Her Secret Cowboy

by Debra Holt

  “I don’t envy the spot you’ve got yourself in,” Chance said. “I went through a few weeks of hell when I was trying to get Josie to see things my way. Good luck.”

  “A couple months ago, I came here to get myself back together again. I needed to figure some things out. Now, it seems I’m confused more today than before.” Dev rubbed the back of his neck. His neck had a few knots each day.

  “Well, seems to me you have your work cut out for you. You decided to stay here and be a working cowboy. And that’s a hard choice that takes a special woman to want to hitch her wagon to. Chance and I had to make the choice. Now, it’s your turn.”

  “Thanks, guys, for the words of wisdom. I’ll keep it all in mind.”

  He did just that. All the way back to the ranch, while he showered and cleaned up, and then while he and Gypsy shared their dinner in front of the television. His mind was still going through a lot of stored memories when the moon rose in the sky. The next three days they would all be involved in Fourth of July activities, particularly the ranch rodeo. That made him look closer at what his brothers had said about people thinking he was interested in two girls. No way.

  But what if Rissa thought the same thing? She’d have to care for it to bother her… right? And if she did care, there was a chance. A chance for what? What did he want? The answer to that had hit him the night before when he sat in the dark on the porch, listening to the quiet of the night. Realizing he didn’t want to be the lone wolf any longer. He had once thought that would be his destiny. But once he knew that his future was before him on the land that stretched around him, there was one person he wanted to share it with. But how did he gain her trust? She had been hurt once by a very bad man. And he had a hand in breaking her heart… albeit in a removed way.

  So much had happened since he woke in that desert, a helicopter landing and medical personnel moving fast to save his life. Then weeks to rebuild himself in the hospital. Weeks to find himself again and leave the make-believe life behind. But also weeks to come to terms that his birth mother had chosen to give him a decent life with the man who fathered him. And she had lived a short, hard life and met with the darkest side of human nature. A loan shark who she had seen kill one of his clients had simply decided to remove her as a threat, and she was given some bad drugs. She never had a chance. But Dev had one. And he made good on putting the lowlife in the sights of his friends at the agency. He considered it his final job in a way.

  Now, he was ready for the next chapter in his life. And, for once, he had an idea of the direction and the person he wanted in it. Only he had no illusions. This case might be the most difficult of his career. Fear of failure was not an option.

  Rissa. He hadn’t been expecting to find a woman like her… that stood toe-to-toe with him, challenged him with her deep brown eyes, and intrigued him with a solemn look that spoke volumes without her saying a word. To hold her in his arms was like finding the other half of him… the better part. She completed him, turned him into a man that he wanted her to be proud to know. Then when he had kissed her… that had sealed the deal. Fight it as much as he tried, he was lost the moment she walked into the ballroom that night in those red sequins and flashed her devilish smile at him.

  But then the truth had come out about her fiancé and the part Dev had played in his dumping her practically on the wedding day. The fact she was talking to him again, gave him hope. But then the last couple of times they had been together, she danced around him almost like a skittish colt. Dare she trust? Better keep her distance? It was like she couldn’t be around him for too long. Was it all because of Tony? Or could his brothers be right and maybe she cared, but thought he cared for someone else? What was he supposed to do? He thought he had a great plan. Give her space… show her they could be friends. Gain her trust again and show her that he could be part of her world… in a permanent way.

  But maybe he needed to get her attention and then lay out his feelings, plain and simple. No more beating around the bush, playing flirting games. State your intentions once and for all. He had never shrunk from danger. But he had never had as much to lose in his way of thinking.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “We appreciate your thoroughness when checking over the stock, Dr. Flanagan.”

  “Thank you, but it’s pretty standard. And I have to say that you keep your animals in very good condition. You have some impressive rodeo stock.” Rissa had been working with her two interns for the last three hours, sorting through animals and paperwork. Charlie Peters was the rodeo producer and owner of the stock being trucked in for the events.

