Cowboy Jackpot: St. Patrick's Day (9 page)

He recognized Stormie’s family business. “Two
hundred forty seven what?” Horses? Employees?

“Million.” Rance’s eyes sparked and his smile
split his face.

“Million…” No, couldn’t be.

“Dollars.” He practically danced with
excitement. “And she’s their only heir. You, buddy, is rich.”

He looked at the paper again. That’s what the
farm was worth? Oh man. Was she ever out of his league.

“Half that’s liquid.”

“Huh?” He looked at Rance who stripped off
his shirt.

Tribal tattoos on his shoulders stood out in
the bright ceiling light. “Liquid, you know, cash and stuff that
can be cashed in easily.”

Folding the note, he stuffed it in his back
pocket behind his wallet. He saw Stormie a little differently now.
All the money in the world, but pinned down under her parents’
expectations of her.

Rance sat on one of the beds and pulled off
his boots. “Community property. You own half that.”

“Isn’t community property just in
California?” He shook his head. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want
her money.” He pulled his bag off the bed.

“At least you could get something happening
with her equine stock and the rodeo school.”

He nodded. That was something he and Boone
and Dallas had already talked about, but he didn’t want to use his
marital status to get anything that didn’t belong to him.

“You might have to change your last name to
Thompson.” Rance laughed as he stripped off his jeans.
Commando.

Jayden looked away quickly. “Fuck you,
asshole.”

Rance laughed louder. “Hit a nerve, huh?”

“I’ll see you later at the arena.”

“Have fun with the new wifey.”

He left, somehow feeling dirtier about
knowing what Stormie was worth than about Rance’s crude comments.
“Oh hell.” His comments weren’t any dirtier than the things they
usually said to one another, and to hundreds of other cowboys, but
having Stormie mentioned, brought it all home to his heart.

And that damn near scared a year off his
life.

****

Jayden opened his eyes as Stormie answered
her phone. “Hello.”

Spooned behind her in the heart-shaped bed,
he could have stayed under the covers for a couple more days. She’d
woken when he’d come back into the room with their suitcases, and
they’d spent three wild hours learning each other’s bodies, finding
new positions to make love in, and creating more orgasms than he’d
ever had with—or given to—any woman.

“Okay, sure.” She smiled at him. With her
hair messy, and her eyes half-asleep, she was one sexy temptation.
“We’ll be there in a half hour.”

Jayden shook his head and pointed at the tent
his penis was making in the sheet.

She laughed. “Okay, I’ll call when we’re in
the casino.” She hung up, set down her phone, and rolled on top of
him.

He had to protect himself with his hands to
keep the jewels safe. When he remembered that she knew very little
about sharing a bed with a man, it put a smile on his face. It’d be
his pleasure to teach her. Everything.

“Our check is ready.”

He pulled her close for a quick kiss. “What
time is it?”

“Noon.” She grinned. “Happy St. Patrick’s
Day, hubby.”

“Ah, and top o’ the…afternoon to ya too, me
darlin’ wife.” His Irish accent was horrible, but he’d made her
smile. “Better get going?”

“Aye, that we do.” Her accent was a sight
better. When she snuck her hand under the sheet and softly stroked
him, he forgot all about what day it was. “But we still have to
shower.” She bit her lip.

He smacked her bare behind. “Get the water
running, I’ll find a condom.”

An hour later, Stormie had her check, they’d
grabbed a quick sandwich on their way out of the casino, and were
seated at the desk of a bank vice-president.

The woman typed in Stormie’s account
information. “You want to deposit three hundred sixty two thousand,
nine hundred and eighty one dollars.”

“Correct.” Stormie looked at him, her eyes
gleaming with excitement.

“And you want a certified check for one
hundred eighty one thousand, four hundred ninety dollars…”

“And fifty cents.” She held back a smile.

The bank VP smiled at her. “And fifty cents.
Made out to Jayden Hancock.”

“Yes, please.” She wiggled in her chair.

“Now, I see this is a casino check.” The VP
looked at both of them. “Have you discussed the tax
implications?”

