Beau was no stranger to stains like these. He remembered once how Dixie had fallen into a cow patty just as massive. Though, when his niece got dirty, they would just hose her down in the yard before bringing her inside. Beau couldn’t reasonably do that with Tara, though part of him wished he could have seen her all wet like that.

Instead, he settled for snatching her dirty clothes from her outstretched hand that she slipped through the cracked bathroom door. The knowledge that she was standing naked in his shower was enough to make him rock hard while he went to the mudroom, gently scrubbed off the dung and muck from her blouse.

Seeing Tara get along so well with Dixie had been a treat. He had dated plenty of women who pretty much treated his niece like a baby whenever he brought them to meet the rest of his family. Tara didn’t do that. She almost treated Dixie like an equal.

When Daniel came out with his usual sour face, Beau thought about giving him a piece of his mind. How was he supposed to impress Tara when he barely smiled and only talked about business?

After getting the last of the mud off her blouse, Beau threw it, along with her jeans and underwear – a black lacy thing that must have gotten a little sweaty during the ride – in the washing machine set on a delicate cycle. He wasn’t an expert on washing a lady’s clothes. Most of the time, he had to put the cycle on heavy-duty just to get the dust and dirt out of his jeans.

Daniel appeared in the doorway to the laundry room, his hands jammed in his jean pockets. Everyone else had changed and Dixie was busy looking through her closet of board games to find something for the family to do before dinner.

Beau looked up into his brother’s eyes and knew something was troubling him – more than usual.

“What’s up?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Daniel let out a long breath. “She didn’t seem all that interested in the ranch. And I can’t believe you made her ride without making sure she was comfortable with it. Is there another reason you invited her here? I mean, I don’t mind if you like her, but you don’t have to make up stuff.”

Beau lowered his brows. “I didn’t make up a story. She really seemed to want to come over.”

His brother donned that look that told Beau he wasn’t buying it anymore. Why did Daniel have to be so suspicious? Could he just fall in love with Tara the moment they locked eyes? Why couldn’t this be easy?

Truth be told, Beau saw the hesitance in Tara’s eyes when she realized all of them would go riding together, as if she were disappointed somehow. Beau had brushed it off after he saw how awkward she behaved on Magpie while they were riding out to the pastures. How was he supposed to know that she wouldn’t know how to ride or handle a horse? She was perfect in every other way. But when she seemed to brighten up after he escorted her back to the house, just the two of them, Beau thought he had a better idea why.

It seemed that both Tara and Daniel were going to make this match-making game difficult for him.

With a little sheepish shrug, he said, “I wanted you to meet her. She’s a great girl and…” He paused, trying to think of a way out of this mess. Maybe there was another angle he could approach this from, one that wouldn’t make Daniel throw up his guard. “I thought she might be a good bookkeeper for the ranch or a nanny for Dixie. I know you need help around here, so I was just trying to look out for some potential candidates.”

Daniel seemed to buy his white lie again, only partially satisfied with his excuse. His brother might have not been the smart one, but he had some common sense when it came to business. He knew what was sound logic and what was a bad idea. He always said it had something to do with what his gut told him. Luckily, that same gut wasn’t a lie detector.

“I guess she might be good for a bookkeeper. She’s got experience at the dentist office. And Dixie likes her, so maybe she could do both… I thought this had to do with you and her.”

If Daniel was going to ever entertain the idea of Tara being a future wife, Beau had to lie again. At least he wasn’t mad about Beau supposedly overstepping his bounds. And he was thankful his brother didn’t ask why he suddenly cared about the wellbeing of the ranch at all. “What?” he replied with as much disgust as he could muster when thinking about Tara. “No. She’s not my type.”

His brother cocked an eyebrow at him. “Not your type? How can she not be your type?”

Yeah, he was going to have to lie big time. “I don’t know… I guess it’s her legs.”

Daniel’s eyes nearly popped out. “Her legs?”

“Too long.”

At that, he snorted and turned away. “You’ve lost your mind.”

