True-Blue Cowboy - Vicki Lewis Thompson Page 0,10

guys had a hand on their horse’s muzzle to help keep them quiet. The idea was to maintain an element of surprise, at least until Ben charged through the back door.

Nick was the only one rocking a T-shirt, although it wasn’t the same one he’d worn today. Like everyone else, he’d brought a change of clothes and his shaving kit.

Teague, Ed’s wrangler, had a house on the property. He’d made it available so the guys could shower, shave and put on clean clothes.

Nick’s T-shirt choice had worried him some when the others had busted out their fancy shirts with embroidery on the yokes and collars. Too late to do anything about it, though.

The back door opened and Ed slipped through. “We’ve added a wrinkle to build suspense. For each entrance, we’ll start your music soft and the Whine and Cheese ladies will do a little dancing. Then Ellie Mae will call out your name, we’ll crank up the music and you’ll barrel through the doorway. Everybody got that?”

All the guys nodded.

“Ben, take Ranger out about ten yards so you’ll have a good head of steam when you burst on the scene. The rest of you follow his example when it’s your turn.” She glanced at her phone. “Two minutes. Then Josette and I will open the doors. Thanks for doing this.” She ducked back into the arena.

Nick gulped. Not long now. He was third in the lineup, better than first and preferable to last, Rafe’s position. He glanced over and gave Rafe a thumbs-up. The big guy responded in kind. He looked a little green around the gills, but maybe that was a trick of the light.

The opening to Ben’s chosen song, Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now? filtered out through the crack in the door. Then Ellie Mae Stockton’s voice rang out. “Give it up for the owner of the Choosy Moose, Ben Malone!”

Ed and Josette threw back the doors. With a whoop, Ben slapped Ranger on the rump with his hat. As the sound system belted out the tune, the powerful bay leaped forward and dashed through the doorway at a full gallop. The open door gave Nick a partial view as Ben circled the arena, standing in his stirrups, his hat lifted in salute to the cheering crowd, a huge grin on his face.

“Damn,” Rafe muttered from behind him. “He’s having a blast.”

“Maybe you will, too, bro.”

“Fat chance.”

The music cut off and Ben wheeled Ranger to face the bleachers while Ellie Mae talked him up. Then she started the bidding.

The pace was brisk and the amount kept climbing. Nick turned to Rafe, eyebrows lifted. “Don’t hear Henri.”

“Nope.”

Then she jumped in, her voice carrying over the rest. The amount she called out was huge, enough to bring a collective gasp from the onlookers.

“Going once.” Ellie Mae paused. “Going twice… sold to Henri Fox! Henri, go meet your bachelor in the Winners’ Circle.”

Leo chuckled. “Sure wish I could see Ben’s face right now.”

“I’m happy for him,” Nick said.

“And her,” Rafe said. “She really should give Ben a shot. They’d go good together.”

“Maybe now they’ll figure that out.” Nick’s tension eased some. Henri and Ben would make a good match. But his anxiety came roaring back when Ed and Josette signaled to Jared.

He mounted Shadow and guided the horse to the spot Ben had vacated. The intro to Alabama’s Mountain Music was easy to hear now that the doors stood open. Nick had a glimpse of the Whine and Cheese ladies doing a line dance.

Then Ellie Mae came on. “Make some noise for the owner of Logan’s Leather, Jared Logan!”

The music blared as Jared and Shadow bolted through the door. Putting the reins in his teeth, Jared lifted his hands over his head and clapped in time to the music. The crowd joined in, clearly having fun.

“The guy has skills,” Rafe muttered.

“Uh-huh.” Nick’s nerves were jangling and he didn’t catch much of what Ellie Mae said about Jared. Or much of the bidding, either. Heart thudding, he mounted up when Ed and Josette signaled to him.

His song was Stay a Little Longer by the Brothers Osborne, a tune chosen because it had a line about T-shirts. Seemed to take forever to position Thor at the starting line and even longer while the opening bars of the song played.

Ellie Mae’s voice nearly gave him a heart attack. “Let’s show some love to bachelor Nick La Grande!”

Nick dug his heels into Thor’s ribs and the palomino exploded, hurtling through the