“Sweets. Yeah, that’s who I was thinking about, too.” Christine rolled her eyes.
Kathie was poring over her notebook, writing page after page with a serious face.
“Are you still working on your schedule?” Callie asked.
“Oh God, no. I’m done with that. I’ll work when Paul’s at work. Done. End of workday.” Kathie didn’t lift her eyes as she spoke. “I’m taking notes about an idea for my next book. It’s about a woman who loses everything and discovers that family’s what matters most. How’s that for a simplified plot? Lots of great heart-wrenching stuff will happen, of course.”
“You amaze me, Kathie.” Callie finished her tea and went to the window. “I can’t wait to read this one, knowing you came up with it on this trip.” The window looked out over the entertainment barn. The sun was going down, and the barn was lit up with white holiday lights. “Hey, you guys, come here.”
Christine and Bonnie joined her by the window.
“They must be getting ready for the dance,” Bonnie said.
“What are you guys wearing tonight?” Callie asked.
“Whatever. Jeans and boots. It’s a barn dance, so it doesn’t really matter.” Bonnie’s eyes widened. “Wait, for you it does, Cal. Your first dance with your new man. Wow. How could we forget? What are you going to wear?”
“Probably that cute skirt that Kathie got me last year for Christmas.” Callie ran her hands down the heavy curtains. “You guys, I saw this room the other night. Remember I told you about the conference room? This was it. These curtains weren’t here. I know I’ve said it a hundred times since we got here, but I still can’t believe he did all of this.”
“Yeah, well, enjoy it now.” Christine hooked her thumbs into her pockets, shook her shoulders, and spoke with a tough voice. “When you get back to Trusty, those bitches are gonna be hatin’ your pretty little ass for taking the best horse in the barn off the market.”
“Oh God, you’re so weird.” Callie bit her lower lip. “Wait. Do you think so?”
“You’ve got supersexy Wes Braden to come home to. What does it matter what anyone else thinks? Besides…” Christine fisted her hands and blew on her knuckles. “I’ve got your back. Just let someone mess with you. I’ll take them down.”
“Thank God for little favors.” She smiled at Christine. “I think we’d better get ready for the dance, but I’m not sure how we tip these guys.” Callie looked at Bonnie. “Any thoughts?”
“We didn’t bring our purses,” Bonnie pointed out.
“Okay, fine. I’ll take a hit for the team and…you know.” Christine wiggled her eyebrows in quick succession.
Callie smacked her arm. “No, you will not.”
“I know. I just love to tease you because you get all prissy about that.” She eyed one of the men. “I think Billy’s going to be dressing like a prince tonight.”
“I’m not prissy.” If you’d seen me last night, you wouldn’t call me prissy!
The doors opened, and Sweets darted in with something tied to her collar with a big red ribbon. Callie dropped to her knees, and Sweets padded right up into her lap, licking her cheeks and whimpering with excitement.
“What is that?” Callie tried to untie the ribbon, but every time she reached for it, Sweets twisted her head toward her hand, desperate for more petting. “Sweets, maybe you could sit still.” She tried again.
Bonnie picked up Sweets and held her tight. “Go ahead. Untie it.”
Kathie was still glued to her notebook.
Sweets wiggled in Bonnie’s arms while Callie struggled to free the paper.
Callie laughed as she untied the ribbon with Sweets’s tongue lapping at her fingers. “Let me see what you’ve got.”
She unrolled the paper and her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh. No way. No way. No way.” She looked at Bonnie. “Pinch me.” She slammed her eyes shut. When no one pinched her, she opened her eyes again. “I said pinch me!”
“Fine.” Christine pinched her.
“Ouch! Thank you. Whew, I’m not dreaming.” Callie turned the paper so it faced the others.
Kathie came off her chair and knelt in front of Callie, then read the paper.
Princess Callie,
I would be honored if you’d grace me with your presence at the ball tonight. If you agree, tie the ribbon to Sweets’s collar and send her out, and I’ll pick you up at your cabin at seven o’clock. If Sweets appears without a ribbon, I will assume you have other plans and wish you a lovely evening.
