The Shy Cowgirl (Bear Creek Rodeo) Read online

  The three groups headed toward the elevators, and Stephanie noticed that James was right behind them.

  “What floor?” Chris asked him.

  “Seven.”

  “We’re all on seven, then. We should have supper tonight. Just the six of us.” Matt had his arm around Brittany’s shoulders and a hand on Olivia’s.

  Stephanie frowned. “What about Olivia? Couldn’t you get someone to travel with you? I can watch her while you guys have supper.” It would probably be for the best, because she didn’t need to develop feelings for a man when she was marrying in four days. It would be stupid.

  “The hotel has a sitter who works for them. They’ll get someone up to watch her. We’re not going to let you spend all night in your room while we have fun,” Brittany said. “You’re coming with us.”

  Stephanie nodded without saying anything else. Everyone knew she didn’t have as much fun hanging out with a bunch of people as the others did, but she let it go. They were trying to include her.

  James grinned at her. “I probably need you to even the numbers.”

  “All right.” She knew she was betraying some unknown man, but she couldn’t be mad at herself for it. This man was in front of her, and for once she could speak to him.

  “Let’s meet in front of the elevators at six,” Chris said. “That’ll give us all some time to settle in, but then we can meet up.”

  “Perfect!” James said. “See you in a couple of hours.”

  Stephanie went into her room and sank on her bed. She had an adjoining room with Brittany and Matt, and Olivia was supposed to sleep in Stephanie’s room, but she could have time with Brittany and Matt whenever she needed it.

  From the first, the little girl had been able to tell the triplets apart, which was something few people could do. She was attached to them all.

  Stephanie sat for a moment before opening the door between rooms. She knew Brittany would need to move back and forth to unpack Olivia as soon as the luggage arrived.

  There was a knock at the door, and the bellhop brought her luggage in. She tipped him and smiled, unable to make herself speak. What was it about James that let her speak so easily? Very odd.

  She unpacked the two suitcases she’d brought with her. Emily had brought a garment bag with all of their dresses for the wedding and their costumes for the show. She would have to get her wedding dress and her costume from her later.

  For shows, they all wore short skirts with fringe on them, western shirts, cowboy boots, and hats. She and Brittany wore light blue blouses while the shirt Emily wore was a more vibrant blue. Emily was the lead singer, though all three of them knew that Stephanie had the most powerful voice. Still, it was hard enough for her to sway in the background. There was no way she could be the center of attention through the whole show.

  The door between the rooms opened as Stephanie was stashing all her underwear in a drawer. She’d only have this room until Saturday, and then Olivia would simply have her own room, but the connecting door would always remain open. They’d decided it was the best plan for all involved.

  “Hey,” Stephanie said, looking at Brittany. “What’s up?”

  “Just coming to unpack the flower girl.”

  Olivia stretched her legs out in front of her. “A flower girl at three weddings. I think I’m winning!”

  Stephanie laughed. “You sure are. And you’re the prettiest flower girl in the whole wide world, which is why you get so much business.”

  “That makes sense,” Olivia said, rubbing her arm where she’d broken it over the summer.

  “Does your arm hurt?” Brittany asked, frowning at her niece.

  “No. It just always feels weird now that the cast is gone.”

  “I understand.”

  Brittany and Stephanie worked side-by-side, getting all of the clothes put into drawers and hung up. Thankfully, there was only one concert and the wedding. Other than that, they could wear jeans all the time.

  As soon as they were done, Brittany yawned. “I think I’m going to need a nap if we’re going to go out to dinner tonight. I’m already exhausted from the flight and the two-hour time difference.”

  “I probably will, too. Luckily my roommate likes naps.”

  Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I do not! I just get sleepy when I don’t take them.”

  The two sisters laughed.

  “Well, we’re napping today,” Stephanie said. “Sleep is necessary.”

  “As long as Brittany sings Puff the Magic Dragon to me.”

  Brittany smiled. “How ’bout all three of us sing it to you?”

  Olivia clapped. “A real live concert just for me?”

  “Well, of course! You’re the flower girl!”

  “I am. I like being the flower girl.” Olivia sat back and waited while Brittany called Emily.

  “We need a third voice for Puff the Magic Dragon,” Brittany said. “Room twelve-oh-four.”

  A moment later, Emily was there, and the three sisters each stood, knowing their voices would be stronger if they were standing.

  As soon as they started singing, Olivia started to smile. She loved to have just one of them sing her song, but all three? That was her favorite.

  When the song was over, Brittany leaned down and kissed Olivia’s forehead. “Sleep well. Stephanie will be with you, and Uncle Matt and I will be just next door.”

  Olivia nodded. “I like Auntie Stephanie.”

  “So do I.” Brittany smiled at her sisters and rushed out of the room, closing the door firmly between the two rooms.

  Emily rubbed the back of her neck. “I think we’re going to nap before supper as well.”

  “Me too,” Stephanie said. “I didn’t expect that flight to hit me so hard.”

  “Just wait until we have our own tour bus,” Emily said, hurrying toward the door.

