The Cowboy Who Got Away

“Let me pull up the email from my Realtor.” Jude took out his phone. “I think she mentioned who they are.”

He tapped and scrolled the screen, then handed Juliette his cell.

“Here it is.”

She took the phone, ignoring the way their hands brushed.

The email said:

Hi, gorgeous, the offer for the Celebration, Texas, property is attached. Call me if you have any questions. Or call me, even if you don’t have any questions. Just call me. Smooches, Afton

“Smooches?” Juliette said before she could stop herself. “What kind of real estate professional signs her email ‘smooches’?”

Jude laughed. “That’s just Afton.”

“Oh, well, Afton sounds like she likes you. Isn’t there some sort of professional code of ethics she’s violating? Like how doctors aren’t supposed to get personally involved with their patients?”

“Afton and I are not personally involved.”

“Really? Sounds like she thinks you are, gorgeous.”

He laughed. It was a full-bodied belly laugh. “You’re jealous.” Even though the familiar sound of his laughter soothed her, she still felt heat blooming on her cheeks.

“I am not jealous.” She raised her chin. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because you still love me.” He was teasing. She knew he was, the same way he used to always tease her. Since every word that came out of her mouth seemed to make it worse, she didn’t answer him. Instead, she turned her attention to his phone. “Do you mind if I pull up the attachment that Smooches sent?”

“No, go ahead.”

“So, wait, is she representing you or the buyer? Because it doesn’t seem like Smooches has your best interests at heart.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she should advise you not to let them undercut you with bogus claims.”

He was smiling at her like she was adorable. And then he laughed. “I’m aware of their bogus claims. Afton is an old friend. She knows, too. She also understands that I’m on the fence about selling the property. I wasn’t actively looking for a buyer. But she brought me the offer.”

“But she knows you well enough to know you own the property. Is she an old girlfriend?”

“You are jealous.”

Juliette handed him his phone. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”

“You didn’t look at the attachment.”

Juliette shook her head. “I’ll let you do the honors of opening it. Especially since you haven’t looked at it yet. That has nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with self-preservation. Who knows what other surprises Smooches might have in store for you.”

His gaze flickered to hers. For a split second he looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He honed in on his phone. “The offer is from an outfit called the MAG Holdings Limited Partnership. Never heard of them. Have you?”

Juliette shook her head. “Do an internet search and see what you can find out.”

“It says here that MAG Holdings is the parent company for Metro Arrow Homes.”

That didn’t sound very good. “Jude, they build houses. Like those cookie-cutter shoeboxes that all look alike. If they want to put a subdivision in here, they can’t. It’s not zoned for single-family housing.

“They must have something up their sleeve,” Juliette said. “Because I doubt that they’d be willing to fork over a lot of money to turn the property into a nature preserve. It’s a nice idea, but I don’t think so.”

His brows knit together as he read the information that was on the screen. “This isn’t okay. In fact, it’s not going to happen.”

He shook his head as he continued to read. “No, this is no good at all. Besides, with the way they’re trying to undercut the asking price...I think this deal is off.”

Both of them were silent, watching a couple of sandhill cranes fly in and land in the lake’s shallow water near the shore.

“I think that’s smart,” Juliette said. “Judging by what they’re trying to pull with the lake and the slab, it sounds like they aren’t very honest.”

“Yeah, there are few things I hate more than wheeler dealers,” Jude said.

“Of course,” Juliette said.

They walked in silence back the way they came. Juliette focused on the unchanged beauty of the place and tried not to wonder whether or not he’d ask Afton to look for another buyer. The lush green grass, the smattering of trees, the big live oak on the other side of the cabin, where they used to seek shade on hot summer days. It was like reuniting with an old friend or time traveling. If she squinted her eyes and blocked out everything else—especially the voices in her head—she was transported back to a much simpler time, when she and Jude were in love and their only worry had been not attracting the sheriff when they lit a bonfire on a cold fall night.

“Are you seeing anyone?” he asked out of the blue, breaking the silence.

The non sequitur made her breath catch. Really, the question shouldn’t have been so surprising. It was an obvious question that old friends would ask each other. Although, they might start with the less important and build up to this. But, hey, leave it to Jude to take the leap.

“Who wants to know?” She raised her brows at him, trying to lighten the mood.

“I want to know, Jules.”

“In this moment, I’m seeing you,” she said, “walking next to me. That’s all that matters.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll take that as a no, that you’re not otherwise involved with anyone.”

She put her hands on her hips. “What about you? Do you have someone special or is it just the Saturday night special...an endless line of Aftons?”

Okay, that was corny. She was trying to be funny, but obviously funny wasn’t her thing.

“No, there’s no one special in my life right now. And for the record, I don’t have time for Saturday night specials, as you put it. What does that even mean?”

Juliette shrugged. “Random women. You know, a different Afton every Saturday night.”

“Most Saturday nights I’m at a competition and by the time I’m done—after I’ve been tossed around, thrown and sometimes kicked or stepped on—this body is not always in the mood for a Saturday night special.”

Juliette smiled. “That’s good to know. I mean, it’s not good that you get thrown and stepped on.” She grimaced. “You know that’s why I always had a hard time watching you compete. I couldn’t stand to see you get hurt. You know, come to think of it, you never answered my question. What are you doing back in Celebration when there’s still a month left on the tour? I know you said you were home to check out the property, but that doesn’t take two weeks. In two weeks it will be time for the world championship. What’s going on, Jude?”

He stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest. Defensive body language. But Juliette was determined not to speak first, because if she did it might give him an out—he might latch onto it and change the subject.

His gaze met hers. She raised her brows.