When the Heart Falls

by Kimberly Lewis

  “Yes sir they are. That old coot doesn’t have a clue about how his cows are going missing,” the second man said with a chuckle.

  “Good to know. I’m counting on you boys to come through on this. I’m not just doing this for me; I’m doing this for you as well. As my sons, you stand to inherit all of this when I’m gone.”

  They nodded at his comment and waited to be dismissed again. “Hank, why don’t you go check on the horses? I want to have a word alone with your brother.” Hank looked from his father to his brother and then exited the room. “I hear you’ve taken a liking to the Donovan girl,” he said, rocking his chair back and forth.

  Vance looked his father in the eye and replied, “Maybe. Why?”

  “No reason. I just hope you won’t let something as stupid as a woman mess with your overall plan. Women cloud the mind and you need to be focused boy,” Trent informed him as he folded his hands and rested them on his beer belly.

  “My mind is cloud free, Pop. I’m not going to be falling in love with the chick. I just don’t see anything wrong with getting a piece of ass if I can,” Vance said reassuringly as a sly smile spread across his face.

  “Good to know son. But mark my word,” Trent said as he pointed a finger at Vance. “You let that little vixen get in the way and you’ll have me to answer to.”

  CHAPTER 8

  The carnival grounds were full of loud chatter and screams from the ride passengers. There was a distinct smell of cotton candy, funnel cakes, and a hint of cigarette smoke in the air as Misty and Vance walked the grounds.

  “What would you like to do first?” he asked, turning his boyish charms on her.

  Misty felt like she was floating on air. How wonderful it felt to feel attractive and wanted again. “Um, I’m not sure. Do you like to ride any of the rides?”

  Vance shrugged his shoulders a little and replied, “Eh, some of them are ok. But it doesn’t matter what I want to do. I asked what you want to do.”

  Misty smiled and thought about how nice of a gentleman Vance was. When he arrived to pick her up at her parent’s house he had opened her door for her and did the same when they arrived at the carnival. Even now as they walked through the carnival grounds they were arm in arm.

  “Would you want to go on the Ferris wheel?” she asked.

  “Sure, but first I’d like to sign up for the bucking bronco contest,” he told her as he looked for the booth.

  “Oh my, you’re actually going to do that?” she replied dubiously.

  “You question my skills?” he said in mock surprise.

  Misty laughed and said, “No, no it’s nothing like that. I just, well… Isn’t it dangerous?”

  “Of course it’s dangerous. But I like danger.”

  There was an edge to Vance’s tone that Misty just couldn’t put her finger on. They continued walking through the carnival grounds and eventually found the sign up table for the bucking bronco contest.

  “You wait here,” Vance told her. “I’ll be right back.”

  He smiled at her as he walked away and winked. He was such a good looking man and Misty felt like she was the luckiest woman at the carnival. Here is a man who could have his choice of any woman here, and he chose to be here with her.

  The thought made her smile. While waiting for Vance to fill out his entry form, Misty started to look around at all the activities that surrounded her. Just then, she caught sight of a familiar face and could hardly contain her excitement.

  “Beth! Oh my goodness I haven’t seen you in forever!” she cried as she hugged her dear old friend.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” Beth cried in disbelief. “How long have you been in town? Where’s Brad?”

  Misty wrinkled her face up at the mention of her adulterer soon-to-be ex-husband. “We’re not together anymore,” she stated.

  Beth caught on and decided it was wise to not pry on the subject. “I’m sorry to hear that. One day you can tell me all about it if you like.”

  Misty smiled and nodded. “So how are you?” she said, quickly changing the subject.

  “Oh I’m doing great. I’m married now,” Beth replied as she held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers to show off her engagement and wedding rings.

  “Aw, congratulations Beth!”

  “And this is my husband, Alan,” she said, gesturing towards the tall dark haired man standing next to her.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Misty. I’ve heard all kinds of stories about you and Beth in your high school days,” he said as he held out his hand to shake hers.

