Maudie tallied up the whole game session and declared Cynthia and Roger the winners of the five-thousand-dollar prize. She handed the envelope with the cash in it to Roger and asked if he had anything to say.
He took the microphone and said, “Of course, I’m a preacher. I’ve always got something to say.”
Everyone in the yard laughed. Even the children stopped playing to see what was so funny.
“Roxie, thank you for pairing me up with Cynthia. She’s been a wonderful partner. I couldn’t ask for a better one. We’ve talked about what we might do with this money if we won it today. We could split it and each of us could do something really fun or nice with it but we came up with the idea of leaving it all in one pile and buying a new piano for the church, so that’s what this is going for. And Roxie, if you get the job of pairing up the teams next year, I’d love to have Cynthia.”
“It’ll cost you,” Rusty yelled.
“I’d pay,” Roger answered and handed the phone back to Maudie.
“Games are officially over. Two hours until supper is served. Then dancing begins at eight thirty and goes until midnight,” Maudie announced. “Laura and Colton will start the dancing soon as supper is over.”
“You ready to go to the house?” Colton asked.
Laura nodded.
He scooped her up, put her in the wheelbarrow, and before she could wiggle, he took hold of the handles and began to push. “I don’t care what the numbers say, I’m the winner.”
The applause spooked the crows trying to roost in the trees and they flew off in protest of such noise. When they reached the front porch, he parked the brand-new wheelbarrow and carried her to the porch.
“Nice touch. Ina Dean should be convinced for sure,” Laura said.
Nine women piled out of the back of Rusty’s truck before Colton could answer. He tipped his hat at them, gave them one of his brilliant smiles, and crawled inside the truck with Rusty.
Laura wished she could go with him.
Bless Maudie’s heart!
She thought of everything. The living room was now a beauty parlor with mirrors set up at intervals along two eight-foot folding tables. Beer and soft drinks chilled in a cooler at the end of a table holding a veggie tray, a fruit tray, and finger sandwiches. Half a dozen ladies in black trousers and white shirts in the back waited to do nails and hair.
“We’ve got two hours, girls,” Maudie said. “Let’s split it up. Hair for one hour. Nails for an hour.”
Roxie raised her hand like she was in the classroom. When Maudie nodded at her, she said, “I want my turn at the hair and I want it to look like Laura’s did at the party last week. It’s on her phone.”
She sat down in a folding chair and pulled her hair down from the ponytail.
The hairdresser picked up a strand of hair. “Sweat, dirt, and mud does not start a lovely hairdo, honey. Go take a shower and wash your hair. Looks like the rest of you might want to do the same.”
Laura followed suit and held up a hand. “We’ve got five showers upstairs. Cynthia, you can come with me. I’ve got an extra robe you can wear back down. That way we won’t get our hair all messed up when we get dressed for the party.”
“Robes are over there beside the door,” the beautician said.
Cynthia nodded seriously. “Thank goodness. Laura’s robe wouldn’t cover my butt.”
Janet pointed at a lady. “You can shower in my room.”
Roxie chose another woman. “Guess that leaves us for the first round. Pick up a robe and follow me. Might as well take your suitcase, garment bag, or whatever you’ve brought with you because you’ll be getting dressed upstairs after our makeover.”
“You are in big trouble,” Janet whispered behind her. “Have you given any more thought to my idea?”
“It ain’t goin’ to happen. The only way I’ll get married is for love and if I did marry Colton, I’d insist on a prenup saying that I couldn’t take anything away from this ranch that I didn’t bring with me or buy with my own money.”
“You are a fool. I love you because you are my sister, but you are a fool,” Janet hissed.
Five bedroom doors were swung open. Laura inhaled deeply to keep from saying another word to Janet. She walked into her room with Cynthia right behind her. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of there being ten of us. You two take this room. You others divide up the other two rooms and Cynthia and I’ll take over Colton’s room for showers and getting ready. He won’t mind. Make yourselves at home. See you back down in the ballroom soon.”
“And this is where we are going?” Cynthia pointed to the room at the end of the hallway.
“That’s right. You can have first shower and get on back down to the ballroom so they can start your hair,” Laura answered.
Laura’s book was lying on the sofa in plain sight on top of a furry throw. The coffee cup she’d carried upstairs that morning was sitting on the end table, and her nightshirt was thrown on the end of the bed. If there was a doubt that she was Colton’s girlfriend, it would be erased as soon as Cynthia could whisper about what she’d seen.
“Sorry about the mess. I guess Sally didn’t get around to this room with all the excitement,” Laura said.
“I’m not seeing a mess. I’m seeing a gorgeous master suite. Thank you for choosing me, Laura. I’ve always wanted to see this room,” Cynthia said with a sigh.
