Texas Rebels--Paxton

by Linda Warren

  Leaning on the arena railing, he sucked air into his tight lungs. He’d done it. He’d ridden Misfit. The world seeped back into his mind and he could hear the announcers.

  “What do you think, Hal?”

  “I think that’s the ride of Paxton Rebel’s life. He gave it everything he had and he’s waiting to see if the judges think the same thing. The Rebel family is here and Paxton Rebel fans are everywhere with their pink T-shirts and Heartthrob on them. A lot of young girls are cheering for Paxton. The noise in here is deafening.”

  “Yeah, Bob. Everyone’s on their feet as they wait for the score. But no one wants to see that score more than Paxton.”

  The announcer was right about that. Paxton kept waiting. He was good at waiting. Phoenix, Cole and Dakota joined him, slapping him on the back.

  “What a ride!” Phoenix beamed with pride for his brother.

  “Man, I don’t think Barron can beat you now,” Cole said.

  “It has to be a high score,” Dakota added.

  Paxton was hoping the same thing but still there was no score on the scoreboard. What was taking so long? He could hear the announcers asking the same question. Then all of a sudden it was there. Ninety-one. There was nothing to celebrate because there was one rider left. Barron.

  He’d drawn the bull Top-Notch. The voices and the people around Paxton faded as he watched Barron Flynn try to beat him. This was it. It was excruciating to watch. His whole career came down to this.

  Top-Notch bucked, twisted and tried to dislodge Barron to no avail. He rode the bull like a professional, as he had all season. Now Paxton had to wait again. It was going to be close, even he knew that. Neither his friends nor Phoenix spoke. It was a tense moment as everyone’s eyes were on the scoreboard. Everyone in the Thomas and Mack Center were on their feet. Waiting.

  Paxton stomach curled into a ball of tension. Cameras were everywhere and he was sure he was on the big screen because they were focused on him most of the time. They wanted to get his reaction when the score came up. He wouldn’t react. He would just walk away to the locker room.

  The cheering and the voices stopped. The Thomas and Mack Center became very quiet as some people bit their nails and waited for the score. The wait was getting to Paxton, but he would not show one sign of weakness. He would be a professional to the end. He didn’t know where Barron was, but he was going to shake his hand one way or another.

  Phoenix put his arm around Paxton’s shoulders. “Relax. You got this one.”

  He heard the cheering before he saw the score. Ninety. Paxton sucked in a breath of relief. He’d won. Cowboys crowded around him, shaking his hand, hugging him. A microphone was stuck in his face and he answered questions and he hadn’t a clue of what he was saying. There seemed to be a whirlwind taking him down. But this would be a moment he would remember forever.

  Barron stood to the side, his face a mask of disappointment. Paxton walked up to him and held out his hand. “It was a good ride.”

  “Thanks, man, I almost had you.”

  “Next year it’s all yours.”

  Another microphone was stuck in his face and he answered more questions.

  Phoenix pulled him aside. “Smile, for heaven’s sake, or you’re going to break their cameras.”

  “It would have meant so much more if Remi was here.”

  “Jake is waving at you. Look up in the stands where the family is sitting and wave back.”

  He wouldn’t disappoint Jake so he looked where his family was standing. Someone was holding Jake and it wasn’t Rosie. Jake had a hat on so he couldn’t see the person’s face, but then Rosie took Jake and he saw her. Remi. She was here. His heart soared and for a moment he wasn’t sure what to do. A phone buzzed and Phoenix held up Paxton’s phone, which Paxton had given him before the ride. He yanked it away from Phoenix and saw it was Remi.

  With a shaky hand, he touched her name.

  “How do I get to you?” Remi asked.

  “Just go left out of the stands and I’ll meet you.”

  He took a moment to look at his brother. “You knew she was here and you didn’t tell me.”

  Phoenix shrugged. “She wouldn’t let me. She didn’t want to ruin your focus and I agreed with her. Are you going to stand here arguing with me or are you going to go meet her?”

  Paxton took off running through the crowd with his spurs and chaps still on. People were pulling at him to shake his hand or to get an autograph and the girls were the worst, trying to touch him, but he kept running, shaking off their hands. He stopped when he saw Remi standing in the crowd looking for him.

  When he’d first met her, he’d been conflicted about his feelings for her, but he wasn’t anymore. He loved her. Her skin glowed and the way she filled out those jeans made his pulse leap. Thick long hair fell past her shoulders. She tucked a strand behind her ear in a nervous gesture he remembered well. His eyes caught the turquoise boots he’d sent her. She was dressed in a cowgirl shirt, too. She was beautiful, just as she was in his dreams.

  She turned and spotted him and took off running. He ran to meet her, scooping her up into his arms and swinging her around. She buried her face in his neck.

  “I love you,” she breathed against his skin.

  “I love you, too.” He kissed her neck, her cheek, and caught her lips in a searing kiss. Cameras flashed around them but that didn’t bother Paxton. They could take all the photos they wanted. He had what he wanted.

  Against her lips, he whispered, “Does this mean...?”

  “Yes. It means we’re planning a wedding.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “What made you change your mind?”

