Corporate Cowboy

She hung the slicker on a wooden coat tree that had antlers for hooks, then led him to the front desk in the lobby. In keeping with the decor, a hitching post separated the guests from the employees.

“Normally there’s someone working here, but I think everyone’s in the lounge listening to Wild Bill Bordon. It’s not often we get a man of his fame here.” Slipping behind one of the posts, she unlocked a drawer and pulled out a ledger, flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

“You’re in number ten—a private, as you requested.” She had him sign several forms, gave him a folder containing the schedule for the upcoming week, then handed him a key.

She checked for messages in the row of wooden boxes behind her on the wall, pulling out a stack of pink slips which she handed to Austin. “Someone’s been trying to reach you. A Daphne Delattre. I guess you didn’t tell her that you’re not supposed to get phone calls here, did you?” Her delicate brow arched with a hint of impatience.

He shoved the messages into his pocket without any explanation, knowing perfectly well that she had heard his phone conversation in the truck.

“The first thing I’d like to do is get a change of clothing,” he stated in no uncertain terms.

“Suzy is probably at the campfire…or I should say in front of the fireplace. We had to move the cowboy poetry reading that should have been outside around a campfire indoors.”

“Oh, what a shame that I missed it.” He didn’t try to hide his sarcasm.

“You don’t like poetry, Mr. Bennett?”

“I’m just wondering what makes poetry cowboy poetry?”

“Why, when it’s about the life of cowboys,” she said with an engaging grin. “And tonight we have one of the best poets in the West—Wild Bill Bordon.”

A man named Wild Bill reading poetry? He had never been a fan of poetry readings when they were done by literary figures, but to listen to a cowboy reading poetry? Austin could feel his discomfort level rise.

“Wild Bill puts so much energy and emotion into his readings his poems become quite powerful,” she told him. “If you’ve never been to a cowboy poetry reading you’re in for quite a treat.”

Austin studied her face to see if she was being facetious. She wasn’t. She truly thought that some guy sitting around reciting rhymes about horses and cattle would be an engaging experience. “I’ll pass on the poetry reading,” he told her.

He saw a flicker of annoyance cross her face, but it was quickly replaced with a cajoling grin and a wagging of her finger at him. “Uh-uh-uh. That is no way to start the program, Mr. Bennett. Come on. This is a great way to get into the western theme of the conference.” She steered him down a corridor lined with portraits and landscapes, all featuring cowboys.

“You like art, Mr. Bennett?” she asked, noting his interest.

“As a matter of fact I do.” He paused in front of a painting of an elderly man wearing a buckskin jacket. The brass plate at the bottom of the frame read James Judd. “Is this your grandfather?”

“Great-grandfather. He was eighty-nine when that was done.” He would have liked to ask her who the rest of the faces were on the walls, but she again was nudging him along.

“You’ll have more time in the morning to look at these. Right now we need to find the rest of your group. Your employees will be eager to see that you’ve arrived safely. Besides, it’s where we’ll find Suzy and you do want to get a change of clothes for tomorrow, don’t you?”

She had him over a barrel. Reluctantly he allowed her to escort him to a lounge in which one entire wall was a huge rock fireplace. Several leather sofas and large overstuffed recliners provided comfortable seating while a large wagon wheel chandelier glowed overhead, giving off just enough light so that the room had a warm glow.

Everyone was silent except for the toughened old cowboy who sat on a stool in front of the fireplace reciting poetry. Although a few guests chose the leather furniture, most sat on the floor forming a semicircle around the poet. Instead of their usual business clothes all of them wore western wear.

To Austin they looked like a bunch of dimestore cowboys in their stiff jeans, yoked shirts, leather boots and straw hats. What was even more surprising was that every one of them appeared to be enjoying the verses the old man recited in a voice as raspy as sandpaper. The only other sound in the room was the crackling of the wood in the fire.

As soon as the poem came to an end, Wild Bill looked over at the newcomers and nodded. All the cowboy hats turned in Austin’s direction and suddenly Austin felt like the odd man out. Not only was his suit wet and wrinkled, it was totally out of place in this setting.

“Well, now. It looks like the head honcho has finally arrived,” the weathered-looking old man commented.

The circle opened with several guests motioning for Austin to come sit beside them. “Are you going to join us?”

“I’d like to, but I need to get something to wear. My luggage is somewhere between here and Chicago.”

