The Bull Rider's Twin Trouble

by Ali Olson

  Brock took a deep breath and looked at the audience again, sweeping his eyes across for the wild, curly hair, the face he’d grown to know so well.

  There. She’d made it. And she was wearing her hat, just like she said.

  He wasn’t sure if he was glad she was there or not, now. But just seeing her bolstered his spirits. She was even more beautiful than she’d been the night before. He soaked in the sight of her, wishing he could go to her.

  As soon as he was done with his ride, he vowed, he would go into the stands. Hug her. Tell her he didn’t want this thing between them to end. Not yet.

  Brock’s uncle started talking to him again, and Brock turned his attention back to the old rodeo pro, trying to keep his mind on the coming ride. He knew he would need all the help he could get if he was going to survive this thing.

  * * *

  CASSIE SAT IN the stands, waiting for Brock’s turn. Each cowboy’s ride filled her with more and more worry. Some seemed so close to danger, a split second from being trampled. She thought of Brock’s bedtime story and wondered if there was more truth to it than she’d originally thought. Her heart stuck in her throat.

  “Brock McNeal riding Freckles,” a voice announced over the loudspeaker.

  Cassie almost laughed when she heard the name of her silly dog, but then she remembered what Brock had told the boys about Freckles, and her worries increased tenfold. He had said he was happy he’d never ridden Freckles, that the animal was crazy.

  The buzz of conversation around her didn’t help, either. “Last time I saw Freckles, he ’bout killed the cowboy riding him,” said a lady sitting near her.

  “I hope for Brock’s sake he can manage to hold on,” muttered a man in a large cowboy hat.

  Cassie crossed her arms, hugging herself to keep the fear at bay.

  The buzzer sounded and the chute opened, and there was Brock on top of a mean-looking bull. Whoever named him must’ve had a terrible sense of humor, Cassie thought.

  Each second went by with incredible slowness.

  One, two...

  Brock was holding on, moving well with the bull, and Cassie’s spirits lifted.

  Three, four, five...

  She was watching so intently she could see the exact moment when something went wrong. Suddenly Brock was out of sync with the bull, and Cassie wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t look away.

  Six...

  Brock’s head slammed into Freckles’s back and he slid off, lifeless. As he fell, bullfighters rushed into the arena, trying to pull the bull away from where Brock lay.

  Then Freckles was gone and it was just Brock on the ground, not moving.

  Cassie stared, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Brock woke up slowly. He felt as if he was swimming up through an ocean of black. When he finally broke the surface and opened his eyes, he closed them again immediately to shut out the light of early morning sunshine. He didn’t remember anything of the bull ride or the time that had passed since. His head pounded.

  “What happened?” he asked the room, though he wasn’t even sure if anyone was there with him.

  “You hit your head on the bull’s back and got a concussion,” a voice answered.

  It was Cassie. Just hearing her voice soothed him, and his head seemed to hurt less. He opened his eyes a little so he could see her. She was sitting beside his bed in what had to be a hospital room. Her cheeks were pale, but she still looked incredibly beautiful.

  When their eyes met, she asked, “Who was the first president of the United States?”

  Brock had gotten a couple of concussions in his life, so he knew why she asked. “George Washington. Was I pretty bad?”

  “You were out of it for quite a while, but you seem to be better,” Cassie said, looking into each of his eyes carefully. Brock felt lucky to be dating a doctor. “You should be up and about in time for your trip to the mines this afternoon.”

  Brock felt a rush of dread. How did she know about that?

  “Your cowboy friends came by to check on you last night,” Cassie said, responding to his unasked question.

  Brock waited for her to tell him it was a stupid, dangerous idea. He almost welcomed it. Anything would be better than this sad, quiet calmness that he couldn’t interpret.

  Cassie stood up and slipped her purse over her shoulder. “Your family is waiting outside to see you. The last two weeks have been amazing, Brock. You’ve helped me more than you know. But I think it’s best if things end now, for good. I’ll tell Zach and Carter you said goodbye.”

  Brock finally got his tongue unstuck. “Goodbye?” he asked.

  This couldn’t be it for them, could it? Cassie shrugged. “We’ve always said it wasn’t a permanent thing, Brock. Now that I’m sure you’ll be okay, it’s time for me to go.”

  “I don’t want it to be over,” he said. “I could visit—”

  Cassie shook her head. “We shouldn’t see each other anymore. Jay and I chatted for quite a while, and it’s clear that my boys and I don’t fit into your life. I’d always known that, but I can’t lie to myself about it anymore. Zach and Carter need someone stable, who’ll be there for them. I can’t put them through another father’s death. And I love you too much to watch you try to kill yourself.”

  She wiped away a single tear, the only sign of emotion from her.

