she drove back to town, she glanced back at her barn. God was surely smiling on her to have provided such a perfect place for her strawhat production. On that note, she would keep thinking positively. Ross would come around.
He just didn’t realize it yet.
“Why didn’t you fellas tell me she was an actress?” Ross asked the next morning. He was in a foul mood as he sat at the counter at Sam’s, nursing a cup of coffee. The disappointment in Sugar’s eyes the day before hadn’t set well with him. Turning her down—well, really, telling her flat-out no—had been his automatic reaction. A gut reaction. And though it was the only answer he wanted to give, he wished he’d said it a better way.
But no was still no, any way you said it.
Especially when it came to him and entertainment. Still, the look on her face had driven him from his bed this morning and to Sam’s so early that he’d beaten the old-timers.
“We thought you knew,” Applegate said. “Ain’t you heard my Haley Bell talk about her friend the actress?”
“No, App, I haven’t. I don’t have my finger on the pulse of the community like you do,” he snapped.
“I didn’t think ta tell you,” Stanley said as he sat down. He plopped a handful of sunflower seeds in his mouth and started placing his red checkers on the board, ignoring Ross’s glare. “Does it bother ya that she’s an actress?”
Sam came out of the back and set a plate of pancakes in front of Ross before he had a chance to answer. He liked to eat sweets when he was stressed.
“So does it?” Sam asked.
Ross looked from him back to the checkers players, glad they were the only ones in the diner. “Yes. It does. Frankly, I liked this girl.”
“So, what’s her bein’ an actress got to do with that?” Applegate asked.
“I’m not looking to date a woman just to be dating her. I’m looking for a wife. She’s an actress. She’s got one thing on her mind and that’s getting her name up in lights.”
“So yer holdin’ that aginst her? It ain’t like she ain’t got a good reason,” Applegate grunted.
“That’s right,” Stanley huffed. “Tell him, App.”
Ross’s curiosity got the better of him and he set his coffee down. “I’m all ears, App.”
“Me, too,” Sam said.
“Haley Bell told me that Sugar was a real sick little girl. She was one of them thar preemie preemies or something like that. You know, one of them really tiny premature babies. I thank she weighed about two pounds or somethin’. Can you just imagine that? Anyway, she was a fighter, but it took blame near her whole childhood fer her ta get healthy. She had somethin’ wrong with her heart, among other thangs. Had a ton of surgeries and spent a lot of time in front of the television. Said them act’rs helped keep her going.” He looked at Ross from beneath caterpillar brows. “No wonder she’s got her heart set on bein’ one.”
The room was silent. Ross sat for a moment and took it all in. Then pushed the untouched pancakes away and stood up to go. He needed to think. “Thanks for telling me that, Applegate. It doesn’t change my mind…about anything. Trying to date her or letting her have my barn. But at least I understand her a little better.”
As he laid his money on the counter, he could tell by their scowls that they didn’t like his answer, but he couldn’t help it. Really, it would be better for Sugar if he didn’t give in. The woman couldn’t understand what she was trying to accomplish.
Putting on a show was a huge undertaking. His grandfather Dupree, or Grandpop, as Ross had called him, started his show “The Singing Duprees” with little more than a guitar, a need to entertain and a steely commitment to give it his all.
Because of that, Grandpop’s dream came true, and he’d lived to see his grandchildren follow him up on the stage he’d built. It had thrilled his soul. Ross could still remember the look of pride in his eyes whenever they sang a song together in front of a packed house.
As a kid all Ross had known was how proud he was to be singing beside his grandfather. As an adult, he’d grown weary of the behind-the-scenes struggles and the exhaustive amount of determination and commitment it took to keep the show going.
Sugar Rae might be looking at a shorter show schedule, but he didn’t think she knew what would be required of her to get that curtain up each performance. It was a strenuous, locked-down lifestyle. And it was one he never wanted to experience again.
Ranching was hard work, too. It required long days—sometimes seven days a week. But it was a quiet life, and that suited him.
Clearly, it wouldn’t suit Sugar.
He’d talked with her only twice, so realistically, it shouldn’t bother him so much that she’d be leaving.
But it did bother him. And she was leaving; no doubt about it. She had stars in her eyes and leaving on her mind.
The story Applegate had just told him made him even more certain that the passion he’d heard in her voice was real. He’d come across it many times before during his years on the stage. Plenty of actors with Hollywood on their radar came through Branson looking for experience. It didn’t take them long to leave.
He gave Sugar six months, and then she’d be out of here. He’d do well to keep that in mind, because any time he invested in her would just be wasted time. End of story.
Haley glanced over the top of her computer at Sugar. “Those ads you loaded onto the Web site look great. It is so fantastic to have you helping me. I’m a real klutz when it comes to Web pages and that technical stuff.”
“You could learn it. It’s just procedure. Once you learn the ropes, you’re in.”
Haley gave an exaggerated grimace. “Easy for you to say. You know how to do it.”
Sugar rolled her eyes and tried to concentrate on work. “If I can do it, you can, and I’m going to teach you while I’m here.”
Haley laid her pen down. “I know you don’t want me to say this, but I really hope you’ll stay on. It would be good for you and for us. You have so much to offer the community.”
“You know that won’t happen,” Sugar said frankly. She needed to nip that idea in the bud pronto. And truth was, if Ross didn’t come around, there was no reason for her to stick around. She’d made Haley a promise to come help her get things going with the office, but if she couldn’t find a way to help her career, then she was staying in this small town for the absolute shortest time possible.
Haley sighed. “You can’t fault a girl for hoping.”
Sugar couldn’t hold back anymore. “So tell me, what’s the story on this Ross guy? He wouldn’t even listen to what I had to say this morning. He seemed different from the guy I met yesterday—talk about a rude dude. And I know about rude.”
That made Haley laugh, just as Sugar knew
