And the second he got backstage after that particular misery, he strode off for his pickup truck in the parking lot. But when he got to her place, her ranch truck was gone. The front and back doors to the house both locked up tight and leaving him wanting to tear the damn things off their hinges.
He should never have agreed to play Rusty in the first place. It had only ended in a snowball of complications.
Feeling fouler than he could ever remember feeling, he returned to Cowboy Country and went straight to the casting department.
For three weeks he’d been visiting Diane’s office. For three weeks he’d ignored her blatant come-ons while she’d insisted she couldn’t find someone to play Rusty.
A “bit” part.
“Get somebody else,” he said the second he entered her office. He stared her down. “By the end of the week, or else you’re gonna be explaining to Caitlyn Moore and her daddy why you’ve been sitting on your thumbs about it all this time.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?”
“I mean it, Diane.” He planted his palms flat on her desk and was glad that, for once, there weren’t any hopeful applicants sitting in the chairs in front of her desk. “All those suggestive comments of yours that I’ve been ignoring? Some might consider ’em harassment. And I’m pretty sure Moore Entertainment isn’t going to want that embarrassment hitting them on top of everything else they’ve dealt with. Do you?”
She pressed her lips together, then she just looked bored. “Outlaw Shootout can replace Wedding in a heartbeat. Something I reminded your girlfriend of just this morning.”
His nerve endings sharpened. He straightened, pulling his hands off her desk so he didn’t succumb to the temptation to wrap them around her neck. “Aurora was here this morning?”
“When she came in positively begging me to find a new Rusty.” She propped her chin on her hand. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Get a replacement,” he said through his teeth. “Or put this Joey guy back on a horse whether he’s wearing a cast on his leg or not. And if I hear one word about Outlaw Shootout replacing Wedding, I’m still gonna add your name to the top of my next report to Caitlyn.” There were other people than just Aurora who were depending on the show. “Are we clear?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I don’t know why you’re getting so upset. Like I told Aurora, Sophie Maxwell can play Lila perfectly well while she’s in Branson—”
He slapped his hands on her desk again so fast she actually rolled back in her chair. “What?”
“She’s in Branson.” Startled or not, Diane recovered quickly. She picked up her pen and tapped the end of it on her desk between his hands. “Flew her out on a charter a few hours ago so she could meet with the producer there for the new show the dinner theater is opening.”
He snatched the pen out of her hand when she ran it up the inside of his wrist, and tossed it down in disgust. “She’s auditioning.”
“More like discussing rehearsal schedules. It’s a foregone conclusion that she’ll get the lead. The director wants her and he usually gets what he wants.” She waited a beat. “Still anxious to save the day where the rest of your cast mates are concerned?”
He turned on his heel and walked out of the office.
At the best of times, being around the woman made him feel like he needed to be doused in disinfectant afterward. Now was no different even though she’d unintentionally answered the question of Aurora’s whereabouts.
And confirmed what Galen had known all along.
That she wanted a life beyond Horseback Hollow.
Beyond him.
He was still wearing his Rusty costume, but he flouted the rules and walked straight through the public areas, intent on getting across to the wardrobe trailer the fastest way possible.
He was so intent on his goal, he nearly ran right over his little sister Delaney where she was standing in the middle of Main Street having her palm read by the same fortune-teller who’d read his.
Delaney laughed when he bumped into her and caught his sleeves to steady herself. “Cowboy Country is a small world. Where are you off to in such a rush?”
He glared at the fortune-teller, who just smiled slightly and moved off, her belt jingling.
“Galen?” Delaney cocked her blond head. “You all right?”
“What are you doing here?”
Her eyebrows rose a little. “Cisco’s meeting with Caitlyn’s father about the hotel project.”
At one point, before the project had been mothballed, Cisco had been on the development team. Though he hadn’t admitted it at first, which was one of the reasons why Galen still had some reservations about the guy being good enough for Delaney. She might have forgiven him for nearly breaking her heart along the way, but Galen hadn’t.
