The Cowboy Takes a Bride

by Debra Clopton

  Haley picked up the stack of pages and leaned back in her chair. “This is going to be interesting.”

  Still awed, but suddenly exhausted from the experience, Sugar crossed to her desk and collapsed like a dishrag into her seat. What a rush that had been! She snagged a pencil and chewed on it, waiting for Haley’s reaction.

  She didn’t have to wait long. Within seconds, her friend chuckled.

  Sugar smiled. That was good.

  Another chuckle erupted a few seconds later.

  Then she snorted—snorted. Then chuckled again.

  Sugar started grinning. That was all she needed. So what if the script was rough. It was getting the response she wanted, and Sugar knew she could bring it to life on the stage. All she had to do was get Ross to agree to be her hero. Oh yeah, she was ready for the fireworks to break out, but he had to take the part. There just wasn’t any getting around it. This role was his.

  Sure, he had a problem with acting, but he’d come through for her every other time…after a fight. He really was her living, breathing, true-life hero, and she could only hope that once he read this he would change his mind.

  All she had to do was get him to read it.

  “No. We’ve been through this, Sugar.”

  Ross had known he was in for trouble the moment Sugar burst into the barn. He’d been talking with Applegate and Stanley, and the old coots were now having a good ole time watching the showdown.

  “Yes, we have,” Sugar huffed. “And I don’t mind telling you that I had an absolute horrible day yesterday thanks to you, buster. Our little conversation did quite a number on me. But you know what? I admitted that I am scared. I have no life other than this, and it’s going to be pretty depressing if I fail. So, yes, I don’t know what’s going to happen with my life. But guess what? I want to be an actress, and if I fail, I’m going to do it knowing I gave it my all. We’re dealing with a lot of things right now, me and the Lord. Things I’ve been needing to deal with, and that’s partly because you made me so mad. So thanks,” she said. “Really.”

  Once again, she’d said the unexpected, and Ross found himself floundering.

  She waggled the pages she was still holding out to him. “Please read this. If I’m not meant to be an actress, then I’ll accept that, when I have to,” she said softly. “But I’m not giving up without a fight and I need you to play the love interest in my show. I know I’m asking a lot and that it could take time away from your ranching, but I’ll help you work the cows myself if I have to in order to get your help.”

  “Sugar, I’m trying to give you everything I’ve got, but I’m telling you I am not a good actor. In my family’s show, I sang. That was my talent. And, yes, sometimes I played straight man to our comedian, but that only worked because I couldn’t act worth a flip, and it was funny. Don’t you get it?”

  “Actually, I do.” She waggled the papers again. “Please, just look at it. And then tell me no if that’s what you feel.”

  He’d spent all Sunday in search of a missing calf, and it had given him a lot of time to think about Sugar. He’d been out of line in their last conversation, and that had been eating at him. Despite his efforts, he cared about her. Taking this part wasn’t going to help him fight his feelings. But she’d obviously just faced some difficult issues because he’d come down so hard on her, and it couldn’t hurt to read it, right? It wasn’t as if he’d actually take the part. He couldn’t act well enough to play any kind of lead.

  “C’mon on, son,” Applegate boomed. “Least ya kin do is read the thang.”

  “Yep,” Stanley added, just as loud. “If Sugar is willin’ ta fail ’cause you ain’t no good, then I’d thank you ought’n ta not be afraid ta give it a try.”

  Sugar smiled, and her eyes shone with sincerity. “If this is about embarrassing yourself on stage, you don’t have to worry about that. I promise I will make you look good.” She waggled the script again.

  She could make anyone look good. Ross stared down at his boots and blew out a frustrated breath, then held out his hand. “I’ll read it.”

  Her smile blasted to high beam as she stuffed the pages into his outstretched hand. “I promise you’re going to like it.”

  Full of dread, he sat on the edge of the stage. She didn’t move, and he glanced up, expecting to see a smug expression on her face. He was surprised to find that she looked almost vulnerable standing there watching him. More intrigued than he would admit, he kept his mouth shut and started reading.

  He didn’t get past page one when he realized she was writing about him. At least, he was pretty sure it was him. It took every ounce of control not to look up and ask her point-blank if he was this “singing cowboy.”

  But he didn’t have to ask. She’d nailed him. Every line was something he would say—or had said to her.

  The other thing was, it was funny. Not just funny, but fun.

  By the time he had finished reading, she’d sunk onto the bench between Applegate and Stanley. They were all three frowning.

  “You hated it,” she said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You didn’t laugh. Never even chuckled.”

  “Shor didn’t,” Applegate grunted.

  Stanley nodded.

  Ross had this urge to tease her, but smiled instead and let out the chuckles that he’d fought down while reading the script. “It was funny,” he chuckled. “So I get the girl in the end, huh?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes! You get the girl,” she exclaimed, springing off the bench and flinging her arms around his neck in a fierce, jubilant hug.

  His arms went around her automatically, holding her close. Over her shoulder, he saw App and Stanley grinning like hyenas. The old codgers knew as well as he did that he was in big trouble.

