Racing Christmas

by Shanna Hatfield

  Later, when they switched horses halfway through the saddle bronc riding, Brylee smiled sweetly at Shaun through the handoff as she took the reins to the two horses he and Jason dismounted. Just as Shaun rode back into the arena, she snapped the reins in her hands with a loud pop.

  It startled Coal so badly he started to buck and caught Shaun by surprise. The crowd roared with laughter as Shaun worked to keep his seat and bring the horse under control. Angry and embarrassed, he forced himself to wave good-naturedly when Coal stopped bucking.

  “Maybe ol’ Shaun should come back to bronc riding, folks,” the announcer teased.

  “Ride ’em cowboy,” Cooper shouted, racing around in a circle on a stick horse.

  The crowd continued to hoot and cheer. Jason rode up beside Shaun and shook his head. “What’d you say to rile Brylee now?”

  “I don’t know, but she can expect full retribution.”

  Jason’s eyebrows shot upward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, kid. After all, things have been pretty peachy with her along. You sure you want to get on her bad side, more than you already are?”

  His dad had a point, but Shaun didn’t take being humiliated lightly. He had no trouble playing a prank on someone else, but he didn’t particularly enjoy it when the tables were turned on him. And he especially didn’t appreciate it when he was working.

  As soon as the saddle bronc event finished, Shaun left the arena and made a beeline for their trailer where he knew Brylee would be getting Rocket ready to ride.

  She had a brush in her hand, combing Rocket’s tail when he swung off Coal, and marched over to her.

  “What was the big idea? You could have done some real damage, you know.” He moved so close to her he could see five different shades of blue flecks floating in her remarkable eyes. Too irritated to fully think about what he was doing, he bent down until their noses practically touched. “You can do what you like to me in private, Bitsy, but don’t mess with my horses or me when I’m working. Understood?”

  “Perfectly,” she said, leaning back from him, as though he’d eaten raw onions with a side of Limburger cheese for lunch. Come to think of it, he’d had a burger with onions and spicy mustard.

  He straightened and rested a hand on Rocket’s withers, absently scratching him. “What did I do to invoke your wrath in this particular instance? If you tell me nothing or that everything is fine, I’ll yank that ugly boot off your foot and let everyone see your pretty pink cast.”

  Her gaze narrowed as she glared up at him. She stopped brushing Rocket’s tail and fisted her hands at her hips, drawing Shaun’s attention to her chest. She wore a T-shirt that said, “Love is in the air, try not to breathe.” That seemed rather appropriate, even if seeing her wear it left him perturbed.

  Love shouldn’t be something she made fun of or avoided, or despised. She used to be such a hopeless romantic, full of more dreams than one heart could possibly hold.

  Had he really been the reason she seemed so broken now? Surely not. If she’d loved him as much as she professed back then, she would have forgiven him long before now. Especially when he’d tried multiple times to apologize, to set things right.

  “Did you or did you not tell your buddies the reason I’m travelling with you guys is because I got one too many DUI’s and had my license revoked?”

  Shaun tried to rein in his smirk, but failed. He used his forefinger to push up the brim of his hat. “I may have alluded to something along those lines. A few of the guys were pestering the daylights out of me, wanting to know why you’re with us and what’s up with your limp. I told them you had a wreck, which you did on Rocket. I can’t help it if they think it was a vehicle. The subtle implication of the involvement of some wicked sauce was not actually stated. If you think about it, though, the rainstorm that night did make for a nasty soup.”

  “Ugh!” Brylee clenched the brush in her hands like she considered swatting him with it. “You are such a… a…” She appeared to struggle to find a name to call him. Finally, she huffed and wagged the brush at him. “Shaun Michael Price, you know for a fact that I do not drink. Not ever. Why would you spread a rumor like that?”

  “Oh, calm down. I didn’t spread any rumors. I told Joe and Curtis this afternoon. That’s all.” Shaun gave her another pointed look. “I’m just trying to honor your wishes of keeping your cast a secret.”

