by Indiana Wake
“Well, you’re a married woman now, it wouldn’t be right for me to try to get you dancing with another man these days. Not to mention the fact that Sonny is just a few yards away.” Honey chuckled, her golden curls bouncing a little as she did so.
“Very funny!” Suki playfully swatted her friend’s arm. “You know what I mean, Honey! I didn’t think I’d ever see you give up.”
“I haven’t given up, Suki, I swear. I’m just tired of the out-of-town cowboys and their rough ways. And as for the local men, I guess I haven’t found one I want to spend forever with. I don’t know, I reckon I always thought this was so easy. Maybe it was only easy when I was the one dishing out the advice.” Honey shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“Your advice was always welcome. And it worked too, didn’t it?” Suki tipped her head in the direction of her new husband, Sonny Reynolds. “And don’t forget, Sonny came into town as a cowboy. They’re not all the same, you know.”
“I know. But I reckon you struck real lucky with that man of yours. He’s a good one.” Honey smiled warmly; her friend’s happiness meant everything to her and there was no hint of envy in her soul.
“Although I must admit, they’re not a nice crowd tonight. I don’t know half of these guys.” Suki peered off across the town barn.
There were revelers dancing and enjoying themselves, as always, but there were little groups of cowboys here and there, not dancing, but watching. Some of them stood at the edge of the dancing, clearly watching the young women and trying to decide which ones were un-wed. As Honey followed Suki’s gaze, she realized there was something about this new bunch of in-comers she didn’t like either. Not that she’d met any of them just yet, but they seemed to give off an air of menace.
As she watched, Honey realized she’d caught the eye of two of the cowboys; maybe they thought she and her friend were trying to tempt them over. She hurriedly shifted her gaze.
“If we’re not careful, they’ll be over here,” she said in a hiss. “Suki, look this way.”
“Sure thing, I don’t like the look of those two. Maybe we should call Sonny over here.”
“No, let’s not get your husband into some kind of ruckus if there’s no need. Let’s just ignore them and hopefully they will go back to staring at the girls dancing.” Honey sighed. “I don’t know, it seems to me that this new bunch of cowboys are all cut from the same cloth. They all act the same way, just look at them. Or don’t look at them, I should say.” Honey laughed without mirth, keeping her eyes fixed on Suki’s face.
“Who’s that?” Suki was easily distracted.
Sighing, Honey followed her friend’s gaze in another direction altogether now and found herself watching a young man wandering into the barn alone. There was something tentative about him, as if he wasn’t sure he quite belonged. He reminded her of a part-broken horse, one who might set off in the opposite direction with very little reason.
Whoever it was, he most certainly was not a cowboy. They had a way of dressing, a way of walking, a confidence that was determined rather than inherent. She wasn’t sure she could comment on the young man’s confidence, but she had the idea that he was not putting on an act like so many of the young man in the town barn that night.
“I don’t think I know him,” Honey said, and then wondered if that was really the case.
The further he advanced into the barn, the more she thought there was something just a little familiar about him. He wasn’t a friend, Honey knew that much; if he had been, she would recognize him immediately. All in all, the man perplexed her.
“Me neither, but he’s kind of handsome, isn’t he?” Suki grinned. “And he sure doesn’t look like a cowboy.”
“Not dressed like that he isn’t.” Honey agreed, turning a little so that she was now only peering at him and from the corner of her eye rather than staring at him flat out as her friend was.
Suki was right, the young man was handsome. He was tall and broad but not in a rough and swaggering way. He was straight-backed, with the darkest hair and a strong, cleanly shaven jaw. He wore black trousers and a waistcoat, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up and a neckerchief tied loosely about his throat.
Despite that final touch, that little hint of roughness, the neckerchief did not cover the fact that the young man who had just walked in was closer to being a gentleman than a cowboy or farmer. More than ever, he caught her interest. He seemed out of place, as if he had walked in through the wrong door and now found himself in another world. And yet, the rough tying of the neckerchief seemed deliberate, like a man who knew exactly where he was going to spend the evening and didn’t want to stand out too much. Who on earth was he?
“He doesn’t seem to know anybody, Honey.” Suki continued to give commentary as they both watched the young man carefully pick his way through the revelers to the punch bowls. “Well, he’s taking the liquor punch so he can’t be as straitlaced as he looks.” Suki chuckled.
“I don’t think he looks straitlaced, really. He looks out of place, but not so awkward. It’s as if he doesn’t mind that he is a little different from everybody else and look, nobody else seems to have paid him any attention at all. Maybe we’re just nosy, Suki.”
