Rodeo Blues (9 page)

His gaze swept over his reluctant wife. She
must have gone home to change. She wore a sundress now and cowboy
boots with blue and peach stained leather to accent the flower
design. Her long hair was swept into a loose braid draping behind
her back and her tan lightweight cowboy hat sat nice and pretty
upon her head, but he'd like nothing more than to remove it, draw
her close, and kiss her proper. Somehow, he managed to keep his
hands to himself.

"I won't pretend I don't know your motive for
speaking to the man," he told her, "but what's the rush, Jolie?
This is only the first day of the rodeo. Why don't we see where
this goes? Let me take you out to dinner, just you and me. We used
to be able to talk to each other. Perhaps we can find our way back
to...being friends." He liked that and he hoped she would to. He
held his breath as he waited for her to answer, praying she
wouldn't shoot him down on the first go.

"Do you really believe chats over dinner will
make up for the years you were gone?"

"No, but I'd like to start somewhere. Just
give me a chance."

She chewed on her lower lip as she stared at
him with those oh so stormy colored eyes. Finally, she granted him
an answer he could live with. "Okay, dinner. We'll talk."

His lips slid into a wide grin.

"And that's all!" she shot at him before he
could say more. "Don't think we're tumbling into bed again."

He chuckled. "No sex, huh? See, we're already
acting like a married couple." He leaned down and brushed a kiss
against her cheek before she could come back with a retort. "I'll
pick you up at seven-thirty, Mrs. Casper." He strode away with a
snap to his step, but he could feel her heated gaze burning a hole
in his back. She hadn't agreed to remain married, but she opened
the door for the possibility.

Yep, he could definitely work with a
maybe.

Chapter Twelve

It took a second for Tye's words to register
in Jolie's mind. One little brush of his lips – on her cheek, no
less – and she couldn't see straight. He called her
Mrs.
Casper
and didn't that just sound right to her ears, she
thought on a sigh, but then shook her head. "Get your head out of
the clouds," she murmured, but the memories of the boy she fell in
love with came to the forefront, clear and untarnished.

She fell in love with Tye when he was a mere
boy. She understood this all too well now. She'd only been a girl
herself, a young woman who had yet to find herself. They'd both
grown in the time he'd been away, not just physically, but also
emotionally. She couldn't be swept away by memories of how she once
loved Tye. That boy didn't exist anymore, and the man who rode into
town was no more than a stranger to her.

But you married him
anyway
, her nasty little conscience whispered in her ear.
"Shut up," she said out loud and glanced over her shoulder to see
if anyone heard her talking to herself. Luckily, no one had. Tye
had only been back in town a day and he was already driving her
crazy.

Her cell phone vibrated in the pocket of her
sundress, and she retrieved it. Her daddy... "Time to face the
music." Only she didn't like what the band was playing. Her gaze
caught sight of the white medical tent in the field just to the
left of the arena. A large red cross was painted on each side of
the tent to make sure there wasn't any confusion where to go if
anyone needed medical attention.

Her father, Dr. Lockhart had a doctor's
office in town, been in practice for almost forty years. He
volunteered his services every year at the rodeo.

The phone was still buzzing and her daddy's
smiling face was looking back at her on her cell phone. Only she
knew he wouldn't be smiling when she spoke to him in person. She
didn't answer, but slipped the phone into her pocket. She needed
this conversation to be in person.

There was no way she could make her marriage
to Tye sound like it was the best thing she'd ever done. Her daddy
would see right through that lie.

Her phone buzzed again as she ducked inside
the tent. Her father lowered his phone when he caught sight of her.
She'd inherited her mahogany tresses from him, though his full head
of hair was streaked with gray now. He wore a white coat over his
dress shirt and slacks despite the heat outside. The tent was
situated near a generator and there were lights, and a cooling
system in place to keep the tent comfortable. A water pump was
attached to the sink, and the supplies were in order inside the
cupboards – everything necessary to run a minor medical facility.
The examining table stood as the focal point of the tent, but there
were fold up chairs lined against one side of the canvas, and a
desk toward the back. Her daddy tended scrape knees and elbows,
busted lips from fistfights, and people who needed fluids because
they didn't drink enough water, while they enjoyed their day in the
sun. Most people didn't realize alcohol dehydrated them. They
needed water in this heat. If anyone suffered from a major injury,
the person would be taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital and tended
there.

"Thought perhaps you were ignoring me," her
daddy said in a steady voice as he gazed at her over the rim of his
glasses, making her curious. She expected him to be angry with her,
not this…not this look of concern.

"I'm fine." She chewed on her lower lip and
tried to think of how she should spin this, so it didn't sound like
she was a complete idiot?

"No bumps on the head?" her daddy asked. "No
loss of memory?"

"No," she said with a frown.

"Then why in God's name did you go and marry
the boy who broke your heart?"

Now this was the reaction she expected from
him.

"I wish I knew. Truly, I wish I had a good
answer to why I would do such a fool thing, but," she lifted her
hands palm up and shrugged, "I don't have one."

