by Kristi Gold
“Rachel?”
She looked up from studying his board-flat abdomen to meet his grin. “What?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Clearly most of her coherent thoughts had flown out of her brain the moment he’d flashed a little chest. “What question is that?”
“Are you jealous of Tina?”
Yes, not that she’d readily admit it. “Of course not, but I do care about what people think. I’d prefer not to become a laughingstock just because you’ve decided to chase after some nubile, too-young blonde bombshell who also happens to be the constable’s daughter.”
After tossing his discarded clothes and hat into the truck, he retrieved a burgundy short-sleeved polo and slipped it on. “You have one hell of an imagination, sweetheart. But since you’re worried, I’ll be more than happy to set you straight. Tina’s going to take your place in the office, not in my bed.”
That should have given her some measure of comfort, but it didn’t. “What does she know about running a busy veterinarian clinic? She probably barely knows long division.”
He settled a baseball cap on his head. “She’s got an associate’s degree in business, plus she paid her way through college by working in a doctor’s office. That makes her more than qualified. And since you’re not taking care of my business anymore, I had to hire someone.”
She had no doubt Tina was more than willing to take care of his business, and not the kind that involved accounts payable. “Don’t act like I’ve totally abandoned you and the clinic. I’ve still been making deposits and paying the bills.”
“But you’ve left the appointment scheduling to me, not to mention the supplies are getting low. I don’t have time to see patients and run the office.”
As usual, they were getting nowhere fast. “Fine. I hope it all works out with your new girl.”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Spare me the favor.”
He leaned a shoulder against the truck, looking much more relaxed than Rachel felt. “Speaking of favors, if you have some time to spare, I’d appreciate it if you stop by the clinic next week and show Tina the ropes. While you’re there, we could talk about the assets.”
Rachel had to think on that a minute, but only a minute. If she checked in on Matt’s new hire, then she’d find out if more was going on than met the eye. She’d know if Tina had more on her mind than veterinary medicine. Question was, did she really want to know? “I could spend an hour or so Monday after lunch.”
“Are you sure an hour’s enough time to go over all the procedures with Tina and divide up our property?”
Yes, because she really didn’t want anything from Matt, monetarily speaking. What she did want, he couldn’t give her. “An hour will have to do. I don’t want to spend all day babysitting the help.”
“Suit yourself.”
She planned to do just that for a change. After she turned to go, Matt called her name, forcing her to face him again. “What now?”
He favored her with the sexy smile that had always taken her by storm and spelled trouble. “Since you obviously liked what you saw a minute ago, you’re welcome to polish my belt buckle at the dance tonight.”
Like that was going to happen. “I’m going to be working at the dance, and that won’t leave any time for polishing anything that belongs to you.” But she would still have to see him, unless she faked a headache and shirked her volunteer duties so she could go home early. That wouldn’t be fair to the fire department auxiliary ladies who were counting on her help with the final fundraiser.
He had the unmitigated nerve to wink. “Not even one turn on the dance floor for old times’ sake?”
“Not on your life.”
Before she caved and gave in to temptation, Rachel rushed away, the sound of Matt’s laughter following her all the way back to the tent.
If she planned to get through this divorce, she had to avoid him at all costs, beginning tonight.
* * *
“SHE’S DEFINITELY AVOIDING you.”
Matt couldn’t agree with Sam more. He looked toward the opposite end of the converted concession tent where Rachel had taken a seat, her back to the bar. Since the band had just begun to set up, the makeshift dance floor was deserted, allowing him a clear view of his wife. He’d caught her gaze a few minutes ago, but she’d steered clear of any eye contact past that point.
If she was bent on ignoring him for the time being, not a problem. Her attitude allowed him a nice long look at her body, from the tight blue, low-cut knit shirt to the curve-hugging jeans. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was on the prowl. Maybe she was—and that didn’t set well with him at all.
