Betting on Hope (24 page)

“I’m just trying to help. I really like her and I . . . I know where she comes from when it comes to a bad family situation. Not that I talk about it much, but I’ve been there.”

Peg’s eyes filled with compassion. “Then it is wonderful for her to be able to look at you and see the success you’ve become and know she can achieve great things as she moves forward with her life.”

Maggie wasn’t so sure “great things” could really be tagged on to what she’d achieved. But if she could give Jenna something positive to grasp hold of, she was glad to do it.

“I haven’t really spoken to her about any of it. Like I said, it’s not something I talk about much. But I think I will.”

Peg studied her, thoughtfully. “Maybe you should. Opening up can be a freeing experience.”

Maybe. She glanced down the road and saw Tru working. Longing filled her. She focused on the table Peg was working on setting up with all kinds of homemade goodies. “So what do y’all have here?”

About that time Lana came walking up carrying more boxes. “Candles and pot holders. They’re all handmade. Check out this soap. It has the most wonderful ingredients in it, rosemary and thyme. You’ll love it if you buy some.”

“I plan to. Maybe I could include an address in the column this week for folks who want to purchase some of your products.”

Lana and Peg beamed. “That would be amazing,” Lana said as Jenna came up pulling a little red wagon with boxes in it.

She greeted Maggie with a hug and the gesture nearly brought tears to Maggie’s eyes.

“So show me what you made.” She peered into the box of sensational smelling candles.

Jenna grinned. “I made some, but most of these candles were already made when I arrived. Still, the cherry bomb ones are mine. I love the color.” A slight blush came to the tough girl’s cheeks. “Hey, even a tough girl likes girly stuff.” She laughed, as if reading Maggie’s mind.

“Totally,” Maggie agreed. She moved on after that, giving them time to set everything up. She wove her way through the crowd toward the turkey frying.

Publicity from her article and Amanda’s show might cause Thanksgiving in July to get some national exposure, and they could have a great turnout next year. That would raise them thousands.

It was a good feeling to know what she and Tru had thought of as a disaster could possibly turn out to be good for the town. She had come to care about Wishing Springs and her heart tugged. What would it be like to call a place like Wishing Springs home?

She
could
call the town home if she wanted to. The thought hit her hard. After all, her physical presence wasn’t required all that often. The town was only an hour and a half from the office anyway. It made a perfect scenario for her to be able to commute from Wishing Springs if she chose.

But it was small—she thought of the threatening letter she’d gotten. She’d made the calls and both Shane and her dad had been out of prison for over a year. So she felt certain the letter was coming from one of them. They could find her easier in a small town.

Especially with all the advertising that was going on about the bet and upcoming special. It wasn’t a reassuring thought.

She’d almost made it to the guys frying the turkeys when she heard yells and saw Tru running. A turkey fryer had caught fire!

Obviously, it had just happened. Doonie or Doobie—whichever—had eyes as round as tractor tires. The flames were reaching for the roof. One of them ran toward the fire and a scream lodged in Maggie’s throat just as Tru reached the twin and grabbed him, pulling him out of the way before he got himself hurt.

The roof had started to burn now.

Maggie’s heart thundered and she started to run forward, but someone grabbed her in turn.

“No, Maggie,” Clara Lyn said, holding tight. “You’ll only be in the way.”

“But Tru needs help,” she cried.

“He’ll be fine. You’ll only give him more to worry about.”

Maggie saw that it was true and clutched Clara Lyn. Fear gripped her as Tru waved the twins and Rand out of the way as they tried to help turn off the other fryers. It was chaos. The out-of-control fire and canisters of gas were not a good combination.

The sound of a siren rang out suddenly. Relief filled Maggie. Maybe the firemen could help Tru. Fear for him was almost more than Maggie could stand.

People parted as the fire truck moved down the street. Maggie wanted to scream for them to hurry. The building was on fire and Tru was in the middle of the trouble, turning off the gas flames on the fryers that weren’t out of control.

The four firemen jumped from the truck and started hauling hoses instantly. One of them was Bo—a
cowboy fireman
. With dimples. Maggie was startled and relieved at the same time as he waved Tru out of the way and then he and his fellow firemen took over.

Within several moments the fire was out and Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.

Clara Lyn started clapping and the entire town joined in. Tru looked serious, but Bo and the other firemen grinned at the crowd. Bo, a teasing light in his eyes, took a bow, then he and his buddies went about rolling up the fire hoses.

“Isn’t that the best-looking fire department you’ve ever seen?” Reba sighed, coming out of the crowd to stand beside her. “Our cowboys know how to get rid of fires. Kind of like that old George Strait song, ‘The Fireman.’ Mmm-hmmm.”

Clara Lyn agreed. “And that Tru, he was a real hero. Why that crazy Doonie would have let the whole town burn down if Tru hadn’t been there.”

Maggie doubted that that would have been true, but there was no denying that if Tru hadn’t been close, someone might have been hurt. It certainly would have been far worse. As it was, the damage had been contained. Of course, it was still a disaster.

One of the firemen pulled off his helmet and Maggie gasped. She’d thought Bo and Tru looked like the younger version of Pops, but this guy looked
exactly
like Pops. It was as if Pops had walked right off that pencil portrait and donned a fireman’s uniform. “Who
is
that?” she asked.

Reba chuckled at her reaction. “That’s Jarrod, Tru and Bo’s older brother. He’s the volunteer fire chief. You haven’t met him yet? He’s a real dreamboat. And just as single as his little brothers.”

“No, no, I haven’t.” Maggie’s mind started whirling with sudden ideas. “Cowboy firemen. It’s like John Wayne and George Strait to the rescue.”

