“And?”
“He’s still interested.” As she remembered the gleam in his eyes when he’d learned her roommate was gone, she couldn’t hold back a grin.
“Then why didn’t he contact you?”
“It’s Christmas. He has family stuff. I have family stuff.”
Sapphire nodded. “Makes sense. But surely you can work something out.” She peered at her. “You want to, right?”
“You bet I do. You should have seen him standing there looking all rugged in his sheepskin coat and Stetson. Those green eyes are killer. I was ready to attack him on the spot.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“For starters he invited me out to the ranch for a sleigh ride tomorrow afternoon.”
“You mean a sleigh ride or a sleigh ride?” Sapphire wiggled her fingers to make air quotes.
“That’s tough to say with so many people around. Besides, it doesn’t matter. I let it drop that Arlene is out of town for the holidays.”
“She is?” Sapphire clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced at the kitchen doorway. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I think Mom already knows something’s going on.”
“Probably. It’s my fault. I didn’t expect you to suddenly announce that your red-hot lover boy was in town.”
“I wasn’t going to. Then I remembered that he and Grady lived at Thunder Mountain at the same time, so I felt obligated to mention it.”
“Absolutely. Grady’s always thrilled when he gets a chance to connect with some of his foster brothers. Anyway, that’s fabulous news about Arlene being gone.”
“She’s a good roommate. Not as good as you, but we get along and she pays her share of the rent on time.”
“I worried that she’d talk you to death. When I worked with her at the Art Barn co-op she was quite the chatterbox. Sweet, but extremely verbal.”
Amethyst smiled. “She is, but I love her work and she’s given me a gorgeous watercolor of the Bighorns that I put in my bedroom. Whenever she carries on too long, I suddenly have to record another track for my next album and I scoot upstairs to my studio. Like I said, we get along.”
“I’m glad. And she had the good sense to be out of town at a critical moment in your personal life.”
“No kidding. Anyway, I need to go home tonight and put clean sheets on the bed and spruce up the place a little.”
“Like he’ll care. Hey, listen, I know hanging out in a crowd with your studmuffin isn’t optimal, but Grady and I are going over to Thunder Mountain tomorrow night for their Christmas Eve celebration if you want to come along. We could—oh, wait, I just remembered something. There’s a cat. His name’s Ringo. I’ll bet Jake’s forgotten about your allergies.”
“Is Ringo indoor or outdoor?”
“Both. He has a bed in the kitchen. I don’t think he gets on the furniture in the house, but still, you don’t want to go out there and start sneezing your head off.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll pick up some over-the-counter meds at the drugstore in the morning.” She was headed there anyway. If Jake would be spending some late-night quality time at her house, she would be prepared with condoms. “It’s one day and one evening with minimal exposure and I don’t want to miss out on the fun. I’d love to go, but what about Mom and Dad? I hate to leave them in the lurch.”
“They were invited, too, but they think Herb and Rosie deserve to have Grady and me all to themselves. Mom and Dad claimed us for Christmas Day so it seemed fair to them if we went to the ranch tomorrow night. If you come with us, then they can do their lovebird thing.”
“It’s cute, isn’t it? After all these years they’re still nuts about each other.”
“Mom pointed that out when I told her I couldn’t be with Grady because he was an artist.” Sapphire mimicked their mother’s voice. “‘Your father and I are both artists and we’ve managed to stumble through twenty-nine years without killing each other.’”
“And so will you and Grady.” Amethyst gave her a hug. “You two have something special. The ring he gave you is gorgeous.”
“I’m rather fond of it, myself.” Sapphire held her hand out in front of her to admire it. “We’ve tried to set a date but we’re both so busy we haven’t figured out when.”
“Whenever it is, I’ll be there, and I want to sing.”
“I would love for you to sing but you’ll be the maid of honor. Can you do both things? I’ve never seen that done but if anyone can pull it off you can.”
“I’ve never seen it done, either, but I’ll be happy to set a precedent as the first singing maid of honor. I might even sing as I walk down the aisle.” She looked at Sapphire. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a fabulous idea. In fact, when you get married, you should be the singing bride. You could sing your vows and turn the whole thing into a musical. Just make sure the groom can sing, too, or it’ll be weird.”
“Yeah, because having both the bride and groom sing their vows wouldn’t be the least bit weird.”
Sapphire laughed. “You should do it.”
“I definitely would if I planned to get married. But I don’t.”
“Ever?”
“Probably not. I’ve watched how it goes with the big names and I’m hoping to be up there with them someday. It’s not easy to maintain a high-profile career and a solid marriage.”
Sapphire gazed at her as if evaluating the truth of that statement. Finally she nodded. “I guess you’re right. You’re smart to think that through, because you’re going to make it big.”
“That’s my goal.” She crossed her fingers. “But there are no guarantees, either. Even if I get a contract it could be a bumpy ride. It wouldn’t be fair to drag some unsuspecting guy along.”
“Nope. But I see why you’re so excited about hanging out with Jake since he’s not looking to settle down, either. You might as well soak up all that yumminess while he’s in town.”
“My thoughts, exactly.”
* * *
SIX PEOPLE GATHERED around the kitchen table at the ranch house that night and, fortunately, Rosie, the woman he’d called Mom ever since she’d asked him to the first day, had made plenty of tuna casserole. Jake was on his third helping. Cade had mentioned that several times.
“Leave him alone.” Chelsea came to his defense. “He’s a growing boy.”
“Thanks, Chelsea.” Jake hadn’t met her until tonight but she was easy to get to know. Her multicolored hair and funky clothes made him smile and he could tell she liked him, too. She worked in marketing and Finn gave her full credit for making his microbrewery a success and for mellowing out his workaholic tendencies. The two of them seemed to have a good thing going.
“He’s definitely grown since I last saw him,” Finn said. “You put on any more muscle and you’ll rip the seams of that shirt, bro. I advise cutting back on the workouts or you’ll be shelling out for a new wardrobe.”
Cade grinned. “Hey, Finn, you’re just jealous because Jake and I are manly men with jobs that increase the diameter of our biceps, while you only have to expend enough energy to put a head on a mug of beer.”
“Are