Second-Chance Sweethearts

by Cindy Caldwell

  Corinne held up her palms and nodded, her green eyes twinkling.

  “I certainly understand. No need to apologize. Kona is my favorite as well, so I know what you feel like. I haven’t had any either this morning.”

  Allen sighed as he smiled.

  “I really am sorry. I thought you were Opal.”

  They both turned to the door as Opal walked in, carrying two cups of coffee from the saloon.

  “Well, Opal’s here now, and here are two Kona coffees. Corinne, you take this one. I’ve already had a cup this morning, and I really don’t need two. I was just going to keep Dad company.”

  Allen gratefully accepted the coffee and smiled as Corinne did the same.

  “Thank you,” Corinne said as she looked around the gallery. “I’m looking for you, actually. I need to take a couple more measurements that I missed yesterday. For the wedding dress.”

  “Oh, wonderful,” Opal said. “Do you need me to come over there, or can we do it in the back?”

  Allen watched as Corinne took her tape measure from her pocket, along with a paper and pen.

  “I’m ready to go right here, if you don’t mind. It’ll only take a second.”

  Allen sat on the stool behind the cash register as Corinne and Opal walked into the back room. The coffee was grand, and as he sipped it and listened to Corinne and Opal chatter behind him, he closed his eyes and expected thoughts of Mary and his girls chatting before a school dance, or a date. But that wasn’t what came in his mind’s eye, and it surprised him.

  “Ahem,” he heard, not even noticing that the bells on the door had jingled.

  His eyes flew open and he stood, wishing he hadn’t looked like he was asleep when the ranch’s general manager had entered the gallery.

  “Hi, Wade,” he said as he set his coffee cup down.

  “Morning, Allen. How’s everything?” Wade Weston didn’t come into the gallery too often, but he’d always been great when he had. He was a good friend of the owner, Tony, and Allen always tried to stay on his toes.

  “Good here. Not too much going on right now, but we’ll be getting a little busier as the weather warms up,” Allen replied.

  “Great. Tony mentioned things might be a little slow right now and also that you would be perfect for my idea.”

  “Idea?” Opal asked as she popped out from the back room. “Hi, Wade.”

  “Hi, Opal,” Wade said with a nod of his head, and he introduced himself to Corinne when she followed Opal out.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said to Corinne before turning back to Allen. “Yeah. I have this crazy idea. It’s not common knowledge yet. Just kind of sending out feelers. Asking for help.”

  “We’d be happy to help with anything at all,” Allen said, tucking his thumbs in his pockets. Wade and everybody at the ranch had been very good to him and his family, and he’d be happy to return the favor any time.

  “Sure,” Opal said as she leaned against the counter. “Anything at all.”

  Chapter 7

  When Corinne heard another voice out in front in the gallery, she thought maybe she should stay behind. She didn’t want to be too nosy but when Opal rushed out into the front, somehow Corinne found herself right behind her.

  Opal introduced her to the nice young man who apparently was the manager of River’s End Ranch. She stood back and listened as Wade explained what it was that he wanted them to do.

  “You all know that we’re going to be filming a TV show here, right?” Wade asked.

  “Sure,” Opal said. “I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a secret. We don’t really talk about it much.” She shuffled her feet as she glanced over at her father.

  “Well, it’s official. We’ll be starting to film in the coming weeks. And I thought it might be a good time to have a big party. You know, with the cast now that it’s set, and all the staff here at the ranch.” Wade smiled as he gestured out toward the Old Town. “They’re gonna be filming here, so we might as well all become friends.”

  “That’s a fantastic idea,” Allen said. “We all have questions, anyway, about how the businesses are going to be run during the filming.”

  Wade smiled. “Tony and I’ve been talking about that a little bit, and I’m sure he’ll share that with you. But I want this just to be fun. Lily’s going all out over in the barn. We’re gonna have square dancing and a big buffet dinner. And I was hoping for some extras.”

