Jenna's Cowboy

by Sharon Gillenwater

  Nate laughed. “Was I graceful?”

  “Not exactly, but what amazed me the most was the way you handled it. Just laughed it off. A lot of guys would have gotten mad and cussed a blue streak. But then, I’ve never heard you cuss, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose your temper. You’ve always been easygoing.”

  Not anymore. But he hoped and prayed that was something the Lord could fix. He didn’t like being so uptight. “I have my moments. But I managed to keep my cool around you.”

  “Too cool. Why didn’t you ever ask me out, Nate? I would have gone in a second.”

  Nate’s heart tripped all over itself. “I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. Besides, somebody always beat me to it. If you remember, you had guys lined up at the door. Until you started going with Jimmy Don, you changed boyfriends like I changed socks.”

  “Only if you wore your socks for a week or two.”

  He was relieved to hear a smile in her voice. “Well, I did try to save Mom work and wore them until the horses started complaining about the stink.”

  She laughed, and Nate’s breathing settled back to almost normal. “So how about it? Will you go to the game with me?”

  Jenna listened to the gentle encouragement in his voice and closed her eyes. Long before Jimmy Don finally left her for good, she had slowly and painfully built a wall around her heart. Or as her father put it—a fence so tall and with so many strands of barbed wire that nothing could get past it. But her daddy was wrong. The barbs might keep people out, but the fence wasn’t solid. Between all those strands of hurt and anger, light glistened through, slivers of hope and longing that beckoned in her loneliness.

  She wanted to spend time with him, to enjoy his company and get reacquainted. But to actually go on a date? As in a couple? With everyone in town and half the people who’d ever lived there witnessing it? The thought terrified her. “I . . . uh . . . I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Nate,” she said softly.

  “I don’t want to push you into anything you aren’t ready for. If you don’t want to consider it a date, then we won’t. We’ll think of it as two old friends hanging out together and going to the game. If you want us to ride with your folks and Will, that’s okay. Did Chance tell you that your seat is next to mine?”

  “No, he didn’t mention it.” Was her brother trying to set them up? She hesitated for a few seconds. Maybe she was putting more importance on this than it deserved, and she was rattled for no reason.

  “Okay, I can do friends hanging out together.” She took a deep breath, excitement and nervousness practically making her head spin. It had seemed as if she were destined for a life alone, though not for lack of interested guys. She hadn’t been able to work up the courage to do more than chat with a few of them at church or occasionally at the cattle auction. But this was Nate. “We don’t have to ride with the folks. I want to go with you. It’s just that . . .” She took another breath to steady her nerves and whispered, “I’m scared.”

  “You’ve been hurt real bad, sugar. I reckon anybody would be afraid after what you’ve been through. To be honest, I’m a little scared too. I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to women.”

  “I’m not buying it. A handsome hunk like you probably has a girl in every port.”

  Nate laughed. “That only works for navy guys. At army bases, the men outnumber the women by about a zillion to one.”

  “Lousy odds.”

  “Yeah. But I never met anybody all that interesting anyway.”

  Was it selfish for her to be glad about that? “Are you going to the parade and pep rally tomorrow?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it.”

  “Ride in with Will and me. Having one of the Wolves’ All-Region wide receivers at the pep rally will give the team and the fans a boost.” It would also give her a little time to be with him but not alone with him. She hadn’t been out to coffee with a man besides Jimmy or the guys in her family in ten years. She didn’t know how to act. “You’ll probably see more old friends. I’ve heard there are a lot of folks coming into town tomorrow.”

  “You talked me into it.”

  Jenna grinned because she certainly hadn’t talked very hard. “We’ll pick you up about 3:30 so we can get a good parking spot. There should be plenty of time to grab something to eat after the parade and before the pep rally starts. Now, I’d better go rescue Ramona from Zach. I think he got into the pans and is using them for cymbals. See you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  When she hung up the cordless phone, Jenna laid it on the desk and leaned her head against the high back of the leather chair. “Lord, please don’t let me be making a mistake. You know I don’t want to get hurt again, but I don’t want to hurt Nate, either. Please give me wisdom. Help me relax and enjoy having him around.” The volume of noise from the kitchen intensified, propelling her out of the chair.

  A little zip of excitement raced through her as she hurried toward the door. Suddenly life looked a whole lot brighter.

  •• Turning over, Nate glanced at the clock: 3:00 a.m. He’d managed a little over an hour’s sleep since 1:00. Better yet, he hadn’t had a nightmare. As usual, it had taken him a long time to fall asleep, but tonight it was mostly because he’d been thinking about Jenna. Daydreaming a bit. Praying some. He was surprised by the strength of what he felt for her. Attraction, sure. Who wouldn’t be attracted to that pretty lady? But he wanted to wrap his arms around her, hold her close, and promise that no one would ever hurt her again.

  Unfortunately, that was a guarantee he couldn’t make. Not even about himself.

  Click.

  Nate shot out of bed and reached toward the nightstand for the gun that wasn’t there. Instead, he grabbed the baseball bat leaning against the headboard. A shadow swept along the wall. Bending low, he crept across the room and lifted one corner of the beige curtain. He quickly scanned the yard, then slowly searched the darkness again. Was that someone crouching by the barn? Ducking beneath the window, he eased back the curtain, looked from that angle, and slowly released his breath. Just a roll of chicken wire.

