The Cowboy’s Daughter

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Oh no.” Kelly sank into a chair. “What’s that crazy idiot doing?”

  “Shh,” Janice said.

  “What brought you out of retirement?” Lana looked about as happy as Kelly felt. Her lips were tightly pressed together and she was tense.

  Trent, on the other hand, was all good-old-boy charm. “A lot of things. This is going to be Corazon del Diablo’s last ride. I’ve arranged for a few perks for myself and my family if I can stay on his back for eight seconds.”

  “Like what?”

  “Ernesto Chavez is going to give me some sperm for my breeding stocks.”

  “What breeding stocks?” Frank grumbled despite himself.

  “You’re going to raise bulls now?” Lana asked.

  “I’ve got a bull-riding school and I plan on being there for a long time.”

  “The hell you will,” Frank muttered.

  “I might as well see about raising some bulls for my future students to challenge themselves on.”

  “What are you going to do with the three-million-dollar purse if you manage to go eight seconds on the bull who ended your career five years ago?”

  “I’m going to buy a cattle ranch in my hometown of Last Stand, Texas.”

  Janice turned off the television.

  “Hey, I was listening to that,” Frank said.

  “I’ve got to stop that fool,” Kelly said. “Mom, can you watch Alissa?”

  “Yes, go,” she said.

  “Stop him? He’s the answer to our prayers. Let him ride the bull, buy the ranch, and make good on his promise to be a good father,” Frank said.

  Kelly turned on him with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to hear one word from you about being a good father.”

  “Kelly,” her mother said, shocked. “Now, is not the time.”

  “Now, is exactly the time and it should have come five years ago.” She whirled back to her father and forced herself to utter the words she knew she had to say. He looked old and frail, and his natural orneriness was muted by the Johnny coat he wore. “You were wrong to throw me out of the house when I was pregnant.” She turned to her mother. “And you were wrong to let him.”

  “Kelly,” Janice said. “I agree this is a long time coming, but not now. Not like this.”

  “You were wrong not to tell me who Alissa’s father was,” Frank countered.

  “You’re not helping,” Janice said to her father.

  Why did she think this was going to be easy? Kelly took a deep breath. “I agree.”

  He blinked, startled. Then he frowned and looked down at his hands. “I shouldn’t have let you go to New York.”

  Some of the tension left her spine. This was progress.

  “I’m sorry too,” Sarah said. “I knew in my heart it wasn’t right. But we had hoped you wouldn’t go through with moving to New York. Or that you’d turn right around and come back. Had I known how long you’d stay away, I wouldn’t have allowed you to go.”

  Kelly gave a small snort. “I don’t think you could have stopped me. I inherited his temper.” The apologies were good to hear. She could feel cracks in the long-held hurt that had been boarded up inside her. It didn’t make anything suddenly better, but she felt it was a step in the right direction.

  “All right,” she said quietly. “I love Trent. I have always loved Trent. I always will love Trent. He is my daughter’s father and I want to spend the rest of my life with him, if he’ll have me.”

  “He better,” Frank growled.

  “Dad,” she warned. “He’s a good man, who is about to risk his life for us. To save your ranch. I’m going to stop him. He might get hurt really bad. What if this time, that bull puts him in a wheelchair? What if…” She choked up. “What if it kills him? The ranch can burn down and wither for all I care. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get within ten feet of that bull. And if you can’t accept that, then this is it for us.”

  “You giving me an ultimatum this time, little girl?” He squinted up at her with some of his usual meanness in his expression.

  “You’re damned right I am.”

  They glared at each other while Janice and her mother held their breaths.

  “Fine. Stop that idiot from riding. He should have told me he wanted to breed bulls. I know a guy who…”

  “I’ve got to go, Dad.” She kissed him on the cheek and flew back out to the waiting room.

  Alissa was thankfully still engrossed with her game.

  “Honey, stay with Auntie Emily and MeMaw. I’ve got to go find Trent.”

  “Will he bring me another stuffie?”

  “We’ll see.”

  After hurrying down to the car, she tore out of the hospital and sped back to the Three Sisters Ranch. Trent wasn’t in the studio and it was locked up tight. Why had she insisted on going back to New York City? It seemed so stupid right now. Of course, she could get an apartment in Last Stand or in a neighboring town. She could still have her Texas photo studio. The only excuse she had was that her father had tied her up in knots. And he was never going to do that again.

  She would move out of the ranch house and get her own place. But it was going to be near Trent. She owed it to Alissa—she owed it to all of them—to try to be a family.

  She called his phone, but it kept ringing. No voice mail. No nothing. She got a curious case of déjà vu. Kelly called Billy King and sagged in relief when he answered.

  “Billy, I need to talk to Trent.”

  “He can’t have the distraction right now,” Billy said sadly.

  “I don’t want him to do this. Tell him he doesn’t have to ride that bull. We’ll find another way. Please, Billy, please. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

  “He ain’t listening to me.”

  “He might listen to me. Please put him on the phone.”

  “He’s not with me. I’m not sure where he is.”

  “But he will call you eventually, right? Tell him to call me.”

