Under a Rodeo Moon

by Roni Adams

  “She’s working at the Wayback Diner and living in an apartment above it.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would she be here?” His sister furrowed her brows and picked up one of her french fries.

  “Apparently she changed her mind about us and decided to follow me here or rather get here and wait for me.” He still couldn’t quite believe she’d done something that crazy. She’d quit her job, moved away from everything and everyone familiar, all for him—or rather the hope of him. He pushed his half-eaten plate away.

  “Wow. What did you say to her? I mean, obviously you’ve talked.”

  “Yeah, we talked. More like argued, but we both got our points across, so I suppose that’s a conversation.” He picked up his mostly empty cup and drained the rest of the tea. “It doesn’t matter what she did. It doesn’t change anything. She can’t handle what I do for a living.”

  His sister looked up from under her lashes. “I’ve lived my whole life around the rodeo, watching first our father and then you, Grey, and Zane risk your lives every time you get on the back of those bulls.” She shook her head at him. “I never thought much about it, the risks, I mean. They were just a part of what we do. But now...” She leaned back in the booth and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s so hard to watch Zane compete. Even though he’s not traveling anymore, he still does some of the local events. It’s a whole different feeling now.”

  “You’ve never made him quit. Even with this baby on the way, if Zane said to you tomorrow ‘I want to go back out on the circuit,’ you’d never tell him no.”

  Free laughed out loud. “What world do you live in? I might not tell him in those words not to do it, but I’d make damn sure it didn’t happen.”

  Dusty frowned. “What are you talking about? You couldn’t stop him.”

  Free leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. “Listen to me, big brother. I know you don’t know a lot about women.” She held up her hand at his amused glance. “You know what I mean. But Carrie handled her problem with you riding by trying to be open and honest with you. I can’t say I’d have done the same. I’d probably have done something underhanded like break Zane’s arm or something to keep him from going on the road again.”

  Dusty couldn’t believe it! Even his own sister thought it was okay for Carrie to try to force him into retirement. “That’s not what you said at the time. You said I was lucky to be rid of her, that she wasn’t good enough for me.”

  Free waved her hand. “I had to say that. You’re my brother and, remember, back then I wasn’t, well, where I am now. If Carrie wasn’t going to be able to handle you riding bulls, then she was right to tell you she couldn’t. You made the decision to end things, she didn’t.”

  Now he was annoyed. Even his own sister wasn’t on his side. “I think being pregnant has screwed up your brains. What kind of man would I be to let her dictate and tell me what to do with my life? This is my career!”

  Free picked up another french fry and waved the ketchup-soaked potato in his face. “Probably one who wasn’t taking cold showers and eating dinner with his sister.”

  He shrugged. “I know I’m right, and that’s what matters. Hey, what do you know about that ranch out past Mercy, the one that’s up for sale?”

  She furrowed her brow. “The one that’s off Highway 8?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “What about it?”

  He picked at the paper napkin on the table in front of him. “I went out with a realtor and checked it out.”

  Free’s eyes grew wide. “You did? Why?”

  He shrugged. “You and Grey are both here now and seem to like it. I thought maybe I’d start looking for a place to call home.”

  “Now that’s interesting. Here you’re telling me that you left Carrie because...”

  “She left me,” he interrupted.

  Free rolled her eyes. “Whatever, but now you’re thinking of settling down and buying a ranch, which is the very thing she wanted you to do?”

  “I’m not about to have her telling me what to do. What kind of man takes that?”

  Free shrugged. “A man in love, who knows a good woman and wants to be happy with her. Carrie loves you.”

  “If she loved me, it wouldn’t have mattered what I did for a living, she’d have stayed.”

  “No wonder you’re so good with the bulls. You’re just like them.”

