Saving the Cowboy’s Christmas (Rowdy Ranch #12)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

W ould Lani engineer a way to hitch a ride home with him? During the hours that followed, the question popped into Rance’s head every time he scanned the room to see what she was up to, who she was talking with, and whether that could be the conversation that did the trick.

By eight-thirty, the party was winding down. Even Sam was curled up on his bed in the corner. And still no sign that Lani had achieved her goal.

Currently she was on the far side of the room with his mom and Andy while they admired three-month-old Matthew McLintock. After sleeping through most of the festivities in his bassinet, Marsh and Ella’s son had decided to join the party.

From his vantage point Rance could only see tiny fists waving in the air, but judging from the smiles of the adults, Matty was putting on a good show. The other three-month-old, Mav’s baby brother Drew, had been whisked away when all the couples with toddlers had headed out nearly an hour ago.

Before she’d gone home, Mav had asked if he’d like to keep Squirt as a souvenir. She’d looked immensely relieved when he’d told her Squirt would be lonesome without his friends.

What a kid. He was nuts about her, nuts about all of them. Did Lani want kids? It wasn’t a good question to ask, all things considered.

But he hadn’t factored in an additional punch to the gut if she rejected him, as she was determined to do. Someday she might show up at Rowdy Ranch with a husband, which would be torture enough. But in years to come, she might also arrive with some adorable munchkins….

“Your turn, bro.” Lucky gave him a nudge.

“Right, right.” He brought his attention back to the three-way dart game in which Kieran was, as usual, kicking their butts. “Sorry.”

“No worries. Kieran’s over by the bar gabbing with Sara, Angie and Oksana. I seem to be the only one focused on this game.”

“Everybody’s getting tired.”

“Or crushing on their future editor.”

“Now that would be dumb, wouldn’t it?” He fired off his first dart. Didn’t land quite where he wanted it.

“It would, but sex can make us stupid. I’m thinking you had more than one motive for handing Lani your manuscript.”

“No comment.” His second dart hit the bullseye. That was more like it. Then he screwed up his third throw, which meant he had no chance unless Kieran suddenly forgot how to play. He retrieved his darts.

“It’s a helluva book, Rance.”

“You’ve finished it? How could you possibly?—”

“I’m fast, but not that fast. I’ve read enough to know it has the potential to be big.”

“That’s great news.” He gazed at his brother. “It’s not a sideline. I want to make a living at this.”

“You have the chops.”

“Good to hear. Especially from my favorite bookseller.”

“The concept’s dynamite and you execute it well. I just….”

“What?”

“I have a new perspective on the book business after watching the rise of indie authors and listening to Trent’s views on marketing.”

“Mom’s thinking about trying it.”

“I know. We’ve talked. I’m excited about it for her, and now Oksana’s considering that route.”

“But why? She just got her foot in the door.”

“And she sees it’ll take years to build a following because the publisher’s holding her to one book a year, or at the most, every eight months. That’s their model.”

“That’s how Mom’s schedule is and she’s been okay with it.”

“I’m not sure she is anymore. Ebooks have changed things. Print can still work, but not like it used to.”

“I believe you, but I still can’t wait to see Tequila Shots on a bookstore shelf.”

“If you went indie, it could be on a shelf in L’Amour and More by February.”

“And only there.”

Lucky smiled. “You wanna be in the airport.”

“Yeah. Probably not realistic for a first book, but someday.”

“I get it, bro. But I predict that dream’s gonna take a while and they’ll pay you peanuts. Trent could put together a marketing plan and sell the heck out of Tequila Shots and you’d keep a bigger chunk of the profits.”

“Even if I changed my mind, I’ve already given it to Lani as a submission to Square Glasses Press.”

“Has she told them yet?”

He shook his head. “Everybody’s on Christmas break, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not going back on what I said to her.”

“Okay.” Lucky shrugged. “It’s totally your call.” He turned toward the group over by the bar. “Kieran? Got time for three perfect throws?”

Kieran wandered over, grinning. “Givin’ up, are ya?”

“It’s reverse psychology,” Rance said. “You’ll try too hard. Guaranteed you’ll choke.”

“I might, yeah.” Then he proceeded to hit the bullseye three times. “Or not.”

“And that’s a wrap.” Ordinarily Rance would be more invested in the outcome of the game but his mind was elsewhere. Another glance across the room told him Lani was still talking to his mom and Andy.

Kieran retrieved his darts and turned toward Lucky. “Hey, y’know that fella Adam Bridger, the one who’s takin’ Sara’s M.R. Morrison tour tomorrow?”

“Is that the guy who wants us to open a bookstore in Mustang Valley?”

“Yeah.”

“He left a voicemail for me at the shop. I didn’t have time to get back to him, though.”

“Well, Sara also gave the fella Angie’s number since he talked about restorin’ an old Victorian for the bookshop. He left Angie a voicemail, too. He wants to meet her after the tour.”

“Wait.” Lucky frowned. “Is he offering to pay for the renovation of that old house?”

“Sounds like it. Must be rich. I’d love to get my mitts on a Victorian. Ireland’s jammers with ’em.”

“I’m confused,” Rance said. “Some dude who’s going on Sara’s tour wants you to open a third bookshop?”

