“That was one helluva kiss.” His voice carries through the speakers.
I meet his eyes again in the rearview mirror. “I agree.”
Finally, traffic eases up as we enter the rotary.
“I’ll try to find you before the events begin.” Smiling, I keep eye contact until his truck takes the first right and heads toward the Highlands.
“Promise? It’s stupid because it’s only been a couple of days, but I’ve missed you. Texting sucks.”
Even though he can’t see me anymore, I grin at his words. “I agree.”
“Just a few more hours until I …” His voice breaks up and I can’t hear the rest of what he says. The call disconnects a few seconds later.
Once I get home, I text a sad face about getting disconnected. He responds with “soon.”
One word from him can make me swoon.
I’m in deep and we’ve only kissed.
Chapter 21
Justin
Life in a small town’s funny. Zoe and I have lived here for the past couple of years, but haven’t run into each other. Or maybe we have and didn’t notice before. Now that we’ve met and spent some time together, we see each other all over the place, including stuck in traffic. Makes me wonder how many other times we’ve been in the same place, but didn’t pay attention.
It amazes me how we can live parallel lives in the same place. I wonder what else I’m missing out on by sequestering myself up at the ranch.
With a grin permanently slapped on my face from Zoe’s unexpected kiss, I follow the road while it twists and turns heading to the Easy Z.
My phone rings and without checking the screen, I assume it’s Zoe reconnecting our dropped call.
“Hello, beautiful. Miss me?” I chuckle at how sappy I sound.
“I always miss you,” my grandmother responds. “Thank you for calling me beautiful. A woman never gets tired of hearing it.”
I swear I’m probably blushing. “It’s nice to hear your voice. How’s Santa Fe?”
“It’s a dry heat.” Her laugh sounds like antique bells. “The international crafts show is this week, so I’m in the middle of the hullabaloo bullshit.”
“You love it. I’m sure you’re invited to every party.”
She sighs, but I hear the smile in her voice. “It’s exhausting. I’m looking forward to escaping in a few weeks.”
“Coming to see your favorite grandson, I hope.”
“The one who’s never home and always risking his life on the back of an angry male beast? I’m sure a psychiatrist could write a book about father issues in rodeo cowboys.”
“I think I’ll be out of town during your visit,” I grumble.
“What happened to missing me?” she teases.
“Tammy spilled the beans about the betting pool. Are you hoping to collect your winnings while you’re here?” Might as well call her on her role when I don’t have to meet her eyes.
She laughs again. “That woman can’t keep a secret.”
“True, but she knows most of ours, so we better keep her around.”
“Or bury the body where no one will find it,” she says dryly.
Ah, there’s the famous Garrison humor.
“You can’t say things like that in polite company.”
“You’re not company, and even though I raised you right, you’re not always polite. I’ve been hearing grumblings of your foul mood all the way down here.”
“No one’s quit.” I pull the truck into my spot near the cabin.
“Yet. I could quote you some bull dookie about honey and flies, but you already know these things.”
“Yes, Grandmother.”
Her annoyance echoes in the silence.
“Fine, I’ll work on it.”
“You’re a Garrison. Charm runs in your veins along with the famous anger. Use it.”
I hate when she reminds me of the dark side of my legacy. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Now tell me about this young lady you kissed at the ranch.” Her voice softens. “Tammy says she’s lovely. City girl?”
“I think I’m losing you. Bad connection.” I chuckle.
“Nice try, but I’m not falling for that trick again. I’m looking forward to meeting her in a few weeks when I’m in town for the Ashcroft board meeting.”
“It’s on my calendar.”
“Wonderful. I need to go. The Carltons will be here soon. We’re having cocktails before the gala tonight and I need to decide which caftan won’t make me look like an old woman.”
“You’ll be the prettiest belle at the ball.”
“There’s the charm. Save it for your lady. I love you.”
“Love you,” I say before we end the call.
My grandmother is one of a kind and I don’t know what I’d do without her.
It takes a moment for me to realize I’ve agreed to introduce her to Zoe in a couple of weeks.
Chapter 22
Zoe
My meeting with Emily goes well and when I leave, I’m officially an Ashcroft artist in residence.
Sage is my first call. I wait for her to appear on FaceTime.
A very rumpled blond head of hair appears on the dark screen. “Zoe? Are the dogs okay?”
“Shit. I didn’t even think of the time.” I check the clock in the car. “Oh crap. It’s like one in the morning. They’re fine.”
With a yawn, Sage waves at me before the video cuts to a pillow and a dark head of hair.
“Hold on,” she whispers close to the screen so all I see is her chin and teeth.
She freezes on the screen for a second but I think I can still hear muffled sounds. I whisper back. “Hello?”
A light turns on behind Sage and the soft sound of a door clicking shut echoes through the phone.
“Hi.” She waves again.
“Are you in a closet?”
“Bathroom. Are you sure the dogs are okay?”
“Fine. Maybe a little fatter. I think I’m being played for treats.”
She smiles like a proud mom whose child won the spelling bee. “They’re very smart. Hold on, I’m going to mute you while I pee. I figure I might as well go while I’m up. Tell me why you’re calling. I miss your face.”
