Her Cowboy Billionaire Bull Rider: An Everett Sisters Novel (Christmas in Coral Canyon Book 5)

by Liz Isaacson

  “I’m not lying. He’s staying here at the lodge with me, and he got hurt, and I kissed him.” Giddiness pranced through her. She couldn’t believe she’d held onto this secret for as long as she had. But she’d been busy at the hospital, or preparing to go to the hospital.

  “He’s like, the richest bull rider in history,” Rose said. “I read he was in Coral Canyon. I guess I just didn’t think your paths would cross.”

  “Well, they did,” Vi said, leaving the frosting in the windowsill. “And now I’m taking care of him, and I have no idea what I’m doing. Oh, Rose, what if I mess this up?”

  “Why would you mess this up?”

  Vi thought about how she’d “helped” Todd get in bed. “I need to call a nurse to come help him,” she said. “What if I hurt him? Or he doesn’t heal right? Or—”

  “Vi, take a deep breath,” Rose said.

  Vi listened to her younger sister, and drew in a long, deep breath. “Okay. I can do this.”

  “Start at the beginning,” Rose said. “He got hurt?”

  Vi told her the whole story, and when she finished, Rose said, “Wow.”

  That was all.

  “Yeah,” Vi said.

  “Yeah, you better start with the videos. Or hire someone for him. After all, you don’t want to hurt him.”

  Vi rolled her eyes and asked, “Who were you out with?”

  “Oh, no one interesting,” Rose said, a definite hint of falseness in her voice.

  “Rose,” she warned.

  “I have to go. Mom’s calling.” The line went dead, though Vi knew for sure their mother wasn’t calling. It was a ruse the sisters used whenever they wanted to get off the phone, and Vi made a sound of disgust as she returned to her tub of frosting in the windowsill.

  The next morning, she slept later than she had been. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep, what with her memories of kissing Todd so close to the surface.

  Once again, the scent of coffee filled her nose, and Vi wondered if this would be her new reality.

  Downstairs, she found Celia in the kitchen, so she knew it was safe to pour herself a cup of coffee. “Have you met Todd?” she asked, noticing another mug in the sink already.

  “Yes, he was up when I got here.” Celia leafed through a physical magazine while Vi added cream and sugar to her coffee. “He’s out in the stables.”

  Alarm pulled through Vi. “He went alone?” She set her coffee on the counter. “It’s downhill to the stable.” She started toward the mudroom, panic rearing inside her.

  “He said he’d be fine,” Celia called after her. Vi grabbed a jacket from the hook by the door and pulled it on as she left. She jogged down the sidewalk, wondering how much it would cost to get a nurse to come out to the lodge and help with Todd.

  No matter what it did, she’d pay it. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for the man’s paralyzation or subsequent injuries. She glanced at the horses in the pasture, and they seemed fine. They dotted the field, unlike the way they’d clustered at the edge of the fence the day Todd had gotten hurt.

  She opened the door and called, “Todd?”

  “Down here,” he said, his voice calm and seemingly fine. Some of her panic ebbed away, and she slowed her pace further to try to force her heart rate back to normal.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked when she found himself outside one of the stalls. It didn’t even have a horse inside.

  “I want to buy some horses,” he said. “I like horses.” He looked up at her, and Vi saw his vulnerability. “Do you think Graham or Beau or whoever would let me board the horses here?”

  “No,” Vi said slowly. “Beau told me their stables were full.” She bent down as if she was speaking to Graham’s step-daughter. “You’ll buy your own house, right, Todd? You’ll have your own stables.”

  “I looked at a couple of places.” He looked back at the wooden door of the stall. “They were all way too big for me.” He held up his hand. “And I have a splinter.”

  Vi understood having a house that was too big, more than she cared to admit. “Let’s get up to the lodge, and I can look at that splinter.” She maneuvered behind him in the small space. “That’s why I came here to Coral Canyon.” She pushed him toward the door, relieved when he didn’t protest. “My house was too big, and I felt so small there.”

