My Favorite Cowboy

by Shelley Galloway

  He wasn’t happy. He was bummed. She couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit devastated for his sake, too. Not a one of those bids had been from their token society belle. Yep, all the while, Veronica Snow had been suspiciously silent.

  Even Serena’s poor job of egging her on hadn’t done a bit of good.

  “One thousand and ten? Anyone? Anyone at all?”

  Silence.

  Mayor Earl seemed to know when enough was enough. “All righty, then. Here we go. One thousand dollars going once. Going twice…” He lifted the gavel.

  The whole crowd braced themselves for a crashing pound—

  “Two thousand dollars!”

  Mayor Earl’s hand froze.

  Serena’s mouth dropped open as she looked to her right. Veronica Snow was standing up and waving her hand like nobody’s business.

  Jarred Riddell’s smile suddenly became three feet wide.

  Veronica Snow had just bid two thousand dollars on Jarred Riddell, the most eligible bachelor in town.

  Without further ado, Mayor Earl banged the podium. “Sold!”

  “Holy Toledo!” Hannah exclaimed.

  Trent and Cal Jr. got to their feet and high-fived each other.

  Grinning like a fox in the henhouse, Mayor Earl reached over and clasped Jarred’s shoulders. “Congratulations, man! Jarred, you have just been sold for two thousand dollars! Lord have mercy. What do you say to that?”

  Casually, as if he was moving in slow motion, Jarred approached the microphone. A hush filled the arena.

  Standing tall, looking movie-star handsome, he grinned. Women all around Serena sighed. “Well, Mayor Earl, I say that Veronica Snow just got herself a heck of a deal,” he drawled. “I intend to make Miss Snow’s purchase worth every penny.”

  A burst of applause rang out as the men shouted unrepeatable phrases and the women pretended to be offended. Serena couldn’t help it, she smiled up at Jarred. So pleased for him.

  But he wasn’t looking her way. Not any longer.

  No, he only had eyes for the vision who stood up, then started walking his way in the prettiest floral sundress Serena had ever seen. Cut like something a 1950s Grace Kelly would wear, the vibrant floral print hugged her torso then flared out in a full skirt. “There has to be tulle under the skirt of that dress,” Hannah whispered. “It’s that full.”

  “It’s absolutely beautiful,” Serena agreed, thinking enviously that only a woman with no hips could pull it off. That kind of dress on her figure would look as if she’d put on a boat.

  “I heard she bought that dress in New York City two weekends ago,” Hannah whispered. “It’s designer.”

  The silky dress flounced around Veronica’s calves as she continued down the aisle, passing the lot of them without a backward glance.

  As Veronica approached the stage, Mayor Earl almost tripped over himself trying to help her up the steps.

  But then Jarred took her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. She lifted her chin, wrapped one manicured hand around his neck and whispered something. His eyes widened, he whispered something back, then right there and then, Jarred lowered his head and slowly, methodically, kissed her.

  Right there. On the stage. In front of everyone!

  And as if she were witnessing a train wreck, Serena couldn’t stop staring. That kiss was so picture-perfect, it looked like something out of an old MGM musical. Or Pretty Woman.

  “Now that, everyone, is what a two-thousand-dollar kiss looks like!” Mayor Earl declared.

  “Two thousand dollars is a helluva lot of money!” Trent called out. “You better do it again.”

  Jarred laughed. Veronica smiled. And then he swung her up in his arms and kissed her again.

  As clapping and laughter floated up again, Serena wished she could sink to the floor. Because all she could notice when she watched Jarred kiss Veronica, was that it looked a whole lot like the kiss he gave her.

  Just the night before.

  Back when she’d been fooling herself into thinking that maybe there was more between them than she’d ever thought possible.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After everyone went home from the VFW, Serena stayed late to help with the cleanup. Then she’d shared a piece of cake with a few other volunteers. Finally, a little after midnight, she went on home.

