Page 24 of Cozy Cabin for Two
FOURTEEN
Honky-tonked
ASH
The Sapphire Saloonpulsed with music and laughter as Forest Grove’s popular Friday night escape. I hadn’t set foot in the honky-tonk in months, but tonight felt different. Willow had agreed to come, and half the ranch crew piled into trucks and showed up to blow off some steam.
Knox and Colt were already inside, sipping longnecks and talking shit near the dartboard. Ivy, Daisy, and Sage made their entrance in boots and denim, turning heads like they always did. The prettiest woman was Willow, taking the stool beside me, her hair in blonde waves down her back and a spark in her eye that I’d bet hadn’t been there in a long time.
“I can’t believe you brought me out tonight,” she laughed, sliding onto a stool next to me at the bar. “It’sbeen years. Happy hour drinks once or twice a year with some of the teachers I worked with doesn’t count. All we did was trade complaints about the working conditions at school.”
“So you didn’t date much or go out?”
“Heck no. Single parenthood is always work and Ro, after-school activities, homework and bedtime, and definitely no room for adult fun.”
“You deserve a night like this then,” I said simply, all too glad to hear she hadn’t dated around. “I’m driving and I’m buying. So what’ll you have? Beer? Shots?”
She eyed the rough wooden bar, squinting her nose at all the beer bottles and taps, until she finally spotted the special menu I pointed out. “Ooh, a pumpkin spiced martini sounds perfect.”
I chuckled at the city girl’s drink of choice, all dressed up like the hottest cowgirl around.
We got our drinks and joined up with Knox and Colt and the Wylde sisters. We all joked around and played some darts until about the third round of drinks, when the women loosened up enough to dance.
I didn’t need alcohol to get buzzed, when watching Willow shimmy and shake and line dance with the women did the trick.
The fact that other men watched her too, bothered me.
The band rocked, a college group out of Bozeman playing country covers. They kicked up the tempo and shouts rang up from the dance floor. Willow laughed and let Ivy spin her in a wide circle before they all fell into a boot-stomping rhythm.
I talked with Knox and Colt, sipping my tea from a mason jar, and tried not to smile like an idiot.
“Daisy keeps sending you sultry stares, Knox. Admit it, you two are secretly seeing each other, aren’t you?” I took a stab in the dark, but the way his head snapped to mine?
“Nah. You know Daisy doesn’t like me. She rolls her eyes at me a hundred times a day.” He shook his head.
“Doesn’t seem to stop you from trying.”
“What about you, Boss?” he diverted attention back to me.
“Yeah, Willow looks a lot happier than that first day off the bus.” Colt nodded toward her.
“She does,” I agreed, unable to stop watching her. Seeing her in that outfit, smiling ear to ear, so damn beautiful it made my chest beam with pride having her here with me tonight.
Knox leaned closer. “So, is she still just your brother’s widow? Or something more?”
I should ream him out for insinuating, but why when he was right? She was something more, and I didn’t answer right away. Couldn’t. That word—widow—still carried too much weight. Too much guilt. I rubbed the back of my neck, and then the music slowed.
A pale and tall but scrawny guy in a cowboy hat stepped toward her. By the brand of his jeans and shiny boots, I could tell he was an out of towner. Probably some rich fucker from a high-rise in New York coming in to trophy hunt with a guide in our local forests.
He offered Willow his hand and asked her to dance. Every part of me went rigid. I saw red and slammed my jar of tea on the table. Before I realized what was happening, I was off the stool. Knox and Colt followed without a word, like a wolf pack behind the alpha, moving in on prey.
I came nose to nose with the asshole, warning with a growl, “Don’t even think about it.”
The fake cowboy took one glance at our faces and backed away fast.
“Everything okay here?” Knox checked in with Willow since I still seethed.
“I had it under control.” Willow crossed her arms, side-eyeing me.
