Crazy For the Cowboy (13 page)

“To offer them the job?”

“Right. Do you think either one of them would take it? Or better yet, both of them? They've had the same kind of guest ranch experience you have, and they know the area. I'd rather go for someone who's familiar with the town, the trails, and the wild horses.”

“They might consider it, but . . .” He hated to shoot her down, but he thought chances were slim either of those old boys would say yes.

“What's the problem?”

“You'll be asking them to give up a steady job for something that might or might not work out. If it doesn't work out, they might be able to get their old jobs back, but probably not. The ranch owner would have replaced them by then.”

“But it
will
work out. We just need to get it off the ground, and I have some thoughts about that. A few of the regulars from the Double J send me Christmas cards every year. I'll bet they'd book a trail ride for a chance to come back to this area for a few days.”

“It's a start. Be sure and tell Mac and Travis that. It might make a difference.”

“Okay, I will.” She pulled her phone out of her tote. “Anytime you're ready.”

“I have to look it up.” He got out his phone. “This stored phone number thing has spoiled me. I don't memorize phone numbers anymore.” He gave her both numbers.

She keyed them in and glanced up. “When's the best time to call them?”

“Now.”

She hesitated. “I suppose you're right. During the day they'll be working on the ranch and might not be able to answer.” She glanced around. “But I hate making phone calls in public places. It seems so rude. I'm going outside.”

“I'll go with you.”

“No, you won't. That's how we got in trouble last night. You sit right here while I go call them.”

He blinked. “That sounded suspiciously like an order.”

“It kind of was, Vince. Stay here, okay?”

He couldn't resist teasing her. “Afraid of me?”

She looked into his eyes. “In a word, yes.”

That stung. He wasn't the kind of man who pounced on women, and he resented the implication that he was. “I'm perfectly capable of walking outside with you and not making a move. And I want to know what they say.”

“I know you won't make a move.”

“Then we can both walk out there.” He pushed back his chair. “We'll leave our drinks here. Ike will understand that we're coming back. In fact, I can tell him that so he doesn't clear them away.”

“Please don't come outside with me.” She picked up her phone. “Hold the table.”

“For God's sake, this is Sadie's. I don't have to hold the damned table. Nobody's going to take it away from us.”

“Vince.”

“What?”

“The combination of you, me, and twilight is way too tempting for me. I'd appreciate it if you'd stay where you are so that I can make my phone calls without getting distracted.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

He grinned. A guy had to be happy when he learned that he was irresistible. “Well, all righty, then.”

CHAPTER 13

G
eorgie wasn't pleased that she'd had to spell it out for Vince, but facts were facts. Fortunately Vince should be leaving tomorrow. He wouldn't want to stick around and risk getting roped into the new project somehow. He'd made it clear that all he'd intended to offer was the idea, and she was immensely grateful.

She called Mac first. Of the two, she saw him as more of a leader and therefore better suited for the job.

He answered right away and sounded surprised to hear from her. And a little worried. “Is Vince okay?”

“He's fine.”

“And he's still there?”

“Yes, but he should be leaving soon. He gave me your phone number because I want to offer you a job.” She quickly explained Vince's idea and told him how much Ida was willing to pay for the first six months.

“Did you ask Vince?”

“I did. He doesn't want to.”

“Interesting. I would've thought he'd do it, especially considering it was his idea. Did you ask him why he doesn't want to?”

“No. I figured that was his business.” And she'd been so relieved that she really hadn't cared why. “Will you do it?”

Mac hesitated. “That's good money, but what if the whole thing falls apart after six months?”

“It won't. I have contact info for some of the regular guests at the Double J, and we have money for advertising. I'll set up a website. I'll . . .” She thought quickly. “I'll get my sister in Dallas to talk it up. She knows a lot of people there, people with money. It'll work, Mac. I know it will.”

“Maybe it will. I hope it does.” Mac sighed. “I'd love to help, Georgie, but I just bought a new truck and the payments are a chunk of my salary here. I can't take the chance on quitting this job for something that might not work out. I love what I do, and I'd hate to have to wait tables or work construction because no ranch was hiring.”

Georgie had no good response. It was a valid point and Vince had warned her that the lack of a guarantee could be a problem. “What about Travis? Do you think he'd take it?”

“You can ask him. He's right here.”

Travis came on the phone. “Hey, Georgie! What's this you're trying to talk Mac into?”

She went through her pitch again and tried to make it as appealing as possible. She mentioned that he'd probably get a free room at the hotel, although she had no idea if Steve and Myra would agree to that. She thought they might, though.

“I heard what Mac told you,” Travis said, “and my answer would be the same. I don't have a lot of savings, and if your deal went belly-up, I'm not sure if I'd be able to hire on back here, or anywhere. Like Mac said, jobs in our field aren't all that easy to come by.”

