Peace River (Rockland Ranch Series)

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  At last the buzzer sounded and Slade timed the bull’s lunges so he could jump off and away. With perfect balance, Slade sprung off the side of the bull to land gracefully on his feet in the torn up dirt like it was no big deal. Isabel felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach. He retrieved his hat and dusted it off as he crossed the arena to pick up his discarded bull rope. The bull made a lap around the end of the arena, and then came back after Slade and the official in the arena near him. Both men raced for the fence and literally ran up it to balance over the top rail as the bull roared past, missing them by inches.

  Waiting for the bull to move off, Slade glanced up into the stands above him and, incidentally, right into Isabel’s eyes. Time stood still for a moment, and then she looked away, turned abruptly and walked back down the ramp.

  ****

  Rossen had watched Isabel exit the arena after the barrels, so he was dismayed to glance up from behind the chutes and recognize her standing just a short distance away. If he wasn’t mistaken, all heck was going to break loose and soon.

  Pulling his attention back to the chute in front of him, he finished helping Slade onto the bull’s back. Now was a bad time to be distracted and he forced himself to focus.

  He stood by as Slade signaled for the gate and then made a beautiful ride. Afterward, as the bull came back, Rossen was watching Isabel again, and after seeing her face as she turned, he made an executive decision to go to the cowboy dance that night. He’d rather face Angelique any day than be in that trailer when Slade faced Isabel.

  ****

  Surprisingly, the trailer was empty when Slade tentatively opened the door and walked in. There were normal, square sandwiches made with bread on the counter in sandwich bags--something she hadn’t ever made before. She usually did something more gourmet than that. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or even more tense. The truck was here so he doubted she’d gone far.

  He’d called Rossen a coward earlier when he’d nonchalantly mentioned he was going dancing. He must have seen Isabel too.

  With a sigh of discouragement Slade wolfed down a sandwich, dumped his gear in the tack room, and headed for the little shower and the liniment. He tried to tell himself he didn’t care, that Isabel was being silly, and that he was single and didn’t have to bother with a woman. All his arguments sounded empty, however when he thought back to the night she’d watched her first bull ride.

  He was standing at the table wearing only jeans when she walked in. His hair was still damp and mussed and he was attempting to put liniment on his shoulders. She stepped over to him and unabashedly looked him up and down, then into his eyes and said, “You have a body like a young Greek god. I thought you would be more grateful for it than this.” She turned her back on him and went to bed, pulling her curtain.

  He shook his head. It wasn’t quite a slamming door, but was definitely effective. With another long sigh he turned out the light and lay down. He’d expected anger, or tears, or anything other than the deep quiet sadness he’d seen. He wanted to talk to her, to explain, to tell her about the goal he’d set, and the hard work they’d invested, and the fame, and the money. It all sounded hollow here in the dark, with her ten feet away but ten million feet emotionally.

  He was still awake when he heard Rossen come in and quietly undress. In the dark Rossen asked softly, “How’d it go?”

  “Mmm. Okay.”

  “That bad?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  ****

  Isabel knew she was quieter. She tried to be herself and did all the things she normally did, but her smile was tired. She knew she had no right to expect Slade to change his lifestyle. After thinking it through, she had to accept the fact that she just didn’t understand. He seemed more reliable than anyone she’d ever met. She knew he was the type to take risks, but calculated ones. Bulls seemed too foolish for him. And after all, it wasn’t any of her business. It was his life. He’d been living like this for years quite nicely without her. He obviously didn’t need her approval to make his own decisions. She resolutely decided she’d stand by him even in this. He had stood by her. What worried her as much as anything was that she’d been made abruptly and fully aware of how deeply she cared. She cared a lot.

  ****

  Slade had to admire her depth. He knew his riding the bull troubled her deeply, but she managed to deal with it and still pull her weight without ever saying more than she had said that night.

  He did a lot of soul searching and decided he’d still ride bulls, but only as many as he needed to get through the NFR. He could use points from the timed events, but he knew he’d have to ride both broncs and bulls too. After this year, he’d let the all-around title go.

  Since the night she’d busted him they never tried to hide the fact that he was going to ride bucking stock, and she never left during the bulls anymore. Knowing he’d disappointed her stung, but knowing she had decided to support him in it anyway was priceless.

  Two nights later, when he’d been thrown hard and was trying to reach his back with the liniment, she watched quietly for a minute and then offered her help saying, “You need to work the knots out first for it to help the most. The build up of lactic acid and loss of oxygen to the muscle inhibit the blood flow and increase inflammation. Turn around and I’ll help.” She sat behind him and smoothed her hands over the expanse of his back, identifying knots he didn’t even realize he had and then worked over the muscles like an expert.

  Amazed, he asked, “Where did you learn to do this?” Her fingers and hands were incredible. He was all but melting.

  From behind him, she said, “I’m three years into a degree in sports medicine, remember? Most of it has been generals but some of it has been in my field. On top of that, the same principles hold true for the race horses. The science of it works the same in horses and humans. You just smell better and are much easier to reach.” Her smile reached almost to her eyes.

