he’d just
wrinkled in his hand. He re-read the reasons he’d come up with to back his
cause, then set the paper aside. “There’s no rodeo ring anywhere in the region.
We can bring in some big-name outfits. Use local rough stock.” He gestured
toward Killian. “Maybe some of your appaloosas.”

“Raise bucking stock?” Killian lifted his brows. “That’s an
option.”

“I’m all for it.” Dylan sat back and laid a booted ankle on
the opposite knee. “Bring in a ton of revenue for town businesses.”

“One problem comes to mind right away.” Killian looked
across the room at the map of the town that hung on the wall. “We have one
motel, with ten rooms.”

Jackson stood and walked to the map, running his hand
through his wavy brown hair to give himself a moment. Was this really
happening? His brothers liked the idea? When he’d come up with it in a
semi-dream during the night, he hadn’t imagined they’d be all for it. Then,
this morning, when he left the bed he shared with his fiancée, Rori Hughes, in
their tiny apartment above her computer store just down the street, she’d been
sound asleep. It would have been good to bounce the idea off her, but she’d
worked half the night on a big programming project.

“There’s this empty land here.” Jackson pointed to a spot on
the map just north of town. “Still within walking distance of Main Street, but
with room for hotels, stockyards, a parking lot, and rodeo grounds.” Excitement
made him a little tense, but he turned to face his brothers. This was a good
idea for the town, for him, for the rodeo cowboys and cowgirls and bull
fighters and rodeo clowns, and stock contractors. They’d hire locals to do the
labor during the events, and just the construction of the arena would pump a
lot of revenue into the Red Creek economy.

“What? Where?” Rogue’s voice came over the phone and his
three brothers laughed.

Jackson went over the location again for his benefit. “We
can talk to the owners of the motel, see if they’re interested in jumping in on
this, otherwise, get chain hotels to franchise a few new ones.”

“You’ve thought this through.” Dylan stood and walked to the
map. “How long have you been pondering on it?”

Jackson bowed his head. The first dream he’d had the night
before had scared the shit out of him. He’d dreamt he was standing in the
middle of Main Street, and from the bottoms of his feet, roots began to grow,
fighting their way down deep into the earth. Rori stood a few feet in front of
him, her hand out to him. He reached for her, but couldn’t grab her.

In his dream, the shouts of a rodeo crowd came from behind
him, the tantalizing sound of the eight-second buzzer, and the voice of the
announcer reading the stats. Friends he knew from the circuit called his name,
then grabbed hold of him and dragged him away with them. Under his feet, the
roots began to stretch, then snap and break, one by one.

He’d woken with a jerk, and Rori had sat up, looking at him.
“A nightmare?”

“No.” He’d tucked her back into his side. “Just indigestion
from your cooking.” His heart thudded like a running herd of buffalo.

She’d chuckled and given his ribs a soft smack. “You cooked
tonight, cowboy.” In seconds, her breathing grew long and deep again.

He’d snuggled up to Rori, wide awake in the dark room,
wondering why he felt moments of unease now and again, like he was forgetting
something important. He didn’t want to rodeo any longer, didn’t care to be gone
every weekend, but he missed the excitement, the people, the lifestyle.

That’s when another vision had hit him. If he wanted to live
the life, why not do it right here in Red Creek? He had the money to do it, why
not just go for it?

“Did we lose you there, brother?” Dylan snapped his fingers
a couple times.

“Uh, sorry.” Jackson pointed to the paper with just six
short sentences written. “I thought of it last night.”

“I think it’s a damn good idea, and worth exploring.” Rogue
spoke with enthusiasm. “Hell, we might even be able to get a national bus line
to come through town.”

Killian let out a hard laugh. “The marker of a booming town?
The bus?” He nodded. “But I agree. It’s worth looking into. But…” He frowned at
Jackson. “Is this something you want the company to diversify into?”

“No.” Jackson walked to his chair and sat. “It’s not like
Rogue’s company. That fits right into D. Walker Mineral’s organizational
directives.” Words he’d heard their attorney use more than once. He looked at
Dylan, who still perused the map. “More like Dylan’s band camp. Supported by us
brothers, but not using any of the company’s resources.”

“Then yeah, you’ve got my support. One hundred percent.”
Killian picked up the printed agenda as Rogue and Dylan added their
encouragement. Killian set down the paper. “This is not on the agenda, but the
three married Walker men would like to make sure their last remaining unhitched
brother is still planning to walk down the aisle February 29th.”

Jackson smiled. His Rori. Choosing to get married on leap
year’s extra day. And holy shit, that was only twenty-nine days away. “Still
engaged, keeping myself out of trouble, and helping with the wedding planning
by repeating this aloud as needed: ‘Yes, dear. Whatever you and your mother
want’.”

The brothers laughed, then got back to business. Jackson
knew he’d found a perfect solution to his rodeo withdrawal. Now he just had to
find a way to explain it to Rori.

****

“He’s doing
what
?” Rori sat in a big booth at Cubby’s
restaurant at lunchtime, sharing a platter of fries with Lexie, Zoe, and Kit.

“Oh, shit.” Zoe, who’d just read aloud the info that Jackson
was going to build a rodeo arena in town, slid her phone back into her purse.
“Sorry, Dylan just sent me that text. I assumed you knew.”

