Being Emma (10 page)

Diane blew out a breath. “No shit, Sherlock.”
She shook her head and then hit it softly with the palm of her
hand. “Let me clear out the disruption to my brain that caused.”
Janie laughed.

“… I just don’t want to have sex with someone
I don’t love. It seems too intimate to me.”

“Understandable.” Janie was quiet for a
moment. Then she practically whispered to Diane.

“One night at the ranch when Meg and Carter
were visiting, I happened to see them in an intimate moment. It had
a profound effect on me.”

“Really? How did it affect you?”

“I saw Carter looking at Meg, and it was such
a look of tenderness and love that I decided right then and there,
that was what I wanted too.”

“A great look, huh?”

“A fabulously romantic look…”

“Says Janie Johnson, last of the Red Hot
Lovers…” They laughed. “I gather you haven’t gotten that look from
Mike Church.”

“No. I knew the first night we went out that
it wouldn’t be him.”

“And it’s okay with him that you don’t have
sex?”

“It’s not his decision to make…” Diane looked
at her friend in wonder.

“… I’m impressed. When did you get so
wise?”

“Stepping out of my comfort zone has taught
me a few things.”

They ate in friendly silence for a while.
Then Diane decided to change the subject.

“Have you been practicing for the state
competition with Craig?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Janie didn’t look up. She picked
up another bite with her chopsticks.

“Oh… I’ve been busy working and then seeing
Mike.”

“You aren’t that busy and haven’t been seeing
Mike that much. You’re avoiding Craig… Why?” Janie’s eyes filled
with tears. Diane was alarmed. “What’s the matter?”

“Craig saw me with Mike out at Naples Bar the
first night he was back in town. You should have seen the look on
his face when he saw us together.”

“How’d he look?”

“Like he wanted the earth to swallow him up.
I felt like I was cheating on him or something…”

Then Janie told Diane about her attempted
suicide call and helping Sharon Anderson. She told her Sharon’s
story which paralleled hers with Craig and about the insights she
had gleaned from her story. Then she turned to Diane with tears on
her cheeks.

“Diane, he’s in love with me!” She handed
Janie a tissue.

“
Are you
sure? I thought you two were just friends… How
do
you feel about him?” Janie wiped the tears away
and blew her nose.

“I haven’t got a bloody clue.” She turned to
her. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”

“And you said you never wanted to get tangled
up with any guy. I believe that’s a direct quote.”

She laughed. “Yeah… See what I wanted to
avoid?”

“… Well, you’re in the middle of it now.”

“Sink or swim?”

“I think you just need a good kick in the
pants to figure this all out.” She raised her glass to toast. Janie
raised hers in response.

“Here’s to the kick in the pants then…”

“And it can’t come soon enough…” They smiled
and took a sip. Laughing, they drank their wine down in the next
gulp. “If we only had a fireplace to throw these into.”

“Yeah, that would be appropriate…”

“Thanks, Diane. I needed this tonight.” She
gave her a hug.

“
My
pleasure, sweetie. And I hope I can help with that kick too.” Janie
laughed. Diane thought a minute and then narrowed her eyes at
Janie.
Maybe
she
could
help with
it…

* * *

They heard the music long before they went in
the front door. It was loud and noisy and the beat was booming. The
big western dance at the Gardnerville Community Center was alive
and kickin’. A good, local cowboy band had set up on the stage. A
little sawdust on the floor and a few bales of hay around made for
a typical western theme. People were everywhere, dancing, drinking
and having a good time.

Janie wasn’t on duty that Saturday night.
Actually, she had traded with James because she was dying to get
out and dance. She and Diane hadn’t been out dancing in Tahoe in
forever, it seemed, and she was ready to rock. The girls had worn
jeans and western shirts. They left their purses locked in the
truck of Janie’s car and just had some money in their pockets.
Janie kept her car key in one of her cowboy boots. Party time, USA
…

The place was packed with people on the sides
of the room talking and mingling. The dance floor was crowded but
she and Diane didn’t care. They got out and started line dancing
with a group already going. Anyone could join in, so they did. When
the song was through, Janie saw Mike Church waving to her from the
bar. She went over and yelled in his ear.

