Page 3 of Still A Cowboy
Delia just smiled, clearly enjoying every second of this. “Too late, honey. The legend’s already started working.” She gave Willa a look that was pure maternal authority layered in amusement. “Be a good hostess, Willa. Show Cal, the cowboy, to his apartment.”
Half the bar was still chanting, voices overlapping like a tipsy chorus. “Kiss the cowboy! Kiss the cowboy! Kiss the cowboy!”
Someone shoved a pint into Cal’s hand with awink. “For luck.”
Before he could take a sip, Willa snatched the glass from him with a sharp glare. “Don’t drink that.”
Cal blinked. “Why? Does the legend work after midnight?”
“No,” she said, gripping the pint as if it had personally offended her, “but if you drink a Mooncatcher, too, we’ll never hear the end of it. These people live for this kind of stuff.”
She handed the beer off to a passing server without looking and turned on her heel. “Come on. Stairs are this way,” she snarled.
Cal followed her toward the far end of the saloon, weaving between barstools and darting patrons. The building was old, its charm worn but sturdy. Weathered wood floors, mismatched nautical signs, and a mural of sea glass and stormy waves covering the wall near the back. The staircase tucked into the corner was narrow and curved, the wood creaking under their steps with every movement.
A faded rope handrail lined the wall, and the smell of salt air crept in through the old window on the landing. Halfway up, Cal could still hear the bar crowd chanting in bursts and laughter spilling across the floor.
“Take the cowboy to bed, Willa,” someone yelled. “Seal that soulmate deal tonight.”
Willa didn’t look back. Didn’t respond. Cal figured that was for the best.
At the top of the stairs, they stepped onto a narrow landing that smelled faintly of lemon oil and old wood. Willa glanced at his leg.
“Are you…all right?” she asked.
“I’m good.”
It was a big assed lie. A pulsing dull drumbeat spiked with some sharper mule kick jabs. He planned to take a double dose of pain meds the second he got his duffle open.
They walked down a short hall with slanted ceilings and scuffed baseboards. Willa pulled a key ring from her pocket, flipping through it as she walked. She made another glance at his leg so Cal decided to fill her in so she’d know he wasn’t in delicate health, just recouping and dealing with the pain of traveling.
“Charity fundraiser,” he said. “A bull ride that went sideways. Literally. Tore my ACL clean through. Had surgery, did the rehab, but it’s never been the same. Sometimes it locks up. Sometimes it just likes to remind me who’s in charge now.”
She stopped and turned toward him. “You’re an actual bull rider?”
“Used to be. Rodeo promoter more recently. The bull riding part was a bet.” He paused. “Why is being a cowboy or bull rider part of the soulmate legend too?”
Willa shook her head. “Not exactly. The legend just says strangers meet here under a full moon after a pint of Mooncatcher. That’s it.”
Cal followed her, his steps heavier now.
“In Wild Rose Point,” she continued, “we don’t get many strangers this time of year at midnight during a storm. It’s the kind of town where everyone’s known each other since kindergarten. The only time we see new faces is late spring, summer and early fall. Tourists.”
She stopped at a door at the end of the hall and unlocked it.
“So yeah,” she added, “a stranger showing up in late October? People are gonna talk.”
Cal let out a low breath. “Seems like they already are.”
She pushed the door open and stepped aside, waving him in. “It’s only just beginning.”
Cal stepped inside and took a quick look around. The apartment was small but clean, with a worn-in kind of charm. Hardwood floors, a leather armchair that had seen better days, and a little kitchenette tucked into the corner. The bed was neatly made, the quilt clearly handmade. Two large windows overlooked the street below, rain still streaking the glass, and he could just make out the glow of the saloon’s neon sign reflected in them.
Willa handed him a key, her fingers brushing his for the briefest second before she pulled away.
She sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about the attitude earlier. I just… you should know, this whole legend thing? It’s going to have the entire town playing matchmaker.”
Cal raised an eyebrow. “Because of the beer?”