Rori stared off past her friend’s shoulder. Jackson told his
brothers he wanted to build a rodeo arena, but didn’t feel the need to mention
it to her? She tugged on a strand of her black hair, which she was growing long
for her impending wedding.

“I’m sure it just slipped his mind.” Lexie dredged a long,
hot fry through ketchup and popped it into her mouth. “You know how guys are.”
She pulled a face, then turned it into a smile when she met Rori’s gaze.

“Yeah, he probably wanted to run it by the brothers first.”
Kit shifted to accommodate her six months of baby belly. “Don’t sweat it. You
know how much he values your opinion.”

The table went silent as Rori felt heat steal up her neck
and over her cheeks. She’d just been telling her friends how well Jackson was
adjusting to life in a small town, and now this. She must look like the biggest
idiot in the county right now.

“So…bachelorette party.” Zoe put her hand on her tiny belly
bump where her four months of growing baby rested. Her laugh came out a little
awkward. “It’s not going to be much fun with three pregnant women.

“Yeah.” Lexie rubbed her own barely-there baby bump. “We’ll
all three be competing to be the designated driver.”

Rori forced a laugh. “We can do something other than go to a
bar.” She hadn’t planned on anything fancy. No shower, no party, just a
get-together with a few of her female friends and family to talk and laugh and
eat cake. But right now, she could use a shot of something real strong. Why
hadn’t Jackson said anything to her about this rodeo thing? Was he having
doubts? Again?

No. Jackson wasn’t having any doubts. She was just being
paranoid. She shook her head, then looked at her friends who stared and waited
to see how she was going to handle this. “Stop looking at me like I wore my
tinfoil alien deflector hat to lunch. Again.”

They laughed, letting Rori ease back into the conversation.
They spoke of their jobs, their new house construction, and their new—and in
Rori’s case, soon-to-be—mothers-in-law. Rogue’s mother had moved to Kansas and
was living in Kit’s house on White Wing Ranch. “Jackson’s mom, Sapphire, will
be here for a week during the wedding. Should we try to introduce the two of
them?”

Kit lifted her brows. “I don’t know if that’s for us to do,
or for our guys. We can discuss it with Rogue and Jackson, though. See what
they think would happen if two of Dusty Walker’s women collided.”

“The perfect storm.” Zoe sipped her water. “I think they all
do have to meet someday, but keeping it to just two at a time sounds like the
best way to avoid any major damage.”

Rori shrugged. “Or I could just invite them all to the
wedding, and let them duke it out there.” After she said it, she realized how
stupid it sounded. “Sorry.” She hung her head.

“Sweetie.” Lexie grasped Rori’s wrist. “What’s wrong? And
don’t say it’s just wedding jitters.”

Zoe rubbed her forehead. “Me and my big mouth. I’m sorry, I
shouldn’t have said anything about the rodeo idea, but I—”

“No.” Rori attempted a smile for Zoe. “It’s just my natural
awkwardness waving its freak flag today. I’m glad you mentioned Jackson’s rodeo
plans, because it’ll give me time to adjust to it before he tells me about it.”
She paused a moment, considering how much to share. These were her friends. She
could just say it. She tucked her hands under her thighs. “He’s what I call a
lost cowboy. He wandered for so long that it’s been difficult for him to put
down roots.”

Kit tipped her head. “But he’s committed to you, all the
way, Rori.” The other two women voiced their agreement.

“I know.” Rori searched for the right words. “I’m just not
as sure of my own allure for him, you know?” She sighed, looking at their
confused faces. “You three are beautiful, seductive, self-assured. Me? I’m more
comfortable with a one-way conversation with a computer monitor than I am with
any humans.”

“No. You’re gorgeous and fun to be with.” Kit frowned at
Rori.

Zoe nodded. “And you’re so smart and skilled with
computers.”

Rori lifted her jeans-clad leg off to the side, showing her
foot. “How many seductresses do you know who wear red high-top tennis shoes?”

Her friends laughed, and Lexie pointed a fry at Rori. “You
may think you’re not the same as us, but you are. We’re all exactly the same
when it comes to men. Especially men who we’ve fallen so deeply in love with,
that we can barely imagine breathing without them in our lives. So don’t you go
thinking you’ve got some kind of special communication issue, because I know
I’ve experienced the same damn thing with Killian.”

Zoe and Kit agreed, and Rori started feeling a little less
edgy. But until she spoke with Jackson, she wasn’t going to take an easy
breath. “Thanks for that display of sisterhood. It’ll work out. I know it will.
But you remember how it was just before your weddings, right? The sleepless
nights, the jittery bellies, the rush of pure panic that makes your knees
buckle?”

The women talked about their pre-nuptial experiences as
their sandwiches came. Rori half-listened, and half-plotted. Should she wander
over to the D. Walker Mineral building and talk to Jackson, or wait until they
were home together tonight in their apartment above her store? And what if he
didn’t say anything about it? A fist of panic gripped her heart. How could she
even think that Jackson wouldn’t talk to her about it? As she bit into her
sandwich, she felt something sharp scrape the roof of her mouth, and pulled out
the decorated toothpick Cubby had put into the thing to keep it from falling
apart.

Zoe just shook her head. “Girl, what is going on in that
genius brain of yours?”

Rori tossed the toothpick onto her plate and flopped back
against the booth. “Absolutely, positively, not one damn thing.”