One Hot Cowboy Wedding (36 page)

A
woman
who
knows
how
to
fry
okra
and
make
a
decent
chicken
fried
steak
in
the
kitchen. One who could
sit a horse, run a four- wheeler, or drive a tractor all day
and not whine about it. One he wouldn’t be ashamed
to sit down beside his momma in church. And one that
could heat up his bedroom.

Jasmine could do all that and more. She’d been his friend and then his wife and lover and he’d fal en in love with her. She’d said when she offered to marry him that she did not intend to get involved with any man again for a long, long time.

“Today,” the preacher said in a loud voice to wake up anyone sleeping on the back row, “we are having our annual church dinner and anniversary out on the church lawn. The food will be in the fellowship hall and served buffet style. Everyone can help their plates and sit down in the hall as long as we have room, or they can take it out on the lawn and sit on pallets. There are quilts in the nursery for anyone who forgot to bring their own today.

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 315

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Carolyn Brown

316

We’ll have visiting and music from the O’Donnells until everyone is ready to go home or it gets dark, whichever comes first. Brother Cordova, would you lead us in the final prayer?”

“Are we staying for the dinner? I should have brought something,” Jasmine whispered to Ace while Brother Cordova thanked God for the day and his beautiful new son.

“Momma brings enough to feed an army. And we’ll stay if you want. If not…”

“I want to,” Jasmine said.

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 316

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Dolly Riley not only brought enough food for an army; she brought enough quilts too. One for each of her boys and one for her and Poppa Riley. The yard would have been full with just Rileys, but everyone scooted their patchwork homes together and made room for the rest of the church family.

Sitting on that quilt with Ace, surrounded by his biological family and their friends, sent Jasmine on a worse guilt trip than thinking about having sex with him on the choir pews. She couldn’t explain the feeling, but it was as if she was the sole member of the whole patchwork community who did not belong. And yet, her little six-by- eight- foot world was the second most visited place on the lawn that day, coming in second to the crowded Cordova quilt with eight children and two adults. New babies and marriages; the future of a community.

She was eating chicken casserole that had crunched potato chips on top and thinking about asking for the recipe when a cute little dark- haired woman sat down next to Ace.

“I can’t believe you got married. I didn’t even know it until today. I kept waiting for you to call me to go dancing with you,” she said.

“Felicity Cordova, meet my wife, Jasmine,” Ace said.

“Glad to meet you. Someday we’ll have to talk. I just knew I had this cowboy roped in and ready to propose OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 317

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Carolyn Brown

318

to me and then I hear he’s married today and from the pulpit of the church. I’m sure enough out of the loop, I tell you.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance,” Jasmine said. “I figured everyone in the whole area saw our wedding on television.”

“Guess I was out with another cowboy tryin’ to make this one jealous that night and no one told me. I’m Grady’s sister, the one with the new baby. I bet y’all got married about three weeks ago? That was the night I was over at his place watchin’ kids when Misty had that false labor. We were watchin’ a Disney movie and I didn’t see the news.” She sighed.

“Move over, girl. I haven’t kissed the groom.” A petite blonde plopped down between Felicity and Ace and flat out laid a kiss, tongue and all, on him.

He blushed a brilliant red.

Jasmine knotted her hands into fists.

She ended the kiss with an extra little smack on his cheek and looked at Jasmine. “You got a good one, honey.

I was anglin’ for him, but guess I didn’t have the right bait. By the way, I’m Justina Algood. I live up between Terral and Ryan, but my grandparents come to church here and I always come for the reunion dinner. Be seein’

you around, Ace. If you decide you don’t want him, kick him north. I’d still take him even though you got to walk down the aisle with him first.” Justina went on to the next blanket to talk to Granny and Grandpa O’Donnell.

Felicity left at the same time and went straight to the Cordova quilt where she took the baby from her sister-in- law and carried him from blanket to blanket so everyone could see him.

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 318

10/5/11 10:41 AM

One Hot Cowboy Wedding

319

Raylen and Liz brought their plates to Jasmine and Ace’s quilt and settled down to eat. Jasmine hoped that their presence would act like bug spray and keep all of Ace’s former women from lighting.

