The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Debra Clopton Page A

Right?”
    â€œThat’s absolutely right,” Norma Sue answered for her. “First off, you will get the barn. Second, all you have to do is put a show together where you’re the star. Then simply build some entertainment around you that can be easily changed, show to show. You’d just have to alter the approach, and get the fellas to commit to short rotations.”
    â€œThat’s a great idea,” Lacy exclaimed. “The guys really do enjoy doing the shows. The girls all get a kick out of seeing them sing, and most local cowboys are up for whatever will help them find the right gal.”
    â€œI don’t know.” After this latest disappointment, Sugar was reluctant to get her hopes back up. “They all sounded pretty firm about it being too much to commit to. And Ross hasn’t budged on the barn.”
    Lacy sat down beside her. “Don’t let this get you down. You trust the Lord, right?”
    Sugar was trying to trust the Lord. “That’s why I’m here. I believed this is where God wants me to be. I’d so hoped this was where my dreams were going to get their start.”
    â€œThen keep that chin up,” Esther Mae said, with all the enthusiasm of a coach.
    Sugar laughed. “Okay, okay. I’m not giving up.”
    â€œThat-a-girl,” Norma Sue said as the others chimed in. “Mule Hollow is not a place where people give up.”
    â€œYou know what?” Sugar said as realization dawned. “Ross knew. He realized the guys would react this way. He tried to warn me, but I didn’t get that until now.”
    Adela spoke up. “He does have experience. Not just in the entertainment business, but in the cowboy business, too.”
    Sugar narrowed her eyes. “He stood right there in front of me and watched me be happy and positive, all the while knowing the cowboys were going to turn me down flat.”
    Indignation pushed her up from her chair. “Of all the downright dirty, mean tricks,” she said through gritted teeth, while everyone looked at her with startled expressions. They could probably see steam boiling out of her ears. “If you will excuse me, I believe it’s time for me and a certain cowboy to have a little heart-to-heart.”
    She strode down the aisle and out the door. She could hear everyone scrambling out of their chairs, and then clambering out to the plank sidewalk. But she didn’t look back as she crossed the street. Her mind was focused on Ross Denton.
    He thought she was a pushover. He thought that she was just some happy-go-lucky balloon head who hadn’t thought out any of this! He could have warned her, really warned her. Actually said the words. Even if he didn’t want to let her use his barn, or take a part in her production, it wouldn’t have hurt him to give her a little advice!
    â€œSugar,” Lacy called, stopping her as she was about to close the door of her car. “Maybe you need to calm down just a little.”
    â€œCalm down? I don’t think so. Thanks for showing up, girls, but I have urgent business to attend to now. I have a cowboy to lynch.”
    She slammed the door and cranked the ignition, glancing out the window before backing up. The older ladies flanked Lacy, and they watched as she turned her car toward Ross’s place.
    It was only then that she remembered that while the old barn was on a part of his ranch, she had no idea where his house was located. Stomping on the brake, she rolled down her window. “Could one of you please tell me where he lives?” From the looks that shot between them, she was afraid they wouldn’t.
    But Norma Sue, bless her heart, propped her hands on her hips and grinned. “After you pass the lane that takes you to the barn, there will be a big curve about a mile down the road. His is the first drive on the left.”
    â€œIt’s a good piece down the lane,” Esther Mae added. She was