"I could probably use some help getting
things set up at the farm, once I get Titan and the mares
delivered. I just wondered if you'd want to come down and help me."
Cole's eyes met hers shining with gratitude and a small smile
kicked up the corner of his mouth.
Sabrina sucked in a breath and her hand flew
to her chest. "I'd love to...I can't believe you're asking
me
. I used to ride, but I'm as green as grass these days...I
don't know how much help I'd be."
"You'd be plenty help...and you can refresh
your riding skills while you're there."
"When do you think you'll have all your
stock there?"
"Oh, I'm planning to have them all there in
a couple of weeks. I have the money now to go ahead and buy the
mares," she said and smiled widely at Luke. "And my darling
husband-to-be gave me the most magnificent stallion on earth as a
wedding gift."
Luke swallowed thickly then gave her a smile
that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yes, I did, darlin'. But he's
not nearly as magnificent as you are," he leaned down and kissed
her heatedly.
When Luke lifted his head, Cassie felt
Cole's eyes on her and she glanced over at him and winked. "He and
Cole are gonna buy out my daddy's beef cattle herd as soon as we
get back to Bowie."
Cassie felt Luke stiffen beside her and saw
a little smile kick up the corner of Cole's lips, right before he
hid it behind his glass to take a sip of his tea.
"Wow!" Sabrina said and looked at Cole.
"Cattle ranching and Sheriffing...you sure keep busy, don't
you."
"You have no idea," Cole admitted and shook
his head.
"Well, I hope when I come to Bowie, you'll
be able to squeeze out some time to show me the sights."
"Darlin', when you come to Bowie, my time is
yours. You just tell me what you want to see or do."
She smiled at him, nudged his shoulder with
hers then said in a low intimate tone, "I like the sound of
that."
She looked back at Cassie then asked, "So, I
should probably go ahead and schedule my vacation?"
"That'll put you there in the thick of
things."
"Sounds like it's gonna be the best vacation
I've had in years," Sabrina said with a smile at Cole, then added
picking up the menu that was written on a paper bag and studying
it, "I've never been here before, what's good Cassie?"
"Everything's good..." she moaned picking up
her own menu.
They laughed and ate, then Sabrina had to
leave and Cole quickly got up to walk her to her car. Luke and
Cassie stayed at the table and ordered a cherry cobbler to share,
which they lingered over to give them some privacy. Finally Cole
came back inside grinning widely and walked back to their table.
"That woman is something," he said and plopped back down in his
chair with a breathy sigh.
"Glad you got to say a proper goodbye to her
after all." Cassie grinned and shoved the last spoonful of the rich
cobbler into her mouth. Luke grumbled and grabbed the spoon from
her to scrape the sides of the tinfoil bowl. "Sure put you in a
better mood. I might not have to shove you out of the truck before
we get to Bowie, after all."
With a raised brow, Cole gave her a look
that said he'd welcome her trying, and then smiled again. Luke paid
the check and they all walked back to the truck to get on the road
to her new old home.
Two days later, Cole made the final turn of
their trip up the long dirt drive to the Double B. Excitement mixed
with melancholy surged up inside of her. This was the beginning of
her new life and a fresh start for the Double B, but at the same
time it was the end of the Double B as it had been for fifty
years.
Her grandfather, and then her father had
built up the successful cattle operation on the ranch through their
sweat and tears. The new equine venture she planned would add a
nuance to that operation they'd never had before, and she was
determined to make it just as big a success.
Luke squeezed the hand he was holding and
kissed Cassie's hair, then whispered intimately near her ear,
"Welcome home, baby." It was hard to believe how much his life had
changed in so little time. The joy he felt inside was hard to
contain.
As Cole pulled them to a stop in front of
the big rambling farm house, Luke felt like the sun looked
brighter, the sky more vivid and the colors of the landscape more
vibrant than they'd been in years. It was like someone had replaced
his old TV set with a brand new hi-definition plasma...but this was
real, and it was because Cassie was back in Bowie and his life for
good.
The front door of the house swung open and
Imelda came out first waving at them excitedly, a big smile on her
face, then he saw Carl Bellamy come out behind her using a walker
to steady his steps.
Cassie squealed beside Luke and leaned over
him to open the door. He slid out, before she could push him out,
and watched as she hurried in a loping gait across the yard. When
she reached them she was swallowed up in Imelda's considerable
bosom, as they hugged tightly. Carl stayed up on the porch, and she
ran up to him there and he let the walker go to grab her in a
fierce hug. Luke swallowed down the against the emotion that boiled
up inside of him. It looked like Cassie finally being home for good
made everyone feel like their home was complete again.
Luke shut the door, then walked across the
yard to join their happy group. Imelda immediately pulled him down
and kissed both cheeks and then hugged his waist, then Carl patted
him on the back when he went up on the porch to throw his arm
around Cassie's shoulders.
"Oh, my god, daddy -- ya'll come in the
kitchen and let's get some tea. Luke and I have something to tell
you," she said with excitement making her blue eyes sparkle. Her
wavy blonde ponytail danced at the back of her head, because she
couldn't seem to keep her feet still.
She grabbed Luke's hand and led him past her
daddy and the group migrated inside to the kitchen, where they all
took places at the kitchen table and Imelda and Cassie made them
all glasses of iced tea. Cole came inside but he told them he had
to go to the station and check on things, but he'd be back later.
He said he'd called Elmer, one of his deputies, to come and pick
him up.
Luke sat next to Cassie, and he hoped she
was going to tell them about their engagement and Titan, but he
sure hoped she didn't bring up him and Cole buying the cattle herd
again. He had some things to work out on that front, but he wasn't
going to tell her or Carl that and worry them. He slid his arm
around the back of her chair when she sat down and put a tall glass
of iced tea in front of him, then her.