  He shifted his gaze off her and bit back an angry comment. Across the room, he saw BobbiJo pointing him out to another woman. Great. They probably thought his sister was a date, and it would get back to Carrie and...whoa. What did he care? He could very well date anyone he wanted. And so could she. The thought pierced pain through his heart. Thinking of her with anyone else always set his blood on fire and his heart to hurting. If he did buy the Kincaid place and Carrie was determined to stay in Wayback as well, he’d have to get used to it. Someone like Carrie wasn’t going to be alone for long.

  His sister waved her hand in front of his face. “Are you listening to me?”

  “Yeah, I’m listening.”

  She shook her head and began to pick up their plates and pile them on the small tray. “I’m done. You ready to go?”

  “What did you say?”

  Free stood up. “It doesn’t matter. Do yourself a favor and work things out with her.”

  He took the tray from the table and walked to the garbage can. As they reached the door, he overheard BobbieJo talking to the other woman.

  “Carrie said she didn’t know where Sheriff Dan was taking her tonight, but he told her to get dressed up, so it must be somewhere special.”

  A hot burn slid up the back of his neck. He glanced at the small, dark-haired woman who held his stare. He pulled open the door for his sister.

  Free must have heard as well. At her truck, she turned and hugged him. “She’d rather be out with you, and you know it.”

  What his sister didn’t say was that it was his own fault she was out with another man. She covered her mouth with a yawn. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to get enough sleep lately.”

  He opened her truck door. “Don’t worry about it. I need to get to bed early, too. I want to have an incredible ride tomorrow. If I’m seriously going to try to buy that ranch, I need first place.”

  Free tucked her hair behind her ear. “I know you won’t even hear this, but you know, well, I kind of married into money. I mean, Zane and I could—”

  “Go home, Free.” Dusty cut her off and started to close her door, forcing her to tuck herself behind the wheel. “Thanks, but I’m going to do this myself or not at all.”

  His sister knew better than to push it any further. He watched until she pulled away, then climbed into his own truck and headed out of town. Passing the diner, he couldn’t help but glance up. The apartment was dark.

  At the four corners, he stopped for the light and a car across from him stopped, as well. Seconds later, he realized it was Carrie in the passenger seat.

  That must be the infamous Sheriff Dan driving. What kind of small town Texas sheriff drove a car? Where was his truck? He snorted.

  When the light changed, he resisted the urge to charge through the intersection, but as their vehicles passed, he stared at Carrie, whose eyes widened when she noticed him. It gave him a small measure of satisfaction to think that maybe he upset her enough that if she was having a good time on her date, he’d just ruined it.

  Dusty’s hands clenched on the steering wheel as he drove out to the rodeo grounds. His imagination played out, picturing Carrie inviting her date in for coffee. Would he kiss her or had they moved past kissing?

  His thoughts raced back, remembering the kiss outside the Blue Bug and the angry scene with her afterward. She probably never drew blood on the other man’s hand.

  He smirked. Good or bad, he and Carrie drew passionate responses both in anger and love.

  ****

  The crowds were bigger this weekend than last. Dusty checked the roster on
e more time and then focused his thoughts on the ride. He had already decided not to look in the stands. If she was there, he didn’t want to know. If she wasn’t, he didn’t want to know that either. He had to focus. He’d done great last night. All he had to do was do even better tonight and tomorrow, and the ranch was his.

  Matt slapped him on the back. “Ready?”

  Dusty nodded. “As I’ll ever be. You?”

  His buddy nodded. “Yep.”

  He lifted his clenched fist, and Matt leaned over to tap his knuckles against Dusty’s.

  “Let’s do this.”

  They mounted up their horses and rode out to the screaming crowds. The wave he gave was automatic, but he made absolutely certain he didn’t focus on anyone in the audience. He kept his gaze fixed on a spot just beyond his horse, refusing to find out if she was there or not.

  Time flew by and, before he knew it, Dusty was in line at the chute and waiting anxiously to see who he drew. He breathed a sigh of relief when he wasn’t the unfortunate one to get White Lightning. The black bull he drew was fairly new and didn’t have much of a history, but it couldn’t be nearly as bad as the monster every rider dreaded. When he was ready with his hands positioned, he gave the nod. He shot out of the chute to the screams of the audience.

