“With good reason. Tanner should have stood up to his dad and brother.” Jewel vented her frustration on the dish towel, snapping it into shape and ruthlessly stuffing it onto the holder.
“You’re far too hard on him, sweetie. All he’s done is try to help his sick brother and protect his dad’s company. Very admirable of him if you ask me.”
“I never said he wasn’t a great guy.”
“Then why be so unreasonable?”
Jewel was aghast. “How is wanting him to be exonerated being unreasonable?”
“It’s not. But your timetable is. Very unreasonable. And unrealistic.”
She chewed on that for a moment. “I admit I can be a little impatient.”
“A little?” Her mom chuckled.
“Tanner said that if I loved him, I’d have stood by him and not ended our engagement without giving him a chance.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Hello! He told me he’d cheated.”
“Did he? I thought you heard he cheated from some other barrel racers.”
“He admitted it when I confronted him,” Jewel insisted.
“There’s a difference between admitting to something and not denying an accusation.”
Jewel searched her memory, trying to recall the exact conversation she and Tanner had had in the hotel room.
“My God,” she whispered. “He didn’t tell me. I immediately laid into him the second he walked through the door.”
No wonder he’d left without putting up a fight. He must have been as disappointed in her as she was in him. Except she’d been wrong and he hadn’t been.
Her mom placed a hand on her arm. “If Tanner’s that unselfish and generous with his brother and family, just think how unselfish and generous he’ll be with you and Ava.”
Tears flooded Jewel’s eyes. “What should I do?”
“Tell him how you feel. Relationships are give-and-take. Even if you and Tanner don’t work things out, you still have to co-parent Ava.”
“You’re right.”
“There’s something I learned back when your father and I were first married.” She waited until Jewel met her gaze. “Nothing repairs a burned bridge like an apology. If you and Tanner truly love each other, if you’re meant to be together, he’ll accept your apology and the two of you will work through this.”
“And if he doesn’t accept my apology?”
“Come on. You can’t honestly believe he won’t.”
“I said some pretty terrible things to him.”
“Well, the best you can do is try. If he rejects you, then you’ll have your answer. But he may be glad one of you finally had the guts to take the first step.”
Her mom was right. Again.
“I need to call him.”
Before she lost her courage, Jewel grabbed her phone and dialed Tanner. After several rings, his voice mail picked up. Had he shut off his phone or was the battery dead? At this time of day, he should be getting ready for the evening feeding at the horse barn, if it wasn’t already underway.
She tried again, with the same results. “He’s not answering.”
“Go to the ranch. Find him.”
She could. And if she did, she might change everything. “Will you and Dad watch Ava?”
“Of course!” Her mom pulled her into a warm embrace. “Good luck, sweetie. I’m praying for you.”
“Where’re you off to?” her dad asked when, coat in hand, she kissed him and Ava goodbye.
“Mom will explain.”
Ten minutes later, she was knocking for a third time on Tanner’s darkened bunkhouse door. Why, she didn’t know. He clearly wasn’t home, as evidenced by his missing truck.
“You looking for Tanner?”
She whirled to see his boss approaching. “Hi, Ethan. Yeah, I am.”
“He went to the rodeo.”
“Oh. He did?” She slumped against the bunkhouse door. He must have changed his mind and decided to support Daniel, after all.
“He’s hoping to pound some sense into that brother of his. Convince him to refuse the award.”
“He is?” Like that, hope bloomed.
“Don’t know if he’ll succeed. But he needed to try.”
For her. And Ava. Love filled Jewel, starting inside her heart and radiating outward to the tips of her fingers and toes.
“Gotta go.” She pushed off the door and nearly ran to her truck.
“I’ll tell him you stopped by,” Ethan said.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll see him at the rodeo.”
“Thatta girl.” He broke into a wide grin and waved as she jumped into her truck.
With the help of her phone, she found the quickest route to the rodeo, pushing the speed limit the entire time. Twice more she tried calling Tanner and twice more she got his voice mail greeting.
The attendant at the rodeo sales window gave her a quizzical look when she asked to purchase a ticket. The rodeo would be over soon. Was she sure she wanted to pay?
“Yes.” Jewel repeated her request. “One general admission.”
The only available seats were up in the nosebleed section. Jewel sat just as a man entered the arena holding a wireless microphone. He was accompanied by several other individuals, one of them carrying what appeared to be a large plaque. They proceeded to the center of the arena, a spotlight tracking their journey.
She surveyed the crowd for Tanner and his family, eventually spotting them down below in the front row. No, wait. His parents and Rosalyn were there, along with Tanner’s niece and nephew. He wasn’t with them!
That made no sense. Ethan had said Tanner was coming here tonight. Maybe he was with Daniel, trying to talk him out of accepting the award. But then why were the award committee members readying to make the presentation?
With a sinking heart, Jewel realized Tanner must have failed. Daniel was going through with it. Her fears were confirmed when, a moment later, a man’s voice announced the award and Daniel limped into the arena. The crowd cheered as he proceeded slowly and unsteadily across the uneven dirt to the smiling individuals waiting for him.
