When a Cowboy Takes Charge (The Bridger Bunch #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“ I t’s unnatural, Adam. I mean, Mayor Bridger.” Eli Hawthorne stood, his gnarled hands clutching the rim of his Stetson as he faced the Mustang Valley Town Council. “Your Auntie Kat has no business participatin’ in our Polar Bear Club doings. You need to tell her to stop coming to our Friday plunges.”

Stifling a groan, Adam focused on his irrepressible great auntie. She winked at him. Of course she did. She was a pistol, cleverly disguised as a harmless white-haired lady in a red sweater and tight jeans.

She sat in the front row along with his entire family—his mom, grandma, two more great aunties and seven siblings. They’d all turned out in honor of his first in-person meeting, since a blizzard had forced the council to hold the January one online.

Their long-time friends and neighbors Carrie and Jeff Gilmore had front-row seats, too. They’d come to cheer him on and support their daughter Tracy, the town’s legal counsel.

Tracy’s official front-row seat was directly across from him and he appreciated having her near-at-hand. He’d studied Roberts Rules of Order but he didn’t know them cold. She did.

Normally she would have flashed him a grin following Eli’s comment. Kat and Eli had been entertaining the town for years with their public feud.

But Tracy wasn’t smiling. Or showing any emotion. His jaw tightened. New Year’s Eve had changed everything. And not for the better.

He returned his attention to his great auntie. “What do you have to say, Auntie Kat?”

“It’s sexual discrimination, plain and simple.” The gleam in her eye told him she was gearing up for battle. “They’ve denied me membership and now they’re saying I can’t come to the water hole on Fridays. But it’s public property.”

He shifted his attention to Tracy. “Any thoughts?” Seeing her face-to-face was tougher than he’d anticipated. Online had been easier.

Tracy’s blue-eyed gaze was steady. “The discrimination issue rests on whether the Polar Bear Club meets the definition of a private club.”

“We’re private, Tracy,” Eli said. “Extremely private.”

She swiveled in Eli’s direction. “I’ll need to see your organization’s documents.”

He blinked. “Documents? Uh, we don’t… oh, yeah, right. I’ll get those to you. Um, soon. Got a crazy week goin’ on, but you’ll get ’em.”

“After you make some up,” Auntie Kat muttered.

“As for the water hole,” Tracy continued, “it’s public property, open to everyone.”

“See there?” Auntie Kat lifted her chin in triumph. “I’m legally entitled.”

“Oh, yeah?” The color rose from Eli’s collar. “Are you legally entitled to be there topless ?”

“Why not? You’re topless,” Auntie Kat shot back. “And you have man boobs.”

As the packed chamber erupted in laughter, Adam resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. But he was the mayor, so he banged the gavel and called for order.

“I’m outta here.” A flushed Eli crammed on his hat and made for the door. “Mark my words, Katharine Bridger! Show up tomorrow and I’ll be buck naked!”

“Now you’re just teasing me, you old flirt!”

Adam surveyed his fellow council members, who were clearly trying to control themselves. Except for Reg, who looked affronted. “Anybody want to speak to this issue?”

“We should give your great auntie a medal,” said Betty, the council secretary. At ninety-two she was still blonde and still winning elections. “That takes cojones. I wouldn’t jump topless into that freezing water even if my ass was on fire.”

“Aw, c’mon, Betty.” Thelma, an artist and a newly elected member who favored bright colors and hoop earrings, leaned forward to gaze down the length of the table at her. “Let’s both go tomorrow. Keep Kat company. A plunge-in for women’s rights.”

Betty waved a hand. “You go ahead. Your girls are still perky. Mine have lost their fight with gravity.”

“Let me remind you ladies that we have public decency laws.” Reg puffed out his chest, straining the buttons on his white shirt. He was clearly offended. His reputation as a tightwad made him a great treasurer, but he was also a prude, which annoyed the hell out of the rest of them. “Will you clarify that for them, Tracy?”

She gave a little shrug. “We have a law on the books, but folks assume it applies to the square and the surrounding neighborhoods. Technically the water hole’s within the town limits but you can’t see it from the road. Most everyone’s skinny-dipped there at least once in their life.”

“I haven’t.”

What a surprise. Adam managed to turn his laugh into a cough. “Okay, then. Wendy, Jerry, either of you want to weigh in on the public decency angle?”

“Not me.” Wendy, mom of teenagers and passionate about fundraisers, had promised voters she’d push for more community events. “It’s short notice, but if we set up a concession stand down by the water hole tomorrow, I’ll bet we’d pull in enough to buy the high school a new gym floor.”

This time he couldn’t help laughing. “Much as I love that idea, I?—”

“Just kidding. Operating an outdoor concession during a Montana winter is tough duty. Jerry, over to you, dude.”

