15. Sage
SAGE
The Silver Pony Tavern is everything I could have hoped for. I take it all in as I follow Taryn and Quinn through the door.
Wagon wheels line the ceiling, each strung with bare lightbulbs.
A vast, empty fireplace takes up one corner, and several high-top tables are set up near the bar.
The scuffed wooden dance floor, which includes a small stage, is surrounded by mismatched wooden furniture and leather couches.
At the opposite end of the room, two shallow steps lead down to a crowded area with pool tables.
The place smells like smoky leather and liquor, and twangy country music spills from speakers set in the ceiling corners.
And it’s full. Given the size of the town, this is apparently where everyone in Silverford hangs out on Friday nights.
Taryn grasps my hand and tugs me toward the bar. “Let’s get a drink.”
Quinn trails behind, greeting people as he goes. Chance is picking up his friend Knox, then meeting us here.
A few people give me curious looks as we make our way through the crowd. I guess they don’t see many newcomers. I suppose that will change once the Wild Ember guest facilities open.
“Hi, Allie.” Taryn waves to the woman working behind the bar.
She places a beer in front of a customer, then makes her way over. She’s gorgeous, with long, inky-black hair, high cheekbones, and dark, almond-shaped eyes.
“If it isn’t my favorite McBride,” she says, her smile wide and friendly. “It’s been a while. I thought you might have fallen in love and run off.”
Taryn flicks her hair. “There’s no one around here worth falling in love with, let alone running away for.”
Allie laughs. “Smart girl.” As she turns to me, her expression turns a little more assessing, though there’s still warmth there. “And this is the photographer I’ve heard so much about.”
Wow, small-town gossip is no joke. “Hi, I’m Sage.”
“Allie owns the Silver Pony,” Taryn tells me.
“That’s amazing. This place is great.”
Allie surveys the bar with a smile. “Thanks. My father opened it forty years ago. It hasn’t changed much since. So,” she slaps the bar, “what can I get you girls?”
“I’ll have a mojito,” Taryn says.
I turn to stare at her. “You’re underage.”
She only laughs.
Allie shakes her head. “Don’t worry. She knows she’ll get the virgin variety.”
“Nothing wrong with virgins,” Taryn says archly. “Who needs alcohol to have fun, anyway?”
“While I absolutely agree with you,” I say. “I might have a non-virgin one this time.”
Allie nods, then eyes Quinn, who’s stepped up next to me. “How about you?”
“Are we committing to cocktails tonight, or is that just for you two?” he asks us.
One of his sister’s dark brows curves up. “When have you ever done commitment?”
Gasping, he slaps a hand to his chest. “You wound me.” His lips tip into a grin. “But you’re right.”
He turns his attention to Allie. “Chance and Knox would never forgive me if I got them cocktails, so I’ll take three bottles of the IPA.”
She chuckles. “I don’t know, Cowboys and Cocktails has a ring to it.”
The smile he gives her is full of easy charm. For a moment, I let myself imagine what Holden would look like if he smiled like that. He’d probably be even more irresistible to women than he already is.
Maybe it’s better if he doesn’t.
I shut down that thought quickly. As long as I can resist him, why would it matter to me if other women can’t?
Once Allie moves off to get our drinks, Quinn turns back to us, propping an arm on the bar. “Chance and Knox are here. They found an open couch by the dance floor.”
“Who is Knox, anyway?” I ask. “I don’t think I’ve met him yet.”
“He’s a friend of Chance’s. Trains horses for competition, so he’s gone most of the time, but he stops in between gigs or when he’s training somewhere nearby.”
“He’s really good,” Taryn says.
Is it just the lighting in here, or is she blushing a little? If so, she quickly changes the topic. “I wish Holden had come tonight. He doesn’t get out enough.”
“You know what it’s like when he comes out,” Quinn says. “He doesn’t like all the attention.”
She sighs heavily. “Still, I think it would do him good.”
Allie returns, setting a mojito in front of Taryn. “Virgin,” she says with a wink.
