by Carol James
She pulled her hand away. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. Now settle back and relax. We’ve got a bit of a ride ahead.” The British-ness of his accent was back.
“Couldn’t you give me a hint?” Her heart rate increased.
“I just did.”
She turned toward him. “Sam, that was no hint.”
“Well, it’s all you’re getting.” He winked.
“I’m a little uncomfortable with this. My dad’s out of the country, and Cassie’s by herself. I told her we’d be at The Cantina.”
“Cassie knows where we’ll be. She has your cell number, and I gave her mine...and my aunt’s. Aunt Ginny’s only five minutes away. Plus, she’ll call Cassie and check on her later tonight.” As he smiled gently, he turned toward her. “Planned well enough for you?”
Having dropped some in the sky, the sun now shined in through the window behind him. Fine, light-colored stubble covered his entire head. Hair!
“Katherine? Are you OK with that?”
“Yes.” She’d been staring.
“What’s up then?”
She cleared her throat. “Your head. You’re not bald.” She pulled her mouth shut.
“Well, not permanently, I hope.” He chuckled. “Just showing support for my teammates.” He ran his hand across the top of his head as he’d done in the garden last Saturday. “You know how some athletes have weird superstitions? Well, five years ago, one of the team captains shaved his head in January, and the club had the best record in their history. So, ever since then, the captains shave their heads for the spring. And even though I wasn’t playing due to my knee, I still wanted to encourage the guys.”
All those weird habits and behaviors that some athletes practiced often became obsessive-compulsive. And then for them to think that they really had some effect on the outcome. “You don’t mean to tell me you believe that stuff, do you?”
“Me? Heck, no. Winning’s like everything else in life. It’s mostly about hard work and doing your best with what you’ve been given. Anyway, the season’s almost over, and I’m far away. Time to grow the hair back.”
She leaned her head back against the leather seat. So, he wasn’t bald...or dishonest. But he was still short—well, less tall—and nothing he could do or undo would change that.
They drove all the way across Fort Worth to the north side and pulled up in front of Cattlemen’s Hotel. Every time she’d come to the Stockyards, this historic, old hotel had fascinated her. She’d passed by the patrons rocking in chairs on its front sidewalks many times but never gone inside. Eating here, staying here, was something she’d always wanted to do. Tonight could be fun after all.
The last time she’d been to the Stockyards was this past summer when she’d thought Clark was The One, and they’d met her parents for dinner and the rodeo. She was sure she’d loved Clark. He was the man she’d dreamed about for years, but their relationship was not exactly the picture of what she’d thought love would be. Sometimes it felt more like a business arrangement than a romance. Predictable, respectful, guarded.
Sam hit the unlock button.
A young man dressed in black opened her door. “Good evening, ma’am. Welcome to Cattlemen’s.” He offered his hand and helped her onto the sidewalk.
Sam jumped out of the other side. “Hi, Kyle.”
“Hello, Mr. Tucker. Nice ride. New?” Kyle walked around the front of the car.
“Yeah. Picked it up in Dallas a few days ago. Thanks.” Sam handed the valet the keys.
“We’ll take good care of her, sir.” Kyle touched the tips of his fingers to his forehead in a casual salute.
“Appreciate it.”
As Sam made his way to the sidewalk beside her, Kyle stepped into the crack of the open driver’s door. “Sorry to hear about your knee. The team sure did miss you.”
“Well, I should be back on the field in a few months after rehab.” Sam’s hand rested gently on the small of her back as he leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Surprise! We’re here. Ready?”
“This is great. Every time I’ve come to the Stockyards, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to stay here.”
“You have, have you? Well, you can just keep wondering because you won’t be staying here tonight either.”
Her whole body was on fire. Her words had popped out before she’d considered their possible implication. “Don’t be so middle school. That’s not what I meant.”
He laughed as he reached forward and opened the heavy wooden door. “After you, Katherine.”
