A Cowboy's Pride

by Karen Rock

  God, he missed her.

  “It’s Katlynn!” Javi shouted then shushed, instantly, at James’s subtle head shake.

  “Carbondale, Colorado, a sleepy town nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, is a peaceful, family-friendly place to live in America’s heartland,” Katie-Lynn intoned. Her beautiful, melodious voice floated from the television’s speakers to wind through his heart, swelling it. “Unless you’re a member of the Loveland and Cade families, that is.”

  His pulse raced fast enough to leave him dizzy and slightly sick. Soaking up the spotlight as if it were her natural habitat, Katie-Lynn relayed his family’s feud with empathy and authenticity. It was like hearing it for the first time. With expert pacing, the tale unraveled, both the Cades and the Lovelands portrayed as sympathetic families whose star-crossed lovers were duped by Clyde Farthington.

  With each commercial break, the family broke into excited chatter then hushed when she reappeared. Near the end of the episode, Katie-Lynn segued into her interview with his grandfather and everyone seemed to hold their breath. Cole had warned his family of the segment, had prepared himself for it mentally, too. Seeing his relative’s hateful face, however, struck him hard in the gut.

  Yet as he watched, Katie-Lynn’s empathetic listening and pointed questions portrayed his grandfather as a grieving father struggling to accept the reality of his daughter’s suicide—just as Katie-Lynn had assured him. A quick glance at his pa showed his parent gripping Joy’s hand, a slight smile on his wet face.

  When Cole’s grandfather expressed his regret for alienating his grandchildren with false accusations, Sierra gasped. Cole froze. Had has grandfather just admitted he’d been wrong and abandoned the rumors about his mother at last? Like Katie-Lynn promised, the segment wouldn’t ruin his family’s truce or his father’s happiness. In fact, she’d done the exact opposite...she’d helped them heal.

  “Maggie Cade and Everett Loveland are America’s Romeo and Juliet,” Katie-Lynn concluded at the end of the segment. “Their tragedy demonstrates how squandered opportunities, misconceptions and pride create rifts instead of peace, and disappointment rather than love.”

  Her eyes lasered from the screen and into his heart. It was like she spoke directly to him, about them. Katie-Lynn was right, and he’d been dead wrong. Anger at himself fired inside. He’d messed up their second chance at love because of his misconceptions, selfishness and pride. Insisting she give up her dreams to live the quiet life he preferred was self-centered and shortsighted. He couldn’t shut out the world any more than he could keep Katie-Lynn from his heart.

  Jewel punched him in the shoulder. “Verdict?”

  “I’m a Neanderthal blockhead.” He rubbed the spot, marveling.

  Just then a teaser segment began, informing the viewers of a live Q&A session with Katlynn Brennon on set tomorrow.

  “You have to go to that and speak to her,” Jewel said.

  “In front of a live audience?” He recoiled.

  “Just think of them as friends you haven’t met yet.”

  Cole groaned.

  “It took a grand gesture to get Ma and Boyd back together. Katlynn deserves nothing less.”

  Cole nodded. Jewel was making a lot of sense. Maybe too much. “I’m not sure if you’re trying to ruin my life or save it.”

  “What do you think?”

  “My money is on the last one.”

  “Go get her, caveman—just don’t club her over the head and drag her home, okay?”

  “No promises.” He winked at Jewel, grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” his pa called. Joy cast worried eyes his way.

  “Katie-Lynn’s studio.” He donned his hat. “To make a fool of myself at her live taping tomorrow.”

  “A fool in love,” Jewel added.

  “We’ll be watching,” catcalled Daryl.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” And with that, he headed out the door, no longer worried about his pride. Keeping his guard up, and others out, might avoid hurt, but it also prevented happiness, too. It was lonely inside the fortress surrounding himself; no one could get in.

  Now his heart and life were open, and he wasn’t resistant to sharing them anymore...not when it came to the woman he loved.

