Knox looked over to where Jana sat in the stands among several hundred other people. He picked her out quickly, because she’d told him she’d be wearing a red cowboy hat. The thought made him smile, because she’d called it her raspberry hat.
It had been three weeks since they’d had the confrontation with her dad. Things hadn’t gotten much better as far as her family went, but they hadn’t gotten worse. So Knox counted that as a win. Jana was still making her jam, and writing her book and column. Knox was showing up in Prosper every chance he got during the week, but on the weekends, he’d been locked into riding bulls. He hadn’t won every night, but most nights, he came away with a win, and his track record was getting a lot of attention in the pro-rodeo world.
The winnings purse just kept growing. He’d paid off Holt in full, and even put down money to invest in the current operations of the ranch.
Knox focused on Jana in the arena crowd. He couldn’t help the grin that grew on his face when she waved at him. He nodded, then hearing his name announced, he climbed into the bull pen. The crowd was energetic tonight, and cheers and screams echoed around him, but he was already focused up on the beast of a bull he was about to ride.
Code Red was the bull’s name, and he’d only been ridden eight seconds twice before. He was probably in the top five in the circuit, and Knox had yet to ride him. He was positive this bull would be awarded bull of the year with its 94% buck-off rate.
“Knox Prosper riding for the big win tonight and the big money,” the announcer boomed into the microphone. “We’re expecting a long ride with this top bull-rider. Code Red always goes to the right with a lot of buck, and really high kicks.”
Knox braced himself on the top of the gate with his left arm, and he slid his right hand under the leather strap. Then he grabbed the rope handed to him, leveled it against his palm, and then wrapped it around again. Gripping the double rope, he slipped it between his last two fingers for added grip. The gate opened, and Code Red flew out of the pen.
Code Red was fast and furious as Knox moved with the bull beneath him, focusing all his attention on staying fluid and upright. The seconds sped by, and Knox barely registered any of the crowd or what the announcer said. It was just him and the beast. The bull would ultimately win, but Knox just had to hang on for eight of those seconds. When the eight-second buzzer rang, Knox released his grip to land on his knees in the dirt, only feet away from the bucking legs.
The crowd was screaming, and Knox scrambled to his feet away from the still-furious bull.
“Knox Prosper has just shown the world a perfect ride!” the announcer said. “Code Red had what seemed to be an insurmountable resume. Twenty-one straight buck-offs. But Knox Prosper rode like he had nothing to lose.”
Knox moved to the arena railing, tugging off his helmet and waving it to the cheering crowd. The crowd was deafening, and Knox walked the arena, pumping his fist into the air. But he was looking at one particular woman who was waving her red cowboy hat.
“We saved the best for last, folks,” the announcer said. “And with a score of 93.6, Knox Prosper will take home the championship tonight.”
More cheering and screams, and Knox acknowledged the fans, figuring he made a few new ones tonight. Elation soared through him, but he was impatient for the final announcements to finish so he could find Jana. He’d just won enough to put a down payment on a house. He paused as the other bull-riders congratulated him, but he continued moving forward.
“Knox!” someone yelled.
He only waved. Others called his name, but he was focused on the woman who’d just reached the bottom of the stands. Jana had her red cowboy hat back on and looked as pretty as a picture. Her smile was stunning, and her eyes sparkled.
In a few strides, he’d reached her. He snaked his hands around her waist, and her hands went to each side of his face.
“You were amazing!” she said with a laugh. “I can’t believe you didn’t fall off.”
“When have you ever seen me fall off?” he teased. “Okay, don’t answer that.” Tugging her close, he lifted her against him, then kissed her. Nice and easy.
“They said you won the top purse,” Jana said when she lifted her head, a blush on her face. “Is that true?”
“Sure is, sweetheart.”
“So are you going to get a new truck now?”
Knox chuckled. “You sound like my brothers.” He leaned his forehead against hers, ignoring the people surrounding them, calling for his attention. “I’m doing something much better.”
Someone clapped a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see one of his rodeo buddies, Scott White.
“Nice job, man,” Scott said. “You took that bull to task.”
“It was a decent ride,” Knox said with a smile. “Might have been a bit of luck involved, too.”
Scott chuckled, then his attention shifted to Jana. “This your lady, Prosper?”
“Yessir.” Knox reached for her hand, linking their fingers. “This is Jana Harris. Jana, this is Scott White.” He was surprised to see her eyes widen.
“Oh wow,” she said. “You’re a legend. It’s so great to meet you.”
Scott grinned. “Why thank you, ma’am. The pleasure is all mine.” He tipped his hat, and Knox supposed the guy was good-looking and had a way with the ladies.
Jana’s smile ramped up a notch, and Knox frowned.
“We’ll catch up later, Scott,” he said in a pointed tone.
Scott laughed. “All right, I hear you, man. Congrats again.”
Knox waved him off, then turned to Jana. “I thought you didn’t follow rodeo.”
Jana’s smile went coy. “I don’t, but that was Scott White. Everyone knows him.”
Knox searched her gaze, knowing it was ridiculous to let this get under his skin. But Jana was a beautiful woman, and Scott had definitely noticed.
