Lucky In Love (19 page)

“Thanks for the warning, but she’s married, you said,” Milli laughed at the age-old joke with Sami. She undressed Katy, found her pacifier and laid her in the crib. Katy sighed loudly and shut her eyes, glad to be in something faintly familiar.

“Don’t mean jack squat to her. And she’s always had a soft spot for Beau, so watch out. See you in a little while. Bathroom is right there. Bet you’re ready for a long soak and a few minutes of quiet.”

The long bath and quietness did restore her nerves, but not as much as the acceptance of Beau’s family. She dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black western-cut shirt with white snaps that had been tailored to fit her small waist. She laced a tooled leather belt through the loops and fastened the silver buckle, shaped like two entwining hearts, into the last hole in the belt. Then she pulled on black eel-skin boots. Finally she twirled her long dark hair up into a French roll and pinned the top with an ivory comb studded with diamond chips that her grandfather Jiminez had given her grandmother for a wedding gift.

She dressed Katy in a pale blue denim jumper with a pink and white checked shirt. Then she pulled up the golden curls with a matching pink lace bow. Just as she was sliding the silver bracelet on Katy’s arm, Beau knocked once on the door.

He held his heart. “Whoooy! These are the finestlooking two women in the whole state. You look like something out of a magazine.”

Milli eyed him from the shiny black boots, up past the skintight Wranglers with a sharp crease down the front of each leg, to the white shirt with pearl snaps, on past the bolo tie with a silver slide that matched his belt buckle, to his lop-sided, dimpled grin. “You look pretty fine, yourself.”

“Ah, shucks, don’t be sayin’ things like that. You’ll make me blush,” he teased.

“You! You can’t even playact that role, but you do look almighty handsome,” she said.

“Thank you, madam. I intend to look just like this on our wedding day,” he announced.

“And by then I’ll be ready to help you shuck right out of those tight-fitting britches and do something other than look like the icing on a cake.” She looped her arm though his and the three of them went out of the house and across the backyard to the Circle L sale barn.

“That kind of talk raises the temperature ten degrees.” He pulled her close.

“Standing this close to you raises it twenty degrees,” she said.

“Maybe we ought to elope rather than meet your parents and have a wedding.”

“Don’t tempt me. But honey, after all these blondes, I can hardly wait until next week when you meet all my folks. So eloping is out of the question until after that.”

“Ah, shucks.”

“Not even that poor old country boy ‘ah shucks’ attitude will change my mind,” she said.

“Well, then, we might as well go on out to the party and let the rest of this part of the state meet my daughter and get a look at the prettiest girl ever to set foot in this area.”

By midnight Milli had met so many family members and friends, her head was swirling. She missed Beau, but figured he’d disappeared outside for fresh air. The sisters-in-law were in the process of gathering up their own husbands and sons to take them home, and the band was putting away their instruments. Joann had taken Katy back to the house at ten and made sure she was sleeping soundly before she left the cook to watch her, and she and Joseph were outside bidding farewell to everyone who was leaving.

Milli wandered through the barn, not so very unlike the one on the Lazy T in west Texas, and only slightly bigger than the one at her grandfather’s ranch in Oklahoma. Her thoughts were on how she’d handle the sale at the Bar M next year, and who she might get to cater the dinner, when she reached the back door of the barn and slung it open.

She stepped outside into the star-studded darkness of night and stood still for a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then she heard the noise. When she turned to her left, there was Jennifer locked up in an embrace with none other than Beau, himself.

Her first reaction was to slip back into the barn and run away. Her second was a white-hot anger erupting from somewhere deeper than her toes, and spewing out over the top like an active volcano. So all men were just alike. Matthew wasn’t a low-down cheating rattlesnake He was just doing what they all did, and he got caught.

“Stop it,” Beau pushed Jennifer away from him. “I’m not doing this and if I’d known this was what you wanted to talk about I would never have come out here with you. You’re married to my cousin! And I’m engaged to Milli.”

“And you still want me,” Jennifer said snidely. “You never could keep your hands off me.” She slid her left hand up his thigh.

Beau pushed her back at the same time he noticed a dark shadow on his right. “And I said no! Forget it. Go home.”

“That Mexican bitch must be damn good if she’s better than me,” Jennifer said.

Beau realized the dark shadow was moving toward them.

“Oh, no. Milli, let me explain.”

She pushed him away and kept walking. “What did you call me?” She stopped two inches from Jennifer’s nose.

Beau tried to step between them. “Wait a minute, Mil.”

“Stand back, Beau. I’ll deal with you later. Now, what did you call me?” She whipped around and faced the woman again. Jennifer was only slightly taller than Milli, but she had twenty pounds on her. Milli knew she might be sporting bruises next month on her wedding day, but she’d promised she’d stand up and fight for Beau, and she was damn well prepared to do just that.

