Lassoed Into Marriage

by Christine Wenger

  When they drove in, she had seen a camp store and hoped that they sold real meat with all the fixings. If Sully could get the grill going, she could cook the steaks.

  She took a deep breath of the pine-scented air. The campground had a cute swimming area that Rose would love and so would Lisa. Sully would probably love it the most.

  Walking up the stairs into the RV, she saw that Sully was buckling Rose’s sandals. She looked so cute with her pretty pink dress, which was similar to Princess Mary Ann’s.

  “Rose, will you let Uncle Sully brush your hair? Maybe put it in ponytails?”

  Sully looked as if snakes were coming out of Lisa’s head. “You want me to brush her hair?”

  “And put it in ponytails,” Lisa instructed. “You can handle it. I’m going to change into shorts.”

  Sully didn’t move but stared at Rose wide-eyed.

  “Rose, sweetie, help Uncle Sully. I think he’s more scared of doing your hair than riding a big bull.”

  Rose giggled, then pulled out a brush from her little plastic purse and handed it to him.

  “I have rubber bands, too, Uncle Sully.”

  “Okay.”

  Lisa left the door of the bedroom open a crack. She wasn’t going to miss this for the world.

  Rose sat on Sully’s lap. “Okay, go.”

  He gently began to brush her hair, but every now and then she let out an “ouch,” which flustered Sully.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her.

  “It just hurts.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but your hair is a mess.”

  Finally, all the knots were out, but the more he brushed, the more it became loaded with static.

  Lisa should probably tell him to wet it, but she was too busy laughing.

  The look on Sully’s face was priceless. “Um...Rose, I have a mess going on here. Your hair is sticking up all over the place.”

  She touched her hair and made a face. “Oh, Uncle Sully!”

  “Don’t you worry a bit. I’m going to corral your hair into ponytails. It’ll be fine. Now hand me a rubber band.”

  Lisa couldn’t help but laugh as she changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a short-sleeved blouse.

  Sully had put one ponytail on top of Rose’s head and one down toward her ear.

  “What do you think, Rose?”

  She looked into a little hand mirror. “They’re crooked.”

  “Naw, the motor home is parked on a slant. Your ponytails will be perfect when we step outside.”

  Rose thought about this for a while, then shook her head, giggling. One of the ponytails came loose.

  “I think that Aunt Lisa has to come to the rescue,” he said. “Maybe she can show me where I went wrong. Then I’ll do better next time.”

  Lisa stepped out of the bedroom. “Rose’s hair is very fine. Wet her hair next time. It’ll be easier to handle. Now watch.”

  Lisa took Rose over to the sink and wet her hair a bit. “Now, you divide her hair into two sections. And you pull up the ponytail at the same location on both sides.”

  Lisa remembered standing in front of the bathhouse mirrors at one of the communes and helping her sister Carol put her hair into ponytails. Then Carol would do the same for Lisa. After, they would slip into their gauzy white dresses and go outside to start their day, doing pretty much nothing.

  Who would have thought that Lisa would be doing the hair of Carol’s daughter?

  Tears stung her eyes, and Lisa blinked them back. She didn’t want anyone to see her cry. They were at the happiest place on Earth, and they all needed some happiness.

  She pulled Rose into a hug. “I love you. You know that, Rose?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Uncle Sully loves you,” Lisa said, still hugging Rose to her.

  “Uh-huh,” said Rose, hugging Lisa back.

  “Now let’s go to the park.”

  She handed Sully his crutches, and they all left the motor home.

  “That was nice of you to include me, Lisa,” Sully said as Rose skipped ahead.

  “Of course I’d include you. We’re a...a...family.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders, balancing on his crutches, and she felt a jolt of pleasure rush through her.

  He quickly returned his hand to his crutch. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. It just happened.”

  “No, no. It’s okay.” She wanted to tell him that she liked his arm around her, but it was a moot point now. She’d scared him off.

  They’d both discussed their relationship, and both made it clear that they were just friends working toward a common goal—the raising of Rose. That’s all.

  They were too different to be anything more than just friends, Lisa thought, and the last thing they both needed was more complications.

  Friends. That’s all they’d ever be.

  Then why was she feeling an overwhelming pull toward Sully?

  * * *

  Sully grinned. Watching Rose run around the park was something he’d always remember.

  Right now the girl was talking to one of the characters while Sully stood nearby. He could see that Lisa was softly crying off to the side. She’d stepped away from the crowd but was still close enough to hear, and she kept brushing the tears from her cheeks.

  “My mommy and daddy are in heaven,” he heard Rose tell the costumed character. “Aunt Lisa and Uncle Sully are taking care of me. I watch your movies—all of them.”

  They talked about her movies and her prince, who apparently was getting ready for the parade later. Rose just glowed.

  Too soon, it was time for the next little girl in line, and Rose had to move on. Sully took her hand and led her away with the promise of going swimming later.

