Drew (The Cowboys) (10 page)

“Ready,” Cole called.

She fired six shots in rapid succession. Damn! She’d missed one.

“What’s wrong?” Zeke asked. “You never miss.”

“I was thinking about something else. Light them again.”

This time she cleared her mind of every thought and concentrated on what the audience reaction would be if she missed.

“Okay, ready,” Cole called out.

She whirled and fired six shots. Six candles went out like clockwork.

“That’s better,” Zeke said. “I thought for a moment you were coming down with something.”

“I’m never sick.”

“You never miss, either. I got to go get ready for the riding stunts. You’d better practice a little more, just to make sure.”

“I am sure, dammit,” Drew snapped at Zeke’s retreating back. “Put the candles on the turntable,” she called out to Cole.

“That’ll make it virtually impossible to hit all of them,” he said.

“Put them on the turntable anyway,” she said, determined to show him there were no limits to what she could do when she put her mind to it.

It took Cole several minutes to set up the table. All the while Drew fidgeted and fussed and stewed. It was bad enough to have Cole doubt her skill, but it was a major blow to her vanity to have Zeke tell her she needed to practice. Zeke was her severest critic, but he was also one of her most steadfast supporters. He’d been the one to convince Jake and Isabelle to let her join the Wild West Show. He’d also been the one to talk Hawk into working with him so they could join the show and keep an eye on her.

She’d been angry at first. She didn’t need anyone watching over her, but now she was glad for the companionship. She wasn’t good at making friends. The first few months would have been terribly lonely without Zeke and Hawk.

“How fast do you want me to spin it?” Cole called.

“Try it once and see.”

He spun it so fast the candles blurred and went out.

“I guess that was too fast,” he said.

He relit the candles and tried again. It was much slower, but the candles still flickered and threatened to go out. She took careful aim and fired.

She snuffed all six.

Cole slowly turned to look at her. “You’re damned good.”

“Of course I’m good.”

“No, I mean
damned
good. I didn’t think anybody could do that. How did you manage it?”

She’d always been able to shoot with uncanny accuracy. She didn’t know how. She just did it. She’d gotten even better with long hours of practice. This year she hadn’t pushed herself so hard until Cole showed up with his ideas for new tricks. Now she’d have to start practicing as much as before. It wasn’t enough that she could make the shots when she was concentrating. She had to make them all the time, under any conditions, regardless of distractions, including weather.

And she had to be fast. The audience didn’t think there was anything difficult about the shots if she took her time to prepare. But when she went from one trick to another with hardly a stop in between, it left them breathless, and the applause was loud and wholehearted.

“We ought to start with the candelabra first,” Cole said. “We can change over to the turntable when they get used to that.”

“Nobody knows what I do from one show to the next.”

“They will from now on. I intend to see that newspaper reporters are here to see your performances. You’re going to be famous. People will come to the show just to see you, expecting to see certain tricks. That’s when we’ll have to start varying them, making them even harder.”

“And how do you intend to drag all those reporters out to the show?”

“I don’t know. I just thought of it.”

Just what she expected, lots of big ideas but no thought about how to make them work. “You don’t have much time. The show starts in a few hours.”

“I’ll think of something.”

“While you’re doing that, I’ll practice the rest of my act. Then I’m going to watch Zeke and Hawk go through their stunts.”

She ran through the act three more times. Everything went perfectly except the dismount from the horse. If she stopped the horse, it slowed the act. If she dropped to a sitting position and then bailed out, it left her feeling off balance. She either had to wait a few seconds while she got her balance back, or fire right away and risk missing some of the targets.

“You ought to have somebody to catch you.”

Drew turned in surprise to see that Earl had come up behind her.

“That would give you a speedy and easy dismount,” Earl said. “And it would appeal to the audience.”

“There isn’t anybody out there but me.”

“How about Cole?”

“He’s in the stands. He couldn’t pretend to be a stranger and appear with me earlier. I’d have to get Hawk or Zeke to catch me.”

“Okay,” Earl said, “but let’s practice it now. I want to see how it looks.”

“Zeke and Hawk have gone to the stables,” she said.

“Then let Cole catch you.”

Chapter Six

The surge of energy that jolted through Drew’s body was as troubling as it was unexpected.

“No!” She hadn’t meant for the word to come out as a strangled shout, but it did anyway.

“Why not?” Earl asked.

“I don’t need to practice it now. I can wait until the boys are done.”

“There’s no need to wait. Besides, I want to see it.”

“I can’t be jumping into the arms of a man I barely know.” She didn’t know why Earl couldn’t see that. “My mother would have a fit.”

“This is show business, Drew. We have to do all kinds of things our mothers wouldn’t approve of.”

Drew knew that. All the women she knew had either been born into show business or joined over their parents’ objections.

“You don’t have to worry about Cole getting fresh,” Earl said. “I’ll be here.”

“I’m not worried about that. He knows I can put a bullet through his heart at a hundred yards.”

It wasn’t Cole but rather his effect on her that worried Drew. She’d spent her whole life immune to the attractions of the male sex. Since she disliked most men and intended never to marry, that suited her just fine.

“Good. I’ll tell him to get the horse.”

Drew wanted to call Earl back, but she knew it was pointless. He might be short in stature and too pretty to be a man, but when he made up his mind to something, he stuck to it. She didn’t want anyone to catch her when she dismounted from the horse, but she was sure it would be a crowd pleaser. It certainly was an easier way to get down. Dropping to the ground while the horse was still moving jarred every bone in her body.