“I said you were a Mexican bitch.”

Another party came out of the shadows. “That’s enough, Jennifer! Apologize to the lady for trespassing on her property, and we’re going home.”

“I will not,” Jennifer glared at her husband.

“Yes, you will. We’re going home and packing your bags. I’ve had all I’m taking. Beau don’t need you interfering with him and the lady here has every right to slap the fire out of you. Now apologize, Jennifer.”

“I won’t.” She sulked like a child.

“Then you can walk ten miles home and your stuff will be waiting on the porch. Your car keys will be in the ignition, and the divorce papers will be at your folks on Monday.”

She took off in a run behind him. “Wait, Dennis.”

“Now, what have you got to say for yourself?” Milli turned on Beau.

“Not a thing. I should have had more sense than to follow her out here when she said she needed to talk to me. But I got to admit I’m glad I did,” he smiled brightly.

“You are what?” she yelled.

“Glad I did. I wondered when she kissed me if I’d see stars like I do with you, and I didn’t.”

“You really are out of your mind, just like Slim said. But honey, next time a woman calls me a bitch twice you’d better step back because I will knock the hell out of her.” She put her arms around his neck and drew his mouth down for a kiss.

And the stars were there for both of them.

************************************************************************************************

“WE TAKIN’ MY TRUCK OR YOURS? FLYIN’ OR DRIVIN’?”

Beau asked the next Friday night when he and Milli were taking turns pushing Katy in the swing.

“You arranged for last weekend’s trip. I’m taking care of this weekend. You just be here at seven o’clock in the morning with your bags packed and ready,” she said.

“And is there a Jennifer I’m goin’ to have to take care of out there in west Texas?”

“No. I never did crawl between the sheets with anyone named Jennifer. And I don’t think I’ll be out behind the barn letting some female mess with my silver belt buckle.”

“You know what I mean. Got any old boyfriends coming to the engagement party out there? Trying to entice you out in the yard to lure you away from me?”

“Never know.”

“You are never going to give me a moment’s peace. I’ll be walking on eggshells the whole time we’re married.”

“Good. Then you won’t get bored. It’s your turn to push Katy.”

His captivating grin made her whole body ache with desire. The past two weeks hadn’t been easy for either of them. It was a busy time of the year, there hadn’t been a drop of rain to draw them back to the barn, and neither Mary nor Hilda had jumped right in and said, “Why don’t you two just go away for the weekend?”

Mary and Hilda talked about receptions, caterers, and flowers. They floated around with stars in their eyes just thinking about Milli living right next door. Where she used to hear Beau’s name a hundred times a day, now it was wedding plans. But no one seemed to think about Milli and Beau wanting to have some time alone.

He sat in the lawn chair a few more seconds, watching Milli in tight, cut-off blue jean shorts and a cotton shirt tied up in the middle, showing off a couple of inches of midriff. He shut his eyes and imagined damp, tangled sheets in the back room of a trailer house, and the fire that had burned for more than two years even when he thought she was nothing more than a dream. Then the smell of rain and fresh hay sent his senses reeling as he remembered the morning they spent together in the barn. It was beginning to look like they wouldn’t have time to be together now until after the wedding. Not even for a simple dinner and a couple of hours in a motel.

She leaned down and kissed the scar on the top of his head where the new hair was still shorter than the rest of his unruly mop of curls. “Whatever are you thinking about?”

“Loving you,” he answered honestly.

The next morning Milli was ready to go and opened the door as Beau raised his hand to knock. “Come on in. Maybe we’ll make a motel stop on the way.”

“With Katy?”

“Just kidding, but I wish I wasn’t. Granny, is Katy finished with breakfast?” she called over her shoulder. “Don’t forget to give her a teaspoon of the medicine on the table.”

“Oh, so we’re flying?”

“Yep, we’re flying.”

Mary carried Katy into the living room and handed her to Beau. “Here she is, fed and doped up for the trip. Y’all be careful now. And give us a call when you get there, Milli. I know you’re careful, but I always worry.”

“Sure thing, Granny.”

“Let me have the baby and you grab your bags.”

“My truck or yours?” he asked.

“Mine.”

“Got a kiss for me before you go?” Jim asked.

She hugged him tightly and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“See you late tomorrow or Monday morning, depending on the weather. Traveling ought to be a breeze. You could stay a couple of days extra. Just a few more acres of hay and the boys could take care of it,” Jim said.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Just trying to give you some time away from all us old codgers,” Mary said. “A couple of more days wouldn’t hurt a thing. Few parties. Little courting. Lord, y’all ain’t had time to even kiss each other good night since you got engaged.”

