Cowboy Unwrapped

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Not really, but—”

  “Wait!” Her mother sat forward. “There’s what’s-his-name, the one who went over to become a big star a couple of years ago.”

  “Matt Forrest.”

  “Right. I talked to Rosie last month in the grocery store and he was still there trying to make it. You could get his contact info.”

  “I will, but from what I hear, he might be on location for the next few months. Besides, I’ll make friends. No worries.”

  Sapphire looked over at Grady. “You’ve been to LA several times for gallery shows. Any advice for my big sister?”

  “You know, this is so not my area.” He gazed at Amethyst. “I totally agree with the logic of making this move, but I’m a Wyoming boy. If living in LA was the only way I could make it with my art...” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what I’d do. City life is not for me. It may turn out that you love it, though.”

  “I don’t know if I will or not. But if I expect to make any progress in my career, I need to give it a shot.”

  “I’ll bet Matt’s made some good friends while he’s been living there,” her mom said. “Even if he won’t be around, his friends could be of some help.”

  Amethyst smiled at her. “I’ll contact him. If he offers his friends’ help, then I’ll consider it, but I don’t want to give him the impression I need babysitting. Anyone who’s trying to make it in the recording business needs to be able to stand on their own two feet.”

  “I’ll go over with you for a week or so,” Sapphire said. “Just until you’re settled.”

  She was tempted but that would be selfish. “Thank you, but I can’t let you do that.”

  Sapphire lifted her chin. “Try and stop me. I’m going.”

  “I like that plan,” her mother said. “The two of you are a force to be reckoned with. I’d feel much better if you spent that first week there, Sapphire. Maybe two weeks.”

  “I can’t accept it.” Amethyst held her sister’s gaze. “It’s a lovely offer, Sapphire, but you don’t have enough time to plan your own wedding let alone spend a week or two making sure I don’t move in next to a drug dealer.”

  “But—”

  “Give it up, sis. I really won’t let you go over there with me.”

  Sapphire rolled her eyes and sighed. “Okay, I won’t force myself on you, but if you change your mind...”

  “I won’t. This is my plan and I’m not going to inconvenience other people in order to make it happen.”

  “As long as I don’t have any gigs scheduled,” her dad said, “it wouldn’t be an inconvenience for me. I set my own schedule.”

  “I’m not letting any of you interrupt your lives.” She glanced around the table. “I appreciate your generous offers, but I can’t predict exactly when the move might take place so it’s best if I don’t get anyone else involved. I’ll need to sublet my half of the house and that could be a last-minute arrangement. Once I find the right person, I could be gone within forty-eight hours. I’ll need to stay extremely flexible.”

  Her mother and father exchanged a look. She’d seen it a thousand times. It meant they would drop the subject for now but it was by no means forgotten.

  Sure enough, her dad challenged her to a game of chess that afternoon. They often played on Christmas, so that wasn’t unusual. He’d taught both her and Sapphire but she’d been the only one who’d kept up with it. Still, she suspected he had ulterior motives for wanting some time with her.

  They were well into the game, which they’d set up in front of the fire, when he broached the subject. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to LA.” He captured a pawn. “But you seem to have made the decision based on what Finn’s fiancée said. How well do you know her?”

  “We just met. Judging from what everyone says, she’s largely responsible for Finn’s success with his microbrewery. Her mention of LA was very casual, but something clicked for me. I knew it was what I should do.” She moved her knight. “Check.”

  “Nice job.” He maneuvered out of the tight spot she’d put him in. “So this is something you think you should do?”

  “Bad choice of words. I meant it’s something I want to do.”

  “I hope so, because when it comes to anything creative, the word should doesn’t work well at all.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I keep thinking of that music prof you liked so much. What was his name?”

  “Professor Edenbury.” If she could pull this off and actually get a recording contract, he was one of the first people she’d tell once she’d notified her family.

  Her father hesitated, his hand poised over the board. “Do his expectations have anything to do with this?”

  “Now that would be silly, wouldn’t it? He may not even remember me.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he does. He had big plans for you.”

  “Well, I’m not doing this for Professor Edenbury, Dad. I’m doing it for me. By the way, did you and your jazz buddies ever talk about going over there and trying your luck? Before you met Mom, of course.”

  “Sure we did.” He made his move. “Check.”

  “Oh, good one.” But she’d anticipated it and weaseled out of his trap. “So why didn’t you?”

  “Great question, Amie.” He’d shortened both his daughters’ names because he was a nickname kind of guy. Her mother hadn’t been pleased, but he’d stuck to his guns on the matter. “One night after a gig the four of us got moderately toasted.”

  She smiled. “Only moderately?”

  That made him laugh. “That night, yeah, because once we got on the subject, we knew if we were going to do it, we needed to hop in the car right then and drive to California. We were young and unattached. We could live on the beach if we had to.”

  “Did you go?”

  “No. We argued the question six ways to Sunday and we didn’t come to a conclusion until after four in the morning. We’d listed every pro and con we could think of and we went through several six-packs and bags of Cheetos.”

