ANOTHER SUNNY DAY (19 page)

"My God, Sarah, I've been waiting for hours, I thought you'd never leave that party," Mack exclaimed as soon as he saw her.

"Mack, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked, relieved it was only him and not some deranged fan. "You scared me to death."

"I've come to take you away from all of this," he stated. "We've got a lot of details to cover before morning, so let's go."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"We can't go now," Sarah protested frantically. "I was supposed to stay here tonight, then ride in the parade tomorrow."

"Well, that's all been changed. I was able to book Sunny for a couple of last-minute gigs in this area that will fill in the blank time between the parade tomorrow and opening night at the rodeo on Wednesday. Since it might look a little suspicious to have two Sunny Days arrive at the airport within a week of each other, we decided it would be best if she rode in on the bus with the band. And now she's here, and you can be yourself again," Mack explained impatiently.

"But what about the parade?" Sarah repeated. "Who's going to ride in it?"

"Sunny is. She's feeling much better and is ready to get out in public again. Just between you and me, I think she can't stand to remain anonymous for longer than a few hours at a time. She's been driving me crazy for the last few days, and frankly I'm glad this switcheroo is almost over."

"I just can't leave tonight. There are people I still want to see and things I need to do before I go," she persisted.

"You sound like you're fixing to die," Mack said unsympathetically. "Look, it's over. It's time to go back to the real world. Don't be a fool," he added with a spark of insight. "If you've gotten involved with some cowboy, you had to know that it could only last until tomorrow. He thinks, you're Sunny Day, the star. Imagine his surprise when he finds out you're Sarah Dayton, the sister." Mack didn't mean to be unkind, but he could be counted on to be bluntly honest, always cutting quickly to the heart of the problem.

"I need time to pack—"

"Your suitcases have already been loaded in the car," he interrupted. "I told you, we're in a hurry. Are you ready to go?"

"Not really, but I guess you're right." Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. "It's over." With one last wistful sigh her gaze flowed around the small trailer, touching fondly on all those places that left her with memories of Tyler.

"I'd better leave a note,'" she said, stalling, hoping he would arrive in time for her to say good-bye. "They might worry about me if I just disappear unexpectedly."

"It's all been taken care of. I met some guy named Jeb or Jed or something, and I told him that you needed to leave early but would meet them in the morning just before the parade started. He let me into your trailer and said he would tell everybody else that you had gone."

Everybody else didn't matter . . . just Tyler. But maybe it was better this way. She wasn't certain she could have handled a drawn-out good-bye, and she didn't want to look ridiculous in front of him. So she would just slip away into the night and hope that Sunny wouldn't say or do something that would make him suspicious. Sarah must get to her and tell her everything . . . well, almost everything.

"Okay, I guess I'm ready," she stated flatly, and followed him to the rental car parked behind the trailer.

During the trip to the hotel she was quiet and sullen. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had been robbed of one last night with Tyler. She could think of dozens of things she would have told him if she had realized they would have no more time together. It was as if she had been awakened abruptly just as she was nearing the climax of a wonderful dream. That was exactly what last week had been—just a dream—and now it was time to wake up. Suddenly all of the lost sleep, the fatigue, and the tension caught up with her, and she felt only a dull, empty numbness.

Mack sensed that something was wrong and tried to start a conversation, but her monosyllabic answers soon discouraged him. Even though it was almost two o'clock in the morning, traffic still whizzed along the Houston freeways, but Sarah didn't notice. Nor did she see the modern office buildings that Tyler, only last Sunday, had told her were a part of the Galleria area as they drove past them.

"Help me watch for my turnoff," Mack directed. "We're staying at the Hilton Americas."

"Oh, no, not the Hilton," Sarah groaned.

"Why not the Hilton?" he asked, bewildered. It's convenient, and it's very nice. Besides the Rodeo Association is footing the bill, which makes it even better."

"I'm sure it will be fine." She started sightlessly out of the window, remembering Tyler's contempt when he had thought she would be disappointed with her accommodations. "It's nothing, really." A lump rose in her throat as giant tears of exhaustion filled her eyes and then flowed unchecked and unnoticed down her cheeks and onto the front of the iridescent blue blouse that Tyler had admired. He had probably already gone to the trailer by now. Or maybe Jed had told him that she had left. She hoped he wasn't hurt by her sudden departure. She had wanted to tell him how much she had enjoyed being with him. It had probably all been just another job to him, but to her it had been special. Everything had ended so abruptly and coldly, so out of keeping with the warm closeness they had shared.

More than likely he would just be angry that they wouldn't be spending the night together. Sarah knew that he cared for her and enjoyed being around her, but men and women seemed to attach different meanings to these very basic feelings. Never had he even hinted that he felt anything other than a sort of wary friendship for her or that he had held his emotions in check because of her profession and his own fears. She knew only that he could never have been accused of being anything less than a gentleman. Even on the night of the storm they wouldn't have made love if she hadn't made the first move, however innocent and well-intentioned her motives were. She hadn't left the bedroom thinking only moments later she would be lying next to his nude body on the sofa, but the results were the same as if she had. No man as healthy and virile as Tyler would turn down a sex-starved female if she offered herself to him.

Her tears of sadness changed to tears of humiliation. Why hadn't she been able to see things this clearly before now? He had done this to her. She couldn't think logically whenever she was close enough to him to see him or smell him or touch him. She had never in her life been the aggressor, especially where men were concerned. It was good that she had left when she had before she had done or admitted something that she would have been forever embarrassed about.

She could never regret the time they had spent together. It would always be remembered as one of the highlights of her life. A woman always held special memories of the men who had participated in such monumental firsts in her life as her first kiss, her first date, her first love, and her first lover.

