True-Blue Cowboy - Vicki Lewis Thompson Page 0,11
open doors. Nick hunched over the horse’s neck, the cream-colored mane slapping him in the face as they took that circuit at a breakneck pace.
The music cut off and he pulled up in a cloud of dust, breathing hard. Thor snorted and pranced with impatience, wanting another run. Nick murmured to the big palomino and stroked his sweat-darkened neck.
“What a thrilling entrance, Nick.” Ellie Mae turned toward him and blew him a kiss before facing the spectators again. “As the program states, Nick is offering twelve hours of manual labor, and you can see for yourselves he’s up to the job. Wooooee!”
Nick’s face heated but he didn’t duck his head. The Babes had emphasized during the rehearsal that hiding behind a hat was a no-no. Look them in the eye and smile. And he did, although his smile likely was more of a grimace.
“I have something else to tell you about Bachelor Number Three, intel I obtained from one of Nick’s best friends. He said, and I quote, you can count on this guy. He’ll be there for you, no matter what. With Nick Le Grande you get strength of body and strength of character. That’s a bargain at any price. What am I bid for this amazing cowboy?”
A woman called out a significant amount that made him blink in surprise. Eva? He spotted her blue hair and sure enough, she was on her feet. Then someone topped her bid. Sit down, Eva. Save your money.
Instead she bid over the other lady. One of the servers at the Moose upped the ante. Eva hung in, raising her bid. Nick looked straight at her and gave a slight shake of his head. She looked right back and smiled.
The first lady added more money to the pot and still Eva remained on her feet. The bidding kept on, going ever higher. A woman next to her, clearly a friend, grabbed her arm and tried to coax her back to her seat. She was having none of it.
The bidding became more spirited as the amount spiraled into the ridiculous zone. He should have talked her out of this when he’d had the chance. Maybe now she’d drop out.
Instead she doubled the previous bid. Sheesh.
As the other two took their seats, she did a fist pump and grinned in triumph. His heart squeezed. He would work himself to the bone for her tomorrow. Even so, his labor wasn’t worth a third of what she’d just spent.
“Nick.”
He glanced down as someone wiggled his stirrup.
Peggy gazed up at him, her expression sympathetic. “You need to dismount, cowboy,” she murmured.
“Yes, ma’am.” He swung down. “What should I—”
“I’ll take Thor. Pam will escort you to the Winners’ Circle.”
“Winners’ Circle?” He handed her the reins as Pam came toward him.
“Didn’t we tell you about that?”
“If you did, I spaced it.”
“We might have come up with the idea after we brainstormed with the Whine and Cheese Club. The Babes are escorting the bachelors to the Winners’ Circle and the Whine and Cheese ladies are doing the same with the winning bidders.”
“Where is it?”
“Behind the bleachers,” Pam said. “Come with me. Nice job, by the way.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He fell into step beside her.
“You showed up. And you delivered. We didn’t realize until the run-through that some of you guys were scared stiff.”
“Could you tell just now?”
“Nope. Your cheeks got a little pink ’cause you were embarrassed, but that was cute.”
“What’s supposed to happen in this Winners’ Circle?”
“You meet with your winning bidder, in your case, Eva. Deidre’s going up into the bleachers to escort her down.”
“So I see.” Deidre, a buxom woman with fiery red hair, was standing in the bleacher aisle waiting for Eva to make her way over.
“Have you met any of the Whine and Cheese ladies?”
“Yes, ma’am, at Seth’s wedding. Deidre’s a little crazy, but in a good way.”
“I couldn’t have said it better. Those women are aces in my book. We’ve already invited them to drive up for our next sleepover.”
“Heaven help us.”
“Hey, we’ll keep things circumspect.”
He chuckled. “Sure. Because you always do.”
“Nick Le Grande, how you talk.”
“Just telling it like it is. Those sleepovers are already wild.” Adrenaline continued to race through his system and joking around with her helped calm him down.
“Yeah, well, when you’re right, you’re right.”
“Will you give us some advance warning? Just so the Brotherhood will be standing by in case things get totally out of hand.”
“When have we ever had to call you boys to the rescue?”
“Let’s see… the