Let’s get on with it. Nick’s plan to relax and have fun disintegrated under the pressure of his impending performance. The double doors at the back of the arena were open a crack so the bachelors could hear what was going on inside.
Each of them held the reins of the horse Ed had provided for their use, except for Jared, who’d brought his gray gelding. Nick had a big caramel-colored palomino named Thor. At least he’d make his entrance on a showstopper horse.
Half of the guys stood to one side of the doors and half on the other, staying in the shadow of the building. Even when the doors opened, only the cowboy riding through would be visible.
Ben had appointed himself head wrangler. Fine with Nick. Ben had volunteered to kick off the action and demonstrate how simple it would be. Yeah. Jumping off a cliff was simple, too.
Nobody was talking. Most of the guys had a hand on their horse’s muzzle to help keep them quiet. The idea was to maintain an element of surprise, at least until Ben charged through the back door.
Nick was the only one rocking a T-shirt, although it wasn’t the same one he’d worn today. Like everyone else, he’d brought a change of clothes and his shaving kit.
Teague, Ed’s wrangler, had a house on the property. He’d made it available so the guys could shower, shave and put on clean clothes.
Nick’s T-shirt choice had worried him some when the others had busted out their fancy shirts with embroidery on the yokes and collars. Too late to do anything about it, though.
The back door opened and Ed slipped through. “We’ve added a wrinkle to build suspense. For each entrance, we’ll start your music soft and the Whine and Cheese ladies will do a little dancing. Then Ellie Mae will call out your name, we’ll crank up the music and you’ll barrel through the doorway. Everybody got that?”
All the guys nodded.
“Ben, take Ranger out about ten yards so you’ll have a good head of steam when you burst on the scene. The rest of you follow his example when it’s your turn.” She glanced at her phone. “Two minutes. Then Josette and I will open the doors. Thanks for doing this.” She ducked back into the arena.
Nick gulped. Not long now. He was third in the lineup, better than first and preferable to last, Rafe’s position. He glanced over and gave Rafe a thumbs-up. The big guy responded in kind. He looked a little green around the gills, but maybe that was a trick of the light.
The opening to Ben’s chosen song, Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now? filtered out through the crack in the door. Then Ellie Mae Stockton’s voice rang out. “Give it up for the owner of the Choosy Moose, Ben Malone!”
Ed and Josette threw back the doors. With a whoop, Ben slapped Ranger on the rump with his hat. As the sound system belted out the tune, the powerful bay leaped forward and dashed through the doorway at a full gallop. The open door gave Nick a partial view as Ben circled the arena, standing in his stirrups, his hat lifted in salute to the cheering crowd, a huge grin on his face.
“Damn,” Rafe muttered from behind him. “He’s having a blast.”
“Maybe you will, too, bro.”
“Fat chance.”
The music cut off and Ben wheeled Ranger to face the bleachers while Ellie Mae talked him up. Then she started the bidding.
The pace was brisk and the amount kept climbing. Nick turned to Rafe, eyebrows lifted. “Don’t hear Henri.”
“Nope.”
Then she jumped in, her voice carrying over the rest. The amount she called out was huge, enough to bring a collective gasp from the onlookers.
“Going once.” Ellie Mae paused. “Going twice… sold to Henri Fox! Henri, go meet your bachelor in the Winners’ Circle.”
Leo chuckled. “Sure wish I could see Ben’s face right now.”
“I’m happy for him,” Nick said.
“And her,” Rafe said. “She really should give Ben a shot. They’d go good together.”
“Maybe now they’ll figure that out.” Nick’s tension eased some. Henri and Ben would make a good match. But his anxiety came roaring back when Ed and Josette signaled to Jared.
He mounted Shadow and guided the horse to the spot Ben had vacated. The intro to Alabama’s Mountain Music was easy to hear now that the doors stood open. Nick had a glimpse of the Whine and Cheese ladies doing a line dance.
Then Ellie Mae came on. “Make some noise for the owner of Logan’s Leather, Jared Logan!”
The music blared as Jared and Shadow bolted through the door. Putting the reins in his teeth, Jared lifted his hands over his head and clapped in time to the music. The crowd joined in, clearly having fun.
“The guy has skills,” Rafe muttered.
“Uh-huh.” Nick’s nerves were jangling and he didn’t catch much of what Ellie Mae said about Jared. Or much of the bidding, either. Heart thudding, he mounted up when Ed and Josette signaled to him.