"What's the news, baby girl?" Her dad was
smiling, but his eyes were a little concerned, Luke noticed.
"Luke asked me to marry him, and I
accepted."
Imelda yelled, "Thank the good Lord!" at the
same time her father hooted and said, "About damned time!"
She held up her hands and settled them down,
"There's more...he bought me an amazing stallion as a wedding
present." Love shone brightly from her sky-blue eyes when she
looked up into his then she leaned up to give him a tender kiss.
He'd give every penny he had to see that look in her eyes.
Everything else would work itself out one way or another. If he had
Cassie, and she was happy, that's all that mattered to him.
"Wow, that's something, darlin'," her dad
said and then looked at Luke with questions in his eyes.
Luke couldn't answer those questions right
this minute, and he felt guilt riding him. He'd made promises to
buy that herd, and he would do it...even if he had to mortgage his
house, the only thing he owned free and clear, to the hilt. But
that would be kind of difficult since he didn't have a job now.
He'd have to think of something else...maybe a business loan on his
part of the herd.
Cassie and Cole had happily discussed the
herd venture the entire trip from Amarillo, where they'd spent the
night last night, to Bowie today. Every word they spoke sent a
knife of guilt plunging into his gut. Mostly, he'd stayed out of
the conversation, because he couldn't even work himself up to
mildly interested in talking about it.
Cassie looked over at him and he must've
been frowning, because she asked, "Everything alright,
darlin'?"
He forced a smile on his face and leaned
down to give her a kiss. "Just fine, sugar...I'm a little tired,
how bout you?"
"Oh,
oh
...is your side hurting?" she
asked with concern and stood up beside his chair.
Carl Bellamy studied them intently and then
suggested, "Why don't you go get Luke settled upstairs, honey, then
come back down here and talk to me."
"Sure thing, daddy. C'mon darlin'," she said
then grabbed Luke's arm to encourage him to stand.
"My side isn't hurting, Cassie. I'm just a
little worn out from the trip," he said so she'd stop worrying
about him. The stitches on his side itched and pulled now, and his
rib was a little sore, but other than that, he was fine.
"Then you can take a little nap, and I'll
wake you up for supper," she insisted. Luke agreed, not because he
wanted a nap, but because he didn't want to talk about the herd,
which he felt would be the next topic on the agenda. He'd go take
that nap, and consider possible solutions to his problem. Since
they didn't have cell phone towers out here, making calls was out
of the question.
"Sounds good, honey. Lead the way." She took
his arm and led him up the stairs and to her bedroom, then pulled
back the covers and patted the mattress.
"There you go...need help getting your boots
off?"
He chuckled and gave her a grin. "No, but if
you're volunteering to help me undress, I'm as weak as a lamb, and
would welcome your help," he said with a waggle of his
eyebrows.
She laughed and then swatted him in the arm.
"You're a mess, Luke Matthews. If I went along with it, you'd have
me in bed with you all day long."
"Damn straight," he agreed and pulled her to
him to kiss her long and deep. She moaned and pressed herself to
him tightly, her hands roving over his back and starting spot fires
wherever she touched.
His own hands had moved down to cup her butt
and pull her against his growing erection. God, he'd never get
enough of her. Luke tried to waltz her to the bed, but she pulled
away from him and told him breathlessly, with desire sparkling in
her eyes, "We'll have to pick up here later, sugar. I've got to go
see what my daddy wanted."
He groaned and dropped his head to his chest
trying to get the sexual storm brewing inside of him under control.
He nodded and she said she was sorry and with one final kiss on his
cheek, she left him there with his dick in his hands. There was no
way he was going to be able to sleep now. He was keyed up on two
fronts now. A shower would probably help, he thought, so he went
downstairs to get his duffle bag out of the truck.
When he came back inside, he heard Cassie
and Carl talking at the table in the kitchen, but their voices were
too low to hear what they were saying. He wasn't going to walk
closer and eavesdrop, because he might not like what he heard. Her
daddy wanted to talk to her privately for a reason, and Luke feared
he knew what the subject was. With a curse under his breath, Luke
climbed the stairs and went to the bathroom.
"I know daddy--it was not what I wanted or
expected him to do," Cassie told her father seriously. "I guess he
was desperate to keep me in Bowie, and that was his solution." If
she was a cartoon character, Cassie knew steam would be billowing
out of her ears right now, she was so mad and put out with
Luke.
Her daddy chuckled, then said, "Men do some
pretty crazy things when they're in love."
Cassie harrumphed then crossed her arms over
her chest. "I'm going to turn the tables on him. I want to buy the
percentage of the herd for him as a wedding gift. I'm going to talk
to Cole."
"I have a better idea, sugar. The herd is
yours anyway...when I pass on, the Double B and everything on it is
yours."
Panic surged up inside of her, and she
leaned forward with tears in her eyes, "Don't you dare say that--I
don't want to hear it!"
"Settle down, Cassie Bee. I'm not planning
to kick the bucket anytime soon. But I'm not young anymore...and we
have to talk about it sooner or later."
"Later," she spat. "Not now. I'm buying that
herd for him...it's the principal of it, daddy," she said firmly
her tone brooking no argument.
Carl Bellamy shook his head then said, "You
are as stubborn as your mama was, darlin'."
"I take that as a compliment," she told him
with a amused twist of her lips.
"It was meant as one, sugar. Your mama was
one fine woman, and you're just like her. So much it hurts my heart
to look at you sometimes. I can sure understand why Luke did what
he did."
"Whatever his reasons, I need you to get
your lawyer to draw up the papers, and I'll cut you a check for the
cost of Luke's stake in the herd...then I'm going to give it to him
and chew his butt out good for lying to me."