by Becky McGraw
“Don’t you take that tone with me, mister…I’m the one hurt here. I’ve been working my ass off around here to train your cutting horses, which you hired me to do. You’re absolutely right though, you did not hire me to entertain your spoiled rotten daughter, but I have been doing just that, but evidently not to princess’s satisfaction.”
Tommy’s face got redder and he took a step toward her, then warned in a threatening tone, “Watch what you say about my daughter, Katie.”
“What the truth?” Katie spat then pointed at his chest, and told him, “I didn’t eat lunch three days this week so I could give her riding lessons, and roping demonstrations, but that’s not good enough, right?”
“Thank you for doing that, I didn’t know…” he said and huffed out a breath.
“No, you weren’t here to know, you just took Dixie’s word as gospel, and were going to talk to me about reprimanding her for chasing calves in that damned golf cart,” Katie hissed then leaned toward him and said, “Excuse me for caring if she got stomped to death, but you know what? You don’t have to bother telling me I’m not her mama, I know that…and I’m not your mama either, so take care of your fucking daughter and teach her some manners!”
“I’m sorry you heard all that, and you’re right, she’s out of control,” he admitted then dropped his chin, “And I need to spend more time with her, but running this ranch takes most of my time.”
“You make the time for what’s important in your life, Tommy…you don’t just let time go by, then one day you wake up and she’s a fourteen year old hellion like my sister was, and you don’t know how it happened, like my Uncle Jerry.”
When he just stood there looking at her defensively, with his arms folded over his chest, saying nothing, Katie had had enough. “I spent my whole life watching out for Karlie and cleaning up her messes, I’m not doing that with your daughter too. I’ve had enough of being the nice girl, the good twin, and letting everyone and his brother use me for a doormat,” she told him fiercely, then took a step forward.
Poking him in the chest with her finger, she added, “It’s time I let my fucking hair down for a change, maybe then I wouldn’t be so boring. I think I’m gonna take a walk on the wild side and see what the attraction is, starting right now,” she told him then shoved her finger in his chest again, and said furiously, “Kiss my lily white ass, Tommy Tucker, I’m out of here,” then spun on her heel and walked to the tack room to get her stuff.
Katie didn’t need this crap, she was going back to the rodeo, and she was going to channel her inner Karlie when she got there. That side had to be inside of her somewhere, they were identical twins for God’s sake. Let other people clean up her messes for a change, and she planned to make a lot of them. None of them would be saying she was boring soon, she was gonna make sure of it.
Not saying another word to anyone, Katie loaded up her stuff, and loaded Laramie into the horse trailer behind her rig, then got in the truck and spun out of the Rockin’ D for good. Her head was spinning with so many thoughts, her brain consumed with so much anger, she drove all night without even realizing it. The adrenaline pumping through her wouldn’t have allowed her to sleep anyway.
The next day around noon, Katie hit the outskirts of Dallas and the first thing she did was make calls to the rodeo administrative office trying to get back on the circuit. They told her it was probably too late this year, she’d been gone too long and would never catch up in the standings. Even the new partner she’d picked up after her sister quit, had found someone else to ride with already, so rejoining the rodeo was not an option, until next year.
Katie and her new partner weren’t in the money anyway, even though they had decent points, it surely wasn’t what she was used to when she had been roping with her sister. Karlie and Katie just knew what each other was thinking, and that made them unbeatable. Those days were over for good now though, since Karlie had quit riding, and married Gabe Kelley then settled in Bowie, Texas. Katie was happy for her twin, but out of sorts now that she didn’t have to take care of her anymore. It gave her too much time to think about her own life…her boring life…how boring she’d really become.
Since she couldn’t rejoin the circuit now, she thought she might head to the Double B and check on her sister. Karlie was training horses there for Cassie and Luke Matthews. Maybe she could use some help with that. If not, Katie was sure there was something else she could get into around Bowie, since there were plenty of farms and ranches around there.
Or maybe she’d just take a vacation for a while…it had been a long time, since she’d done that. Money wasn’t an issue for Katie, because she never spent what she earned, she’d been saving it for years, so she’d have it when she retired from the rodeo. It looked like that time was coming sooner, rather than later, so Katie was glad she’d been frugal.
She had no idea where she was going to stay in Dallas, because she hadn’t ever needed an apartment, because her pull behind trailer was her home, while she was rodeoing. Wherever the rodeo was, she and Karlie had been. In essence, they were gypsies, living rodeo venue to rodeo venue, like a lot of the cowboys on the circuit.
If they had a home base, they weren’t there often anyway. Katie had always got her mail through the admin office at the rodeo, and they’d forward it to her, wherever she landed. She needed to call them back and get it forwarded to her sister at the Double B. Katie had only been at the Rockin’ D for three months, and wasn’t sure she’d be staying, so she hadn’t requested it be forwarded there yet, thank goodness.
