She had to admit he had a point. After all, the man rode bucking broncs and managed to stay on. It would take more than her to topple him off a horse.
“Okay,” she squeaked. Saying another quick prayer, she opened her eyes just enough to see and slowly moved her leg over the horse’s neck. Still shaking, but feeling a triumphant satisfaction, she sighed.
“Hang on to the saddle horn and just lean back and relax against me.”
She obeyed, except for the relaxing part. That was asking just a little too much. Beneath her, the strength of the horse was evident. But so was Tanner’s broad chest behind her. She let go of a bit of her fear. They moved forward, and she slammed her eyes shut. Memories of her fall filled her mind, and she opened her eyes to ward them off.
“Tanner?” Her voice squeaked again.
“We’re just going to walk around a little.” He pulled her hat from her head and tossed it to Shawn, who stood grinning at them. “Give Sundancer a little workout,” he told his nephew. “We’ll be back later.” Moving the reins, he turned them around. “You okay?” he asked her.
“I think so.” A feeling of safety and contentment began to suffuse her. “You might have warned me, though.”
“Wouldn’t have worked if I had.”
Knowing he was right, she didn’t argue.
They rode slowly around the parking area, saying little, and Jules found herself feeling more at home again on a horse.
“Ready to try it on your own?” he asked.
That was a little more than Jules was ready to attempt. “Not quite yet. But it isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I guess it really is true that the apprehension is usually much worse than the actual event.”
He nudged the horse into a trot. “Tell me if it bothers you.”
Surprised that it didn’t, she laughed softly. “It’s wonderful.” Turning her head to look back at him, she sighed. She’d been foolish not to completely trust this man.
He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “Glad to help, darlin’.”
By the time they joined Shawn and Dusty again, she had begun to feel the joy that riding had given her as a girl. She might not be ready to try it on her own, but she had taken the first step, thanks to Tanner.
Still, the matter of her riding wasn’t the only obstacle between them. Her fear of his bronc riding was an issue that wasn’t going away.
Chapter Eight
“Shawn is going to Coffeyville with us.”
Tanner’s clear voice drifted out the screen door to Jules, who waited patiently with Bridey on the wide porch of the ranch house. Trying not to listen, it was impossible not to overhear, and she couldn’t help but hear Rowdy’s response.
“You’re rewarding the boy for getting in trouble?”
“Do you want to stay here and babysit?” Tanner countered.
Rowdy’s mumbled reply couldn’t be heard, but Tanner’s response could, his voice rising with his clipped, staccato statements. “No, she’s here to go to the rodeo. With us. With me. Not to take care of Shawn. He is not her problem. He’s mine. And I say he goes with us. Now, I’ve got some broncs to ride.”
“Then let’s talk about that.”
“About what?”
“You know damn well what. You want to tell me what happened last weekend?” Rowdy asked.
There was a moment of silence, and then Tanner said, “I don’t know.”
“We need to figure out what went wrong.”
“Not now.”
“Look, boy—”
“I said, not now! And I’m not your ‘boy.’”
Standing next to Jules, Bridey let out a heavy sigh. “I swear,” she muttered.
The conversation inside continued to drift outside. Even knowing she should walk away, Jules couldn’t make herself do it. What would Bridey think if she did? What was she thinking when she didn’t?
“No, you’re not my boy,” Rowdy was saying, his voice calm and a little sad, “but you’re the closest thing to it I’ve ever had. And we’re going to use that ride to learn something.”
“Later.”
There was the sound of heavy footsteps, and then it stopped. “You know what it was that caused it. Admit it.”
“I don’t know anything except that I have a rodeo to get to.”
“It was because of her,” Rowdy said. “You lost your concentration. And that danged bronc knew it and took advantage of it. Admit it.”
“That isn’t what happened, but if that’s what you want to think, go right ahead. And if you remember, I took first place.”
