Cowboy of Her Heart (8 page)

He just shrugged and led her around the
truck.
 
Opening the door, he helped her
inside before moving around to join her in the cab.
 
Then he leaned over her, popped the glove box
open and came out with a...scarf?
 
“You’ll need to put this on when we get close to the house.
 
Because all I’ll tell you about my plans are,
they are a surprise.”

She frowned just a bit, but nodded.
 
Accepting the scarf, she laughed.
“All right.
 
Only because
I trust you, Grant,” she teased.
 
“So you
really aren’t going to tell me the plans yet? You know just how impatient I am,
Mister.”

“I know. That’s why I said you only had to put
it on when we got close.
 
You’d never
last under it the whole way to the house.” He smiled.
 
Settling in his seat, he did up his belt and
started the engine.
 
“Seatbelt,” he told
her before backing out of the spot and heading toward the ranch.

She laughed as she buckled up. “You know me
well.”
 
She took his hand in hers; she couldn’t
help herself.
 
She had to touch him,
needed
to touch him.
 
Since that moment a year earlier she found
herself touching him as often as possible just so she could be sure she wasn’t
dreaming.

Shaking his head at her, he squeezed her
hand.
 
“I’m learning,” he said, shooting
her a grin and a wink.
 
“So, how was your
day? Any crazy hair requests from the Valentine-addled minds of the female
population?”

Laughter spilled from her, and she
nodded.
 
“Dawn was in today,” she told
him with a giggle.
 
“Evidently, she has a
new beau and she wanted to have her hair put up in a beehive style but to have
a hole in the middle of it, so that she could put a picture of the two of them
dangling there by fishing wire.
 
It was
the most absurd thing I’ve ever seen, but she loved it.
 
Oh, and she said that you and I owe her,”
Jackie reported.
 
“Last year, she asked
me why I hadn’t jumped you and your delicious man-meat, and it made me angry.
 
Pissed me off that someone
other than me was thinking of getting you naked.
 
Bad, I know, but I think that was part of why
I might have come to your ranch that night.” And oh, what a memorable night it
had been!

“You were thinking of getting me naked before
that night?” he asked with a grin.
 
Men, focusing on what
they
considered the important stuff.
 
“You never once mentioned that, my dear.
 
I think you need to tell me more about all
these thoughts you had about me and my man-meat.
 
Which, by the way, is just
a nasty-ass description.
”

“Yes, it is a terrible description, and yes, I
had thought of you naked more than once.
 
I told you that I’ve had the hots for you my whole life.
 
When I saw you in the rodeo three years ago
it was all I could do not to come down off the stands and lick your chest when
you peeled out of your shirt after riding the bull.
 
Weird and strange, but
total truth.”

He made a face at that.
 
“Probably best you didn’t. All you would have
got was a mouthful of grit.
 
Bleh.”
He stuck his tongue out a little before
laughing.
 
“All right, blindfold on now,
Missy.
 
We’re close enough that you may
not see anything until I say otherwise.” Jackie knew that he had to have her
put the blindfold on now or else her surprise might be ruined. One thing about
Jackie, she certainly was an inquisitive cuss and she absolutely hated surprises,
which only made the blindfold all the better in his mind, and honestly in hers
as well. It would do the woman some good to build up some anticipation.
Besides, good things came to her when Grant Franklyn blindfolded her or better
yet tied her up.
 

Putting the blindfold on after giving Grant a
grin, she tied it tightly around her head.
 
“Okay, I can’t see anything now, Darling.”
 
She began to search for his hand blindly once
more.
 
“How about you take my hand again,
please?”

His hand caught hers and laced their fingers
together.
 
He didn’t say anything, so all
she could hear was the sound of the engine, the soft music from the radio and
the occasional crunch of the tires on the road.
 
She could feel each turn and knew when they’d reached the ranch by the
fact he slowed and that small rise right at the start of the drive.
 
Then they were stopping, and it was silent.

His hand slipped from hers, and she could hear
him moving, the door opening and closing and then the crunch of his boots on
the gravel of the parking pad.
 
Her door
opened a moment later and her seatbelt was removed before his large hands
guided her out of the truck.
 
It was a
little disconcerting being led around by him, yet interesting at the same
time.
 
He told her when to lift a foot,
where she was, and where to turn.

Inside, he took her jacket from her and then
guided her to where she knew the living room was.
 
That’s when he set her in place and told her
not to move.
 
She could hear him moving
around, soft rustling sounds of clothing and something else.
 
Then, soft strains of music but nothing
else.
 
“Take off your blindfold,” he said
softly from in front of her and, below?

Nervously Jackie took off the blindfold and
blinked once, and then a second time.
 
She looked down and saw Grant there with his hat at his knee and a ring
box in his hand.
 
Tears began to fall,
and she looked to the table with a candlelight dinner for two, and then back to
him.
 
“Grant?”
 
She whispered his name.
 
That was all she could do in that
moment.
 
She could only whisper his name
because her gaze was on the ring inside of the box.
 
It was not a friendship ring, but something
far more.

“I know we both despise the trappings of
Valentine’s Day and how commercial it’s gotten.
 
But on this one thing I thought we might bend a little.
 
This has been the very best year of my life,
Jacqueline, and I want it to never end.
 
So, with that in mind,” he let out a long breath.
 
Reaching for her hand, he held her fingers in
his and stared up at her.
 
“Would you do
me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?
To keep loving me
and being in my life for the rest of our days?”

Jackie felt her tears flow even harder.
 
She nodded and squeezed his hand.
 
“Yes, Grant.
 
Yes, I will marry you.
 
I want
this life with you to never end.”
 
It was
funny, they both hated Valentine’s Day, but on this one, she was in love.
 
“I want this to continue, as well.
 
I want our life together to continue, and I
want to be Mrs. Franklyn.”

Grinning, he slid the ring on her finger,
tossed the box over his shoulder and then scooped her up into his arms.
 
Kissing her, he held her close and smiled
against her lips.
 
“Thank God you said
yes. I didn’t have a Plan C worked out,” he admitted with a laugh.

Jackie laughed and hugged him tightly.
 
“All you needed was a question.” She admitted
to him and kissed him back.
 
“I love you,
Grant.
 
I want the rest of our lives to
be together. I want the rest of our lives to be spent in love instead of hate.
 
So in this I’m happy that we met during that
wretched day.”
 
Leaning in, she kissed
him again.
 
“Happy Valentine’s Day,
Cowboy.
 
Now, how about we go to bed and
reheat our food later?”
 
Her laughter
trailed after her when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like
he had that very first night a year ago.
 
Laughter had found its way into their hearts and home.
 
Now, and forever more.
 

The End

www.honor-james.net

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Evernight
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www.evernightpublishing.com