“Yeah, beautiful girl?”
“I’m sorry I ever compared you to Harris. You’re nothing like him.”
Bullet wished Tristan hadn’t said that. There’d been a time he was, and he was ashamed of that part of his life. If it weren’t for his two precious babies, he’d go back and do it all differently.
Even though he couldn’t change his past, he sure as hell could make sure his future would be very different. He’d be a better man, not just for her, but for himself. He was committed to it. When Pearl and Grey were older, he wanted them to look at him with love and respect, and be proud of their daddy.
1980
“Where would you like to celebrate our anniversary this year?” Bill asked Dottie.
Bill had continued competing on the rodeo circuit, and the two traveled often, especially around Colorado and the mid-west. Sometimes, Clancy and his mama would travel with them. But he never entered a rodeo the week of their anniversary.
Every year for the last eight, Bill planned a trip just for the two of them. Being home only reminded him of Dottie’s terrible accident two days after their wedding. He was sure Dottie thought about it too.
“I want to stay home this year, Bill.” Dottie was looking out the window, toward the main house, where Clancy and Jane still lived.
“Why don’t we go to Gunnison? I’m sure some of your high school friends still live in town.”
“Bill, I need you to sit down.”
“Why?”
“Just sit. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Bill’s heart went into his throat. “What is it, sweetheart?”
20
“Will you be at the rodeo tomorrow night?”
Tristan smiled. “Of course I will be. I’ll be here all week.”
“What do you say just the two of us go someplace quiet for dinner after? I promise I’ll bring you home safe and sound before curfew.”
She was a twenty-seven-year-old woman. She shouldn’t need a curfew. It wasn’t as though she really had one, but since she was staying at Lyric’s house with her father and grandfather, she had to show them respect, and that meant not staying out all night.
“I’d like that very much, Bullet.”
Buck Bishop couldn’t be at the rodeo tonight, but he told Bullet he’d be back the following night, and he expected to see his name on the short go. To move on to the next round, Bullet had to cover his bull again tonight. He sure hoped he did, especially with Tristan watching.
“Hey, Simmons,” Bullet heard someone shout. He turned his head to see Harris Jones approaching him. Bullet threw his rosin and leather straps down, on the ground. “What the hell do you want?”
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up; I’m here to win her back.”
“I’m afraid you’re in for a disappointment, son. The lady has a date with me later on tonight, and every night after.”
“I’m sure she’ll change her mind once she knows I’m here.”
“She already knows, and I get the impression she doesn’t give a shit.”
“You never forget your first. Ain’t that what they say? And I’ll tell you, after the first time, she turned into a real wildcat in bed. Woohee, she was some kind of—”
Bullet had heard enough. He turned his back on Harris and watched as the next rider rosined his bull rope.
“She’s a damn fine piece of ass, but my guess is you know that. She been makin’ the rounds of the bull riders here? Is that her thing now? I got her started—”
Bullet jumped off the back of the chute and took a swing at Harris, then another. Stormy and some of the other guys from the Flying R team ran over and pulled Bullet off of him.
“You keep your dirty, lyin’ mouth shut, you hear me, asshole?” he shouted at him. Bullet rubbed his knuckles. He hit him with his riding hand, and that was damn stupid.
The guys got between Bullet and Harris. “Get your head where it belongs, Bullet. And, you,” Stormy pointed at Harris, “get the hell out of here. You don’t belong back here. If you don’t leave, I’ll have you thrown out.”
Harris rubbed his jaw and smiled at Bullet. “Mark my words, that cowgirl will be leavin’ with me tonight.” He motioned in the direction of the Flying R reserved boxes.
Bullet spun around to finish what he’d started, but Stormy stopped him. “He’s tryin’ to get into your head. Don’t play into his bullshit. Think, Bullet. Get ready for your ride, and forget this asshole.”
Tristan watched the whole thing take place. She hated that Harris was able to get such a reaction out of Bullet, especially when he was about to ride. Why the hell was Harris back here again tonight? She was about to find out for herself.
“Where you goin’?” asked Lyric.
“I need to ask someone something.”
“You’re goin’ to talk to that cowboy that Bullet just leveled, aren’t ya? Isn’t that the same guy I asked you about last night?”
“Yep. Same guy.”
“You sure as hell aren’t goin’ to talk to him by yourself. Come on. I’ll go with ya.”
“Lyric, please. You don’t have to.”
“Sisters stickin’ together,” Lyric said as she put her arm through Tristan’s and tugged her in Harris’ direction.
“Well, hey there, Tristan, I was hopin’ I’d run into you tonight. Who’s this pretty young thing with ya? If you two are lookin’ for some two-on-one action, I’ll tell ya, I’m all for it.”
“I hate you,” Tristan spat at him. “I don’t know why I even bothered to try to talk to you.”
“Come on, now, you know why you did. You miss me, admit it.”
“I don’t see much about you there’d be to miss,” added Lyric. “What’re you, some kinda wannabe cowboy? Hangin’ out at the rodeo, hopin’ to pick up a cowgirl too stupid to know you aren’t the real thing?”