  Oh, she’d had offers to do other things. A few girls had invited her to the Burger Shack for a late-night meal and a few rounds of beer.

  Tracy had asked Serena to spend the night at her house. Even Hannah had invited her to her apartment for tea.

  But Serena knew she couldn’t listen to any more talk about Veronica and Jarred for another minute. No, all she wanted to do was go home and try to decompress.

  If that was even possible.

  Her apartment was dark when she entered. When she turned on the hall light, it only served to remind her of how much she’d been neglecting her housework ever since she’d started tutoring Jarred. Resolutely ignoring the dishes in the sink, Serena kicked off her shoes and curled up on the couch.

  Oh, she couldn’t believe the auction was over.

  While they’d been throwing away trash and stacking chairs, more than a few people had come by to congratulate her on Jarred’s awesome performance. He’d impressed many with his ease in that tuxedo, and with the way he had acted that evening, opening doors and pulling out chairs for women.

  Lots of people gave her a heap of credit for taming the oldest Riddell. For changing him into something almost reputable. For making him attractive enough for the fanciest of women.

  Serena had smiled her thanks but had refused any responsibility for Jarred’s success. “He really didn’t need my help,” she’d said. “He’s always been someone our town should be proud of. I’m sure Veronica will enjoy his company and the town will enjoy the benefits.”

  Everyone said she shouldn’t be so modest.

  But Serena knew the truth. Truth was, Jarred had done all that on his own. He hadn’t needed her to make him better. To her, he’d always been good enough. He’d simply been a little rough around the edges.

  Now that she was back home and sitting alone with nothing to look forward to except a load of bills, Serena felt more depressed than she had in years. Before those lessons, she’d been happy with her life. Before being around Jarred so much, she’d come to terms that their lives would always be parallel to each other. That there was no reason for them to intersect.

  But now things felt different. She was different. She wanted more than just a library job, a tiny apartment and a bunch of good girlfriends.

  Seeing Jarred obtain his dream made her wish she could make some of her dreams happen, too.

  Walking to her kitchen, she opened a bottle of merlot and poured herself a generous glass, then picked up her reading glasses and one of the books from the to-be-read stack.

  She sat by the window and tried not to think about Jarred and Veronica being together at that very moment. Tried not to imagine him kissing her.

  Actually, she tried not to care.

  “WHATCHA DOING TODAY, Jarred?” Virginia asked when she wandered into his room the morning after the auction.

  “Sleeping,” he mumbled. “Ginny, it’s early, honey.”

  “Not so early. Daddy said it was a quarter past ten.”

  He opened one eye. “That late, huh?” When her curls bobbed with her nod, he sat up with a groan. Though his head felt fuzzy from the bottle of champagne he and Veronica had shared, he patted the side of his bed so Ginny could climb up. She did, her red polka-dot pajamas sliding up to midcalf as she scooted close.

  “Do you want to go riding with me?”

  “I don’t know if I can, squirt. I’ve got to tend to the horses.”

  “Trent already did that.”

  “That was nice of him.” As his bleary eyes focused, he thought some more. “I also have to see what Miss Veronica wants to do today, too. I’m going to be on her schedule for the next week.”

&nbs
p; “Because she bought you?”

  That sounded almost dirty to him. “Well, she bid on me for charity. She didn’t actually buy me.”

  “Trent says you have to do whatever she wants, but then after the week is done, you won’t get to see her no more.”

  “Anymore,” he corrected, then blinked in surprise. Since when did he correct grammar? “And don’t listen to Trent. I might see Miss Veronica a whole lot more, even when I don’t have to.”

  “So, you like spending time with her?”

  Remembering how pretty she was sitting across from him sipping champagne, he smiled. “Of course.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? Because she’s beautiful.”

  “Are you going to bring her by?”

  “Maybe.” But even as he promised, Jarred wasn’t sure if he would bring Veronica by anytime soon. He wasn’t sure how she’d react to being around his brothers. After all, he was the only one of them who’d had any formal training.

