The Bull Rider's Collection (3 page)

“Sure, but Jesse’s rescue comes first.” The hurt that rose over James choosing his brother instead of her six years ago got away from her before she could stop it. She’d been right. Rodeo weekend still made her feel like high school. Alone and disappointed. Second choice to Jesse. Like she’d always been an afterthought in James’s life and always would be one.

At least this time, James hadn’t left her pregnant and alone when he went off after his brother.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. Let’s get down to The Pancake House before they run out of huckleberry pancakes.” Barb’s voice came through the condo’s bedroom door where Lizzie curled into a fetal position in the huge, soft bed. Like she was the princess and Barbara was the nagging pea. If the nagging pea would only go away, she wouldn’t even need a hundred mattresses to be comfortable. This one was heaven. With the heavy down comforter pulled over her, Lizzie didn’t want to move. She didn’t want her short vacation from Mom Land to end. Not this fast.

But the sun shone and Barb was hungry. In a few hours, JR would be chatting her ear off, telling her all about the parade and what he and Gramps had been up to while she’d lounged the morning away.

And then she had to think about James. She reached over and picked up his business card. She’d stared at it for hours last night, unable to sleep.

Why call?
she asked herself.
He left you. Why call him and give him the chance to do it again?

“Why indeed?” Lizzie asked the empty room.

“Did you say something?” Barb called from the bathroom.

“Nope,” Lizzie called back.

“Do you mind if I shower first?” Barb poked her head into the small bedroom. “I can’t believe you’re still in bed.”

“I’m relaxing. Go ahead.” Lizzie snuggled under the comforter. She had five, maybe ten minutes. Barb took short showers.

Forty-five minutes later when they arrived, The Pancake House was packed. Barb eased her SUV into a spot near the back of the lot. Once they were in the building, they waited in line for a table. The smell of maple syrup permeated the lobby, making Lizzie’s stomach growl. Glancing around the packed dining room, Lizzie didn’t recognize any faces. The town regulars must have stayed home this morning, unwilling to share their favorite eating spot with strangers.

Cash, the owner, waved at the two women from behind the register. “Long time no see, Barb.” He kissed Lizzie on the cheek. Cash had graduated a year ahead of Lizzie. Team quarterback, he’d gone on to play college ball then had a short stint in the NFL before he blew out his knee. After that he’d come home to run the family business.

“Barb, you need to tell this woman to accept my undying love and marry me.” Cash came over to give each woman a hug. “We’ve dated for so long, I’ve forgotten why she hasn’t.”

“Have you ever actually asked her?” Barb responded tartly and grinned. “Besides, Cash, if I could convince Lizzie of anything, it sure wouldn’t be wasted on her marrying a has-been football player.” She shuddered. “Who’d want a husband who looks like he should be surfing and has better hair than most of the women in town?”

“So true. Everyone is jealous of my golden locks. Liz, the high school is doing
Grease
for their end of year musical. We on for it next weekend?” Cash gave Lizzie a look that bordered on pleading.

Lizzie knew that for Cash, part of being a small town business owner and local football hero was that people expected you to sponsor things and show up places. That meant needing a pretty date on your arm if you didn’t have a wife and family to show off. Lizzie had played arm candy for him for years — and enjoyed it. But —

However nice a guy he was, and however much they enjoyed themselves together, there was no real heat between them. So Lizzie had kept it casual. Still.

She looked at him. Cash was a good man, and he was here, he wasn’t going anywhere. He’d demonstrated that time and again. So maybe it was time to take their dating to the next level. JR liked Cash and he needed a positive role model in his life. On the other hand, when Lizzie tried to imagine
her
life with Cash, all she saw was another responsibility. One where she instinctively knew she’d spend her early mornings as hostess at the restaurant then head home to run the cabin rentals for the rest of the day.

And night.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice behind her, “Maybe she doesn’t want to be tied to another job, Cash. If you want a new employee, hire one, don’t marry one.”

She turned to see James standing behind her, shocked he’d said out loud what she’d been thinking.

“Hey, I wasn’t thinking about the business.” Cash grimaced. “Well, much.” He gave James a bear hug. “Man, I heard you and Jesse were home. Hoped we’d see you before you took off for the lights of Vegas.”