  She actually did end up using her expertise learned on the track in conditioning horses to help keep Slade’s and Rossen’s horses in top form, and occasionally, she worked on Rossen’s strains and sprains too.

  ****

  They were three weeks into the month of July and rodeo life was a whirlwind of roping, riding, bulldogging, and driving. Isabel had seen more of the country in the last month than she’d seen in the first twenty years of her life combined. Much of their driving had been done at night, but still, she’d been places she’d never dreamed of six months ago. In all this time she had only been recognized once in the rodeo crowd. Apparently the blueblood race crowd and the rodeo types didn't have many people in common. The one guy who had known her didn't seem to realize she'd been missing from the race scene, so the encounter had actually been reassuring.

  Dante had returned home from the hospital and was almost back to normal, and things in California were quiet, at least for now. Judd and Deek hadn’t been seen and the police were still trying to find them. Several of the Wind Dance Farms racers had won significant races and news from home left her feeling she was right to stay where she was.

  They were in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the Frontier Days Rodeo, one of the biggest in the country, and although they were only six hours from their homes in the western part of the state, there would be only a short time to visit enroute to their next stop.

  She and Slade and Rossen had settled into a comfortable system of working and living together that made for success in the arena. Isabel’s spare horse had come in very handy on two occasions, and Slade and Rossen were winning good money consistently.

  Downtime lazing in the old lounge chairs had become a rarity, and they were making the most of it one warm July afternoon. Slade and Isabel were mildly surprised when Rossen quickly got up and headed into the trailer, saying, “I'm officially napping, and don’t you dare let her into this trailer!” Isabel laughed out loud when she heard him lock the door from inside.

  Within seconds they heard what had sent him packing. Isa
bel laughed again when she realized it was a double whammy. Not only could she hear the voice of Angelique headed their direction, but she heard Jesse with her.

  Slade suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights, and when Isabel got up from her chair and quickly stepped across to sit on his lounger with him, his eyes widened even further and she laughed once more. The reaction of both of these grown, responsible, adult men to these two floozy cowgirls had entertained her from the start, but boy did they make these guys uncomfortable.

  Isabel was enjoying her role immensely as she leaned into Slade just as the two girls rounded the corner of the trailer.

  Jesse pulled up short. “Isabel! What are you doing?” Isabel looked around innocently at Jesse’s demanding question.

  “Just having an ice cream.” She smiled as she teasingly reached up to wipe a little off Slade’s upper lip, and then turned and leaned back against him comfortably. “What are you two up to?” Thinking that Slade had incredibly nice lips, Isabel nonchalantly laid her hand on his thigh next to her hip and added, “I’d offer you one, but Rossen ate them all before he went in to nap.”

  Angelique, her clothes scanty, as opposed to Jesse’s tight ones, had been looking around and said, “I was wondering where he was.” Jesse hadn’t been looking around. She was looking straight at Slade and Isabel. The jealousy on her face almost made Isabel feel guilty until she remembered how this woman had tormented them.

  “He’s just tired. We’re out here so we don’t disturb him.” Isabel got goose bumps as Slade wrapped his arm loosely around her waist. She slid her small hand into his larger one and entwined their fingers.

  The conversation slowed right down. The two cowgirls were speechless and Isabel lost all coherent thought. Slade saved them by offering some mindless small talk and eventually they walked back the way they’d come.

  Once they were good and gone, Rossen popped right back out of the trailer with a huge grin on his face as Isabel laughingly switched back to her own chair and proceeded to finish her ice cream. Slade smiled at her and said, “Dang, for once I wish the girls had stayed longer.”

  Isabel licked her Popsicle stick and laughed. “It seemed to work.” Not to mention the fact that it had been heavenly to snuggle against Slade—even if it did make her heart rate increase markedly.

  Later that afternoon her heart rate went even higher. Slade was grooming his horses when Isabel saw Jesse headed their way through the trailer kitchen window. She slipped out the door and hurried to the horse barn, came down the row and slipped into the stall with Slade. Walking right up to him, she put her hand on his waist, looked up into his face and whispered, “Kiss me. Hurry.”

  Her request seemed to surprise the heck out of him, but she didn’t have to ask twice. His back was to the stall door, but he hugged her and whispered back right against her lips, “I assume this sudden need for affection is the result of the imminent arrival of Jesse again. Right?”

  She didn’t have time to answer before he began kissing her. Her mouth was busy anyway. His suspicions were confirmed a minute or two later. Surprisingly, he seemed to be enjoying that minute immensely. His mouth was firm and warm, and at the moment remarkably willing. Not that she would complain. She’d dreamed about this.

  She’d tried not to, but from that first meeting, he was just so marvelously attractive that she hadn’t been able to help it. Plus, she knew she wasn’t the only one who felt the attraction between them. He’d noticed it. At times it had been like electricity sparking across the trailer. Still, she hadn’t really expected him to be this cooperative about kissing her.

  They had both completely forgotten about anyone else when Jesse’s voice brought them back to reality. “Slade, I . . . Slade! What are you doing?”

