Her Cowboy Knight (15 page)

A feeling of cold went down Cooper’s spine. Why wasn’t Gabby here to collect the prize? He looked all over, then it dawned on him that he hadn’t seen any of her family either, and they kind of stood out.

He found his uncle Jed, who had a kind of sad look in his eyes as he said, “Well, son, I think she and her family have left. I noticed them quietly gathering, and William stopped by to say goodbye.”

Cooper looked panicked. “Goodbye?”

Jed nodded. “Well, I don’t know, but I think they meant to leave… Cooper, calm down.”

Cooper was running to his truck. He sped the whole way home only to find it empty and deserted, every possession of Gabby’s gone.

Jed found him thirty minutes later, sitting on the front steps, looking down the road. The older man walked up slowly, and Cooper said, “She’s gone.”

Jed regarded his nephew for a moment, then took a seat on the bottom step. He stared out at the road, waiting for the younger man to continue, knowing if he was silent, the words would come eventually.

A few minutes later, Cooper spoke. “Why would she just leave me like that? I mean, I was mad and all, but we would have sorted it out. She was the one who scared me to death. She’s the one who hid what she was doing from me. How was I supposed to react?”

Jed just sat there quietly, and Cooper said, “I messed up, didn’t I, Uncle Jed?”

Jed pulled a pocketknife out and picked at his fingernails. “I think you might have, son.”

Cooper’s shoulders slumped. “Now she’s going to hate me, and now her family hates me, too.”

Jed’s mouth twitched. “I don’t think it’s quite as bad as all that, but it will take some doing to get her back, that’s for sure. I think she’s worth it though, if you ask me.”

“They carry swords, Jed.”

Jed’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, they do. But you’re not one to let a fight stop you. You’ll get her back… and I have a feeling you’ll have some unlikely allies, if you approach it right.” Jed stood up and stretched. “Well, I’m off for bed. It’s been a long day. Think I’ll head over to the south pasture tomorrow and round up those strays I was telling you about. You might think about rounding up yours, too. I’ll handle things here until you get back. You’ll be useless until you do, anyway.”

Chapter Eleven

Gabby flubbed her trick for the third time in row and heard her father’s sharp voice call across the field, “Gabriella, what was that? You’re lowering your lance way too soon. Head out of the clouds, lass.”

She took a deep breath and made another pass. This time she made the pass correctly, but it wasn’t as pretty as she liked. Her father shouted, “Gabby, pack it in for the day. You’re doing more harm than good.”

Gabby climbed off Thaddeus and slid to the ground. Her shoulders slumped, and she let her head roll forward onto the side of his neck. She heard Leo’s voice from behind her. “You okay?

She straightened up and started taking off her horse’s tack, never turning. “I’m fine.”

Leo watched her as she groomed her horse with stiff strokes. Finally, she said, “Leo, please leave. I’m not fit company right now.”

Leo leaned against a wall and let her continue. Gabby finished with the horse as quickly as possible, then gave him a quick pet and an apple in apology. He nuzzled her hand.

Gabby stepped away. “He walked away, right there in front of everybody.”

Leo just stood there in the doorway. Gabby leaned on the railing. “All I was trying to do was fit into his stupid little town.”

Gabby kicked her foot up on the railing, and Thaddeus turned his head toward her. Gabby shushed the horse. “I’m sorry, baby.” She sighed. “I messed everything up, Leo. And I don’t know how to fix it. He just walked away and doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

Leo slowly straightened up. “I think the best thing you can do is just wait for him. I think he’ll get over it, and I think he will come around. When he does, you will work it out. If he doesn’t, he’s not worth your time and effort.”

Gabby walked toward him. “Do you really think he’ll come around?”

Leo smiled. “If he doesn’t, he’s an idiot.”

Gabby stepped forward and gave him a huge hug. Leo pulled her back to look at her. “Now that doesn’t mean I don’t think he’ll give you one hell of a spanking… and you know you’ll deserve it, too.”

Gabby wrinkled her nose at him, then hugged him again. “I don’t care. I just want him.”

* * *

Three weeks later, Gabby had given up hope that Cooper would contact her. She had resigned herself that she had done permanent damage to their relationship and he couldn’t find it in himself to forgive her. She did her work, but the motions didn’t have the same joy they had always had.

