The Trouble With Love (43 page)

She stood beside Cole and answered the preacher's questions and promised to love the wonderful man beside her for the rest of her life.  When the preacher introduced them to the guests as "Mr. and Mrs. Cole Jackson," tears started rolling down her cheeks.  Cole used his thumb to wipe them away then bent her over his arm and dipped her for a kiss that almost set the soles of her boots on fire.  The crowd erupted in applause when he finally brought her back up and put his hand around her waist
grinning from ear to ear.

Two hours later,
after
Cassie's tear-jerking, and
Luke
's ribald payback toast had been made
to the bride and groom
, the party was in full swing. 
Food was going quick, and t
he country singer, Jess Sparks, that Cassie had hired from
Dallas
was spectacular.  Her smoky voice was perfect for the cover songs that Cassie had picked out to keep people on the dance floor. 

The tall blonde was gathering plenty of male attention too
, Sabrina noticed
.  There was a line of cowboys near the stage staring up at her with rapt attention, while they sipped their beer
s
.
 
Sabrina
noticed
Wade
, who was
leaning against a post, with a beer i
n his hand
, was
staring at her too.  She was tempted to go over and talk to him, but she was afraid...more drama was not something she could stomach right now.  They were having fun, and she was dancing with her handsome
new
husband.

Wade glanced over at her and studied her for a second then he pushed off the post, finished his beer and threw the bottle into the trash.  When he started walking toward the dance floor, she groaned.
  But he finally smiled at her and she relaxed in Cole's arms again, moving with him a
round the floor in a two-step.

Cole evidently felt her tense up and spun her to
dance
in the opposite direction, so he could see what had caused it.  She felt him tense up, then his feet stopped moving and his hands fell from her sides.
  Wade walked up to them and said, "Congratulations...can I have a dance with the bride?"

There wasn't any smugness in his tone, or aggression in his stance, so evidently Cole  felt Wade wasn't there to cause trouble.  Cole's lips were pinched and his fists clenched, but he nodded holding Wade's gaze with
a
warning, before he walked off and sat down at a table on the edge of the dance floor.

Wade
took her hand
and
put his other at her waist then
swung her
onto the dance floor, into a two-step. He leaned close to her ear and said,
"I'm sorry for the way I acted a
t the arena, Bri,"
his voice sh
aking
over the words.

"I know it was a shock, Wade...I'm sorry
I
surprised you like that...and at work too.  I should have picked a better time."

"There wouldn't have been a good time, sugar..."

Her step faltered and a knot pushed up into her throat, and she nodded trying to hold back the sadness that filled her.  "I'm sorry you feel that way..."

Wade looked down at her and gave her a rueful smile
, then told her,
"That's not what I meant
, darlin'. 
I'm fine with it now.
..
I was shocked
at first
, but you're right
, y
ou deserve to be happy
," he stopped moving and pulled her to the corner of the floor and looked deeply into her eyes and told her, "
I love you, Bri...as much as I loved my brother. 
Kenny died a happy man...because of you.
  You deserve that same happiness
,
and if that cowboy
does that for you.
..
.
"

Sabrina swallowed hard and told him, "He does, Wade...I
love him
."
  Wade nodded then pulled her to him for a hug, then leaned down and kissed her cheek.  She put her hand to his cheek and said, "Thanks for understanding...I don't want to lose you in my life," then she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Suddenly she was pulled back and Cole was standing between them. "Get your fucking hands off of my wife," he growled and put a finger in Wade's chest.
 

Wade pushed his finger off his chest then laughed loudly,
and
said
with a wink
, "Be seeing you, sugar," before he turned and walked away
with a smile on his face
.

Sabrina turned to Cole with her hands on her hips.  "That was totally out of line, Cole
Jackson
...he was just telling me he was sorry for acting
like
an ass at the arena...much more than you've done."

Cole's eyebrows raised and he took a step back then raised his hands, "From over there," he pointed to the table where he'd been sitting, "It sure looked like he was putting the moves on you."

Sabrina leaned close to his chest and hissed,
"That's because you're a jealous
alpha
caveman
.
"

"This love thing seems like a lot of trouble sometimes, sugar...
" Cole snorted and shook his head, "
I can't seem to get it right."

