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this cowboy. Not at all.
    Finally, she raised her eyes and flashed him
a devilish smile, "Will, huh? Not Billy Bob?"
    Will glared at her. Just when he forgave
her, she started in on him again. This woman got under his skin in
more ways than one. He put down his burger and wiped his hand on
his jeans before he offered her the hand. In the confined space of
the booth, this required placing his hand almost in her lap.
"William Riley Harrison here."
    Aurora wiped her hands with a napkin and
twisted to accept the hand he offered. "Aurora Kathleen
O'Shaughnessy," she said as their eyes met again, "and please don't
make any Irish jokes--believe me, I've heard them all. It really is
my name, and I'm as American as you are."
    As he grasped her hand and peered into her
eyes, prickles moved along the back of her neck. Even her toes
tingled. She gasped for breath. Could everyone in the restaurant
hear her heart pounding? Get yourself under control. You're a
mature woman of twenty-eight, not a school girl of thirteen.
    Will chuckled and released her hand. "I
guess a lot of people comment on your name. I don't think I've ever
before met an Aurora."
    "It's a family name. Grandmother Aurora was
named after the town of Aurora. That's what Port Arthur, where I'm
from, was first called."
    "And what are you doing in Snyder?" Before
she could answer, he nodded toward the guidebook that lay on the
table. "You must be new in town. I saw you studying the guidebook
when I came in."
    She nodded and waited until she finished
chewing a French fry. "Actually, I'm just passing through. I'm on
my way west. I plan to join old Route 66 at Amarillo and follow it
to Flagstaff, Arizona. Then I'm heading back north and east through
Colorado to Aurora to see my namesake town there. I'll come back
east a little to end up in the Durango area."
    Was that disappointment she saw on Will's
face? It flashed across his face before he countered, "Why
Colorado?"
    "I went to the area north of Fort Worth that
once housed a community called Aurora. Maybe you remember the
historical trivia about a space ship hoax there in the late 1800's.
Anyway, now I want to see Aurora, Colorado. After that, I thought
maybe I'd like to settle down in Durango."
    Again Will countered with a question. "There
are other towns named Aurora. Why stop in Colorado and settle in
Durango?"
    "My family vacationed there several times.
My folks have a friend in Durango who plans to sell her gift store.
I'll work with her at the store for a few months to decide if I
want to buy the place. She plans to retire in January."
    Aurora took the last bite of her hamburger
and swallowed it before asking, "What about you? Do you live in
Snyder?"
    Will leaned back in his seat. "No, I have
the Flying Horseshoes Ranch about thirty miles from here. It's
closer to Post than to Snyder."
    "Hmm. You look like a cowboy, but you don't
talk like a cowboy. Aren't you supposed to say things like yup and
dogie?"
    His meal finished, he hooked his thumbs in
his belt loops and leaned against the back of the seat. In spite of
her solemn her face, Aurora's eyes sparkled. Surely those sparkles
indicated at least a little interest in him as a man. Maybe this
dating thing wouldn't be so hard after all.
    He spoke thoughtfully, as if considering her
question carefully. "Well, I guess I'm a real disappointment to
anyone who expects the Hollywood image of the simple, rustic
cowboy. Gary Cooper I'm not."
    She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, you mean
like in that movie Along Came Jones? I love that old movie, don't
you? Okay, so you're not limited to yup and nope. What kind of
cowboy are you?"
    "Hmm, well, a business man/cowboy
combination, I guess." He acted as if he’d never before categorized
himself. "Officially, my undergraduate degree from Texas A and M is
in Ranch Management, and I have a Master's in Business." He gave a
shrug of his shoulder. "I think I'm just a typical West Texas
rancher. I'm in town today as guest lecturer on local