“Fifty-two,” she says.
I close my eyes tightly and listen to the auctioneer try to drive up the bid. I have to hesitate so I don’t seem too eager, especially with her. She might outbid me just out of spite. Spite for what, I have no idea. Liking Vivian? Being friends with Christina? Working at DHR?
But I can’t hesitate too long, or he’ll drop the hammer. I raise my hand. “Fifty-four.”
Karen immediately outbids me. “Fifty-six.”
“I can’t bid fifty-eight,” I say. “If I do, she’ll bid six, and that’s my limit. What do I do?”
Maddox raises his hand. “Fifty-eight.”
I gape in surprise.
“What are you waiting for? Do it,” he says.
“Six thousand!” I swallow and say a little prayer. “Is she looking?”
“She’s talking with the man next to her. He’s shaking his head. Andie, I think you’ve got him.”
The hammer drops, and my heart soars. I hug him. “Oh my god. I did it!”
Hands land on my shoulders from behind as Bobby squeezes me. “Congratulations.”
Someone appears and hands me a buyer’s contract. “Fill this out and give it to the cashier to finalize your purchase.”
I gladly take it. “Thank you.”
I get out my driver’s license and fill out the contract while other horses are auctioned. I ignore what’s going on until Maddox gets my attention. “This is the other one you would have wanted, right?”
I glance up and see they are showing hip #15. “Yes. I hope someone good gets him.”
He motions to my left. “Someone good is definitely not getting him.”
Karen is bidding again. I turn around. “Bobby, you should bid on this one.”
“We don’t need another Quarter Horse. If he were Arabian, we might be interested.”
Another man and Karen drive the bid up to forty-four hundred. I put my head in my hands. “I can’t watch. I spent a week studying the brochure. I can’t help feeling connected to the horses I picked.”
Maddox raises a hand. “Forty-six.”
I pull down his hand. “I can’t buy this one, too. I’m not prepared to care for three of them.”
“I know that.”
“Forty-eight,” Karen says.
The auctioneer rattles off the numbers, baiting Maddox, and I feel sick to my stomach.
“Five thousand,” Maddox shouts.
Karen opens her mouth to speak, but the man at her side stops her. She turns up her nose at Maddox as the auctioneer slams the hammer.
My jaw goes slack. “Maddox, what are you going to do with a horse?”
“Keep it at the ranch. We have the room.”
“And you can pay for this?”
He pulls out his wallet. “As long as they take credit cards.”
Someone hands Maddox a buyer’s contract.
I’m aghast. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“You like him,” he says. “I didn’t want you to think of him being trailered to a slaughterhouse like the others.”
I stand. “Let’s go.”
“Why? This is fun.”
“Because I like a lot of the horses. You might end up buying a dozen more if we stay.”
He laughs.
I say goodbye to Bobby, who follows us out of the stands. “Andie, wait. Can we meet for a drink? I heard about this place over in Ft. Worth that sounds fun.”
I glance at Maddox, who is silently brooding.
“Bring Maddox. Bring anyone you want. The more the merrier. What do you say?”
“Okay.”
“Great. I’ll text you the place. Eight o’clock?”
“Sure.”
“Great.”
“You already said that.”
“I must really mean it then. See you then.”
Maddox doesn’t look happy. “What?” I say innocently.
“You’re going drinking with him?”
“We were both invited.”
“But he only wants you. Obviously.”
I stare him down. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
“Don’t be naïve, Andie. You and I are sleeping together. You used to sleep with him. You know there’s going to be a pissing contest if we go drinking.”
It’s not lost on me that he failed to answer the question. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Wait and see.”
“So don’t go then.”
“Oh, I’m going.”
I roll my eyes. “Can we please collect our horses?”
He studies his buyer’s contract. “Did I really just agree to buy a horse?”
“You really did. Maybe now you’ll have a reason to come visit after your family sells the ranch.”
He looks like he wants to say something but doesn’t. Seems that’s been happening a lot lately.
Chapter Thirty-one
Maddox
What does one wear when going drinking with the guy who was the love of Andie’s life? I grab the white shirt, put it on, button it, and roll up the sleeves. The contrast between my tanned skin and the white shirt makes me look good. Not that it’s a competition or anything.
Except it totally is.
I put on my dress boots, laughing at myself because I actually have dress boots. It’s hard to believe three months ago, I didn’t have any boots. Now I own them for every occasion. On my way out, I pick the black cowboy hat, but just because it’s the only one without dirt on it.
Andie comes out of her house the same time I do. She’s wearing a skirt. A skirt. I didn’t even know she owned one. I suppose I saw her in a dress at Nana’s funeral, but that’s completely different. She’s wearing this for him. Cowboy boots accentuate her shapely legs, and I follow a line from the top of her boots to mid-thigh.
“You look nice,” she says.
“You look… different.”
She scrunches her nose. “Wow. Way to give a girl a compliment.”
“It’s just interesting how I’ve never seen you in a skirt before, and the second Dr. Bobby shows up, you run to put one on.”