Stepping into the hotel lobby transported her back a hundred years—high ceilings, antique oak and cowhide furniture flanked by large green palms, planked hardwood floors that were rutted in places by the thousands of feet that had trodden them over the years. Dark, red painted walls and pine bead board wainscoting gave the cavernous room a warm, intimate feel. She could sit here for hours and people-watch.
As they approached the front desk, the young clerk smiled.
Sam stepped up to the window, folded his hands, and placed them on the countertop. “Hi, Tanya.”
Tanya turned her head a bit to the side and looked out of the corner of her eye. “Mr. Tucker,” she said, “so good to have you back. Everything’s ready. You’re in the Longhorn Suite. Down the hall, fourth door on the right. Juanita’s already there.” She placed her hand on top of his. “Just let us know if you need anything else...anything, you understand?” As she turned toward Katherine, her smile was polite. “Ma’am, welcome to Cattlemen’s Hotel.”
Sam placed his hand on Katherine’s back again, more firmly this time, and guided her toward the hallway.
She pulled away and spoke quietly. “Well, that was a pretty blatant invitation, I’d say.”
“Who’s the middle-schooler now, Katherine?” He stopped and stared straight into her eyes.
Her face had to be the color of the walls in the lobby. “I’ve just never been out with a guy and had that happen.”
“That’s ’cause you’ve never dated me. Except for last Friday, that is.” He laughed. “A bit jealous, are we?”
“I won’t even answer that question.” He’d only twist her words into something she didn’t mean. Or worse—into something she did mean but didn’t want him to know. The less said the better.
As a smirk covered his face, he shrugged his shoulders. “Seriously, it’s much worse in the UK than here. But you get used to it.”
So now he seemed to think he was some sort of celebrity. Smug, for sure.
“Here we are.” Sam grabbed the handle on one of the double doors on the right side of the hall and held it open for her.
The Longhorn Suite was a large room with a painted, brown tin ceiling, white stucco walls, and dark wooden floors. Giving the room a warm ambiance, glass-globed lanterns that had been converted from gas to electricity decades ago were mounted on the walls at regular intervals around the room. The area to her left was empty except for a heavy wooden console table against the side wall. An electronic music player was docked on the top. A huge set of horns were mounted on the wall at the far end.
A stone fireplace with an enormous metal star hanging above the rustic mantel dominated the other end of the room. On one of the two leather loveseats flanking its hearth sat a sixty-something woman with a massive amount of bleached, blonde hair. “Hi, y’all.” She was dressed in a fringed and sequined western shirt and tight jeans crammed into cowboy boots with peacocks tooled into them. Expensive and custom made, no doubt. She stood, walked toward them, and stuck out her hand. “I’m Juanita. You must be Sam.”
So not everyone in Fort Worth knew Sam.
He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Juanita. Thanks for coming.” He placed his left hand on Katherine’s back again. His touch was starting to feel routine. “I’d like you to meet Katherine.”
“Hi, sugar.” Juanita stepped forward and hugged her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you. Nic
e to meet you, as well.”
Juanita rubbed her hands together and then clapped them once. “OK,” she said, “let’s see what I’m working with here. You two face each other and hold hands.”
As they did what she asked, she began rubbing her chin, and with her eyebrows knit together, circled them like a predator sizing up its prey. “Um-hmmm. You two are gonna be fine. Just the right height difference. When the man’s too tall or the woman’s too short it can be hard. Imagine a Chihuahua trying to dance with a Great Dane. Ain’t a pretty sight. But you two are gonna be perfect partners. Yes, sir, perfect.”
As Katherine looked up at Sam, she bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from smiling.
He winked in response.
“All right. Time to show me what you got.” The heels from Juanita’s boots pounded the floor as she strutted over to the console table. She pushed a button, and some country song blasted out. Juanita yelled over the music, “Quick, quick, slow...slow. Quick, quick, slow...slow.”
Not only Katherine’s hands but her entire body was clammy.