  She gazed at him, the game forgotten, as she imagined her father as a young man hanging out with his buddies and deciding their future. “Why did you decide to stay?”

  “Because we all agreed we loved this silly place called Wyoming. We might never be rich and famous, but we’d have mountains to look at and minimal traffic. Country living was in our blood and we didn’t want to give it up. Then I met your mother and knew I’d made the right choice. When you came along, and later Sapphie, I really knew it.”

  “That’s a great story. Any regrets?”

  “Not a one. Staying local and playing gigs here and there has worked for me. But I’m not suggesting it would work for you. I just hope you give the decision the same amount of attention that my buddies and I did that night. Checkmate.”

  She looked at the board and realized he had her beat. She glanced up. “You win, Dad.”

  “Considering I have you, Sapphie and your mom, I can’t lose.”

  * * *

  JAKE RESISTED THE urge to text Amethyst during the day although he desperately wanted to know how her family had reacted to news of the move to LA. Surely he wasn’t the only one who was worried. He turned his sound off but he checked the screen every once in a while to see if she’d sent him a message.

  But when Cade announced the traditional Christmas snowball fight was about to commence, Jake left his phone on the kitchen counter. Grabbing his coat and gloves, he headed outside, eager to work off some tension.

  Although Thunder Mountain’s foster care program had ended quite a while ago, the temporary financial crisis Rosie and Herb had endured recently had brought many of the brothers back to Sheridan. They’d helped set up Thunder Mountain Academy to make the ranch solvent again and they’d reinstituted many of the nostalgic activities J
ake had cherished as a teenager. The Christmas Day snowball fight was one of them.

  In the old days it had been all guys manning the barricades, but times had changed. Lexi and Chelsea wanted in on it and Phil vowed she’d be on the front lines next year assuming she could talk Rosie into holding her kid. Rosie promised she would.

  Chelsea and Lexi wanted to be on the opposite team from their fiancés, so Jake volunteered to join them and face off against Cade, Damon and Finn. After listening to the women outline their battle plan, Jake figured it would be at least an even fight, and his team might actually win. The women were focused while Cade’s team spent the preparation time joking around and acting macho.

  While Cade and Damon wasted precious minutes arguing about the correct way to build a fort, Jake’s team worked smoothly to create a sturdy barrier with an impressive stockpile of ammunition. As Jake crouched in the middle between the two women, he took inventory of their skills. “Either of you play softball?”

  “Was on the state championship squad,” Chelsea said.

  “Me, too.” Lexi exchanged a high five with Chelsea.

  Jake hunkered down. “We’re going to whip their butts.”

  The fight didn’t last very long because Cade’s team ran out of premade snowballs and Jake’s crew charged their flimsy barricade armed to the teeth. Lexi’s parents, along with Phil, Rosie and Herb sat on the porch scoring the hits. Jake assumed that trampling over the other team’s fort pretty much gave his team the win, but tradition meant leaving it up to the judges on the porch.

  They all voted for Jake’s team. Laughing, he hugged his teammates.

  “Foul!” Cade cried. “The judges were prejudiced!”

  “No,” Phil said, “you three were treating this like a slam dunk you couldn’t lose, and the opposing team took advantage of your overconfidence. We stand by our decision.” She turned to Rosie. “Am I right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Rosie gave her a big smile.

  “All righty, then.” Cade abandoned his protest. “Drinks for all! Except Phil, who’s on the wagon until she drops that kid.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Phil linked her arm through Damon’s as they filed into the house. “Good thing I’m excited about this baby because our decision to have her has seriously impacted my life.”

  Jake took note of that comment. He’d never considered the sacrifices required of a pregnant woman, but Phil was making it very real. Amethyst might never want marriage, let alone a baby. He hadn’t thought much about the concept of having kids. His childhood had been traumatic and he couldn’t imagine bringing an infant into the world until he had a stable relationship with a woman who wanted the same things he did.

  On the surface, that woman wasn’t Amethyst. If he took her at her word, she’d be overjoyed to live in LA and be a star with hit songs and regular concert tours. Yet spending the night in the cozy Victorian had given him a glimpse of a life that seemed at odds with that scenario.

  After the snowball fight he found himself momentarily alone with Chelsea in the kitchen when she went to fetch a cup of coffee and he wanted to retrieve his phone. He picked it up and shoved it in his pocket. He couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to talk with Chelsea so he’d check his phone later. “It looks as if Amethyst really is moving to LA.”

  “Good for her.” Chelsea poured her coffee into a mug. “Although I admit I was surprised at how quickly she jumped on the idea after my casual remark yesterday.”

  “She respects your expertise.”

  “I’m no expert in this area, but it makes sense to me that if she wants a recording contract she’ll do better if she can meet with people face-to-face.”

  Jake hesitated as he considered how to approach the issue. “She’d hoped that a talent scout would discover her in Wyoming.”

  “She told me that. But waiting for success to come to you isn’t a very good strategy.”

  “No.” Jake could tell she was ready to head back out to the porch. “Before you go, let me ask you something.”

  “Sure.” She paused and leaned against the counter.

