“Jace!” Renie stamped her foot and put her hands on her hips. “Stop it. I told you what I know. Her father said she’s okay, but that’s all he’d say. Now quit barking at me.”
“Yep, this little lady right here, she’s all mine,” Billy bragged. “Spitfire, that’s what she is. Damn that makes me hot, Renie. Let’s get outta here.”
Jace wanted to smack the smile off Billy Patterson’s face. God damn smug bastard. He was worried sick about Blythe, and all Billy cared about was getting laid.
Renie slugged Billy for him but not as hard as he would’ve liked. Then she ruined it by smiling at him. She gave Jace a completely different look, one that would never be misconstrued as a smile.
“And you,” she pointed at Tucker. “You started this. She was fine until you showed up.”
Tucker raised his head and looked straight at her, but didn’t say a word.
“Where’s Lyric?” asked Jace.
“I have no idea,” answered Renie. “Wasn’t she here a minute ago?”
“Did they see you?” Blythe asked.
“I don’t think so. They were too busy arguin’,” Lyric answered.
“Thanks for rescuing me.”
“No problem, girlfriend. Let’s get outta here before they realize I’m gone and come lookin’ for us.”
Lyric was taking Blythe to meet up with some of her friends, ropers mainly. They weren’t competing tonight and were hanging out at the Grizzly Rose bar, not far from the stock show.
“What about Renie, do you think you should at least let her know you’re okay?”
“I did. She called and said she was pretending she was talking to my dad. She said she’d tell everybody I was okay and that’s all she’d say.”
“Shoulda figured.”
“What?”
“You two. You don’t even have to talk half the time, do ya? You’re both so in sync with each other.”
“It isn’t always that way, or it hasn’t been in the last year anyway.”
“Let’s go, girlfriend. Where we’re headed the cowboys are gonna outnumber us ten to one. We’ll be doin’ a lot of dancin’ tonight. Drinking too.”
“I like you, Lyric. You’re a good friend.”
“Right back at ya, girl.”
Jace stopped at the front desk to see if he could change his room from a king to one with two queens. It wasn’t a problem.
He’d reserved a room near the National Western instead of staying with Billy and Renie, hoping Blythe would be sharing sheets with him. Now that Tuck was in town, that definitely wouldn’t be happening.
He was stretched out on one of the beds when Tucker came in with a bottle of Crown Royal and a six-pack of cokes.
“Cups by the sink,” Jace pointed.
“You get the ice?”
“Bucket’s next to the cups.”
“Coke?”
“Nah. Crown’s good.”
Tucker handed him the red solo cup. “Here’s to Blythe,” he said.
“Why’d you have to come back?”
“What’d you expect?”
“Why, Tuck? Why is she affecting us this way? Shit. I thought I was in love with Irene, and she didn’t get under my skin this way.”
“Yeah, she did.”
“She did?”
“She’s all you thought about when you were in Spain.”
“So why Blythe?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, bro. I feel the same way you do.”
“I wanted to rip your face off when I saw you kissin’ her.”
“I know.”
“Best thing would be for both of us to leave her alone.”
“Not happenin’.”
“You’re not gonna give her up?”
“Nope.”
“So it’s up to me?”
“Yeah, it’s up to you.”
“She isn’t gonna want to have anything to do with either one of us.”
“Don’t matter.”
“I think you should come to work for me,” Lyric said after their second shot with a beer chaser.
“What are you talking about?”
“For RodeoChat. It’s growin’ faster than I can keep up with. I need help.”
Blythe laughed. “You want help from a girl who doesn’t know shit about rodeo?”
“You don’t seem to have any trouble attracting cowboys.”
Blythe laughed. “We are having fun, aren’t we?”
“Sure enough. But I’m not kidding. I need help. You can learn. I need someone who can help with interviews, make sure we’re getting the scores as they happen—not only around the country, but also around the world. Most of the job will be research, and it’s somethin’ you’ll have to be on top of, daily.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. Dead serious.”
“Where would I work?”
“You can work from home. You can work wherever you want.”
“Where do you work?”
Lyric told her she spent most of her time traveling. “I’ve been thinking about moving to Colorado.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep.”
“I might have a place you can stay.”
Blythe’s parents had a rental house in Palmer Lake that had recently become vacant. She and her dad were supposed to get it ready for the next tenant. Maybe it was time for her to move out of her parents’ house, and between the two of them, she and Lyric could probably swing the rent. And if her parents offered it to them for free, Blythe wouldn’t take them up on it. It was time she learned to live on her own and make her own way.
“So what’s the job pay anyway?”
The next night, Tucker was sitting in the box, waiting for the rodeo to start. Billy told him Liv and Ben would be here again tonight, and Renie was coming with them. No one expected Blythe to come along, so he was welcome to take her seat.
He’d just pulled out his sketchbook when the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He looked, and there she was, a couple of levels up, with the girl she and Renie had been with the night before. Interesting development.
Maybe Blythe’s father hadn’t come to get her at all. The girl had disappeared right after Blythe had gone missing, and no one saw her again. It was obvious what had happened.