"You look awful. Have you been crying?" Sunny commented with concern when Sarah finally arrived in the hotel room and Mack had gone on to his own room.

"I'm just very tired," Sarah offered as an excuse. "I haven't been getting much sleep lately." Half-heartedly she discarded the hated wig and slipped out of the blue outfit, accepting the robe that Sunny offered her.

"I think you had better tell me what happened last week, and don't leave anything out. I have a feeling I'm going to meet one unhappy man tomorrow, and I want to be prepared," Sunny said kindly. Because they were twins, they shared a special bond that made them more sensitive to each other's moods than normal sisters, and right now Sunny could feel Sarah's despondency as if it were her own.

The two sisters talked for hours. Sarah told Sunny about all the things she needed to know and the people she had met, particularly those she might have interviews with tomorrow. The parade would be a noisy, impersonal affair that would allow Sunny little time to talk to anyone while they were riding along the actual parade route. And she would make sure that she didn't arrive too early or wait around too long after it was over, so people would have little time to approach her.

Sunny congratulated Sarah on the good job she had done. The press had been positively glowing in their praise of Sarah's performance as Sunny. Her scheduled appearance at the rodeo was enjoying brisk ticket sales and promised to be a near sellout The masquerade had been a rousing success:
Sunny's health and state of mind were restored to normal, and thanks to Sarah her reputation and career had been given a helpful boost.

But when Sarah got to the subject of Tyler, she wasn't sure where to begin, though once started, she couldn't seem to stop. All her joys and fears and the sincere regret that she would never have the chance to see how this relationship would have ended had they met under different circumstances poured out. Even after such a short time her feelings for him were stronger than any she had ever felt for any man before.

Sunny listened and sympathized. She felt responsible for her sister's unhappiness. After all, the switch had been her idea and for her benefit. It had just been one of those awful coincidences, that life would choose that particular time to introduce Sarah to a man who could have been her key to happiness. Sunny knew that her sister's loyalties were deep and her affections not easily won. But it was too late and too complicated to help her, wasn't it?

With only three hours of sleep they were both feeling the effects of last night's gab session when they got up that morning. Sunny dressed for the parade and left with Mack while Sarah chose to watch the live broadcast on television.

The announcers were two local newsmen; one she didn't know, but the other was Don Nelson, who had interviewed her for Good Morning Houston. Together they kept up a running commentary that was both entertaining and informative as the parade progressed. There seemed to be an extraordinarily large number of local school bands strutting across the small screen. Although they were talented and vivacious, Sarah's eager eyes were waiting for a last look at the one face that had grown so special to her in the last few days. Several floats elaborately decorated with condo-sized cowboy hats and life-size fiberglass horses rolled by before at last she saw him, sitting with some of the other committee chairmen on bales of hay that were placed in a circle around a dance floor on which four couples demonstrated the lively art of square dancing. Like the other chairmen, Tyler was smiling and waving to the thousands of people who lined the downtown streets. He looked incredibly handsome even though he was dressed very simply in a crisp white long-sleeved shirt buttoned at the neck and adorned with a narrow string tie. Tight black western slacks were molded to the muscular shape of his long legs, which were braced against the sway of the float. His gray hat hid most of his thick dark hair and shadowed his eyes, which made it impossible to read his expression. Sarah wondered if he was experiencing any of the same feelings that she was right now. Had he been hurt when he had returned to the trailer and found her already gone, or had he merely been disappointed? She would never know, and possibly it was better that way. Tyler's float passed out of the line of vision of the impersonal lens of the television camera much too quickly as far as Sarah was concerned, but there was still a lot of parade to be seen by others who didn't realize the importance of that one float.

After a few more drill teams, stagecoaches, clowns, and toothy beauty queens performed for the crowds, the trail rides began at last to be announced. It was estimated that there were six to eight thousand riders and horses and approximately two hundred wagons making up the twelve trail rides that stretched back for several miles through the Houston streets.

As the granddaddy of all the trail rides, the Salt Grass Trail Ride led the procession. It was also the largest, with over two thousand riders and thirty-six wagons. Sarah felt an almost maternal pride when it was announced that it had indeed won the outstanding trail ride award. The American and Texas flags were proudly displayed by several wagons, and although many men still sported scraggly week-old beards and everyone showed signs of wear and tear, most of the riders looked lean and happy as they clowned and waved at the cameras. All modern-day conveniences had mysteriously disappeared, giving the impression that these riders had really been roughing it on the trail. There was no sign of the van with the name of a well-known beer prominently displayed on its sides, which had traveled with the trail ride, blaring country and western music from huge speakers, or the flatbed truck with its small village of green portable toilets, which had provided relief to these travelers who had no other excuse to stop at gasoline stations. And of course no campers or vans were anywhere in sight.

At last Sunny rode into view. Sarah was not really surprised to see that Sunny was seated, not on
Zena but on the well-padded seat of a forty-thousand-dollar reproduction stagecoach. It would be interesting to hear how Sunny had talked her way into this unexpected change of transportation. As usual, she looked dazzling, dressed in a tight gold lame outfit that clung to her like a second skin and sparkled and glittered with an almost blinding brilliance in the bright sun. She waved graciously, throwing kisses and smiling beautifully as the crowd cheered and clapped their approval

The announcers, too, were full of praise for the publicity
Sunny's appearance on the trail ride and in the parade had generated. They informed the audience that over six hundred thousand people were expected to attend this year's rodeo, which was considerably more than last year. They also volunteered the information that Gene Autry had been the first star entertainer at the Houston Rodeo in 1942, replacing such exciting acts as trick horses, concerts, and dog races.