by Jeannie Watt
“I’m happy to do that, Mom. And you should consider having another serious talk with David. It isn’t like he’ll kick you out of the house. You’ve been married for how many years?”
“He’ll go into one of his moods, Liv. And I don’t think I can handle that on top of the wedding plans.”
“You can’t let him control you with black moods, Mom.” The words shot out of Liv’s mouth and were followed by a very long silence. “Mom?”
“I am not controlled,” Vivian finally said.
Then what would you call it when you’re afraid to negotiate with your husband?
Liv should know. She was guilty of doing the exact same thing for too many years. Was it even possible to have a close relationship with someone without giving up control of your own life? For Shae maybe—but that didn’t count because she was the controller.
Not that Liv didn’t have sympathy for her mother. She did confront problems now, instead of working around them or hoping they’d go away, but no matter how many affirmations she muttered, direct conflict was still difficult for her. How could she expect her mother to be any different? Especially when Vivian didn’t see acquiescing to everything as being controlled but rather as a survival technique?
“I will try to talk Shae down,” Liv said.
“You can’t tell her I talked to you.”
“I won’t.” She smiled grimly. “I kind of set the stage with the bridesmaid dresses, so I’ll just continue like that.”
“She did budge a little there,” Vivian said with a note of optimism in her voice.
“Yes, she did,” Liv replied reassuringly. Almost two hundred dollars worth of budge, which was huge. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll get the wedding pared down to a reasonable amount of money.”
“Thank you, sweetheart—” She heard a male voice in the background and then Vivian said, “Just Liv, honey, with some questions about the dresses. I’ll be right there.” Liv put her palm on her forehead and closed her eyes. Oy. To live like that.
You almost did.
“I have to go, sweetie. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Relax. I’m in your corner. Silently in your corner,” she added before saying goodbye. The line went dead almost before the last word was out of her mouth.
For a moment Liv simply stayed where she was, phone loosely held in one hand as she stared off across the room.
Her mother was happy with David. He made her feel secure, but the cost seemed steep. Why was the balance of power in successful relationships often so one-sided?
Because that was what made those relationships successful.
Shae was probably going to have a very successful marriage.
* * *
“THAT MADISON GUY is talking smack about you,” Craig said when Matt came into the house after more than an hour of straight dummy roping. His shoulder hurt and he headed for the cupboard to get a hit of ibuprofen.
“How would you know?” he asked as he made his way across the shining kitchen floor to where Craig sat at his computer.
“That research I told you about. I’ve been keeping tabs on your career on the internet.”
Craig leaned back in his chair. “Look at this.”
Matt knew better, but he looked anyway. More of the same. Ryan was getting pretty damned good at twisting the knife just a little while maintaining a facade of classiness.
“Well, what now?” Craig demanded.
“I either live with it or do something about it,” Matt muttered.
Craig gave a satisfied nod, obviously figuring living with it wasn’t a viable option. The kid was correct. “What’s the plan?”
Matt poured a glass of water. “I guess I’d better get on a horse and see what I can do.” He’d been advised not to, of course, but the doc was probably thinking he wanted to rope and dally. Instead, he’d break away—rope the calf and then release the lariat rather than dismounting and tying—which should be easy enough on his knee, and he could start tuning up Ready for the competition. He’d rather be tuning up Beckett, but that wasn’t going to happen. No. Instead, the best rope horse he’d ever ridden was doing patterns in an arena and his lawyer had been adamant that there wasn’t one damned thing he could do about it. The sale was legal. Bogus, but legal.
“Want me to help you mount?” Craig asked with a cackle.
“Maybe,” Matt said, smiling when the grin faded off the kid’s face and thinking it was kind of good to have Craig around, keep him from dwelling on maddening matters beyond his control. “But I think it’d be better if you ran the chute for me.”
“What does that entail?”
“Pulling a lever.”
“I’m your man,” Craig said, closing out his screen with a stab of his index finger.
Matt got on the phone and made some calls to see if anyone he trusted, as in someone he didn’t mind seeing him at his worst, was available to help out. There were only a few people he could call—Wes, who immediately opted out, saying that he didn’t think Matt should be roping so soon, Pete, who wasn’t answering his phone and Jed, whose father had once worked for his father.
Jed happened to be free—for the night anyway, since his wife was about fifteen months pregnant from the way he was talking—and was more than happy to spend the evening roping. So he had someone to chase the calves back and a guy on the chute. He was good. Now if his knee would just cooperate.
Jed arrived a little more than an hour after Matt’s call, minutes after the horses had been saddled.
“Corrie’s okay with this?” Matt asked as Jed got out of the truck.
“She said it may well be my last hurrah, so to enjoy myself.”