  He’d just agreed to play Sugar’s love interest. He was going to stand on this stage pretending to fall in love with her night after night…and frankly, it was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  Aside from the fact that she was gorgeous, funny and likable, she was also a very talented actress. He was going to have to work hard to keep his wits about him. Remind himself that when he played opposite her on this stage, it was only the guy he was playing who got the girl in the end. Not him.

  Keeping reality and fiction separate was going to be hard because he’d realized something yesterday. As he roamed his pastures looking for that lost calf, he’d accepted that he was lost, too. No matter what he told himself or how much he tried to deny it, he was falling for Sugar.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ross met Sugar’s dancing eyes and knew there was no way he could deny that he liked making her so happy. And if it meant taking the chance of making a fool out of himself on that stage, then so be it.

  “I’m going to do this,” he said firmly, “because you wrote my character as a bad actor, stilted and wooden, and that gives me freedom to goof.” He couldn’t help giving her a heartfelt grin. “I can’t get over you writing him like that. You really have a comedic flare.”

  “I can’t take any credit for it. It just came out like that,” she said in awe. “I woke this morning with the whole thing in here.” She tapped her temple. “I dreamed it, and believe me when I say I do not dream. Everyone talks about dreams, but it never really happened to me. Never has. If I do dream, I never remember them. So to wake up and have it there, that was an awesome experience.”

  The woman’s face spoke volumes. Ross could watch her for hours—what was wrong with those people in Hollywood?

  They held auditions on Friday night. Once word got out that a new plan had come into play the cowboy talent came out in droves. The show would be presented in four acts, with songs in between. Each cowboy was able to look at the posted song schedule, decide which show he could do, and commit to the performances that worked with his schedule.

  Also, because the play revolved around Sugar and Ross, the acting parts for others were short and easily learned, which meant they could
also be shifted about. With so much flexibility incorporated into the show, everyone got on board, and rehearsals began on Saturday.

  By the time she arrived at the barn that night, Sugar was a ball of nerves. She’d written, rewritten, tweaked and tweaked again, and she thought she had every part of the script as ready as it could be.

  Ross had worked hard getting the dressing rooms finished. Smart man that he was, he’d also built a catwalk from the loft to the backstage area, and installed a compact spiral stairway, providing quick, easy access to the loft. The man thought of everything. He amazed her.

  And he was completely right when he’d said she hadn’t known what she was getting herself into. There were a thousand little behind-the-scenes things that she would have had to learn by trial and error if it wasn’t for him. His help on the sound and lights alone was phenomenal. Those panels with all the sliding levers and buttons still scared her every time she looked at them. But Ross patiently worked with App and Stanley, and also with Will and Bob, who’d volunteered to help take up the slack up top. They needed backup just in case feedback or glitches occurred that App and Stanley couldn’t hear. The older men’s hearing problems had worried Sugar when they’d asked to help, but so far, so good. And the two fellas had been so faithful in showing up. She couldn’t thank them enough for all their help—especially in nudging Ross to take the part.

  As the rehearsal got under way, Sugar realized that, as capable as he was, Ross seemed nervous. Though some of them wouldn’t be in the show until several weeks after it opened, everyone who could had made it for the first practice, and all the guys were busy reading over their parts. She’d realized quickly that the cowboys were hams and relished the idea of playing around in front of an audience. But Ross, the one who had lived this life for twenty years, was standing as rigid as a flagpole.

  “Hey, loosen up,” she said, moving beside him.

  “Easy for you to say. You’re good at this.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. With all of his experience, the man acted as if he’d never been on stage before. “Let’s go,” she said. “The easiest way to deal with this is to start.”

  She turned to the crowd of cowboys. “Okay, boys,” she called. “Everyone take a seat and let’s read our parts together. If you’re sharing a role with someone, sit together, and let’s get a feel for how everything is going to flow.”

  Sugar smiled up at Ross. “You sit by me.”

  “You’d better believe it. I’m expecting you to pull me out of this hole I’ve dug for myself,” he said, his lips twitching wryly.

  Trace, the cowboy who had been the first to leave the earlier audition, had been the first to show up once the new plan was formulated. He was going to play one of the cowboys who tried to win Sugar’s heart away from Ross, and as he took a seat, he grinned at them. “Heck, Ross, there ain’t nothing to be nervous about. If you want me to I can show you how to kiss Sugar for the finale.”

  Deep down, Sugar had been wondering if that part of the role might be bothering Ross. She hadn’t said anything about it, but she had wondered. Personally, she’d told herself this was a professional play and a romantic comedy, so a kiss in the end was expected. But there was no denying that just thinking about kissing Ross did funny things to her. Now, she glanced at him as he pinned Trace with a fierce look.

  “I’m only teasing, bro,” Trace added quickly, his own eyes laughing.

  “Good.” Ross took the seat beside Sugar on the edge of the stage. “After all, she wrote the role for me. Didn’t you?”

  The room seemed to shrink with his words, and Sugar nodded slowly. It was nothing more than the truth. Now she was the one who was nervous. “But, um, we aren’t going to actually kiss, until the night of the play.”

