Racing Christmas

by Shanna Hatfield

  “You roped me in just fine, Bitsy.” Shaun lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

  Before she slid across the seat and did more than let him kiss her fingers, she opened the pickup door and got out. “Have a good time with Birch. You’re welcome to stay for supper, if you like.”

  “That’s funny,” Shaun said, giving her a look that made it clear he thought she’d lost her mind. “If I’m in the same room with your mother and weaponry, like kitchen knives, it’s likely there will be a murder scene at the ranch.”

  Brylee grinned. “Suit yourself. You’ll pick me and Rocket up in the morning, though, won’t you?”

  “You bet. And Birch, too. Won’t he be at the fair with his FFA projects?”

  Brylee nodded. “Yes. Thankfully, Mom has appointments all week and won’t have time off until Saturday. The fair will be a hound-free zone until then.” She shut the pickup door and waved once as Shaun turned around and left.

  With her mother constantly reminding her of how stupid she’d been to get mixed up with him once before, she wasn’t eager to make that mistake twice.

  Despite her head telling her she was being smart and cautious, her heart whispered at her to give Shaun a second chance.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I don’t belong here,” Brylee whispered to Shaun as they waited for the photographer to position everyone for the next pose.

  “You’re doing fine, Bitsy. Paige is so excited you agreed to model for the company. She said she’d thought about asking you, but didn’t want to bug you since you’re so focused on racing right now.” Shaun’s hand trailed along her back, igniting a fire all the way down her spine. “You look amazing.”

  Brylee glanced down at the paisley-printed cotton dress she wore. The blue in the print exactly matched her eyes. Regardless, she thought the other women looked glamorous — not her. Jessie Jarrett, Kenzie Morgan, and Kaley McGraw were all tall brunettes with fabulous figures. Compared to them, with her blond hair and short stature, she felt like the stubby stepsister.

  For whatever reason, the women voted her as the official model of the blanket-patterned miniskirts. Brylee tended to think her legs were hideous from the numerous times she’d knocked into barrels. Nevertheless, the woman who worked with Paige to decide how each outfit should look gave her a pair of tights that hid her bumps and scars.

  She stood in the sweltering heat wearing a skirt that barely reached her thighs with dark tights, knee-high laser-cut cowboy boots, and a fringed leather jacket, trying to envision the snowy background that would appear in the promotional pieces when they debuted in December.

  Brylee wasn’t accustomed to wearing heavy makeup either. She generally stuck with mascara, maybe some eyeliner, and a little lip-gloss when she ran barrels or had an interview. The makeup artist had gone all out, accenting her cheekbones, giving her smoky eyes that enhanced the bright color of them.

  In fact, when she walked out in the miniskirt to where they’d do the first shoot, Shaun had gawked at her like he’d never seen her before. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or irritated. The way he kept making excuses to touch her, and continued to compliment her, she concluded she should just enjoy his obvious appreciation of how she looked.

  Despite her mother’s protests and heated warnings, both she and Birch had spent a lot of time with Shaun during the fair and rodeo in Walla Walla. Shaun had helped Birch with his FFA projects and was front and center to cheer him on when he showed his steer and horse.

  She didn’t know how he managed it, but Shaun had even arranged for Birch to help Cooper one night during the rodeo. Her little brother couldn’t stop grinning when he found out he got to put on makeup with a crazy outfit and go into the arena with Cooper.

  Her mother had been so furious, she hadn’t spoken to either of them for two days. Grandpa had thought it was wonderful, especially when Brylee took first in barrel racing.

  She placed third at the rodeo last week, though. She blamed it on the rain. It had started to fall during the steer wrestling. By the time it was her turn to run the barrels, the arena was a mess. She held Rocket back, fearful of taking another spill. The horse must have been a little wary, too. In spite of going slower, they still had a good time, just not the best.

  However, she intended to come in first at the Pendleton Round-Up this weekend, provided she didn’t die of either heat or embarrassment during the photo shoot.

