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  “Thanks, Tommy.” Leigh studied the list and immediately saw some serious problems. When someone dragged out the chair next to her and sat, she didn’t even bother to see who it was. She knew it was Jared.

  Refusing to let him distract her yet again, she looked at the crowd and shook her head. “Nope. This order for the parade isn’t going to work.”

  “But we like it,” said Patty. “We took a vote while you people were off doing whatever it was you did.”

  Leigh resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Instead she forced herself to say calmly, “No offense, but you’ve got the horses leading the parade.”

  Bud stepped forward. “That’s right. We figure since it’s Wild Westival, we should start the parade off with a Western theme.”

  She could hear the muted sound of Jared’s chuckle.

  “No offense, Leigh,” Mary said, “but if you’re going to wander off during the meeting, you really shouldn’t criticize the plans we develop.”

  Hey, she had not wandered off. She’d gone to find out what had happened to Tommy and Kate and Jared. If anything, she’d been on a rescue mission.

  “I don’t think she’s criticizing,” Jared said. “Just pointing out an obvious fact.”

  Leigh appreciated his support. “That’s right. If the horses go first, the rest of the parade will have a lot of dodging to do.”

  Steve Myerson leaned forward. According to the list, he planned on walking in the parade, towing his lazy dog Rufus in a wagon.

  Sheesh.

  “Isn’t there some way we can teach the horses not to do that?” Steve asked. “Then there wouldn’t be a problem.”

  This time, Leigh was the one who bit back a laugh. “Yeah, Kendrick. Just tell your horses to wait until they get home.”

  Jared looked at Steve and said, “Sorry. These horses aren’t housebroken.”

  The committee members did a lot of moaning and groaning, but eventually, once the band teacher, Annie Croft, said there was no way she and the marching band were following horses, the rest of the group went along with the change in plans.

  Over the next hour, they negotiated then counter-negotiated, then counter-counter-negotiated the order in which everyone would be in the parade. Finally, most people seemed happy until Annie Croft said, “I still think the band should go near the end rather than right at the beginning of the parade.”

  “The music might startle the horses,” Jared pointed out.

  “Couldn’t we work with them to get them used to it? I’d like the band to be the grand finale,” she persisted.

  Leigh shook her head. “Annie, it’s too risky.”

  “But think how exciting the finale would be if we could teach the horses to do tricks.” Annie waved one hand. “It would be a triumph.”

  Jared looked confused as he said, “These horses have been trained to do barrel racing and I have some cutting horses that can—”

  Annie shook her head. “No, no. What I want to know is, can they dance?”

  Jared made a choking sound. “You want my horses to dance?”

  Annie nodded. “A little. If they can. You know, maybe sway side-to-side. See, the band is considering playing the ‘Hokey Pokey,’ and I thought it would be cute if the horses followed us and danced to the song.”

  Leigh was unable to stop her mouth from dropping open, but at least no one noticed her, because Jared burst out laughing. Really long. And hard.

  At first, Leigh figured Annie was kidding. But the expression on the woman’s face made it clear she was perfectly serious.

  She truly wanted Jared’s horses to dance the “Hokey Pokey.”

  Looked like they still had a lot of negotiating left to do tonight.

  Chapter 5

  “Thanks a lot for changing your mind,” Steve said, pumping Jared’s hand. “I know my brother’s family is going to have a great time here.”

  Jared scuffed the ground with one boot heel. Glad to know someone was going to enjoy themselves because he sure as shooting wasn’t going to. He’d just agreed to host Steve’s brother and his family for a week. No, host was the wrong word. He was going to entertain them, like some kind of six-foot-tall amusement park.

  Now, not only did his students mostly consist of women who were more interested in coming on to him than in learning how to barrel race. They also consisted of dude ranchers, people who wanted to spend a week on a ranch so they could play cowboy.

  Looking downright gleeful, Steve climbed back into his purple minivan. “I really appreciate this, Jared. My brother is tickled pink.” Then, with a wide grin, he added, “And I don’t care what anyone says about you, you’re one heck of a guy.” With that as his final comment, Steve honked his horn, waved frantically out of the window and drove away like a big grape rolling down the driveway.

  “Dang,” Jared muttered. “You’re one sorry excuse for a businessman.” After Steve had disappeared, Jared headed up the porch steps to his house. This rodeo school was turning out to be just about everything else but a rodeo school. So far, his school was a combination dude ranch and ladies’ club.

  He dropped into one of the rocking chairs on his porch. But what choice did he have? Setting up a rodeo school took money. Lots of money. Money he didn’t have.

  He’d hoped students would sign up, and he could reinvest their tuitions into upgrading the school. Unfortunately, he’d discovered there were two types of rodeo school customers: the ones with money, who immediately signed up with the established schools, and the ones without two dimes, who immediately gravitated to him.

  He already had two guys, Stan and Dwayne, who were helping out in exchange for lessons. He didn’t need any more down-and-out students.

  He needed students with money. So at least for now, he’d work with the local ladies, even if they had about as much interest in learning to rope and ride as they did in splitting the atom. And he’d let Steve’s brother and his brood stay at the ranch, because at this point, money was money.

