by Kim Redford
“Poster? I thought—”
“It fell. Bad mojo. It’ll be good mojo to put those singers back in their rightful place.”
“Just like you belong in your rightful place.”
She jerked open the door, glanced at him again, and gave a small smile. “KWCB is about to welcome back Eden Rafferty.”
He grinned. “You can’t keep a good cowgirl down.”
She mirrored his grin, then stepped into the sound studio and shut the door behind her.
He took a deep breath as he watched her sit behind the board, put on earphones, pull the mic close, and open her mouth.
“Good afternoon, cowgirls…and the cowboys that make their lives worth roping and riding for. This is Eden Rafferty coming to you from KWCB, the Wildcat Den, serving North Texas and Southern Oklahoma since 1946. Our famous ranch radio is located on the beauteous…Hogtrot Ranch for your listenin’ pleasure.”
Shane couldn’t keep from chuckling as she winked at him, knowing he was listening to her rib him. For many a year now, the Raffertys and the Taggarts had kept that special joke alive.
Nothing could have suited him better than knowing it wasn’t going away anytime soon.
Chapter 25
One thing Eden couldn’t deny—folks had come out in force to welcome her return to KWCB and Wildcat Bluff County. They’d also decided to show just how they liked to party outside on a big ranch in cowboy country. She felt as if she’d stepped onto the set of Southfork Ranch in a rerun of the legendary Dallas television series. Any moment, one of the Ewing clan might turn up to charm, threaten, or even ask her to dance.
The Rocky T Ranch might never be the same after this doozy of a party. Hedy and Morning Glory had made it happen with a few well-placed phone calls to galvanize the county. She glanced over tables covered with traditional red-and-white-check cloths that groaned under the weight of platters, dishes, and bowls of good eats from the Bluebonnet Café, Chuckwagon Café, Twin Oaks B&B, and favorite local cooks with drinks from Wildcat Hall.
Folks sat in chairs, clustered in groups, or line danced to a local western swing band comprised of cowboys playing fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, drums, and accordion, with Craig Thorne singing his heart out. Wildcat Jack was in his element as the official DJ and announcer, with Ken by his side as his more-than-willing assistant and tech guru. Nathan was zipping here and there through the crowd with his camcorder at the ready, as if he were a hot paparazzo on the trail of superstars.
She felt a little overwhelmed by the day but completely happy. She’d stood up to Graham and sent him packing, made her debut on the Wildcat Den without losing her voice, and still managed to be on her feet tonight.
She glanced down at her clothes, feeling thankful that Morning Glory had realized she actually had nothing to wear to the party. MG had brought her a vintage western swing dress with fitted waist in a rich turquoise color accented by three bands of white lace on the bodice and three matching bands around the long skirt. MG had even brought matching cowgirl boots that fit. Serena Simmons of the Sure-Shot Beauty Station had arrived with product and talent to fix Eden’s hair and makeup. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought they were preparing her for a photo shoot. As it was, she simply appreciated all they’d done for her.
She looked around for Shane and saw him talking to a group of folks clustered around him. She recognized old friends and new ones she’d just met that evening. Couples getting engaged seemed to be taking over the county—Trey and Misty. Kent and Lauren. Dune and Sydney. They’d been teasing cowboy firefighter calendar guys like Slade Steele and Craig Thorne about when they were going to be roped by a cowgirl from among their throng of adoring fans.
Shane glanced over at her and cocked his head. She held aloft the bottle of water she’d just picked up in answer as to why she wasn’t with him. She started to walk back to him, then hesitated on the periphery of the party.
Everything seemed a sudden blur and whirl of too many bright colors, loud sounds, and strong scents. She felt a little dizzy, as if the day had finally caught up with her. She just couldn’t take any more input or give out any more energy. She gave Shane a quick smile to reassure him before she quickly walked away from the throng of people and up the steps to the double front doors that had been left wide open. Folks had congregated inside, too.
