Cowboy Take Me Away

Chapter 18




Walking down Rainbow Way on the first day of the Festival of the Animals was like getting trapped inside a gigantic ant farm. People swarmed all over the square and up and down the length of Rainbow Way, taking in the booths, the food concessions, the arts and crafts displays, the midway games, and whatever musical group happened to be playing in the gazebo.

The late October air was crisp and cool in the morning. But rain was still scarce, which kept the soil so warm that by afternoon the temperature was well into the eighties. Summer flowers had been yanked up and replaced with the yellows and oranges of fall, but even those were starting to wilt. A hundred miles north, unseasonal wildfires reminded everyone that in this part of Texas, the longest drought in forty years was still in play.

The night before the festival, Shannon, Luke, and a couple of volunteers had erected a temporary corral for Clancy, Daisy the donkey, and one of the llamas who was less inclined to spit than the others. Beside that was the Puppy Pit, which they created by sectioning off a ten-by-ten area with bales of hay and turning loose five or six of the older puppies to entertain the people who came through. Next to that were cages full of adoptable cats and dogs, and visitors were encouraged to interact with any animal they thought they might like to adopt.

Shannon had arrived at the shelter early that morning, helped Luke feed the animals, and then they collected the ones they were taking to the festival and headed out. Angela came by to help as often as she could, given her responsibilities at the Cordero Vineyards shop on the square, and volunteers took shifts handing out brochures and completing adoption paperwork. Rita offered to help Freddie Jo man the office back at the shelter and greet visitors who showed up there.

They’d had the sign printed with Russell’s name on it, even bigger than the sponsorship sign from the year before. He came by once, told her it looked good, then disappeared again. And she hadn’t seen him since.

As always, Shannon held her breath, hoping for lots of adoptions and a flurry of donations. She needn’t have worried. By noon the first day, she could tell both would be superseding anything they’d achieved in prior years. And it was mostly because of Luke. He was a one-man public relations firm, drawing people in with a big smile and inviting them to meet whatever animal he was holding at the time.

Tourists loved him immediately. But Shannon also caught snippets of conversation from some of the townspeople.

Sure that’s Luke Dawson? He seems different than before.

Heard he’s a bull rider now, going to the World Championship. Can you believe it?

No man who loves animals that much can be all bad.

Every day the festival held a different event, the most popular of which were the Puppy Power 5K for walkers and their dogs and the Blessing of the Animals. For the blessing, Father Andrews said a prayer, then sprinkled each pet with holy water. Luke had told Shannon about Todd adopting Barney, but seeing them together for the blessing came very close to making her cry.

Shannon left the festival grounds exhausted every evening. She and Luke took the animals back to the shelter and made sure everybody was fed. Then he came to her apartment, and suddenly she perked right back up again. They took a shower, then grabbed a bite to eat, barely finishing dinner before they were in each other’s arms again, making their way to the bedroom. They never talked about what was going to happen when the festival was over and he had to get on the road to Denver. That was fine with Shannon. The last thing she wanted to do was interject one bit of sadness into the happiness she was feeling.

All too soon Sunday came, the last day of the festival. Attendance dwindled in the afternoon in anticipation of the barbecue that night. The animals were getting tired, stretching out in their cages, their eyes drifting shut. Only a dozen visitors had stopped by in the last hour.

Luke sat down in a chair, holding a fuzzy little mutt that was part Yorkie and part something else. As Angela talked to a visitor who was thinking of adopting a cat, Shannon sat down beside him.

“I don’t know what it is about the festival this year,” she said with a smile. “It’s been a whole lot more fun than usual.”

Luke smiled back. “It’s been fun for me, too.”

“Did you come to the festival when you were a kid?”

His smiled faded. “Yeah, but I didn’t have any money to do anything. Then when I was older, I couldn’t even walk up to a booth without somebody thinking I was going to steal something.”

“That must have been hard.”

Luke just shrugged, but she knew how much that had to have hurt him as a child. It broke her heart to imagine him walking around the festival without being able to do what the other kids did—shop at the booths or play the games or even buy a little cotton candy.

“Let’s do it now,” Shannon said.