Heavy footsteps advanced in the ensuing silence, and Rowdy slammed out the door, muttering to himself. Jules had to jump back to keep from being hit by the flying screen door. She’d known things weren’t going well. Tanner had told her about Shawn breaking curfew the night before, out with friends Tanner didn’t approve of.
“It’s not unusual that he did it, Tanner,” she had told him. “Don’t worry about it too much. It’s typical end-of-summer limit testing. Once he’s back in school…” She’d hated to say it, but he needed to hear it. “Maybe getting him more involved in rodeo would help.”
“Maybe,” Tanner had replied. “And maybe not. Right now it’s a wait-and-see thing. He knows that, but he’s pushing it.”
Shawn, however, wasn’t what Jules was worried about at the moment. Rowdy’s words had hurt her deeply. For whatever reason, the older man didn’t like her and probably never would.
Wishing she hadn’t overheard the argument, she knew she needed to do something. Since the moment she’d arrived at the ranch the evening before, she’d been only too aware of Rowdy’s growing disapproval. And she noticed how it affected Tanner. She feared the tension between the two men would not only affect Tanner and his relationship with Rowdy, but his riding, too.
Taking a deep breath, she reached for the door handle, but as she did, Bridey laid a hand on her arm, stopping her.
“They’re both muleheaded, Jules, but they’ll work it out in time,” she said quietly. “Shawn is Tanner’s responsibility, and he and Rowdy don’t see eye to eye on raising a young ’un. Never have. Rowdy will give in sooner or later, after he’s had his say, and Tanner will do what’s best, no matter what Rowdy says.”
Jules knew Bridey was trying to downplay what Rowdy had said, but they couldn’t ignore Rowdy’s feelings about her any longer. “Thank you, Bridey, but we both know this doesn’t really concern Shawn. It’s me Rowdy doesn’t like.”
“It isn’t you, either. And it isn’t any of his business.” With a loud sniff, she turned to step off the porch, heading in the direction Rowdy had gone.
Jules gathered her courage and pulled the door open. She needed to discuss this with Tanner. Not that she wanted to, but it had to be done. She couldn’t just stand around like a little mouse while trouble was brewing because of her.
Stepping into the dim entryway, she saw Tanner walking toward her. The sun from the adjacent living room accented his frown and the worried crease of his forehead. His hat in his hands, he strode straight at her, but she knew he hadn’t seen her.
“Tanner?”
His gaze sought her out in the shadows. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Ready to leave, darlin’?”
Jules pulled her own hat from her head and fingered the brim. “Why don’t I stay here this time? Or go home. You go with your family this weekend, and I’ll wait until next.”
He looked at her with stony eyes, his jaw hard, his lips a thin line. “Are you backing out on me?”
She wouldn’t hide from the truth any longer. “No, but I don’t want to be the reason for any trouble. I…” She stopped and took a calming breath. “I heard what Rowdy said. You don’t need the stress my presence is causing.”
Putting his hat on, he reached out and slipped his free hand to the back of her head before sliding his other arm around her waist and pulling her close. “There’ll be a helluva lot more stress for me to deal with if you
don’t go.”
“But Rowdy—”
“Rowdy be hanged,” he growled. “The old buzzard doesn’t know his head from his backside sometimes. I asked you to come with us. I don’t give a hoot what he thinks. What I want and need is what counts.”
Arguing wouldn’t change his mind. Bridey was right. Both men were stubborn. “All right,” she whispered. “If you say so.”
“He’ll come around.” His kiss was light, but offered hope.
“Why don’t I take my car?” she suggested as he walked her out onto the porch, his arm now around her shoulders. “Bridey can ride with me, and you men can take the pickup. We can have some girl talk without boring you.”
“You’re letting him win, Jules.”
“It’s not a war, Tanner.”
With a force to match his mood, he closed the heavy wooden door behind them and locked it.
Jules could only hope he was right about Rowdy coming around, but she wasn’t counting on it.
YOU’RE LIMPING.”