She hands me a second one, then retrieves three beer bottles from beneath the bar, popping the caps with a practiced twist of her wrist.
Quinn picks one up and tips it at her. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Come on,” Taryn says, “let’s go find Chance and Knox.” She leads the way toward the dance floor and the couches set up near the back of the room, where her brother, another man, and Riley are sitting.
When we reach them, Riley jumps up and hugs us both.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she says. “I want to dance tonight, and you know your brothers are hopeless.”
“Hey,” Quinn protests. “Have you forgotten about my mean two-step skills?”
“How could I?” She smiles up at him. “Not sure my toes have recovered from the last time you two-stepped all over them.”
“Lies.” Grinning, he places the beers he’s carrying on the table.
“Pretty sure I saw the bruises the next day.” Chance smirks as he snags one of the bottles.
“Don’t worry,” Taryn says. “Sage and I have your back, don’t we?”
I’ve been watching them with a smile, enjoying the easy way they give each other shit. “Oh, uh, I’ve never danced to country music before, but I’ll do my best.”
“Enthusiasm is the only requirement,” Riley says.
Quinn slings an arm around her shoulders. “You want a drink, Riles? A little hydration before hitting the dance floor?”
She surveys the cocktail glasses Taryn and I are holding. “I wouldn’t mind joining in on the mojitos.”
“Sit your cute ass down, then. I’ll be back in a minute.”
While he’s gone, Chance introduces me to Knox. After Taryn’s reaction to his name earlier, I take a closer look. He’s wearing a cap pulled low over his eyes, and his square jaw is covered in heavy stubble. He might be intimidating if it wasn’t for the relaxed smile he gives me.
Taryn is busy talking to Riley, as if she’s barely noticed Knox, so maybe that reaction was just my imagination. Probably a good thing, because Knox has to be in his late twenties, like Chance, which is way too old for Taryn.
When Quinn returns with a mojito for Riley, she takes it with a smile. “My hero.”
“Always.” With a wink at her, he flops onto the couch next to Knox, then tips his beer back.
I sip my own mojito, laughing as the people around me rib each other. It’s fun, but an annoying little niggle in the back of my mind wishes Holden were here too. When Taryn invited me, she mentioned that there was a chance he might join us, but warned me not to hold my breath.
And she was right. When Quinn’s truck came bouncing up the road, Holden walked out onto his porch, coffee mug in hand, and merely watched as I climbed in alongside his sister.
Taryn leaned over me and lowered the window. “We’ve got space if you want to come.”
He only shook his head. “Have fun. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“But you said to have fun,” she called back with a grin as Quinn made a U-turn.
Disappointment had landed with surprising weight in my stomach.
I can’t deny that I may have put a little extra effort into my appearance, knowing there was a chance Holden would be here.
My red sundress is short, with a tiered skirt and a fitted bodice.
With my hair down and my new cowboy boots, I feel sexy in a completely different way than I used to when I went out in the city.
Pointless, I know, but I couldn’t help myself.
Once again catching myself thinking about Holden, I shake my head. Who needs a too-hot, grumpy-but-not-as-grumpy-as-I-originally-thought cowboy when there are so many smiley ones here tonight?
Across from me, Riley sits next to Quinn, who has his arm casually draped over the back of the couch behind her. They look so comfortable together. Taryn mentioned they were best friends, but I can’t help wondering if they’ve ever been more.
She catches my eye and leans forward so I can hear her. “Ready to dance yet?”
I hold up my almost-empty glass. “Let me finish this, and I’ll be ready to give it a go.”
Quinn shakes his head. “Not sure the three of us will be enough to keep you out of trouble after all.”
Riley flashes him a wicked grin. “Challenge accepted.”
I squint out at the dance floor, where a dozen or so patrons have formed lines and are moving in sync. Should have known there’d be line dancing.
Oh well. There’s no one here I need to worry about making a fool of myself in front of. The moment I set my empty glass down, Taryn jumps up and tugs me to my feet. “Come on, let’s go.”
Without waiting for me to respond, she drags me toward the dance floor, with Riley on our heels.
