One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,5

eyes on Jaxson.

He sighed heavily, ignoring the persistent pain in his ribs. “I thought I recognized her.”

“Who is she?” Knox asked. His posture was assertive, his eyebrows shooting down in a v, like he could somehow force the words out of Jaxson.

Jaxson looked at his parents. “This is gonna sound crazy.”

“Try me,” Knox said, squaring his jaw.

The air seemed to hold its breath, waiting for Jaxson to respond. He wondered if his parents remembered how hard he’d taken it after he and Lemon had broken up. She moved away shortly after graduating from high school and that was that … they went their separate ways.

“Spill it,” Knox demanded. “Who is she?”

Jaxson caught hold of the sheet and twisted it into a knot. “Lemon Massey.”

Birdie scrunched her nose. “The Lemon you dated in high school?”

“Yes.”

“I thought she moved away to some big city,” Knox piped in.

“Los Angeles,” Jaxson inserted.

“Maybe she’s back, visiting relatives,” Birdie said.

“Lemon doesn’t have any relatives in Franklin or Nashville,” Jaxson supplied. “She lost touch with her dad years ago. Her mother has Alzheimer’s. She’s in a care center in Los Angeles.”

Knox raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize that you and Lemon kept in touch.”

Jaxson clenched his teeth. “We don’t.”

“And yet, you know so much about her,” Knox mused as he looked at Birdie.

“What?” Jaxson grumbled.

A twinkle lit Birdie’s eyes. “Oh, nothing,” she chimed.

“Would y’all quit doing that?” Jaxson grumbled.

“What?” Birdie asked innocently.

“Y’all keep passing those looks back and forth. If you’ve got something to say, then say it,” he demanded. Jaxson wasn’t sure why he was getting so angry. Maybe it was a post reaction to the accident. It wasn’t easy staring death in the face. Had he been going any faster, hit the tree harder … A shiver ran down his spine. Life had never felt so precious or so fragile as it did right now. His ankle was starting to throb.

“Take it easy, son.” Knox held up his hand. “Your mama and I just wanna make sure you’re okay.” He slid an arm around Birdie’s shoulders.

“If we’re speaking frankly here, let me say that I’m glad a woman has finally come on your radar.” Birdie’s head swung back and forth. “I was beginning to wonder if anyone could turn your head.”

Jaxson rolled his eyes. “Do you really think this is the time to be playing matchmaker?”

A smile passed over Knox’s lips. “Well, it’s not every day your mama and I have a captive audience.” He tipped his head thoughtfully. “Maybe I’d better go check on the woman, find out who she is. I haven’t seen Lemon in so long … I’m not sure that I’d recognize her.”

“I would. She always had the prettiest blonde hair.” Birdie touched her own hair.

“I remember.” Knox looked at Birdie. “It looked a lot like yours, if I’m remembering correctly.”

A gracious grin curved Birdie’s lips. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“Hmm … let me go and see what I can find out.” Knox looked at Jaxson. “I wonder if Lemon remembers you as well as you remember her.”

“Let it go, Daddy,” Jaxson warned, but not even his foul mood could squelch the ember of hope flickering in his chest. Was Lemon here in this very hospital? Or maybe the whole thing was some trick his mind was playing. Chances were the woman wasn’t Lemon. But if she were …

Knox seemed to be reading his thoughts. “Y’all hang tight. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t do anything dumb,” Jaxson called after him, but Knox only waved his hand impatiently.

Birdie chuckled. “You mean anything that would give away the fact that you still have feelings for Lemon?”

Jaxson scowled. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”

“Uh, huh,” Birdie chimed, “I can tell.” She glanced over her shoulder before pulling a chair next to the bed. She sat down and primly crossed her legs. “So,” she began, “refresh my memory about Lemon. What was her last name?”

“Massey.” He growled. “This whole thing is ridiculous. It’s probably not even her. I only saw her face for a second like I did at the rodeo.”

Her eyes widened. “You saw Lemon at a rodeo?” She frowned. “What rodeo?”

Crap! Jaxson had stepped in it now. Heat coiled up his neck. He really needed to put a sock in it, especially when his brain wasn’t operating at full capacity.

“What rodeo?” Birdie pressed.

Jaxson hadn’t wanted his mama to know about the rodeo, and especially not about him riding the bronco. “It was over in Lebanon.”

Her features tightened. “Did you ride?”

For a fraction of a