His hand wasn’t sweaty when he shook with her, and the chair didn’t groan. He looked downright sexy with his longish blond hair and green eyes. He would do just fine for a date or two. She had never been to a rodeo, so maybe this was her chance.
“I like to spend my weekends at rodeos, drinking beer, or dancing at a bar,” Hank said as he scrolled down to her name on the app. “I will spend five minutes with you, but I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to give you a yes. I want someone to party with me, have fun, and not get serious. No watching boring sunsets for this cowboy.”
“I understand. No hard feelings here.” Lula Ann nodded. “Sounds like you have an exciting life. I hope you find the right woman.”
“And I hope you find someone to match you, but even as pretty as you are, that’s not for me,” Hank said.
“I appreciate honesty,” Lula Ann said, “but please know that I was thinking about checking a yes.”
“Thanks for the vote, but I’ve got to ask.” He grinned. “Are you named after your grandmother or something?”
“I’m not sure who I’m named after. Maybe it was a joke, but do you have a problem with Lula Ann?” she answered as she scrolled through the thirty names to find his at the bottom.
“Kind of, but if you’d just be LuAnn, I might change my mind and teach you a few dance moves … or maybe some other things to make you forget about sunsets.” He flashed a brilliant smile.
“You might change your mind if you would sit on my porch and watch one with me?” She kept her cool even though she wanted to kick him under the table. “FYI, I don’t like beer—hate it, as a matter of fact—but I wouldn’t mind you having one while I drink a glass of wine.”
“Maybe in another life.” He grinned.
Hank stood up when the bell rang. “Nice meeting you. Too bad we couldn’t have matched up. I could have brought you out of your shell.”
She waved goodbye to him. A rodeo wasn’t important enough to spend an evening with him—no matter how sexy he was.
“Good luck,” she said, and watched him swagger over to another table.
She set theBe Back in Five Minutespaper sign on her table and made a hasty retreat to the ladies’ room, pulling out her phone to call Darlene. She could hear the buzz of conversations from the hotel restaurant as she went inside and leaned against the wall.
“Having fun yet? What is Gordy’s like?” Her friend’s face popped up on the screen, and then she sneezed twice.
If she had any doubt that Darlene was sick, it disappeared when she saw Darlene’s miserable expression. She almost felt sorry for her, but then she remembered Wilbur the plumber and Hank the egotistical cowboy.
“The speakeasy might be a fun place to visit, but I hate this speed-dating crap,” Holly growled.
“It beats sitting at home, doesn’t it?” Another sneeze followed by a bout of coughing and lots of tissues.
“Not by much,” Holly answered. “Please tell me that you haven’t got any more surprises like this up your sleeve.”
“Nope, I do not. My plan was that we would not set any alarms this whole week. All I wanted was a lazy week of catching up and relaxing. Spending time together was the main item on the agenda,” Darlene replied. “You are on your own after tonight, and you are welcome.”
“For what? I haven’t checked a single yes.”
“At least you had the opportunity to meet over a dozen men without having to spend more than five minutes with each one of them,” Darlene scolded her, “and you get to see what’s in the ocean.”
“Ocean?” Holly frowned.
“There’s lots of fishes in the sea.”
Holly finally laughed. “I’ve been catching and releasing.”
“You’ve still got time. One might come along yet.” Darlene almost smiled.
“Maybe, but it won’t be at this place,” Lula Ann said.
“Never say never,” Darlene told her and went into a coughing fit. “Got to go. Talking makes me cough worse. Call me later.”
“What I’d like to do is walk right out of here and go back to the house,” Holly whispered as she tucked the phone back into her purse.
Miles Chapman was used to being wined and dined, so the evening wasn’t anything new or exciting to him. Regina, the Realtor that he had been dealing with, had brought a woman with her to the dinner. Miles was pretty sure that the impromptu blind date had been told that he was a rich rancher, because he could practically see dollar signs flashing in the lady’s green eyes. He’d lost count of how many women he’d been out with in the past, and 99.9 percent of them had only been interested in the Chapman money. They would do anything to get a fist in the piggy bank. For once, Miles wished he could meet a woman who liked him for himself and not his family fortune. If she had long red hair and gorgeous blue eyes, that would be a bonus for sure.