“We should have Tracy look into the discrimination charge, but I’m guessing Kat’s out of luck on that. As for sharing the water hole, Kat and Eli will have to work it out.” A life-long rancher, Jerry was low maintenance and a dedicated public servant.

As the vice mayor, he’d stepped into the mayor’s job when Adam’s father died two years ago. Then he’d gently urged Adam to run for the office. He’d promised to stay on as vice mayor to shepherd him through the first couple of years. Adam was grateful.

He gave Jerry a nod. “That sounds good. Is everybody ready to move on?” When they all agreed, he turned back to the agenda. “Then let’s hear from our state highway department rep. Steve was kind enough to drive down from Helena to give us an update on the road project.”

The crowd quieted immediately. Improvements to a mountainous road west of town would increase accessibility and boost Mustang Valley’s economy. Last spring Tracy and his sister Mila had drawn up a petition and the Bridger Bunch had circulated it.

Adam had hand-carried all those signatures to Helena. Since then he’d been in constant contact with anyone connected to state road projects.

Money was tight, but he was cautiously optimistic the project would be funded. Since he'd read the report backwards and forwards, he had time to catch his breath while Steve went through his presentation.

His mom had laughed with everyone else during the Kat and Eli show, but now she gazed at him misty-eyed. She returned his smile, though. Tough lady. She’d always said he was the spitting image of his dad, who’d occupied this chair through many election cycles. As had his grandfather.

The title Mayor Bridger belonged to those two. He wasn’t even slightly used to having anyone call him that. He’d set a record for being the youngest mayor in Mustang Valley’s history.

Jerry hadn’t needed to lobby hard to get him to run, though. He’d always expected to sit in this chair, just not this soon. When Tracy had landed the job as the town’s legal counsel last spring, that had convinced him to go for it. She was so damn smart.

But she hadn’t been very smart on New Year’s Eve after the party at the Rockin’ Raccoon. And he’d been dumb as a rock.

Tracy had a very human excuse for making such a huge mistake. He did not. And now the warm friendship and camaraderie they’d enjoyed for more than twenty-five years was shredded to bits.

He'd written her a long letter of apology, hoping that sending it snail mail would carry more weight. She’d replied with a jaunty text saying all was well.

But it wasn’t. He’d been avoiding her ever since New Year’s, which had been easy considering all he had on his plate as the incoming mayor.

Maybe she’d been dodging him, too. Their only contact had been through email, texts, and last month’s online meeting. These days they had little reason to accidentally run into each other.

When she’d lived on her parents’ ranch it would happen all the time. But ever since she’d set up her office in town and moved into the apartment above it, they’d had less casual contact.

To keep in touch, they’d replaced happenstance with a new habit—coffee breaks at the Dandy Donut a couple of times a week. Sometimes his sister Mila came and sometimes it was just the two of them.

New Year’s Eve’s debacle had put an end to that routine. He missed her like crazy. The old saying was true. You don’t know whacha got til it’s gone.

His own damn fault. He’d crossed the line. Seeing her tonight had sent a jolt through his system, but he’d done his best to act normal.

Was she suffering, too? Her deadpan expression earlier told him she was. He looked at her again and this time her mask slipped. His gaze locked with hers, hungry for the connection.

The sudden heat that arced between them caught him off guard. His breath hitched and his groin tightened.

No! He would not allow himself to react that way. She’d been in a vulnerable place, probably still was. Taking advantage of that had been inexcusable and it would never happen again.

She broke eye contact, turned sideways toward Mila and murmured a comment. Her wavy red hair curtained her face, almost hiding the pink tinge on her cheeks. For the rest of the meeting, he made sure he never looked straight at her again.

Questions from residents about the road project took more than an hour. Then Adam gave a quick report on L’Amour and More, the bookshop scheduled to open this summer. Council meetings ended promptly at eight, so he had to table several items and called for a motion to adjourn.

Reg made the motion in his usual pedantic style.

“I second it!” Betty called out. “Rockin’ Raccoon time!”

The chamber emptied quickly. Years ago Adam’s extremely social dad had established the tradition of heading for the bar after a council meeting. Spence Bridger had believed that more problems were solved over a beer than across a bargaining table.

Adam’s entire family went. So did Tracy. Yes, he was keeping track of her and yes, that was a bad idea. But responsibility for their jacked-up relationship sat like a haybale on his shoulders.

So what if she’d kissed him first? He could have deescalated the situation. So many reasons to gently cool things down and only one to turn up the heat—an attack of old-fashioned lust.

He’d shut his eyes to the warning lights and turned a deaf ear to the blaring sirens. Champagne had stripped away her inhibitions, but he didn’t have that excuse.

He’d failed her that night. Was there a way he could get back what they’d lost? Tonight was the first chance he’d had to bridge the gap.

What if he took a page out of his dad’s book and offered to buy her a beer?