The crowd was thin, probably because there was no live music scheduled. Josie and Jack sat at a far table in the same area where they’d all gathered on Friday night. Probably the designated Chance family corner.
As he and Chelsea approached, Josie gave them a nervous smile and her blue eyes were filled with misgiving. “I thought this would be casual and fun, but I’m rattled.” She gestured to the glass of beer sitting in the dead center of the table. “If it’s awful, you have to tell me. Don’t spare my feelings. This is business.”
Finn pulled out a chair for Chelsea before sitting. “I’m sure it’s not awful.”
“Jack says it’s not.” She flipped her blond braid behind her back. “But he’s required to pump me up. I’m counting on you to tell me the truth.”
“I had no idea you’d moved this far into the process.”
“I didn’t want to say anything because I wasn’t sure if I’d have the courage to ask you to taste this. But Jack convinced me that I need to take advantage of you being here. You’ll be gone in the morning, so...” She gestured toward the glass. “There it is.”
Chelsea spoke up. “Does it have a name?”
“It does if Finn likes it. If he doesn’t, then it shall remain nameless and I’ll go back to the drawing board.”
“No, no, that would be putting too much importance on one person’s opinion.” Finn prayed the beer would be good. “You shouldn’t give my judgment that much weight.”
“But you’re more of a beer connoisseur than any of us,” Josie said. “I’m sure you tasted hundreds of different types before you started brewing your own.”
“Yes, ma’am, I did.”
“There you go.”
“But don’t throw out the recipe if I don’t like it. We can talk about modifications.” Finn decided to lay the groundwork for a potential negative reaction. “Hand-crafted beer is tricky. Some brewers work a year or two perfecting their product, some a lot longer than that.”
“I know. I’ve been reading and trying different things. I finally have something I like, but nobody’s tasted it except Jack.”
Jack waved a hand in the air. “And she doesn’t trust my opinion. Go figure. I may not be a brewer, but I’ve spent a lot of years drinking the stuff and I think—”
Josie clapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t say anything. I want Finn to go into this without any preconceived ideas.”
Finn eyed the glass of beer and thought that taking the first sip wasn’t so different from diffusing a bomb. He cautiously reached for the glass.
“Wait.” Josie held up both hands. “I forgot to say the most important thing. I don’t want you to worry that not liking my beer will somehow jeopardize the Chance family’s support of Thunder Mountain Academy. This is completely separate. Right, Jack?”
“Completely separate.”
Finn wanted to believe that, but Jack’s devotion to Josie was a powerful thing. Anyone who hurt Josie’s feelings might not be particularly popular with Jack. Finn was the official representative for TMA, so Jack’s good opinion of him seemed pretty damned important.
Once again, he reached for the glass.
“Wait.” Josie stopped him again. “I should explain that this beer was crafted with somewhat substandard equipment. That’s the other thing I want to talk about tonight. I’m ready to sink some real money into good equipment, so as you taste this, please imagine it being made with whatever you have, because that’s what I’m planning to get.”
“All right.” He had no idea how in the hell he’d make allowances for equipment. The beer either worked or it didn’t, but she was a beginner and might not realize that.
He reached for the beer a third time, half expecting that she’d stop him again for another disclaimer. When she didn’t, he lifted it to his mouth. He deliberately didn’t look at her, but he could feel her tension from across the table.
Closing his eyes, he took a sip. Then another. And one more, just to make sure. Opening his eyes, he smiled at her and put down the glass. “It’s great.”
With a whoop of joy, she leaped from her chair, overturning it and bumping the table. Jack grabbed the beer before it went over as Finn stood and Josie bear-hugged him. Then she pulled Chelsea out of her chair and hugged her, too. Finally she raced back around the table to give Jack a resounding kiss.
His smile was a mile wide. “We need food,” he declared, “and more of this beer, because I happen to know Josie has more of it chilling.” He glanced over at Finn with a look of gratitude. “This calls for another celebration.”
“I completely agree.” Chelsea’s face was flushed. “And by the way, is there a jukebox?”
“Sadly, there is not.” Josie glanced from Chelsea to Finn. “Are you two turning into dancers, then?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Finn said. “And it’s all Jack’s fault.”
“Glad to take the blame.”
“You were both a huge help Friday night and now we’re excited about dancing.” Chelsea settled back in her chair. “But we don’t have to have music tonight. I just wondered about the jukebox, because this saloon seems like a natural place for one.”
“It is.” Josie nodded. “You’re not the only one to ask, either. I need to get serious about installing one for the nights we don’t have a band.”
“Great idea,” Jack said. “In the meantime I’ll order us up some food. What’s everybody ready for?” They gave him their orders and he headed back to the kitchen.
After he left, Josie glanced over at Finn. “So the beer’s really okay? You haven’t had any more of it.”
“I was waiting until everyone had a glass. Sitting here guzzling it all by myself seemed rude.”
“But you would have guzzled it?” Josie’s expression was endearingly anxious.
“I would. We just need more so we can propose a toast.”