  He sank back against the wall, trying to calm his racing heart. The shadow drifted across the room again, and he spun toward the window.

  A barn owl on his nightly patrol.

  Down the hall the toilet flushed, and a minute later the bathroom door opened with a little squeak. Mom. She’d told him that she had started using the guest bath at night so she wouldn’t wake up his dad. He should have remembered that.

  Nate walked quietly back to the bed and sat down, propping the bat up against the headboard. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with shaking fingers, he whispered the mantra one of his buddies had shared with him. “I’m safe. Nobody’s going to hurt me. I’m safe.” Then he added the best reassurances that he knew. “God is with me. He’ll protect me. God is with me. He’ll protect me.” Lying down, he kept whispering the prayer over and over until he finally drifted off to sleep.

  His torment temporarily held at bay, he managed another two hours of fitful rest.

  •• At breakfast, his father grinned as he watched Nate put away his second plate of pancakes. His pale blue eyes glinted with amusement. “The way you’re chowin’ down, you’d think the army never fed you.”

  “We had plenty to eat most of the time.” Nate smiled at his mother. She didn’t bother to color her hair, but she didn’t need to. The gray mixed in with the short brown curls looked good. “But nobody makes pancakes the way you do. You’ll have to teach me how to cook these, or I’ll be showing up here for breakfast after I move.”

  Her happiness practically bubbled out of her, putting a sparkle in her hazel eyes. “You can come for breakfast anytime. Though I suppose that might be a little hard on the days you work at the ranch.”

  “Probably wouldn’t be the best use of my time. And I don’t want you thinking you always have to cook for me like this. But I’ll let you spoil me for another couple of days.�
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  “Are you going to start moving to the ranch today?” Tom sipped his coffee. His color was better, not as pale as he’d been a few days earlier. His hair had turned mostly gray while Nate had been gone, but he supposed most sixty-year-old men had gray hair.

  “I thought I’d take some of my gear over to the house early this afternoon. I’ll have to go shopping to outfit the place, but I need to check it out first.”

  “I can fix you up with some things.” Chris waved her fork in the general direction of the oak cabinets. “If secondhand is okay.”

  “I’m not picky. I appreciate anything you want to get rid of. I have some money put away, so I can afford to furnish the house. But I don’t want to spend a lot. I figured I’d hit Goodwill first and see what I could find.” He reached across the round oak table that had belonged to his great-grand-parents and squeezed his mom’s hand. “I promise, Mom, it won’t embarrass you to come visit. At least not too much,” he added with a grin.

  Smiling, she playfully slapped at his hand.

  Nate dodged with a laugh. “Can’t shop today. I’m going to the parade and pep rally with Will and Jenna.”

  “Good! You’ll probably see quite a few people you know. I heard at the beauty shop yesterday that the hotel is all booked up.” His mom offered him one more pancake. When he shook his head, she plopped it on her plate and poured syrup over it. “I’m glad Jenna is going too. When she came home, she hid out at the ranch for ages. Didn’t even go to church. She finally started getting involved in things about six months ago.”

  Under the pretense of gathering up a bit of syrup, Nate pushed the last bite of pancake around on his plate and said casually, “She’s going to the game with me tomorrow night.” He caught a surprised glance fly between his parents.

  His mother stared at him, her expression hopeful. “A date?”

  “Just a couple of old friends hanging out together.”

  “Oh.” She stuffed a bite of pancake into her mouth with a frown. “Everybody is going to think it’s a date.”

  “Hey, Mom, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him and finished chewing. “Well, official date or not, you need to get her a mum. You don’t want her to be the only woman in the stadium without one.”

  Tom snorted. “I doubt everybody will have one.”

  “Of course they will, especially if they go with a man. The alumni in some other places may not wear mums, but they do in Callahan Crossing. It’s a slap in the face if a woman’s beau—or friend—doesn’t give her one.”

  Nate had wondered if it was still a tradition. The custom wasn’t popular everywhere, but for as long as he could remember, in Texas, guys gave their dates a large chrysanthemum corsage for homecoming. It had been very important when he was in high school. If his mom was right, it still was.

  He sat back in the chair, full of food and enjoying being with his parents. He might be jittery and tense most of the time, but unlike some of his buddies, he wasn’t having too much trouble being around his family or friends. So far he had managed to enjoy them and not feel himself pulling away. Having a house of his own would help. As much as he loved them, he didn’t think he could handle living with his folks all the time.

  “I’d like to get her one, but I don’t know what she’ll think. She didn’t want to consider it a date.” The instant the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could grab them back. As expected, his mother pounced on that thought quicker than a roadrunner on a rattler.

  “But you did.” Chris beamed at her husband. “Didn’t I tell you he was sweet on that girl?”

  “Yes, dear. Twelve years ago.” He lifted one eyebrow, nodding slightly to Nate. “And eleven and ten . . .”

  “We’re just friends, Mom. But I don’t want her to feel left out.”

