Adam lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I think I reckon I’ll be here for a while now,” he said. “My contract with Country Quad is three years, and then we’ll renegotiate after that.”
Joey nodded, her chest suddenly tight with the mention of her father’s band. “And….” She let the word hang there, glancing over her shoulder to see where Louisa was in their coffee prep. One cup sat on the counter ready to go, and it looked too big to be her mint mocha latte.
“How do you feel about…?” She couldn’t seem to string more than two or three words together. She finally exhaled, boxed her shoulders, and looked him straight in the face. “I’m not saying we’re going to start dating or anything, but let’s say we do. What are we going to do about my dad?”
Adam blinked at her, his eyes widening a little bit. Then he leaned forward, and with his lips practically brushing against her cheek, he murmured, “I’ll follow your lead on that, Joey. We’ll do whatever you want.”
“Joey,” Louisa called, and Adam stepped back and turned away in one fluid movement. Joey had no idea what she wanted when it came to Adam Harmon, but it definitely involved buying a cowboy hat, going out with him again, getting to know him better, and telling her father about them…eventually.
CHAPTER
SIX
The moment Adam walked into the hat shop, he knew he was completely out of his league. He already held Joey’s hand, and now he squeezed it. “Good thing you came with me,” he said. “Look at all of these hats.”
She gave a light laugh, the sound of which would torture Adam in his quiet moments, make him smile, and long to see Joey again.
“How can I help you?” a man asked as he approached, and he seemed to be wearing the just-right hat for his face, shape, head, body, walk, and everything. The man looked from Adam to Joey, and his smile bloomed bigger. “Oh, howdy, Joelle.”
“Hi, Randall,” she said, and Adam would have to get used to the fact that she knew everyone—at least the shop owners.
“This man is going to be staying in town for a few years,” she said. “And he thought he needed to get himself a cowboy hat.” Joey grinned over to him, clearly enjoying herself. “I told him I’d come along for moral support.”
“Oh, is that what this was?” Adam smiled at her and stepped forward to shake Randall’s hand. “I’m Adam Harmon.”
“Oh, sure. You’re the new manager for Country Quad.” Randall grinned like this was great news. Surprise shot through Adam, and he’d really need to get used to how things worked in a small town. He’d been working with celebrities in cities for a long time now, running errands and managing personal affairs, so that they could stay home without getting mobbed. He’d grown up in small-town Tennessee, but it had been a long time since he’d been there—a lifetime, really.
“Well, what style are you looking for?” Randall asked, and he turned to face his shop. It was more like an alley, only about twenty feet wide, with hats stacked from floor to ceiling along both sides.
“He’s a band manager,” Joey said, thankfully, because Adam had no idea what he was looking for. “He needs a celebrity cowboy hat, Randall—something sophisticated and high-end.” She glanced over to Adam, her eyebrows raised. “Might cost him a little bit more, but people will notice.”
Adam gave her a slight nod, because, yes, he could afford something that cost a little bit more. He went with Randall toward the back of the shop, and about two-thirds of the way there, Randall stopped and indicated the hats at eye level.
“What color are you thinking?”
Adam looked at Joey again, but she simply gazed back at him. “It’s your hat, cowboy,” she said, and oh, Adam liked that flirtatious tone of her voice. He’d only interacted with Joey on a couple of previous occasions, and neither one of them was lighthearted or all that fun. This new side of her made him feel sparkly and alive in a way that Adam hadn’t felt in a while.
“I think black’s a little too dark for me,” he mused, taking in the array of cowboy hats again. “Maybe brown.” He looked at a cream hat and kind of reached toward it before pulling his hand back. “Do real people wear these?”
“Oh, sure,” Randall said, picking up the ivory-colored hat. “These are really popular for rodeos and what I call ‘cowboy wannabes’.”
Joey stifled a giggle and took a step away, feigning interest—Adam was sure—in a hat a few feet away. He could admit he was a cowboy wannabe, and he smiled broadly at Randall. “Well, that sounds like just what I need. I’m certainly no cowboy.”
“There are plenty of things around here that’ll cure that,” Randall said good-naturedly. “Guitar lessons, horseback riding. Heck, I know several ranchers who are looking for hired help.” He raised his eyebrows at Adam, and then shook his head. “Not that you’re looking for a job.”
“No, sir,” Adam said in his crisp manager voice. “But I definitely think I want a brown cowboy hat.”
“Well, we’ve got an array of browns.” Randall led him over another foot or two, and sure enough, brown was themost common color on Planet Earth, and Adam cataloged at least ten different shades in the few seconds it took him to look left and right and survey the cowboy hats.
He’d never felt so lost in his life. “How do you know which one is the right one?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t think you want a flat brim,” Randall said. “You’re not really wearing it to keep the sun off your shoulders. You’re trying to make a fashion statement.”
“That’s right,” Adam said, and in his mind, all he could think wascowboy wannabe fashion statement. What in the world was he doing here?
“I think this one,” Joey said, easing back to his side, lifting a deep brown hat from the rack. It wasn’t the darkest brown there was before the hats melded into blacks, but it definitely looked like good rich earth had been mixed with water, and this hat had been dipped in it for a while.
“That’s a nice one,” Randall said. “That’s our Cowboy Gentleman line, and it’s definitely on the higher end. It’s good, pliable beaver pelt. And this one—” He flipped it over and examined something on the inside. “Yep, it’s got a 50X. This is a real nice hat.” He grinned and turned it back over, and Adam tried to figure out if he liked it or not.
