How to Lasso a Cowboy

by Christine Wenger

  It had been two months since they’d made love, since he’d walked out on her. Then suddenly the flowers started arriving. Well, she didn’t want to talk, didn’t want his excuses. She didn’t want to ever see him again.

  She’d wasted too many years of her life on Dustin Morgan.

  Her face flamed when she thought of how she’d tried to seduce him.

  In the end, what had worked? Her old jeans and a T-shirt, a wonderful time at a country fair and some fireworks.

  And then they’d had fireworks of their own.

  Jenna sighed. She’d thought that Dustin cared for her—cared enough not to leave without saying good-bye or without some kind of explanation.

  Had she done or said something that he didn’t like?

  She was tired of thinking about it, tired of wondering. And now, weeks later, he decided to apologize by showering her with flowers?

  “No way,” she said, fingering the yellow roses. “No darn way.”

  Walking into the living room, she turned on the television to watch the Columbus, Ohio, event. It was just her luck that a close-up of Dustin was the first thing she saw. Her breath caught in her chest.

  He was being interviewed about his ankle and his rehabilitation. “I’m fine now. I had a nice recovery at Tom Reed’s ranch, and the physical therapy worked. I’m as good as new.”

  The interviewer congratulated him on his climb back up the rankings to the number two position behind Tom.

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

  His smile lit up the screen, and Jenna could almost believe that he was there with her.

  A commercial came on, and Jenna was just about to get some veggie sticks to snack on when she heard Dustin’s voice again.

  “Oh! It’s our commercial,” she said, aiming the remote at the TV to make it louder.

  There she was in the bikini, walking toward Dustin, and she looked…fabulous.

  And then they kissed.

  Jenna remembered that it was Dustin who strayed from the script. It was Dustin whose warm, sensuous lips did amazing things to her insides. If she closed her eyes right now, she could relive every detail.

  The commercial ended, and she smiled sadly. Even though she didn’t go to Europe, she’d had a wonderful summer.

  The doorbell rang again. If this was another flower arrangement, she’d scream.

  But instead, it was a package delivery service. The delivery person handed her a box wrapped in brown paper. She knew it was from Dustin from the return address. She debated whether or not she should open it or just take it to the nursing home. After debating, she opened it.

  It was the painting of the San Xavier del Bac Mission that Dustin had hanging on the wall of his bedroom.

  She sat down on the couch, admiring it, thinking and blinking back tears that were stinging her eyes.

  The ringing of her phone brought her back to reality. It was Tom.

  “I saw that commercial,” he said abruptly, without even a hello.

  “Wasn’t it terrific?” Jenna braced herself for Tom’s response. For some reason, she didn’t think he’d called to congratulate her.

  “What on earth possessed you to do that?”

  “The real actress was sick. I was there, so I did it.”

  “I see,” Tom said, then there was silence. Jenna waited to hear what else was on his mind. “You looked good, I have to admit, and it looked as if that kiss was pretty real, and not acting.”

  Maybe it wasn’t acting back then, but she didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Do you like him, Jenna?”

  She took a deep breath. “Why are you asking me that, Tom?”

  “Because if you do like him, I think I ruined things for you.”

  “How?”

  “Dustin came to me, talking about a promise that he’d made to me way back in high school.”

  Her stomach roiled. “What promise was that?” she managed to ask.

  “To stay away from you.”

  “Oh, Tom. How could you?”

  “You were only a freshman in high school. Even through Dustin was your age, he was way ahead of you in experience. You were so naive back then. You still are.”

  “I’m almost thirty years old!” That explained a lot of things, like why Dustin pretty much ignored her. Then again, she was ignoring him. She’d made the same promise to Tom. “I can take care of myself. Don’t you get that?”

  “But Jenna—”

  She cut him off. “But that was a long time ago.”

  “He’d asked me again about dating you. I told him no again.”

  Dustin had an attack of guilt, Jenna thought. That’s why he’d left her that night. He’d thought he’d broken his promise to her brother.

  “Well, you can just tell him that you changed your mind. This is my business, brother dear, not yours.”

  “I know that now, and I apologize. I had no business interfering. Like you said, you can take care of yourself, and it’s about time I realized that.”

  She sighed. This was such a big mess.

  “Do you like him, Jenna?”

  “I think I love him.”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “I’m really sorry, Jenna. I’ll make things right. I promise,” Tom said.

  They said their goodbyes and although she knew where her brother was coming from, she was still miffed.

  Dustin was constantly on her mind—their kisses, making love with him and the way he left without a word. He could send her all the paintings and all the flower arrangements in the world, and it wouldn’t alleviate the hurt that she’d felt when he’d gone off in that taxi.

  Tom pulled Dustin to a quiet corner of the cowboy’s locker room in the Connecticut arena. “I’m sorry, Dustin…about Jenna. I really blew it with her…and you.”

  “You’re apologizing?”

  “I am.” Tom nodded. “But you hurt her by leaving without telling her.”

  “I was thinking of you and your damn edict. Instead, I should have been thinking of Jenna.” Dustin held up his hands in surrender. “I love her, Tom, and I think she feels something for me. Now give us your blessing and butt out.”

