Falling For A Cowboy (9 page)

She didn
’
t understand
.
“
Are you cowhands or rodeo riders
?
”

“
Both
,
”
t
hey said in unison.

“
We
’
ll be back, Dusty
,
”
C
lay said.
“
At least one of us will.
”

Jesse stepped cautiously
.
“
I
’
ll be here
.
Little
tussle
with
some
bull is
n
’
t
going to sideline me.
”
H
is face contorted and he let out a
groan with each
measured
step as he moved toward the tent flap
.

C
lay removed his hat from his head and ran fingers through his
tousled
hair before settling it back on
.
“
He
’
s going to be whining the whole trip.
”
With a light touch, h
e chucked her chin with his finger
.
“
Are y
ou going to be all right though
?
You went almost as pale as
Jesse
when I told you
.
I was afraid to leave you there for a minute.
”
There was warmth in his eyes
.
Too much warmth.

She nodded
.
“
I
’
ll be fine
.
Just can
’
t stand to see someone hurt, is all.
”

“
You
’
ll be here next weekend?
”

She wished she could say no
.
Staring into those gorgeous
eyes
, her heart was beating out a tattoo. S
h
e didn
’
t know if she
’
d be able to resist him if she saw him again.
“
I
’
ll be working.
”

“
Good
.
I
’
ll see you then.
”
He stared at her like he w
as waiting for her to say something.

“
Clay, I don
’
t think…
I mean w
e
’
re not… I
’
m not
.
”

“
I am
,
”
he gave her a wink
.

“
Clay, don
’
t be jawing all night now
.
You said we
’
ve got to go
.
”
Jesse
’
s voice was s
trained. The man was clearly hurting.

Clay stepped around her
.
She watched
him
offer an arm to
help his friend
.

Next weekend
.
She felt like she was the one who
’
d
just got
ten
gored by a bull.

“
What
’
s got you all tensed up, honey
?
Something happen at the
r
odeo
?
”
Dusty
’
s
mother dried her
reddened
hands on her well-worn apron and reached for a cup
hanging
on the holder
atop
the counter. With movements born of habit
,
Deirdre
Morgan
picked
the tea bag from the tin and poured the hot water
from the kettle
into the cup.
She dunked the
bag
up and down
before setting
the cup of tea
on the table,
next to the one she
’
d just fixed for herself
,
and
push
ed
the
flower
-
decorated
sugar
bowl
and creamer toward
Dusty
.

“
Tell your mother all about it
,
”
s
he
said before dropping
her slight frame
o
nto the chair
alongside
Dusty
’
s
.
Dressed casually in a pair of khaki
pant
s and a white blouse, her blond hair was perfectly coiffed in a short
,
wavy cut.

Whitey
, their little
b
ichon
f
ris
é
,
sniffed at
Dusty
’
s
leg as if he
,
too
,
was trying to get her story.
Her mother had gotten Whitey shortly after her father had passed
,
believing
they both needed something to care for and cuddle. Whitey wasn
’
t the type of dog most people in these parts had
,
but her mother had spent a good deal of time researching the best companion dog and found a breeder up in Lubbock. Cute and pugnacious,
sweet and loving,
Whitey had made himself right at home
.

“
It
’
s nothing. What makes you think anything is wrong
?
”
Dusty strove to
keep any inflection out of her voice
as she shifted
to get comfortable
on the flower
ed
pad covering the kitchen chair
.

Whitey sat with his head cocked to one side waiting for an invitation
.
One pat on her
leg
and
he was settled in her lap. She pulled
out the
tea
bag
,
plopped two spoonfuls of sugar into the large cup
, added
a helping of milk
,
and stirred.
A curl of steam wafted forth.
She spared one sip before looking at her mother.

“
I
s it one of those
cowboys
?
”
Deidre
arched a penciled brow.

How did her mother come to such a conclusion when she
’
d never mentioned any cowboys
?
As if she
’
d said her question out loud
,
her mother answered
.

“
I talked to
Delia
Parker
today.
Tara
Lynn
told her mama both of them were nice young men
.
Real gentlemen, she said.
”

Somehow, s
he
’
d have to
stop
Tara
Lynn
.
Tara
Lynn
told her
own
mother everything—because there wasn
’
t much to tell where
Tara
Lynn
was concerned
.
H
er life was progressing just as it should
.
Dusty
’
s
was not.

“
They
’
re rodeo riders
.
One
rides
saddle
bronc
and one
’
s a bull rider.
”
That said it all as far as Dusty was concerned
.
She took a
nother
sip of the hot liquid
before
pet
ting
Whitey
.
Thank goodness for air-conditioning. She
’
d have preferred some
cold
sweet tea given the temperature outside
,
but her mother always went for the hot stuff when there was
likely
to be a discussion
.
Something about it being a comfort drink.

