True-Blue Cowboy - Vicki Lewis Thompson Page 0,67
kissing stage.”
“If they haven’t been horizontal yet, they will be soon. Ben’s not going to let grass grow under his feet. He got exactly what he wanted out of this bachelor auction.”
“I’ll bet he’s not the only bachelor who’s happy with the outcome. That cute Nick Le Grande looked overjoyed to be taking you home Sunday night, Eva.”
She gulped. “Uh-huh.”
“He’s a strong-looking man, that’s for sure. Has he completed his twelve hours of manual labor, yet?”
“Um, more or less.” Her heart rate spiked. Technically he hadn’t given her twelve hours, but that didn’t matter anymore.
“Well, I hope it turned out well for you two. Like I said, he looked smitten on Sunday night.”
“Now that you mention it, he did.” Ed turned so the chair was facing Eva. “As Nick’s honorary auntie, I’ll put in a good word for him. He’s a sweetie.”
Eva took a steadying breath and concentrated on rinsing the shampoo out of Ellie Mae’s hair. “Yes, he is.”
“Reminds me of my first husband.”
Eva glanced at her in shock. “Your first husband? You’ve had more than one?”
“Three.”
“I’ve had four,” Ellie Mae said. “I win.”
“We’re not done yet, Ellie Mae.” She gave Eva a smile. “You never know what tomorrow will bring, right?”
“Right.” Ed had been married three times? Ellie Mae, four?
Ed gazed at her. “You look quite taken aback. I admit three is a lot of husbands, but it’s not in Elizabeth Taylor territory.”
“No, I just… for some reason I thought you’d been single all your life like my Aunt Sally.”
“She never married?”
“Never wanted to.”
“Boy, I did. I adored being married to my first love, who unfortunately died in his thirties.”
“That’s so sad!”
“It was, and instead of letting myself grieve, I rushed into the next one. I wasn’t picky about number three, either. I had to ditch him, too. Whoever ends up with Nick won’t be ditching him, though. He’s a keeper.”
“I’m sure he is.” She squeezed the water out of Ellie Mae’s hair and wrapped a towel around her head. “As for me, I’ve decided against getting married. I’m like my aunt. I prefer my independence.”
“Independence is good,” Ellie Mae said. “I’ve always maintained mine, whether I’m married or not.”
“Same here.” Ed nodded. “Establishing your independence has nothing to do with being married.”
“That’s the truth,” Ellie Mae said. “Stay away from the mean ones and the know-it-alls. Maintain your earning power. Take the kind and considerate ones like Nick. Be your own independent self, and you’ll be fine.”
It sounded so simple. It wasn’t. Not for her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nick wasn’t a designated driver and hard apple cider was working for him tonight. Just because he’d figured out why Eva was so frightened about getting married and having kids didn’t mean he had answers.
In the Brotherhood’s opinion, he needed to simply convince Eva she could never be a negligent parent. Not workable. Sure as the world, she’d dig in her heels if he tried that. But he had no other ideas. The cider took the edge off his frustration, so he indulged.
When the band played tunes for couples, only Leo and Garrett sought out partners. Nick stayed in the booth with the other guys and watched Henri and Ben slow dancing like newlyweds.
“It’s weird,” Matt said, “but in a nice way.”
“She used to dance like that with Charley.” Jake sipped his drink.
“Yeah.” CJ exhaled. “That’s the weird part. But you know what? Charley would have wanted her to find someone. He’d be cool with this.”
“He liked Ben,” Rafe said. “If he could have picked someone for Henri, it would be Ben.”
Nick polished off his fifth bottle of cider. “Think they’ll get married?” Marriage. His topic de jour.
“Don’t know.” Rafe gazed out at the dance floor. “But if they do, it’ll be a helluva party.”
The slow tune ended and the band announced Boot Scootin’ Boogie.
Nick glanced at his brothers. “Let’s do this.”
“Hell, yeah, let’s do this.” Matt put down his bottle. “We’ll bust some Brotherhood moves.”
They grabbed Leo and Garrett, lined up together and proceeded to show off. Nick threw himself into it. Dancing drunk was fun. Hadn’t done it in a while. He was loose. And he had this number down cold.
The message was passed along from Matt’s end—Babes in the house. Henri was already here, but the others must have arrived. Whenever the Babes showed up at the Moose, the Brotherhood swung into action, but that didn’t mean dropping out of a line dance. Nick kept going, adding flourishes whenever possible.
A flash of blue hair made him miss a step.