Champagne and Cowboys

by Donna Michaels

  If playing this little game helped her gain some insight, so be it. She’d play it to the hilt.

  Almost as though someone had clued the band into her thoughts, the song switched to a slow, mournful ballad of lost love. Susan moved into John’s arms and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt his momentary hesitation, the first missed step. Had he figured her out so quickly? They’d danced together before, and while she remembered every muscle, every contour of his body, her body had changed considerably.

  He recovered quickly and moved with her across the dance floor. Susan matched him step for step. She’d learn to dance at a young age and she’d had plenty of practice with Dillon at the various rodeo dances. Even pregnancy had never slowed her down on the dance floor.

  For just a moment the sadness threatened to overwhelm her. She still missed her husband. She knew Dillon wouldn’t want her to be alone the rest of her life. They’d talked about the possibility of him being hurt, of him dying, and he’d told her repeatedly that he wanted her to move on, to find love again, if that happened. At the time, she didn’t think it would be possible for her to love anyone else, but John had proved her wrong.

  “Tell me something about yourself,” John said as he maneuvered her around the dance floor.

  Susan shook her head. “That might give me away. I told you I’m determined to win the prize tonight.”

  “You have some tough competition,” he said, looking out over the small crowd. “I haven’t figured out who anyone is yet. Have you?”

  “Hmm. One or two. The costumes are ingenious, though. I love the Storm Trooper. I can’t tell if they’re male or female. Wish I’d thought of that.”

  “Yours is pretty original. Pairing a nun’s habit with a Marilyn Monroe mask tells me you’re a study in contradictions. Adding the fake belly was a genius touch. A pregnant nun is pretty original.” John spun her in a circle and pulled her back into his arms. “If you won’t tell me about yourself, I’ll just have to guess. I’m thinking you’re in your early to mid-thirties, single, you work in some kind of service job, and you’re very practical.”

  He’d hit the mark on those. She was thirty, widowed, and a teacher. And she was practical. As a single parent on a limited income, she had to be. “You may be right. Then again, you may be way off the mark. As for you, my guess is that you’re tipping toward fifty, a confirmed bachelor, also have a service-related career, and you don’t make friends easily. Those you do make are friends for life.”

  She couldn’t see his face clearly behind the tinted riot mask, but she could imagine his eyebrows lifting. Had she said too much and given herself away?

  “Do I know you? You seem very familiar.”

  Susan shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to wait until midnight to find out.”

  “I’ll figure it out before then, I promise.” John leaned in closer. “I’ve never been good at waiting.”

  “Some things are worth waiting for,” she said. “You might miss out on some very important things if you give up too soon.”

  John looked at her, his brows drawn together. “You seem to know an awful lot about me. If I didn’t know she wasn’t here…” His voice trailed off.

  “I just know a lot about men. I know they often let a good thing get away because they don’t have the patience to see things through or take care of what they have.” Susan hoped the answer would satisfy him, because she hadn’t yet gotten the answers she’d come for.

  “You may be right about that. I know I’m guilty as charged. But sometimes what we want isn’t the best thing for someone else, so we have to let go for their sake. Women never think about that.”

  “And you’re an expert on what a woman needs? Maybe you’re wrong, and what they need is exactly what you have to give.”

  “In my particular case, yes, I know what they need, and I’m not it. Now, can we change the subject?” John looked down at the belly filling the space between them. “What made you decide to dress up as a pregnant nun? That thing almost looks real.”

  Susan prayed the baby didn’t choose that moment to kick. They were so close he couldn’t help but feel it if it did. “How do you know it isn’t real?” she asked, smiling sweetly.

  Nancy watched the guests move about, some dancing, some helping themselves to food from the buffet, others sipping drinks as they talked. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. She looked for Susan, but couldn’t figure out which one she might be. As midnight drew closer, the noise level increased as people tried harder to guess who was behind the various masks.

  The costumes were outstanding. Everyone had worked hard to make sure their identities were completely hidden. She hadn’t even let Cooper see her costume, and she in turn had no idea which of the limping men he might be. It was a bit disconcerting to think she might have danced with the man she shared her heart and her life with and not known it was him.

  Sometimes she wondered if everyone lived their lives behind a mask. Though she considered most of these people her friends, each had their private lives that she didn’t share. Even her dearest friends, Megan and Jean, had secrets she knew nothing about. She’d noticed lately that Megan seemed distant and distracted at times, but when she asked about it, Megan laughed and said it was her imagination.

  And Jean. Something was going on with her, but Jean sidestepped her questions and changed the subject. But just as midnight would reveal all the secret identities, Nancy was sure the new year would bring answers about whatever her friends were going through. At some point, they would feel safe sharing their problems with her, and together they would find answers. They always did.

  They’d met in college, roommates at first, and then fast friends. They’d been through marriages, tragedies, storms, and triumphs together. They’d always depended on each other to get through whatever life threw their way. So why were they keeping secrets from her now?

  Nancy checked her watch. Eleven-thirty. Time to get this show on the road.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?”

