Cowboy Six Pack

by Kari Lynn Dell

  “Is something on my face?” She dabbed her lips self-consciously with her napkin as her cheeks pinkened.

  “No. Sorry.” He dropped his gaze to his plate.

  “So, Cody mentioned you’re a bull rider, too?”

  The question took him off guard. As one of the most famous rodeo athletes in the world, he wasn’t used to going unrecognized. “I am.”

  “Is riding how you got hurt?”

  The memory of Drugstore Cowboy plowing him into the ground shot through his head. He banished the image. “Yeah.”

  “And you want to return?” She sounded only curious, not judgmental.

  “Counting the minutes. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else,” he said. “A bull rider is all I ever wanted to be.”

  She nodded. “I feel that way about teaching. It’s my calling. There’s not much money, and very little appreciation for what I do, but I don’t see myself pursuing anything different.”

  Luke had never thought about it quite like that before. He loved his fame, and the money that came with it. He wondered if he’d not climbed to the top of his profession if he would have stuck with it, or found another career. “Admirable,” he said.

  “I love children. They make it all worthwhile.” She took another bite, chewed and swallowed. “You must love kids, too, if you’re leaving the rodeo circuit to help youngsters achieve their dreams.”

  “I’m not leaving anything,” he said harsher than he meant to. “I’m just helping out a buddy because he needs me and I owe him.” He motioned to his leg covered in a cast. It had been six months the broken bones refused to mend, although according to his doctors, his spleen and testicles had healed just fine. “And this keeps me from riding for a bit.”

  Her full lips turned down. “I see.”

  His gut twisted and the steak that tasted so good looked unappealing now. “I like kids fine,” he said in a softer tone. “But they aren’t my world. Rodeo is.”

  Rayanne nodded at his leg. “Even though it did that to you?”

  The censure in her amazing eyes stung. She didn’t get it. How could she? Most bull riders got hurt sometime in their career; his price had just been higher than most. “It’s part of the job.”

  “When will you ride again?”

  “As soon as my leg is strong enough.” A lot of his buddies rushed riding after a wreck and been injured again. He wouldn’t make the same mistake. He couldn’t afford to. His gut and balls had healed, but he wasn’t anxious to damage either again.

  “Have you ever considered quitting?”

  “Not for a minute.” He’d already been gone too long. To take a run at the finals, he’d have to give it hell when he returned to the circuit.

  “I admire your dedication,” she said softly.

  For some reason, her simple compliment warmed him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re most welcome.” She pushed her plate away. “The steak was delicious.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.” He enjoyed talking to her. The thought surprised him. His rodeo buddies would be amazed to see him sitting and visiting with a schoolteacher. He had less than nothing in common with her, yet he’d enjoyed himself. “Would you like coffee?”

  “I would,” she said. “But only if you allow me to make it.”

  He started to protest, then shrugged. “The pot is on the counter, the grounds right above it. Nothing fancy just plain old grocery store roast.”

  “That’s exactly what I like.” She smiled and rose, disappearing inside.

  Luke lifted his broken leg and placed his heel on a chair across from his. The darn thing ached tonight. Must be tired. He’d been on his feet a lot today. Dragging the heavy cast around was more trouble than he’d ever imagined. He couldn’t wait to get out of it. If only he could fix his infertility as easily. The doctors’ initial diagnosis had been accurate—he wouldn’t father children. Drugstore Cowboy had stolen that from him.

  The kitchen door slammed and Rayanne appeared carrying two mugs. She handed him one. “Do you take cream or sugar?”

  “Just plain, thanks.”

  They sat in companionable silence as the mountaintops turned pink, then deep purple. Eventually the peaks faded to black.

  “I’d never get tired of this view.” Luke’s leg itched and he rubbed the cast, wishing for relief. “I see why Cody chose to lay down roots here.”

  Rayanne peered at him over the rim of her mug. “Where will you settle when you’re done with rodeo?”

  He shrugged. “I haven’t thought about it much. Somewhere warm, maybe. Where the old bones won’t hurt so much.”