Now’s a fine time to notice. Milli almost groaned.

“We’ll see.” She waved good-bye one more time.

“Where’s your stuff?” Beau asked when he put his suitcase, garment and boot bag in the back of her truck.

“Already loaded.” She drove the truck around the house and down a dusty lane toward the open back pasture.

He held onto the door handle as they bumped along the rough path with only tire tracks for a road. “Hey, this ain’t the way to west Texas.”

“Yes, it is. See?”

“Where did that come from? I didn’t know Jim had a plane.”

“Jim don’t. I do. There ain’t no sense in us driving all the way there. Flew it in here at the beginning of summer. Poppy don’t really like for Katy to fly, but it’s faster and I thought I might need to do a little crop dusting for him while I was here. So we flew and one of the hired hands brought my truck and Wild Fire in for me. Haven’t done any dusting yet, but Katy and I did fly home last month while you were up in Kansas. But surprise, surprise. You get your own crop duster in the marriage contract. And I won’t even make you sign a paper saying that you won’t try to get half of my plane if we split the blanket in a few years.”

“You are the pilot?”

“You’re lookin’ at it. Like I said last week, it’s your turn to chew your fingernails.”

Beau really didn’t like to fly, not even in the big commercial planes. The only time he’d been up in something this small was with a crop duster once, and he swore on a stack of Bibles he’d never set foot in anything that small and bumpy again.

She opened the truck door. “Oh, stop your worrying. I’ve got the manual in the cockpit that’s got a whole section of troubleshooting if we have a problem. You can read it to me and we’ll work everything out.”

“How long you been doing this?”

“Oh, I’ve been up alone two or three times now.”

“Milli…”

She opened the door to the passenger side of the truck. “Beau, if you’re going to marry me forever amen, you’ve got to trust me. Get the baby and follow me. I promise I won’t do any stunts and make you or Katy upchuck.”

His eyes were as big as flattened cow patties. “Stunts?”

She unhooked the seat belt from Katy’s car seat. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s show Daddy the world between here and Hereford, Texas.”

His feet were concrete inside his boots as he climbed into the plane. It had one small seat in addition to the pilot and co-pilot seats. Katy squealed with delight when Milli put her into her familiar place. She picked up a stuffed elephant and hugged it close and looked up out of the bubble-type window, waiting for the big, puffy white clouds she liked so much. Beau wished that same exuberance could replace the chunk of cold steel taking up the space where his stomach used to be.

“You are the co-pilot, Beau. Sit right here beside me. And you are given permission to pop your little thumb into your mouth anytime and begin to chew your nails or even suck your thumb if it makes you feel better. I didn’t bring any security blankets, though.”

“Milli…”

She put her hands on his cheeks and turned his face so that he had to look right into her eyes. “Beau, today, I’m the pilot and you’re the co-pilot. We’re a team, like we’re going to be forever. I’ve been flying for ten years. I did my first solo when I was thirteen years old, and I’ve been stunt flying for three years. Trust me, darling.”

He buckled up the seat and watched her adjust everything as she got ready for takeoff. “Okay. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“I don’t knit.”

“Knit?”

“That’s right. I do not knit. I tried it once. My English grandmother said all young women should knit and in thirty minutes I was so damned mad and she was so frustrated, we threw the whole thing in the corner. Rotten string wrapped itself around my fingers and tried to crawl up to my throat and choke me plumb to death. Acted like some kind of python snake, trying to smother me, so Grandy and I decided I’d just have to be imperfect. You’re not going to break the engagement because I’m not perfect, are you?”

“Ain’t damn likely.” He managed a weak chuckle as they took off, making a smooth ascension up into the light blue summer sky complete with a few marshmallow clouds just for Katy.

The drop on the concrete runway at the Lazy T ranch was just as smooth, and Beau looked out to see two pickup trucks and a silver Cadillac parked and waiting.

“What’s all this?”

She shut off a dozen buttons, and turned to look at Katy. “They’ve come to meet you and to take us to the house. Katy is awake. That’s wonderful. Usually she sleeps part of the trip and at least an hour after we get home.”

“My daddy. Want my daddy.” Katy reached for Beau.

They stepped out of the plane like they went everywhere lately: Katy hugged up to Beau’s left shoulder and his right arm possessively around Milli’s shoulder. But the minute Katy saw her grandmother, she held out her arms and wiggled so hard Beau about dropped her.

The woman kissed her all over her fair face. “Nanny missed you so much.”

“Momma, this is Beau,” Milli said with a note of pride in her voice. “And Beau, is my dad, John Torres.”

