Kissin' Tell (Rough Riders #13)(5)

Wrong. She had noticed. But it wasn’t like she could’ve acted on it. Deck had been insanely jealous, and enough bad blood had lingered between Deck and Tell in rodeo club that she hadn’t wanted to add to it.


“Tell was surprised we were friends.”


Stephanie shrugged. “Our friendship was off the radar. No biggie.”


“Did that bother you?”


“Of course not. When we saw each other at school, you didn’t pretend you didn’t know me. I never understood what you did to earn such animosity from the girls in our class anyway, besides their bitchy attitudes being from stupid, petty jealousy because you were beautiful and dating the class stud. You weren’t a mean girl, not like Sally Hermanson and her group. You just stuck with your own crowd—RJ, Deck and his groupies. Who can fault you for that? Besides, look at us now. We’re still friends. Can either of us say that about anyone else in our graduating class?”


“No, but that’s because you took pity on me after I divorced Deck and let me room with you in Laramie.”


“It worked out for both of us. What else did Tell say?”


“Nothing.” After the cocktail waitress took their order, Georgia steered the conversation away from her embarrassing run-in with Tell. “You know who else I ran into from our class? Maggie Malone. She looks exactly the same.”


“That’s it? You have been keeping a low profile since you moved back to Wyoming.”


Moved back. Banished to purgatory was more like it.


“I’ve been busy the last week setting everything up to Barbara’s specs.”


Stephanie adjusted her glasses, which meant she was getting ready to grill Georgia. “I don’t understand why your boss picked Sundance to open a branch office.”


“It’s not a branch office. Since she took over promotions for L bar K Rodeo, we have to maintain a physical presence throughout the summer rodeo season. Mostly to reassure the committees that hired L bar K that we plan on honoring those contracts. Plus, Barbara believed my former ties to this area would work in our favor now.”


“So you won’t be living here permanently?”


“No. But that tidbit has to stay strictly between us. You know how locals get about an out-of-state company relocating here temporarily for tax benefits and then pulling up stakes.”


“But it still seems bizarre and…coincidental. How did a promotions and advertising firm in Dallas end up owning a small rodeo promotion company in Wyoming?”


That same question had crossed Georgia’s mind, especially after Barbara’s strange edict: take the job in Wyoming or lose her job in Dallas.


“L bar K has fallen on hard times and they approached Barbara about a buyout.”


Both Stephanie’s eyebrows rose. “Again with the coincidence.”


“Barbara does this buyout thing all the time. And she’s getting plenty out of this deal, trust me. Some of the rodeos around here are overlooked gems just needing the right PR company to put a shine on them.”


“What are you getting out of it?”


“A promotion, if everything goes smoothly. In the meantime, I get to spend my summer at the rodeo grounds, instead of taking calls at my desk in Dallas.”


“Does your dad know you’re here?”


Georgia reached for her fresh drink. “He’s probably heard rumors. Have I called him? No. Do I intend to? The jury’s out on that one.”


Stephanie sighed. “I don’t blame you. But I feel the need to point out that people change. You have. Why couldn’t you at least give your father the benefit of the doubt, just once?”


That comment made Georgia think of Tell. Not of how he’d changed, but what had remained the same.


His piercing blue eyes were the same.


That dimpled smile was the same.


His sweet, helpful disposition was the same.


“You’ve gotten better at evasion,” Stephanie inserted. “You don’t want to talk about your dad? Fine. We’ll finish the conversation about Tell McKay. Did he recognize you?”


“He was too busy trying to get into Jamie’s pants to pay attention to anything but her zipper.”


“Not what I meant.”


“Yes, he recognized me. Right away.”


Stephanie said, “And?” with exasperation.


“And what? He was polite, even when I sort of freaked out on him.” Georgia groaned and put her forehead on the table.


“That bad? Really?”


“Yes.” Georgia raised her head and mimicked herself. “Wow, I can’t believe you’re Tell McKay! Wow, let me feel your big muscles! Wow, you look amazing! God, Stephanie. What was wrong with me?”


“You were sideswiped with lust?”


“Me and every other woman in the bar. But they didn’t gasp and swoon. Can you believe I almost fell on my ass, so the poor man had to catch me?”


“He didn’t have to catch you,” Stephanie pointed out. “But the fact he did is great insight into his character.”