  Dusty focused and time slowed until he had no idea how long he’d been out there. When the buzzer sounded, he knew he’d done better than the others and a smile split his face. He sprang off the raging animal as the announcer called out his times, and the crowd went wild.

  Confident the clowns had the bull under control, he swiftly moved through the arena to the chute again.

  Then something went wrong.

  One of the clowns tripped, and the bull was on him before anyone knew what had happened. The other two clowns tried in vain to get the animal’s attention, but the huge monster was determined to gore the fallen man. The dark beast lifted the man in the air and flung him and then went after him again.

  Dusty couldn’t leave the arena. Rodeo clowns had saved his butt all his life. He raced back into the middle of the arena and tossed his hat at the bull to get his attention. The animal turned on him, and the crowd collectively caught its breath. He glared into menacing dark eyes and slowly began to back up, knowing if he tried to run he was done. The best he could do was keep the bull’s attention until they could get Jake out of there—and then he’d run like hell.

  It was most likely only seconds, but seemed like hours before the other clowns ran in from both sides, hollering to draw the bull’s attention again. Dusty’s heart raced. The bull turned toward the entrance where the clowns taunted him, getting his attention. He let his breath out. He was safe.

  The crowd screamed and hollered out warnings, but it was too late. The next thing he knew he was lifted into the air and ploughed into the wall.

  The breath left his body as he slumped to the ground, pain exploding in his head.

  Chapter Five

  From the stands, Carrie watched as her worst fear played out. She couldn’t scream. All she could do was stare as the bull charged Dusty so hard in the back that he was flung into the wall of the stands. Then the bull turned and walked back to the chute where the clowns waited to lock him in.

  Dusty lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, and she tore out of the stands, racing toward the arena. Pushing people out of the way, she shoved and screamed until they let her through. Security attempted to prevent her from getting any further, but fortunately Free was there and, within seconds, she was ushered into the inner circle with his brother and sister. The paramedics were feverishly working over Dusty. He lay still and unconscious.

  As they loaded him into the waiting ambulance, someone pushed her from behind.

  “She’s to ride with him.” Grey’s gruff voice brooked no argument.

  She was shocked by his brother’s declaration. The other man had never cared much for her even when she and Dusty were a couple.

  “We’ll follow in my truck,” he yelled and slammed the ambulance doors shut.

  Carrie settled in the back next to Dusty, out of the way of the two medics. She grabbed his hand and held on even though he was still unconscious. The tears flowed unchecked down her face, but she tried to keep positive. He wasn’t gored, although there was a gash on his forehead that the medics had already pressed gauze against. Other than that, there were no visible signs of injury. What the pounding could have done inside him, they had no way of knowing.

  Halfway to the hospital, he came to and looked at her. She clung to his hand and tried to smile. “We’re almost there. Hang on, Dusty. We’ll be at the hospital soon.”

  “My times.” He groaned and closed his eyes again. “What were my times?”

  Carrie shook her head. He could have been killed out there, and all he cared about was if he did better than the next idiot to get on a raging bull. Still, she knew better than to hold out on him. “I’m sure you took first.”

  He opened his eyes again. “Why are you here?”

  She couldn’t say anything. For the past several performances, she’d stayed far away, but tonight she couldn’t. Something had urged her to be in the arena tonight. This would have been so much worse if she’d heard it on the evening news. “Just rest.”

  The ambulance stopped and within moments Dusty was whisked through the emergency room, and she was handed a clipboard of paperwork.

  “Are you his wife?” the nurse at the desk asked.

  She shook his head. “No, a friend. Just a friend.”

  “We need to notify his family.”

  At that moment, his brother and sister, with their respective spouses, burst through the door. Carrie handed Free the clipboard and stepped back. This wasn’t her place. She watched his sister and her husband deal with the necessary hospital registration. When they finished, they walked back to her side.

