Lonesome Cowboy (Honky Tonk Hearts) by Stacy Dawn Page B

of her fingers reached toward his cheek, he cleared his throat, shook his head and extended a hand toward the screen door at the back of the kitchen. “You need to see the backyard. Like I said, there’s a creek there, and swings. I bet Charlotte would like them when she gets older.”
    Amy dropped her hand, a nervous smile trembling her lips. “Are you sure you’re not getting commission for this? You’re an awfully good salesperson.”
    He choked out a laugh, taking the reins of the stroller to maneuver it for her through the mudroom and out on the back patio deck. “Nope.”
    A snorted snuffle came from the car seat, and she reached down to shake a pink rattle thing connected to the side of the carrier. Charlotte’s big eyes, just like her mother’s, turned to find the new sound.
    Amy commandeered the stroller to park it next to the porch swing. She then moved to stand by the railing, gazing out over the gardens, bungalows and gazebo. “This is really beautiful, has so much potential.”
    Marshall watched her, couldn’t help it. The dip of her left brow over one eye was a sure sign she was thinking hard about this. He glanced around the yard, back at the porch and through the kitchen door. She could do this, he had no doubt. Many a night he’d watched her deal with guests or various employees as he’d waited for her after work. No matter the crisis, she’d kept her cool and taken care of it, all with a smile on her face, just like she wore now.
    The wind picked up a floret of her peach scent and spun it around him until he was dizzy with it, and his boots echoed against the wooden boards of the porch to stand beside her.
    She slumped a hip onto the rail and leaned her head against the beam. “This is silly. What am I doing? Even if there was some way I could afford to buy the place, there would be so many things to do to get it ready for guests. And I have Charlotte to think about now.” Twinkle-tinged hazel eyes turned toward him. “Am I crazy to even consider it?”
    The playful wind whipped a tendril of her burnished copper hair across her cheek, and the need to reassure her won out over the need to keep his distance. His finger rose of its own accord to brush the wayward strand back behind her ear, the movement both old and new at the same time.
    “I don’t think you’re crazy. And I know you can do this.” His gaze roamed over her face. “When you have a chance at fulfilling your dreams, you have to take it, grab onto it with both hands and don’t let it go. If you don’t, sometimes it can get swept right out from under you.”
    “Marshall, I’m so—”
    He moved his hand to her mouth and shook his head. “Don’t, please. It’s okay.” Maybe not totally, but the last thing he wanted was for her to apologize again. The words had just slipped out; he honestly hadn’t meant them in any accusing way.
    Her hand covered his, pulling it away from her face and clasping it tight against her chest. It rose and fell as a heavy breath escaped her lips before she spoke. “There’s something I need to ask you.”
    Weakened by the beautiful face staring at him so earnestly, he nodded.
    “That night, at the honky tonk, you said…you said you came back with a ring. W-was that…true?”

Chapter Ten
    Every muscle in his body tightened, his jaw so rigid he couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. He wrenched his hand from her grasp and turned away from her searching gaze.
    A quick intake of breath sounded behind him.
    “It is true.”
    He grasped the porch railing tight enough to split it in two. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted right now.
    “My God, Marshall. If you wanted to marry me, why didn’t you tell me, or at least call? One call that first night away and then not a word from you in five months and—”
    “Whoa, hold it right there.” He spun on her, his control snapping. What right did she have to be angry? “I called, constantly . I left messages with your mother, on the answering