Your hopeful prince,
Wesley
PS: I will arrange for your fellow princesses to be picked up as well.
“Callie, I’m so using this in a book. He’s the most romantic man I’ve ever known in real life.” Kathie read the invitation again.
Callie heard Wes’s voice in the hallway, and Sweets bolted out of the room.
“No!” they all yelled in unison.
“Oh no! He’ll think I’m refusing the invitation.” Tears sprang to Callie’s eyes. “He did so much and I messed it up.”
Bonnie snagged the ribbon. “No, you didn’t.” She tied it around Callie’s neck, spun her around, and pushed her out the door.
Callie stumbled into the hallway and stopped at the sight of Wes kneeling beside Sweets, his neck bowed.
With her heart in her throat and her friends pushing her forward from behind, Callie took a few fast steps, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding. She fingered the ribbon around her neck as Wes lifted his eyes and rose to his feet. Their eyes met. He took a step forward and opened his arms as a smile formed on his lips. She sprinted into his arms.
“You enjoy giving me heart attacks, don’t you?” He laughed, but she heard the shadow of his momentary disappointment from finding Sweets without a ribbon around her neck lingering in his voice.
She kissed his lips. “No. God, no. I would be honored to go to the ball with you tonight.”
He laughed, loud and deep. “Hear that, Sweets? She’s going to the ball with us.”
Sweets barked, and the girls collectively awwed.
“You’re amazing,” she said.
“No, I’m just a guy in love.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
CALLIE WAS THE last one to shower. She finished drying her hair and went to her bedroom to change into her outfit for the dance. Her head was still spinning from their magical day. She heard a knock on the front door and she froze. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that she wasn’t running late.
“Callie! You’ve got to come down here,” Bonnie called.
“Just a sec. I need to get dressed,” she answered.
“Forget getting dressed and get your butt down here,” Christine said in her tough voice.
Callie rolled her eyes as she descended the stairs. “What on earth is so—”
The girls were each holding up a fluffy ball gown. Bonnie shoved the box at her feet across the floor with her foot.
“Oh my God.” Callie ran down the steps. She reached into the box and withdrew an off-the-shoulder yellow ball gown complete with a white petticoat and layers of fine silk.
“I think you’re supposed to be the belle of the ball, like in Beauty and the Beast. She had an off-the-shoulder yellow dress, didn’t she?” Christine glanced at Bonnie. “Bonnie’s dress looks like Ariel’s, and Kathie’s looks like Rapunzel’s.”
“And yours is Merida.” Callie fingered the satin dress. “This is—”
“Crazy,” Christine said. “I don’t even look like Merida. She has red hair.”
“I think it’s metaphorically speaking,” Kathie said. “Rapunzel was studious, Belle was a smart literary type, and Ariel gathered things to help save her kingdom. Bon, you’re our mother hen. This makes perfect sense. And, Christine, think about it. Merida was a tomboy, and you’re pretty much the tomboy of our group. I think I love your boyfriend, Callie.”
“Yeah, well, get in line,” Bonnie said.
“You’ll have to fight me fo
r him. We’ll be the princesses of the barn dance.” Callie could barely contain her excitement at what Wes had done. She felt like a real princess, being treated to such an extravagant day. “I’m changing!” She ran up the stairs with the dress bundled against her belly.
“Wait!” Bonnie yelled. “We’re coming with you.”
They dressed in a flurry of laughter and Oh my Gods, and Bonnie captured it all on film. When they were finally dressed in their gowns like four princesses, they went downstairs and sat on the couch like prim and proper ladies—save for their sexy cowgirl boots—with their hands folded in their laps, afraid to move for fear of messing up their beautiful gowns.
“How can we walk to the barn? The bottoms of the dresses will get ruined.” Bonnie fingered the hem of the dress.
“He said we’ll be picked up,” Christine reminded her. “Maybe we’ll take the four-wheeler. I heard that if a rancher lets you ride his four-wheeler, you’re practically married.”
