AJ rested her folded arm on her belly. “I bought an ad last year and I didn’t see the benefits.”
“That’s why the committee hired a new PR company. We’re expanding the guide this year.”
“I never asked where the ad money actually goes.”
“A portion goes to printing the brochures. A portion goes to the local committee. They use it to try and bring in bigger sponsors.”
“So local sponsorship by local businesses isn’t enough? If you’ve got bigger fish to fry, why should I fork out my money?”
Talk about prickly. “Let me explain. Bigger sponsors will provide bigger payouts for the event purse, which will attract better competitors, which will bring more people into the area and into the area businesses. We aren’t looking to replace the business ad you’d place with one for a bigger sponsor.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense.”
“Would you like to see examples of ads we’re doing for other businesses? And hear the promotion I’ve sketched out, which requires little to no effort on the part of the advertisers?”
“I guess.”
When Georgia had shown AJ all the options and the pregnant woman’s only responses were a sniff, a grunt or a shrug, Georgia lost all confidence in herself and any hope of a sale. She tidied up her papers. “Thanks for listening.”
“That’s it?” AJ’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re done, why do you still look so tense?”
“Because you make me nervous.”
AJ blinked with total distrust. “Because you want me to buy an ad that badly?”
“That’s not it.” She blew out a slow breath. “Between us? Cold-call selling is not my strong suit. Add in trying to convince people that I’m not the aloof cheerleader they remember, but a professional woman…isn’t exactly a cakewalk.” Why don’t you just blurt out all your insecurities in front of a potential client, Georgia?
“I understand where you’re coming from because I’m definitely not the mousy girl I was in high school. And thank God for that.” AJ stepped out from behind the counter. “Come on. I’m gonna give you a little shoulder massage. On the house.”
Georgia blurted out, “Why?”
“Because I can feel the tension rolling off you. I have a Swedish in thirty minutes and it’ll be good to limber up my hands.” AJ led her to what looked like a beauty chair, but in reverse form, with an open oval to place her face in and padded arms beneath it. The footrest was adjustable, she could put her feet in front, or behind like she was riding a motorcycle.
“You’ll need to take off your jacket. The blouse can stay on.” AJ leaned closer and tugged on the material. “It doesn’t look like it’ll rip.”
Rip? Like AJ planned to massage her violently enough to tear clothing? “Ah. I don’t know—”
“Relax.” AJ stood beside the chair, tapping her foot almost in challenge, waiting as Georgia climbed into the contraption.
Deep breath.
“There. Now just pretend we’re two friends chatting at the beauty shop.”
Friends? Right. AJ could teach torture tactics. Georgia gasped when two fingers sank into the skin beside her shoulder blades, almost to the bone.
“You have had a massage before, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Just not like this. Then she felt several hard pinches up the back of her neck.
“So as to not keep you in suspense, I’ll buy an ad,” AJ said.
“Good,” she choked out.
“Has your business been doin’ well?”
More pressure as AJ ground her thumbs across Georgia’s shoulder. “It’s not my business.” Georgia explained, glad AJ couldn’t see her face when she grimaced in pain.
“When I graduated from trade school and set up shop in Sundance, I wasn’t sure I could make a go of it. Now I’ve got a steady enough clientele that I could be open eight hours a day, six days a week if I chose, but I keep it part time.” She grunted. “So you’ve hooked up with Tell.”
Didn’t take her long to bring that up. “We’ve been hanging out.”
“I heard you two were a couple.”
Georgia purposely ignored the past tense form were. “We went to our class reunion together.”
“I skipped my reunion. Keely and Chase were stars of our class anyway.” AJ pulled on a section of skin. “Kind of like you were the star of your class.”
“Not something I wanted, believe me. And I never felt that way.”
“Really?”
“Deck was the star. I was the girlfriend in the background with the cool, fun brother everyone loved.”
AJ’s hands stopped moving so vigorously. “Aw, shoot, Georgia, I forgot that your brother died. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. In some ways Tell reminds me of RJ. He’s outgoing.”
