Belt Buckles and Spurs Read online

  Belt Buckles and Spurs

  A cowboy romance

  Gigi Thorne

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Who is Gigi

  Also by Gigi

  Belt Buckles and Spurs (A Cowboy Romance)

  Gigi Thorne

  Copyright © Gigi Thorne

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.

  Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

  Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Design

  Editor: K. Alexander

  First Edition

  Belt Buckles and Spurs

  A Cowboy Romance

  Toby

  I’d known Nora Jackson since we were both rowdy toddlers running through the sprinklers at my granddaddy’s farm. But as we got older, when my feelings for her changed, I realized something. She was mine.

  Nora was full of sass and had a stubborn streak, but there was nothing that turned me on more.

  She’s all woman now, innocent and beautiful, and sweet like the candy apples they sell at the fair every summer. And my mouth waters every time I see her. She may be my childhood friend, but it’s time I tell her how much she means to me.

  It’s time I show Nora that we were meant to be together from day one.

  Nora

  Toby Maxwell wasn’t just my friend, he was the man I’d fallen hopelessly in love with. With a big belt buckle, polished cowboy boots, and silver spurs, I’d known him my whole life and had loved him just as long.

  As an adult now I understand that holding back how I felt was foolish. Life is too short to worry about the what ifs.

  Time to cross the line and tell Toby how I really felt.

  Note: This one is for all the safety readers out there! Hope you’re ready for a dual virgin, friends-to-lovers, sugary sweet read! Don’t let the fact it’s a short story deter you … this one will check off all your hopeless romantic boxes!

  1

  Toby

  The sweat ran from my temples, the sun beating down on me. I reached for another bale of hay, tossing it in the back of the truck before moving on to the next one. There were five other guys working the fields with me, one of them Nora’s father, a man I looked up to and had for nearly my entire life. He was like another dad to me. Maybe that’s why I was slightly afraid to be honest about how I felt about his daughter.

  Nora Richards.

  The one girl who made my heart race.

  The only person who I ever saw myself with.

  The woman I’d saved my virginity for.

  And she didn’t even know how I felt. We were in the friend zone, had been since we were both five years old. When we were kids I was a little ass, teasing her, pulling her pigtails, and chasing her around the farm. Our families had been close for decades. At first I hadn’t known what my feelings were.

  “Lunch,” one of the guys hollered out. We all headed over to one of the large shaded trees right off the property. I sat down, leaned against the trunk, and started eating the ham and cheese sandwich. One of the guys handed me a bottle of water. Taking off my cowboy hat, I grabbed a rag from the back of my jeans pocket and wiped the sweat from my face. I ate in silence, a nice breeze kicking up and cooling me.

  And as I sat there eating I thought about Nora again. I always thought about her, day in and day out. Nora was the first thing that crossed my mind when I woke up, and she was the last thing I thought about before I went to bed. Shit, at twenty-two I should have been old enough and had the balls to just tell Nora how I felt. I should have done that long ago. But fear of ruining our friendship kept me back. I’d kept my emotions in check, hidden them until they were all but eating me up inside.

  I couldn’t do it anymore. I wouldn’t.

  The realization that my life wasn’t complete without Nora in it, without her being by my side … without me telling her how much I loved her, was not something I’d hide any longer.

  Tonight I’d tell her how I felt, and if that meant I might lose our friendship that was a risk I had to take.

  Because she had to know how utterly, unconditionally, and irrevocably in love I was with her.

  Nora

  I rang up the feed for Mr. Hendrix, told him his total, and closed out the sale.

  Working in the small town of Stonybirch had its appeals, but then again the fact was, the only real job I’d ever find here was working at the feed store.

  Going to college out of town wasn’t really an option, not when my mama was sick and my daddy had to work day in and day out in the fields to make sure the house and bills were paid off. I worried about what the future held, how my mama would be, if the cancer would finally go in remission and she’d be her lively, happy self again.

  I hated seeing her so sick, so weak as she sat on the sun porch and knitted. It was one of the only things she could do anymore, the only pleasure she still had.

  And if it hadn’t been for Toby being in my life, helping my father out when he’d stay late in the fields, or pick up extra work to pay for the chemo and radiation treatments, I think I would have been utterly lost.

  I loved him with everything in me, the boy I’d played with as a child, the teenager who had taken me to prom because he’d threatened any other guy if they asked me. Now that he was a man and I was a woman, my feelings were no longer on the friendly side.

  I was in love with him, had been for years. But I hadn’t wanted to cross lines, hadn’t wanted to ruin one of the most important relationships in my life. The very thought of not having Toby there, not being able to talk to him, see him every day, had my anxiety climbing so high I felt sick from it.