“What?”

“We haven’t gotten out of this booth the whole week. Let’s go play.”

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Did you just say the word ‘play’?”

“Yeah. Let’s go do festival stuff.”

“What about the shelter booth?”

Shannon looked over at Angela. “Can you hold down the fort for an hour or so?”

“No problem.”

Shannon smiled at Luke. “Let’s go.”



All week long Russell had been trying to get into the spirit of the festival, but it was a hard thing to do. People were everywhere. Pets were everywhere. He couldn’t even drop by Rosie’s for a takeout order without standing in line behind a string of tourists. Most of the business owners on the square loved every minute of it, but that was only because they were selling souvenirs or consumables. To date he hadn’t had a single tourist drop by his office for a spur-of-the-moment root canal. And the costume contest—why had he agreed to judge that? He’d felt like a fool sitting up there trying to decide between a Chihuahua dressed like a Hell’s Angel and a cat wearing a bumblebee costume.

He went to the petting zoo the first day to see what he’d supposedly paid a thousand bucks for. The sign looked good. He liked seeing his name emblazoned at the entrance in foot-tall letters. Shannon had stopped working for a minute to talk about the sign and tell him again how much she appreciated it. But with Luke Dawson hanging around in the background, the whole experience had eventually irritated Russell enough that he hadn’t been back since.

Now he was walking down Rainbow Way, stopping to talk to vendors and other townspeople, wanting to make sure people saw him at the festival even though he didn’t entirely get it. He also made sure to stop by the Preservation Society booth to say hello to Loucinda, who greeted him like the son-in-law she was hoping to have. If only her daughter would pay that kind of attention to him, things would be just fine.

He stopped to look around in a booth filled with leather goods. Buck-stitched wallets weren’t remotely his thing, but he did love the smell of good leather. Then he heard a voice beside him.

“Hi, there.”

He turned around to find Cynthia standing next to him. She wore an oddball hairband with tiny silk flowers on it and a pair of feathery earrings he’d seen one of the craft booths selling.

“I saw you judging the animal costume contest,” she said with a smile. “You looked good up there.”

“Good?”

“Very judgelike. Did you ever consider law school? You know. Back when you were in college.”

“Law school? Uh…no. I didn’t.”

“Well, if you ever feel like changing professions, there you go. And just for the record, I think you and the other judges picked the right winner. That Chihuahua in the Hell’s Angel costume was hilarious.”

“Do you think so?” he said, suddenly feeling as if the whole thing might have mattered after all. “I really wasn’t sure.”

“Absolutely. But there were others that were pretty funny, too. How about the squirrel in the Superman cape? What did you think of that one?”

“Not elaborate enough,” he said.

“Hmm. Good point.”

And then she commented on the dachshund dressed as a hot dog, and Russell found himself talking at length about his reasons for liking one contestant over another. For some reason, Cynthia was smiling at him as if he’d done something truly noteworthy by judging a dumb costume contest. Maybe this stuff meant more to people around there than he realized. By the way Cynthia was looking at him, it certainly meant something to her.

All at once, Russell caught a glimpse of Shannon out of the corner of his eye. She was standing on the other side of Rainbow Way near a cotton candy concession.

This was his chance. She was away from the petting zoo, which meant Luke wasn’t around. He could talk to her. Suggest maybe they have a bite to eat together, or maybe a glass of wine at the Cordero Vineyards shop. Just a casual, Wasn’t it nice to run into each other? kind of thing. It would be perfect.

But just as he was about to tell Cynthia he had to go, he realized Shannon wasn’t alone. Somebody walked up to her and handed her a cone of cotton candy.

Luke Dawson.

They turned and walked down Rainbow Way in the direction of the games on the small midway, chatting as they ate the cotton candy. And Shannon was smiling.

Russell felt a slow burn of anger. He hated feeling that way, but he just couldn’t help it. It irritated him to no end to watch the woman he wanted with another man and feeling as if there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. Then he realized Cynthia was still talking.

“I’m sorry,” he said, jealousy still buzzing inside his head. “What did you say?”

“I asked you if you’re going to the barbecue tonight.”

“Uh…yeah. I’m going.”