  She chuckled as she shook his offered hand. “Oh my, I hope it was nothing too embarrassing.”

  “You’re fine. I keep those stories to myself,” Beth leaned in and whispered to Misty with a wink. “Oh and I have more news,” Beth said excitedly. “Alan and I are having a baby!”

  Misty couldn’t help but feel like someone had just knocked the wind out of her. She was happy for her friend, but she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that it wasn’t her that was happily married and having a baby. She quickly collected herself and gave Beth a warm hug. “That’s wonderful news, Beth. I’m so happy for you!”

  “You want to introduce me to your friends?” Vance asked as he approached and wrapped an arm around Misty.

  “Oh, Vance this is my old friend Beth and her husband Alan.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Vance said to both of them as he tipped his hat toward Beth and shook Alan’s hand. “Are you hungry? How about I go get us a bite to eat while you catch up with your friends?”

  “That sounds nice. Can you get me a cheeseburger?” Misty asked.

  “Sure thing,” Vance smiled and walked away to the concession stand.

  Alan also decided to let the ladies catch up and headed off to find some friends of his he had seen earlier. Beth and Misty chatted about everything they had missed over the past ten years. Misty spoke of her old life with Brad and about the baby they lost. She also went ahead and informed Beth of how she had caught him cheating on her to which Beth replied with a shocked expression and a rather vulgar expletive. Beth quickly covered her mouth after the words came out and the two women laughed. Beth went on to tell Misty about her wedding and the recent death of her father.

  “Oh Beth, I’m so sorry,” Misty said compassionately.

  “Thanks, Misty. It’s taking some getting used to but we’re all doing better now. My brother and I have been helping our mother out for the past month with the ranch. Well, I guess I should say Dylan is helping Mom out more than I am.” She chuckled. “I have come down with a bad case of all day sickness here lately so I haven’t been too helpful.”

  “Oh, how is your brother? I haven’t seen him in ages,” Misty asked.

  “He’s doing really well considering everything that’s transpired here lately. He was living in Oklahoma for the past few years and came back after Dad’s accident,” Beth informed her. “He’s around here somewhere. Oh there he is. Dylan!” Beth called out.

  Dylan turned to look for the voice that called out his name. He scanned the crowd and saw his sister waving him over. She was standing next to a tall, thin woman with shiny brown hair that had streaks of gold when the sun hit it just right. Her skin looked like it had been kissed by the sun. She had her back to him and his eyes scanned her over from head to toe. Not bad, he thought to himself as he approved of her attractiveness from behind. But as he got closer he could feel his heart start to race a little. When she turned her face to look at him he felt his heart drop.

  “Dylan, you remember my best friend from high school don’t you?” Beth asked.

  Dylan couldn’t help but stare. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her. He looked into her gem like eyes and smiled. “Of course, Misty right?” he asked trying to sound casual.

  Misty returned his smile and sweetly replied, “Yes that’s right.” She couldn’t help but notice how attractive Dylan was. All those years hanging out with Beth she never really
paid any attention to her older brother. She may have seen him in passing and thought he was cute. But seeing him now, all grown up, well Misty couldn’t help but think that he was more than just cute. She let her eyes give him a once over and thought that the pale yellow button up shirt he was wearing complimented his golden tanned skin very nicely. Misty also thought that his jeans fit him perfectly. Gotta love a man who can fill out a pair of Wranglers, she thought to herself and stifled a giggle.

  “You ok?” Beth asked as she glanced at Misty with a puzzled look.

  “I’m fine,” she said, collecting herself. “So Dylan, Beth said that you’ve been living in Oklahoma?”

  Dylan told Misty all about his life in Oklahoma and how he did it as a favor for his friend. All the while he kept thinking about how wonderful it was to see her. They may have only said a handful of words to each other back in the day, but Dylan couldn’t help but have fallen in love with her. He remembered how he used to think about her all the time; about her smile, her eyes that sparkled all the time, and how when she laughed she did it whole heartedly. But he never could muster up the courage to ask her on a date. However, he knew that even though this was what he considered a lucky meeting, he would never have his chance to be with her. She was a married woman last time he heard. She was probably here with her husband. Lucky bastard, Dylan thought to himself.