“
And that makes them what?
”
Deidre
clasped her hands together on the table, as if
getting ready to pray
.

“
It makes them looking for a good time and nothing more.
”

“
They
’
re not coming back then?
”
The
disappointment
in her mother
’
s voice caught her by surprise
.
Did she think her daughter was
d
esperate
?
Dusty might have
been torn up when Bradley
had
dumped her
,
but that was months ago
.
She was over Bradley
.
Wasn
’
t she?

“
Actually they said they
’
d be back next weekend
.
Guess they need the money or
something.
”

“
Or something?
That something could be you.
”
Her blue
eyes scraped over Dusty.
Pity
.
That
’
s what Dusty saw there
.
Good
G
od.

“
I
’
m not interested in a
hit and run
.
”

“
Well maybe it could be more.
Your father was a rodeo rider and a better man I never knew.
”

“
I know you loved him
,
M
om
,
but a rodeo man isn
’
t for me.
”
She stroked Whitey
’
s soft fur
.
He looked back at her, contentment in his black button eyes.

“
W
hy
?
Some of the finest men I
’
ve ever had the pleasure of knowing were involved with rodeo.
”

“
Da
d
was never here for you.
”
Or for
me
.
“
He was always off chasing a ride.
”

Deidre
’
s
brows converged over the bridge of her nose
.
“
What do you mean? He was always here for me
.
Your father gave me what I needed most.
”
She sighed and sat back in her chair as if remembering
.
“
I wish he
’
d been around more, is all
.
Lord, I wish he
’
d stayed on this earth longer
.
But while he was here, he gave me the two things I wanted most in my life.
”

Her mother had always defended her father, always made excuses for him
.
But
Dusty had
never heard her speak
about him
as
fervently
as she was now
.
“
What
did he give you
?
”

“
His love and you, of course.
”
She dabbed
at her eyes with
the corner of her apron
.
Though her father had been gone
almost ten
years,
Dusty
knew
there was still
sorrow
there
.
How had the conversation gotten
on this topic
?

“
And he sacrificed everything for us
,
”
she
added with an uplifted chin as if daring Dusty to contradict her.

She was daring Dusty b
ecause
it
was just not true. Her mother was obviously building a fantasy to substitute for the reality.
“
How
did
he sacrifice
any
thing for us
?
He did what he loved and left us
to fend for ourselves
.
”

Deidre
’
s
lips formed a thin, determined line.
“
Thank God he did love it
.
It takes a brave man to face those beasts and get
on
night after night and walk away
.
Lord
,
the bruises he
’
d come home with, the pain he
’
d suffer
.
But he
’
d get on those animals
again
the next day if it meant he had a chance
to make
ends meet
.
When
some of
the wells
played out
around here, there wasn
’
t
as
much call for drillers, honey
.
When you came along, my teacher
’
s salary wasn
’
t enough
,
and fixing cars or pumping gas wasn
’
t going to make it. Thank the
L
ord there is rodeo for strong
,
young men who don
’
t have many choices.
”

“
But you hated him leaving all the time
.
I remember you crying some nights.
”
She
’
d
listened to the sounds of sorrow through the thin walls of her bedroom, angry at the father who
’
d
hurt her mother so.

Her mother
frowned.
“
Of course I cried
.
Of course I minded. I loved him
.
Do you think I could look at his battered body, at the disappointment when he came home empty-handed or worse, in debt to some generous cowboy, and watch him go out to face it all
over
again without feeling something
?
I never let him see though.
”
She held
her
tea cup to her lips
and hesitated
.

“
I thought you were crying because you resented him for loving the rodeo more than us.
”

She shook her head
, her frown deepening in obvious surprise
.
She set the cup down
.
“
I knew how much he loved us, how much he sacrificed for us. Of course, he did love riding, honey
.
He
’
d be doing it now
.
But I didn
’
t resent him for it
.
The only comfort I had
was knowing
he enjoyed it. It
’
s
a hard way to make a living
,
and of course I worried. But I was blessed with you and a job that I loved and a man who loved me
.
You know
,
even if he wasn
’
t winning
,
I
’
d get a beautiful card in the mail from him to let me know he was thinking of me—meant more
than just a phone call
.
And if he was winning, well, didn
’
t he used to send us little presents from the road
.
He
avens,
he
’
d sent you so many of those darn beanie babies I thought we
’
d have to add a room on to keep them all.
”