Cowboy Kind of Reckless

by Becca Turner

  “This used to be farmland.” Nolan nodded at a couple of fast food restaurants across the street. “Luke’s wife and her first husband owned some of it.”

  A weight like a rock formed in Jody’s stomach. “Really?”

  He nodded. “The guy who bought it—stole it from them for almost nothing, really—tried to get Will and Luke to sell the Tumblin’ B.”

  “I heard about that.” As much as she liked the convenience of having restaurants and stores close by, she didn’t want it at the cost of people getting swindled and losing their homes. “I’m glad they didn’t sell it.”

  “We only got lucky because the ass—” He glanced at Casey. “Ah, jerk never made it so far as our place. I’m glad he’s in jail.”

  “Hopefully for a long time.” She squeezed his hand. “What would he have put up on your place? A bowling alley?”

  He shuddered. “Or a water park.”

  “I like water parks.” Casey gave her uncle a puzzled look. “I wish there was one around here.”

  “Not because an unsavory character stole our land from us.”

  Casey wrinkled her nose. “What’s unsavory mean?”

  “It’s the polite way of saying he’s an asshole. Don’t tell your dad I said that or I’m never taking you for ice cream again.”

  Casey didn’t hesitate. “I promise.”

  “Good girl.” Nolan patted her head.

  “I’m not a dog, Uncle Nolan.” She shook her head, tossing dishwater blond hair. “You can’t mess up a girl’s hair!”

  His eyes widened with mock horror. “What is Natalie teaching you? She’s going to turn you into a girl. Not my little tomboy.”

  You can mess up my hair any time. Jody turned her face away from them. The way Nolan interacted with his niece was cute. He’d make a great dad, if he could get a woman to stick with him.

  It couldn’t be her.

  They entered the ice cream shop, but Jody only had a fountain drink. Nolan and Casey shot straw wrappers at one another until the cashier gave them a dirty look.

  “Go pick those wrappers up, Case.” Nolan rolled his eyes. “Kids, right?”

  Jody hid her smile behind her hand. “I’m not sure which one of you is worse.”

  Nolan and Casey gathered the straw wrappers and threw them in the trash can. He stuck the opened straws in his pocket. “I can use these, probably.”

  “Oh, great. A hoarder.” Jody shook her head. “Swiping plastic utensils and napkins and straws. If I open your closet door, a whole bunch of stuff will come pouring out. I’ll drown in souvenirs from your midnight ventures to Taco Bell.”

  Casey giggled. “I’ve seen his closet. It’s not that bad. He even keeps his truck pretty neat.”

  “That’s a relief.” Jody wiped pretend sweat from her forehead. “You never know what kind of weird habits some men have.”

  “Boys can be yucky,” Casey agreed. “Lucky my dad and Uncle Nolan aren’t too weird.”

  “Too weird? I bought you ice cream. You’re supposed to tell Jody I’m the coolest, nicest guy in Oklahoma.” Nolan frowned. “I thought you were my best chance at impressing her.”

  “She’s already here with you. I think you’re doing okay on your own.” Casey looked between them. “And she’s nice too. She’s…different from Tiffany. Not all glued to her phone and her Instagram.”

  Nolan flinched. “Kids. They notice stuff.”

  Casey met Jody’s gaze. “She used to talk about going places all the time. Not rodeo places like Dad and Nolan go to. Real vacation spots with beaches and stuff. Staying at expensive hotels. She’d say, ‘Nolan, let’s go to Cabo. Pleeeaaase?’ And she’d bat her eyelashes. He never took her. Not once.”

  Nolan’s face colored before he looked away. “All right. She gets it.”

  Jody nodded. She twisted her pendant. Did Nolan wish he’d given in and taken Tiffany? She might not have left if he’d agreed to a vacation somewhere exotic once in a while.

  Casey huffed out a breath. “She didn’t even care that him and Daddy won national championships twice. They didn’t do it by flying off to a beach.”

  Her obvious pride made Jody smile. “No, not too many cows on the beach.”

  “Well, Daddy says they have some cows in Hawaii. I guess Uncle Nolan could’ve left Tiffany by the pool while he practiced.”