"Well you've got fifty or sixty years to figure it out, darlin',
there's no rush.
" she told him then
tiptoed to
press a kiss to his lips.  Flattening her palm against his chest, she looked up and told him,
"Some of your caveman tendencies I appreciate...like that time at the lake house
.
"

With a growl, he pulled her against his chest
,
his eyes glittered dangerously
as he asked her
in a low gravelly voice
, "You feeling a little naughty, sugar?"

Sabrina
nodded and
Cole
pulled her into a heated kiss
that curled her toes, right before his hand came down across her ass and she squealed. 
Her face flushed as people looked over at them, but she didn't care, he was
her
alpha
caveman and she loved
him
.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Becky McGraw is a married mother of three adult children, and a Southern girl by birth and the grace of God, ya'll. One of several career changes transplanted Becky and her family to
Indiana
, where she now lives with her husband and dog Abby.

A jack of many trades in her life, Becky has been an optician, a beautician, a legal secretary, a senior project manager for an aviation management consulting firm, which took her all over the
United States
, a real estate broker, and now a graphic artist, web designer and writer. 

She knows just enough about a variety of topics to make her dangerous, and her romance novels interesting and varied.  Being a graphic artist is a good thing for her too, because she creates her own cover art, along with writing the novels.

Becky has been an avid reader of romance novels since she was a teenager, and has been known to read up to four novels of that genre a week, much to the dismay of her husband, and the delight of e-book sellers.

She has been writing fictional short stories and novels for fun, as well as technical copy for her jobs for many years.  She was a member of the Writer's Guild on AOL during her last venture into writing romance, as well as a founding member and treasurer of the first online chapter of the Romance Writers of America, From the Heart Romance Writers.

With the advancement of online publishing opportunities, Becky has started writing again as voraciously as she reads. 
Be looking for the third installment in the Texas Trouble Series coming soon, DOUBLE THE TROUBLE, Gabe and Karlie's story.

THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE is the second
book
in
the
Texas Trouble
series
by Becky McGraw.  Please check out the first book in the series MY KIND OF TROUBLE, Cassie and Luke's story
.  Re
ad on for an excerpt
.

MY KIND OF TROUBLE
(
Texas
Trouble #1)

by Becky McGraw, Copyright @
June 17, 2012

Available through
amazon.com

Cassie Bellamy thought she'd left
Bowie
,
Texas
and Luke Matthews behind for good.  She'd been gone for ten years and in that time had built a successful real estate business, had a new fiancé, and had all but forgotten about the
Texas
bad boy who'd sent her running to
Phoenix
in the first place.

She wouldn't be going back now, but her daddy needed her at the Double B.

Driving her old pickup truck "Bessie" back to
Bowie
had seemed like a good idea when she'd left
Phoenix
, but it didn't seem so good when she was broken down on the side of the road in ninety plus
Texas
weather in between
Bowie
and her daddy's farm.  And it seemed an even worse idea when her knight in brown khaki turned out to be none other than the bad  boy himself, a Sheriff now, and still as hot as the
Texas
sun.

Cassie does her best to ignore Luke and remember her fiancé back in
Phoenix
, but Luke seems determined to make her remember his kisses and their nights of stargazing by the lake instead.  And she definitely still has stars in her eyes when she looks at the delectable Sheriff.

Luke Matthews had worked damned hard to change the way people thought of him.  He wasn't know as the bad boy son of the town's drunk anymore, they called him Sheriff now.  For ten years, Luke had been living on the right side of the law, and had forgotten about Cassie Bellamy, the woman who'd left him dangling on a limb ten years ago. 

All that changes when he plays good Samaritan and stops to rescue a woman stranded on the side of the road.  He finds out the fine behind and illegally long legs sticking out from under the hood of the beat up old truck belong to Cassie Bellamy.  She was back in
Bowie
and just as sassy and stubborn as always...looking better than ever.

Luke is determined to get answers as to why she left like she did, and she's just as determined to keep him at arm's length.  Taking the choice away from her, Luke takes a vacation from his job, and hires on at the Double B as a ranch hand to help out while her daddy's down.  The heat and the close proximity work in his favor and soon Luke has her cornered like a stray calf...but what was he going to do with her now? 

He had a few ideas, and all of them involved a king-sized bed and his lasso.  She might be trouble, but Cassie Bellamy had always been his kind of trouble...and if it took hog-tying to get her to believe that, he was definitely game.