The Cougar and the Cowboy

Lucy hugged Jace. “We’re all going to church in the morning, Jace. Won’t you please join us?”

Before he could decline their offer, Luke chimed in, “Yeah, and then Dani’s fixing dinner. She’s a really good cook. Please come along.” As an afterthought, he added, “If that’s okay with you, Dani.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “One more is never a problem, Luke.” She looked directly at Jace but was not smiling.

“Please, Jace?” Luke coaxed.

“Okay, you talked me into it. Tell me where I need to be and at what time.”

***

After Jace went home, Luke was talking seriously with his grandparents. He told them something they hadn’t expected to hear. “Y’know, I still want to be associated with the rodeo but not for my entire life. Jace told me how lonesome it is and how selfish it would be to marry and have a family but never get to see them. I don’t want to do that. I want to have a family like my family back home.”

Lucy squeezed Cal’s arm until he thought the blood was going to stop flowing. “I think Jace is a very wise man, Luke and I’m glad he shared all aspects of his life and was honest with you.”

“Yeah he was honest. I think he’s lonesome, too, Grammy. He didn’t say that but I could just tell. He’s sad he never got to have a family.”

“We’ll have to pray about that, Luke. He’s certainly not too old to start a family now if he finds the right girl…” She wanted to look at Dani but was afraid to. She’d observed the ‘not so good’ vibes between her and Jace when they were all together earlier.

***

They discussed the events of the day as they prepared for bed. Cal told Lucy, “We owe Jace a debt of gratitude. No one else has been able to talk Luke into considering something other than full-time rodeo.”

> “Do you remember when we met for breakfast in Colorado he mentioned in an off-hand way that his bar was in financial trouble? He didn’t say it in so many words, but that’s what I gathered. How is he going to afford to pay the band and their expenses?” In her typical way, she pronounced, “I think we need to take care of that, Cal…don’t you?”

***

Sunday morning dawned sunny and bright. Luke rolled out amid a chorus of moans and groans. “Oh, man, I am sore,” he complained as he stumbled to the kitchen.

“Tell me where it hurts and I’ll apply some ointment,” Dani’s dad told him.

“You’d need a tub full because I hurt everywhere,” he proclaimed.

They scurried around, trying to get ready for church. Dani paid special attention to what she chose to wear and her hair. Then she chided herself, ‘What do you care, Danielle? It doesn’t matter what you wear, you can’t compete with the woman he’s been seeing. And what difference does it make, anyway?’ She threw her hairbrush in the drawer and went to the truck.

***

Jace was regretting agreeing to go to church with them but it was too late now to back out. A commitment was a commitment. As he sat in the small church, he felt like he was a kid again. The music, the familiar hymns…they all made him feel as though he’d come home. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. One thing he knew…he’d be more comfortable if Danielle wasn’t giving him looks that said she’d rather push him off a cliff than sit by him in church. Oh, well, he told himself it was only an hour. He could live through anything that only lasted an hour.

He tried to beg off of dinner at Dani’s but Luke wouldn’t allow him to leave after the service. He had trouble saying no to this young man so he found himself sitting at Dani’s dining room table with Cal, Lucy, Luke, Dani and her father, Dean. Luke had been correct. Dani was an excellent cook. He offered to help clear the table and do the dishes while the others visited with Dean, even though Dani protested. They did manage to talk and laugh a little as they struggled to get past each other in her small kitchen. At one point, he reached across her which put her between his arms. For a fleeting moment, as they looked at each other, he had the biggest urge to kiss her but the moment passed.

‘Okay, Jace, what the heck are you thinking? Practically sleeping with Emily and wanting desperately to kiss Dani? Are you trying to cram the last years of abstinence into one month or what?’

CHAPTER 29

MAGGIE CHECKED EVERYTHING at the bar. Her niece and two nephews had done a thorough job of making sure every crack and corner was polished and spit-shined, as her daddy used to say. It was as ready as it was going to be. Now she could hardly wait to meet the members of this band that was hopefully going to turn the finances of The Branding Iron around. At least, she hoped so…for Jace’s sake and for the future of the actual building.

She pulled a drawer open to check the quantity of bar towels and other necessities. This was obviously a space that hadn’t been organized yet. She had a few free minutes and decided there was no time like the present. Something stuck in the jumble caught her eye. It was a magazine. Before she pitched it, she recalled the customer who left it one evening. At the time, she read the titles of a few of the articles contained inside and decided she’d take it home and read some of them. She wasn’t middle-aged, by any means, but a few of them looked interesting so she might as well. Besides, it was free and the customer wasn’t coming back to pick it up.

Jace was coming in after he went to the bank. He showed her the blank check the day after Emily gave it to him. He didn’t know the amount to fill in until he spoke with Hubie, but he said he wanted to put it in a safe deposit box until that time. They both laughed about how they couldn’t even imagine losing it and asking for a replacement.

***

Camille was taking a day off from stalking men on dating sites. It was getting wearisome. There were few men, young or old, who were truthful and it was a chore to try and sort through all the bullshit they put in their profiles. Even when a woman put in the effort to check addresses and social media sites, it was still a crap-shoot. No one governed their information so they could be Al Capone, but say they were a lonely widower or anything they wanted. She was sure it was the same on the women’s sites. Granted, there were a few men she might have been interested in if she was really looking for a husband. In the last piece she sent Allie for the next issue, she told her readers the best way was still the old-fashioned way, in her opinion…meet someone in your locality and pursue a dating relationship. That was where she included the experiences with Collier and Jace. She gave no clues as to their identity so even a long lost cousin wouldn’t recognize who she was referring to. She also sent an image of the blank check she wrote to Jace with her name, bank and signature blocked out.

As she was packing a sandwich and water for her little outing, Collier called. He asked if she would like to do some sight-seeing in the mountains one day.

“You must have ESP, my friend. I’m packing some lunch, as we speak. Are you free to go on this adventure today?”