Chapter Four
“Wow, it looks like the entire county is here,” Savannah commented as she and Annie followed the direction Cody was pointing from where she stood behind the bar. They made their way to a booth with a reserved sign on it. Savannah slid into one side of the booth, leaving the other for Annie and Riley, who were one step behind them.
“Your band really packs them in,” she said to Riley.
His smile was genuine and his response humble. “They just like live music.”
“No, they just like you,” Savannah disagreed and saw the smile that rose on Annie’s face. She knew Annie was proud of Riley and still more than a little starstruck herself, even if she was married to the man. Who could blame her?
“That’s kind of you, but we’re not all that.”
“Well, let’s just agree to disagree, shall we? Oh, and dinner’s on me. You guys picked up the tab the last two times.”
“You know, I did invite you,” Riley pointed out and then added. “But I won’t turn down a free meal.”
“Thank you.” She looked around. “You know, this place—this town would make a perfect backdrop for a film or television series.”
“I think so, too.” Annie agreed. “Small town, feel good, but with drama and a bit of danger now and again.”
“Yes! It has everything. The big-time movie star who came home, fell in love, and still has every woman in the county pestering the hell out of her husband to take her to the local bar when he and his band are playing. The woman who comes to town and wins his heart. Oh, and the way the Weathers men and their family in the Carolinas had that curse on them, but they found love, and—”
“Hey y’all.” Cody Sweet-Riggs interrupted as she approached the table. “You drinking, eating, or both?”
“Both.” Savannah answered. “One tab, please.”
“Sure thing. What’ll you have?”
Savannah looked at Annie and Riley. “Beer for me,” Riley answered. “My usual for dinner.”
Annie looked at Savannah. “What’re you having?”
Savannah smiled. “Patrón, a double with one of those lemonades you make as a back.”
“Same here,” Annie said. “And for dinner, a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and hush puppies.”
“Make that two,” Savannah said.
“Okay, be back with your drinks in a flash.”
“Tequila?” Riley gave Annie the side-eye, and she laughed.
“Well, all righty then,” Riley said and gave Annie a kiss.
“Okay, so what’s the deal with tequila?” Savannah asked.
Annie looked at Riley before answering. “Tequila works on me.”
“Oh, as in it makes you want to take your clothes off and chase Riley around the house? That kinda crazy?”
Annie and Riley both laughed and Savannah made a face. “Girl, I thought you meant something out of the ordinary. Oh hey, there’s Grady and Charli. They really make a couple, don’t they? Kinda like Superman and Wonder Woman.”
“She is a big gal.” Riley agreed. “Not fat, but Wonder Woman big.”
“And a perfect match for Grady,” Annie added.
“I think they’re beautiful,” Savannah admitted, still watching Grady and Charli. “Like you and Riley.” She turned her attention back to them. “You know, there are the most gorgeous people in this town.”
“No more than anywhere else,” Riley argued.
“Oh yes, statistically, I bet there are. Just take a look around. For example, the Weathers family. Good God. Every one of those men is drool-worthy. And their wives are beautiful. Then there’s Kyle Stadler and Liz. Wow, talk about a sexy couple. And what about Cody and Hannah—and their cousin Cliff and his wife Roxy? Oh, and Cody’s husband Jax? Holy smokes. This place is crawling with hot.”
“What’s crawling with hot?” Cody asked as she stopped at their booth with a tray.
“Cotton Creek,” Savannah replied and added “thanks,” as Cody put her tequila and lemonade on the table.
“And you’re just adding to it,” Cody replied. “Hey, did you hear the scoop on what happened at Nellie Mae’s last night?”
“No, what?” Annie asked.
“Scoot over.” Cody slid in beside Savannah. “Well, the way I heard it, Mason had just crossed the hall with a towel wrapped around his waist. He closed the door of his room and ten seconds later, someone banged on the front door.
“Nellie Mae ran to answer and it was two women who are in the play they’re rehearsing at the school. One works at Greene’s steakhouse and the other works at the salon doing hair. Anyway, they were in a rare snit according to Nellie Mae, both claiming to have a date with Mason.”
“Aren’t they a bit young for him?” Riley asked.