  * * *

  KATLYNN PERCHED ON a stool and stared into the darkened studio audience. Blaring lights nearly blinded her. A faulty earpiece buzzed with intermittent static. Oh, the joys of live television. With her ankles crossed, hands folded on her lap, she hoped she projected serenity and confidence during today’s Q&A session...neither of which she felt.

  Not even close.

  “Hi, Katlynn.” A woman with a brown bob and large-framed glasses waved to her from one of the aisles’ microphone stands. “Are any of the Cade or Loveland brothers single?”

  The largely female audience tittered.

  Cole’s handsome face flashed in Katlynn’s mind’s eye, and her smile disappeared.

  “Say something,” Gabe urged through Katlynn’s earpiece.

  “Sorry, ladies, but the Cade brothers are happily married.”

  The group collectively groaned.

  “However, all of the Loveland brothers are single except Daryl.”

  A couple of catcalls and a few whistles mingled with the cheers.

  At today’s staff meeting, the marketing department announced America had fallen hard for the Cades and Lovelands. The higher-ups even proposed a one-year reunion to check in on Joy, Boyd and the blended families.

  Cole would hate another camera crew.

  Hope rose at the prospect of seeing him again, though, checking in under the guise of work. Would he slam the door in her face?

  Katlynn held on to her slipping smile while she waited for the bubbly crowd to quiet. Usually she caught her audience’s mood. Today her heavy heart wobbled sluggishly in her chest.

  The Cade-Loveland episode earned Scandalous History its highest ratings, critical praise and a three-year series renewal. Her agent currently negotiated a producer credit and a twenty percent salary increase for Katlynn’s next contract.

  Yet happiness eluded her.

  She loved her job, but she also missed Cole and Carbondale. Everybody knew everybody there, the pressure to be “somebody” nonexistent. She was herself and liked for it...even loved...

  Did Cole miss her? Love her, still?

  “Hi, Katlynn,” another woman asked from a mic farther back in the studio. “First of all, I’m your biggest fan.”

  Katlynn’s hand rose to her heart, touched and grateful. “Thank you.” The adoration of strangers, however, was no match for the love of a good man like Cole.

  “Maggie and Everett’s love story was beautiful,” the woman gushed. “And tragic. Why didn’t Maggie just tell her parents the truth? Or why wouldn’t Everett elope with Maggie and win over her parents later?”

  Answers shuffled through Katlynn’s mind, none of them easy. “Societal pressures played a factor, I suppose.” She paused, sipped her mint tea, then continued, “But I believe it’s really an unwillingness to compromise. If they’d told her parents everything, maybe it could have worked out. I guess we’ll never know.” She fidgeted with her silver bracelet, thinking of herself and Cole.

  Would she spend her life wondering “what if”?

  Cole had insecurities and flaws, as did she. At the wedding he’d felt betrayed and she diminished. And just as they had in the past, he’d shut down, and she’d run away. Big mistake. She wished she’d stayed and insisted on a compromise.

  After this Q&A, she’d fly to Carbondale. If Cole refused to see her, she’d camp on his doorstep until he relented. She was an investigative reporter who knew a thing or two about persistence.

  A middle-aged woman wearing sandals and a linen dress tapped on the closer micro
phone. “Is there truth to the rumor you once dated Cole Loveland?”

  Katlynn gulped air and struggled to respond.

  “I can answer that question,” spoke a familiar bass voice from the rear mic.

  Her heart fluttered madly in her chest. Cole? What was he doing here?

  Speaking at a live taping of all places?

  “You...you’re one of the Lovelands,” the woman in the sundress gasped.

  “Cole Loveland, ma’am.”

  Feminine squeals echoed in the studio.

  “Katlynn and I were childhood sweethearts.” Cole pulled the mic free and ambled down the aisle. “Each other’s first love.”

  “Awwwwwww,” the audience cried.

  “Hello, Cole.” Katlynn tried to smile but fell short.

  “Hello, Katie-Lynn.”

