Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,91
Ted about an altar too. See how fast he can do it.”
“I’ll need a dress,” Jess said. “And my family here. I’ll go call them right now.”
Dallas nodded, and he started to take his kids back toward his office while Jess dialed her mother. “Jessie,” her mom said, her voice full of light and energy. “What’s up?”
“Mom,” she said. “I just got engaged, and Dallas and I want to get married quickly. How soon can y’all get to Texas?”
“Engaged?” her mom repeated, the word full of air. “Clint, Jess is engaged and we need to get to Texas!” She squealed, and more screaming happened in the background. The phone went to speaker, and Jess laughed as her whole family celebrated with her over the line.
Her father finally said, “Jess, just tell us when. We’ve got guys we can call to work the ranch for a bit.”
Jess turned toward the office again to find Dallas watching her. She started toward him, putting her phone on speaker too. “Well, you should come a couple of days early to actually meet Dallas,” she said. “So how about three weeks from now?”
“Three weeks?” her mom asked at the same time Dallas’s eyebrows went up. “Jess, that sounds crazy.”
“Does it?” Jess looked right into those light eyes of Dallas’s as she said, “Well, I only need Dallas, Remmy, and Thomas there. I need a dress, which I can get tomorrow. And I need you guys there. Doesn’t sound crazy.”
“Three weeks,” her mom said again.
“We’ll be there,” her dad said. “We love you, Jess.” Choruses of the same came from her sisters, and Jess repeated them back. She hung up, still looking at Dallas.
“Three weeks,” she said. “Too long?”
“Yes,” he said, gathering her into his arms. “About three weeks too long.” He chuckled and swayed with her, finally pulling back. “But seriously, it’s great.” He leaned down and kissed her, and Jess had never kissed a man she loved as much as Dallas. She’d never kissed a man who loved her as much as he did. She’d never kissed her fiancé before.
She enjoyed every second of it, and when he finally pulled away, she said, “I love you so much, Dallas.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s what’s crazy.”
They laughed lightly together, and then he added, “I love you, too, Jess.”
Read on for a sneak peek at Jess and Dallas’s wedding, as told by Slate Sanders, your next cowboy hero in CHRISTMAS COWBOY. Preorder now!
I’m so glad Dallas was able to deal with his issues, keep his kids safe, and keep Jess in his life! If you are too, please leave a review now.
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Sneak Peek! Christmas Cowboy Chapter One
Slate Sanders drove down the highway next to the Gulf of Mexico, the window down as the sun came up. The scent of the beach and seaweed touched his nose every so often, and he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.
He’d spent four years behind the fences and walls of River Bay Federal Correctional Facility. He hadn’t had a girlfriend or a wife when he’d gone into prison, and he hadn’t thought he wanted one now that he was out.
Images of Nate and Ginger walking hand-in-hand, their heads bent together, flowed through his mind. He then remembered the way Ted and Emma sat on the back porch of their cabin, the love between them real and infectious.
Maybe Slate had been bit. Maybe he wanted to meet someone who would make his heart feel less like a black stone and more like a vital human organ. Maybe he could if he didn’t literally run away from every female he laid eyes on.
He’d been at Hope Eternal Ranch for almost two months, and he still hadn’t said more than hello to any of the women who worked there. A few women lived next door in the West Wing, but Slate never went there. More women worked out on the ranch, with the horseback riding lessons, or with other chores. He kept his head down and hadn’t spoken to any of them either.
He wasn’t sure why, other than he wasn’t sure Hope Eternal was his final landing place. He couldn’t go back to banking, but he wasn’t as keen to grab onto the cowboy lifestyle with both hands the way Nate, Ted, and Dallas had.
The three of them never went anywhere without their cowboy hats and boots, and they fit right in on this ranch. Slate hadn’t fit in anywhere, except with