Most Eligible Cowboy (Peach Valley Romance Book 1) (12 page)

T
he next morning
Maya woke after only a few hours sleep. She made herself some oatmeal and was about to take a bite when someone knocked on the door. She wore sweatpants and a tank and hadn’t brushed her hair yet. It was becoming a regular occurrence with her. She debated whether to answer. Her first thought was that it might be Quin, and she didn’t want to see him ever again. It’d been a rough night. She’d finally acknowledged her deep feelings for Jackson. She’d even let herself be happy about it. But Quin had shown up and ruined everything. More than once she berated herself for not telling Jackson sooner that she’d been married before. It never seemed like the right time. Now, she wished she had just blurted it out. Anytime would’ve been better than the way it happened.

“Who is it?” Maya went over to the door, placing her hand on the knob, making sure it was locked.

“It’s Milly Bale.”

That was the last person Maya expected to show up on her doorstep. “Hi,” she said, but the word froze on her lips. The woman’s eyes were puffy and her usually perfect bun and outfit was askew. Immediately, Maya knew. Milly’s husband had died. “Come in,” she said, stepping out of the way.

“Thank you, Maya, but I can’t stay.” She held out a leather folder. “Randall mentioned the idea you spoke to him about Sunday night. I’ve brought the pictures.” She paused, and wobbled.

Maya reached out and held her. “Please, come in. Let me get you something to drink.”

Milly shook her head. She was a tough woman. “My husband passed last night and I have a million things to do.” She nodded. “I hoped you might be able to do something with these.” She held out the folder. Maya took it.

“I’m sure I can. Did you want the photos for the funeral?”

“If possible, that would be wonderful.”

“I’ll make sure it gets done. Is there a particular size?”

“Um, yes. A family photo in twenty by thirty would be great and various sizes besides that.”

“And when is the funeral?”

“Let’s see. It’ll be Saturday. Is that enough time?”

Maya nodded. “I’ll make sure to have them ready.”

“Thank you, Maya.” Milly hugged Maya tightly. “I’ll be sure to get you all the details for time and when you can drop them off.”

“No problem.”

Once Milly left, Maya picked up her cell phone and debated whether to call Jackson or not. She wanted to tell him she was sorry for his loss, but as she typed the words, they seemed ridiculous. She erased it and thought about typing how sorry she was for not telling her about her ex and that she was sorry his dad died. “Nope.” She threw her phone. It wasn’t something one sent over text. She needed to speak to him in person, but the last time she’d seen him he’d walked away. And she didn’t want to bring her drama into his life. He didn’t need it. So she did what she could, edited the photos and worked on her special project, which turned out better than she could’ve imagined. She had the photos rushed and found frames that would work.

Quin seemed to have disappeared. She didn’t hear from him again and was happy about it.

By Friday she had everything ready. Her aunt had given her the address of the mortuary and the time to drop off the photos. She wrapped the photos in butcher paper and placed them carefully in the back seat of her little bug, using her GPS to find the place.

Inside a kindly, elderly man in a black suit met Maya. “Hello, my name is Maya Vance. I have the photos to be used at the Randall Bale funeral.”

“Of course. You can put them in here.” He walked her to the room. For the next several minutes, she unloaded them and drove home. She hadn’t seen Jackson in days. With every passing moment she kept a prayer in her heart that he was doing all right.

* * *

T
he day of the funeral
, Maya chose a black dress with matching heels. Her aunt drove them. They arrived a little early and it was a good thing. The parking lot was packed. As soon as Maya saw Jackson, her heart flew into her throat. He looked good, of course. Handsome in his black suit and black cowboy hat that was exactly the same as his brother’s. He seemed to be working to keep it together, but it was apparent he was struggling. Milly stood so that the open casket was on one side and her sons stood on the other.

Aunt Patty took a program from an usher and they found a spot in the middle to sit. For the briefest moment, Jackson’s eyes found hers. She held his gaze, hoping he could see how much she cared. After several long seconds he looked away. Maya wondered where Ava was and found her near the front sitting with an elderly woman Maya hadn’t met.

The funeral was lovely. Maya shed lots of tears during all of the tributes offered and memories shared. It was apparent Randall was well loved by his family and his friends. Afterward, the Bale family held a get together at the main house of their ranch. Maya went with her aunt, desperate for an opportunity to see Jackson. She found his brothers and Milly, but Jackson and Ava weren’t there. Maya wondered if he’d taken his daughter to their house for a nap. She sighed, resigning herself to missing him.

