“How was the cruise?” Sadie asked at the door, giving her mother a quick hug.
“So much food! I probably gained ten pounds. All there is to do on a cruise is eat.”
“Is that all?”
“And drink, of course. Your father was quite happy.” Wanda made a face. “He is, of course, the authority on wine wherever we go. I don’t know enough to argue with him.”
“What about live entertainment?”
“Some of that. A magician. A bunch of chorus girls. A saltwater pool I refused to go in.” She waved a hand dismissively.
“Well, as long as you had fun.”
“How did the deliveries go?”
Sadie gave a thumbs up. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Wanda controlled her business to the point that it was a wonder she’d trusted Sadie with a simple delivery to the General Store.
Beau breezed into the kitchen a few minutes later, hugging Sadie and Wanda. “I can’t stay long. Got a hot date. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Beau Stephens, you are not going to eat and run again!” Wanda shook a spoon at him. “Who’s your date?”
Beau winked. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I am your mother. I demand to know.”
“I’m your sister. It would be nice to know,” Sadie said.
“Where’s dad? I’m outnumbered for once!” He leaned in and hooked his arm around Sadie’s neck. “Should I tell y’all? I don’t know, will you blab?”
“You know I won’t,” Sadie said sincerely.
“Mom?” Beau asked. “What about you?”
“Honey, I don’t believe in gossip.”
Both Sadie and Beau barely contained a snort as their eyes met.
“She’s a woman I met while on a job in Austin. Her name is…um, Sherry.”
“Oh, she sounds wonderful!” Wanda said, not as discriminating when it came to her son. “Maybe you can talk her into moving to Stone Ridge.”
“That might be a stretch.”
“What does she do for a living?” Sadie asked.
“She’s a dancer.” Beau’s eyes were filled with mischief as he silently commiserated with Sadie.
She knew exactly what kind of dancer because her brother had a definite type. Long legs, tight behinds, big breasts.
“She must be very graceful,” Wanda, completely oblivious, said.
“Yes.” Beau gave a huge smile. “Oh, yes.”
Her father finally appeared, still wearing his farmer clothes, fingers red and stained from the grapes. “Hello, my children.”
Sadie hugged her father. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Pops.” Beau fist bumped with their father.
“Beau can’t stay long,” Wanda announced. “He’s got a date.”
“Good, good,” he said, completely oblivious to the clip in his wife’s voice as he washed his hands over the sink.
“Why don’t you have a date, Sadie?” Wanda asked, quirking a brow.
“Wanda…” her father warned.
Her father, bless him, always told Sadie that she should hold out for the perfect man. And she’d tried to do this, but until recently that perfect man showed no interest in her at all. Now, she knew he liked to kiss her. Not much more than that so far, but a step in the right direction.
“I actually went on two dates while y’all were gone. I just don’t have one tonight.”
“That’s great, sugar,” Wanda said. “Which date did you like best?”
“Well, Lincoln took me to dinner because he felt bad about the concussion thing. That was nice.”
No one said a word, probably because they considered Lincoln to be a friend of the family. Long ago, everyone kindly stopped making fun of her crush on him. And since she would leave out all of the kissing and spending the night together, they’d be none the wiser.
“And?” Wanda pressed. “Who else?”
“Um, Ada Armstrong’s nephew. Judson Grant.”
At this, her mother froze mid-stir at the stove. “The doctor?”
“Yes, he’s a doctor,” Sadie said, squirming.
Wanda practically jumped in the air and did a little pirouette. Next she’d probably do a soft shoe.
“Holy hell, Sadie, you hit the jackpot.” Beau rolled his eyes.
“What happened?” her father turned from the sink, looking at his wife, probably wondering what made her happy enough to dance across the kitchen tile like a gazelle.
“Keep up, Dad,” Beau said. “Your daughter has nabbed herself a doctor.”
“No, she hasn’t!” Sadie protested.
“Now, Sadie, please,” Wanda said, hands clasped, prayer-like. “Give him a chance, at least. What have you got against a young and handsome doctor?”