  “Henry.”

  “Henry? You mean the goose?”

  She nodded. “I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t fly away. Why did he stay on the pond with Henny? Then I knew...”

  “Because they mated for life,” he finished for her.

  “Yes. I realized that you and I have a love like that. A forever love.”

  “God bless Henry.” Paxton smiled into her beautiful eyes. “We can do whatever you want. Doesn’t matter to me if we have children. But if you want to adopt, I’m with you all the way. But this—” he gathered her into his arms and held her close “—you and I are forever.”

  “Forever,” she murmured before he took her lips once again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Life was crazy and Paxton was enjoying every minute of it. After all the festivities in Vegas were over, they flew into Austin where Paxton had his truck and Remi had her SUV in a parking garage. He dropped off Cole and Dakota at their ranches and traveled on to Houston to meet Remi at her apartment.

  In the meantime Ava and Remi were planning the wedding and Remi was desperately trying to pick out a wedding dress. Everything was rush-rush. Remi quit her job and moved out of her apartment. On Monday morning with the truck and car loaded down, they headed home to Rebel Ranch.

  On Monday evening they got married in the little Catholic church in Horseshoe, Texas. When he saw Remi with Nathan on one side and Ava on the other, his heart swelled inside of him. He would never love anyone as much as he loved her. And when he saw the turquoise boots peeking out from the silk-and-lace dress he couldn’t have loved her more than he did at that moment. She’d traded her heels for cowgirl boots.

  Miss Bertie had gotten a perm for the wedding and Paxton hardly recognized her, but the biggest surprise was Ruger in a suit, walking Miss Bertie down the aisle. He had a feeling Ava had something to do with that. Ruger was here and he knew it made Remi happy that her brother had participated in the wedding. The reception was at Rebel Ranch and later that evening they got into his truck and drove to Port Aransas where they’d first met. They took long walks on the beach and warmed up in the Jacuzzi together. It was idyll
ic. It was just them and they didn’t need anything else. They came home late Wednesday because it was Christmas week and they wanted to be home for the holiday.

  They moved into the old homeplace, where Falcon and Leah had once lived. They had moved across the road into their new home and the place was vacant and available. It was perfect for what they needed. They would decide later if they wanted to build a house or whatever. It didn’t matter to Paxton. He just wanted to be with Remi.

  They had left Sadie at Miss Bertie’s when they had gone on their honeymoon and she was still there. They planned to pick her up today.

  Paxton crawled out of the bed and slipped into his underwear. Pulling on his jeans, he noticed Remi beneath the covers, her hair everywhere, the way he liked it—tousled. Leaning over, he gently moved her hair to kiss her cheek.

  “Sleep in, beautiful lady.”

  She stirred and sat up. “What time is it?”

  “Almost six.” He sat on the bed to pull on his socks.

  “Why are we up... Oh, you’re going to help Elias this morning and I have an interview at the school for a job.”

  “Yep. And then I’ll meet you back here at noon and we’ll go over to your grandmother’s, and Ruger and I are going to rebuild her corral as a Christmas gift.”

  “She’ll love it.”

  “She’ll love that it doesn’t cost her a dime.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and pressed her body against him. “I don’t want to be away from you too long.”

  “Me, neither.” He turned his head to kiss her. “I thought you would be tired this morning.”

  “I am. You kept me up all night.”

  “I’m not the one who was nibbling on my ear at two o’clock this morning.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “Are you complaining?”

  “Never.”

  A knock sounded at the door. “I’ll get it,” Paxton said. “It’s probably Elias ready to go to work.”

  As he opened the door, he was startled to see his mother. “Mom.”

  “Good morning, son.” She held up a basket with a red gingham cloth over it. “I made breakfast muffins and I brought some for you and Remi.”

  He took the basket from her. “Thank you.”

  “Who is it?” Remi came into the room in nothing but a T-shirt. Paxton stepped aside so his mother could come into the house.

  “Good morning, Remi. I brought breakfast.”

  “Oh, Miss Kate, that’s so sweet of you.”

  “Have y’all settled into the house?”

  Remi came to his side and he wrapped an arm around her waist. “I love this old log house,” Remi replied. “It feels like home.”

  “I was planning on doing some upgrades,” Paxton said.

  “Whatever you want,” his mother replied. And then she touched his face and so many feelings ran through him. His mother had been through so much and he hated that he had caused her pain. Hopefully, that side of him was gone. “I’m so proud of the way you’ve changed this past year. You have grown into the young man your father knew you would be.”

  “Thank you, Mom.”

  She turned to Remi. “At first, I have to admit that I had doubts, but when I look at you I don’t see Ezra. I just see your beautiful face and personality. You’re the perfect mate for my son and I wish you two nothing but happiness.” Remi and his mother hugged tightly. “Now I have to go and leave you two lovebirds alone.”

  As the door closed, Remi went into his arms. “I like your mother.”

  So did he. “Mmm.”

