How to Rope a Real Man (29 page)

“I like that idea.” He stood and slid fingers along her cheeks, cradling her face as he lowered his lips to hers for a kiss that told her how very deeply he loved her. Giving a little purr in the back of her throat to let him know how welcome his touch was, she opened her lips for him, opened her arms, opened her heart.

When the kiss ended, he stroked her hair. “There’s only one thing left to do tonight.” He fished his phone from his pocket. “Jenna, may I have this dance?”

Wiping the last of the tears from her eyes, she beamed at him. “Only if it’s a waltz.”

Skimming through his music library, he smiled so big that her favorite dimple appeared. “Of course. That’s my favorite.”

“Mine, too.”

He set his phone on a rock and kissed her again. “I knew that already.”

As the phone played opening notes of the same song they’d waltzed to at the Sarsaparilla Saloon, he took her hand, met her in closed hold, and stepped her back into the grass.

“He’s not going to show. I know it.”

“Yes, he is,” Rachel shot back. “He said he would, so he will.”

Amy shouldered her way between Rachel and Jenna. “He’s not here yet. Maybe Jenna has a point. How much longer should we wait for him? What if we can’t find seats?”

Rachel scowled. “There you go planting ideas in her head, making her even more worried. Don’t you have enough sense to keep your mouth shut, or has pregnancy robbed you of that precious skill?”

Amy shifted her weight with a sassy swish to her hips. “That would be a precious skill you know nothing about. You’re such a smart-ass, I bet you could sit on a carton of ice cream and tell what flavor it is.”

Jenna groaned and covered her face with her hands. “You two are killing me. I’m freaking out here. This day is too important to me for you two to ruin it with your bickering.”

“I’ve got just the thing we need,” Amy said. She turned and looked at the group of their family and friends standing off to the side. Kellan, Jake, and Vaughn were deep in discussion with Mr. Dixon, Tina, and Sloane. “Kellan? Did you bring that—” She brought her cupped hand up to her mouth like she was drinking from it.

“Huh? Oh!” He felt around in the inner pocket of his flannel shirt and produced a stainless-steel flask, which he handed off to Amy with a smile.

Amy pushed it into Jenna’s hands. “Here. This’ll help you relax.”

Jenna made the mistake of sniffing the opening. Alcohol tingled up her nose and brought on a sneezing fit. “What is that?”

Amy grinned. “Just a splash of New Mexico’s finest tequila.”

“Gimme that,” Rachel said, lifting the flask from Jenna’s hands. She took a long pull from it and scrunched her face up. “Yep. That’ll do. But I still don’t understand why you can’t pack whiskey.”

Amy frowned with mock-offense. “Jenna likes tequila.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “You’re about to graduate college. Of course you like tequila. All college kids do. I think it’s in the student handbook.” She handed the flask back to Jenna. “Drink up.”

Jenna took a swig. It wasn’t so bad and maybe it would help her stop worrying about her special day being perfect. “You know, this stuff is all right.”

Amy beamed. “I told you. And don’t worry, Rach, we’ll switch the flask to whiskey in time for your wedding next weekend.”

Rachel took another hit of tequila, grimacing afterward. “I’m not going to need it because we’re not hosting a circus party like you and Kellan did.”

“You might be surprised by how nervous getting married will make you.”

“Marrying Vaughn is the best, easiest decision I’ve ever made. I’m pretty damn sure nerves aren’t going to be an issue.” She handed the flask back to Jenna, who was starting to feel that nice, warm, relaxed tequila effect. “Speaking of tying the knot, how soon before we’re allowed to pester you and Matt about getting married?”

Jenna scanned the parking lot looking for Matt, but didn’t see him yet. “Maybe he already asked me.”

Amy gasped. Rachel snorted in disbelief.

Jenna allowed a coy smile to break out on her face. She almost couldn’t wait to share the news with her sisters, but she and Matt had decided to keep their engagement a secret for a little while, something just for the two of them to enjoy in private before they shouted it from the rooftops. “Maybe we decided to keep it to ourselves until after Rachel’s wedding so we don’t steal your spotlight.”

“Well, you’re in luck because I hate the spotlight.” Rachel made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Steal away.”

“We will soon. I promise. What I can tell you is that we aren’t going to wait too long because we plan to apply to be adoptive parents as soon as possible since the process takes so long.”