  Nolan grimaced. “Isn’t she precious? Just talks a mile a minute about the ex-girlfriend. She’s rubbing salt in my wounds and doesn’t even know it.”

  Casey got up to throw away her sundae container. “What’s that mean?”

  “It means I’d rather change the subject. You ready, kid?” He rose from the booth. “You’re probably not tired with that sugar rush from the ice cream, but we’d better get you home.”

  “If we have to.” Said cheerfully as Casey skipped out the door.

  Nolan took Jody’s hand to help her out of the booth. “Sorry about that. I wouldn’t have chosen Tiffany for the topic tonight. I’d just as soon forget about her completely.”

  “Doesn’t sound like Casey was much of a fan.”

  “They got along okay. But the kid’s not wrong. Tiff liked her social media.” He shrugged. “It’s over now.”

  “But it bothers you.” She tightened her hold on his hand. “You miss her, don’t you?”

  “I did at first.” He got the door for her. “I’m ready to move on.”

  I hope so. It’s not fair for you to get stuck pining over two women. “She’s an idiot, just so you know. She’ll never find the kinds of things she had here.”

  “Like what?”

  Jody bumped his shoulder with hers. “You know what.”

  “It’d be nice to hear you say it.” His eyes bore into hers. “Just so I know you know.”

  The kinds of things she couldn’t have. Him, a home, family. The perfect life wrapped up in a neat bow. “I can’t give you what she could’ve.”

  “I didn’t ask that. I’m asking for what you can give me,” he said softly. “If it’s you, then it’s all of you. That’s what I want. The rest can wait. We’ll figure something out.”

  She lowered her gaze. “I wish it was that easy.”

  “Hey, Casey, wait up. Don’t cross the street without us.” Nolan loosen his grip as he took long strides forward to catch up with his niece.

  “Hurry. There’s nothing coming.” Casey bounced on the toes of her tennis shoes. “We can make it if you guys’ll quit—”

  Jody stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. Casey’s words sounded like gibberish in her ears. A moment ago, no cars had been coming, but suddenly a large green SUV rolled toward them. Running slightly under the speed limit as though the driver was looking for something.

  Her breath caught as the SUV slowed even more when it got to the four-way stop. Thanks to the ample street lights, she made out the driver’s face.

  Shock registered on Danica’s features. Her window rolled down.

  “Oh, shit.” Jody spun away.

  Someone honked and she jumped, prepared to run the opposite direction of Danica’s SUV.

  “Jody, where are you—”

  Nolan’s call didn’t stop her.

  She jogged down the sidewalk, into the driveway for the ice cream shop. Headlights temporarily blinded her and she stumbled. The squall of brakes reached her ears a second before the impact of a car sent her flying backward into the ice cream shop parking lot.

  * * * *

  Nolan snagged Casey’s hand, then they ran to the parking lot.

  “What happened? Why did Jody take off?” Casey’s words came out between huffs of air.

  “I don’t know.” He stopped a few feet from Jody, in front of a parked car. “You stay right here. Don’t move.”

  “Uncle Nolan—”

  “Stay.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and her face wrinkled with concern. “Okay.”

  The driver of the car that had hit her was already at Jody’s side. A young woman, freaking ou
t by the frantic sound of her voice. “You’ve got to be all right, lady. I didn’t mean to hit you. You just came out of nowhere.”

  Nolan dropped to his knees beside Jody.

  Her eyes were open, but unfocused. Her skin was pale as flour. She lifted her hand, grabbed his shirt front. “Nolan.”

  At least she could speak. And she remembered his name. “What were you thinking?”

  “I-I need to go.” She struggled to sit up.

  “Stay still. I’m here.” He pulled her hand free of his shirt and held it tightly. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and thrust it at the woman sobbing next to him. “Call 9-1-1.”

  Jody raised her head, then gasped. “Don’t do that. I’m—I’m fine.”

  “Do it,” he snapped at the woman.

  “I’ll get in trouble.” Her voice shook. “It was an accident. I swear I didn’t see her until it was too late.”

