The Musical Cowgirl (Bear Creek Rodeo)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  His hands stroked down over her back and cupped her bottom, pulling her into him more.

  She finally pulled away from him. “I think we’re just going to need to not do that until after the wedding. We’re just tormenting each other.”

  He groaned low in his throat. “I don’t want to keep my hands off you. You’re living under my roof, and we’re getting married in four days!”

  “I know. I just don’t feel right doing anything until after the wedding. I’m sorry. I can go home if that will make things easier for you.” As she said it, her gaze went to the wall separating the room she was sleeping in from Olivia’s. “I do think it’s best to stay here and help her, though.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up badly. “I want you to stay.” He kissed her briefly. “Goodnight, Brittany.”

  “Goodnight.” Brittany watched him go, wondering how she could be simultaneously wracked with guilt and proud of saying no all at once. She shut the door and changed, going into Olivia’s bathroom to brush her teeth. She wished they could be married sooner, but it just wasn’t possible.

  When she fell into bed, she tossed and turned for hours, wishing that she could sleep easily in a strange bed, in a strange house . . . with a very familiar man down the hall who wanted to do naughty things to her.

  Brittany woke up early on Tuesday, hurrying in to Olivia’s room to check on her.

  Olivia’s eyes opened just as Brittany opened the door. “You stayed.”

  “I told you I would.” Brittany walked over and sat on the edge of Olivia’s bed. “How are you feeling? Is your arm hurting?”

  Olivia looked down at her arm in the Barbie-pink cast. “A little, but not as much as yesterday.”

  “I’m glad to hear it! I’m going to take a quick shower and get dressed, and then I’ll come in and help you. Do you need to go potty first?”

  Olivia shook her head. “I’m okay. I’ll just lay here until you come back.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Just as Brittany was about to shut the door behind her, Olivia called. “Brittany?”

  Brittany turned. “Yes?”

  “I’m glad you stayed. I love you.”

  Brittany felt tears pop into her eyes. “I love you, too, sunshine.”

  As she showered, she wondered if she was marrying Matt because she loved Olivia so much, and she concluded she wasn’t. Not really. Yes, she would probably have made him wait a lot longer if the little girl wasn’t involved, but she loved Olivia with everything inside her. And she was mostly in love with Matt. She definitely lusted after him.

  Her shower was quick, and she dressed in shorts and a tank top. She wasn’t about to be hot for anything. She knew her mother would be scandalized by her dress, and she realized she didn’t care. She wouldn’t be seeing her anyway.

  When she’d finished, she put her bag with her things in it back into her room, and then she went to see Olivia. The girl was watching for her to come back, and her face lit up when she saw her.

  “Are you ready to get up?”

  Olivia nodded. “I want pancakes for breakfast. Do you know how to make pancakes?”

  Brittany grinned. “I sure do. If your uncle has all the ingredients, we will make pancakes.”

  “Oh good.”

  Brittany helped Olivia dress, being especially careful of her injured arm. Together, the two of them went downstairs to find Matt sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. As Brittany watched him for a moment, she realized just how lonely and sad he looked. “Good morning!” she called, so he’d know they were there.

  Matt smiled, glancing in their direction. His whole face changed when he saw the two of them, hand-in-hand. “Morning!”

  “Olivia wants pancakes for breakfast, so I promised her that if you have everything I need to make them, I’ll do it.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He looked down at his coffee cup. “I was just going to have coffee and sneak out, but you can sure get me to stay with pancakes.”

  “Don’t forget we need to get our marriage license today, too. We want to be ready to marry on Friday when we can. Finally.”

  “I wasn’t sure you still wanted to get married.” Matt watched her carefully as she looked at him with surprise.

  “You’re not getting out of it so easily, Matthew Sullivan. We said Friday, and we’re getting married Friday.”

  He smiled. “I called my pastor, and he said he would marry us Friday afternoon if we wanted a small church wedding instead of a civil ceremony.”