  Had he seen yesterday’s show and forgiven her? Hope spread through her, sweet as lavender honey.

  “Thank you for joining us,” she said formally, swallowing back a sigh. In gray slacks and a navy dress shirt, he’d never looked handsomer or dearer.

  “Are you two still in love?” pressed the woman at the mic.

  “I can only speak for myself.” The sight of Cole facing an avaricious crowd, declaring himself to millions of viewers, filled her with confusion and delight.

  He mounted the stage. Security personnel fell back at her head shake. “She’s the one. She’s always been the only one for me. And I love her with all my heart.”

  The audience exploded into ooohhhs and aaahhhs.

  Katlynn slid off her stool and smoothed damp palms over her dress. “What are you doing here?” she asked beneath her breath.

  “Making a grand gesture... You know...the kind where some lucky guy wins the girl.” He ducked his head. “I want to be that guy.”

  “But people are watching. Listening.”

  “That’s the point of a grand gesture.”

  His lopsided grin took her breath away. “Let’s go to commercial break,” she announced.

  Gabe’s head shake cut her off.

  “In a few minutes,” she amended. Shoot. Suddenly, she was the one wishing for privacy, not Cole. He seemed determined to expose his heart in the most public way possible.

  “I was an idiot and a hypocrite for letting you go. I should have trusted you. Supported you.” Cole’s voice was low and rumbly, his tension evident in his wordiness. “Will you give me another chance? I want to be in your life, if you’ll let me.”

  “Cole,” she gasped, surprised and delighted. “What are you saying?”

  “Marry me, Katie-Lynn.” His loving gaze touched her face like a caress. “I know I’m not perfect. And the life I have to offer isn’t much. But I promise no one will ever love you, love all of you, like I do.”

  She gulped. “I have another year on my contract. And I’m planning to renew it.”

  He set down the mic, framed her face with his hands and gazed at her tenderly. “We’ll split our time, here in LA when you’re filming, and home on Loveland Hills when you’re not. We’re each other’s missing pieces, and I want—need—to be whole again.”

  Her eyes stung. “I’m not whole without you, either. I thought I was meant to fix you, but you were sent to heal me, too. I love you,” she whispered. “Let’s never be apart again.”

  At first, he looked as if he hadn’t heard her. He didn’t move a single muscle, just continued to stare at her, then released a shaky breath, and a fierce wonder sparked in the glittering blue of his eyes.

  “Marry me,” he breathed as his lips lowered onto hers, stilling every word in her mouth, every thought in her whirling brain.

  A strong arm wrapped around her waist as he deepened the kiss. She was floating. Time stood still. She must be in heaven.

  “Marry him! Marry him! Marry him!” chanted the audience in response to a cue-card-holding intern.

  When their lips parted, and their eyes connected, his darkened, intensifying the emotion in them.

  “You don’t want to marry someone like me,” she said sadly. “Red carpet events, paparazzi, parties with strangers.”

  “I thought I wanted to hide from the world, to be somewhere no one would bother me. But you wouldn’t let me languish there. Since the day you returned home, you’ve dragged me into the wide world.” He drew his mouth over hers slowly, gently. “Thank you for that. It’s much less comfortable out here, I’ll admit. But I wouldn’t miss it for anything since it includes you.”

  “Me neither.” She struggled to see him through her blurring vision.

  “I want to marry you, a woman who has a heart as beautiful as her face and body, a woman with ambition and purpose, who loves me and my family fiercely,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I want you, Katie-Lynn. Katlynn. All of you.”

  When he dropped to one knee, she couldn’t believe it was really happening. She looked in his eyes and sailed among the stars. Long ago she’d wanted a big wedding where she’d be the center of attention. Now she only cared about catching one man’s eye, and heart, and miracle of miracles, she’d won both.

  “Marry me.” He produced a small, black velvet box from his pocket. A familiar, heart-shaped diamond ring gleamed inside, the one she’d worn twelve years ago.