Josie’s shoulders sagged with relief. “I liked it, and Jack liked it, but I wouldn’t let anybody else try it once I knew you’d be here this weekend. Then I lost my nerve and almost didn’t ask you. Jack kept pushing me. I’m glad he did.”
“Yeah, I’m awesome. Best husband ever.” Jack appeared with a tray holding three more glasses.
“Best one I ever had,” Josie said with a grin.
“With excellent taste in both women and beer.” Jack put down the tray. “Food’s coming up soon.”
Finn waited until everyone was settled before lifting his glass. “A toast to the Spirits and Spurs signature beer, which is called...” He looked over at Josie.
“Galloping Ghost!” She raised her glass.
“To Galloping Ghost!” they chorused.
Finn touched glasses with everyone, lingering as he clinked with Chelsea’s. Funny how he’d thought he couldn’t get any closer to her than he had last night. How wrong he’d been.
Sex had knocked down the physical barriers between them, but in spending the day with her, he’d started chipping away at all the mental barriers he’d thrown up to protect himself. And not just from her, either. He’d asked her not to tell his foster brothers that he couldn’t kill a spider because of Charlotte.
Why not tell them? They might tease him, but so what? They knew he had that book. He’d kept it on a shelf in the cabin for years. They’d probably figured out that he’d lobbied for a pig because he loved the story of Wilbur and Charlotte.
Watching Josie take this courageous step also made him aware of how self-protective he’d been all his life. She’d let them all know that she was nervous. He would have bluffed his way through the situation by pretending he was totally cool with it. In fact he had done that several times.
Josie put down her beer and reached under her chair. “Before the food comes, I want to ask you about equipment.” She pulled out a couple of catalogs he recognized immediate
ly.
Chelsea got up. “Josie, you should switch places with me.” She moved over to Josie’s seat and Josie sat next to Finn.
From the moment Josie opened the first dog-eared catalog, Finn was rocketed back to the days he used to sit under a large shade tree at Thunder Mountain Ranch, planning his strategy. He’d taken a course on brewing at the community college in Sheridan and he’d worked at a local bar from the moment he was of legal age.
And he’d saved—Lord, how he’d saved, although he’d known in his heart it wasn’t near enough. Chelsea had found a way for him to raise the rest. Josie would have more resources than he’d had, but after hearing that she wanted to do this without bringing the Chance family into it, he couldn’t assume she had unlimited funds.
So he didn’t recommend the top-of-the-line equipment. He didn’t have that, after all. Besides, he could honestly give her the pros and cons of what he’d invested in. She’d brought a pen and made notes as they talked.
He lost track of time and even where they were. He did love the process and that was a good thing to remember. Over the years he’d let worry about staying solvent take some of the joy out of doing the work. Josie’s excitement brought back what he’d lost.
They’d discussed most of the major items by the time the food arrived.
Josie closed up the catalogs. “That’ll get me started.”
He pulled out his phone. “Let me send you my email and phone number. You’ll have more questions. I sure did.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Finn.” She picked up the catalogs and stood.
“It’s been fun.”
“For me, too!”
“Hey,” Jack said from across the table. “Don’t move on our account. Chelsea and me, we’ve bonded over here. You two can stay put and talk shop. Chelsea’s filling me in on the wonders of Seattle. Now I’m hankering to go up in that Space Needle and take me a ferryboat ride.”
“You should come and visit,” Chelsea said. “It’s a beautiful city.”
“Then I want to hear about it, too.” Josie sat again and tucked the catalogs under her chair. “We’ve had enough beer talk for the night.”
“If you say so. And, oh, will you look at that? Here comes our entertainment, right on time.” Jack put his napkin beside his plate and got up to welcome two cowboys who came in carrying guitar cases. “Glad you could make it.”
“I’m just sorry our gig in Cheyenne kept us from being here for the barbecue last night.” The shorter one, who had a handlebar mustache, shook Jack’s hand. “Trey covered himself in glory. I was honored to be on the stage with him.”
“Congratulations.” Jack grasped the younger man’s hand firmly. “That’s great to hear. We missed you, but at least now you can both meet Chelsea and Finn.”
Finn stood to greet them as Jack explained that the two cowboys, both wranglers at the Last Chance, had become a popular entertainment duo in the area. Trey Wheeler handled the vocals and the older man, who went only by Watkins, played backup.
“And you’re here to play for us?” Chelsea looked like a kid on Christmas morning. “That’s so generous of you!”
“We love to play, ma’am,” Trey said with a winning smile. “When Jack called and said you’d like some dancing music, we were only too happy to oblige. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll go set up. We’ll play a few background tunes while you eat, but when you’re ready to dance, give us a signal.”
Finn glanced at their host after the two men left. “I appreciate this, Jack. It’s above and beyond.”
“Glad to do it.” His dark eyes flashed with amusement. “Can I have the first dance?”
13
THE DEBATE OVER whether Jack would be dancing with Finn continued as they ate dinner and enjoyed some mellow tunes provided by the two guitarists. Finn insisted that he’d learned enough and Jack maintained that he could use another lesson. Chelsea got a kick out of listening to them trade barbs.