A knock at the door brought them all to their feet. Callie rushed toward the door.
“Wait.” Bonnie stepped in front of her. “Let the man make an entrance.”
“Okay. Okay.” Callie inhaled deeply, trying to calm her fluttering stomach. No such luck. She’d never been the focus of a man’s attention in this way. She felt lavished and loved and like she might pass out, all at once.
Bonnie pulled the door open and her jaw dropped. She waved the girls forward. The full skirts of their gowns swished as they hurried to the door and huddled in close to look outside.
Wes stood beside a white horse. He looked striking in a blue velvet jacket with yellow trim, with a white ascot that covered his broad chest. He wore black slacks that outlined the curves of his muscular thighs, and sitting obediently by his booted feet, was Sweets, with a yellow bow around her neck. The horse was draped in blue velvet and her mane was braided with yellow ribbons.
Wes came up the steps and held out a hand for Callie. She was struck dumb. Her arms remained at her sides. When she finally caught her breath, Wes took her hand in his and kissed the back of it while Callie did nothing more than breathe him in and try to remain erect.
“You look stunning.”
“Wes,” she whispered. “You…this…today…” She swallowed against the lump in her throat and went with the first complete sentence she could manage. “You look so handsome.”
“Then we make a perfect pair.”
Callie realized that her friends were as awestruck as she was, except for Bonnie, who had somehow slipped away and retrieved her camera.
Bonnie aimed the lens at Wes’s white horse and exclaimed, “Oh my God!” drawing everyone’s attention toward the three men on horseback headed up the hill. Before Callie could register who was riding toward the cabin, Kathie had bundled the skirt of her purple gown in her hands and was running across the field. The heels of her cowgirl boots kicked up from beneath the fluffy layers of fabric.
Christine stepped onto the porch, her blond bob revealing her graceful neck and lean shoulders. Her tightly fitted dress clung to her slim arms and torso, with a skirt that didn’t need frills or sheer covering. It was elegant and simple in deep velvet blue with threads of gold sewn throughout and adorned with gold appliqué along the bottom. A delicate brown belt with a round gold buckle hung low on one hip, with a swatch of blue silk hanging beneath.
“I wish I had taken that roping class. I’d lasso that man of mine right off the horse.” Christine didn’t bother to lift the skirt of her dress before taking the stairs two at a time and sprinting across the grass toward Billy. In one easy move, Billy lifted her to his horse and set her in front of him. Billy’s dark hair brushed over the fancy tuxedo shirt he wore with his jeans and chaps. Callie wondered if Christine was calling him Tex. Billy kissed her so long, Callie’s cheeks heated.
Bonnie shoved the camera into Callie’s hands, gathered the sparkly green layers of satin in one arm, and flashed a wide smile before hurrying down the steps with her other hand out to her side in a ladylike fashion. Mark was fair-haired and blue-eyed. He looked more like a model than a lawyer, with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline. He dismounted the chestnut-colored horse, and Bonnie leaped into his arms. As Mark swung her in a circle, her dress bloomed around her legs.
Callie blinked several times to hold back tears at the sight of her friends’ happiness. With trembling legs, she turned to Wes and grabbed the lapels of his fancy jacket.
“How on earth did you do this?”
Wes folded Callie into his arms. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a fairy tale.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
THE BARN DANCE was always a favorite of the guests, with a live band, open bar, and the barn decked out in full country fashion, including bales of hay for seating and cowboy hats hung on metal hooks along the barn wall for guests to wear. Tonight the barn also had a flair of fantasy, thanks to Emily’s and Wes’s careful planning and Butch and the other ranchers’ capable hands. Belts of satin swirled around the wooden support poles from floor to ceiling, and matching satin swatches were draped over tables at the far end of the barn.
Butch came to Wes’s side and spoke quietly. “You must have seen the look that reeled you right in.”
Wes thought about what Butch had said the last time they spoke. “Every look is that look with Callie. Thank you for your help with everything, Butch. The place looks great, and I now understand how great of a loss you feel for Roxy. I can’t imagine a day without Callie. Please know that if I can do anything at any time to help ease your missing her, I’m here for you. Okay?”
