Love and Hope

by Kayla Perrin

  “Yeah, but he still cares. This is his hometown. Why do you think—” Shelby stopped mid-argument when pyrotechnical rockets went off from the far end of the arena. Blake galloped into the haze on the gelding he’d ridden in the parade, carrying the Canadian flag. He was followed by the Rodeo Queen with the flag of Alberta, and two princesses sporting Sheep River Days flags.

  Blake made two circuits of the arena, waving and smiling as the crowd cheered.

  “Hmmm … He doesn’t look very nervous now,” Kayla noted.

  Shelby didn’t miss the sarcasm.

  Normally, Kayla wasn’t a judgmental person. But she was protective. Though Shelby had never admitted to having a crush on Blake, she suspected Kayla had guessed, and that by constantly pointing out his flaws, Kayla believed she was somehow protecting Shelby from him.

  “Blake may be confident, but he is definitely not conceited. You should try having an actual conversation with him sometime.”

  “Hard to do that when the guy is hardly ever in Sheep River. Did you hear about the big confrontation he had with Kelli-Jo’s husband last night?”

  Alarm bells blared in Shelby’s head. Harvey Calhoun was a big, powerful man, with lots of money and political influence. Not a person to piss off.

  “I heard Harvey was out of town this weekend.” She tried to sound calm, as if the news wasn’t of much interest to her, one way or the other.

  “He was in Houston, but he flew home early because someone let him know his wife was spending a lot of time with the Sheep River Days’ guest of honor.”

  “I wonder who that ‘someone’ was?”

  “Calhoun has a lot of friends in this area who look out for his best interest. Anyway, when he showed up at the Dance Hall, he found Kelli-Jo and Blake sitting all cozy at one of the picnic tables far away from everyone else.

  Emotions dark and unwelcome washed over Shelby—a combination of jealousy and betrayal—that she had no business to feel. She thought about the kiss Blake had given her, just thirty minutes ago. It had been tender and sweet, almost innocent—except for the heat in Blake’s eyes when he’d pulled away from her.

  When he’d mentioned seeing her later at the barbecue, she’d felt as if he was alluding to something bigger. That just maybe he was going to tell her he had feelings for her, romantic ones, like those she had for him.

  Conveniently she’d put aside the fact that he hadn’t answered her question about what he’d do if Kelli-Jo wasn’t married.

  Did she really need him to speak the words to know the answer?

  It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the day after Harvey warned him away from Kelli-Jo, he’d kissed Shelby for the first time.

  Shelby slunk down on her seat. She felt such a fool, but she couldn’t leave so she tried to lose herself in the excitement of the rodeo. She wasn’t a big fan of tie-down roping, but the steer wrestling was exciting and the barrel racing was one of her favorite events. But neither distracted her from her unsettling thoughts.

  During the intermission, she spotted Blake chatting with his grandmother. They both waved at her, but instead of joining them, she followed Kayla to the concession stand to buy a corn dog and lemonade.

  “You saved our seats. I’m buying the snacks,” Shelby insisted. By the time they’d returned to watch the bronc riding—boots crunching on scattered popcorn and the smell of stale beer in the air—she’d lost her appetite.

  She didn’t know how to reconcile the Blake she knew, with the man Kayla saw. She couldn’t deny Blake had run with a fast crowd in high school, and that he’d been spending a lot of time with Kelli-Jo this weekend. As for the other rumors Kayla’s cousin relayed based on Blake’s so-called wild behavior on the rodeo circuit—well, she had no way to know how much of that was true, either.

  In her heart she truly did believe Blake was a good guy. The kind of guy that didn’t go around breaking hearts if he could help it. He’d been raised by the kindest and strongest woman she knew. Louise wouldn’t stand for that kind of behavior. But he had a history with Kelli-Jo. And from what Shelby could tell, Kelli-Jo was hell-bent on rekindling her high-school glory days with Blake at every turn.

  Despite her turbulent thoughts, Shelby couldn’t help but share in the excitement of the crowd. The anticipation was electric as the cowboys prepared for their goes, climbing the wooden rungs, positioning themselves above the beautiful, wild horses. These animals had been bred to buck, and the wranglers didn’t dare settle down on the saddles a second before the horn sounded.