“I understand.” Georgie swallowed her disappointment. “I was so hoping we could find someone we already know, but I'm willing to take your recommendation if there's anyone else who would be interested in doing this.”

“Most cowboys I know are staying put. Mac and I had to scrounge after we were laid off at the Double J, and we were both finally able to get on here.”

“But will you ask around? Somebody might be excited about something a little different.”

“They might, but I can't figure why Vince isn't doing it. He's never been worried about where his next job is coming from and he's got the personality for it. He has a way of making greenhorns feel . . . I don't know . . . confident, I guess. He's popular with them.”

“I'm sure he is.” Georgie glanced through the window of the saloon and noticed that Ida was sitting at Vince's table. The two of them seemed to be having a jolly time. “He didn't say why he doesn't want the job.”

“I think you need to find out why. Maybe you can overcome his reasons, because he's your best bet.”

“You're probably right, but he sounded like his mind was made up. Will you keep my number handy in case you hear of anybody?”

“Sure thing. I wish you luck with it, Georgie.”

She thanked him and disconnected. Damn. Travis was right, but she didn't have to like it. If only he or Mac had taken the job! But they hadn't, and she couldn't blame them.

She believed this plan would work, but if it didn't, she and the town would be no worse off than before. Asking two cowboys to give up steady jobs they cherished to take a chance on an untried business venture wasn't fair. Vince, on the other hand, had no cherished job at the moment, so if this didn't work out, he'd be no worse off than before. In fact, he'd be better off because he would be well-paid for six months.

Yet he'd rejected the possibility. Much as she wished he'd leave and eliminate the temptation he presented, she had to get him to stay. But contrary to Ida's suggestion, she wouldn't use herself as bait. Just the opposite. If he agreed to accept the job, it would be with the understanding that nothing would go on between them.

Taking a deep breath, she walked back into Sadie's and over to the table where he and Ida were sharing a laugh. They both glanced over as she approached and Vince got up to pull out her chair.

“I adore this man,” Ida said to Georgie as Vince resumed his seat. “If I were fifty years younger, I'd make a play for him myself. I would've made a hell of a cougar at forty-five. But I was married to Mr. Harrington at the time, and he would have taken a dim view of me having a boy toy.” She sighed. “I always wondered what it would be like to rob the cradle.”

“Don't give up the dream, Ida,” Vince said. “Pick out a studly seventy-five-year-old.”

“That's an excellent idea, except there are no unmarried seventy-five-year-olds in Bickford. Isn't that right, Georgie?”

“That's right, although if we can get this new project going, that could change.”

Ida's eyes, already large behind her thick glasses, grew even larger. “You are so right! I hadn't thought of that. And don't use the
if
word, honey. Say
when
we get this new project going
.
The power of positive thinking is the only way to go.”

“I agree.” Georgie smiled brightly at Vince. “Does that mean Vince has agreed to be our trail boss?” Maybe Ida had done the work for her.

“He has not, much to my dismay. I even offered to increase his salary.”

Georgie decided to put him on the spot. “So why not, Vince? Seems like this is tailor-made for you. You know the area and you're an experienced wrangler who's logged a bunch of trail-ride hours with dudes and dudettes.”

Vince peered at her. “Mac and Travis turned you down, didn't they?”

“Yep, but they both said you were perfect for the job.”

“No, I'm not.” Vince took a swallow of his beer.

Ida clucked her tongue. “Of course you are. As Georgie pointed out, you have all the necessary qualifications and you're handsome as sin, besides.”

“I wouldn't say that.” He began to blush.

“You are so! You're the total package, the quintessential cowboy, complete with mile-wide shoulders, narrow hips, cute butt—”

“Come on, Ida. Stop it.” His blush deepened.

“Don't
come on, Ida
me. I'm ninety-five years old and that gives me the right to be politically incorrect. Besides, I'm right, aren't I, Georgie? Doesn't he have the cutest butt you've ever seen?”

Georgie took a quick gulp of her wine. “Since I hope we'll be working together, I'd rather not say. I don't want to be sued for sexual harassment.”

“See?” Ida glanced at Vince. “She does think so or she wouldn't have answered that way.”

“Hold on a minute,” Vince said. “You really want
me to take this job, Georgie? I thought that was the last thing in the world you wanted.”

“Is that why you said you wouldn't do it?” Maybe it was that simple.

“It wasn't the whole reason, but it was a contributing factor.”

Ida finished her wine. “I can sense you two will make more progress if I leave you alone.”

“That's not true.” And Georgie liked having her there as a chaperone. “Please stay.”

Vince pushed back his chair. “I'll get you another glass of wine, Ida.”

