Lassoing The Last Dance (Double Dutch Ranch; Love At First Sight Book 4)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  Nora smiled. “Not typical for Randy. I mean, sweet is typical for him, but not to just show up.”

  “We talked on the porch for a short time.” Roxanne told Nora the rest of the story.

  “Did you tell him? You have to tell him, Roxanne.”

  “Not yet. It didn’t feel right to bombard him with such terrible news, but I will. He suspected something. Is it that obvious?”

  “Well, it depends on how much you’re hurting.”

  “I invited him to come over today.” A knock on the door saved her from any more explanations, then Tristan entered. Without a doubt, she’d tell Randy the next time they were alone together. If he couldn’t move past the scene, then it’d be best to know right away for both their sakes. “Hi, Tristan. Is Wade far behind you? I appreciate him helping again.”

  “If he isn’t busy. He’s the foreman over there at Lawton Ranching Supplies, you know, so they depend on him. Let’s get busy. By the way, Mom’s fixing lunch for all of us, including the ranch hands.” Tristan gave Roxanne a warning glance before getting a cup of coffee.

  “It’s all right, Tristan. I saw Randy last night.”

  ***

  Randy hadn’t joined them for lunch. While helping with dishes at Judy’s house at the Double Dutch, Roxanne spotted him outside working a horse on a lunge line. She hung up the dishtowel, tapped Nora’s shoulder, and nodded toward the window. “I see Randy out there. I’ll go say hi. Let me know when everyone is ready to go back to my house.”

  Nora lowered Trista Rose to the floor. “Take your time. Jase and Tristan fell asleep.”

  “Daddy’s sleeping?”

  “Yes, sweetie.” Nora continued with Roxanne. “I’ll text you when we’re ready.”

  Roxanne knelt to give Trista Rose a hug before going outside. She brushed dark hair back from the dissimilar eyes the little girl had inherited from her daddy. “You’re pretty like your mama, little one, but you look like your daddy. I love you like you’re my own.”

  Trista Rose threw her arms around Roxanne’s neck and squeezed tight.

  This was as close as she’d get to being a mom. She’d enjoy the Carlson kids, especially this little tyke. She lifted Trista to give her a big hug before standing her back down. Judy came back into the room and Trista ran to her grandmother.

  “Gracelyn will be here with Will soon,” said Judy.

  “Well, you’ll have your hands full,” Roxanne replied. “Will’s a cute little guy and sure looks like his daddy. What’s with these Carlson men giving these kids their looks?”

  “That’s cause they’re so handsome like their daddy was, my dear,” boasted Judy.

  “Talk to y’all later.” Roxanne drifted on out toward the back ring. She sauntered up to the rail. His soft words to the horse made her smile. This afternoon Randy looked sexy. Sweaty. Manly. All he wore on the top was a leather vest, and only a glimpse of his six-pack showed underneath. His work jeans fit damn good, sitting low on his hips. Her gaze ran down his long legs and right back up. The memory of being in his arms for the short times they had spent together in the past, and casually last night, filled her thoughts.

  What had she been thinking, excluding him when maybe they could’ve gone through this hell together? Randy looked her way and winked, causing a flash of heat to strike her body. “Howdy there, cowboy. I like the way y’all hold your rope.”

  “How you doing today, Rox? Bringing out some Okie talk, I see.” He grinned. “I’m cooling this horse down. You hanging around long?”

  She tilted her head back toward the house. “Not long. After lunch Tristan and Jase fell asleep. Working on my house must be harder than ranchin’.”

  “Maybe. Hold up.” He stopped the horse, and gently smoothed his gloved hand over his neck while speaking low. Turning him around, he kept the horse still and ran his hand over his dusty flank, then came toward where she waited. The horse’s pleasantness didn’t last long before he turned stubborn. Randy tightened the line, but that only made him rear up.

  She enjoyed watching the way he worked the horse. He was adamant in his training, but kind. “Is he a new one?”

  “Dane bought him the other day. He’s been through hell.” Randy removed the lunge line and let the horse run. He took off one glove, stuck it over his waistband, and set his hand over hers gripping the rail. “You look nice today.” Randy ducked between the rungs of the wood fence and leaned his butt against it on her side.