  Virginia wiggled around until her face was almost touching his. “Do you think she’ll want to read with me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why not? Does she like books?”

  “I don’t know that answer, either. I’m just getting to know Veronica now. It takes time.” Thinking about Serena, and how well he knew her, he nodded. “Shoot. Maybe even years.”

  Ginny scrambled off the bed. Practically reading his mind, she said, “I know! We can ask Serena to come back. She likes to read Penelope books with me.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “But I thought y’all were friends.”

  “We are.” With effort, he pushed the sweet memory of listening to Serena read to Ginny aside. “It’s just…I have Veronica now.”

  “And I got no one to read Penelope with,” Ginny said as she left.

  Guilt washed over him. He knew the right thing to do would be to get dressed and go spend some time with his little sister.

  But there was so much going on in his head, all that seemed possible was to lean back against the pillows and try to get his bearings.

  So much had happened over the past forty-eight hours. Saving Serena from Pete Ross. Kissing her in the moonlight.

  Standing in front of the whole town in that monkey suit.

  He wouldn’t admit it to just anybody, but the truth was, he’d been sweating bullets up there, waiting to see if anyone was going to pay a dime to be in the same room with him.

  And when old Mrs. Clare—who had to be ninety if she was a day—had volunteered a measly forty bucks, he’d thought his goose was cooked.

  But everything had changed a hundred-and-eighty degrees when Veronica had bought him. Hearing her words, seeing the approval and shock in everyone else’s eyes had been especially gratifying.

  He still couldn’t believe what had happened next. When she’d hopped on the stage, he’d been fully prepared to twirl her around. But when he reached over to pick her up, she’d asked him to kiss her.

  And he’d never been one to refuse such a request. So, he’d placed his lips on hers and held on tight. He’d kissed her like he’d dreamed of doing. Gently. With honor.

  But that hadn’t been what she’d wanted. Next thing he’d known, her tongue had been in his mouth and their heat was sizzling up the tent.

  It had been nice.

  But it had also felt impersonal and more than a little empty.

  So different from when he’d kissed Serena. That had been full of surprises. When he’d wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, it had felt tender. Sweet. So secret and special.

  Why was that? How come he couldn’t stop thinking about her all of the sudden, now that he had everything he ever wanted?

  After a brief knock, Gwen poked her head in. “Jarred, your father is calling for you.”

  “Tell him I’ll be right there. I’ve just got to get dressed.”

  Fifteen minutes later, he let himself into his father’s room. “Dad?”

  His father was sitting on his couch, fully dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt and boots. “Hey, son.”

  “You’re all dressed. You okay?”

  “Well enough to want to get out of this room for a spell. I was kind of hoping you’d have time to take me.”

  Jarred was on the verge of second-guessing him. Of asking if that was the smart thing to do. But a lifetime of being his father’s son stopped the question in its tracks. People didn’t second-guess Cal Riddell. Certainly not his sons. During his whole life, Jarred had never questioned his father. He certainly wasn’t about to start now.

  He stepped forward. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” After helping him to his feet, he gripped his father’s arm and slowly guided him down the hall. “Got somewhere special in mind?”

  “Nowhere far. I just need a change of scenery.”

  “The rose arbor?”

  His father’s steps slowed. A moment passed before he replied. “That would be fine.”

  As they continued down the hall and into the kitchen, Jarred kept a hand free just in case his dad needed extra help. But after the first few faltering steps, he seemed to regain his balance. They walked through the sunroom without any ill effects. But when Jarred opened the back door and faced the three stone steps that provided the transition from home to garden, his father stopped.

  “You okay, Dad?”

  “I’m fine.” Looking straight ahead, he murmured, “Just…help me with the steps, would you?”

