He drops the act when he says in a crisp business tone, “That’s right. This is just the place to start if I want to write the best story Texas has ever heard. And I will.” He flips back to his fanboy side then with a quick smile. “It’s my dream to cover this mystery.”
“Isn’t that fabulous?” Mama points to the Darcy Legend placard housed in the glass stand behind the bar. “If you’d like, you can read this: it’s a great summary of the legend. And though it’s not available to the public, we currently are holding the diary of…”
“Mrs. Vivian Elmstock Haskins,” Skip says breathlessly. “The perfect villain counterpart to our heroine, Ms. Jane Austen.”
“My Godfree.” Mama rests her hand on his arm, and I cringe as I watch her rev up her flirting routine with this newfound co-conspirator. “I’m not used to someone else being so well-informed. A lot of people around here don’t appreciate the legend, you know. I’ve been collecting information and clues about it since Macey was a little girl.”
“Your mother was telling me about the Make Your Match contest,” Skip says to me as he tilts his head in Mama’s direction.
“It’s more than a contest.” Mama’s hand appears to be permanently glued to Skip’s bicep.
“Mama, please.”
“What?” Mama says to me. “It’s about finding your love match, your Mr. Darcy or Eliza Bennet in real life, and not just in a romance novel. That’s why everyone in Darcy cares about the legend.”
“You mean they care about the tourist dollars the Jane Austen legend has brought to our town,” I say.
“Semantics.” Mama waves her hand. “But there is no denying our livelihood comes from the very bar Jane’s ghost frequents. I prefer to say frequents instead of haunts—I think it’s more respectful. Ghosts are living beings after all.”
Skip tips his dust-free, clearly never-been-used-before cowboy hat at me. “My colleague, Jon, and I…” He gestures to the eager young man to his left. “We understand you know several of the contestants quite well. Mr. Logan Wild, in particular, has been mentioned as being therealMr. Darcy.”
“The contest hasn’t been decided yet or it wouldn’t be a contest,” I say. “My friend, Ginny, and her fiancé, Dave, are actually the local favorites.”
Skip cocks his head. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Well, even so, we’d be honored to get an interview with Mr. Wild.”
“He’s not here and I don’t know where he is. You’ll have to go to Wild Ranch to find him.”
“Okay,” Skip says smoothly. “But while I’m here, Ms. Henwood, I have a special request for you.”
“Macey,” I say.
“Macey,” he repeats. “With theDarcy Gazette’sSpecial Edition coming out this summer and my contributions being published in the reputableDallas Sun, I’d be beyond thrilled to get a photograph of you and a few comments for our special persons page. You know, as the Lady on the Inside.”
“On the inside?”
“The inside of The Cowherd, the place where it will all take place,” Skip clarifies.
Jon turns his camera on me and starts snapping away.
“I don’t think so. I’m not the right woman for any interview.”
“I think you’re the perfect woman,” Skip says. “Your mama told me how much like Jane Austen you are—your dreams of being a novelist and your steadfast plan to stay independent and never marry. Well…” He raises one eyebrow. “To never marry again.”
I whip my head over to Mama. “How many details did you give him?”
“Not too many,” she says. She turns to Skip. “Wild Ranch is right across the way. Best to get going now.”
Skip tips his hat at me again. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon, Macey.”
Chapter Fourteen
I wait until Skip and Jon have left the saloon before I turn to my mother. “Please don’t invite any more reporters into the bar without telling me first. And don’t tell them Logan and I were married, for goodness sakes.”
“He would have found that out anyway. You know this town can’t keep a secret.” She beams. “On another note, your parents are back together, baby.”