  Shaun’s hand continued to sear her skin through the fabric of the knee-length dress she currently wore. She still had on the knee-high boots and a long, dangling silver necklace with a chunky silver bracelet.

  “Your eyes look like something from another world, Bitsy. They are just gorgeous,” Shaun whispered before the stylist stopped in front of them and positioned them in poses. The photographer wanted four couples positioned with two feet between them. An old weathered wagon rested in the background with a handful of horses a few yards beyond that. Brylee was sure it would look spectacular in the photographs, but she still felt out of place.

  “Mr. Flynn is quite excited to have a world champion barrel racer posing for his ads,” the stylist said, grinning at Brylee as she twisted her hair into a rope and draped it over one shoulder.

  Brylee smiled. “I appreciate this opportunity, although I’m afraid I don’t measure up to the other models.”

  The woman stepped back and gave Brylee a surprised look. “Are you kidding, girlfriend? Regardless of your height, many women would kill for a figure like yours. Flaunt it while you got it is what I say.”

  Shaun smirked. “You heard the woman, flaunt it.”

  Brylee would have smacked him if she hadn’t been told to stay still. Somehow she survived the photo shoot and talked herself into returning the next day for the second and last day of the Christmas modeling gig.

  She found herself situated between Shaun and a cowboy named Gage at the bunkhouse. The two men stood on the ground, putting Brylee a step above their height as she posed on one of the steps. The cowboys faced the bunkhouse, showcasing a new style of jeans for men. She leaned her forearms on their shoulders, modeling a beautiful blanket-print winter coat with a shearling collar. The reds, greens, and blues in the coat definitely made her think of Christmas.

  A kissing ball of mistletoe dangled on a red ribbon from her finger against Shaun’s broad back. She couldn’t wait to see what sort of advertisement it turned into. Paige promised it would be classy and fun. Since she trusted the woman and her decisions, she hoped it turned out well.

  As she stood draped over the two guys, Shaun kept whispering jokes to her. She had to work to keep from breaking into a broad smile. When they finished, she smacked him with the fake kissing ball, making everyone laugh.

  “Bring in the kids,” the photographer said, flapping his hand at an assistant.

  Brylee stepped back and watched as Tate and Kenzie Morgan came over to the bunkhouse with their son, Gideon, and baby daughter, Marley. Lasso Eight had decided to add a line for children and the Morgan and McGraw youngsters would serve as the first models. Cort and Kaley McGraw joined them with their son, Jacob, and daughter, Grace. Grace was far more interested in playing with Marley than any pose they wanted her to be in. The photographer finally got them all where he wanted them. Brylee’s heart melted at how cute they all looked. And it pricked a little as the what-ifs stole into her thoughts.

  Warmth enveloped her from behind along with Shaun’s delicious scent. She leaned back as he placed his hand on her shoulder and bent close to her ear. “They are a bunch of nice-looking kids. That Grace has got way too much McGraw in her, though. I feel sorry for Kaley.”

  Brylee grinned. “She does seem quite earnest in her opinions.”

  Shaun chuckled. “That’s putting it mildly, Bitsy.” He gave her a gentle squeeze. “Are you having a good time?”

  Although her first inclination was to say no, she nodded her head. “I am having fun. Thank you for suggesting this. Not only do I get to hang o
ut with some awesome people, I get paid for it.”

  “And you don’t even have to brush down a horse or scoop any poop to do it.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You always could put such a lovely spin on things.”

  “I do what I can, Bits. I do what I can.”

  Once the photographer had what he needed and all the models had changed back into their own clothes, Jessie and Chase invited everyone to join them for dinner. Brylee enjoyed getting a tour of their house and admired the special touches Jessie had added to make it into a home.

  Later, after everyone had eaten, Chase and Shaun played with the kids, letting them crawl all over them on the grass as they pretended to be horses. Shaun had Jacob and Grace on his back while Chase carried Gideon. Marley toddled over and babbled to them in her own language, as though she was letting them know she wanted in on the fun.

  Shaun said something to Jacob, then picked up Marley with one arm. He continued on as a three-legged ride for the two on his back. Marley squealed with delight and waved her hands in the air. Shaun grinned and kissed the baby on her rosy cheek.

