Page 7 of October’s Cowboy Beau

I folded my arms. He’d been mayor long enough to know when he’d wandered into something he should’ve stayed out of.

“Well,” he said carefully, “I may have said Beau would be here.”

“With his shirt on,” I added.

Caroline choked on her coffee.

Orville looked confused.

I decided he could stay that way.

Caroline coughed into her fist, then shot me a look that promised I’d pay for that comment later. I didn’t mind the idea.

“I’ll handle Mr. Jordan,” she told Orville.

I looked down at her. “Will you?”

Her eyes met mine. She looked both professional and determined. And underneath that, there was something warmer she’d been trying to hide ever since I’d laughed.

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate.

Caroline Fisher had been in Mustang Mountain less than a day, and she’d already decided I was a problem she intended to solve.

I should’ve corrected her but didn’t. I wanted to know what she’d try next.

CHAPTER 2

CAROLINE

My cheeks were still burning when I pushed through the front door of the Nelson Mercantile. It didn’t help that somewhere between the rodeo grounds and Main Street I’d quit being embarrassed and started wondering what the giant cowboy would’ve looked like if he’d peeled off that flannel like I’d asked him to.

The store smelled like coffee and cinnamon. Plaid throws and small white pumpkins filled the front window, giving the place a cozy fall feel without going overboard. Ruby glanced up from behind the counter. One look told me my day was about to take a turn for the worse.

“Whatever Aunt Linda told you, there are two sides to every story,” I said.

Ruby tucked a pencil behind her ear. “She called me at seven this morning.”

“That was before there even was a story.”

“Then this should be interesting.”

I headed for the counter in back where Ruby kept the coffee. She and my aunt Linda had been best friends since they met in middle school. They had the kind of bond that got stronger through the decades, and even though Aunt Linda moved away years ago, they still talked every day. When Ruby mentioned she was in over her head with the fall festival, Aunt Linda gave her my number.

For sure, I was grateful. I’d just be a little more grateful if the job didn’t come with Ruby’s reports back to my aunt.

“There was a minor misunderstanding at the rodeo grounds,” I said.

“Beau?”

I turned around. “Who told you?”

“No one. But you said misunderstanding instead of disaster. With Orville involved, that narrows it down.”

Unfortunately, that made sense. I added some pumpkin spice creamer to my coffee. “I thought Beau was the cowboy we hired for this morning’s promo shots. The model never showed.”

“And Beau was there.”

“With two enormous horses and an old wagon, looking very photogenic.” I took a slow sip of coffee. “That’s not even the worst part.”