  Once it did, the cowboy would take his seat and the gate would open.

  And after that, anything could happen. The first five riders in the saddle bronc event all turned in respectable scores. By the time it was Blake’s turn to compete, Shelby was a nervous wreck. Her heart felt jammed in her throat as she watched him in the chute, positioning himself above the saddled horse, testing his grip on the braided rein.

  The horse he’d drawn was a big sorrel gelding named Cactus Club. The buzz in the crowd maintained this horse could give Blake the high score he needed—but Blake would have to perform a lot better than he had the previous day.

  The object of the ride wasn’t as simple as staying on the horse for the required eight seconds.

  First, Blake had to mark out his mount on the first jump from the chute, by touching both heels above the horse’s shoulders. A miss on this would mean no score for Blake.

  He also had to keep a free hand raised up in the air, never touching the horse or himself, plus plant both boots firmly in the stirrups for the entire ride.

  All of that was necessary just to get a score.

  The horn sounded and Shelby was at the edge of her seat. Yes! Blake had marked out Cactus Club, and he was looking good, secure in his saddle and moving smoothly with the rhythmic bucking of the horse.

  The crowd gasped when the horse made an unexpected half-spin, combined with a particularly vicious kick.

  But Blake hung in there, his form as controlled and smooth as the champion he was.

  And then the horn sounded, and his time was over. With a graceful leap, Blake managed his dismount on his own, without any assistance from the pick-up men. Head bowed humbly, he removed his hat and waved it at the bleachers.

  The cheering became a roar. This was the performance everyone had been hoping to see!

  A few seconds later a score of 92 was delivered over the loudspeakers.

  “Yes!” In her excitement, Shelby shot a grin at Kayla, but her friend was practically scowling.

  “I’m sorry.” Blake’s score would only make it harder for Kayla’s cousin Josh to win the event.

  Since he’d had the best score on Saturday, Josh was the last contestant up for the day. He, too, had drawn a proven bucking horse named Western Spark, so he had a good shot.

  “You can do it, Josh!” Kayla shouted, as her cousin stood at the ready in the bucking chute.

  While the handlers made last minute adjustments to the saddle, the announcer informed the crowd, “All Josh Marshall needs today is an 85 and he’ll beat our National rodeo champ and take home a Sheep River gold belt buckle and a check for five thousand dollars. We know Josh has what it takes. We saw him do it yesterday. But can he do it again today?”

  The horn sounded, the chute opened, and Josh was off. Like Blake, he marked out the horse fine, and seemed to have control of his mount. But with a mere two seconds left on the clock, his horse did a crazy series of bucks that had Josh flying over the animal’s head, somersaulting in the air, and landing on his butt in a cloud of dirt.

  A collective groan rose up from the bleachers.

  Once Josh was standing, signaling he wasn’t injured, he was rewarded with thunderous applause.

  “Look at that,” Shelby said to Kayla. “The crowd still loves him.”

  But they both knew it wouldn’t compensate Josh for the indignity of being thrown off his horse—and missing his chance to beat Blake Timber. Next up was bull-riding, the final and mos
t exciting event of the rodeo. “Want another lemonade?” Shelby needed a break from all the hullaballoo.

  “No thanks.” Kayla had her eye on a cowboy preparing for his ride, almost directly below them. Dark blond, curly hair framed the sort of angelic face that seemed incongruous for a man who rode bucking bulls for kicks.

  “Our next rider needs no introduction,” announced the MC. “Dillon Shephard from Pincher Creek, Alberta has been riding bulls locally since he was eighteen years old … ”

  Shelby had noticed her friend and the cowboy from Pincher Creek on the dance floor together last night. Normally Kayla made it a policy to steer clear of rodeo cowboys. Seemed like Dillon Shephard might be an exception.

  Leaving her friend to cheer on Dillon, Shelby headed to the restroom, then joined the lineup at the concession stand. A few seconds later, she heard the jangling of jewelry and caught a whiff of a cloying rose-scented perfume. She didn’t need to turn around to know Kelli-Jo was behind her.