“No, I'm leaving.” She stood and looked directly at Georgie. “Whether you realize it or not, this cowboy likes you, and I fully believe that you're the one to talk him into this.”

“I'm not so sure, but I'll try.”

“No, no.” Ida wagged a finger at her. “There is no such thing as
try
. Mr. Harrington taught me that and he made a lot of money so he must have known a thing or two. Don't say you'll
try
to do something. Simply say you'll do it. And you will.”

“All right.” Georgie knew how much was riding on this for the town. “I'll do it.”

Once Ida walked away, Vince muttered under his breath. “No, you won't.”

“Look, I admit that at first I didn't want you to, but I've finally realized you're the only one who can.”

“It's not right for me, Georgie.”

“Why?” She looked into his eyes, which was always a dangerous proposition, but she had to figure out what was going on with him, and his eyes were extremely expressive.

At the moment they were filled with stubborn determination. “I don't want to be in charge of it.”

“Well, you wouldn't be, exactly. The council will be involved.”

“The way I look at it, I'd be indispensable, and I never want to be in a situation where I'm indispensable. Then I'm stuck there. I can't pack up and leave if I feel like it, because nobody can fill my shoes. I don't want that.”

“Oh.” She was beginning to get the picture. Only one fix occurred to her and it was risky. “Then how about this? I'll be your backup.”

He frowned. “How would that work?”

“I'm not sure yet. I'm figuring this out as I go along. But basically you'd keep me in the loop on everything, which would be a good idea, anyway. But I'll pay close attention, and we can take practice rides, maybe with Ed when he's available, so you can teach me everything you can about how to do this right.”

“You won't have time. You have the store.”

“I'll shorten the hours. People can adjust. They really don't need me to be open eight hours a day, but they're used to it so that's what I've done. They'll understand that shorter hours are for the good of the project. And I'll ask Anastasia to help out more.”

“But I'll still be in charge, and I don't want that.”

She shook her head. “No, I'll be in charge. You'll be helping me. Maybe you'll be more important in the beginning, but as soon as you teach me what I need to know, you'd be free to bail at any time if you get claustrophobic.”

“I don't know, Georgie.” He stared down at the table, and when he looked up at her, those blue eyes hadn't softened much. “It'd be better all the way around if I just didn't get involved.”

Desperate times called for desperate measures. “Vince, I'm begging you to take the job. We'll write up a contract with Frank's help that allows you to leave anytime you want. I'm just asking you to stay until I'm fully qualified to lead the rides.”

“A contract? Hell, no. I've never signed a contract in my life and I don't intend to start now.”

“Okay, no contract. A gentleman's agreement between you and me that you can take off whenever you want.”

His eyes twinkled briefly. “Georgie, you're no gentleman.”

“I realize that, but—”

“It's okay. Neither am I.”

She caught the gleam in his eye and looked away. “You'll have to be if this is going to work. We'll be business partners, in a way, and I refuse to complicate this with anything like . . .”

He lowered his voice. “Sex?”

“Yeah.” She took a shaky breath and lifted her gaze to his. “I want you to do this for the sake of the town, but I'm asking you to turn off the charm for my sake. Please. Can we have that understanding?”

He looked at her for a long time. “You have guts, Georgie Bickford.”

“I love this town.”

“I can see that. I don't understand it, but I respect it. I may well live to regret my decision, but I'll take the job. And I'll abide by your conditions.”

Triumph made her giddy. “Oh, Vince, thank you!”

“Don't thank me yet.” But judging from his smile, he was pleased with her reaction. “I haven't done anything.”

“You will, though, and it'll be awesome.” She couldn't stop grinning. She pictured the shops looking festive with new coats of paint, the hotel and Sadie's bustling with tourists, her sister's art going like hotcakes, and jobs being snatched up by those who'd reluctantly left town years ago.

“Just so we're clear that I'm only helping and you're in charge.”

“Absolutely.” She temporarily abandoned her fantasy and focused on him. “I'm a quick learner. You'll be amazed how fast I'll be qualified to take your place.”

“Sounds like now you're in a rush to shuffle me out.”

Huh? Was that regret she heard? “Only if that's what you want. From what you said, you want to minimize your commitment.”

“I do. I definitely do.” He finished his beer. “You know me. Always heading somewhere else.”

Now that was the Vince she recognized. “Then I'll plan accordingly. If the concept goes gangbusters, maybe I'll consider hiring someone to take over the store so I can do the trail rides full-time with no restrictions.” And then she'd have a safety net.

She rarely allowed herself to think about what could happen if her stepmother decided to sell the house and the store. It was too horrible to contemplate. But if she had the trail rides to fall back on, she could make a living here in Bickford. She might even find a way, with creative financing, to buy the house.