“Wanda…” her dad warned again.
“How do you know he’s handsome? And I have nothing against him,” Sadie protested. “I just don’t know if I’ll see him again.”
“Maybe they’re not a ‘love match.’” Beau held up air quotes, in danger of rolling an eye right out of his socket.
“Nonsense! Teacher and doctor, what could be better?” Wanda said.
“Doctor and nurse?” Beau offered, a sly grin on his face.
“Teacher and professor?” Her father said, drying his hands. “Or how about teacher and farmer?”
Teacher and rancher.
“I wouldn’t mind that.” Sadie gave her father a wide smile.
She’d always wanted a man like her father, someone who put his family first, and loved his wife even when she acted a little kooky. Even when he didn’t always want the same things she did. She’d always been a daddy’s girl, and to her, her father was a little god. Tall and thin, and so handsome with his full head of strawberry blond hair. Daddy had rough, callused hands but they were gentle when he’d stroked her cheek and carried her to bed as a child.
A strong man could also be so gentle at times.
After dinner, seeing Beau off to his date with an obvious stripper, and helping Mom with the dishes, Sadie joined her father on the deck. Here, they had a perfect view of his vineyard. He sat nursing a glass of Pinot Noir from California. The traitor.
The twilight sky flashed before her, a beautiful orange mixed with tinges of dark blue. She loved this time of the day when the waning daylight flirted with the evening. The sweet smell of grapes wafted through the air and would forever remind her of Daddy.
She scooted her chair closer to her dad’s. “I told Judson that you might have a cabin comin’ up for rent. He’s lookin’ for something short-term.”
“Those cabins aren’t fancy enough for a doctor.”
“Yes, they are.”
He patted her knee. “Well, you tell me if I should rent him a cabin. I’d charge him top dollar. But maybe that would put him in too close proximity to you. Unless that’s what you want, but sure didn’t seem that way.”
“No.” She sighed. “I am sorry about that. Why is it so hard to fall in love? I don’t understand.”
“It’s not hard at all, Sweet Pea. All you have to do is risk your heart. Open up a vein and bleed.”
Sadie swiveled her neck. “Oh, is that all?”
“No, but it’s the toughest part.”
And ever since her college boyfriend, she’d guarded her heart. No man would ever fool her again. Whenever she’d been asked out, she made her expectations clear. And most of the time, there was no second date. She’d scared every one of them off. Good riddance.
“I have this image in my mind that the right man is just going to walk right up to me and say ‘Hello, where have you been all my life?’ And then I’ll know. But every single man who chases me is not the right one.”
“Just you wait. It won’t be that way forever. Don’t settle, baby. Never, ever, settle.” He patted her hand while he sipped his wine.
Her mother would just tell her to get on with it, that no man would ever be perfect. They were men, weren’t they? Hence the lack of perfection, sort of built-in. B
ut Sadie didn’t need perfect. She just wanted someone perfect for her…the one. Mom would laugh at that, too. There is no “one.” With plenty of great men in Stone Ridge she should simply be grateful for all of the choices.
But when there was just one man a woman wanted it didn’t really matter how many others there were.
Lincoln was simply always around her, in one way or another. She’d never been alone with him until recently, and now, she didn’t quite know what to do. But letting him know about her date with another man? Not smart. He might not even come over again, much less call.
Later, Sadie drove back to her cabin where more student papers waited to be graded. Instead of going inside, she walked over and knocked on the door to Eve’s cabin. She opened it with a smile, holding her latest rescue, a little orange tabby.
“How do I chase a man?” Sadie blurted out.
“Well, hello to you, too.” She turned and Sadie followed her inside.
She plopped on the worn-in couch Eve had purchased at a garage sale. Eve didn’t have much after veterinary school loan payments, and Sadie’s father gave Eve the same good deal on the cabin that he gave his own daughter. Her Daddy always helped a neighbor in need. And everyone helped Eve whenever and wherever they could. She’d been through a tough time.