  “Hey there, Shelby. Having fun?” Kelli-Jo didn’t wait for a response. “Wasn’t Blake’s ride amazing? I was so relieved he didn’t choke like yesterday.”

  “He did well,” Shelby agreed before stepping forward to order her drink. As soon as she’d paid, and had her beverage in hand, she moved on, not wanting to prolong the encounter with Kelli-Jo. She headed to the pens behind the bleachers, where the livestock was corralled. The choreography involved in moving the animals in and out of the arena and the bucking chutes always fascinated her.

  She stood behind a pillar, hoping to have a quiet moment to collect her thoughts, but a minute later Kelli-Jo joined her.

  “So what’s it been like for you,” Kelli-Jo asked, “Having Blake home again?”

  Shelby shrugged.

  “Oh, come on now,” Kelli-Jo cajoled. “I know you always liked him.”

  “I think you’re confusing me with yourself. You’re the one who dated Blake. Not me.”

  “But you wanted to date him, right? I mean, what girl didn’t? He was the cutest guy in town.”

  “I suppose. But that was a long time ago.” Shelby couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. “We’re adults now. And you’re married. With a son.”

  The mention of Harvey and Sam didn’t seem to faze Kelli-Jo.

  “Yes. But I was very young when I married Harvey. It seemed the only way out of my … predicament.”

  Shelby did a double take. She longed to know what Kelli-Jo meant by “predicament” but she wouldn’t stoop to ask.

  Kelli-Jo placed her hand on Shelby’s arm—it seemed to be a habit with her. In a mock-friendly voice that made Shelby’s skin crawl, she added, “I see the way you look at Blake, Shelby. I just feel I should warn you. This situation is more complicated than I’m at liberty to explain. You should be careful. I wouldn’t want to see you hurt.”

  Before Shelby could reply, the other woman pivoted and walked away, her stride confident and sensual, reminding Shelby of a tiger pacing away from the viewing cage at the Calgary zoo.

  Chapter 8

  Standing in the winners’ circle always felt great, but Blake couldn’t help wondering where Shelby was. He couldn’t see her anywhere in the bleachers and the seat next to Kayla was empty.

  When it came time to accept his check and gold buckle for the bronc riding event, Blake spoke simply of the pleasure of being home, in Sheep River. He tipped his hat to his competitors, thanked his grandmother, and then relinquished the spotlight with relief.

  Where the hell was Shelby? Winning wasn’t nearly as much fun without her.

  Cursing himself for not exchanging cell phone numbers with her when he’d had the chance, Blake looked for an excuse to break free of his commitments and go looking for her.

  But as soon as he was off the stage, Kelli-Jo pounced on him.

  “Hey, cowboy. Congratulations.”

  He sidestepped her attempt to kiss him. “Thanks K—Kelli-Jo.” He caught himself before using her nickname. He wanted to avoid any appearance of intimacy between the two of them, not only because of her husband, who’d been keeping close tabs on his wife today, but because he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea.

  “Let’s go to the beer garden before the barbecue. A whole lot of people want to shake your hand and get pictures taken with you.”

  Inwardly he groaned. “Do we have to?”

  He was used to the grueling schedule of the rodeo, but not to being the center of attention. The attraction of it all—if there’d been any to begin with—was wearing real thin.

  “Come on, Blake. You didn’t used to be such a party pooper.”

  No. He’d gone along with just about anything Kelli-Jo wanted when they were teenagers.

  Now he wished he’d used better judgment and spent more of his time at the Turners’ Ranch—and with Shelby.

  “Where’s Harvey?”

  “He just left for the Lazy C to supervise the set up for tonight. Didn’t want a thing to do with Sheep River Days during the six months I was organizing it. Now, suddenly, he’s acting like he’s in charge.”

  “Pretty generous of both of you to host the wind-up barbecue.”

  “We do a lot of entertaining. We enjoy it.”

  “Five hundred people? All at once?” Grams had told him the Calhouns were known for throwing some big parties at the Lazy C. Usually fancy Western-themed events for Harvey’s business associates.