“More like the back roads of South Dakota. Jesse’s riding in the Black Hills Invitational next weekend.” He nodded down at Lizzie. “I guess I missed your call.”

Stumbling over her words, she blurted, “I guess.” Darn it, why did she let him make her feel guilty and uncomfortable when she’d done nothing wrong?

Barb shot a glance between Lizzie and James. “Maybe I should check on the schedule for today?”

“Yes,” James said.

“No,” Lizzie shot back. She grabbed Barb’s arm. “We came for breakfast. We’ll add one more to the table. Cash, can you seat us?”

Cash raised his eyebrows as he met James’s glare. “Sure, we’ve got a table to fit all of you.” He grabbed some menus and walked into the dining room directly to the last booth on the wall of windows. “Callie will be right with you. Great seeing you, James. Maybe we can grab a beer later?”

James nodded as he slipped into the booth. “Sure. We’ll see you tonight.”

“After Jesse kicks butt at the rodeo tomorrow, the two of you will be ready to celebrate.” Cash waved and walked back to the front. Lizzie watched him stop to chat with the other tables. “How is everything? Can I get you more coffee?”

Cash had a natural skill for making people feel at home and his business thrived because of it. Dating Cash was simple and comfortable, unlike dating James. She snuck a glance across the table. James watched her. So did Barb. “What?”

“Earth to Lizzie … what were you thinking about?” James watched her face; he always did.

“Nothing,” Lizzie lied, not caring if James could tell.

“Yeah, right.” James glanced over at Cash, clearing a nearby table for more diners. “I can tell it’s nothing.”

“Get to the point James, what did you want to talk about?” Lizzie was tired of playing games. She wanted breakfast and time to walk down to the rodeo grounds before the parade started. Dragging this thing out with James might have been fun when they were teenagers, but now it only made her realize how much she’d missed looking into those brown eyes and being close to him. The man put off heat like a wood stove. Even now she could feel the heat rising from his body, warming her legs under the table.

James glanced at Barb.

“Listen, I know you want me stay, Lizzie, but I’m going to leave.” Barb stood up.

“Thanks,” James nodded.

“But we haven’t even ordered. You were the one who wanted huckleberry pancakes,” Lizzie protested.

“We’ll make plans for tomorrow morning before I leave.” Barb turned and walked away, not giving Lizzie a chance to argue.

“You always were good at crowd control.” Lizzie stirred sugar into the coffee that the waitress had poured into her cup. Looking up at the waiting girl, she ordered her breakfast. “Bacon, scrambled eggs, the house potatoes, and a short stack of huckleberry pancakes. And a glass of orange juice.”

“I’ll take the same.” James chuckled as the waitress walked away. “You always could put away a good meal.”

“How about we stop this small talk and get to the point. You save Jesse last night?”

James leaned back after taking a sip from his coffee. “They were gone by the time I got over there. The kid can take off pretty fast when he wants.”

“Do you know the woman he was with?”

James sat forward, his face hard. “I didn’t ask you here to talk about Jesse.”

“No?” Lizzie sat forward belligerently and pushed the button. She didn’t have anything to lose. “We always talk about Jesse. What Jesse wants, where Jesse is, how Jesse’s feeling. What else is there to talk about?”

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

How could he honestly not realize? “James, we didn’t even go to prom because Jesse got drunk beforehand and threw up on his date’s three hundred dollar dress and you had to fix things for him.”

James grinned. “Yeah, but I remember we did something a lot better than dancing when I got back.”

Lizzie blushed. Sitting down by the river on a plaid blanket, the kissing had turned into more. That night had been their first attempt at making love.

The waitress slid two plates of food in front of her, giving her a time to compose herself before she spoke. “And that’s what you want to talk about? One night on the river?” Lizzie’s words were as harsh as her tone. But to keep James at a distance in order to protect JR, she needed to be harsh. She took a bite of cubed potatoes fried together with onions, bacon bits, ham, and green peppers, and covered with a handful of melted shredded cheddar. The flavor would have been heaven if not for James.

“Hold on a second. You brought up prom night, not me.” He poured huckleberry syrup over his pancakes and passed it to her. “You want some of this?”