Jewel wanted to cry. She’d give anything to be with Tanner right now.
After a touching introduction that included Daniel’s illustrious bull riding career and his battle with cancer, the crowd broke into uproarious applause. Daniel stared at the plaque in the other man’s hands, head lowered, the epitome of humbleness. When the noise died down, the man in charge handed the microphone to Daniel, encouraging him to say a few words.
He didn’t speak for several moments, perhaps overcome with emotion. Finally, he held the microphone to his mouth and cleared his throat.
“Thank you all very much. But...but...” He faltered. Cleared his throat again. “I...can’t accept this honor. I don’t deserve it. I... I’m not the person everyone thinks I am.”
Jewel stared, heart drumming and hands gripping the armrests on her chair. What in the world was going on, and where was Tanner?
* * *
TANNER WAS ON his feet the instant his brother started to tell the story. Their story.
“Hey, sit down,” someone behind him yelled.
Was he seeing things? No, he wasn’t. Daniel stood in the center of the arena before thousands of people, admitting he was the one who’d attempted to bribe the bull riding judge. Murmurings gave way to dead silence, and the crowd watched, completely mesmerized.
Except for that one angry man behind Tanner. “I said, sit down!”
Ignoring him, Tanner propelled himself forward, stumbling past his seat neighbors to the aisle. Curious and annoyed stares burned into the back of his head as he jogged down the stairs toward the first row. The arena’s high fence blocked him from going any farther.
Unless he jumped it. For a moment, he considered doi
ng just that.
“Hey!” A woman’s high-pitched voice rang out. “Isn’t that Tanner Bridwell?”
Several shocked gasps followed. “My God,” someone said. “You’re right. It is him!”
Fingers were pointed. He paid no attention, his gaze riveted on Daniel. His brother had reached the part of their story where, against the odds, he’d survived his surgery, though not without permanent damage to his motor skills and serious memory issues. He talked on about the difficulties he’d faced after the surgery, the hardships he and his family had endured and would continue to endure. His inability to work. His depression. His anger issues. And through it all, his wife and family had stood by his side, their devotion unwavering and undeserved.
Tanner gripped the top rail of the arena fence, felt the cold metal dig into his palms. Could this really be happening? Daniel had refused Tanner’s every plea to come clean. Why the sudden change?
“Believe me when I say, nothing I’ve been through compares to what my brother Tanner has suffered,” Daniel said. “By taking the blame for me, he sacrificed everything. His rodeo career. A potential championship. His fiancée, Jewel. Being there for the birth of his daughter and the first four months of her life. A job with our dad’s firm. During this past year, he’s lived every day with the threat of a lawsuit hanging over him.”
Daniel paused. Removing a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped his brow before continuing. “He, along with Jewel, were harassed for months. Called names to their faces and online, bullied, ostracized and had their reputations destroyed. All because of me.”
“We love you, Daniel,” someone hollered. It was followed by a round of applause, whoops and whistles.
He pressed the handkerchief to his face, and his shoulders shook. Tanner thought he might be holding in a sob.
When Daniel could speak again, he raised his head and put the microphone to his mouth. “What I did was unforgivable. I was sick and I was scared, but that’s no excuse for the misery I caused.”
The man beside Daniel, the one holding the plaque, put a sympathetic arm around his shoulder and leaned in. Whatever he said to Daniel couldn’t be heard.
“I owe my brother everything. I should’ve been disqualified last year and banned from the sport of rodeo. Because of him, I had the best ride of my life. It was a gift I can never repay.” Daniel wiped his eyes, and his voice broke. “I don’t know if you’re out there, bro. If you are, if you can hear me, you gotta know how sorry I am and how much I regret what happened. I’m going to make this right, count on it.”
“He’s standing right here,” the woman from earlier hollered and jumped out of her seat.
As if on cue, every head in the arena swiveled to find Tanner. Only then did he realize that people had their phones out and were taking pictures and videos of Daniel’s speech. How had he missed that or the dozens of phones now trained on him?
Would the pictures and videos wind up online? Be passed from person to person? And then what? Tanner and Jewel had been found guilty and punished by the sometimes nameless and faceless masses on social media. Would they now be vindicated?
To Tanner’s amazement, he found he didn’t care like he had before. The only person who mattered was Jewel.
“Tanner? Are you out there?”
Daniel’s voice penetrated the fog surrounding him. He tried to answer but couldn’t.
“Section one-twenty,” another person yelled.
More cheers went up, the sound deafening. Suddenly, a dozen hands grabbed Tanner’s arms and legs, and the ground disappeared from beneath his feet.
“Go on,” a man yelled into his ear. “What are you waiting for?”
Tanner was half lifted, half pushed over the arena fence. Blood racing, gut tightening, he dropped down on the other side, almost falling to his knees before righting himself.
The distance between section one-twenty and where Daniel stood stretched endlessly ahead, as if at the end of a long tunnel. His name was shouted, and the cheers increased in volume with each step he took.