Which meant there were now two men on the project he had a problem with.
“I thought Cisco quit Cowboy Country.” That’s what the guy had claimed when he’d been trying to win back Delaney’s trust. “Guess that was a lie, too.”
“Oh, Galen,” Delaney tsked. “Relax. Cisco isn’t working for Cowboy Country. All he’s doing is explaining the original plan he had for the project. The one that never got submitted in the first place but should have. For heaven’s sake, you know all he could talk about the other night over tamales was his work with the Fortune Foundation. So what’s got your tail in a twist?”
He grimaced. “Nothing.” He realized he was watching the fortune-teller, who’d stopped to talk with a pregnant woman holding a little boy by the hand, and looked away. “Nothing,” he repeated more firmly. “So you’re just hanging around waiting for Cisco?”
“I thought I’d finally take in your and Aurora’s show while I’m waiting.” She glanced at the old-fashioned clock hanging on a pillar outside the Main Street Post Office, which—aside from the displays of collector’s stamps that a person could purchase—operated as an honest-to-goodness post office. “Doesn’t it start at two?”
His mood darkened even more. “Yes. But Aurora’s not here.”
Her brows pulled together. “Why not?”
“Because she’s in Branson. Learning about her fancy new part she’ll be playing there.”
Delaney’s eyes widened. “But I thought you two were—”
“What?”
She made a face. “Dial down, Galen. Good grief. You didn’t really think any of us were fooled by that act the other night, did you?” She lowered her voice in what he assumed was supposed to be an imitation of his. “Just helping each other out. Like neighbors do.” She gave him a deadpan stare. “Neighbors who are crazy about each other, maybe.”
“There’s nothing serious between us.” He eyed the clock, but in his mind, he was seeing the way Anthony-the-ass had grabbed Aurora.
And she’d let him.
“Right. And there was nothing serious between Cisco and me.” She waved her left hand, which sported an engagement ring. “Why can’t you just admit you’re not as committed to the big bad bachelor club as you always claimed?”
He exhaled impatiently. “What good would that do, Delaney? Aurora’s always wanted more than Horseback Hollow. And now, after too many years of waiting, she’s finally out there getting it.”
“I don’t know, Galen. The other night I thought she looked like a person who wanted nothing more than you.”
He shook his head.
She looked impatient. “How do you know?”
“Because she would have said!”
“Did you?”
He glared down at her. What was it about little sisters that left you either wanting to protect them from every scrape and bruise or lock ’em in the basement to keep them from bugging the crap out of you? “There’s nothing to say.”
She exhaled noisily. “Right. Color me corrected, then.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Carry on with your enduring bachelor nonsense, then. I’m sure you and the twenty cats you’ll have some day will be very happy together.” Her annoyed
expression dissolved, though, when she spotted Cisco heading toward them.
Galen’s mood, however, found a fresh sinkhole of brand new depths, because Aurora’s ex-fiancé was walking alongside Cisco. “Perfect,” he muttered.
“Don’t you go running away,” Delaney said from the corner of her mouth. “You’re gonna stay and be polite to Cisco. Someday, he’s going to be the father of my babies.”
He shot her a look.
“Oh, for...I said someday.” She tilted up her cheek for Cisco’s kiss when he reached them. “You were quicker than I expected.”
“Yeah.” Cisco nodded at Galen. “Galen. Good to see you.” He gestured with his hand toward Anthony. “This is Anthony Tyson. He’s—”
“We’ve met,” Galen cut him off. “How’s your wife?”
Anthony’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Fine,” he said cautiously. “And your wife?”
Both Delaney’s and Cisco’s heads swiveled around to Galen at that.
Crud. Crud on a huge freaking cracker.
“Wife?” Delaney asked carefully.
“She’s not my wife,” he gritted. “And if she were, I damn sure wouldn’t be cheating on her.”
Anthony stiffened. “That was a long time ago. Aurora and I were just kids, practically. I never meant to hurt her.”
“I’m talking about Roselyn.”