She was still his wife, dammit. He’d find an opportunity to get her attention, whether she wanted to give it or not.
“Want a beer?” Sam asked.
Yeah, he did. Real bad. But he was bent on proving to Rachel he didn’t have to rely on booze to have a good time. “Nah. I’m okay. But I’ll be glad to get you one.” A good excuse to make his presence known to his wife.
“Guess I better hold off, because here comes my kid.”
Seven-year-old Jamie McBriar hurried across the tent as fast as her miniature cowboy boots would let her. She bypassed her dad, threw her arms around Matt’s waist and smiled up at him, her grin as wide as the Mississippi. “Hi, Uncle Matt!”
She wasn’t officially his niece, but she might as well be considering he’d known her since the moment she’d come into the world, kicking and screaming. “Hey, kiddo. When did you get here?”
Her face was smeared with pink sugar, compliments of the cotton-candy cone she had gripped in her hand. “It’s my weekend with Daddy, so Mama dropped me off this morning,” she said. “I saw you rope that calf and you won!”
At least someone appreciated his effort. “Yeah, I did.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Did you ever ride a bull, Uncle Matt?”
Not since he’d learned to value his bones. “Yep, but I haven’t done it in a while.”
Her dark blue eyes went wide as wagon wheels. “Can you teach me how to rope a calf or ride a bull?”
“No bulls,” Sam said. “I can teach you how to rope.”
Jamie frowned. “Did you ever win a prize or ride a bull like Uncle Matt?”
“Yes, he did ride a bull.” Savannah came to Sam’s side and kissed his cheek. “I was there when he climbed on that beast. He was much younger back then and didn’t have the sense of a goose.”
Sam winked at his future wife. “Admit it. It turned you on.”
She grinned. “Did I mention I didn’t have the sense of a goose, either?”
Jamie tugged on Savannah’s hand. “What did Daddy mean about turning you on?”
In order to save Sam from his kid’s question, Matt swiped a chunk of Jamie’s candy and stuck it into his mouth. The stuff was so sweet he had the urge to spit it out. “Both me and your dad can teach you how to rope. That way, if you need to rope a hurt calf to give it medicine, then you’re ready to go.”
“I’m sure Darlene’s going to love that,” Sam muttered. “Thanks for giving her a reason to limit my weekends with my daughter.”
Matt had never known Sam’s ex-wife to be anything but accommodating when it came to visitation. In fact, their relationship was so damn congenial, it was almost sickening. “I’ll smooth it over with Darlene if you need me to.”
“Mama isn’t going to be mad,” Jamie said. “She’s too busy taking care of Brady.”
The pang of regret took him by surprise. Jamie’s half brother had been born two months before Caleb. A healthy baby boy. “So how do you like being a big sister?”
She looked as if she’d eaten a pickle, not candy. “Brady poops a lot and pulls my hair, but he’s okay.”
Matt laughed along with Sam and Savannah, even though he didn’t feel like laughing. He felt more like punching a wall from frustration over his inability to ignore his guilt, even for one night.
>
“I’m going to take Jamie to your folks before it gets too wild around here,” Savannah said. “Gracie said she can spend the night.”
Sam gave Savannah a suggestive look that wasn’t lost on Matt. “Good idea, and hurry back.”
Jamie tugged on her dad’s arm to get his attention. “Are you gonna sleep over at Savannah’s house?”
He couldn’t resist ribbing his friend. “I was about to ask the same thing.”
Sam sent Matt a sneer before he addressed his daughter. “No, but I will be home late and won’t see you until breakfast. In the meantime, mind your grandparents.”
Jamie rocked back and forth on her heels as if she couldn’t stay still. “I wanna say hi to Rachel first.”
“Okay,” Savannah said. “But I’m not sure where she is right now.”
Before Matt could reveal his wife’s whereabouts, Jamie pointed across the way. “She’s over there talking to that scary man. Who is he, Daddy?”