This was a good sign and Beau resisted the urge to smile. Though her legs were a huge plus to her overall stunning looks, Beau tried to pick out something he knew Daniel would disagree with. Daniel always loved long legs.

Before he could continue, Dixie came running up with a deck of playing cards. “Daddy, can we play Texas Hold ‘Em before dinner?”

Daniel ruffled the top of his daughter’s head. “Who taught you to play that?”

Beau saw this as his cue and slipped out behind his brother to retreat down the hall just as his niece was throwing him under the bus.

* * *

Tara wringed her hair dry and stepped out of the shower, water dripping from her skin, soaking the towel that had been laid out in lieu of a bath mat. The water pressure in Beau’s bathroom was much better than in her own apartment and it made her look forward to the possibility of showering there more often.

While she washed away the dirt and grime from the ride, scrubbing her skin until she couldn’t smell the cow dung anymore, Tara thought of nothing else but the lovely evening ahead. When they came inside, she heard Dixie say something about playing a game before dinner. She wasn’t one for games, mostly because she could get insanely competitive by accident. However she’d do just about anything to spend more time with Beau.

She found a clean towel underneath the counter and breathed in the scent of clean linen to detox her nostrils after the harrowing ordeal she'd had on the horse. With time, she was sure she could get used to living on a ranch. Hell, she might even enjoy going for long evening rides with Beau every so often. She’d probably have to if she ever hoped to be in a real relationship with him.

It was then that the harsh reality hit her in the face. She and Beau weren’t dating. Not really. She wasn’t exactly sure where she stood with him. Dixie loved her, that was a fact, but a child’s admiration seemed a lot easier to win right now than Beau’s. There was the softness of his touch and the hungry way he looked at her sometimes, but besides that, there was nothing else to prove his affections. She wasn’t really even sure how to find out without blatantly asking him, which was out of the question anyway.

She dried her body and hair to the best of her ability and then slipped on a fresh set of clothes. Not wishing to be wasteful, she wrapped her used towel around her shoulders to keep her damp hair off her clothes. She exited the bathroom, letting steam roll out with her. Not only was the water pressure phenomenal, but she could turn it to the perfect temperature.

When she stepped out into Beau’s bedroom, she took a moment to look around, searching for anything that could tell her more about him. With the stench of cow shit still clinging to her skin, she didn’t want to waste a lot of time wandering around.

A pair of jeans were thrown over the footboard and she saw the back pockets were speckled with dirt and hay. Maybe he intended to wear them later? Next to his digital alarm clock, she could see the prong-end of a phone charger and a rather fancy looking wrist watch that laid undone across the surface. It was definitely too clean and formal to wear when he was out working with the livestock. Maybe he only wore it for special occasions? The idea of Beau in anything but Wranglers was a little hard to imagine, but she wouldn’t mind seeing him in a nice suit and jacket.

The walls were bare, but that wasn’t too surprising. If he had just moved in a few months ago, he probably didn’t have the time or the motivation to get too settled and personalize the room. His closet wasn’t crowded at all. His wardrobe was sparse in comparison to hers. Only maybe half a dozen button-down shirts, and some polos. No sign of that formal suit.

Tara ran her fingers over the smooth leather fabric of a jacket sleeve and noticed there were several shoe and packing boxes covering the floor of the closet. If only she had the time and privacy to leaf through and see what secrets they held.

This couldn’t have been everything he brought with him from his previous place. Could this room have belonged to him before he left home the first time? This hardly looked to be the room of a teenage boy that would have been kept in pristine condition by loving parents. Then again, with the rocky history between Beau and his family, maybe they wanted to wipe out all remembrance of him. That would explain the minimalist décor and lack of possession.

The chest of drawers must have held his t-shirts, jeans, and other clothes that most people didn’t bother to hang up in a closet. She wondered if the book would retell this moment and give her hints to whatever hidden contents were in the drawers.