Anthony waited a beat. “Excuse me? You want to run that past again? Because it sounds like you’re accusing me of cheating on Roselyn.”
Delaney and Cisco were both watching with something akin to morbid fascination.
“I’m not accusing you of anything. Just repeating what your own wife believes.”
Anthony’s head snapped back. If Galen weren’t inclined to loathe the guy on general principal, he would have given him props for looking genuinely shocked.
“Um, Galen?” Delaney tugged at his sleeve. “Maybe this isn’t something for—”
He shrugged her off. “She thought it was Aurora, you know. Maybe figuring things had gone full circle or something.”
“The first time I’ve seen Aurora in ten years was yesterday!”
“Galen—”
“Not now, Delaney.” He didn’t take his eyes off the other man. “And maybe I’ve wondered more ’n a little that she was still hung up over you, but Aurora’s no cheat. She’ll put everybody’s needs before her own, and she damn sure deserves whatever shot she’s taking, but she’s...no...cheat.”
“Galen!” Delaney yanked harder on his arm.
“Dammit, Del,” he barked. “What?”
Cisco suddenly pushed Delaney behind him. “Back off, Galen,” he said tightly. “You don’t talk to Delaney like that. Not when I’m around.”
“Hold on to your chaps, folks,” the announcer boomed over the loudspeaker, “’cause there’s a hog-tying good time happening in just a few minutes down on Main Street with Wild West Wedding!”
The cue for their show.
He wanted to swear.
Instead, he eyed Cisco, who for the first time had just earned some honest respect in Galen’s eyes. “You’re right.” He looked past him to his baby sister. “Sorry.”
She just watched him with concern. “It’s okay,” she said faintly.
The theme music for Wedding had started and Galen knew he had about three minutes to haul his butt backstage or Lila wouldn’t have a Rusty to rescue her at all. “I gotta go—”
“Then go!” Delaney shooed him with her hands.
He set off toward the corner side street, grateful that he was at least closest to the gate Rusty and Sal the Sheriff used.
“She’s wrong.” Anthony’s voice carried after him even over the loud music. “Roselyn’s wrong.”
Galen didn’t slow, though he looked over his shoulder. “Don’t tell me. Tell her.”
Then he dismissed the man from his mind and broke into a run, careering around the corner just as the gate ahead of him started to open and the first of Frank’s goons pranced out on an excited horse.
He ran flat out and nearly vaulted onto Blaze’s back just inside the gate. He took the reins that Cabot handed him.
And then they were chasing down Main Street all over again.
After the wrong Lila.
Chapter Thirteen
“Thanks, Laurel.” Aurora descended the steps of the small charter jet that had been piloted by Laurel Redmond Fortune.
The tall, blue-eyed blonde smiled. “Was the flight as bad as you expected?”
Aurora smiled ruefully and shook her head. “I didn’t expect it to be bad. I’ve just never been on a small jet like this before.” She stepped onto the pavement where the sleek airplane was parked near the hangar housing the flight school and charter service Laurel ran with her husband, Sawyer Fortune. “I still can’t believe we made it to Branson and back in a single day.” It was too late for the six o’clock show, but if she wanted, she had ample time to make it to Cowboy Country for the last performance of Wedding for the day.
If she wanted. Playing Lila was one thing. Seeing Galen after the way they’d left things the day before was another.
Having left without giving him any warning about her understudy, Sophie, wasn’t going to help any, either.
“The advantages of a charter service,” Laurel was saying as they headed toward the hangar. She unzipped the front of her khaki-colored jumpsuit, revealing a plain white tank top, and tugged her arms right out of the jumpsuit sleeves, leaving the top of it hanging down from the elastic-cinched waist. “Even with the breeze, it’s still hot. Those clouds up there are like a blanket, holding the heat in. One of the things I miss since we moved to Horseback Hollow from Red Rock is easy access to a swimming pool,” she said ruefully.
“You need a few hours at Hollow Springs.”
