Chapter 2: What Happened to Angie

When Angie saw the tall man in the cowboy hat come in her heart almost stopped. This was not going to be a normal Friday night. Her Dad had told her that when the right man came along she'd know. This had to be him; there was just something about him. In a way though it didn't make sense, Angie wasn't the cowgirl type. She didn't like C & W music all that much and she sure wasn't in to the party scene like her roommates. No, Angie liked the simple life, birds singing, fireplaces and good books. So what was it about this guy that had her so excited? She caught up with Sara as she was going back to get the cowboy and his friend and take them to a table. Sara saw that her friend was starry eyed over one of these two cowboys and agreed to seat them in her section. Angie was at their table before they could sit down.

All Sara saw was two guys that had to be at least ten years older than Angie. Both were wearing work clothes; clean, but she almost expected the two cowboys to be tracking manure through the restaurant. It didn't take long to see which of the two Angie was interested in. The taller of the two, he wore a long sleeve blue cotton work shirt and wranglers. His boots were plain looking, not fancy snake skin like the Saturday night crowd. Neither of the guys had the stiff starch and creases seen on most of the cowboy types.

Angie had picked up on all the things that Sara had and more; growing up on her Dad's ranch had taught her the difference between a working cowboy and the drug store variety. The one Angie had her eye on right now was a working cowboy, of that she was sure. The boots gave it away. They were what they called "mule skin". Made from thick harness leather, they were tough, the heel was a riding heel, and there were scuff marks left by the everyday use of spurs. She saw other things as well. His walk had that swagger that her Dad had had, like the old time cowboys. She remembered her Dad talking about the men who, if they couldn't do a job from the back of a horse, they didn't want to do it. She was sure that this man was just such a man. He also had an air about him that said he didn't need to impress anyone.

While she was taking their drink order — tea for her man and beer for the other guy — she looked at his ring finger. No ring and no white band of skin where one had recently been taken off. She just hoped above all hope that there was no girlfriend.

As she was setting the drinks on the table her eyes met his. She froze. His eyes were steel blue, with a twinkle that spoke of someone who was fun to be with. If she had not been taken with this guy before, the look they had exchanged had erased any doubt. He smiled and thanked her for the tea. Her heart was pounding as she walked away.

After that look Angie was walking on clouds. She never missed a chance to take something to his table. The two men ate their meal then sat and talked for over an hour. Dozens of times during that hour she caught him stealing glances at her. Every time she turned to walk away she could feel his gaze upon her back. She listened intently on each visit trying to catch his name; it was driving her crazy. Finally his friend got up to head for the restroom, Angie was standing at the end of the bar getting a drink order for another customer when the friend spoke to her.

"Are you interested in that cowboy?", the friend asked.

Angie felt like she should be embarrassed but at the same time she wanted to find out who he was. "Yes! Who is he? Where is he from?," her voice was quivering.

Stan could see the emotion in her eyes; she looked like Stan had felt that first time he saw Silvia. "His name is Scott Miles. He has a ranch southwest of Dryden Texas"

Angie asked the question she most feared, "Does he have a girlfriend?"

Stan smiled and shook his head "No, not in a long time. He's pretty lonely." Stan could see that a huge weight had been lifted from the girl but he had to make sure of some things himself. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a cell phone and called Silvia. "Silvia, I think I've found her", he said into the phone.

Angie couldn't believe what the man had said. She was even more shocked when he handed her the phone. "Hello, who am I speaking to", Angie asked. "Hi Silvia ... my name? ... Angie ... I'm 19, or will be next month ... next weekend? ... I'm not sure ... I mean I, ... I don't know ... OK here he is." She handed the phone back to Stan.

Stan had to laugh. Angie looked more shocked now than when he first spoke to her. The bartender tapped her on the shoulder and brought her out of her dream.

"Your drink order?", he said shaking his head, wondering what planet she was off to.

Angie grabbed the tray of drinks and took them to the waiting customers.

Stan finished his plotting with Silvia and headed back to the table.

Angie spoke to Scott on her next trip to his table. He didn't seem to realise that she had called him by name. But ten minutes later when she brought the check to the table she said, "Scott, is there anything that I can get you?" He looked almost shocked. For what seemed an eternity he just stared at her. Angie wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him and scream at the top of her lungs that she loved him. The drunken college student in the third booth started yelling for her to bring him another drink. She went to the drunk and gave him a withering look, then to further humiliate him demanded that he surrender his keys. The drunk was still trying to figure out what happened to the waitress who had been so bubbly and happy all night. The manager having already heard the shouting had called a taxi, Angie handed him the keys and turned to find the booth where Scott and Stan had been sitting empty. She was about to drop to the floor crying when she saw him stepping out of the restroom. Angie started towards him not really knowing what she was going to do, Scott was headed for the door and didn't see her but she saw Stan and he motioned for her to come to him, reluctantly she obeyed. Stan gave her a card with his number and a number for Silvia in San Antonio on it.

"Don't worry. Call Silvia, we'll work something out." Stan told her

Somehow it felt as though the love of her life was slipping through her fingers and there was very little she could do. Stan told her goodbye and walked out the door. As soon as the door closed behind him Angie went to the restroom, locked herself into a stall and started crying. She was sure that she would never see Scott again and it was just too much. She was so upset that she didn't know Sara had come in looking for her until she started knocking on the stall door.

"Angie ... Angie, are you alright?", Sara asked

"No, go away", Angie sobbed.

"Angie that guy is back. He's asking for you", Sara explained

"Scott! Oh my God! Scott is out there", Angie was really panicked now.

"No, the... , the other one. He said his name was Stan", Sara said, still dumbfounded that her friend could get so upset over this guy.

Angie stopped crying, went to the sink and started washing her face. She fixed her hair back and went out to see what Stan wanted.

When Stan saw her he could tell she had been crying but with his limited experience with women he didn't have a clue as to why.

Stan told her that Scott had gone to the book store across the parking lot and he would be there until they threw him out. Book stores were historically something of a weakness in the Miles family he explained. They sat at the far end of the bar and in between customers Angie learned about Scott. An hour and a half later Scott walked back into the room. Angie had already found out that they had to make the long six hour drive back tonight as Scott had livestock to take care of. She asked Scott if he wanted something to drink, he said some iced tea to go would be nice. When Jake the bartender told Angie that he'd take care of it, she never even answered him. She'd looked into Scott's eyes and had become completely lost, unable say a word. Angie was brought out of her trance when Jake handed the tea to Scott. Stan paid his tab and said goodbye and he and Scott headed for the door.