Love Song (25 page)

“Andi, baby, ya can’t quit! Ya can’t desert us!”

Rage and adrenaline shot through Wade. He ran several steps and took a flying leap, tackling the man a few yards away from Andi. When the troublesome fan tried to get up, Wade slammed him down on the floor again and put his knee in the middle of his back, twisting one arm behind him. “Don’t move, or so help me, I’ll break it,” he ground out.

Two security guards who had been standing in front of the stage reached them in seconds. Wade glared at them. “Why weren’t you doing your job?”

The guards looked sheepish. “I-I guess we were watchin’ you and Miss Carson,” stammered one of them, reaching down to grab hold of the man, who was now blubbering about “no more pretty music to listen to.”

Wade stood, partly using the knee he had in the man’s back to push himself upward, feeling a small amount of satisfaction at the man’s “Umph.”

He covered the remaining distance to Andi in two long strides and gathered her in his arms. “Looks like I’m gonna have to marry you to keep you out of trouble,” he muttered, not realizing he was right in front of the microphone until the audience laughed.

She hugged him, then looked up into his eyes. “You do such a nice job of it.”

Wade grinned. “I guess I didn’t do too bad.”

Andi grinned, then tapped him on the chest with one finger. “I had decided you’d chickened out. Couldn’t you let your cowboys put the cattle back? Just this once?”

“They weren’t my cows.” When she raised an eyebrow, he smiled and drawled, “Darlin’, let me explain.”

“We’re waiting,” she said, nodding at the crowd and the microphone.

“I was on my way with time to spare, but I ran into a big traffic jam. A cattle truck had turned over on the freeway. There were cows runnin’ all over the place. I had a rope with me—”

“Always carry one just in case, huh?” She smiled sweetly.

“As a matter of fact, I do. Since I had a rope and knew what I was doing, I had to help. Those poor critters were scared to death and were liable to get run over.”

“Well, we couldn’t have that. You did the right thing.”

“I do occasionally.” He leaned down and kissed her, oblivious to the hoots and whistles of the crowd. When he finally ended the kiss, he smiled down into her eyes. Unsnapping the flap on his shirt pocket, he said, “Andrea Carson, I’ve loved you since the first day I met you, when I walked into senior English class, and you smiled at me.”

“I knew it!” shouted a woman in the front row.

Wade frowned, lifted his hand to shade his eyes, and peered at the audience. Andi did the same. “Is that you, Miss Atkins?” he asked.

“It is, only it’s Mrs. Garner, as of yesterday afternoon.”

“Congratulations and best wishes,” they said in unison.

“Thank you. I knew you were in love with her, Wade Jamison. You stared at her so much during class, you almost flunked English. It’s high time you did something about it.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m tryin’ to.”

The audience went into hysterics.

Wade looked at his love and smiled. “I’m gonna get you for this,” he whispered.

She grinned. “Promises, promises.”

Slowly the spectators quieted down, waiting expectantly.

“As I was saying...I love you more than anything in the world. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, with or without your singing career. God brought us together, and I know he means for us to stay together.” He dug a ring out of his pocket, a beautiful diamond solitaire. “Andi, my love, will you make my heart sing through all eternity? Will you marry me?”

“Oh, yes!” She smiled blissfully as he slipped the ring on her finger. When he bent down to kiss her, she slid her arms around his neck.

The crowd rose as one, clapping and crying and hugging each other, but Wade and Andi barely noticed. He was only vaguely aware of the curtain closing a few minutes later, but when he finally raised his head and spotted a television camera aimed at them, he began to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” asked Andi, gazing at him with sparkling eyes.

He nodded toward the camera. “Looks like I’m going to be a television star again.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No ma’am,” he said softly. “I’m right where I want to be.”

###

Buckley, Texas Series

Love Song
, Book 1

Texas Treasure,
Book 2
(Previously published as
Antiques
)

Texas Tender,
Book 3

Love Wanted, A Christmas Novella
, Book 4

The Callahans of Texas

Jenna’s Cowboy
,
Book 1

Emily’s Chance,
Book 2

Megan’s Hero,
Book 3

Willow Grove, Texas Series

McKinnon’s Bride
,
Book 1

Twice Blessed,
Book 2
, Steeple Hill Books

Standing Tall,
Book 3

The Highlander Series

Song of the Highlands
,
Book 1

Highland Call
,
Book 2

Other E-Books

Cotton Pickin’ Cowboy
(Novella)

Home Sweet Texas,
Love Inspired

For Love of Anna
,
Harlequin Historical, by Sharon Harlow

More to come
....

http://www.sharongillenwater.com/

Copyright 2012, Sharon Gillenwater, E-book version

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations for use in reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording—without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
.