“That’s what he said in the voicemail. He’s a big fan of Mom’s books and he thinks L’Amour and More would do well in Mustang Valley”

“Hm. It’s close as the crow flies but if you’re not a crow….”

Lucky nodded. “You gotta go up and around Missoula. Unless you take the shortcut through the mountains.”

“The widow maker.” Rance shuddered. “I drove it once. Got the gray hairs to prove it. As Kieran would say, what the feck?”

“Accordin’ to Sara, they’re gonna fix that road soon,” Kieran said. “That could put Mustang Valley on the map. Could be a grand opportunity for L’Amour and More.”

“Or they don’t fix the road and Lucky’s left holding the bag.”

Lucky punched him lightly on the arm. “Where’s your spirit of adventure? Where’s the can-do Rance we all know and love?”

“Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Lucky’s grin faded and his jaw tightened. “We’ve got your back, bro. We’re all—hey, Lani, how’s it going?”

Rance turned in surprise. How had he missed her approach? Usually his Lani radar kicked in.

She gave him a quick glance before focusing on Lucky. “I’ve had a wonderful time. Great party. Sorry to barge in, but I was just talking with Desiree and Andy about the book and there’s a scene we all agree needs tweaking, so?—”

“Don’t say what it is.” Lucky took a step back, palms up. “I want to read it all before I hear a word about it.”

“Yeah, Lani, don’t get specific.” Hot damn. Looked like she was setting the stage.

“I won’t. I came over to give you a heads up before I forgot. In fact, I wrote down the page numbers.” She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. “But as I was walking over here, suddenly the whole scene played in my head like a movie clip.”

And there it was. The excuse and his cue. He didn’t have to fake his excitement. “Yeah? And you think it works?”

“I think so.”

“Sure wish I had my laptop handy. I could make notes on my phone but it would be better if I had the manuscript in front of me.”

“D’ya want the copy you gave Sara and me t’make notes on? I’d hafta ask her but I think she’d say sure.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather not mark up your copy. I think better with my fingers on the keys.” He didn’t look at Lani. One misstep and the whole shebang would crash and burn.

“I’m the same,” she said. “I didn’t think this through. I mean, you’re in the middle of a celebration, and here I’m?—”

“Hey, I’m glad you did and I don’t want you to lose that image you have in your head.” He doubted it was a scene from his book. “It’s almost Granny’s bedtime anyway. Would you be willing to ride over to the cabin with us?”

“I could do that.”

Her super casual tone was so perfect he almost lost it. “Excellent. That way we can work from the master file. I promise I won’t keep you long.” He clenched his jaw to keep from grinning.

“Sounds good. I’m ready to pack it in, too.” She smothered a yawn.

Or what looked like a yawn. More likely a swallowed laugh. Her high school drama training had served her well. “Then I’ll go find Granny and we’ll be off.”

Just his luck Granny was playing poker with Buck, Marybeth and Lani’s folks. He quickly explained the situation and found out Lani’s folks were getting ready to leave, too.

“I don’t know how much time we’ll need to spend on the manuscript.” He busied himself helping Granny out of her chair so he didn’t have to look Harry and Vanessa in the eye while he spun the tall tale. “But it shouldn’t take long.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Harry waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not like we’ll wait up for her.”

Just what he wanted to hear. “Then we’ll see you all later.”

“Oh, and Rance,” Vanessa said. “Granny gave us the lowdown on Irving Quick and we’re there for any backup you need.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that so much.”

“He’d better behave himself.” Harry shared a glance with Buck. “Right?”

“That’s for sure.” Buck sat up straighter and his hand closed into a fist. “Although I almost want him to step out of line and give me an excuse.”

Rance blinked. “To punch him?”

“It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s on the list.”

That shocked him. To his knowledge Buck had never raised a hand to any human or animal. Maybe Buck had decided Irving didn’t fit either category.

“I doubt he’ll be a problem, but it’s good to know you have my back.” With a smile and a wave, he hustled Granny away from the table. Lani met them halfway, and they all called out their thanks and goodbyes as they left through the swinging bar doors.

None of them spoke as they bundled up, stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind them.

“Keep going,” Rance murmured, taking Granny’s left arm while Lani took her right. “We’re not out of the woods yet.” He had no trouble from Lani as he loaded Granny in the back while Lani hopped in the front.

When he’d finally buckled himself in and switched on the engine, he let out a sigh. Made it.

Then Granny started to giggle. “Grand craic that was! Good on ya both. Ya make a solid team, don’tcha now?”

He didn’t dare agree with that assessment. Glancing over at Lani, he smiled. “You were terrific. I just followed where you led.”

She flushed. “I’ll admit I surprised myself.”

“Not me. I knew you could do it. I just wasn’t sure how.”

“Neither was I. Then I started walking toward you and it came to me.”

“That you’d pretend to have a vision of the scene?”

“I wasn’t pretending. I really do have an idea for how that scene should go. I want to talk about it before I forget.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. The minute we get there, I want you to turn on your laptop.”

“Okay, then.” He’d hoped to be turning her on instead of his laptop, but if she wanted to work on his book, that’s what they’d do. If it was a love scene, so much the better.