After Tanner’s ride that evening, Jules and Bridey had exchanged fried-chicken recipes while they’d waited for the men. When the three approached, Jules noticed Tanner favoring his right leg.
“Are you all right?” she asked him after he planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
“It’s nothing, darlin’. Just my old knees.” Taking her by the hand, he circled her car, and she noticed him wince when he helped her inside it.
“You are hurt,” she said as he closed her door. “Maybe you should see a doctor.”
“It’s just my knee,” he snapped. The flash of impatience in his eyes was replaced by contrition. “It got whacked a little too hard in the chute. I’ll put some ice on it when we get to the motel, and it’ll be fine by morning.”
Shawn helped his aunt into the car on the other side. “It really isn’t a big deal, Jules. Happens all the time. But I guess we won’t be going out tonight.” His disappointment was clear.
When Shawn joined the others, Tanner reached back to tug at the brim of the teenager’s hat. “Jules can keep me company while the rest of you go out and have a good time.”
The sound of Rowdy clearing his throat behind Shawn stilled all of them. “We can bring you both back something to eat before we go out and keep you off that knee.”
“Thank you, Rowdy,” Jules told him with a smile. His answering nod was brief, but she felt a sliver of relief. At least he hadn’t demanded that he be the one to stay with Tanner.
The drive was short, and when they arrived at the motel, they split up into separate rooms. Shawn was allowed to take Jules’s car to get a cooler and bag of ice, with Bridey along as the adult driver, while the others changed into fresh clothes. Jules switched her jeans and top for a T-shirt and pair of shorts, and then waited on Tanner.
When he emerged from his room, he’d changed into a pair of jogging shorts and T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, looking even more different than he had the weekend before in the pool.
“This can’t be Tanner O’Brien, champion bronc rider,” she teased.
He slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her to the outdoor pool, laughing. “The costume may have changed, but the man is the same.”
They settled in side-by-side chaise lounges at poolside. At the far end of the pool, three small children could be heard voicing their objections to their mother’s insistence that it was time to call it a night. Tanner’s chuckle at their protests made Jules smile.
“I’ll bet you were good with Shawn when he was small,” she said, watching his enjoyment of the scene.
His smile wavered, but his gaze remained on the children. “Wish I could say the same now.”
She reached over to squeeze his hand. “You do fine. “He’s at a tough age, that’s all.”
They both watched in silence as Shawn drove into the motel lot and parked the car, and then pulled out a cooler that he took into the room he shared with Rowdy. Bridey said something to him at the door, turned to wave at Jules and Tanner, and walked on to the women’s room. In a few minutes, Shawn reappeared, loaded down with an ice bag and towel in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. His walk had a certain swagger.
“Rowdy said to be sure to keep this full of ice.” He placed the bag and towel next to Jules and handed Tanner the water and some pills. “And take the aspirin every three hours.”
“I’ll make certain he does,” Jules said.
Shawn turned to grin at her. “We’ll stop by with some food later if you don’t mind waiting.”
“Not if you bring out some beer,” Tanner told him.
Jules leaned around Shawn to look at him. “Beer and aspirin?”
Tanner grinned at her. “Shawn, bring the beer.”
When Shawn disappeared, Tanner spoke without looking at her. “I know women have a built-in mothering thing, but I don’t need a mother, darlin’.”
Properly chastised, but needing to show him she had no intention of playing mother, she picked up the towel and ice bag. “Tanner?” He turned to her and she tossed both at him. The ice bag landed square in his lap.
He yelped and grabbed the bag. While she laughed, he glowered at her, and then placed the bag on his knee, wrapping the towel around it.
Shawn reappeared with two cans. “Here’s your beer, Uncle Tanner, and a soda for you, Jules.” He passed out the drinks and waited.
From behind them, Rowdy called out, “Come on, Shawn, let’s get going before they run out of food.”
Shawn waved at him before focusing on Tanner. “If you need anything…”
“Jules will take care of me,” he answered with a quick wink at her. “You all have a good time.”
