The Ranger's Rodeo Rebel (14 page)

Chapter Eighteen

She was true to her word.

Chance didn't know what to think. Carolina had ignored him for the rest of the day, simply going about her business and acting as if nothing had happened between them, and that left him...

He tried to think of the word.

Confused.

When they performed later that afternoon, she did not give away their intimacy. She treated him like a prop—which he supposed, in a way, he was—completing her portion of the act and then dashing out afterward. By the time he drove back to their spot, she was already waving goodbye.

“Gonna catch a ride back with the girls,” she said, barely giving him a smile before ducking her head into the truck and taking off.

He almost called after her, wanting to tell her it was a bad idea, that she should stay with him and help him load up the panels because they never knew if James was around, but that was an excuse and she would know it. She'd be fine on the road with the girls. He'd made sure each of them carried pepper spray and at least one other had a Taser, the kind with ejectable prongs. Yeah. They'd be okay. And so he let her go.

Just one night, but God help him, he'd begun to want two.

Colt's smiling face was the first thing to greet him as he pulled in to the ranch, something that surprised him. It was close to midnight. The Galloping Girlz trailer was parked alongside the hay barn, which made Chance feel moderately better. Carolina had made it home safely. The apartment above the barn was dark, however. She must have returned home well ahead of him and already gone to bed. He didn't want to think about what she might look like in that bed. It would do crazy things to his insides.

“Welcome back,” his brother said.

“What are you doing up?”

Sage and fresh-cut grass. That's what it smelled like when he stepped out of the truck.

Home.

“Couldn't sleep,” his brother answered.

Colt headed straight for the back of the trailer. Teddy needed to be unloaded. Chance would take the panels off the trailer tomorrow. Too tired and too dark tonight.

“Word on the street is your first solo performance went off without a hitch.”

Chance smiled. “Went as well as could be expected.” Strangely, he didn't want to let his brother know how much he had enjoyed it. “Still wish you could have been there.”

“Nah. I needed to stay here, just in case. I knew you'd be fine.”

Hard to believe B day was right around the corner, as he'd been calling it. Birth of his brother's baby. “Natalie okay?”

“She's fine. Now tell me what you thought. Did you like it? Bill called, said you nailed it both times.”

“It was good.” He flipped the trailer latch up, and the bar slid free on a nearly soundless hinge. Teddy lifted his head to peer over the divider as if asking, “Who's there?”

“That's all you have to say?” his brother asked. “‘It was good'?”

No. It'd been great. The most intense surge of adrenaline he'd ever had outside of jumping out of a plane, only this type of rush didn't nearly kill him. But as great as it'd been, nothing compared to his night with Caro. Nothing.

“Just tired.” He stepped inside the trailer, unlatching the divider. Teddy rode untied, the horse immediately turning and unloading himself. Colt caught him by the halter.

“You mind telling me what's going on?” His brother glanced at the Galloping Girlz trailer. “Caro came home, and I had to practically pry things out of her. She headed straight to the apartment, and I haven't seen her since. And you don't seem like a man who'd just nailed his first solo performance. You miss shooting people or something?”

No. He didn't miss that at all. He missed his military family. Dusty, his best friend. Mark, his commander. He still stayed in touch with them. Still saw them when he had time to video conference, but they weren't going to be there when he went back. It was his first time thinking about that, and it put a new perspective on things. It wasn't that he needed their camaraderie. He'd make new friends. It was just that things wouldn't be the same.

“I'm out of sorts,” Chance admitted.

He and Colt had always been close. They'd looked out for each other when they were younger. When they were old enough, they'd turned their attention to Claire, protecting her, making sure she was okay when their dad fell into one of his drunken rages. They might be older now, but they were still close despite Chance's longer stint in the army.

“You know,” Colt said, “you don't have to leave.”

They'd reached Teddy's corral, Chance pausing for a moment outside the horse's pen to glance back at his brother. He rested a hand on the top rail.

“I know,” he said, unbuckling Teddy's halter. One would think the horse would be tired after the long ride, but the gelding shot off, bucking, running and shaking his head until he hit the middle of his pen, where he stopped and sniffed the ground. Chance knew what would come next. Sure enough, the horse carefully lowered himself down, then rolled with joyful grunts and flailing legs. Chance couldn't help but smile.

“You could take over Rodeo Misfits, you know,” his brother added. “Permanently.”

Chance immediately shook his head. “Nah. Not for me.”

“No, wait,” Colt said. “Hear me out.”

They both leaned against the fence. Chance could barely make out his brother's face, but he could tell by his voice that this was one of those serious moments in life. They'd had a few of them over the years. When their dad was sick. When they'd signed up for the army. The day Claire turned three and Colt had pulled Chance aside and sworn to protect her. He'd been five years old at the time, and he still remembered it like yesterday.