His song was Stay a Little Longer by the Brothers Osborne, a tune chosen because it had a line about T-shirts. Seemed to take forever to position Thor at the starting line and even longer while the opening bars of the song played.
Ellie Mae’s voice nearly gave him a heart attack. “Let’s show some love to bachelor Nick La Grande!”
Nick dug his heels into Thor’s ribs and the palomino exploded, hurtling through the open doors. Nick hunched over the horse’s neck, the cream-colored mane slapping him in the face as they took that circuit at a breakneck pace.
The music cut off and he pulled up in a cloud of dust, breathing hard. Thor snorted and pranced with impatience, wanting another run. Nick murmured to the big palomino and stroked his sweat-darkened neck.
“What a thrilling entrance, Nick.” Ellie Mae turned toward him and blew him a kiss before facing the spectators again. “As the program states, Nick is offering twelve hours of manual labor, and you can see for yourselves he’s up to the job. Wooooee!”
Nick’s face heated but he didn’t duck his head. The Babes had emphasized during the rehearsal that hiding behind a hat was a no-no. Look them in the eye and smile. And he did, although his smile likely was more of a grimace.
“I have something else to tell you about Bachelor Number Three, intel I obtained from one of Nick’s best friends. He said, and I quote, you can count on this guy. He’ll be there for you, no matter what. With Nick Le Grande you get strength of body and strength of character. That’s a bargain at any price. What am I bid for this amazing cowboy?”
A woman called out a significant amount that made him blink in surprise. Eva? He spotted her blue hair and sure enough, she was on her feet. Then someone topped her bid. Sit down, Eva. Save your money.
Instead she bid over the other lady. One of the servers at the Moose upped the ante. Eva hung in, raising her bid. Nick looked straight at her and gave a slight shake of his head. She looked right back and smiled.
The first lady added more money to the pot and still Eva remained on her feet. The bidding kept on, going ever higher. A woman next to her, clearly a friend, grabbed her arm and tried to coax her back to her seat. She was having none of it.
The bidding became more spirited as the amount spiraled into the ridiculous zone. He should have talked her out of this when he’d had the chance. Maybe now she’d drop out.
Instead she doubled the previous bid. Sheesh.
As the other two took their seats, she did a fist pump and grinned in triumph. His heart squeezed. He would work himself to the bone for her tomorrow. Even so, his labor wasn’t worth a third of what she’d just spent.
“Nick.”
He glanced down as someone wiggled his stirrup.
Peggy gazed up at him, her expression sympathetic. “You need to dismount, cowboy,” she murmured.
“Yes, ma’am.” He swung down. “What should I—”
“I’ll take Thor. Pam will escort you to the Winners’ Circle.”
“Winners’ Circle?” He handed her the reins as Pam came toward him.
“Didn’t we tell you about that?”
“If you did, I spaced it.”
“We might have come up with the idea after we brainstormed with the Whine and Cheese Club. The Babes are escorting the bachelors to the Winners’ Circle and the Whine and Cheese ladies are doing the same with the winning bidders.”
“Where is it?”
“Behind the bleachers,” Pam said. “Come with me. Nice job, by the way.”
“I didn’t do anything.” He fell into step beside her.
“You showed up. And you delivered. We didn’t realize until the run-through that some of you guys were scared stiff.”
“Could you tell just now?”
“Nope. Your cheeks got a little pink ’cause you were embarrassed, but that was cute.”
“What’s supposed to happen in this Winners’ Circle?”
“You meet with your winning bidder, in your case, Eva. Deidre’s going up into the bleachers to escort her down.”
“So I see.” Deidre, a buxom woman with fiery red hair, was standing in the bleacher aisle waiting for Eva to make her way over.
“Have you met any of the Whine and Cheese ladies?”
“Yes, ma’am, at Seth’s wedding. Deidre’s a little crazy, but in a good way.”
“I couldn’t have said it better. Those women are aces in my book. We’ve already invited them to drive up for our next sleepover.”
“Heaven help us.”
“Hey, we’ll keep things circumspect.”
He chuckled. “Sure. Because you always do.”
“Nick Le Grande, how you talk.”
“Just telling it like it is. Those sleepovers are already wild.” Adrenaline continued to race through his system and joking around with her helped calm him down.
“Yeah, well, when you’re right, you’re right.”
