Final Encore (8 page)

schedule on his iPhone and took a look. “Al I have is a

breakfast meeting that should be done by nine thirty or

so. What do you have in mind?”

“I have the next couple of days off, and I was

hoping to see you.”

Caution
, Ian thought.
Don’t do it
. Before he

could stop himself, he said, “I think that can be

arranged.”
Damn it, why did I say that?

“Do you ride?” Bily asked.

“Now, Mr. Eagan, just because I scout for

country music’s best talent doesn’t mean I’m a

cowboy.”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter, we can do anything. I

don’t care what we do.”

“I was just kidding,” said Ian. “I do okay in a

saddle.”

“One of the ranch hands said there are some

realy great trails up at Bels Bend on the Cumberland

River. You feel up for a day ride?”

“Sure,” Ian said. “What can I bring?”

“Just you. I’l pack a couple of lunches and we’l

be al set.”

“Sounds great,” said Ian. “Where do you want to

meet?”

“Can you meet me at the Lazy H, say around ten

o’clock?”

“Sure.”

“Perfect, see you then,” said Bily.

“I’l look forward to it,” Ian replied, while his

brain was teling him, “
No. No. No.
”

BILLY was off on Mondays and Tuesdays but always

rose early out of habit. He started the coffee, as he

often did, and inhaled the rich smel with the anticipation

of his first cup. When the coffeemaker beeped, he

poured his coffee, took the blanket off his bed, and

went out to the front porch. The air was crisp and cool,

and wrapped tight in his blanket, he sipped his coffee

with the excitement of endless possibilities for the day.

He loved the fal season, and as the sun came up

over the horizon, he thanked the heavens for what he

thought was going to be a beautiful day. The turning

leaves were wel on their way to showing off bright

colors of gold, red, and orange. As he took in the

beautiful scenery, he thought this was the perfect day

for the first date he’d had in over two years. He could

hardly wait for ten o’clock.

After several cups of coffee, he decided to

shower and get dressed so he could get to the stables in

plenty of time to be ready. As Bily stood with the hot

water running over his body, he thought about what he

should wear. He wanted to look his best but not like

he’d put forth any effort. After drying off and wrapping

the towel around his waist, he headed for his locker. He

settled on a pair of black 501s, a royal blue shirt, his

black boots, and his old black Stetson. As he was

about to close his locker door, he paused when he

caught a glimpse of himself and thought,
It’ll have to

do
.

He headed down to the stables and chose two of

his favorite horses for the day’s adventure. For Ian, he

chose a chestnut mare named Firefly; she had just the

right amount of spunk, but she was very even-tempered

as wel, since he didn’t know how experienced Ian was

on horseback. For himself, he chose his favorite; a

beautiful buck-skin Arabian named Duke, a horse he

had adopted for his own shortly after he’d arrived at the

ranch.

After the saddles and tack were loaded into the

horse trailer, he took the golf cart up to the mess hal, a

trip he could do in his sleep, and fixed two special box

lunches. He began with a little cheese and crackers for

starters, turkey and cheddar sandwiches with chips as

the main course, chocolate chip cookies for dessert,

and a couple bottles of water. As he was leaving he

grabbed two apples for the horses. On the way back to

the stables, he swung by the bunkhouse and picked up

a bottle of red wine he had been saving for a special

occasion. He couldn’t imagine an occasion more special

than today.

IT WAS eight fifteen, and Ian discreetly looked down at

his watch. He was so ready for this meeting to be over.

Mentaly, he had checked out thirty minutes earlier,

when his presentation was complete and he had

gathered al the information he needed. As the clock

inched its way to nine thirty, Ian grew more impatient.

Finaly the meeting concluded, and because today he

couldn’t afford to be stopped by anyone, he made a

mad dash for the door. Once he reached the parking

lot, he knew he was home free.

He got in his SUV, put on his seatbelt, and slid

the key into the ignition. As he turned the key, he

imagined the car not starting, or even worse, a dead

battery. But right on cue, the engine turned over and

started to hum. He sighed, put the SUV in drive, and

headed to the ranch. He couldn’t believe how excited

and nervous he was at the same time. He made a quick

stop at the liquor store to pick up a six-pack of beer,

and within twenty minutes he was approaching the

entrance to the Lazy H Ranch.

He had passed under this arch many times with

Jean and Jules, but it felt somehow different this time,

new, like the first time. The thought hit him hard. He

knew it had everything to do with Bily Eagan.

BILLY had finished al the preparation and was just

about to load the horses into the trailer when he saw Ian

driving down the dirt road toward the stables. His heart

immediately fluttered, and butterflies began to dance in

his stomach. He calmed himself, rested against the

stable wal, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited

for the SUV to approach.