It didn’t work.

“Hey, Ace, I saw your wedding on the television.

Bad, bad boy! Getting married to someone else when I almost had you convinced we would be good together.

Hello, Jasmine, I’m Kylee from down near Bowie. Grew up around here with all these wild cowboys. We’ll have to compare notes on this one sometime.” Kylee giggled.

She didn’t stick around long but snagged Felicity and the two of them went back to the Cordova place.

“Tat stamps,” Liz whispered.

“What?” Ace asked.

“Inside joke between BFFs,” Liz said.

“Don’t even ask,” Raylen said between bites. “It would take a rocket scientist to understand what goes on between those two.”

Jasmine shook her head slowly. “Is there a woman in all of Montague County that you haven’t dated? I mean, here we are in a town of one hundred at a church picnic and in the first fifteen minutes there’s already been three who thought they would marry you, one that kissed you right in front of me.”

“Raylen, help me out here?” Ace said.

“Sorry, buddy. I can’t think of any.” Raylen laughed.

“I didn’t date Liz or Gemma or Colleen. There’s three right there,” Ace said.

“Raylen already had Liz scoped out when you met her.

Gemma and Colleen are like your sisters. Your words when we first met, not mine. Those three don’t count.” OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 319

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Carolyn Brown

320

“Pearl. She came to the ranch with Colleen way back before she ever knew Wil and I didn’t date her,” he said.

“Well, praise God and pass the biscuits,” Jasmine quipped one of her grandmother’s favorite sayings. She drew her feet up under her and tucked the tail of her white eyelet sundress under her thighs to keep the south wind from whipping it up.

Liz tapped her on the arm. “I haven’t heard that expression in years. My grandpa, the one who lives out in west Texas, says it.”

“It was one of my granny’s favorite adages. It made me think about her. She lives south of Sherman in Whitewright, a little bitty town where my momma grew up.”

“I thought about my grandpa this morning in church,” Ace admitted. Anything to get the conversation away from all the women he’d dated. “I swear Gramps was sitting on the arm of the pew right beside me. He was wearing his Sunday overalls just like Grandpa O’Donnell and whispering in my ear the whole time the preacher was talking.”

Liz tucked the tail of one of her many multicolored tiered skirts around her thighs and nodded. “Sometimes my momma and aunt do that to me. Raylen thinks I’m crazy when I argue with them. All he hears is one side of the conversation.”

“And it sounds kind of crazy when I don’t know what they’re saying to her on the other end. What did Gramps Riley say to you?” Raylen asked Ace.

Ace stuttered and stammered before he could figure out an answer. “Basically the same things he’s said forever. A ranch needs a woman.”

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 320

10/5/11 10:41 AM

One Hot Cowboy Wedding

321

“It does,” Liz agreed.

“Yes, ma’am.” Jasmine nodded toward Liz.

Liz finished off the last two bites of her dessert and touched Raylen on the thigh. “Granny is motioning to us. She’s got our fiddles on the chairs and ready. We must be up first. What are we doing first?” He stood up and extended his hand to help her.

“‘Farther Along’ like they sang this morning or

‘Amazing Grace’?”

“Whatever you want, Raylen. I’ll follow your lead.”

“If you do, it’ll be the first time. Why couldn’t we get one of those sweet little women who jump to do our bidding?” Raylen asked Ace.

“Sorry, but you don’t get second chances. You got
me
. Be satisfied or be dead.” Liz smiled sweetly.

“Tougher than nails.” Raylen grinned as he led her toward the fiddles.

Ace turned to Jasmine. “How about you? Should I be
satisfied
or
be
dead
?” Vibes danced.

Everything sparkled.

Jasmine sweated.

“Well?” Ace pressed.

She wiped the moisture from her forehead with a paper napkin with fireworks printed on it. Mercy, how did she ever get in such a pickle and where were his old girlfriends when she needed them?

“All depends,” she stalled.

“On?”

“On where we are in one year. I promised not to hold you past that.”

“And if I release you from that promise?”

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 321

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Carolyn Brown

322

What was he saying? She wished whatever it was he’d just spit it out and quit dancing around the patchwork.

