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Zack heard the laugh first—a high-pitched, nervous thing that cut through the rest of the noise of the party. Still nodding to Dr. Woleck, the head of the science department at Chadron State College, Zack turned until he found his wife.
Even thinking it made him smile.
Yup, there Sam was—in a small knot of women, none of whom she knew except for Celine. Celine had her by the hand, forcibly showing off the engraved band that was Sam’s engagement and wedding ring all rolled into one. Even at this distance, Zack could see the white-knuckle grip Sam had on her longneck with her other hand.
She met his gaze, her eyes pleading with him to save her from a fate worse than death—small talk.
She was hating this. But she was doing it for him.
“If you’ll excuse me,” he said to Dr. Woleck as he and a few of the ranchers laughed at an off-color joke that involved homemade beer.
“Of course, Dr. Baker. Don’t want to be too far from that pretty wife of yours, I imagine.” The other professors from the college laughed in good humor, but Zack noted with an inward smile that Dale Hachette was suddenly very interested in his boot tips.
Zack picked his way through the crowd, for that’s what it was—a crowd. Nearly a hundred people were milling around the lawn on this warm spring day, filling up plates from all the food set out on plywood sheets on top of sawhorses, or waiting for their turn for horsey rides.
Zack would have liked to step back and observe all the guests a little more. Granny was holding court under a tree, laughing big with a group of Lakota women and older ranchers’ wives. Women who’d worked at the Lost Cause Ranch were showing their families around. Andy was demonstrating the new hay baler to a lot of the younger men. The sheriff of the White Sandy reservation, an intense man named Tim Means, had come by with his wife. Zack had discovered a few months back that, in addition to taking in lost causes, Sam would also shelter girls and young women who needed a safe place to hide for a few days or weeks.
Those kids didn’t have to punch cattle but they did have to help Granny with the cooking and the dishes.
The sheriff was keeping his eye on Lindy. But the girl was giving kids rides on Taylor, slowly leading them up and down the drive. She smiled at the kids and, as far as Zack could tell, hadn’t tried to pocket a single thing that didn’t belong to her. This was her biggest test in the two months since she’d come back to the ranch and he hoped, for her sake, she could make it through the day.
Zack didn’t get much of a chance to see how the women of the Lost Cause Ranch interacted with outsiders. The details were fascinating
Someone was missing. It took Zack a moment to locate Heaven. He was surprised to find her standing at the edge of the drive, her eyes fastened down the road. Zack looked around. Everyone was here, he was sure. Who was she waiting for?
He didn’t have time to worry about Heaven right now. Sam giggled again. It sounded like someone was stepping on a rabbit. He broke through the knot of women that held Sam prisoner and kissed her on the cheek. “How you doing, babe?” he whispered, ignoring the hushed giggling.
“Fine,” she lied, grabbing his hand and making it plenty clear that she wasn’t going to let go any time soon.
“Almost done. Celine,” he said, speaking in a normal voice, “when should we cut the cakes?”
Sam let out a small groan while the rest of the women—college friends, professors, wives, and girlfriends—began to almost hum at the promise of dessert.
Celine—who’d apparently missed her calling as a party planner—enlisted some helpers to bring out the cakes. Texas sheet cake for his graduation cake, and a heart-shaped red velvet one for the wedding cake. Sam had refused to consider anything frilly like a traditional, tiered wedding cake. Actually, Zack had been surprised she’d agreed to the heart shape.
Everyone crowded around as they cut their cakes. A round sigh of disappointment followed when Zack and Sam politely—but emphatically—declined to shove cake up each other’s noses.
“This isn’t so bad,” Sam whispered as everyone settled onto the benches to chow down. “But promise you’ll stay with me for the rest of the time, okay?”
Zack kissed her knuckles as he looked over the collection of friends, colleagues, and neighbors who had come to celebrate his Ph.D. and their wedding. One big family, he thought.
Cake in one hand, she headed over to where Celine had reserved two spots for them on the bench in the middle of the rows of tables.
Hand in hand, Zack went with her.
He was staying. For good.
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Thank you so much for reading The Wannabe Cowboy! I hope you enjoyed it!
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Read on for excerpts from The Men of the White Sandy series!
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