  “You have my blessing, but have you talked to Jenna lately?”

  “No. She does not want to talk to me. I’ve tried.

  I’ve sent flowers…paintings…I just don’t know what else I can do.”

  “Have you gone to see her in person?”

  “No.”

  “What are you waiting for?”

  Tom grinned, then held out his hand, and they shook. With Tom’s blessing, Dustin felt like the weight of a Brahma bull had disappeared from his shoulders.

  Tom raised an eyebrow. “I know how stubborn my sister can be if she’s been wronged. It’s going to be an uphill battle for her forgiveness.”

  Dustin nodded. “But it’s a battle that I’m going to win.”

  It was open house at Wilson Reed Grammar School, and Jenna looked around her classroom and grinned. Parents and grandparents milled around the room. Everywhere were test papers with gold stars. On each child’s desk was a folder with his or her work—math, spelling, essays, other tests and artwork. She always thought that art was a wonderful creative outlet for the kids. They seemed to love it, too.

  Thinking about art reminded Jenna of Dustin. Actually, everything reminded her of Dustin, and she wondered what he was doing right now.

  She was sure he’d moved on. She was just a one-night stand. But wasn’t that what she’d been looking for, too? Just a simple seduction?

  Now she wanted more. Or perhaps she expected more from Dustin.

  Just as the open house was about to end, a man in faded jeans, a chambray shirt and a hat pulled low over his face walked in. He looked at the papers that she’d tacked to the front wall.

  She’d know that butt anywhere. Dustin.

  Jenna walked the last parent out. She and Dustin were the only ones left. Her heart slammed against her chest, and her mouth sudd
enly went dry. She cleared her throat.

  “Dustin?” she asked.

  He turned to her, and every nerve ending in her body started to tingle.

  “Is there someplace we could go to talk?” he asked.

  She was about to tell him that right here, right now, was fine, but the school would be closing soon. Then she debated as to telling him where he could really go, but she had to give him some points from driving from Tubac to Phoenix to talk to her.

  “Are you looking for coffee or beer?” she asked, still not sure if she wanted to talk to him. As far as she was concerned, he’d done the unthinkable by leaving, and there was no excuse.

  “Whatever you’d like,” he said.

  Suddenly she had the urge to go to the honky-tonk on Route 12. She could always watch everyone dance, if Dustin didn’t say what she wanted to hear.

  “That would be a beer,” she said. “Follow my car.” She wanted to drive herself in case she wanted to make an escape.

  Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into the Cowboy Up Bar and Grill. It was the longest fifteen minutes of her life.

  While driving, many things went through her head, including the fact that Dustin was here in Phoenix, and obviously he was going to try and apologize.

  So where had he been for the past two months?

  They walked into the Cowboy Up, and a wave of recognition for Dustin rippled through the noisy bar. Fingers pointed, hats were pushed back for a better look, and there were several female squeals of delight.

  Good grief.

  She looked around, knowing immediately that she’d made a mistake by coming here. Cowboy attire was the dress code, and she stuck out like a sore thumb with her open-house teacher’s attire—navy blue suit, a white crepe blouse, a pink paisley scarf, panty hose and sensible shoes.

  The hostess was happy to give them a quiet booth in the back, but first he had to sign a menu for her. She held up a felt-tipped pen.

  “I’d be happy to,” he said good-naturedly, taking the pen. Her hand wrapped around his a little too long, and Jenna raised an eyebrow. The woman didn’t care.

  He signed his name, gave it back to her and was rewarded with an ear-piercing squeal.

  She felt Dustin’s hand on the small of her back as he escorted her to their booth. She steeled herself not to fall for his touch—she wasn’t one of his buckle bunnies.

  They could just be friends, that’s all. Dustin was Tom’s friend, and he could be hers, too.

  Yes, friends. That’d be her goal.

  “Would you like something to eat, Jenna?”

  Suddenly she was ravenous. “Wings. Mild.” And she was thirsty. “And let’s order a pitcher of beer.”

  He gave their order to the waitress with the midriff-baring top and tight, faded jeans that were torn in just the right places.

  “Oh-kay,” she drawled. “I’ll bring your order just as soon as I can, Dus-tin.”

  Coming here was a mistake. She could barely hear him above the din of the place. She didn’t want everyone knowing their business.

  She wanted to leave. Right now. But they had just ordered.

  Several people had gathered around their table for his autograph, and he was obliging. He talked to them, laughed with them and had his picture taken with them.

  Jenna poured herself a beer, then took a sip. Then she started on the chicken wings without waiting for Dustin. When she finished eating, he was still signing autographs and talking to his fans.

  Jenna slid out of the booth, grabbed her purse and left the Cowboy Up.

  Chapter Ten

  Jenna’s phone was ringing when she got home, and she knew it was Dustin. She debated with herself whether or not to have her voice mail pick it up, then finally answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Why did you leave?” Dustin asked.

  “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” she asked, referring to the night that they’d made love and he’d disappeared into a taxi.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I got caught up signing autographs, but I truly didn’t mean to ignore you, Jenna. I didn’t. I was almost finished when I saw you walking out the door. Forgive me?”

