Page 42 of October’s Cowboy Beau

He lowered his phone before coming any closer. “No video, just one question.”

That helped. “Sure. Go ahead.”

He pulled a pen from behind his ear and flipped to a blank page of a small notebook. “What’s been your favorite part of the festival?”

I looked across the grounds. There were plenty of answers. The parade had gone well, and the wagon display had brought people over all day, including a few who remembered Granddad driving it.

Then I saw Caroline. She stood near the heritage tent talking to a vendor, one hand on her hip while the other held a radio. She laughed at something the woman said, then tucked loose hair behind her ear.

“The coordinator.”

The reporter blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yep.”

Across the grounds, Caroline was staring at me. The smile she gave me stayed in my head the rest of the afternoon.

I hung around until the festival finally closed for the night. The grounds had quieted enough that I could hear tents flapping in the wind. Vendors zipped their booths closed, and somebody shut off the music near the stage.

Tomorrow they’d do it all again. Then it would be over.

I found Caroline near the main entrance checking something on her tablet.

“Are you done for the day?”

She gave me a tired smile. “Yeah.”

I held out my hand. Caroline closed the tablet and took it. We walked toward the horse staging area, where the wagon sat under a portable light waiting for tomorrow. The temperature had dropped enough that our breath showed when the wind stopped.

Caroline leaned against the sideboard. “Today was good.”

“Yeah.”

“I only threatened Orville twice.”

“Only twice. That might be a record.”

“Probably.”

I stood in front of her, close enough to touch but not reaching for her yet. Tomorrow night the festival ended. Monday morning, according to everything Caroline had said since she came to Mustang Mountain, she would leave.

I’d been trying not to think about that, but it wasn’t working anymore.

“So you leave on Monday?”

Her expression changed. “Yeah.”

“What time?”

“I haven’t decided.”

That wasn’t like her. Caroline was a decision maker. She didn’t leave things hanging.

I put one hand on the wagon next to her, ready to make my move. “I want Monday.”

Her eyes met mine. “What?”

“I want Monday. I don’t mean another night because it’s late and you’re already at the ranch. I don’t want whatever this is only when you’ve got a reason to be here.” I looked at her. “I want to know what happens when the festival’s over and nobody needs anything from either of us.”