When the vehicle came to a stop, Bily stood up

straight, took a deep breath, and walked over to meet

him. Ian got out of his SUV with the brightest smile Bily

had ever seen. As Bily walked his way, he thought how

great Ian looked. He was dressed in worn blue jeans, a

western cut white shirt with the first two snaps open,

which showed off just enough of what Bily knew was a

wel-defined chest, and soft brown lace-up Ropers. Just

as Ian was about to close the door, he reached in and

puled out a brown suede Stetson. When Ian tipped his

hat in Bily’s direction, Bily thought he would melt right

then and there.

As Ian closed the car door, Bily was there with

his hand stuck out.

“Hey, Ian, it’s good to see you.”

“Helo, Mr. Eagan, you look great.”

Bily smiled and said, “You can cal me Bily.”

They both laughed and shook hands with a tight grip.

“We’re almost ready. I just need to load the

horses into the trailer and we can be on our way.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ian said as they walked

toward the horses. “Which one of these great creatures

is mine?”

“That would be Firefly, the chestnut. She’s a

realy sweet girl, and I told her al about you.”

Bily was untying Firefly and heading to the trailer

when he heard Ian say, “Hey, stud.”

He spun around and was just about to say “Yes,

sir” when he saw Ian patting Duke on the neck. Bily

smiled and turned around quickly in hopes that Ian

hadn’t seen him.

“Who’s this guy?” Ian asked, referring to Bily’s

horse.

“That would be Duke. He’s my favorite, and

besides, he’s a little sweet on Firefly, so I thought we

would double date.”

“Date? Is this a date?”

Bily immediately felt his heart stop and was about

to apologize when he saw the grin on Ian’s face. Being

quick on his feet, Bily said, “Oh, it’s a date al right.”

“Good, ’cause I was sort of hoping it was,” Ian

said.

“Now that we have that settled,” Bily said, “let’s

get these horses loaded and be on our way.”

THEIR route to Bels Bend was incredibly beautiful. It

took them up Interstate 40 toward the ridges of the

Western Highland Rim and Ashland City. Once they hit

the Bels Bend Park Trailhead, they had been on the

road for about an hour. During the drive, there was

never a lul in conversation. They discussed politics,

recent events, and the music business, but as they

approached the foothils, al topics took a backseat to

the scenery and the breathtaking colors of fal.

After they parked, Bily unloaded the horses and

began to saddle and bridle Duke. Ian, with a familiar

ease, folowed suit and did the same with Firefly. It was

very clear to Bily that Ian had spent some time around

horses, and he immediately felt more relaxed. They

finished preparing the horses almost simultaneously, and

Bily reached into the truck and grabbed the two saddle

bags he had packed the lunches in earlier that morning.

He secured one on the back of each horse, and Ian

shoved three beers in each saddle bag as his

contribution, and they were about ready to go.

While Bily secured his truck and horse trailer, Ian

mounted Firefly. When Bily turned and headed toward

Duke, he had to stop a second to admire the beautiful

man on horseback. With the last of the morning sun on

Ian’s back and the fal colors al around him, Bily

thought this was a picture he would remember for many

years to come. He sensed the strength and ease with

which Ian mounted Firefly and realized that his earlier

admission of “I do okay in a saddle” was a major

understatement.
Could this man be real?

Ian and Bily rode side by side, talking about the

scenery, Nashvile, the horses. As the morning passed,

they became more comfortable, and the topics

transitioned effortlessly from one to another, but it

seemed that they both felt too vulnerable to get any

more personal.

The trail narrowed as it approached the first

crossing of the Cumberland River. At the crossing

point, the river was only about two feet deep, and both

horses seemed adjusted to the terrain, so Bily took the

lead and they crossed without incident. Once over the

river, they folowed the narrow trail as it climbed to the

ridge and widened again as they looked out over the

hils of Davidson County. They rode a bit further,

admiring the vistas, and came across an overlook with a

pavilion surrounded by a split-rail fence. Attached to

the roofline of the pavilion was a gutter system that

spiled into a half-barrel, supplying ample water for the

many horses using the trail.

“Looks like a great place to stop for lunch,” Bily

said. “What do you think?”

“Sure, I could use a bite,” Ian replied, and they

both dismounted.

Bily and Ian walked over to the split-rail fence

and tied up the horses so they could drink and cool

down after the uphil climb. After they’d had their fil of

water and looked pretty content, Bily removed his

saddle bag and puled out the two apples he’d packed

earlier that morning. He dug in his pocket for his pocket

knife and cut one of the apples in half, handing both

halves to Ian. “Firefly’s been waiting for this.”

He did the same with the other apple and fed

each half to Duke, watching as Ian folowed his lead.

With the horses taken care of, it was their turn. Bily

removed a blanket he had roled and tied to the back of

his saddle and turned to Ian. “Folow me.” Saddle bag

in hand, instead of heading for the pavilion, Bily led Ian

to a smal clearing slightly off the path that he had

spotted when they’d ridden up.

Ian noticed that the cozy clearing Bily had chosen

had a slightly different view that overlooked the majesty

of the Great Smoky Mountains as wel as the foothils to