“Okay. Then I guess I’ll see you there.”

She gave him one last smile and walked away. Russell told himself he just had to be patient, that Luke wasn’t a threat in the long run. But if he saw Shannon with Luke at the barbecue tonight, patience was the last thing he’d be feeling.



As Luke walked down Rainbow Way, he had the sun on his shoulders, the warm October breeze in his face, cotton candy in his hand, and Shannon by his side. He decided it was one of the best days of his life. And given how good his days had been recently, that was saying a lot.

They’d gotten in the swing of things at the shelter’s booth this week, finding homes for a dozen animals in the past few days alone. The big jar they’d set out for donations and seeded with twenty-dollar bills was almost full. Pledges of ongoing support were at an all-time high. And Angela’s suggestion of a doggy kissing booth manned by some of their friendlier mutts—at a dollar a kiss—was a huge success. Shannon told him that for the first time since she’d taken over as executive director, she felt as if she had breathing room.

He remembered the woman he’d found in the barn that first day he’d come to the shelter asking for a job. She’d been driven, yes. Determined, definitely. But she’d also been tired, overworked, and unhappy. Sometime in the past few months, all that had changed. And in the past week, the way her face lit up every time she saw him…

Nothing on earth made him feel better than that.

They went to the midway and stopped by a shooting gallery. Shannon held his cotton candy as he plunked down two bucks and took three shots. He won a stuffed dog and threatened to name it Son of Fluffy. But there was a little girl next to him who’d lost and was on the verge of tears, so he knelt down and gave it to her instead. She took the stuffed dog and hugged it, her tears turning to smiles.

They browsed through the craft booths, then sat down for a minute to watch a cooking demonstration where somebody was making homemade dog biscuits. As they rose to walk on, he saw the Preservation Society booth ahead. He imagined Loucinda holding court there, pontificating about their efforts to preserve the history of Rainbow Valley, even as she wished she could rid the town of Luke’s place in its history forever. He wished he didn’t feel uptight at the thought of running into her, but he just couldn’t make the leap.

He slowed, then stopped. Shannon looked at him questioningly.

“Maybe we’d better turn around,” he said.

Shannon looked ahead and saw the Preservation Society booth, and an expression of understanding came over her face. She nodded. They made a U-turn and started back up Rainbow Way.

As they strolled along, Shannon’s hand accidentally brushed against his, and it was all he could do not to take hold of it. But he refused to do that. He didn’t want any public display of affection he showed her now to cause her any grief later. The past few days had been wonderful, and the last thing he wanted as he left this town for good was Shannon having any regrets about what had happened between them. This time he wanted nothing but good memories to stay with her forever.



By the time Luke and Shannon returned the animals to the shelter, the sun was already hovering over the horizon. After everyone was fed, Luke stayed to take care of a few final tasks, telling Shannon to go home and get ready for the barbecue. She told him once she was ready, she’d walk the few blocks from her apartment to the square to meet him.

By the time Luke finished at the shelter, took a shower, and drove back to town, there were cars parked for blocks around the square. He finally found a space that might have been slightly illegal to park in, but he figured the sheriff had more on his mind that night than handing out parking tickets. As he walked to where people were congregated, he saw vendors dishing out barbecue, and beer was flowing like crazy. Multicolored party lights were draped everywhere, and picnic tables were set side-by-side to accommodate the hundreds of people who’d shown up for the celebration.

Eve spotted him and waved. “Hey, Luke! Over here!”

She and Tasha sat together, finishing off their dinner, and they scooted over to make room for Luke. Ginger and Eve’s dog, Brynn, stood by, hopeful for any tidbits of food that might come their way. He leaned over to give each one a friendly pat, and when he looked up again, his heart stood still.

Shannon was walking across the square, stopping to talk to people here and there. Instead of the jeans she usually wore, she’d put on a casual dress with a lightweight sweater over it. The dress swirled around her legs in the soft evening breeze. She reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face, turning as she did, and their eyes met.

A warm smile inched across her face, and even at this distance, the look she gave him made his heart beat just a little bit faster. She started toward him, looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her before.

