Page 21 of Snowed In With the Maverick
“Bye, Angela,” Andrea said. She watched as Angela crossed the foyer to greet JenniLynn, who’d dressed up in a nice navy-blue blazer for the occasion.
Andrea dug for the voter’s card she’d received in the mail a few weeks earlier, then approached the table and passed it to the volunteer.
The young woman scanned her license and checked her name off on the paper in front of her. “Here you go, Ms. Spence,” she said, then passed her a ballot and nodded toward the voter’s box. “You can make your selection there, then just pass it into the machine.”
Andrea clutched the paper in her hand and made her way into the voting booth.
Tenacity was her home now. And she was going to have her say.
When she rejoined Seth outside, his eyes underneath the brim of his Stetson were searching hers, as though he knew very well he’d said something that didn’t sit well with her. She had to do a better job managing herself.
“Hey,” she said. “I just cast my vote.”
He nodded. “Results are going to be announced at seven o’clock, on the front steps of Town Hall,” said Seth. “Are you planning on sticking around, or do you need to head home?” His words were careful, measured. Andrea relaxed. This wasn’t a man intent on controlling her. Still…
What she should do was go home and make a plan for the work she wanted to do for the rest of the week. But the idea of being there to celebrate if JenniLynn won felt right. And, if she was honest with herself, so did staying a little longer. Despite the quiet alarm bells ringing about the undeniable pull she felt toward Seth, it had been ages since she’d let herself enjoy a night like this.
“How about a drink?” said Seth. He gestured down the street in the direction of the Tenacity Social Club. “We should celebrate all the great feedback today. It’s because of you that people seem open to this idea.”
Andrea smiled and shook her head but felt a subtle glow from Seth’s compliment. “No way. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand. You’re good at making people feel reassured.” And he had a knack for making her feel lots of other ways too. She didn’t mention that she’d stumbled across a photo of him on the Taylor Beef website, or how she’d gone back to it more than once, just to admire the rugged allure of him commanding a herd on horseback in the open pasture.
“Either way,” he said, dipping his chin, his blue eyes alight with satisfaction, “I think this calls for a toast.”
“Alright,” said Andrea. “Let’s celebrate.”
They dropped the sign and the remaining information pamphlets off at Seth’s car, then descended the stairs into the Tenacity Social Club, which sat underneath the post office and barber shop. The din of the pinball machine sounded amid the chatter of locals perched on stools at the old wood-plank bar drinking draft beer and whiskeys and Coke. Beer signs on the wall cast the small space in a warm neon glow.
The floors were sticky and the whole place smelled a bit of stale beer. Andrea glanced sideways to see Seth’s reaction. Again, she was struck by the idea that it didn’t really seem like the kind of place he would frequent. She pictured him drinking somewhere where you could order a beer, but it would arrive on a tray with a specially shaped glass designed to “capture the head” and “promote the aroma”—the kinds of things that would get laughed out of town around here. A place with bar snacks like edamame and caviar with toast points, rather than the peanuts in shells in wicker baskets.
Then again, Seth was a rancher. She’d seen him so far in a perfectly cut suit as well as jeans and a flannel shirt, and he seemed fully comfortable in both, a fact that stirred something deep inside her.
He also seemed fully comfortable as he pulled out a chair for her at a two-seater high-top table. The gesture made her pause a moment before sitting.He’s not Harold.Being courteous didn’t make a man a chauvinist.
“You got the coffee. Drinks are on me,” Andrea said, turning to look at the draft list on the chalkboard by the bar.
“Alright,” Seth said, a twinkle in his clear blue eyes. “I’ll have what you’re having.” And just like that, Andrea knew Seth was really nothing like Harold, and she felt like if she wanted to order a strawberry cooler, or a cosmopolitan, or even a root beer float with a spear of gummy worms for garnish, he wouldn’t bat an eye. Not that those were on the menu here.
“Two pints of Big Sky,” Andrea called to the bartender, who gave her a quick nod before grabbing two clean pint glasses and taking them to the taps. “Do you come here often?”
Seth shook his head. “I’ve been here a couple of times. This is actually where my brother met his boyfriend, Mike. He bartends here part-time. You?”
“Not yet,” said Andrea. “But I heard there’s live music here.”
“We should come listen to it sometime,” Seth said. “Or,” he continued, “we can go to the Holiday Hoedown together on Friday night.”
Andrea had been planning to attend the event on her own, but just because she was comfortable being solo at a social event didn’t mean she had to live a solitary life in Tenacity forever. What harm would one date with Seth Taylor do? After all, wasn’t this basically their second date, wrapped up in the guise of a business meeting?
“Sure,” she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “I’d like that.”
Seth’s gaze deepened with satisfaction, and he raised his pint glass in a quiet toast. “So, Friday night?”
Friday night was days away. Plenty of time to change her mind once the spell of his presence wore off and she was back to her usual routine. Still, in that moment, with the warm hum of the bar surrounding them, she picked up her glass and clinked it against his. “Friday night,” she agreed.
They drank their beer and talked about the dino park and the election, till Seth looked at his watch. “Only a few minutes until the announcement,” he said. “Shall we?”
Andrea paid the bill this time with no interference from Seth, which she appreciated, and they made their way back to the Town Hall, where many of Tenacity’s residents were congregated, all bundled up with an air of expectation hanging over them. Everyone was assembled in front of an empty stage where a microphone was set up on a podium bearing the Town of Tenacity logo, as well as some red, white and blue bunting lining the platform.
“Let’s go stand over there,” Andrea said, pointing to an empty space with a good view. Seth followed her through the crowd, his hand on the small of her hip. Through the wool of her coat separated them, she couldn’t help but feel the warmth of his touch, as if it were pressed directly against her skin.