“Maddox, you’re being absurd. I’ve never worn a skirt because we don’t go out.”
“We go out.”
“No we don’t. We eat at our houses. We ride horses and have picnics. We occasionally go shopping. We’ve never gone out to a restaurant, club, or bar. If we had, I’d have worn something like this. You have nothing to worry about.”
We get in my truck. “Why would I be worried?”
“Exactly.” The whole way to Ft. Worth, she fidgets. First with her necklace, then her ring. Then she smooths her skirt obsessively.
“Why are you so nervous?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re trying to impress him.”
“And you’re reading way too much into this. Wait until you see what Tara and Christina are wearing. Girls like to dress up to go clubbing, Maddox.”
It’s more than that. She’s usually more talkative on our drives.
“Have you named your new horse yet?” I ask.
“No, you?”
“Yes. Shawshank Redemption.”
“After the movie?”
“It’s a play on words. You wanted to save the horse, and your last name is Shaw. I thought it was kind of clever.”
Her mouth opens and closes. “Actually, I think it’s pretty darn appropriate. Also sweet. I still can’t believe you bought him, but you can’t call him that for his barn name. It’s too big a mouthful.”
“So I’ll call him Shaw or maybe Shank.”
“Shank sounds barbaric, and Shaw is too obvious.”
“How about Doc then?”
She shrugs. “It’s your horse.”
I can tell she’s secretly pleased and I feel a smile coming on. “Now let’s name yours. I was thinking since I named mine after you, you should name yours after me.”
“You want me to name him Maddox?”
“When I was little, people called me
Mad Max.”
She turns up her nose. “I don’t think so. Makes him sound like a bronc.”
“McBride?”
“Too stuffy.” She bites her lip in thought. “I’ve got it. His name is Connecticut.”
“I like it.” I laugh. “But if I’m standing next to him, the two of us might get confused.”
“That will hardly be a problem after you leave.”
I sigh.
We pull up to our destination. It’s huge. Hundreds of cars already fill the massive lot.
“This is a bar?” I ask, examining the massive building that seems to span a football field.
“It’s more like a sports complex,” she says. “Wait until you see inside. There are games, dance floors, even a bull-riding machine.” She narrows her eyes at me. “I’m surprised you haven’t been here yet.”
“I’m a bartender in New York, Andie. The last thing I want to do in my spare time is go to a bar.”
“Fair enough, but I promise this will be unlike anything up there.”
After combing the lot for an open space, we go inside. No way will we be able to find her friends here. She pulls out her phone and texts one of them.
“Follow me,” she says.
We pass two or three long bars, a few smaller dance floors, a Dave and Buster’s-like game room, and finally see her friends. The three of them run to each other and squeal and hug. I am glad to see Christina is still able to do things like this.
“Girl, you look hot,” Tara says to Andie.
“Speaking of hot.” Christina walks around me in a circle. “You sure do clean up like a nice southern cowboy.”
Owen appears and shakes my hand.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” I say.
He motions to a high-top. “Some of the guys are here. Thought we could blow off some steam. Maybe ride the bull.”
“You go ahead. I’m not breaking an arm to ride some piece of junk tin can.”
“That piece of junk tin can cost this place about two hundred grand. It’s the best around.”
I grin. “I’m still not riding it.”
We put in a large order of drinks and pull a second high-top over to where the guys are. It’s loud here. Part of me hopes Bobby What’s-his-name won’t be able to find us, and Andie forgets to check her phone. But ten minutes later, he walks right up to the table.
“Maddox,” he says, offering me his hand.
“How’d you find us? This place is huge.”
He holds up his phone. “A long time ago Andie and I set up our phones so we could track each other’s locations.”
“Isn’t that convenient?”
He kisses Andie on the cheek. Christina and Tara immediately swoon over him. He’s the very definition of cowboy: rugged, yet refined—a cowboy with an advanced degree, a chiseled jaw, and a five-hundred-dollar hat.
The band plays, and Owen takes Tara to the dance floor. A few dozen other people join them. They all do some couples’ dance in a counterclockwise motion, perfectly in sync.
Andie leans toward me. “Want to try it?”
“Are you kidding? I’d step all over you and make an ass of myself.”
“You can’t come to Texas and not learn the Texas Two-Step.”
Bobby butts in. “Someone better take her out there.”
Andie gives me one more look. I must hesitate too long because Bobby drags her out on the floor. Feelings bombard me as I watch them dance together.
“Gotta be quicker than that,” Merle says behind me.
“I guess so.”
I can’t stand watching, but I can’t tear my eyes away. I finish my beer, call the waitress over, and order a shot.
The song ends, and I figure so has my misery, but another starts, and they stay out there. “Keep ’em coming,” I say when my shot is placed in front of me.
“You really like her,” Christina says across the table.
“Why aren’t you dancing?”
“Are you kidding? I’m sure Jon knows a dozen people here who would report back to him if I so much as accept a drink from another man.”
There are many things I want to say to her, but now is not the time.