  “Do you think the horse has a chance?” Here she went with small talk again as she glanced to the cloudy sky to regroup.

  “They all do. You have to know how to handle them, and be gentle, not beat the daylights out of them to get them to do what you want.” He glanced over his shoulder. The horse found a shady spot to settle.

  “He’s a nice-looking horse. You know, I talked to Dane the other night at dinner. How’d I miss him in high school?”

  “You probably never checked out the younger guys back then.” Randy smoothed his thumb over her hand as he held it. His skin was hot and damp. Though his touch was subtle, there was a sensual feeling about it, and it gave her insides a tumble. He even smelled hot.

  “I’m about ready to trailer this one up and take him back. Want to go along?”

  No doubt she’d love to, but the timing was off. “Nora and I have to get back to my house to finish a project. Not sure when the guys will make it. At this rate, they’ll be there until midnight.”

  “How about I stop by after work? If they’re gone, let me drive you to my house. Unless you think I’m too pushy. Doesn’t the paint smell bother you?” He slid a lock of hair behind her ear while speaking, but his gaze did a quick once-over.

  She liked his appraisal, albeit she was adorned in her grimy work jeans and a dirty, sleeveless red top. Roxanne smiled and pushed his hat back a little to look into his eyes. So much for taking it slow. “It isn’t pushy. I could drive over later.”

  “We’ll see how it goes. I’ll stop by after work, either way.”

  She held on to him when he attempted to walk away. “Alrighty. You should’ve had lunch with us.”

  “I had an obligation.” He pulled his hat back over his forehead and scooted through the rail again. “Let me get this horse in the trailer, and I’ll walk up to the house with you. Maybe Judy’s got some iced tea left. Come on.”

  She wasn’t up to walking far today, for the skin around the end of her residual limb had broken out into a rash. “I saw a big pitcher in the fridge. How about I pour you a glass while you get the horse situated?”

  “Yep, it might take a while. We’ll see if working with him today made a difference.” Before he left her, he rested his hand on her shoulder and coaxed her a step closer to the fence. “I’m glad you came out here.” He smiled subtly. “You brightened this cloudy afternoon.”

  Engrossed in his gaze, she was at a loss for words again. Her body and mind couldn’t get on the same wave length. Her body wanted to be close to his, but her mind knew they should move slowly. “I’ll be waiting at my house later. Probably with a bit of paint on me,” she said and chuckled.

  “More paint than you have on now, you mean?” Randy slid his hand from her shoulder and up her neck to her cheek. “It’s great having you close, like here in town.” He sauntered over to the horse and grasped his harness, opened the gate, and strolled toward the trailer. This time, the horse looked none too happy as he took high steps between rearing up.

  Her gaze followed Randy all the way. A tremble flittered over her when he glanced back, and now she needed the cold tea. She slowly made her way back to the house. Inside, no one was in the kitchen, so she poured herself a glass and another for him.

  Nora returned to the kitchen with a big smile. She nodded to the frosted glass pressed against Roxanne’s forehead.

  Nora caught her cooling herself off, which about said it all. She glanced at Nora and returned the smile. “I know what you’re thinking. For goodness’ sake, I don’t know what it is about h
im.”

  “I do. He’s hot and the whole package. Trista Rose is settled in for a nap, so let’s get back to your place. I don’t know what I’d do without Judy’s help with the kids.”

  Roxanne smiled. “All you ladies of the Double Dutch are lucky that way.”

  “The guys will be there shortly, or so I heard. It won’t be long now, Roxy, until you can call the place yours.”

  She drank down half the glass of iced tea, collected her purse, and they headed toward Nora’s vehicle. “I’m going over to the Circle D Ranch tonight.” She placed her hand on Nora’s shoulder to bring her to a halt. “I suppose tonight is the night. I can’t let my heart fall again until he knows.”

  “Trust him, Roxanne,” Nora replied softly. “Believe me, he missed you a lot. And, hasn’t your heart already fallen a little from before?”

  She released Nora’s shoulder and got in. “Now that I let myself think about him, I admit I missed him. Yes, my heart has fallen…more than a little.”

