Heart of Texas Volume 1: Lonesome Cowboy

The eyes that had just a moment ago revealed the first shred of understanding and compassion flickered with a jolt of unanticipated pain. It took Grady only an instant to realize what he’d said.

“In other words you’re afraid your sister will end up like me?”

Grady struggled for the words to apologize. They didn’t come easy to a man like him. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he said.

“Of course you did.”

He probably should have left well enough alone, but he was desperate and he knew Savannah would listen to Caroline before she would him. “Will you talk to her?” he asked hopefully. At her absent look he continued, “About getting rid of Smith before he can hurt her.”

“No,” she said flat out.

“No?”

“You heard me. If I was going to talk to anyone about this, it’d be you.” Caroline’s voice gained strength. “And what I’d say, Grady, is leave Savannah to live her own life.”

“And make a fool of herself?”

“Yes, if that’s what it takes. She’s not a child to be chastised and ridiculed; she’s a woman with a woman’s heart. Grady, I swear if you do anything to spoil her chance of finding happiness, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Happiness with a saddle bum like Smith?” He might have laughed if there’d been any humor in the suggestion.

“Yes,” Caroline responded without hesitation.

Furious, more with himself than with Caroline, Grady stalked out of the office. He should have known better than try to reason with Savannah’s best friend. She was as stubborn as his sister. And less tactful about it, too.

* * *

“Good afternoon, Laredo,” Savannah said shyly as she joined him in her rose garden. She carried out a tray and two tall glasses of iced tea. Rocket was at her side, so old now that he found it difficult to move. Generally he stayed in the house, but he appeared to be a little more energetic than usual just now and had followed her outside and into the warm sunshine.

Laredo’s efforts were in evidence in every corner of her small paradise. Never had her garden looked more beautiful. The beds were meticulously groomed. Even the roses themselves had responded to his care. They’d burst into flower days earlier than anticipated. Some would claim it was due to the unusually warm spring, but Savannah chose to believe it was because of the love and care she and Laredo had given them.

“Afternoon,” he said, leaning on the hoe.

It never failed. Her heart—like her beautiful roses—bloomed with excitement and joy whenever she saw him. He was tall and strong and lovely. She realized that “lovely” wasn’t a word often associated with men, but she could find none more appropriate. Beyond everything else Laredo had given her, the most precious was the way she felt around him. Savannah had never considered herself beautiful, but that was how he made her feel. Beautiful. Feminine. Desirable.

“Would you like some iced tea?” she asked.

“That’d be great.” He set the hoe aside, removed the tray from her hands and led the way to the small wrought-iron table in the farthest corner of the garden. She’d purposely placed it there amidst the old roses in order to enjoy their fragrance and special beauty. Rocket followed them there and with a groan sank down in the table’s shade.

“I’m about finished with the hoeing,” Laredo said, bending down to stroke the dog’s ears.

This was a problem. He completed each task with speed, skill and determination. She longed to urge him to slow down, to linger over each small assignment so that the work would last, but he never did. From the first he’d set out to prove his worth and he’d done so, many times over.

Another day, two at the most, and he’d have completed her list. Everything thereafter would be a make-work project. Not that she couldn’t come up with some.

“Wiley stopped by earlier,” he said, and downed half the tea in a series of deep swallows. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, then leaned forward and stroked Rocket’s ears again. Savannah’s gaze rested on the dog who’d once belonged to her father and she smiled as he snored softly, already asleep.

“He told me about Roanie’s sore leg and he asked me to look at it. You don’t mind, do you?”

If anything, Savannah was relieved. All three realized it’d be best if Grady didn’t know about Laredo doctoring one of the horses. Nevertheless it’d be a shame to let the old roan suffer. Especially when Laredo could help—save them the expense of calling the vet.

“Of course I don’t mind,” she assured him.

“I’ll probably need to rub in some ointment and wrap up the leg.”

She nodded. “I’m grateful.” If Grady wouldn’t say it, she would, but her appreciation extended far beyond any expertise Laredo offered in the area of horses. He’d blessed her life in the week since his arrival. One week. Seven fleeting days, and yet it felt as though he’d always been part of her life. People would say it was fanciful or ridiculous, but in an odd way, Savannah felt as if her life had been on hold while she waited for Laredo to find her.

She smiled to herself, amused that Grady was making such a fool of himself, all the while calling her the fool. Considering the fuss her older brother had made, anyone would think she’d become Laredo’s lover when in reality he hadn’t so much as kissed her.

But she wished he would.... She’d dreamed of it endlessly, hungering for his touch. Grady had chastised her for claiming to love Laredo on such short acquaintance, and for the first time in recent memory she’d lied to her brother. She’d told him she didn’t love Laredo but that she could.

The truth was she did love him. She loved him for the gentle care he gave her roses. For his loving way with animals. For his honesty. For his tender patience with Maggie and, most important, for the joy he’d brought into her life. Each day she awoke happy and excited, knowing he’d be in the kitchen to greet her. Each night she laid her head on her pillow, her mind full of dreams she’d never dared to believe possible, never believed were meant for a woman like her.

So, while it was true he hadn’t touched her except for that one time he’d held her in the kitchen, she knew instinctively that he shared her feelings. She felt his love in a thousand ways. Unspoken, but real. As intense as her own for him.

Yes, Grady had called her a fool, and perhaps she was. But if being considered a fool meant she was this happy, then he could call her whatever name he liked.

“Is there anything more I can do for you this afternoon?” Laredo asked.

She shook her head. “I’ll be leaving soon.”

“If you’re going into town, would you mind checking on my truck at Powell’s Garage?”

“I...I can do that for you later in the week, if you want, but I wasn’t planning on going into town.” Savannah had hoped to avoid any questions about her destination. She’d hoped to slip quietly away and return to the ghost town. It had taken her a full week to gather the courage to go back, but despite her reservations, she’d decided to do it. She was sure there were more old roses to be found.

“Savannah,” Laredo said, touching her hand. “You’re headed back to Bitter End, aren’t you?”

She lowered her eyes and nodded, knowing that, like Grady, he’d disapprove. “I want to look for more roses. If the plants in the cemetery survived, there’re bound to be others.” In the days since her last visit Savannah had managed to convince herself that the darkness, the sense of oppression, had come from her own imagination. It’d been nerves and excitement, that was all. Grady had warned her about the ghost town so often that her head had been filled with nonsense. After a while she’d come to believe it. And even if what she’d experienced was real, she’d managed the first time and would again.

“Your brother—”

“Grady disapproves of a great deal in my life just now. I’m going back to Bitter End, Laredo, with or without Grady’s approval.”

The strength of her objection appeared to catch him unawares. “Surely your brother has a reason for not wanting you there?”

“You know Grady,” she answered. “He’s overprotective.”

“I don’t know your brother,” Laredo told her quietly, “but everything he says and does is because he loves you and is concerned about you. It might be best to heed his advice.”

If Savannah hadn’t fallen in love with Laredo already, she would have lost her heart right then and there. He’d defended Grady, when Grady had done nothing but cause him problems.

“He doesn’t understand,” she murmured.

“Where is this place?” Laredo asked. “I haven’t heard anyone else talk about a ghost town in this area.”

“I don’t think many people know about it.” Grady had located the town as a teenager and promised he’d take her there himself. It was the only time she could remember her brother breaking his word. “Grady was there once, but he refused to talk about it afterward. No matter how much I pleaded, he refused to give in. All he’d say was that he was never going back and he certainly wasn’t going to take his little sister there.”

“Then how’d you find the place?”