  “Kelly, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to say this or if you’ll even believe me. But he asked me not to tell him if you called. He said he’ll call you after the event.”

  “When is the event going to be?”

  “We’re still hammering out the details, but it’s going to be soon.”

  “Will you let me know when you find out?”

  “He asked me not to tell you.”

  She held back a sob, by sheer force of will.

  “But when I know for sure, I’ll let you know,” Billy said grudgingly. “I owe you.”

  “Thank you,” Kelly whispered. It seemed like it was the day for long overdue apologies.

  She drove down to the ranch house on the off chance he was there. But he wasn’t. She did see Donovan Link talking with Nate and she went over to them.

  “Hey, have you guys seen Trent?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Nate said. “He brought Flower over for us to look after. He’s on his way to the airport.”

  “Airport?”

  “He says he’s headlining in Madison Square Garden sometime next week for a last-minute event. Do you know what that badass son of a bitch is going to do?” Nate asked.

  “He’s going to get himself killed,” she said. “Unless, I can stop him.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trent could hear the crowd from backstage as the fans poured into the seats. He was the main event, and he had a good hour before his ride. He wanted a bottle of whiskey in the worst way. Michael was almost as excited as he was. Trent wished he was as confident in his ride as Michael was. He and Lana had backstage passes and Trent had introduced them around to the other riders and bullfighters.

  Trent had spent the last week and a half doing publicity stunts, going on talk shows and being photographed and interviewed. Corazon del Diablo was put through almost the same gauntlet. They had bull riders coming in from all over the world at the last minute to get on the ticket. It was a sold-out show.

  His fucking leg ached. His hip felt scrambled fro
m the flight and the media circus. He was chewing on Tylenol like they were Skittles.

  The hardest knife ill-used doth lose its edge.

  Things must be grim if he was bringing out the Shakespeare.

  Now that Lana had finished up her interview with him, he was going to head down to the arena floor in a few minutes. He wanted to drink in everything. Win or lose, Trent knew this would be his last rodeo. It felt good to have made that decision instead of having it taken from him. He could handle the pain. If he expected it, it wouldn’t be too bad. More poetry lines rattled around in his head, but they flickered by too fast for him to hang on to.

  “We’ll see you down there,” Lana said and tried to kiss him.

  He turned his head and she got his cheek. She rubbed her lipstick off it with her thumb. “I wish things were different,” she said.

  “It is what it is.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Lana turned to go, holding Michael’s hand. “But if you change your mind, let me know.”

  “You got it,” he said.

  As they left, he was expecting Billy to come in. He wasn’t expecting Kelly. She launched herself into his arms and kissed him. He didn’t even consider turning away. He had missed holding her. Her sweet lips and honey taste were a balm to his rioting nerves. With her here, everything clicked into place. When the intensity of the kiss got to the point that clothes were going to start coming off, he forced himself to break away and put some distance between them.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Where’s Alissa?”

  “She’s with my sisters back home. Don’t you ever not take my calls again.”

  He grinned. “Sorry.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I needed you not to try and talk me out of this.”

  “Too bad, because that’s what I’m here to do.” She sank to her knees. “Do you want me to beg?”

  “Get up.” He hauled her to her feet. “Stop it.” The last thing he needed was his crazy body reacting to her on her knees right now.

  “You’re going to get hurt and I don’t want that.”

  He thumbed away a fat tear that coursed down her cheek. “Yeah, I’m going to get hurt. I’m going to be in agony for eight seconds. And then I’m going to be three million dollars richer. I’m going to buy the Three Sisters Ranch and build you a house on the land. It’ll be yours to stay in with Alissa until you invite me to move in. And I’m giving you the deed. No one will be able to throw you out of that house. And if I don’t stay on for eight seconds, I still get enough to make an offer on the ranch’s mortgage. Things will take a little more time, but you and your family won’t have to worry about a thing.”

  She took a deep, shuddering breath. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll stay in Last Stand. I’ll stay with you, if you want. Just please don’t ride that bull. It’s not just going to be eight seconds of agony.”

  “I can’t put anything past you. Yeah, I’ll be in a world of hurt after tonight. But it’ll be worth it.” He hugged her again. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. I’ll do anything if you don’t ride tonight.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” he lied easily.

  “I wonder if Lane Frost said that.”

  That was dirty pool, bringing up the bull rider who’d died from his injuries. They’d made a movie about him called 8 Seconds. Trent wasn’t looking to die and he sure didn’t want a movie being made about him. This was about the money, and if he was being honest with himself, it was for his ego as well.

  Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

  Trent hugged her tighter. “I’m not going to die. Every bullfighter in the arena is going to be concentrating on getting me clear. And I can’t back out now, even if I want to—which I don’t,” he assured her when she looked up at him with hope in her beautiful brown eyes. “There’s a sold-out arena there waiting for me.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re enjoying this.”

  “You’re damned right I am. I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I’d have done this for nothing.”

  “You’re certifiably crazy.” Kelly held on to him like she would never let go. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “You’re going to come down to the announcer’s table and have a front-row seat. You’re going to cheer me on, and then afterward, we’re going to get drunk and make love all night long.”