  The band stopped playing and all eyes turned to the front. “I’m going to bring each of you up here one at a time and take guesses about your identity. If someone guesses correctly, please remove your mask and leave the stage.”

  By the time she finished, six people remained on the stage, masks in place. “I’m sure some of you have an idea who these remaining people are just by the process of elimination. First, the riot police officer. Any guesses?”

  “Doc Marshall,” someone shouted from the back of the room.

  With a sigh, Doc removed his riot helmet. “Darn you, Cooper. I should have known you’d figure me out.”

  Nancy grinned. “Next up, the storm trooper.”

  “It has to be Blake,” Nick Jackson said. “He hasn’t surfaced yet, and I know there’s no way he’d let Mandy party without him on New Year’s Eve.”

  The storm trooper pointed his toy gun in Nick’s direction. “At least I lasted longer than you did, Nick.” Blake pulled his helmet off and jumped off the stage.

  One by one, the remaining contestants were eliminated except for the nun with the Marilyn Monroe mask. Nancy had figured out who she was, of course, but she wasn’t allowed to guess. “Anyone know who the nun is?” she asked.

  Several guesses were tossed out, but the nun remained masked. “Then it looks like we have a grand prize winner! Before the unveiling, I want to give out prizes to our finalists. Cooper, would you do the honors?”

  Cooper went to each one and passed out fifty-dollar gift cards to local restaurants.

  “Tonight’s grand prize is a weekend stay for two at a four-star hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk. If you need babysitting to take advantage of the free weekend, Brandy and Katie have graciously volunteered to take care of that, free of charge. So, let’s see who our lucky winner is.”

  Susan removed her mask and accepted the gift certificate. “Thank you. Now I just have to find someone who wants to use
it with me.”

  Chapter Five

  “Tough luck, Doc.”

  “Yeah, no thanks to you, Cooper. Nice job getting those other guys to limp so we couldn’t figure out which one you were.” Doc clapped Cooper on the back. “Great idea you guys had for the party. I sure wish you’d given me a heads up about inviting Susan, though.”

  “And give you an excuse to back out? No way.” Cooper snagged two beers from a passing server and handed one to Doc. “She did a pretty awesome job with her costume, didn’t she? A pregnant Marilyn Monroe nun. I’d never have guessed it was her.”

  “Yeah, me either. Of course, you had the advantage of knowing she was here.” Doc was still a little put out with both Cooper and Nancy. Coop could have at least warned him.

  “Sorry. I was sworn to secrecy. I’d love to know what happened to you two, though.”

  Doc shrugged. “I already told you. Nothing happened. I stayed until I was no longer needed. Susan’s still young. She needs a younger man who can keep up with her.”

  Cooper gave him a side-long glance. “Did she say she wanted a younger man?”

  Doc shifted from one foot to the other and ducked his head. “Well, not exactly. But it takes a young man with a lot of energy—in and out of the bedroom—to keep a woman like that satisfied. Hell, Coop, I’m forty-five. In a few years, I’ll need a little blue pill just to get the job done, and she’ll be at the height of her sexuality. That’s a recipe for disaster. I’ve seen it happen.”

  “Doc, I always thought you were a smart man. Don’t make me change my mind about that.”

  With that, Cooper limped away, shaking his head.

  Doc sipped his beer and thought about slipping away from the party before Susan found him again.

  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard your conversation with Cooper.”

  Uh-oh. Too late. Doc turned to find Susan standing behind him. She still wore the nun’s habit with the fake belly underneath. That thing made him nervous. He wished she’d take it off.

  “Before I walk away and never speak to you again, I just have one thing to say,” Susan said. Her hands balled into fists at her side. “Next time, why don’t you ask me before you presume to know what I’m thinking or how I feel? You might be surprised to find you don’t know me at all.”

  Susan turned away, and Doc could tell she was about to walk out of his life the way he’d walked out of hers. “Susan, wait…”

  She looked back, her eyes filled with sadness. “I’ve done nothing but wait for the last six months. Wait for you to call. Wait for you to come back. Wait for you to remember those three kids who learned to love you over the past three years. I’m done with waiting.”

  “Don’t go,” he said. “We need to talk.”

  “Talking is overrated. Maybe it’s time for you think, instead. Think about why you’re still single at forty-five. Why you bail anytime a woman gets too close. When you figure it out, give me a call.”

  She walked away, leaving him alone in the midst of the crowd. Soon, a handsome young cowboy snagged her attention, swinging her around the dance floor. She gave him her full attention, tilting her head back to look into his eyes, laughing at something he said.

  Doc’s gut twisted. He watched her dance with one cowboy after another until he couldn’t take any more. “Mind if I cut in?” he asked. The young cowboy nodded, tipped his hat to Susan, and wandered away.

  “I like this much better than dancing with a masked stranger.” Doc pulled her close, holding her hands against his chest.

  “I knew who you were the whole time,” she said.

  “Then you had the advantage. I didn’t expect to see you here. Did you bring the kids with you?”

