Can't Hurry Love (Sunshine Valley #1) - Melinda Curtis Page 0,10

front door open. She was thin and frail and made a really good pot of coffee. If she’d been fifty years younger, he might have considered marrying her.

“I’m sorry.” His mother didn’t sound apologetic. “Becky overheard me on the phone with Mims so I tried to make a joke of it.”

“I’ll get a good lawyer.” If not one of the Harpers, then someone in Greeley.

“Yes, but could you keep an open mind about Wendy?” His mom wasn’t going to let this go easily. “Jane has always been very determined once she makes up her mind.”

“I’m hanging up now.” Because his mother was starting to make sense.

Chapter Four

After his shift, Drew dropped Becky off at Mia Hampton’s house with her sleeping bag and a pizza and then arrived at Shaw’s Bar & Grill, hungry and tired.

Besides Lola’s bonfire, Gigi’s raccoon search, and checking on the Bodine boys at the mill, Drew had impounded a rooster named Marvin (no livestock allowed in city limits), settled a dispute at the retirement home (between two siblings vying for their father’s affection and bank account), and investigated reports of gunfire near the high school (traced to Bob Lumley’s backfiring ’57 Chevy). That was nearly triple the number of calls he responded to on an average day.

Drew blamed it on spring-thaw madness, which in Sunshine was like a full moon, only it lingered for weeks instead of one night. It was May, and suddenly the temps were creeping up to seventy. That change in temperature put folks on edge. By June, things would settle back to normal. Hopefully, Jane’s custody demand would disappear just as quickly.

Shaw’s had a big stage and a dance floor on one end, balanced on the other side by padded booths and large wooden tables around a well-used pool table. In the middle was a long, narrow bar with seats on both sides. There were license plates on the walls instead of photos or mirrors. Old saddles were mounted on the rafters. And on Saturday nights, the shells from free peanuts littered the floor. It was man-vana.

Drew settled in at the bar and ordered a beer, contemplating his options pertaining to Wendy. He’d told his staff he was showing up to make sure things at the auction didn’t get out of hand. It was one of the town’s favorite spectacles, resulting in more drunk and disorderly arrests than at the county fair. Last year, Paul Gregory had a few too many daiquiris with the date he’d won at auction, and boot-scootin’-boogied across the bar. Topless.

Drew studied the crowd. It was the typical auction mix of women dressed for date night and cleaned-up cowhands from ranches up and down the valley. He couldn’t spot a petite blonde, perhaps because there were so many cowboy hats. It seemed like every yahoo within a fifty-mile radius was sardined on the dance floor.

Noah Shaw slid a tall, frosty beer and a bowl of peanuts in front of Drew. His family had owned Shaw’s for three generations. The big man had never met a stranger, at least not one who paid their bar tab. “You bidding tonight?”

“I haven’t decided.” It wouldn’t hurt to test the waters with Wendy if she decided to participate. Drew took a sip of his beer and then started shelling peanuts.

“This is a first.” Noah leaned on the bar. “Which woman finally caught your eye?”

Before Drew could answer, Mims took the stage with all the command of a general in front of her troops. She’d traded in her hunting vest and boots in favor of a blue dress and white sandals. “Thank you all for showing up to the Date Night Auction to benefit the Sunshine Valley Boys & Girls Club. The bachelorettes for auction tonight—”

Hoots, whistles, and hollers erupted. The horde sounded like over-sugared, deep-voiced children who’d been told it was time to open Christmas presents.

“—will be available for prescreening for the next few minutes on and around the stage. Ladies, we’re still taking names if you want to join in on the fun.” Mims stared down at the crowd. “Gentlemen, as a reminder, bidding starts at one hundred dollars. This is a cash-only event. Any man who sets foot on the stage makes an immediate purchase. Winning bidders also pay for dinner and drinks afterward.”

Was he really thinking about bidding on Wendy? Drew shelled a peanut, shifting in his seat. His wallet was fatter than usual in his back pocket, considering he’d withdrawn $400 in cash from the ATM. If that