  He couldn’t think what to say. His brain seemed jumbled, unable to organize his thoughts into coherent sentences. He wasn’t sure if it was from the concussion or the fact that Cassie was leaving for good.

  She turned away from him and walked to the door. Once there, she hesitated, and he felt hope rise in him. But then she was gone, the door shutting slowly behind her.

  * * *

  CASSIE LEFT THE hospital as quickly as she could, only stopping for a brief moment to say goodbye to her neighbors, Brock’s parents. Once she was in the privacy of her car, she let her sobs take over. It had taken all her strength to keep herself calm while he had babbled nonsense due to the concussion, while Jay explained to her about their mine exploration plan and their past adventures, and then finally while speaking to Brock. Now, however, she could allow all the worry and sadness to wash over her.

  After her tears had lessened enough so she could see, Cassie buckled her seat belt and started up her car. She made the quiet drive to pick up Zach and Carter, her mind constantly running in circles, though always with the same conclusion.

  She couldn’t be with Brock. She’d known it from the beginning, and the information about the mines and the other daredevil stunts he and his friends participated in was just a reminder of that fact.

  As soon as she saw Zach and Carter, she pulled them into a tight hug. If nothing else, she had them. They would always be enough. “I missed you boys,” she said into Carter’s hair.

  “Did Brock ride a bull?” Zach asked.

  “He did,” Cassie said, dancing a fine line between telling the truth and protecting her children. “Let’s go home.” She settled them into the SUV.

  “Is Brock going to come tell us about riding the bull? I want to hear it as a bedtime story,” Carter explained.

  Cassie’s heart went out to her two boys. “Actually, Brock won’t be able to come by anymore. Remember when we talked about how he would be leaving Spring Valley for his job? Well,” she said, trying to hold back the tears that threatened, “he won’t be coming over anymore. He wanted me to say goodbye to you for him.”

  The looks on the boys’ faces were almost more than she could bear. They looked devastated. “He’s not going to tell us about the rodeo?” Zach asked.

  “Can we go with him?” Carter asked.

  Cassie put her head in her hands, wishing this were easier, then began to drive, hoping she would come up with something to make the pain he
r children were feeling hurt less.

  * * *

  BROCK WATCHED AS his friends put on lamp helmets and climbing gear, but he didn’t make a move toward the pile of equipment. He just couldn’t get himself excited about exploring the mines, even though his buddies all seemed energized and ready to go.

  Brock walked toward the mine entrance and peered into the darkness, but his mind wandered to a mass of curly brown hair and green eyes, and to two matched grinning faces. He understood why Cassie had asked him to keep his distance—he didn’t want to hurt the boys any more than she did, and as long as he was doing stuff like climbing into mines, that was all too real a possibility.

  Brock pulled at his phone and looked at the screen, even though he knew he had no messages. Who would have sent him one?

  The phone buzzed in his hand, and he had a moment of hope before he saw that he’d received a text from Ma. Cassie might be moving away. I saw her packing. Thought you’d want to know.

  The blood drained out of Brock’s face as he absorbed the words. She was packing?

  Then he realized what that meant. If he didn’t do something quickly, he was going to lose her for good.

  Brock looked toward his friends, who were geared up and ready to walk into the dark, abandoned entrance and he knew what he had to do. There was someplace he needed to be, and it had nothing to do with mines.

  “Where are you going?” Jay asked, but Brock didn’t have time to answer. As he opened his truck door, Jay called out, “Is it the neighbor?”

  “I’ll let you know how it goes!” Brock shouted back.

  He heard Jay yell, “Good luck!” as he started down the dirt road that would lead him to the highway and Spring Valley.

  * * *

  BROCK PARKED IN front of Cassie’s house and hopped out of his truck. He hardly had a chance to wonder why the front door was open as he bolted through it and to Cassie’s office, where she was standing with an older woman he recognized from town. Probably a patient.

  Neither noticed him.

  Cassie and the woman hugged, and Cassie said, “I’ll miss you, Mrs. Edelman.”

  His heart tightened painfully. “Please don’t leave Spring Valley,” he said, knowing he was begging but unable to care.

  The older woman glared at him. “I will so leave Spring Valley, young man, and no green rascal is going to stop me,” she said, pointing her finger at him.

  Brock was confused, but he couldn’t deal with that right now. There was too much at risk to lose focus. He rushed up to Cassie and gave her a kiss. He couldn’t help himself. She seemed at a loss for words, but the way her body molded to his gave him hope. “I don’t want to lose you and the boys, Cassie. I love you. All three of you. I’d rather be a husband and a father than a lonely thrill-seeker.” He rubbed his thumb along her bottom lip, memorizing its shape. “Please don’t go back to Minneapolis. I can’t say goodbye to you.”

  Her expression went through several changes, from surprise to what he hoped was love, then to confusion. “Who told you I was leaving?”