  “What if she only thinks she wants this? What if everyone’s been telling her she has a shot and now she feels as if it’s put up or shut up time?”

  “In other words, she might have the talent but not the drive?”

  “Right. Waiting for a talent scout to show up doesn’t sound like someone who’ll do whatever’s necessary to make a dream come true.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Chelsea’s gaze was sympathetic. “You really care about her.”

  “I do. And I’m worried.”

  “Let me think.” Putting down her coffee, she paced the length of the kitchen while she ruffled her damp hair, making the multicolored strands dance around. Finally she turned to him. “I’m guessing you’d like me to talk to her, maybe invite her for coffee before Finn and I leave town.”

  “Would you?” A ray of hope pierced the gloom.

  “I would if I thought it would help. But it won’t. She’s announced to everyone she’s moving to LA. How do you suppose she’d react if I tried to convince her not to go because she’s missing that fire in the belly?”

  “She’d say you’re wrong, that you don’t know her well enough and she’s highly motivated.”

  “Exactly. No way would she listen carefully and then admit that I’m right. Unfortunately this isn’t something I can tell her. You obviously know her better than I do, but I question whether you or anyone can tell her without creating an explosion. You’ll come off as someone who doesn’t believe in her.”

  He groaned. “I believe in her. She’s amazing. But she’s happy here. You should see the studio she’s set up in her house. She loves giving voice lessons to little kids. What if she tears her life apart and it doesn’t work out? Or even worse, what if it does work out and it’s not what she wants, after all?”

  “Then she’ll suffer and you’ll go through hell knowing she’s made a terrible mistake. You’ll ask yourself if you could have prevented it, even though you understand intellectually that people have to learn for themselves. It’s no fun watching someone you love barreling down the tracks toward a potential train wreck. Believe me, I know.”

  “Who did you go through it with?”

  “Finn.”

  “Finn?” Jake stared at her. “I thought you two met, fell in love and got engaged. Nobody mentioned any train wreck.”

  “Then I guess you didn’t hear about his first marriage.”

  He thought back. “You know, I vaguely remember something like that, but I was in Jackson Hole by then and didn’t get home much. What happened?”

  “We had chemistry from the day we met but he was afraid I’d tempt him to ignore his business obligations. So he married someone else, someone who didn’t have the power to distract him.”

  “Wow, I gave him credit for being a lot smarter.”

  “It was an emotional decision. He was afraid to do the wrong thing so he did something worse. If I’d tried to tell him, he wouldn’t have listened. I doubt Amethyst will listen to you, either, even if you have the purest of intentions.”

  “Which I don’t.” He sighed. “I’m thinking of her, but I’m also thinking of myself. Tomorrow I’m planning to check for openings at the fire department here. I want to move back.”

  “Because of her?”

  “No. That much is clear in my head. I want to live here again whether she goes or stays.”

  “Does she know you’re moving back to Sheridan?”

  He shook his head. “I thought it would complicate things.”

  “You could try mentioning it. At least then she’d have all the facts before she heads off to LA.”

  “I don’t know. She might think I’m doing it in hopes she’ll stay.”

  “Just tel
l her the truth. Once you have a job, you’re moving back regardless of what she does. You can’t control what she chooses to believe. But when she’s balancing what she hopes to find in LA against what she’s giving up here, you’ll be included in her calculations. You never know. That might tip the scales.”

  “I’ll think about it.” He gave her a weary smile. “Thanks for the heart-to-heart.”

  “Sorry I don’t have a magic solution.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping you would, but you’re right. There isn’t one.”

  When she left the kitchen he stayed behind and pulled out his phone. His pulse jumped when he saw the text from Amethyst: Change of plans. Mom and Dad want us all to go caroling at 5 and dinner here afterward. You’re invited.

  13

  AMETHYST THOUGHT CURIOSITY was at the bottom of her mother’s caroling and dinner plan. Maybe she’d noticed her daughter checking her phone several times during the day and had figured out that Jake Ramsey was back in the picture. Getting him under the Ferguson family roof and at their dinner table was a time-honored way to confirm those suspicions.

  That was fine with Amethyst. She wasn’t deliberately keeping Jake a secret, but they weren’t heading for a fairy-tale ending so there seemed to be no reason to include him in her family’s plans. Her mother obviously felt differently.

  Jake arrived looking more gorgeous than any man had a right to be. He was freshly shaved, but then, he would be. He knew what was scheduled after the family togetherness time.

  Her mother suggested that Jake should leave on his coat and hat because everyone else could be ready in a jiffy. Amethyst couldn’t blame her mother for not wanting to alter the picture he made standing in their entry hall. He’d turned up the collar of his sheepskin coat against the night air and his perfectly creased gray Stetson, snug jeans and polished boots made him look like an ad for Western wear. Once again she was amazed that the single women of Jackson Hole hadn’t lined up outside the firehouse.

  Because he was ready to go, he was free to help her with her coat and he managed it with polite chivalry as if they were only good friends and not passionate lovers. He charmed her parents with his winning smile and thanked them for inviting him. He called them Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson because that had been protocol when he’d dated her ten years ago.