  “I could go for Tahiti,” she said. “Or Jamaica.”

  He lifted his cup. “To someplace with umbrellas in the drinks.”

  She touched her mug to his. “Hear, hear.”

  Luke sipped his coffee. He must be getting soft. Lying in the sun and drinking pińa coladas with this woman didn’t sound half-bad.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Rayanne opened her windows and door to air out her classroom as she packed up some papers she needed to grade over spring break. She wished she could afford a trip somewhere, but not this year.

  Loud laughter, suddenly muffled, reached her ears. What on earth? The kids had been released. There was no reason for them to be hanging around the building. Curious, she placed a book in a box, then went to see what was going on.

  She walked quickly, drawn to the noise. When she rounded the corner, she stood in stark disbelief. Three young teens, wearing ski masks, using cans of spray paint were writing obscenities and drawing filthy images across the side of the gymnasium.

  Before she thought it through, Rayanne sprinted toward them. “Stop that!”

  They spun her direction, mouths open. Two of them reacted, dropping their weapons and fleeing. The third came toward her, brandishing a can of paint. Was he going to spray her?

  She used her bossiest teacher voice. “Drop that! Now!”

  For a moment, he hesitated. Finally, he let go of the canister and it bounced across the sidewalk. They both watched until it stopped in the grass lining the cement.

  “I was just—”

  “Do not lie to me, young man.” She glared at him until he dropped his gaze. “You and your friends were vandalizing the school. I saw you with my own eyes and I’m going to tell the police.”

  His eyes widened. “The cops? No. Please, Miss Whitfield.”

  He knew her? Was this one of her former students? “Who are you? Show me your face.” When he hesitated, she stomped her foot. “Now, mister.”

  Slowly, he removed the ski mask, but stared at his big feet, unwilling to meet her eyes.

  “Lift your head,” Rayanne commanded.

  When he did, she gasped. Rafe Cantera, a former student, stood well over six feet tall. His dark eyes were filled with anger. Her mind flashed back to the sweet little boy in her second-grade class who had brought her homemade jelly from his mother’s kitchen.

  “Rafe? Why are you doing this?” She lifted her hand, then dropped it.

  He shrugged, but didn’t speak.

  “Who was with you?”

  Only silence.

  “Well, if you won’t say I guess I’ll let the sheriff figure it out.” She started to turn away, and he grabbed her sleeve.

  “Please, Miss Whitfield. No cops.”

  She glared at him. “Tell me why I shouldn’t call them right now. What you’ve done is criminal.”

  “I’ll fix it,” he pleaded.

  “How?” She put her hands on her hips. “That’s paint. It won’t come off with soap and water.”

  “I don’t know,” he muttered.

  “And your friends are responsible, too.” She’d heard his father moved out, leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves and she softened her tone. “Who was with you, Rafe?”

  “I ain’t rattin’ out my friends.” He kicked a pebble and watched it bounce away.

  “That’s too bad, because you’re going
to be doing a lot of cleanup on your own.” She refused to feel sorry for him. If he wouldn’t say who helped him, then he deserved to take the heat. “Come on. We’ll find the janitor and he’ll tell us how to remove this mess.”

  With dragging feet, he followed her to the janitor’s office. A balding, stooped man, Harold Finch, sat at his desk, eating a donut. He smiled when he saw her. “Miss Whitfield. What can I do for you?”

  She pointed to Rafe. “I caught Mr. Cantera and two of his friends spray painting the gym. He needs to know what to do to fix it.”

  With a muffled curse, Harold pushed to his feet. “Come along, young man. Hurry now.”

  Certain Rafe was in good hands, Rayanne turned to leave. “Thank you, Harold.”

  “You’re welcome,” he muttered.

  “You won’t tell my mom, will you?” Rafe called after her.

  “On one condition.” Her thoughts flew. Removing the paint was a start. “You clean up the mess you made, and if Mr. Finch is satisfied with the results, I won’t say anything to her. But, if there’s a next time all bets are off.”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  Rayanne hurried toward a friend’s classroom. She needed to ask questions. At the opposite end of the hallway from hers she found her friend Megan DeSoto, sixth grade teacher, cleaning her chalkboard.

