Page 33 of Home to the Cowboy's Arms

The ride in the limo was interesting. It was the first time she had ever ridden in one. Glancing at the man beside her, she noted he seemed to be quite at ease. He looked like a man accustomed to limo rides and then he could also look like a cowboy who loved his truck.Nice mixture.

The country club was on the outskirts of town, overlooking the lake that was formed when they placed a dam across the lower part of the river. Floor-to-ceiling windows gave a view of lights twinkling through the trees on the far shore. The private community was where the richer inhabitants had built their homes…the doctors and lawyers and rich tourists looking for that ‘little country place’ for vacations.

Their table was set in a private dining area with white linen, fine china, and candlelight. A long-stemmed red rose lay across her place setting. The waiter pushed in her chair once she had removed her coat and sat down.

A bottle of champagne was opened and sat chilling in a bucket next to the table. The waiter poured each of them a glass and then discreetly disappeared.

“Leslie has outdone herself. When she said a fine dining candlelight experience, she wasn’t kidding.”

“Too much for your taste?” Cade asked.

“It’s nice on very special occasions, I suppose. Otherwise, I could get just as excited with a picnic basket beside a pond. It really depends on the person you’re sharing it with… That’s what would make it special in my mind.”

“Duly noted.”

“Why are you smiling like that? Something funny in what I said?”

“I was just reflecting over the time I have known you and how many layers of Victoria Parker I have learned about. And they keep appearing. Which one is the definitive you? Are they all part of the real you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you the professional buttoned-up mayor? Or the Mardi Gras vixen in red? The woman who wears jeans and has great joy over a horseback ride? The woman who gives her all and her life to raise her siblings and still looks out for them?”

“You make me sound like a mystery. I’m not. I’m all of those when I need to be. If you ask which I enjoy the most? Then that’s easy. I love my family, and they come first always. If I could wear jeans every day in the mayor’s office, then I would. If being a vixen as you call it gets money for children in need, then bring on the feathers. I am justme. Nothing special.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard from you. Believe me, before I met you…when you were just this interloper who had come to town a few years ago and dared to run for mayor, I might have bought into that description you just gave. But now, I know better. Youarespecial, Victoria Parker. I guarantee that. And it’s time you had your eyes opened to the fact.” He raised his glass for a toast. She did the same.

“To you and all that you are.” His gaze matched the tone of his words, and she felt a surge from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Was it his look or was it the champagne?

“Do you have your dancing shoes on tonight?”

His question threw her for a moment. It was such a change of subject.

“I like to dance but I’m very rusty. It’s been a while.”

“Then let’s get you back in practice.” He stood and held out his hand.

The quintet had begun when they arrived and there were three or four couples already on the dance floor. He drew her hand in his and then swung her around to end up against his solid chest. Through a two-step, fox trot, salsa, waltz…they danced each one. He led and she followed. To her amazement, their steps matched without much thought. She had forgotten what fun it was to dance with a partner who enjoyed it as much as she did.

Finally, he led her back to the table. Menus appeared and they ordered. Another glass of champagne was poured.

“I’m thinking this might be my last glass,” she said. “I’m not used to it.”

He motioned to the waiter. “We’d like two glasses of iced tea, please. And you can keep those coming.”

The waiter smiled and left them.

“You didn’t have to order tea for yourself. I don’t mind being the lightweight around here.”

“I prefer a clear head myself.”

“You know a lot about me but what about you? Why don’t you still rodeo?”

“I have a ranch that needs me present. And rodeo is a younger man’s sport now. I have a drawer full of buckles and trophies on shelves. I also have quite a few bones patched together. And a crooked nose as you pointed out when we first met. It was fun during that first part of my life, but life on the road gets old and fast. And as my grandfather grew older, I realized that he had hopes that he could turn over the running of the ranch to me. I needed to learn all I could while I had him as my teacher.”

“All those buckle bunnies following you around and none of them managed to land you?”

“I’m not a choir boy. But none of them ever got as far as my heart. None that I couldn’t forget about their names the next day. Sorry if that answer was a bit rough. But I always was able to walk away without a backward thought. That had to be a sign, I figured.”

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