The Cowboy’s Daughter

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “What kind of plan?” he asked, as he pulled up to the ranch’s gate.

  She gave him the code and the rusty doors slowly opened.

  “As you can see the Three Sisters Ranch has seen better days. But the land has so much potential. The southwestern portion is a perfect location for my portrait studio. I’m a photographer. The gorgeous sunsets would make a great background to a bridal party shoot. I also had a few more ideas on picture packages with the local schools and sports teams. Maybe I could string for the local paper. I’m going to take a ton of shots on the Fourth of July.” Kelly started to warm up to the topic. It was better than thinking about how to tell him about Alissa.

  “You can make a living selling pictures?”

  “People are going to pay big money for my shots. My sister Janice, however, thinks the middle section of the ranch would be an excellent women’s retreat—a dudette ranch—where women can learn to rely on themselves and each other.”

  “Really?” he said skeptically.

  “Yes, really. And my baby sister, Emily, thinks that the wildlife on the ranch needs to be studied and preserved, and wants to build a research center for the appreciation of the ranch’s natural beauty.” Kelly managed not to roll her eyes, but scowled when Trent smirked. She could make fun of Emily, but no one else could.

  “That sounds nice.”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure how she’s going to react to Donovan Link, though.”

  “Link is the hunter?”

  “You know about that?”

  Trent nodded. “Your father was upfront about that when I signed the paperwork six months ago. I’ve only seen pictures of the buildings. It looks nice. My manager said it’s all ready for my bull-riding school. There’s supposedly a barn, a studio and a corral.”

  “You mean that?” Kelly pointed.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s it.” Trent parked. “I’d offer you a tour, but I don’t have the keys.”

  “Six months?” she said numbly. “You signed six months ago?”

  “Thereabouts. Why?”

  “My father lied to get us down here, to get us sparked up to save the ranch.” Kelly shook her head. “I feel like such an idiot. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

  “Maybe at the time he told you, it was true.”

  “He left all of us voice mail messages a week ago that he was selling the ranch.”

  Trent put the car back in gear. “First I’ve heard of it. He still could be selling. As long as my lease is grandfathered in, that wouldn’t change things. I’d just be paying rent to someone else.”

  “No, with the three of us paying rent, that buys him some time. Hell, with your name and talent, you could probably save the ranch single-handedly with the people you bring in.”

  “Whoa, now. I’m not a superhero. I’m just an average guy.”

  “Not around here, you’re not. And certainly not to my father. With you and Donovan, he didn’t need my sisters and me to come home. He wasn’t going to sell. Not right away.”

  “I’m sensing that doesn’t make you happy.”

  Kelly put her hand on the door handle. “I don’t like being misled.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t like it either.”

  Guilt ate at her. Would he think she had misled him? God, her head hurt. She was really regretting the tequila. She paused before she got out of the car. “Sometimes, though, it’s all a misunderstanding, a lack of communication, you know. Sure, you can point a finger of blame but what does that solve?” Kelly laughed nervously and wrung her hands. She wasn’t talking about her father anymore. She was talking about herself. She didn’t want Trent to blame her for not telling him about Alissa. She’d tried, damn it. And damn that stupid manager of his for keeping it from Trent.

  Didn’t anyone tell the truth anymore? At least Billy King had been a stranger. Her own father was playing games with his daughters’ lives. If she let herself dwell on how he’d misled her and her sisters, how his call for help made them drop everything and run to him, she would explode. The ranch might still be in decline, but it wasn’t in any immediate danger. Her parents were not selling. Not this year anyway. What were they up to? Did they even care that Emily wasn’t done with her missionary work or that Janice was so well respected in her field, the dressage competitions asked for her by name?

  Squinting at her, Trent said, “Sounds like you’ve forgiven your father in the space of two seconds. I’m worried you’re going to get whiplash.”

  Kelly rubbed her temples. “I know. Like I said, I’m tired, jet-lagged and now a bit hungover. This has been quite the night.”

  “Sorry you didn’t get to enjoy the buzz a bit more.” He took her hand and kissed her palm.

  Little tingles of joy shot through her.

  “I’d like to see you again. Can I take you out for dinner tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “Sure.” It was going to be impossible to ignore him, with his school being on the same ranch her studio was going to be on. She’d figure out a way to set things right. Just not tonight. Kelly was ready to drop from exhaustion and emotion.

  “Great.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft and persuasive. She didn’t want it to end. Leaning in, she cupped his face as their tongues tangled. She shifted closer when his hand slid up her shirt. Trent rubbed a slow circle over her back. Kelly arched like a kitten being stroked. He was wearing too many buttons on his shirt and her fingers were trembling too hard to undo them. Catching her hand in his, he held it while they kissed.

  When he pulled away, she remained there with her eyes closed, still feeling the imprint of his mouth on hers.

  “You better get inside,” he growled. “Before I turn the car around and take you back to the Bluebonnet Inn.”

  It was tempting. So tempting. Six years ago, she would have done that in a heartbeat. Six years ago, she did. Opening her eyes as that realization hit her, she was trapped by the heated look in his eyes.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, and it sounded like a promise.