  Stephanie looked over at Olivia, who was already half asleep. “I’m setting an alarm so we’ll wake up in time.”

  “Okay.” Olivia closed her eyes, and she was out. It was crazy how quickly the little girl slept after hearing her favorite song.

  Stephanie laid awake for a little while, thinking about the concert to come. It would be the biggest audience the three sisters had ever performed in front of, and she knew it was a huge stepping stone for their career. It would still be a little scary for her.

  Finally, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. In her dreams, she saw a cowboy with blue eyes and a big grin on his face who kept looking at her. James had invaded her dreams. How had that happened so quickly? It really wasn’t fair. Not when she was getting married in four days.

  Three

  When they all met at the elevator for supper that night, Stephanie’s stomach was in knots. How was she supposed to be able to get her nerves under control when she would obviously be paired up with James all evening? There was something about him that just really struck her.

  She and James were the first two at the elevator, and she looked at him, feeling the familiar lump form in her throat that was always there when she tried to talk to a man.

  “Did you get all settled in?” he asked.

  Stephanie nodded. She felt that she should tell him she was marrying a stranger on Saturday before the pull was too strong, but she just couldn’t get the words out. “Yes, we did. Olivia is sharing a room with me.” But only until Saturday when I marry a stranger. . . .

  “Oh, that’s fun. Olivia seems like a sweet girl.”

  “She is. She’s wonderful! As long as you don’t mind playing Barbies and watching princess movies, she’ll be your best friend.” Stephanie grinned at him, knowing how he would probably feel about doing both of those things.

  He chuckled softly. “I think I mind.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Stephanie said with a grin. “Any idea what we’re doing for dinner tonight?”

  He shook his head. “There’s supposed to be a great steak restaurant here in the hotel. I wouldn’t mind trying that if everyone else
is game.”

  “I have a feeling we’ll all be game.”

  “Oh, good. I wasn’t sure if any of you three ladies were vegan or anything. It happens.”

  “My two sisters married ranchers,” Stephanie said in a low voice. “They would have to be the world’s biggest hypocrites if they were also vegans. Emily will truly eat anything. You have never seen anyone eat like her. Especially after a show. Brittany and I get energized and we want to create songs, but Emily eats and eats. It’s crazy how different the three of us are even though we all have the exact same DNA.”

  James nodded. “You’d think the three of you would all be pretty much the same.”

  “But we’re not. Not at all.” Stephanie heard voices and looked up to see both of her sisters and their husbands walking toward them. She was actually disappointed not to have time to talk to James one on one any longer. She was losing her mind.

  The six of them talked for a minute before deciding on the steak restaurant in the hotel, and they all piled into the elevator. Once they reached the first floor, Emily and Chris led the way, obviously following the signs through the hotel casino they were all staying in.

  When they found the restaurant, they were told it would be a forty-five–minute wait, and all of them agreed, going out to sit on some comfy couches in the lounge.

  Stephanie once again found herself sitting beside James and talking to him. “So, you were a bull rider, the same as Chris and Matt?”

  “We often found ourselves competing against one another. We should probably have had a more competitive mindset toward each other, but we always wanted one of the three of us to win. Now we’ll all be ranchers in the Houston area, and we’ll be competing for business. It’s crazy, but I know we’ll stay friends through all of it.”

  She smiled. “I like that. You don’t have to be enemies just because you compete with one another.”

  “Were you and your sisters ever competitive? I mean, you all want to sing country music, and it would seem like you would fight over who was the best and got to be lead singer and so forth. How was that divided up so easily?”

  Stephanie shrugged. “You’d think. We all agree that I actually have the best voice, but I’m too shy to be lead singer. I love to read and always excelled at creative writing, so I write the lyrics to our original songs. Brittany is really strong on all instruments. She can seriously pick up any new instrument and be able to play it within minutes. So, she needs to be background and playing whatever floats her boat, but she also needs to be writing the music to my lyrics. Emily excels at eating and napping, so you wouldn’t think she was a fabulous business person, but she is! She’s our business manager, and she gets us booked into bars and clubs and all that good stuff. So, we all just kind of naturally floated into place, if that makes sense.” As she spoke, she was very aware of her two sisters watching her. They looked positively worried she’d fall in love with the man beside her. And she thought they had reason to worry.

  “Fascinating. So, you all just have your niches that you fill, and it worked out perfectly. I love that.”

  “I do, too, honestly. It feels right the way things have worked out.” And she had a song forming in her head. About meeting his eyes and knowing he was the one for her. Crap. She was getting married on Saturday. She had to keep telling herself that. Saturday.

  “I think that’s great. Do you ever fight about which songs to sing?” James asked.

  “There’s no need to fight over anything, as far as we can tell. It helps that we’ve grown up sharing toys, food, and our parents’ attention. I think we’re good at making things work, just because we know we’re stuck with each other forever, even if we stop working together.”

  “It’s got to be hard for you to be on stage at all, if you’re as shy as you say you are.” For his part, he hadn’t seen any shyness yet at all. He thought she was pretty darn amazing.

  “I find that the energy of the crowd feeds me. In a bar, I have a much harder time performing, because the audience is right on top of me. But if we’re in a place with an actual stage, I do really well.”