What waited for him at the end of this short yet crucial journey? Daniel had admitted he was to blame and not Tanner. What if the arena owners came after Daniel instead? Would Rosalyn take the kids and leave him like he feared? Did Tanner and Jewel have any chance of reconciling once she heard about this?
He wasn’t sure. There were more issues between them than just the cheating scandal.
The rodeo association representatives smiled and beckoned Tanner to hurry. Daniel stood motionless, dread, remorse and hope reflected in his features.
Tanner turned to search the VIP section. Where was his family? A glance in the other direction located them near the arena gate. His mom and Rosalyn clung to each other and were crying. His dad... Tanner did a double take. His dad was smiling.
“Hi, bro,” Daniel said when Tanner neared. “You gonna shake my hand or punch me in the face?”
“Neither.” Tanner stopped in front of him.
“What, then?” When Tanner didn’t answer right away, Daniel chuckled nervously. “Give me a warning either way, will you?”
Tanner reached out and pulled his brother into a bear hug.
The entire arena went wild. Tanner was vaguely aware of his name being chanted and the rodeo association representatives slapping him on the back.
“I love you, Tanner,” his brother said into his ear. “I’m sorry for everything.”
“I love you, too.”
They separated and, after two full minutes of clapping and foot stomping, the noise eventually died down. Tanner shook hands all around, accepting the genuine congratulations offered. Though he still had no clue what lay ahead after tonight, this moment was enough for now.
Jewel was the one exception, and he wished she was here with him.
Tanner, Daniel and the others made their way toward the gate as the start of the bull riding was announced. They went slow to accommodate Daniel, the end of his cane sinking a good six inches into the dirt.
At the gate, they were welcomed by their family and escorted by security personnel to an area behind the announcer’s booth where they could catch their breaths, well out of the path of cowboys and bulls.
“Tanner.”
Hearing his father, he turned, and was pulled into a hug as fierce as the one he’d given Daniel.
“I’ve been a selfish son of a gun and the worst dad possible. I promise you that’ll change. I only hope you can forgive me. Forgive all of us.”
Tanner faced a life-altering decision: he either rejected his dad’s apology or accepted it and moved forward.
“I understand, Dad. I always did. You were worried. For Daniel. For the company. For the family. I was, too.”
His dad swallowed. “You’re a better man than me. If I had to do it over again, I would have never asked you to take the blame.”
“Me, neither,” Daniel echoed.
“What I’d really like,” Tanner said, “is for both of you to apologize to Jewel.”
His dad nodded. “Consider it done.”
It would happen. Tanner had no doubt. “Thanks, Dad.”
His mom pushed past his dad and threw herself at Tanner, blubbering inconsolably.
“It’s okay, Mom.” He patted her back.
“I’m so glad this is finally over.”
Tanner, too, despite having lost Jewel for a second time. But at least, after tonight, the world would know he hadn’t tried to cheat, and his life could return to a semblance of normal that included his beautiful daughter, Ava.
As he held his mom, he watched his brother and sister-in-law. Rosalyn gazed up at Daniel, her teary face aglow. “I’m proud of you. What you did took incredible courage.”
He attempted a weak smile. “I know you must hate me for lying to you.”
She looped her arms around his neck and dre
w him close. “You did the right thing in the end. That’s what counts.”
“Will you let me visit you and the kids at your folks?”
“We’re not going anywhere.” She planted a tender kiss on his lips. “Not anymore.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
She laughed gaily for the first time in Tanner couldn’t remember how long. “No, you don’t. But you’re stuck with me, anyway.”
Tanner’s mom released her hold on him and drew in a shaky breath. “It’s been a long night,” she said. “Let’s go home.”
Home. She was referring to the house she and Tanner’s dad owned. The one he and Daniel had grown up in. And yet, it didn’t feel like home to Tanner. Not anymore and not after everything he’d been through. What he really wanted was to return to Powell Ranch.
No, to Sweetheart Ranch. To Jewel and Ava. It might not make a difference, but he wanted to, needed to, see them. Maybe find one of those videos that were hopefully posted online already and show her Daniel’s speech.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d—”
“Tanner.” A familiar figure slowly emerged from around a podium.
Jewel? He rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, she was still standing there, her face radiating joy.
This night had been filled with all kinds of miracles. Here was one more, the best yet.
He muttered, “Excuse me, Mom,” before hurrying forward to meet Jewel. “You came.”
“I tried calling. I think your phone’s off.”
He clumsily patted his jacket pocket containing his phone. “Must be.”
“I heard Daniel’s speech.”
“You did?” She’d been here the whole time. He was too stunned to ask how that had come about.
“I’m happy for you.” She nodded in Daniel and Rosalyn’s direction. “For them, too. I think they’re going to be fine.”
“You were right about that.” Tanner took a tentative step forward. It was now or never. He either laid his heart bare to her or went home, giving up completely. “What about us, Jewel? Are we going to be fine? Because there’s nothing in the world I want more. I’m willing to wait. You don’t have to decide right this second.”
The Cowboy's Christmas Baby Page 24