Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) (9 page)

"Sometimes
yes, sometimes no."

Understanding
lit Ben's face. "You don't have to tell me, I know how difficult she can
be."

"Well,
this time it’s my fault. I probably stuck my nose where it didn't belong
when I had you bring the horse. I still think it'll do her good to have Pongo
to fuss over. Maybe she'll start riding."

Ben
nodded his head slowly. "You might be right. Sometimes Tye needs time to
cool off and think things through. I hope she doesn't get it in her head to go
too fast and hurt herself. Not that I dare tell her that. Mom and I have tried
to steer her thoughts away from rodeo, but she's got her mind set on it. Have
you tried to discourage her from going back to the circuit, Jake?"

Jake
laughed, feeling hollow inside. "Me talk Tye out of rodeo? That’s a
joke in itself. No, our disagreements are nothing like that. She's let me know
in no uncertain terms she doesn't want me looking out for her in any manner."
The words cost Jake, pulling at that empty spot deep down inside him. He
didn’t want to be affected by anything Tye said, but it bothered him
nonetheless.

Ben
looked at his friend speculatively. "Tye doesn't take kindly to any curb
on her independence. It must be eating the hell out of her to have to go easy.
I hope you’re right that having Pongo here will make her happy. I want my
sister back."

"I
haven't got a clue, Ben, what makes your sister happy." At one time Jake
had thought he knew. He’d been wrong. He reminded himself it didn’t
matter in any case.

"She
likes it here, but we all knew up front it was only temporary. I apologize,
Jake, for tying you up like this. I’ll keep looking for another
place."

Jake
didn’t answer. He was watching Tye, and that tightness in his throat
wouldn’t ease up. His head was telling him not to let her leave again
― that she wasn’t ready to be on her own. But Tye had always been
independent. She hadn’t listened to him the last time he had begged her
to stay. He’d never beg her again.

Tye
introduced Pongo to the horses in the large pasture. After the first initial
kicking and squealing, the horses went back to grazing and ignored each other.

As she
walked back toward the house, Tye noticed cars in the driveway. Apparently
Jake's football enthusiasts had arrived while she was occupied at the barn. The
air carried the tantalizing scent of barbecue, making her mouth water,
reminding her she hadn’t eaten. Nevertheless, Tye skirted the pool and
headed for the door of her apartment. She was curious about Jake's friends, but
she wouldn’t intrude, even if Jake had extended an open invitation. Tye
knew it was probably unreasonable, since she was happy to have Pongo here, but
she resented Jake taking the decision into his own hands.

"Hey,
hang on a minute!" a female voice called out.

With her
hand on the door latch, Tye turned to see a slim girl in her late teens hailing
her. She wore tight jeans and a bright pink halter top. The girl vaulted the
steps to the pool area easily. Tye felt a brief envy. At one time, she had
taken such effortless movements for granted.

The girl
held out a hand to Tye with a big smile. Her dark hair was short and curly. Her
somewhat familiar blue eyes told Tye she could like her in a minute.

"Hi,
Tye. Don’t tell me you don’t remember me?" The girl’s
face fell.

Tye
studied her dark eyes and a smile welled inside. "Amy, Jake's little
sister. It took me a minute." Tye reached forward spontaneously and
enclosed Amy in a hug.

"Oh,
Tye, I’m so glad you’re back with Jake ―"

She
pulled back. "Hold on Amy, I’m not back with Jake, not in the sense
you mean." She drew a deep breath. The thought of belonging to Jake
created all kinds of shivery feelings inside.  "This is only
temporary. I’m his tenant." Tye almost felt amused by the chagrin on
Amy’s face.

"God!
I’m sorry." Amy opened her blue eyes wide and turned down her mouth.
"I remember how romantic it was, you and Jake."

"That
was a long time ago. Now we’re friends." If she said the words
enough, would she start to believe that’s all she felt for him? Tye
wondered.

Amy
cocked an eyebrow. "Friends? You’re as closemouthed as Jake. My
brother doesn't say anything unless he's forced to."

Tye
silently agreed. "How are your sisters, and your mother?" she asked.
She hadn’t asked Jake much about his family. It had felt too personal.

