Free Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas by Randi Alexander

looked at Gieselle. "Sure do.
Arsenic okay?"
    "Yep. With a longneck to wash it down." He
gestured toward her. "And whatever the smart, lovely lady's having, give
her a double."
    Gieselle smiled. Her heart thumped and the ache that had
cramped her chest all morning eased. "I'll pass on that right now,
Don."
    Boone walked over to her, his body so tense, she barely
recognized her cocky cowboy. He stood beside her. "Can I sit?"
    She gestured. "Sure."
    Don brought his beer and cleared away the leftovers from the
other three.
    "Listen." Boone faced her, his elbows on his
thighs, leaning close. "I got scared."
    She swiveled toward him, nodding. She'd been scared, too,
but willing to give it a try.
    "You're braver than I am. You see things through the
vision of a woman with a graduate degree and a big future." He tipped back
his hat. "I'm a high school grad. I know nothing but rodeoing. If this
idea of a rodeo school doesn't work out for me, I'm done. I got nothin'."
    "I understand. Your commitment to pursuing your dream
comes first."
    "It did." He put his hand on hers on her thigh.
"Until I met you."
    She swiveled to face the bar.
    His hand dropped.
    "Boone, let's not make promises we might regret. You
sent those texts to Dallas, and you intentionally…" She'd been about to
say "broke my heart," but that would reveal too much, give him too
much power over her. She faced him. "You intentionally let me walk out of
your life for what I assumed was forever."
    He nodded. "Mistakes I regret, and wish I could take
back."
    "But, that was what your common sense told you to
do." She smiled. "We've known each other for less than a day. Let's
give it a little more time before we decide."
    His face unreadable, Boone stared at her. "You're kinda
smart, aren't you."
    She blinked.
    His lip twitched in a partial smile.
    "Yes." She grinned. "I'm very wise."
Warmth spread through her chest. She had another day—another chance—with her
cowboy.
    "Okay. Let's start over from this morning, before the
texts, and before I let you get away from me."
    She held out her hand. "Agreed."
    He took her fingers in his hand and lifted them to his lips
for a slow, warm kiss. "You're amazing, Gigi." He released her hand.
    She touched his cheek. "And you're irresistible,
cowboy."
    He chuckled and kissed her palm, took her hand and held it.
With his free hand, he reached into his chest pocket and pulled out the watch.
    Searching his eyes for his reaction, she held her breath.
    He clutched it in his hand, his head tipped down. "This
is probably the nicest gift I've ever been given." He looked at her.
"Thank you. It means a lot that you went through all the trouble…for
me."
    She squeezed his hand. "You're welcome. It was a lot of
fun pulling it together."
    He dropped his head. "And I messed it up." Shaking
his head, he opened the watch and looked at the picture. "I hope I can
make it up to you." He closed the watch and slid it back into his pocket.
    A lump formed in her throat. His sincerity did so much to
heal her wounds. "You can." She winked. "I saw a little ornament
in the gift shop that you can buy me. We can hang it on our tree."
    He nodded. "Our tree. Sounds nice." He reached
into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. "First, I have something
for you."
    She took it, watching his face.
    His expression gave nothing away.
    Inside were six personal checks from Boone's account. She
stared at his heavy cursive and distinctive signature. Her mouth dropped open.
Each check was made out to her, each for thirteen thousand dollars.
    "The casino manager helped me find a tax accountant who
figured this out."
    Her brows rose. "Really? On Christmas Day?"
    "This is Vegas. Anything's possible."
    She scanned through the checks again, calculating the total.
"Wow." This was nearly unbelievable. "Why six checks?"
    He took a breath. "Since I'm from Nevada, I don't pay
state income tax. We figured out how much federal tax I'll have to pay on the
winnings."
    "Okay." She wished