  “Ma saw you packing. The moment I thought I might never see you again, I knew I wanted to be with you forever. You and Zach and Carter give me something to live for.”

  This time, she initiated the kiss, and he wrapped his arms around her. For a long moment, they stood entwined.

  Then the patter of tiny feet heralded the entrance of the twins, who shouted Brock’s name in excitement. Brock knelt to the floor and accepted their hugs. He didn’t think he’d ever felt happier than at that moment.

  His ma poked her head into the room. “I’ll be taking the boys now, Cassie. We’ll be back in a couple of hours, after I’ve spoiled them properly.” She turned to Brock, a satisfied smile on her face. “Came to your senses, did you?”

  “Why did you tell Brock I was leaving?” Cassie asked the older woman.

  “Technically, I said I saw you packing, dear. Which was true—you packed toys into these backpacks,” Sarah explained, pointing at the backpacks the twins were wearing. “And it wasn’t all my idea.”

  “Did it work?” Emmaline Reynolds asked, coming in from the other room.

  “Emma?” Cassie asked her friend.

  Emma shrugged, and Brock’s ma smirked. “I knew he’d figure things out eventually, but it seemed best to light a fire under him. Now the boys and I will get out of your hair.”

  “And I’ll take Mrs. Edelman home. She leaves for her big trip tomorrow, you know. Sorry again about Danny canceling his appointment, but I assume you can find some way to fill the time,” Emma said, giving her friend a wink before walking out.

  The hall cleared out as quickly as it had filled, and Brock turned to Cassie, who was shaking her head and laughing. It took him a moment to fully register what had happened. “You were never planning to leave,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

  Cassie shook her head. “Want to take back anything you said now that you know I’m not giving up on my dream because of you?”

  He moved close to her, reveling in her vanilla scent. “Not one bit,” he said, happy.

  “I thought you loved your thrill-seeking life,” she said.

  “Funny thing,” he said thoughtfully. “I always thought that if I had kids, I would need to give up everything I enjoy because I didn’t want them to grow up without a father.

  “But I had it backward,” he continued. “I don’t want to do dangerous things anymore because I don’t want to miss a single minute of them growing up. Risking your life doesn’t seem as much fun when you have that at stake.”

  They heard the front door close, and silence surrounded them, Brock realized they were alone. Cassie seemed to notice the same thing. “I have another patient coming later today,” she said.

  Brock brushed the hair out of her face. “Would you be able to make a little time for me first, Doc? I’ve had a recent head injury.”

  Cassie knitted her eyebrows. “That’s right. How are you feeling?” she asked as she placed her palm against his cheek and looked in his eyes.

  Brock smiled. “Better than ever,” he said, leaning down for another kiss.

  * * * * *

  If you loved this novel,

  don’t miss the next book in Ali Olson’s

  SPRING VALLEY, TEXAS series

  coming in April 2018

  from Harlequin Western Romance!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE BULL RIDER’S VALENTINE by Cathy McDavid.

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  The Bull R
ider’s Valentine

  by Cathy McDavid

  Chapter One

  Nate Truett leaned a shoulder against the knotty pine column, drew in a long breath and braced himself for the sight of Ronnie Hartman. He didn’t wait long before she emerged from behind a tall paint gelding.

  At that moment, two full days of mental preparation promptly deserted him. Nate’s heart began to hammer inside his chest. Sweat broke out across his skin, defying the chilly temperature and the heavy canvas jacket he wore. A roaring in his ears drowned out all sound.

  He dragged the back of his hand across his damp forehead, wondering what the heck was wrong with him. Ask any of his friends, and they’d say Nate possessed nerves of steel. No one made their living riding eighteen hundred pounds of angry bull into rodeo arenas without them.

  Yet where were those nerves of steel now? Weakened, apparently, by the mere sight of an old girlfriend.

  The realization that Ronnie still affected him to such a degree was annoying, to say the least. He’d been trying for six years to put his feelings for her where they belonged—in the past.

  He’d obviously failed, and miserably at that, as his hammering heart and cold sweat proved.

  Pushing back his cowboy hat, he watched Ronnie’s every move. She hadn’t changed one bit since they’d last seen each other. Still girl-next-door pretty, still wearing her long blond hair in a thick ponytail down her back and still wearing faded red Cardinals hoodies. Next to professional rodeoing, football was her favorite sport.

  He swallowed and then groaned softly. Maybe coming to Mustang Valley and agreeing to help his mom’s best friend had been a mistake. He considered reversing direction and slinking unnoticed back to where he’d parked his truck in front of the horse stables, but dismissed the idea. He’d made a promise to his mom’s friend to check on her daughter, and he would keep that promise no matter how difficult it might be for him.

  In another minute. Or two. When he was ready.