  Opal cocked her head as she looked at Wade. This was all new and exciting information to Corinne. She thought she’d just be coming to visit Tamlyn. And she couldn’t wait to tell Tamlyn the good news.

  Wade ran his hand through his hair. “And that’s where you guys come in. Have you ever been to, say, any place like Tombstone? Or maybe Deadwood? One of those old mining towns?”

  Allen tapped his fingers on the counter. “I haven’t, but what are you after? I’ve been to some old towns in Texas when we lived there.”

  Wade paced a little bit back and forth in front of the counter. “This was really Bernie’s idea, but I said I’d come and ask you. You guys are perfect for this. Between your experience in construction, Allen, and Opal’s photo skills, it’s right up your alley. You know those old studios that they have where you have people dress up as old-time saloon girls and gunslingers?”

  Corinne couldn’t help herself. She clapped and said, “Oh, yes. I have a picture of myself as one of those saloon girls.”

  She stopped herself just in time to see three sets of eyes turned in her direction, all with raised eyebrows.

  “Well, they were relatively tasteful,” she said as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? She didn’t even know these people.

  She felt a little better when Wade laughed. Opal giggled and Allen smiled, his eyes dancing as he looked at her direction.

  Allen sat back down on the stool behind the counter. He looked over to Wade. “I think we know what you talking about now,” he said. “How can we help you?”

  “I was hoping that maybe we could have one of those things at the party. I have a friend who does it in the big city for weddings and things like that and I could give you his phone number.”

  Opal hopped from foot to foot. “You’re asking us to be in charge of that?” she asked, her excitement evident.

  Wade clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on the toes of his boots. “I guess I am,” he said.

  Corinne watched Opal and Allen exchange glances. They both smiled at each other and nodded before turning back to Wade.

  “We’d be happy to take it on,” Allen said. “How much time do we have before the party?”

  Wade tugged at his collar. “Well, that’s the thing. We only have a couple weeks. I want to have the party before they start filming and I think that that’s right around the corner.”

  “That’s okay,” Opal said. “Bernard’s pretty busy with preproduction, but my dad and I can figure this out.”

  Corinne couldn’t help herself from volunteering. Before she knew it, she’d opened her mouth one more time.

  “I can ask Tamlyn if there are any costumes we can use. You’re going to need all kinds of things. Feather boas and gun belts. It would be so much fun to do.”

  Everybody turned and looked at her, and she thought maybe she should put the words back in her mouth. But instead, she said, “Honestly. I’d love to be a part of it if you’d let me.”

  “That’s mighty nice of you to offer,” Wade said and reached out to shake her hand. He reached for a pen on the counter and Allen handed him a piece of paper.

  Wade scribbled on it and handed it to Allen. “This is the number of my friend, Greg. He runs a photo booth like this for weddings and such over in Quinn Valley. He’ll be happy to help you in any way you need.”

  Allen peered at the paper in his hand. “That’d be great. We’ll need to see some pictures of what it looks like and ask some questions about how it works.”

  “Perfect,” Opal said.
She looked over her father’s shoulder at the name. “He’s in Quinn Valley?”

  “Sure is,” Wade said. “You might even need to take a ride over there to see it. I don’t know how complicated it is. I sure appreciate you taking this on.”

  Corinne’s head was spinning already with ideas. If Tamlyn didn’t have costumes, she could probably make some—but two weeks wasn’t much time.

  “The ranch has a tab over at the hardware store. Just put any supplies you need on that. And keep me posted,” Wade said. He tipped his hat and headed out the door.

  “Well, that was something,” Opal said slowly. She’d already sat down at the computer and tapped at the keys.

  Allen leaned down, looking at the monitor. He looked up and smiled at Corinne, gesturing for her to come over to look, too.

  Opal had pulled up dozens of pictures of couples and families, all with old-time costumes on. There were gunslingers, saloon girls and other ladies dressed all prim and proper.

