Once a Champion

by Jeannie Watt

  “How are the steers?”

  “As fat as they were yesterday,” Liv said.

  “Good. We’ll have to sell them early.”

  It was going to take more than the steers to settle the bill, as they both well knew, but if selling the cows made Tim feel better, Liv was all for indulging in the fantasy.

  And speaking of fantasies, Liv was determined to stay firmly grounded in reality when it came to her new relationship with Matt. It was important that they understand one another. She was pretty certain they did, but no sense taking chances.

  So how, and when, did she bring this up?

  Or was it better to just see how things played out?

  Maybe they’d had a one-night stand. Liv stepped out of the hospital into the bright morning sun as the happy thought occurred to her. She could live with that. Maybe. Parts of her were whispering, “Are you crazy? One time when you could have more?” and it was hard to shut them up.

  Okay, she and Matt would talk. When?

  Liv didn’t have a lot of experience with morning afters, having only experienced two in her lifetime, spaced quite a distance apart. And she’d never before slept with anyone that she hadn’t been in a relationship with.

  New territory to go with a new life.

  Part of her liked thinking that she could sleep with a hot guy and walk away. Another part of her thought that smacked of using the other person unless they were on the same page.

  Of course they were on the same page. This was Matt Montoya she was dealing with, the guy who attracted hot babes like a magnet. He was used to one-nighters. He liked her and she liked him. They both had their own lives to live, so really, there shouldn’t be a problem.

  But they would talk all the same.

  The day passed quickly since she was booked solid. She stopped to see Tim on the way home, promised again to take extra special care of the steers and told him in return he needed to do exactly what his doctors advised. He’d grunted in a semi-cooperative way and Liv accepted his answer as the best she was going to get. He was hurting and he was angry with himself and she couldn’t do anything about it except to let time do its thing.

  When she got home, the steers were already fed, but Matt was not there. For a moment she thought it might have been a guilt feeding, then realized it had to be a roping night. Of course. Nothing stood between Matt and roping practice.

  Liv smiled as she headed to the house. She liked a guy with priorities, especially when she wasn’t one of them. And she wasn’t going to ask him to stop feeding the steers, because he was doing it for Tim and not for her.

  When she drove into the rodeo grounds for practice that evening, the first thing she noticed was an absence of a big black and silver Dodge. The second thing she noticed was a pang of disappointment and she firmly told herself to get a grip.

  Linda took Liv aside before the first drill to offer her condolences on her father’s illness and inform her that the team had conferred and they were going to hold a fund-raiser to help with Tim’s medical bills.

  “I...uh...don’t know,” Liv said, thinking how much Tim would hate knowing that his private affairs had been the topic of a drill team meeting. “My dad is kind of funny about that kind of stuff.”

  “Your dad needs to accept the fact that neighbors take care of one another,” Linda proclaimed.

  “Probably,” Liv said on a sigh, realizing that stopping Linda from doing what she thought was right was probably a lot like trying to stop Shae from choosing the most expensive dress on the rack. The conversation was apparently over, because Linda mounted her buckskin and headed for the arena gate, blowing her whistle to signal the rest of the team to follow.

  Liv mounted Beckett, thinking that once Tim was strong enough, he could fend off those who wanted to help him. It might give him an incentive to take care of himself.

  The practice was intense since they had a rodeo performance the next day and Liv was thankful to have something to focus on other than the men in her life. The rodeo was close to Dillon, so she could perform and still visit Tim before going home—if they managed to keep him in the hospital that long.

  The difficulty there was driven home when she got a call early the next morning from Andie, asking her to stop by the hospital on her way to the rodeo. Tim, it seemed, was giving the staff grief. He wanted out and he wanted out now.

  “Dr. Bates wants to keep him one more day than originally planned just to play it safe.” Liv could hear the stress in her friend’s voice and figured she’d probably already gone a couple rounds with Tim. One more day. Thousands more dollars. Her father was probably having a fit.

  “Be right there.”

  Twenty minutes later she met Andie in the waiting area.

  “Is there no way around this? I mean, he’s going to be so stressed out calculating finances, wouldn’t it be best to get him out of here ASAP?”

  “Got to make sure there’re no complications. Bates isn’t taking any chances.” Andie hugged her clipboard to her chest. “If he’d come in sooner...”

  “Yeah. I know. But he didn’t.” And now he had consequences. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

  “Try to explain to him that one extra day won’t be that much what with the rest of the costs being covered.”

  Liv stopped in her tracks. “Covered by what? The ranch policy doesn’t pay for this kind of stuff.”

  Andie’s eyebrows inched up. “Covered by the person who paid his bill. In cash.”

  Liv swallowed drily, wondering if she was hearing correctly. “That’s...that’s not possible. Who would do that?”

  Andie looked both directions then lifted her clipboard to shield her face as she whispered. “Margo Beloit. Didn’t you know?”