Sam smiled. “Ready?”
As she nodded, her stomach rolled. Whether she was ready didn’t really matter.
Juanita wasn’t about to wait.
They began their trip around the room while Juanita yelled the cadence and scrutinized their every move.
Katherine’s knees wobbled like jelly as she moved backward. She trained her eyes on the top button of Sam’s shirt to keep them from dropping down to watch her feet. She had to do better than last Friday.
Juanita’s voice sounded over the music. “Not too bad for beginners. Now drop hands and move to the traditional position.”
Sam dropped her left hand, placed his right hand high on her back, and pulled her closer. She stepped forward and placed her left hand high on his shoulder.
“Katherine, honey, move your left hand to the shoulder seam of his shirt and back away. You’re way too close.”
Sam smiled and whispered, “That’s a matter of opinion.”
Her breathing quickened, and her heart began to keep pace with the music.
“Katherine? You hear me? This ain’t no slow dance.”
“Oh, sorry.” She moved her hand and took a deep breath. This hadn’t gone well last week when they’d tried it at the Cantina. Maybe she’d been too close then, and moving backward made her afraid she would back into someone or something.
“One, two, three, go!”
They continued around the floor in a counterclockwise motion until the music suddenly stopped.
“Drop hands, and step away.” Juanita sounded more like a drill sergeant than a dance instructor. She walked over and put her hands on Katherine’s shoulders. “I see you trying to look back over your shoulder. My lands, honey. If you’re ever gonna be a good Two-Stepper, you can’t be in charge. You need to let this man lead. He can see where you’re going, and he ain’t gonna let you run into anything. Ain’t that right, Sam?”
Sam’s eyes were warm as he replied. “Absolutely.”
The music began, and they started again.
Katherine tried really hard not to let her gaze stray to the sides, but trusting him was difficult.
“Stop, stop, stop. This calls for extreme measures.” As Juanita neared them, she pulled a hot pink bandana from her back pocket and began rolling it into a blindfold. “We’ll fix this little howdy-do.” She stepped forward and tied the bandana around Katherine’s head.
Katherine’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t see a thing.
Juanita’s voice was gentle. “Now, honey, you just relax and feel the pressure from Sam’s hands. You’ll be able to tell what he’s gonna do by how he moves ’em.”
Jaunita must be crazy.
No one could be expected to relax under these conditions. Here Katherine was, blind and at the mercy of a Two-Step drill sargeant and a man she hardly knew. Not only was dancing blindfolded the most ridiculous idea she’d ever heard of, it was dangerous.
A hand patted her arm. “Everything’s gonna be just fine, sweetie. You let Sam do all the work. OK, you two. Get into position.”
A warm hand pulled her right hand upward, another placed pressure on her back, right below her arm, and gently guided her barely forward. She inched the fingers of her left hand up the Oxford cloth until she felt the seam at the top of the sleeve.
“My lands, that’s perfect!”
She could feel Sam’s hands, but he’d remained stonily quiet since she’d been blindfolded. What if this was one of those pranks where they substituted one man for another and she was dancing with some embarrassing person from her past? Her head prickled as nervousness flushed through her body. No. Sam wouldn’t do that. He liked to joke around, but his heart seemed too kind for something as juvenile as that. Sam was there. Besides, she could smell his cologne. If only she could see his eyes, his face. “Sam?” Unbelievable...her voice shook.
“It’s OK. I’m here, Beth—uh, Katherine. You’ll be fine.”
The music started and from somewhere behind her Juanita called out the cadence.
Katherine took a deep breath, and they began. The pressure from Sam’s hands told her exactly how far to step. If her steps were too big, she’d feel too much pressure on her back, too small, not enough. After a few steps, her right arm was slightly pulled to her right, while the hand and arm on her back slightly pressed the same direction. They must be approaching the end of the room and beginning the turn to circle back around.