Both of the older women chuckled.

“Yeah,” Clara Lyn said. “We tease them that fires are set in the county just to see all them handsome cowboys roll to the rescue.”

Maggie looked through the crowd, and even if they didn’t realize they were doing it, every woman’s gaze tracked Jarrod as he walked over to speak with Tru. Women had crowded as close to the brothers as possible and hovered as if ready to run in and administer CPR.

Maggie’s gaze narrowed as one of them called Tru’s name and he spoke to her before he turned back to his brother. Both men looked serious as Tru, judging by his hand movements, was explaining to Jarrod what had happened. Despite the seriousness of the situation, excitement sprang to life inside Maggie.

Her heart dropped, though, when she saw the cute female who had called out to Tru move his way as soon as Jarrod left him. The woman stood entirely too close, and though she couldn’t see his expression, Maggie was well aware of the fact that Tru didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get away from his admirer.

Maggie’s ears felt hot as she forced her gaze away and got back to work thinking about her new idea.

Everyone was talking and the crowd had converged on Rand, Tru, and the twins. Within minutes they were dragging the freezers of turkeys from under the overhang into the open air. Maggie moved to help, but there were so many men in the mix, the women just hung close. It didn’t take long with a group pitching in to help. Tru’s admirers had grown to a small entourage who seemed intent on making every move he made. Maggie hung back, feeling an overwhelming sense of humiliation as it became very evident that she had somehow become one of the many who’d succumbed to the undeniable appeal of Tru Monahan.

As everyone was intent on getting the fryers that had survived the fire spray ready to start up again, Maggie gave herself a good talking-to. And then she shut off her aching heart and got back to work.

She made a note that it took more than a little fire to stop the town from their goal of raising money for Over the Rainbow. As she kept writing, Tru came over to stand beside her.

“So, I guess that gave you something to write about.” He had soot on his cheek and on his clothes. He looked as good as a roasted marshmallow.

Maggie’s voice stuck in her throat—she
loved
roasted marshmallows. And she was obviously not alone. “Yes, I’ve got ideas.” She looked away from him toward where the firemen were. They had opened their hot fire suits and those hung around their hips so their sweaty T-shirts could dry out.

Those T-shirts exposed muscled arms and broad chests that made her almost certain the town had a fire hazard on their hands just from spontaneous combustion in the female population.

Bo, with his dark fun-loving vibe and that build . . . yeah, he was a hazard.

And Jarrod—rugged and tough—would surely snag women’s attention.

And the other two whom she didn’t know—she wondered if they were single too.

While none of these capable, appealing men made her heart race like the heart-stoppingly handsome cowboy standing beside her, she frowned at that thought and focused. “I believe I have finally found what will make my editor happy.”

Tru looked perplexed by that. Of course, he was a man and completely clueless about what the turkey frying disaster had stirred up in her mind.

“How many of those firemen are single?” she asked out loud. How many other single men were there in town? But she didn’t voice that. If she combined this amazing small town with amazing cowboys and firemen heroes, the hunk appeal alone would make a column. This wasn’t just a town—it was a dating destination.

“All of our firemen happen to be single.”

She groaned and jotted a note to herself.

“Are you all right” Tru asked.

She felt the sting of pink burning her cheeks. “Oh, yes, I have finally gotten the most fantastic idea.”

“Really, just like that?”

She nodded and looked back around at the townspeople milling around and smiling and laughing despite the near disaster. They were continuing. What a great place.

“Oh, that’s how the best ideas come to me. And your sponsors and my sponsors are going to be very happy.”

He cocked a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really. Talk to you later, cowboy. I’ve got to go find a quiet spot for a few minutes and write my thoughts down.”

With that she hurried off and forced herself not to think about the shrink wrap that was squeezing tight around her heart.

She’d almost lost sight of the fact that this was about saving her column. But thankfully, she’d just had a hard reminder of why she was here in the first place.

Not to get tangled up with a cowboy who drew women like a magnet.

20

Maggie wrote like the wind. She was so excited about her idea. It had been here all this time and she hadn’t seen it. It wasn’t just about the lovely town and the good things going on—that was the easy part. But the whole idea of Wishing Springs being the place where a girl’s dreams could come true had hit her hard the instant she saw those cowboy firemen. This lovely town could fulfill the small town dreams of anyone, and it could fulfill a need to belong if someone had that—like her. That she’d already found out. But only now had she realized how happily-ever-afters could come true here.

Would it grab readers’ imaginations?

She refused to let her thoughts go to Tru. She was so angry with herself for falling under his spell. It had happened during the interview and simply grown worse once she’d arrived.

It was over, though. This was strictly about upping her ratings.

And she had a feeling that after her article came out this week, Wishing Springs would probably be really happy about it.

Yes, indeed. This was not a day to get down in the dumps about anything.

It was a great day for her job.

Because today, she’d just saved that job and she knew it.

She could feel it,
this
was going to work. And with every negative problem she was facing it felt good to know something was working out well.

Maggie had disappeared after they’d talked and Tru hadn’t seen her until she walked into the barn on Monday morning. He’d missed seeing her. It wasn’t good. He was not good for Maggie, but he couldn’t help responding to her. He grinned and the tension in his chest eased. “Good morning. How’s it going this morning?” he asked, telling himself this was strictly business.

“My column comes out today. This one is going to be a huge hit. And, like I said, your sponsors are going to love you.”

He chuckled at her exuberance. “So tell me what you’ve done.”

“Oh, no. You’ll know as soon as the newspaper is delivered. A girl’s got to keep the suspense up. What are we doing today?”