Finally she reached the table and sat down next to him. He leaned over and spoke to her softly.

“Barbecues are like rodeos,” he said.

“Oh? How so?”

“A guy’s got to be with the prettiest girl.”

“Is that a rule?”

“No. It’s the law. And I’m not breaking any laws tonight.”

She smiled, and his heart turned over. This was going to be a good night. A wonderful night. A night to remember.

“Eat fast,” Eve told Luke. “The band’s already started, and you’re going to be doing a lot of dancing tonight.”

Shannon and Luke got plates of barbecue and dug in. But Eve was true to her word. Luke had barely laid his fork down after eating before she grabbed him by the hand, dragged him from the picnic table, and headed for the dance floor. He looked back at Shannon apologetically, but she just smiled. For the next forty-five minutes, he danced with several women whose men refused to, all the while wishing he was dancing with Shannon instead.

When the band took a break, he walked back to their table to rest for a moment and finish off his beer. He leaned in and spoke softly. “Sure you don’t mind me dancing with other women?”

“You might be dancing with them now,” she said, “but you’re coming home with me.”

Beneath the picnic table, Luke edged his hand over, eased up the hem of her skirt, and placed it on her thigh, rubbing it gently. When her eyes fell closed and her chest rose and fell with a breath of pure pleasure, he knew she was thinking of what it was going to be like tonight when she was naked and his hands were on more than just her thigh.

Across the dance floor, Luke saw Russell sitting with Shannon’s mother and father, and he wondered what was going on there. Every once in a while, one of them would look their way and frown.

“When’s the last time you talked to your mother?” he asked Shannon.

“It’s been a while.”

He nodded toward the table where they sat. “If looks could kill…”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

She nodded, but he could tell she felt bad about it, anyway. “Looks as if your knee is all healed.”

“Yeah. It feels good.”

“You’re getting plenty of exercise tonight.”

“I don’t know what it is with some of these guys. If they’d learn how to dance, their women would be eternally grateful.”

“Apparently they don’t know the advantages of having their women’s eternal gratitude.”

“Hey, Luke!” Tasha called out from the other end of the table, a big, loopy grin on her face. “How about another dance? I love to dance!”

That was weird for Tasha, who never showed any assertiveness around men. Then Shannon saw the beer in her hand and understood her sudden overconfidence.

“Go dance,” Shannon said. “I like watching you.”

“It’s more fun if you’re dancing yourself. Sure you don’t want to?”

“Nah. I’m pretending I’m watching Dancing with the Stars. Hey—when you win the bull riding championship, maybe you can be on the show. You could wear some of those sparkly gold pants you love so much.”

“Chaps,” he said over his shoulder as Tasha dragged him to the dance floor. “Chaps.”



Shannon put her chin in her hand and watched Luke spin Tasha around the dance floor, the music thumping pleasantly through her body. After a while, she checked her watch and realized it was getting late. She decided to grab a few desserts for her and Luke before they called it a night.

She rose and wove through the crowd, moving to the end of the dessert line. A moment later, somebody came to stand behind her, and when she turned around and saw who it was, a familiar feeling of defensiveness overcame her.

“Mom,” she said offhandedly, looking back at the desserts. “Missed you during the festival.”

Loucinda examined the virtues of brownies over apple pie. “Yes. Well, I stayed very busy in the Preservation Society booth.”

“I thought you would at least drop by. What stopped you?”

Loucinda reached for the apple pie and moved down the line to pay for it. “You know what stopped me, dear.”

Her mother’s tone of disapproval fell on Shannon like a cold rain, and as always, her heart automatically beat faster.

“No, Mom. I’m afraid I don’t.”

Loucinda’s mouth settled into a grim line of disapproval. She leaned in and spoke quietly. “With that Dawson boy at your booth, do you really have to wonder?”

“You need to stop calling him that.”

“You were with him all over the festival grounds. Do you have any idea what people were saying?”

“Depends on what people you’re talking about. My friends weren’t saying anything.”

“I don’t know where I went wrong with you and your sister. You just don’t seem to understand what’s proper and what isn’t.”

“Just for the record, I don’t care about propriety. I do, however, care about Luke.”