“Come dance with me.” He nodded, since he
knew she couldn’t hear him if he spoke. Diane watched and laughed
from the sidelines as Mike danced the two-step with Janie. They
danced well together… Diane was surprised at first and then
thought… He’s been everywhere. Of course, he would know how to
western dance.

A man came up to Diane and asked her to
dance. It was a country swing song this time and Diane kept up
easily with the cowboy’s fast movements. They glided around the
floor, bumping into a few people. It was fun and Diane was smiling.
When the song ended, the cowboy took her back to where he had
picked up her, tipped his hat and left. She was still smiling when
she saw Ethan Moody walk in. Her smile promptly faded… Janie was
watching from the dance floor with Mike and wondered how this was
going to go.

Diane was standing by herself and starting to
sweat. She said hi to a few people she knew and was suddenly
self-conscious. She knew he was getting closer to her and she
longed to be anywhere else in the world right then. Diane was angry
that he had so rudely dismissed her, but it still stung.

And then he was walking right by her, without
so much as a How-do-you-do. Diane felt like kicking him in the leg,
or somewhere else more sensitive. Janie got more upset as she
watched Ethan snub Diane. That was rude and just not called for.
Apparently, he wasn’t over his mad at her after all. There wasn’t
much that Janie could do from the dance floor and Mike was
beginning to wonder who she was looking at. It was too noisy and
packed with people to explain anything to him.

Several people were in front of Janie, so it
was difficult to see Diane for a few minutes. When she finally
caught sight of her again, a tall cowboy had taken Diane’s hand and
led her to the dance floor. They were dancing a pretty good
two-step when Janie recognized the tall cowboy – it was Craig…
Diane was facing her and waved. Craig turned to see who she was
waving at and saw Janie. They stared at each other for a moment and
then he smiled. She returned the smile and waved at him.

The song ended… Diane grabbed Craig’s hand
and led him over to Janie and Mike. The band started playing a slow
song about finding your lost love and Diane asked Mike to dance. He
laughed and took her in his arms – They glided off to the music.
That left Janie and Craig standing there looking at each other… The
music was soft and sensual. Without speaking, Craig offered Janie
his hand to dance. She took it and went into his arms. It was a
place she wasn’t accustomed to, but it felt pretty damn good. He
hugged her to him like he might lose her if he didn’t.

They danced in perfect sync together. She
remembered dancing with him years ago when they were teenagers and
he couldn’t dance a step. Janie had tried to teach him, but it was
a dismal failure. They had laughed a lot about his clumsiness. He
must have practiced since then because he was very smooth. She laid
her head on his chest and could hear his heart beat. It was beating
a bit too fast she thought and hoped he was feeling okay. When the
music stopped, he reluctantly let her go. They stepped back from
one another, but he kept hold of her hand. Craig raised it to his
lips and kissed it. Janie’s lips parted in surprise…

“
Still
friends, Miss Johnson?” He never took his eyes from hers. Her heart
started dancing.
Who was this man and what had he done to her friend,
Craig?
She didn’t feel
friendly toward him – She felt something else that wasn’t
identifiable. At least to her…

“Always, Mr. Ferguson.” She smiled back at
him. He still had ahold of her hand.

“
I’ve
missed you, Janie.”
Wow
...

“I’ve missed you too, Craig.” He let out the
breath he’d been holding.

“Come back to archery practice… We’re going
to be terrible at that competition if we don’t keep practicing.”
She was beginning to drown in his soft, brown eyes.

“Okay… sure.” Their gaze held.

“Tomorrow?”

“
I’ll be
there.” Then he gently brought her hand to his lips to kiss
again.
Wow
, again… He
gave her hand back and tipped his cowboy hat.

“Ma’am,” he said and disappeared from her
sight. She blinked that he had left so quickly. Just then Diane and
Mike came up.

