Faith leaned against the wooden fence with her arms resting on the top rail. As she watched the bucking bronco, she grinned. The man riding it was the best looking cowboy she had ever met. Mike’s rich brown eyes were full of life, as if he were looking for adventure, as if something wondrous were about to happen. She laid her chin upon her arms and sighed. She had been here for a couple weeks and he still hadn’t noticed her. She pursed her lips in thought. Why was it that the ones you’re attracted to don’t notice you and the ones you don’t much care for flirt with you?
Faith shook her head with wonder as Billy passed by and flashed her a smile. He was the most forward, arrogant guy she had ever met and she didn’t like his flirtations. She turned back to the bronco rider and sighed once again as she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“I’m back from town,” said Sharlene. “Guess what I have.”
Faith turned toward her sister. “Did you say something?”
“Well, only that I’ve got our next trick to play on Uncle Kelly.”
Faith’s eyes widened as she said, “You got it?”
Before she could answer, Tony meandered toward Sharlene and said, “If you need another lift into town, just let me know. I’d be glad to help out.”
“Thanks, Tony. I’ll let you know.”
“Good.” He nodded with a smile. “Anytime! Remember.”
When he turned toward the barn and strode away, Sharlene watched him go. He was the sweetest young man she had ever met. Tony was so helpful and wanted her stay to be comfortable. Being the foreman, she knew he was very busy but he took her to town anyway.
“Tony likes you,” whispered Faith.
“What?” Sharlene turned toward her sister with a surprised look. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, he never lends me books…”
“You don’t read that much, Faith.”
“I do so,” she defended herself. “But that’s not the point.”
“So what is the point?”
“Well, he never volunteers to take me to town.”
“I told Uncle Kelly that I needed to go to the grocery store.” Sharlene leaned over and whispered, “You know…to get our little secret. He said he’d find someone to take me.”
“And so Tony just volunteered…” said Faith with a giggle. “And didn’t have anything better to do today.”
Sharlene saw what Faith was leading up to, so she quickly said, “Uncle Kelly probably asked him because he was too busy to take me.”
“Not so,” said Faith with a grin. “I saw the whole thing.”
“What are you saying?”
“I just happened to be resting under that tree,” Faith said as she pointed toward the large outspread limbs of an old mulberry tree. “When I heard you ask for a ride into town, I noticed Tony watching you. After you went in the house, he walked up to Uncle Kelly and volunteered. A few moments later, when you came back, he said, ‘I hear you need a ride into town. I’d be glad to take you.’ He didn’t hear it from Uncle Kelly. He heard it from your own lips. I saw the whole thing, Sharlene.”
“Well… Uh… He probably had to go anyway.”
When Faith noticed her sister’s face redden, she grinned. “He likes you, Sis.”
Sharlene felt her face heat up as she thought about Tony. Could her sister be right? When she first saw Tony, she was attracted to him. He was such an enthusiastic man, but yet gentle and soft-spoken. That made her notice him without hesitation. His large green eyes were amazing, he was respectful to her uncle, and his manners were gentlemanly. He had the look of authority when he ran the ranch as if he cared about it and everything it stood for. That impressed her beyond words. Not only that, he was a great conversationalist. She never felt awkward around him, just tongue-tied at times. But she noticed it never bothered him because he had plenty to say.
When she first arrived, Sharlene had noticed Tony reading in the evenings and tried to get up the courage to speak to him but just couldn’t seem to do it. Once she saw him look up and smile at her, as if inviting conversation but she couldn’t think of a thing to say. Her mind was blank. So she walked into the house, berating herself for not saying something to him. She could have said it was a nice day for reading… but that seemed lame. Why had she felt so tongue-tied when she was around him? It could have stemmed from being attracted to him. That might have made her feel shy.
It wasn’t long afterward that he walked up to her and handed her a book, telling her to read it. She was so surprised and didn’t even know what to say. He just smiled, which made her weak in the knees, and then walked away. Her uncle must have noticed because he asked Tony to take her to the library after that.
With each trip to the library, she got to know him better and better. Sometimes he would make her laugh, but she didn’t say a lot on their way to town. She couldn’t think of a thing to say. But that didn’t stop Tony. He would talk the whole time, telling her about his family, his work at the ranch, and most anything that seemed to pop into his head. And she just listened.
Once he joked around, saying, “You’re the best listener I’ve ever talked to. Are you really as interested in what I’m saying as you seem to be… or just shy and can’t think of a thing to say?”
She had laughed at his comment and said, “Of course, I’m interested. Why wouldn’t I be? You’ve had a fascinating life, Tony.”
He had given her a charming smile, which made her lose concentration. That did it. Sharlene knew she was enamored with this young man but didn’t dare tell anyone, especially her sister. As Sharlene thought about Tony, she remembered the reason why she and her sister ended up at the dude ranch. Uncle Kelly needed their help and they had announced their decision to help out. He was touched by their unselfishness and instantly gave them jobs to do. Little did Sharlene know that she was going to meet the handsomest and sweetest young man on earth! And a cowboy, at that! Who would have ever guessed? Not her!
Sharlene looked up at Faith and gave a weak smile, trying to hide the fact.
“You like him. Don’t you?” Faith said accusingly.
Sharlene couldn’t hide anything from her twin sister. She could read her mind like an open book. She, also, couldn’t deny her feelings, because her sister could see right through her. So she just nodded and gave a slight smile.
Faith giggled. “I knew it!”
“How could you tell?”
“Oh, the look in your eyes when he comes around.”
“What look?” asked Sharlene, wondering what she was talking about.
“Well…your eyes have a certain sparkle about them and you smile a lot. But that wasn’t what cinched it. You blush when he talks to you.”
“What?” she said as her eyes widened.
Blushing? This couldn’t be. Impossible! She had felt the warmth in her cheeks, but she couldn’t believe her face had turned color. Not with her complexion! No way! Both Sharlene and Faith had an olive-toned complexion, dark brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes, just like their dad. Was it possible to see her blush?
Sharlene looked into her sister’s eyes and said firmly, “I do not blush. It’s impossible.”
Faith laughed. “You don’t turn red like April but you blush, nonetheless. You just turn a deeper color.”
Sharlene’s eyes widened and her pulse picked up speed. How embarrassing! Did Tony notice it, too?
Faith grinned and said, “And ‘yes’ to your next question.”
“What question?”
“If he noticed or not.”
“Noticed?” She gasped. “He noticed?”
“He certainly did. Every time you blush, he grins and then gives you a wink.”
“A wink?” Sharlene said as she sucked in her breath, realizing that he did wink at her quite often. Did he wink every time her face warmed up?
“Yes, every time, Sharlene,” said Faith as if reading her thoughts.
Sharlene was taken aback. They were twins but her sister’s intuition was really something.
“So, let me see the box,” said Faith.
“What box?” asked Sharlene as she looked toward the barn and watched Tony give orders to the men.
“I presume Tony took you to town so you could get our little trick for Uncle Kelly,” said Faith. “You know. The Bamboozles.”
“Oh!” Sharlene’s eyes laughed as she turned toward her sister with a grin. “Yeah. I sure did.” She pulled it from her purse and showed them to her as she shook the tiny box. “When shall we give it to him?”
“After supper tonight.”
Sharlene laughed. “Uncle Kelly is a riot. I think this is going to be great fun.”
Faith grinned. “For us, at least!”
Sharlene giggled and gave a nod. “Uncle Kelly is so much fun to be around.”