The Cougar and the Cowboy

by Gloria Doty

She ordered a sandwich and they talked while she ate. She briefly explained she was supposed to meet someone for dinner but that was now almost two hours ago. He told her about having his name on a dating site and the same thing had happened to him the week before. They continued chatting and laughing about the horrors of dating when you weren’t a teen any longer.

  Camille glanced around the room and realized there weren’t many customers. Her eyes landed on a man leaning on the bar and she thought he looked familiar, even with his back to her.

  She covered her mouth to keep from screaming. She grabbed Jace’s arm and whispered, “Is there a back way out of here? Please say there is.”

  He saw the anger in her face and followed her gaze to the man at the bar. He quietly took her arm and placed his body between her and the man so he wouldn’t be able to see her even if he turned around. Then he quietly guided her to his office in the back and closed the door.

  She sat down and her face was ashen. “How in the world did that son of a bitch find me?”

  “Who is he and why are you frightened? Do you want me to ask him to leave?”

  “His name is Will and I’m not actually frightened by him…I’m just unbelievably ticked off. He’s someone from my past and he’s not supposed to know where I am. In a town this size, what are the odds he’d end up at this bar on the same night I’m here? He’s supposed to be in St. Louis.”

  “We can wait until he’s gone or we can go out the back door but either way, I’ll drive you home, Emily.”

  “Thank you but that won’t be necessary.”

  “I’d feel much better if I took you home. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and bring you back to get your car. I insist.”

  ***

  In the morning, Maggie opened the doors at The Branding Iron and found Jace already there.

  “You’re an early bird today. Got your chores done early or couldn’t sleep again last night? Give me a minute and I’ll have the coffee ready.”

  “I’m going to need something stronger than coffee, Maggie.”

  She tilted her head to one side and gave him a questioning look. He rarely drank much at all and certainly not in the morning.

  “What’s up, Boss Man?”

  “I don’t even know how to put this into words, Maggie. Just the thought of it tears me up inside.”

  There was no point in sugar coating the words or stalling. “I’m going to have to let you go. You know it isn’t because I want to. You are and always will be the best bartender in the entire state of Montana but I can’t afford to pay you any longer. You’re not making what you’re worth now and things haven’t gotten much better around here. There has been a bit of increase in our receipts but not enough. I’m thinking I’ll have to put The Branding Iron on the market and I know Blakeley is going to swoop in and buy it.”

  She came around to his side of the bar and put her arms around his neck. “Listen, Jace, I’ve seen this coming for quite a while now and I’ve been saving for this day. You can’t get rid of me that easy. Let’s give it a few more months and see what happens. Maybe business will continue to pick up. I’ll live on my tips and you don’t have to pay me…unless…”

  That made him laugh. “You never give up, do you? You’re going to try to convince me to sleep with you, one way or the other. I don’t think I can claim that as a legitimate expense on my taxes.”

  Maggie stood and started to make the big pot of coffee for the regular crowd. “There is one stipulation and it has nothing to do with sex. No one else can know I’m not receiving a paycheck, agreed?”

  He nodded his head. “Agreed. But I will continue to keep record of your hours and if this crisis is ever over or if I sell the place, you will be the first person I pay.”

  The regulars were beginning to straggle in for their morning cup of coffee.

  “Hey, look, fellas. Either we’re late or Jace is early. Couldn’t sleep last night, Cowboy?”

  Jace shook his head and grinned. “I slept just fine.”

  “I’ll bet you did after spending time with that purty woman Collier brought in a few nights ago. Does he know you’re steppin’ on his toes with her?”

  “We only met here by chance last night. How do you old gossips know that already?”

  They all laughed. “Haven’t you figured out by now we know everything that goes on in this town?”

  Ralph added, “We know you took her home, too. I guess you’re finally taking our advice, huh? Date an older woman with money and ask her to invest in The Branding Iron. I think you found your cougar, for sure.

