The entire house smelled like Laura’s lasagna and garlic bread and my stomach was growling in anticipation. I wasn’t the only one. Cal slapped his hand over his stomach and grinned when Brian laughed.
“Did you skip lunch?” he asked him and Cal nodded.
“Brunch was so good the other day, I figured I needed to make sure I left enough room for dinner,” he confessed just as Laura leaned into the room to say everything was ready.
“Well, you’re in luck. I made two trays and you’re welcome to take some of the leftovers back to the B&B,” she told him as we all stood.
“That’s assuming there will be leftovers,” Brian said, leading the way to the table.
We all took our seats. Once again, Cal was seated in Luke’s old chair, only this time, no one seemed to react. This was only his second time here and already he was fitting in. I wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Luke had been gone for four years. While Cal definitely looked like an older version of my husband, it was clear that when it came to personality, Cal was nothing like him. Cal was definitely his own person and as shocking as it’d been to see him that first time, I had toadmit to myself that I liked him. But was I prepared to do anything about it? I wasn’t so sure. There was a lot at risk if things didn’t work out. I didn’t want to see Henry get hurt if that happened. My son’s well-being was what mattered and I’d do whatever was necessary to make sure he didn’t get hurt.
FIFTEEN
CAL
Dinner had gone very well, judging by the happy smiles everyone had worn when they’d said goodbye. I’d been relieved to see the gifts that I’d brought go over so well. I’d been pretty sure the twins would like the beers and Henry would like the puzzle, but the flowers had been more of a gamble. I’d meant to only get them for Laura, but they were so pretty, I couldn’t resist getting a second bouquet for Amy. It’d been a surprise to see how surprised they were to get them. Apparently, neither of them were used to being brought flowers.
If I was with Amy, I’d make sure she always had flowers around to brighten her day. I knew from my own upbringing that it was often the small gestures that had the biggest impact.
“Almost there,” Amy said, pulling me out of my thoughts. She pointed to the communication tower in the distance. “Did you have a chance to go over the list of questions they might ask you?”
“I did. They’re all pretty standard for this kind of thing—for my part, anyway. But don’t be surprised if you get hit with some hardquestions about the planning,” I told her thinking back to that DJ who had caught Amy off guard with his attitude.
“I’m better prepared today,” she assured me. “Besides, I knew Lisa at USC. She wouldn’t dare speak to anyone like that man did.”
Lisa—who went by “Lisa in the Morning” on all her socials—and her show partner, Dave, had a popular morning show that aired from six to nine a.m. When Amy had reached out to her about covering the rodeo, she’d set us up to appear during the eight o’clock hour, which she said was their most popular time slot.
The guard waved us through the gate and we pulled into the VIP parking to see a young woman pacing back and forth, her lanyard swinging with each turn. “Looks like she’s waiting for us,” I said, pointing to her.
Amy looked at the clock on her dash and frowned. “We’re early.”
I chuckled. “I’ve done a fair amount of these over the years. When it comes to live TV, there’s no such thing as too early.” As we walked toward the woman, I raised my hand and waved. “Hey there, are you waiting for us?”
She looked relieved and ran toward us. She handed us both visitor badges and looked us up and down. “The show’s producer wants hair and makeup to take a look at you before you hit the set.” She frowned looking at me. “Don’t you normally wear a cowboy hat?”
“I do,” I assured her, lifting it up from where I’d been holding it.
She gave a brief nod and I could see a flash of approval. “Okay, let’s go.”
She took off at a trot and we both looked at each other. I placed my hat back on my head and tipped my brim toward Amy before gesturing for her to go first. “That one runs like a filly who just got bitin the ass by a bumblebee. If we don’t hurry up, she’ll reach the studio before we make it through the front door.”
Amy laughed and the tension she’d been wearing around her shoulders eased. We broke into a trot and reached the elevator where our guide—Nancy, according to her ID badge, even though she hadn’t bothered to share it—waited impatiently.
Nancy breezed us through hair and makeup and before we knew it, we were seated on the long couch in front of the cameras as the director cued the return from the ad break.
“In three, two, one.”
“We’re back!” Lisa said with a bright smile. “And I want to welcome Amy Thorne and Cal Pierce to the show. Amy is the assistant to the mayor of Poplar Springs. Some of you may be familiar with the town if you’ve ever gone to Buckman’s for their epic burgers and axe throwing.”
Lisa also mentioned the Bite and Brew and gushed about the food. I was thinking that a visit to Buckman’s might be a great way to blow off some steam when she started talking about what happened to the community center. As she talked, a video played, showing drone footage of the initial devastation.
I turned my attention back to Lisa when she started talking about the rodeo fundraiser at the end of the month. “So, you thought a rodeo would be the best way to bring in the money to help with the rebuild?” Lisa asked Amy.
“Well, it wasn’t only me making that decision,” Amy said. “We actually ran a contest asking for ideas. A rodeo received the most votes.” She went on to explain the town’s hopes that the rodeo would also help draw tourists to the area. “This part of the state is incredibly beautiful and we’d love the opportunity to show it off even as we give the competitors a chance to demonstrate their skills.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Dave chimed in. “There’s so much to see in this area—and the rodeo is a great excuse for out-of-towners to come for a visit. There’s nothing like a rodeo to show the world what cowboys can do. Rodeos have always been a showcase for the skills needed by the people working on ranches, and the sport has grown over the years to include competitors from all over the world.” That was pretty much the same thing I’d said to that DJ and I found myself liking Dave, even if someone had done the research for him and told him what to say.