“Let’s just put it this way. I agree with Liz. My husband isn’t going to be getting second chances. So don’t be makin’ any promises you don’t plan on keepin’,” she said.

“And that means?” Ace asked.

“Don’t get caught up in the moment and regret it later,” she said bluntly.

Ace leaned on his hand, barely an inch from Jasmine’s. His little finger edged over and locked with hers and that crazy feeling in the pit of his stomach said that the only thing he would regret was losing her. He simply had to make her feel the same way and all his old tricks of the trade wouldn’t work.

More than a ranch was riding on the line. His heart and soul were both lying out there in the ante pile.

Just his little finger touching hers had Jasmine ready to drag him back into the church to the choir pews and do wicked things to his body. But somehow while two fiddles whined away to “Amazing Grace,” she was downright afraid to tempt the wrath of the Almighty.

She looked up to see Dolly coming toward her and she was holding a little blue bundle. When she reached Jasmine, she plunked the baby boy down in her arms.

“It’s your turn. You’ve been waiting patiently for everyone else since you feel new here, but I brought him to you. Enjoy him while you can because there’s lots of others who can’t wait to get their dose of baby holding today.”

“Hey, Dolly, the kids are getting up a softball game over on the backside of the church. Would you unlock OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 322

10/5/11 10:41 AM

One Hot Cowboy Wedding

323

the room where the balls and bats are kept in the fellowship hall?” Adam yelled across the lawn at her.

Dolly headed in that direction with a motion toward Maddie O’Donnel to go with her. “You’ve got keys, right? I left mine at home.”

“In my purse. Thought the kids might want to play ball. I’ll get them out of the truck and meet you in the hall,” Maddie said.

Jasmine undid the cotton blanket and looked at the plump little boy in her lap. His hair was jet- black, his eyes so deep that they were almost black and blinking at her as if deciding whether to cry or not. His mother had dressed him in a one- piece knit outfit that left both arms and legs bare and Jasmine counted toes and fingers.

Tick! Tock! Dammit! That is the first time I’ve ever
heard the biological clock. I didn’t even hear it when
I held Jesse and John, so what makes the difference
now? His name is Jasper… all J names, so that can’t
be the catalyst.

“Pretty cute. Reminds me of Creed, Dalton, and Tyler when they were born. They looked a lot like that,” Ace said.

“You ever want any of these?” Jasmine asked.

Jasper wrapped his tiny fingers around her forefinger and the clock rattled so loudly in her ear that she could scarcely hear anything else.

“Oh, yeah! Bunch of them. I liked growing up in a big family. My older brothers have stopped at two or three each. I’d like five or six.”

Jasmine swallowed hard. Raising five or six kids and running a café plus helping with the ranch? She’d have to be Wonder Woman.

OneHotCowboyWedding.indd 323

10/5/11 10:41 AM

Carolyn Brown

324

Hey, hormonal woman. He didn’t say he wanted
five or six with you so don’t be planning the future
right now.

She sighed.
But
I
want
a
big
family
too. I always
wanted a sibling and Pearl filled that spot in my life really well. But I want my kids to have blood kin brothers
and sisters to grow up with. To eat breakfast with in the
mornings, to fight over who got the last pancake.

Ace reached over and stuck his finger in Jasper’s other hand. The baby latched onto it. “Look at that! He’s got a hold on my finger like it was the rope around a bull. Betcha he’s going to be a rider like his daddy.”

“Oh?”

“Oh, yeah. Grady makes a little money on the side riding in the local rodeos.”

“My sons are not doing something that dangerous,” Jasmine said.

“Well, they aren’t going to take ballet lessons,” Ace told her.

“If they want to, they can. And if they want to paint pretty pictures or write books they can do that too,” she argued. “Ain’t that right, Jasper? You might have strong hands and legs so you can dance or hold a paintbrush.” Nothing but pure old fear that he wanted his children with someone who knew all about bull riding made her argue with Ace. If they argued she’d get mad and then the feeling that she wanted babies with Ace would van-ish, leaving her with a café and determination that she did not want a commitment with anyone.