The Last Cowboy In Texas (22 page)

“We have classes. We don’t require you to attend ‘em. Mostly for beginnin’ authors who need to learn the basics of formattin’ and such.”

Paige followed Marybeth into the house, marveling at the homey furnishings inside. The main room was a faux log-lined room with a huge stone fireplace and hearth as a focal point at the far end of the room. There were several chairs and settees around the room, allowing for more than one group to sit and visit.

Marybeth led her upstairs and showed her the loft, where there were three small apartments to one side, and a lovely master suite on the other. “These are occupied now. You’ll probably want to take the other unit for now, anyhoo. It’s out in the boathouse.”

“Boathouse? Really?”

“Yep. This place came equipped for a big family, with additional living quarters for adult family folk to come home from time to time. So, we use it for our own little writin’ family. Out there, you’ll have more space and a whole lot more privacy than in here. We all kind of end up in the main room in the evening. Of course, even if you live out there,” she pointed through a window to the boathouse, “you’re welcome to be part of our gang.”

“You have a lovely home here, Marybeth. Are your kids grown up?”

The woman’s face wrinkled into a painful image of sadness, her mouth turned down. “Only our writin’ kids. We were never able to have our own, so we dote on the young folks who come here to write.”

“I’m sorry. You sound as though you really wanted kids. I-I’m kind of engaged.”

“Hmmpf. Kind of engaged?” Marybeth glanced at her ring and then stared directly into her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re goin’ to bring your fiancé here with you.”

“Oh, no. I may not have a fiancé anymore, so that won’t be a problem.”

“So that’s why the ring is on that hand. You have a fight or somethin’ like that?”

“Something. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later if you want to hear it.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Her eyes twinkled. “But if you’re in the middle of a lover’s quarrel, this here’s probably not the place for you to be right now.”

“Nothing like that.” She hesitated, but saw the scowl on Marybeth’s face. “Oh, okay. I’ll tell you. My mom started it all, going into my room and finding my manuscript. She read it and I caught her in the act. She said I wrote beautifully and should send it off to a publisher. I wasn’t ready to do that, but she and my dad went ahead and sent it to one of his old college chums, now a publisher.

“The man liked it and sent me a contract. So I still haven’t submitted anything on my own, but I have a valid contract for four books.”

“Four?” Marybeth’s eyes bulged. “And that upsets you?”

“That, and the fact that Mom let
Troy
read my book without asking me.”

“
Troy
bein’ your fiancé, I suppose. Well, young lady, this is one I hadn’t heard before. But I assume you let ‘em know where you are, so you can get your work all polished up and sent off.”

Paige lowered her focus to her feet. “Not exactly.”

Marybeth clapped her hands, cackling. “Lordy, girl. Have you just run away and not told them nothin’?”

“More or less. But I’ll tell them now I’m here.”

“Well I should hope you do, though I don’t make it a rule of thumb to go messin’ ‘round a person’s private affairs. I just hope your young man’s the patient type.”

“Troy, patient? Not exactly.”

“Oh my goodness. Well, darlin’, it’s your life. I bet there wasn’t a dull moment when you were growin’ up, either.”

Paige couldn’t help laughing, relieved to have shared her sad story with this positive woman. She’d bet there was not much that would rattle the likes of Marybeth Werner. Hopefully her husband, Dub Dub or Will, shared her optimism. She figured she’d know soon enough.

Before she had a chance to respond to Marybeth, a tall lanky man strode into the middle of their conversation. “Did I hear somethin’ ‘bout a dull life?”

Marybeth guffawed. “You sure did. This little gal’s up to her ears in gettin’ away from dull. Came to us hopin’ to find a good hideaway from her boyfriend.”

Paige turned on the older woman. “I did no such thing.”

“Easy, girl. I’m just funnin’ my hubby. Paige, I’d like you to meet Will Werner. Will, this here’s Paige Turner. No, don’t say what you’re thinkin’. It’s really her name. At least she says it is, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Well, Miss Paige, howdy and welcome to our little abode. You a writer?”

“I am. Regency historicals, and I have a contract from a major publisher.”

“Congratulations on that. Not easy to get published these days, let me tell you. Beth and I work pretty hard to keep ‘head of things.”

“I know. From your brochure, I see that you’ve published twenty books between you. That’s pretty impressive.”

“Twenty four now, and we’re obligated for half a dozen more. One thing you should know goin’ in, it don’t get any easier after your first book comes out.”

Paige nodded, wondering why Marybeth had given her hubby a stern look when he said that. “I can well imagine.”

Marybeth broke into the discussion. “What he’s tryin’ to say is, you can’t rest on your laurels. You accept a contract, especially one like yours, and you’re on a treadmill ‘til you fall off.” Turning to Will, she said, “Paige here has got a contract for four books.”

His eyes shot open. “Really! That’s pretty impressive for a novice author.” Looking deep into her eyes, he added, “You did say you’re a novice, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t. But I am. My dad’s a newspaper editor and his college friend is Fred Upton, publisher of Bountiful Books.”