She kept smiling and nodding, but she also kept moving until she reached Shane’s blessedly empty suite. She shut the door behind her and sank down on his big bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling all the happy hours she’d spent here strengthening her.
She slipped her phone out of her pocket and set it on the nightstand. She sipped water, noting it soothed her irritated throat, if not her ragged emotions. After all her bravado today, she still didn’t know how this wonderful party could help save her world other than lifting everyone’s spirits. And she did feel buoyed by such great generosity.
Still, she’d thought once she got back to Wildcat Bluff, she’d be safe and secure and happy. But Graham had followed her, invading her world again to strip away her assets as well as her confidence. But why? Yes, Fontaine had made his lofty legal excuses, but still, KWCB was peanuts to them. Maybe her ex just couldn’t stand to see her happy or successful again.
She didn’t have any good answers, and she didn’t figure she was going to get any from Graham. She simply needed to defend her world with the help of good friends. As she listened to the muted music and voices coming through the windows, her phone trilled a familiar tune. Cynthia. She wondered why her LA friend was calling this time of night. They’d stayed in touch by text since she’d been back, but they didn’t have so much in common anymore.
“Hey there,” she answered, putting her friend on speakerphone. “What’s up?”
“Eden!” Cynthia exclaimed, breathing fast. “What are you doing? Who is that cowboy hunk? Did you really stick it to Graham? I thought he took you for all you were worth!”
Eden felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, and her throat tightened again. “What?”
“And you can talk! That’s wonderful. But really, is that KWCB a real radio station? It looks like it’s about to collapse. But you look absolutely fabulous! That shirt. Those jeans. Those boots are to die for. And red, red, red!”
Eden grabbed the bottle of water to moisten her throat before launching her own volley of words.
“The wilds of Texas must really agree with you. Is it the cowboy? I bet a guy like that could turn my complexion all rosy, too.”
“Will you please—”
“Well, there is the downside.” Cynthia gave a loud sigh. “You are definitely portrayed as a conniving, coldhearted, hot-blooded bitch working her way through the cowboy firefighters of Wildcat Bluff County. And there’s the calendar! Did you start with January? Odd or even months? Maybe you began with December and you’re working your way backward. Don’t leave me hanging. Spill!”
Eden couldn’t keep from laughing at the whole fantasy image Graham had created from a bit of video and calendar photos. “I take it Graham put our little confrontation online.”
“And how!” Cynthia lowered her voice. “You’re getting mega hits—or he is anyway.”
“I suppose he’s portrayed as the long-suffering ex-husband who just wants to help his sadly out-of-control ex-wife.”
“Oh my!” Cynthia hissed like a cat. “You haven’t heard, have you?”
“I’m in Texas, not California.”
“Don’t you get the news?”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Oh yeah, don’t we all know it. I could use that kind of R & R. Got a guest bedroom? I’d even take a chance on bedding down in that radio station if there are a dozen hot cowboys on the horizon.”
Eden laughed again, finding her spirits lifting even with the news that Graham had kept his word on going with plan B. “KWCB is ranch r
adio. That means the station and tower are located on a working ranch called the Rocky T. Cowboys are coming and going all the time.”
“Be still my heart.” Cynthia panted into the phone. “Tell me you’re not making this up just to torment my lonely life.”
“Several of the cowboy firefighters from the calendar were out here recently to put out a brush fire.”
“Did they look as good as they do in their photos?”
“Even better in real life.”
“I’ve always wanted to visit Texas—at least since I saw your hunk online.”
“You know you’re always welcome here.”
“Thanks!”
“But what about that news?”
“Oh, yes.” Cynthia chuckled under her breath. “You’re going to love this about that loser Graham. You know, I never did think he was worthy of you—even if I did look my best for your wedding.”
“You looked gorgeous, as always. Now about Graham—”
“Sugar Talk was canceled after your ex made a mess of it.”