  Brittany nodded, excited. “I would love that. I hated the idea of a civil wedding, but not as much as I hated the idea of waiting longer to marry.”

  “Then let’s have pancakes, and we’ll go get a marriage license.”

  After they had taken care of that piece of business, with Olivia in tow, he dropped the two of them off at the ranch. “Be good.”

  “We will.” Brittany and Olivia went into the house and up to her playroom. The house had at least six bedrooms from what Brittany had seen. She hadn’t looked at all of it yet, though. “Want to play Barbies?” she asked, knowing what the answer would be.

  “Yes!” Olivia squealed, opening a closet that was overflowing with Barbie pink.

  Brittany looked through the closet, picking out just a few things. She knew that Olivia liked to play with her camper and her horse, and she chose a couple of cars. All of her Barbie clothes were in a bin, and she opened it. “I think Barbie should go camping, then horseback riding, and then she should go to a ball with Ken.”

  Olivia sat down on the floor, nodding. “That’s a great idea, but you’re going to have to dress the Barbies.”

  “I’m good at dressing Barbies.”

  They played there for over an hour before a woman stopped beside the door. “You must be Brittany. Olivia has talked about nothing but you since the rodeo.”

  “I am. I’m Brittany Kelly.”

  “I’m Doris Hill. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  “Good to meet you too, Mrs. Hill.” The woman looked to be at least fifty.

  Mrs. Hill smiled. “Just call me Doris. I’ve worked for this family for a very long time. When are you joining it?”

  Brittany smiled and blushed a little. “We’re planning a wedding for Friday afternoon. Something small.”

  “I knew it! I knew as soon as Matt said he had someone he wanted Olivia to meet that you’d be marrying him. He’s not one to play with his niece’s emotions.” Doris looked excited. “Do we want to have a reception here after?”

  Brittany shook her head. “I have a performance that night. We won’t have time.”

  Doris nodded. “I understand. You should make sure to get Olivia a new dress. I assume she’ll be flower girl?”

  “Yes, she’s already agreed. I’m going to have the prettiest flower girl in all of Texas.”

  Olivia nodded. “I’ve been practicing my walk, and we’ll need a dress that matches my cast. Do you think we can find one, Brittany?”

  “I’m sure we can.” Brittany started thinking about the days. “I’m going to call and cancel my students for tomorrow. I need to be here with you. I’m going to go to the room I slept in and do that, and tomorrow we’ll shop for dresses and flowers that can be held in only one hand. Okay?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Olivia looked after Brittany sadly for a moment, before she turned to Doris. “Do you want to see my cast?”

  Brittany made her phone calls and called her parents as well.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Mom. It’s Brittany.” She and her sisters always announced themselves when they called a parent, because they frequently grabbed whichever phone was close and just called, leaving their parents befuddled, because their voices were so alike.

  “Hi, Brittany! What’s new with you?”

  “Well, you know we sang at the Bear Creek Rodeo and again at Rebel’s Saloon last weekend . . .”

  Her mother sighed. “I don’t mind you singi
ng at the rodeo, but I wish you girls would stay out of bars and saloons.”

  “I know, Mom, but our career is starting to really take off.”

  “I’m glad for you girls. Maybe when you’re making enough to quit your jobs, you can replace the hours you usually work with college.”

  Brittany was starting to regret calling her mother. “Maybe. Look, Mom, I was calling to let you know I’m getting married Friday.”

  “Married? To a man I’ve never even met?”

  “Well, it would have to be since I’ve never taken a man home for you to meet.”

  “That’s true . . .”

  “We’re getting married in a little church to the east of Houston. In Crosby.”

  “Where did you meet this man? Are you going to keep singing with your sisters? This is a lot to drop on your mother with three days’ notice.”

  Brittany sighed. “I met him at the rodeo. I will keep singing with my sisters. He asked me to marry him just last night, so you have almost as much notice as I do.”