“Oh, my, I like this one. Fiery as hell.” Harris got closer to Lyric and was about to put his arm around her when she elbowed him in the stomach.
“You touch me, and I’ll finish what my brother started.”
Harris dropped his arm. “Well, well, ain’t this interestin’? Bullet’s your brother? Is that what you said?”
“Yep, that’s what I said. C’mon, Tristan. This scumbag isn’t worth our time.”
“Before you run off, there’s somethin’ important you need to know about your boyfriend.”
“There isn’t anything you tell me that I’d believe.” Tristan turned to walk away. “Go to hell, Harris.”
“One day soon you’ll find out the truth about Bullet Simmons, and when you do, I’ll be here, waitin’. No denyin’ it, Tristan, you and I will be together again one day very soon.”
“Hell will freeze over first,” Tristan said to Lyric. “I don’t know what I ever saw in that man.”
“Well…”
“What? After all the filth he just spewed? You can’t seriously think he’s anything but disgusting.”
“It isn’t that, it’s just…”
“Say it, Lyric. It’s just what?”
“Now that I’ve seen him up close, I never could’ve gone for him. I mean, I know he’s an asshole, but before he opened his mouth, I never could’ve.”
“I hate to even ask, but why not?”
“You never noticed how much he looks like Bullet?”
Ew. Now that Lyric mentioned it, they did have several physical characteristics in common. They were about the same height, same color hair, same blue eyes. They probably weighed close to the same too. If she had to describe either of them to a sketch artist, the description would be the same.
“You don’t think it has anything to do with your brother and me, do you?”
“Does it?”
“God, Lyric. Of course it doesn’t.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure Bullet wouldn’t notice. Guys never do.”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“Your ex is disgusting. No offense.”
Tristan s
huddered. “You got that right. And none taken.”
Bullet’s second ride was okay. He scored in the seventies, but with last night’s eighty-eight, his average put him in the top three. Tomorrow night’s ride would be the most important. Even if he covered his bull, he’d have to ride a score over eighty again to be in the top two that went on to the finals.
Given the mosh-up with Harris Jones earlier, it was surprising he rode as well as he had tonight. Bullet knew better than to let another rider get into his head right before he got on a bull. He wished he knew why the hell the guy was still in town.
Tristan was sitting in the stands, alone, when he came out from behind the chutes. He needed to stow his gear, but when he went to look for his rosin and tie-downs, they were gone. He wondered if that bastard Harris was the one who took them. They weren’t worth a lot, but that wasn’t the point. Among cowboys, a rider shouldn’t have to worry about his gear going missing.
“Hey, pretty lady.” Tristan sure was a sight to behold. Her long dark blonde hair was visible through her straw drifter cowboy hat, which sat low over her eyes. Her light pink tank top showed off her dark skin, tan from the sun, and her tight jeans were tucked into her Cinch Edge pink wave boots.
“You talkin’ to me, cowboy?” Tristan looked over both shoulders. “Guess I’m the only one here, so you must be.”
“Even with a crowd of thousands, you’d always stand out as the prettiest of ’em all.”
“Aw shucks, guess you know how to win a girl’s heart, don’t ya?”
She was playing. Bullet knew that. But given what he wanted to talk to her over dinner tonight, their flirtation was turning his stomach.
“Bullet? What’s wrong?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “Not a thing now that you’re in my arms.”
“Did Harris get to you? I saw what happened.”
“Nah. He’s not worth even thinkin’ about.”
“Lyric and I went and talked to him. It was a waste of time.”
He wished she hadn’t. And as much as he wanted to know what they talked about, he didn’t want it to monopolize their time together. “You ready, darlin’?”
“I am.” He took her hand and she followed. “Bullet, are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Everything except I’m starvin’. How ’bout you?”
Every time he tried to bring up his past, over dinner, Tristan said something that made him want to wait. They were seated in a corner booth at the new Cowboy Star restaurant, and she cuddled right up next to him. There were things he wanted her to know about his past so nothing would ever pop up that would cause her not to trust him, but it never seemed like the right time to bring it up.
“I have an idea,” she told him over dessert.
“Yeah? I have a lot of ideas.” He nuzzled her neck and trailed kisses back to her nape.
“We have the same idea. And I have a surprise for you.”
“You do?”
Tristan had arranged for a room at the Broadmoor for the night. She told Bullet she hated lying to her father, but she’d told him she was going out with the girls, and instead of risking the drive home, they were adding on a sleepover at the posh hotel.
“Won’t he find you out?”
“Your sister swore everyone to secrecy. My daddy and grandfather are having dinner with your gram at Bill and Dottie’s again tonight. Everyone else is on their own.”
“I sure hope nobody slips up and tells him.”
“You scared of my daddy, cowboy?”
“You’re damn right I am.”
“Yeah, you’re right to be.”
“He ever meet Harris?”
“Ugh. I wish you hadn’t brought him up.”
“I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”
“Just once, and he didn’t like him much. Turns out he was right. He usually is.”
“What’s he think of me?”
“I overheard him talking to your daddy last night. He said he thought you were a fine young man.”