“Oh no!” Eden felt her heart pound hard in fury and loss. “But that was my baby. I built it from the ground up and took it to the top.”
“I know. But he couldn’t keep it there. He’s a no-talent has-been. He rode you till you dropped like a rock under his weight.”
“What’s he doing here? Why isn’t he looking for work in LA? He’s got money. He’s got connections.”
“Not so much anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“He treated you like dirt. He put you through tabloid hell. People in power don’t want that type of backstabbing ego on their teams, particularly when he can’t bring in their target audiences.”
“I guess I could say he’s getting what he deserves, but I don’t like to see anybody hurt.”
“Hah! And he ran through the divorce money. Now how do you feel about him?”
“All of it?” She took a quick drink of water, hardly able to fathom how he could have spent so much in so short a time.
“It’s not cheap being a lonely man.”
“I guess that explains why he’s come after what little I have left.”
“No doubt that’s part of it, but online? I’d say he’s desperate to get back in the limelight so he can pick up another show.”
“Maybe, but—”
“Think about it. From his viewpoint, he reached the top once on your merits, so why wouldn’t it work again?”
“Trash me to elevate him?”
“Works for me.”
“Talk about a coldhearted…”
“That he is.”
Eden stood up and walked over to the bank of windows with the drapes pulled back to watch the party below. There seemed to be some type of agitation in the crowd. They were passing cell phones around, looking angrier all the time. She could hear hollering until Wildcat Jack took control.
“Cynthia,” she said. “Wildcat Bluff threw a welcome-home party for me tonight at the Rocky T Ranch. I think folks may be watching my appearance online. They aren’t happy about it.”
“Are they armed and dangerous?”
“They’re definitely dangerous. I suspect Graham may have finally met his match.”
“I’d love to see it.”
“I’ll text you. For now, I’d better go see if I can help Jack quiet the crowd.”
“Okay. But remember—don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Eden just chuckled, clicked off, and pocketed her phone. She didn’t know how she was going to face her guests. She knew if she saw the video, she’d be embarrassed at Graham’s portrayal of her. She’d be in hot water with their cowboy firefighters, too. They tried to keep a low profile with their photographs in that calendar, and now it’d gone viral. They had nobody to blame but her for dragging Graham into their world.
Still, she might as well face the music now, rather than later. If Graham didn’t run her out of town after taking KWCB, the county would do it for him. Maybe she just ought to pack up Betty with a few mementos of her uncle and get out while the getting was good.
She finished off the bottle of water, shut the door behind her, and trudged back into the living room. Everybody had vacated the house, so she kept going, dragging her feet slower and slower as she stepped outside.
Everyone was congregated around the bandstand where Jack was holding court, saying something about losing something. She really wasn’t listening too closely, but she might as well go over there and say her goodbyes. At least she could go out with style and dignity.
“There’s our hero!” Wildcat Jack hollered, pointing in her direction. “Let’s give a hero’s welcome!”
Eden turned around and looked behind her, but no one was there. She looked to both sides, but nobody stood there, either. Finally, she turned back around, and she realized everyone was staring at her. Hero?
“Ms. Rafferty, will you tell Wildcat Bluff County how it feels to be their hero?” Nathan adjusted his black-rimmed eyeglasses as if for better vision as he focused his handheld camcorder on her.
She looked at the camera lens, at his face, at the crowd, then just shook her head and smiled at the irony of the situation. Graham had done his best to destroy her, but he hadn’t counted on the wild hearts of Texas.
“Eden. Eden. Eden,” the crowd chanted her name. “Speech. Speech. Speech.”
Nathan held his camcorder closer to her face. “You stood up for all of us in Wildcat Bluff County when you gave those sidewinders what for. Nobody comes here and insults us. If those city slickers want to play online games, we’re all in.” He patted his camcorder and gave her a wink.
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “To answer your question, it feels real good to be back in Texas—where I belong.”