“Just copy me,” she calls over the music. “The moves repeat. When we turn around, copy Riley or the person in front of you. And relax,” she emphasizes. “No one cares if you’re not perfectly in time. They just care that you’re having fun.”
Okay. If I can get on the back of a horse, I can shake my ass on the dance floor.
The thought rallies me, as does the knowledge that if Graham and my parents could see me now, they wouldn’t believe it.
When a new song starts, I focus on my friend and do what she does.
She hooks her thumbs into the front pockets of her jeans as she moves.
Since I don’t have pockets, I put my hands on my hips and follow along clumsily as she steps forward and back, then shuffles to the side and spins in a circle.
After a minute or so, I’ve given up trying not to laugh at myself as I do my best to mimic the dancers around me, lagging at least a second behind.
Instead of focusing on getting every single move right, I relax and get into the country music vibe, clapping when the crowd does and even letting out a yeehaw at the end of the song.
As the music dies, my heart’s pumping pleasantly, my skin a little damp and flushed. When the next song starts, Taryn raises her brows at me, and I nod enthusiastically.
Not long after, we’re joined by Quinn and Knox. If I thought line-dancing cowboys would be amusing rather than sexy, I’m quickly proven wrong. Fitted jeans, muscled forearms, bright white smiles. I can see the appeal, that’s for sure.
Eventually, the music changes to a more laid-back song, and quite a few of the dancers leave the floor as couples take their place.
“Want to get another drink?” Taryn asks, fanning her flushed face.
My mouth is dry, so I give her a thumbs-up, then follow her and Riley through the crowd to the bar.
Taryn orders another virgin mojito, and this time, I brave a beer. I’ve never been a big beer drinker, and Graham always ordered wine, but I might as well try everything while I’m here.
I choose the IPA Quinn ordered earlier and am pleasantly surprised by how smooth it is.
“Having fun?” Riley asks.
“I am.” I gather my hair and hold it away from my neck. “Though I don’t think my legs will forgive me any time soon.”
Taryn leans in. “Have you spotted any hotties who might help take your mind off your ex?”
I haven’t really been looking. Not only because I don’t have any intention of riding a cowboy tonight, but also because, unfortunately, my mind seems a little distracted by a man who isn’t here.
Before I can tell her that I’m only interested in relaxing and having fun, she looks past me, her brows shooting up.
On instinct, I turn, finding a man I don’t recognize standing behind me, his hat pushed back to reveal eyes the color of dark whiskey. The slow smile he gives me is all kinds of charming. “Not bad. For someone who’s not from around here, anyway.”
I blink up at him. “What?”
“You were counting steps for the first few dances.”
He was watching me? I don’t know whether to be flattered or embarrassed. “And here I was thinking I was a fast learner.”
“There was definite improvement.”
Despite myself, I smile. “Good to know.”
“I’m Cash,” he says.
“Sage.”
“Pretty name.”
This time, I laugh. “Are you always this sure of yourself?”
“Usually.” He rests both forearms on the bar but keeps his eyes on me. “So, what brings you to this part of the world?”
“I’m working at Wild Ember Ranch for a few months.”
“Lucky them.” He tilts his head. “Can I buy you a drink?”
I point at my beer on the bar. “Thanks, but I’m okay for now.”
He nods slowly, then straightens. “Maybe you’ll let me steal a dance later. I’ve been told I’m pretty good at counting steps.”
It’s impossible not to smile. “Maybe. If I get out on the dance floor again.”
He takes a glass of beer the bartender hands him. “I’ll keep an eye out.” With a tip of his hat, he saunters away, disappearing into the crowd.
I turn back to Taryn and Riley, who are both beaming at me.
“Do you know who that was?” Taryn asks.
I shrug. “He said his name is Cash.”
“Cash Calloway. He’s one of the bull riders in the running for this year’s world championship.”
“If he asks you to dance, you should definitely say yes,” Riley says.
I wrinkle my nose at them.
He was very good-looking, though. Maybe sharing a dance with him later wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Especially if it takes my mind off a certain broody cowboy.