  “Yeah.” How could she remain mad at him? He’d gotten her point.

  “Can I come over and talk?” he asked.

  She’d like to talk to him and would like to see him—longer than she had at the Cowboy Up. “It’s late, Dustin, and I have work in the morning,” she said instead.

  “I won’t be long.”

  Relenting, she gave him directions and paced her living room trying to burn off her nervous energy. About fifteen minutes later, she saw his headlights flash through her front window as he pulled into her driveway.

  Now it was time for Dustin to quit stalling and cowboy up. He had some apologizing to do.

  Jenna waited until he rang her doorbell. Looking through the peephole, she waited for a few seconds so she wouldn’t seem too anxious to see him.

  He looked around as he entered the room. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks. I’m pretty proud of it.” She motioned for Dustin to sit on the sofa, and she sat on a wing chair. Smoothing down her skirt, she crossed her legs and waited for him to speak.

  “I want to explain about that night…and why I left.” Dustin leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. He clasped his hands, as if he were one of her students.

  She found herself holding her breath.

  “I left you that night because I felt guilty about breaking a promise to Tom.”

  “I know. I talked to Tom and told him that my life is my business and not his.” She sighed. “But I don’t know why I’m surprised. Tom has taken it upon himself to run my life since our parents died. That’s why I moved to Phoenix, but it’s still not far enough away from him.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Dustin gave a slight smile. “Look, don’t be mad at Tom. He just wanted to protect you from me.”

  “Did he have a reason to?”

  Dustin nodded. “I was young and reckless back in high school. And I probably would have hurt you.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay. I did hurt you.” His sky blue eyes looked down, then met hers.

  Jenna shook her head. “I guess I can understand your promise to my brother, but I’m going to be thirty years old in a couple of weeks, for heaven’s sake. I’m not Tom’s responsibility—I never was. I know he’s always found it necessary to protect me, but for you to keep a promise that old…is just plain wrong.”

  “A promise is a promise. Besides, Tom is damn stubborn. He always was.”

  “It amazes me that you two have stayed good friends.”

  “I’m surprised that he suggested that I stay at the Bar R, especially when you were going to be there. The only reason I can think of is that he was doing me a big favor, and he expected me to keep my word.”

  “Still, you could have said goodbye to me, Dustin.”

  “I couldn’t. You would have pushed for a reason, and I didn’t want to come between you and your brother.”

  “And now?”

  “We had it out. He gave me permission to date you.”

  “That was big of him.”

  “I—I told him that I loved you.”

  Jenna was speechless. “You…love me?”

  “Since as far back as I can remember.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and threatened to fall. “Oh, Dustin… I love you, too.”

  His smile lit up his face. “Marry me, Jenna.”

  “Marry you?” Her voice cracked. She’d been waiting to hear those words for…forever. She didn’t know why she didn’t scream out “Yes!” but she didn’t…she couldn’t.

  She tried to form the word, but it wouldn’t pass her lips. Marriage to anyone wasn’t in her plans right now. She’d promised herself adventure and lots of traveling. And there was the possibility of a teaching position in China.

  “Dustin, this is all so sudden,” she fin
ally said. She had a lot of things to sort out.

  “I don’t want to waste another second without you.”

  “I need time to think,” she said.

  “What’s there to think about?”

  Jenna suddenly needed to be alone. She needed to figure out if the real Dustin was on a par with her fantasy Dustin. She had to separate fact from fiction.

  She stood up. “I need time.”

  His smiling face melted into seriousness. “How much time?”

  She shrugged. “How about the World Finals? I’ll give you an answer then.”

  “That’s six weeks away.”

  “I know.”

  Jenna snapped her fingers. She had a scathingly brilliant idea. “I think we should date.”

  “Date?”

  She nodded. “I think we should get to know each other more.”

  “Know each other? I know everything about you.”

  “You don’t know the real me.”

  Dustin sat back, looking serious. “Maybe you’re right. Let’s date.” He stood but seemed reluctant to leave. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow and ask you out, how’s that?”

  She smiled. “I’ll accept, so don’t be nervous about that.”

  He held out a hand to her, and she took it. His warmth enveloped her whole being. It felt right being with Dustin, but she wanted to be sure she knew him, not just her idealized vision of him.

  But he said he loved me!

  And I’ve always loved him…or was it lust? Or just a crush?

  Dustin pulled her toward him, his hands spanning her waist. Her heart beat so wildly in her chest, she thought he could hear it. He kissed her so softly, so tenderly that she thought her heart was going to break.

  She didn’t want him to leave.

  “Stay with me, Dustin. Stay tonight.”

  “Isn’t this awfully soon for a first date?” he asked, eyes twinkling.

  She took his hand and led him to her bedroom. Just inside, they dispensed with their clothes in a flurry of snaps, buttons and zippers.

  They kissed and held the kiss until they fell onto her bed, tangled in the sheets and comforter.

  “I do love you, Jenna.”

  Tears stung her eyes at the pure honesty of his statement, and she felt content and very much loved.