Chapter 26
Eden slowly walked toward the bandstand as if in a dream, not the nightmare she had anticipated at the house. As she put one turquoise cowgirl boot in front of the other, she felt her mid-calf skirt swirl around her legs in a decidedly feminine way while Nathan recorded every step she took, every smile she made, every wave she gave.
How had the Rocky T suddenly become Wildcat Bluff County’s version of a Hollywood red carpet event? And even more astonishing, how had she—in borrowed clothes, no less, with a chancy voice—become a local hero, or a “celebrity” in LA parlance? If she was going to give appreciation, she guessed the trophy would have to go to Graham Tanner. And wouldn’t that just shrivel his little pea-sized heart?
Shane waited for her at the base of the bandstand, looking as if he’d stepped out of a cowgirl’s fantasy in black snakeskin boots, pressed Wranglers, and crisp blue-plaid pearl-snap shirt. Eat your heart out, Cynthia. His eyes, sparkling in the glow of string lights overhead, were only for Eden. He held out his hand.
Up onstage, Wildcat Jack was even more gussied up. He wore a flashy boar suede jacket with long fringe on the yokes and sleeves, with beadwork accenting the shoulders, over his knife-edged jeans and lapis-colored shirt. He wore knee-high boots with long fringe to match the jacket. A beige Stetson with a silver-and-turquoise hatband topped off his outfit.
As she stepped up on the bandstand, Jack pointed at the drummer, who gave a loud drumroll.
“Here’s our kick-up-her-heels Eden Rafferty who’s gone viral and put our very own Wildcat Bluff County on the map of the world.” Jack pointed dramatically at Eden as she stopped beside him.
He was rewarded by cheers from the crowd, but he settled them down again with a few gestures of his hands.
“There’s only one catch, folks. We’ve got to figure out how to keep our hero in her hometown. To do that, we’ve got to keep that no-good rattlesnake named Graham Tanner from stealing KWCB, our very own ranch radio station!”
Louder and longer cheers followed that call to arms.
“Y
ou saw the trash video he put online. All it did was show the fine mettle of our hero. She takes no guff and she don’t back down. Give her a big hand for standing up for our county!”
Thundering applause followed those words until Jack quieted the audience again.
“I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. What I am saying is she can have the shirt off my back to help fight that rattlesnake and his fork-tongued mouthpiece. He already took her to the cleaners, and now he’s come to Wildcat Bluff to try and take what little she has left. Are we gonna let him get it?”
“No! No! No!” the crowd roared, chanting over and over.
“Then let me hear you say ‘Jones’!”
“Jones! Jones! Jones!” the audience chanted this time.
“Jones, where are you?” Jack motioned toward the bandstand. “Come up here!”
Eden watched and listened in stunned surprise as Jack plied their guests with every trick in the book to get them involved in wherever he was taking them. She just didn’t know where he was going with all this airing of her dirty laundry. She’d thought she’d just say a few words of gratitude, then hurry back inside. Instead, Nathan was recording every last bit of it. She was through with having her life splattered everywhere in public, but here it came again—even if with good intentions this time.
As she stood there with her back straight, she saw a diminutive woman with straight, black hair and bronze skin, wearing a rancher’s fancy crimson jacket with jeans, white shirt, and beaded necklace, thread her way through the crowd, then leap up onto the bandstand.
“Name’s Jones.” She thrust out her hand to Eden for a shake. “Nocona Jones.”
“Good to meet you.” She found her hand in a strong grip as she met the intense brown-eyed gaze of a woman who couldn’t have been over thirty-five but might as well have been seventy-five for all her projected personal power, confidence, and experience.
“Jones. Jones. Jones,” the crowd chanted again.
“That’s right,” Jack hollered over their words. “Listen up. We’re gonna dump those rattlesnakes off their sunny rocks, and then we’re gonna send in Jones to tickle their noses.”
