by Cat Johnson
“No. Don’t go.”
“All right.” He nodded and rose from where he’d been squatting. She felt the mattress move as he sat on the bed next to her. “I didn’t really want to go anyway.”
“Good.” She laughed, just when she wasn’t sure she was capable of it. “We have all that cake that needs eating.”
“I saw. No man can refuse cake.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She was surprised as he reached out and took her hand, squeezing her fingers with his before he released her. The kindness brought on a fresh wave of tears. “Skeeter, you have to stop being so nice. It’s making me cry more.”
“Um, all right. I’ll try.”
She glanced up in time to see him cringe and had to laugh. “I don’t think you’re capable of not being nice.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I could try to cuss more or something.”
“Nah, that’s not gonna work.” Riley shook her head. They sat in silence for a few seconds as the weight of the past few days settled heavily in her chest. She raised her eyes to meet his sky-blue ones. “What am I going to do without him? How can I keep all of this without him?”
“Us guys came up with a plan. I wasn’t going to bring it up today, but I might be able to help. It’ll give you some time to get your bearings. And it’ll mean you won’t have to make any decisions for a little while.”
What he said was more than intriguing. What in the world could he be talking about? “What’s your plan?”
“You sure you want to talk about it now?”
“Yeah, I do.” Worry about the future of the ranch, both immediate and long term, had robbed Riley of her sleep for days. She could imagine what she looked like right about now.
Skeeter didn’t seem to mind. He focused on her eyes, not on the dark circles beneath them. “On the drive over here I called a few of the guys—Aaron, Mustang. They got in touch with Garret and Chase and Slade. We all agreed that since they’re all off for a while on mid-season break, and I’ll be riding close by for the touring pro events, why don’t we help you out around here?”
“What? You mean like work here?”
“Yeah. We came up with a kind of crazy idea at the last event, before—” He paused to swallow. “Anyway, we were talking about if maybe we could work out a trade. Barter ranch work for some time in the practice pen, if Butch, um, agreed.” Skeeter looked absolutely miserable.
This time, she reached out and squeezed his hand. She knew how hard it was to remember he was gone. How his name came up in conversation as if he weren’t gone. How just yesterday morning she’d had to stop herself from making the usual pot of coffee for him. It would take some getting used to, but six bull riders around the place would definitely make it feel less empty.
She met his gaze. “I think it’s a beautiful thing, y’all wanting to help me.”
“You mean you’ll let us?”
“Work here and help me out for free?” Riley let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I’ll let you.”
He smiled wide. “We won’t get underfoot. I promise. Mustang has his trailer that sleeps like four people. And the rest of us can camp out in the barn or wherever.”
“All right. We’ll figure it all out. There’s an attic upstairs too. We can put the spare air conditioner in the window, push all the boxes stored up there to one side and make that into a bedroom.”
“That sounds real nice.”
No, he was the one who was real nice. She fought back the mist in her eyes and changed the subject. “What event are you riding in next?”
“Arkansas.”
She nodded as the heaviness returned. “Yeah, I remember that event. We were planning to bring bulls to that one too. I’ll have to remember to call to cancel.”
“Don’t. I mean cancel if you want, but you don’t have to. I’ll help you trailer the stock. I can load and unload.”
She felt a small smile tug at her lips at his offer. Generous, yes, but help with no experience wasn’t all that much help. “You ever do that before? Load bulls in a stock trailer?”
“Yeah. Actually I have. I used to work with Cooper Holbrook at his place. Years ago, but I can’t imagine I’ve forgotten how.”
“Ah, the prodigy working under the master. It all makes sense now, you coming out of nowhere and joining the tour when you were barely out of high school. I’d wondered where you’d learned to ride like that.”
The blush crept over his cheeks as he shrugged. “I’m not riding like a prodigy right now.”
“You won today, didn’t you?”
“Yes, because your bulls weren’t there.” He laughed. “The ones they had were crap. I’m lucky I got over a seventy in the short go. Dang animal acted like it was a bronc rather than a bull, taking off straight as an arrow across the arena.”
“It takes a good rider to make a crap ride look good. No?”
His smile reached all the way to his eyes. “Yeah. I guess it does.”
“I suppose we should get back.” Riley drew in a breath and realized it felt easier. Maybe it was from talking to Skeeter, or the knowledge she’d have help around here for a little while. She didn’t know, but a little bit of the weight she’d lived with for days seemed to have lifted from her chest. “You ready for some of that cake?”
He stood when she did. “Yeah, that would be real nice.”
The preacher and his wife were by the buffet table when she and Skeeter went outside. Mrs. Porter was refilling the lemonade that Riley had never gotten to because of Skeeter’s surprise arrival and her own mini breakdown.
“I was going to do that.”
“I got it. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you for handling it, and everything else.” Riley turned to make the introductions. “This is my pastor and his wife, Mrs. Porter. And this is Skeeter Anderson, one of the bull riders who knew my father.”
The preacher extended his hand to shake Skeeter’s. “Nice to meet you, son. Good of you to come.”
