Alone in Austin
Page 10
Jake, the oldest of the bunch, stepped outside the bunkhouse. “Not interested, Harlen. Jacklin and Nick run a good ranch. Better than when you ran things. I’m staying. All of us are.”
Harlen sneered at Jacklin. “Don’t think you’ve won. I’ll get that horse or King. One way or another, you won’t have them.”
Nick cocked his gun at the same time she readied her shotgun. Nick stepped in front of Jacklin. “Your quarrel is with me, Harlen. Leave Jacklin out of it.”
Shaking his head, Harlen rode right up to Nick. “What’s a pencil pusher know about ranching anyway?”
“I know enough not to hire men like you. It’s best you move on.” He grabbed the horse’s bridle and shoved him back, causing the horse to rear and unseat Harlen. Nick ran to him and put his boot on Harlen’s gun hand.
Jacklin came up beside him with her shotgun ready and pointed at the other men. “You all best be leaving my ranch and never set foot on it again. As it is, the sheriff will have a talk with Harlen.”
Nick nodded. “Should I let him up?”
“Yes, I see the sheriff coming out of the house. I hope to never see you again, Harlen. Get off our ranch, and if I do see you, I’ll order our men to shoot.”
Nick took the gun from Harlen. “Get up. I think the sheriff has some bracelets for you.”
With a scowl, Harlen muttered something about not knowing there was a wedding going on.
Nick grinned. “As I recall, you weren’t invited.”
The sheriff took Harlen and put the handcuffs on one arm and wrapped the other end around the hitching post before cuffing Harlen’s other hand. “There that will hold you until the ceremonies are over. If you’re real good, I might give you some BBQ.”
Nick took Jacklin’s hand. “I think we need to go see the preacher. “
“Yes, we do. Let’s go.” Jacklin looked at her husband to be and knew she’d made the right decision. They were a team.
Epilogue
Nick and Jacklin walked to the paddock and watched King’s colts frolic about. “That is a fine bunch of horses you have, Mrs. Marlin.”
Jacklin grinned. “Yes, I’d say they are.” She stretched her back and took in a deep breath. “I’ll be glad when Nick Jr. makes his appearance.”
He grinned. “Is that so? What makes you think it’s a boy?”
“Well, Gwennie needs a brother, and I’d like to have a little boy.”
Nick chuckled. “I guess he needs to be a boy to keep up with that daughter of ours. She reminds me a lot of a certain little girl that used to romp around this ranch. As I recall, I had trouble keeping up with her.”
Jacklin kissed him. “But you caught me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.” He took her in his arms and kissed her properly. Nick didn’t care who saw them. This was their ranch. Their land. And he was holding the love of his life in his arms.
~~~
Author’s Note – Patricia PacJac Carroll
I hope you enjoyed Jacklin and Nick’s story. I had fun writing it and getting to know the two characters.
Alone in Austin is part of the Yours Truly: The Lovelorn collection of books. You can read my other book in the series > Deserted in Dodge.
You can find the collection here > Yours Truly: The Lovelorn the Series
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