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Belle smiled at Hallie. “Unlike some people, who jump without looking?”
“I look. I just don’t hesitate.”
Rome laughed. Hallie had always had a sassy personality and jumped into things without too much thought. Rome was more like Cloe. He thought things through from all angles before making a decision.
Buying the Holiday Ranch was a good decision.
Since Cloe seemed to be helping her parents sell the ranch, it wouldn’t hurt to get her on his side.
He got up. “I’ll help you look for Cloe. Y’all check out the reception and I’ll check outside. Maybe she just needed a breath of fresh air.”
But making his way outside wasn’t easy. If the men didn’t stop him to talk about ranching, trucks, and the Wilder Wildcats’ chances of winning another high school state football championship, the women stopped him to ask why he hadn’t brought a date and if his daddy was ticked off about Rome attending the wedding at the Holiday Ranch.
Sam hadn’t said a word about Rome coming to the wedding and being Decker’s best man. His father had always chosen his battles. Rome figured wanting to buy the Holiday Ranch was going to be one battle Sam chose.
After Rome finally made his way outside, he headed around to the side of the barn where Cloe had taken him earlier. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the glow of a lit cigarette. But before he could turn right back around and escape, Fiona Stokes spoke.
“Where you running off to, Rome Remington?”
Rome mentally groaned before he plastered on a smile and moved closer. Mrs. Stokes leaned against the side of the barn like an old hooker on a street corner. The ratty mink stole she always wore encircled her frail shoulders and the lit cigarette hung from her bottom lip as if superglued there as a circle of smoke enshrouded her head.
“Evenin’, Ms. Stokes.” He tipped his hat. “How are you enjoying the reception?”
“I’ve been to better. My third marriage was a humdinger of a party. Folks didn’t leave until close to two in the morning. Of course, Buford and I continued the party in our hotel suite until dawn. We tore that room up like a rock band high on cocaine.”
Rome cringed. The last thing he wanted to hear about was Mrs. Stokes’s sex life. He was relieved when she changed the subject.
“So are you out here hiding from all those single ladies hoping to snag themselves a wealthy rancher? Everyone in Wilder knows your daddy wants you to get married again and give him some grandbabies. Hopefully, your next marriage will go better than your last one. Anyone with eyes could see that bit of fluff you brought home from college didn’t belong on a ranch.”
This was the reason Rome hated living in a small town. Nothing was personal and private. He tried to keep his smile in place. “Actually, I’m not wife-hunting tonight. I’m looking for Cloe Holiday. Her sisters are worried about her.”
Mrs. Stokes took a long drag of her cigarette before she spoke in a release of smoke. “There’s no need to worry about that one. She’s always had a good head on her shoulders. And she didn’t leave. I saw her go up to the hayloft.”
The hayloft? Why had she gone up there?
“Thanks, Ms—”
Mrs. Stokes started coughing. Everyone in town knew you didn’t leave during Mrs. Stokes’s coughing fits. It pissed her off. So Rome had to politely wait. As always, she started talking as soon as the last cough was over.
“I heard she was gettin’ married to some man from College Station.” She shook her head. “A shame. I was hopin’ she’d come back home to live now that Sweetie has.”
He didn’t want to give away Cloe’s secret, but he also had lived through the townsfolk gossiping about him being the cause of his wife running off. He didn’t want Cloe going through the same thing.
“Maybe she will move home,” he said. “I heard she decided she wasn’t ready to get married and broke things off. I guess the guy was an idiot.”
Her eyes narrowed on him as she took another drag of her cigarette. “Is that so? Well, like I said, that girl has a good head on her shoulders.”
He nodded. “Always has. Now I better get back to looking for her.”
A smile tipped Mrs. Stokes’s wrinkled lips. “I’m sure you’ll find her. You’ve always been a determined boy.”
Rome tipped his hat before he headed back inside.
A line dance had started and most of the townsfolk were on the dance floor and too busy to stop Rome as he made his way to the hayloft ladder at the back of the barn. He wasn’t sure what he’d find when he reached the top, but it wasn’t a scene for seduction.
Battery-powered camp lanterns filled the loft with a soft hazy glow. In front of the open hay doors, a puffy comforter had been spread over a fresh pile of straw. Next to it was a champagne bucket filled with ice and two fluted glasses.
So this was why Cloe had declined his offer to be his date. She had other plans. No wonder she hadn’t acted all that upset over her breakup. Obviously, she had another man waiting in the wings. He shook his head. It was always the quiet ones that surprised you. He started to move back down the ladder when a voice stopped him.
