Vicki Lewis Thompson - Cowboy Unwrapped

“I remember Jake from when you dated him,” her mother said. “Nice boy, although he always seemed a little quiet for you.”

“He was sort of shy back then. Not as much now.” She didn’t dare look at Sapphire, who had barely managed to cover a snort of laughter with a cough.

“I haven’t seen him in forever,” Grady said. “By the time I came back from working that pipeline job in Alaska he’d hired on with the fire department over in Jackson Hole. Did he say if he was still at that job?”

“I believe he is.”

“I’ll bet firefighting’s a good fit for him. We used to tease him about his overdeveloped sense of responsibility. He didn’t pull pranks like the rest of us. Anyway, it’ll be great to see him. Always liked the guy.”

Amethyst could feel her mother’s assessing gaze. No doubt she was remembering the gig in Jackson Hole and wondering if there was more to the story than met the eye, especially after Sapphire’s “Oh, really?” comment. Jane Ferguson was no fool and when it came to her daughters she seemed to know when a romance was in the making.

But this time her radar was off because there was no romance. Lust, definitely. But romance suggested a soft-focus ending to the story and Amethyst had no interest in that. She was hoping that a talent scout or someone with connections in the music industry would show up at one of her gigs. With luck, that could lead to a recording contract and a move to LA. Marriage and a family didn’t fit in with that dream.

After the meal Sapphire offered to clean up the kitchen and recruited Amethyst to help for old times’ sake. The minute they were alone she lowered her voice. “So? Did you know about this visit?”

“I didn’t, and when I saw him in town I thought that meant he wasn’t interested anymore. But you know how I am—can’t just let something go. So I followed him into the store to find out for sure if he was deliberately ignoring me.”

“And?”

“He’s still interested.” As she remembered the gleam in his eyes when he’d learned her roommate was gone, she couldn’t hold back a grin.

“Then why didn’t he contact you?”

“It’s Christmas. He has family stuff. I have family stuff.”

Sapphire nodded. “Makes sense. But surely you can work something out.” She peered at her. “You want to, right?”

“You bet I do. You should have seen him standing there looking all rugged in his sheepskin coat and Stetson. Those green eyes are killer. I was ready to attack him on the spot.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“For starters he invited me out to the ranch for a sleigh ride tomorrow afternoon.”

“You mean a sleigh ride or a sleigh ride?” Sapphire wiggled her fingers to make air quotes.

“That’s tough to say with so many people around. Besides, it doesn’t matter. I let it drop that Arlene is out of town for the holidays.”

“She is?” Sapphire clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced at the kitchen doorway. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I think Mom already knows something’s going on.”

“Probably. It’s my fault. I didn’t expect you to suddenly announce that your red-hot lover boy was in town.”

“I wasn’t going to. Then I remembered that he and Grady lived at Thunder Mountain at the same time, so I felt obligated to mention it.”

“Absolutely. Grady’s always thrilled when he gets a chance to connect with some of his foster brothers. Anyway, that’s fabulous news about Arlene being gone.”

“She’s a good roommate. Not as good as you, but we get along and she pays her share of the rent on time.”

“I worried that she’d talk you to death. When I worked with her at the Art Barn co-op she was quite the chatterbox. Sweet, but extremely verbal.”

Amethyst smiled. “She is, but I love her work and she’s given me a gorgeous watercolor of the Bighorns that I put in my bedroom. Whenever she carries on too long, I suddenly have to record another track for my next album and I scoot upstairs to my studio. Like I said, we get along.”

“I’m glad. And she had the good sense to be out of town at a critical moment in your personal life.”

“No kidding. Anyway, I need to go home tonight and put clean sheets on the bed and spruce up the place a little.”

“Like he’ll care. Hey, listen, I know hanging out in a crowd with your studmuffin isn’t optimal, but Grady and I are going over to Thunder Mountain tomorrow night for their Christmas Eve celebration if you want to come along. We could—oh, wait, I just remembered something. There’s a cat. His name’s Ringo. I’ll bet Jake’s forgotten about your allergies.”

“Is Ringo indoor or outdoor?”

“Both. He has a bed in the kitchen. I don’t think he gets on the furniture in the house, but still, you don’t want to go out there and start sneezing your head off.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll pick up some over-the-counter meds at the drugstore in the morning.” She was headed there anyway. If Jake would be spending some late-night quality time at her house, she would be prepared with condoms. “It’s one day and one evening with minimal exposure and I don’t want to miss out on the fun. I’d love to go, but what about Mom and Dad? I hate to leave them in the lurch.”

“They were invited, too, but they think Herb and Rosie deserve to have Grady and me all to themselves. Mom and Dad claimed us for Christmas Day so it seemed fair to them if we went to the ranch tomorrow night. If you come with us, then they can do their lovebird thing.”

“It’s cute, isn’t it? After all these years they’re still nuts about each other.”

“Mom pointed that out when I told her I couldn’t be with Grady because he was an artist.” Sapphire mimicked their mother’s voice. “‘Your father and I are both artists and we’ve managed to stumble through twenty-nine years without killing each other.’”

“And so will you and Grady.” Amethyst gave her a hug. “You two have something special. The ring he gave you is gorgeous.”

“I’m rather fond of it, myself.” Sapphire held her hand out in front of her to admire it. “We’ve tried to set a date but we’re both so busy we haven’t figured out when.”

“Whenever it is, I’ll be there, and I want to sing.”

“I would love for you to sing but you’ll be the maid of honor. Can you do both things? I’ve never seen that done but if anyone can pull it off you can.”

“I’ve never seen it done, either, but I’ll be happy to set a precedent as the first singing maid of honor. I might even sing as I walk down the aisle.” She looked at Sapphire. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a fabulous idea. In fact, when you get married, you should be the singing bride. You could sing your vows and turn the whole thing into a musical. Just make sure the groom can sing, too, or it’ll be weird.”

“Yeah, because having both the bride and groom sing their vows wouldn’t be the least bit weird.”

Sapphire laughed. “You should do it.”

“I definitely would if I planned to get married. But I don’t.”

“Ever?”

“Probably not. I’ve watched how it goes with the big names and I’m hoping to be up there with them someday. It’s not easy to maintain a high-profile career and a solid marriage.”

Sapphire gazed at her as if evaluating the truth of that statement. Finally she nodded. “I guess you’re right. You’re smart to think that through, because you’re going to make it big.”

“That’s my goal.” She crossed her fingers. “But there are no guarantees, either. Even if I get a contract it could be a bumpy ride. It wouldn’t be fair to drag some unsuspecting guy along.”

“Nope. But I see why you’re so excited about hanging out with Jake since he’s not looking to settle down, either. You might as well soak up all that yumminess while he’s in town.”