Jana lifted up on her toes, and with her mouth close to his ear, she said, “You have nothing to be jealous of, Mr. Bull-Rider.”
He moved his hand up her back. “I didn’t think so, but it’s good to hear all the same.”
A decent line had formed of fans waiting to greet him.
Jana noticed and grinned. “I’ll just wait somewhere while you greet all these fans.”
“Stay with me.” He grasped her hand.
So he greeted fans and signed autographs with her at his side, which was just how he wanted it. When they were down to the last few people, he looked up to see his brother Lane and sister Cara. He had no idea they were coming. This was the first rodeo outside of Prosper they’d come to.
Cara looked the most like his mom, blonde and statuesque. And Lane was blond and blue-eyed, too. They both stepped forward and hugged him.
“You guys remember Jana Harris?” Knox asked.
Lane and Cara both looked at each other, then Cara said, “Great to see you, Jana.” She stepped forward to hug Jana, who Knox was sure was just as surprised as he was.
“Great to see you again, Jana,” Lane said, extending his hand to shake hers. “We thought you might be here, too, but we weren’t sure.” By the gleam in Lane’s eyes, Knox was pretty sure he’d known.
Apparently, someone else in the family had told his siblings about Knox dating Jana.
Knox slipped his arm around Jana’s waist, letting her know that they were in this together.
“Don’t you live in Dallas, Cara?” Jana asked.
“Sure do,” she said. “Lane and I coordinated schedules so we could come to this rodeo, though. Got the night off from culinary school.”
Knox had told Jana about his sister being in some fancy culinary school, and Lane would be graduating in finance soon. He’d been the one to originally secure the grant for Prosperity Ranch.
“Well, it’s great to see you both,” Knox said. “Do you want to join us for dinner?”
“I have a late flight, and Lane’s taking me to the airport,” Cara said.
Knox frowned. “Are you sure? I can
get everyone hotel rooms if you want to stay overnight.”
Cara only smiled. “It’s all right. I’ve already got the flight booked, but thank you. And you two have a good night.”
Lane said something similar. He’d be driving back to college, where he was doing a summer internship in the finance department.
It seemed as soon as Cara and Lane had shown up, they were gone.
“Did they not tell you they were coming?” Jana asked, looking up at him.
Finally, the arena was almost empty, and the fans dispersed.
“I had no idea,” Knox said. “I wonder why they didn’t tell me, or why they aren’t staying longer.”
Jana shrugged. “Maybe they just wanted to see if the rumors about us are true.”
Knox smiled down at her. “And what rumors would that be?”
“That we’re dating?”
He raised his brows. “Is that all? I thought maybe it would be something more. You know, something to warrant my two siblings making plans to come check you out.”
“Me?”
“Yep.”
Jana puffed out a breath, but her eyes were dancing with amusement. “Why me? Why not you?”
He drew her a little closer and bent to brush his lips against her neck. When he lifted his head, he said, “They already know me, and believe me, I’m not their favorite brother. But you… well, you’re the main attraction in my family right now.”
“I guess I can live with that, if you’re okay with it.”
He kissed the edge of her jaw. “I’m okay with it.”
Her arms snaked around his neck, and he loved the affection she showed toward him. More and more, he knew she was comfortable with them as a couple. And he was hoping this night might work in his favor, because he had something pretty important to run by her. He’d had a phone call with her dad earlier that day, one that Jana needed to hear about. Frankly, Knox was surprised the man answered the phone, but it made it all the easier to make a business proposal.
“So, if you’re hungry, we can go eat,” he said. “Or just hang out.”
“Let’s go eat,” she said. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re starving.”
He laughed. “You’re right. And I’m glad you came.”
Her hazel eyes studied him. “Me, too.”
It wasn’t until after they’d found a small restaurant where they secluded themselves into a booth that Knox decided to take the plunge. The restaurant was quiet because of the late hour, and their waitress seemed to be more intent on flirting with a fellow employee than keeping their drinks filled.
“So, I have a confession to make,” Knox said, reaching for Jana’s hand.
Her forehead furrowed. “Should I be worried?”
“I hope not.” He ran his thumb over her wrist. “I talked to your dad today.”
Immediately, she stiffened. “You did?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe he answered my call, but he was a lot more calm than the last time I, uh, talked to him.”
Jana still looked confused. “Why did you call him?”
“Well, here’s the thing,” Knox began, “and maybe I should have ran this past you first, but I wanted to know if my offer was even a possibility.”
Her hazel eyes were solely focused on him.
“I asked him if he might be willing to sell his house.”
Jana’s lips parted as she stared at him.
“To me,” he said. “Or I should say, to us.”
“Knox… why would you make an offer on my parents’ house?”
“You know how I feel about you, sweetheart.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She bit her lip, and tears spilled onto her cheeks.
“I love you, Jana,” he said. “More each day, as impossible as it might sound. But it’s the truth. I want you to be my wife, and I want us to live in Prosper. Raise our kids there. So I thought… maybe… that we could just buy your parents’ house.”
Jana wiped at her tears, and Knox’s heart thundered with every second that passed without her response.
