Authors: Tori Scott
Megan clutched Logan's hand in hers, her nerves strung tighter than an over-tuned guitar. Blue had performed beautifully, but so had most of the others. There was something about him that set him apart, though. At least to her. He held his head with a regal bearing, as though he knew how important he was.
Champion or not, he would always be a winner to her. She placed her free hand on top of Blue's head as they waited for the first place announcement. As the judge stepped to the microphone, she bit her bottom lip to stop the trembling.
"The first place ribbon goes to…Tanner's Blue Moon."
Katie squealed and hugged Blue, then Megan led him to the center of the ring to receive the award. Two years of training, six litters of puppies, a thriving veterinary practice, and now a blue ribbon. And not one of those things meant as much to her as the man grinning from the sidelines with a baby on his hip, or the children they shared.
She attached the ribbon to Blue's collar and they made one last jog around the ring to thunderous applause. She looked up into the stands as she passed by and saw a number of faces she knew and loved. Jake, Nancy, and Jean sat together in one section.
Nancy and Jean had moved to Morris Springs two months ago when they'd completed their contracts in Dallas. They shared a small house in town and had set up a practice together in a storefront office on the town square. It still amazed Megan how easily the two had settled into country life.
Nancy had traded her short shorts and strappy sandals for blue jeans and cowboy boots. She filled in at the hospital when a nurse needed a vacation or an epidemic of flu left them short handed.
Jean had left her shy, insecure personality behind for good. She could toss back shots with the best of the honkytonk crowd and had even coaxed some of the couples into marriage counseling when needed.
Jake had become Logan's best friend. They helped each other out when a job required another pair of hands. They fished together, played cards, and helped each other when there was work to be done on their homes or farms.
Jake's eyes had never quite lost the sadness, though, when, like now, he watched Carol from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat.
Carol stood and cheered at the other end of the stands. She still avoided Jake whenever she came to visit. It broke Megan's heart to see the pain in her eyes when she ran into him in town. She prayed that some way, some how, the two would find their way back to each other. They were meant to be together.
Tommy and Danny, Danny's family, and Randy Marin stood in a row, yelling and whistling as Blue passed by. Randy's handsome face was marred by a long scar, and he used a cane to get around, but he told Megan often how grateful he was to be alive.
Doc and his wife waved to her from the front row. Megan would never be able to repay him for all he'd done for her, patiently teaching her the things she hadn't learned in school.
As she approached her husband at the end of the circle, her chest tightened. Just the sight of him was still enough to make her heart race. He stood with his arm around Katie, who now held the baby they'd named Charlie for his grandfather.
Katie had matured a lot over the last two years, growing more beautiful every day. Boys were beginning to drop by the house on a regular basis, something that made Logan nervous. Katie enjoyed every minute of the attention, but she didn't take them too seriously.
Megan handed Blue's leash to Logan when she reached him and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you."
He leaned back, his eyes searching her face. "What on earth for? You did this on your own."
She shook her head. "No Without you, I would have given up on my dreams. You're my strength, my heart. I love you, Logan."
He gathered her in for a kiss, which brought another round of whistles and cheers from the crowd. He laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you ready for your victory party?"
It was her turn to pull back and stare. "What victory party?"
"The one that's waiting for you at the Prairie Dog Café. We can't take Blue, but there's a big steak waiting at home with his name on it."
They turned toward the car, with Katie behind them talking to the baby as she walked along. "You see, Charlie. I told you Blue was special."
***
Cheers went up as Megan and Logan stepped into the Prairie Dog Café and Logan grinned at the blush that spread across her cheeks. She was still having trouble getting used to the enthusiasm the people of Morris Springs exhibited in everything from football games to politics.
He'd learned that they played as hard as they worked, and they were as loyal as friends could be.
When he'd bought one of the buildings in town to house his business, the men had turned out to help him renovate it, refusing to accept payment for their labor. He'd spent many hours helping them rebuild the town, and they helped him in return.
When Jerry's trial had come up, they'd traveled to the courthouse in the next town for the trial and stood with him for moral support when the verdict was read. And they'd cheered when Jerry was taken away to spend the next ten years behind bars.
They'd filled the church to overflowing when he'd married Megan, and the women had turned out in force when she went into labor, bringing casseroles to the house and presenting Charlie with baby blankets and quilts they'd made themselves.
Logan cleared his throat and called for attention.
Megan looked at him, her brows drawn together. He was nervous when he called out, "I believe Doc has an announcement to make."