Laura was really starting to like Cynthia. Roxie had put Cynthia and the preacher together for the games as a joke and it backfired. Now that they’d seen they were good together, they might end up with each other. What a tangled-up affair!
Laura threw herself down on the sofa, kicked her boots off, and propped her feet on the coffee table. Janet was crazy for thinking she’d run a scam on Maudie and Colton. She could barely keep up with the scam the family was running on the whole world. She damn sure didn’t have time to set another pot to boiling on the back burner.
In a few minutes, Cynthia came out of the bathroom wearing a long white robe and a white towel around her head. “I feel like a brand-new woman. I’m not an outdoorsy type but neither is Roger. Do you think he meant that about choosing me next year?”
“Oh, yeah, I do,” Laura said.
Preachers weren’t allowed to lie so she wasn’t even stretching the truth.
***
“Waiting on a woman,” Andy said.
“According to Brad Paisley’s song by that name, it ain’t a bad thing to be doin’,” Rusty said.
Roger leaned on the banister. “God put woman on earth to be a helpmeet and to teach a man patience.”
“I thought it was to teach a man to run very fast.” Rusty chuckled.
One by one they came down the stairs, Cynthia first in a cute little sundress and high-heeled shoes. Roger crooked his arm and she looped hers through it.
“You are stunning, Cynthia,” Roger said.
Cynthia beamed.
A couple of minutes later Darcy appeared in jeans, boots, and an army green blouse with ruffles that matched her eyes. Andy followed Roger’s lead.
“You look very nice tonight, ma’am.”
“Well, every single one of you cowboys look sexy as the devil.”
Several cowboy hats tipped in her direction. Shoulders squared up and stomachs sucked in.
Like a gentleman, Rusty was complimentary to Janet—even though he’d told Colton earlier that she was nothing like her sister and not to be getting any ideas about playing matchmaker between the two of them. Besides, he was too old to be thinking about settling down and Janet was too young even if he was.
Colton and Dillon were the last two men standing when Roxie floated down in a cute little pink sundress and matching cowboy boots. Her hair had been styled just like Laura’s had been for the Dallas party.
“Feel a little bit like you just fell off a four-wheeler and ate a mouth full of dirt?” Colton whispered.
Dillon nodded. “Yes, sir, I do.”
That left Colton as the last man standing. He looked at his watch at least fifty times in the next five minutes and then there she was. When he looked up she was staring right into his eyes and as the distance closed the heat built from a tiny flame into a Texas wildfire.
“My God, you are beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you, but I think that’s a line from an old movie.” She smiled.
“Don’t make it any less true. I want to kiss you but I’m afraid I’ll mess something up.”
“Can’t have your cake and eat it too, but I can.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.
In that moment, Colton Nelson realized that he did not want Laura to ever leave the ranch. Not in a month. Never, ever! He might not be willing to give up his heart but he sure didn’t want to live without her.
“You were awesome in that white dress, but darlin’, you take my breath away in this,” he said.
She smiled. “Thank you. Let’s forget the party and go to bed.”
He groaned. “Can I take a rain check on that? Granny would kill us both.”
“Yes, she would,” Maudie said from the dining room door. She was decked out in designer jeans, boots, and a bright red Western shirt.
High colored flooded Laura’s cheeks, making them almost as red as her dress and Maudie’s shirt. “I thought you’d already be at the party.”
“I’m going right now. I waited to give you these pearls to wear tonight. Now, y’all give me ten minutes and then you two will arrive and be introduced. Preacher Roger will say grace and dinner will begin with y’all going first. The band will set up while we are eating and you’ll have your first dance right after you eat. You have the ring in your pocket, right?” Maudie looked at Colton.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Laura could still feel a burn in her cheeks.
“And Laura, I’m glad that you’d give up a party to go to bed with my grandson. See y’all later.”
***
Laura’s hands trembled as she and Colton made their grand appearance. Maudie held the microphone and settled the noise in the barn by tapping on the end.
“Colton and Laura have arrived. We are going to ask Preacher Roger to say grace and then they will start the buffet line. Anyone who hasn’t met Laura, please feel free to stop and chat with them anytime.” She handed the microphone off to the preacher.
All those games must’ve worked up his appetite because the prayer was brief.
When Laura opened her eyes, Maudie was standing right beside her.
“I’ll be right behind you. We want everyone to see a united front from the family in supporting Colton and your relationship,” she whispered.
“I feel like a traitor,” Laura said.
Maudie patted her arm. “Honey, he’s happy right now. No one is causing havoc in his life and for the first time since he got rich he’s not stressed out over just going to town to get a tractor part.”
“Did you know that Cynthia likes him?” Laura asked.
“Everyone knows that and we all know that she’d never live on a ranch. She might break a nail,” Maudie whispered.
