Page 32 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

Jess put her arm around their mom’s shoulders. “It was a garter snake, so not venomous, and he’ll be okay.”

“He?”

Cassie drew in a long breath. And here it went. “Harrison Woods.”

“Who?”

God bless her mom. She was so domestically minded. Between running the house, helping Dad with the ranch bookwork, tending the vegetables then canning and preserving their produce, and attending Bible studies with her friends from church, she rarely had time to watch TV or movies unless it was for Franklin’s hockey games. That had changed a bit with Hannah’s sports reporting role on ESPN, so Mom knew more than she’d ever thought she’d know about sports because Hannah had reported on them. But Mom did love As The Heart Draws, and had especially loved Tanner’s role, so it would be interesting to see how she’d react once she realized one of her favorites had gone.

“He’s with the show,” Cassie admitted.

“What was he doing there?” Mom asked.

“An excellent question,” Cassie mumbled.

Jess swapped looks with Cassie. “He thought we were in trouble and came to help.”

“Then got bitten by a snake?”

There was another exchange of sister looks, where Cassie tried to communicate that in no way was Jess to mention Harrison had tried to help her out. There was no reason to give her mother the idea that Cassie had been in danger or that Harrison was in any way a hero.

“It was a garter snake, so he should be fine, unless he had an allergic reaction,” Jess said. “I’m kind of surprised at the bleeding though. I think he might’ve cut himself on a stick, too.”

“Oh my goodness!” Mom glanced at Cassie. “Will this affect the show? Was he important in it somehow?”

Cassie bit back a sigh, and avoided looking at her mom by washing strawberries at the oversized white ceramic farmhouse sink. “He should be fine. We’ll know more once Poppy calls.”

“But why is she taking him and not you if he’s connected to the show?”

Another good question. Did her baby sister like the man? Cassie shrugged. “Poppy wanted to.”

“Oh, I hope he’s okay.”

“In the meantime,” Cassie plastered on a smile, “we have guests waiting for drinks and food so we better go entertain them.”

She grabbed two platters of savory treats then returned to the living area. Much more of her mom’s interrogation and she’d soon crumple into unwanted tears.

The others were happily discussing their attire for next weekend, except for Hannah, who despite Bree’s pleas, refused to share details of her dress. Cassie and her mom and sisters had been there when Hannah and her mom had bought it, along with the pale pink bridesmaid numbers the three of them would be wearing.

Cassie cleared her throat. “So, here is a charcuterie board, with some of your favorite cheeses, Hannah. And a fruit platter to balance it out.”

Jess entered with a tiered plate full of sweet pastries, and old-fashioned treats like thumbprint cookies and meringues. “And sweets for the sweet.”

“This is beautiful!” Bree declared.

That meant a lot coming from the hospitality queen. “Now, we have punch over there.” Cassie pointed to the glass bowl set up on a table in the corner. “And if you feel like it needs a little something extra we have provisions so you can add it yourself.” Most of the girls didn’t drink, but Poppy had said some of Hannah’s colleagues might like the option. “And we’ll have hot tea ready soon, in case anyone wants that.”

She took two orders for tea, and returned to the kitchen, where her mom was on the phone.

Her mother glanced at her. “Okay, well, thanks for the update, honey. We’ll see you soon.” She ended the call. “That was Poppy. She said he’s been seen by a doctor and had medication and they’ll be here soon.”

She flicked on the kettle, her heart sinking. “They?”

Her mom nodded. “She’s bringing Harrison here.”

“Why? This is Hannah’s afternoon, and he’s already wrecked things by showing up completely uninvited at the creek.”

“I said it was the least we could do after he’d been hurt trying to save my daughter.” Mom’s eyes held sparks. “Why didn’t you say something?”

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