Fortune's June Bride (Mills & Boon Cherish) (The Fortunes of Texas: Cowboy Country, Book 6) Read Online Free PDF

other woman. “He filled in for Joey so we didn’t have to cancel the show.”
    Diane’s red lips curved. “The hero rides to the rescue in more ways than one.”
    Galen looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, well.” He glanced at the applicants sitting in the chairs who’d been following their exchange like viewers at a tennis match. “See you around, Aurora.” He pulled open the office door. “Might grab a root beer at the Foaming Barrel later if you’re interested.”
    She had to struggle not to look surprised, much less too interested. “Sure.”
    But the door was already swinging shut after his departure.
    “
That
was a fine specimen of cowboy,” Diane breathed.
    Aurora couldn’t get overly annoyed with the other woman for that, since she happened to agree.
    But oohing and ahhing over Galen Jones hadn’t gotten her anywhere when she’d been fourteen to his eighteen, and it wasn’t going to get her anywhere now.
    “So,” she addressed Diane once more, “about Joey’s part. Any chance you can find a temporary replacement for the rest of the shows today?”
    The one guy sitting in the chairs perked up visibly.
    Aurora could have told him not to bother. “Rusty” was written for a specific physical type and the hopeful applicant was about half the size he needed to be.
    Diane returned to her desk and flipped open a folder. “I’ve been through all the performers on file.” With Galen out of the room, she was all business. “We’ve got two who fit the type, but neither can ride a horse.” She shook her head a little. “Casting shows for Coaster World’s other locations is a lot easier than casting here,” she murmured, tapping the end of her pen against the desk. She glanced at Aurora. “You can dance, right? Tap, ballet, that sort of thing?”
    The question seemed to come out of nowhere. “Yes.” She’d listed all of her skills on her application months earlier, well before Cowboy Country had opened to the public, even though they’d been learned as a little girl taking lessons over in Vicker’s Corners. She’d also listed the few college parts she’d been able to play before she’d had to leave school after Mark died. “So, about Rusty’s part?”
    Diane lifted her shoulders and tossed down the pen. “If Joey’s not back in the saddle tomorrow or the next day, it’s possible we can bring in someone from another location,” she said. “But that’ll take some time.”
    “Which means, what?”
    “Without a Rusty, there’s no
Wild West Wedding
,” Diane said with another shrug. “No worries, though.” She picked up her phone and punched a few numbers. “Yeah, this is Diane in casting. Let me talk to Phillip.”
    Aurora winced, knowing she was calling Phillip Dubois, the production head.
    Diane tucked the receiver in her shoulder and looked back at Aurora again. “I hear
Outlaw Shootout
will be set to go by the end of this week. It’ll replace
Wedding
, and in the meantime we’ll fill in—”
    “—replace
Wedding
!”
    Diane lifted her hand, speaking into the phone again. “Hi, Phil. We’re going to need to pull
Wild West Wedding
from the sched—” Her jaw dropped when Aurora’s fingers slammed down on the phone hook. “
Excuse
me?”
    Aurora retracted her hand, flushing. “You can’t just cancel the show.”
    Diane gave her a pitying look. “Stuff happens, hon.”
    “But Joey might well be back in the saddle, as you say, tomorrow.”
    “That doesn’t solve the problem for three more shows today.” Diane started dialing again.
    “Please don’t,” Aurora begged.
    Diane sighed loudly and looked up through her lashes at her. “Why?”
    “The show means so much to, uh, to so many people,” she said weakly. “We’ve got one of the largest casts in all of Cowboy Country’s productions.” The only shows with more parts were the
Sunday Go to Meeting House
with their choir show and the
How the West Was Won Saloon Show
, both of which were musicals.
    Diane made a