Laura and Colton were both seated and had begun to eat when she noticed the place card right beside her and felt guilty. Movement to her right caused Laura to look up. A waiter seated Janet. She unfolded an oversized white napkin and laid it across her lap.
“I thought you were wearing jeans,” she whispered.
“So did I but Maudie thought I should wear the dress.”
“You listen to her and you’ve only known her a few weeks, but you won’t listen to me and we’ve stuck together our whole lives?” Janet smiled at Darcy who sat down right beside her.
“She gives me good advice,” Laura said.
Darcy leaned backwards and stretched her hand out to touch Janet’s shoulder. “This is amazing. The day was so much fun. Andy was a hoot. He’s got a tremendous sense of humor and reminds me of my younger brother. And now this dinner and the dance. I’m so glad I moved to Ambrose but what I really want the scoop on is that foreman, Rusty. He’s more my age and he’s a fine-looking cowboy.”
Laura smiled sweetly. “Well, darlin’, you just come on out here sometime to talk flowers and I’ll be sure to get you some time with him.”
Janet poked her with an elbow. “What’s on for tomorrow?”
“We sleep as late as we want. Breakfast will be served on the buffet in the dining room just like today. And then we are having a picnic dinner at the pool.”
“Where is the pool? I didn’t see a swimming pool!” Janet said.
“It’s a surprise. And we do have a gym, so eat all you want. You can exercise, spend some time in the sauna, and then the pool if you are really energetic,” Laura answered.
“I bet I can get one of these cowboys to take me home with him tonight,” Janet whispered.
“I’m not betting against that. I’d lose for sure. You look amazing, sis.” Laura hugged her. “And I was proud of you in the games.”
“I let the preacher win,” Janet whispered. “Rusty and I could have nailed it but I deliberately let her win. She looked like she needed it.”
“Really?” Laura’s eyebrows drew together.
“Hell, no!” Janet giggled.
Laura air slapped Janet’s arm. “You are a rat from hell.”
“And you love me, right?”
“Of course I love you.”
“And you’d do anything for me, right?”
Laura had her mouth open to say that she would but clamped it shut. “Not this time.”
“You ain’t no fun anymore.” Janet pouted.
“I disagree,” Darcy said. “She’s great.”
Roger and Cynthia were all smiles when they sat down across from Colton and Laura. Roger didn’t look a thing like he did the first time Laura met him with a do-rag tied around his forehead, but he sure didn’t look like he did on Sunday morning either. He wore jeans—loose fitting instead of cowboy tight—a plaid shirt, buttons not snaps, and cowboy boots, square toes, not pointed. And he was flirting with Cynthia.
Preachers were allowed to do that, weren’t they? After all, they were human and the attention was absolutely making Cynthia glow.
“Congratulations again,” Colton said.
Roger touched Cynthia on the arm. “We never dreamed we’d win, did we?”
“I didn’t even dare hope for it. But Roger is very good at putting things together. We never have to hire repairmen for anything at the church,” Cynthia beamed.
Maudie sat down beside Colton. “No hurry, but when you two finish, the band will begin to play and you will dance.”
The band was set up on the stage and was just waiting for a signal to start the music. The whole barn buzzed with excitement and conversation. People came by the table to meet Laura and after the first three or four she stopped even trying to put names with faces. It was just impossible.
God was going to strike her stone-cold dead before the night was over. Ina Dean might be fooled, but the Almighty would not think telling such blatant lies and toying with the sanctity of love was one bit amusing.
“I’m getting really nervous about all this,” she leaned over and whispered under the ruse of kissing Colton on the cheek.
He shook his head. “If you’re going to string someone up, put the rope around Andy’s neck, not mine. He started it all by putting us together in church that Sunday morning.”
Andy should be banned to the desert to live in a tent with no electricity or even a generator for his computers for the rest of his life. Maybe with only one person to talk to the whole time and that would be Janet, or worse yet, Cynthia. It might be the only place in the world where Janet couldn’t gamble and Cynthia couldn’t worry about her looks.
Laura frowned.
“Something wrong?” the preacher asked.
“I’m just fighting with the devil’s voice in my head,” Laura answered.
“You do love me.” Janet hugged her.
“Not that much,” Laura whispered.
“You two sound like me and my sister. We can’t wait to get together and then all we do is bicker, then we cry when we have to be parted,” Cynthia said.
“And I always thought I wanted a sister,” Colton said.
Roxie piped up from the end of the table. “So did I but all I got was you and I didn’t even want a brother.”
Colton kissed Laura on the cheek. “I told you. I liked her better before she met you.”
“It’s time,” Maudie said when Laura swallowed her last bite of pecan pie. She raised a hand to the lead singer in the band and he took his place behind the microphone.