  “Hi,” Rayanne said. “Have a minute?”

  Megan placed the eraser on her desk. “Sure. What’s up?”

  Rayanne filled her in, then said, “You had Rafe last year in your class. Who did he hang around with? I want to find those other boys and make them help clean, too.”

  “That’s terrible.” Megan perched on the edge of her desk. “Um, Billy Sutherlin was Rafe’s best friend. And Justin Ellis, too.”

  Rayanne couldn’t hide her shock. “Those were such nice boys when they were little.”

  “They were, still are for the most part, but Rafe’s dad took off and his mother’s struggling to keep the family together. Justin’s dad was killed in an accident last year and Billy’s always been a little wild.” Megan’s eyes widened. “Do you think Billy and Justin were Rafe’s accomplices?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Rayanne said.

  “How?”

  “I’m going to go talk to Laney Ellis and see if Justin was home this morning. Then I’ll visit Billy’s mom.”

  “Do you want to have dinner?” Megan called as Rayanne headed for the door.

  “Sure. I’ll call you later.”

  ~*~

  Laney Ellis placed a glass of iced tea in front of Rayanne, then sat across from her. “How are you? Enjoying your vacation?”

  “Yes, although I’m not doing anything special. I’d love to take a trip, but it’s not in the cards this year. Too much money I don’t have.” She sipped her tea. Way to overshare, Rayanne.

  “I hear that,” Laney said. “Wyatt’s insurance has kept us afloat, but it’s not easy.” Her husband had been killed in a freak accident the previous spring.

  “I’m sorry, Laney.” Rayanne gave the other woman’s hand a quick squeeze.

  “Thank you.” Laney’s cheeks pinkened. “I’ve actually gone on a couple of dates with someone. Can you believe it?”

  “Of course I can,” Rayanne said truthfully even though it still stung that Cody’d dumped her to run to this woman. “You’re gorgeous and sweet. Why wouldn’t a man want to go out with you?” A brief image of her dinner with Luke flashed through her mind. He hadn’t called. Big surprise.

  Laney laughed without humor. “Because I got married when I was seventeen and I’m not exactly up on the current dating rules. Plus, I have a teenage son who’s being a brat right now. Not a big draw for most guys.”

  “That’s actually why I came to see you,” Rayanne said. “About Justin.”

  Laney sighed. “What’s he done now?”

  “I’m not certain he’s done anything.” Rayanne told her about the activities at the school earlier. “I want to find out if Justin was one of them.”

  “Lord, I hope not.” Laney stared out the window. “But I don’t know for sure. Since spring break started, Justin’s been staying at Cody Utah’s place. Against my better judgment, I agreed to let him learn how to ride bulls. He’s determined to follow in his dad’s bootsteps.”

  “Wow.” Like most everyone, Rayanne knew Laney detested bulls since one killed Wyatt. So much so she sold them all. Rayanne imagined that made cattle ranching difficult, if not impossible.

  “Justin has been hard to deal with,” Laney said. “I couldn’t control him, so I agreed to let him go, albeit reluctantly. He loves being up there and Cody is good with him. It scares me to death, though.”

  “I can only imagine,” Rayanne said.

  Laney met her gaze. “I don’t think Justin would jeopardize his chance to work with Cody by vandalizing the school, but I could be wrong. I pray he’s coming out of this funk he’s been in for so long.”

  “I’m sure he is,” Rayanne said. “Losing Wyatt has been hard on both of you.”

  “Yes, it is. I wanted to die, too.” Laney looked out the window again. A small smile played around her lips. “But maybe there’s still life for me after all.”

  Rayanne’s resentment over Cody leaving her to help Laney melted away. She deserved to be happy, and if the bull rider got her past her grief over Wyatt’s death, then all the better. Rayanne liked Luke more than Cody anyway. Too bad he didn’t return the sentiment.