  “That’s good of you to say. We try our best to produce the best shows around with above average stock.”

  “I bet my dad has probably been bending your ear off about his babies.” Rissa turned to see Noel Peters approach them. She was dolled up in hot pink jeans, a shiny pale pink blouse with silver horseshoe buttons down the front, and the boots matched the silver of her hat, too. Not exactly Rissa’s cup of tea, but by the looks being sent Noel’s way by the cowboys working behind the chutes, they had no problem with her wardrobe choices.

  “I have done no such thing. I guess you’ve already met my sassy daughter?”

  “Yes, we met briefly at the diner in town. Welcome back to Braxton.” Rissa summoned her best attempt at manners.

  The other woman’s grin out beamed hers by a country mile. Was she always so vivacious? And why did she immediately act like a shrew in her thoughts around her? Why, indeed. More like it involved… who.

  “Oh, I’ve been in Braxton a few times since then. I wanted to stop by and say hi each time, but we just ran out of time.”

  We. Rissa had a familiar sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew exactly who the other half of we was. The woman confirmed it. That was what had been taking Dev’s time over the last few days. Josie had mentioned he had been super busy. But she hadn’t volunteered the why. Now Rissa knew why… she didn’t have the heart to tell her that she had lost out on a good man. Rissa needed fresh air. The inside of the show barn arena had become too small.

  “I’ve got some paperwork to do. I’ll leave you all to your work.” She turned and headed toward the door. Rissa thought she was alone.

  “Excuse me? Do you have just a few moments?”

  Rissa took a deep breath and turned. Noel had followed her. “I’m really on a tight schedule.”

  “I just wanted to say… it’s about Dev. I know that he’s told you a bit about how he and I met… when he worked undercover.” Her voice was lowered, just the two of them to hear her words. “I worried about him. He was really good at his job, but it had to weigh heavy within him. He hated that he couldn’t ever let his family or loved ones know where he was or what he was really involved in. I worried he wouldn’t find a way to get back to the man he truly was underneath all that cool exterior. But I see that he did find his way home. And I think you helped him more than you might know. And how would I know that? By the way he always managed to bring you into most of the conversations we’ve had these past couple of weeks. He admires you… and then some. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for being there for him. He deserves a lot.”

  Rissa didn’t know how to respond to the woman’s words. How was she supposed to take it? Why would she say that he admired her? She truly didn’t need Dev’s girlfriend thanking her for being there. She should make a response, but what?

  Rissa nodded. “No problem. Glad I could help you two out.” And she did turn and leave then, and nothing was going to stop her.

  She needed to get to her truck and take a drive. Anyplace would do… as long as it was far away from the rodeo grounds. And she almost made it to the parking lot.

  “There you are. We’ve been looking for you.” Dee and Josie were walking to intercept her. “We’ve got a table at the food barn. Then we can watch the rodeo from the box seats. You’ll be able to keep your eye on all that animal flesh up close.”

  Josie cut her eyes over
at Dee and her last remark. “You mean the four-footed variety of flesh, I’m sure.”

  “Of course, silly.” She gave a wink at Rissa after Josie turned to lead the way.

  “I’m not really that hungry.”

  “You will be. You always have room for Molly’s enchiladas.”

  She was surrounded by both friends as they headed her back toward the rodeo grounds. Their destination was one of the barns beside the arena. The smell of home cooking replaced livestock odors when they stepped through the door. The place was full to the brim with customers. The trio threaded their way toward the far corner of the room. They reached their table and as Rissa came around from behind Dee, she realized Chance and Rio were already there, standing politely as they took their seats, and Dev was also there. Their gazes met and Rissa tried to hang on to her noncommittal smile. She was quick to look away first. He held the chair beside him for her. She took a quick assessment around the small area and saw no other choice. She sat down with a quick murmur of thanks.