  “Sure.” He grabbed his dad’s elbow with one hand, and placed another around his shoulders. He was glad his father was the type of man to remain stoic. Jarred was struggling to do the same, though he couldn’t help but reflect on how different his father felt under his thin long-sleeved T-shirt. Where there used to be solid muscle, Jarred now felt only a thin layer of skin covering bones. His dad had lost a lot of weight.

  Finally, they sat down on cushioned chairs with sighs of relief. Jarred sat across from his father, resting his elbows on his thighs, ready to jump up to get him anything.

  But Cal Sr. only looked relaxed. Tension eased from around his eyes. After closing them for a bit, he breathed deeply. “This is better. I didn’t think I could take another blasted minute staring at those same four walls.”

  “I’ve always liked this patio. Mom liked it, too, I remember.”

  “Oh, yes, she did. I didn’t at the time, though.”

  “Why was that?”

  “Because times were so different. Trent was only six or seven, and was as busy as you ever saw. Your mother was running ragged, trying to keep up with him. With all of you. I thought she was doing too much.”

  Jarred tried to recall his mother being exhausted, but he couldn’t. “Mom liked to be busy, didn’t she?”

  “She did.” He cleared his throat. “Truth was, I was the one with the problem. I had been on the road so much, touring with the rodeo circuit, trying to be a star.” He rolled his eyes. “All I wanted to do when I got home was watch television. Not make patios.”

  Listening to his father, Jarred once again realized just how much time had passed…and how things in their lives had changed.

  “Jarred, the patio isn’t why I wanted you to take me out here.”

  “Why did you?”

  “I wanted to talk to you for a bit. About that auction. About Veronica. Between the phone calls and your brothers’ reports…I heard quite a bit about it.”

  Jarred knew that was disapproval in his father’s tone. For the first time, he was embarrassed at what he’d done. “It was no big deal. Just an auction for charity, Dad.”

  “Don’t talk to me like I’m addled, boy. I know what it was. I want to know why you wanted Veronica so badly.”

  “She bid on me.”

  “With a lot of help from you.” His voice deepened. “You spent hours with Serena Higgens and those crazy lessons. And during it all, I kept my mouth shut. But through it all, I never actually heard why you wanted Veronica.”

>   “Sure, you did. We talked about how she’s part of society, Dad. She’s high-class.”

  “So?”

  “So, I thought you wanted me dating someone like Veronica. She’s a classy lady. Plus, someone like Veronica would be good for Ginny. She needs a woman’s influence.”

  “I want you to be happy. If she’s the one for you, then it’s all good. But, is she?”

  “I’m not sure.” Jarred’s cheeks heated. “I guess I’ll find out when we spend time together.”

  Looking him over, his dad’s eyes narrowed. “High society don’t mean much over the breakfast table, son—or in the bedroom, if you get my drift.”

  Before Jarred could react to that, his father continued. “Actually, I have to say that once upon a time I had real high hopes for you boys…but I never intended to make y’all into something you weren’t. Sometimes you simply need to look for love.”

  “Is that what happened with you and Mom? Love?”

  “Yep. At first, though, she wasn’t who I thought I wanted. I had my sights set on someone else entirely at first.” He stretched his legs out and tilted his face up to the sun. “It just goes to show you, sometimes the person you think you want isn’t the one who’s right for you.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  “I hope so. Sometimes it’s a person like Serena who catches you off guard.”

  “Serena and I only had a business deal.” But even as he said the words, Jarred felt his ears turn red. They’d had a whole lot more than business between them for years.

  “Seems that’s all you have with Veronica. After all, she bought you. That’s it.”

  “It might turn into more.”

  “It might. Then again, it might not. And if it doesn’t, then where will you be?”

  Jarred didn’t have the answer to that.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Veronica looked so good in his Corvette, Jarred couldn’t help but gloat. “Where would you like to go today, beautiful?”

  To his surprise, instead of melting at his endearment, she merely looked bored. “I hate it when people say things like that. I hate false speaking.”