Jake laughed at the expression on Lucia’s face. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “I like her.”
“You do?”
“Sure. She’s interesting. Mysterious.”
“Remote,” Sam countered. “She’s got the whole town riled up, though.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “What’s with that? Iris just about had a stroke when she found out that there wasn’t going to be karaoke Thursday night. She ended up going to movie night at the senior center, even though she said she’d seen Hangover six times.”
“Iris isn’t a senior,” Lucia said. “She’s in her forties.”
“Well, she was desperate enough to pretend to be retired,” Sam pointed out. “I’m not sure closing the Dahl is such a good idea. Maybe Aurora should rethink it. I don’t drink, but I liked going down there once in a while. And the nights when they filmed the Willing to Wed episodes there were a riot.”
“Don’t bring it up unless she does.” Lucia set a sauce-covered spoon in a dish on the stove. Jake watched, fascinated with how efficient she was. Nothing seemed to faze her, not the three boys running in and out of the kitchen, or Winter’s questions about basil and parsley, or the little black dog that kept chasing the boys around the house, or the phone ringing with orders for cakes and cupcakes and various desserts.
Sam couldn’t stop looking at his fiancée and touching her in small, protective ways. He hovered, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he looked away. And Lucia beamed at him, as if she felt the same way.
Jake had been in love a few times, but the glow had quickly faded. He envied his younger brother for having found someone who obviously adored him. He envied Sam’s ability to commit to someone.
He assumed Sam’s months in the Amazon had come to an end. Compared to his brother, Jake felt practically homeless. Here he was, living in a bordello with a daughter who was a stranger, in a Montana town in the middle of nowhere with a lot of people who seemed half-crazy. He liked them, but still...it was a lot to get used to in one week. And he didn’t know where he’d be a week from now.
The last thing he needed was a date. The last thing he needed right now, with his life turned upside down, was a woman. Especially a woman who looked right into his eyes and made her opinions known. Who challenged him.
He had a daughter who did that, which was just about all he could take.
“Aurora’s here!” Davey ran into the kitchen, Boo barking at his heels. “I can get it!”
“He likes her,” Lucia said to Jake. “She bought a ton of raffle tickets from him at the last school fund-raiser.”
“High praise,” Jake said, following Sam and Lucia into the living room. Davey had already opened the front door and invited Aurora inside. She was listening to something the boy said and nodded her agreement.
“What’s he hitting you up for now?” Sam asked, taking her leather jacket from her.
“Tickets to the ham dinner.”
“You don’t have to—”
Aurora shrugged and handed Lucia a bottle of wine. “I like ham.”
“They’re gonna raffle a quilt,” Davey told her.
“I know. I helped make it.”
Jake decided he liked ham, too. Because the silver-haired woman in the black jeans, black sweater and black boots studded with crystals looked appealingly nervous, as if family dinners weren’t her usual Saturday-night activity. Silver bracelets jangled from narrow wrists, sparkly earrings hung halfway down her neck, and her makeup was flawless.
And she looked as if she wanted to run out of the room and down the street.
Intriguing, he thought, stepping closer to greet her.
“Hey,” he said, resisting the urge to kiss her cheek. He wondered if she wore perfume, and if so, what kind. “I hear you’re out of work, too.”
“Yes. I suppose you could say that.”
“Well, that’s one thing we have in common.”
“Thank you for the wine,” Lucia interrupted them. “Come on in and we’ll open it right now.” She gave Jake a warning look to be on his best behavior.
The dog began barking wildly, wagging its tail as it ran into the kitchen.
“Meg and Owen must be here,” Sam said, as the dog’s barking increased in volume. “Boo! Cut it out!”
Bedlam ensued, much to Jake’s amusement. Winter appeared in the kitchen, hovering close to the stairs as if she were reluctant to get too close to the action and wanted to be able to escape upstairs at any given moment. The three boys jumped up and down as they each tried to speak at the same time. The newlyweds gave hugs to everyone before Owen took Boo outside to the backyard.
Aurora and Jake hung back and watched the show.
“Is it always like this?” he asked her.
“I wouldn’t know, but I suspect so.”
Jake retrieved the wine from the kitchen counter and, using the opener that Lucia had set down, quickly opened the bottle. “Does this have to breathe?”
“Not as far as I’m concerned” was her reply, so he filled two wineglasses half full of red wine and handed one to her.
“You come here often?” It was an old pickup line, but he thought it might make her smile. It didn’t, though she gave him an appreciative look before Meg greeted them.
“Did you have a good time?” This was from Aurora, who looked pleased to see the dark-haired woman.
“Fabulous.” She turned to Jake. “I’m Meg,” she said. “I know we met briefly at the wedding, but I’m sure you met a lot of people that day.”
“None of them was wearing a gown,” he said. “Of course I remember you. And Owen. Thanks for letting me crash the party.”
“Me, too,” his daughter said, sidling up next to him. “You looked beautiful,” she told Meg. “I liked your barn.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “We’re thinking of renting it out for weddings, but I’m still not sure if that’s a good idea.”
“But what about the horses?”
Owen came in and shook Jake’s hand, greeted Aurora and said, “What about the horses?”