“Natalie would never want me to give up Rodeo Misfits,” Colt said. “It's part of her life. But we're crazy busy right now. It's all I can do to keep up with the work around here. We have Laney to help, but it's not enough. There are horse shows and clinics and big international competitions coming up. Rodeo Misfits needs to take a backseat, but I hate to do that. It's a family business, one that was started by our grandfather.”

“I know.”

Colt continued as if he hadn't spoken. “Our dad nearly ruined its reputation. It's taken me years to get it back. I hate to let it all go while I go on hiatus, so why don't you take it over for me?”

“Colt—”

“Ah, ah. Don't talk.” His brother lifted a hand. “You can go back to private contracting at any point in your life. And I don't want to give up the rodeo business if I don't have to. I just need a little bit of time. You can give me that, right? Stick around for a while. Live in the apartment if you want. Or build your own place. I know you've always wanted to do that out by the pond. Go for it. This land is as much yours as it is mine and Claire's.”

“Can I talk now?”

His brother nodded. “Sure.”

“I'm not going to lie. I really liked performing in front of a crowd.”

Colt lifted up on his heels. “I
knew
it.”

“And I could see how it might get addicting.”

“The best high in the world.”

“But I have a plan. Back to the Middle East. Make a ton of money. Save up for the house I want to build.”

“You could make a ton of money performing.”

“That's your money.”

Colt shook his head. “No, it's not. It's our money. Our family. Our life. Don't turn your back on it.”

“I'm not.”

“And you're good at performing. And you won't get killed doing it. I hate the thought of you leaving and going back.”

“Colt—” He sighed.

“No, let me finish. Things are good here. Claire is happy. Adam is getting better. You should be a part of that happiness.”

“I am.”

Colt grunted. “Vicariously.”

“I keep tabs on all of you.”

“Through the internet.”

Chance smiled. “It works.”

“It's a cop-out.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“You're running away. Again. Even Caro agrees.”

“What?”

“I talked to her about it earlier. Asked what she thought of you sticking around. She said you were a natural. That once you got in front of the audience you came to life.” Colt shook his head. “She said it was cool to watch.”

She thought he was good? During all their time together last night, she'd never once brought it up.

“You two okay?” Colt asked. “She seemed a little strange when I asked about you.”

He almost laughed.
I'll bet.

“We're fine.” And that's all he would say about that. “Look, I'll think about it,” Chance said before Colt asked any more probing questions. “It's been a long day. Honestly, I'm too tired to think.”

But he wouldn't take over the Rodeo Misfits. He'd made a commitment to his new employer, Jax Stone. He would honor it. He always did.

“I guess that's all I can hope for.” Colt frowned, and Chance suspected his brother knew the truth. “We want you here, bro. All of us do.”

Chance's gaze snagged on the apartment window above the barn.

All?

* * *

C
ARO
SHOT
BACK
from the glass. Had he seen her? What had they been talking about? Had Chance told Colt about their night together? Was Chance even thinking about her?

He'd looked up.

So, yes, she'd been on his mind. Or maybe he'd sensed her gaze. She'd gone from being stalked to the one doing the stalking. Stupid woman.

Inga's nails clicked against the hardwood floors as she made her way back to her couch. There was a bed in the apartment, but she refused to sleep in it. It wasn't hers and never would be. Two people had lived there—she would make it three—but none of them permanently, so there was a hodgepodge of old furniture, mostly rejects from the old house, but the furniture all worked together somehow. She would love to find someplace just like it...eventually. When life settled back to normal.

Normal. Hah. “I knew what I was getting into, didn't I, Inga?”

The Belgian Malinois rested her head against the edge of the couch while Caro buried herself under the blankets. She'd watched Chance pull in, hadn't known Colt was in the barn until she'd watched him walk up to his brother. A part of her had been disappointed—she'd been hoping Chance would come up to the apartment, but she knew that wouldn't happen with his brother watching.

He still could come up, though. Later.

Her heart began to pound just as it had when he first pulled in. He hadn't said a word to her when she'd left, but she'd seen the look in his eyes. He'd watched her walk away with an unmistakable glint. The heat of a man who'd had the time of his life and wanted more. His look had buoyed her spirits for the rest of the day. She'd been hoping it'd meant something. That he wouldn't simply let her end it.

The silence of the night was almost unbearable.

Carolina waited, breathless, for him to arrive. Colt had to have gone back to bed. Chance could easily sneak out. A horse banged against a stall, and she about came off the couch. Inga whined. She glanced at her cell phone. An hour had gone by.

Chance wasn't coming.

How long she waited for him she had no idea, but eventually she drifted off to sleep, waking only when her alarm sounded early the next morning.

He hadn't come.

She sat up in bed, Inga catching her eye. Caro mustered a smile for the dog.

“I'm a fool, aren't I?”