  Kelli-Jo shrugged. “We’ve got it covered. The top caterer in Calgary is handling the menu. They do the best ribs and chicken cutlets. Plus tents have been set up in case of rain, as well as lots of porta-potties so people won’t go traipsing through my house.”

  Since he couldn’t see Shelby anywhere, Blake decided he might as well fulfill his duties as guest of honor and mix and mingle at the beer garden. Maybe he’d get lucky and find Shelby there. He still felt a little uneasy about Kelli-Jo’s expectations and was careful not to touch her, and to move away quickly if she attempted her trick of leading him around by the arm.

  At the beer garden, he was glad to be handed a nice, cold draft, which he downed in a flash. Then he ordered a second one as Kelli-Jo led him around the tables, speaking to what seemed like every single one of the officials, volunteers, sponsors, and members of the organizing committee. A representative from the True Grit company was there, and Blake made sure to let his sponsor know how much he appreciated their support.

  Blake smiled and said the same thing over and over. His heart wasn’t in it, though. He wanted to find Shelby.

  At one point he did run into Kayla. She was chatting with Dillon Shephard who’d placed third in bull riding. They’d found a quiet spot and were standing close, heads leaning in toward one another, looking like they just wanted to be left alone.

  Blake interrupted them anyway. “Nice going, Shep.” He clapped the other cowboy on the shoulder. He’d met him before at a few events, but Dillon only participated in rodeo as a hobby, at competitions that were close to home.

  “Thanks Blake.” The other cowboy looked pleased with himself. “You did pretty good today yourself.”

  “Better than yesterday, anyway.” His gaze slid lazily toward Kayla, and he worked to keep his voice low and casual. “Say, where’d Shelby get to? I saw her in the stands earlier this afternoon.”

  “I don’t know.” Kayla didn’t sound nearly as friendly as her boyfriend.

  He tried upping the wattage of his smile. “Grams tells me you’re the new music teacher at the high school. And that you play in a band, as well.”

  “That’s right.” She glanced back at Dillon, obviously anxious to resume their private conversation.

  “See you guys later at the barbecue?”

  “Sure thing,” Dillon said, but Kayla didn’t even bother to reply.

  She never had liked him. He wished he knew why.

  *

  After her conversation with Kelli-Jo, Shelby threw her lemonade in the trash and left the exhibition grounds. She ignored one of
her favorite customers when the woman called out her name. She needed to get out of there.

  Once she was in her truck, she rolled down the window and headed for the open road. The Rocky Knoll was about fifteen miles south on Cowboy Trail, and she used that time to try and process what Kelli-Jo had told her.

  Though she hadn’t flat out said it, it seemed as if she’d been implying she was already pregnant when she met Harvey. Which meant, just as Shelby had suspected, Sam might be Blake’s son.

  Wondering was one thing.

  Having it confirmed, was something very different.

  Shelby could think of only one reason Kelli-Jo would choose now to divulge her secret. She must be considering leaving Harvey.

  For Blake.

  Maybe seeing him again this weekend had brought back feelings for her old boyfriend. Made Kelli-Jo realize what was missing in her relationship with Harvey. Did Blake know this—any of it?

  Did he suspect he might be Sam’s biological father?

  Or that Kelli-Jo wanted to leave her husband for him?

  Louise had raised Blake to be respectful, honest, and kind, and he’d always behaved that way when he was working at her family’s ranch.

  Shelby hoped Blake was still all those things, deep

  down, where it counted.

  But he’d have to prove it to her before she’d truly believe.

  It was two hours early for chores, but Shelby did them anyway, feeding the cats and her dog, checking the horses’ water and scooping oats into the feeder. It was so hot out her horses didn’t come running, but stayed at the far end of the pasture, in a shaded hollow with an almost-dry pond at the center.

  A few times Shelby felt the phone in her back pocket vibrate. But she waited until after she’d showered and was sitting on the back porch before she checked to see who it was.

  WHERE DID U GO?

  The message was from Kayla. A few minutes later she sent a second text.

  THIS ABOUT BLAKE? WHAT DID HE DO NOW?

  Shelby groaned then tapped her response.

  I’M FINE. HOME 2 CHECK HORSES.

  An answer pinged back almost instantly.