  “The lodge is big,” he said.

  “But in a different way.” She paused and walked in front of him so she could go through the door and prop it open. Then she pushed him back into the daylight, wishing there was more sunshine and less clouds. But the sky held a storm that would be upon them soon, and Vi breathed in the scent of almost-rain.

  “I came here because I’d broken up with my boyfriend of about two years,” she said. “But he didn’t want to break up. Actually said to my face that he ‘didn’t accept’ that I didn’t want to see him anymore.”

  Pushing him up the incline toward the house made her arms and back burn, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other.

  “Then what?” he asked.

  “He became obsessed,” Vi said. “Started stalking the house and sitting outside and all of that. I never wanted to leave, so the house became too big and too small all at the same time.” She sucked at the air, wondering when she’d gotten so out of shape. She walked with Daisy most days, though she knew her walks were more like strolls.

  “I filed a restraining order against him, and I moved here. Beau handled the case, and it was settled a couple of days before he and Lily went on their vacation.”

  “Wow, a stalker,” Todd said as if it was an admirable thing to have. “I’ve never had one of those.”

  “You’re not missing much,” Vi said. “Maybe some crippling worry and constant fear.”

  “Hey,” Todd said, and Vi paused when she reached the top of the hill.

  “You are not a lightweight, Mister,” she said, her pulse pumping hard and her breathing labored.

  “I’m sorry about the stalker,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make light of it.” He reached back, a clear invitation for her to hold his hand. Vi put her fingers there for a moment, a brief touch, and then dug in to push him toward the house again.

  “Come on,” she said. “It’s going to rain, and I haven’t even had my coffee yet.” Once they stepped inside the mudroom, she added, “And no more going to the stables by yourself, okay?”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “Because every time you do, something bad happens.”

  “I got a splinter.”

  “Right. The splinter.” She started opening drawers in the kitchen, wondering if Celia had left yet. Surely she’d know where a pair of tweezers were or maybe a first aid kit. She hit pay dirt on the third drawer she opened when she spied a nail clipping kit, which included a pair of tweezers.

  “Let me see.” She reached for his hand and he gave it to her. The spark that had always existed between them flared to life, hot and white and pulsing. She tried to ignore it as she focused on the tiny black speck in his palm.

  “What were you doing? Stroking the door?”

  “No,” he said, perhaps a little too quickly.

  She dug at his skin for a few moments, finally getting the wood out. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.”

  She put the kit back together and replaced it in the drawer. “I mean it, Todd. You can’t go down to the stables by yourself.”

  He looked up at her, challenge in those stormy eyes. She expected him to put up a fight; he certainly looked like he was about to.

  Then he said, “Okay. But you have to take me down there.”

  Vi turned away from him. “Just like I have to bring you breakfast and coffee and help you into bed.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Vi picked up the coffee she’d poured earlier, but it was too cold now. She dumped it down the drain and started making herself another cup. “I’m just saying you could ask nicely.” She cut him a look out of the corne
r of her eye. “After all, I’m doing a favor for you. A lot of favors, actually, and I’m not your nurse, and you’re not paying me.”

  She cocked her hip and settled it against the counter, feeling shaky and unsettled inside. She didn’t normally say what she really thought, and she usually avoided all confrontation.

  Todd just stared at her, that muscle in his jaw jumping. He didn’t let a whole lot of emotion show on his face, but that muscle said it all.

  “Coffee?” she asked.

  “No, thank you,” he clipped out between tight lips. Then, with surprising strength and speed, he pushed himself out of the dining room and down the hall to his bedroom.

  Vi sighed as he left, knowing she probably should’ve been nicer to him. But didn’t he understand how much work it took to take care of him? And he’d gone off to the stables himself?

  “Irresponsible,” she muttered as she opened the fridge to find something for breakfast.