“A brother or sister for Tommy and a new cousin for Kellan’s and my baby? That’s going to be wonderful. What about you and Vaughn, Rachel? Any plans for kids?”

Rachel shook her head. “Eventually. Right now we’re just in love with being in love, if you know what I mean.”

“Do I ever,” Jenna said.

Coming up behind Vaughn, Kellan, and Jake were Carrie and her new man, a strapping jock type who was a whole head taller than her. Carrie waved to Jenna, then introduced the guy to the circle of family and friends.

Jenna trotted up next to her and gave her a hug.

“Careful not to muss up your hat or robe,” Carrie said. “These duds look great on you. I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

“I couldn’t have done this without your support. You know that, right?”

They hugged again. “I love having you as my honorary sister,” Carrie said. “And next year, you can sit in the audience and cheer me on when I graduate.”

“Sisters are the best. Honorary and otherwise. I can’t wait to cheer you on. Graduating will be one item you can finally check off your bucket list.”

“That isn’t the only thing,” Carrie said, pointing to the back of her new man. “Huge,” she whispered, holding her hands apart to a length estimate Jenna was pretty sure wasn’t humanly possible.

Jenna flashed her a thumbs-up. Good for her. Dispelling urban legends and getting her rocks off with a cute guy all at the same time. Not bad for a summer’s work.

“Where are the boys?” Carrie asked.

“Matt dropped us off at the entrance. He and Tommy are finding parking.”

“Good luck with that. This place is packed.”

“They should be here soon.”

“How’s Carson’s case going? Last you told me, the D.A. had filed charges against the men who beat him up.”

Jenna nodded. In the weeks since Carson had first sat down with the Quay County district attorney and Vaughn to tell his story, Catcher Creek was getting a tough lesson in the kind of hatred that had infected the town and had too long been ignored. A deep divide had risen to the surface between Carson’s supporters and those who couldn’t bring themselves to believe that the town’s golden-boy rodeo champs were anything less than angelic. Between the fallout from Carson’s case and the widespread revelation that he was Tommy’s daddy, Jenna couldn’t have been more grateful she’d gotten Tommy out of town when she did.

“The D.A. got the FBI involved because of the hate-crime aspect of Carson’s case. Bucky, Lance, and Kyle were charged last week with conspiracy, attempted murder, and violation of federal hate crime laws.”

“Specifically, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” Vaughn added, moseying their way. It was uncanny, how fine-tuned Vaughn’s hearing was. If he and Rachel ever did get around to having kids, he was going to make one heck of a father. “That makes what Bucky, Lance, and Kyle did a federal hate crime. When the courts are done with them, those bastards aren’t going anywhere but the exercise yard of a prison for a long, long time.”

“At least they pleaded guilty so Carson is spared from enduring a trial.”

Carrie’s eyes got huge. “They pleaded guilty?”

“Only after Carson’s parents stepped forward as witnesses. His mother had taken photographs of Carson after the beating because she thought that someday she might need them for some reason. And it turned out there’d been a security video from out front of the family’s feed store that captured the three men following Carson around the side of the store, baseball bats in their hands.” She hadn’t seen the video and didn’t want to. It was horrifying enough to imagine. “All this time, she’d been holding on to the evidence, failing to find the courage to step forward and tell the police what happened to her son until now.”

“Still, that doesn’t seem very courageous of her to only step forward after charges had already been filed. Carson’s the brave one.”

“Agreed.” She gave the parking lot another scan, searching for familiar faces as her stomach twisted into knots.

And then she spotted them. Matt was power-walking, dodging parked cars with Tommy on his shoulders. “There’s my boys.”

Once they were safely out of the parking lot, Matt swung Tommy down and bridged the rest of the distance to Jenna. He tugged on her tassel. “You look great, Miss College Graduate.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a quick kiss, then gave one to Tommy.

“Is that tequila on your breath?” Matt asked. “I thought you didn’t drink.”

“Well, Amy had Kellan bring a flask. It’s practically tradition now for these types of things. I’m kind of glad she did. I’m getting worried that Carson won’t show.”

“He’ll be here. I guarantee it. He applied for special leave and came all the way out from San Diego to cheer you on.”

“And meet with the FBI prosecutors again.”