  “I appreciate that, but couldn’t you find some other way besides concocting wild tales that involve me being a drunk?” Brylee returned to brushing Rocket’s tail. If she kept going at it in a mad fury, the poor horse wouldn’t have any hair left.

  Shaun took the brush from her hand, drawing another disgusted glare from her. “I’m sorry, Brylee. Do you have a script written out I should memorize for every possible question and scenario? I figured if I told the two biggest blabbermouths at this rodeo a sketchy story, people would take it with a grain of salt and assume there was some kernel of truth in the tale, which there is. You wrecked because of a deluge of liquid.”

  She took a deep breath, like she prepared for verbal battle, and then slowly released it. “Thank you.”

  Convinced she was about to flay the hide right off him with her sharp tongue, he didn’t know what to say to her contrite gratitude, so he continued staring at her. His gaze lazily drifted from her eyes to her lips. The berry-ripe color made him ponder if they’d taste every bit as sweet, like they used to.

  In an effort to corral his wayward thoughts, he let his eyes travel over her shirt and down to her feet in those stupid brown boots then back up to the word “love” emblazoned across her chest. Perhaps she’d stolen the form-fitting shirt from Birch. The longer he looked at the words, the faster wayward thoughts zipped through his mind. Mouth suddenly dry, he gave her a brief nod and started to leave.

  “Shaun,” she called after him.

  He stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry. It was childish and dangerous to scare Coal like that. It won’t happen again.”

  He nodded a second time and walked off, wondering who this woman was because she was nothing like the Brylee he’d known and loved.

  While she got dressed then went off to ride Rocket around the warm-up arena, he stayed far away from her. But the moment the barrel racing started, he swung on the back of his horse and rode over to the gate near the bucking chutes where he could watch her.

  She was the third one to compete. He held his breath as she and Rocket shot around the barrels. She favored her right side, but unless someone knew she was hurt, they probably wouldn’t even notice. He grinned as they came out of the pocket on the third barrel and she leaned forward on Rocket’s neck. The horse lengthened his stride and Brylee’s hair bounced around her back in shining, golden curls. Despite her leg being in a cast, she clocked an impressive time. In fact, he thought she had a good shot at winning that day’s event and making her way to the final go-round on Saturday.

  The next three competitors tipped at least one barrel, adding penalties to their scores. Two of the following six came close to Brylee’s score, and the last one finished with the exact same time. At least Brylee would have a chance to win on Saturday. He knew she’d be irritated she hadn’t gone just a tenth of a second faster to claim the top spot today, but he could see her riding up to the gate to congratulate the girl that tied with her.

  Brylee might twist him in knots like a food court pretzel, but she had class and sportsmanship to spare.

  That night, after he and his dad had eaten the casserole she’d made for dinner then washed the dishes while she rested with her leg propped up in a recliner, Shaun had gone to bed. Being around Brylee but keeping his distance was exhausting.

  He took a quick shower in their tiny bathroom then turned in. Although he and his dad had both tried to convince Brylee to take the bedroom in the trailer, she refused. Shaun generally gave the room to his dad and slept on the bed at the front of the trailer that required crawling up into it.

  B
rylee had insisted it was more than adequate for her, so Shaun ended up bunking with his father. The king-sized bed was big enough to give them both plenty of room, but his dad’s snoring was legendary. Tired of listening to a sound that he could only describe as a moose with a bad case of whooping cough bugling for his mate, he got out of bed and stepped into the other room, closing the bedroom door behind him to block out the noise.

  He expected Brylee to be in bed, but she sat on the couch wearing a pair of pink flowered pajamas, watching TV. All the lights were off, except for the little night light they left plugged in by the sink.

  “What are you doing up?” Brylee asked as he sat down next to her on the couch and stretched out his legs.

  “I couldn’t sleep. Dad is about to saw through concrete with his snores. I’ll give him a little while to stop before I consider suffocating him.”