Remembering the book reminded her that there was so much left unspoken in this story. She still didn’t know Beau’s side and so desperately wanted to know what he thought of her. He seemed interested, but she wasn’t about to go probing for answers to him personally. There had to be some way to get him alone, without Daniel or Dixie so she could better assess what it was they shared.

She bit her lip as a clever plan formed in her mind. Then again, could she even do anything? So far, she had let Beau and the book dictate what was happening day to day. How much freedom was she granted when it came to throwing in a plot twist or moving this romance forward the way she wanted it to go?

She jumped just as the bedroom door opened and Beau appeared. Spinning in place, caught in the act of staring into his closet again, she was suddenly too shy to say a thing. Did he suspect that she was looking at his stuff? Would he be mad?

He seemed to recover from the shock of seeing her there, barefoot with a towel draped over her shoulders, and smiled. “Have a nice shower?”

Oh, what she wouldn’t have given to know if he would ever say those exact words to her again, but under different – more pleasurable – circumstances. While she rinsed her hair, she couldn’t help but realize that the shower stall was just big enough for two people to squeeze in. That made her mind run wild with ideas.

She nodded and hoped that her cheeks didn’t turn too red under the question. “Yeah, thanks for letting me use your bathroom.”

“Anytime.”

Tara forced herself not to read into that response. He was just being nice. No need to get excited. Though, she could already tell that a bit of heat was pooling between her legs.

Beau cleared his throat and she wondered if he realized his slip. “Have you ever played Texas Hold ‘Em before?” he asked as he jerked a thumb toward the door.

She blinked at the question, unsure of how to respond. “Ummm… I think I played it once or twice during summer camp, but not recently.”

Beau’s smile reached his eyes. “Well, I think Dixie may want to teach you. She’s been shuffling the cards for the last ten minutes.”

Somehow, Tara had expected whatever game they played would involve dice, moving pieces around a board, and laughing across a table. Cards hadn’t even entered her mind. “I hope I wasn’t leaving y’all waiting for too long.”

“No, Dixie’s just impatient. When we’re done with a few rounds, we’ll start dinner.”

Tara walked closer after retrieving her bag from the bathroom. “What’s on the menu, by the way?”

“Spaghetti. Dixie’s way.”

She made a face. “Should I be scared?”

Beau chuckled as he leaned a bit on the doorknob. “No, not at all. It’s actually pretty good.”

“When you said it was Dixie’s kind of spaghetti, I half expected the sauce would be ketchup or something.”

He laughed as she came to the door and they stood so close to one another that she could smell that clean linen scent on his shirt that matched his towels. “Believe it or not, she is picky about her spaghetti. You won’t have to worry about anything unusual in your sauce.”

Tara smiled and let this moment seep in as she looked up into Beau’s gorgeous blue eyes and saw how the outside corners crinkled when he laughed. It was like he made everything perfect, just by being this close to her. Why hadn’t she paid more attention to him in school? Had she been so shallow as to look him over just because he didn’t have big muscles or a jersey uniform? Beau had the heart of a real fairytale hero, but she had passed him up. How could she had been so stupid?

And by the way he looked, he must have felt the same. Oh, how she wished that darn book could have told her what he was feeling right then. She had no idea what to say. Honestly, just to stand so close, sharing the same air, was more than enough to make her ridiculously happy. They could have kissed, or just stood there for a hundred years. As long as he was there, gazing down at her with such kind eyes, Tara didn’t care which it was. Surely he did care for her, even a little.

“We probably shouldn’t keep Dixie waiting for much longer or she’ll start dealing the cards for us. And she cheats, just so you know.”

Tara briefly looked away before she giggled again. “Good thing I’m wearing long sleeves so I can slip in a card or two.”

Beau gave a playful groan as he closed the door behind him. “Oh, no. Not another cheater.”

* * *

Tara and Daniel had walked out of the house several minutes ago, and Beau’s hands were busy washing the dishes from dinner. It was the only thing he could do to distract himself from running to the window the way Dixie had.

