Walker: The Rodeo Legend

by Rebecca Winters

  “We’ve met.” Walker’s voice came out in a lower register. “How are you, Paula?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” she answered, dry-mouthed. “And you?” Like a potato too hot to handle, she tossed the conversation in his direction.

  “Couldn’t be better.” He said it with a defiance new for him. “Where’s Clay tonight?”

  “With the babysitter.”

  His eyes had narrowed to slits. “I’m here with Ruth and Leslie Pearsoll. He’s the owner of the feed and grain store in Markton.”

  Troy’s parents… Her hand slid to her throat.

  Walker turned to the older couple standing next to him. “Paula is a landscape architect with EarthDesigns here in Cody. She was the one who designed the grounds of the folks’ new ranch house,” he explained.

  “You’re kidding.” Matt looked at Paula, clearly astonished. Walker was dropping his little bombs all over the place.

  “And Matt Spurling here is the CEO of the Spurling Natural Gas Company. We lease our land to them.”

  They did? Paula’s mind was reeling.

  “How do you do,” the Pearsolls both said, and everyone shook hands.

  “Your family must be thrilled you’re back.” Matt’s respect and admiration for Walker was palpable. “Are you going to be doing some bulldogging again?”

  “As a matter of fact I’ve ridden in several rodeos already,” Walker admitted.

  With those war injuries, she couldn’t imagine anything worse than putting himself in more jeopardy throwing down a bull, but as Angie said, “It’s what Codys do.”

  “I was just talking to him about that,” Mr. Pearsoll interjected. “It’ll be like old times to see him in the arena again. He and our son lived for it.”

  Ruth nodded to Matt. “Troy and Walker were best friends before Troy was killed during the rodeo six years ago.”

  “Now that Walker’s back, he’s setting every bulldogger in the country on his ear.” Mr. Pearsoll’s eyes had grown moist.

  Paula’s emotions were in such deep turmoil, she needed to get out of there. “It was very nice to meet you,” she said to the Pearsolls. “Nice to see you too, Walker.” Not daring to look at him, she left the restaurant with Matt.

  He followed her across the street to her car. “All the Codys are winners, but as my dad once told me, Walker had an edge that made him a formidable opponent. Did you ever see him in action?”

  “No.”

  “He could bring down a steer so fast, it was hair-raising. People were really surprised when he went into the Marines.”

  Paula was relieved to get behind the wheel. If she had to listen to Matt say one more thing about Walker, she was going to go to pieces. “The dinner was lovely, Matt. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do the landscaping project for your company.”

  “You know how we feel. I feel,” he added, eyeing her soberly. “Good luck to you, Paula.”

  “You, too.”

  As he walked off, she backed out and drove home as fast as she could without getting a speeding ticket. Katy must have heard her come in the door because she rushed into the living room.

  “I’m glad you’re home! Clay started coughing a few minutes ago. When I went in to him, he’d thrown up. I was just going to take his temperature because he feels hot.”

  “That came on fast. He seemed fine before I left. Thanks for being such a good sitter.” She opened her purse and paid her.

  “I hope he’ll be all right. See you.”

  Paula saw her to the door, then hurried into the nursery. Sure enough Clay had a temperature of 101. While she was holding him, he threw up again and wouldn’t stop crying. This was so unusual for him she couldn’t sit around and wonder what was wrong. The only thing to do was take him over to nighttime pediatrics.

  She grabbed his baby bag and a clean blanket. Once she’d found her purse, she left the apartment, only to meet Walker who was coming up the steps two at a time with purpose. But one look at her crying child and a grimace broke out on his features. “What’s wrong with Clay?”

  “I don’t know. I walked in the house to find him running a temperature and throwing up. I’ve never seen him get sick this fast. He needs a doctor.”

  “I’ll drive you in your car so you can sit in back with him. Give me your purse.”

  “Thank you, Walker.” She handed it to him so he could get the keys. Whatever reason had brought him over, she was thankful he’d come. “The Madsen Clinic stays open all night.”