Jayden felt odd letting Stormie handle the
taxes, but she promised that by her taking all the money, she’d get
her family tax accountant to get them the least burden possible.
Then she’d let Jayden know the amount, and he’d pay her for his
half of the taxes.

“We have.” She nodded, no longer the giddy
girl, but a confident businesswoman. “We’ve worked it out.”

“All right, that’s good.” The VP typed at her
computer again. “Normally we ask for twenty-four hours to release
funds, but I see you have enough in your account to cover the
amount, so…” She stood. “I’ll be right back with a check.”

Oh man, she had almost two hundred thousand
in the bank?

Stormie fidgeted on the bank VP’s guest chair
and looked at Jayden with an embarrassed smirk on her face. “My
parents insist on paying me a salary.” She shrugged. “I live with
them, they pay for my school and my expenses.” She looked away.

“That’s great, cutie.” He took her hand. He
didn’t want her to feel bad about being rich. Or potentially
mega-rich in the future. “Your parents sound like great
people.”

Her gaze shot to his. Her eyes looked wet.
“And I’ve lied to them and done things…”

He leaned close. “You did what you needed to
do to start your life.” He kissed her knuckles. “You’ll make it
right…no,
we’ll
make it right.” He nodded once. “I
promise.”

She seemed to deflate. “You’re making
everything too easy for me.” She sniffed and blinked. “Too
perfect.”

“I have to.” He made his tone gruff. “’Cause
we’re married.”

She burst out in giggles and covered her
mouth with her hand.

He chuckled and pulled her close and planted
a kiss on her temple. “We’re in this together. We’re gonna give it
one hundred percent, right?”

Stormie looked at him as if he’d grown a
halo. “Right.”

“What about your car?”

“Huh?” She looked confused by the change of
subject.

“You mentioned your parents paid for your
school and your expenses.” He rattled her keys in his hand. She’d
let him drive her sexy red car. Talk about trust.

Her smile was naughty. “I took out a loan for
it when I got my two-year degree.” She shook her head. “They were
not happy.”

He lifted his brows. “You have your degree?
Didn’t you say you’re still in school?”

“I decided to keep going, finish the
bachelor’s program.” She sat back and stared off into space. “I’ve
got a lot of practical experience from working the ranch, but I
wanted more in-depth training in a few areas.” She leaned toward
him. “Plus, it gets me out of the house a couple days a week.”

He nodded and leaned in for a kiss. “I hear
ya. But how did you pick that wild car?”

“I was tired of driving a ranch truck into
school. I asked Kira what the exact opposite of a four-wheel-drive,
extended cab, heavy duty pickup truck with dual tires in the back
was.”

He laughed. “You and Kira are quite a
team.”

“We don’t see much of each other anymore. I
miss her.” She sighed.

He opened his mouth to make a comment about
seeing Kira when Stormie visited him at the rodeo school, but
snapped his jaw shut. It was a silent agreement between him and
Stormie to focus on one minute at a time, and not make plans for
the future. He was okay with that. For now.

The VP came back and sat, had Stormie sign a
few things, then shook their hands and wished them luck as she
handed over the check.

They exited the bank to a sunny, warm day.
“To your bank?” She visored her hand over her eyes to look at
him.

He nodded. He sure as hell didn’t want her to
see his bank balance, though. There wasn’t even a comma in the
number. “We’re drive-through kind of people.” In minutes, they
pulled up to the window outside his bank’s Las Vegas branch, and he
put nearly two hundred thousand dollars into his account. He was
warned that it might take twenty-four hours for the funds to become
available. He thanked the teller and folded the receipt into a
small rectangle and stored it in a hidden pocket in his wallet.

“What now?” He pulled out of the
drive-through and stopped.

She pointed to the casino tower that
dominated the landscape. “Up?”

He looked through the sunroof. “Up it
is.”

After seeing the town from a cloud’s eye
view, they drove downtown and found green beer, corned beef and
cabbage, and a goofy headband for her with two shamrocks on
springs.