“Which means Tell goes out all the damn time. He’s had a lot of girlfriends, I mean a lot, but he’s never had a serious girlfriend.”
Rather than gasp and say I had no idea he was such a stud, she casually remarked, “Yes, that has come up in conversation.”
“Good. We’re all a little protective of him.”
Oh for Godsake, really? Like Tell McKay needed protection from her? She couldn’t let that comment slide. “Because innocent Tell has absolutely no experience with women like me, right?” Georgia said with an edge. “I’m the ball-busting bitch from his past who’s set her sights on breaking his poor little heart?”
“Ooh, snap,” AJ said.
“You’re not the first one to warn me off sweet, funny, perfect Tell McKay, AJ.”
“I never said he was perfect, but I’ll agree he’s sweet and funny. And I wasn’t warning you off him as much as I was just warning you. Tell isn’t ready to settle down. So don’t get your hopes up.”
Then it felt as if AJ were slicing along both sides of her spinal cord to make it easier to rip the bones clean out. With her bare hands. Or perhaps her teeth.
Finally AJ said, “Done.”
Georgia pushed herself up. “Thanks for the massage. Once I have a better handle on my schedule, I’ll book a full appointment.” She slipped on her jacket. “Let’s get the ad set up before your next victim arrives.”
She smiled cheekily at AJ and was totally shocked when the cranky pregnant woman laughed and said, “You know, cheerleader, I kinda like you.”
Despite the sale, Georgia was feeling less than confident at the next stop: India’s Ink and Sky Blue.
A woman and two small boys sat at a child-size plastic table by the front counter. A dark-haired baby bounced on the woman’s knee.
The woman wore a flowery sundress and a whole lot of tattoos. Her short, dark hair had randomly scattered streaks of electric blue. “Hi. If you’re here for a tat, it’ll have to wait until my husband returns for my little helpers.”
“I’m not here for that.”
Suspicious eyes zeroed in on Georgia’s briefcase. “Who are you and what are you selling?”
How many freakin’ times would she have to go through this spiel?
As many as it took to fill up the damn program guide.
Before she could regurgitate the pitch she’d committed to memory, the oldest boy said, “Mama, look! I drawed a fish!”
“That’s real good, Hudson baby, see if you can draw another one.”
He scowled at his mother. “I’m not a baby.”
“Sorry. I forget you’re a big boy now.”
These kids were the most beautiful children Georgia had ever seen. Had to be McKay kids with that black hair and those vivid blue eyes.
“You were saying?” the woman prompted.
“Sorry for staring, but your children are gorgeous.”
She smiled. “Thank you. They get those genes from their daddy.” She held out her hand. “India McKay.”
Georgia shook it. “Nice to meet you, India. It seems you’re busy, so I can come back later.”
“No. Stick around. I don’t usually bring the kids to work with me, but every once in a while I d
on’t have a choice.” She kissed the top of the baby girl’s head. “Show me what you’ve got. Spread out on the counter, away from madly coloring little boys.”
“Good plan.” After Georgia lined up the pieces and made her sales pitch, she felt India staring at her.
“Now I know why your name is familiar. You’re dating Tell.”
That connection took all of thirty seconds. “I guess.”
India’s blue gaze sharpened. “What do you mean you guess?”
How could she admit that the R word had never come up between them during the two weeks they were boinking like bunnies? “Umm… It’s complicated.”
“Not when it comes to a McKay male. They are highly territorial.”
Georgia wondered if the guys in the McKay family would take that as an insult or a compliment.
“So? What’s the deal with you two?”
This woman just expected her to blurt it out?
India laughed. “Oh, I get why you’re hedging about your relationship status and using the word complicated. Because Tell is in the d-bag stage right now.” She patted Georgia’s forearm. “Don’t sweat it. We’ve all been there.”