  “I know.” He strapped Clay in his car seat, then helped her in back. Inside of five minutes he’d driven them to the clinic and had accompanied her inside. Clay was sick again on the way in. “He hates throwing up. It scares him.”

  “Poor little guy. Let me hold him while you sign in.”

  To have him here was such a relief, she didn’t know what she would have done without him. After she’d talked to the receptionist, she hurried over to where he was walking with Clay in the crowded waiting room.

  The sight of him cuddling her sick son, who’d burrowed against him while Walker rubbed his little back and talked to him, filled her heart with warmth.

  Five more minutes and a nurse came through the doors calling for Olsen.

  “I’m going in with you,” Walker announced.

  “I want you to.” At this stage there’d be no prying Clay away from him.

  They were shown to one of the rooms. When the harried-looking doctor came in, her son clung to Walker, who sat down on the chair with him so an examination could take place.

  After a few minutes he said, “He’s got a double ear infection.”

  “Is it serious?” Walker sounded anxious.

  “I’ve seen a lot of these tonight, Mr. Olsen.” To hear the doctor address Walker that way took Paula’s breath. “A bug is going around. We’ll get him started on an antibiotic. When you get home, push fluids. Give him some Pedialyte and Children’s Tylenol. He should be all right. If his temperature should go higher, bring him back.”

  The clinic was so busy, the doctor didn’t have a lot of time to talk. As soon as he wrote out the prescriptions, Walker took them and they left the clinic. “I’ll drive you home, then run to the pharmacy and fill these.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  His lips thinned. “Would you rather I didn’t?”

  “I didn’t say that. It’s just that—”

  “I’m not Mr. Olsen?” He cut her off in a frigid tone before settling her and Clay in the car once more.

  When he was behind the wheel she said, “Please don’t put words in my mouth. You have no idea how grateful I am you’re with me. I just don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage.”

  She could see his piercing eyes through the rearview mirror. “I like helping. Clay and I have fought off black bears and eaten rainbow trout together. We’re buddies.”

  “I know you are.” I know. “When you’re at the pharmacy, will you try to get cherry Pedialyte? He likes that flavor.”

  “Can you think of anything else you need?”

  “Not right now.”

  They’d reached the apartment. He helped them inside, then took off with that speed she associated with him. While he was gone, she bathed Clay and put a clean shirt and diaper on him. Her little angel still whimpered against her, but hadn’t thrown up again.

  She walked around with him and sang songs until Walker’s return. He rushed inside the kitchen and got everything out of the sacks.

  “Why don’t you give Clay his meds while I hold him?”

  The suggestion seemed to appease Walker. With the expertise of a father who’d done this for years, he filled a clean bottle with the Pedialyte.

  By tacit agreement they went in the living room and sat down on the couch. Clay drank a little, then pushed the bottle away. They took turns holding him. Finally he consumed a fairly good portion, and Paula put him in his crib with a fresh blanket. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

  When they
went back out to the living room, Paula felt limp as a rag. She looked over at Walker who, despite their ordeal, looked fabulous in a silky black sport shirt and gray trousers. “All I ever do is thank you. You were wonderful with him tonight. He’s perfectly content with you.”

  “Clay’s a special boy. If you need any help, I want you to call me even if it’s in the middle of the night. Is there something I can write on and I’ll give you my cell phone number?”

  It was hard to believe they’d known each other for a month and she still didn’t have his number. “Tell me what it is and I’ll program it into my cell.” She pulled the phone out of her purse.

  When that was done he said, “Tonight I wanted to talk to you and took a chance on your coming straight home to Clay after you left the restaurant earlier.”

  “I’m glad you did,” she said in an emotion-filled voice.

  He studied her features through veiled eyes. Something serious was on his mind. “What does Matt Spurling mean to you?”

  His question caught her off guard, but it deserved an honest answer. “Matt’s a recent client who would like to be more than that.”

  “The man made that obvious. I thought he was married.”

