The Cougar and the Cowboy

“Do you have a phone number where I can reach Jace? I had it but obviously, I lost it. I want to talk to him about what I think is a terrific idea but I don’t know how he’ll feel about it.”

She gave him Jace’s personal number and the number at The Branding Iron. After some goodbyes, they ended the conversation.

***

Jace answered his p

hone when he recognized Cal Frasier’s name. He assumed Cal was calling to inquire about Luke and how things were going. Instead, Cal said, “Hey Jace, Lucy and I have a favor to ask of you and your bar.”

“Okay, shoot,” Jace said, a bit bewildered. He couldn’t imagine what The Branding Iron could do for them.

“It’s a bit complicated. Remember the band we told you about and you accused us of being their ‘groupies,’? The Hubie Ashcraft Band, from Indiana,” he said hoping to refresh Jace’s memory. “Anyway, they’ve had a monkey wrench thrown in their plans and Lucy and I thought maybe you could help them out.”

“I will if I can, Cal.”

“They’ve been in Seattle for a music festival and played several gigs here. The original plan was to make their way back to Indiana with stops along the way. They were contracted to play in Great Falls, Montana for two weekends before they worked their way to Minneapolis and then Chicago on their way home. Hubie told me he received a call yesterday from the venue in Great Falls. Due to some difficulties he didn’t share with me, they won’t be able to play there. That means a long drive and wasted time getting back home. I told him I would speak to you and see if you’d be interested in having them play at your bar. Bozeman would be almost on their path home. If you don’t have any other groups scheduled, of course.”

Jace couldn’t think of anything to say but his mind was working overtime. This could be an answer to prayers…which he hadn’t said…having great entertainment for a few weekends would bring in paying customers, many who had never been there before and probably didn’t know The Branding Iron even existed. Ken would be thrilled that his plan was going to come to fruition. But how in the world would he pay them? He’d have to pass up the opportunity as awesome as it was. He didn’t have the money and that was all there was to it.

“Cal, you caught me off guard, a little. Can you give me a day or two to think about it? Don’t misunderstand…I would be thrilled to have them perform here. I’ll need to check schedules and a few other things before I commit, okay?”

“Of course, of course. That’s not the kind of decision you can make in a few minutes…especially since I sprung it on you out of the blue so to speak. Give me a call when you decide, one way or the other.”

***

He had a million thoughts running through his head as he drove to Emily’s house to bring her back to pick up her car. That whole incident last night was bizarre too. She said she wasn’t afraid of this Will guy but she certainly didn’t want to see him. She hadn’t elaborated much when he drove her home. He did go inside to make sure everything was okay before he left her there alone. Ken was probably right about the fact she had money. It was quite the house…bigger than any of the other ‘mansions’ on Flagler Rd. She could turn it into a lodge and have it filled to capacity every week, probably. What did one person need with that many rooms? He didn’t know and it wasn’t any of his business.

“Hi Jace,” she greeted him when he rang the bell. “Come in for a minute. Have a seat. I have to finish one small thing before I can leave. There’s water or juice in the refrigerator if you want some,” she said from the den or office or whatever room she disappeared into.

He grabbed a bottle of water and stood at the counter, looking around again at his surroundings. The kitchen was bigger than the one at the bar, he realized. He turned to look out the window and admire the view she could see every day as she cooked or made coffee or whatever… He saw Collier’s truck come down the street with the turn signal on indicating he was turning into Emily’s drive but suddenly he sped past instead. That was strange. He could have stopped and said hello. He certainly would have recognized Jace’s truck.

Just then, Emily appeared, looking as good as she had the night before. “Okay, I’m ready. I’m sorry you had to wait. I had something I had to get sent.”

They talked about a lot of things on the way back into town but ‘Will’ wasn’t one of them. Before she got out of his truck and prepared to get into her car, he asked if she would consider going out with him some night.

“I’ll make sure I take you somewhere other than here,” he laughed as he nodded toward his bar.

She accepted his invitation and they chose Saturday evening.

CHAPTER 25

WILL REACHED BETWEEN his feet and rummaged around in his carry-on bag, looking for the latest copy of Mavis’ Mag he purchased before he left St Louis. When he bought it, he thought perhaps there might be some clues to Camille’s whereabouts. He made plans to have a short stopover in Bozeman since he was smugly sure his deductions had been correct and he would find her. Now he was on his way to California and still had not located Camille. He knew when he made the reservations that he was probably playing a long shot. Bozeman wasn’t a little burg but a thriving community with enough restaurants and bars to keep him busy searching for months, instead of hours.

He made some inquiries of waitresses and bartenders asking if any of them recognized her name but it was a hopeless cause. If her picture had been on the inside page like it always was in the past, he could’ve asked if anyone had seen her but she was smart…he’d give her that. With no photo in the magazine, there was no chance of anyone recognizing her.

Now it seemed his search for his magazine was a hopeless cause too. He had it with him last night so he must have left it in one of the places he looked for her. He rested his head against the back of his seat. His long legs were always cramped on planes these days. When he worked for the brokerage house, he flew first class and didn’t have that problem.

Thinking about his previous employer took his mind back to the papers he wanted from Camille’s safe. Somewhere between stewing about them and listening to Lorna’s pleas for him to come to the west coast, he had a revelation: in all probability, those papers weren’t in the safe any longer. Camille was paranoid enough or vindictive enough that she probably took them with her, knowing she was going to be gone for six months. That was when he made the decision to go and see what Lorna had for him in the way of employment opportunities.

***

Jace flipped the burgers he had on the grill for him and Luke. “Grab the slices of cheese and the buns, Luke. We’ll take these inside or we’ll be eating in the dark.”

He hadn’t meant for supper to be so late. They had a good afternoon. Luke helped him uncover an old mechanical bull he had buried under a lot of unused things in the back of the barn. Many years ago, Jace took a group of wealthy cattle buyers on a guided fishing trip. One of the men had it sent to Jace as a joke after he returned home. At the time, it seemed like a slap in the face considering the man knew Jace could no longer participate in the rodeos like he used to.

He’d tried to sell it but there wasn’t much interest so it was stored away where he wouldn’t have to look at it and be reminded of his former life. Truthfully, he forgot all about it until a few days ago. Surprisingly, with a bit of WD-40 and some minor adjustments, it still worked. He spent the afternoon giving Luke all the tips he could recall about staying astride a bucking bull.

“You’re gonna sleep good tonight, Luke,” he told him.