  “Didn’t have a clue.” Liv started down the hall toward Tim’s room, her mind racing.

  “Does he know?” Liv asked, pausing at the door.

  “He does,” Andie said. “I thought it would make him relax and stay another day without a fight. Should have known better.”

  Liv snorted as she reached for the door handle.

  “Not that I’m chicken,” Andie said, “but I think you two need to work this out alone.”

  “I agree,” Liv said, giving her friend a weary smile before opening the door.

  “I am not taking charity,” Tim said through gritted teeth as soon as Liv walked into the room. He was wearing a hospital gown and was tethered to an IV, thinner and grayer than before, but he looked as fierce as Liv had ever seen him. “Margo can take her money and—”

  “If you don’t calm down, you won’t be going home,” Liv growled. “You’ll have a stroke or a heart attack.” She took a couple paces at the foot of his bed, then asked the question she didn’t want to get the answer to. “Why did Margo pay your bill?”

  “Damned if I know.”

  “Bull.”

  Apparently, Tim wasn’t used to his daughter talking to him that way because his pulse rate jumped on the monitor. He rolled his head sideways, but Liv walked around the bed to make eye contact. “Trust me, Dad, I really don’t want to know, but I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

  He closed his eyes briefly, clenching his jaw as he did so. When he opened them his expression was one of resignation.

  “We almost married once. I walked out on her.”

  Liv did her best to look shocked since she wasn’t supposed to know how close Tim and Margo had once been. Actually, it wasn’t that difficult
to appear stunned, since it was the first time her father had told her anything truly intimate about his life.

  “So why would she pay the bill?” Liv asked.

  “I don’t know.” His words carried a ring of truth. “But I won’t accept it.”

  “I don’t know what you can do about it right now, except to pay her back. Apparently, the account is settled except for this extra day.” Liv bit her lip, knowing the next suggestion was going to go over like a lead balloon. “Maybe you can work out a payment schedule with her.”

  Tim exhaled, then winced, since Dr. Bates had dropped the level of pain medication and apparently every movement hurt. “I don’t see where I have any choice.”

  Liv walked over to lay a hand on her father’s shoulder. She couldn’t help but feel for him—a proud, stubborn, self-sufficient man lying in a hospital bed, the recipient of unwanted charity. And he’d just shared intimate details of his life. Three of his worst nightmares come true.

  She gave his shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll work this thing out, Dad. Pay Margo interest and the whole nine yards.”

  “Yeah. I will,” he agreed. “It’s the only thing I can do.”

  Liv shook her head. “Any chance that you could take it easy for the next day so that they let you out of here?”

  “I’ll do my best,” he said grimly. “Because I want out like nobody’s business.”

  “Then behave yourself and I’ll pick you up Sunday morning.”

  * * *

  LIV AND BECKETT had their best performance ever at the Twin Bridges rodeo—which wasn’t saying a lot, since it was only her third performance and the first dry one. The only strange part was dealing with Margo. Or not dealing with her. The woman, who’d been friendly up until Liv had overheard her conversation with Tim—making Liv wonder if Margo had known she was there—now kept her distance. She didn’t make eye contact and only spoke if absolutely necessary.

  But she had paid a gigantic hospital bill in cash. She was a widow, yes, but how well off was she? And why pay Tim’s bill?

  Did she dare ask?

  Margo’s demeanor did not invite confidences or questions.

  This was Tim’s problem. It was not Liv’s job to smooth the waters and make everything all better for him, in spite of her old instincts rearing up and threatening to take hold again.

  “Who’s a good boy?” she asked Beckett to distract herself as she took off his bridle and haltered him. As usual she pulled a treat out of her pocket and offered it to him before unsaddling.

  “You’re spoiling him.”

  Liv stilled at the unexpected sound of Matt’s voice from behind her, anticipation quickening her pulse. Oh, man.

  “He doesn’t bum,” she said as she turned to face him, keeping one hand on Beckett’s neck as if to ground herself. The heat unfurling deep inside of her intensified as she met Matt’s dark eyes, saw the answering heat there.

  How could he possibly look better than he had before? Because she now knew what he looked like naked...and wouldn’t mind seeing him that way again.

  “That’s because he’s a gentleman,” Matt said, patting the horse’s rump. Liv forced herself to move, folding the stirrup over the seat of the saddle and pulling the latigo from the cinch ring. A few seconds later she dragged the saddle off, the cinch hitting the ground because she hadn’t tied it up as usual.

  “Want me to do that?” he asked as she started lugging the saddle to the tack room.

  “No, no.” She stepped up into the small room at the front of the trailer, slid the saddle on the holder. Breathe. You need to breathe.

  She felt Matt follow her in, once again forgot to breathe, then turned to tell him not to close the door, somehow sensing he would. He, of course, closed the trailer door before she could get a word out and the space immediately got very, very small. Liv was aware of the scents of the leather, horse sweat, grain. And Matt. That wonderfully masculine scent made her even more aware of him.

