“Nah. I was over Renie by the time I met you, Blythe.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, maybe not over her, but resigned to her bein’ with Billy. No point beating a dead horse, if ya know what I mean.”
Jace leaned closer and covered her hand that was resting on the table with his. “I don’t want to talk about Renie, darlin’. I want to talk about you.”
“I’m not as interesting as Renie is.” She tried not to sound as though she was feeling sorry for herself again, because it was true. Compared to the rest of the people she hung around with, she didn’t have much going on in her life.
“You sell yourself short, Blythe.”
“Oh, yeah? Tell me, then, what do you find interesting about me?”
He said she was beautiful and nice to talk to, and then she stopped listening, and started thinking about Tucker.
There hadn’t been a minute in the time she spent with him when she hadn’t believed he found her fascinating, or that she hadn’t felt like the center of his attention. Jace reminded her of boys she’d dated in high school. He was hot as all get out, funny, charming, and flirtatious, but there was something missing. She wouldn’t have known to even look for it if she hadn’t felt it with Tucker.
“Have you been to the Next Door Bar?” she asked as they were leaving the restaurant.
“No, where is it? Next door?”
She laughed. “Not next door to here. It’s actually next door to Castle Café.”
“Let’s do it. Can we walk from here?”
“Definitely,” she answered. “What happened, Jace?”
“With Tuck?”
“Yeah.” She couldn’t stop herself from asking. He’d been on her mind all night. Jace had to have sensed it.
“I figured you’d ask at some point.” He rubbed his face with his hands again, as he’d done the last time she asked him about him.
“It isn’t my story to tell, Blythe. Tuck…God, I’m so uncomfortable. He should tell you. Not me.”
Blythe put her hand on his arm and stopped him. “It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I’m sorry, Blythe. I can’t talk about it.”
“Like I said, it’s okay. Let’s change the subject.”
They walked to the bar in silence, but once they were inside, the music and crowd distracted them. They danced and talked more about rodeo. There were a lot of cowboys in the bar, and soon Jace got involved in a conversation about the stock show. When he mentioned he was traveling with Billy Patterson, people started asking about him.
“Billy’s a rock star,” said the girl sitting next to Blythe at the bar.
“Yeah, even outside the rodeo he is,” answered Blythe, laughing.
“I’m Lyric,” she introduced herself. “I’m the host of RodeoChat.”
“Blythe, I…uh…don’t know that much about rodeo. I mean, I’ve been a few times, but that’s it.”
“No matter. It’s nice to meet you, Blythe. Pretty good lookin’ cowboy you’re out with tonight.”
Blythe looked over at Jace. Good looking didn’t begin to describe him. He was beautiful. He’d let his blonde hair grow out since the last time she saw him, although she heard him ask her dad if there was a place where he could get a haircut tomorrow. If she remembered later, she’d try to talk him out of it. She liked the way it curled against the collar of his shirt.
He looked over at her and smiled. When he saw she was talking to Lyric, he winked, and then went back to his conversation with the guys.
Lyric fanned herself when he did. “God, he’s hot. What color are his eyes? Green? He doesn’t have a brother does he?”
Blythe laughed again. “He does. A twin, in fact.”
“Oh my ’lanta,” said Lyric. “Is he here, too?”
No, he was in Europe—that’s what Jace had said. She wished she could see him, talk to him, get him to tell her what the big secret was. Obviously it was something important, life-changing and traumatic, given his reaction on Thanksgiving.
“I’m a twin, too. How ’bout that? I have a twin brother.” When Blythe didn’t answer, Lyric asked if she was okay.
“Yeah. Sorry. No, his brother isn’t here. He’s in Europe.”
Lyric tilted her head and looked at her as though she expected Blythe to keep talking.
“He’s a nice guy, too,” was all she said.
“Hmm, sounds like there’s a story there.”
“There is,” Blythe answered. “But I don’t know it.”
“Speaking of stories, I’d love to interview Billy Patterson on RodeoChat. Think you can hook me up?”
“What’s RodeoChat?”
Lyric explained that she hosted social media interviews with people in the rodeo industry. Blythe wasn’t sure, but she thought she might be able to get Billy to do an interview. Lyric asked more questions, and before she knew it, Blythe had told her the whole story of Billy, Renie, and Willow. It dawned on her suddenly that she shouldn’t have.
“Don’t worry,” said Lyric, sensing her discomfort. “If I get the chance, I’ll keep my questions focused on his career as a saddle bronc champion. I’ll keep his personal life out of it, unless he brings it up himself.”
“Thanks,” said Blythe. “Either you’re way too easy to talk to or these Jack and cokes are going down a little too fast. I ran off at the mouth more than I should have.”
“It’s okay,” said Lyric. “I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.”
Blythe hoped so. Lyric seemed trustworthy. Although, her dad told stories of how he’d gotten in trouble with the media back when he was on tour with his band.
“My dad used to get in a lot of trouble over-talking.” Blythe laughed. “He was in a band.”
“What band?
“Ever heard of Cochran?”
“Of course, I have.”
“Cochran’s our last name, and the name of his band.”