“Well, duh, you’d think so,” Cody agreed. “They must be all of twenty. Anyway, he apparently heard them arguing with Nellie Mae when she wouldn’t let them in and walked out of his room wearing just jeans, which apparently scandalized Nellie Mae and sent those gals into some kind of horny fit.”
“Horny fit?” Annie asked.
“Well, he is fine, you know and have you ever seen him dance? Good Lord and a quarter, that’ll stir a woman’s blood. Anyway, he tried to tell them that he didn’t have a date with either of them nor would he, and they got to fussing and before you know it, those girls were rolling around on the porch, scratching, kicking, and pulling hair like two alley cats.”
“Sounds like Nellie Mae’s going to have something to talk about for a week or so,” Riley commented.
“Oh yeah. It got so bad that when Mason tried to split them up, one of them latched onto his arm and damn near bit to the bone. He had to go have a tetanus shot and two stitches.
“Not only that, but one of the girls knocked Nellie Mae down and she dislocated her shoulder and is in the hospital.”
“For a dislocated shoulder?” Riley asked.
“Come on, this is Nellie Mae we’re talking about.”
“Good point.”
“And the girls?” Savannah asked, curious as to how it all ended.
“Oh, Nellie Mae pressed charges and they spent the night in jail.”
“And now Cotton Creek has more grist for the mill.” Riley said and raised his beer bottle. “Here’s to Nellie Mae. By the time she’s done with this tale, it’s gonna be a whole lot bigger than it actually was.”
“Amen to that, brother.” Cody said and stood. “Okay, your food will be up soon.”
When she hurried away, Savannah looked across the table at her friends. “Wow, this place is getting more interesting by the minute.”
“Stick around, kid,” Riley said and grinned. “People once claimed that nothing ever happened in Cotton Creek.” He looked at Annie. “When this one rode into town, that saying went out the window.”
Once more, Savannah found herself wondering what it must be like being that much in love with someone, and so happy with your life, the way Riley and Annie seemed to be.
Would she ever know what it really felt like, or would her only knowledge of that kind of love and passion be what she could put into the pages of a book?
Pondering that question would have to wait. Their food arrived and while they were eating, a lot of people stopped by to say hello and chat for a minute. Savannah was struck once more with how friendly people were in Cotton Creek and how close they were with one another.
They were more like family than neighbors or acquaintances. She hadn’t experienced anything like that since she was a child, and even then, it was something she viewed from the outside looking in.
Here, she felt there was a chance for her to be part of things and not merely an observer, and she guessed that was what made the idea of moving here permanently so appealing.
When Riley left to go set up with the band, Annie moved across the booth to sit beside Savannah where she had a better view. Cody got up on stage and as the house lights dimmed, the stage was lit.
“Hey, everyone. Welcome and I hope you’re having a good time.”
There was a roar of cheers, hoots, hollers, clapping and boot stomping, followed by a chant that started with a few and grew.
“Honky Tonk Angels, Honky Tonk Angels…” over and over, the people shouted.
Savannah leaned closer to Annie. “What does that mean?”
“You’ll see.” Annie said and joined in.
“Okay, okay!” Cody agreed. “Hannah, start up the juke box and get our girls on the floor. Annie? Callie? Get your butts out here.”
She put the microphone back into the stand and hopped down from the stage. Annie looked at Savannah. “I’ll be back.”
With that, she ran to join the other women on the dance floor. The music started and all the women started to dance, a complicated line dance that they performed perfectly.
When they finished, everyone clapped and cheered. All the women left the dance floor but Cody. Annie took her seat beside Savannah as Cody held up her hands for silence. “Okay, now you all know I’m a hog for attention.”
There were a lot of hoots and laughter that she waved away. “So anyway, lately a friend has been teaching me some new moves and I figured that tonight is as good a time as any to show you what you could learn to do, too. Mason?”
Savannah felt her heart beat a bit faster when Mason stood to join Cody on the dance floor. The music started and Mason pulled Cody into his arms. For the next three minutes, he spun her, lifted her, gyrated with and against her, and quite effectively seduced every woman in the place.
It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen and she found herself wishing she were out there dancing with him, that he was looking and smiling at her, and her body was pressed against his.
And all that wishing sent her catapulting back to that time when she was the painfully shy, awkwardly skinny young girl with the braces on teeth and leg. The girl who didn’t experience her first kiss until she was in college, the girl who didn’t get asked to prom or the homecoming dance or any of the other social things.