“I’ve never gone after a man. Never made the first move. You know, they always do that sort of thing for us here. I did the same thing in college. I waited until Martin asked me out,” Sadie said. “Force of habit.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t chase after who we want. I mean, look at Jolette Marie. She doesn’t seem to have any problems.”
“I don’t know what to do. I want to chase Lincoln.”
“Yes, well, that’s probably what you would have to do to get Lincoln. He’s always been his own man.”
“He came over before my date with Judson. And he kissed me. Again.”
“Wow. Okay.” She set the kitten down on Sadie’s lap. “So maybe he is chasing you?”
“Well, he brought me flowers, and…” Sadie stopped petting the kitten mid rub. “Oh, boy. Maybe that’s true, but he has terrible timing. Plus, he left encouraging me to go on a date with Judson if I wanted a relationship.”
“You two already have a relationship, anyway. A kind of relationship, at least. Just go with that.”
The kitten meowed, as if in agreement.
“You’re right. I’m overcomplicating things because—”
“It’s what you do.” Eve finished Sadie’s sentence. “I’m the same way. That’s why we’re best friends.”
“It still hasn’t solved the problem of how to chase him.”
“How about you just study what the men do, and do that, but in reverse?”
“In reverse?”
Eve smirked. “You’ll be the one wearing the dress.”
“So, I just walk in, tip my imaginary Stetson, say ‘c’mere,’ and wait for him to walk right into my open arms?”
“Um…” Eve seemed to be biting back a laugh. “I think you’ll figure it out.”
Sadie stood and handed Eve the kitten. “That’s it! I’m sick of this. Tired of waiting and wondering ‘what if?’ I’m goin’ down to the Shady Grind for a cold beer.”
“What? Why? I have cold beer in the fridge.”
“Oh, Eve, you’re so clueless. A beer at the Shady Grind means something else.” She pointed from herself to Eve. “It means ‘I’m going to be there, and if you’re there, little lady, maybe something will happen.’ It’s the way men talk.”
“I see.”
She walked with purpose to the door. “Are you comin’?”
“I’m sorry, hon, I can’t. Not tonight. I’d have to get Annabeth to cat-sit. This is my first week with this little kitty and he hates being left alone. Can you do this on your own?”
“I’ll have to.” She saluted in the doorway. “Wish me luck.”
And with that, Sadie shut the door, and sprinted back to her own cabin. Inside, she fixed her hair, leaving it down, and curling it at the ends. She wore mascara and dared to smooth on red lipstick like a floozy. If she wanted to be happy with the man she thought could be the right one for her, she would need to take a risk. But this time Sadie would take a calculated risk.
Time to open up a vein and bleed all over the damn place.
Chapter 10
Lincoln was having another shitty night after a back-breaking day. He’d come to the Shady Grind for a beer because here was the weekend, and he still couldn’t get a certain woman off his mind. He kept picturing Sadie kissing that doctor the way she’d kissed him. Some people would call that cheating. Okay, not him, but still. He didn’t like the idea at all.
On the big screen in the background, the Astros were striking out. This night moved from bad to worse. Plus, the bar was peppered by cowboys, and very few women, not adding to the ambience. Even Jolette Marie was MIA tonight. Didn’t much matter anyway when he couldn’t get his mind off Sadie. No one else would do. Wonder if a lobotomy would help? He should ask Jackson what to do about this problem, since he’d been hit by the love stick early in life and somehow managed to survive. Barely.
He pulled his phone out to call Jackson when the door to the bar swung open and in walked Sadie Stephens. Not surprisingly, every man turned his head to check her out. She looked better than fine tonight, wearing her hair down, blue suede boots, and a short blue dress. Red lipstick. He nearly swallowed his tongue.
She came right up to him, sat up on the stool next to where he stood, and ordered a draft.
“Hey, there,” she said, turning, as if she’d just noticed him.
“Where’s the dentist?” He took a pull of his beer and immediately hated himself for sounding like a jealous boyfriend.