  “You have a good day,” I said to Mr. Hendrix and waved as he headed out of the store. Leaning against the counter, I watched the townspeople walk by. The town center was pretty busy most mornings, mainly with wives and the older generation shopping.

  This was a farming town, with the men working from sunup to sundown in the fields, tending to the animals, or working on the machinery. It’s how it had always been, with the wives mainly tending to the house and whatnot. Maybe old school, but everyone was still equal. I’d seen it firsthand in my own home. My father worked the fields for years, still did, and while he did that my mother took care of the house, the surrounding property, and made sure I was taken care of.

  But now those roles were reversed with her being ill. And I was more than happy to pick up the slack, to allow her to try and heal, to rest her body as she fought that fucking cancer.

  I thought about all the shit that she’d been through, how she was a fighter, how I wanted her here with us always. I pushed myself off the counter and steadied my emotions. I wasn’t going to break down while I worked. I’d finish off my shift, go to the grocery store, then head home and spend time with her. I’d wait for my father and the crew to come back … for Toby to return and then we’d all eat together, one big family.

  I knew that I couldn’t hide my feelings for much longer. I knew for my own sanity, because life was so short, so precious, that I had to be honest with Toby. I had to be honest with mys
elf, as well.

  2

  Nora

  I sat on the porch and stared out at the guys who were heading back from working in the field all day. Glasses of ice-cold lemonade were waiting for them on the banister, the ice already melting from the hot July sun. I could see my father driving up the dirt road in his beat-up pickup truck, Gloria he called it. Dirt from the road trailed behind the vehicle.

  The other guys were already making their way over to me, their laughter getting louder the closer they got. I sat in the rocking chair, my toes brushing against the wooden porch. The light creaking of the chair legs rolling back and forth was almost hypnotic.

  “Evenin’, Nora,” each one said as they got to the porch, grabbed a glass, and headed inside.

  I smiled at each one, the workers more like family than employees of my father.

  I searched him out, the one person who meant so much to me I could cry.

  Toby.

  My best friend.

  The boy who I loved so much my heart actually ached.

  The one person who I wanted in my life as more than a friend.

  One by one the guys climbed the porch steps and made their way inside. But Toby hung back, his cowboy hat on his head, his sun-kissed skin looking so good against his bright blue eyes. He leaned against the banister and smiled, a rag in his hand as he wiped the sweat off his face and neck. I shouldn’t be checking him out but it was so damn hard not to. The white shirt he wore was wet from perspiration, his muscles straining against the thin material.

  He was cut, ripped in all the right places, and every feminine part of me came alive.

  “How’s your mom doing today?”

  At the mention of my mom I sobered. “Same. She’s on the back porch resting since that part of the house gets the most sun and she could use the vitamin D. She likes the view back there better anyway. You can see the pond and watch the geese fly overhead.”

  Sympathy covered his face and he pushed off the banister and made his way over, sitting in the empty rocking chair beside me. For long seconds he didn’t say anything. We both watched my dad tinker with his truck, the air thick, which had nothing to do with the heat.

  “I don’t know why you’ve stayed around as long as you have. I mean I’ve got so much shit on my plate it’s got to weigh you down.”

  He reached out and covered his palm over the back of my hand, his strength warming me. “Get used to me being here, princess. There’s no way I’m leaving you. You’re mine.”

  I didn’t take too much stock in the fact he said I was his. In a way I was, as friends, always had been. But he didn’t know what hearing those words did to me. Toby didn’t know that they gave me life.

  He didn’t have to say anything to give me his strength. Having him close, knowing he was near was good enough. I looked over at him and smiled. He’d taken off his cowboy hat right before he sat down, his short, dark hair messy around his head from working in the field all day.

  “I wish I could make things better,” he said softly, giving my hand a squeeze.

  I looked down at where our fingers were conjoined. His skin was tanned, his fingers rough from hard, manual labor. He was a man through and through. He was all mine.

  My throat tightened up, my tongue swelling. I wanted to tell him right then how much I loved him, how this was so much more than being childhood friends.

  I opened my mouth, the words right there, my heart fluttering.

  “Hey, darlin’.”

  My father’s voice came through, stealing the words that had been right at the tip of my tongue.

  I straightened and smiled at him as he made his way up to the porch. He grinned and tipped his chin in Toby’s direction.

  “Good work out there in the fields today.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Toby responded and smiled.

  My father headed inside and I stood. We both went inside, the table already set, the food staying warm in the oven. Toby gave my hand a squeeze before letting go and veering off to the left, as I kept moving forward.