She felt the same kind of adulation at that moment for Mason that she had way back when she sat on the bleachers at the high school stadium and watched the quarterback of the football team practice. Always watching and wanting but never noticed.
The cheers and screams were deafening when the dance ended. Cody gave Mason a big hug, then waved for silence once more. “Okay, now guys, if you wanna learn some major moves, head on over to the legion hall on Tuesday and Thursdays from seven to ten and on Saturday afternoon from one till five. And ladies… well, are words really necessary?”
The next round of cheers was louder than the first. Mason smiled, gave a wave, and tried to return to his table where Jayce and his brother JD and JD’s wife Joelene sat. He was mobbed by the time he got there.
“You were fantastic.” Savannah said to Annie.
“Me? No. But it’s such fun. We do it every now and then. Now that dance Cody and Mason did… woooo, that was something.”
“No kidding.”
“Looks like half the women here will be signing up for his classes.”
“Looks that way.” Savannah wished she didn’t feel so disheartened by that. It wasn’t like she had any claims on him. Hell, he didn’t even know her name. But there were a lot of really pretty women clamoring for his attention right now. Women she couldn’t compete with.
“Hey, I hate to run, but I forgot that I promised to fax back some papers to my attorney in the morning and I haven’t even read them.”
Annie put her hand on Savannah’s arm. “Please don’t run away.”
“I’m not.”
“Savannah.”
“Okay, I am, but you need to let me because right now that’s what’s best for me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Annie got up and let Savannah slide out of the booth. They hugged, then Savannah headed to the bar to pay the check. There were a couple of people ahead of her so she had to wait.
“Ms. Harper?” A voice behind her had her turning. One look at the man who stood there had her momentarily losing her tongue.
“You are Savannah Harper, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Sorry. Yes, I am.”
“Mason James.” He held out his hand.
Savannah looked down at his hand for a good two seconds before she placed hers in it. “We’ve met.”
“We have?”
“Your introductory class. I was there with a friend.”
“But we weren’t introduced. Anyway, you left me a note and I wanted to let you know I’d be happy to act as a resource, but I can’t charge you for it.”
“Of course you can. I’d be taking up your time.”
“Well, I don’t know that I’d feel right about that.”
“Then how about I sign up for private lessons?”
“Just to talk?”
“Yes.”
“How about this? You sign up for a two-hour session twice a week and we’ll spend an hour talking during each session.”
“And the other hour?”
“That hour we’ll dance.”
“I’m not a good dancer, Mr. James.”
“But I’m a good teacher, Ms. Harper. Or is that Mrs.?”
For the first time in as long as she could remember, Savannah deliberately lied. “It’s Ms.”
“So, what do you say we start tomorrow, Ms. Harper? Would morning work for you? Say nine?”
“It’d be perfect, Mr. James.”
“Then I’ll see you then.”
“Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”
He smiled, turned, and walked away. Savannah turned back to the counter where Cody was grinning at her. “What?” she asked.
“Just thinking that you and Mason would make a good-looking couple.”
Savannah snorted. “Honey, he is way out of my league.”
“I don’t think so.” Cody argued, took Savannah’s credit card, ran the charge, and then returned the card to her with a slip to sign.
Savannah added a generous tip and signed. “Say, are you and Hannah going to make it to the gathering next weekend to celebrate my buying the lake house?”
“You know it. Jax is watching the kids and I’ve got the night off. Hannah said Daddy was going to man the bar so she’s squared away, too. What do you want us to bring?”
“Just yourself unless you have a preference on drinks.”
“Gotcha. Looking forward to it.”
“Great. See you then.”
Savannah went outside and got into her car, but for a few minutes just sat there, listening to the sound of voices and music that drifted out of the bar. Now that she was alone, she could feel the shakes coming on, that nervous thing that used to almost incapacitate her as a teenager.
Damn, why did this have to happen? She’d never had it with Tim and she didn’t get a bit nervous or shy when she was in front of people for publicity for her book. She didn’t even feel this way when she met the stars who’d be cast to play the characters she created.
So why did her attraction for Mason James make her feel like the ugly skinny girl who couldn’t get a date all over again?