He watched Blythe pull out a notepad while the other girl chatted up a couple of cowboys. The cowboys left, but the girl kept talking and Blythe kept writing. A minute later two more cowboys walked up, and the process began again.
“Do you know who that lady is?” He asked a guy sitting in the row behind him.
“Where?”
Tucker pointed.
“Yeah, that’s Lyric Simmons. She hosts RodeoChat. She posted somethin’ on Twitter earlier sayin’ she be here tonight with her new sidekick. Guess that’s her. That Lyric’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
Last night he and Jace had argued about Blythe but, eventually, came to an agreement. They’d both back off and let her make the next move. Neither would contact her, neither would pursue her. But now, seeing her, Tucker wondered if he’d be able to keep up his end of the deal.
He looked up again, and she was looking right at him. He tipped his hat, and she looked away.
“Did he see me?” she asked Lyric.
“Yep.”
“Is he heading this way?”
“Nope. He’s just sitting there. Looks like he went back to whatever he was doing before he saw you.”
“Interesting. Maybe he got the message. I don’t want anything to do with him or his brother.”
“Careful what you wish for, I always say.”
“What about you, Lyric? You think they’re so hot, why don’t you go after one of ’em?”
“Don’t think that hasn’t crossed my mind. I’m gonna wait and see how this thing with you plays out. Then…who knows? That Jace Rice is mighty fine. You’ll get no argument from me about that.”
“What about Tucker?”
“Girl, there isn’t a woman with eyes who wouldn’t see that Tucker’s your man. You haven’t figured it out yet, but he’s it.”
She laughed. Was it that obvious?
“What’s so funny?”
“There’s too much drama with Tucker. If you knew me better, you’d see the irony.”
“I can only imagine. Okay, back to work. We have to figure out a way for me to interview Billy Patterson without you getting involved.”
“Renie will be here later; she can set it up.”
“Perfect. Now, let’s make a game plan for the rest of the week.”
Blythe got her laptop out and started posting day sheets from different rodeos around the country. As soon as results came in, she’d upload them.
Lyric had told her she didn’t need to worry about her lack of rodeo knowledge and she’d been right. So far, it hadn’t mattered. It would in the future, when Blythe was ready to take over some of the interviews, but until then, there was plenty she could do to help.
When the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the rodeo was about to begin, Blythe couldn’t believe it. She’d been here two hours already, and it seemed more like two minutes.
“I love it already,” she told Lyric as she set her laptop aside to stand for the national anthem.
“I can tell,” Lyric whispered. “You’re focused.”
A few minutes later, Renie walked up with Willow, who was dressed like a little cowgirl. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you two.”
“Is this Billy’s daughter?” asked Lyric.
“This is our daughter, and her name is Willow,” Renie answered.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, Renie.”
“It’s okay. Very few people know she isn’t my biological daughter and we want to keep it that way. When she’s old enough, we’ll tell her about her mama, but until then, I’m the only mama she’s got.”
“I like that. You’re a good mother, Renie.”
“Thanks, Lyric. Won’t be too long before Willow has a little brother or sister, will it, baby?”
“Wait, what?” Hadn’t Renie said she was going back to school? Now she was pregnant?
“Calm down, Blythe,” Renie laughed. “When I said, not too long, I meant a couple years from now.”
“You damn near gave me a heart attack. Can you Fairchild women slow down with the breeding, please?”
“What’s she talkin’ about?” asked Lyric.
“My mom and Ben are having a baby.”
“They are?”
“She’s not that old, Lyric. She’s forty-one. I can assure you, there are many women her age having babies.”
“But she’ll be in her sixties by the time the kid graduates from high school.”
“You two are meant for each other.” Renie shook her head. “Neither one of you has a filter.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lyric.
“Ask Blythe to explain it to you,” she heard Renie suggest, but Blythe wasn’t paying close attention to them. “I’ve never seen her so focused, and I’ve known her since we were five.”
“I think she likes her new job.”
Blythe heard that part, and Lyric was right. She felt as though she’d finally found the thing she was supposed to do, and she’d just gotten started.
“Shouldn’t tell ya this,” Billy said to Jace who was getting ready to head to the chutes.
“Yeah? But you’re gonna anyway?”
“Blythe’s here.”
Jace scowled. “You shouldn’t have told me, Billy.”
“God, who am I? I don’t even know why I did.” Billy scratched his head. “I saw her a couple hours ago, and I wasn’t gonna tell you, but you rode pretty damn good last night. Thought it might help to know she’s watchin’.”
Would it? Did his ride last night have anything to do with her, or was he determined to do the best he could tonight because he was so pissed off at her and Tucker?
He looked over to see if his brother was still in the box. He was, and it looked like he was sketching. Probably Blythe, but at least he hadn’t gone chasing after her.
“Ready?” Billy asked.
“As I’ll ever be.” He lowered himself on the bronc he’d drawn for tonight’s ride, got himself as settled as he could on an animal who couldn’t wait to get him the hell off his back, and nodded to the guys pulling the chute open that he was ready.