Shawn nodded before telling them both goodbye and joining Rowdy and Bridey. Jules and Tanner watched them drive away.
“He is a good kid,” Tanner said as the taillights disappeared.
“That’s obvious.”
After a short silence he went on, “It’s been a bad summer for him.”
“You’ve done a good job, Tanner. Don’t ever think you haven’t.”
“He’s got the same wild streak Tucker had, and it’s why I’m not ready to let him enter any rodeos yet. That’s how we lost Tucker. Do you understand?”
“I think so.” What she understood was that Tanner blamed himself for Tucker’s disappearance. “But it isn’t because you did something wrong.”
“If I hadn’t been so busy with my own interests, it wouldn’t have happened.” His harsh voice conveyed his disappointment in himself. “I wanted to do nothing but rodeo and spend time with Marlene.”
Her throat closed. Of course there had been women before she’d met him, but hearing a name made it more real. “Marlene?”
“Forget it.”
If only she could. But he didn’t seem inclined to discuss it, and she wouldn’t ask. There was enough of his past to deal with, not to mention her own, without adding to it.
She stood and held out her hand. “Let me get some fresh ice.”
He unwrapped the towel and handed her the ice bag. She felt his gaze on her and reluctantly met it. His expression was unreadable, but she felt it deep within her, making her heartbeat quicken. “Shall I bring you another beer?”
He shook his head, and she hurried to the room. Maybe she’d been crazy to agree to stay with him. It wasn’t the type of relationship she was looking for. But then, she hadn’t been looking for anything. Still, if she had been, it wouldn’t have been a bronc-riding cowboy she’d probably never understand. Love did funny things to people.
Her hand froze on the ice on its way from cooler to bag. Love? Good heavens, she didn’t love Tanner! But as she dropped the ice in the lip of the ice bag with trembling hands, she knew she was lying to herself. No matter how different they were, she had fallen in love with him. Despite her fears for him with his chosen career, she’d agreed to join him and follow and cheer him on. Only a woman in love would do that, and she’d done it with all her heart.
Somewhat dazed at her self-revelation, she returned poolside to find that her seat had been flipped in the opposite direction, still side by side with Tanner’s, but now she’d be facing him. She handed him the ice bag in silence and sat down while he reapplied his wrap. Leaning forward to do it, his shoulder bumped hers and she felt the warmth she always felt at his slightest touch.
When he finished with his knee, he focused his attention on her. Raising his hand, he stroked her cheek. “I wanted to be able to look at you,” he said, leaning back, his palm cupping her face. “Too bad we couldn’t go out and have some fun with the others, but I need to take it easy with the knee until after tomorrow.”
“See? I knew you were hurt more than you would admit.”
Grinning, he chucked her under the chin before taking her hand. “Nothing I can’t handle and haven’t before.”
His thumb caressed the back of her hand, and she closed her eyes, listening to the quiet sounds of the evening.
“I suppose it’s time I told you about my family,” he said, his voice low and unsteady.
Surprised, she opened her eyes and looked at him. “I thought you had.”
“Not all of it. Not about my parents.”
Jules wasn’t sure what to say. “Only if you want to tell me.”
“My mother is full Cherokee.”
“That explains a lot.”
His sparkling blue eyes were set off by the tanned crinkles around them when he grinned at her. “That and the O’Brien Irish.” His grin disappeared, along with the laugh lines, as he continued, “My grandmother Ayita still lives on the reservation in Tahlequah.”
“Do you visit her often?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“But—”
“She and my grandfather, Adahy—he’s called Sam—had one daughter. Salilah, or Sally, as everybody called her, was seventeen and an up-and-coming barrel racer. Then along came Brody O’Brien, Bridey’s twin brother and my father. He’d already made a name for himself as a bull rider.”
“Rodeo has obviously played a big part in your family history,” Jules managed.
The Rodeo Rider (Harlequin American Romance) Page 12