  Kelly had to force herself to get out of the car before she did something everyone would regret in the morning—especially her daughter.

  Chapter Four

  Trent realized he never got Kelly’s number last night. Had he learned nothing? He’d been so shocked to see her in the bar, sitting there with her strawberry-blonde hair up in the same sassy ponytail he remembered from his erotic dreams. Holding her against him had made his brain short-circuit so his dick took over and tried to get her to go back to his hotel room. Then she hit him with the fact that she was a Sullivan, and then those kisses messed with his head. He felt like he was back on the circuit again, being bucked and shook all over the place. But for the first time in a long while, he woke up feeling like his old self.

  At least this time, he knew where she lived. Billy was waiting for him in the breakfast nook of the hotel. He was already working on his laptop. Trent grabbed a kolache and an orange juice before joining him at the table.

  “Hey, Billy, do you have the number for the Sullivan ranch or just Frank Sullivan’s cell phone?”

  “The ranch. He never gave me his cell phone.”

  “Give me the number. I’m going to call him.” The waitress came around and poured him a cup of coffee. She was a pretty brunette and her name tag said, Maisie. “Thank you, darlin’.”

  “Sure thing, Trent. Can’t wait to see you at the rodeo next Saturday.”

  “I’m just going to be announcing.” Trent winced when Billy kicked him under the table.

  “Looking forward to it.” She winked and walked away with a sway in her step.

  “You don’t need any distractions like that,” Billy said.

  “That’s the best kind of distraction,” Trent said. “But you’re right. I’ve got other priorities.” One of them was Kelly Sullivan.

  “Good. There’s always going to be women wanting a piece of you.”

  “That’s a heck of an attitude.” Trent drank his co
ffee, feeling the last bit of sleep fall away as the caffeine hit his system.

  Billy grunted. “If you knew how many women I’ve had calling me up with every excuse in the book trying to get close to you, you’d be cynical too.”

  “Yeah, I heard,” Trent said, thinking about what Kelly said last night. It was irritating, but he knew Billy had only his best interests at heart. “Next time, let me decide who I want to talk to or not?”

  “Whatever, stud. You need to concentrate on getting your life back before you go chasing the fillies. Or in this case, letting yourself getting roped like a calf.”

  “I can handle it. Now, do you have Sullivan’s number or not?”

  “I thought you were going to wait until after the rodeo.” Billy looked up from his laptop.

  “Yeah, I decided to see what my money has been building these past few months. I figured I’d give the man a call and introduce myself.” Trent popped the kolache in his mouth. Ooh, that had a little kick. Jalapeno sausage and cheese. He’d been hoping for a fruit-filled one. Oh well, sometimes you get the sweet, and sometimes you get the heat.

  Billy grunted and wrote the number on a napkin and slid it over to him. Trent programmed it into his phone and tucked the napkin into his pocket just in case. “I’ll be right back. If the waitress comes around again, have her fill up my cup.” He washed down the kolache with the rest of his coffee.

  Billy didn’t acknowledge him, but Trent knew he’d heard. They were used to each other, used to living in hotels, motels and one memorable summer, on a tour bus together. After Trent’s mother died, the nights he didn’t spend on the Velasquez’s sofa, he was with Billy. Some days that meant hanging out with Billy’s other rodeo clients. Some days that meant eating stale vending machine crackers on a lumpy hotel bed and sneaking Cinemax after dark when Billy wasn’t in the room.

  They traveled across the country and the PBR took them all over the world. He had ridden bulls throughout North and South America. Most of the towns all meshed together, but the days had been hard and the nights had been wild, full of alcohol and easy sex. Trent was surprised how little he missed those days. But the bull riding? He’d sell his soul for another chance to ride. He dreamed of what he should have done differently that night on Corazon del Diablo. Even though he knew that every ride was different and you couldn’t plan how the bull was going to jump, Trent wanted to try. His body had other plans, however. This morning, he’d been thrilled to lift himself out of the pool without making old man noises.

  He couldn’t remember a time when Billy wasn’t micromanaging him. First it was making him get good grades in school so he wasn’t cut from doing rodeo. Then it was as his manager. Lately, it had been as his nursemaid. It would have chafed, had it been anyone else. But Billy didn’t have any qualms about doing whatever it took to make sure Trent had whatever he needed to survive and prosper.

  Trent remembered one time Billy had even taken a punch for him. Trent had really deserved the punch too, but he’d been scheduled to ride Fury’s Kiss that night. No one had gone eight seconds on that son of a bitch, but the odds were in his favor and he’d been flying high. Trent had been taking pictures with a stacked redhead and one thing led to another. He had no excuse except he was a young eighteen-year-old and she was pretty demanding. She never told him she was married, however. Or that her husband was a bullfighter in the ring that night. Billy had pushed him out of harm’s way and had taken the shot on his shoulder instead of Trent taking it on the chin.

  It was a good thing Trent had taken Fury’s Kiss to the end and jumped off without a scratch, because he wasn’t sure how enthusiastic the husband would have been about protecting Trent if he’d been thrown. Damn that seemed like another life. It could have been another person, for all that remained of that eighteen-year-old boy in Trent now. What would that kid have done if he knew that thirteen years later, he’d be wobbling like an old man and worried about bucking stock?

