Cougar in Texas: 3 (Rugged and Risque) by Calista Fox

fingertip to the inside corner of her eye to stymie a tear. Maybe the good folks of Wilder really were behind her. Admittedly, her humiliation had made her think she’d done something wrong—that her neighbors would look to place the blame on her shoulders for not being able to keep her husband happy and in her bed—not sending him off to someone else’s. Figuratively speaking, of course, since all the beds at the B&B belonged to her.
    Sitting a little taller in her seat, she listened to the rest of the reverend’s sermon with her head held high. So what if people gossiped over whether or not Tommy’s rumors about her were true? What single woman wouldn’t mind headlining the grapevine with a man like Caleb Bennett?
    After church, the three women stopped into Wade’s Saloon for Sunday brunch. One of Liza’s brilliant ideas that had the congregation flocking to the joint in droves. Ryan was on patrol and George had been called into the office to perform an emergency root canal, so the ladies found a table by the buffet and Liza served them champagne. She’d certainly “classed up” Wilder since her arrival, right down to the designer clothes and shoes she wore.
    “How was dinner?” she asked with a mischievous look.
    “I barely remember the actual dinner part,” Reese teased in a soft voice.
    Jess hooted. “Finally, we’re getting to the good stuff.”
    “Oh it was all good,” she assured them. “Especially Caleb,” she added with a playful wink. Seemed the verve she’d lost long ago had returned to her this morning.
    Ginger said, “I suppose you’ll be needing a wardrobe update.”
    Reese knew she wasn’t talking about anything other than new lingerie. But she said, “Unfortunately I have drawers full of items I never bothered to waste on Tommy after I found out about him and Amy. Most of the stuff still has the tags on.”
    “So now you have a reason to put them to good use.” Jess raised her glass and the others followed suit, including Liza, who’d briefly joined them. “Here’s to Reese’s steamy new romance. Too hell with what anyone has to say about it.”
    She thought of her ex as they clinked glasses and added, “I think he’s getting his comeuppance, as the reverend so astutely pointed out this morning.”
    “What he deserves,” Liza said, “is a solid knee to the balls.”
    Reese nearly spewed champagne. Sputtering and her eyes watering, she managed to say, “Agreed. But my cutting the ties and moving on ought to be equally effective—and even more pleasurable for me.”What with Caleb keeping her company and all…
    Damn that flush that crept up her! But she couldn’t deny she liked having her “steamy” new romance.
    Following brunch, the women stopped into the fabric store to pick up the bolts of tulle and silver satin ribbon delivered for Ginger. Then they gathered at her house and spent the rest of the day, and the better part of the evening, working on the oversized fluffy mass of tulle that would eventually be accented with blooming dendrobium branches and white hydrangeas tucked into the wide ribbon in front of the tall sweep of white netted fabric. A thin silver ribbon in the back, looping from left to right and lightly glued to the material, offered a hanger for the various places Ginger had selected for the decoration.
    Reese suspected Ginger would cover every square foot of the Elks Lodge in tulle if she could get away with it, to help detract from the dingy gray paneling on the walls. And Reese wouldn’t be surprised if she opted to do that in the long run. Unfortunately, Wilder offered no larger facility for big weddings, so one had to make do with what was available, particularly given everyone knew everyone, so small ceremonies were always out of the question.
    When the women’s fingers were practically numb from the first phase of wedding preparations, Reese returned home. She still didn’t feel like sleeping in her own bed, so she curled up on the sofa