They picked up a brochure about Red Rock
Canyon, and jumped in the car, heading west and uphill until they
came to the park. They drove half the loop and found an overlook
where they could see for miles. They sat on the hood of her car and
watched birds soar overhead. Two wild burrows trotted across a
corner of the landscape. The scenery and rock formations were a
relief from the noise and lights of the city.

Stormie jumped when a roadrunner raced up to
her, stopped, and turned around. “He didn’t say, ‘meep-meep’, but
he scared the tar out of me.”

He laughed and pulled her tight against him.
“I’ll protect you, wife.”

She was still breathing fast from being
startled. “I trust you with my life, husband.”

His heart flooded with a combination of
warmth and nervousness, and his breath caught as he looked at her.
She was one of a kind. Amazing. His.

He stood and pulled out the ring box, keeping
it hidden in his palm.

“Jayden?” Her brows lowered over her
eyes.

“This reminded me of your beautiful eyes.” He
swallowed his pride. “It’s all I can afford right now, but once
things settle…I mean, the money and...” Damn, he was making a mess
of this. He got down on one knee.

She squeaked and her eyes popped wide.

“Thank you for becoming my wife.” Now he had
to swallow his emotions, too. “Thank you for agreeing to remain as
my wife.” He opened the ring box.

She took a fast breath, her eyes misted, and
her lips quivered.

In the bright sun, the ring shone gold, the
stone looked surprisingly bright, and he prayed that he’d gotten
the size right. “Will you wear my ring?”

A tear escaped her eye as she nodded. “I’d be
proud to.”

He removed the ring from the box and took her
left hand. “We seem to be doing things backward, but after this,
it’s all going straight ahead for us.”

“You and your way with words, cowboy.” Her
voice shook and she sniffled a couple times.

He slid the ring on her finger. It was a
little too big, but better than being too small.

She held up her hand and looked at it. Her
eyes sparkled a green that no jewel could match.

He stood and held out his hand to her.

“I love it. Thank you.” She leapt into his
arms and they held each other for a long time, then talked for
hours that seemed like minutes flying by.

****

Back in their suite, Stormie watched Jayden
strip out of his clothes and toss them on the chair. He’d already
pulled his lucky green shirt, jeans, clean underwear and socks out
of his bag and laid them on the bed.

“I will have a strong grip on the rigging.”
He walked into the bathroom, repeating the guided visualization
meditation they’d come up with for him.

Stormie smiled and her whole body tingled.
This was love. Joyful, happily ever after. How had she found the
perfect man for her?

He continued talking as he stepped into the
shower. His voice gargled as he washed his face.

“So cute.” Her cowboy was the sexiest,
funniest—she looked at her ring—most romantic man on earth.

At Red Rock, they’d talked about everything.
His rodeo school, her business, his career, her school. Everything
but the future, and that was a good thing. It was too scary to
think of what would happen tomorrow.

She picked up his shirt and folded it,
setting it on the dresser. She felt so…domestic. Watching her ring,
she waved her hand around. It wasn’t expensive, but the thought and
care he’d put into choosing it was worth millions.

“I will stay on the nag for eight seconds.”
Jayden spoke the words loud and strong.

He would need his touchstone at the rodeo.
She picked up his jeans and felt in his front pocket for the die
she’d bought him. She pulled out the cube and set it on the bed
next to his jeans. Shrugging, she felt in his other pockets. May as
well set everything out for him. She pulled his phone from one back
pocket, then his wallet from the other pocket.

A slip of paper fell to the floor.

She picked it up and turned to set it by his
jeans.
Thompson Fam.
Something about her?

The water still ran in the shower and Jayden
mumbled his affirmation.

Unfolding the paper, she read, “Thompson
Family Horse Breeders. Two hundred forty-seven M.” What did that
mean? Her knees jittered and she sat on the point of the
heart-shaped bed. That was close to what her family’s business was
worth. Why would Jayden have this information?

The water stopped and the shower door
opened.

Her money. Oklahoma wasn’t a community
property state. But Nevada was. A sharp pain hit her square in the
chest. Was that what this marriage was about? Did he want half of
her inheritance? She stuffed the paper in her pocket as he walked
out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped low on his hips, the curly
hair peeking above the towel shining golden in the light.