  “I think that’s great. I can’t wait to see you perform. Two days?”

  She nodded. “We perform on the fifth.” And I get married on the seventh. She thought it but didn’t say it. What was she doing?

  They were called to go eat then, and Stephanie couldn’t decide if she was disappointed or relieved. They were led to a big, round booth-like table, and they all slid in side by side. Stephanie was on one end with James to her right, and they were a little squished, so his thigh was pressed all along hers. How was she going to be able to sit through a meal this way when she was already having strong feelings for him?

  Thankfully the conversation was a group one, talking about how excited everyone was with the rodeo.

  “You excited to be at nationals?” Matt asked James.

  “So excited. I mean, I’ve made it before, but this will be the last time I ride . . . and it will be at the rodeo nationals. Who could ask for more?” James shrugged. Stephanie felt the brush of his arm, and her middle started to warm.

  Stephanie watched the conversation, and it was definitely male-dominated. She had nothing to contribute, and she wasn’t sure if she could speak without her voice shaking anyway.

  James had a good time catching up with his friends, but the whole time he talked, he was very aware of the beautiful woman beside him. She was staying quiet, because of her shyness he guessed, but she would take a strange breath every now and then. He had to wonder at it for a moment, but when it happened again, he patted her knee, hoping it would help her calm.

  Stephanie jerked a bit, and he looked at her, their eyes meeting. And then he understood. She was just as attracted to him as he was to her. And he was getting married. This was terrible timing! He was going to have to talk to one of the guys and let them know what was happening so they could warn her about it. He wouldn’t be able to find the words because of how strongly he was feeling.

  As soon as dinner was over, they all met up in the lobby again. Stephanie made a head motion, which gathered her sisters to her, and James took the opportunity to speak with Matt and Chris. He kept his voice low, so she wouldn’t know his dilemma. “I’m getting married Saturday to some random stranger that this crazy purple-haired matchmaker set me up with. I know it’s crazy, but my dad is working me too hard to find a wife.”

  A slow grin spread across Matt’s face. After looking at Chris—and receiving a nod—he said, “I think I know who you’re marrying.”

  “Who?” James asked, frowning at his friend.

  “Stephanie. She’s doing the same thing Saturday.”

  “Are you kidding me?” James shook his head, a smile lighting up his whole face. “Well, no wonder she seems so skittish when we talk. She knows she’s marrying someone else on Saturday. That’s been my whole problem, too. I talk to her, and all I can think is that we don’t have much time to get to know each other, because I’m marrying a stranger.”

  Chris chuckled low in his throat. “I don’t think we should tell Stephanie. She’s so nervous about the wedding already. If she knew it was you, I think it might make things worse.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. She’s feeling the same pull I am.” James felt lighter than air. So happy that it was Stephanie he was marrying.

  “That’s not the problem,” Matt said softly. “The problem is that if she knows the attraction can go somewhere, she’ll be more nervous. Stephanie is super sweet, but she’s nervous around men. I’ve never seen her talk to someone so freely. I think it’s because she doesn’t think she’s marrying you that she’s so free with you.”

  James tilted his head to one side. “So, she’s less nervous with me because she thinks she’s marrying someone else? Strange, but okay. I guess I can live with that.”

  “I hope so, because that’s who she is.” Chris shrugged. “I’ve never known anyone quite so shy with the opposite sex.”

  “
Then we have a plan. She’ll know it’s me when she is walking down the aisle.”

  Chris and Matt exchanged a look.

  “So, do we admit it to our wives?” Matt asked Chris.

  “There’s no way we can admit it to our wives without them telling her,” Chris responded. “I trust Emily with any secret I have, as long as her sisters aren’t involved. They’re too loyal to one another.”

  Matt nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, but that’s going to be a hard secret to keep for four days.”

  “I guess I have a couple of best men for the ceremony, though. That’s a plus.” James looked over at Stephanie, talking softly to her sisters. He couldn’t help but wonder if they were having the same type of conversation over there. Either way, she was the most beautiful woman in the room, and he didn’t care if other people thought the three of them were identical. Stephanie was so much prettier than the other two.

  Finally, they all merged into one group again. “Do we want to see a show tonight?” James asked. Now that he knew she was the woman at the other end of the aisle, he was more than happy to spend a lot of time with Stephanie.

  “That sounds nice, but maybe tomorrow night. Olivia is with someone she doesn’t know well, and I’m going to feel better being with her. Besides, I have a song idea.” The song would be called “Heartbreak,” because she’d just found the man of her dreams and she was marrying someone else in a few days. Why had this happened to her?

  James nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. I can’t wait to hear the new song.”

  As they were parting ways at the elevator again, James leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

  Stephanie stepped back, her hand over her cheek and her pretty eyes wide with shock. “Goodnight.” All the way to her room, she couldn’t stop thinking about how his lips had felt against her cheek. She was losing her mind.

  Four

  Stephanie talked to Amber—the girl hired to take care of Olivia for the evening—for a while when she got back to the room. “How was it? Did you have fun?”