  “Yes, I…”

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s now 11:59:30. Kiss your partner to say goodbye to the old year, and kiss them again at midnight to say hello to the new year! Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…”

  Susan looked up. Doc wasn’t sure what he saw in her eyes. Expectation? Trepidation? Longing? As heads lowered around the room, he tilted her chin up until her lips met his. He vaguely heard the countdown in the background, but he wasn’t ending the kiss to start another one. He kissed her slowly until the drummer banged the cymbals to announce the new year, and then he took the kiss deeper, nudging her lips open with his tongue.

  All the loneliness of the past few months seemed to disappear as his body remembered the feel of hers from the last time they’d made love. It had felt so right at the time, until the guilt crashed in on him, sending him running to Morris Springs and the safe haven of the Triple S.

  “Hey you two, get a room.” Blake and Mandy danced past them, laughing.

  Susan pulled away, her face red. “I, um, I need to go check on the kids.”

  Susan hurried across to the main house, ignoring the frigid air and the tiny snowflakes drifting across the yard. Why had she kissed him like that? She’d promised herself she would pretend he meant nothing more to her than Cooper, Jake, Nick, or Blake. And then she’d kissed him with all the pent-up longing she had inside.

  Now he would know she didn’t feel as detached as she’d acted, that she wasn’t over him, and for a confirmed bachelor like John, that would scare him away again.

  She opened the door to the playroom and peeked inside. Cooper’s mother sat in a rocking chair, reading a book. The children slept soundly on cots, blankets tucked neatly around them. There were eleven children in the room, ranging in age from three to ten.

  “Did they give you any trouble?” Susan whispered to Mrs. Sanders.

  “No, they are little angels. You can relax and enjoy your party. Brandy and Katie will be back soon to relieve me. I sent them off to enjoy the party for a bit.”

  “They look like angels when they’re asleep, don’t they?” Doc’s hushed voice over her shoulder startled her.

  Susan motioned for him to follow her. Once they were well away from the sleeping children, Susan faced him, hands on her hips. “Are you stalking me?”

  “Huh? I just wanted to see the kids. I’ve missed them.”

  “And whose fault is that? They’ve missed you, too. But mostly they’ve felt abandoned.”

  He looked away, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t think about how it would affect them.”

  “What did you think would happen? First their father, and then the man they’d come to think of as a father. Both gone without a word. Christy was old enough to understand when her father died, but Matt wasn’t. Damon doesn’t remember him at all. You were the only father figure he knew.”

  “I know. I was wrong. Look, the kids are down for the night. Come home with me and give me a chance to explain.”

  “Have you lost your mind? Why would I want to go home with you?” Even as she asked the question, she realized she wanted to. More than anything. So much it scared her.

  “Because I owe you an explanation. I promise I’ll bring you right back here whenever you say the word, but what I need to say isn’t something I want others to overhear.” Doc looked into her eyes. “I’d like to show you my house, too. Please?”

  She shouldn’t, but she needed to know why he’d left her, if she’d done something wrong. She also needed to tell him about the baby. “Okay, but I need to change and let Nancy know where I’ll be.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll get the truck and pick you up at the barn.”

  When she hurried outside a few minutes later, John’s breath caught. The snowflakes drifting down around her head, illuminated by the lights from the barn, made her look like a mythical princess trapped in a frozen land. How many times had he watched that movie with Christy? At least a dozen. He could almost quote the lines word for word, and the theme song was once again stuck in his head.

  She wore a hooded cape that hid her almost as well as her costume had. His last memories of their time together were of her in that blasted little bikini and then of her wearing nothing at all. He needed to see her in
jeans and boots to dispel those images from his mind. As if that would really work.

  He hopped out of the truck and hurried around to open the passenger door. He helped Susan up into the cab. Once he was back inside, he warmed his hands in front of the heater vents. “I think the temperature’s dropped ten degrees in just the last few minutes. I hope the roads don’t freeze over.”

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. There are plenty of rooms here where we can talk.” Susan looked out the window. “It’s beginning to snow harder, too.”

  “It will be fine. If the roads are bad later, we can hook the horses up to the buggy and get back here that way.”

  Susan didn’t look completely convinced, but she didn’t argue.

  The drive to his house took less than five minutes. The house was a simple ranch design, four bedrooms, three baths, and a two-car garage. More house than he needed for himself, but it was a good investment. He used one of the extra bedrooms as an office and had closed off the others. Most of his money had gone into upgrading the kitchen and the master bedroom, the two rooms he used most often.

  Susan looked around, admiring his handiwork. “The kitchen is beautiful,” she said. “Did you update it yourself?”

  “I hired a contractor, but I made the cabinet and flooring choices and did the painting.”

  “You did a great job. I love the way it’s laid out.” Susan ran her hand along the gray quartz countertop. “Everything is so neat and clean. Don’t you ever cook?”

  “I eat most of my meals at the ranch, but I cook on the weekends. I learned a long time ago that if I didn’t clean up after myself, no one else would. I have a housekeeper come in once a week to do the deep cleaning. Would you like something to drink?” Doc opened the refrigerator. “I have your favorite beer.”

  She looked at him, surprised. “Why? You don’t even drink that brand.”