“Where will the horses go if they can’t use the barn?”
The rancher looked taken aback. “I have more than one barn,” he said. “I have a number of outbuildings that—”
“Owen,” his new wife interjected. “Sam is trying to offer you a beer.”
“That’d be good,” he said, distracted.
“Davey said you give riding lessons, Mr. MacGregor,” Winter said.
“Unofficially,” the large man explained. “The horses actually belong to Les Parcell, one of my neighbors. I borrowed them a couple of times last fall when the boys wanted to ride. I’ll be getting my own soon, though. And Les is going to move his horses onto my place.”
“For riding lessons?”
He looked at Jake, who nodded. “Sure. And now that I’m back home and the wedding is over, I can get back to work and start buying stock.”
Aurora took a sip of wine. “For heaven’s sake, MacGregor, take the child horseback riding next week. Get a horse from Les, load it into the trailer—or into whatever you load horses into—and show Winter the ranch.” She turned to the girl, who had finally appeared in the kitchen to stand next to Aurora. “Do you have boots? You’ll need boots.”
Winter’s gaze dropped to Aurora’s crystal-dotted Western boots. “Not like those,” she said. “Not even close.”
Aurora looked at Jake. “Take her to Lewistown Monday and get her some boots. Wrangler jeans. And a hat.”
“Shopping?” Winter’s face lit up.
“Shopping,” Aurora declared. “And if your father doesn’t cooperate, call me. I know all of the stores.”
“Yes,” Jake murmured, glancing again at the sparkly earrings. “I’m sure you do.”
“And you,” Aurora said, turning back to Owen. “You need to get a very nice horse for this girl. A pretty horse.”
Meg, who had been distracted by Davey’s sales pitch about the ham dinner, returned to the conversation and handed Owen a bottle of beer. “That’s a great idea.”
“A nice, pretty horse,” Owen echoed, looking at Winter’s excited expression. “I can do that.”
“A really old horse,” Jake added, picturing the bucking broncos at his last rodeo gig.
“Not too old,” Winter said. “And maybe not too big.”
Meg smiled. “Owen, you must know of a nice, attractive, medium-sized, middle-aged horse, right?”
“No problem,” he said seriously, as if he actually had a horse in mind.
“There.” Aurora took another sip of wine. “That’s settled, then.”
Owen looked at Jake. “I’ll give you a call after I talk to Les.”
Winter produced her cell phone, kept handy at all times in the pocket of her non-Wrangler jeans. “I can give you my number and you can give me yours, Mr. MacGregor.”
Meg laughed. “You’re very organized,” she said.
“It was part of the curriculum last year,” his daughter explained. “I received high marks.”
“You must get that from your uncle Sam,” Jake said. “Scientists are very organized and focused.”
“And what are musicians?” This came from Aurora, whose blue eyes were lit with mischief. “What traits do they share?”
“Good question.” He pretended to think it over while he held her gaze. He wished he could rattle that calm exterior and pay her back for getting him involved in a trip to town. “They hate to shop.”
“True. Most musicians I’ve met look as if they’re wearing the same clothes they had twenty years ago.”
He ignored that comment. He’d bought a new shirt in Seattle, to meet his daughter at the airport. “And we’re optimistic.”
Her beautifully shaped eyebrows rose. “How so? What about all of that sad music?”
“We’re sure we’re going to write the perfect sad song and Keith Urban is going to buy it, record it and have a hit.”
“Ah,” she said. “Who’s Keith Urban?”
Jake didn’t know if she was kidding him or not, so he ignored her question. “Musicians have tattoos. And are superstitious. And frugal.”
“Which is why they hate to shop?” Lucia offered, before moving away to take something out of the oven. The entire house smelled of oregano and garlic, making Jake’s mouth water.
“Jake has a tattoo,” Winter said. “On his arm.”
Aurora didn’t look all that impressed. “Superstitions?”
“I’m very attached to my guitar case.”
“Frugal?”
“Have you seen my truck?”
“Really,” his daughter said. “It’s like ten years old, but it’s sort of cool.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he said. She hadn’t been all that thrilled when she climbed into it last week.
“So,” Aurora drawled, “you’re a walking stereotype.”
“And proud of it.”
He realized the others had drifted away, leaving the three of them standing near the sink.
“She closed what?” he heard Owen roar from the living room. “Why?”
“Aurora!” Lucia called her. “Ranch King wants to know what you’ve done with the grizzly!”
* * *
HE OFFERED TO walk her home.
“We could give you a ride,” Meg said, “if you don’t mind dog hair.”
Aurora didn’t mind dog hair, but she didn’t mind walking home, either.
And she said so.
“We’re going your way,” Jake insisted, leaning against the kitchen counter. “We’re staying at Iris’s.”
“All right.” Anything else would have been rude, but Aurora resisted being paired with Jake. She didn’t want to be paired with anyone, actually. When her marriage ended she’d decided being alone was preferable to being involved with a man again. As clichéd as it sounded, she liked being completely independent and having no one who depended on her, no one who had expectations of her.