  “Slow down and back up. Who says she has money and no, we’re not dating.”

  “Come on, Jace. She lives on Flagler Rd. Everybody living there has money and lots of it.”

  “Believe what you want. I have to get home. I’m teaching a young kid about the rodeo.”

  CHAPTER 24

  DANI’S CELL PHONE beeped but she didn’t recognize the number. She answered cautiously.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Danielle. This is Mitch. I work at The Branding Iron and I brought you and Jace water and fruit the first day you were in there and I wondered if you’re not busy if you might want to go to the movies with me on Friday night. I know it’s kind of short notice but I didn’t have your phone number and Jace left without giving it to me but Maggie still had it and that’s my only night off.”

  Dani had to laugh. Mitch didn’t take a breath anywhere in those sentences and she was pretty sure that would win a prize as the longest ‘asking for a date’ in history. She made a quick decision to accept and simply said, “Yes.”

  There was a rather long pause and then she heard him say, “Really? I mean…great, great! Is there a particular film you’d like to see?”

  “I’ll let you choose, Mitch. I like most any kind except total blood and gore.”

  “Okay. Would you like to have a bite to eat before? I can pick you up around five if that works for you.”

  She assured him that would be perfect before she remembered she was supposed to pick Luke up from Jace’s house at 6:30.

  She called Jace. “I don’t think Luke will be able to come to your house on Friday afternoon. I’ve made plans and won’t be able to pick him up and Dad doesn’t drive any longer.”

  “It’s okay, Dani. He can still come over. We don’t have too much longer to work together so I hate to skip a day. What do you say to allowing him to stay the night? I’m not a prize-winning chef but I won’t let him starve. Then he’ll be here fresh and early on Saturday morning and I’ll bring him home around noon because I’ll have to be at the bar on Saturday evening.”

  She had several thoughts go through her head in rapid succession. There were so many horrible stories out there about men and young boys and she had been entrusted with Luke’s safety. How well did she really know Jace? ‘You crawled in bed with him and trusted him, Silly.’ That was a true statement even if she said it in her head. “Yes, that will be fine, if Luke is okay with it. I’ll talk to him and let you know.”

  Later that afternoon Cal called to see how things were going.

  “Is Luke behaving himself?”

  “You know you don’t even have to ask that question, Calvin Frasier,” Dani told him. She handed the phone to Luke so he and Cal, and Lucy who was listening on speaker, could talk for a while. Luke described the activities Jace had him doing. He also talked about all the trophies Jace had won. Cal wasn’t so sure that would lead to the outcome they’d hoped for but maybe Jace had a plan.

  “We’re happy to hear things are going well, Luke. Put Dani back on the phone, will you?”

  “Do you have a phone number where I can reach Jace? I had it but obviously, I lost it. I want to talk to him about what I think is a terrific idea but I don’t know how he’ll feel about it.”

  She gave him Jace’s personal number and the number at The Branding Iron. After some goodbyes, they ended the conversation.

  ***

  Jace answered his p
hone when he recognized Cal Frasier’s name. He assumed Cal was calling to inquire about Luke and how things were going. Instead, Cal said, “Hey Jace, Lucy and I have a favor to ask of you and your bar.”

  “Okay, shoot,” Jace said, a bit bewildered. He couldn’t imagine what The Branding Iron could do for them.

  “It’s a bit complicated. Remember the band we told you about and you accused us of being their ‘groupies,’? The Hubie Ashcraft Band, from Indiana,” he said hoping to refresh Jace’s memory. “Anyway, they’ve had a monkey wrench thrown in their plans and Lucy and I thought maybe you could help them out.”

  “I will if I can, Cal.”

  “They’ve been in Seattle for a music festival and played several gigs here. The original plan was to make their way back to Indiana with stops along the way. They were contracted to play in Great Falls, Montana for two weekends before they worked their way to Minneapolis and then Chicago on their way home. Hubie told me he received a call yesterday from the venue in Great Falls. Due to some difficulties he didn’t share with me, they won’t be able to play there. That means a long drive and wasted time getting back home. I told him I would speak to you and see if you’d be interested in having them play at your bar. Bozeman would be almost on their path home. If you don’t have any other groups scheduled, of course.”