She tried to keep her disappointment at bay. It wasn't as if they were a couple. She'd made it clear she understood the rules. She'd just hoped he might break them.

Maybe he'd be up, too. She'd set her alarm for 5 a.m. so she could help out with feeding the animals—her way of helping to pay the rent, so to speak. The thought that Chance might be below her in the barn prompted her to dress quickly. Sweatshirt and jeans, her typical morning attire. Hardly glamorous, but she did brush her hair and apply a layer of lip gloss before heading downstairs.

BITCH.

Caro froze.

It was one of those moments when your eyes see something in front of them, but your brain can't process the information.

SLUT.

WHORE.

The words were sprayed everywhere. Stall fronts. The office door. The wall of the tack room.

“Son of a—”

The Reynolds's beautiful barn. Ruined. Because of her.

The horses.

She raced to the first stall. The animal seemed fine. So did the next one. And the next. But the barn. Caro's eyes filled with tears, humiliating, shameful, saddened tears. This was
her
fault.
Her
problem with James.
Her
mess to clean up.

“What the—”

Caro jumped, but it was Colt, not Chance, who stood near the barn's entrance. When she spotted the horrified expression on her boss's face, she couldn't hold back the tears.

She inhaled deeply and forced out the words, “I'm so sorry,” before losing it completely and covering her face with her hands.

Damn him
, she thought.
Damn that James Edwards.
This was the final straw. Somehow, she'd make him pay. She needed to figure out how.

Chapter Nineteen

“What a mess.”

“Shh,” Natalie hissed, glancing in Caro's direction. “She'll hear you.” She shook her head, scrubbing the paint off the front of a stall as best she could given her ever-expanding girth. “She feels bad enough as it is.”

The stall fronts were wood. They'd been stained a natural gold, and fortunately for Natalie and Colt, they were waterproof. The paint didn't stick to the surface well, which meant a rag and solvent would wipe away the paint. Unfortunately, the solvent smelled horrible, and the paint made a mess of the rags and their hands.

“What did Chance say?” Claire asked, working on getting rid of the letter
W
. Adam had insisted on helping, though she wasn't certain he should be reading the offensive words. Fortunately, he didn't know what any of them meant.

“He would kill him,” Natalie said.

“You mean James.” Claire rubbed a little harder. Right now she wanted to kill him, too.

“Yes, James. I also think Colt wants to kill him.” Natalie worked on an
H
, but she made slow progress because she couldn't put her back into it.

Claire wouldn't be surprised if she had the baby a little early. She'd dropped in the past week, an observation she kept to herself. She had a feeling her sister-in-law was a bit nervous. Not that she blamed her. First children were always a little terrifying.

“Mommy, what's a whore?”

Natalie gaped. Claire almost laughed. She glanced at Caro, who clearly hadn't heard the question—she was too busy working on the word
SLUT
.

“It's someone who likes men,” she improvised.

“A lot of men,” Natalie muttered.

“Are you a whore then, Mommy?”

Natalie and Claire exchanged glances. They both burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” she chortled. “I'm not a whore.”

“But you like men?” There was such a look of wide-eyed innocence on Adam's face that it somehow made it all the funnier.

“I do, but I'll explain it to you later.”

“Okay,” said her son, the curiosity in his green eyes fading before he went back to work.

Please, God, don't let him ask his teacher what the word meant. That would be just her luck. Although she wouldn't complain. Adam had recently gone back to normal school, as he liked to call it, and she was beyond pleased. He was thriving.

Only a few weeks until Christmas. They were marking each day on the calendar. Only a few weeks until he was deemed cancer free.

“He's going to get an education helping us clean up,” Natalie said with a glance at the word
BITCH
.

“We're in luck. He knows that's a female dog.”

Natalie smiled. “Thank God for that.” She continued scrubbing. “And thank God all the words are short.”

“Yeah, it's too bad the men aren't here to help.” She smiled at her sister-in-law before rolling her eyes. “I'd like to see my brother come up with a PC explanation for what a whore is.”

“Me, too,” Natalie said.

They'd gone to town to talk to Officer Connelly. All of the men. There was no proof it was James they'd caught on videotape spray painting the walls, but they all knew it was. The man had worn a ski mask and baggy pants. Chance and Colt were trying to see what they could do about it, but Claire had a feeling she knew the answer. Nothing.

“Okay, that word's gone,” Caro said, coming up behind them.

“Good. You can get started on
BITCH
,” Natalie said.

Caro didn't immediately move off. “I'm sorry about this, Natalie. I really am.”

Natalie paused, rested a hand on her giant belly. “I told you it's okay.”

“I know, but I still feel bad.”

Claire could tell her sister-in-law empathized. Claire felt bad for her, too.

“Not to worry,” Natalie said, going back to scrubbing, her free hand resting on her belly. “We'll be done in a flash with all of us working together.”