Matt slid an arm around her waist. “That too. But not until he’s all done cheering for one of his oldest friends.”

She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to line up soon, but you have a little time to stall before you have to find your seats so you can look for him.”

“He’ll be here,” Matt repeated, kissing her cheek. “Keep the faith.”

“That’s what I told her,” Rachel said. “It was little Nancy Naysayer here who got her worried all over again.” She hooked a thumb in Amy’s direction.

Amy socked Rachel in the shoulder. “I did not. Don’t forget who brought the tequila.” She gave Jenna a once-over, then reached for her head. “Let me straighten your hat. It’s almost showtime.” She fiddled with Jenna’s hair, moving bobby pins around. “You know what’s neat? I graduated from a chef academy, but you’re the first Sorentino to earn a college degree.” She choked up on the last word. If it’d been anyone but Amy, Jenna would’ve attributed the high emotions to pregnancy hormones, but Amy was just being Amy.

What shocked Jenna most was that Rachel’s eyes were wet, too. “We’re really proud of you, sis.”

Jenna rubbed Amy’s arm. “Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to tell you guys about my schooling sooner.”

“Water under the bridge,” Rachel said, sniffing. “I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again. Do you have any idea how much I love being your sister?”

Jenna threw her arms around Rachel and Amy and pulled them into a hug. “I bet it’s as much as I love being both of yours.”

“Carson!” Tommy squealed. Jenna pivoted in time to see her little guy running toward Carson’s open arms.

“I made it,” Carson said, panting. To the group, he added, “I almost didn’t because I got stuck behind a double parker. I was freaking out, but I found a way around. Thank goodness.”

When Tommy reached him, Carson swung him off the ground and gave him a tickle on the ribs. “Hey, little man. I missed you. Your daddy sends me pictures of you all the time so I can see how big you’re getting.”

He and Jenna had made a lot of strides toward figuring out their plans for co-parenting. Tommy knew in his own way that Carson was his father, but Carson wasn’t comfortable referring to himself as a daddy and Jenna and Matt had no desire to push him too hard too fast, not with the emotional toll of his criminal case weighing on him. For the time being, Tommy was happy, as were Carson, Matt, and Jenna, and that was all that mattered.

Matt took Jenna’s hand and leaned in close. “Told you he’d be here.”

Sometimes, Jenna couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She had a new career on the horizon, a lifetime of love with Matt, a healthy son, two sisters and brothers-in-law she cherished and who cherished her, and a fresh start ahead of her in Santa Fe. There was only one thing left for her to do.

She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, y’all. I’m outta here. Next time you see me, I’ll be a college graduate.” Then she walked into the fray of the staging area to the claps and cheers of everyone she held dear in this world, her biggest fans—her family.

The Trouble With Cowboys

It was their parents’ ranch, through the good days and the bad. But if they want to hang on to their land, their pride, and their family, the three Sorentino sisters will have to reinvent it from the ground up—and one of them just may reinvent herself in the process . . .

Cowboys have never been good for Amy Sorentino. First her hard-riding father bankrupted the family farm. Then her all-hat-no-cattle boyfriend sold her out on national television, ending her promising career as a chef. Now she and her squabbling sisters have partnered up in a final attempt to save their land by starting an inn and local restaurant. So it figures that with everything on the line, Amy’s key supplier is just the kind of Stetson-tipping, heartbreaking bad boy she’s sworn to avoid. But Kellan Reed has a few secrets of his own—and cowboy or not, Amy can’t resist this kind of wild ride . . .

Transforming their parents’ run-down ranch in Catcher Creek, New Mexico, into a tourist destination is the toughest challenge the three Sorentino sisters ever faced. But now one of them has another fight on her hands—to keep from falling for the sexy town sheriff—again . . .

Rachel Sorentino has spent her whole life protecting her siblings from trouble—only to run headlong into it herself. Her first regret about shooting at the vandals targeting her family ranch is that her aim wasn’t better. Her second is that when bullets started flying, it was Sheriff Vaughn Cooper’s number she dialed. Vaughn is the mistake she keeps on making, a cowboy lawman who cuts through Rachel’s surface bravado to the vulnerability no one else sees. And no matter how inconvenient their attraction—for his career, her tangled case, and his already battered heart—there’s no denying what feels so irresistibly right . . .