“Whoa,” was all I could say when we stepped inside.
The barn had been transformed into something pulled from Country Living magazine. There were still cowboys drinking and spitting and heckling each other, and there were still herds of kids running around the place like it was a playground, and there were remnants of hay still dotting the old wood floor, but Josie and her mom had clearly taken the reins with the decorations, and they’d outdone themselves.
An endless web of white lights were strung above, weaving around the rafters and beams like they had too many lights and too few places to wrap them. The place was awash with the gentle glow streaming down. White lanterns hung from long silk ribbons, high enough to be out of the way but low enough a person could almost reach up and touch them. Staggered around the outer edges were bales of hay with the same ivory silk ribbon tied around them, complete with a cardboard heart with G & J hanging off the bow.
It was country chic at its finest.
And that was when I heard the hooting and hollering from the back corner. Okay, so it was country chic plus a mechanical bull.
So Garth had been allowed his two cents in the décor department.
“I’m going to drop this off at the gift table, then you’re slow, slow dancing with me.” Jesse eyed the dance floor while backing up toward the gift table.
That was appealing on just about every level except . . . “Maybe we should, you know, say hey to the bride- and groom-to-be first? Following up the saying hey trend to your family too?” I eyed the dance floor, wondering what I was saying. There were few things I enjoyed more than dancing with Jesse. Especially when he gathered me against him like he was trying to protect me from the whole world at the same time he was ready to take it on with me.
After carefully propping the wrapped engagement gift up against the table, he grabbed my hand and led me across the barn. We were both thinking the same thing. If the happily engaged couple weren’t whooping it up somewhere around that mechanical bull, then the world had shifted off its axis.
The barn was packed. There were so many bodies dancing, talking, and hollering around it that I was immensely thankful I’d slipped into something light and breathable. Jesse was in a nice button-down shirt and was already reaching for the cuffs to roll them up.
“Do you see your family anywhere?” I didn’t quite have to shout, but close.
Jesse’s head shook. “But no doubt they’ve seen us. Or at least my mom has. You could be on the opposite side of the county and she could still zero in on you. It’s that grandmother telepathy or something.”
A chuckle slipped past my lips. “The same county? Come on. Give her more credit than that. Try the same country.”
Jesse’s laugh tangled with mine as we moved toward the bucking bull in the back. I’d just seen some guy get tossed from it so violently he looked like a flying squirrel jettisoning through the air.
“I can’t believe Garth managed to convince Josie to throw a mechanical bull into the mix. Classy”—I waved at the jaw-dropping scene we’d been welcomed with before flashing my hand in front of us—where someone else was throwing his leg over the back of the bull—“meet trashy. Get acquainted with one another because something tells me you’re going to be seeing a lot of each other around these parts.”
Jesse grinned at the ground as we weaved through the crowd, and I focused on the guy who’d just thrown himself onto the bull. There were plenty of black hats dotted around the barn, but that one stood out for some reason. Maybe because that hat demanded to be noticed as much as its owner did.
“Get that rookie off that thing before he hurts himself!” Jesse cupped his hand around his mouth and hollered at Garth, who was shifting around on the back of the bull, trying to find his sweet spot like tens of thousands of dollars were on the line.
“Yeah!” I joined in, my voice not carrying nearly as far as Jesse’s. “Before he busts his back or something!”
Jesse whistled quietly, his forehead creasing as he looked at me. “That was low.”
“Oh, please. He didn’t even hear it.” I waved at Garth, who was probably still trying to find that damn sweet spot, but a quick look at him revealed he was looking our way. Well, he was looking my way.
“I heard that, Sterling-Walker!” he shouted. “And I’d say something real colorful in reply if it wasn’t for that little papoose in your stomach that Jesse’s convinced can hear every last foul word I say.” Garth tipped his hat in our direction, firing a wink. “Nice of you two to make it, by the way. Hope our little engagement party didn’t throw a wrench in you city slickers’ social calendars.”
I stepped up to the edge of the bull pit until my knees bumped into the mats. “Are you going to ride that bull sometime tonight? Or keep running your mouth?”
Another wink. “I’m not just going to ride this bull, Sterling-Walker. I’m going to make it my bitch.”
“Black!” Jesse hollered as he shouldered up beside me. “Language!”
Garth snapped his fingers as he made a face. “Fuck, I forgot.”
“Really?” Jesse flagged his arms at my stomach.
“What can I say, Jess? I’m a foul-mouthed bastard.” Garth’s dark eyes were flashing. He was clearly enjoying himself. Talking trash on the back of a bull . . . yeah, that was pretty much the inner circle of heaven for a guy like him.
“And that’s three,” Jesse said before lunging onto the mats and charging Garth and the bull.