“Hey, Maya. Thanks for coming. The photos you took are amazing.” It was Blaze. His eyes were slightly swollen. “Everyone has said how much they love them.”

“Thank you, Blaze. You all made it easy on me.”

Everett and Lance appeared next to their younger brother.

“Hey, Maya.” Lance hugged her.

As did Everett. “I especially like this one.” He pointed at her special project. During their Sunday evening photo shoot, she’d taken a picture of Jackson, Everett, Lance, and Blaze standing together. Then Maya had taken a picture Milly had brought of a younger and much healthier Randall. Using her photo-editing program, she superimposed Randall into the picture of the brothers, making it look like they’d all had their picture taken together and at the same time. It’d been a lot of work getting the editing, lighting, and coloring to turn out just right, but as she looked at it now, she knew she’d done a good job. The photo would be a cherished memory for many years.

“He looks like us,” Blaze said, his voice soft and filled with awe.

“I agree. Jackson and I were discussing it earlier. It’s amazing,” Everett said.

At the mention of Jackson’s name, Maya perked up. Everett’s face softened when he noticed. “He’s having a really hard time, Maya. Just know he cares about you, but he may need a few weeks of space.”

“Jackson cares about you, deeply,” Blaze admitted. “And I’ve never seen him so wound up because of a woman. The guy made us run your ex out of town.”

“He what,” Maya whispered-shouted. Mortified, she covered her mouth. “Sorry.”

“It’s true. He didn’t want that guy causing you any trouble. The first night he was in town he had us wait outside a bar until the guy came out. Then proceeded to suggest rather strongly that he leave and not come back,” Blaze continued.

“I think we might have scared him,” Lance added.

Maya’s heart warmed and the gooeyness returned to her insides. “But Quin isn’t dead, right?”

“No, we didn’t lay a finger on him or his Porsche.”

Maya gave them each a sincere smile. “Thank you for telling me. I’d wondered why I hadn’t heard from Quin.”

“You can thank Jackson. It was all his doing. We were just there for moral support,” Everett confirmed.

Tears filled her eyes and her throat constricted. Maya nodded. “I’ll give him the space he needs and thank him when the time is right.” She glanced at each of them. “But if you can and it seems appropriate, would you let him know how grateful I am.”

“Of course, Maya.” Blaze squeezed her against his side. “We’d do anything for you. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Jackson happy and we all know you’re the reason. The guy was whistling last week. Once he’s got a handle on his grief, he’ll be back around.”

“Thank you,” she said again.

“Momma loves the pictures too, especially the one you took of her and dad the other night,” Everett nodded toward the photo. Milly had bent down to kiss Randall. He’d smiled and returned the kiss. The pictures confirmed the thirty-five years of love they’d shared together. She’d also edited one of all of them standing around Randall’s bed as well as one of the six of them when they’d all been younger. She’d retouched Milly and Randall’s wedding photo, giving it new life while still keeping the integrity of the original photographer’s work.

Before leaving, Maya hugged Milly complimenting her of the beautiful day. She quickly scanned the room for Jackson. Her aunt noticed and said, “He still isn’t here.” She debated going over to his house, but had no idea what to say, and she felt she might be an intrusion. She didn’t want that.

So she and her aunt left.

* * *

O
ver the next several weeks
, Maya threw herself into learning the business of running a bed and breakfast. She followed her aunt around, took pictures, and assisted in taking reservations, preparing the rooms, and anything else her aunt needed.

The Palace in Peach Valley’s grand opening was a great success. Local news turned up. Maya took pictures for all eight couples staying at the Palace. The whole process was a lot of work, but Maya found she loved it.

In her personal life, the first thing Maya did was delete the awful picture she’d taken of Quin and Violet in bed together. That moment no longer had an effect on her life. Not in the least. Keeping it felt like she was hanging on to a past she no longer cared about and that wasn’t true. She’d fully moved on.

The second thing Maya decided was that she’d learn a song on the guitar for the talent show. And she would do it without Jackson. She didn’t want to bother him, but she wanted him to know she’d been thinking about him, which was why she chose the song they had planned to play together, the one they’d danced to at his house the day he fixed her lunch.