  They gave their orders to one of the waitresses. The noise level was several decibels high. It made it hard to carry on conversations across the table. Dev leaned closer to speak to her. She was glad that the others wouldn’t be able to hear most of their conversation.

  “It’s been a crazy week. Everyone’s been so busy. I wanted to stop by a couple of times, but I figured you’d be going just as fast and furious.”

  “Yes, I’ve been busy.”

  “Maybe we can find some time next week when it quiets down and have dinner. Some place nice. Give us a chance to relax and talk.”

  She looked at him. Was he crazy? Had he reverted to the old Devlin, using a line to keep two women on a string? She had no idea what he thought or how she felt anymore. Noel had reminded her that nothing was a given. She had misread a man’s intentions once before. Perhaps when the rodeo moved on, he would also?

  Thankfully, their food came to the table then. People ate at Molly’s during the rodeo because the food was fast and good and the turnover on tables faster. People ate and moved on. Their group was no different. Rissa was more than ready to leave. She excused herself from the group at the front door and stepped into the ladies’ room. She looked as tired as she was feeling. The vision of Noel Peters in her hot pink outfit made her jeans and emerald-green blouse seem blah in comparison. She couldn’t compete with the flashy barrel racer. Rissa refreshed her lipstick and smoothed back some of the errant strands of hair that escaped her French braid. She was a vet, not a rodeo princess. She couldn’t change who she was.

  Rissa was grateful that when she came out of the building, only Dee was waiting for her.

  “Josie will meet us at the box seats. The guys have their jobs to do during the rodeo.”

  And Rissa planned to be gone before the end of the rodeo. She wasn’t staying around for the dance afterward and certainly not going to watch Dev and his Noel together. She needed to remind herself she had built a business on her own. She knew how to be tough and fight for what she needed. But what about what she wanted? And the frightening thought hit her… what if what she needed was also what she wanted?

  The rodeo began with the usual pageantry. There was the rodeo queen and her court, then the colors were posted in the arena. The national anthem played over the loudspeakers and then the crowd settled down for some fast action provided by the cowboy competitors from the many ranches in the area. These were everyday, working cowhands that came together each July for this special event that showcased what they did daily. Teams from the various ranches competed for the title, and all monies were donated to the pediatric charity.

  Three events into the competition, they set up the cloverleaf pattern for the barrel racers. Rissa’s attention was grabbed by the rider in pink who entered the arena next. Noel Peters made a clean ride and set the bar high for the other ladies who followed her. At the end of the event, she had lost out to another rider by just two seconds on the clock. Rissa had to admit she was a good competitor.

  Rissa’s gaze couldn’t help moving more than a few times to search the group of cowboys around the chutes who were watching the event unfold. There was no sign of Dev. Seemed like he would have made the effort to watch his girlfriend run the course.

  The rodeo continued and before long, it was time for the event that most fans had waited patiently for… the bull riding.

  “Chance tried to talk Dev out of doing this. He told him that he could just be on one of the ranch’s team efforts, but Dev can be stubborn.” Josie’s words brought Rissa’s attention back to the chutes.

  And there he was. Only if she hadn’t known beforehand, she would have not recognized him. The blue overalls were a couple sizes too big for him. There was a form-fitting tan pullover and bright lime-green athletic sneakers were on his feet instead of his usual boots. His black cowboy hat had seen better days, but its bright red plume stuck into its hatband made him hard not to notice.

  “Dev gets into the makeup.” Dee grinned. “I love the bright yellow eye makeup. Are those daisies on his cheeks? They’re quite good. Who knew he was an artist?” In the next instant, Dee rose and informed them she was heading home.

  The too familiar queasy feeling was coming on her. She waved off Josie’s offer to go with her.

  “I’m getting to be a pro at this stuff. I’ll let Rio know what’s going on. You two enjoy the show and tell me about it later.”