  I pushed open the door to the sunroom and saw my mom sitting in the chair, her feet propped up on the ottoman and a blanket covering her legs. She had her head resting back on the chair, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face as the setting sun streamed down over her.

  “Mama.”

  She opened her eyes and turned her head towards me, that smile still in place.

  “Yeah, baby girl?” She held her hand out to me and I walked over, slipping my fingers between hers and sinking to my knees beside her.

  I rested my head on her lap and closed my eyes as she ran her fingers through my hair. For moments neither of us said anything, just a gentle motion of her stroking her hand down my head, relaxing, making me wish this moment would last forever.

  “Toby here?” My mother’s voice was soft and sweet.

  “Mm-hmm,” I replied softly but kept my eyes closed.

  “When are you going to tell him?” she asked and I sat up and looked up at her, her hand falling away from my hair. She still had that smile on her face, one that was knowing. I could never keep anything from my mother, even if I never said the words.

  “Sweetheart, I’d have to be blind not to know how you feel for him.” She lifted her hand and stroked my cheek. I leaned into her touch. “And you’d have to be blind not to see the way he looks at you.” I felt my heart start to beat faster at that latter part.

  She must’ve seen my shock because she tipped her head to the side slightly. “Honey, you really have no idea how he looks at you?”

  I shook my head.

  “He looks at you like a man who sees his entire world, his future, but is too afraid to say anything. He looks at you like a man who’s so in love he’d do anything to make you smile, even if that’s the only thing you ever gave him.”

  “I want to tell him how I feel, that I’m in love with him.” The words fell from my mouth seamlessly. This was my mother and I wanted her to know everything, wanted her to be the first person I told this to.

  She smiled again and ran her thumb along my cheekbone. Her touch brought back memories of my childhood, when she tucked me in and stroked my cheek as she sang a lullaby.

  “Then you should tell him how you feel, sweetheart. Life is far too short for you not to be happy.”

  I knew she was right. I knew I had to tell Toby how I felt. What’s the worst that could happen? He told me he just wanted to stay friends?

  But my mother’s words rang in my ear. How could she see that he was in love with me, how she could see a lot of things that I was clearly blind to?

  Either way, I had to tell the truth.

  3

  Toby

  Several days later

  I don’t think I had ever been this nervous before in my life, but as I looked over at Nora all I could think about was everything that could go wrong tonight. I’d asked her to go to a movie with me, a late night showing of an old picture from the twenties. We did many things together, dinner, drinks, hell, just walking around town. So me asking her out tonight wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

  “I’ve been dying to see this movie,” she said and looked over at me. I smiled, my nerves taking over.

  Shit, I had to keep my cool, make it at least seem like I had my shit together.

  Tonight was different though. This wasn’t just two friends hanging out.

  This was so much more.

  I bought the movie tickets and we headed inside. At the concession stand I looked over at her, listening to her tell the guy on the other side of the counter what she wanted. It was always the same.

  Large popcorn to share.

  Two medium drinks.

  One box of gummy worms.

  I smiled as she repeated that exact order. She glanced over at me and grinned, this little dimple popping out on her cheek, making my heart race.

  I gave the guy the money, carried one of the drinks and the tub of popcorn, and together we made our way toward the th
eater. Once seated in the back row I started bouncing my leg, my nerves fierce. I knew what I wanted to do tonight and that was tell Nora how I felt. I was done waiting, holding off. What was the point?

  I’d waited long enough.

  I kept shifting on my seat, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed she glanced at me.

  “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

  I nodded, not sure I’d be able to sit through an entire move when what I wanted to tell her ate at me. Hell, I was so damn nervous I couldn’t even tell her I was fine, not able to form a coherent word.

  She reached out and grabbed my hand, and although we’d held hands on many occasions, this particular time was different for me.

  This time I held her hand with the hope that when I told her the truth she’d feel the same way for me as I did for her.

  The movie started and the lights dimmed. I tried to focus, but the feel of her small, feminine hand in mine, the way I was sweating, the fact tonight could very well make or break us, scared the shit out of me.

  The hour and a half passed far too slowly, but then again maybe I had hoped it would have taken forever. At least then I’d be able to stall, thinking of how exactly to word what I’d say tonight.

  The lights went on and the few people who’d been in the theater left, leaving Nora and me alone.

  “Toby, what’s up?” She took her hand from mine and shifted on the seat, staring right at me. I could have waited to do this back in the truck, maybe when I dropped her off, but hell, looks like I would do it now.