  “That sometimes locks itself,” she said, raising an eyebrow in the direction of the door.

  “In that case we’ll call for help.”

  “Perhaps you’d like to check it now.”

  Matt turned toward the door, but instead of checking to see if it was open, he clicked the sliding lock sideways.

  “Now you’ve done it,” she said.

  “I certainly hope so.” His mouth came slowly down onto hers as she backed against the trailer wall. The kiss was possessive, deep. Knee-buckling. Liv realized that her hands had somehow come up to clutch his shoulders.

  “Being locked in wouldn’t be that bad,” he murmured against her mouth before gently nipping her lower lip.

  Liv pulled his mouth back against hers, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him, shoving aside her plan to discuss expectations, parameters and limitations. She’d get to it. In time.

  Matt’s hands settled at her waist when he raised his head again, his grip possessive, his fingers warm through the satin of her shirt. He smiled slightly, making Liv wonder what he was thinking, then he boosted her up onto the platform formed by the nose of the trailer. Liv landed with an oof and a laugh. She popped a hand over her mouth, hoping no one had heard her.

  And then she didn’t make a sound as Matt slowly unsnapped her shirt with one hand, watching her face as he did so, his eyebrows going up in a silent question as he reached snap number four.

  She really needed to say “Stop.”

  After the last snap popped open, he pushed the fabric aside and then leaned in to kiss her breasts, now at perfect mouth level, where they spilled out of the top of her simple demi-bra.

  He traced his tongue under the edge of the fabric and Liv swallowed a groan. Then she buried her fingers in his hair as he went lower, his mouth trailing down her stomach to the waistband of her jeans, his tongue warm and deliciously wet against her skin. Liv’s eyes drifted shut as her head fell back. Her fingers left his hair, found his shoulders, dug in.

  Not since her high school crush on him could she remember wanting something so badly that she simply couldn’t have. Not with all the people walking by. Not with the very tiny lock, the lock that undoubtedly wouldn’t stick when she wanted it to, between her and Matt and the world. She might be living her own life, following her own rules, but she wasn’t yet ready to be literally caught with her pants down. She reached down to take hold of Matt, lift his head so she could look into his eyes.

  He smiled at her. A smile that said, “I know what you want and I know what you’re about to say.”

  “Rain check?” he said.

  Liv nodded, reaching behind her and by some miracle not only managing to find both ends of her bra, but to fasten them in one practiced motion.

  Matt reached out to snap her shirt, one small click after another. Liv very much wanted to say that she could do it, but she was fascinated by the sight of his strong fingers moving against the red satin.

  “Do you think we’re really locked in?” Matt asked.

  “One way to tell.”

  He held out his hands and Liv put her fingers in his as she slid off the platform, her thighs brushing over his erection. She almost groaned out loud.

  Almost. She had some pride, although apparently not much where he was concerned.

  She stepped back to tuck in her shirt, and once Matt was certain she was put back together, he reached out to unclick the lock and try the door. It opened easily. Unfortunately.

  And the fact that s
he was thinking thoughts like that bothered her. But not so much that she was going to take back the rain check. She liked making out with Matt. She liked doing it on her own terms.

  She liked being like Shae.

  The thought came from nowhere. An unsettling, sobering thought.

  Just because she was looking out for herself, it didn’t mean she was anything like her stepsister.

  * * *

  IT’D BEEN A DAY, all right. After the encounter in the trailer, Liv had hightailed it off to visit her father, and Matt had gone back up into the stands to watch the rest of the rodeo. But he couldn’t get Liv out of his mind.

  He’d watched her ride Beckett in the drill, and even though he couldn’t say it’d been easy to watch his horse doing something besides the job he was bred to do, he was making his peace with the issue. He missed the gelding, wanted him back, but he was done trying to strong-arm him away from Liv. If anyone was going to own the horse other than him, he’d just as soon it was her.

  Which was something to think about.

  He’d expected sleeping with Liv to be...well, interesting...but he hadn’t expected her to knock his socks off. She’d surprised him, and he’d surprised himself. He’d slept with women since Trena and had enjoyed each and every encounter, but he hadn’t really felt a lot beyond the physical. With Liv he was feeling something he couldn’t quite put a name on—or didn’t want to put a name on. What he did want was more—more time with Liv, both in and out of bed.

  Which led him to wonder, for about the fiftieth time that day, what did Liv want?

  “Hey.” Matt turned to see Jed hailing him from higher up in the stands. He waved, then worked his way up to where Jed and his small family sat under the shade of the bleacher cover.

  “This is Eva,” Jed said with a note of quiet pride as Corrie moved the blanket so that Matt could see her tiny face. Her incredibly small fists were clenched as she slept. Matt frowned a little, wondering what it felt like to be responsible for such a delicate being.