  Jace couldn’t think of anything to say but his mind was working overtime. This could be an answer to prayers…which he hadn’t said…having great entertainment for a few weekends would bring in paying customers, many who had never been there before and probably didn’t know The Branding Iron even existed. Ken would be thrilled that his plan was going to come to fruition. But how in the world would he pay them? He’d have to pass up the opportunity as awesome as it was. He didn’t have the money and that was all there was to it.

  “Cal, you caught me off guard, a little. Can you give me a day or two to think about it? Don’t misunderstand…I would be thrilled to have them perform here. I’ll need to check schedules and a few other things before I commit, okay?”

  “Of course, of course. That’s not the kind of decision you can make in a few minutes…especially since I sprung it on you out of the blue so to speak. Give me a call when you decide, one way or the other.”

  ***

  He had a million thoughts running through his head as he drove to Emily’s house to bring her back to pick up her car. That whole incident last night was bizarre too. She said she wasn’t afraid of this Will guy but she certainly didn’t want to see him. She hadn’t elaborated much when he drove her home. He did go inside to make sure everything was okay before he left her there alone. Ken was probably right about the fact she had money. It was quite the house…bigger than any of the other ‘mansions’ on Flagler Rd. She could turn it into a lodge and have it filled to capacity every week, probably. What did one person need with that many rooms? He didn’t know and it wasn’t any of his business.

  “Hi Jace,” she greeted him when he rang the bell. “Come in for a minute. Have a seat. I have to finish one small thing before I can leave. There’s water or juice in the refrigerator if you want some,” she said from the den or office or whatever room she disappeared into.

  He grabbed a bottle of water and stood at the counter, looking around again at his surroundings. The kitchen was bigger than the one at the bar, he realized. He turned to look out the window and admire the view she could see every day as she cooked or made coffee or whatever… He saw Collier’s truck come down the street with the turn signal on indicating he was turning into Emily’s drive but suddenly he sped past instead. That was strange. He could have stopped and said hello. He certainly would have recognized Jace’s truck.

  Just then, Emily appeared, looking as good as she had the night before. “Okay, I’m ready. I’m sorry you had to wait. I had something I had to get sent.”

  They talked about a lot of things on the way back into town but ‘Will’ wasn’t one of them. Before she got out of his truck and prepared to get into her car, he asked if she would consider going out with him some night.

  “I’ll make sure I take you somewhere other than here,” he laughed as he nodded toward his bar.

  She accepted his invitation and they chose Saturday evening.

  CHAPTER 25

  WILL REACHED BETWEEN his feet and rummaged around in his carry-on bag, looking for the latest copy of Mavis’ Mag he purchased before he left St Louis. When he bought it, he thought perhaps there might be some clues to Camille’s whereabouts. He made plans to have a short stopover in Bozeman since he was smugly sure his deductions had been correct and he would find her. Now he was on his way to California and still had not located Camille. He knew when he made the reservations that he was probably playing a long shot. Bozeman wasn’t a little burg but a thriving community with enough restaurants and bars to keep him busy searching for months, instead of hours.

  He made some inquiries of waitresses and bartenders asking if any of them recognized her name but it was a hopeless cause. If her picture had been on the inside page like it always was in the past, he could’ve asked if anyone had seen her but she was smart…he’d give her that. With no photo in the magazine, there was no chance of anyone recognizing her.

  Now it seemed his search for his magazine was a hopeless cause too. He had it with him last night so he must have left it in one of the places he looked for her. He rested his head against the back of his seat. His long legs were always cramped on planes these days. When he worked for the brokerage house, he flew first class and didn’t have that problem.