  Lisa joined them. Her eyes were red-rimmed and the tip of her nose was red, but she grinned widely at Rose.

  “Wasn’t that fun?” she asked.

  “She’s so pretty!” Rose said.

  “So are you, sweetie.” Lisa bent over and enveloped Rose in a big hug.

  The child hugged her back. “Can I ride the merry-go-round?”

  “Of course you can,” Lisa said, meeting Sully’s gaze.

  Rose began skipping. Luckily, she was skipping in the right direction. Sully was disappointed that he had to be confined to crutches. His foot was throbbing, and he really should have rented an electric wheelchair, but there had been none left.

  “C’mon, Lisa. Skip with Rose,” he said over his shoulder.

  She seemed to be debating with herself. Then she moved, slowly.

  “Rose, wait up! You have to teach Aunt Lisa how to skip.” Lisa hurried to catch up with her.

  The little girl took Lisa’s hand and showed her how to move up and down with a little hop.

  “It’s like riding a bike,” Lisa said. “I remember now.”

  “Let’s go!” Sully said.

  Lisa looked around to see who was watching.

  “Don’t worry about who’s watching. Just do it,” Sully said.

  The two of them locked hands and they skipped, right in the middle of the walkway.

  When they stopped, he noticed the flushed, but happy, expression on Lisa’s face. At this moment she was a far cry from the stuffy, uptight woman that he knew.

  They walked the rest of the way next to him, stopping to look at different attractions. Lisa marveled at the cups and saucers.

  “I have to go on that,” she said. “Rose, what do you think?”

  “I want to go on that, too.” She took Sully’s hand. “C’mon, Uncle Sully.”

  “I’m in.”

  They waited in line, and he tried not to look like he was in pain. He didn’t wait to ruin their good time. They both needed fun
and laughs.

  When it was their turn, Rose scrambled to get a pink teacup.

  He joined them, handing Lisa his crutches and sitting down. He put his leg up on the seat across from him with an involuntary grunt.

  “You must be hurting, Sully,” Lisa said. “Too bad they didn’t have any electric wheelchairs left to rent.”

  “I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. Just have fun,” he said. He helped them turn the wheel on the cup until they screamed for him to stop. Laughing, they turned it some more.

  He wished he had a camera to capture the memories. He’d never thought of bringing one. However, he had a feeling that he’d never forget this trip.

  The ride stopped and they climbed out of the cup. Next stop was the merry-go-round.

  By the time Lisa had gotten Rose settled on a pink and blue horse, Sully thought his foot was going to explode. After she rode twice, he proposed they find a restaurant and eat. They found a reservation phone and were able to get a table for three at a character buffet at one of the restaurants.

  Rose was so excited that she barely ate.

  Lisa, either.

  He, however, ate enough for all of them.

  While they dined, the characters appeared. They sang a song together, much to the delight of the children and to a round of applause.

  Lisa clapped the hardest.

  “Why don’t we have a camera?” Lisa asked him. “Or a cell phone with one?”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Oh well. I think Rose is getting tired,” Lisa said.

  “Maybe we can go back to the motor home and she’ll take a nap,” Sully said.

  “We can try. She’s pretty exhausted.”

  They took a bus back to the campgrounds. They put Rose to bed in the bedroom, and Sully settled in on the passenger side with his foot propped on his gear bag.

  “Sully, I’m going to go for a swim.”

  “Okay,” he mumbled.

  He registered Lisa leaving in a turquoise one-piece bathing suit that she’d bought at a gift shop at the park. It clung in all the right places. He’d never realized how long her legs were or how her hair fell down her back in layers of gold.

  She wrapped a striped towel around herself and tied it in a knot over her breasts.

  She still looked hot.

  “I won’t be long,” she said.

  “Take your time. Enjoy yourself.”

  “You know, Sully, I haven’t had this good a time in a long while.”

  “Wish we could stay here longer.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Some other time, huh?” he asked.

  She nodded and left for her swim.

  The motor home felt lonely with her gone.

  * * *

  Lisa did laps, swung from ropes into the water, floated on a tube and slid down a long, twisting and turning slide that ended with a plunge into the water.

  She hadn’t felt this good in a long time.

  Grabbing a tube, she hopped up on it and looked at the deep-blue sky. Clouds as fluffy as cotton candy floated by and she thought of what each shape reminded her of.

  She used to do the same thing at the commune. It was what she did to pass the time. Sometimes, she’d made up stories about the clouds.

  Now, if she made up a story, it would be that she, Rose and Sully would become a family and live happily ever after, just like a perfect fairy tale.

  She thought of her sister again.

  “I wish you could have seen Rose’s face,” she said to Carol. “She’s so happy here.”

  Lisa vowed to make Rose just as happy in the big Victorian in Salmon Falls.

  * * *

  Sully and Rose waved to Lisa from the shallow water, but she was floating on a tube, looking up at the sky and didn’t see them.

  She seemed relaxed and content.

