No rodeo. That decision had been made months ago. She’d have to make sure he erased her name from the roster as soon as possible.
Taking a sip of strong coffee from her travel mug, she reprimanded herself. After returning from her baking spree the night before, she’d stayed up way too late researching Micah Brody’s rodeo career. She was paying the price in fatigue now, but at least she’d managed to find the answers to some, if not all, of her questions.
The melodious jingle of her phone gave a jump-start to her drowsy brain. As she pulled the device from her purse and saw Hana’s name, a sickening realization punched her in the gut. It had been two days, and she still hadn’t filled out that stupid form.
An apology tumbled from her lips even before she clicked Accept.
“Hana, I’m sorry. I—”
“No worries.” Hana’s crisp tone contradicted the reassuring phrase. “I didn’t want to lose the apartment because of you not getting this one basic thing done, so I filled out the form for you.”
“Oh.” Uneasiness sidled up alongside Janessa’s guilt over her inability to comply with a simple request. “What kind of information did it ask for?”
“No big. If I didn’t know something, I just made it up.”
Made it up? She wasn’t thrilled about Hana lying on her behalf, but at least the ball was back in play. “So, have you heard from the guy?”
“Not yet. But the deposit cleared my account so—”
“Wait, the what?”
“Janessa.” Her voice sounded stern. “You always have to pay a deposit when you rent an apartment.”
“I know that, but...you sent him money?” Janessa’s heartbeat quickened. “And he hasn’t gotten back to you?”
“Don’t freak out, Janessa. By the way, I drove by the complex again yesterday and I picked up a brochure from the office. This place is so amazing. They have a movie room. You can book it to host a private screening of any movie they own. That’s cool, right?”
“Sure.” Janessa calmed down a little. “That’s really great.”
“Luxury living. Plus there’s this epic outdoor barbecue area where they have parties for the tenants in the summer. That’s what the brochure says.”
“It sounds nice. But...” She paused. “If you were in the office, why didn’t you ask to see the apartment?”
There was silence, followed by a monotone “Why would I do that?”
“Uh...because you want to rent it and you haven’t gotten to see it yet?”
“Janessa.” The barely concealed impatience in Hana’s voice reminded Janessa of a Sunday school teacher she’d once had. “I’m going through the proper channels. Did I tell you the place is cable ready and has free Wi-Fi?”
Even with Hana’s reassurance, something still didn’t sit right. “Okay. But don’t you think it would be a good idea to look around at other places, just in case this one doesn’t work out?”
“Doesn’t work out?” Her words were like a cake of overconfidence topped with a prickly icing of irritation. “Just be patient. Oh, by the way, I found out this place has a gourmet kitchen.”
Janessa frowned. Why didn’t she lead with that?
“This is what the brochure says.” There was a sound of paper rumpling in the background as Hana cleared her throat. “‘Some elements that make this gourmet kitchen special are granite countertops, all new top-of-the-line stainless-steel appliances, a range with a warming drawer under the double oven, customized storage, a breakfast bar and a minifridge in the walk-in pantry.’”
Walk-in pantry? Janessa’s concerns paled as she felt herself salivating under the influence of customized kitchen storage.
“It’s all going to work out.” The cheerful affability had returned to Hana’s voice. “You can just send me the two hundred fifty as soon as you can.”
“Wait...what two hundred fifty?”
“Your half of the deposit. It’s not cheap living in the city.”
Janessa sighed. She was learning that all right.
Putting away her phone, she looked across the mist rising from the lawn in front of the house and tried to picture herself on the balcony of her Seattle apartment gazing out over the pristine blue water of the Puget Sound. A bunch of cows became a pod of jumping whales. The distant bark of a dog turned into the cawing of a gull carried in on the soft morning breeze.
Closing her eyes, she imagined herself working on some school assignment and sipping a Venti Frappuccino from a lidded cup. She’d pause in her reading to look out over the railing and wave to a neighbor pulling out of her space in the lot below.
The toot of a horn yanked her eyes open. She realized that the sound of the daydream neighbor’s car was actually Andra’s old Creamsicle-colored Volkswagen driving up next to the house.
Scrambling to her feet, she shouldered her bag and trotted down the walkway. She greeted Andra as she climbed in. “Thanks again for the ride.”
“It’s the least I can do, since you’re taking the day off work to do this with me.”
Janessa fastened her seat belt and dismissed the unintended reminder of how much money she’d be making if she were going to Esther’s today instead. She was always happy to help Andra and she’d been looking forward to this premiere for months, but now the pressure of her car and the apartment deposit made her wish she could just set up a money press out in the barn.
“By the way...” Andra sounded far too alert for a girl who’d been up past midnight airbrushing cake pops to look like kernels of popped corn. “Joe found a tenant. Some guy who wants to open a dental practice.”
“In the old candy kitchen?” The irony made Janessa’s teeth hurt.
Andra gave a slow nod as she pulled out onto the highway. “Such a shame.” Keeping her eyes on the road, she shifted her expression from mournful to slightly impish. “Hey, did you get a chance to research your rodeo man?”