After the contracts were signed, a loud crash sounded behind them. The youngest boy had kicked over the table and was smacking it with a fat table leg.
“Ellison McKay! Drop that and park your butt on that chair right now, mister.”
“No!”
“Don’t make me start counting.”
“No!”
“Okay. One.”
Ellison threw himself on the floor and started crying. His brother seized the opportunity to jump on him. Which only made the boy shriek louder.
“Hudson! What on earth is wrong with you? Get off your brother.”
The boys paid no attention. They rolled around on the floor. Dodging punches and punching back. Yelling. Crying.
The baby girl suddenly let loose a loud wail.
“Come on, McKenna baby, not you too.”
Georgia gathered her stuff, thankful they’d concluded business before the tantrums started.
The door chime jangled, but that didn’t end the chaos.
A wolf whistle pierced the air. Then a man separated the boys. “Hey, hey, you two. No hitting.”
“Just in time, Colt,” India said.
The younger boy clung to the man’s neck when he stood. Colt settled the kid on his hip and smoothed the older boy’s hair. “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”
Hudson shook his head.
Then the man briefly looked at Georgia. And she just about choked on the puddle of drool forming on her tongue. This guy… Wow. Yeah, the kids had definitely inherited his amazing looks.
But then he only had eyes for his wife. “Sorry to interrupt, Indy. I’ll get the boys outta your hair.”
“That’ll work. But you should meet Georgia Hotchkiss. Georgia, this is my husband, Colt McKay.”
“Georgia. As in Tell’s Georgia?”
And she thought the people in Sundance were gossipy? They had nothing on the McKay family.
India elbowed him. “Sometimes there’s a disconnect between your mouth and your brain. Yes, this is the Georgia who knows Tell. No, she doesn’t belong to him, caveman McKay.”
Colt grinned. “Nice to meetcha, Georgia. I’m gonna hafta rib my cousin, because he’s dating way out of his league.”
Georgia blushed.
India bent down to hug Hudson. Then she stood and kissed Ellison’s cheek. “Be good for Daddy today, boys.” She turned away.
“Hey, Mama. Where’s my kiss?”
She sighed and stood on tiptoe to reach his lips for a quick peck. But Colt wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and held his wife in place as he gave her a very thorough kiss.
Georgia felt like a voyeur, seeing the intimate connection between these two, surrounded by their rambunctious kids, but existing only in the moment with each other.
Would she ever allow herself to have that kind of deep connection with a man? Or would she always pull back?
Like you’re pulling back with Tell? Like you’ve pulled back with everyone since RJ died?
She shoved everything into her briefcase. The tattoo art on the inside of the glass case caught her eye. Some designs were really cool, especially the memorial tattoos. Some were portraits, some were just dates, some were crosses, or some were a combination of all three.
“See anything you like?” India asked.
“Are all these your designs?”
“Most of them.”
“They are amazing.”
“Thank you. Were you considering a memorial tattoo?”
Georgia looked up. “I never have before now. But it seems…”
India patted her hand. “It’s hard to mark a sad event. But if you decide to do it, I can design anything from gaudy to discreet.”
“I’ll definitely be back.”
That night as Georgia wrote her sales report for her boss and mapped out her plan for the businesses in Moorcroft the following day, she kept sneaking glances at her cell phone. Checking it like some smitten teenage girl, wondering if her phone was somehow…broken because another day had gone by and she hadn’t heard from Tell.
So call him.
Right. After hearing his family’s concerns that she was some sort of femme fatale heartbreaker? Now she was uneasy enough about the situation that she wouldn’t call him first. Not out of pettiness; out of self-preservation.
Chapter Eighteen
Early Thursday morning, Tell glanced at Dalton, standing on his left. Man. His baby brother looked like roadkill. Then he noticed Brandt yawning. They were a lively bunch.
Cord had called a meeting at the sorting pens, which was neutral ground and the center of the ranch.
