Free Time Out by Cheryl Douglas

and as
soon as my contract is over, I’ll be on the first plane back
there.”
    “Are you sure
that’s what you want?” He waited, hoping to see some sign of
hesitation, but the emphatic shake of her head told him she was
either a damn good actress or their developing feelings weren’t
strong enough to make her question her course.
    “I’m
positive.”
     
    ***
     
    Megan thought
about canceling her lunch date with J.T., but she knew she would
see him at Ty’s party that evening, so postponing the inevitable
seemed senseless.
    “Hey,
beautiful,” J.T. said, coming out from behind the bar. “I was
beginnin’ to think you’d changed your mind. Nikki just called and
said she had a break in her schedule, so I invited her to join us.
I hope that’s okay?”
    “Of course.”
Megan liked Nikki, and she welcomed the opportunity to get to know
her better. Her time with celebrities in L.A. had been limited to
scheduled interviews or impromptu questions on the red carpet.
Getting to know them on a personal level, the way she had since
coming to Nashville, was nice.
    Before moving,
she hadn’t been a big fan of country music and didn’t know a lot
about the major players. She’d made it a point to immerse herself
in the culture so she could do her job to the best of her ability.
She hoped her time in Nashville would lead to other opportunities
when she returned to L.A., assuming a leak about her past didn’t
ruin her future.
    “She was just
around the corner when she called, so she should be here in a few.
Why don’t we grab a table while we wait?” The lunch crowd was
slowly filtering in, so J.T. told the hostess they would take the
last booth in the back of the seating area. He said to Megan, “It’s
a little quieter back there. The workin’ guys usually come in to
catch the sports highlights durin’ their lunch breaks, so the bar
area can get loud.”
    “Have you owned
Jimmy’s a long time?” Megan asked, sliding into the booth. She
smiled her thanks when the waitress passed her a menu.
    “Feels like
forever,” he said, chuckling. “Truth is, I was a bull rider comin’
to the end of my career when I met Nikki. I was pretty lost and
didn’t know which direction to take. The old owners, Jimmy and
Edna, were lookin’ to move on. I didn’t know shit about business,
but I had a few bucks in the bank and no other plans, so I thought,
why not?”
    “Avery
mentioned the ranch has been in your family a long time. You
weren’t interested in carrying on that tradition?”
    “Not really. I
did it for a while, but it wasn’t in my blood.” He laughed. “My
nephew’s a different story. That boy loves it.”
    “I can tell.”
They placed their drink orders with the waitress. J.T. made sure to
order something for Nikki.
    “Nick is damn
good at what he does. Ty bought back the land my parents sold when
Nick took an interest. Turns out he made the right call. That ranch
is more profitable now than it’s ever been, and those horses…” J.T.
whistled. “Hell, if I’d known there was that much money to be made,
I may have taken a stab at it myself. Of course, it’s not easy. You
have to be the best, and Nick is. The best of the best, in
fact.”
    Megan didn’t
know a lot about horse racing or breeding, but she knew the
business had made a lot of people very wealthy. Evidently Nick was
one of those people. She found it interesting he wasn’t flashy,
like the wealthy men she’d dated in the past. He was comfortable
wearing torn jeans, scuffed cowboy boots, and riding around in a
dirty old pickup truck. He didn’t wear jewelry, perhaps because it
was an occupational hazard, but she suspected he just didn’t feel
the need to impress anyone. And that did impress her. A lot.
    “There she is,”
J.T. said, getting up when he spotted his wife.
    The elation on
J.T.’s face caused Megan’s usual cynicism to recede. Nikki and J.T.
had been together a long time, and they obviously still adored each
other. Much