  “Give me the address and the time, and I’ll see if your father and I can make it.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I always appreciate the support.” Brittany knew her mother wouldn’t understand the sarcasm, but she still couldn’t keep it from slipping out of her mouth. Sometimes it was just too hard to be sweet and amenable when her mother made her absolutely crazy. She rattled off the time and address of the church before hanging up.

  She paced back and forth in the little room for a minute, rubbing the back of her neck to try to destress. She didn’t want Olivia to see her upset at all.

  When she went back into the room where Olivia was playing with her Barbies and Doris was standing over her, she plopped down on the floor with the little girl. “We’re going shopping for the prettiest flower girl dress in all of Texas tomorrow, Olivia. We need to make sure we get the car seat from your uncle.”

  “Or we could take his truck. He wouldn’t mind.” Olivia made her Barbie slide down a slide and into an imaginary pool of water. “Can we go see Buttercup today? He probably feels bad that I got hurt.”

  “I think that’s a really good idea,” Brittany said. “But you can’t get on his back again until Uncle Matt is around.”

  Olivia nodded. “I won’t. I can’t climb up with my arm the way it is anyway.” She frowned down at the cast. “I hope Buttercup doesn’t think I don’t love him anymore.”

  “He won’t. We’ll visit him every day and feed him carrots.”

  “Does he like carrots?” Olivia asked.

  “Sure he does. Carrots are sweet. Who doesn’t love sweets?”

  Olivia seemed to agree with her reasoning. “Can we see him after lunch? I need to eat first, because it feels like there’s a giant monster in my tummy, and he’s angry because he hasn’t been fed.”

  “Well, then we need to go get some lunch. How do grilled cheese sandwiches sound?”

  “Yummy!” Olivia got to her feet. Brittany led Olivia to the kitchen, and they found Doris there.

  “Are you two ready for lunch?” Doris asked.

  “I thought I’d make grilled cheese sandwiches,” Brittany said.

  “Oh, you sit with Olivia. I’ll make them. It’s no trouble for me at all.”

  “Well, can we go give Buttercup a carrot while you’re cooking, then?” Brittany asked.

  Doris opened the fridge and pulled a carrot out, handing it to Brittany. “Here you go.”

  “We’ll be back in ten minutes!” Brittany said, taking Olivia’s hand in hers. As they walked toward the paddock, she did a little skip, which Olivia immediately imitated. “Are you excited to see Buttercup?”

  “Yes. It feels like I haven’t seen him in forever. I’m sure he misses me.” When they got to the paddock, Olivia took the carrot. “Here you go, Buttercup. We’re still friends, aren’t we?” She patted the pony’s nose as he ate the carrot, and she giggled. “We are still friends!”

  “I knew you would be. Buttercup is too nice to ever hold a grudge. You can be friends with him forever.” Brittany watched closely as Olivia petted the horse, but she could see there was no animosity in Buttercup. “We can go eat now if you want to!”

  “I’m hungry.” Olivia patted Buttercup once more. “I’ll come out and bring you another carrot later. Or maybe an apple!”

  Hurrying back to the house, Brittany smiled at her little charge. She couldn’t wait until she was her aunt. The two of them would be best friends forever.

  Eight

  A few hours later, when it was time for Brittany to leave for her rehearsal, Olivia hugged her legs, begging her to come back. “I need help getting into my nightgown, and who will put toothpaste on my toothbrush?”

  Brittany hugged the girl close. “Well, my rehearsal is near my apartment. I’ll get more clothes, and I’ll come back tonight. I should be here before your bedtime. Will that work?”

  Olivia nodded, brushing away a tear. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, munchkin. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Okay.”

  Brittany hurried to her car and drove to the band’s rehearsal room. The band played for a few different groups in the area, but they spent most of their time with the sisters. They had their own rehearsal space, which helped them.

  Brittany spotted Emily first and hugged her. “Best wishes.”

  “I hear I’m supposed to say the same thing to you! I can’t believe you’re getting married already. This Friday!”

  “What about you? Have you thought about when?”