“You don’t have to answer me yet if you don’t want to,” he finally said. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But I know my heart, and my mind, and it’s not going to change. I can wait as long as you need—”
Jana tugged him close and wrapped her arms about his neck. Pressing her face against his skin, she murmured, “I love you. And I think buying my parents’ house would be perfect, too.”
Relief cascaded over him like a warm waterfall as he closed his eyes and held her close. “Are you sure, sweetheart? Absolutely sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she whispered.
Knox was grinning, and he felt like laughing. Jana was everything to him, and now his future was filling with light. “So if I get you a ring, you’re going to be happy, right?”
She drew away enough to meet his eyes. Cradling his face with both hands, she said, “A ring from you would make me the most happy woman on earth.”
Knox kissed her then. After all, they were practically the only ones in the restaurant.
When he finally dropped her off at her hotel room, Knox headed back to his own room, knowing there was one phone call he couldn’t delay. It was pretty late, but if she didn’t answer, he’d leave a message for her to call him in the morning.
Sitting on the edge of the hotel room bed, he called his ex-wife.
When Macie answered, he almost regretted calling. This was a lot harder than he expected, and his breathing was already erratic.
“Is everything okay?” she asked immediately.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Memories surfaced of him calling her late in the past—usually telling her that his truck had broken down, or that he’d been injured in a rodeo, or busted up in a bar fight. “I just needed to tell you something before it gets back to any other members of the family.”
“Okay…”
He heard the hesitation and curiosity in her voice. Another deep breath, and he said, “I’m going to ask Jana Harris to marry me.” Well, he practically had, but he was going to do this right this time.
Macie didn’t say anything for a long moment. Knox closed his eyes, able to imagine all of the thoughts and emotions that must be going through her mind, since she knew Jana was his high school girlfriend.
“Holt told me that you two were dating again.”
He didn’t miss the “again” reference. “Yeah. We reconnected when I was there a few weeks ago for the Prosper Rodeo.”
“That sounds… fast.”
What had been fast was Knox and Macie’s relationship. He and Jana had a lot more longevity if he counted high school dating. “I don’t know when it will happen, but I didn’t want you to be blindsided.”
“I appreciate the call,” Macie said, her voice calm.
Knox was grateful for that. Maybe she could even be happy for him one day. “All right then, have a good night, Macie.”
“You, too.” Her voice was now fainter.
Just as he was about to hang up, she said, “Knox?”
He brought the phone back to his ear. “Yeah?”
“It was always her, wasn’t it?”
His stomach felt like it had dropped off a high building. How could he answer a question like this to his ex-wife? They had a child together.
“Macie…” he rasped.
“It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to answer or explain. I get it. I truly do. Life doesn’t always go as planned, but in the end, if we can circle back to happiness, then that’s all we can hope for, right?”
Knox didn’t know if he was relieved, or more heartbroken. “Right.”
There was a long pause, then Macie clicked off.
Knox remained sitting on the edge of the bed for a long time. Wishing there didn’t have to be so many lessons learned and so much pain to get there. But he would hold onto Macie’s words. Circling back to happiness. That, he was going to do.
Jan
a typed the last sentence of her novel—at least what she thought was the last sentence. She could hardly believe she’d finished writing another book. Closing her laptop, she leaned her head back on the pillows she’d stacked up on the couch. Then, slowly, the exhilaration took over. She was done. Truly done. Well, except for revisions. But she’d gotten this far.
She sent Knox a text, because if anyone should know, it was him. He’d asked about her book every day, and she’d even read more chapters to him.
Finished writing last chapter!
His reply came a few minutes later. You’re amazing. Read it to me tonight.
She smiled, her heart doing a somersault. I don’t know, maybe. I might need to let it sit for a few days.
I can be persuasive.
Jana laughed. I’ll think about it…
The clock on her laptop told her she only had an hour to get ready before Knox came to pick her up. They were going to dinner… at his parents’ house. And… Holt, Macie, and Ruby would be there, too.
Knox had wanted this event to happen for a couple of weeks, but Jana had always made up an excuse. Knox hadn’t been fooled, but he was apparently the most patient man on the planet. So when he’d called her that morning, bright and early, which was her favorite time to talk to him—his morning voice was to die for—Jana had finally consented.
It was time to grow up.
Face their future together.
If she was going to marry Knox Prosper, which she was wholeheartedly planning on, she needed to become a part of his family. And that meant his daughter’s life, too, which by extension meant having a conciliatory relationship with his ex-wife. There was no getting around her, since Macie was married to Holt. It wasn’t like they’d cross paths only once in a while, and Prosper was too small of a town to keep their distance.
Jana set her laptop aside and rose from the couch. What did one wear to a dinner with one’s future in-laws and boyfriend’s ex? A blouse and jeans? A dress?
Her phone rang, and Jana wasn’t sure if this was the worst timing in the world or the best, but Barb’s number lit up the screen. Jana decided to answer, because she really did need girlfriend advice. She hadn’t told Barb how far things had progressed with Knox, but she knew they were dating, which brought on enough speculation, anyway.
Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch Book 3) Page 15