  An ache that had started earlier in the day gained force and breadth until Brylee thought she might collapse beneath the weight of it. Shaun would make a fantastic husband someday for some lucky girl. Tears sprung up in her eyes knowing that girl wouldn’t be her.

  “Want to join me in the kitchen?” Jessie asked, looking at Brylee with sympathy in her gaze.

  Brylee nodded, grateful for the excuse to leave Shaun’s presence and the shattered dreams stirred by seeing him with the kids.

  “What can I help with?” Brylee asked as they walked into the kitchen.

  Jessie poured two glasses of tea and motioned to the counter. “I just thought you could use a break from everything.”

  Brylee accepted the glass Jessie held out to her and took a seat on a barstool at the counter. She had an idea Jessie included Shaun as part of everything. The woman might be quiet, but she was uncannily perceptive. “I could, Jessie. Thank you. This whole modeling thing is new to me, but kind of exciting, too.”

  Jessie smiled. “I about died when Chase and Paige talked me into modeling at not one but two fashion shows in Vegas last year. I guess, though, it wasn’t any worse than marrying Chase in front of hundreds of his adoring fans.”

  “I can’t even imagine how hard that would have been.” Brylee might not be shy like Jessie, but she was a private person. Being in the spotlight in front of that many people for an intimate event like a wedding wouldn’t have been something she would have wanted to do. Then again, she’d married Shaun in front of a dozen strangers.

  Jessie took a sip of her tea and rubbed her finger over the droplets of moisture the glass left behind on the counter. “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. In the end, I got Chase and that’s all that really matters.”

  “You two met at the altar, didn’t you?” Brylee asked, knowing the story, but wanting to hear it from Jessie.

  The woman nodded. “Yes. My friend entered me in a crazy contest that Chase’s cousin held. One lucky woman would win the chance to marry him for a day. It was supposed to just be a publicity stunt, but the minister performed a real ceremony. Ashley, that’s Chase’s cousin, claims she had no idea how it happened, but we’re convinced she hired a real minister on purpose.”

  Brylee’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s a little…”

  “Ashley. It’s a lot Ashley, actually,” Jessie grinned. “But whether she conspired to make it happen or it was an accident, I’m blessed every day to wake up with the man I love beside me.” Jessie smiled at Brylee. “I’ll even tell you a secret. Neither Chase nor I wanted to stay married, but Ashley talked us into doing it for a year. By the time Chase left for his first rodeo in January, I was already so in love with him, my heart ached with every breath, but I was convinced he didn’t love me back. He felt the same way, loving me from afar but afraid to tell me how he really felt. It took a disastrous experience at a fashion show in Vegas for us to finally get together. I was so mad at him, I flew home to pack my things and leave.”

  “What happened?” Brylee asked, leaning toward Jessie, eager to find out more of the story.

  “Let’s just say a desperate cowboy who confesses he’s an idiot and can’t live without you can talk you into or out of just about anything.” Jessie grinned at her again. “It’s none of my business and I won’t pry, but I know from what we overheard a few weeks ago at that dance that you and Shaun were once married. I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone that he still loves you.”

  Brylee shrugged. “Our very brief marriage ended so badly, I’ve sworn off love for life.”

  Jessie gave her a studying glance. “Love or Shaun?”

  “Both, since to my head and heart those are one and the same,” Brylee admitted.

  “Have you considered giving him a second chance? From what Chase said, Shaun, like so many of the guys in their group of friends, has grown up considerably in the last few years. Maybe things would be different now.”

  Brylee shook her head, unwilling to even consider the possibilities. “And maybe things would be exactly the same. I don’t have enough pieces left of my heart to risk letting him destroy it a second time.”

  Jessie placed a hand on her back and gave it an encouraging pat. “I’m sure things will work out just like they are supposed to when the time is right.”

  Brylee was saved from answering when Chase popped his head inside and motioned for them to come outside. “You’ve got to watch Grace. She’s serenading Shaun.”