More shifting of the camera and I stare up at the bathroom ceiling for a few seconds before she returns.
“I got into Ashcroft.” I try to make my voice sound normal and not like I’ve been inhaling helium. “For next month.”
My view swings through the air and now I’m on the floor, staring at Sage’s knee. Her head appears. She’s saying something, maybe even screaming, and her eyes are bugged out.
After a minute of her flailing, grinning, and maybe screaming, she frowns. Shifting around, she says something more to whatever’s on her left. I mime she’s still on mute.
Laughing, she turns her mic on. “Sorry about that. Lee says congrats, since he’s apparently the only one who heard me yelling with joy.”
“I’ve missed you so much. You’re never allowed to leave me for this long. Two weeks. Tops.”
“Agree.” She grins. “But it sounds like you’re doing awesome without me. I’m so excited for you. Can I come hang out in your studio and stare at you? Ooh, even better, can we recreate the pottery wheel scene from Ghost?”
“We both hate that movie and Patrick Swayze’s ugly maroon shirt for eternity.” I smile back at her.
“Speaking of men, what’s going on with the cowboy?”
I’ve kept her updated with emails and texts, but nothing since the ranch.
“We made out in front of horses at his ranch.”
“Sounds serious?” she asks.
“Maybe? I don’t know. I’m seeing him at the rodeo tonight.”
“Is that why you’re all prettified?”
“I had my interview at Ashcroft.” I brush imaginary lint off of my dusty rose summer dress.
“You’re beautiful. And he looks dreamy from the Google stalking.”
I l
ove how she openly admits this like it’s not at all creepy.
“Hopefully he’ll still be around when you get home. When is that? Some time next year?”
“Nice sarcasm.” She rolls her eyes. “Next week. When do you start at the ranch?”
“Soon. I’ll be moving into my little cabin right after you get back.”
“You can always crash in our guest room.”
“You’re the best. Except when you leave me to go to the other side of the world. How is it?”
“Beautiful, different, kind of the same. Except we saw lions and elephants when we went on safari. Everyone sounds like Lee.” Her smile is completely content. “But I miss home. Hunter. Nell. You. The mountains.”
When she yawns again, I feel bad for keeping her up. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk soon. Love you. Hi to Lee.”
“Love you.” She covers her yawn with the back of her hand before giving me one more sleepy wave.
Still wanting to share my good news, I call my parents. Mom answers on the home phone.
“Mom, Momma!”
“Zoe?” She says my name without the e at the end. “What’s going on? Are you okay? Do you need money?”
My excitement deflates like a popped balloon. “I’m fine and thanks, but I have a job.”
“I know, but how much money can you be making? We worry.”
I’m regretting phoning her and we’re ten seconds into the call. “I have good news.”
“Oh, honey. Are you finally moving home? We’ve been hoping now that Neil is back in Chicago you’ll come to your senses and come home. You know, your dad ran into him at the club. He asked about you. I think you could work things out if you stop being stubborn and just talk to him.”
Ignoring her jabs, I share my good news in hopes it will change her mind. “I got the Ashcroft residency. A month at the ranch, with a stipend and a little cabin of my own. Plus, I’m guaranteed to be part of the annual show in Denver this fall. At the art museum. Isn’t that amazing?”
“That’s wonderful. So you’ll move home after? I don’t think the high altitude is good for you long term. There are studies showing negative effects. Your brain needs more oxygen.”
“The Nepalese Sherpas seem to be fine.”
“Hmm. Who was talking about Nepal? Every year people die on Everest. Kind of proves my point, doesn’t it?” I can picture her self-satisfied smirk.
I don’t waste any more energy on trying to get through to her. “Thanks, Mom. Share the good news with Dad.”
“Okay. I will. When are you coming home to visit?”
Never, I think.
“Probably not until the off season in the fall.”
“It would be nice to have you home for Christmas. Every year you make up an excuse.”
I can’t get off the phone quick enough. “I’m late to meet the girls at the rodeo. Sorry, I have to go. Love you, Mom. Love to Dad!”
Without waiting for her to reciprocate or not, I end the call.
That went well. Flipping off my phone doesn’t help.
I guess when I was a kid, the arts were fine, but as a grown-up, I’m supposed to fall in line. I never realized before how much Neil sounds like my parents. Or they sound like him. Maybe they can adopt him.
I’m not going to let her sour my mood. I repeat this as I drive down the hill to the rodeo grounds.
I’m not going to let her sour my mood.
It doesn’t help. A thousand miles away and Mom has the power to ruin my day. It’s her superpower.
When I arrive at Town Park, the parking lot is only half full as people begin to trickle in for the evening’s festivities. Some come for the barbecue dinner and bar, while families entertain their kids on the mini bull ride and kids’ activities.
Grumpy and annoyed, I head straight for the bar and order a lemonade with yummy Marble Gingercello. Like limoncello but with ginger, the drink packs a punch even mellowed with the sweet lemonade. I finish half of it while I standing at the bar. My phone chirps with a text as I consider getting another one to save time.
The girls are on their way, but still at Mara’s.