  “Well, I have news for you and Stephanie, and I’ll tell you together and then explain.” Emily looked around for a moment until she saw Stephanie walking toward them. “I came straight from work. I haven’t even seen her today.”

  Brittany frowned. “I haven’t either. I spent the night at Matt’s to help out with Olivia. Her poor arm!”

  “Stephanie told me.” Emily shook her head. “Are you going back tonight?”

  “I am. Are you working Friday?”

  “No, not Friday. Do you want me to be your maid of honor?”

  “Yes, but I’m asking Stephanie, and I think you should, too!”

  “Shouldn’t we take turns doing it for each other?” Emily asked.

  “No. We’re both getting married, and Stephanie isn’t. I don’t want her to feel left out.”

  “That’s a good point. She probably will anyway, and maybe that will make it better. Great idea.”

  “Thanks. I do have them on occasion.” Brittany grinned at her sister.

  Stephanie was there a moment later, looking a bit lost. “I can’t believe I’m the last sister standing!”

  “Well, you are. And I have news.” Emily was practically jumping up and down in her excitement.

  “Bigger news than both of you getting engaged on the same day and marrying?” Stephanie asked.

  “I don’t know if it’s bigger news for us as sisters, but it’s bigger for us as The Kelly Sisters.”

  Brittany and Stephanie both looked at Emily.

  “You have our attention. Spill it,” Brittany said.

  “We’re playing at the rodeo nationals in Vegas in December. We’ll be playing at Cowboy Christmas!” Emily squealed as she said the words.

  “Are you kidding me?” Brittany asked, still not quite certain her sister was telling the truth.

  Stephanie’s jaw dropped, and she stood staring at Emily for a moment. “No way.”

  Emily nodded emphatically. “I have a contract in my possession.”

  “Wow.” Brittany was still a little flabbergasted. The past few weeks had been a roller coaster.

  The lead guitarist motioned for them. “Hurry up, ladies. We’re booked for another rehearsal after you.”

  The three sisters hurried over, and Emily told the band.

  “Vegas?” the drummer asked. “I’m in!”

  They all laughed as they played the opening notes for “Lipstick on my Jeans,” which was their traditio
nal warm-up song.

  Wednesday morning Olivia was feeling a little better, but more than anything, she was excited to go shopping for her flower-girl dress. Brittany put her in her car seat in the back seat of Matt’s truck, and the two of them set out for a few bridal shops in Houston. Brittany had made appointments at each of them, and she was sure they’d find something for her and for Olivia before the day was out. She’d given her sister cart blanche on her maid of honor dress. Then when it came time for Emily’s wedding, the same dress could be worn.

  At the first bridal shop, they found a dress that Olivia loved. It was pink and had little sparkles on the short, puffy sleeves. It was everything Olivia had ever wanted in one dress. What could be easier?

  When it was time for their appointment, Brittany explained their time crunch. “I know I’m not going to get something perfect with two days’ notice, but I’m hoping for something that I’ll be able to look at the pictures in twenty years and be happy that I wore that dress.”

  The woman nodded. “You know . . . we might be able to make this work.” She led her to the back with the changing rooms and all of the mirrors. Brittany was a little overwhelmed by all the mirrors. “Will you trust me to bring you something that will look good on you?”

  Brittany nodded. “I’m a size three usually.”

  “All right. That gives me something to go on.” Jessica disappeared and came back five minutes later holding three dresses. “If there aren’t a lot of alterations, I could get any of these to you Friday morning.”

  “All right. Let’s do this thing.”

  Olivia sat on a chair in the waiting area while Brittany tried on the first dress. She wished she’d thought to bring at least one of her sisters, but she hadn’t so . . . it was all up to Olivia.

  When she put the first one on, she didn’t like how it gaped at her sides. She was tiny, and she had a very slim waist. She wanted that to show in her wedding dress. Why had she been working out all these years otherwise?

  She showed Olivia, who shook her head and crinkled her nose when she looked up from her learning video game system.