The evening couldn’t have gone better. Dixie was more than excited to teach Tara Texas Hold ‘Em and in turn, she learned just as quickly. If they had been playing with real money instead of Monopoly money, the guys would have been cleaned out within the first three games. The girls dominated.

Dinner went just as smoothly and Beau couldn’t remember a time when there had been as much conversation and laughter at the table. They talked about everything from the ranch to Tara’s job at the dentist to their old high school days. Old gossip about classmates, teachers, and winning football games were the most exciting topics. Dixie was in for a real treat when they broke out a stack of dusty yearbooks to leaf through. There was a kind of nostalgic pain when they looked to fellow classmates who were voted most likely to succeed or something related, only to find that their lives after high school were so totally different than any of them had imagined.

But the fun feeling was rekindled when they came upon the old line dancing club photos. He had never noticed Tara’s picture there before. When he pointed to the photo of her swinging her hips and tapping a pair of boots on a dance floor, she shrugged it off as something she did after school for a while. The picture of her holding a trophy told a different story. Beau watched the way she colored when he said that he’d love to watch her dance sometime. Maybe that was the next step in getting her and Daniel closer.

Talking with Tara was easy. Even Daniel opened up and Beau was sure his brother hadn’t been that happy since before the funeral. Everything was falling into place, but Beau’s chest continued to ache. Yeah, everything was going according to his secret plans, but that might as well have been a disaster for him. Tara won his heart just as quickly and seamlessly as she had won Dixie’s and Daniel’s in the timespan of two evenings. How could a woman so perfect and beautiful not be taken already? He couldn’t even recall her dating in high school.

If they had a moment alone, he would have asked just that. But, it was his brother’s turn to have a moment. If he could have talked to his seventeen-year-old self, he would have threatened him to ask Tara out while he had the chance.

“Do you think daddy’s going to ask her out?” Dixie cried from the living room.

Those words were like a branding iron straight through his chest. He dried his hands and went to the front window where Dixie had pulled up a chair to sit in while she spied on her dad. Beau squatted beside her and pulled back the curtain a little more to take a peek.

“Well?” she squealed, practically bouncing in her seat.

Instead of giving his true opinion on the matter, he looked to his niece and asked, “Do you want him to ask her out?”

Dixie grinned and now he knew from whom she inherited that devilish look in her eye. Him. “I do. Daddy laughed a lot tonight. I want him to laugh more and if Tara can do that, I want him to ask her out.”

Beau swallowed hard and looked back outside. Tara and Daniel were quietly talking by her car and though it was too dark to make out their faces, he knew they were standing rather close to one another.

He wished he could have been out there, saying goodnight to her. He would take her hands in his, tell her that he had an amazing night, and ask her to share so many more nights with him. He’d kiss those soft, full lips and breathe in the scent of the lavender body wash she had used a few hours ago. If things went well enough, he would have pinned her to the car and made out with her like he wanted to the night before when they stood in the parking lot outside the carnival.

He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long breath.

“Are you ok, Uncle Beau?” Dixie asked, her voice pulling him back to reality.

Of course he wasn’t all right. Tara wasn’t his and wouldn’t be, if everything went right.

* * *

“So, I was thinking,” Daniel began. “If you’re up for it, maybe you could stop by every now and again to spend some time with Dixie.”

Tara smiled, though she really wanted to scream. Dixie was a wonderful girl and a bundle of fun when they were playing cards. She couldn’t remember a time when she'd had such a great time, besides maybe the carnival the night before. This night, however, was even more special because she got to sit across from Beau. They occasionally looked up and when their gazes met, it was like fireworks. Every single time. She was falling headlong for Beau, so when it was Daniel who offered to escort her to her car, she wanted to demand that his brother do it instead. That would have been rude, though, so she just politely nodded.

Coming by to play with Dixie every once and a while wasn’t such a bad idea, when she thought about it a little more. If she came to the ranch, maybe she’d get a chance to see Beau again. She could stay for dinner more often. She had to twist these things around or else she’d get totally disheartened.

