Page 46 of Ride Me Cowboy

It won’t be long before Randy wants to close up.

“This place is great,” she says on a sigh. “I really like it.”

“I bet it’s different to where you usually spend time.”

“You could say that.”

I wonder about her life in New York for about the millionth time. What her husband was like, what their life was like. What she liked to do back home. If she’s missing it. I know for sure she must be missing him. Losing your husband’s not the sort of thing you just get over.

“Beth—,” Maybe she knows I’m going to say something about her grief. To try to get her to open up a bit, to understand that if she wants to talk, I’m here.

Because she cuts me off, before I can finish the sentence. “Do you wanna dance, Cowboy?”

I’m so surprised you could knock me over with a feather.

“I mean, that line dancing looked hard, but I think I can manage this.” She gestures to the dance floor, where people are shuffling around in pairs to a slow, country song.

The problem is, I don’t know ifIcan manage this. Dancing with Beth feels like playing with fire…and yet, a gentleman doesn’t say no to a lady. At least, this gentleman doesn’t. I stand up and hold out my hand. “Yes, ma’am.”

Her cheeks flush pink as she places hers in mine and I lead her away from the table. In the middle of the remaining people, we stop, and she hesitates a moment before lifting her hands and clasping them together, behind my neck. “Is this okay?”

She’s asking because she knows that I’m like a lit fuse. But I nod, anyway, and put my hands lightly on her hips.

“Mackenzie was telling me about her childhood,” she says, frowning a little.

I’d heard enough snippets to know that’s what they were discussing.

“I don’t know the details,” I say. “She doesn’t really tell us what it was like before she ran away. Or what it was like on the streets. But sometimes, when she’s feeling sweet, she tells us that we saved her life. I reckon it was pretty bad for her.”

Beth’s eyes lift to mine. “She told me she feels safe here.”

“That’s what my dad would have wanted.”

“He had a soft spot for her, huh?”

“He had a soft spot for strays, generally. But even then, Mack was special. Sometimes I think it’s because she reminded him of mom.”

“Are they alike?”

“Not like I remember my mom,” I say, quickly. “She was all lady, by the time we came along. But she was a runaway, too. Dad found her hiding out in the barn. Started feeding her, earning her trust, got her moved into the main house. She was fifteen—same age as Mack when she ran away.”

“Oh, wow. That’s so romantic.”

“I guess so.”

“So, your dad made your mom feel safe, too.”

“I guess he did, yeah.”

“Why did she run away?”

“Mom?”

She nods.

“Her mom remarried some guy who wasn’t very nice to her. That’s all I know. She decided anything would be better than that, so she got out.”

Beth stops dancing for a second, her features shifting to an expression I don’t recognize. I stare down at her. She’s so beautiful, but so enigmatic. Half the time, I’ve got no idea what she’s thinking, and I reckon that’s the way she wants it.

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