This was actually fun. All she had to think about was moving her feet and letting her body respond to Sam’s leading.
“That’s right. That’s right. Beautiful, you two. Now kinda shuffle them two quick steps. You got it. My lands, you look almost like professionals. I knew you’d be the perfect couple.”
Sam’s left hand squeezed her right.
In her mind, she could see him smiling, and she smiled back.
The song ended, and they stopped.
Sam untied the blindfold. She’d been right. His eyes twinkled as he grinned.
“See what happens when you trust your partner?” Juanita rubbed her hands together as she had when they’d first begun. “OK, now for some fancier stuff.”
~*~
“Thanks so much, Juanita.” Sam hugged her and handed her four one hundred dollar bills. Not bad wages for a couple of hours’ work.
“Any time, honey.” She smiled as she stepped out into the hallway. “Y’all done good.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Dinner would be here any minute. As he closed the door, he turned toward the open end of the room. Katherine was spinning and twirling as she shuffled along, her hands encasing the open space he’d occupied minutes earlier. Her eyes were closed, and she was humming the last song they’d danced to. He could have stood there all night watching. She was gorgeous. Rather than interrupt, he walked toward the fireplace and sat down on one of the loveseats.
Katherine opened her eyes and looked toward him. She glowed. Stopping her dancing, she practically skipped toward him. “Oh, Sam. That was so much fun!”
“I’m glad you had a good time.” An hour and a half ago when she’d been blindfolded, he’d thought this date would be a bust like the first one. But Juanita hadn’t let him down. “I couldn’t have taught you any more than I did last Friday, and I figured we’d both get more out of a private rather than public lesson. I must say, it was a bit intense at first.”
Katherine dropped down on the other end of his loveseat. “She was wonderful. Where in the world did you find her?”
“Billy Bob’s. She’s taught lessons there every Tuesday night for about twenty years. Everybody says she’s the best.”
“I’d have to agree with that.” As Katherine ran her hand through her hair, his blood pressure must have jumped about twenty points. “I’m starving.”
A tap sounded on the door. “Right on time.” Everything was going according to plan. A plan that had taken him a whole week t
o finalize. “Come in.”
As the heavy oak door swung open, two waiters pushing carts approached the loveseats. The first one spoke. “Your dinner’s ready, Mr. Tucker.”
They transformed the square, primitive wooden coffee table into a low dining table, complete with candles, linens, tableware, and yellow roses. Eight to ten plates with metal covers sat on the top of the two carts. The second waiter handed Sam an insulated bag. “Your special order, sir. Can we do anything else before we leave?”
“Everything looks great. Thanks, guys.” Sam stood and handed them each a hundred.
“Thank you very much, sir. Press the button to the right of the fireplace if you need anything else.” They closed the door.
“I wasn’t sure what you like to eat, so I ordered a bunch of appetizers and this.” He held out the bag to her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Open it and find out.” Sam walked over to the hearth, picked up two Indian blanket pillows, returned, and drop them on the floor beside the table.
“Sushi! But you don’t like sushi.” As she leaned her head to the side, she questioned with a look.
“Yeah, but you do. Anyway, I don’t plan to eat it. I’m going for the wings.” He held out his hand. “Let me help you down to the pillow.”
Her eyes reddened. He’d unintentionally done something to upset her. “Thank you, Sam. This is so thoughtful.”
“Sure, now for some dinner.” He lifted up the covers of the plates, served them to her one at a time, then filled his plate. “How about some music without anyone yelling steps?”
She grinned as he walked over and set the player on a contemporary country station. “That’s nice.”
He dropped down onto the cushion across from hers.
She was staring at him. She cleared her throat. “So, will you, uh, be at Cassie’s game tomorrow?”
“Yep.”
“Good. I mean, I think your experience can be a real asset to the team.” Katherine drew her gaze away from his and glanced toward her lap for a moment. The lights were low and painted golden highlights in her hair. She looked back up at him and smiled.
