Page 9 of October’s Cowboy Beau

“Figured. You’ve got the same eyes.” He nodded and headed for the back of the store.

I watched him go. “How does he know who I am? I only got here yesterday.”

Ruby shrugged. “Wes knows everybody.”

“But I don’t know Wes.”

“You do now.”

Outside, a pickup had stopped in the middle of Main Street so the driver could talk to one of the guys on the ladders. Nobody behind him honked.

Most places I worked, nobody cared where I’d come from or where I was going next. I could spend three weeks running a big event, then get on a plane without anybody but my client knowing where I was headed. I liked it that way.

There was always an end date. That was part of the appeal. I pulled out my tablet and opened the festival dashboard.

The promo campaign had the tightest deadline. By the end of the week, I needed enough to make people want to drive to Mustang Mountain. I scrolled through the shot list: Main Street, the Mercantile, pumpkin painting, and musicians. Then I had Hank and Gus with Beau’s wagon. I’d drawn a star next to that one.

According to Orville’s notes, Beau had agreed to photos, video, the parade, demonstrations, and even wagon rides. But based on what Beau said, he’d only agreed to the parade. The demonstrations were a maybe, and everything else was a no.

I held Ruby’s gaze. “Do you know what Beau actually agreed to?”

“He said he’d do the parade. He’s done demonstrations at other events, so maybe Orville assumed.”

“I can’t build a promo campaign on assumptions. What about photos?”

Ruby peered at me over the tops of her glasses. “I’m not surprised he said no. He doesn’t care if people take pictures of the horses. He just doesn’t like being the center of attention.”

That fit what I’d seen. Beau hadn’t been shy with me. He’d looked me dead in the eye and said no until I ran out of numbers. He just didn’t want to be the thing people looked at. Why, though? A man who looked like that had to be used to it.

I pulled the tablet closer. “If he said no to pictures, then it’s no to pictures.”

The front door opened again, and Mayor Nelson walked in with a newspaper tucked under his arm.

He headed straight for our table. “Caroline. Perfect.”

Ruby picked up her coffee and leaned back in her chair to enjoy herself.

Orville stopped next to the table. “About this morning.”

“You told me Beau agreed to a photo shoot.”

“He agreed to bring the horses.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not the same thing.”

“No, but I figured once he was already there⁠—”

“Don’t do that again.”

His mouth closed.

I wasn’t mad. I’d worked with enough committees to know Orville probably hadn’t meant to set me up. He’d just gotten excited about an idea and skipped the part where he asked for explicit permission.

“I can plan around a no, and I can plan around a maybe,” I said. “But I can’t plan around your assumption of a yes that nobody ever gave.”

Orville rubbed the back of his neck. “Fair enough.”

I pushed a bit more, needing to solidify the rules moving forward. “From now on, confirmed has to mean the person agreed. Out loud.”