A collective sigh could be heard and a blonde jumped up. She was dressed like Kacy Judd in a long denim skirt and a leather vest.

“It won’t matter. We’ve got plenty of things for you to choose from, don’t we, Kacy. You want me to open the shop?” she asked Austin, confirming his suspicion that she was indeed another one of the Judds.

“I would appreciate it.”

Kacy then introduced the woman as her sister, Suzy Judd. As she smiled at Austin, he could see the resemblance between the two. Although their coloring was quite different, they had the same green eyes and a bone structure that many women would envy.

“As you can see, most everyone’s already done some shopping,” Suzy said with a grin, waving her hand in the direction of the other guests. Then she turned to Kacy and asked, “Are you going to come along or do you want to stay and listen to Wild Bill?”

“I’ll stay here. I need to talk to Dusty anyway.” Kacy extended her hand to Austin, giving him all the polite phrases, but he could see that she was about as sincere as a con man. She couldn’t wait to pass him off to her sister. And that thought annoyed him.

He didn’t know what role Ms. Kacy Judd was going to play in his life for the next five days, but of one thing he was certain. If she thought she was going to tell him what to do and when to do it, she was sadly mistaken.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING Kacy was up bright and early. On mornings when there were no guests at the lodge she began each day with a ride. Today she would be giving riding lessons so she would wait to have the pleasure of taking out one of her own horses.

Horses were Kacy’s passion and she never grew tired of being around them. Riding was an experience that satisfied all of her senses. She could feel the wind on her face, smell the grass beneath her and hear the sounds of silence. The steady rhythm of her horse’s hooves was like music to her ear and it was what she had missed most when she had lived in the city.

Riding was like breathing—she needed to do it regularly or she was in trouble. On the North Dakota prairie she could ride without worry that she’d encounter some unsavory character around the next bend. Living in New York she had discovered what it meant to feel unsafe. The two-legged animals walking the streets were much more dangerous than the four-legged kind she encountered on the prairie.

She thought of how startled Austin Bennett had looked at the sight of the moose on the highway and smiled. His visit to North Dakota had not gotten off on a very good start. Losing his luggage, fighting with his girlfriend, getting soaked in the rain. She should have had more sympathy for him, but he was a suit. And an arrogant one at that, judging by last night. Thinking everyone in North Dakota ran around saying “yee-haw.” Daphne Delattre was welcome to him.

Kacy couldn’t help but be curious as to what kind of woman would be attracted to a man like Austin Bennett. Sure, he was good-looking, but he didn’t have a personality. That much was obvious. And no sense of humor. And he liked to tell women what to do. Go to bed? Geesh! What did he think? That he was Daphne’s father?

At the direction her thoughts were taking, she chastised herself, annoyed that he aroused the least bit of curiosity in her. Just because he had a couple of physical attributes that might make a woman’s heart beat a little faster didn’t mean she had to fantasize about the man’s love life.

Maybe some women went for the arrogant type, but she wasn’t one of them. She didn’t mind a man with a “take charge” attitude, but she didn’t need anyone telling her what to do. She pushed all thoughts of the CEO aside and prepared for the day ahead.

By the time she had showered and dressed, blue skies and sunshine alleviated her worries that they would be troubled by rain again today. Normally she would have had a quick bite of breakfast in her own kitchen, but because it was the first day of a new session at the ranch, she joined the rest of the staff for breakfast in the lodge’s dining room.

Suzy, besides running the clothing shop, acted as hostess for all meals, arranging the seating and welcoming guests as they arrived. It came as no surprise to Kacy to find that her sister’s place card was next to Austin Bennett’s. What did come as a surprise was to see the CEO in blue jeans, a shirt with pearl snaps and a pair of oxfords. Kacy had to stifle a giggle. Dress shoes with blue jeans?

When his eyes met hers, he nodded. It was the only sign that he noticed her presence. Even though he appeared to be listening to Suzy, Kacy thought he looked detached, almost bored by everything that was going on around him. The impression only increased her antagonism toward the man.

When breakfast was over, Kacy found herself face to face with him as she left the dining room. “Good morning, Mr. Bennett. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And is the room to your satisfaction?”

“The room is quite nice. Thank you.”

One point in our favor, Kacy thought. She looked down at his shoes and asked, “Didn’t they have boots in your size?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You have some in your luggage, is that it?”