The Cougar and the Cowboy

Maggie had been told to take a few days off before the band members arrived. Hopefully, things would be so busy on the weekend, she’d have to work all hours and shifts. She smiled to herself as she sat down with a cup of freshly-brewed peppermint tea, put her feet on the foot stool and opened the magazine that had been left at The Branding Iron. She flipped through a few recipe pages and some information on how to handle your next hospital stay. She didn’t really care as she didn’t foresee cooking or going to the hospital. The one she was looking for supposedly gave advice and real-life scenarios of dating sites; especially if you were an older woman seeking a younger man. Maybe she could glean some advice for Jace and his experiences on the dating site. Ah, there it was. There were several pages of anecdotes and advice. She laughed and commiserated with the author as she wrote frankly about everything. When she finished, she checked the author’s name…Emily Hasbro…was that for real? How many women are named Emily Hasbro? Maybe it was a fluke, after all. That’s not such an unusual name. She did want to read the next installment of this series of articles, though. The information was good as well as entertaining and useful.

Maggie went to her Amazon account and ordered the next issue. It would be in her mailbox in a few days. She was anxious to show it to Jace and give him some pointers on dating an older woman although his dating might be put on the back burner for the next two weekends.

***

Jace made sure he was available when the band members arrived. The table of regulars hung around longer than usual, just so they could meet everyone. After all, as Ken reminded them… this was his idea.

The atmosphere resembled a national holiday when the three vans pulled up outside The Branding Iron. Two of the vans were used to haul the equipment and the third one carried the rest of the band members and everyone’s luggage. When their gigs were closer to home, they drove their own vehicles but due to the long distance this trip, they used the third van. There were introductions and handshakes all around. Of course, no one would remember names anyway…at least, not today. Introductions were first names, only.

Hubie introduced the members of the band: Seve was the drummer, Tim was introduced as the ‘multi-instrumentalist,’ Travis was the fiddle player and Missy, the only female in the group, played bass guitar and was the vocalist, and the person responsible for making sure everyone could hear the group, was Rod, the soundman.

Jace introduced the men at the regulars table, telling everyone they were permanent fixtures at the bar. He told them

Maggie would take care of their drink requests since she was not only beautiful but the best bartender in the state of Montana. They applauded that statement while Maggie shook her head and grinned.

Mitch directed the two equipment vans to the spaces reserved for them behind the bar. It would be convenient to bring the equipment in the back doors. Ken, Ralph and the rest of the ‘guys’ were more than willing to help with the rearranging of tables and chairs so the band would have sufficient room and be visible to everyone.

“Don’t forget to leave enough room for dancing,” Maggie told them. “I might want to do a little line dancing.”

They wouldn’t play until tomorrow evening but perhaps tonight’s customers would catch the excitement and come back tomorrow evening…with their friends.

When he could speak to Hubie privately, Jace asked about the band’s fee. He wanted to get the check cashed and take care of the money concerns immediately.

Hubie frowned a bit and looked perplexed. “What are you talking about, Jace? You don’t owe us anything. Our fees for both weekends and lodging, meals, everything, have been paid up front. We’re good. No worries there.”

“What are you talking about? Who paid you?”

Hubie laughed. “I’m not supposed to tell you his name but do you know a tall cowboy from Texas?”

Cal Frasier paid you?”

“He mentioned something about paying a debt of gratitude for their grandson or something like that.”

Jace mumbled a few incoherent words and Hubie slapped him on the shoulder. “Enjoy the perks of the friendship, Jace,” he said as he turned back to the group of people gathered around the members of the band. Everyone wanted to get their two cents worth in, forgetting they were going to be around for an entire week.

***

Jace went to his office and sat down. He was still in shock over the fact all fees had been paid. He could return Emily’s check. He hadn’t been feeling so good about taking it anyway. The word ‘gigolo’ had crossed his brain several times since she gave it to him. He did enjoy her company but didn’t want to be paid for spending time with her. If that’s what dating an older woman meant, he wanted no part of it. In fact, since he attended church with Dani and went to her house for dinner, he had been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things. He was beginning to think the whole online dating thing was not for him…regardless of the age of the woman. He wanted the old-fashioned kind of dating…ask a girl out and see if you like each other, have anything in common…then if it goes well, ask her out again. He sighed. Apparently, that made him a Neanderthal in his thinking. Finding someone on the internet seemed to be the ‘norm.’

CHAPTER 31

WILL WAS ENJOYING breakfast with Lorna while they discussed their upcoming business trip to New York. “I’m looking forward to spending time in The Big Apple with you, Will. I know we’re required to attend the seminars during the day but the fun begins in the evening, anyway.”

She was flipping through messages or emails or something on her phone when she absently asked, “Didn’t you say you had a layover or changed flights or something in Bozeman, Montana on your way to California?”

He nodded. “Yes, I did. I was naively thinking I could find Camille but once I saw the size of the town, I realized how foolish that was. I had a drink at some bar named The Branding Iron and went back to the hotel until I could fly out in the morning. Why?”

“You remember the name of the bar?” she asked incredulously.

He grinned. “Yes, I do. I flirted a bit with the bartender…a gorgeous redhead.”

Lorna didn’t find that too humorous. “Ah, yes, the famous Maggie. I didn’t like her and it was evident she couldn’t stand me. I was going to seduce her precious Jace and although she tried, she never could get him into bed.”

“When were you in Montana? A little out of your usual territory, isn’t it? Out of your comfort zone?”

“The group I was working with was awarded a trip to Bozeman to experience a ‘Week in the Wilderness.’ Like anyone in their right mind would want to spend a week with smelly horses, campfires, insects and very few amenities of the modern world.”

Will nearly choked on his food, laughing at the visions he was having of Lorna in the wilderness. “I must say, I find that quite amusing. I only wish I’d been there to observe you on the back of a horse.”