So she’d sat next to Jake at dinner, across from Meg and Owen, but she’d attempted to pretend he wasn’t there. The children had elected to eat in the kitchen and then bounded upstairs to watch a movie. Lucia had bribed them with cookies and root beer so the adults could eat in peace.
It hadn’t been all that peaceful. The table wasn’t huge and Jake’s elbow had bumped hers several times. She’d liked that, she realized. She didn’t want to be attracted to him, a wandering musician in the midst of a life crisis. He was a walking recipe for disaster, a groupie magnet, a charmer, a man accustomed to flashing a sexy smile and having the world drop to its feet in awe. And, she reminded herself, she knew the type. Her husband, Mr. Charisma himself, had loved to be the center of attention. And once Aurora could no longer give him that, he’d moved on to manage musicians who also craved the world stage.
Lucia made meatballs and lasagna, which she served with an enormous bowl of Caesar salad and thick slices of garlic bread. Owen and Meg talked about the wedding with Lucia and Sam. Aurora noted that Loralee had danced with Jerry.
“My mother’s been married many times,” Meg explained to Jake. “Did she flirt with you?”
“Not at all,” he said. “But I think she was the person who told Winter that she should always wear blue, to show off her eyes.”
“That would definitely have been Loralee,” Owen declared.
“But now you’re the talk of the town,” Meg had said, looking at Aurora. “Jerry must be going crazy with the Dahl closed.”
“Jerry had other things on his mind. He’s in California asking Tracy to marry him.”
Meg’s glass thumped to the table as she stared at Aurora.
“You’re joking,” Meg said, frowning. “I know he has this crazy obsession with her, but I never had the sense she felt the same way about him.” She shook her head. “That isn’t going to go well.”
“No,” Aurora agreed. “He left in a hurry, right after the meeting.”
“Has he called you?” Sam poured himself another cup of coffee.
“No.”
“He won’t let it rest,” Owen declared. “You have the best televisions in town. And the largest. We’d planned to hold all of the official watch parties at the Dahl. Surely Jerry must be trying to fix this with the council.”
But that was the problem, Aurora realized. He wasn’t. She refused to call or text him. He knew the situation.
And she knew hers.
So here she was, after several hours of great food, conversation and company. She’d heard Sam’s explanation of the ongoing remodeling, laughed at Meg’s version of her prewedding jitters and reassured Owen that the bear was in no danger of ever being moved from his corner of the bar. Jake had entertained them with stories of backstage disasters and Lucia had happily made sure they all had enough to eat.
Meg and Owen took Boo and left after Davey hugged the dog about a hundred times and Meg hugged everyone in the kitchen. Marriage already agreed with her.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Aurora told Lucia, meaning every word. “I haven’t had a Saturday night off in a very long time.”
“You should do it more often,” Sam suggested, holding her jacket for her to put on.
“I think that’s going to happen,” she said, wondering if and when anyone on the council would contact her to negotiate a deal. But she didn’t want to think about it, because she’d had a different kind of Saturday night. And she’d loved it.
Jake called upstairs for Winter, who descended with an elegant movie star grace, much to Aurora’s amusement.
&n
bsp; “Finally,” the girl groaned. “I’m so tired. Two of them are asleep and Davey keeps counting his money.”
“His money?” Lucia looked puzzled, but Sam smiled.
“He’s saving for a new bike,” he said. “I’ve hired him to help me in the new house.”
They were such a family already, Aurora thought. After only a few months, Lucia and Sam had created something new and strong. How had they done that? Someday, when she knew them better, she would ask.
“Get your coat,” Jake said. “And thank Lucia for dinner.”
“I love, love, love your meatballs,” his daughter said. “They’re better than in Rome.”
“You’ve been to Rome?” Lucia asked.
She shrugged. “Only once. On a school trip.”
Jake shook his head. “I should not be surprised by anything she says. But I am.” He turned to Aurora. “Have you been to Rome?”
“Many times,” she replied. “And Lucia’s food is just as wonderful as anything I’ve eaten in Italy.”
“Many times?” Lucia laughed. “You’re going to have to tell us all about that one of these days.”
“It was a long time ago.” She hurried to change the subject before anyone could ask more questions. “By the way, Chili Dawg is going to be torn down next Friday. Tony might like to watch.”
“Oh, that would be great. He can wear his hard hat and pretend he’s part of it. From the other side of the road,” Lucia added. She hid a yawn behind her hand. “Sorry.”
“We’re on our way,” Jake said, ushering Aurora and Winter out the door. He pulled a flashlight from his jacket pocket and shone the way down the driveway to the sidewalk.
“You came prepared,” she said. “I’m impressed.”
“We do this almost every night,” he said. “Take my arm. This part of the sidewalk is pretty rough.”
She hesitated, then looped her arm through his. Their strides matched, and Winter scurried ahead of them as if she was in a great hurry to return to the B-and-B.
“How long are you staying?” Aurora thought of it as a way to make conversation, nothing more, but Jake winced.
“That’s a big question,” he said. “I’ve been here longer than I intended to be. Iris is kicking us out in another week. The other B-and-B is booked solid for the length of the show, too. I guess a lot of contestants are coming back for a reunion.”
The Husband Show Page 10