“By the way, Troy. Are you planning on marrying Sarah?”
“Whoa! Where did that come from? ... No. ...Not really.”
“You should. We all think so. You’re a different person since she and her son came here. She puts a glow in your eyes. Sometimes when you’re around her, I’m afraid your face is going to crack from grinning. She looks at you’re the same way.”
He grinned. “You think so?”
“I do. Have I ever steered you wrong? I’m your angel, remember?” She picked up her coat. “I have to go.”
Troy helped her into it. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Good luck, Sister. It’s good to see you happy.”
Troy watched her walk out to her SUV and climb in. What happened between her and Pic no longer seemed to matter in Troy’s grand scheme of things.
He shrugged into his down bomber jacket and walked over to the arena where Sarah was working with Wyatt and Rudy. When he entered the huge space, he saw her astride her mare, Popsie. He had never seen her horseback. She had on a thick coat with a white furry collar. With her black hair and red lips and beaming smile, her beauty took his breath.
Wyatt, also horseback, rode beside her.
Troy watched for a few minutes. After the advice Pic had given him before the last family meeting in January, he had bared his soul to Sarah.
Just then, Wyatt spotted him. “Hey, Troy! Look at Mom! She’s riding!”
He walked over the grasped Popsie’s headstall and looked up into Sarah’s incredible eyes. “Hey, look at you.”
Her beaming smile grew even wider. “I know. And I’m not in any pain.”
“So physical therapy is paying off.”
“Can we ride together?”
“We can do everything together. All you have to do is say yes to my proposal.”
“But I still say, we don’t know each other well enough.”
“At what point do we know each other? Aren’t you and Wyatt happy here? Isn’t Rudy happy here?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“You said you like my family and they like you.”
“Well, yes. But—”
“Wouldn’t you rather live in my house than the guest house?”
She giggled, her eyes sparkling. “I don’t know. The guest house is awful nice.”
“Come down from there. I want to talk to you.”
She swung out of the saddle and they stood front-to-front. “Here I am.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. She kissed him back. When they parted, he pressed his forehead against hers. “I don’t want to wait, Sarah. I look at Drake and Shannon, Pic and Mandy and even Mom and Dad and I see time wasting. I want what they have. I want us to wake up together every day. I want to be a dad to Wyatt. I want him to grow up to be a son you’ll be proud of.”
“But I’m already proud of him.”
“I want him to be a boy I’m proud of, too. My boy, Sarah. He needs me.”
“But I—”
“Shh.” He leaned in again and kissed her hard and quick. “Stop arguing. Let’s just set a date. Jericho can rest easy in his grave knowing I’m taking care of you two.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think I love you.”
“You aren’t sure?”
“I’m cautious.”
“You’re a hard case, girl.”
Together, they laughed.
Anna Jeffrey is an author of contemporary romance novels with a mainstream flavor as well as zany romantic comedy. She has written 12 romance novels as Anna Jeffrey and co-authored 8 romantic comedies/mysteries as USA Today Bestselling author, Dixie Cash.
Anna Jeffrey’s books have won the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Aspen Gold and the More Than Magic Awards. Her books have been in the finals of numerous other writers’ awards.
She enjoys reading, painting and drawing and various crafts.
Currently, she lives in Oregon. You can keep up with her books on her website, www.annajeffrey.com;
or on her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=anna%20jeffrey%20books.
ALSO BY ANNA JEFFREY
The Sons of Texas
The Cattleman
The Tycoon
Miranda’s Chronicles
Desired
The Strayhorns
Man of the West
Lone Star Woman
The West Texas Books
Sweet Water
Salvation, Texas
Sweet Return
The Callister Books
The Love of a Lawman
The Love of a Stranger
The Love of a Cowboy
BOOKS BY DIXIE CASH
You Can Have My Heart, but Don’t Touch My Dog
I Can’t Make You Love Me, but I Can Make You Leave
Our Red Hot Romance is Making Me Blue
Curing the Blues with a New Pair of Shoes
I Gave You My Heart, but You Sold it Online
My Heart May be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great
Since You’re Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash