Rodeo Blues (7 page)

"What's the hurry to get an annulment?" he
asked her.

She narrowed her eyes. "What's the
hurry?
" she looked at him as if he'd grown horns.

"Well?" he added, wanting to hear her
explanation.

"When the rodeo is over, I don't plan on
being married to a man who's working the circuit with no plans of
returning to Skeeter Blue."

So, she thought he would pack up and abandon
her again. He'd have to make his intentions clear. He strode over
to her, stood toe to toe…so to speak. Her eyes were large and wide
as she stared at him. He touched her chin and ran his thumb over
her lips. "Who said I was leaving?"

She slapped his hand away. "Stop it. This is
not the time for teasing. You find a way to make this right!" She
whirled away and grabbed her purse sitting on the dresser. "I mean
it, Tye." She stormed out of the room, leaving him staring after
her as she slammed the door for good measure.

He ran his hand through his hair. She had the
right to doubt him. However, he married the girl and he planned on
keeping her. "Should be easy," he said then chuckled. "As easy as
taming a feral horse," he muttered. He'd better come up with a plan
to win her heart before she stomped all over his.

Chapter Nine

Tye's event didn't start until after noon –
plenty of time for him to drive over to the old homestead. He
hadn't been there since he left home, and probably never would have
stepped foot on the land again if he hadn't received notice from a
lawyer stating his father had a will and left the land to him. Go
figure. His father couldn't seem to remember to pay the electric
bill without having the lights turned off, but he proved
responsible enough to make a will.

The land was his to do with as he pleased. As
he drove up the gravel road, he spotted the oil drill in the
distance working its magic. Sam Miller had wanted to know who
bought the old homestead. What the old man should have asked: who
inherited the old homestead? Then his gaze landed on the trailer,
which still stood there like a monument to his crappy former life
he wished to put behind him. Easier said than done, but then
perhaps he shouldn't forget, but remember and make sure he never
became like his father.

His father had refused medication when the
doctors told him it would help him cope with life. Unfortunately,
Gunther Casper couldn't accept life without a bottle in one hand.
Everyone in the world could have been there to help him, but in the
end, the only one who could have made the difference was his father
wanting to change. He didn't want to – said so a million times.

Tye pursed his lips as he shook the
melancholy thoughts away. He wasn't his father. He just had to
remind himself of the fact now and again. He eyed the mobile home
and vowed to have it hauled away the first chance he got. He
wouldn't let this part of his past mar the present. His coming back
to Skeeter Blue needed to be a fresh start. No one would call him
trailer trash or other such lovely words to demean him. Not
anymore.

He stepped out of the car as he fastened his
gaze to the left of him, where the house sat nice and pretty
beneath a pecan tree that had survived decades – judging by its
forty-some glorious feet. The shade from the tree would be a
welcome reprieve on hot summer days. The house wasn't quite
finished. There were still things to be done, but he hoped it would
be completed by the end of the month, if not sooner.

He had a copy of the plans for the place
behind the seat in his truck. The house would include twelve-foot
ceilings to allow extra relief from the hot Texas summers. Cypress
siding and glass-paneled windows would give the house good
circulation and the flooring would be what Jolie had always liked,
longleaf pine. The plans also included a raised deck around two
thirds of the house, a porch with a swing too, so he and Jolie
could relax and watch the sunset over the horizon, or perhaps they
could watch the sun rise as they sipped their morning coffee. Yeah,
he liked that idea. Everything would fall into place – just the way
he imagined – if only Jolie would forgive him.

He took off his hat and wiped his brow with
the back of his hand.
Man, it's hot today.

"Good day, Mr. Casper," a man called to him
in greeting.

Tye turned and spotted his lawyer, a tall man
with light hair, as he headed up the drive. The man must be
sweating bullets in the fancy suit he wore. As he reached him, Tye
offered his hand with a nod. "Good morning to you, Mr. Jonas."

"I have the papers drawn," Mr. Jonas said as
he lifted his hand to show him the documents.

"Good." He nodded. "What about the deal with
Reeves Construction?"

"No one will be the wiser that you bought out
their shares. They'll go under before they know what hit them."

Tye thought he'd feel happier about the news,
but instead it left a bad taste in his mouth to stoop to the
Reeves' level of thinking.

Thomas Reeves owned the construction business
as his pappy had before him. Thomas then handed over the reins to
his eldest son, Jhett. The man didn't have any common sense for
business and to make it extra special he had a gambling problem.
Tye actually wouldn't have to lift a finger. Jhett would run the
company into the ground by the end of the year, but Tye wanted to
be the one to put up the 'closed' sign on the door. Jhett deserved
no less from him. Maybe he should keep the mobile home. Jhett might
need it once the business went belly up.

Tye had gone to school with Jhett, a bully
and the leader of the pack who'd made his life miserable while he
grew up here. Knowing Jhett would end up without a penny to his
name should have put a smile on his face, and yet, it didn't.
Dammit,
why wasn't he pleased?

"Now that you're rich, Mr. Casper," his
lawyer said and glanced at the oil drill in the distance. "What do
you plan on doing with your newfound wealth?"