  He hesitated and then sighing reluctantly, raised his head and swore under his breath. Isabel felt like doing the same exact thing. She knew Jesse was none too bright, but really.

  With a disgusted tone, Slade said, “I’m kissing a girl, Jesse. What does it look like? Or I was.”

  Isabel didn’t even have the strength left in her bones to act her part. She was a little dazed. She’d forgotten about Jesse. Actually, she’d forgotten about everything. If she’d known kissing him would be like that she’d have taken up their charade when he’d first mentioned it.

  Jesse’s voice was eminently accusing. “I thought you said she was your cook, or your secretary or something.”

  With one arm still around Isabel, Slade said, “She is or something, why? Have you got a problem with it?”

  Jesse stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “Yes, of course I do. You’re not supposed to kiss your secretary. It’s, it’s . . . it’s unethical.”

  Pulling Isabel more snuggly against him, Slade looked down at her and said in a velvet voice that made her stomach do a somersault, “Well, I like it. A lot. So would you go away, so I can do it some more? Please.” With that he turned his back on Jesse and went back to kissing Isabel. Neither one of them heard her leave.

  A few minutes later Isabel tentatively pushed him away and said somewhat breathlessly, “I . . . I’m sure we convinced her you’re romantically involved.” She looked up at him with a smile that was a little shy.

  He smiled back and said softly, “We certainly convinced me.”

  Isabel laughed softly and said, “That was a terrible line.”

  “Sorry, your mouth short-circuited my brain. That’s all it could come up with with you this close. And it fits.”

  He still held her shoulders and she asked hesitantly, “What do you mean?”

  Moving a hand from her shoulder to her cheek, he looked at her mouth as he said, “Mmm, I mean that I am romantically involved.” Her eyes flew to his and he softly admitted, “Man, I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time, Isabel. I’ve wanted to see if I’d enjoy kissing you as much as I thought I would.” He bent and kissed her again and then pulled away.

  She gave him a small hesitant smile. “And?”

  He put a finger tenderly on her lower lip. It made her knees weak as he gave a lazy smile and said in that same velvet voice, “I’m not entirely sure. I need to continue my research.” He bent his head to kiss her again, this time more softly, his touch infinitely gentle. He was slow to pull away and then hugged her and leaned his cheek on her hair and said, “It was even better than I’d hoped.”

  Completely unsure of herself, she couldn’t think of anything to say, and finally, simply said, “That’s good. Isn’t it?”

  He chuckled, kissed her once more, hugged her close, and said huskily. “Better than good, girl.” They stood there like that for a long moment while his horse went on eating, completely unaware that Isabel’s world had miniature fireworks going off in it.

  Finally, Slade broke the silence. “Um . . . Isabel. This is not exactly that professional relationship I promised. My only excuse is you walked in here and asked. I’m weak, I know. But I am only human. So, do you think you could release me from that promise soon? ‘Cause I’d really like to do it again sometime.”

  She hid her face against his chest and he said, “Hey.” His voice was gentle as he lifted her chin. “Are you okay?” She nodded. “With this, I mean?”

  She gave him a shy smile. “I don’t know what I am. I mean. I didn’t really do this to put you on the spot. I mean it’s great! It’s what I’ve wanted. I just didn’t know you did, too.”

  He looked into her eyes and quietly said, “You did too.”

  Nodding tentatively, she said, “Okay. You’re right, but . . . This is probably not very well thought out, but I loved it anyway.”

  “So can I be released from my promise?” His brilliant green eyes searched hers.

  Her heart was pounding so hard she thought he could see it. She asked, “We’re living so closely. Do you think that’s wise?”

  He nodded and said without hesitating, “Absolutely.”

  She swallowed hard and said, “I’ll, uh, I’ll just trust your judgment.”
<
br />   As his head slowly came back down to hers, he mumbled, “We’re gonna need more research.”

  Sometime later, from what seemed like a distance, she heard, “Hey, why do I get the impression I’ve missed something?” Rossen’s cheerful face appeared outside the stall.

  Isabel reluctantly pulled away from Slade’s mouth and laughed softly and said, “We were just trying to convince Jesse that Slade is romantically involved.”

  “I see.” Rossen looked up and down the empty alleyway and laughed as well. “Well, yeah. Not a sign of Jesse anywhere. It must have worked, huh?”

  Slade opened the stall door for Isabel, smiled at her and said, “Like a charm.” He took her hand and they stepped out into the alleyway of the barn.

  Seeing their linked hands, Rossen said, “So. . . About that promise that we’d keep it completely professional.”

  Slade elbowed him and said, “Already dealt with. I’m officially exempt from that promise.”

  Rossen grinned. “What about me?”

  Isabel laughed and Slade elbowed Rossen again and said, “You’re still under oath, dude. Permanently. And you’re still in the dog house for horsing around with her that day with the zerbits. So don’t get any ideas.”

  As the three of them fell into step beside each other on the way out of the barn, Rossen said, “Hey, as I recall, you were the hesitant one about bringing her that day we met. I had to kind of nudge you along. I should have some kind of clout here.”