He pursed his lips. His gaze lingered on her
hand and she realized she had yet to take the cherry stem ring off
her finger. It was thick and knotted so tightly, and she… Heck, she
didn't know why she still wore the darn thing. She lowered her hand
and hid it behind her back.

"I thought it was purely a fanciful rumor
that you married Tye Casper," her daddy said. "He didn't ask me for
your hand and he didn't even bother to buy you a proper ring."

She opened her mouth to defend Tye, but
promptly closed it again. She wouldn't tell him how Tye carefully
put this ring together with a promise for the real deal as soon as
Mr. Gallagher opened his jewelry shop come Monday morning.

Once she downed the pain relievers this
morning, and her head had cleared, bits and pieces of last night's
event kept intruding on her thoughts like long forgotten memories.
Her daddy pointing out the ring with such disgust prompted the
memory of how Tye looked at her when he placed the cherry stem ring
on her finger with such love, such hope, such promise for a
future... At that moment, his pledge of forever proved better than
diamonds. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. She actually
remembered thinking that.

"I'm sorry," she said for a lack of anything
else to say.

"There's no need to be apologizing to me. You
did this to yourself."

"I know…I… Last night… It shouldn't have
happened."

"But it did," her daddy said with a sigh.

"We're going to fix it." She nodded and stood
up straighter.

"We?"

She met his gaze. "Tye and I are going to see
Mayor Dirkly and have him give us an annulment."

He pursed his lips again.

Wasn't that what he wanted to hear?
She would end this farce of a marriage. Tye would leave town, and
she would go back to her life.

"I'm going to have to have a word with Mayor
Dirkly," her daddy said. "Giving out marriage licenses and
annulments as if this here town were one of those chapels in Las
Vegas."

She didn't bring up the fact Mayor Dirkly
wouldn't give them the annulment so easily, or the fact she didn't
believe Las Vegas gave out annulments as easily as they allowed
marriages to take place.

"I have to get back to my booth," she said.
"To give Whisper a break. She's been out there all day," she added,
as if she needed to make an excuse. "Just wanted to let you know I
was okay."

Her daddy leveled his gaze on her. "You say
you're fine. I'm pleased to think so, but nothing is ever so
simple, is it? Though I have my doubts about Tye Casper, with the
way he stole you away without so much as a proper courting, and
didn't give me a chance to walk you down the aisle, I still want to
know."

Her brows furrowed. "Know what?"

"Did the boy come back a man?"

Chapter Thirteen

Tye watched the competition as it unfolded.
So far no one had beat his score, but this was only the first day.
They still had tomorrow's event where they took their turn on the
bulls again. Just like this morning, they would draw names from a
bowl. The bulls' name they picked would be the animal they rode for
the event.

The arena was being cleared for the next
entertainment for the onlookers. The sun shone overhead, the heat
of the day at its peak. He remembered the summer days…and nights
when he lived here. They could be unbearable at times during the
summer, but nothing a little swim in the pond wouldn't cure. Jolie
and he spent a lot of time there. Not just swimming, but talking
and sharing their thoughts, anything from what they planned to eat
for dinner to something more profound as to what they wanted to do
with the rest of their lives.

Jolie had wanted to open her own business and
sell souvenirs. She would put together intricate wind chimes with
bits of glass and other odds and ends. The breeze would catch what
dangled free, bumping them together in a sweet song the wind could
carry. She'd given him one for his fourteenth birthday. He still
had it too. Her dream of opening a shop had come true anyway. He
didn't know about the wind chimes. Perhaps she sold those as
well.

He gazed at the crowd in the stands. There
were numerous families enjoying the day outdoors, the sounds of
their laughter and chatter reaching him. He wanted what they had, a
family to share the day. He wanted a good woman at his side. He
wanted to share hopes and dreams for the future with Jolie.

He glanced toward where Jolie had headed
earlier, most likely to her store's booth. He was about to head
that way, but caught sight of Jhett Reeves making his way toward
him. There was nothing like seeing an old rival to put a damper on
the day.

"Hey, Tye, my old friend," Jhett called to
him as he drew near.

Tye pushed away from the railing and his
hands balled into fists on their own accord. Jhett and he had never
been friends. Reeves believed he was better than most because his
granddaddy built the town – literally. Thomas Franklin Reeves had
strolled into town and made a name for himself by starting his own
business. His son, Thomas Junior, and now Jhett controlled Reeves
Construction.
Not for long,
Tye thought,
and his hands relaxed. There were other ways to throw a punch
without breaking knuckles.

"So, the prodigal son returns." Jhett's voice
grated on his nerves, as did his superficial smile. "I don't see
any welcome home dinners for you," Jhett added as a dig. He really
hated when men paraphrased biblical passages and twisted them to
suit their mood. Jhett liked to use such phrases as digs.
Sometimes, not even in the right way.

"Is there something you want, Jhett?" he
asked and returned the same superficial smile.
Yep, right back at you, Jhett,
he thought to himself.
You won't be showing your pearly whites much
longer. Better find yourself a good hanky, 'cause you'll be cryin'
yourself to sleep for losing your families' legacy.