She wouldn’t have minded if she didn’t have to practice with Cole. Just his presence was enough to cause her to feel too agitated to sit still. At first she thought it was pure irritation. She didn’t want to share her performance with anyone, especially a conceited good-for-nothing like Cole. But she found herself looking for him when he wasn’t around, wondering where he was, what he might be doing.

She tried to tell herself she was nervous about what he would come up with next. She was, but she was honest enough to admit she was curious, too. Even worse, she found him attractive, appealing. She hated it, cussed herself for it, but she couldn’t help it. She guessed that was what had gotten him through life so far, women who couldn’t help being attracted to him, women who’d do just about anything to keep him close by.

She might be as susceptible as other silly women, but she wasn’t foolish enough to let it go beyond that. You had to treat a man like Cole the same way you treated a wild stallion. He might be the most beautiful animal you’ve ever seen, but you had to let him stay wild. It was foolish to think he could be broken to saddle. Cole would always have a crowd of women around him, but he’d never be faithful to any one.

Drew shook her head to clear it of these troubling thoughts. She had to get her mind back on her work. Cole and Earl were heading her way with the horse.

“I found some shoes for you to wear,” Cole said as he handed her what looked like a boot top attached to a ballet slipper. “It’ll look like a boot but be supple enough for you to stand up on the horse.”

“Where did you get these?” She knew he couldn’t have bought anything like that in a store.

“I had Myrtle make them out of some old boots and a pair of slippers I found at a pawn shop.”

“They’re perfect,” Earl said, “a brilliant idea. Now let’s see Drew jump into your arms.”

Drew put it off as long as possible. She first made it clear one of her brothers would catch her in the show. Then she made Earl discuss how Zeke or Hawk would come out, where he’d be while she shot at the targets, how and when he’d leave after he’d caught her. But she couldn’t put it off forever, especially since Earl was impatient to get on to his other duties.

“Help her up on that horse,” he said to Cole. “I think it’ll be a brilliant entrance. I don’t know why one of us didn’t think of something like this long ago.”

“Because we made my shooting the focus of the act,” Drew said, “not some theatrical claptrap.”

“Audiences love claptrap,” Earl said. “This whole show is nothing but an imitation of what really happens in the West. People don’t want the real thing, just a comfortable approximation. Now let’s see what this looks like.”

She stalled a little longer by insisting Cole set up the bull’s-eyes so she could make her entrance exactly as she would for the show. But the time came when she couldn’t postpone it any longer. The targets were set up, Cole stood ready, and Earl was waiting.

“Hell!” she swore. She swung herself up on the horse and got to her feet. She clucked to the horse, and he cantered into the ring.

Drew drilled her three targets. While the horse was making the circle around the arena, Cole grabbed up the targets and waved them in the air to show the make-believe audience Drew had hit them all dead center. Then he dropped the targets and ran to catch her when she was directly in front of the stands.

“Hell!” Drew said as she jumped.

It was worse than she’d feared.

He didn’t grunt or stagger under the impact of her body. He just stood there, smiling down at her, as if he did this sort of thing every day. His arms felt strong, easily capable of handling her weight.

Drew felt her pulse leap and her heart hammer in her chest. Not once since she was a small child had a man held her. Yet she was now cradled in Cole’s arms like some sort of fancy woman. She knew she ought to order him to let her down, but she couldn’t summon the strength. Or the will.

More than ever she found herself acutely conscious of his virile appeal. She could feel the magnetism that made him so self-confident, made women want to be near him, want to surrender to his charm. She couldn’t miss the musky smell of him as he pressed her close. She tried to ignore the pulsing knot that formed in her stomach, but it was useless. She rested firmly in the arms of a strong, handsome man, and she was acting just like a brainless female. She wanted him to go on holding her.

She was an idiot. She should have threatened to quit before she jumped into Cole’s arms, but it was too late now. The damage had been done.

She cleared her throat and pretended not to be affected. “You’re supposed to put me down immediately,” she said. “You don’t want to slow down the act”

She was pleased to see he didn’t produce his usual snappy comeback. In fact, he looked just about as bemused and confused as she felt. Good. If she was going to be knocked senseless by some useless male, it was only fair that he be just as strongly affected by her.

“Great! Wonderful! Marvelous!”

Cole set her down as Earl came running up, sparing Cole the necessity of responding.

“That was perfect. The audience will be breathless. Everything after that will seem better than ever.”

“Good. I’ll go over it with Zeke as soon as he’s done practicing,” Drew said.

“Forget Zeke,” Earl said. “Cole is going to catch you. I want him to become part of your act.”

“No!” Her response, a desperate attempt to separate herself from the feelings that assailed her when she was in Cole’s arms, came before she thought. She couldn’t do this every evening.

“Why not?” Earl asked.

She desperately searched her mind for an excuse Earl might accept.

“Being in the arms of a man I barely know upsets me,” she said. “I’m not sure I’d be calm enough to shoot well after that. If any of my family saw me, I know I wouldn’t.”

“Your family’s not here, and you’ve got all the time in the world to get to know Cole,” Earl said. “I won’t force you to put him in your act, but it would certainly give it a big boost. You could become a real star.”

“I’ll do it with Zeke or Hawk.”

“It would be better with Cole.”

“Why?”

It was a stupid question. She knew the answer before Earl said it.

“He’s good-looking in a sassy sort of way that will drive the women crazy.”

“If he’s part of my act, he can’t challenge me at the end.”