  She could barely think with the sensation of bees swarming in her stomach as his eyes searched hers, but she wasn’t befuddled or at a loss for her voice any longer. “Is that...?”

  He nodded. “I couldn’t part with it, not when my heart kept on loving you,” The words were issued in an aching whisper. “Will you do me the honor and be my bride?”

  “Say yes!” cried the audience as another intern walked in front of them holding a different cue card.

  Happiness radiated from a deep inner core, shining through her. It seemed so long ago that she’d fought to prove herself rather than be herself. Everything was clear now. Her destiny had been written on her heart forever, and she could finally see it, finally give voice to what she’d wanted all along.

  “Yes.” Tears slid down her face, unchecked. “I’ll marry you.”

  He lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed it. Then he slipped the ring on her finger.

  “She said yes!” Cole sprang to his feet, caught her around the waist and twirled her around. His infectious exuberance sent the crowd into hysterics.

  “Break!” Gabe yelled once the camera lights turned off

  Katlynn grabbed Cole’s hand and dragged him offstage to her dressing room. “What just happened?” she gasped once the door shut behind them.

  “Us.” His arms closed around her so fiercely she couldn’t breathe. Not that it mattered when he’d told her he loved her. Wanted to marry her.

  He buried his face in her hair, and she felt him shudder against her. For several heartbeats he did nothing more than hold her. Never had Katlynn felt such peace, such contentment.

  “What changed your mind?”

  “Someone calling me a blockhead Neanderthal and I agreed when I saw your interview with my grandfather. I should have never doubted you.”

  “Who called you a blockhead Neanderthal?”

  “Jewel.”

  Katlynn snorted. “Sounds about right.”

  “I love you, Katie-Lynn.” He slid his fingers in her hair, tugged slightly to angle her face up to his and lowered his mouth. “Love you like crazy.” His kiss was hard and fierce but so tender she wanted to cry and laugh and dance at the same time. He murmured words of love between kisses, and she held each one to her heart like a precious jewel.

  This was good and right and wonderful.

  She hadn’t disappeared when she’d returned home; she’d discovered herself, through Cole.

  Tumultuous seconds later he lifted his head, and his hold on her relaxed slightly. He expelled deep, uneven breaths. His eyes sparkled with emotion, deep
as blue sapphires, and she was clinging to him, trembling faintly as his calloused palm smoothed slowly over her cheek.

  “I have to go back on camera in a sec,” she whispered, already resenting her show for taking her from Cole. Good thing this was the last taping of the season, and she’d have six glorious months to focus solely on the man she loved.

  “But you’ll come back,” he said, a smile evident in his voice.

  “Yes.” Katlynn laid her head on his chest and heard the rapid, staccato beat of his heart. “I’ll always come back to you.”

  “Counting on it.” His breath stirred the hairs at the crown of her head. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

  “Then let’s do it quick,” she said softly, knowing in her heart that it was time to take that leap. They’d waited too long already. “Next weekend.”

  He drew back, and his look was tender and searching. “Don’t weddings take months to plan?”

  “Not if it’s on a mountaintop,” she told him, misty-eyed. Her heart overflowed with unrestrained happiness.

  He blinked and stared. For a moment he looked as if he didn’t dare believe he’d heard her right. “You don’t want a big wedding?”

  “Just you and me and the world at our feet,” she vowed, giving him back the words he’d used twelve years ago. Now she’d return them to him—a concession to show how much she valued him, had grown to want the same things as he did on many fronts.

  Feeling freer and lighter than she had in a long time, Katlynn smiled up into Cole’s serious face and watched his answering smile start in the corner of his mouth and spread into his eyes.

  He cupped her face with his hands. His thumb traced her lips. “And heaven will be at our fingertips, my angel. My star.” His reverent words were said in a husky voice just before his lips sealed the vow.

  He kissed her again in a tender, slow joining that reached deep inside, drawing warmth straight through her heart and claiming a piece of her.