Catch Me, Cowboy
Page 16
“I’m good with coffee.” He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched. He was sore. Yesterday’s ride had been killer, but he was grateful to his dad and Buck for making it possible, because it could well be his last ride.
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting on the weathered porch, watching the sun top the trees. Sitting in the morning silence, feeling this woman next to him… things were as perfect as it could get, given the circumstances. They still had to get Les home and strong arm him into taking care of himself, and Ty had to settle issues with his dad. But he was on the right track there, reclaiming his life. He leaned into Shelby, who pressed back against him. Another old game they used to play. It was so damned easy to fall back into things with her. He knew now that when he’d come back, he hadn’t needed closure. He’d needed to acknowledge all the shit he’d kept buried inside. As had she. Who knew?
He gave his head a small shake.
“What?” Shelby asked.
“We’re so damned lucky.”
“How so?”
He turned his head to frown at her. “Do you know easily we could have not been here right now?”
“So this is where you want to be?”
“I had a stellar last ride and that was a gift. I’m good.” He pulled in a breath that swelled his chest and slowly exhaled as he stared out over the pasture where the horses were grazing. “But even if I had left, I would have found my way back to you. Then I would have hammered at your defenses until you let me back into your life.”
“I have pretty good defenses.”
He gave a small snort. “No kidding.” He was quiet for a moment. “I think maybe things had to play out this way.”
Shelby pulled away from him, so their shoulders no longer touched. “In some ways, I love watching you ride.”
He frowned. “I thought it scared you.”
“It does. But… there’s another aspect to it—something about watching you do something that you so clearly love, and that you’re so damned good at. It’s… I don’t know… thrilling, maybe?”
He smiled a little. “I thrill you?”
She smiled back, a wry curve of her lips. “In many ways.”
He breathed deeply and stared back out over the pastures, still smiling a little.
“I want you to go back out on the road.” His gaze jerked back to hers, before he could speak, she said, “Your dad was right. If you quit before you’re finished, the unanswered question will always be there… could you have done it again?”
“Maybe I don’t need an answer.”
“Maybe I do.” She put her hand on his leg. “I need you to do this… and I need to be there for it.”
“You want to go with me?”
“I need to face my fears. It’s part of life, facing fears. I’d never feel right dodging this.” Her expression grew fierce. “I can do this. What is it? Eight seconds once a week? And think of all the time we’d have in between those eight-second rides.”
“I… uh…”
Shelby took his face in her hands. “I thought about this last night. For a long time. I can be done with my contracts in less than three weeks. It’s getting close to the time of year when I don’t take on any more horses. I can get Cass and Jess to keep an eye on Gramps… Jess has been looking for another place to live anyway.”
“Maybe he’d like Hawksley’s trailer.”
She smiled innocently. “I thought we could take it with us. Live in it.”
“Oh, hell no. That thing will rip to pieces if it traveled too fast and far… which is exactly what we will be doing.” He slid his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her closer. “I thought last night, when you talked about me doing the documentary, you were doing the brave thing. You know, tossing it out there as a kind of peace offering.”
“No. You were right about the need to understand one another so that we can build together. I understand that you would stay, but I understand that you need to ride, too. We can’t pass up an opportunity like this, Ty.” She leaned forward to first kiss him, then nip his lower lip. “Let’s go make a documentary.”
His hand tightened at the back of her neck. She was sure about her decision. He knew her well enough to be certain of that. “We can bail at any time. It’ll make Buck’s movie all the more dramatic.”
She brought her hands up to his shoulders and gave him a small shake. “We’re not bailing.”
The phone rang in the house and Shelby got to her feet, hurrying into the house to answer it. Ty waited where he was, sorting through her amazing offer. When she came back, she was smiling.
“Hospital?” he asked.
“Gramps himself. He’d like to get out of that ‘hell hole’ ASAP.”
“And the hospital? How do they feel about it?”
“According to Gramps, he can be released at noon, but he has appointments for testing with Dr. Murphy early this week.”
“He’s going to be a handful when he gets home.”
“Understatement of the year.”
“You’re sure you can leave him?”
“Here’s what I am sure of… the three of us can work things out. Compromise. And no matter what, when this next rodeo season ends, we’ll be together. That’s the important thing.
Ty leaned forward to kiss the woman he loved. “Actually, babe, it’s the only thing.”
Epilogue
“Are things any better?” Shelby came by to perch on the arm of Ty’s chair after he hung up the phone. His dad was driving him nuts, but he was also trying very, very hard to accept the fact that even though, seven months in, Ty was having a stellar comeback season, sitting fifth in the standings, this was his last rodeo season.