  Laney drew Rayanne out of her thoughts “I’ll call Cody and see if Justin left there this morning.”

  “Thank you.”

  Laney dialed and listened, but set down the phone without speaking. “It went to voicemail. I imagine they’re riding right now.” She pushed her glass away. “Let’s run up there. I want to get to the bottom of this as badly as you do. Worse, actually. If my son is vandalizing the school…”

  Rayanne hesitated. Would Luke think she was chasing him if she showed up unannounced? Shaking off her worry, she decided it didn’t matter. Rafe and the other boys were more important than what Luke thought of her. “Okay.”

  ~*~

  The drive to Cody’s place took only a few minutes.

  Rayanne’s heart pounded wildly in her chest as they turned under the arch. Next to Laney’s cool blonde beauty, she felt like a Hereford heifer next to a thoroughbred. She hadn’t worn makeup and her wild, red hair was particularly unmanageable today. Laney didn’t have on makeup either, and her hair was in a ponytail, yet she somehow seemed to look like she’d stepped out of the pages of a western magazine with her green eyes, sharp cheekbones and endless legs.

  After parking, they walked toward the pens. Cody, Luke and Justin were gathered near the fence, talking. The pungent smell of cattle reached Rayanne’s nostrils as she drew near making her wrinkle her nose.

  Her gaze was drawn to Luke. He had his back to her, and she admired his broad shoulders and slim hips. He leaned on a crutch and she wondered how his leg was healing. How much longer would he be here before he left for the rodeo circuit?

  Cody spotted them and a smile crossed his face. “Hello, ladies. What brings you here today?”

  Luke turned around, and his gaze was warm. “Howdy.”

  Only Justin seemed unhappy to see them. He frowned and looked away.

  “I came to talk to my son,” Laney said.

  “Mom—”

  “Don’t ‘Mom’ me, young man.” Her voice sparked with anger. “Have you been here all morning?”

  “What’s this about?” Cody looked between them with a frown.

  Rayanne stepped forward. “Three boys vandalized the school this morning. At least one of them is a good friend of Justin’s. We’re wondering if he knew anything about it.”

  Justin’s face turned red. “I don’t know anything about that. I’ve been here all day. Just ask Luke and Cody. Right, guys?”

  “That’s right.” Cody backed him up. “We’ve been out here all morning. In fact,
we were just about to head in and eat lunch.”

  Luke nodded. “That’s right.”

  Laney expelled a breath. “Good.”

  “Jeez,” Justin muttered. “Accuse a guy why don’t you—”

  “I’m sorry,” Laney said. “But apparently, your friends were involved. Do you know anything about Rafe and Billy painting up the school?”

  “No.”

  “Justin,” Laney said. “You better speak up if you do.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I don’t.”

  “Young man, you better be telling me the truth, or your days with Cody are over.”

  Feeling like an intruder on a family moment, Rayanne turned to walk toward the pens to look at the bulls. She felt a presence beside her and glanced over at Luke, then away.

  “How are you?” He crutched alongside her, but she kept her pace.

  “Fine.”

  “Justin’s a good kid,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “His old man died and all he wants is to be like him.”

  Rayanne stopped and spun toward him, nearly knocking him down. “Listen, Mr. Greer. I’ve known Justin all his life. I don’t need you, some devil-may-care bull rider, telling me how his mind works. I’m a trained professional. I think I know a little more about children that you do.” He flinched, but she continued. “Just because Justin believes he wants to be like you doesn’t make everything he does all right in my book.”

  “Damn, lady. Calm down. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

  “I’ll tell you what’s bothering me,” she said. “A boy I’ve known all his life just sprayed paint all over my school this morning. It has me upset, and I can’t do a thing about it, either.”

  “Well, Miss Trained Professional, I have an idea.” Luke smirked at her.

  She gaped at him. “What?”

  He pointed at the bulls in the pens. “Put him on one of those guys. It’ll straighten a kid out real fast. It worked for me and it worked for Cody, plus a lot of other guys we know.”