“He’s not my anything.” Janessa rolled her eyes. “But yes, I went online and dug a little deeper. Apparently his dad worked for a stock contractor, so Micah traveled with him on the rodeo circuit. He started competing when he was ten.”
“Wow. What a life.”
“I’ll say. Anyway, he won a bunch of junior championships and became a professional bull rider when he turned eighteen. Lots of people had him pegged to win the nationals this year, but he got injured and didn’t go back. That’s where his story pretty much stops.”
By the time Janessa had filled in all the details, they were pulling into the fairgrounds. Andra parked and they both grabbed their bags and got out of the car.
“So...” Janessa met Andra at the front of the Volkswagen. “I can understand him not wanting to go back to the rodeo, or maybe not being able to, but it still doesn’t explain why he took a job as a ranch hand. According to what I saw online, he won plenty of money over the last few years.” She shoved Andra’s catering banner under one arm, and the large menu board they’d carefully hand painted under the other.
“Maybe he likes ranch work.” Having taken up a box of supplies, Andra slammed the trunk shut.
“Maybe. But why not buy his own?” Janessa struggled to get a good grip on the board as they started toward the rodeo buildings. “The guys who make it to that level are the ones who buy those huge spreads and get streets named after them in their hometowns.”
Being careful not to step on the long red tarp that a couple of guys from the hardware store were spreading out to simulate a red carpet, they slid through double doors and into the auction building.
After tonight, the movie would be shown at the theater in town, but with so many people expected for the premiere, the town council had figured the only place big enough was the livestock pavilion. It might be a little rustic, but it already had some seating, and the high-up windows could easily be covered to sh
ut out the light.
Stopping to get their bearings, they scanned the huge hall.
A crew of guys in cowboy hats were setting up chairs in the area where the livestock was paraded on auction days. Another bunch was cleaning off the wall that the movie would be projected onto. If it hadn’t been for the lingering aroma of hay and horses, the place might almost have been mistaken for a Hollywood movie palace.
“Come on.” Andra gestured with her shoulder to the loftlike upper level, where several built-in concession stands looked down over the pavilion. “Our booth is right at the top of the stairs. Prime real estate.”
Following Andra up the long wooden staircase, Janessa noticed something strange. Several of the women and girls who were helping hang twinkle lights and set up booths wore silver-dollar-sized bright yellow buttons with red lettering on their shirts.
Flattening herself and her signs against the railing so a woman carrying a coil of red velvet rope could pass, Janessa got a good look at her button. She nearly dropped the menu board. “‘The Micah Brody Fan Club’?” Regaining her grip, she hurried up the last of the steps.
“Excuse me.” She stooped to address a teenage girl who was placing large gold-painted cardboard stars along the exhibition walkway to simulate the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Where is everybody getting those buttons?”
The girl pointed to where a crowd had gathered on the other side of the U-shaped loft. “Over there at the Mane Event stand. Danita is giving out shampoo samples and signing people up for the club.”
Janessa muttered as she sidestepped over to where Andra stood surveying their area. “That’s just unbelievable.” She eased the menu board onto the floor, leaning it against the front of the booth. “I know he’s a big celebrity and everything, but I’ve ridden in this rodeo my whole life. Isn’t anybody going to start a fan club for me?”
“I’ll be your fan club.” Andra laughed as she helped Janessa lift the banner onto the front counter. “I bet I can get your mama to join, too.” She pulled a movie clapper board that Courtney had borrowed for them out of her box, and set it on top of the glass pastry case. “Let’s get started.”
“If you ask me...” Janessa unpacked the flowerpot they’d painted to look like a huge popcorn tub. “A fan club is nothing more than idol worship. Rodeo is just a sport, after all. It’s not like it’s going to change the world.”
“Hey, if I didn’t know better,” a male voice piped up from behind her, “I’d say you had something against rodeos.”
She whirled around, nearly dropping the flowerpot. Micah stood there holding a Hollywood and Vine street sign that someone had made out of old boards and some fence pipe. Heat washed her cheeks. How did he manage to always appear at the worst possible moments?
She cleared her throat in a feeble attempt to compose herself. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t Adam tell you?” He walked the sign over to the railing that edged the loft and set it down. “He sent us here this morning to help. Apparently there’s a lot to putting on a highfalutin movie premiere.”
She turned away, pretending to ignore her rush of self-consciousness over the fact that she’d researched this guy like a journalist—or an obsessed fan—the night before.
All the articles she’d read flashed through her mind as she sensed him moving closer. Much to her amazement, the exasperation that had been her prevailing emotion all week had been reduced to a sweet syrup of admiration. Micah had worked hard his whole life to become one of the top competitors in the most dangerous sport in the world. How could she not admire that?
Plus, the thought of his being severely injured while competing made her feel strangely protective of him.
She attempted to get a grip. What small-town girl’s head wouldn’t turn at the sight of a rugged cowboy, after all? It was just because she’d lived in this one-horse town her whole life, where cowboys were as common as wildflowers. By the time she’d spent a semester in Seattle, they would lose their appeal. She was certain of it.