“Someone was mentioning that place the other day. Who was it? Oh. Jensen Fortune Chesterfield. He’s been up there with his girlfriend, Amber.”
Jensen. Brother of Amelia. Making him a cousin of Galen’s as well as Laurel’s husband, Sawyer, though she’d be hard-pressed to figure out the exact branches of that particular family tree. “Lot of Fortunes around,” she murmured, then flushed at the amused look she earned from Laurel.
“They do seem to have come out of the woodwork,” she agreed. She pulled open a metal door and a rush of cool air-conditioned air blew out over them. “Hey, Matteo,” she greeted as one of her pilots also came out the door. “Heading home?”
The handsome man grinned, though his long pace didn’t slow. “Picking up Rachel at the office and heading out for a picnic at Hollow Springs,” he said over his shoulder.
Laurel laughed, giving Aurora a wry look. “I am going to have to get Sawyer out there, obviously. So are you really going to be working at that dinner theater in Branson?”
Aurora lifted her shoulder. “I don’t know.” When she’d seen Diane that morning, the casting agent had insisted Aurora “hop over for a look-see.” She’d booked the charter flight without giving Aurora the chance to protest.
At least going to Branson, Missouri, had given her some breathing room before she’d need to face Galen again. But just because she’d met with the producer and director for the new production they were mounting at the popular dinner theater didn’t mean she’d be offered anything. She’d actually spent more time on the plane with Laurel going and coming than she had in the popular vacation destination.
“Pretty flattering to be considered, I imagine.”
Aurora nodded. “This is embarrassing, but should I be tipping you or something?”
Laurel laughed and shook her head. “We have a contract with Moore Entertainment.” Her eyes danced. “All you need to do is pass on the word that you were very satisfied with the service we provided.”
“That I can do.” It had been a day trip only, so she had no luggage or anything. Just her purse and her meager portfolio. “Thanks again,” she said before heading over to her truck, which she’d left in the small parking lot next to
the hangar.
It was stifling hot inside and she rolled down the windows, her thoughts returning to Hollow Springs with Galen.
Sighing, she drove away from the small airfield. Past the cemetery. The hotel construction site. The parking lot lights for Cowboy Country were visible when she suddenly turned around on the highway and drove back to the cemetery.
She parked in the small parking lot, and even though it had been a decade, she easily found her brother’s marker located on a gentle grassy ridge, and stared at the inscription. Beloved Son.
Her eyes burned and she knelt down in the grass, swiping her hand over the granite, brushing away the dust and a sweet gum leaf that was clinging to the surface.
“What do you think, Mark?” Her voice sounded loud in the silence. “Branson? Call Roselyn’s agent? Give performing a real shot?” She flicked away another leaf, then turned around and lay down beside the marker, staring up the sky. “You broke their hearts,” she whispered. Her chest ached. “You broke mine.”
She sniffed and watched the clouds Laurel had complained about drift overhead. “If you were here, I’d kick your butt.” She sniffed again, her vision blurring. “If you were here.”
She closed her eyes, throwing her arm over them. In her mind, she could hear her brother’s laughter. You could try, he would have said.
She inhaled a raw breath. “If you were here...” She lowered her arm and stared at the sky. The clouds. “I’d tell you I miss you.”
A welcome breeze drifted over her, bringing another sweet-gum leaf from the trees that dotted the small cemetery. She caught it, midair, twirling the deep green leaf by the tiny stem. “Remember how you used to throw sweet-gum seed pods at me? I think Daddy even grounded you once for it.”
And you never got caught even when you put a pile of them in my bed.
She smiled faintly through her tears. “You’d like Horseback Hollow these days. Particularly Cowboy Country. All those pretty saloon girls.” The tiny stem felt uneven as she rolled it between her thumb and finger. “Cammie would never give Frank Richter a second glance if she saw you first.” Tall. Auburn-haired with a devilish smile and a sense of humor to match.
Fortune's June Bride (Mills & Boon Cherish) (The Fortunes of Texas: Cowboy Country, Book 6) Page 17