Katie decided to spend the night in Dallas somewhere, before she headed to Bowie. She needed to rest. Her eyes felt like they were lined with sandpaper, and they’d tried to close on her a couple of times after the adrenaline had worn off. There were a few RV parks she knew of in town that weren’t shady, where some of the cowboys parked when they were in the Big D. She’d go to one of those, and sort out her options, then make a decision in the morning.
When her cell phone rang in her pocket, she leaned up to dig it out, and swerved a little. Yeah, she definitely needed to get some sleep, she thought, because if she didn’t she was going to wind up in a ditch somewhere.
“Hello?” Katie said groggily, cradling the phone at her shoulder.
“Where are you, sis?” Karlie asked with concern in her tone. “Tommy called and said you’d left the Rockin’ D, and he was worried about you.”
Katie snorted then said, “Fuck, Tommy Tucker and the horse he rode in on…he’s not concerned about me, Karlie, he’s worried about himself.” She knew he’d be in a bind now for a cutting horse trainer. At least for a little while. That fact was probably just sinking in with him.
“What happened, Kate?” her sister asked then huffed a frustrated breath.
“I’m not talking about it…I’m done there,” Katie told her firmly.
Karlie chuckled then told her, “Fine, be hardheaded, I guess it’s your turn.”
With a sigh, Katie told her twin, “I’m sorry, Karlie, I’m just fricking exhausted, and at the end of my rope. I need some sleep, I’ve been driving all night.”
“Why the hell didn’t you stop somewhere? You in Dallas?”
“Yeah, I’m headed for that RV park we stayed at by the arena, I just wanted to get as far away from the Rockin D’ and Tommy Tucker, as I could, as fast as this truck would take me,” she told Karlie then turned on her blinker to turn onto the surface street that would take her to the RV Park. “I called the rodeo to see about getting back in the rounds, and they said it was too late this year, and my new partner has another partner already, so it looks like I’ve got to take some time off.”
“Bout damned time too, you work too much, and don’t play enough, Katie.”
Katie laughed, because her twin certainly didn’t have a problem with the playing part. She’d always taken time for that, except when she’d been hooked up with that mean ass bull rider, Jake Johnson. That man had about sucked the life out of her sister
, literally.
“You know, that’s just what I was thinking. I’m gonna go find a place to light for tonight, and unhook the trailer, then I’m going to do a little shopping,” Katie told her.
“Shopping? You?” Karlie snorted then said, “You never shop.”
“There’s a lot of things I never do, that I’m about to start doing, Karlie, so put on your seatbelt, sugar. You’re right, it’s time for me to have some fun, if I can remember how to do that.”
“We’ve got a spare bedroom here, if you want to come stay for a while,” Karlie offered, then suggested, “Or there’s probably room out at the Double B, but there’s drama going on out there with Wade and Jess right now, so you probably wouldn’t want to step off into that.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s up with them?” Katie asked.
Katie had gone to Cole and Sabrina’s anniversary party a month ago alone, because Tommy said he wasn’t going. Wade had used Katie that night to make Jess jealous, which didn’t make Katie happy at all when she found out, and she told him so.
“He’s building them a house at the back of the Double B, and you know how Wade is…he can be a little overbearing sometimes, and Jess isn’t having it, they’re still in the figuring things out stage, but he’s trying, and that baby is so damned cute.”
“Hard to believe he’s a daddy,” Katie snorted then said, “He never held back on sowing his wild oats, did he? Looks like one of ‘em took root.”
“Heck no, that man’s middle name is trouble, but believe it or not, he’s settled down…seems to like being a daddy…well except for the bar fight, that is.”
“He got in another one? In Bowie?” Katie groaned. It had been a long while since Wade had gotten into a fight, she’d kind of hoped he’d grown up some.
“Yeah, I know right, it’s been what four, five years, since he’s done that…but this is different. Jess’s ex-boyfriend came to town and egged him into it, now he’s in trouble, and she’s trying to get him out of it. And even though his damned back is shot, he’s entering a Charity Rodeo event in Dallas to try and get her out of the record contract she signed to get him out of jail. It’s a long story…come to Bowie, and I’ll give you the rundown.”
“Charity Rodeo? When?” Katie asked with interest.
“Two weeks, the entry deadline is tomorrow,” Karlie told her.
“You wanna do it?” Katie asked her hopefully. She’d love to ride with her sister again, even if it was only for one event. “I haven’t gotten my ProRodeo in a while, because I didn’t forward my mail to Amarillo, so I hadn’t heard about it. I’m gonna call and have my mail forwarded to you, is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine, just send it here—and hell yeah, I’d like to enter with you! It’s a good event, and the money is spectacular…it would be fun. JoJo would probably love the workout, he’s become a hothouse flower out at the Double B,” she told her with a chuckle.