  He would have laughed in disbelief and sneered.

  What would that kid have done if he’d met Kelly sooner?

  Probably the same damned thing.

  That kid had been an asshole. It helped that even though he couldn’t ride a bull anymore, he had grown up a bit. The last thing he wanted was a string of one-night stands. He knew what he wanted and now that he’d found her, he wasn’t going to let Kelly Sullivan out of his sight.

  Going outside, he dialed Kelly’s parents’ number, feeling like a teenager.

  “Hello?” an older woman’s voice said.

  “Hi, may I please speak to Kelly, ma’am?” Definitely high school.

  “Who is this?”

  Trent paused. He hadn’t expected to be asked that. “My name is Trent Campbell, ma’am.”

  “The bull rider? Why do you want to speak with my daughter?”

  “Mom, give me the phone.”

  He heard Kelly’s voice and a minor scuffle. “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “Good morning, beautiful.” He smiled, picturing her a little sleepy and grumpy.

  “Good morning.”

  “Are you blushing?”

  “No,” she said hotly. “Well, maybe a little.”

  “Did I wake you?” He checked his watch. It was a little past nine, but she’d been jet-lagged. He probably should have waited another hour or so.

  “No, I was up having breakfast. Mom made us blueberry pancakes. My favorite.”

  “Mine too.” He wondered if her fingers were all sticky and if she tasted like maple syrup. He had to adjust himself when his cock swelled at the thought of licking her fingers clean. “How’s your head?”

  “Reminding me that I’m too old for tequila shots.”

  “You’re never too old.”

  “Tell that to my headache.” There was a bit of a pause and he heard her walk away from the din of the kitchen noises. “Thanks for driving me home last night.”

  “Anytime. Hey, about that, how about I swing by there later, and take you to pick up your car?”

  “I’d like that. That’s very kind of you.”

  “We can go to lunch afterward.”

  “Sure.”

  She sounded distracted.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, no that’s okay. I was going to go riding today before it got too hot, but I suppose that can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Why don’t I come over now and we can ride together?” Trent knew he was being pushy, but there was something about her that made him want more.

  “Sure,” she said again, in that forced voice.

  “Unless you have other plans.”

  “No, no, that’s fine. Give me a few minutes. I have to take a shower and get dressed.”

  “Great.”

  Trent went back inside and took a second look at the kolaches. They weren’t marked, so he grabbed another one from a different pile.

  Sitting back down, he was happy to see the waitress had refilled his coffee. He bit into the Czech pastry tentatively. Bingo! Apricot.

  “Any plans today?” Billy asked.

  “I’m going to stop by the Three Sisters Ranch and take a look at the school. Got my keys?”

  Fishing in his pocket, Billy tossed him a PBR key ring with two keys hanging off it. “Do you need me to come with you?”

  “Nope,” he said.

  Billy handed him the schedule of events for the rodeo next week. “Here’s what they want you to do.”

  “Pictures and autographs?” Trent said. “Me?”

  “I’m sure you’ll have a line around the arena.”

  “Hey, I’m going to be a judge for the mutton bustin’.” Trent grinned.

  “And you’re going to be at the ceremony crowning the court.”

  “Piece of cake,” Trent said, downing his cup of coffee.

  “So you’re meeting with Frank Sullivan?”

  “Nope.”

  “No one was home?”

  “I didn’t speak with Frank. See ya later,” he sa
id to Billy, and dashed out of the hotel before Billy could ask him any more questions. He didn’t want to get the “stay focused” lecture from Billy again this morning. Billy had always been hands-on in Trent’s love life and it was starting to chafe. Billy once fired a nurse because he thought she was flirting with him too much. She had been, and Trent hadn’t minded, but Billy didn’t think that was too professional, so out she went.

  On the drive over, Trent came to the awful conclusion that if they were going to go riding, he was going to have to mount and dismount in front of Kelly. Trent hoped his leg was up for it. He didn’t want to make a bad impression on her by falling flat on his ass—or worse. The gate opened as his car approached it, which was a good thing because he had forgotten the code.

  Driving past his new school, he was tempted to check it out. But he was more eager to see Kelly. When he got to the house, he was surprised to see her out front waiting for him. He had barely gotten out of the car, when she grabbed a hold of his arm and tugged him to the barn. “We should get going before my father realizes you’re here. He’ll talk your ear off and we’ll never get rid of him.”

  “I do have to speak to him at some point, but you’re right. This is our day.”

  She looked back over her shoulder and smiled tightly at him.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. She was acting a little strange. “You’re not regretting last night, are you?”

  “What? Why? What happened last night? Oh, you mean the kiss.” Her face softened. “No, I’m not regretting that. I just have a lot on my mind. I’m still processing what you told me last night about my father brokering a deal with you a half a year ago.”

  She guided two horses out of their stalls. One was a beautiful red roan and the other a palomino. She handed him the palomino’s reins. “I don’t know about this,” he said.

  “Should we take the ATV?”

  His hip screamed, YES. His pride said, hell no. “No, it’s just I’m not used to riding a horse that’s prettier than me.”