“He’s a general practitioner, and I don’t know where he is tonight.”
“Here you go, sweets,” Priscilla said, setting Sadie’s beer mug down. “That’s twice now in one month. Good to see you come out tonight.”
“Thanks, ’Cilla. I got bored at home all alone.” She tipped her mug and eyed him.
No date. Interesting. He turned to face the room, leaning his back against the bar, legs crossed, holding his bottle.
“This isn’t the right place if you’re lookin’ for fun and entertainment. The Astros are on their last leg. It’s all over,” Lincoln said, shaking his head.
“I don’t care.”
“Ha. That’s almost un-American.”
“What if I don’t care about that, either?”
He snorted. “What’s wrong? Bad day?”
“Not at all.”
“What is it? You want to get stinkin’ drunk?”
“I could do that at home, Lincoln. Eve has cold beer at her place.”
He should probably read something into this, but swimming in an oasis of confusion, he simply scowled.
“Oh, forget it! I can’t do this.” She tossed her hands up, climbed off the stool, and stomped outside.
“What’d you say to her?” one of the Henderson brothers asked. There were three of them, each more annoying that the last.
“Not a thing.” Lincoln shrugged.
“Maybe that’s the problem.” Sean, the youngest brother, snickered. “Go after her, man, or I will.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Lincoln set his bottle down and followed her outside.
She stood at the entrance to the bar, still on the top step of the short staircase. Not moving, she held the bannister, and faced the street.
“All right, what did I say?” He held his arms out in his “lay it on me” gesture.
“Nothing.” She turned around. “This isn’t your fault.”
“First time for everything.”
“Okay, listen.” She threw her palms up. “Here’s the truth. I like you.”
He smiled, feeling the night take a delicious turn, even with a sudden memory of junior high school. “Thought I’d been tossed aside by the dentist.”
“Well, you
weren’t! We had one date. I didn’t even kiss him goodnight. Okay?” She swore under her breath and covered her face. “Oh geez. I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
She lowered her hands. “Chase a man. Make the first move.”
He chuckled at that. “You’re doin’ fine. And I kissed you first. Remember?”
But the realization that Sadie Stephens was after him didn’t make him want to cut and run. Her expectations were clear. She seemed to be in a big hurry for marriage and babies. He should go back inside the bar. Drink another cold beer. Try to forget about her even if that didn’t seem to be working. But instead he walked toward her just to be closer. He didn’t quite know why but his boots had a mind of their own tonight.
“Hey.” He stepped into her space and tipped her chin to meet his eyes. “I’m not good at this, either.”
“Liar. Women just flock to you.”
“Not always. I chased after girls when I was younger. And stupid.” He cleared his throat. “But I don’t want to disappoint you, of all people. You’re like this bright light and I’m…”
“What?”
“Practically a curmudgeon.” He tried a smile as his thumb traced the silky curve of her jaw. “At thirty-two. Maybe I’m jaded.”
He’d witnessed his parents’ marriage implode under accusations of infidelity. Saw Jackson shatter after Eve abandoned him. And now here he stood, going after the one woman in town probably most like Eve. As if he, too, wanted a shot at the agony his brother had endured.
But then her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and warmth spread straight to the soles of his boots. He pulled her in tight against his body.
“Can we forget everything I said to you on the night you took me to dinner? I think I should get a do-over. Concussion and all. Not in my right mind. I don’t have any ready-made plans for this. For us. I’m wide open. I just like you so much and I want to be with you. I want…more kissing.” She looked up shyly. “Is that alright with you?”
“Sign me up.”
He covered her mouth and felt the intoxication flood him again. She tasted like the sweetest drug. Like his own addiction. He shouldn’t want her, but he couldn’t get enough of her. Taking them away from prying eyes, he moved her to the side of the bar and pressed her against the wall. When they came up for air, her lips were bruised from his kisses, and her hazel eyes shimmered in the soft ambient moonlight.
Lucky Cowboy Page 11
