Something outside the main entrance catches Topper’s eye and he immediately starts herding us through two heavy knotty alder doors. “Uh, I think we should head in now. We’ll save Duke a seat.”
We get to our feet when the front doors swing open wide. A howl sounds, followed by the clink of spurs. Allie and Leo gasp. Rusty folds his arms across his chest, and Topper blows out a long breath. I cock my head and stare as Duke Faraday approaches us in a ridiculous cowboy costume.
And yes, there are rhinestones on it.
“Whoooo! Well, I’ll be, if this isn’t going to be the rootin’ tootinest bunch of guests I have ever seen!” Duke says in an exaggerated accent. “Being in your company tonight is as stimulating as the first lungful of fresh air to an old miner.”
Allie starts clapping and jumping up and down. “This is amazing. Is this like a performance you put on at dinner or something?”
“No,” Topper says.
Rhinestone Cowboy continues his one-man show, stomping around and twirling so the fringe catches air. My expression remains flat while I try to ignore his “hootin’ and hollerin’” as they say in the West.
I know what he’s doing.
I recognize his goal.
He wants to shock us, and it’s amusing watching him make a complete fool of himself. He flirts with everyone else near me, including ranch residents who are passing through the lobby. The funny thing is that everyone is eating it up. Everyone is giving him the attention he wants.
Everyone except me.
I casually sip my wine and glance up at the ceiling.
He stomps across the floor, stopping in front of me when it was clear I wasn’t going to look at him anymore. “How about you lovely Roxanne? Would you like me to show you how to ride a bull later?”
There are so many things I want to say at this moment, but I settle on, “Mr. Faraday … your fly is open.”
He snaps out of his act and quickly checks his crotch, finding that his fly is actually up. A thin smile wanders across my lips.
Rusty grins and extends his arm to me. “Ma’am, may I accompany you to dinner?”
“That would be delightful,” I say, taking his arm.
“Miss Allie?” Topper says, extending his arm to her.
“Yes, thank you! Great costume, Mr. Faraday!” she calls.
I glance over my shoulder before walking into the restaurant to see Duke wilt. I admit that I loved taking the wind out of his rhinestone-covered sails.
You’re going to have to work a lot harder to get under my skin, Duke Faraday.
pass the salt
ROXANNE
The Hearth,the dining room at the Emerald Lodge, lives up to its name—warm, inviting, and with just enough rustic details to make you forget how fancy it is. This place keeps surprising me, even if some of its residents are less pleasant than the décor.
Rusty pulls out my heavy wooden chair as we take our seats at a grand raw edge wooden table. He sits beside me at the head of the table, and Allie sits on my other side as Rhinestone Cowboy takes his seat across from me.
I’m thankful I’m seated next to Rusty Wheaton, who mentioned earlier he is Duke’s stepfather. We’re speaking about how the Faraday family acquired the ranch, and every once in a while, I catch Duke staring at me. A hot, invisible thread wraps around me when our eyes lock—his, a dangerous kind of blue, like flame behind frost. I take a long pull of my red wine in an attempt to get my body to relax. I’ve never had a man look at me the way he does. It’s something I can’t quite work out.
Maybe it lands somewhere between desire and loathing.
Loathing seems more fitting.
I turn my attention back to Rusty. “So uh, you were saying …”
“Oh, yes,” he says, wiping his mouth. “Ninety percent of the employees here are veterans. That was important to us since Duke, Topper, and I also served.”