  “Right.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, either way, you’d better hustle to town and order it. It’s not something they can whip up in five minutes. They might not have any left as it is.”

  “I’ll help you with the tractor first.” Nate looked across the table at his father.

  Tom shook his head. “Better run on into town. We can wait until you get back. It shouldn’t take long. I need to pay a few bills and catch up on a little book work.”

  “You should be at the flower shop when they open. They’re terribly busy this time of year.”

  “I’ll do the dishes first.” When his mother started to protest, Nate shook his head. “No argument. I have plenty of time. You go gather the eggs and feed your chickens, and I’ll clean up in here.”

  “You’re scared one of those chickens will peck you.” Chris scooted back from the table.

  “You got that right. They never have liked me.” And he was afraid that if one decided to take offense at his presence, his mother would be frying chicken for supper.

  4

  At one minute to 9:00, Nate pulled up in front of Buds and Blooms as someone inside flipped on the neon “Open” sign in the window. He glanced down the empty street, relieved there wasn’t a line of people waiting to dash through the door.

  When he went inside, the young clerk smiled at him, her blonde ponytail bouncing as she walked behind the counter. Either she was part of the high school on-the-job-training program or she’d recently graduated. “Good morning. Are you here to pick up an order?”

  “No, but I’d like to order a mum.”

  “I’m sorry, but the cutoff to order mums was Monday. We’ve been swamped.”

  Nate frowned, squelching an irritated retort. “Is there another place in town I can get one?”

  “The high school choir is doing some as a fund-raiser, but I think their cutoff was last week sometime.”

  A woman carrying a big vase of yellow roses stepped from the back workroom, the flowers hiding her face. Nate figured she’d come out to give the clerk some support. When she set the vase on a side table, he recognized her. “Good morning, Mrs. Snyder.”

  “Nate! Welcome home.” She rushed around the counter to give him a big hug. “Are you home for a nice long visit?”

  “No, ma’am. My tour was up, so I decided to get out. I’ll be working at the Callahan Ranch and helping the folks out on the farm.”

  “Oh, my goodness, your parents must be as happy as pigs in a peach orchard.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “They’re so proud of you. We all are. How’s your dad?”

  “He says he’s getting better every day. They’re planning to go to the game.”

  She laughed and picked up an order pad. “It would take more than neck surgery to keep that ol’ quarterback cooped up in his house at homecoming.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Now, what kind of mum do you want? Real or silk?”

  Frowning, the younger woman stared at Mrs. Snyder. “But, you said—”

  The florist interrupted her. “We’ll make an exception for Nate. You probably haven’t met him.” She glanced back at him. “This is Marcy Phillips. Marcy, this is Nate Langley, Callahan Crossing’s very own Iraq war hero.”

  Marcy’s eyes widened. “You’re the guy who won the Silver Star? The one who rescued those wounded men?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Embarrassed, Nate shrugged. “But I didn’t do anything special. Anybody on the team would have done the same thing.” He turned his attention to Mrs. Snyder. He was probably being rude to the girl, but he didn’t want to talk about that day. Ever. Nor did he like the hero worship that suddenly lit her face. He wasn’t a hero. Just a regular guy who had done his job. And he hadn’t done it all that well, either. If his leg hadn’t given out on him and he’d been able to get Lt. Myers across the street, the man might not have lost his arm. “So which is better, real or fake?”

  “Most girls—and women—prefer the silk ones. They don’t make you sneeze, and a girl can keep them forever if she wants to. We have single, double, and triple. We have some samples over here. Marcy, will you put those roses in the cooler for me?
Then you can go back and work on the orders. I’ll keep an eye on the front for now.”

  Marcy nodded, cast a longing glance at Nate accompanied by a wistful sigh, then picked up the roses and carried them to the cooler.

  The florist led Nate around a tiered stand full of multicolored bouquets toward the back wall. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Marcy glance his way once more before she went into the back room.

  He turned his attention to the big homecoming display hanging on the wall. He’d forgotten how much froufrou stuff went on a mum. Or maybe they’d simply gotten a lot bigger since he was in high school. Besides one to three huge white chrysanthemums on a stiff sparkling gold base, there were dozens of fancy white, purple, and gold ribbons hanging down, decorated with all sorts of things. A couple of them even had a small teddy bear nestled in the middle of the flower.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “They look bigger and fancier than they used to. They must weigh a ton.” Jenna was on the short side. The ribbons would probably drag on the ground.

  “The triple ones are very heavy. Usually only the seniors— as in high school, not ladies your grandmother’s age—like those. We sometimes wire them onto a special harness.” A sparkle lit Mrs. Snyder’s eyes. “So who’s your girl?”

  “She’s not really my girl, just an old friend.” Not his girl—yet.

  “Okay.” She dragged the word out as if she didn’t believe him. “Then if you’ll tell me her name, I can probably tell you what kind of flower she likes.” When Nate hesitated, she laughed. “Hon, everybody is going to see you together at the game, so it can’t be a big secret.”

  He hoped his tan hid the blush warming his cheeks. “Jenna Colby.”

  “Well, hot dog! It’s about time somebody convinced that young lady to go on a date.”