"They’re
fine. With me out of the house Jake’s finally getting a break." Amy
gave her a gamine grin and in a friendly gesture urged her toward the steps
leading from the pool to the lawns below. "As you can see my oldest
sisters, Janice and Luanne are here. Mom and the others live out of state. I
came over to see if you'll join us. There’s plenty of food."

Tye could
see the tables crammed with food, lawn chairs scattered all about. Her stomach
growled.

"You
can even play football if you like."

She
swallowed with difficulty, then said lightly, "Um, thanks. I don't play
football."

"I
remember you used to." Amy bit her lip. "What I meant to say is
it’s a fun get-together." She looked out toward the playing field.

Curious
despite herself, Tye followed Amy down the terraced steps.

"Everyone
is dying to meet you. They’re being polite and giving you space. As you
can guess, I’m not the polite type."

Tye
threw her a quick look. "‘Giving me space?’"

"Jake’s
phrase."

Tye
looked at the other girl with raised brows. Jake had been talking about her to
Amy?

Amy
grimaced. "I kind of walked in on a conversation he was having with
Ben." She tossed her head back, her expression somewhat defiant.

"Jake
thinks I need space?" Tye asked, tongue in cheek.

Amy
caught her teasing smile. "Jake says I don’t think before the words
come out. I know everyone would like to meet you."

"That's
nice of you to say so, but actually I'm right in the middle of an article
I’m writing."

"I
know you went to school for journalism, but I didn’t know you had pursued
writing."

"My
articles all have a rodeo slant. Unless you read those type of publications,
you wouldn’t be familiar with my byline. It’s nice to have that
second income when I’m on the road and the winnings are scarce that
week."

"Can
the article wait?" Amy asked impulsively. "From what Ben's said about
you, I didn't think you’d want to miss a party."

In the
old days she’d never miss a party, Tye ruefully admitted to herself.
"Ben’s been talking too?"

"I
probably know more about your rodeo days than I know about Ben."

Tye
looked out over the flat pasture, fixing her gaze on a lone, scrubby tree against
the horizon. "That sounds like rodeo days, as in past tense." She
felt tension invade her body. Was everyone talking about the mess she had made
of things?

"I
wasn't implying in the past." Amy said, flustered. "I heard Ben
telling Jake about how you planned on returning, as soon as you got
better."

"True,"
Tye said shortly. "I guess the general consensus is I'd have better luck
walking on the moon than returning to rodeo." She ran her fingertips down
her leg.

Amy
placed a slim hand on Tye's arm. "That's not it at all. Jake admires your
determination. Not one of the Miller women is what I'd call adventurous. At the
slightest hint of a problem, we call Jake and let him take care of it."
She let out sigh. "We’ve all taken terrible advantage of my brother.
I think he’s never married because we’ve made so many demands on
him over the years he hasn't had the time. What woman would tolerate that? I
guess you figured that out a long time ago, Tye."

She
quickly shook her head, but then nodded. "When Jake and I split, I was
just about your age." Memories flooded her. She had been so young. She
confessed, "I was very full of myself, and it’s true ― Jake
had so much responsibility." She let her voice trail off, seeing the keen
interest in Amy’s eyes. "It wasn’t meant to be."

"If
you say so," Amy said slowly. "But we’ve all made demands on
Jake. It’s time it ended."

"Is
Jake’s seeing anyone?" After the words were out Tye couldn’t
believe she’d said them.

"Jake's
really closemouthed about his personal life, but I know he hasn’t been
seeing anyone for a while. I’ve noticed he's been different the last few
months."

"How?"

"Jake’s
life is predictable. I have to say it ― dull. I remember when Dad got
sick and Jake gave up football. Everyone accepted that he’d take on
responsibility for the family. We all benefited from the way he's made a
success of the business, but enough is enough. My brother needs a life."

Tye knew
she had added to Jake’s problems by leaving all those years ago. Should she
have stayed? Jake had had all that responsibility and no one to share it with.
Who had been there for him? Tye felt ill, but she had to find out more.

"How
do your sisters feel about Jake’s lack of a social life?"