Pickups were parked in a lopsided circle. His cousins were spread out in groups of brothers. Kane and Kade were in a deep discussion. Colby, Cord and Colt were laughing about something. Quinn and Ben were standing together, not talking at all.
He spoke to Brandt. “You have any idea what this meeting is about?”
“Nope. Wish I’d brought more coffee. I am draggin’ ass today.” He yawned again. “Tucker cried all night. Woke us up every hour.”
“That sucks.”
Brandt offered a small smile. “Oh, it ain’t so bad. It’s just frustrating when we can’t figure out why he’s cryin’. The only thing that calms him down is bein’ held, so me’n Jess take turns.”
Dalton leaned closer. “Either of you got any Tums? I’m about to blow chunks after way too much drinkin’ last night.”
“There’s some in the glove box,” Brandt said. When Tell gaped at him, he said, “What? Jess ate Tums by the handful when she was pregnant. I kept ’em in my truck since I was her chauffeur.”
“That ain’t what surprised me. It was the fact you didn’t go all ‘you’re a dumb-ass’ on our little brother.”
“I’m too fuckin’ tired to care.” Brandt shot him a smirk. “And I’m practicing not bein’ a dick.”
Tell snorted.
Cord stepped forward and all conversation ended. “We haven’t had a formal shareholders meeting since around this time last year, so I figured we’d get it out of the way.”
“So we’re doin’ this without the previous McKay generation in attendance?” Quinn asked.
“Technically, they’re shareholders, but they gave up voting rights when they passed us the reins.”
It went unsaid that none of them wanted to deal with Casper after what’d happened last year. An endless prayer followed by an endless litany of criticism and complaints.
“I don’t gotta go over the financials because you all got copies relating to your shares. We all had a record year last year and so far it’s lookin’ like this one might be even better.”
Heads nodded.
“That said, we’ve gotta replace a lot of equipment, and that’s expensive, but since it’s equipment we all use it, the purchase will come out
of the main ranch account.”
“We’re payin’ cash?” Ben asked.
“That’s what we need to vote on,” Cord said. “Whether we wanna take out a loan or use the cash reserves.”
Colt spoke up. “I’d rather we used some of the cash, say thirty or forty percent, and finance the rest. If we’ve still got a solid amount of cash this time next year, then we can look at payin’ off the remaining amount. Or extending the loan another year.”
“I agree,” Kade said. “Who knows what the economy, the price of feed and the livestock market will do in the next twelve months? Better to play it safe.”
“Any other comments or suggestions?” Cord asked.
Ben raised his hand. “At the risk of ruffling some feathers, I suggest we make sure we’re getting the lowest rate from Settler’s First Bank before we commit to borrowing money from them.”
“Sez the competing bank president’s husband,” Tell said dryly.
Everyone laughed.
“I agree with Ben,” Brandt said. “It wouldn’t hurt to talk to American West Bank to see what they’ll offer to get some of our business.”
“And just to be clear, I won’t be involved one way or the other. I just wanted to mention it,” Ben added.
“So, show of hands on usin’ a partial down payment?”
All hands went up.
“Good. Show of hands on me, Kade, Brandt and Quinn finding the lowest loan rate?”
All hands went up.
Cord stroked his goatee. “Motion passes and all that shit. What’s next?”
Kade said, “As long as we’re talkin’ about joint expenses, something’s gotta be done with that bunkhouse. Over the last few months, me’n Colby found a ton of beer cans inside and outside. All the wood we had stockpiled has been burned, so someone has been livin’ there. Or more likely, kids have been usin’ it as a party house.”
“Once it becomes party central, it’s gonna be hell to get them kids to stop goin’ there,” Colby added.
“And Cam can’t patrol that area all the time because it’s abusing his position,” Colt pointed out. “Any ideas on how we oughta handle it?”
“I say all ten of us sit inside. When the little shits show up, we reinforce with ten loaded shotguns that they’re trespassing on private property,” Dalton suggested.
Kissin' Tell: Rough Riders, Book 13 Page 20