“You’re not going to believe this,” said Lyric. “My dad was in Satin. He still is, but they don’t tour as much as they used to.”
“This is wild. I know Satin. My dad would freak out right now. I have to text him. What’s your dad’s name?”
Blythe texted her dad, and as she predicted, he was ready to jump in the car and drive up to meet Lyric. Blythe told him not to, but it would be just like him to do it anyway.
“It just dawned on me, your name, Lyric…it’s very symbolic, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “Yeah, my parents were…like that. My brother’s name is Bullet.”
“Seriously? Sounds like there’s a story there,” she laughed, repeating what Lyric had said earlier. “No story here. I’m named after Blythe Danner, not symbolic at all.”
“That’s cool.”
“How did you get into rodeo if you were raised by a rocker?”
“My grandma was a barrel racer back in the day. I spent a lot of time with her when I was growin’ up—with my dad on tour and all. Once I got a little older, my mama went with him. Anyway, my grandma took me to rodeos all the time.”
“And you turned it into a career.”
“As I got older, I started payin’ more attention and realized there wasn’t a place where you could real-time results for anything other than the big rodeos. You can’t even get those all the time. So, I started RodeoChat on social media, to have a place for folks to find out results, chat about rodeo, that kind of stuff.”
“Smart.”
“Smart or crazy, not sure which,” Lyric laughed. “It isn’t the only thing I do.”
“What else do you do?”
“I still work in the music biz.”
“Still?”
“Yeah, I’ve been workin’ with my grandma as long as I can remember. She owns a talent agency.”
“Wow, that’s big.”
Lyric laughed again. “Yeah, it’s big, but that isn’t all I do.”
“It isn’t?”
“Nah. I’m also a vet tech, althoug
h I don’t have as much time to do that as I’d like.’’
“You’re kidding. How old are you?”
When Lyric told her she was her age, Blythe wanted to crawl into a hole.
“You’ve done so much with your life, and me? I haven’t done jack shit with mine.”
“Well, maybe you oughta find somethin’ that interests you.”
“Easier said than done. Anyway, let’s change the subject back to the vet business. Renie, the one I was telling you about, who’s engaged to Billy, she’s going to CSU to get a degree as a large animal vet.”
“Cool! That’ll give me more to talk to her and Billy about. You’re awesome, Blythe.”
“I don’t know about that. I have awesome friends, that’s the extent of my awesomeness.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. You’ll figure it out. I got a feelin’ about you.”
Jace watched Blythe talk to the girl at the bar. It looked like they were having a good time. He’d started to feel guilty about talking with the guys, but every time he looked over she was talking and smiling.
He walked over to where she sat, stood behind her, and put his arm around her waist.
“Havin’ a good time, darlin’?”
“I am. This is Lyric. Lyric this is Jace Rice.”
“Nice to meet you, Jace. I was trying to talk Blythe into getting me an interview with Billy Patterson. Maybe you can help me with that.”
“Lyric, such a unique name. It sounds familiar—”
“RodeoChat,” she answered before he could ask.
“That’s right. Lyric. Wow! It’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen some of your interviews. Good stuff. And yeah, I’m sure Billy would be willing.”
“Cool! I’m gonna get goin’. Big week ahead of me an’ all. It was great talkin’ to you, Blythe. Will you be up at the National Western?”
“All week,” Jace answered for her.
Lyric handed her a card. “This has my cell number on it. Call me tomorrow, okay? I wanna talk to you more, Blythe. I’ve got some ideas I wanna run by you.”
“Me? Uh, okay. I’m not sure why you’d want to talk to me, but yeah, I’ll call you.”
“You made a friend,” Jace said, whisking her out on the dance floor just in time for a slow song.
“She was fun to talk to. I hope Billy isn’t mad at us for practically committing him to an interview.”
“Nah, he won’t be. Don’t you worry.” Jace pulled her closer and breathed in her scent. She smelled like vanilla and fresh air. He nuzzled closer. “I missed you, Blythe.”
He felt her shoulders tense. “You don’t believe me?”
“I must’ve missed all those messages you left me,” she mumbled.
“I haven’t talked to anybody since Thanksgiving.”
“Nobody? What about Billy? And Renie?”
“Ah, there we go. Now we get to what’s really bothering you. You have no reason to be jealous of Irene.”
“Who says something is bothering me? And who says I’m jealous?”
“You do. Come on now, let me make it up to you.”
The longer they danced, the more Jace wanted to kiss her. He waited, though. He wanted to be alone with her when he did. Not on a crowded, noisy dance floor. Maybe instead of staying with Billy and Renie, he should reserve a hotel room in Denver.
“Jace, I’m not sure—”
“Shh, don’t say it.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“I think I do.”
“He’s here with us whether you want him to be or not.”
It didn’t matter whether Blythe was with Tucker or Jace, the other was always there, too. She wondered if it would always be that way. Eventually, maybe she’d see them as individuals, separate from one another.
She shouldn’t have brought Tucker up, since Jace was being so nice, but she couldn’t help it. There was something about him that stuck with her. If she’d predicted which of the Rice brothers she’d hear from again, she would’ve said Tucker, not Jace.
