Page 5 of Eighteen Bowties and Counting

She opened her eyes and caught sight of a long board extending down the hallway. Bowties hung from it, and Charlotte glanced further into the cabin, expecting Beau to return at any moment.

When he didn’t, she took a couple of steps to look at the hanging neckwear. A label had been put above it, as well as a picture of a much younger Beau with a cheerful, smiling couple.

Squire and Kelly, the label read, and she took that to mean Beau was standing with the bride and groom—obviously Squire and Kelly.

“Smells like pizza out here.”

She spun toward the sound of Beau’s voice. He looked at the neat row of labeled bowties, didn’t comment on them, and indicated she should go into the kitchen ahead of him. Charlotte practically scurried away from the cowboy, because now he smelled like leather and citrus, soap and spicy cologne.

He followed her into the kitchen, and she wondered if he was dating anyone. If he wasn’t, would he ever be interested in someone like her? Someone who had never had a real job, had just barely graduated from college, and really could only get along with horses and family for any length of time.

She’d just have to hide all of that until she had this job and had impressed him with her equine knowledge and skills. Then, and only then, would she think about finding out if Beau had a girlfriend.

The cabin didn’t suggest he was married, and he didn’t wear any jewelry on his left hand either.

“So,” he said as he slid a tray of cooked pizza onto the stovetop. “Talk to me about being a Stable Manager.”

Charlotte had not anticipated such a statement, and her mind went blank. “That’s not even a question,” she said.

He grinned at her and opened a drawer. As he rifled through it to find something, he said, “I don’t have a set of questions. I want to know what you think being a Stable Manger is.”

“The Stable Manger manages the stable,” she said.

Beau chuckled and shook his head as he cut the pizza into triangles. “Walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

She finally allowed a smile to touch her face too. Charlotte was ready for this job. This interview. All of it. As Beau got out plates and started putting pizza slices on them, her phone chimed.

With Mason’s special ding-a-ling-zing!

Her heartbeat nearly fell out of her chest, and Charlotte’s vision turned white for a half-second. Then she lifted her phone to read his text.

Beau already called me? What’s going on?

Nothing, she tapped out quickly. A plate of food slid toward her on the counter, and she glanced at it long enough to make sure it wouldn’t fall to the floor. She needed to keep her heartbeat pumping and her stress level low, or she might pass out again.

Then she wouldn’t be able to blame her earlier episode on being hungry.

But Mason had just texted again. Three times.

Zing, zing, zing.

You better tell him about your heart condition.

Or I might have to.

I won’t lie if he asks me, Char. Just tell him, okay? It’ll be fine.

But she had no idea how to do that, and when he asked, “Everything okay?” she shoved her phone in her back pocket and pulled the barstool out.

“Yes,” she said. “Just telling Mace I messed up the time of the interview, and he says it’ll be fine.” She gave Beau her best smile, her heartbeat betraying her again by thumping and bumping when he returned it with a gorgeous grin of his own.

She couldn’t tell him. Could she?

The war continued silently inside her as she lifted her pizza to her mouth and took a big bite. She hadn’t eaten, and she certainly didn’t need to add hunger to the issues she currently had.

“So, tell me why you want this job,” Beau said between bites. “And what you’ve been doing up till now.”

In that moment, Charlotte realized no matter what job she applied for or where she went, she was going to have to disclose about her health. Why else would she have taken over a decade to graduate from college? Why else would she have lived with either her parents or her brother until she was well over thirty years old?

---