  “They were divorced some time ago.”

  Walker cocked his dark head. “When you drove away from the restaurant in your car, I noticed he didn’t follow, but maybe you’re expecting him later tonight. If I’m in the way, just say so.”

  Heat filled her cheeks. “Of course you’re not! How could you even think it? If you remember, I drove up to your cabin last Sunday.”

  “I recall it very well,” his voice grated, “including the be-nice-to-a-vet massage. Is that what the unexpected drop-in was all about?”

  She blinked. “You think I feel sorry for you?”

  “Don’t you?” he bit out.

  “That’s the last emotion you bring out in me.”

  His hands shot to her upper arms. “What’s the first?” he fired.

  “Walker…”

  “You can’t tell me, can you? Maybe this will help.” His dark head lowered, blotting out the light from the lamp.

  With a low moan, Paula surrendered her mouth to him in an explosion of need. For so long she’d fought against this happening, but at the first taste of him she couldn’t have held back if she’d wanted to. As though in an avalanche gaining momentum, she was caught in a force beyond her control.

  This was no brief kiss. His mouth kindled a hunger inside her that grew even as it was being appeased. Walker couldn’t seem to get enough of her, either. One kiss became another and another, none of them long enough or deep enough as this fusion of mouths and bodies sent her into a swirling rapture.

  Those bronzed hands slid into her silky hair, cupping her head to give him easier access to her eyes and mouth. She clung to him, delirious with wanting. Desire shot through her like white-hot flame. He crushed her against him, then brought a protesting groan from her as he set her away from him without warning. The abrupt cessation of ecstasy produced literal pain.

  His eyes had gone dark, confusing her. “Brent was a lucky man. Matt doesn’t have a clue what he’s up against, does he?” After another kiss to her swollen lips, he was gone.

  She stood there dazed and weaving. Brent was a lucky man?

  Paula couldn’t keep up with his thought processes. First he’d accused her of feeling sorry for him; now he thought she was using him and Matt as substitutes for her husband?

  A cry of anger escaped her throat before she went to the nursery to check on Clay.

  AFTER A WRETCHED NIGHT, Walker woke up Thursday morning totally out of sorts. A shower and shave didn’t help his state of mind. Once he’d dressed in a clean T-shirt and jeans, he burst into the kitchen still fit to be tied. Before he did anything else, he drank two cups of coffee with a ton of sugar.

  Besides worrying about Clay, seeing Matt Spurling with Paula at the restaurant had been like getting impaled on a steer horn. Walker’s arrogance and naïveté had led him to assume he was the only man in her life. Mortal man, he amended bleakly.

  Of course she had male clients, but when he’d watched Matt looking at her with undeniable male interest, he lost his perspective and later came close to losing complete control while he was kissing her senseless. Hell, hell and hell.

  He grabbed his cell and charged out of the cabin ready to wreck shop. On the way down the mountain he drove the truck so hard it shimmied half a dozen times. But the second he came out on paved road, he was forced to slam on his brakes because he suddenly remembered that he needed to call Boyd.

  His hazer was waiting for him at the arena. They’d planned to practice with some steers this morning, but this was one time Walker wouldn’t be able to make it. Depending on how Clay was doing, they might not be able to leave for Canyonlands until tonight. He needed to get to Paula’s apartment pronto, not only to help with Clay, but to try and repair the damage he’d done.

  Not wanting to arrive empty-handed, he turned around and went back to the cabin. After rustling up a Mason jar, he filled it with as much Indian paintbrush as it would hold and placed it on the floor of the cab.

  By now he’d calmed down enough to drive to Cody without breaking a tire rod. He’d planned to pick up a present for Clay in town, but when he passed Whittaker’s gift shop, he made a U-turn and pulled up in front.

  Walker climbed down from the cab and walked past a couple of tourists coming out the door. Old man Whittaker was busy stacking Buffalo Bill T-shirts on a shelf.

  “Good morning, Tom.”

