Page 29 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
Then there was Taylor, a tall, skinny guy wearing a tight T-shirt and comfortable-looking cargo pants. He was an elementary school teacher, if Walker recalled correctly, and he’d spent his one-on-one introductory time with Walker the day before talking about how nice it was going to be to hang out with adults all day instead of dealing with little monsters. Walker got the impression Taylor didn’t much like his job and was probably hoping the prize money, if he stayed until the end, would help him out of a poor fitting career. Though he wasn’t sure how adult this group of guys were, if Antoine and Peter were any indication of the maturity level. Taylor might have been better off with his classroom full of children.
Then there were Nick and Davis, two blonds who seemed to have already bonded as friends. They were huddled next to each other, sipping coffee and whispering, and seemed to be hatching a plan of some sort, given the way they gestured and nodded toward other contestants and then shot considering glances at him. Walker remembered they were both doing some boring office jobs. He wanted to cut them both early. He didn’t have a good reason, other than the fact that he didn’t find them at all interesting. There wasn’t even an iota of desire to spend even an hour more of his precious time with either of those men.
“All right, producers,” Andy yelled as he slammed into the kitchen like a hurricane, wearing a white short jumpsuit and holding a spritzing bottle. “Groom your men, please. Plant some seeds for drama. Get this show on the road. Molly, take the reins, babe.” A vein began to throb in Walker’s temple.
Molly stepped forward into the crowded kitchen, her young freckled face looking shrewd in the morning light through the windows. “Everyone, listen up! If you have coffee, drink it, if you don’t have coffee yet, you’re out of luck because we’re leaving right now. Walker, pick someone to ride shotgun with you.”
The annoying blond guy called Peter appeared out of nowhere and slid under his arm. “Hi,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes at Walker. “Can I call shotgun?” Twelve pairs of eyes and just as many cameras regarded him. The silence was sudden and meaningful.
Not wanting to be rude, Walker said, “Yes, sir. Of course you can.” A lot of unhappy muttering erupted at that, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to get this day—this whole show—over with.
“Aw, you’re just the cutest,” Peter said from beneath Walker’s arm. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a matching hat and the most unsuitable shoes for farm life in Louisiana that Walker could possibly imagine. He’d be up to his knees in mud by the end of the day. Peter patted Walker’s chest, his hand lingering a little on his left pec.
“This way.” Walker took a step away and held out his hand like he wanted Peter to go ahead, but really he just wanted the man’s hands off him. Peter gave him a bright white smile.Sharks, Walker thought. Maybe John wasn’t so far off about them tearing him apart. He slammed his hat on his head.
The small row-crop tractor waited around the back of the barn to avoid messing up the driveway even more after last night’s storm. The show had managed to find a red hay ride wagon somewhere, the kind of thing he’d never use on a real farm, and put hay bales around the sides for the others to sit on. Small blankets were placed over the hay bales. To avoid scratching the contestants’ sensitive behinds, Walker figured. He snorted under his breath.
“Oh, how quaint,” Peter said, clapping his hands. Walker helped him up onto the passenger seat of the tractor and then went around the back so he could give everyone else a hand up. He got a lot of meaningful looks and squeezes, but he remained distant and polite. Only the big guy, Ben, clapped him on the shoulder and heaved himself in without taking his hand.
Roan accepted Walker’s help but kept his eyes on the step. “Thank you,” he muttered and moved away.
“One producer will be sitting with you in the back,” Molly called out as John hefted himself up into the wagon. “And there’s a camera hitched onto the front of the tractor too, but most of the filming will happen when we reach our destination. Try to look excited and awake when we get there people. We’ll be following behind in the cars.”
Speaking in third person, Andy called out, “Have fun, girls. While you’re out broiling, I’ll be staying behind to monitor from the air-conditioned safety of the control room.”
There were even more crew members today. They were crawling everywhere. And Kylie was there getting into one of the cars, too. No doubt to powder Luke’s shiny face between takes.
Down near the pasture, Luke plastered on his fake smile and began to talk to one of the cameras.
Since no one had told Walker he needed to wait for anything, he climbed into the driver’s seat, glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was standing up, and turned the key so that the tractor roared to life.
Crew members scattered, Luke’s face twisted into a grimace, and Walker pulled out from the front of the barn.
“This is so exciting!” Peter yelled at him. Walker gave him a polite smile and set off in the direction of the main house. Let the tour begin.
“There’s three Ialready want to send home right now,” Walker complained two days later to Tessa. They were standing at the kitchen window overlooking the brunch picnic that was happening under a temporary party tent in the backyard. His parents had been instructed to stay out of the way, and none of the contestants were allowed in the house. Marlon, Dennis, and Dad were out working the hayfields, and Walker had gotten up at three a.m. to check the cattle. He was already tired and it was barely ten.
“Anyone in particular you want to stay?” Tessa asked, innocently sipping from her coffee. He poured himself another cup and sighed. She went on, “I mean, look at that hunk over there. He’s awful gorgeous.”
“That’s Ben.” And yeah, he was gorgeous. And he was also the only one who hadn’t done any fawning over him yet, apart from Roan. Unfortunately, after the vomiting incident, Roan seemed to want to stay as far away from him as possible. Maybe that was his strategy? To be distant and cool? To make Walker want to chase after him? Or maybe he just didn’t want to draw any further attention to himself for fear of getting sent home.
“And what’s wrong with Ben?” Tessa asked.
“Nothing. Ben’s fine.”
“He sure is.”
Walker rolled his eyes. “I should get back out there. My producer wants to film me having private conversations with these people.” He air-quoted theprivate. “I don’t even know what to say to them.”
“Make them talk about themselves,” Tessa said. “Everyone loves to talk about themselves, especially the kind of folks who come on shows like this. And you’ll learn a lot about them from what they say.”
“Thanks, Tess.” He bent down to kiss her cheek. She smelled like cinnamon and apple pie, and he gave her an extra squeeze.
“Have fun, baby,” she told him and patted his back. “I’m serious, Walker. It’s really okay to have fun with this.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and then headed out the door.
The humidity had dissipated a little bit with the prior night’s storm, but the heat had already eradicated any kind of relief Walker felt when he’d checked his cows that morning. He tipped his hat at Victor when he walked up to the end of the table where Molly was talking to Luke.