  “You hid nothing from me. Your ex-husband is not going to control your happiness.”

  Easier said than done. Roxanne wanted to believe Nora’s words. No one could make them come true except for herself.

  ***

  At the trailer, Randy watched her walk away. The sight of her caused a rousing below his belt. Her jeans fit tight over her slender hips yet they flared out in the legs. Something about her walk was different, like she’d had a leg or foot injury. Roxanne’s whole persona had changed. He offered to pick her up tonight for a reason. Whatever she had to say, bothered her, and he’d give her another opportunity to talk. He should’ve gone to Oklahoma and met her face to face to discuss what was going on, instead of just accepting they were over.

  The next thing Randy knew, he found himself on the ground, scooting back on his ass before he got stepped on next. “Damn you!” The horse bit his cheek, but he wasn’t satisfied with a bite alone. He had bopped him in the head hard enough to take him down.

  Getting off the ground, he touched the back of his hand to his face. Blood covered it, plus dripped from his nose and lip. “What the hell!” He took a rag from his back pocket to wipe the blood away from the bite, and dabbed at the rest of the blood.

  Speaking softly, he said, “Come on, I thought we bonded out there.” The horse whinnied, pinned his ears back, and then curled his lips up ready to take another chunk out of him. Randy gave him a skewed look. The horse looked back at him with a slight bob of his head, threatening to show who controlled the situation.

  “Don’t give me that evil eye. Uh uh, buddy, I’m the boss.” When the horse settled, he grasped the harness, entered the trailer, and clicked from the side of his mouth the whole way to encourage the beast. As if it was a normal occurrence, the horse followed him inside where Randy secured him. He added a small amount of hay to the wall hay feeder. Blood still dripped from his cheek and over his vest. He winced upon touching it again. “Dammit!” Before stepping outside of the trailer, he ran his hand along the dusty and warm curve of the horses back. “Enjoy yourself, brat.”

  In the tack room, he cleaned up the wound to get a look at the damage. It was over the cheekbone and the wound lay wide open. Outside, he held a gauze pad over it a few minutes while tossing his ropes into the truck. The vet had been out yesterday, but records had been given to the auctioneer by the previous owner, too. What an idiot he’d been to take his eyes off this guy for even one minute. He’d known better, or should’ve until that sexy babe waltzed her way back to the house.

  Up at the house, he knocked on the back door. Judy Carlson pulled it open, “Dear God, Randy. What happened to you? You’ve been bitten!”

  Keeping a jovial attitude, he laughed. Ouch, don’t laugh. “Yeah, my own fault. Is Tristan still around?”

  “No, they all went to Roxanne’s. Sit down and let me take a look.” Judy pulled out a chair and nudged him into it. She grabbed a first-aid kit from a drawer in the buffet.

  He held his palm up. “I can’t. I have to get that animal to Dane. Later, I need to get out to the K & O Ranch to work with a horse.”

  Ignoring his palm, she removed a large sterile pad to hold against his face. “Well, you have Dane check those records on the horse, but you best get yourself to the hospital for some sewing up.”

  “Yep, I’ll make sure to follow through.” Randy leaned his head away and held the pad there himself. He pointed to a glass of tea with the ice mostly melted. “I believe Roxanne might have poured tea for me before she left.”

  “I wondered who left my recipe, I mean my tea.” Judy joked, then slid it toward him.

  Randy took a drink then set it down. “Yep, you make the best.”

  “Take some with you. Return the glass when you can.” She went to the fridge for the pitcher and filled a plastic tumbler.

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Randy nodded and headed for Jase’s truck, which had already had the horse trailer hooked up to it this morning. Jase had told him to take it as it was. Inside, he pulled the visor down to take another look, and shook his head. “Stupid.” After finishing the tea, he stood the tumbler in the holder in front of the seat and headed across the property, the shorter way to Dane’s barn.

  “What the hell ran into you?” he asked when Randy pulled up.

  “Your horse. Don’t turn your back on him.”

  Dane stood in front of Randy, which prevented him from going any farther. “Holy hell, you need to get that bite checked. I’ll get the horse out of the trailer and drive you over to the emergency room myself.”