“You help me by just being you, Wes. Friendship is as important as love. Speaking of which, it is Cutter who deserves your praise. The delivery truck got stuck this morning, and he drove out and met it. He didn’t want to take a chance that your evening would be spoiled.”
“Cutter? Well, I’ll be damned.”
Wes was mulling over that new information when he felt Callie squeeze his arm. She looked gorgeous in the yellow gown that dipped in at her waist and flowed full and thick to the ground.
The idea for the fairy tale evening had come to him the night Callie said she loved fairy tales, and after spending time with Callie and her friends and seeing how closely knit they were, he knew that the surprise would be ten times more special for Callie if Bonnie, Kathie, and Christine were included. The emergency phone numbers on the applications led him to their husbands. Three phone calls later, he had the women’s dress sizes and three more guests for the dance. Thankfully, with his offer to pay whatever it took, Emily had been able to coordinate the outfits from a specialty shop in Denver and everything else he’d needed to pull off the fairy tale evening. He owed Clarissa, Butch, and the others a major thank-you. And now he would be adding Cutter to that gratitude list. Who was he kidding? Cutter and the others deserved a permanent place on that list.
He owed Emily big-time, and since she was due to arrive at the ranch either tonight or tomorrow, he’d spent the afternoon coordinating a surprise for her, too.
Mark and Bonnie were already on the dance floor, their bodies pressed close as they swayed to the music. Christine and Billy were lip-locked just outside the entrance to the barn. Wes envied them, but this night was for Callie to enjoy in other ways. They’d have the rest of their lives—he hoped—for intimate embraces and kisses that led them to explore every passionate fantasy they could dream of.
“Wes, I just wanted to say thank you.” Kathie stood in the circle of Paul’s arms. He was a tall, handsome man with thick brown hair and cat-green eyes, which were currently looking at his wife like he’d never seen anyone so beautiful. She reached up and touched Paul’s cheek. “We wanted to thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Callie. If she had said her favorite thing in the world was mud wrestling or hog tying, I think you’d be looking at me a little differently.” He set his attention on Callie. “Shall we?” He led her out to the dance floor.
Wes didn’t consider
himself much of a dancer, but at Clarissa’s insistence, he and Chip had both taken dance lessons so they wouldn’t look like losers at the barn dances with the ranch guests. Now, as Callie moved with skillful grace in perfect sync to his lead, he was glad he had.
Wes had never understood why women loved the idea of fairy tales, but as the details of the evening came together—and thousands of dollars were spent—he realized that for most people, fairy tales were unattainable. Something to dream about and hope for. Now he understood the thrill of hoping for something magical.
Callie lifted her eyes to his, and the love and gratitude in her warm, dark eyes told him he’d spurred a hope for something other than a fantasy in her future.
The hope of their reality.
Chapter Twenty-Six
THE MOON SPREAD a hint of romance and mystery over the warm evening like a beguiled mistress. Callie couldn’t believe it was already time for her to leave. It felt like she’d fallen down the most wonderful rabbit hole of all. She loathed the idea of climbing back out and facing real life once again. Bonnie and Christine had already left with their husbands. Kathie’s Cruiser was packed and ready to go. Callie drew in a deep breath as she scanned the grounds of the place where her entire life had changed. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been when she’d arrived. Nowhere near the same person. She fingered the slick material of her gown and felt tears well in her eyes.
“How can it be so hard to say goodbye?” she asked in a shaky voice.
Wes stood beside her in his velvet princely clothing, looking handsome and charming and oh so sad.
Sweets barked and wagged her tail at Callie’s feet. How could she say goodbye to Sweets? She crouched and reveled in her sweet puppy kisses. Callie tried to be strong against the sadness welling in her chest. Wes crouched beside her and took her hand from Sweets’s head. He gazed lovingly into her eyes, and for an instant, she thought, Forget work. I just want to be here with you. But she could no sooner do that than keep Kathie waiting much longer.
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