“Shannon!” Loucinda hissed, looking left and right. “Will you keep your voice down?”

“I’ll talk as loud as I want to.”

Loucinda gave her an angry look, put the pie back, and walked away. But this time, instead of the apprehension Shannon usually felt when she crossed her mother, all she felt was a cool self-assurance she should have acquired somewhere along the line but never had. She left the dessert line and caught up with her.

“You know what, Mom? You might change your mind about Luke if you actually got to know him.”

“Glenn Dawson’s son? I don’t think so.”

“Luke isn’t like his father.”

“Evidently you’re not like your mother, either.”

“Given the awful things you’ve said about Luke, I’m pretty proud of that.”

Loucinda shot her a dirty look and kept on walking. “Speaking of awful things, Dr. Morgensen seems to think you’re no longer interested in seeing him. Are you seriously that short-sighted?”

“Russell and I aren’t right for each other.”

“How can you say that? You’re perfect for each other! If you’re fortunate, he’ll consider asking you out again.”

“And the day I feel about him the way I feel about Luke, I’ll take him up on it.”

Loucinda stopped and spun around, her mouth falling open. “The way you feel about”—she shook her head with disbelief—“Just the fact that you’re sitting with that man is an embarrassment!”

“Eve has been dancing with him. How does that make you feel?”

“Eve has been flaunting her poor choices all her life. I’ve always expected more of you.”

“Yeah, and sometimes those expectations get just a little hard to handle.”

“All I’ve ever tried to do is to set you on the right path and protect you from bad influences. Have you ever appreciated that? Ever?”

Suddenly things were coming back to Shannon. So many things. The really nice boy who’d asked her to a dance in the tenth grade, but his father was a welder and his mother worked at the dry cleaners, so going with him was out of the question. In junior high, she’d wanted to be on the yearbook staff, but one of the boys was rumored to be gay, so that was inappropriate. When she was in grade school, she couldn’t go to another girl’s house to play because she had a single mother who was struggling and they lived in an apartment on the wrong side of town. Shannon had been listening to this crap all her life, and she wasn’t taking it anymore.

“Grandma North,” Shannon said. “That’s where all this comes from, doesn’t it?”

Loucinda looked horrified.

“She always made you believe you had to tie yourself in a knot to live up to the family name. Stop trying, Mom. You’ll never be perfect. Just stop trying, and you’ll be a hell of a lot happier. I know I will be.”

Loucinda’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I don’t want you to ever speak another word about that!”

“I’m so tired of you telling me what’s right for me. What to say. How to act. Who to associate with. I’m just so tired of it. Stop judging me. And while you’re at it, stop judging Luke!”

With an ugly glare, Loucinda wheeled around and stormed off again. Shannon waited for anxiety to overtake her, but it never came. She knew there would be fallout, but for maybe the first time ever, she wasn’t afraid of it. Instead, she felt as if a dark cloud had lifted and she could see clearly for the first time.

Suddenly she realized what a fool she’d been. She knew Luke was avoiding any affection in public because he was afraid of the fallout it might cause for her. So she’d spent the last several days acting as if they were just acquaintances, as if there was nothing more between them.

Never again. Never again was she going to be swayed by what anybody else thought. She knew there was no future for her and Luke, but they still had the present.

And she intended to live every moment of it.



Luke finished dancing with Tasha and sat down at the picnic table, feeling exhausted after the long day at the festival and the dance marathon that followed. Eve told him Shannon had gone to get dessert for them, but he didn’t care about eating another bite. He just wanted her back there with him. He’d been a good sport and danced with other women, but enough was enough.

A voice came over the loudspeaker. “It’s been the best festival ever, and one heckuva party tonight! But all good things must come to an end. So grab your honey and hit the dance floor one last time before we call it a night.”

Just then, Luke heard his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket to find a text from Shannon. He looked up, searching the crowd for her. Finally he saw her standing near the edge of the dance floor, her skirt whisking around her legs. She reached up to brush her hair away from her face, and her mouth turned up in an inviting smile.

He smiled back, wondering what she had in store for him now. He touched the button. It was a song title.

Save the Last Dance For Me.