Matt turned to find some cowboy had taken the stool next to Rachel, but not just any cowboy. R. J. Harbin—a useless bronc rider with a badass reputation and a mouth to match. “What the hell is Harbin doing here?”
Sam peered across the room toward the offender. “He was supposed to ride today but didn’t make it in time. Right now it looks like he’s trolling for females. Anyone with a daughter over sixteen or a wife under sixty should lock ’em up.”
Matt wasn’t about to stand by and let some worthless, tail-chasing rodeo bum force himself on Rachel. But as soon as he started away, Sam grabbed his shoulder, halting his progress. “Hold up, Matt,” he said. “If you go over there now, you’re going to piss Rachel off.”
She could join the club. He was already pissed off. Royally pissed off. “Don’t you remember the rumors about him?”
“What rumors?” Savannah asked.
“Back when we were running the circuit in high school, some girl made a fairly serious accusation,” Sam said. “But nothing ever came of it.”
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” And Matt wasn’t going to take the chance that something might happen to Rachel at the hands of Harbin. “The least I can do is warn her.”
Savannah touched his arm to gain his attention. “Sam’s right about letting Rachel handle it. If all those technical fouls she got playing high-school basketball proved anything, she can hold her own. Besides, she’s not going to go anywhere with him.”
If it were anyone other than Harbin, he might agree to let it go. “You’re asking me to stand by while he makes a move on my wife.”
“I know you’re itchin’ for a fight,” Sam said. “But you’ll only make matters worse if you interfere without cause.”
Fine. He’d wait and watch for a reason to intervene. He watched while Harbin whispered something in Rachel’s ear. He waited while she scooted her stool away from the jerk. But when Harbin moved his seat closer and landed a hand on her thigh, Matt was done with the waiting and watching. “I’m going to wipe that goatee off his freakin’ face.”
He was only mildly aware of Sam telling Savannah, “Get Jamie out of here,” as he took off across the dirt dance floor.
Once he reached the bar, he inserted himself between the two, turning his back to the jackass to face his wife. “Are you okay?”
The look she gave him could have melted steel. “I’m fine.”
“We were just having a little talk,” Harbin said from behind him.
Matt glared at him over one shoulder. “Looked to me like you were doing most of the talking with your hands.”
Rachel tugged on his shirtsleeve, regaining his attention. “Just chill, Matt. I told you I’m okay.”
He couldn’t chill when steam was about to pour out of his ears. “I’m not okay with him manhandling you.”
“The lady didn’t mind at all.”
That sent Matt around to confront Harbin head-on, clinging to the last of his control, fists balled at his sides. “The lady happens to be my wife, and that sure as hell makes her off-limits to the likes of you.”
Harbin rubbed his shabby chin. “If that’s the case, why is she over here all by herself, while you’re standing clear across the room? Did you two have a little lovers’ spat?”
“That’s none of your business, you son of a bitch.”
Harbin slid off the stool and straightened to his full height, at least two inches shorter than Matt. “Maybe if you were taking care of business at home, she wouldn’t come looking for me.”
Rachel leaned around Matt and glared at Harbin. “I wasn’t looking for you. In fact, I was trying to get away from you.”
Harbin grinned at Rachel before turning his attention to Matt. “Well, now, Boyd. Looks like you got yourself a regular stuck-up bitch dressed in slut’s clothing. Congratulations.”
The insult tripped a mental switch in Matt, sparking his anger past the point of no return. Without thinking, he drew back his left hand and threw a punch square in Harbin’s face, knocking the bastard back against the bar. He grabbed Harbin by the collar, unaware anyone was behind him until someone jerked him back, preventing him from going after the ass again. And like the coward he was, Harbin took advantage and delivered a right hook to Matt’s jaw, snapping his head back from the impact.
“You’re getting out of here, Matt, before I have to arrest you.”
Only then did he realize Chase was the one holding him back. “I’m not done with him yet.”
