I was thinking about how much I want you to ask me to stay.
“I just came to say goodbye to you.”
Her heart sank.
“I wanted to say goodbye to you, too, but it’s going to be hard,” she said. “And I want to thank you. You’ve done so much for Danny and me—for all the kids.”
She wanted to make love with him one last time, but he wasn’t moving from the doorway.
“I’m going to miss you,” she added.
“I’ll miss you, too.”
“I asked Ronnie to take us to the airport in the morning.”
That startled him. “Why don’t you want me to take you?”
“Because it’s hard enough saying goodbye to you now.”
He crossed the room to her bed. She moved over, and he sat on the edge, took her hand.
“Are you worried about Danny? Putting him back into the same situation?”
“He seems to have changed, but I won’t know until I get back. I’m still a working parent, and that’s not going to change.”
“You told me before that you’d love teaching, and that you’ve taught kids before,” Joe said.
She nodded. “But Danny is my first priority right now.”
“Of course,” Joe said. “You know, Maggie, Danny could come to the theater with you on occasion. He could do his homework there in a quiet spot instead of at home. Maybe he could even help you learn lines. And I’ve been thinking that Danny might want to tutor younger kids. That would give him a positive experience.”
Joe was silent for several beats. Finally, he said, “I hope we can see each other again.”
Her heart soared, and she could barely speak. This wasn’t goodbye! It was an “I’ll see you later.”
She touched his cheek with her palm. “I hope we can see each other again, too.”
Ask me to stay.
But Joe went silent again, and her heart took a nosedive.
He dropped her hand. “Maybe you could arrange to join us at the end of every Cowboy Quest, maybe put on another talent show. That was such a good experience for the kids.”
“I thought of doing something like that in New York. That theater in Mountain Springs gave me an idea. Maybe I could buy an old theater, and…”
“In New York?”
He still wasn’t asking her to stay—nor was he telling her that he loved her.
“Yes. A theater in New York,” she answered.
Joe took a deep breath. “When will we see each other again?”
“Maybe I could visit you when I have time off, and you could visit me when you have time,” she offered. “But if I’m in rehearsal for a new show I can’t leave. I’d have to stay for the run of the show. And Danny has school, and…”
This was impossible. They were talking in circles. There must be a solution.
“I suppose we could do that,” he said. “I’ll be bringing my bulls to Madison Square Garden again for the Professional Bull Riders event in January.”
“See? That’s only about eight months away.”
Who was she kidding—that was a lifetime away.
“I guess this is it then. See you later, Maggie.”
She couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe.
“Goodbye, Joe.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently, carefully, as if she’d break. Then he kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough, slanting his mouth over hers, tongue sliding against tongue.
She hoped that he’d stay, make love to her one last time.
But he didn’t. He tweaked his hat, and then he was gone.
And Maggie finally let her tears fall.
New York had lost some of its charm for Maggie. Instead of feeling the excitement in the air, she found herself thinking of the wide-open spaces of Wyoming. Every time she saw a horse on the street, she found herself thinking of Lady. She even found herself putting on her cowboy hat to go to the theater.
But above all, she missed Joe.
One day, in a melancholy mood, just for the heck of it, Maggie sat in the kitchen of her condo and called the real estate company in Mountain Springs that had the listing for the old theater.
“I’m sorry, it’s sold,” the agent said.
“Oh…um…thank you.” She sighed, hanging up the phone, feeling deflated. She didn’t know why hearing that it had sold devastated her so much.
She didn’t know what had made her call, other than she’d been thinking about Cowboy Quest. If the theater could have a fundraiser for the library, why not have a benefit for Cowboy Quest? It would certainly help defray the costs for kids who couldn’t afford clothes, or boots or hats, or traveling expenses. Or for Joe who might even need to buy more horses if the groups kept getting bigger.
She could have given dance lessons to local kids in those practice rooms upstairs, maybe even started a Cowboy Quest for kids who might be interested in theater arts, or a Cowgirl Quest just for girls.
But why was she thinking of Mountain Springs? She should be thinking of buying or renting places right here in New York.
She wanted to be near Joe, that’s why.
But why was she even considering buying the old theater in Mountain Springs? She was in rehearsal now for a new musical. It had great songs, a Tony-winning choreographer and promising buzz.
Opening night was in a month.
Yes, things were going well.
Joe had sent a very complimentary report to Judge Cunningham, and Danny’s charges would be dismissed if he stayed out of trouble for a year.
Danny had thrown himself into his schoolwork, had made some new friends in school and was ahead of his classmates, thanks to the Cowboy Quest teachers. He wasn’t sneaking out, and they were talking more.
“What were you doing all morning, Danny?” Maggie asked as they sat down for lunch together.
“Emailing Brandon and the guys.”
“How is everyone?”
“Great. Really great. Brandon’s in a school play, and I’ve been emailing Joe, too.”
Maggie tried to appear casual when she asked, “And how is Joe?”
“He’s good. There’s going to be another Cowboy Quest program in four months. They’ll be moving the cattle from the summer pasture to the winter one.”
Maggie flashed back to the cattle drive. It seemed so far away, yet it also seemed like yesterday.
“You miss Cowboy Quest, don’t you?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah. And I miss my horse.”
“I miss…everything, too.” She was just about to tell him that she missed Joe.
Joe had called her a couple of days ago, and they’d talked for over an hour. It wasn’t enough, but she liked that fact that he’d finally told her that he missed her.
“Things just aren’t the same here, Maggie. I’m not the same without you.”
“I miss you, too, Joe. Maybe we can arrange to see each other again some time.”
“You never know,” he’d said.