  Leaning back in his chair, he watched a truck pull in his driveway. The way his luck was going, this was probably some local dad wanting to know if Jared did pony rides for children’s birthday parties.

  But thankfully, once the truck got closer, he saw it was Chase Barrett. Good. Chase might not be a prospective student, but he also wasn’t about to ask Jared to teach him to “ride the pretty horsies.” No, if he had to guess, Jared would wager Chase was here on an official big brother mission. The Barrett brothers were probably hearing all sorts of things about him and Leigh. Knowing those three, they’d want some strong reassurance that his intentions toward their baby sister were honorable.

  No problem there. His intentions were honorable. Leigh’s, however, weren’t.

  “Hey,” Chase said, getting out of his truck and heading up the porch steps. “How’s it going?”

  “Good. What brings you here?”

  Chase sat in the chair next to Jared. “This and that.”

  Jared nodded. “Which you want to talk about first, this or that?”

  With a chuckle, Chase pulled off his Stetson. “Let’s start with this first.”

  “This being Leigh, right?”

  “You’re one smart fellow,” Chase said.

  Yeah, well, it didn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out the direction of this conversation. “What do you want to know about Leigh?”

  “For starters, mind running me through what happened at the reception? I know that dance floor was mighty crowded, and people got kinda squashed, but you and Leigh were the only ones who had trouble with their clothing.”

  “Noticed that, did you?”

  “Most of the town did since when the song ended, you two had to get dressed again. Then I understand things got kinda chummy with you and Leigh at the cafe a few nights ago.”

  When Chase took a breath, Jared added, “Plus things got a little dicey at the parade planning meeting.”

  Chase nodded. “That’s what folks are saying.”
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br />   “So what do all those ‘folks’ think is going on? Do they think I’m trying to seduce Leigh and lead her astray?”

  “I believe that’s the popular theory.”

  Man, this was amazing, but unfortunately, not very surprising. “Have any of these people actually met your sister? Do they honestly believe anyone could lead Leigh anywhere?”

  Chase laughed. “Yeah, I see what you mean. She’s always been a tough one.”

  “If you know Leigh’s not about to let anyone do anything she doesn’t want, why are you here, Chase?”

  He shrugged. “I’m her brother, and I love her. I’d be falling down on my brotherly duties if I didn’t at least ask why you unzipped her dress at the wedding reception.”

  “I unzipped her dress because she unbuttoned my vest.” Before Chase could say anything, he went on. “You should know that Leigh unbuttoned my vest first. And not because she was overcome with lust. She was mad at me.”

  “And why is that?”

  Jared debated for a second just how honest to be with Chase. Finally he decided he might as well put his cards on the table. “Last summer when Leigh went out with me, she only did it because she wanted to drive you and your brothers crazy,” he confessed.

  Chase didn’t seem surprised. “Yep, that’s my sister. Born to drive her kin insane.” He tipped his head and looked at Jared. “But see, what I can’t understand is why she’s mad at you. Seems natural to me you’d be irked at her, but she’s got nothing to be upset about.”

  With a shrug, Jared explained, “I didn’t go along with her plan.”

  Chase chuckled. “Okay. Now I get it. She had you pegged as some easy fun, right? But you refused to cooperate. That sure would fry Leigh’s bacon. When she makes a plan, she doesn’t like it foiled.”

  “So she’s explained to me in her own special way,” Jared said dryly.

  “What happens now?”

  “Nothing. Leigh and I have decided to be friends.” Even saying the word made him crazy, but he knew he had to take things slowly. But before he was through, he was going to move heaven and earth to make sure they became a lot more than friends to each other.

  For the moment, though, he’d bide his time. If he rushed her, Leigh would figure out what he was up to and never speak to him again.

  “You know, Megan and I started out as friends,” Chase pointed out. “Now we’re happily married with a ba—” He abruptly stopped talking.

  Jared turned to look at Chase. He knew why the other man had stopped talking, but he couldn’t help teasing. “You and Megan have a ba? What kind of ba? Where’d you get it? In Dallas? I hear they have the best ‘bas’ around.”

  Chase chuckled. “Shut up. You didn’t hear a blasted thing from me.”

  Understanding that Chase and Megan weren’t ready for the news of their impending parenthood to be spread all over Honey, Jared nodded. “Gotcha. I’ll keep your ba a secret until such time as everyone knows about it.” He couldn’t help adding, “And congratulations.”

  Chase grinned. “Thanks. But my point was that sometimes you start out as friends, but then you fall in love and end up being—”

  “The parents of a ba.”

  With a chuckle, Chase agreed, “Something like that.”

  Jared liked to think that was a possibility, but a lot had to change before he could even think about having a family with Leigh. For starters, he had to get her to see him as more than stud material.

  From what he could tell, that alone was going to take some doing.

  “So, if you and Leigh did become more than friends, do you think something might come of it?” Although Chase pretended to be casual, Jared knew he wasn’t at all.

  “I want to settle here and put down roots,” Jared confessed. “Unfortunately, at the moment, Leigh wants to enjoy her newly found freedom. She wants to be independent and have some long-awaited fun.”