Eight seconds later, Jace finished another good ride. His scores were low, but at least he didn’t buck off.
Billy rode great, a few minutes later, and was still sitting in first place at the end of the night.
“I can’t believe you’re gonna retire,” Jace said when they were putting away their gear.
“It’s time. Not gettin’ any younger.”
“You could’ve ridden the bronc you drew tonight, in your sleep.”
Billy shook his head.
“Is Irene pressuring you to quit?”
Billy stopped what he was doing and turned to face Jace. “If you think she’d do that, then you don’t know her at all.”
Yeah, he thought. That really didn’t sound like her. Or like Billy. If he was retiring, it was his decision and no one else’s.
“We’re goin’ to the Grizzly Rose after. Wanna come?”
Blythe shot Lyric a glare when she heard her invite Renie out with them.
“I don’t think Blythe wants me to go,” laughed Renie.
“It isn’t that. If you go, so will Billy, and then Jace and Tucker will come along, and…”
“Tucker said they’re backing off.”
“He told you that?”
“Yep,” Renie confirmed. “In fact, he told me to tell you so if I saw you.”
Interesting. Well, she did disappear last night. As Lyric said, be careful what you wish for.
“Well, then, sure. Come along with us. If they’re gonna leave me alone, then I don’t care whether they come or not.”
Renie and Lyric both raised their eyebrows.
“I’m serious. They’re too much drama.”
Renie burst out laughing.
“Shut up,” Blythe muttered. “You’ve gotten to be worse than me.”
“No,” Renie spit out between giggles. “No one will ever be more dramatic than you, Blythe.”
“I thought the whole point was to stay away from her.”
“It was, sort of. I mean, if we’re where she is and don’t ask her to dance, or if neither one of us is workin’ hard to get in her panties, she’ll realize faster that we’re backin’ off,” Jace told Tucker.
“I don’t know. I’m having a pretty hard time not thinkin’ about her panties. It might be more than I can handle, watchin’ her dance. What if some cowboy comes on a little too strong? You’re not gonna be tempted to stop him?”
“Would you rather be there to save her from someone like that, or be at the hotel wonderin’ what the hell she’s up to for the second night in a row.”
“I’m gonna punt. You have fun.”
“Seriously? You’re tellin’ me to go, and you’re not gonna? I can’t believe it.”
“Fuck off.”
“You’re goin’, aren’t ya?”
“Of course I am, asshole.”
In the end, it didn’t matter what they did.
Blythe was line-dancing when she saw Renie, who was sitting at a nearby high-top table, look at her phone. Eyes wide, Renie’s face drained of all color. Blythe stopped dancing, stopped moving at all, as everything around her shifted into slow motion.
Renie stood and sought her in the crowd. When her best friend’s eyes filled with tears, Blythe took a step backward, and then another. She kept moving backward until she felt a hard body behind her. Strong hands rested on her shoulders and squeezed.
“Renie’s gonna drive you home, darlin’. Lyric’s goin’ with you.” Billy’s voice was quiet and soothing in a bar where loud music reverberated from gigantic speakers lining the dance floor. It was as though
his words had been mixed out of the background, and the volume increased so she could hear him as clearly as if they were standing in an empty, silent room.
“What happened?”
“Let’s go outside.” Lyric pulled her toward the back door of the club; Renie and Billy followed.
Blythe started to shake, unsure whether it was because of the frigid winter wind, or if it was her body’s reaction to hearing the bad news she knew was coming.
Billy covered her bare shoulders with his heavy barn jacket. Her eyes met Renie’s and she waited for her friend to find the words to tell her what happened.
“It’s your dad,” Renie said, handing her the phone.
8
Blythe listened to her father’s words, trying to process what he was telling her.
There had been an accident, he told her. They were waiting for word, but the news coming out of Afghanistan wasn’t good. Her sister Bree’s husband was reported dead after an IED hit the truck he was riding in.
Where is Bree? The same three words repeated over and over in her head, like song lyrics. She couldn’t remember where her sister was, and when she asked, Renie said she wasn’t sure.
“My mom is on her way to your parents’ house,” Renie told her.
Blythe nodded. If anyone knew how to counsel their family, it was Liv. Her first husband had been killed in the Gulf War shortly after they were married, before Renie was born.
When Blythe walked into the kitchen of her parents’ house, her mother was on the phone. Whenever there was a crisis, Paige Cochran took over. It didn’t matter what it was, the first words out of her mom’s mouth were always, “What can I do?” This time the crisis was in her own family, but her mom still went into management mode.
Paige put her hand over the receiver. “I’m talking to Zack’s parents. Your dad is talking to someone with the Air Force. We’ll know more in a minute.”
Her dad was able to confirm that Zack had been killed during a combat advisory mission with Afghan National Army Commandos, and that a car bomb had detonated near his convoy.
All they knew now was that Zack’s body would be repatriated back to the United States as soon as possible. What they were hearing was that he’d be flown to Dover, in Delaware, but they had no idea when.
Kiss Me Cowboy (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 3) Page 8