Western Pleasure (The Texas Two-Step Series, a Novella) (2 page)

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The way he said it, sort of breathy, took the wind right out of her. Surely he wasn't flirting with her?

The problem? She wished he was flirting with her. But he'd said it himself. He was a confirmed bachelor. Flirting was second nature to a man like him. She'd probably never noticed it before. "What night would work best for you?"

"Friday night would be great. I'm flying to Nepal tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Wednesday."

"Friday night it is."

She'd be with him alone, on a Friday night, for dinner. OMG. Had she just asked him on a date?

Chapter 2

Ellen was finishing up her over-forty fitness class at the Y when her best friend, Lily del Rietz, strolled over and arched her brow at Ellen as if in question. "You're super cheery today."

"Oh, am I?" Ellen couldn't help the lilt to her tone. Her thoughts kept returning to Jim. He'd looked so handsome in his tux the night before, and she still hadn't wrapped her mind around the idea of how attracted she was to him.

"Yeah. In fact, you even smiled through the lunges. You never do that."

"Guess I'm in a good mood." Ellen smiled and shrugged.

"Care to expand on that?"

Ellen wanted to tell her about Jim. Would Lily think she'd lost her mind? Lily was waiting for Ellen to explain. But she had nothing.

Wasn't it just like her to feel on the spot and unable to think of anything mindless to say? As a result, she and Lily just grinned at each other as they used face towels to blot off the moisture created by their physical exertions.

Ellen took a swig from her water bottle, hoping the hydration would bring some meaningful words to her lips. "That was fun today. I haven't ever tried Zumba before. Have you?"

"My first time, too."

Their class offered a mix of activities, so they never knew beforehand exactly what their workout routine would include. The class was held early on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so Lily was able to fit in her exercise before starting her day at work at Murphy Title Company.

Lily had been with the company when Ellen's husband had first started out. Murphy Title Company was one of the few assets over which Ellen had control after Ben's passing, and the only one with any real potential to make money for the family other than a few land-rights leases for oil and gas.

Ellen was thankful when her son, Davis, left his job in real estate and stepped in to run Murphy Title. His first act was to promote Lily to director. It had been one of the smartest changes he'd made. The combination of Davis's clear head for finance and Lily's knowledge of the business put the title company on the right track. The plan had been that Ellen would sell cupcakes to keep food on the table while Davis built up Murphy Title into a decent money maker. For once, life had gone better than planned. Just six years later, Murphy Title was doing exceptionally well, allowing Ellen to sell her bakery.

She'd loved dreaming up new and creative cupcake recipes and designs. But now, rather than dreaming of cupcakes, as she'd been doing for the past six years, she dreamt about Jim.

A twinge of guilt niggled at her. Her marriage to Ben had been a good one. They'd gotten along well and worked together in an easy partnership. But she hadn't realized, until Jim helped her go through all the paperwork after Ben died, that there was little in terms of assets without him at the helm. She had been an attentive wife, and he had been a good and decent man. But what was that saying? Life is what happens when you're too busy living it.

She was sure she'd mangled the quote, but the gist was true. She and Ben had been too busy living to take the time to enjoy life together. His death had thrown her, not only because she'd lost her dear husband, but because she'd lost a part of her identity. If she wasn't there to support him anymore, to be a dutiful wife, who was she?

The bakery had provided the answer. She was a baker and a business woman. She'd thrown herself into it in the same way she'd thrown herself into her life as wife and mother. But those roles had changed.

Now she had time to reflect on yet another aspect of her life: single and available. The sudden awareness took her by surprise.

Her reaction to Jim made her realize she was a living, breathing woman with a very healthy response to a gorgeous, virile man. He'd managed to set her libido into overdrive.

Libido?

Heavens! She'd almost forgotten she possessed one.

What she needed in order to get a better handle on her situation was to talk it over with someone, and that someone had always been Lily. She was such a dear friend and Ellen needed to stop worrying whether Lily would think she was nuts. Lily already
knew
she was.

"Are you in a rush to get to the office today? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"That sounds important." Lily gave her a direct look, seeming to see more than Ellen thought she'd exposed. "You know I'll always make time for you."

Ellen squirmed under Lily's scrutiny. "Yeah, I guess it is important. At least it is to me."

"What's up?"

"I think maybe we should hit the steam room." That was their code for
this needs to be discussed in private
. The steam room was almost always empty, so they wouldn't be overheard.

Lily nodded and hoisted her bag from the corner of the gym where they'd deposited their personal items before the class. Ellen hefted her own bag. They said their goodbyes to the other women in the class and headed for the steam room.