  “Oh, there you are,” Celia said as she entered the kitchen. “How about scrambled eggs for breakfast? I just asked Todd, but he said he’s not hungry.”

  Vi closed the fridge and faced Celia. “You know what? I’m not either.” She left her second cup of coffee beside the toaster and headed for the exit too. “I’m going to go take a hot bath.”

  She left Celia in the kitchen and went upstairs. Unable to help herself, she texted Todd a quick message before starting the water in the tub.

  Let me know if you need anything.

  The resulting silence didn’t comfort her, and she could only pray that the perfumed water in the tub could do the trick.

  Chapter Nine

  Todd stared at the TV in his bedroom, this space worse than the hospital room. It was smaller for one, and he couldn’t get out of his chair without help. At least in the hospital, he got painkillers when he needed them and could lie in bed.

  Let me know if you need anything.

  He did need something. No, someone. He needed her at his bedside, reading to him while he slept, and holding his hand like she’d be there to take care of everything.

  And of course she would be. He just needed to not be such a jerk. But his legs hurt, and he was tired of sitting, and staying inside made him angry. So when she’d told him he couldn’t go to the stables, he’d felt like she’d taken everything from him.

  He stared at the last message from his mother. Taylor won! We’re off to Savannah for a couple of weeks.

  Todd knew that wasn’t for vacation. There were training grounds in Savannah and Todd would ride and practice for hours everyday while there, his mom and dad in the stands watching like practice runs were the most important events in the world.

  Todd shook his head, trying to rid himself of the bitterness that seemed to be permanently present in the back of his throat. He hadn’t minded his parents on the tour with him, giving him advice and pointers, love and advice.

  But it was never about life. It was always about how he’d come out of the gate, or how he could anticipate a movement in the bull better.

  He still hadn’t answered his mother, not that she’d expect him to. She wouldn’t follow up with him, and she hadn’t asked how his legs were. Not once.

  “Thanks for helping me get out of the rodeo,” he whispered, glad he’d been brave enough and strong enough to listen to God, when He’d told Todd it was time to retire. Time to move on. Time to find the real purpose for his life.

  And he’d felt called to come back to Coral Canyon, and then almost immediately been injured.

  I’m okay, he sent to Vi. I’m sorry about being so demanding. I just feel…caged inside this house.

  After reading through the last part, he went ahead and sent it. He’d told her hard things about his relationships, and maybe not everything about his family, but a little bit. More than he’d ever told anyone else.

  She didn’t respond, and Todd’s eyelids felt so, so heavy. At least his wheelchair could support his head as he dozed, because he couldn’t get back into that bed without help.

  Sometime later, someone knocked on his door, jolting him out of his nap.

  “Sorry,” Vi said quietly. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just…it’s time to take your pills.”

  Their eyes met, and remorse and regret flowed through him. “Thank you, Vi,” he said. “Did you get my texts?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  He took the pills and accepted the glass of water from her. “I really am sorry. I’m just….” He trailed off, not wanting to make any excuses.

  “The lodge is too small,” she said.

  “About that, yeah.” He threw back the pills and drained the whole glass of water. “And I’m embarrassed, and frustrated, and my legs hurt.”

  Vi wrung her hands together. “Then once those painkillers kick in, let’s go somewhere.”

  Everything inside Todd sprang to life, lifted up by hope and possibility. “Yeah? Where?”

  “Anywhere you want,” she said.

  “I thought you said it was going to rain.”

  “There are at least seven umbrellas by the front door.” She grinned at him, a bit of wickedness in her gaze, and Todd wanted to get out of the house. But more than that, he wanted to get out of the house with Vi.

  “I’d like that,” he said.

  “When you’re feeling better.” She took the glass and backed into the hall. This time, she didn’t close the door, and the room didn’t feel so much like a cage.

  Todd dozed as the medicine worked, and when he woke the ache in his legs had subsided. He stretched his arms, wishing he could stand up and really get the kinks out of his back. He yawned and then said, “Give me patience, Lord.”

