Fort Worth, Texas

The talent portion of the contest came next. Each contestant had five minutes to show off their chosen creative skill and most chose to sing, dance or play an instrument. Sue Ellen had always sung in pageants, she felt more confident in singing than dancing. Unless she was dancing with a partner or in a group then she didn't dance, that's why cheerleading appealed, she was part of a collective, no one noticed the individuals involved, just the group as a whole.

Patricia had selected three songs for Sue Ellen to choose from and she had picked 'People' by Barbra Streisand. As she walked on stage, she noticed the handsome judge sit up a little straighter and catching his eye just for a second, she felt her heart skip a beat.

There was something about the man; she wanted his attention and thought perhaps she needed to go a little further to make herself stand out, little did she know she was the only girl he had taken any real notice of all night.

The final event of the night was the evening gown competition.

"Here is Miss Fort Worth, Tracy Grant. Tracy is 22 years old, 5-feet-8-inches tall with blond hair, a senior at Texas Christian University. Lovely, just lovely."

The pageant host gave a small synopsis of each contestant as they stepped forward, twirled to show their gown and turned back to join the line.

"Miss Corpus Christi, Mary Lou Barnes. Mary Lou is 20 years old, a 5-foot-5-inch brunette and an art major at Corpus Christi Junior College."

Sue Ellen wore an elegant white dress with a sparkly silver bodice and white gloves, she stepped forward as the host spoke

"From Austin, we have Sue Ellen Shepard, 20 years old, 5-foot-7-and-a-half-inch brunette. She is a senior at the University of Texas and the eyes of Texas are upon her."

JR made a mental note of her name and college. He was interested in this girl and wasn't going to let her slip away from him.

The judge's votes soon tallied, five finalists stood on stage.

Sue Ellen was nervous, more nervous than she'd been at the Miss Austin pageant and even then she'd been tense. Her mother, sister, fiancé, friend, escort and representatives from the Miss Austin pageant were all there to support her personally and she really didn't want to let anyone down.

"The fourth runner up to Miss Texas title is Tracy Grant."

Each girl escorted to the other side of the stage as their names and places were announced, eventually it was down to Sue Ellen and another girl named Allison, Miss Waco.

Anxiously waiting for the results Sue Ellen thought about her reaction if she lost. She had to make sure her public face wasn't one of shame but of thankfulness for being a part of the contest. She wouldn't want to be known as the sore loser from Austin, her mother would have a fit, although her mother would have a fit anyway if she lost, she raised winners, not losers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of Miss Texas 1967 is… Sue Ellen Shepard!"

Hearing her name, there was no need to worry anymore.

Presented with flowers and given a congratulatory hug by Miss Waco, she accepted the white sash laid over her and the beautiful sparkly silver crown on her head. She walked across the stage to the sound of applause and 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' song playing in the background.

Standing at the end of the stage she waved to the applauding audience and looked around the theatre, spotting her mother and sister as well as Paula and Clint.

Next, her eyes moved toward the judging panel, they all looked pleased with the outcome, especially the attractive, blue-eyed man.

Eventually, Billy joined her at her side and then escorted her offstage.

"Oh Sue Ellen, I'm so happy, my daughter is Miss Texas."

Gushing, Patricia's delight was obvious. Kristin was less pleased it seemed, wandering off to look at the stage to pretend she was Miss Texas, after all, one day she would be if their mother had her way.

Billy and Sue Ellen posed for a few pictures together and then Sue Ellen answered some questions for the press. Clint and Paula arrived backstage in time to see her answering some final questions and when the time came, Sue Ellen kissed Clint and hugged Paula and they congratulated her on her win.

Amidst all of the chaos Sue Ellen didn't realise she was being watched. JR had been waiting for a time to introduce himself but it was proving difficult as she was constantly surrounded by people. First, she was with Billy Frampton, and then came her mother and a younger girl he assumed as her sister, then photographers and reporters surrounded her, eventually they cleared and he started to make his way toward her. Unfortunately, the sight of her kissing some man and then hugging the girl standing next to him interrupted his path.

Scolding himself for assuming it would be as simple as introducing himself, for assuming that she was single, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to go for it, after all, he had good reason to officially and unofficially make her acquaintance.

Facing Paula and Clint, Sue Ellen couldn't see him, but she felt him. The shivers came instantly as he approached and spoke.

"My compliments to the queen. Congratulations Miss Texas."

His deep, commanding voice had an invisible power behind it and something inside of her melted.

Slowly turning around, she was face-to-face with the devilishly handsome judge.

"Thank you," was all she could manage to get out.

"I feel like you're at a disadvantage here. I know several things about you, but you know nothing of me. I'm JR Ewing."

Making eye contact as he grinned, his eyes displayed a hint of mischievousness. She did know very little about him, he was right about that, but what he knew of her was debatable.

"How do you do Mr Ewing."

Switching out of the casual conversational mode she had been in and into the vocabulary of a lady, her words caught him by surprise, although he wasn't at all put off.

"You were wonderful tonight truly the Yellow Rose of Texas, as the song goes. I can only speak for myself, but the other judges were very impressed too."

Polite, he definitely hadn't expected their first conversation to be so formal and he briefly wondered whether he was making any headway toward what he really wanted.

Nearby, Clint observed the two exchanging words, making eye contact and never breaking it. He didn't like the man, he had that same look in his eye that countless other men had when speaking to Sue Ellen, but he had something else too, he looked determined and that was a real worry.

Patricia had noticed the same look. "Ewing? That wouldn't be Ewing Oil would it?"

She hoped that it was. If Sue Ellen wasn't interested in Billy Frampton and his family's wealth then Patricia needed to find a suitable replacement. Her daughter seemed to be silently communicating with this man and enjoying his presence. If JR was a Ewing of Ewing Oil then she wouldn't object to Sue Ellen dating and marrying him, anyone would be better than Clint Ogden.

"Yes ma'am, my daddy is Jock Ewing, I'm the vice president for now, but when he retires I'll become the president of Ewing Oil."

JR knew he'd better make a good impression on Mrs Shepard, he would need her support if he were going to get anywhere with Sue Ellen, he could tell that just by observing the way she hovered.

Billy had been standing by and observing too. He'd given up on having anything more with Sue Ellen long ago, but the moment he saw her reaction to JR he knew for sure he had no chance. He recognised the look in JR's eye and knew Clint really had something to worry about now.

"Ewing Oil? I believe my company, Frampton Industries, have done some business with your daddy. You're based in Dallas aren't you?"

JR turned his attention to Billy and responded. "Yes, Dallas, but we do business all over the state, one day we'll be the biggest independent oil company in Texas."

Looking away from Billy, he turned back to Sue Ellen. He hadn't wanted to get distracted by everyone else but that came with the territory of group conversation.

"I just wanted to come over and congratulate the prettiest girl in Texas. I can see you're busy here, so I'll be going. I'll see you around darlin'."

"Thank you Mr Ewing."

Accepting his congratulations, Sue Ellen's stomach flipped. It took her until she saw him leaving to realise she'd hoped he'd stay a little longer. She'd been enjoying being near him, something she didn't quite understand considering Clint was not far from sight either.

Walking away, JR wasn't dissuaded. He'd intended to have a more private conversation, but that could wait for another day, his plans were just beginning.