“Thank you, sir. Nice to meet you as well, and I wanted to be here. I’ve known Butch for as long as I’ve been riding the circuit. Him and his bulls. He’ll be missed.” Skeeter glanced at Riley, as if he feared his words might do her in.
They nearly did. She fought the tears and busied herself cutting Skeeter a piece of the newly delivered cake with a knife that most likely Mrs. Porter had brought out from the kitchen since Riley had never gotten to that either.
“So you’ve tangled with Butch’s prize bucking bulls, have you?”
Skeeter’s grin made him look younger than his years. “Yes, sir. Ended up on the ground more than I’d like to admit thanks to them.”
Riley handed him the cake on the napkin as she said, “Skeeter and some of the other bull riders have offered to come and help me out around here for a little while. Until I figure things out.”
The preacher’s eyebrows rose, while Mrs. Porter glanced at her husband and then back to Riley. “Just you and them? Here alone?”
“Yeah. I was going to ask our hired man if he could give me any extra hours, but he has a place of his own so he can only help part time. And I wasn’t sure how long I could afford to pay him anyway. But if the guys are here for a bit, it’ll save me money and from being alone.”
“You sure that’s wise, Riley?”
“Am I sure what’s wise?” Riley didn’t understand. Given the choice between trying to work the ranch alone or look for a new employee and coming up with the funds to pay him, of course she’d want the free help the bull riders she’d known for years offered her.
The preacher’s gaze moved to Skeeter. “No offense to you or your friends, Skeeter, but I’m not sure a girl in Riley’s position should be alone here with a bunch of single young men.”
What the heck? He’d rather have her alone and without help than here with her friends? They were seriously worried about the town gossips just because some of the guys were single? That was the most ridiculous, narrow-minded thing she’d ever heard.
&nbs
p; Riley opened her mouth to protest when Skeeter nodded. “Yes, sir. I understand the concern. But I do have some news that might make a difference. A text just came through.” He glanced at Riley, then back to the preacher. “Slade’s girlfriend, Jenna, is still visiting him, so he asked if he can bring her. And Mustang was going to bring his girl too, to keep Jenna company while we’re working. He wrote they’ll sleep in Mustang’s trailer so the extra people won’t be an inconvenience.”
“That’s all well and good in theory, son, but I don’t think a couple of young girls are suitable chaperones for a bunch of single young men.”
“Understood, sir, but that’s not how it is. Mustang and Slade are old. Like thirty. And yeah, Mustang’s girl is young. She’s still in college, but Slade’s girlfriend is older. She’s I think closer to thirty-five or forty. And we’re not all single. Garret got married last year to Aaron’s sister.” Skeeter shrugged. “Thought that all might make a difference.”
Riley smiled at how he’d taken care of the preacher’s objections. She turned to the man and his wife. “See. No reason to worry.”
“Besides the fact you kids nowadays call thirty old? No, I guess not. But I’m just letting y’all know the missus and I’ll be stopping by here to check on y’all.”
“I’d appreciate it if you did.” Riley endowed her tone with more gratitude than she felt given her mixed emotions about this whole situation.
He glanced into the distance. “I see some folks I haven’t said hello to yet, so we’ll talk later.”
“Okay.”
With a nod, they moved off to go talk to a group of parishioners standing nearby as Riley reviewed the conversation in her head.
The preacher and his wife would be stopping by as much because they didn’t trust her as because they wanted to help now she was alone. She tried not to be too insulted by that, for herself and on behalf of her father. He had raised her right. Hopefully, she’d prove that to all of them.
Could she do it? Keep the ranch going in his name? And not just maintain what they had right now, but continue to breed and raise champion bulls. With the guys’ help until she got things figured out, maybe she could.
She glanced at Skeeter, digging into his piece of cake like a starving man. “You know, there’s real food in the fridge in the kitchen if you didn’t have a chance to eat today. People have been bringing over casseroles and pots of chili and stuff for days now. I could microwave you something.”
“This is fine. Thanks.”
She didn’t miss how his eyes had lit up at the mention of chili even if he had declined. Riley tipped her head toward the house. “Come on. I could use something to eat myself.”
For the first time in days, she felt as if she could keep food in her stomach without it coming back up. That was good. This was progress.
“Okay. Thanks. That would be good. Then I won’t have to stop to eat on the road home.”
“Yeah, we all eat too much while on the road to enjoy doing it. Don’t we?”
“We sure do.” He grinned at her.
She’d joked but she wasn’t happy. Skeeter was leaving. Probably shortly so he could get home before dark.
Of course he was. She’d never thought otherwise, it just hadn’t hit her until now when he’d mentioned it. He’d probably left this morning with nothing but his gear bag, expecting to ride and not take a side trip here. And when all these other people left after him, she’d be alone in the house again with nothing but her thoughts and memories and imaginings. Jumping at every creak she heard as she lay sleepless in bed.
But Skeeter would be back, and with a whole slew of riders and their girlfriends. The house would be full of noise and life. She glanced at him as they made their way to the kitchen, which thankfully was empty at the moment. “When do you think y’all will be back?”