  Corinne laughed and pointed to one of the saloon girls.

  “That’s what mine looks like,” she said.

  Allen whistled, and wiggled his eyebrows.

  “I bet that’s something to see,” he said.

  Corinne cleared her throat and took a step back as Opal looked at her father and then over to Corinne. She didn’t exactly smile, but she wasn’t frowning, either.

  “All right, Dad. I don’t think that’s what we’re after here. It’s all just for fun.”

  Allen stepped back and winked at Corinne when Opal walked toward the back of the shop.

  “All in fun, my dear.”

  “Hm,” Opal said as she took a last look at her father and Corinne before she turned the corner. “I’m going to call Bernard and let him know what’s going on.”

  Corinne waited for her to leave.

  “This is going to be so much fun,” she said as she leaned on the counter. “I’d better ask Tamlyn about the costumes. I hope she has some available.”

  “Me, too,” Allen said as he held out the paper with Greg’s phone number on it at arm’s length. He reached in his pocket for glasses and when he put them on. “Okay, that’s better.”

  Corinne hid a smile behind her hand and fiddled with her hand in her pocket where her own glasses were. She’d had to wear readers for the past couple of years and if anyone had asked, she’d say that Allen looked even more handsome with his on. She’d always thought glasses made a man look distinguished.

  “I’ll go ahead and call this Greg fellow and see what we’re up against. Maybe he can explain the picture-taking part and we can set Opal on that,” Allen said as he set down the piece of paper and pushed his glasses back on top of his head.

  “I’m fine with that, Dad,” Opal said from the back of the store.

  Corinne headed in the back and gathered up the list of measurements and her supplies.

  “I’ll ask Tamlyn about costumes and see what’s available.”

  “How about we all meet up at the cafe for lunch and compare notes?” Allen asked as Corinne reached for the door handle.

  “Perfect,” she said as she smiled and nodded at both Opal and Allen. “Thanks for including me. I’ll meet you at the cafe. Noon?”

  “Perfect,” Allen said.

  “Great. And thanks for the coffee.” Corinne smiled toward Opal as she stepped out, noting that Opal’s smile in return looked a little pinched. She sure hoped she hadn’t stepped on any toes by volunteering to help, but it was too late to back out now.

  Chapter 8

  "Thank you very much, Greg," Allen said. He hung up the phone and chewed for a minute on the eraser of the pencil he'd been scribbling with. Greg had described the photo booth to him and he thought he had a pretty good idea of what it should look like. But Greg also said that he'd send him a picture. It was always better to have a visual, so he thanked him and made arrangements to call again if he had anymore questions.

  He made some more notes on his paper. He tried to do a rough drawing so he could show Opal and Corinne. Once he had the drawing done, he’d be able to make a supply list and head down to the hardware store.

  Allen tapped the pencil on the counter and looked up when Opal came in from the back room.

  "So what did he say?" Opal asked as she walked up behind him, resting her elbow on his shoulder.

  "Well, he described it pretty thoroughly. He said that they use a computer inside one of the walls so that people can take three or four pictures at a time.

  "Oh? It's not the kind of thing where you build a set and pose people up on it like on the stage?" Opal asked.

  "No, I don't think so. I got the impression it was more like one of those booths at a carnival that you go into and slide the curtain shut. And then it counts down."

  "I see," Opal said. "That's a little different than what I was thinking."

  “Me, too,” Allen said as he resumed chewing on the end of his pencil. "Which do you think would be easier for this party?"

  Opal tapped her finger on her chin. "Well, as you know I very rarely photograph people. Bernard might be able to help a little bit with that but I'm much more comfortable taking pictures of bears," she said with a laugh.

  Allen laughed too. Photographing the family of bears was what had brought Bernard and Opal together in the first place.

  "Greg said he’d send me pictures of the photo booth. It might be okay to do that, but I don't see how we’d have much use for it afterward."