  “That’s pretty optimistic,” she said. “What’s the worst-case scenario?”

  “You ride in the ambulance with me and force-feed me soup for a few weeks while my bones knit back together.”

  She sighed. “For better or for worse, huh? Usually you have to be married to promise to stick with someone like this.”

  “I’m working on it,” he said. “Be patient. I need a little more time.”

  She punched him in the chest. “Ow.” Kelly shook her hand. “Stop making fun of me.”

  “The vest is made to stop a bull’s kick, but if you want to hit me again, go ahead by all means.”

  Poking him in the chest, she said, “If you get hurt, Alissa will cry.”

  “Now, you’re playing dirty.”

  “I just want you to know what the stakes are.”

  “I know,” he sighed and slid an arm around her. “I do know the stakes. But with you here, I feel like I can do anything. I love you, Kelly Sullivan.”

  “You better be all right. You can’t say something like that and not be all right.” Her voice shook.

  “Of course, I’ll be all right. I’ve got you and my daughter waiting for me.” Trent kissed her as long as he dared.

  “I love you, you idiot,” she said, not bothering to hide her tears as she went to the announcer’s table.

  The grin slid off his face as he watched her walk away. This was it. The stakes were high. He needed to get his head in the arena. Trent needed to face the bull, now. Corazon del Diablo was going to let him stay on, for at least eight seconds.

  Boldly they rode and well.

  Into the jaws of Death.

  Into the mouth of Hell.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kelly wanted to be a coward and not watch, but she couldn’t do that to Trent. And she really wanted to see that bull go down. With her nails digging half-moons into her palms, she watched the gate in tense anticipation.

  The crowd must have been screaming, the music blaring, but she couldn’t hear anything over the roaring in her ears. Please. Please. Be all right. The chemical smell of the pyrotechnics combined with fresh-popped popcorn and horse manure. Her mouth felt like she’d swallowed a bunch of pennies and her chest felt tight. This was not okay. This wasn’t like the fun bull-riding events she had always looked forward to. This was way too real. Those bulls were enormous and the ground unforgiving and hard.

  The gate slammed open and her heart hammered fast in panic. No. Not yet. She wasn’t ready. But everyone else was. Corazon del Diablo flew out of the chute. He might be past his prime, but he wasn’t a pushover. A couple of hops and a skip to the left, the bull twisted and turned in the air. Trent seesawed back and forth on top of the crazed animal. She wished she could see his face, but the helmet he wore obscured it. He was halfway through. The bull spun to the right and kicked up, nearly bucking Trent off. Throwing back his head, the bull spun in a dizzying circle, seeming to levitate before crashing down to earth.

  The buzzer sounded.

  Holy hell, he’d done it.

  The last buck from Corazon del Diablo was a final fuck you and Trent went airborne. Hitting the ground wrong, his leg folded up under him. Corazon’s back hooves missed his forehead by inches and the entire length of the bull spun over him as he continued to hop and kick. Two bullfighters were on the bull and two were on Trent. They were crowded in so tight, she couldn’t see what was going on. Then, Corazon del Diablo head butted a bull rider a full ten feet across the arena. Trent was being half-dragged, half-walked out and luckily th
e bull didn’t look twice at him.

  “Come with me,” Lana said, suddenly at her elbow.

  Startled, Kelly hurried after her. Lana used her press pass to get them through the throngs of people. While Lana elbowed her way through, Kelly ducked and weaved until she was next to Trent’s stretcher. Security was going to take her away, but Billy waved them off.

  “She’s with us.”

  “Hey,” Trent said, forcing a smile even though his face was gray with pain. He reached out his hand and she clutched it with both of hers.

  “You idiot,” she said.

  “I love you, too.” He winced as the paramedics pushed the stretcher through the crowd to the waiting ambulance.

  “You’re going to need X-rays, but I think your hip survived the impact. That leg though…” The EMT shook his head.

  Trent’s face was sweaty and his breathing shallow.

  “You did it,” Kelly said, hoping that he hadn’t injured himself permanently.

  “Tell Alissa it doesn’t hurt at all,” he whispered.

  “I will.” She kissed him on the forehead.

  When they lifted him into the ambulance, he cried out and then lost consciousness.

  Chapter Twenty

  “I swear if you don’t stop trying to walk without your cane, I’m going to make you and my father share the same room,” Kelly threatened, coming into his private room in the rehabilitation center. She tossed her keys on the bureau and shook her head in disgust. He wondered which nurse had tattled on him.

  “Yeah,” Alissa admonished. “King me.” She pushed her checker to the last square on the opposite end of the board. She was sitting cross-legged on his bed, being careful not to jostle his bad side. They had set up the game on a mobile table that fit over the bed. Alissa divided her time between playing the game and reading on her tablet. The little stuffed bull he’d brought back from New York was sitting between them. The plane ride from New York to Texas had been agony, but it was worth it to be here with her. Trent would never get enough of looking at his daughter.

  “Billy was telling me you’ve got a couple of endorsement deals in process.”