Trying her best to just ignore him, she continued to unpack. All she needed to do was get out of Dodge, and her head would be cleared of him.
“Morning, all.”
Janessa looked up to see Hank wheeling a hand truck loaded with boxes into their booth.
“Here’s the popcorn you ordered from Cal. You sure do plan on selling a lot of it.”
“It is a movie, after all.” A slight rosiness tinted Andra’s cheeks. “Can you still drive me over to Esther’s to pick up our baked goods?”
Hank unloaded the boxes. “I got my truck parked out back.”
“Great.” Andra looked at Janessa. “Do you mind starting the decorating while I’m gone?”
“No problem.” Janessa took the paper palm leaves out of a box and started attaching them to the tops of the Pixy Stix tree trunks.
As Andra left with Hank, Micah tipped his hat back and put his hands on his hips. “Looks like that leaves me to be your handyman. What do you need done?”
She looked over at him as he flashed that dimple, and her mind went blank. Need done? What?
Making no effort to conceal his amusement, he quirked a brow. “Why don’t I just grab a ladder, and I can put up your signs.” He dipped his chin in the direction of the menu board.
Aware that he had used the chin gesture as an impetus to inch closer, Janessa gulped. Her hand froze on a paper palm frond.
“I...need...signs...” The ability to form complete sentences was apparently lodged in the part of her brain that had shut down for maintenance the moment he’d drawn nearer.
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly and he took a couple of slow steps backward, his eyes still riveted to hers. Finally, he broke the gaze and turned to go.
Breathable air seemed suddenly to be at a premium as she watched him amble to the end of the loft, where some guys were hanging a couple of bigger-than-life-size posters of Angela Bijou and Jeffrey Mark Caulfield.
Her knees wobbling like jelly, she braced herself on the counter. She might as well face it.
She’d officially become a Micah Brody fan.
* * *
By the time Micah returned with the ladder, Janessa was standing inside the booth, madly gluing little wads of white paper to the top of a big popcorn tub and acting like she didn’t see him.
Keeping his enjoyment of her little acting job to himself, he picked up a menu board and eyed the back wall of the booth. “You want this up there?”
Finally looking up, she nodded and stepped to one side to accommodate the ladder in the small space. Looking a little ill at ease, she returned to her gluing. “You figure out what you’re cooking for the guys tomorrow night?”
The question delivered up a combo plate of feelings. Annoyance at the reminder of the meal he had yet to plan, and pleasure at her concern over it.
He examined the row of screw heads protruding from the wall, clearly meant for hanging signage. “It’ll come together as it comes together.”
“In other words...” Her tone came out lined with a sharp edge of snideness. “You have no idea.”
He fought back a grimace. It was bad enough he was going to fail miserably in front of the guys. He really didn’t want to have to admit his shortcomings to Janessa.
He eased the board onto the screw heads. “You get a diagnosis on your car yet?”
As she opened up the big glass case next to the cash register, she puffed out air. “You shouldn’t always do that.”
“What?” Placing his fingers on the top rim of the sign, he gave it a push to test its stability.
“Change the subject.” She placed the paper popcorn tub inside the glass case. “It makes you hard to follow.”
He started down the ladder. “Some women see that as a challenge.”
Her mouth twisted
, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. Why did the compulsion to remind her that he was a magnet to females seem to drive their every conversation?
As he folded up the ladder, he wanted to tell her that it was his celebrity status, not him, that was the magnet. That he’d enjoyed it at first, but deep down he had always resented it. And that one of the things he liked most about her was that she wasn’t like all the other girls.
Instead, he silently took the ladder out of the concession stand and watched her stack popcorn cups next to a square glass popcorn popper. He took in a breath, and waited for her to answer his question.
Glancing up, she sighed. “Beau says I need a new alternator.” A little pout quivered on her lip as she unpacked some salt and oil from a box. “And my piston rings are worn.”
Micah shook his head. “Sounds like you’re going to need a complete engine rebuild before long.”
She bit her lip, presumably to suppress the pout.
He turned his head, doubting she’d be doing that if she knew the sensation that shot through him at the sight.
“Beau says he can just replace the alternator now and get me back on the road.”
Trying not to dwell on how much he wanted to push back the stray hairs that hadn’t quite made it into her ponytail this morning, he set the ladder up on the outside of the booth. “And what about the engine?”
A side tip of her head gave her a sweetly vulnerable appearance. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“Better hope your car doesn’t break down right in the middle of that bridge and cause a major traffic backup.” He placed a hand on a roll of gold plastic-coated fabric on the counter, and looked at the overhang above. “This go up there?”
“Yeah. That’s Andra’s Golden Pear Catering banner.”
Taking hold of the roll, he started up the ladder. “Look on the bright side.” He hooked the banner to some pegs that protruded from the overhang. “With a little focus and a lot of practice, you and Owen could walk away with the team roping championship.”
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