  "No, not something portable like that." Opal walked out in front of the counter and paced for a moment back and forth in front of the picture window.

  "It might be interesting to talk to some of the set designers for the TV show. Maybe they have a good thought,” Opal said.

  "That's a great idea. Maybe you could ask Bernard who that might be." Allen glanced up at the clock and started. "Oh, my gosh. It's noon and I was supposed to meet Corinne over at the café. Come on, Opal. Let's go." He stood and gathered the stacks of paper in front of them together in a pile.

  Opal glanced at her father. "You know what? I'll stay here and hold down the fort. I can get in touch with Bernard and get a name of the set designers, and maybe we can go look at that later. Why don't you go ahead and have lunch with Corinne?”

  Allen looked over at her and frowned. This was supposed to be a team effort, but she looked away and headed into the back, allowing for no further discussion.

  "Well, okay then,” he said quietly. And then a little louder, he said, “Talk to you later, Opal. I'll bring you something back for lunch."

  He hurried over to the café, tucking the paper he'd drawn into his pocket and making sure that he had his glasses. He hopped up the steps of the café, opening the door and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the different light. The aroma in the café was delicious as always and his stomach growled. He leaned forward and looked down the row of stools at the counter, not seeing the red hair that he was looking for. He glanced to the other side of the café and the booths up against the plate glass window and his eyes stopped on Corinne. Her tousled red hair framed her face, and he still couldn't get over how attractive that shock of white hair above her forehead was. Who would've thought something like that could be so pretty?

  She smiled when she spotted him and waved him over.

  “Where’s Opal?” she asked as Allen slid into the booth, facing her.

  “She’s holding down the fort, as she said,” he answered. “I told her I’d bring her back something to eat, and let her know what we found out.”

  Corinne reached into her pocket and took out some purple cats-eye glasses, sliding them on her nose. It was quite a color combination—her red hair, green eyes, a few freckles and purple glasses—and he thought it was quite fetching.

  She looked up at him and smiled, and his breath caught in his throat. He reached for his own glasses and slid them on, taking out the rudimentary drawing and smoothing it flat on the table.

  He turned it around to show her what he�
�d come up with, based on Greg’s description.

  “Oh,” Corinne said slowly as she nibbled on the tip of her pen. “That’s not what I was visualizing.”

  “Yeah, Opal said the same thing. I mean, these are great and all, but I think maybe Wade was envisioning more of the type of thing they actually have in old west towns. You know, the kind of stage setting with lots of costume options.”

  “Exactly,” she said as she cocked her head and looked again at the drawing. “Could you build this?”

  “Of course,” he said, “but I’m not sure what use for it there’d be after the party.”

  “No, I’m not sure, either. It might come in handy for weddings and big parties at the ranch, though.”

  “Hm. I guess I’m not really a part of those things, but they seem to have a wedding or big party at the barn almost every weekend. Maybe he did know exactly what he wanted, after all,” Allen said.

  “This one would be nice to have. It could be portable—you’d just put it away if the party didn’t want it.”

  Allen’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Excuse me. I’m expecting some pictures from Greg or I wouldn’t check my phone while dining with a lady.”

  He glanced up at Corinne just in time to see her flush, and he quickly looked back at his phone.

  “Here they are,” he said quickly, before turning his phone around for her to flip through the pictures. “He was explaining to me that for each party, with this computer program, they can customize the pictures that are printed for the guests.”

  “Like this one, that has a strip but the background says, ‘Milly is 60’, or the one with balloons that says, ‘Happy Birthday, Claudia’?” she asked as she flipped through the pictures.

  “I haven’t looked at all of them, but that sounds about right.

  “Hm,” Corinne said as she handed Allen’s phone back to him. “Which do you think Wade really wants?”

  Allen shook his head and smiled as Kelsi came over with a couple of menus. They quickly asked about the special and both ordered it, Allen ordering a third to go for Opal.