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“What kind of highlighted activities do you have?” he asked.
“Concerts every weekend,” she said. “Star-gazing some nights. Couples’ painting activities. Ice cream tastings. There’s one thing we spotlight each evening, for a premium price, and I’m present for all of those.”
He nodded along, because the Texas Longhorn Ranch sounded like it ran like a well-oiled machine. He’d done a little bit of research before applying for the job, and this place had definitely been the biggest and the nicest. They paid the best too.
“The maintenance crew does what?” he asked.
“Cleaning of the admin building. The office. The ice cream shop. Some lodge maintenance. Raking the cornhole lanes. Road maintenance. Building and equipment maintenance. You’ll work with some of my brothers if you do that. It’s almost like a Jack-of-all-Trades position. I need someone who can put their head down, figure out problems, solve them, and get a long list of tasks completed without someone breathing over his shoulder.”
“I can do whatever you need me to, ma’am.”
“Which position do you think you’re more suited to?” she asked.
“Honestly?” He didn’t want to say it, but he did want to tell the truth. “The one dealing with people.” Then he wouldn’t have to try to fix a fence when he barely knew how one went together in the first place.
She smiled and opened the folder again. “Yes, you do seem like a people-person, Silas.”
His stage name sounded so false in her voice. He wanted to correct her and tell her his given name, but he once again bit the words back. He’d applied under Silas Money, and he did have a doing-business-as license for the name. For all accounts and purposes, he could definitely be Silas Money.
No one had questioned him in the past, and Holly didn’t now. “Well, I have six interviews this morning,” she said. “I’ll let you know by tomorrow afternoon, all right?” She stood, the interview clearly over.
Silas got to his feet too. “Sure,” he said. He shook her hand, the silky feel of her skin against his igniting a fire in his heart he didn’t expect. His pulse trembled in his neck, and he turned away as if Holly would be able to see it.
Embarrassment and shock combined inside him, creating a tornado of opposite forces. He couldn’t have feelings for this woman. He was stunned he could even feel anything for a woman at all, given his history with them.
He managed to walk away without turning and blurting out his real name, asking her to dinner, or rushing back over to explain to her that he’d be perfect for whatever job she had. He felt her eyes on him all the way back to his pathetic car, and he didn’t dare look at her as he backed out and left, for fear that she’d be laughing about his ride.
* * *
Silas layon the couch the following afternoon, something playing on the television in front of him. He’d turned the sound all the way down so he wouldn’t miss Holly’s call. A call which hadn’t come in yet. Not only that, but whenever he put on the TV and lay on the couch, he fell asleep. With the sound down, he couldn’t shut off his brain and doze.
He’d applied for four more jobs at surrounding ranches that morning, because if this one out at the Texas Longhorn Ranch didn’t work out, he needed something. Soon.
His phone rang, and he dang near jumped out of his skin. He reached for the device on the coffee table in front of him and swiped on the call that bore the labelHolly Stewart.“Ma’am,” he said.
“Silas.” Her voice sounded like soft butter over the line. “I’m pleased to say we’d love to hire you out here at the Texas Longhorn Ranch if you’re still available.”
He sat up, his grin dancing across his face. “I am,” he said.
“Wonderful,” she said. “Can you start tomorrow afternoon? Four o’clock?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You don’t need to call me ma’am,” she said, her voice softening.
“No, ma’am.”
She laughed over the line and said, “Jeans, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and a plaid shirt, Mister Money. That’s your uniform, and we don’t provide any of it.”
“Okay,” he said.
“You’ll beplaying the partof a cowboy for most of your shift,” she said, and Silas could’ve imagined it, but he swore she’d emphasizedplaying the parta little too much. “So you have to look like one. We’ll start with training about our ranch, what we do for guests, and our schedule. You’ll be expected to memorize all of it, so you can answer any guest questions you get.”
“I can do that,” he said. He did have an excellent memory, and he’d memorized hundreds of lines in his movie career. This was just acting, albeit on a smaller scale. “Thank you, Holly.”
“Dinner each shift is included in your pay. We have a nightly buffet here at the lodge, and you’ll get a half-hour break between eight-thirty and nine to eat.”
“Sounds good,” he said. Better than the boxes and freezer bags he’d been eating out of.