Once she had the music, she practiced every night, sometimes for hours. Doing so allowed her to feel closer to Jackson. Their time apart was good for another reason as well. It allowed Maya to really search her feelings and study the way she felt about Jackson and the reasons why.

The conclusion she came to? She loved him. More than she’d believe it was possible to love a person. And she loved Ava too. She missed the child almost as much as she missed Jackson. She also knew that if he didn’t feel the same, if he chose not to love her back, she loved him enough to let him go.

The ultimatum Jackson’s father had issued was still gossiped about. She heard people discussing it in the same breath they talked about how Jackson was rarely seen. No one believed it was dating.

Maya knew the sixty says would be up soon and apparently so did the Winegar’s. Maya saw them in their expensive suits more than once off to the side of the highway looking at Jackson’s land. She’d wanted to run them over, or chase them out of town, but had resisted both.

So time passed. Maya kept busy, living her life, but she felt like it was on hold as well. The day of the talent show, she decided to do something bold.

M
aya drove
to Jackson’s house. She knocked on the door. The elderly woman who answered told her that she thought Jackson was in the barn. She thanked her and ran toward it. Jackson was sitting on a bale of hay, his back to her, the front of his body facing the mountains. She slowed. Now that she was there, she felt nervous. Seeing him again caused her heart to pound against her chest and her mouth went dry. She’d missed him so much, it hurt. “Hi, Jackson.”

He stiffened, his head coming up, but he didn’t turn.

Her heart clenched at his apparent resentment. She realized that maybe it was too late for them. But she figured she would say what she came to say. “You don’t need to say anything, but there are some things I need to say to you.” She swallowed. “When I met you that first day, I knew immediately you were someone special. And you kept proving it to me over and over again by unpacking my car, saving me after the rattlesnake bite, buying me those boots, feeding me lunch, teaching me to ride a horse, taking me boating, and just talking to me about my pictures. Every moment with you felt like a gift.” Tears filled her eyes. This time she let them fall. “Your brother’s told me what you did for me. With Quin? They said you encouraged him to leave.” She paused, hoping Jackson might turn around, but he didn’t.

Buck up, cowgirl
, she thought.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about him.” She wrung her hands as she spoke, desperate to force him to look at her so that she could gauge what he was thinking. “And I’m so sorry about your dad. Meeting him meant the world to me.” A sob escaped her throat and she covered her mouth, trying to hold it in. “And Ava?” She hiccupped. “She’s amazing. You’ve done such a good job raising her. Thank you for allowing me to meet her.” Another sob ripped from her throat. “And thank you for being such a great friend. I hope that when you’ve forgiven me, we can be at least that.” She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m playing our song at the talent show tonight. Just wanted you to know that too.” She stood there, crossing her arms, done, almost wishing she could throw something at him. But he still didn’t move.

“I love you, Jackson Bale, and I always will.” With that, she left. She didn’t know what she hoped would happen. Well, she did. She’d wanted him to forgive her and tell her that he loved her too. She smacked her hand against the steering wheel.

* * *

A
ccording to the program
, Maya would be the last person to play in the talent show. The night was warm. A sight breeze blew her hair and her white cotton dress around. She’d also worn the boots Jackson bought for her. Her hair had grown a little since she’d moved to Peach Valley, so she’d swooped her bangs over to one side and pinned them back with a silver bee clip.

All around her were the sounds that went along with a fair. Children squealing with delight. People talking. The rides wheeling along the tracks at high speeds. The sounds of people playing games. Music. The smell of hot dogs and cotton candy. It all filled Maya with a sense of peace, even if she was a little melancholy. Peach Valley was her home.

As the program went on her sadness turned to resolve. Ava sang
Amazing Grace
like an angel. Her voice filled the air. Everyone within earshot quieted and for the briefest moment Maya thought she might be witnessing a miracle. She’d never heard a child sing with so much beauty and professionalism. Ava hit her last note and for a long second no one clapped and no one spoke. It was as though no one wanted the moment to end. And then the whole crowd erupted in clapping. Maya knew right then she’d won the show.

The remaining contestants did their best, but nothing compared to Ava. When Maya’s turn came, she actually felt nervous. Her knees shook and her throat went dry. Briefly, she thought about not going on. But the guy hosting the show, announced her. Aliza and her two of her friends had done a tap routine. Aliza touched her arm and said, “You got this.” She winked.