  “He woke up in the ambulance,” she told Grey on the other side of her.

  The woman next to him held onto his arm, her eyes full of sympathy.

  “What did he have to say?” Free moved to sit down in one of the worn waiting room chairs.

  Carrie sat on the edge of her own chair and wrapped her arms around her middle. “It’s Dusty. What do you think he said?”

  The other woman rolled her eyes. “He wanted to know what place he took?”

  Carrie nodded and brushed away her tears. She’d cried enough tears over him. “This is why, Free. This is why I left.”

  His sister nodded and reached out to touch her arm. “I know.”

  Grey showed up next to them. “He’s in X-rays and then they’ll know more. Right now, they want to make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”

  “I should go,” Carrie said. “You all should be here with him.”

  “Leaving him again?” Grey growled.

  “Grey,” the dark-haired woman next to him cautioned. Must be the wife she’d heard about. He might not be the Lone Wolf of the rodeo anymore, but he was obviously still a formidable opponent against her.

  Carrie stood up and faced the enormous blond-haired man who looked so much like Dusty. “I came all the way to Wayback to try to work things out with him. I gave up everything I had in my former life to become the woman he wanted. It wasn’t enough. So yes, Grey, I’m leaving him. I’m sorry that you think there is more I could do—obviously, Dusty doesn’t.”

  The doctor appeared, and they spun around to hear what he had to say. “So far it looks like he’s got some pretty bad internal bruising, but no bleeding. There’s also no broken ribs, which is amazing for the pounding he took. He’s asking for Carrie?”

  Grey’s hand landed heavy on her shoulder. “You aren’t leaving now.”

  She shook off his hold, but didn’t argue.

  Following the doctor, she forced down the nervous butterflies in her stomach as he led her down the hall to a room at the end.

  The hospital was small, but the room they ushered her into was done in soft colors and lacked the steri
le feeling of larger hospitals. Dusty lay in the bed with his eyes closed. Her heart twisted at the sight of him hooked up to monitors. When she reached the side of his bed, his eyes fluttered open and looked into hers.

  She tried to smile, but she knew it must have come out half-hearted. Now that the doctor had said he was basically going to be okay, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen to them. “How do you feel?”

  He twisted his lips wryly. “Like a bull just slammed me into a wall.”

  She took his extended hand and he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “Carrie...”

  She brushed her tears away with her free hand. “Don’t, Dusty. Let’s not talk right now. You need to let the pain medication set in and help you sleep.”

  He kissed her fingers again and put her hand on his cheek. “Don’t go,” he muttered.

  Carrie reached out with her other hand and brushed the hair back from his forehead, wincing at the stitches. “I won’t. I’ll stay here.”

  “Don’t leave me again,” he whispered drowsily as the medicine began take effect.

  She didn’t answer him, not about to make a promise she couldn’t keep.

  ****

  “I’ve heard there’s someone pretty interested in this ranch, but he hasn’t put an offer in on it yet, so I would suggest if you want it, you jump on it.” Joyce Andrews, the owner of Wayback Realty, stood squinting in the sun as Carrie looked around the yard one more time.

  If ever there was a property meant for Dusty, this would be the one. She chewed her bottom lip. Ever since she heard there was a bull rider interested in the old Kincaid ranch, she’d been obsessed with coming to see the property herself. It only took a few minutes for her to figure out that it had to be Dusty who was interested. Why, then, hadn’t he put an offer in? Was it the money? It had to be the money. What else would have stopped him? Unless it was because she was here? Had he wanted the land until he knew she was in town?

  Turning back toward her car, she slipped her sunglasses back on her face. “Thanks for bringing me out here, Joyce.”

  The realtor put her hand on her hip. “Look, I have some wonderful little houses in town, or even right at the edge of town with a bit of a yard. Why don’t you let me pull the specs on them and drop them by the diner later?”