She’d hung on to those three words. Was he planning a trip out here? Was he going to ask her to come for a visit?
Danny took a deep breath and looked at her.
“Something on your mind, Danny?”
He started to shake his head no, then changed his mind. “You know, Aunt Maggie, I wasn’t very nice to you and Joe in the beginning. I thought you’d end up with him, and you wouldn’t want me around.”
He made a funny face. “The guys ragged on me something awful about you two.”
“I know, and I’m sorry about that.”
“But you didn’t end up with him. How come?”
She sighed. “Joe has his life in Wyoming and I have my life here,” she said, voicing what she’d been reminding herself for a week.
“But you could be in a show anywhere, couldn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, but New York has Broadway. That’s the pinnacle of success.”
“But you’ve already been on Broadway. You’ve reached the pinnacle.”
> He was right. She had attained her goal.
Maybe her agent could come up with an offer—something different—after her current contract ended.
But in a way, she had already received another offer. Joe had asked her to run the talent show at Cowboy Quest. But that wasn’t really a job.
But it’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about.
Joe had stuffed himself into a rented tuxedo and bought a dozen red roses from a street vendor. He wanted this to be a special night, a perfect night for all of them. The plan was to meet Dan at the theater for opening night.
He was risking his heart again on the chance that he could win Maggie over. He hadn’t told Dan the real reason that he was coming to New York; he’d just said that he wanted to see Maggie perform, to be there on her opening night.
But the boy wasn’t stupid. He’d probably already noticed that Joe was acting like a lovesick bull.
He couldn’t wait to see Maggie again. And when she came onstage, she was mesmerizing. Joe didn’t know much about musicals, but he did know that she had talent, lots of it. He wondered if she had to do her breathing exercises to calm her nerves. He smiled, remembering how nervous she’d been during her first riding lesson.
But she’d learned quickly. During the cattle drive, she’d ridden like an old pro.
Look how happy she is, performing up there.
He wondered if he’d made the right decision in coming here, in making plans for them both.
As he listened to Maggie sing, he noticed the magical look on her face. He couldn’t believe how gracefully she danced, how her melodic voice touched the audience.
His fears returned and laid heavily on his heart. He was thinking of himself, wasn’t he? But if they just worked together, they could come up with a workable compromise, couldn’t they?
Maggie looked in her dressing room mirror and saw Joe standing in the doorway with Danny, looking as handsome as ever. As delicious as he looked in a tux, she liked him better in jeans. She stood and rushed into his arms.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered into his ear.
“You were wonderful,” he told her, handing her a bouquet of red roses.
“What brings you here?”
“My life hasn’t been the same since you two left. New York is an exciting city. I think I could like it here.”
Her heart was pounding fast in her chest. This was what she’d been wanting to hear. But the pieces just didn’t fit.
She raised an eyebrow, suddenly skeptical. “Am I hearing you right?”
“I know nothing else but Wyoming, Maggie. Maybe my mother and father had the right idea—maybe I should experience more of the world.”
“You’ve really given this a lot of thought.”
“I have enough money to live on. I don’t have to worry about that for a long time. And I plan on hanging out a lot with Dan, maybe doing some volunteer work for local organizations. Then I’ll see you at the theater every night!”
“But Joe,” Danny said, “what about Cowboy Quest? And what about the horses? And the cattle?”
“My ranch is in good hands with my crew and with my aunt. And I’ll go back for Cowboy Quest.”
“You don’t belong here, Joe,” Danny said, confused. “You have a ranch.”
Tears stung Maggie’s eyes. Danny was right. Even a thirteen-year-old boy knew that Joe would never be happy here.
But she could be happy in Wyoming—except Joe wasn’t asking her to move to Wyoming.
“We’ll talk more at dinner,” Joe said.
Maggie grabbed her purse. “Let’s go. I know a great place for Chinese food.”
After walking to the restaurant and enjoying a great meal, Joe handed Maggie a folded pack of papers.
Puzzled, she opened the papers and scanned them. “I don’t understand. This is the deed to the theater in Mountain Springs. But why? How?”
“It’s yours if you want it. I was going to bribe you with it so you’d move to Wyoming for part of the year.”
“Wait a minute!” She laughed. “You don’t really want to move here, do you? Not if you’ve gone to all this trouble to buy a theater to convince me to move out there!”
“I was hoping that we could compromise—maybe we could split our time. And I have enough money, Maggie. We all could travel, see the world.”
She grinned. “I think that’s a definite possibility!”
“I know it’s going to be hard for you to walk away from your career, Maggie, but take a chance on me.”
“You’re going to have to take a chance on me, too. Every now and then, I might miss New York and might miss Broadway—or maybe I’ll decide in the future that I wouldn’t want to return full-time. Just remember that I’m not Ellen.”
“I realize that now.”
Suddenly, Joe went down on one knee. “I love you, Maggie McIntyre. Will you marry me? Life is just no good without you.”
“Yee-haw!” Danny cheered. “Marry him, Aunt Maggie.”
“Yes!” she yelled, pulling Joe to his feet.
Their mouths came together to seal the deal, and the patrons of the restaurant burst into applause.
Maggie looked into the eyes of the man she’d always love. “You didn’t need to bribe me. I love you too, Joe.”
Joe looked at Danny and Maggie and held up his glass in a toast. “To all of us.”
“To all of us,” Danny repeated, holding up a glass of milk.
“To my two cowboys,” Maggie said, her heart overflowing with joy.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7943-2
THE COWBOY CODE
Copyright © 2011 by Christine Wenger
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*The Hawkins Legacy
†Gold Buckle Cowboys
The Cowboy Code Page 14
