Tex Times Ten (19 page)

Laughing, she put the rock, doily and flowers down on a deck table.

“Cissy Kisserton Jefferson,” Tex said, taking her hands in his, “please marry me. I know that having me as a husband will be a hardship on some days, but on others, it will be fun. It will be sexy. There’ll be lots of stars and skinny-dipping and anything else I can do to bring a smile to your face, because that’s all I want, is to make you smile. And make love to you as often as I am physically able. Yeah,” he said, no grin in his eyes at all, “I love you. I have from the day I slid your Make My Day panties off of you in the barn. The day that really got made was mine. Marry me, and be Mrs. Jefferson, and be my better half, because as God knows too well, I’m only going to be a sad, confused, slightly odd half without you in my life.”

Cissy moved into his arms, and they sat on the deck together, she in his lap, enjoying his arms around her as they felt the riverboat start up. She leaned against his shoulder. “Thank you,” she told Tex, “thank you for making all my dreams come true. I can’t wait to be the real Mrs. Tex Jefferson.”

They kissed, and the riverboat began to pull away.

“Thank you for making all my dreams come true,” he told her, when the kiss finally ended. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“I love you,” she said. “There is no man like you on earth.”

“Yeah, well, guess what? I’m not going to be on earth. I’m going to be on water.” He sat up, trying to glance over the rail’s edge unsuccessfully. “I’m going to have to learn how to drive this damn bathtub.”

She turned to stare at him. “Why?”

“Because I made an offer to Jellyfish a few hours ago. I mean, Hawk is good, but I had to let Jellyfish know he needed to delay the trip by an extra couple of minutes if he was going to accept my offer. I’m not a superhero, though I’ve foolishly tried to be to impress you in the past.”

“You bought the riverboat?” Cissy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“What else would I give for an engagement gift?”

She squealed, throwing her arms around his neck for a tight hug.

“I just want you to know,” he said, laughing, “that I never promised you a rose garden. Well, maybe I did. But I’m only making promises these days that I can deliver on. I can give you everything—except a rose garden.”

She kissed him enthusiastically. “I have everything I need, and all that I ever wanted, thanks to you.”

“Well, not everything. I’m seeing the children as wedding attendants, and maybe your brother gives
you away, and Gran totes out oatmeal raisin cookies.”

“And your brothers? How do they fit into the plan?”

“They’re simply rowers on the riverboat. I like the image of them slaving away with oars. It will be fun to have the whole gathering together. Yours, mine, ours. We can let Jellyfish string his lights again, like he did for Hannah’s and Ranger’s wedding—”

The squeals were nearly sonic now. He couldn’t stop smiling. “And then, there’s this,” he said, pulling something from his pocket. “It’s not made of rope, but I’d like it to last until our golden anniversary. So it’s gold.”

He slipped a gold ring on her finger that had an oval aquamarine surrounded by diamonds. “The blue is for your eyes and for the water,” he told her. “Not that anyone is ever going to say that the Mississippi is blue. But you get the imagery.” He kissed her hair as she stared mistily at the ring. “We could go back to the rope rings, but they’re not really built to last.”

She smiled at him, her heart blossoming with happiness. “Cowboy, I like the way you think.”

He grinned. “Then I’ve finally done everything right.”

Cissy melted back into his arms, and Tex smiled to himself, his heart full of the knowledge that for the first time in his life, he knew exactly what intimacy was.

And he was never living without it again.

The entire Jefferson family attended Cissy’s and Tex’s splendidly romantic wedding on the riverboat. The evening was alive with happiness and reminiscing. Frisco Joe and Annabelle were there with baby Emmie, who seemed much changed to Tex. Time wasn’t standing still, he realized, despite the brothers’ secret wishes that they themselves stay the same. Yet, they’d all wanted change of a sort. All Frisco Joe wanted was to make changes at the ranch, but then he’d married Annabelle—the change in his life had been him. Annabelle glowed with a new pregnancy, and Frisco Joe looked like the happiest man on the planet.

Except, maybe, for Laredo. All Laredo had wanted was to Do Something Big, and catching Katy Good-night had been something big. Moving to North Carolina was another big thing, because Laredo had settled into Katy’s world at Duke University with a smile on his face. He’d decided to attend college, something he’d never wanted to do before—and Tex suspected it was only partly to be near Katy as often as possible.