  He turned. “Well I’ll be. If it isn’t Walker Cody back from Iraq!” They shook hands. “How are you doing, son?”

  That was the ten-million-dollar question. “I’m fine. You look well, sir.”

  “Can’t complain. What can I do for you?”

  “I need a present for a two-year-old boy. Maybe a stuffed animal. He’s scared of dogs and bears.”

  The owner looked closer at him. “Is he blond?”

  “Yes.” Walker couldn’t imagine why he’d asked the question.

  “I know the little feller you mean. Big blue eyes. Cute as all get-out.”

  That described Clay. Maybe Tom was losing it, too, but Walker played along with him. “How do you know that?”

  “About a month ago, the boy’s mother bought the jade from me that’s hanging around your neck. When I asked her what she was doing out in these parts, she said she was looking for a man who might be a Cody.” He grinned. “Looks like she found you.”

  Walker’s hand went automatically to the charm. “That she did,” he murmured, fingering it. But he’d made it damned difficult for her.

  “I keep the stuffed animals down at the other end.” Walker followed him. “I’ve got all kinds. Beavers, squirrels, deer, elk, bison, rabbits, ducks.” The owner had an amazing collection. “See anything you like?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I’ve got some boxed horses. They’re more expensive.” He reached under the counter. “This one says it’s an Appaloosa.” Tom took the top off. In the tissue lay a black leopard filly.

  It was adorable, like Clay. Soft to the touch. Not in the least scary. The perfect size for him to get his hand around. “I’ll take it.”

  “Good. Do you want me to gift wrap it?”

  “I don’t think so. Just put it in a sack.”

  They moved back to the register, and Walker handed him a couple of bills.

  “There you go.” Tom put a little plastic whistle in the sack and handed it to him. “Tell the boy’s mother that’s another little present from me. When he blows on it, she’ll know where he is. No wonder he’s so good-looking. She’s a real beauty, that one.”

  Yup. One glimpse into those dazed blue eyes looking up at him a month ago and he hadn’t been the same since. “Thanks, Tom.”

  “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “I won’t. Take care of yourself.” He had one more errand to run before he drove to her apa
rtment.

  Chapter Nine

  When the doorbell rang, Paula had just set Clay down on a quilt in the living room to play with a set of different-size buckets. She got up and walked over to the door.

  “Who is it?”

  “I’ll give you one guess.”

  Her body started to tremble with excitement. She’d know that deep, compelling voice anywhere. His parting comments after the heady kisses she’d experienced in his arms had given her insomnia. By early this morning she’d come to the conclusion that only time would convince Walker there was no one else she was kissing last night but him.

  She opened the door, then had to catch her breath because he looked so incredible in a sage-colored Polo shirt she hadn’t seen him wear before. His tan was deepening and he’d started to fill out. Their eyes met. Today his were a clear green, not like last night.

  “C-come in,” her voice faltered.

  He moved his hard-muscled body inside, bringing his own enticing male scent with him. “How’s Clay?”

  “As you can see, he’s doing a little better.”

  “Did he sleep?”

  “Yes, and he hasn’t thrown up since the clinic, but he’s still running a temperature, though it’s not as high.”

  “That’s a relief.” He reached inside one of the sacks he was holding and brought out a soft-looking stuffed animal. It was a little white pony with black spots and a short tail.

  “Oh, how darling! Look, Clay…”

  Walker hunkered down by the quilt. “Hey, sport. What do you think?” He handed the toy to her son, who gave him an angelic smile, then took it and immediately put the head in his mouth.

  They both laughed. He got up and turned to her. “These are for us.”

  She took the other sack from him and looked inside. “Bagels and cream cheese! Just what the doctor ordered. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

  “Neither have I.”

  “Then come in the kitchen and I’ll make us some eggs to go with them.”

  Before he’d rung the doorbell, she’d been in the depths over the situation with him. For him to show up so unexpectedly brightened her day. Somehow she had to convince him he could never be a substitute for anyone.