Chapter 34 Made You Look
made you look
ROXANNE
Since I spent the morning staring at my computer screen, I decide to answer a few emails and then head back to the lodge.
The smell of coffee draws me into the dining area before I’m fully awake.
Allie and Leo are already seated at the table, mid-banter and halfway through a shared cinnamon roll the size of a bowling ball.
I slide into the seat across from them and wrap my hands around a coffee mug like it’s an anchor.
“Good morning, darling,” Leo sings. “Sleepless night?”
I glance up. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re hitting that coffee pretty hard,” Allie says.
“I haven’t been sleeping well since the camp out,” I say.
“It’s no wonder. Have you spoken to Duke since?”
I shake my head.
“I’m sorry,” Leo says, cupping his hand over mine.
“It’s my own fault.”
“Can’t you, I don’t know, storm up to him and demand he talk to you?” Allie asks, licking frosting off her finger.
“I’ve tried. It’s not working,” I say, cutting off a piece of the cinnamon roll. “My mother thinks I should try something else.”
“And what did she suggest?” Leo asks after a sip of coffee.
“She told me to flirt with him. To throw on a red dress and walk by in the hopes of getting his attention.”
“I’m swooning. I love this,” Allie says.
“Except that you are slightly rusty in that area, are you not?” Leo asks.
“A little … and a lot. I mean, I have thrown myself at him a few times, but I’m not sure that counts as flirting.”
“Maybe for some, but I think you can do better,” Leo offers.
Allie claps her hands so fast she looks like a toddler who just spotted a puppy. “Roxanne! Yes! I’ve been waiting for this version of you to make her comeback.”
“I’m here for it,” Leo says, raising his mug.
Allie leans across the table. “What’s the plan?”
I hesitate. “That’s where you come in. I may need a few more head-turning outfits and maybe a few pointers.”
“Guess we get to take the afternoon off from shooting and go shopping,” Allie says. “Sigh, I suppose I can make time for it.”
“I don’t know…” I trail off, pretending not to smile.
Out the kitchen window, Duke rides out across the pasture with Topper. The sunlight hits just right, haloing the dust, backlighting his shoulders, catching the motion of his horse’s stride.
I stop breathing.
He’s in his element, completely unaware of me, hat pulled low, riding like he was born in the saddle. Something inside me … clicks.
Allie follows my gaze, then leans in close. “You were saying?”
I finish my coffee and stand. “You’re right. I need a dress. Possibly several.”
Leo stands, too. “That’s the spirit!”
Allie asks to borrow Topper’s Jeep, and he hands her his keys without hesitation. She drives, Leo navigates, and I practically chew my bottom lip off in the back seat. We pull up to Fern & Fable, step inside and the familiar bell over the door jingles.
“This place is like a fairy tale,” Allie says, taking it all in.
“A fairy tale that sells bedazzled cowgirl boots,” Leo says, making a face as he picks up a boot off the shelf.
Soon, Mary-Kate emerges from behind the counter, looking especially beautiful in her own bedazzled boots.
“Well, well, well,” she says, arching one brow as she surveys the three of us. “You’re back sooner than I thought.”
“Yes, hi,” I chirp before introducing Leo and Allie to her.
“So, what brings y’all in?” Mary-Kate asks.
“She needs some things that’re going to get a man’s attention,” Allie says.
Mary-Kate gives a wicked little hum. “Those are the best kind of things.” She spins slightly, eyes twinkling. “And who, exactly, is the man in question, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Mr. Duke Faraday,” Leo blurts out.
“Oh, honey,” she says, sliding a sundress off the rack with a snap of her wrist.
Allie perks up. “Do you know Duke?”
Mary-Kate smirks and tosses the dress into my arms. “Intimately.”
“Oh?” Allie says, her eyes darting to me.
Mary-Kate shrugs, unfazed. “Didn’t last. I wanted wild. He wanted peace. But damn, that man could kiss.”
My heart slowly starts to slide out of my body. “That’s … um … great, really great.”
She winks. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, sweetheart. He wasn’t my type.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried,” I say a little too fast. My voice betrays me, so I add, “Why would I be?” and pretend to study a rack of jeans until the fire fades from my cheeks.
“The good news is, I know exactly what you need.” She strolls up and takes the hem of a dress between two fingers. “Now this, this will make that man stupid.”
And once again, she’s piling clothing in my arms and shoving me into a dressing room.
I try on each piece with Leo and Allie weighing in this time.
I’m changing into a pair of cutoff shorts that look like Jaws had a hand in shredding them when Mary-Kate shoves a red string bikini through the curtain.
“You sell bathing suits?” I ask.
“Yes, ma’am! There’s five hot springs within a twenty-mile radius here, and there’s always a tourist who forgot their suit.”
“I’m sorry, but do you have some dental floss instead?” I ask. “That might give me better coverage than this.”
Mary-Kate sticks her head in the dressing room. “That’s the point, honey.”
As we pile bags into the back of the Jeep, Allie puts her arm around me before I slip into the back seat. “You ready for your entrance, Aphrodite?”
“I feel like I’m going to be more like an awkward Venus flytrap.”
“I have a feeling Duke will be ready to land in your trap and be devoured,” Leo says.
The wind shifts as we head back up the hill toward the ranch, and I catch my reflection in the rearview mirror.
My hair’s windswept, cheeks still flushed from trying on half the shop, and yet, for the first time in a long time, I like what I see.
Not necessarily because of the clothes, but because I’m starting to feel like myself again.
Maybe it’s not only about getting Duke’s attention, but also about showing myself that I remember how I was when I truly wanted someone.