Eventually the conversation turned to other topics, specifically Jack’s new interest in Seattle. But when they’d all finished eating, Jack’s attention swung back to dancing.
“You’ll never have a better opportunity to polish your moves than right now with the place practically deserted, O’Roarke. In a little while word will get out that Trey and Watkins are playing and we’ll have a crowd.” He sounded quite reasonable except for the devilish gleam in his eyes.
Finn finished his beer. “Why do you care if my moves are polished or not?”
“Professional pride. If you go around telling people I taught you and you can’t dance worth a lick, that will reflect poorly on me.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. And, besides, I don’t need any more lessons. I understand the basics.”
“You know just enough to be dangerous, cowboy. I’m sure Chelsea would love for you to become more skilled.” He looked to her for support.
“Hey, hey.” She made a shooing motion. “Leave me out of this.”
“Oh, all right.” Finn tucked his napkin beside his plate. “Let’s do this thing, Jack.” As Trey and Watkins struck up a lively two-step, Finn and Jack took the floor.
“Finn’s a good sport.” Josie smiled as she watched them. “Jack loves trying to throw guys off balance by insisting on improving their dance skills. He admires the ones who go along with it.”
“I think it’s great. Finn has a tendency to take things too seriously. Jack’s a good influence.” She chuckled as Jack went into a twirl in one direction and Finn spun out in the other. Then Jack demonstrated the underarm twirl and hats flew.
Josie rolled her eyes. “Or a bad influence, depending on your perspective.” She glanced over at Chelsea. “But Jack went through a serious phase, too.”
“Really? It seems so much a part of his personality to joke around.”
“It is, but he buried his sense of humor for a while. He had issues. I sense that Finn does, too.”
“Yep.”
“All you can do is love them and hope they figure it out.”
“So true.” Chelsea gave a short answer because she didn’t want to call attention to that casual remark. At least, it seemed casual, and yet it contained a loaded word.
Chelsea had avoided love in connection with Finn. She’d always preferred to think she was in lust with him. But today hadn’t been about lust.
Instead it had been about walking hand-in-hand, sharing conversations and discovering facets of each other’s personality. She’d seen a different side of him when they’d met Harley and Wilbur. Just now she’d learned that the same man who’d been captivated by a story about a pig saved by a noble little spider could also become completely immersed in the details of a new friend’s cherished project.
It seemed as if getting sex out of the way meant that she could view him as a whole person without the static of constant frustration blurring the picture. She liked what she saw. And he was turning into one fine dancer, too.
When he and Jack came back to the table, they were both grinning.
“We’re going to be on TV before you know it,” Jack said. “O’Roarke can now officially shake his booty.”
“All because of you, Jack. All because of you.” Finn held out his hand to Chelsea. “May I have this dance, sweet lady?”
“You’d better believe it.” She took his hand and walked with him out to the dance floor. The rubber tread on her shoes squeaked, reminding her that she didn’t have on the right footwear. “Hang on a minute. I’ll be right back.”
She met Jack and Josie coming out to the floor. Jack lifted his eyebrows. “I hope you’re not going to make that boy dance all by his lonesome.”
“Nope. Just handling a slight problem.” She sat and quickly took off both socks and shoes. Dancing in sock feet sounded like a recipe fo
r slipping and falling. She’d dance barefoot.
When she returned, Finn looked at her bare toes and shook his head. “I don’t trust myself.”
“That’s okay.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor. “I trust you completely.”
He tugged her into his arms and looked into her eyes. “Foolish woman.” But he was smiling, and as he spun her around, he didn’t step on her once.
She discovered that she loved dancing barefoot. Josie and Jack were the only other ones on the floor, which gave both couples plenty of room. Jack became something of a showoff, executing complicated steps that involved lots of dips and twirls.
But Finn just...danced with her. Holding her gaze, he used only light pressure to communicate his moves and she wondered if she’d have needed even that. It was as if she could read his mind. They synchronized their footwork effortlessly and she was sorry when the music ended.
She sighed. “That was the best.”
Happiness shone in his eyes. “It was. I was so worried I’d step on you, but then somehow I knew I wouldn’t.”
“We were in the zone.”
He laughed. “We were.”
“Nice job out there.” Jack walked over and clapped Finn on the back. “I knew you had guts, O’Roarke. You wouldn’t catch me wearing boots and dancing with a barefoot lady.”
“I can’t explain why, but I felt like I could do it with my eyes closed.”
Jack regarded him silently. Then he gave a short nod. “You’ll do.” And he went back to Josie as the music started again with a slower tune.
“I haven’t known him long,” Chelsea said, “but I’m guessing that’s high praise.”
“Could be.” Finn scooped her back into his arms and began an easy circuit around the floor. “But there’s only one person in this room I want to impress, and I’m dancing with her.”
“For the record, I’m impressed. It’s been a terrific day.”
He urged her closer and murmured in her ear. “But the sun’s going down.”
Rolling Like Thunder Page 13