Ranger didn’t have quite the same contentment on his face—he was euphoric, for a man who claimed
all he wanted was to join the military and to stay footloose all his life. Ranger couldn’t stay away from Hannah. Tex grinned as he saw Ranger tuck a hand along Hannah’s back. Tex’s big, tough brother wasn’t so tough anymore—and yet, somehow he was more man than ever.

Delilah had come to the wedding escorted by Jerry, and all the Union Junction stylist women and their Lonely Hearts Salon sisters, even though Cissy was a one-time rival. Bygones were bygones, and as always, the ladies pitched in to make everything just right for the wedding.

Mimi arrived without her father but with Brian. Helga was sitting at home with the sheriff so that Mimi could get away for the wedding. Not that any of them were ready to say that Helga was growing on them—none of the brothers would want her for a mother-in-law—but she’d quickly offered to sheriff-sit and Mimi had been relieved. That had won Helga super-points in Tex’s book.

Of course, that left Mason hanging around the punch bowl. Under the beautifully strung lights, it was clear Mason was trying to have a good time. Mason was good at hiding his feelings now, but Tex knew his brother too well. Mason had missed out on Mimi, and now he was playing the good friend to the hilt for Brian’s sake—for all their sakes. Mason had gone over to peer at Tex’s handiwork around Mimi’s pond one afternoon. He’d stared at the cattails and the sweet william gardens and the water lilies, and when Tex had mentioned he was going to build a pier so that all the Jefferson and Cannady kids could jump in the pond, Mason had grunted and turned away.

But not before Tex had seen his brother’s face go a little strained. Ah, no, Mason was not over his feelings for Mimi. Maybe one day he’d find happiness with a woman the way the other brothers had….

Tex beamed at his beautiful bride. Cissy was an angel in white, holding Jellyfish’s arm as he walked her down the makeshift aisle. A minister from Union Junction stood by to unite Cissy and Tex, but Cissy halted, leaning down to kiss Gran, tears in their eyes as they enjoyed the heirloom moment. Tex knew that the bond between the siblings and Gran had only grown stronger since they’d returned, and though they’d miss Cissy, they also loved each other enough to let her find her own happiness. Cissy had held the family on her shoulders long enough.

Of course, he’d take her home often to see her beloved “children.” Oh, they couldn’t sit still in their chairs, and they’d strewn rose petals every which way from Sunday, but they brought a sweet turmoil into his life that he enjoyed. He resolved to build that pier at Mimi’s pond quickly, as soon as he and Cissy returned from their first foray up the river.

“Ready, Captain?” Cissy asked with a smile as she approached his side.

“Ready, Captain,” he replied. “The question is, are you?”

“I’ve never been more ready.”

He nodded, and took her hand in his. “I can honestly say that I would never have been ready without you.”

She smiled. “I never thought I’d have a dream come true, Tex. But I did, and it’s all because of you. Do you know that I never thought I’d say that to anyone?”

“I love you,” he replied with a smile. “You make
it so easy to love you in ways I never knew I could love someone.”

“Let the preacher-man marry you two already!” one of the brothers called. “Enough romancing!”

Tex and Cissy grinned at each other.

The romancing had just begun.

And after the vows were spoken and the reception was over, Tex and Cissy threw birdseed on the laughing guests as they left the riverboat, in a departure from tradition. Then it was just the two of them, alone together on the boat of Cissy’s dreams.

“Hey, Mrs. Jefferson,” Tex said. “Come let me investigate that garter.”

Cissy laughed.

“Let me help you drop that gorgeous gown to the ground,” he continued, reaching for her zipper as he kissed his bride’s neck.

“Tex,” Cissy said, feeling her body respond to his caress. “Whatever can you be thinking?”

“That I’ve one last promise to keep to my woman. I promised you the stars, and tonight, I’m going to make love to you while we count them together.”

She smiled as he slipped her gown from her shoulders. “I plan on losing count so you’ll have to keep loving me.”

“Even if there were no stars in the sky, Cissy Jefferson, I would still be out here making love to you. Nothing could stop me. I’ve waited for you forever.”

And then, together, they discovered that their love had certainly been worth the wait.