“Will you give us some advance warning? Just so the Brotherhood will be standing by in case things get totally out of hand.”
“When have we ever had to call you boys to the rescue?”
“Let’s see… the skinny dipping in the creek episode, the stargazing on the roof incident, and the—”
“Yeah, yeah.” She laughed. “Point taken.”
“So I meet up with Eva in the Winners’ Circle. What then? Are you gonna hang roses around our necks?”
“Wish we’d thought of it.”
“Glad you didn’t.”
“Mostly you drink apple cider and eat munchies with the other bachelors and winners. Henri and Ben are back there with Jared and Beth.”
“Beth who?”
“Owens. Her shop is next to Jared’s.”
“Oh, yeah. Racy Lace.”
“Ever been in?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Well, if you ever need to buy something sexy for a special lady, that’s the place. And speaking of sexy, did you wash that shirt in hot water to make it shrink?”
“I washed it in hot water by accident. Figured I’d use it for work. Then Eva said I should wear something snug, so I did.”
“Eva was right.” She rounded the bleachers and gestured to a roped off area with a sparkly sign that said Winners’ Circle. “This is where you’ll be hanging out, and here come Henri and Ben to greet you. I need to skedaddle. Congrats on a great ride.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“Hey, son.” Henri walked toward him, a bottle of cider in her hand and a smiling Ben by her side. “That was terrific.”
“Thanks, Henri.”
“Good job, buddy.” Ben shook his hand.
“You’re the flashy one, Ben, standing in the stirrups, doffing your hat to the crowd. Ever done any stunt riding?”
“When I was younger and dumber.”
Henri flashed him a grin. “And now you’re older and….”
“Still dumb. Halfway into that stunt my left knee threatened to give out.” He winked at Henri. “But I got lucky.”
She arched an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that.”
Nick choked back a laugh. Henri was flirting. Never thought he’d see the day. Promised to be entertaining as hell.
Henri glanced at him. “So who won the bidding? We couldn’t hear very well back there.”
“Eva.”
“Eva won?” Beth had come out of the Winners’ Circle with Jared and she hurried toward him.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Awesome.”
“Hey, Nick,” Jared said, “do you know Beth? Her shop is—”
“Next to yours.” He tipped his hat. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Same here, Nick.”
“Unfortunately, I’ve never been inside your place.”
“No worries. Guess you haven’t had a reason.”
“No, ma’am.” Still didn’t.
She glanced over his shoulder and waved. “Here comes your winner.”
Nick turned. Eva’s smile had a touch of—what was the word? Bravado. Like she’d done something outrageous and was daring him to comment on it. So maybe he wouldn’t.
Deidre had an arm around her waist. “Nick Le Grande, it’s my privilege to present Eva Kilpatrick, your winning bidder.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Eva and I—”
“I’m aware you two know each other, but I love my job and I’m going to do it whether you need me to or not.”
Nick grinned at Eva and the light of challenge in her eyes softened. Good. If they could muddle through this part together, it might be fun, after all.
Deidre pulled a rolled piece of paper from her pocket, unfurled it with a flourish and began to read. “Eva Kilpatrick, you have this night purchased one of our esteemed bachelors, Nick Le Grande. He’s pledged to give you twelve hours of manual labor beginning tomorrow morning at eight sharp. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. Nick Le Grande, you have participated in this bachelor auction with the understanding that you will donate twelve hours of manual labor to the winning bidder, Eva Kilpatrick, such labor to begin at eight sharp tomorrow morning. Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Energy coursed through him. He could hardly wait to do that job for Eva. He’d give her a hundred and ten percent, especially after all she’d paid.
“I now pronounce you bachelor and high bidder. May the contract between the two of you bring joy and satisfaction.”
Had Deidre intended to echo the tone of wedding vows? He glanced at Eva, who looked uneasy, too.
Deidre cleared her throat. “As a designated representative of Raptors Rise, I want to thank you both for your support. As we like to say in Eagles Nest—Your contribution is for the birds.” She paused and looked up. “Okay, I know that’s a lame joke, but my husband Jim thought of it and made me promise I’d use it this weekend. I’d like to tell him you laughed.”
Nick managed a chuckle that sounded fake. Eva’s was even worse, like she was gargling mouthwash. Eyebrows lifted, he met her gaze. She cracked up and so did he. Okay. They’d be fine.