  Thinking about his previous employer took his mind back to the papers he wanted from Camille’s safe. Somewhere between stewing about them and listening to Lorna’s pleas for him to come to the west coast, he had a revelation: in all probability, those papers weren’t in the safe any longer. Camille was paranoid enough or vindictive enough that she probably took them with her, knowing she was going to be gone for six months. That was when he made the decision to go and see what Lorna had for him in the way of employment opportunities.

  ***

  Jace flipped the burgers he had on the grill for him and Luke. “Grab the slices of cheese and the buns, Luke. We’ll take these inside or we’ll be eating in the dark.”

  He hadn’t meant for supper to be so late. They had a good afternoon. Luke helped him uncover an old mechanical bull he had buried under a lot of unused things in the back of the barn. Many years ago, Jace took a group of wealthy cattle buyers on a guided fishing trip. One of the men had it sent to Jace as a joke after he returned home. At the time, it seemed like a slap in the face considering the man knew Jace could no longer participate in the rodeos like he used to.

  He’d tried to sell it but there wasn’t much interest so it was stored away where he wouldn’t have to look at it and be reminded of his former life. Truthfully, he forgot all about it until a few days ago. Surprisingly, with a bit of WD-40 and some minor adjustments, it still worked. He spent the afternoon giving Luke all the tips he could recall about staying astride a bucking bull.

  “You’re gonna sleep good tonight, Luke,” he told him.

  Luke nodded and tried to grin but his mouth was full of cheeseburger.

  “Dani says I sleep like a log and I snore so she’ll be happy I had to spend the night here,” Luke told him.

  “Speaking of Dani, she said she was busy tonight. Do you know where she went?” Jace asked him.

  Luke nodded. “Yep. She had a date for dinner and a movie with some guy named Mitch.”

  Jace nearly choked on his sandwich. ‘How did Mitch get her number? I didn’t give it to him. What do I care? She can date whoever she wants. It’s none of my business.’

  After they cleaned up the few dishes, they sat in the living room and talked. “I thought you’d probably have a video game or two with you. Do you play them at home?”

  “Yes, but we’re only allowed to play for a few hours each day. My mom says she doesn’t want our brains to turn to mush.”
They both laughed at that.

  “It sounds like you have a wonderful family, Luke.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. There are a lot of us but since Grandpa Cal and Grams gave us the whole ranch house, it isn’t cramped any longer. They built a new one for themselves.”

  Jace vaguely remembered the Frasier ranch house and it seemed huge to him at the time.

  “You’re very lucky to have all those siblings. I always wanted a brother but never had one.”

  Luke seemed amazed by that. “You don’t have any brothers or sisters? You have other relatives, though, right?”

  Jace shook his head. “Nope. Well, I have a mother somewhere but I don’t know her.”

  Luke seemed confused. “I can’t imagine life without my mom and dad. What happened to yours?”

  Jace stretched his long legs out in front of him and told him his life story, in condensed form. “My Grandpa Matthews came to Bozeman many years ago. He had two sons: my dad and my Uncle Henry. Grandpa bought 160 acres bordering BLM land…that’s government land that you can use but can’t build on. When his sons grew up, he gave each one a parcel of eighty acres. My dad married and they had me but one day, when I was still little, my mom packed a bag and left and never came back. When I was a teenager, my dad remarried but his new wife and I never got along too well. That’s when I decided I was going to leave. I didn’t want to join the circus so the rodeo was the next best thing.” He grinned so Luke would realize he was kidding about the circus.

  “On one of my visits back home, Dad said he was selling the eighty acres because his new wife didn’t like living in the ‘middle of nowhere’ as she called Bozeman.”

  My Uncle Henry never married and therefore had no children. When he died, I inherited his eighty acres which I mortgaged to put a down payment on The Branding Iron. I thought I was set for life. It didn’t work out that way, though.”

  “My dad would say God had other plans for your life,” Luke interjected.

  Jace frowned a bit. “Yeah, you could say that, I guess.”