Jed unloaded his horse and he and Matt, riding Freckles, his most dependable practice animal, pushed the calves into the corral on the other side of the chute. Ready stood in a holding pen where he would stay until Matt’s last few runs. If he was going to be rough, he didn’t want it to be on his rodeo horse.
“Let me show you what to do,” Jed said to Craig, dismounting and crossing over to where the kid stood regarding the apparatus with a perplexed frown. “Just throw this lever when we nod at you.”
“Just a nod,” Craig said.
“Yep.”
As Matt got into position, Craig kept his gaze zeroed in on Jed, one hand on the lever, waiting for the nod.
“Uh...Matt is nodding,” Jed finally said with a tolerant smile.
“Oh, right.” Craig flushed as he threw the lever and the chute opened. The calf raced to what he thought was freedom on the other side of the arena.
A few seconds later, Matt charged after the calf, swinging his loop. The calf rounded the far end of the arena as the loop settled over his neck and Matt released the rope.
“Good one,” Craig called.
Not really. He’d be in the stratosphere time-wise if he’d had to tie the beast. He lifted his hand to acknowledge the kid’s comment, then went to collect his rope off the calf and then Jed got into the box.
An hour later, his knee was killing him, but his time was improving. Riding put its own unique stress on the joint, and although Matt was well aware from past experience that it was going to hurt, he hadn’t expected it to hurt this much.
Not that he couldn’t take the pain.
“You about done?” Craig asked.
“Yeah,” Jed said before Matt could answer. “We’re done.”
Matt loosened his rope and pulled it off the calf that was trying t
o escape out the far gate, and then coiled it as Ready trotted across the arena. “Done for now,” he said.
“Not too bad,” Jed said after he’d loaded his horse.
Matt handed him a beer without asking, then twisted the top off his own. Jed reached in his pocket, pulled out his phone, checked the screen, then opened his beer.
“All clear?” Matt asked.
“Is what all clear?” Craig wanted to know.
Jed smiled at Craig, a weary dadlike smile. “Am I all clear to stay and enjoy a beer before going home,” he explained as he leaned against his trailer before turning his attention back to Matt. “So far, so good. Last time Corrie was two weeks late, so she’s determined to have this baby on time.”
“Good luck with that,” Matt said. He’d once thought that he and Trena would have a kid by now. They’d agreed to wait two years and then try, but nothing had come of it. Now Matt was glad because he’d hate to have some poor kid caught between them. He absently leaned down to test the area around his knee, doing his best to keep the pain from registering on his face.
“You okay?” Jed asked quietly.
Craig appeared very interested in the answer and Matt did not want the kid trying to take care of him—although he wouldn’t mind if he tried to cook for him.
“I’ve been worse,” he said honestly. “Hey, Craig, go get that bag of chips, would you? And something that’s not a beer for you to drink.”
“Sure.” Craig headed off for the house and Matt flexed his knee a couple of times.
“Hurts like hell,” he said. “But I figured this first time would be bad.”
“You going back on the circuit?”
“Going to try. Pete has a guy who helped him get back in the game. Some local guy. I’m going to try to see him.”
“Local guy?” Jed asked with a perplexed frown. He pushed back his hat with the lip of his beer bottle. “I wonder if he’s talking about McElroy?”
“Don’t know.”
“If he is...well, all I can tell you is that the guy has a shaky reputation.”
“How so?”
Jed shrugged. “Used to do some stuff for some local football players. Nothing technically illegal, but let’s just say they played pain-free.”
Which wasn’t sounding that bad right now as his knee was threatening to explode on him. Matt ran a hand over the back of his neck, surprised at how taut the muscles were. His entire body was seizing up from the pain in his joint. “You don’t happen to know of anyone else offhand?”
“No, but I hear Liv Bailey is back in town doing physical therapy.”
“Trena sold her my best roping horse,” Matt said before taking a long draw as if trying to wash away bitterness.
“I know.”
Who didn’t? Matt smiled tightly. “Don’t get divorced.”
“Don’t plan on it,” Jed said with a certainty that stirred a whisper of jealousy inside of Matt. Must be nice to be that sure. So was Jed going to be blindsided like Matt was?
Unlikely, since Jed seemed to be staying at home with his bride in a way that Matt never had.
“As far as roping practice goes, I imagine you’re going to be busy for the next several years?” Matt asked with a half smile.
“I’ll let you know. I can probably get away for a night or two every now and then, but since I hear that two kids feel more like four, no promises.”
“None asked.” Craig came out of the house carrying a bag of chips and a liter bottle of Mountain Dew.
“You never told me where you picked up a kid,” Jed said before Craig got into earshot, and from his expression, Matt realized that Jed probably thought Craig was his kid.
“Willa’s boy. She’s working on a dude ranch and I agreed to keep him for a while.”
“Ah,” Jed said, looking faintly embarrassed.