"They've
never had a reason to rock the boat." Passionately, Amy continued,
"It's time Jake thought about himself. That’s why I moved out,
though I wouldn’t tell him that. He’s making a name for himself
with his wildlife carvings, and it’s something he really enjoys.
Otherwise he seems to go along in the same routine ― no distractions or
deviation from a set course. Get the picture?"

Tye
cringed inwardly. She had implied he was boring the previous day. She gazed out
at the playing field, picking Jake out easily from the other players.
"Jake’s always been dependable. Family is very important."

"But
now we can take care of ourselves. I’ve told my sisters to let their
husbands tackle their problems. I worry about Jake being alone. Not that he
appreciates me saying so."

Tye
could understand that.

"My
brother needs someone to love him passionately, above all else."

Tye had
loved him, but obviously not enough. She hadn’t been ready to commit to
marriage. Jake had talked about babies.

"These
last months he's been distracted, which is not Jake. He's always on top of
everything. When I was a kid it was darned unnerving. Even the family agrees
Jake is not acting like himself."

"And
by that you mean in a predictable way?"

"Right."

Tye
watched Jake intercept a pass. He leaped unbelievably high, his arms stretched
upward, the movement pulling his shirt up to expose a width of tanned stomach.
He had a look of such an intense concentration on his face that Tye found
herself holding her breath, releasing it only when he caught the ball and ran
with it. "Do you think Jake offering me this apartment is part of this new
unpredictability?"

"That's
Jake's normal generosity. I'm talking about when his picture turned up in the
papers that night. You know." Amy stopped suddenly and bit her lip.

"Jake's
picture?" Tye asked faintly. She had an intense need to know more. She had
seen only one paper. She hadn’t asked about others.

"The
night you got hurt, Jake was there. As far as I know Jake hadn’t been to
a rodeo since you and he split."

A few
more steps brought them closer to the food table. Curious despite herself, Tye
followed Amy as she reached over and grabbed a handful of chips from a basket.
"I'm not surprised Jake reached you first. He takes charge."

Tye
clenched her hands together. Jake had gotten to her first? It was still a blur.

"He's
been taking care of us so long it's second nature by now."

Tye
looked toward the football game in the field. Unbidden, warmth crept over her.
Jake had turned his attentions to her. He thought she needed looking after; she
intended to convince him otherwise.

Tye
watched the game with interest. As Jake ran and shouldered his way past other
players, an odd sensation began inside, an unfamiliar burst of yearning. The
old itch to be in the thick of things caught her by surprise. It almost felt
normal.

"Do
you know why Jake came to that rodeo, Tye?"

Tye
looked back at Amy. "No." She had wondered that same thing herself.
"Jake used to go to rodeos." She accepted a handful of chips, wincing
for Jake as he was grabbed around the knees and pulled to the ground.
Fascinated, she watched as he disappeared beneath a mound of bodies.

Again
she asked herself why Jake had been at the rodeo the night she got hurt.
Vaguely, she recalled his air of calm. She had never depended on anyone to such
a degree. Yet that night she’d felt as if Jake held her life in his
hands.

Casually,
she said, "I think I'm lucky your brother was there. I don't remember
much, but I know he kept me focused."

Amy
stared at her with a pleased smile. "Do you think you'd be interested in
him again?"

Tye
raised her brows in surprise.

"I’ve
always liked you, Tye. I think you'd be good for Jake, loosen him up a
little."

"Well,
thanks for the compliment, I think," she said dryly. "You're an
adult, Amy. You know relationships don't happen like that."

"I’ll
bet Jake went there to see you that night," Amy said stubbornly.

Tye
squashed the hope that rose within her. "No, Jake and I hadn’t seen
each other in years." There had been no contact, though God knows she had tried
to keep the lines of communication open in the beginning. Jake had ignored her
letters, had hung up on her when she phoned, then had gotten an answering
machine. "You’re wrong," Tye repeated.

He
couldn’t have been there to see her. Why now, after all these years??

"Wrong
about what?" Jake's voice came from behind them.

With a
squeal, Amy spun around. Tye turned more slowly, running her gaze over him. His
hair was tousled, and he had a streak of dirt on one cheek, but he didn't look
like he had broken anything under that pile of bodies. Why Jake?
Why were you there that night?