“Where’d Craig go? He was so nice to ask me
to dance after stupid Ethan snubbed me.” Diane was still slightly
pissed.

“I saw that. He was like a knight rescuing
you, wasn’t he?” Janie laughed.

“I guess that’s why Colt calls him Sir
Craig…”

Mike looked confused. “What are you ladies
talking about?” Diane gave Janie a mischievous look.

“Stuff…” He laughed.

“Come on, Janie. Let’s dance…” And they were
off dancing again.

Diane had watched that whole scene performed
by Janie and Craig and mentally hugged herself. Part of her very
small plan might be working out better than her wildest
expectations – Diane had called Craig to show up at the dance. She
laughed at her success just as another cowboy asked her to dance.
Stupid Ethan was forgotten forever…

They had a blast that night and limped back
to Janie’s car when the dance was over. Mike had said his
goodnights to them and had gone the other way. They got in the car
and Janie started it up.

“Fun night, huh?” Diane rubbed her aching
feet.

“The best… We’ve got to do this more
often.”

“You bet.” Driving home, Janie could still
feel those kisses on her hand.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The archery range was packed the next
afternoon as many people were practicing for the state competition.
Craig had arrived early and saved a lane by him for Janie. Archery
tournaments are generally arranged by skill level and not age.
Occasionally, states have a senior league for older archers, but
not always. Nevada’s state competition would be based on skill, not
age. Craig and Janie would be competing against hundreds of other
archers from around the state. In these last weeks before the
shoot, time was definitely of the essence and practice was key.

They had qualified for the state shoot by
competing in leagues throughout the year. Their averages were
established after the first month of their league. The best archers
had to continue to score highly in order to finally qualify for
league best by county and then by state. It had been a rigorous
culling of archers, but the cream eventually rose. Craig had a
ranking in the top one hundred archers in the state, while Janie
was in the top two hundred. Craig had been shooting forever, but
Janie was a relevant newcomer to the sport. So her spot in the
ranking was pretty good and she was proud of how far she’d come in
a short period of time. Craig was terribly proud of her and
continued to coach her down to the last minute. He was rooting for
her success, more than his own.

Arriving at the range, Janie stood by the
doorway and watched Craig as he prepared to shoot. His compound bow
was complicated, with several bow strings attached at varying
angles to little wheels attached to the top and bottom of the bow.
He expertly arranged his peep sight to the target and nocked his
arrow. He put his arrow at the knot on his string from which the
arrow would launch. When he pulled the bowstring back, his form was
perfect – Right hand at his mouth, left arm fully extended, and
sight on target. Twenty feet down the lane, the arrow flew straight
and true, right into the center of the regulation target. It was so
disgusting, Janie thought, that he could do that time after
time.

Setting down her gear by the doorway, she
picked up her bow and quiver. Janie started clapping as she walked
over to him. He turned to look at her, his bow at his side. He
smiled and she laughed.

“Show-off…”

“You can do it too. Let’s see.” He made room
for her at the lane and

watched her set up. When she was ready to
shoot, he aimed with her. She mimicked his style pretty closely and
they shot together. Their arrows hit the targets.

“Not bad…”

“Not bad? I hit closer to the center than you
did.”

“So you did.”

“Then how about saying, ‘Pretty good,’
instead of ‘Not bad.’”

Craig smirked at her.

“Let’s see you do that again and I will…”

“You’re on.”

They adjusted their sights, nocked the arrows
on the bowstrings, pulled back and let their arrows fly. In
seconds, the arrows met the targets – Janie strained to see how
they did. Craig glanced and grinned.

“Beat ya…”

“No… it’s close though.”

“Now you’re cheating, Miss Johnson.”

“I am not.”

“You are too.”

She glared at him. “Are we twelve again?”
Craig laughed. He was enjoying this. There was nothing Janie liked
better than competition and Craig was right there with her.

“All right. Set it up again.” They nocked
their arrows. “Ready?”