As usual, it was empty. Lily opened the door and dived in head first, while Ellen hung back in the hot mist that came roiling out into the hallway.

Lily and she were so different it was hard to imagine why they were such good friends, but Ellen knew Lily had a huge and generous heart. She was a fiercely loyal friend and totally dependable. As soon as they'd met nearly twenty-five years ago, they'd clicked.

Lily was carefree, fun loving and outgoing in a way Ellen wished she could be. Lily could do things like getting out there and pounding the pavement to drum up business. After Ellen started her bakery, she'd tried hard to emulate her friend. And it had worked. The cupcake bakery had been a tremendous success. Ellen felt she owed Lily so much.

Ellen wasn't quite sure what drew Lily to her, but she was thankful for whatever it was. Maybe it was because Ellen was a born nurturer, with a deep need to look after the people in her life as well as those less fortunate. Maybe it was because she baked amazing cupcakes.

They settled on the bench while Ellen tried to find the right words to start the conversation she needed to have with Lily. "So, I think I've lost what little remains of my mind."

"Good." Lily grinned. "It's about time. Getting out of your comfort zone can be a very good thing, especially at our age."

"A little? I'm completely out of my comfort zone, Lil. I'm talking off the charts."

"Oh, this sounds like it's going to be
good
."

Ellen grinned and relaxed. Lily did that to her. Made her feel happy even when she was so confused. "It seems I own a libido."

"I coulda told you that. We all do."

"Well, mine's been in remission... uh... until now."

Mischief lit up Lily's eyes and she leaned in. "So, who's the lucky man?"

"That's the problem. I don't know if it's the man or merely roaring hormones."

"And I ask again, who's the lucky man?" Lily gave her a pointed look.

"Jim Turner."

Lily fought to keep a serious expression, but a grin kept popping back up on her lips. Very rarely had Ellen seen Lily speechless, but she certainly was now.

"You haven't mentioned him for awhile. Has he been out of town?"

"No. I just hadn't seen him for several months until last night at the charity dinner." Thinking about last night brought a smile to her lips. "And there he stood in cowboy boots and the hottest man in a tux I've seen outside of a James Bond movie."

"Wow."

"It was dim in the room and at first I didn't recognize him. All that registered was the hotness." Sort of like this steam room. Ellen swiped at a bead of perspiration on her brow, but couldn't get the steamy image of Jim in his tux out of her thoughts.

Lily handed her a face towel. Ellen covered her face with it and leaned back against the tiled wall.

"This is getting better and better," said Lily.

Ellen pulled off the face towel and turned to her friend. "You don't think I'm crazy? All this time I haven't been the least bit interested in men, and now I've got the hots for the illustrious Jim Turner?"

"No way. Jim's a fine-looking man. I'd think you
were
crazy if you didn't notice."

"Well, I hadn't noticed, at least not in more than a usual cursory way, thinking he was easy on the eyes. Until last night."

"And last night?"

She'd already felt heated from the exercise class and the moist warmth of the steam room, but adding Jim to the mix was almost too much for her. "I just couldn't stop thinking of him
that way
, you know? In fact, I still can't."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I kinda sorta asked him on a date."

Lily's jaw dropped. "You asked him out?"

"Well, more like over. I asked him over to my place for dinner." And if he should be hungry for something more than Italian food and cupcakes...

"Your libido has everything under control if you ask me."

"What do you mean? It's got me completely out of whack."

"Jim's a great guy. He's been there like a pillar of strength for you after Ben's death. You could do far worse."

"But what if it's merely that my libido and I are finally ready to date and Jim was conveniently on the scene? Maybe I'm not so much attracted to him as the fact I'm attracted."

Lily shrugged. "Only you can determine that. But if you're not sure, maybe you should meet other men."

"And how would I do that?" It's not like she went many places where eligible men were lined up like chickens ready for the plucking.

Lily's lips puckered as she thought it over. Then her face lit up. "I have it! You should try online dating."

Chapter 3

The difficulty with online dating was you needed to be online. The only computer Ellen owned had once been her husband's laptop. It was capable of downloading email, but that was about it. The laptop was too old and too slow for today's websites. She needed a new one and didn't know exactly where to start.

How fortunate for her Davis had chosen that morning to come over and help with some of the handyman tasks she'd been putting off. In particular, replacing the bulbs in the pot lights in her kitchen that were too high to be reached without a step ladder, which was what Davis was doing at the moment.

Ellen stood at the base of the ladder, holding spare bulbs, while he unscrewed burned out lights and handed them down to her. "I appreciate your doing this, Davis."

"No problem, Mom." He leaned down, holding out a burned out bulb. "Can you give me a new one, then take this one?"