He leveled his gaze on Mr. Jonas, who had
handled the matter about placing the rig in his backyard – so to
speak – with an option to add more. "Have a life." He gave the man
a sidelong glance. "And you can stop calling me Mr. Casper,
Jon."

Jon's lips curved into a broad smile. "Well,
it wouldn't be professional now would it if I go callin' you
Tye-Bo."

"You're family, but if you call me Tye-Bo, I
might have to teach you a lesson,
Jon-boy,
"
he dragged out the childhood nickname.

"Think you can take me, cuz?"

Tye gave him a once over and smiled. "I know
I can." He bounced on his feet and sent a friendly punch to his
cousin's mid section. Jon jumped back with a laugh.

"Lawyer-ing has made you a little soft," Tye
said.

Jon sighed. "Marcy calls it her love
handles." He patted his stomach.

Tye chuckled. "Indeed. Your wife's a sure
keeper then, ifn' she's fit to overlook your faults."

Jon glanced over his shoulder and Tye didn't
have to guess where his gaze landed. "You know," Jon said, "I don't
understand why Uncle Gunther lived in squalor when he could have
been living the life of luxury. By what I've learned, he'd been
approached many times by investors and refused. Sure would have
given the Reeves a run for their money. This land is worth
millions, if not more, Tye-Bo...sorry, Tye."

Didn't he know it, but what could he say to
explain it? "Once mom passed on, my father died too. Nothing
mattered to him."

"He had you," Jon met his gaze.

Tye forced a smile. "He forgot I
existed."

"Man, we didn't know you had it so bad." He
shook his head. "You should have told us."

Jon's mother, his Aunt Gertrude, was his
mother's sister. They lived in the next town over and he didn't see
them much while growing up. Aunt Gertrude had six children. Though
he knew his uncle worked hard to put food on the table, they didn't
have much else. So how could he tell them he needed their help when
they were just scraping by?

Jon had been as smart as they come. Earned
himself a scholarship and went to Yale. Thought they'd seen the
last of him after he rubbed elbows with the elite, but Jon came
home and opened a practice in his hometown, even though one of the
top firms had offered him quite a handsome fee to work for
them.

"Don't go feeling sorry for me, Jon. I
survived and I had a girl who cared about me. It made living in
that piece of crap worthwhile." He gestured toward the trailer.

"Yeah." Jon eyed Tye with a once over. "So,
where's the girl now?"

Chapter Ten

Once she left Tye at the hotel, Jolie called
for a cab since Tye had seen fit to stay at the hotel on the edge
of town. She didn't have time to walk back to Big Bob's Saloon
where she could only assume she left her vehicle.

As soon as she would arrive home, she'd
shower, change into clean clothes, and then pack what she was
taking with her to the fairgrounds. Trinkets Galore had a booth
where she would be selling drinks and souvenirs, while Whisper
would be offering her expertise at palm reading.

Since Skeeter Blue only had one cab service,
and one cab driver – who also ran the local gas station and auto
repair shop – there would be no sense in trying to hide the fact
she'd spent the night with Tye. Besides, she had a hunch they'd
taken the cab to the hotel last night.

Mike Tethers didn't mutter a word when she
climbed into the back seat of his sedan painted yellow and sporting
big black letters that read,
Tethers' Wheels and
Daily Deals
, but he did glance a time or two at her in the
rearview mirror.

"Go ahead," she said with a wave of her hand.
"Just go ahead and say it."

"Say what?" he asked with a shrug.

"How stupid I was to…uh…go with Tye
Casper."

"Listen, I'm the last person to give advice
to someone about their love life."

Mike had an on again, off again, kind of
relationship with Georgia Hamlin. Yep, he married the girl,
divorced her then married her again…and divorced her. Rumor had it
he was seeing Georgia again. Seemed their relationship was great,
until they said their
I dos
.

Mike glanced in the rearview mirror again.
"If it means anything, I always thought you and Tye would end up
together, you know." He gave a little chuckle. "Guess you
did…since…well, since you married him and all."

She groaned and hit her head against the back
of the seat.
Big mistake. Big, big mistake.
Her hand went to
her head with hopes of steadying the pounding between her
temples.

"Here," Mike said and half-turned, handing
her a bottle of pain relievers and a bottle of water. "Thought
you'd need these. You and Tye really tied one over."

She downed a couple of pills and took a swig
of water. Guess it was asking too much for her and Tye's wedding to
be a private affair – not that the secret would have lasted for
long. God, she hoped her daddy hadn't heard the news yet. She'd
like to be the one to tell him. She really didn't look forward to
that lovely conversation. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Mike said, meeting her gaze in the
rearview mirror.

"How many know about Tye and me…you
know…?"

"Getting hitched?" he offered.

She closed her eyes. "Yep…that."

"Well…there's me, Jimmy and Sonny, Whisper
and some bloke named Buddy, and of course Mayor Dirkly."

He paused, and she thought perhaps that's all
there was.
Not too bad.

"Then there was everyone in the saloon, of
course," Mike said. "You made an announcement and all on the stage.
Showed us your ring." He chuckled again. "Can't say I ever saw a
wedding band made from cherry stems before."

"Oh God, say I didn't." She closed her
eyes.

"I'm afraid you did. Might have had a few
people video tape you too."