“Bountiful, huh? Holy smokes! I’ve never met Mr. Upton, but I’ve heard lots ‘bout him. Little lady, you may not know this either, but that man’s ‘bout as hard to approach as a unicorn surrounded by longhorns. You’re one lucky lady and we’ll do our best to help you reach your goal.”

“I appreciate that. Now then, I’d better get unpacked. I understand that you’re one fantastic cook.”

He grinned. “Yep. Best dern grub you’ll find this side of
Tyler
. Maybe points beyond that, too.”

Marybeth laughed again. “He’s funnin’ you now, Paige.”

She smiled at the man. “What’s this I hear about you being called Dub Dub?”

He cackled. “That there’s my nickname.
Texas
has already got one Dub so Marybeth here started callin’ me Dub Dub. Dub is for the initial W. I got two of ‘em, so…”

“Oh! I get it. That’s funny.”

“Marybeth thinks so, too.”

Paige looked from one to the other and laughed with them. “I’m glad I came here. Thank you both for taking me in, and I’ll try not to disgrace you.”

Will said, “Back at ya, Paige. We’ll do our best to not disgrace you. You’ve got a foot in the door and, if your writin’ is as good as I expect it is, you’re on your way to some best seller lists.”

The blush that caused her face to flush came without warning, and with a big lump in her throat. Just how big was the man her dad had hooked her up with in the publishing world? From the reaction of this pair, BB Books must be big indeed.
I guess I’ll know soon enough what I’m dealing with.

Chapter Fourteen

Once in her room, with her clothing stowed and her computer on the desk, Paige started to text a message to her dad, explaining her disappearance. Halfway into it, she stopped. Unsure whether he would be able to trace her whereabouts from the email, she decided to let it go for a few days. She could call her mom with a throwaway cell phone from a discount store.

She’d made her choice and acted on it. This was no time to let homesick feelings trip her up. She was safe, in a secure setting, and felt the Werner’s were almost like family. Her work could go forward now without disruption from them or from her fiancé.

For a fleeting moment, memory of the hours she’d spent in
Troy
’s arms and in his bed caused her heart to flutter. Was she being too stern, to shut him out of her life this way? Remembrance of his glowing smile just about triggered her to pull out her smart phone and call him. Then she remembered the condescending grin on the handsome ape’s face when he told her about reading her book and slammed the phone back into her purse.

No!
She was having none of that stuff. She’d call them in her own time and in her own way. If they didn’t like it, they could lump it. All of them, including
Troy
.

* * *

Ozzie stared at his desktop, hoping against hope that there would be a message from Paige, telling him what she was up to. No such message appeared. His daughter had vanished, like the mists of an early winter morning. An adult in her late twenties, with her own car and bank account, and with no evidence of foul play, it was hardly a case the police would consider.

Just as he was prepared to take umbrage at his girl’s brazen treatment of her family, he recalled his own actions that probably had triggered her disappearance. Even egged on by Cil to intervene in Paige’s writing career, he should have known better. She was not a child to be pushed into anything she was not ready for, nor was she an adult who would tolerate what they’d done.

As he thought about his publisher friend, Fred, it hit him that she might have decided to turn her nose up at the publisher’s deal. He dialed home and waited for Cil to answer. When she did, he asked, “Darling, have you looked to see whether Paige took the book contract and her manuscripts?”

“No.” After a couple of seconds, she added, “Oh, my. Do you think she-”

“That’s exactly what I think. Go up and look for them.”

Seconds later, Cil’s breathless voice croaked, “They’re gone. All of them. And the contract is nowhere to be found.”

“Aha! Our little girl’s gone off somewhere to finish her books and honor the contract. She told me she’d do that even though she was angry enough to never speak to me again. I think we can breathe a little easier. When she’s ready, she’ll call.”

“I guess. It’ll still be hard for me to sleep until I know where she is, though. So you’re sure this is what happened?”

“Yep. Reason is, it’s about what I’d have done in her shoes. We wronged her, Cil. Our intentions were good but we had no business butting in. And even less business letting
Troy
in on the game. Poor kid, he probably couldn’t help his loose lips from flapping, as proud of her as he was. I’d better call him.”

“Just don’t go getting his hopes up. Bad enough that she ran off on him.”

“Nope. I’ll tell him we think she’s gone off somewhere to concentrate on her writing for a time.”

* * *

Troy
looked up from the contract he’d just finished. The phone had jarred him out of the doldrums he’d sunk into over the last twenty-four hours. He grabbed it and shouted, “Paige?”

“No,
Troy
. It’s Ozzie. We’ve not heard from her, but we think we know what she’s up to.”

Troy
couldn’t help growling, “No good would be my guess.”

“Come on,
Troy
. We were the ones who did wrong by her. I did. Cil did, and you did, too, young man.”

“How is that?”

“We were wrong to make decisions an adult woman could have made on her own. Could have and should have. We grabbed the thing she valued most about her work and sent it off without so much as a by your leave. No wonder she’s upset with us.”

Troy
let Ozzie’s words sink in. The man was on the mark and he knew it. “I guess you’re right about that. But she could have at least let us know she’s okay.”