Really? That was a surprise. Unless Hugh McCullough was starstruck enough by his daddy that he’d just said it to be nice.
Tristan watched Bullet as he slept. When they’d made love, earlier, he was so tender. A couple of times he held still, her face in his hands, looking into her eyes. It was as though he had something to say, but couldn’t bring himself to say it. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought he was getting ready to say goodbye.
When Liv planned a real girls’ get together the following night, Tristan was in a bit of a bind. Bullet didn’t know whether her daddy knew she’d really been with him the night before, but when he told his daughter he understood and to go have a good time with her friends, Bullet breathed a sigh of relief.
He’d miss being with her tonight, but she deserved to have some fun on her own.
“You sure you don’t mind?” she pulled him around the corner to ask.
“Of course I don’t.”
When she asked what he was going to do, he told her he’d probably just go back to the house and get some rest.
Things didn’t exactly go the way he’d planned, though. The guys from Flying R Rough Stock, along with his daddy, hijacked him and King for a guy’s night out.
“Hell,” said Billy. “If they can do it, so can we.”
Bullet wondered who was watching Billy’s new baby, but that wasn’t any of his business so he didn’t ask.
At four the next morning, he stumbled into bed, glad that he didn’t have to be back at the rodeo until four that afternoon. He hoped to hell he’d be sober by then.
“I wonder how the guys are feelin’ this mornin’.”
“Which guys?” Tristan asked Lyric.
“All of ’em. From what King told me, things got pretty wild last night.”
“Did Bullet go out with them?”
“Oh, yeah, and I guess he really tied one on. I think there might’ve even been some dancin’, and something about a fight. That reminds me, he also said that Harris guy showed up.”
“Are you serious?”
“What? That’s what boys do when they go out to play, Tristan. You oughta know that. It’s Cowboy Christmas. Not only do the cowboys get to ride and win, they also get to play.”
“What happened with Harris?”
“I’m not sure, but King said something about him confronting Bullet again.”
“You don’t think Bullet and King ended up…”
“Ended up what?”
“You know…with other women?”
“Of course not, where did that come from?”
From Harris. That’s where. He was the type of man she couldn’t trust to go out with the guys, because he’d end up with another woman. Why did Harris always have to taint her opinion of Bullet. It was completely unfair, and while she knew it in her head, her heart led her down a different path.
1980
“I think I’m pregnant.”
Bill was glad she told him to sit down, because if he hadn’t, he might’ve collapsed. “But I thought you couldn’t.”
“The doctor said he didn’t think I could.”
“Is it safe?” If Dottie put her health in jeopardy in order to have a child, Bill didn’t know what he’d do.
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to confirm that I am really pregnant. I want you to go with me. We can ask questions then.”
What if the doctor told them it wasn’t safe? What would they do? Would Dottie want to abort the baby? Knowing his wife, she would never take the life of their child. Even if it meant her own life was at risk.
Neither got much sleep. When Bill saw faint light through the window curtains, he got up and fed the animals. Dottie’s appointment was at nine. He had to keep himself busy until then, or he’d go crazy.
“Your test came back positive,” said the doctor.
Dottie held Bill’s hand so tight, while they waited, she near cut off his circulat
ion.
“I’d like you to have an ultrasound so we can determine how far along you are.”
When the technician called Dottie’s name, Bill stayed in his chair in the waiting area.
“Come on, Bill Patterson, this child is as much your responsibility as it is mine,” Dottie winked at him.
In the exam room, the technician rubbed gel all over Dottie’s belly, and then ran a wand over the gel. A black and white image appeared on a screen that was partially obstructed from Bill’s view.
The woman studied it for a few minutes, hitting buttons on a keyboard near the screen, and then recording information on a chart.
“When was your last menstrual cycle?” she asked Dottie.
“I don’t quite remember. I think it was three months ago. I didn’t think about it until the other day. I guess I wasn’t payin’ that much attention.”
Bill wished he hadn’t been in the room for this part of the exam.
“Do you want to know the sex of your baby, or do you want to wait?”
Dottie looked at Bill. He couldn’t tell whether she wanted to know, or didn’t.
“I want to know. Don’t you?”
He did. But he still didn’t know if it was safe for her to be pregnant. He hated to get his hopes up, and hers, if something happened. “I think we should wait until after we talk to the doctor.”
Dottie’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded her head. “I understand.”
Bill’s heart was breaking into a million pieces. She looked so full of joy just a few minutes ago, and now she looked crestfallen. Once again, he’d been the one to cause her hurt.
The technician got out another instrument. “This will let us hear the baby’s heartbeat,” she told them. She ran it back and forth over Dottie’s belly and a minute later they heard a swishing sound.
“Is that it?” Dottie asked.
“Yes, it is,” smiled the woman.
“Oh, Bill, that’s our baby.”
Tears spilled down Dottie’s cheeks. Bill squeezed her hand and prayed. He made a deal with God that day. If he’d watch over Dottie and their baby, Bill would give up rodeo for good.
Win Me Over (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 5) Page 22