  “I don’t care about that. She needs some help.” He turned back to Jody. “Where are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine. Shaken, a little, but not hurt. Will you please let me up? God, this is embarrassing.”

  “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. You didn’t land in the sand in an arena. This is black top.”

  Her elbows were bloody, probably from skidding across the asphalt. From the dazed look in her dark eyes, she might’ve hit her head.

  “Please, Nolan. We’re scaring Casey.” She turned her face toward his niece. “It’s not that bad. I don’t want an ambulance.”

  “Where’d the car hit you?”

  She gestured at her right hip. “It hardly even hurts. I just got the air knocked out of me. I’m better.” She flinched when he ran his hand over her hip and thigh.

  “Oh, yeah? Fine, huh?”

  Jody licked her lips, then shivered. “Bruises. I’m getting oil or antifreeze in my hair. I need to get up. There’s gravel under my back.”

  He worried about shock. “You’re not moving until a paramedic gives the okay. I’ll wash your hair myself later if I have to.”

  Someone handed Nolan a folded jacket. “Try to make her comfortable without letting her move a lot.”

  “Lift your head. Just for a second.” He slid the jacket beneath Jody’s head. “There. Better, right?”

  “Tons,” she muttered before she closed her eyes.

  “Hey, you stay with me. No going to sleep.” He gave her hand a hard squeeze. “I mean it.”

  “You’re so bossy.” Her eyes opened into narrow slits. “I should’ve left you by yourself at Casa Piedra.”

  There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her memory. Just physical injuries. He gritted his teeth as he strained to hear sirens. “Yeah, you got the short end of the stick when you took me home. Hang in there, Jody. Help’s coming.”

  The young woman with his phone was still talking into it. She didn’t seem quite as hysterical. Someone had given her a foam cup full of steaming coffee and she held it in a steady hand.

  He gestured for Casey. She shuffled over with tears on her face.

  Off in the distance, he finally heard a siren.

  Casey looked down at her. “Is Jody gonna be okay?”

  “Jody’s gonna be fine.” Jody managed a smile. “I’ve survived worse than this.”

  “You have?” Casey wiped her cheeks. “Like what?”

  “A tornado, once. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Jody blinked. “God, I’m tired.”

  “You’re doing fine.” She wasn’t even fighting him to get up now. That scared him more than anything. He wiped a smudge of dirt away from her cheek. “We’ll get you checked out and I’ll take you home. We’ll laugh about this later.”

  “Promise me you’re not going to call Will or Luke.” A spark of stubbornness flared in her eyes. “I don’t want them worried.”

  “Okay, I promise.” Except he planned to break that promise the second he had his phone back. They deserved to know she was hurt.

  “I don’t believe you. Casey, your uncle’s fibbing.” Jody’s eyes slid closed again.

  Casey chewed on her lower lip. “Maybe I should call Daddy.”

  Nolan nodded. “You can do that, baby. Make sure to tell him we’ll meet him at the hospital so he can take you home, okay?”

  A little anxiety drained away when an ambulance pulled into the parking lot although the annoying whine of the siren and the bright beams of pulsing light gave him goosebumps. He clung to Jody’s hand as the EMTs left the van.

  “There they are. Everything’s going to be fine now.”

  She met his gaze and the red and blue lights reflected in her eyes, but she didn’t look like she believed him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nolan sat at Jody’s bedside in the ER cubicle while she pressed an icepack to the lump on her head. Her eyes were closed, but her face had regained some color. Even so, she looked fragile with her tangled hair and dirt-smudged face.

  He’d paced in the waiting room while the hospital staff ordered x-rays and a CT scan. Started to call Luke half a dozen times before he finally broke his promise and let her brother know where she was. She’d be pissed when they got here, but he’d deal with it then. She hadn’t offered any explanation about why she’d run from the four-way to the parking lot.

  He braced his elbows on his knees, folded his hands together, and rested his chin on them. They were still waiting for the results from the CT scan, but the x-rays hadn’t revealed any broken bones. The bruises he’d seen on her hip and her back were already turning purple and looked like hell. But Jody hadn’t complained. If anything, she’d seemed to accept her misery with the attitude that she deserved it.