  “If you ask me, you’re being too nice, Jared,” Chase told him. “I love my sister, and I’d do anything for her, but the way she’s feeling now, she may not even give you a chance if you’re looking for something more long-term. Guess the boys and I kept her on too tight a rope. She’s a wild one, and we never wanted to see her get hurt. Bad mistake, because now she’s going to run since she’s finally got some room.”

  “Seems that way.”

  Chase leaned back in his chair. “I guess we all have to let her make her own choices.”

  There was nothing Jared could say to that, and for a few moments, they sat in silence.

  Then Chase said, “Yep. She’ll make her own choices. Like tonight, for instance. She’s going to that new multiplex in Tyler with some guy who works for Nathan. The guy told Emma they’re going to go see that tearjerker movie. Guess that’s what Leigh wants out of life. To go to see sad movies with some guy who just moved into town a week ago and who no one knows a blasted thing about. But hey, it’s her choice.”

  Jared frowned. Leigh was going all the way to Tyler with some guy she didn’t know? Some guy no one in Honey knew?

  Didn’t seem too wise. But all he said to Chase was, “I’m sure this guy is nice. Otherwise, Nathan wouldn’t have hired him.”

  Chase snorted. “A person can seem real nice at work and be completely different on a date.” He stood. “Another person can have the whole town convinced he’s no good just because he was a little wild when he was a kid. But that man actually would be the good guy. The one a woman might not realize is the right guy for her. Not if she was too busy going out with the wrong guy. Who might act like who knows what on a date.”

  Jared laughed. “That’s the most convoluted explanation I’ve ever heard. You could have hurt yourself just saying it.”

  Chase put his Stetson on. “Yeah, well, just for the record, you didn’t hear any of it from me.”

  With that, Chase climbed into his truck and headed down the driveway. Jared watched him go. Man, that had been one bizarre visit. But then again, most of his encounters with the good people of Honey were strange. This town had to be too close to a toxic waste dump or something because the inhabitants were peculiar.

  “Strange, strange, strange,” he muttered to himself as he headed inside his house. It was almost time for dinner. He could go out to eat or maybe cook something he’d picked up at the grocery store this morning.

  When he reached the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator. Nothing inside looked good. And the thought of going to Roy’s Cafe in Honey didn’t sound appetizing, either.

  What he really felt like eating was...popcorn. A big barrel of movie popcorn.

  Was he really going to drive all the way into Tyler to bust up Leigh’s date with this guy? He grinned. Hell, yes. Sure, some might think he was a conniving jerk, but Leigh was the woman for him. He had to fight for her, didn’t he?

  Besides, going to a movie sure did sound like fun. And no one said he had to go to the one Leigh was going to see. Maybe he’d go to a completely different theater and see a completely different movie.

  He walked over and grabbed his keys off the hook by the back door. “Guess I’m getting as peculiar as the rest of this town because now I’m lying to myself.”

  Still, that didn’t stop him. He headed out the back door and off to Tyler, figuring the worse that could happen was Leigh would hate him for the rest of his life.

  But hey, at this point, he’d try anything.

  **

  “You’re really quiet. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Leigh glanced over at her date, Travis Armstrong. They were on their way to the movies. She should be having a great time. A terrific time. Travis was a nice guy, and she was certain their date would be nothing like her last one with Billy Joe Tate.

  But ever since Travis had picked her up, she hadn’t been able to pay a bit of attention to anything he’d been saying. Instead, she’d been thinking about what she was always thinking about—Jared. She hadn’t seen him since the parade committee meeting two days ago, and already she felt
antsy. Restless.

  Talk about being stupider than a rock. Why would she waste perfectly good time thinking about Jared? There were so many other interesting and important things she could think about. Like...well, if she thought long enough, she was sure she could come up with a few.

  Focusing her attention on Travis, she asked, “What movie do you want to see?”

  Travis parked his car in the crowded movie parking lot. He’d driven them all the way to Tyler since Honey didn’t have a movie theater. But Tyler had several multiplexes, and Travis had picked the biggest of the bunch.

  “I figured you’d like to see Buckets of Tears,” he said. “So that’s what we’re going to see.”

  He had to be kidding? She wasn’t the three-hanky kind at all. Resisting the impulse to make a gagging noise, she said subtly, “That’s sweet of you, Travis, but why don’t we see Spies and Lies or maybe that campus comedy, Idiot U instead? They both look good.”

  Travis shook his head. “Ah, Leigh, that’s nice of you, but Bree always said...I mean, I know ladies like sad movies.”

  “Who’s Bree?”

  Leigh watched with fascination as a bright red blush colored Travis’s round face.

  “She and I used to date,” he finally said with a shrug.

  Since Leigh knew practically everyone in Honey and she didn’t know Bree, this woman had to be someone Travis knew from before. “How long did you date her?”

  “A while.”

  Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. “What’s a while?”

  Travis sighed long and loud. “We met when we first started school.”

  “When you were freshmen?”

  When he shook his head, suspicion crept up Leigh’s spine.

  “Before that. Let’s just forget Bree and enjoy this movie.”

  Leigh put one hand on his arm. “No way. Tell me when you first met Bree.”