“You can’t stop thinkin’ about him.”
“No. I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m worried about him.”
“He’s okay, Blythe. It’s somethin’ he has to work through, and he’s gotta do it on his own.”
“But—”
“It happened a few years ago. It’s his damage, darlin’. There isn’t anything you or I can do for him. Not until he decides he’s ready.”
“You’re still not going to tell me what happened?”
“No, I’m not. It’s up to him to tell you, Blythe. I’m sorry.”
They danced through the end of the song, and before Blythe could ask, he motioned toward the door.
“Why don’t you wait here? I’ll go get the truck.”
“No, it’s okay. I’d like to walk.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want to do.”
He held her hand once they got outside, and then pulled her closer and put his arm around her.
“Give me a chance, Blythe, please,” he whispered. When she turned to answer, he gripped her face and covered her mouth with his.
Just like when he’d kissed her at the ski area, she felt funny after talking about Tucker, but the longer his tongue did battle with hers, the less she wanted him to stop, and the more his brother faded to the back of her mind.
He pushed her against the brick side of the building, put his hands inside her jacket, and eased them under her sweater. He cupped each side of her waist and moved higher, until his hands rested under the curve of her breasts. When his thumbs brushed her nipples, she felt heat spread through the rest of her body. She pushed into him, kissing him harder.
Jace rested his forehead against hers but left his hands where they were. “I wanna be alone with you, Blythe, so bad. But…”
The sound of his voice broke through the haze of his kiss, and she pushed away from him. “I can’t do this, Jace. I’m sorry.”
“Who are you thinking about instead of me, Blythe? Is it Tucker, or are you still worried about—”
She put her fingers over his lips. She didn’t want to hear him say Renie’s name. “Take me home, Jace.”
Jace held her hand in his and ran his thumb back and forth over her knuckles, but Blythe was lost in thought on the drive home. She hummed along with the music on the radio, but he doubted she knew she was doing it.
She took a deep breath and rested her head against the window. He’d give anything to know what she was thinking about. Although he had a pretty good guess.
6
Dottie and Bill, Billy’s parents, were keeping Willow with them so Renie could go to the stock show with Blythe. Ben and Liv were going too, but driving separately.
“It’s been a long time since we went to the rodeo,” Renie said on the way there.
“A very long time. Guess we won’t be checkin’ out the cowboys, the way we used to.”
Blythe wondered if Renie had ever checked out other cowboys. From what she’d said in the last couple of months, she’d been in love with Billy Patterson long before she and Blythe went to their first rodeo.
“What about you? Are you and Jace…you know?”
“Are we what?”
“Seeing each other?”
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.” She still couldn’t stop thinking about Tucker, but she’d given the situation a lot of thought last night. Tucker was gone, and Blythe didn’t know if she’d ever see him again. Jace was here, and interested. Maybe she should give him the chance he was asking for.
“Billy wondered. He asked me this morning when Jace told him he’d decided to stay in Denver the rest of the week.”
“Interesting,” she grinned. “Well, it is a long ride home every night.”
Blythe started to giggle and Renie joined her.
Tucker knew he was being an asshole when he up and left the dinner table on Thanksgiving. He hadn’t intended to leave, necessarily. He went outside, hoping to shake off th
e ghosts, but they wouldn’t let loose. What started out as a drive to clear his head, ended up taking him back over the pass and home. He hadn’t even taken the time to thank Ben and Liv for inviting him to dinner.
More importantly, he hadn’t said goodbye to Blythe. Sitting on the beach in San Sebastian, he had little recollection of how he got back to Spain, but the memory of Blythe Cochran remained crystal clear.
He’d been in the seaside community for over a month, painting. He had few pieces to show for it in terms of the Basque landscape. Blythe, on the other hand, he could paint all day.
When he got the email from Jace, saying he was competing in the National Western, riding saddle broncs of all things, he figured the next thing he’d read would be that he was seeing Blythe. Sure enough, the next paragraph said he hadn’t seen or talked to her since the day after Thanksgiving, but he planned to while he was in Denver.
His gut twisted when he read it. Here he was, five thousand miles away, and he’d been the one who put himself here. Every night, he dreamed about her. When he was awake, all he had to do was close his eyes, and there she was. One ghost had been replaced by another, but this ghost he could talk to, wrap his arms around, and sink his body into. And yet, he wasn’t doing any of those things.
Blythe sent a text to Lyric when she and Renie got to the show complex.
“I can’t wait for you to meet her,” she told Renie. “She’s super fun to talk to. She and I hit it off right away.”
Renie was sullen, and then suddenly, she wasn’t anymore.
“What just happened?”
“I have to get used to sharing,” she answered. “I’m not very good at it.”
Blythe laughed. That was one of the most honest things she’d ever heard her friend say. “Good job,” she finally was able to say between giggles. “You’re workin’ that say-what-you-think thing. I’m proud of you.”
Lyric texted back, and they arranged a place and time to meet. “Oh, I forgot to mention, she wants to interview Billy for RodeoChat.” Blythe hoped Jace had mentioned it to him. She’d forgotten all about it.
Kiss Me Cowboy (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 3) Page 6