  His phone, balanced on the chair arm, vibrated once. A text from Austin letting Nolan know he’d made it home safely with Casey. He answered briefly, telling his brother they were still waiting on a test, but that Jody was resting.

  A nurse pushed a cart through the doorway. Cute, petite, blonde, and perky, the nurse gave Nolan a smile. “Hi. How’s she doing?”

  Jody opened one eye. “She thinks she’s going to live. Dying can’t possibly hurt this bad.”

  The nurse frowned. “I can get you something for the pain.”

  “A beer should cut it in half. Make it two. One for my head.” Jody attempted a smile, but it fell quickly.

  “I think your doctor would prefer we try Tylenol first. I can grab that for you after we do the ultrasound, okay?”

  “Ultrasound?” Nolan’s heart skipped a beat. He leaned forward. “What for?”

  Jody’s brow wrinkled. “I already told them there’s no way I’m pregnant. I don’t have the parts.”

  The nurse looked between them. “No, not for that. It’s for your breast. They picked up a lump when they did the x-ray.”

  The world seemed to dip. Nolan was thankful he was sitting. “What?”

  The color leached out of Jody’s face again. “Oh. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not.”

  “Maybe I should get the doctor?” The nurse sent a worried look at Nolan.

  “No, please don’t.” Jody struggled to sit up against her pillows. The monitor on her other side showed her heart rate spiking. “I knew about it. It’s not a big deal.”

  The nurse looked doubtful. “I’ll be back in a minute. Try and relax. I’ll get that Tylenol for you too.”

  Nolan rose, although his knees felt mushy. “What do you mean you knew about it? What is it?”

  “None of your business.” She lowered the ice pack to her lap. “I’m not talking to you about it, okay? Sit down and be quiet or leave.”

  “Jody, talk to me. You already scared the hell out of me once tonight. I think I deserve some answers.”

  “We’re not together like that. I don’t have to tell you anything.” Her knuckles whitened around the icepack. “You should go home.”

  “Not a chance.” He pried the ice pack out of her hands. “Did you already talk to a doctor about the lump?”

  She stared at him, her mouth in
a tight line.

  He didn’t need her answer to know the truth. “You’re sick, aren’t you?” Saying the words made his head spin. “How long have you known? Why haven’t you done anything about it? Are you crazy?”

  “I told you I couldn’t stay with you.” Her voice cracked on the last word. Tears filled her eyes, but she held them back. “I told you not to fall in love with me.”

  The oxygen in the room seemed thin. He dropped into the chair again. “You’re gonna do something now, right? You’re not letting it kill you.”

  It all made sense. Her refusal to get to know her brothers better. Her excessive drinking and bad attitude. How she never seemed to eat much and she’d lost weight. How she’d practically given Splash to Luke. Her repeated attempts to tell him they could never be together for long.

  “Nobody sticks around forever,” she muttered.

  “That’s insane, Jody. You let them do the ultrasound and whatever else they have to do. You’re not letting this get you. I’m not letting it. I care about you too much for that.” He balled his fists. “You don’t get to quit. What about your brothers and your nephew? You think they want to find out you gave up without a fight?”

  “I’m tired of fighting.”

  The woman in the bed looked like she’d already given up. She was the exact opposite of the spirited woman he’d come to love.

  “Don’t say that.” He rose again, then took her hand. “You have a lot of fighting left to do. A bunch of it with me.” His vision blurred with tears. “Maybe it’s nothing bad. Isn’t there a chance it’s only a lump? Something that could go away on its own or…a surgeon could take it out and you’d be okay.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Typically tile and bootheels didn’t make it easy for anyone to sneak around, but Nolan hadn’t heard Luke approach.

  Jody stared at her half-brother like a deer caught in the headlights. Her face flushed as she glared at Nolan, then jerked her hand away. “You said you wouldn’t call him.”

  “They have a right to know. You’re their sister.”

  Her mouth pinched and she turned the stink-eye on Luke. “Where’s the rest of the clan?”