  “We’ll be right there,” Jessie said, giving her husband a loving smile.

  “I’m gonna go, Jessie,” Brylee said, unable to spend one more moment watching Shaun that night, especially with the adorable kids flocking around him. Grateful she’d just been given permission to drive again, she could escape without waiting for someone to drive her home.

  “Take care, Brylee. We’ll see you later this week in Pendleton.” Jessie gave her a hug and walked her to the front door.

  Brylee got in her pickup and left, wondering why she kept torturing herself by hanging around Shaun and his friends. Each moment she spent with him just made it that much harder to deny how much she wanted him, needed him, and loved him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Rain, rain, go away,” Shaun chanted under his breath as a steady drizzle fell from gunmetal-gray skies during the last day of the rodeo in Pendleton. The clouds that gathered and loomed that morning gave way to rain before the rodeo was half over.

  Now that the barrel racing was set to begin, the moisture had done a number on the arena. The football field-sized grassy infield surrounded by a racetrack was roughly twice the size of a regular rodeo arena. The surface of the track, where the barrels were set up, quickly turned into a goopy mess while the grass morphed into a surface slicker than a sheet of ice coated in cooking oil.

  While Shaun wasn’t one of the pickup men working the event, he had tagged along to help with the Rockin’ K stock participating in the rodeo. Mostly, he wanted to be there to cheer for his friends, especially for Brylee.

  Shortly after the rodeo started, he’d gone up into the bleachers and ate a hamburger while he visited with the McGraw and Morgan families. Jessie Jarrett held little Marley Morgan while Cooper and Paige James helped keep Grace McGraw corralled. Cooper wasn’t working this rodeo, so he hung out in the stands with his wife to support their friends. Next to them, Brylee’s grandpa and her brother anxiously awaited her turn to ride. Birch was so excited to watch his sister compete, he could hardly sit still.

  However, as the time neared for barrel racing, Shaun shared the worry of Ace and Birch Barton about how the rain would affect Brylee’s run. He knew she held back when it rained, fearful of another wreck. He couldn’t blame her, since she’d just gotten rid of the brace and been cleared to drive again last week.

  Regardless of the rain, she had some stiff competition today and would have
to give it her best if she planned to win. She was sitting in second place, but all that would change once the girls began turning and burning around the barrels.

  Wryly, Shaun contemplated how much burning there would be with the soggy weather. Barrel racers sometimes referred to the run in the Pendleton arena as the Green Mile. Right now, it looked more like the waterlogged bank of a bayou.

  He made his way down to where six teenage volunteers waited to go into the arena. The boys would rake around the barrels between each ride. He slipped twenty dollars to one of the boys and took his place, wanting to be nearby if something happened to Brylee.

  He walked out with the others and helped set the barrels, grinning at one of the men in the arena who razzed him about stealing jobs away from babies.

  “Just call me multi-faceted,” Shaun said as he made his way out to the third barrel at the far end of the arena. He’d watched Brylee compete enough to know she never had a problem with the first barrel and rarely the second. For some reason, if she knocked over a barrel or if Rocket acted up, it was always on that last one. So he stood there in the rain and leaned on the rake, waiting with a fourteen-year-old who couldn’t stand still.

  “Didn’t you used to ride broncs?” the kid asked.

  Shaun grinned at him. “I sure did.”

  “And you won a world championship?” the boy took a step closer.

  “Three of them.” Shaun watched as the first rider entered the arena.

  “And now you’re volunteering to rake dirt around barrels?” The boy shook his head. “I think you peaked too early and went downhill, man.”

  Shaun chuckled, amused, yet also insulted by the teen. He watched as the first barrel racer slid into the second barrel, earning a five second penalty. The second rider took a mud-driven dive into the bucking chutes, but got up uninjured.

  His gaze latched onto Brylee when she and Rocket entered the arena. Rocket pranced sideways and tugged against her hold on the reins, ready to run. Suddenly, the horse exploded into action and took the first barrel with no problem. He slipped a little going around the second barrel, but it stayed upright.