  Ross arched his brow, and the lines around his eyes crinkled. “I don’t know about that, I told you when I signed on for this that I’m not a very good actor. I’m going to want lots of chances to practice everything this script has in it.”

  The cowboys hooted with laughter, but looking into his eyes, Sugar wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or not. And as she tore her gaze away and tried to focus on the rehearsal, she wasn’t so sure she’d made a wise move when she’d written that kiss into the play. Kissing Ross Denton might just be the most dangerous thing she ever did.

  What was he doing? Ross couldn’t believe he had made that comment about kissing Sugar. And in front of the entire cast, too. He knew there wasn’t a man in that barn who couldn’t look at him and tell he was in over his head where Sugar was concerned. His one consolation after that was that his lines were written to be flubbed. He did one humdinger of a good job of it the rest of the night.

  He wasn’t certain if Sugar thought he was going along with the part, or if she realized he’d shaken himself up so badly he could hardly read the script.

  Fortunately, aside from that predicament, the night went well. He actually had a good time. He was truly enjoying this production…as long as he didn’t let himself remember every day that passed, he was digging himself into a deeper hole, falling for Sugar.

  On Monday morning, Haley grinned across the office at Sugar as she said, “Will told me that practice got pretty interesting the other night.”

  Sugar grunted, having thought of little else all weekend. “He noticed, huh?”

  “Everyone noticed, Sugar. You are the talk of the town. So, I have to ask—you sneak, did you write the kiss in so you could indeed kiss Ross?”

  When Haley giggled, Sugar threw a paper wad at her. “This is not funny.”

  “Yes, it is. Did you seriously think when you named the character ‘Hoss’ that no one would think you were talking about Ross? I started to warn you about that. It was just too telling.”

  “Telling?”

  “Yes, and you know it. That script wasn’t just written as a play. It was a wish straight from your heart.”

  Sugar wanted to make a flip comment and push the very idea away with a joke, but she couldn’t. “Haley,” she said, “I’m leaving. Seriously. God opens that window for me just a crack, then I’m outta here, grabbing hold of my dream with both hands. I can’t not.”

  Haley didn’t look as if she believed her. And why should she? Sugar had heard the uncertainty in her own voice as she’d spoken the words that she’d said only a few weeks ago with such forceful assurance.

  Sugar groaned in exasperation, slammed her elbows on her desk and dropped her head into her hands. “I am sooo not getting this!”

  “Okay, now sweep me into your arms,” Sugar instructed Ross. They’d been rehearsing the rest of the show all week long, and there just wasn’t any way to avoid the last scene any longer. Every day that she put it off just made it all the more awkward.

  From the edge of the stage, chuckles and silly coos broke out. Ross kept a straight face, but his eyes got all silky. Sugar’s legs went weak as he stepped close. She swallowed hard when he ever so slowly slipped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. Standing there, with his lips hovering next to her temple, she lost her train of thought.

  “Like this?” he asked, his breath feathering across her skin. She nodded, frozen. “Don’t you need to put your arms around me?” he added.

  “Oh, yeah.” She managed to lay one hand across his heart and the other around his waist. As soon as she did, he dipped one knee, bent her expertly, and instantaneously, she found herself in the perfect romantic dip. The room around them went dead silent. Sugar gasped, looking up at him and his eyes drifted over her face, lingered on her lips. He was going to kiss her! She closed her eyes…but nothing happened. One second she was cradled in his strong arms, and the next he’d popped her back onto her feet.

  “So I guess that’s how it’s done,” he said.

  Her head was spinning. “Yes,” she managed to mumble between clenched teeth. “I suppose that will have to do.”

  He looked at her with hooded eyes and smiled. “I guess you’re right. Or we can try it a
gain. You know how I like to practice.”

  That sent the entire cast hooting and hollering, reminding Sugar of their audience. She held up her hand like a flag, stopping him as he stepped toward her. “No! No need. I think this practice is over.”

  Applegate snorted loudly enough from up top that everyone turned his way. “Y’all need ta kiss and git this show on the road.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Stanley called from beside him. “And we ain’t atalkin’ about no stinkin’ script.”

  Sugar laughed. What else was there to do? She looked at Ross and he chuckled, too. Thankfully, the tension eased.

  Eased…but it did not disappear. When there was a ten-thousand-pound elephant in the room, there was just no way to make it vanish.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Sugar Rae, where are you? Sugar!”

  “Ross, what’s wrong?” she asked. The show was in its second week of rehearsals, but she was alone in the dressing room. There was no rehearsal that night because of a cattle auction in the next county. Now, at the urgent tone in Ross’s voice, Sugar jumped up and hurried out onto the stage. “I thought you’d still be at the auction.” She took in his drenched appearance as he stomped down the aisle toward her.

  “The weather shut it down early. Do you not hear that?”

  There was a really nice rain going on outside. “You mean the rain? I was listening to it while I sat in the dressing room, writing. You can hear it better on the tin roof there, because it’s lower than out here. You won’t believe it, but I’m writing another play! It just hit me while I was painting the set…” She halted, realizing that Ross was staring at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “This is not just rain. This is a storm. Small twisters are touching down all over the county. A tornado was just spotted about forty miles away, coming this direction.”