  Brylee grinned and glanced toward the bedroom, where the sound could still be heard even with the door closed. “He does seem to be extra noisy tonight.” She held out a bowl with grapes and whole strawberries.

  Shaun helped himself to a few grapes and leaned back on the couch, making himself comfortable. “So, what are we watching?”

  “It’s one of those explorer shows on the Discovery Channel.” Brylee pointed to the TV screen. “See, that guy is the lead explorer. They just found a hidden cave. They had to repel down into it with ropes and once they moved past the opening, it is totally dark down there. They’re hauling in lights right now.”

  “What are they searching for?”

  “Hidden treasure, of course.” She grinned and bit into a strawberry.

  Shaun watched as a droplet of juice clung to her bottom lip. He had the most insane and nearly uncontrollable urge to kiss it away. In fact, he started leaning toward her when she pointed to the screen again.

  “It looks so creepy down there. I bet they run into a snake.”

  A sudden recollection of how much Brylee hated snakes came back to him. When they first started dating, he’d been convinced she was fearless until they visited a zoo one day. He thought she was going to climb over him and anyone else in her way in her effort to get out of the reptile house when he dragged her inside. Knowing she feared something like that had made her seem so much more real to him. Up until that point, she’d been more a dream than a reality.

  He turned his focus from her back to the show. “It’s a cave, deep in the ground. There’s not going to be any snakes down there. What would they eat? Nope. No snakes.”

  Brylee shook her head. “There’s always a snake. Haven’t you paid attention during the Indiana Jones movies? It never fails, there’s always… Eww! A snake! Did you see it?” She covered her eyes and turned her head his way.

  Shaun chuckled. “How could I miss it? The explorer dude is holding it up to the camera by the tail. Looks like a boa constrictor.”

  “Don’t tell me more. Is it gone yet?” she asked, pressing her forehead against his arm.

  He was half tempted to tell her the explorer uncovered a whole nest of reptiles and the rest of the show would include an in-depth examination of each and every one. If he did that, he could hope she’d stay pressed up against his side. Instead, he placed a hand on her back. “It’s safe. They’ve moved on to crawl through bat poop.”

  She lifted her head and turned her gaze back to the show. A shiver rolled over her, as though she couldn’t get the sight of the snake out of her mind.

  Shaun settled his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. He fully expected her to shove him away, but she merely sighed and sank against him.

  “We should go to a pet store sometime so you can get up close and personal with a snake. Maybe it would help you get past your fear of them if you held one.” Shaun took another grape out of the bowl and popped it in his mouth.

  Brylee tipped her head back and looked up at him like his brains had just trickled out his ears. “The day you see me get that close to a snake you better be ready for the end of the world to arrive. The only reason I would touch a reptile is if doing so was the one thing standing between the end of civilization as we know it and the arrival of a complete apocalypse.”

  Shaun laughed and kissed her on top of the head, immediately swamped by her soft fragrance and how good it felt to hold her close once again.

  As though she sensed his thoughts, she pulled away and handed him a strawberry. “Watch the show. What usually comes after bat poop? Big spiders?”

  Amused, yet desperately fighting his attraction to the beautiful woman beside him, Shaun nodded his head. “Definitely spiders, and maybe a scorpion or two.” He didn’t care what came next, as long as Brylee stayed beside him a little while longer.

  Chapter Seven

  “I don’t understand why I can’t drive,” Brylee said. She watched as the doctor slid a long gauze tube over her leg.

  “Because it’s going to put pressure on your leg that is unnecessary and besides, you’re still in the middle of healing.” The doctor stopped what he was doing and glared at her. “Stop pushing yourself so hard. In fact, if you don’t promise to behave, I’ll put a new cast on instead of the brace.”

  “I’ll behave,” she said with a huff. She didn’t want to, but she would.

  “You’re healing extremely well, considering you won’t stay down and stop racing. Honestly, Brylee, you’re lucky you haven’t done anything to cause more damage. I know it’s pointless to tell you to stay off a horse until you’re completely healed, so please continue to be careful. Deal?”