The morning of the last Sunday of their gig in Texas dawned like many others. Everyone met for breakfast and talked about how the horses were behaving and how they would go about the day. The first two shows of the day went well.

As they started preparing for the third show, Gabby saw the others behaving slightly differently, and her father asked her to do a few extra things out on the field, but her own thoughts and troubles distracted her so much that she didn’t really think too much about it other than to grumble about the extra work.

She went through her show, giving it that extra oomph because it was her last in the venue, and the crowd was that much more rowdy. She felt a little bit of her old spark, and she showed off just a little on Thaddeus. The crowd roared as she flawlessly performed her moves with an extra flourish.

She dismounted as her brother held Thaddeus’ reins. Her father crossed to her, “Today, I’m going to have you at the far end. I’m going to let the young one here squire for Leo again.”

Gabby nodded. “All right, Da.”

“Where’s Declan?”

“He’ll be along.”

“Well, he’d better hurry, or his late entrance will be late indeed, eh?”

She didn’t question things when her brothers both hugged her on the way out the door, but her father stopped her. “You know I love you, daughter.”

Gabby looked up at him in his finery. “I’ve always known that more than anything else, Da.”

He nodded once. “Good. I think we’d best do our duty then.”

Gabby ran out and readied things at the far end of the arena. Her part of the production was to get the crowd to cheer for the mysterious black knight, played by her uncle Declan. She started explaining it to them in as loud a voice as she could, with grand gestures. When Leo rode out on his horse in his blue finery, she booed loudly and whipped her crowd into a frenzy of booing and stomping.

The stable door opened again and another knight rode out, this one in black, with a full-face helmet, shining in the light. This time, Gabby turned her back and cheered with her whole body and voice. She went along the front of her section, urging her crowd to a standing cheer. As usual, her crowd overwhelmed the other sections, catching her enthusiasm. The two men met at the center of the arena and exchanged traditional greetings, then turned to the festival ‘king’ to hear his speech. During this, Gabby felt a presence at her left elbow. She turned slightly and recognized Declan.

Declan nodded behind him. “Sounds like the crowd is into it today, aye?”

Gabby started, then turned abruptly toward the knights at the center of the ring. “If you’re here, who’s there?”

Declan leaned on the railing. “Well now, lass, I think you have a pretty good idea who that is. You’ve seen him ride often enough.”

Gabby jerked forward, but Declan caught her arm, halting her. “Here now. That’s the last thing you can do.”

“But, Declan… He can’t… He doesn’t know what he’s doing. This is dangerous.”

Declan said, “He’s been training for the last three weeks. He’s as ready as he can be. And he’s going against Leo. If anyone can keep him safe, it’s him.”

Gabby looked out on the field. “How? Where? Who’s he been training with?”

Declan thumped himself on the chest. “Me.”

Gabby turned and looked at him fully. The tall man turned and regarded her with his blue eyes. “You were miserable. He was miserable. He asked me for help.”

Gabby put her hands on her hips. “It didn’t occur to you to just hand me the phone?”

Declan’s lips twitched in a smile. “Maybe I wanted some of my own back, for how he left you that day.” Declan nodded toward the arena. “Looks like he wants something.” He handed her a black scarf. “You might want this.”

Gabby looked to the ring where, sure enough, Cooper was headed right toward her.

When his horse was right in front of her, he and the horse performed a perfect courtly bow and he lowered his lance directly toward her. The announcer said, “Lords and ladies, the black knight has asked our own squire, the Lady Gabriella in disguise, for her favor, will she grant it?”

Gabriella stared at Cooper, seeing only his eyes through the black helmet. She fingered the black scarf Declan had just given her. Never taking her eyes from Cooper’s, she tied it on the lance. Cooper lifted his hand to his visor in a salute and nodded his head, raising his lance. He twirled his horse and raced back to the far end of the arena, raising his lance high in the air. There he bent to hear a few last-minute instructions from William. He accepted a lance from Seamus, then squared up for his first tilt at the list.

Gabby watched the whole thing in slow motion. She forgot the crowd behind her. Declan took over her duties, but they were so engaged that all he had to do was raise his arms to hype them up. Gabby watched with arms clenched in front of her as her best friend and the man she loved hurled toward each other on warhorses.