  He’d never been exceptionally skilled at waiting for things to happen. He’d been taught his whole life that if he worked hard for what he wanted, he’d come out on top. And God had usually blessed him after that fashion.

  But there was no way for him to work his way out of a broken leg. Two of them, actually, though his right leg wasn’t nearly as bad as his left.

  “You’re awake.”

  He swiveled his chair toward Vi, the picture-perfect woman standing in the doorway. She’d done something to her hair so it lay exactly right, and she wore a pair of jeans that hugged every curve, a mustard yellow sweater, and more makeup than he’d seen previously.

  “You ready to go out?”

  “Where are we gonna go?” he asked.

  She gave him a sly grin and stepped past him, placing both hands on the handles of his wheelchair. “You grew up here, cowboy. I thought maybe you’d take me on a trip down memory lane.”

  Todd’s first instinct was to deny her, though he’d taken the same trip when he’d returned to Coral Canyon a few weeks ago. “Not all of my memories are that great,” he said.

  “Then you’re normal,” she said. “Good to know.”

  Todd chuckled, but her words stuck in his head. “What do you mean I’m normal?”

  “Well, you seem almost perfect, except for that demanding streak.” She turned him around so she could go through the front door first, pulling him backward through it. She went down the ramp saying, “So it’s nice to know you didn’t have the perfect childhood, followed by the perfect rodeo career, and now you’re here in Coral Canyon to finish out your perfect life.”

  She came around to the side, and Todd fumbled his fingers over hers. “My life hasn’t been perfect.”

  “Oh, I know that too,” she said easily, opening the side door on a minivan he’d never seen. “I mean, you hadn’t even kissed a woman in ten years.” She flashed a smile at him, and he wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

  “I’m sitting in the back?” he asked.

  “Yes, then you can put your legs on the seat in front. See?” She indicated the front seat, which had been folded down. “I saw it in one of the videos I watched.”

  “So you ran out and bought a minivan?”

  “This is Graham’s,” she said. “They’re letting us bor
row it for the afternoon.”

  A dog barked, stealing Vi’s attention. “Oh, and Daisy. We’re borrowing her too.” She hurried away without helping Todd into the van, which actually sent relief through him. He could get himself into the van without putting on a show or adding to his humiliation. He maneuvered the chair so it was side-by-side with the van seat, and then he locked the wheels. He pushed himself up and over, but his left leg crashed into the side of the van, sending shooting pain up to his hip and into his back.

  He cried out, but there was no one around to hear it. Clenching his teeth, he held back the tears and perched precariously on the edge of the seat to use both hands to get his leg up and into the van.

  Panting, he took several long moments to allow the pain to subside. But it didn’t fully go away, and he really wanted more painkillers. He shook his head. “No,” he said through tight teeth. “I don’t want to fall asleep again.”

  His right leg was much easier to move, because he could bend his knee. So he pushed himself back into the seat and brought his right leg into the van too. Whatever video Vi had watched had been right. This was a fairly comfortable place to sit.

  A big, black Rottweiler joined him before Vi did, but the dog waited outside the van, right in front of his chair. She seemed to be smiling, and Todd’s mood brightened. “Hey, girl,” he said, reaching toward her.

  She tensed like she might jump into the van, but that would be agony for Todd. He quickly said, “Stay there,” hoping the dog followed anyone’s orders. Vi appeared then, and she jogged down the steps to them.

  “Daisy, other side. Come on.”

  The dog went with Vi and hopped in on the other side of the van. Vi looked over to him. “You got in by yourself.”

  “Yep,” he said, like it had been so easy.

  She blinked and walked back over to his side, folded up the wheelchair, and put it in the back of the van. With her behind the wheel, she used the buttons up front to close all the doors, and then she said, “All right. You’re the tour guide. Tell me where to go.”

  Todd sighed as he looked out the window. “Down the canyon, obviously. And we’ll start at the house where I grew up.”