  “Deal,” she said, giving him a small smile as he fastened a brace on her leg. Although it felt big and clunky, it was definitely an improvement over the cast.

  “Go ahead and stand up. We’ll see how you do,” the doctor said. He moved back as Brylee got to her feet and took a few steps.

  She felt like she could walk with a natural gait instead of the uncomfortable limp she’d had the last few weeks with the cast. “This is so much better, Dr. Gunderson. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad. I’ve got your file ready for you to take with you and I’ve contacted your doctor in Walla Walla. You have an appointment to see him as soon as you get back into town in a few weeks. Make sure you keep it.”

  “Of course I’ll keep it. Maybe by then, I’ll be able to get rid of the brace.” She smiled at the doctor as she slipped a sneaker on her foot and stood again. “Thanks for taking good care of me.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll be watching to see your name taking the world title in December.”

  “I’m planning on it, sir.”

  She walked into the waiting room where Frank Kressley mindlessly flipped through a magazine. The Rockin’ K crew had returned to the ranch late Sunday evening and they wouldn’t have to head out until Wednesday morning for the next rodeo, which was less than an hour away. Frank had volunteered to drive her into Twin Falls for her doctor’s appointment Tuesday morning.

  “Look at you, honey. No more cast. That’s great!” Frank said as he got up and opened the doctor’s office door. They stepped outside into the broiling August heat. Brylee was glad to have the heavy cast off for a multitude of reasons. If felt wonderful to have air flowing through the holes in the brace and the thin gauze on her leg. She’d thought she might go crazy when the itching inside the cast grew almost unbearable.

  If she hadn’t been so utterly distracted with Shaun, she wasn’t sure how she would have survived some days. Not that her thoughts of Shaun didn’t come with their own exquisite form of torture, but she could handle them.

  Since the night they’d sat and watched TV together while Jason practically blew the roof off the trailer with his snores, they’d reached some sort of neutral ground of friendship. In some ways, it felt like the easy, amazing relationship they’d shared back when they were dating. In other ways, it felt forced, like they both knew they couldn’t go forward or back, or even to the side, so they stayed in that hesitant, wary state.

  Truthfully, being around Shaun had rem
inded her of all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. He was smart and funny, gentle and kind. Shaun was quick to lend a hand, crack a joke, and offer encouragement.

  Then he’d turn around and do something stupid, like tell his loose-lipped friends she’d turned into a drunk. She understood why he’d done it, but it still aggravated her that he concocted the wild story.

  Brylee hadn’t lied about her leg and wouldn’t if anyone asked her directly. She certainly didn’t expect anyone else to lie for her either. Shaun hadn’t exactly lied, but he had manipulated the truth into something so foreign from the facts, she didn’t recognize it.

  His powers of manipulation were one of the reasons she remained cautious around him. In spite of her determination to keep him an arm’s length away, she felt her all-consuming anger toward him slipping away. It was hard to hate someone who brought you coffee just the way you like it every morning and went out of his way to make you smile.

  Regardless, she still wouldn’t give Shaun the opportunity to scale the fortress she’d erected around her heart. If she did, no doubt existed in her mind she’d end up in even worse shape than she’d been the last time he broke her heart.

  “Is that okay, Brylee?” Frank asked, drawing her from her thoughts.

  “I’m so sorry, Frank. My thoughts were wandering.” She smiled at the older man as he unlocked his pickup and opened the passenger door for her.

  “That’s okay, honey. You were probably thinking about how good it felt to get that heavy cast off.”

  “I was thinking about that,” she said, not willing to elaborate on the rest of her thoughts.

  Frank climbed behind the wheel and started his pickup. “I asked if you’d like to have lunch then we can pick up the supplies and head back to the ranch.”

  “I would like that, Frank. Thank you.”

  After they enjoyed a pleasant lunch at a family restaurant, they went to pick up a list of supplies Kash had given Frank. With the back of the pickup loaded, they headed toward the ranch.