“Thanks.” Maya picked up a chair with one hand and carried her guitar in the other. She’d memorized the song so didn’t need the music. Lights shone on the stage, making it difficult to see the crowd. She knew her aunt was out there. And several people whooped loudly. She smiled as she adjusted her chair and then sat. She strummed her guitar. “I leaned to play the guitar from Frankie, a homeless man who lived at the beach in Santa Barbara.” She strummed another chord, gaining composure, and trying to relax. “The song I’ll be playing is a rendition of
God Bless the Broken Road
, by Rascal Flatts. A friend introduced me to their music and I’ve really come to appreciate all of their songs.”

She smiled and then began to play. She’d memorized the lyrics too and sung them in her mind as she played. It was a beautiful song filled with so much meaning about finding love and how all of her previous hurts and trials, even her ex had been part of her journey that led to Jackson. She still believed that, even if nothing came of them. He’d helped her understand what it meant to love someone, that it was so much more than passion. It was the little things that mattered with true love, the day-to-day kindnesses, the way she thought of him before thinking of herself. She knew without a doubt God had a plan for her and meeting him and being in Peach Valley was part of it.

When she reached the first chorus, she was crying. She couldn’t help the emotions that rushed through her. She let the tears fall, not seeing a point in hiding what she was feeling.

Suddenly, though, someone began to play with her. The music sounded far away, but she could hear them and the chords complimented hers. She squinted, trying to see who it was.

Before she could tell, the crowd was gasping and clapping. Until finally she saw him. “Jackson,” she whispered.

He smiled, a huge, breathtaking smile. His guitar was strapped over his shoulder. He wore his regular cowboy hat, a white button up, old jeans, and boots. “Jackson,” she said again. He walked over to the stage so that she could see him clearly. As the played the rest of the song, they kept their eyes locked only on each other. It was as though time stood still and flashed before her all at once.

He’d come,
her heart sang.

When the song ended, everyone cheered, standing, whooping and hollering.

Someone shouted, “Kiss her, Jackson.”

He laughed, removing his guitar and setting in on the stage before hopping up onto it. Maya stood to meet him.

Jackson hugged her. “I love you too, Maya Vance,” he whispered so that only she could hear. “Thank you for healing my heart.”

Before she could say anything, he got down on one knee.

“What are you doing,” she asked, laughing and crying nervously.

He smiled. Looking at the crowd, he indicated they should settle down. When it was quiet, Jackson said, “Maya Vance. You are the most incredible, vibrant, beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I knew the first day I met you that God had a plan for you and I.” He paused and Maya saw he was trying to contain his emotions. “Even when I didn’t want to believe it. I knew. You fit so well into my life, like you belonged there. My mom loved you almost immediately as did Ava, my brothers, and…” he trailed off, biting back the tears.

Maya couldn’t. She was blubbering, but didn’t care.

“My father told me that night, after you left, that if I didn’t marry you I was the stupidest man on the planet, and it had nothing to do with his ultimatum.” A single tear trickled down his cheek.

She removed her guitar and knelt in front of him. He chuckled, shaking his head. Then reached into his pocket. Maya’s eyes got big and she heard several people inhale from the audience. “I spoke to Ava and she’s agreed.” Blaze lifted Ava onto the stage and she came over to stand beside her dad. “Right, Ava?”

“Yes, daddy. Ask her.” The child pushed the ring box in Jackson’s hand toward Maya.

“Maya Vance, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Maya was nodding before he even finished asking. “Yes. Yes. A billion times yes.”

The entire crowd came to their feet and cheered.

Ava hugged both of them as best she could with her little arms and kissed first her daddy’s and then Maya’s cheek. “We’re going to be a family,” she said happily.

Jackson hugged Ava tightly. “Yes, we are, Ava Angel.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Run back to Blaze,” he said, scooting her along. When Blaze had Ava, Jackson stood, lifting Maya with him. “I love you, Maya Vance.” He dipped her, kissing her thoroughly on the mouth. Her insides lit up like the Milky Way on a clear night. She was on fire with love and need and happiness and everything in between. He straightened her, their lips never separating. Then he spun them so that his back faced the audience and deepened their kiss. “Maya,” he whispered against her mouth.

She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer, pushing her tongue into his mouth. He groaned, and whispered. “Let’s get married sooner rather than later.”

“Is that an ultimatum from Peach Valley’s most eligible cowboy?”

“If you’ll have me, then yes it is.”

In answer, she kissed him again and again and again.