“Good, I’ll just stay here then, get some rest and do some retail therapy, until then. I’m excited, we’re gonna kick butt and take names, sis,” Katie said with a smile in her voice.
“Always do…I’ll get us registered, and you take care of yourself. Go to a spa, do some girly stuff and get your mind right,” Karlie told her seriously.
“I’m gonna be so girly, and so relaxed by the time the event comes around, you won’t even recognize me,” she told her with a chuckle.
“I better recognize you, I look at your face in the mirror every morning…don’t do anything crazy, Katie.”
“Pssht, me? Crazy? That’s your middle name, not mine, remember?” But it would be hers too soon, Katie thought with a smile.
CHAPTER TWO
Tommy Tucker didn’t know what he was going to do with his daughter, Dixie. Katie Upton was right, she was a spoiled princess, and she was out of control. He just didn’t know what the hell to do to fix it. He needed help, and the help he had hoped for just had hopped in her dually truck and hauled ass away from him and the Rockin’ D, and she’d taken the best damned horse trainer he’d ever had with her. It was all his fault she was gone too, he’d been an ass to her for the last three months, and more so in the last twenty-four hours. He’d said all the wrong things to her, he knew it, and an apology wasn’t going to fix this.
After having been married for three years, he knew how to talk to a woman, or should have. That had all flown out the window when Katie had gone off on him, and started in on Dixie. Although, Tommy knew everything she said had been right on the mark, he’d reacted instinctively, defensively, because Dixie was all he’d had for the last ten years.
Since Maggie died giving birth to her, his life’s mission had been to protect Dixie, and make it up to her for killing her mother. He hadn’t meant to kill Maggie, but in the end it was his fault that trailer had flipped their truck into that ditch, and his fault he’d chosen Dixie’s life over Maggie’s. He’d been going too fast in the rain, because he wanted to get that horse delivered, and get her back home for the baby shower her friends had planned that evening.
They were running late, because he’d had a problem he had to deal with before they left. He shouldn’t have even let her go with him, had tried to make her stay home, but Maggie insisted she wanted to go, because it was her horse they had sold. The gelding had been a casualty of the horrific accident too.
Instead of attending the baby shower, they’d wound up at the Emergency Room, with her and Dixie fighting for their lives. One of them made it, the other one didn’t. When it came down to a choice, he had to save Dixie, because that’s what Maggie would have wanted. Now, he had lived with the consequences of that decision for ten years, he’d lost his wife at twenty-four years old, his mother-in-law hated him, and raising his daughter alone had become his life.
Obviously, devoting his full attention to his daughter, and letting his guilt drive him to pamper her, hadn’t done her any favors. But what did he know? He was faking it until he made it as a dad, there weren’t any instruction manuals.
When Katie had left earlier with that huge trailer hooked to the back of her dually, he’d had flashbacks of the accident, and he was damned worried about her, so he’d called her sister, Karlie. Karlie hadn’t heard from her, but told him she’d try to call her, then let him know what she found out.
Tommy could fully understand why Katie had left. Not only had he been an ass, he’d been a world class jerk. He’d left Katie to deal with Dixie all week, without letting her know he was leaving, or even saying goodbye. It was in keeping with the self-preservation mode he’d been in since their mind blowing kiss at the barbecue, he was running like a scared rabbit, but it wasn’t fair to her. His avoidance was cowardly, that’s all there was to it.
Katie wasn’t chasing him either, she was just doing her job, and trying to help him with things around the ranch, including his daughter. She didn’t even have an attitude. Most women would have cornered him, demanded answers, and reamed him out, but not Kate. That made his avoidance easier, but it also made him think that maybe their kiss hadn’t turned her inside out like it had him. Every time he got within ten feet of her now, his body caught fire, his heart ping-ponged around in his chest, and his palms itched to touch her, so he’d made a point to say outside of her orbit for the last three months.
When they got back from that barbecue in Bowie, Tommy knew the best thing he could do was just stay away from her, find some space to get his head right, so he found all kinds of excuses to do just that. The latest was the trip to New Mexico to talk to a man about a stud he had his eye on. Tommy could have waited, he’d been waiting to go see the man for six months, but it had given him another reason to get away from Katie Upton, her beautiful knee-melting smile, and the feelings she stirred up.
Now, he’d run her off, and he was worried sick about her. He hoped her sister would call him back soon and let him know where she was, and if she was okay. Karlie had also invited him to bring Dixie to Bowie to stay with her and her husband for these last two week
s of summer, before school started again. She wanted to give her riding lessons at the Double B and teach her to rope, which would make Dixie pleased as punch…him not so much.