“Pleased to meet you both.” Beau shook hands with John, but Angelina insisted on a hug.

Angelina Torres was the same height as Milli, but her eyes were a lighter shade of brown. John was only a couple of inches taller, but his handshake was firm and steady, and Beau could tell he’d put in a lot of hard days on the ranch by the way his shirtsleeves hugged his biceps.

Milli introduced the next two people in the line. “And this is my brother Andy and his wife, Jana. They’ve have been married ten years.”

“Since you first flew.”

Andy’s handshake was firm. “That’s right. She was a hellion even back then. She should have been a firstborn son instead of a baby girl.”

Milli pushed him but he didn’t waver. “You’re just jealous because you can’t fly.”

“And these are our daughters,” Jana said. “Tammy is eight and Casey is six.”

Tammy’s brown eyes glittered in adoration when she looked at her aunt. “And I’m going to fly just as soon as Aunt Milli can teach me. And someday I’m going to do the stunts at the fair.”

“I bet you will,” Beau said. “You, too, Casey? You going to fly?”

“Hell, no,” the prissy little girl said. “Ain’t no damn way I’m going up in a plane like that. I’m going to marry a millionaire and drip diamonds and have a jet airplane to take me everywhere.”

Her mother swatted her on the bottom. “Casey, I’m going to make you stay in your room at the party tonight if you cuss any more.”

Casey winked the same way Milli did. “Oh, all right,” she said.

The other brother stepped forward with his hand extended. “And I’m James. I can sure tell you’re Katy’s daddy. It’s amazing how much she looks like you.”

“Thanks,” Beau beamed.

“And this is my wife, Laura, and our kids - Jimmy, who is six, just like Miss Potty Mouth. And Jeremy, who’s five.”

“And that’s the whole bunch of us right now,” Milli said. “Not so formidable now, are we? There’s only eight new faces. There were ten million at the Circle L last week, Daddy. And I’m only exaggerating a little bit. There were so many blondes there it scared me. Felt like I was the only chicken at a coyote party. And, Momma, he’s got five brothers and they’ve all got kids and you can’t kick a bush over in that part of the country without a dozen Luckadeaus running out and they’re all blond except for one who has a white streak in his hair. And I’m never going to remember all their names.”

She put her arm around her mother’s shoulders and they started off toward the Cadillac. She grabbed Beau’s hand and dragged him along.

“Come on Beau. Don’t just stand there. They’ll all find their way out of here. And you know what else, Momma? There ain’t one baby granddaughter except Katy and she’s going to be so rotten the garbageman won’t even haul her to the dump by the time she’s grown.”

Milli and Angelina crawled into the big back seat and chattered all the way to the house about the wedding. John shook his head and grinned at Beau. The ranch house wasn’t so very different from the one on the Bar M - long and low, but a wide porch wrapped around it on three sides. Beau liked the porch so well he began making plans to add a verandah to his house.

John showed him to a room at the end of the hall. “This is your room. Bathroom is through there and if you need anything, holler right loud. And Beau, we’re glad things are working out for you and Milli. Been a long time since she’s talked that much. Just got quiet and serious and we didn’t see many smiles this past two years. We’re glad you’ve put the glow back in her face and the shine back in her brown eyes. If she would’ve told us who you were, I promise you would have known about Katy a lot sooner, but she’s as stubborn as a mule when she sets her head,” John told him.

“She sure is. If I’d known about Katy I’d have been here, too, sir. I’ve been hopelessly in love with your daughter for two years. I looked all over the southern half of the state for her. But I thought her name was Amelia Jiminez.”

“Life sure has a funny way of dealing the cards, don’t it, son? When you quit looking, there she was on the farm right next door. We got a community party tonight. Women been working all week on the barn, trying to make it look like a fancy hotel. Band cranks up at six and it’ll be daylight before some of these folks go home. Us Mexicans make a party out of everything we can, and make it last as long as possible.”

John shut the door gently and Beau could hear Milli’s clear laughter floating down the hail as she and her mother disappeared into a room right across the hall from him.

He exhaled forcefully and plopped backwards onto the bed. She was a good pilot, and he hadn’t minded the ride any more than if he’d really been in big plane. Who knew how many more surprises she would pounce upon him in the next few years? Life with her was sure going to be a roller coaster. He heard a faint tap on his door but before he could sit up and say a word, she’d slipped into the room.

She stretched out beside him on the bed. “Wasn’t so bad, now was it? Nobody brought a new rope to string you up from the nearest mesquite tree, and Daddy didn’t even load the shotgun.”

She snuggled closer to his side, unbuttoned a couple of buttons in the middle of his shirt so she could slip her hand inside to feel the hair on his chest.