Their lances lowered, and the impact rang through the arena. Both lances shattered and both knights rocked backwards like bobble-head dolls on a dashboard. Miraculously, both men stayed in the saddle. Declan grabbed her around the chest at the impact, then roared with the crowd as the men stayed atop their horses. He turned and hyped the crowd, then shushed them as the men readied for another pass. Gabby watched in terror as her Seamus handed Cooper another lance.

“How can he do this, Declan? It takes years to perfect, and it’s dangerous.”

Declan arched one eyebrow. “Kind of like bull riding, aye?”

Again the men rushed toward one another; again, the lances lowered. This time, both lances glanced off the men. Tension built as the knights rounded the barrier.

Declan said, “You know, I was beside him that day… when he realized it was you climbing on that bull. I’ve never seen a man more anguished.”

The crowd started stomping their feet and chanting.

Gabby whispered, “He could be hurt, Declan.” Declan hugged her close. The knights lined up, the horses started, the lances lowered. At the impact, everything happened in slow motion. Both men flew backward off their horses.

Gabby leaned forward, but Declan held her firmly. Both men climbed to their feet, and in the chaos, the black knight’s helmet was knocked off. The announcer gasped dramatically. “What’s this? Lords and ladies, the black knight’s identity is revealed at last. This knight is no knave, he is the king’s long lost son, the prince of the land, returned to us at last.” At that, both knights made their way to the end of the barrier. Leo knelt on one knee and dramatically swore his allegiance to his prince. Cooper reached out and asked him to rise, reaching to clasp arms with him and embrace him with one arm.

“Lords and ladies, the prince thanks Sir Leo for his long service to his father.”

Cooper turned his head to spear Gabby with a heated look. “What’s this, lords and ladies? The prince wants to collect his boon. Well, the prince is not the only one hiding his identity. Our squire is none other than Lady Gabriella, his long promised beloved.”

By this time Cooper stood in front of Gabby. Declan squeezed her shoulders once, then stepped back, leaving her to face her knight alone. She tilted her head up at him until he did the most surprising thing and knelt on one knee in front of her.

Gabby couldn’t really believe what she was seeing as Cooper placed one hand over his heart and said in a voice that wasn’t loud, but that carried over the absolutely still arena, “Gabriella, I offer you my body, my life, my heart. I ask you to be my wife and my partner in this life and the next. Will you walk beside me forever?”

She stared at him for the longest time until her uncle whispered, “You’re supposed to say aye, lass?”

Gabby nearly toppled Cooper in a hug. “Yes, Cooper, a thousand times, yes. I thought you were never coming.”

Cooper, through a feat of great manhood, remained upright and held her around the waist, burying his head in her shoulder. The crowd went wild, cheering, stomping, and clapping. Declan rescued Cooper by shaking his hand and helping him stand.

Gabby giggled. “Sorry.”

Cooper kissed her. “It’s okay, baby. You can knock me over anytime.”

Declan handed Cooper a jewelry box. “Here, let’s do this properly.”

Cooper grinned. “Right. Gabby, will you do me the honor of wearing my ring?” He opened the box and displayed a beautiful, intricate silver ring with an antique diamond.

Gabby gasped and shot her eyes to Cooper’s. “Oh, Cooper. It’s beautiful.”

Cooper reddened slightly. “It was my mother’s.”

He took it out and placed it on Gabby’s finger. She reached up and hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back as if they weren’t surrounded by an arena full of people. William and Moira walked up arm in arm, and Gabby held out her hand in the classic gesture of newly engaged women.

Moira embraced her daughter first, then Cooper. “I’m happy for you both, and glad that you’ve both come to your senses… although I’m not sure I’d say that this display was coming to your senses, Cooper.”

At that, Gabby rounded on him. “What were you thinking, Cooper?”

Cooper arched an eyebrow and leaned down to growl in her ear, “Do you really want to have this discussion right here in this arena, little girl?”

The tone of his voice shot straight south, arousing her interest and sending a jolt of immediate heat. His hand at her bottom left no doubt that her reckoning wasn’t far off and left her tingling as she shook her head, not able to speak any words.