  “Well, that’s my story. So what’s yours?” Dylan asked. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before her husband came and swooped in, taking her away from him. Even though he knew there would never be anything more between them, he enjoyed this moment for all it’s worth.

  “Well.” She chuckled. “I’m actually living in town again. Well not in town exactly, but on my parent’s ranch.”

  “That’s nice,” he replied. He opened his mouth to continue with their conversation, but stopped when he noticed someone approaching from the corner of his eye.

  Just then Vance appeared with the food he ordered from the concession stand. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted on your burger so I just did ketchup and mustard” he told Misty as he handed her the wrapped burger. Vance looked up to see that the man standing next to Beth wasn’t the same man as when he left. He eyed Dylan with an inquisitive look and then held his hand out. “Hi there, I don’t think we’ve met. The name’s Vance.”

  Dylan couldn’t help but automatically despise this Vance character. But being the gentleman that he was he held out his hand and shook Vance’s, squeezing it a little harder than he normally would.

  “Dylan,” he replied short and sweet. “I’m Beth’s older brother.”

  Vance could tell that his father was right about Dylan. He was definitely going to be in the way. And it appeared that he’d be in the way more than he expected him to be. Not only was he going to be a problem with the ranch take over, but he also had a feeling that this fellow had a thing for Misty. Not that Vance had intended to fall in love and make Misty his wife or anything. But seeing as Misty was with him, he considered her his property. And he’d be damned if he was going to let another man try to steal what was his.

  “Why don’t we take our food to the Ferris wheel and we can ride while we eat?” Vance suggested and placed a possessive arm around Misty’s waist.

  “Sure,” she replied. She could pick up on his defensiveness and thought that it was quite funny. “It was really nice seeing you again Beth. We’ll have to get together soon for some girl time,” she said as she leaned in a little to give Beth a hug. All the while Vance kept his hand on Misty and his eyes on Dylan. “Dylan, it was nice seeing you too,” she quickly added as Vance guided her toward the Ferris wheel.

  “Her husband seems like a real piece of work. Did you see the way he was eyeing me? The dude acted like he wanted to do some damage to my face or something,” Dylan told Beth as he watched Vance and Misty walk away.

  “Oh that’s not her husband,” Beth replied as she pulled her cell phone from her purse to call Alan.

  “I thought she was married?” Dylan asked, confused but all of a sudden hopeful.

  “Well, I guess she is still technically married. But she’s getting a divorce,” Beth told him. She leaned in closer towards him and spoke a little softer adding, “Turns out her husband was cheating on her with a woman he works with.”

  “I see. So who’s the tool she’s with now?”

  Beth shrugged her shoulders and replied, “I don’t know; just some cowpoke who works on her daddy’s ranch. I can’t put my finger on it but I feel like I know him from somewhere. Oh well, maybe I’ve just seen him in passing or something.” She dialed the numbers on her cell phone to reach Alan.

  Dylan didn’t pay attention to her conversation as he followed her to where Alan said he was. All he could think of was Misty. This truly was his second chance, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let that jerk she was with stand in his way. He’d do whatever he had to get Misty to notice him as something more than just Beth’s older brother. First thing would be getting Vance out of the picture.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Dylan! Are you crazy? That thing could kill you!”

  “Stop mothering me, Beth, and just pin this number to the back of my shirt.”

  Beth let out a sigh of frustration, pinched her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Don’t be like that,” Dylan pleaded. “I won’t get hurt I promise.”

  “It’s a wild animal and it’s going to be tossing you around like a ragdoll.”

  “I’ll be fine. Come on, Beth, please.”

  “No. I’m not budging on this Dylan.”