He hoped Megan wouldn't get mad at him for going behind her back, but he'd wanted to do something special for their anniversary and Doc had offered him the opportunity to give her the perfect gift.
With his arm around his wife's waist, Doc spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I've decided the time has come to retire. Janet wants to travel, so I'm trading in my practice for a motor home."
Megan's face paled. Logan knew Doc hadn't said a word to her and she was probably thinking he had sold his part of the practice to someone else. He quickly pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it from him with trembling hands.
When she took out the deed to the clinic and Doc's part of the partnership papers, signed over to her, her eyes sought his, shock and a thousand questions reflected in her eyes.
Logan leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Happy anniversary, Megan."
"Oh, Logan. This is too much. How did you…?"
He stopped her objections the way he usually did, the way that seemed to work every time. With a kiss. When she came up for air, he put an arm around her shoulders and turned to face the crowd. I have one more surprise for you.
"I don't know what else you could give me, Logan, that I don't already have."
He motioned for Katie to join them. She handed the baby to Carol and came to stand between them. Logan took another envelope from his pocket and handed it to Megan, then reached down and took Katie's hand with his.
Megan opened the envelope, her gaze searching his face for some clue, but he kept his expression nonchalant. When she opened the envelope and pulled the sheets of paper out, she opened them and her gasp could be heard all around the room.
She pulled Katie to her with tears streaming down her face. "How did you manage this?" she asked as she wrapped her other arm around his waist.
"This gift was Katie's idea. She's the one who asked Sue Ann to give up her parental rights so you could adopt her. A little cash from me helped her make up her mind. We need to sign the papers, but Mark has everything ready."
Megan looked up at him with a mischievous grin. "Who would have thought that boot print on your butt would do so much good?"
Logan leaned his head back and roared with laughter. He'd been right two years ago. Life with Megan would never be dull.
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Excerpt from Lone Star Justice
Prologue
Greendale, Texas 1997
Madelyn Cooper shivered in the air conditioned doctor's office, wearing only a cloth gown as a shield against the cold. But it was more than the temperature making her shaky. Being not quite eighteen, pregnant, and the daughter of a murderer seemed to have the same effect.
The examining room door opened and Doc Myers walked into the room, a frown on his face. "Maddie," he said with a quick nod.
She tried to smile, but just didn't have the energy.
"I see you're complaining of exhaustion. Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?"
"Yes, every day." She hated them. They made her nauseous, but so did everything these days. Her whole damn life made her sick.
Doc wrote on her chart, then set it aside to check her blood pressure. As he squeezed the bulb and cut off her circulation, he asked, "Have you given any more thought to what we talked about last time?"
What a round about way to refer to abortion. And her answer had not changed, even though her circumstances had. "I'm not getting rid of my baby, Doc. No way."
Doc sighed and removed the blood pressure cuff. "Maddie, surely you aren't planning to have this baby after what's happened? Rand will never forgive you, so any idea you had about marrying him is gone. Hell, the whole town is against you right now. What kind of life will that be for a child? You have no one left, your father is in jail, and you can't even take care of yourself, much less a baby. Being a single mother is hard enough when you have a support system."
Maddie lifted her chin, defiant. "I don't care, Doc. We'll be fine."
He shook his head. "No, Maddie, you won't. You won't be able to find a job. There isn't a single person in the entire county who would hire you right now. And you need to worry about reprisals. I don't think you understand how angry everyone is about what your father did." He listened to her heart and lungs, then hung the stethoscope around his neck. "Look, I feel bad about what's happened. You've had a rough time of it since your mom died. I'm going to give you some money, enough to help you get out of town and make a new start somewhere else."
Maddie shook her head. "I don't want your money, Doc. I'm leaving for a while anyway. My aunt is coming to take me home with her until the baby's born. All I need is a refill on my vitamins to hold me until I find a new doctor."
Doc seemed to relax a bit. He patted her knee like he had since she was a toddler. "Well, I think that's a great idea, Maddie. Your aunt lives in Dallas, right? Far enough away and big enough for you to blend in, hide out. But I still think you should consider terminating this pregnancy. The last thing Rand needs is for you to spring something like this on him. Poor boy is devastated. He hates you now, you know."
That broke Maddie's heart. She didn't kill Rand's parents, though she might as well have. They were dead and he refused to speak to her. And now her baby would never know its father.
"So," Doc said, heading for the door, "when do you leave?"
Was it her imagination, or did he seem especially anxious for her to go? He'd been good friends with the McCades for many years, so he probably hated her, too. "I'll be gone by this afternoon, Doc."