  “No, no, I don’t need the ER. I’ll just tape it up. Besides, I have to hose the horse down.” Randy held both hands up, heedlessly, but was ignored.

  “I’ll have Davy do it.” Dane took the horse out of the trailer and stomped off, and walked the unruly beast into his stall. He strode up to where Randy waited with the new horse he named Spirit. “You know it isn’t your call. I’m your employer. You’re going.”

  Shaking his head, he continued toward his other horse’s stall. “Why are you pulling rank on me? I don’t have time.” He patted Jet.

  “Make time.”

  Randy removed two molasses cookies from the bag on the stall door and gave them to his horses. “Dammit, I hadn’t planned on this. I have work to do.”

  “That’s why they call it an accident, dude. Get in the truck.”

  Judy must’ve called to give orders. Randy trailed out of the barn behind Dane and got in the damn truck. This was all the more reason to become his own boss, although he sure didn’t want an infection. “The horse has potential.”

  Dane laughed. “Ya think! He’s headed back to the next auction. I can’t have him around my other rescues.”

  “Ah, isn’t he a rescue? Give him a chance, man.”

  Dane tossed his hat to the back seat. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter 5

  That evening, Roxanne checked her watch at seven-thirty. Randy was late and hadn’t answered his text an hour ago. If she had known he’d be this late, or wouldn’t show up, she would’ve taken Nora up on her offer to spend the night at hers and Tristan’s. Spending the night here would mean sleeping on a mattress on the floor like she had during her first month in college.

  Raising a couple windows to let air blow through, she strolled out to the front. The white wooden porch furniture would remain. She liked it and hadn’t had any of her own. The sun had set and the sky still had a touch of amber light. A couple bright stars glimmered in the northern sky.

  The longer she stared at the Superstition, the more eerie it became, until more stars became visible. They twinkled above the dark shadow of a mountain. Reminiscing, she was reminded of the few nights she’d spent here with Nora as a teenager. Usually, it was after Nora had fought with her mother and needed a shoulder. Her friend deserved a good man like Tristan Carlson.

  Her phone rang and she sat her tablet down on the side table. “Hi, Randy.”

  “Hey, wow, I’m sorry, Roxanne. Man
, I took a pain pill and practically passed out on the couch, err, did pass out, I guess.”

  “Oh? It’s all right.” Why had he needed a pain pill? “Are you okay?”

  “Ah, you hadn’t heard. I got bit by that horse right after you headed for the house. I got a bunch of stitches.”

  “No! I’m sorry.”

  “I’m afraid so. If you don’t mind scratching tonight off your calendar, I need to hit the pillow. I’ll end up back at the Double Dutch tomorrow, so if you’re around—”

  “I doubt we’ll have much of a break for the next few days. Will you be all right?”

  “Yeah. Come over about seven o’clock tomorrow night. I’m not sure I’ll be up for much talking, but come over anyway.”

  Not in the mood for talking? Well, she was the one who needed to do the talking. Would he be in the mood for listening? Roxanne strolled across the porch. She leaned her hip on the top railing to peer toward the sky. “Where’d you get bitten?”

  “Right on my cheekbone. It happened before putting him in the trailer. It’s damn sore with the stitches. He got my lip too, I mean bopped me in the face.”

  Damn horse. “I’ll come tomorrow evening. Can I bring carryout?” And a comforting hug?

  “Go ahead. I have to shut my eyes.” His voice got low and smooth. “I wanted to see you tonight, Rox.”

  His words made her smile. Her heart had been set on seeing him, too, but if anyone understood about life getting in the way, it was her. It made for one more delay in telling him. “I know, me too, Randy, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest.”

  “Good night. By the way, I like your hair the natural color. It took a minute to get used to it the other night.”

  Again, she smiled. He had his way of adding light to a bad situation. “Thank you. I thought of lightening it again—”

  “That’d be nice too.”

  “Sleep well.” She hung up, collected her tablet, went back into the house, and closed and locked all the windows. Instead of calling Nora to go over there, she tossed a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and light blanket to the mattress on the floor in her bedroom. This would suffice. In the kitchen, she went ahead and poured a glass of wine, and carried it into the bedroom to set the glass on the floor.