“I just have to grab my stuff from home and make sure Mom is all right with me leaving. I can be back tomorrow, but I guess I’d better check on when Slade and Mustang will be here.”
“So I don’t create a town scandal by entertaining a handsome, single young bull rider here alone, you mean?” she asked.
A smile broke across his face. “I’m handsome? You think so?”
Oh, boy. She’d hoped that comment would slip by. Instead, he’d picked right up on it. She glanced back at him from the counter where she’d been spooning chili from a plastic container into two bowls and tried to joke it off. “When your face isn’t covered in arena dirt. Yeah, sure.”
He grinned wider and her heart sped just a bit. Her dad would have hated this entire idea of Skeeter and the guys staying here, even if it was to help her. And the preacher had already envisioned shenanigans the likes of which she could only imagine. After days where she’d done nothing but move through life in a haze of grief, Skeeter’s presence had made her smile and feel hungry and even had her feeling like every beat of her heart wasn’t an overwhelming effort.
His swooping in like a savior with the answer to her immediate problems had given her a sense of relief she thought she’d never feel again. He’d chased away the cold and made her feel warm and alive.
Yeah, maybe he’d better not come back here until they had chaperones. Hate it or not, she had to admit the preacher might have a valid concern. Maybe she couldn’t trust herself alone with him. She might do something she’d regret later. Then again, that something might be exactly what she needed right now.
She knocked visions of being alone with him out of her head and asked, “Cheese?”
“However you’re having yours is good for me.”
She nodded. Maybe cheese, onions, sour cream and hot peppers and anything else she could find. Too bad someone hadn’t brought her some cornbread to go with the chili instead of all those sweet cakes. Jalapeno cornbread would have been even better…
Riley realized that for the first time since finding her father that horrible night she seemed to be seeing things in full living color and she didn’t want that feeling to end. He was gone, but if she wanted to keep his legacy alive, she had to be alive and living life to its fullest.
She smiled at Skeeter. “I’m thinking of going crazy and piling on the works. You up for that?”
“Sure.” He nodded. “Sounds good.”
Yeah, it did.
Chapter Nine
Skeeter picked up the phone as it buzzed on the seat next to him. Aaron’s name showed in the read out. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Dude, change of plans.”
“What?” After he’d promised Riley their help, the guys could not bail on him now. He’d texted Aaron and Mustang before he’d gotten on the road to tell them she’d agreed and could use them as soon as possible. And now, after he’d been driving for hours and was almost home, Aaron was changing things? “What do you mean, change of plans?”
“Relax. No big deal. Garret and I are coming out later in the week with Silver. She has some teachers’ conference but wanted to come. So we’re gonna wait for her and drive out in a couple of days.”
“Fine.” Skeeter shook his head. Riley needed help as soon as possible, but whatever.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I just got off the phone with Mustang. He and Slade and their girls will be there tomorrow by lunch. That quick enough for you?”
“Yeah, that’ll help. I can get there tomorrow too. I’m almost home now. The funeral was today.”
“Damn. How was it? Riley a mess?”
“I just missed the actual service, but everyone was still at the house afterward when I got there. And yeah, Riley sure wasn’t good.” He let out a breath. “She seemed a little better after I told her about our plan.”
“That’s good. I’m glad it helped.”
“Yeah. But, Aaron, she needs the help. No joke.”
“And we’re gonna help her. Mustang and Slade tomorrow and me and Garret in a few days. Don’t worry.”
“Okay. You’re right. That’ll be fine.” And Skeeter would be there too whenever he co
uld be. Every moment his mom didn’t need him or he wasn’t riding in an event. Which brought up the issue he’d have to deal with today when he got home. He had to make sure his mother would be okay with him leaving so soon. Only days after he’d gotten home.
“I’m gonna run, but I’ll call you when we have an exact ETA.”
“All right. Bye.” Skeeter disconnected but didn’t put down the phone. He scrolled through his numbers and hit the one for home.
“Hey, baby. You on your way?”
“Yeah. I left Butch’s place a little while ago.” Though he supposed he should start calling it Riley’s place—at least for as long as she could continue to hold onto it.
“How’s that poor girl doing?”
“Not so great, Mom.”
“Aw, I hate to hear that. I wish there was something I could do for her. You going out to see her again? Maybe I could bake something.”
He envisioned the table overloaded with cakes and cookies. It must be the kneejerk reaction of women everywhere to bake when something bad happened. “Actually, there’s something that will help her more.”
“What’s that, baby?”
“I know I just got home a few days ago and you were hoping for me to be around for a while—”
“I’m hoping for you to get yourself back on that tour, because I know what it means to you.”
He smiled. “I know. Thank you. I’m doing my best. But anyway, do you think you would mind very much if I headed back to her place tomorrow morning and stayed there for a bit? The guys are all going too. We’re going to help her out around the ranch since she doesn’t have enough help. And we figure we can maybe get some time in on the bulls while we’re there.”
“I think that’s a real nice thing to do, helping that girl out. Y’all are good boys.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I’m not home with you?”
“Son, I love you more than anything, but I can manage on my own while you’re gone. I’ve done it for a very long time now.”