Caro turned away, clearly with the intention of helping Adam next, but she stopped. “What did you say?”

Claire paused, too, wondering what was up.

“I said it'll go fast since we're such a big group,” Natalie repeated. “Fortunately, the paint is not staining the wood. Thank God for a good water sealant.”

Caro had a blank stare on her face. She half turned toward the entrance of the barn. “I wonder if that would work?”

“How what would work?” Claire asked, because clearly her sister-in-law hadn't noticed the expression on Caro's face. She wasn't talking about the paint.

“A group of us,” Caro said.

“Doing what?”

“Confronting James.”

Natalie understood at last. “You're going to confront him?” She glanced at Claire.

Caro nodded. “Those women. They dropped the charges against him. They were too afraid. But there's safety in numbers.”

Claire nodded, supporting the idea. It could work.

“I need to call Officer Connelly,” Caro said, smiling for the first time today. “I'm going to see if he'll work with me to contact the other women. Maybe if I can convince them to reopen their cases, James will leave me alone.”

* * *

“Y
OU
WANT
TO
WHAT
?”

It was the first time she'd spoken to Chance all day, and it wasn't to talk about what had happened between them. Instead she'd come to him with a harebrained idea of confronting James.

“I already talked to Officer Connelly,” Caro said. “He couldn't tell me who the other women were, but he promised to talk to them to see if they'd go along with my plan. If they do, Officer Connelly will break the news to James. Leave me alone or he'll have two other women pressing charges. That would be three strikes. That should scare the you-know-what out of him.”

They were outside, Chance having just come from town, the sun so bright it turned Caro's eyes a neon blue. He admired the effect for a moment before focusing on her words.

“So you're hoping to threaten him? Is that it?”

She nodded. “More or less. Leave me alone or more troubles will come your way.”

“And if the other women don't play along?”

For the first time, she lost some of her enthusiasm. “Then I'll try it without their knowing. Lie if I have to, though I'd really hate that.”

He'd rather drag the man out behind their barn and cut the rope right when they got near a cliff. It was bad enough James terrorized Caro, but now he'd targeted his family. The man needed to pay.

“No way, Caro. I say you keep a low profile until your first court appearance. No more rodeos. No more going out unless you absolutely have to. I've already talked to my sister about using one of her dogs for protection. You already have Inga, so I know James won't get too close. A few canine razor blades ought to put the fear of God into the man. Frankly, I'd like to stand by and watch.”

“Stay home?” Her face paled. “And give up rodeos?”

“Temporarily,” Chance said, hating the look on her face. He hated all of this. Nobody was allowed to mess with the people he loved.

Loved?

The people he cared for, he quickly amended.

“But trick riding is my job.”

“I know that, and I already talked to Colt about it. He's going to hire you to work on the ranch with him. You'll be earning money and staying out of James's reach at the same time.”

And staying away from him. He couldn't help but think that might be for the better. When he'd spied James's handiwork this morning, he'd experienced such a huge surge of rage it'd scared the hell out of him. He'd wanted to track James down—a skill he possessed and one he could use to his advantage if need be—but he hadn't trusted what he might do to the man. Compounding Chance's rage was the knowledge it'd been partly his fault James had gotten so close. He'd been exhausted from his night with Caro and the long drive home. He'd been off his game. He should have heard James outside—should have seen him. Chance hadn't, and it enraged him all the more. Colt had talked him down, but the whole thing had been a slap in the face.

“They've already been so kind to me,” Caro said softly. “First with the apartment, and now this.” Her blue eyes were troubled. She fingered the strands of her ponytail absently. “I don't think I can accept their offer.”

“You can, because we'd all rather you be safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, but there's a fine line between being a victim and a mooch.”

“You're not a mooch.”

“I'm still going to wait until I hear back from Officer Connelly.”

She tipped her chin up, and he almost smiled. Bully for her. Instead of moping about her situation or getting angry, she'd devised a plan. The urge to kiss her right then was so surprising and so unexpected he took a step back.

“Keep me posted.”

Her blue eyes lost their luster. “I will.”

He couldn't get away from her fast enough, and that should have been his first clue their one night wasn't enough. His second clue came that night when she texted him.

Heard from Officer Connelly. The other two women won't do it.

And he finally understood what it meant to feel sympathy pangs. His stomach twisted in a knot at her words. She might not be in front of him, but he could practically hear her disappointment, sadness and regret.

I'm sorry
, he texted back.

I guess I'm grounded.

He hated James more in that moment. It wasn't right he could affect her like this. He shouldn't be able to terrorize women and get away with it.

Especially when one of those women was his.

Chance might as well admit it. He would always despise the man for what he'd done to Caro, but something had changed.

Nobody was allowed to hurt someone who was his. Not now. Not when he'd been a kid. Not when he'd been in the army.

The man was going down. Chance simply needed to figure out how he was going to do it.