Page 37 of Soldier Cowboy
“Good to be here.”
“Just so you know, Riggs is the happiest I’ve seen him since little Mary was born.”
“Yeah?”
“You coming home engaged, well, let’s just say that put to rest some of his biggest fears.”
“Whatfears?”
“In Riggs’s mind, anyway, you’re more likely to stick around with a wife and later, children. You know, a family.”
“Pretty 1950s of him.”
Sean snorted. “Well, you know Riggs. He’s old-fashioned and it works for him in this town.”
“Yeah, shocking he’s with Winona of all women.”
“You’d be surprised by how much they have in common.”
“Well, I’m glad he finally believes I’ll stay. But I don’t think I needed a wife to do it.” Colton grunted.
“A partner just centers a man. Grounds him. And I know you’ve had a tough time sitting still.”
“That was then.”
“Regardless, I was worried about you, and I wasn’t the only one. You didn’t come home, and I occasionally wondered if you ever would again. At first, Riggs thought it was because ofher…and well, you know.”
Her.
Everybody in town thought he’d taken that abandonment a lot harder than he had. When Cherisse left him, he’d been pissed, but not for long. He was far angrier with someone else.
“And when I take a good look at our lopsided town…actually, I figured you were coming home for the wedding, only to leave again. But hell, when you came home with Jennifer, I knew you’d be just fine.”
“I’ve put in my time and the rest of my life is going to be this ranch. This family.”
“That’s good to know.” Sean cocked his head, a smile quirking his mouth. “And you don’t think you’ll ever feel stir-crazy again? Like you need to see the world? Or at least another part of Texas?”
“Not going to rule out another part of Texas. You know I love Galveston, but I’ve seen the world. Or enough of it.”
Sean clapped Colton’s back. “It will be good to have you around because that means I get to leave now and then without worrying. You’re looking at an international traveler. We’re home most of the year, but Bonnie Lee and I go to Canada when her series films. It’s only a few weeks. At the moment, they’re talking about bringing another season of the show with filming sometime next year.”
“What do you do there while she works?”
“A lot of smooth talking. Last time I was there I made all those rich actors put their money where their mouth is. Plenty of donations to my wild horse foundation.”
“Canada.” Colton chuckled. “Only Bonnie Lee could get you off the ranch.”
“Yep, I’ve loved that girl since I was a teenager.”
“Not all of us can wind up with our first love. Speaking of love, when I took Jennifer dress shopping in Kerrville, we ran into some of your exes.”
“Exes?” Sean quirked a brow. “Who?”
“Tabitha, Angela, and Jessica. The triple threat.”
“Ah, yes. I guess they are technically my exes because we ‘dated’ on the show.” He held up air quotes. “Didn’t so much as kiss one of them.”
“Bonnie is okay with them coming to the wedding?”