Matt managed to yank away from the hold, but Chase blocked his path before he could get back into the fray. “Yeah, you are done,” he said as he pushed him toward the exit where Sam now stood. “Make sure he gets in his truck and leaves. I’ll take care of Harbin.”
Matt didn’t want or need an escort. He took off across the gravel lot, heading for his truck parked at the back beneath a halogen light. Once there, he noticed the copper taste of blood and examined the cut on the corner of his mouth in the side-view mirror. He checked to make sure his teeth were still intact and worked his jaw to rule out a break. Nothing he couldn’t deal with, but the swollen knuckles on his left hand could be a problem when it came to work. He’d endured worse injuries before over the course of a lifetime, at least physically. The wounds inflicted by Rachel’s departure and talk of divorce might never heal.
When he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, he braced both hands on the edge of the truck bed and lowered his head to study the ground. The posse had probably arrived, armed with a verbal arsenal that would likely include “I told you so” and “You’ve lost your mind.” Chase might even make good on his arrest promise. If that happened to be the case, he could end up in a county jail cell. Not a good way to spend a Saturday night.
What the hell. If the deputy wanted to lock him up, not a problem. He could cope with a narrow bunk and a flat mattress for one night. His own home was pretty much a prison these days.
“Are you trying to recapture your glory days or have you totally lost all your common sense?”
Rachel. That was worse than confronting his friends.
He straightened, leaned back against the truck and came in contact with her scornful look. “Glory days?”
She folded her arms across her middle. “In the five years since this rodeo’s inception, not once have you entered an event. Then I find you on the verge of hooking up with a girl who’s way too young. And to top it off, you rush in with your macho guns blazing and break some worthless idiot’s nose. If that’s not trying to recapture your youth, I don’t know what is.”
He’d been trying to recapture her attention, even if he hadn’t planned to do it by punching someone out. “I got a busted lip and bruised knuckles to save you from that bastard, and this is the thanks I get?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve got a bruised ego, and you certainly don’t deserve any thanks. You didn’t hit that guy to save me. You hit him because he insinuated you weren’t taking care of me, and deep down you know he’s right.”
Maybe so, but t
here was a lot more to it than that. “R. J. Harbin’s dangerous, Rachel. It’s been rumored he’s gotten rough with a few women on more than one occasion. You know as well as I do that I’m going to defend the people I care about whether you like it or not.”
“I didn’t need defending tonight,” she said, not taking the bait. “I saw Chase standing outside the tent and I was going to go get him after that jerk said…” Her gaze drifted away with her words.
His imagination began to run wild as a prairie wind. “What did he say to you?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“It sure as hell matters to me.”
“Give it a rest, Matt,” she said. “The point is, at one time you knew when to keep your cool and walk away. That never made you any less of a man in my eyes—just the opposite. Now I’m not sure I know you at all.”
If she really did know what he was feeling, she’d understand how much being away from her was killing him. “I’m the same man who’s been in your life for almost twenty years, Rachel. You married me knowing I’ve got flaws, just like everyone else. So let’s just forget this damn divorce and start over. If you’ll come home, I promise I’ll do better.”
Even though his hand ached liked the devil, he reached for her, and she backed away. “If tonight proved anything, it convinced me I have to go through with the divorce,” she said. “I don’t believe you’ll keep your promise and I don’t trust you or the choices you’re making. And I won’t sit back and watch you destroy your life the way your father has destroyed his.”
As Rachel walked away, one particular promise filtered into his mind.
I don’t care what happens to me, Matt. Just promise you’ll save our baby….
A promise he’d broken because he’d been forced to choose. That choice might have saved his wife, but it had ultimately cost his son’s life.
CHAPTER FIVE
“WHAT ARE YOU still doing here?”
Rachel glanced up to see Chase Reed hovering above her, looking every bit the lawman in his khaki tailored shirt with the sheriff’s department emblem embossed above the front pocket.