Page 5 of Ghosted Cowboy
And somewhere in the back of my mind, a question kept surfacing. One I didn't want to ask but couldn't ignore.
Would Rainey be there?
She'd loved theater in high school. Drama club, school plays, community productions. She'd drag me to every show, and I'd sit in those uncomfortable seats just to see her light up on stage. She'd been magic then.
Still was, probably.
I'd thought about her every day for five years. Wondered if she'd moved on, found someone else, built a life that didn't include the memory of me. Part of me hoped she had. The selfish part hoped she hadn't.
"What's the play about?" I asked.
"Murder mystery set in an Old West saloon. You play the gunslinger who gets killed and comes back as a ghost to haunt people." Mom's eyes gleamed. "Rainey Bell is playing the lead. The saloon girl who loved your character and can't move on after your death."
There it was.
My lungs forgot how to work. "Rainey's in it."
"Mmm-hmm." Mom didn't even try to hide her smile now. "Vivian said they have wonderful chemistry in their scenes together. The spirit and his lost love. Very romantic."
I should've known. Mom had always adored Rainey. Used to hint—not so subtly—about grandchildren and Sunday dinners and wasn't it time I settled down with a good woman. Then I'd left town without explanation, and Mom had stopped asking questions. But the way she was looking at me now...
"You did this on purpose," I said.
"I volunteered you for a role in a community theater production. What you do with that opportunity is entirely up to you." She turned toward the house, then paused. "I always liked that girl, you know."
She headed inside, leaving me alone with Dad and a fence line that suddenly seemed a lot less important than it had five minutes ago.
I drove the last post into the ground without answering my own questions. Because what could I say? That I'd left to help Aiden with something I'd promised never to talk about? That I'd made my brother a vow—no matter what it cost me? That by the time I could've reached out to Rainey, so much time had passed I didn't know how to bridge that gap?
That I'd been a coward?
THE MIDNIGHT SPRINGSCommunity Theater was the same as always—old, leaning slightly, wearing its age like a coat that didn't quite fit. I parked my truck in the gravel lot and sat there for a minute, hands on the wheel, trying to get my head straight.
My phone buzzed. Text from Aiden:How's it going back home?
I sent back:About what you'd expect.
Good luck, brother.
I pocketed the phone and headed inside.
The director met me in the lobby—a woman in her sixties with aggressively red hair and energy that filled a room. "Ransom Hollis! Oh, your mother was right, you're perfect!" She circled me like I was livestock at auction. "That height, those shoulders, that brooding quality. Yes, yes, this will work beautifully."
"Ma'am—"
"Vivian, please. We're all artists here." She gestured toward the auditorium. "Let me explain the production.Murder at Midnight Saloon—it's a murder mystery dinner play. Very interactive and immersive. Your character, Silas Black, is an arrogant gunslinger who gets himself shot in the opening act. Then you spend the rest of the show as a vengeful spirit, haunting the saloon and terrifying the guests."
"I don't have much acting experience," I said, which felt like an understatement considering I had zero acting experience.
"Oh, don't worry about that. You have maybe two actual lines. The rest is just standing in shadows looking menacing. We'll cover you in white makeup, black around the eyes, maybe some stage blood. You'll be magnificent." She patted my arm. "The important thing is your presence. The way you move. That intensity."
I wasn't sure if I should be flattered she thought I'd make a good-looking ghost or offended she thought I was so perfect for playing dead.
"The role opposite you is Evangeline Vale, the saloon girl who was in love with Silas. She's devastated by his death, refuses to move on, and is haunted by his ghost." Vivian's eyes gleamed. "Rainey Bell is playing Evangeline. Do you know Rainey?"
Air stuck in my lungs. "We've met."
"Wonderful! Then you'll have that natural chemistry. The spirit and his lost love—it's the heart of the whole piece." She checked her watch. "The cast should be arriving shortly. We're just blocking the séance scene tonight. Very atmospheric—candles, shadows, the whole theatrical experience."