  She was staring him down and he could tell that she was hoping he’d change his mind. He had seen the sign up booth for the bronco ride earlier and thought nothing of it. But now that he had seen Misty, he thought it was the perfect way to get her attention. Surely that arrogant piece of work she was with would be participating in the event. And if Dylan could outlast him, then he would be the better man. At least that’s how it seemed to work in the guy world.

  “Fine.” He spat the word out and turned to Alan. “Can you put this on for me?”

  He held out the numbered piece of paper and waited for Alan to take it from him. Alan held out his hand to take the paper from Dylan but stopped and glanced at Beth. If looks could kill he would surely be lying lifeless on the ground right now.

  “Sorry, Dylan, but I’m gonna have to side with my wife on this one,” Alan said as he dropped his hand.

  “You know I’m still going to go through with this. I can get anyone to pin this on my shirt,” Dylan stated looking at Beth.

  “You do whatever you want, Dylan,” she said as she threw her hands up in frustration. “You want to get thrown off a wild mustang and trampled go ahead. But don’t come crying to me when you get more than your pride hurt.” Beth gave him a fierce look and stormed off toward the carnival rides.

  “You’ll have to excuse her dramatics,” Alan said. “Her hormones have been a little all over the place here lately. She’ll warm back up to you before the carnival is over.” He smiled to Dylan and gave him a good luck slap on the back. “I better go chase her down before she turns on me too,” Alan said as he sprinted off to catch up with his wife.

  Dylan sighed and turned toward the corral. He knew it was a crazy idea to do this but he figured there really was nothing to it. He knew how to ride a horse and considered himself pretty good at it. He’d been bucked and reared up on in the past and he could only think of the one time that he was actually thrown off. So this should be a piece of cake.

  He walked over to where all the other rodeo cowboys were standing and joined in the crowd. They were all leaning on the fence railing sizing up the bronco selection. A heavy set man with his stomach hanging out over the top of his jeans was standing on a platform with a clipboard and pencil. He was writing down the rider’s number and the number of the horse he chose.

  Dylan scanned the horses looking for the wildest one he could find. If he
got the wildest one, it was surely going to be a good ride and one hell of a good show. He spotted a mean looking black one that was picking a fight with all the other horses. That was the one. He opened his mouth to call out its number only to be interrupted.

  “Fifty four!” He heard from a few men over. He glanced down the line of cowboys to see Vance standing with his hand raised. Son of a bitch had called out his horse.

  “Damn,” Dylan mumbled and quickly looked for another horse. “Twenty seven!” Dylan yelled to the heavy set man.

  The man nodded and wrote down Dylan’s number and horse’s number. The horse he chose wasn’t as rambunctious as the black one but it would do. Vance was obviously thinking the same thing Dylan was when it came to picking out his horse. That just meant that Dylan would have to ride better and make it look good. He left the corral and started to walk towards the starting gate where all the other men were lining up. He was fumbling with the numbered paper in his hand and wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking. He was stopped abruptly when he ran into something.

  “Ouch! Hey watch where you’re…oh,” Misty said.

  “Oh gosh I’m real sorry. I didn’t hurt you did I?” Dylan quickly apologized.

  “No it’s ok. I’m fine,” she added.

  They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a minute; neither one knowing what to say.

  “So. Where are you headed?” Misty asked.

  “Oh I’m, uh, just heading over there to the starting gate,” Dylan replied pointing to the line of cowboys.

  “You’re riding?” she questioned.

  “Yup. Well, that’s the plan at least.” He chuckled and smiled at her.

  She smiled back and dipped her head just a little. God, he was so attractive. Why hadn’t she noticed before?

  “Um, did you want some help putting that on?” she asked, pointing to his paper.

  “Sure,” he said as he handed it over to her. He turned around so she could pin the piece of paper to the back of his shirt. He felt her fingers gently graze his shoulder blades as she lifted the material of his shirt to attach the paper. It sent a warm, tingly sensation down his back and he had to hold himself back from shivering.