“Hey,” Craig said, plopping down on the trailer wheel cover and handing Matt the chips. Matt dutifully took a handful as did Jed. He wasn’t particularly interested in chips, but it had been the only thing he could think of to get rid of Craig long enough to ask Jed about knee doctors. The last thing he wanted was for Craig to start in-depth internet research on the subject.
“I’d better get going,” Jed said after he’d emptied his beer. He checked his phone again, then got into his truck. “If I get any names I’ll let you know,” he said through the open window.
“I’d appreciate it,” Matt said.
“What kind of names?” Craig asked.
“Baby names,” Jed replied with a crooked smile.
Craig’s mouth twisted. “Well, whatever you do, steer clear of Crag.”
CHAPTER NINE
ACCORDING TO THE phone book, Dr. Randall McElroy rented an office at Andie Ballentine’s clinic, which meant that if Matt went to see the guy, he’d probably run into Liv. After that last encounter, he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.
At least he’d finally gotten it through his head that he hadn’t really known Liv—and she hadn’t known him—especially if she believed that he’d hurt Beckett.
Matt waited until Craig went out to feed the calves before dialing the clinic. “Uh, yeah. This is Matt Montoya,” he said when the receptionist answered. “I’d like to make an appointment to see Dr. McElroy.”
“Oh, hi, Matt. This is Etta. How are you?”
Etta. Great. “In need of an appointment.”
“Well—” she dragged the word out “—Dr. McElroy is no longer with the clinic.”
That was a positive. Now he wouldn’t have to run into Liv. “Do you know where I can find him?”
“Are you a patient?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I suggest you make an appointment with Andie.”
“Uh, no. I don’t think that will work.”
“Because...?”
“Etta, are you supposed to ask questions like that?”
“Well, it isn’t like we don’t know each other.”
And had slept together a few times. “I’d rather see a male doctor.”
“Then I’m afraid we can’t help you.”
“I don’t want you to help me, Etta. I want you to tell me where to find Dr. McElroy.”
“You know what? I wouldn’t tell you if I knew.”
“What?”
“He’s bad news, Matt. I can give you some other names. Hang on.” He heard the shuffle of papers, then Etta said, “There’s L. M. Reynolds in Butte, Bob Murphy in Butte, Lyle Crenshaw in Anaconda—”
“Thanks,” Matt said. “I’ll try one of them.” He hung up before Etta could answer and found Craig standing behind him.
“We have a problem.”
Another one? “What now?”
“Your horse has bad scrapes on his back legs. The spotted horse.”
“What?” Matt headed out the door, Craig hot on his heels. Sure enough, Ready had dried blood covering most of one hind leg.
Matt clamped his mouth shut to keep from uttering the curses that were lining up on his tongue. The smooth wire fence was sagging from where the horse had somehow caught his leg—probably trying to kick through it at the horse on the other side.
“Shit,” he said as he opened the gate. He glanced at Craig, who shrugged.
“Mom’s favorite word.”
He put a hand on Ready’s rump as he leaned closer to assess the damage. The skin and hair were burned off the leg. Son of a bitch. He hoped there was no muscle damage. Matt went back out the g
ate, barely getting it closed when Craig handed him the phone.
Matt looked up the vet’s number and dialed. In all his years of having horses in smooth wire, this was his first injury. And even if there was no muscle damage, it was going to be a while until he was riding Ready again. The horse needed time to heal.
The vet’s assistant answered almost immediately and Matt described the problem as he wearily studied the practice horses in the next pasture over. Clancy, the horse Ready had probably tried to kick when he’d injured himself, was a nice horse. Lots of potential. But too green to be used for his comeback bid.
Damn.
He’d been counting on Ready, hoping that the horse would make it through the season unscathed while Matt worked at bringing Clancy up to speed for the next year.
So what now? Did he lease a finished horse? Try to get Beckett back?
He snorted. At best Liv would laugh in his face. At worst she’d publically accuse him of injuring another horse through carelessness.
Matt was in a world of hurt.
* * *
“GUESS WHO CALLED looking for McElroy,” Etta said as Andie walked into the office.
Liv flipped open the chart of her first after-lunch patient, skimming it quickly as Andie said, “Who?”
“Matt.” Etta paused, then added, “Montoya.” Liv looked up. She couldn’t help herself. “I tried to book him with you,” Etta said to her, “but he said he wants a male doctor.” She smirked a little. “So I gave him some names. My guess is that he doesn’t care if they’re male or not. He wants someone who’s good with a needle.”
“You don’t know that,” Andie said, flipping the file closed. “And you probably shouldn’t say it.”
Etta shrugged carelessly. “I dated him. I know his hierarchy. Roping, women, partying.”
“How long ago was that?” Liv asked, somehow pushing the words out of her throat in a conversational tone and ignoring the sharp look Andie sent her.