Everyone finally comes back to the table. Andie eyes the empty glasses in front of me. I ignore her judgmental stare and turn to Bobby. “When are you heading back to Wyoming?”
“Day after tomorrow. This was a short trip.”
“That’s too bad.”
He smirks. “As if you didn’t want me out of here yesterday.” He moves closer. “I saw you watching us out there.”
“Yeah? So?”
“A man doesn’t look like he wants to kill the guy dancing with a girl unless he’s in love with that girl.”
I glance at Andie. She’s having a conversation with her friends. I shove a shot glass at Bobby. “You need a drink. You’re seeing things.”
He raises the glass to me and tosses it back. “I assume you haven’t told her how you feel then.”
“I’m leaving Texas soon.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well, shit. Things are starting to make sense. It’s me and her all over again. She must really be a glutton for punishment.”
“What are you boys talking about?” Andie says, joining us.
“Maddox was just saying how he wanted to learn how to line dance.”
Andie looks surprised. I’m about to enlighten her when a song starts, and she and Tara and Christina pull me out on the dance floor.
I try resisting. “I don’t think you want me to do this.”
“It’s the easiest line dance in the history of line dances,” Andie says. “Cupid Shuffle. Just do what we do. Right four steps to the count of eight, then left. Then heel tap eight times, turn left a quarter turn for a count of eight, then start over.”
I try to wrap my brain around what she told me, go the wrong direction, and run into her. “I told you I’m terrible at this.”
She laces our elbows together. “Do it with me.”
I follow her lead, watching my feet the entire time, counting to eight out loud and then repeating.
“Look at you,” she says. “You’re doing it.”
She removes her arm from mine, and I try and keep up. I turn right a quarter turn instead of left and am facing the back when everyone is facing front. Owen and some of the guys are laughing at me. I bump into the guy next to me and he gives me a biting stare.
“First time. Cut me a break,” I say.
The songs ends, and we return to our table.
“Thank God that’s over,” I say and slam down another shot.
Bobby says, “There are plenty of men willing to dance with her if you want to sit the next one out.”
“Meaning you.”
“Sure. Why not?”
There are a hundred reasons I can think of, but I keep my mouth shut. I check the time and wonder how long we have to stay. Andie and I came together, so I’m stuck here until she decides to leave.
She and her friends go out for another line dance while Bobby and I hang back and drink. I don’t miss how he’s watching her every move. I try to distract him, because I really don’t like the way he’s staring at her. “How’re things in Wyoming?”
“Not as hot as they are here,” he says, throwing back a shot.
Is he talking about the weather? “Do you work for a large ranch?”
“It’s about a hundred thousand acres.”
“Impressive. How many horses?”
“Five hundred. Do you really want to talk about my job?”
“Just making conversation.”
“She told you about us, didn’t she?”
“She did.”
“Probably didn’t paint me in a very good light.”
“On the contrary. She said she was the one who broke the pact.”
He laughs sadly. “It was better to let her think that.”
He has my full and complete attention. “What do you mean?”
“We were getting
too close. We both had plans that involved us being a thousand miles apart. It was easier to pretend she was another casual affair than to tell her the truth.”
“The truth?”
“Maddox!” Andie yells from the dance floor. She’s waving me over.
Several couples start doing the Texas Two-Step again. I shake my head.
Bobby stands. “I’ll go.”
I get up so fast, my barstool almost topples over. “I’ve got this.” The other couples effortlessly dance together, and I wonder why in the hell I agreed to this. Maybe it would have been better to let Bobby dance with her than for me to look like a complete idiot.
Andie pulls me aside. “It’s pretty easy. Quick, quick, slow, slow. Your body keeps moving at the same pace, but your feet follow the quick, quick, slow, slow pattern. Lead with your left foot. Try it here and then we’ll join the others.” She shows me where to put my hands. “When you move forward, I move back.”
I study the couples dancing for a minute and then we try it.
“Good. Again.”
“This isn’t that hard,” I say.
She pulls me out onto the dance floor. I keep the beat in my head. Quick, quick, slow, slow.
“Okay, now do a promenade,” she says.
“There’s more?”
“We open up our stance and move in the same direction, like them. Four steps and then back to the first part.”
Although I feel like I have two left feet, I’m able to do it without tripping us both.
“Now spin me.”
“Do you want to end up flat on the floor?”
“Do it, Maddox.”
I fail miserably, run into her, and have to catch her before she topples the couple next to us. She laughs like she doesn’t care that I just embarrassed us both.
The song changes to a slow one, and she puts her arms around my neck. I sigh with relief. “This I can handle.”
“You weren’t bad for a first timer.”
“I wasn’t good either.”
“You have to start somewhere.”
Bobby’s watching us. If looks could kill, I’d be hanging on a meat hook. If I were a betting man, I’d say his feelings for her haven’t changed.
“I’m glad to see you two getting along,” Andie says.
I chuckle. “If that’s what you call it.”
“You’re not?”
Texas Orchids (The Devil's Horn Ranch Series) Page 25