“Oh yes, we sure are nosy.” Suki laughed. “Why don’t we walk on up to the punch bowls to get a better look at him.”
“I think we might be too late.” Honey said with a deep sigh. “Look.”
The two women looked in unison to see the cowboys who had studied them earlier making their way over. Honey wondered if they could simply get up and walk away, maybe even do as Suki had said and hover by the punch bowls. But would it really be fair to involve the newcomer in their little trauma? He was dressed well and would certainly antagonize the cowboys without even trying. No, it would not be fair.
“And Sonny is now nowhere to be seen.” Suki said and sounded a little tremulous. “Really, we shouldn’t have put up with this. A couple of women ought to be able to stand and talk at the barn dance without becoming prey.”
“You put that well; I certainly feel like pray now. Well, I’m not putting up with it.” Honey said, having grown tired of the way of things lately.
This new breed of cowboys needed putting in their place and Honey Goodman had decided on the spot that she would be the one to do just that.
“Howdy, girls.” One of the two cowboys said, lifting his hat.
There was something about the way he lifted his hat; it was a mockery of gentlemanly behavior when teamed with a look so lascivious that even a nun would have recognized it. It annoyed Honey greatly, and so she began as she meant to go on.
“Ladies.” She said sharply. “We’re not children.”
“Ooh, listen to this one!” The hat-lifting cowboy turned to his friend and let out a derisory howl of laughter. “That’s not real friendly, is it?”
“Gentlemen, my friend and I are in the middle of a conversation and we sure would like to be left to it.” Honey said, no hint of fear whatsoever in her voice.
“Well, aren’t you a haughty little maid!” The second cowboy said with an angry sneer on his face. “I reckon someone ought to teach you a lesson!”
“For what? Wanting to talk to my friend? Wanting to decide for myself who I spend my evening with? You’re not among your closest friends here, Mister, but I am. You just go ahead and try to teach me a lesson here and see how many of the locals are going to stand by and let you do that. And don’t forget, cowboys are ten-a-penny here. My daddy needs only speak to whomever it is you work for and you’ll be dragging your sorry behinds to another part of Oregon to look for work!” Honey glared at him; apparently, Honey Goodman did not like to be threatened by a man.
The hat-lifting cowboy touched his friend’s sleeve and tipped his head in the direction of the dance floor, indicating that they should just move on. Only when his friend seemed determined to carry on badgering the women did he speak again.
“Come on, there’s prettier ones than this pair out dan
cing.”
“Yeah!” The second cowboy said vitriolically, looking Honey up and down as if she didn’t meet his high standards anyways.
The two cowboys sauntered away and, when they were out of earshot, Honey laughed.
“Honey, I can’t believe you!” Suki squeaked, clearly impressed. “Oh, and look! Just out of time, my husband is wandering towards us!”
“Don’t you go saying anything to him, Suki. I don’t want him getting into any trouble tonight.”
“Sure.” Suki said, her eyes still bright with admiration for her courageous little friend.
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Also by Indiana Wake
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About the Author
Indiana Wake was born in Denver Colorado where she learned to love the outdoors and horses. At the age of eleven, her parents moved to the United Kingdom to follow her father’s career.
It was a strange and foreign new world and it took a while for her to settle down. Her mom raised horses and Indiana soon learned to ride. She would often escape on horseback imagining she was back in the Wild West. As well as horses, Indiana escaped into fiction and dreamed of all the friends she had left behind.
From an early age, she loved stories. They were always sweet and clean and more often than not, included horses, cowboys and most importantly of all a happy ever after. As she got older, she would often be found making up her own stories and would tell them to anyone who would listen.
As she grew up, she continued to write but marriage and a job stole some of her dreams. Then one day she was discussing with a friend at church, how hard it was to get sweet and clean fiction. Though very shy about her writing Indiana agreed to share one of her stories. That friend loved the story and suggested she publish it on Amazon Kindle. Together they worked really hard and the rest, as they say, is history.
Indiana has had multiple number one bestsellers and now makes her living from her writing. She believes she was truly blessed to be given this opportunity and thanks each and every one of her readers for making her dream come true.
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Thank you so much for reading this book. I love to write and to share my stories with you and hearing your wonderful comments gives me great pleasure. Until our next adventure keep well my friend xx
©Copyright 2019 Indiana Wake
All Rights Reserved
Indiana Wake
License Notes
This Book is licensed for personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold. Your continued respect for author's rights is appreciated.
This story is a work of fiction any resemblance to people is purely coincidence. All places, names, events, businesses, etc. are used in a fictional manner. All characters are from the imagination of the author.