Tara nodded. “I wouldn’t mind. I’m sure she’d like the company.”

Daniel’s hands were tucked deep into his pockets, almost up to his wrists. Strange that they had just been talking about how Daniel scored so many winning touchdowns, but he seemed so nervous around her. “Great. Beau has your number, right?”

“Yep, and I’ve got his,” she replied. “I can also look up your number in our patient directory, so I can get your number that way.” Honestly, she didn’t want to spend another moment standing by her car. She wanted to hurry home and lose herself in the magical book for a few hours so she could relive the night all over again.

Daniel nodded and something akin to hope sparked in his eyes, but she couldn’t figure why. “Okay, that sounds good.” He paused, but she could tell by the way he made such solid eye-contact and how his lips parted just a bit, that he had something else he wanted to say. The words just weren’t coming out quick enough. “I’m really glad Beau met you, and I hope this hasn’t been too awkward at all.”

Awkward? How could going on two indirect dates with a guy using the excuse of entertaining his niece ever seem awkward? Tara laughed it off. “Oh, it’s fine. Dixie’s a great kid and you guys have been so nice, even after I totally embarrassed myself on Magpie earlier.”

Daniel smiled, his teeth slightly reflecting the porch light behind her. “I’m sorry about that too. I’m sure after a few more rides, you’ll get the hang of it.”

That implied there would be more chances to come to the ranch. More chances to see Beau. Maybe, more chances to take a shower after she got sweaty and dirty from a long trail ride. “I’m sure I will.”

Daniel took a deep, steeling breath and plunged right into what was weighing on his mind. “So, do you dance anymore? I mean, the line dancing like in the club in high school.”

Tara wanted to tear out that page from the yearbook as soon as she saw it. The only reason she even joined that club was because her friends all said she should and it would be a neat way to exercise. It was, and she loved the way those cutoff jeans turned the heads of all the guys in the club, but she didn’t do it for long. That was the only competition she had ever entered and then she dropped out of the club the following semester.

But she saw the way Beau slid her an intrigued look, as if he wanted to see her in those cutoff jeans now that she had grown into her long legs a bit. Maybe Daniel was acting on Beau’s behalf and covertly asking about line dancing so they could go out. That would have been absolutely perfect.

“Not really, but I’m sure I could remember the steps,” she replied with a grin.

He smiled in return, as if that was exactly what he wanted to hear. “Great. I know they do line dancing down at the Howling Moon in Morrisville. Do you want to go with me tomorrow? It’s Friday night and I think they’ll have a live band.”

Tara tried not to let her disappointment show. Daniel was asking her out? If they were in high school, she would have said yes in a heartbeat, just because every girl in her class would have given their right arm to be noticed by the football jock. Now, older and wiser with better tastes, Tara knew she preferred the sport star’s younger brother.

But once more, the gears in her mind were turning. She didn’t have the book to consult, nor could she spare a moment to think about it. This might have been her big chance to land Beau for good.

“That’d be fun. Can I bring a friend along? She loves dancing too and maybe you can bring Beau along.”

Daniel didn’t seem totally turned off by the idea. “So, kind of like a double-date?”

Tara would have rather planted face-first in a steaming cow patty than let Rebecca get anywhere close to Beau. Although once she explained the situation, maybe it could be redeemed. She just needed to get Beau alone.

“Yeah, something like that,” she replied. “Do you think Beau would go for it?”

“I can definitely ask. I’ll talk it over with him tonight and see what he says.”

She nodded in agreement. “And I’ll ask my friend too. I’m sure she’ll say yes, though.”

That was a lie. Rebecca was one of her friends who completely refused to step foot on the dance floor no matter if it was at prom, at the homecoming dance, or for the club. She had two left feet and wasn’t ashamed to use that as an excuse. Tara was sure that as soon as she mentioned Daniel Bremor was coming along, she’d be onboard for just about anything, including a little honkytonk dancing.