  Remi went into the kitchen to make coffee. “I’m going to take a shower and then we’ll eat breakfast.” She headed toward the bathroom and he went back into the bedroom to finish dressing. A phone buzzed and he saw it was Remi’s on the dresser. He leaned over to see who it was. Constance Baxter. Who was that? Then he remembered. Remi’s lawyer. Why was she calling? The only way to find out was to answer it.

  “This is Paxton Rebel.”

  “Oh, I was trying to reach Remi Roberts.”

  “She’s Remi Rebel now. We’re married.”

  “Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”

  “Why are you calling, Ms. Baxter?”

  “There’s been a development in Annie’s case and I thought Remi might like to know.”

  “What happened?” Inside he was screaming, No, no, not now! They were happy. Remi didn’t need to be hurt again.

  “I would rather speak to Remi.”

  “She’s taking a shower and I’d rather that you talked to me because I’m not having her upset like the last time.”

  “I need to move on this quickly, so please tell Remi that Mrs. Wallace has had a mental breakdown and has been institutionalized. Her husband has returned Annie to the state because he now has to care for his wife. Seems the woman was so worried about Annie’s heart surgery that she watched her constantly and rarely slept or ate. The husband tried to talk to her but she wouldn’t listen. Apparently the three miscarriages and then adopting Annie was too much for her. Finally, she just collapsed and she doesn’t know who she is or where she is. The bottom line is, Mr. Rebel, the state now has to deal with Annie and find her a home. I thought Remi would want to know that.”

  Anger filled his lungs. “They made the wrong decision and now Annie is suffering for that.”

  There was a long pause on the line. “Yes, but if Remi wants Annie, we have to get started immediately. They’re giving us a heads-up and that’s a big plus sign. Please have her call me.”

  “Where’s Annie now?”

  “She’s at Texas Children’s being evaluated. She’s fine, though.”

  “Hasn’t the adoption gone through by now?”

  “According to Ms. Connors, they’ve had a lot of problems with the Wallaces. They balked at home visits and failed to get paperwork in when they needed to. They were getting ready to stop the adoption and remove Annie when Mr. Wallace called.”

  “Did they change her name?”

  “Legally, no.”

  “I’ll tell Remi and if she’s interested she’ll call you right back.” Paxton laid the phone on the dresser. He didn’t know how Remi was going to react. They hadn’t talked any more about Annie. They put her out of their minds because they had to. Now Remi was secure in their love and...

  Remi came into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her body and rubbing her hair with another towel.

  “Did I hear my phone?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He sat on the bed and patted the spot beside him. “I have something to tell you.”

  She did as instructed and held the towel in her hand. “What is it? You look so serious.”

  “It’s about Annie.” And he told her what Ms. Baxter had said.

  Her eyes opened wide. “Oh. Is Annie okay?”

  Paxton nodded. “She’s at Texas Children’s being evaluated.” He watched her face and saw nothing but sadness. “What do you want to do?”

  She stared down at the towel in her hand. “I’m happy now. Really happy, and I can’t go through another custody hearing. It hurt too much.”

  “You said Annie was your last chance and she was the child of your heart.”

  She raised her eyes to his, and he saw the tears about to break through. “Annie is all alone in that hospital at Christmastime.”

  “Do you want to change that?”

  She stood up and grabbed her phone. “It makes me so angry at what that agency has done to Annie.” She looked at her phone and then at him. “Are you ready to be a father?”

  He smiled, and pulled out his phone. Holding it up, he said, “Look, I still have all the pictures you sent me of Annie. I tried to delete them, but couldn’t. Now I know why. She was meant to be our
little girl.”

  “Oh, Paxton.” She threw her arms around his neck and they held on for a few minutes, savoring this moment of knowing they might get Annie back.

  Remi made the call and he was in awe of what she was saying. “Ms. Baxter, they screwed up. Really bad, and this hurts Annie. Here’s what I’m willing to do. No long adoption process interviewing couples who might be ideal parents for Annie. No waiting. I’m not going to be put through that pain again. My husband and I will come to Houston and pick up Annie and adopt her. The agency will have papers ready to sign. Annie doesn’t need to spend Christmas in the hospital. You make that happen and we’ll be there within two hours. They made a mistake and I’m giving them the chance to make it right. Make it happen, Ms. Baxter.” She laid down the phone with a smile.

  Paxton grabbed her. “Wow. What was her response?”

  “She has to talk to the judge, and she will call me back within the hour. So now we wait.”

  Remi sat on the bed. “Annie’s a year old now. I wonder if she will recognize me.”

  “When’s her birthday?”

  “It was December 12. My wreck was in October and...”

  He took her hand and led her into the kitchen. “No sad thoughts. Let’s eat breakfast while we wait.”

  Someone pounded on the door. Paxton groaned. “Elias. I forgot all about him with the Annie thing going on.”

  He swung open the door to find Elias and Jericho standing there. “I just wanted to let you know that Jericho offered to help me with the fence. Enjoy the honeymoon.” He saluted and walked off. There was no one like Elias. He loved work and it reminded Paxton of his dad, who had been the same way.

  Jericho nodded at him. “Don’t worry. I got you covered. I mean, I’ve been eating peach cobbler all summer so I at least owe you something.”