Pointing to my cup, I gesture to the bartender for another drink. I leave a tip for both and mosey in the direction of the horse trailers. The booze hits my bloodstream and I remember I haven’t eaten since breakfast.
Whee. I’m a cheap drunk tonight. Feeling better and resolved to have fun tonight, I weave through the trucks and trailers until I get to the Easy Z area. An older guy with a walrus mustache blocks my path.
“Are you lost? The ladies’ port-a-potties are back there.” He points behind me.
“You’re the walrus.” I grin at him. “I’m Zoe.”
He doesn’t return my greeting or smile. “Nice to meet you. If you’re wanting a new buckle for your collection, you’re going to have to wait until after the show, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? Buckle? “Oh, I’m not a buckle bunny. And I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not.” I glance down to make sure my boobs aren’t hanging out and my top didn’t become cropped without my knowledge. “I’m here to see Justin.”
“There you are,” the man himself says, stepping around the mustachioed gatekeeper I assume is his mentor. “Gentry, this is Zoe.”
Justin kisses my cheek. “What’s in the cup?”
“Ginger lemonade. Want some?” I offer it to him.
“Thanks, but no drinking before competition,” Gentry chastises me before walking away. What I really don’t need right now is authority figures telling me what to do and judging me.
“More for me.” I lift my glass in a mocking toast.
Justin studies me out of the corner of his eye. “Everything okay?”
“Best day ever.” I take a sip of my adult beverage. Because I’m an adult.
“What’s your good news?” he asks, excitement clear in his voice.
“I got a fellowship at Ashcroft!”
“That’s amazing.” Justin scoops me up in his arms, leans me back, and plants a smackeroo of a kiss on my lips. I barely have enough brain cells to cling to his shoulder with my free hand before I swoon and spill most of my drink on the ground. “I’m so proud of you.”
When he stands me back on my own feet, he doesn’t let go. Which is smart because I’m definitely feeling the influence of his kiss and the Gingercello.
“For next summer?” he asks.
“More like next month. I start the first of August.” I grin.
“How?”
“The director called me today and said they had a cancellation. Because I’m already local, they pushed me to the top of the waitlist.”
His arms tighten around my waist. “We need to celebrate.”
“I’m always up for cake.”
“I’m thinking more of a weekend together.”
“With cake?” I can’t let it go. I’m tipsy and more than a little hungry. Not quite hangry, but edging toward cranky. Crangy.
He gives me a soft peck. “We can have cake.”
“Go on.” I kiss him on one corner of his mouth and then the other.
“You, me, horses, and the back country. Alone. Without interruptions.” He nuzzles my jaw and softly kisses the skin behind my ear.
I shiver.
His warm breath tickles my ear when he whispers, “Doesn’t that sound like heaven?”
Heaven?
No, it sounds like hell.
Except for the part about being alone with him for an entire weekend. We could do that in a hotel. With room service and fresh towels delivered with a simple phone call.
You can take a city girl to the mountains, but it doesn’t mean you can make her camp. Or like it.
How far am I willing to go outside my comfort zone for this hot cowboy?
“It sounds—”
“Zoe!” a familiar angry male voice shouts from a few feet away.
There’s no fucking way.
“Shit.” I jerk away from Justin like I’ve
been shocked.
When he steps back, his eyes blaze at me, and I know my expression matches the sudden guilt that is spreading through my body.
“Who’s that?” Justin stares over my shoulder.
“I don’t know?” My voice rises at the end, forming a lie. I know that voice and it belongs to the last man I expect to see at a rodeo.
Chapter 23
Zoe
“You’re asking me?” Justin asks, removing his hat and brushing a hand over his head. “Seems like he knows you from the way he’s glaring at me.”
“Zoe! I’ve been looking all over for you.” Neil’s panting like he’s been running when he stops next to me. “You’re a hard woman to surprise.”
I hope he chokes on the lack of air. Thankfully he doesn’t touch me. I barely glance at him, keeping my focus on Justin. Unfortunately, Justin’s glaring at Neil, completing the uncomfortable triangle.
Being polite, Justin sticks out his hand. “Justin Garrison.”
Neil pauses and then doesn’t reciprocate. “Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, I’m going to pass on the handshake.”
Instead, he offers his fist for Justin to bump. Like he’s cool or down with the kids. He’s neither.
The edges of my vision darken. I’ve zoomed past seeing red to blacking out from rage.
“He’s afraid of getting his hands dirty,” I explain through clenched teeth.
Justin misses my eye roll, but Neil catches it.
“Can’t be too careful.” Neil bumps his elbow against my arm.
“Don’t touch me,” I snap, my voice almost a silent growl.
“Right. You do you.” Justin finally meets my eyes. “You okay?”
I want to beg him not to leave me with Neil. Just because he’s shown up here doesn’t mean I have to deal with him, right?
Justin dips his head to study my face. “I’ve got to get ready. Need to focus.”
He surprises me by leaning down and planting a kiss on my lips, then bending me back with his hand between my shoulders.
My head spins again when he sets me upright. I’m not sure if it’s from my body’s reaction to his kiss or my mind trying to process the declaration. Talk about marking territory.
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