“He only dropped a couple of heavy hints about guys still competing that were way older than I am.” Ty smiled up at her. “He asked about you, though. And Les.”
Which meant he was trying to accept Ty’s choices in life—and the small fact that Ty’s life was his own to live as he saw fit. It also meant his dad was probably driving Austin crazy, but Austin was so much better suited to fend off their fathers’ interfering ways without offending the old man. That was how it was when one took very little in life, except for their career, seriously.
“So I’m no longer the wench that’s stealing you away from rodeo.”
Ty pulled her down into his lap. “No. You’re still totally that.”
“Hey. Hey. None of that.” Les came into the living room carrying a mug of tea and a plate of cookies and scowled at them. But his scowl wasn’t as deadly as it’d been a little over half a year ago, when Ty had first started helping him fence. “Yours is poured, but you got to get it yourself.”
“I’ll go.” Shelby maneuvered herself off Ty’s lap and headed for the kitchen. “You took your meds, right?” she called back to Les.
“Jess has me well trained,” he replied before lifting his tea mug and taking a small sip.
The guy had been a godsend. After moving into the trailer, Jess had used his carpentry talents to totally refurbish it, with Callen’s permission, and what had once been a ratty tin can was now a funky showpiece. And somehow he’d managed to put Les on a meds schedule and help around the place on weekends.
Ty heard the spoon rattle in the sugar bowl as Shelby fixed the tea, and waited for the question that came almost every time he and Shelby managed to make it home for a few days between rodeos. When was he going to make an honest woman of Shelby?
“So,” Les said gruffly. “When—”
“November.”
Les’s eyes bugged a little. “You aren’t kidding an old man.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He made a gesture rather than finish his sentence as Shelby came in carrying the tea.
She stopped dead when she saw the expression on Les’s face. “You told him.”
“He asked.”
Shelby set down the tea mugs. “Are you okay with this?” she asked her grandfather. “I know we’ve only been seriously together fo
r a short time—”
“You’ve been together a lot longer than that,” Les muttered gruffly. “And yeah. I’m okay with this.”
“Will you come to Vegas with us for the wedding?” Shelby settled once again on the arm of Ty’s chair.
“Vegas?”
“We’re getting married just before the National Finals,” Ty said. “That way, no matter what happens there, I’m a winner.” Even if he got injured before the season was over and wasn’t able to qualify, he’d be a winner.
A slow smile built on Les’s lined face. “Yeah. Good thinking.” He frowned suddenly. “Won’t be an Elvis wedding, will it? Because I don’t know if I can give my granddaughter away at an Elvis wedding.”
“Low-key cowboy wedding. Buck asked about filming it, but we said no. He can get some footage afterward. And Shelby’s agreed to do some talking on camera about life the road.” As well as facing fears.
As the months had passed, her anxiety had subsided—to the point she was now analyzing Ty’s rides with him. Buck, being the student of human nature he was, had watched her transformation and now wanted her interview as part of his documentary. It seemed like the least they could do for the guy who’d hired Ty to cover the Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming rodeo circuits for Rough Stock World after his official retirement in December.
Once his season was over, Shelby would take up training again at the Forty-Six and when Ty wasn’t covering the rodeos, he’d work the ranch. They wouldn’t get rich, but that had never been his goal. All he’d ever wanted was a life with no regrets. He settled his hand on Shelby’s thigh.
There was just that one small thing…
“Are you sure you want to buy that gelding? They want too much money.”
She gave him a look. “Evarado and I understand one another. This is the perfect solution for everyone. Paul can pretend I fell in love with him and couldn’t let him go, and he can use the money to buy Blake a pretty horse that she can handle. I found one today that might be perfect for her.”
“Stubborn woman.”
She clinked her tea mug against his. “Stubborn man.” She leaned in to kiss him lightly. “Thank goodness.”
The End
If you enjoyed Catch Me, Cowboy, you’ll love…
The 78th Copper Mountain Rodeo Series
Book 1: Catch Me, Cowboy by Jeannie Watt
Book 2: Protect Me, Cowboy by Shelli Stevens
Book 3: Want Me, Cowboy by Sinclair Jayne
Book 4: Love Me, Cowgirl by Eve Gaddy
More books by Jeannie Watt
The Montana Bride
The Jackson Family Legacy series
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The Christmas Secret
The Jackson Family Legacy series
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About the Author
Jeannie Watt is the author of over 20 contemporary romances and the recipient of the Holt Medallion Award of Merit. She lives in a small ranching community—a place where kids really do grow up to be cowboys—with her husband, dog, cat, horses and ponies. When she’s not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing retro fashions, running, and buying lots and lots of hay.
If you’d like to know more about Jeannie, check out her website JeannieWatt.com or visit her Facebook page
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