  “Can you take me out to Aunt Lisa, Uncle Sully?”

  He probably could. He was buoyant in the water, and his foot actually felt good.

  “Sure, sweetie.”

  He held Rose in front of him, and she made like she was swimming.

  “You’re doing a great job swimming, but don’t forget to kick your feet.”

  As they got close to Lisa, he whispered in Rose’s ear that she should grip Lisa’s toe.

  Rose did, and Lisa let out a scream that probably scared the birds from the trees in every county in Florida.

  Lisa laughed when she saw who it was. Standing, she held out her hands, and with an excited whoop, Rose jumped into them. Sully grabbed her tube, and flopped onto it.

  He enjoyed watching Lisa play with Rose. She twirled her around in the water and tried to teach her to float on her back and blow bubbles in the water.

  He thought again how much Lisa was enjoying this trip.

  Maybe he should put a pool in the backyard. He’d talk to Lisa about it. Or maybe there were swimming lessons at a nearby pool for Rose in the interim.

  “How’s your ankle?” Lisa asked him.

  “It feels good to get off my feet for a while.”

  He didn’t know why she kept asking him about his injury. He’d had much worse.

  “Sully, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Um...” She shifted her eyes toward Rose. “What about if we...uh...stay another...”

  He got her message: She wanted to stay another day. But that meant more consecutive hours on the road, hours that she would have to drive. Nah, the hell with it. He could drive.

  “Let’s do it. Rose is having a ball.”

  “The PBR was fun, too. So was camping in the parking lot—that was a first for me—and meeting your friends.”

  “Especially Tiffany?” he joked.

  “Especially Chase Gatlin!”

  He felt a quick stab of jealousy before he realized that she was joking back.

  He held his hand up for a high five, and she slapped it.

  “Good one,” he said.

  “I know!”

  She held Rose under her arms and twirled her around in the water. Rose giggled. “More!”

  “Time out for me,” Lisa said. “I’m going to get out and dry off. Then I’m going to hike up to the camp store and get some marshmallows, a couple of steaks and some salads. We can have a cookout tomorrow. Okay?”

  “We can have the marshmallows tonight,” he said. “Rose would like toasted marshmallows.”

  Who was he kidding? Rose would be sleeping before he lit the grill.

  But he was always up for some marshmallows toasted over a campfire. Lisa’s company would be an added bonus.

  This might be his lucky night...er...not that kind of lucky, but maybe he and Lisa could continue to have good conversations and even enjoy each other’s company a little bit more.

  Chapter Twelve

  The store was just about to close by the time Lisa got there, but she was able to get what she’d wanted along with a couple of slices of apple pie. Unfortunately, they were out of marshmallows until tomorrow.

  “No marshmallows?” Sully asked, sticking his bottom lip out like a kid.

  “Oh stop it!” She laughed. “I do have pie, however.”

  “It’ll do.”

  While she was putting everything away in the RV for their cookout tomorrow, Rose began to doze off, and Lisa helped her change into her nightgown and get settled on the big bed.

  When she went back outside, Sully had a campfire going and had pulled out two lawn chairs. She handed him a piece of pie and a travel mug of black coffee.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “This is heaven.” She looked up at the sky full of bright stars. “A full moon,
a campfire and apple pie, and we showed our niece a great time.”

  “You had a great time, too.”

  “I really did. I haven’t had such a great time in a long time.” She laughed. “Did that make sense?”

  “It did. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Also, you’ve done a world of good for Rose.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot to me to hear you say that. But you’ve done a world of good for Rose, too. She just adores you.”

  He didn’t respond, but Lisa could tell he was pleased.

  “We have three days to get back to Salmon Falls. Then, I have to take off for Connecticut.” Sully took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “You know, I’m going to hate to leave you alone with Rose.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  Sully stared into the fire.

  “Are you feeling guilty, Sully?”

  “Sure am, but I really appreciate being able to ride.”

  “You know, I think we had this conversation before, so stop feeling guilty.” She was surprised that Sully even knew the word. In the past, he had worried about nothing but a good time. “And remember that you’re not riding in the summer, so I’ll do some charter flying then. Right?”

  “Right.” He snapped his fingers. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. When are you going to finally admit that you watch me on TV?”

  By the glow of the campfire, she could see the smile on his face. So, he wanted to tease her, huh?

  “I’ll admit that I enjoy watching bull riding. It’s one of the few sports that I like, other than figure skating and snowboarding.”

  “That’s quite the broad range of sports.” He chuckled. “But let’s get back to bull riding. Did you say something before about how you tape the PBR when you’re out of town? Is that so you can watch me ride over and over again?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself.” She made a noise in the back of her throat. “Actually, I said that I tape it so I can watch Chase Gatlin ride over and over again.”

  He almost choked on his pie.

  “Good one, Lisa. Good one.”

  “I thought so,” she said smugly.

  “But.” Sully held his hand up. “You didn’t know Chase until the other day.”