  Their attention turned back to the arena after Dee departed. Others might find Dev’s appearance amusing, but not Rissa. The fact he was even in the arena about to face down and play tag with animals that were in bad moods, and weighed a couple thousand pounds, did not provide anything amusing as far as she was concerned. She should leave. But her feet didn’t cooperate. She stayed in her seat, gaze locked on the man in the clown makeup, who sprang into action the moment the first gate swung wide. And she forgot to breathe for eight seconds.

  The crowd cheered, Josie was yelling and clapping her enthusiasm. Rissa’s stomach rose to lodge itself in her throat. Why did he have to get so close to the twisting, bucking animals? Why weren’t the other two bullfighters getting there faster? How many riders were there? She really should leave. Then, the next to the last rider, out came a bull named Freight Train. Probably because he looked the size of a train’s engine. He was a massive black animal that was mad at the world. The rider went to dismount but something was wrong, and he began to flop around, like a ragdoll… his body was flailing off the side of the animal. His arm and hand seemed to be caught in the rigging.

  As the crowd rose to their feet, so did Rissa. Had she screamed something? She wasn’t certain, because her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears. Then the rider was free, but Dev was in a bad spot as the bull turned its head and basically swatted at him like he might a fly. The strength of it sent Dev flying several feet backward. He hit the ground with a loud thud and there was a general gasping sound from the crowd. The other bullfighters had moved in and the bull was dispatched to the alley toward the rear chutes. All Rissa saw was the figure of Dev in the dirt, on his side, and no movement.

  “Do something! Help him!” Josie was yelling the words.

  Rissa turned to look for help from Dee, the nurse, but she wasn’t there. Where were the paramedics? So Rissa reacted. Over the railing she went, backpack in hand, her feet already running when she hit the dirt.

  “Clear a path!” She yelled the words and used her hands to push through the growing throng of cowboys. Dev was still prone on the ground, his eyes closed. “Where are the paramedics?”

  Chance had arrived at much the same time. “The ambulance is on a run for a wreck just south of here. They’re dispatching another one with an ETA of five to eight minutes. Looks like you’re it, Doc.”

  “Is Rio here?”

  He shook his head. “He didn’t want Dee driving herself home. He was going to drop her and be on the road back.”

  Rissa checked to see that Dev was still breathing, his heart b
eating. Then she began a check over the man for signs of broken bones, bleeding. There was a small cut on his forehead, but nothing else she could see. When she was fairly confident that they could chance moving him, she nodded at Rio. “Let’s move him into the first aid tent at the back of the pens.”

  A group of men moved as swiftly, yet carefully as possible. They had just laid him on one of the stretchers in the tent when they heard a low moan. Rissa was checking his pulse rate. Her breath caught in her throat. She had been fighting the mounting panic that rose inside her with each second he was unresponsive.

  “The ambulance should be here soon.” Chance moved toward the door, shepherding all the extra people outside. “I’m going to let Josie know what’s going on. She can phone Dee; in case she hears it from someone else… give her the facts that we know so far.” He stepped out into the hallway.

  There was another low moan and Dev’s eyelids began to flutter, fighting to open. Rissa leaned down, her fingers going to his wrist again. His pulse rate was stronger.

  “Dev, Dev do you hear me? It’s Rissa. Open your eyes for me.”

  A few long moments passed and then Rissa could see the blue slits. “Hey, Doc.”

  There was a grimace of pain and that made the panic she had felt be replaced by anger at the man.

  “Did you lose every brain cell you ever had? You had no business being in that arena with the injuries you already had. Who were you trying to impress?”

  “No one.”

  “Well, you managed to do that. This was really a dumb thing to do.” She rummaged in the bag beside her. She withdrew a couple of sterile packs and tore one open. “You’re not a professional.”

  When the antiseptic pad met his scalp, he jerked back. “What are you doing?”

  “First aid. The ambulance that was here was called out to a bad wreck on the interstate. So, I’m it until the second one can get here and take your sorry carcass to the hospital.”