“Of course. Breakfast in town’s a treat these days.” Lizzie watched as he poured syrup over her stack. “Whoa, that’ll do.”

“You always cried uncle first.” James grinned and reached over to grab her hand. Rubbing the palm with his thumb, he locked gazes with her. “I want to get to know you again. Look, I screwed up before. I admit it. I should have followed you to Portland and stood outside your dorm room until you gave up and talked to me. But I let Jesse pull me away.”

Lizzie tried to pull her hand away, but James tightened his grip. “Yes, you did.”

“Stop, let me finish.” He waited for her to stop squirming and look at him. “I want to court you. I’ll admit, it will be long distance during the rodeo season, but I can fly back here at least once a month. And maybe you could come meet me a weekend or two.”

Stunned, Lizzie stared at him, her food forgotten. James wanted to date her? Only one problem, JR. When James found out about him, this entire conversation would be done. She knew how strongly James felt about family — about
blood
kin. Hadn’t he showed his cards many years ago when he’d chosen Jesse over her? Hadn’t he said it even, when he told her how he couldn’t even consider leaving Shawnee until Jesse graduated high school the year after them?

On the other hand, now that she had the trump card in her hand, maybe James would be equally determined to make
their
relationship work. Her lips twisted. Even if it shouldn’t.

“My life is pretty complicated right now. Besides, how do you know I’m not with someone?”

“Who? Cash? Don’t you think if you were serious you would have taken the next step?” James released her hand and cut into his short stack. “Just think about it Lizzie. We’re good together.”

“Were good together, James. In high school, when we weren’t fighting about Jesse. Maybe too much time has passed for us to recreate that — or even something better. Something new.” Lizzie froze as a thought hit her. If James could figure out her love life in the first twenty-four hours since he arrived in town, what chance did she have of keeping JR a secret? Especially when her dad planned on bringing JR to the parade. Trouble, this was trouble. She glanced around the crowded restaurant.

You’re playing with fire here, Lizzie.

James barked out a laugh breaking into her thoughts. “Not if my dreams are any indication. I shouldn’t say this but I’ve thought of nothing but you since last night.”

Lizzie stared at the man in front of her. The feelings he’d woken inside her last night reminded her of the woman she was. A woman she’d kept under wraps since that summer evening long ago when she realized she’d never be first in his life. Jesse held the place with an iron fist.

“It’s complicated,” she whispered, even as another part of her said,
This is what you’ve been wanting. A father for JR. A partner for you.

Panic struck her. What if James tried to take her son away from her?

Suddenly feeling like breakfast would never stay down, she stood. “I’ve-I’ve… ” Clutching her stomach, she bolted.

“Lizzie?” James called after her.

Once in front of the sink, she forced herself to calm down. Maybe James finding out about JR wouldn’t be the end of the world. And maybe JR could be convinced that a summer of visiting rodeos wasn’t better than a summer at home, gardening and working the cabins with his mom. Who was she kidding? Of course he would be convinced! Hell, she’d take a summer without chores if she had the chance. No. Somehow she’d get through Sunday without James finding out and then she and JR would be safe. All they had to do was get through the weekend. Then the Sullivan brothers would be gone and her life would go back to normal.

She nodded to the mirror. Keep James in the dark about JR. Nice, clean, simple. Good. She had a plan. On a deep breath, she left to return to the table —

Where she found Jesse sitting in her spot eating her untouched pancakes.

Speak of the damned devil.

“Good morning, Lizard.” Jesse smiled up at her.

“Don’t call me Lizard. It’s Elizabeth to you.” She slipped into the booth next to James. Of course he was the devil she knew.

She grabbed the fork from Jesse’s hands. “You know that’s my food, right?”

Grinning, Jesse nodded. “What James said, seemed like you weren’t feeling too well. Couldn’t let these beautiful things go to waste.”

“Insufferable.”

James leaned toward her. “Jesse’s right. Are you okay?”

“Fine.” She glared at James.

Jesse’s right. Jesse’s always right.

Sighing, she gave in. She was too tired to fight this fight. All she had to do was keep James from learning about JR before he left and everything would be back to normal.