West Texas Nights

by Sherryl Woods

  “If that’s what you want.”

  She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you, Daddy. I never really wanted to leave you.”

  “I know, baby. I love you, too.” He resolved then and there to make sure she always knew that, no matter what it cost him in time or effort or words. No child of his was ever again going to feel so neglected that she’d rather be adopted than stay with him.

  In town, they went straight to Dolan’s, where Sharon Lynn greeted them with a look of astonishment. “Playing hooky, Slade?”

  He grinned. “Yep, it’s a special occasion. I’m out with my best girl.”

  He knew that for once he’d said the right thing, because Annie’s eyes sparkled.

  “Well, if it’s a celebration, that must call for hot fudge sundaes. Am I right?”

  “You bet,” Annie said, scrambling onto a stool at the counter.

  “You, too, Slade?”

  “Why not?”

  “So, I hear Val’s gone off to Nashville to work on the last-minute details of Laurie’s next album. How’s my little brother taking the idea of letting his wife go back to Tennessee for recording sessions and then on the road?”

  “Haven’t heard a complaint out of him,” Slade said honestly. “I think your little brother has made his own plans for this tour.”

  “Such as?”

  “You’ll have to ask him,” he said, not sure if Harlan Patrick had told the whole family the news about Laurie’s pregnancy and his intentions to spend the last part of her tour on the road with her.

  Sharon Lynn regarded him slyly. “And how are you doing without Val around?”

  “We miss her,” Annie said. “Real bad. Don’t we, Daddy?”

  “I know you do,” he agreed, and let it go at that. Sharon Lynn’s expression suggested she knew perfectly well that he missed Val, too.

  “Where’s Ashley?” Annie demanded. “I thought she usually came to the store with you.”

  “She’s in the back room taking her nap.” She glanced up at the clock. “She’ll probably be awake any minute, if you want to check on her.”

  “Great,” Annie said, sliding off her stool. “Ashley’s the best, Daddy. She’s real smart. It’s almost like having a little sister. Do you think maybe one day—”

  “If you’re going to check on her, go,” he said gruffly, cutting her off. He did not want to get into a discussion of babies with Annie, not with a very interested Sharon Lynn listening in. Whatever he said would be all over White Pines by nightfall. Val would hear it right after that.

  Sharon Lynn regarded him with sympathy. “Getting a lot of pressure from all sides lately, aren’t you?”

  “You can say that again.” The irony was it was Val they ought to be bugging, not him. He’d asked her to marry him, after all, though he doubted she’d mentioned that to a soul. Everyone clearly thought he was the holdout.

  “I’m an Adams, so I can say this—we’re a family of meddlers. Don’t let us push you into something.”

  “Not likely,” he said curtly.

  She laughed. “You say that like you think you’ll see the clever wiles and sneaky meddling coming, but, believe me, you won’t. Grandpa, particularly, can score a direct hit before you even realize he’s in the game.”

  “I’ve noticed that,” he said. “I’m not worried.”

  “You’re made of tougher stuff, right?” she asked with amusement.

  Slade scowled. “Yes.”

  She patted his hand. “That’s what you think.”

  She slid his sundae in front of him, then went to check on Annie and her own little girl.

  Slade took a bite of the ice cream and thick fudge sauce, then sighed and pushed it aside. The only thing sweet he really wanted right now was one of Val’s kisses. The best sundae in the world couldn’t hold a candle to that. How he was going to convince her of that, though, was beyond him.

  * * *

  A few days after the debacle with the paint and the adoption scheme, when Annie asked Slade if she could help him, he was more open to the idea. Not that he could imagine her being of much assistance, but at least he’d know firsthand what she was up to. He also knew she was feeling very much at loose ends since Val had left town.

  “I’m getting ready to muck out the stalls,” he informed her, figuring that would put her desire to be like him to the ultimate test. “Are you sure you want to help?”

  To his astonishment, her eyes brightened. “You’ll really let me?”

  He hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” He gave her terse directions, then stood back and watched as she threw herself into the task with energetic enthusiasm. She was a constant source of amazement to him.

  “Hey, Dad,” she called after she had thoroughly cleaned two stalls and left them spotless.

  “What?”

  “Do you suppose you could teach me to ride sometime?” she asked hesitantly. The wary expression in her eyes suggested she was prepared to be rebuffed, and the tilt of her chin hinted that she wouldn’t take it lightly.

  He considered the out-of-the-blue request and wondered what had brought it on. “You were never interested in riding before,” he noted.

  She stood in front of him, her expression serious. “But you love it, don’t you? I mean, even after the accident and all, you still love the horses. You didn’t, like, go off and become a mechanic like Grandpa or something.”

  Slade cringed at the very idea of an indoor job. His father might think engines were every bit as fascinating as an animal, but he didn’t. “No way.”

  “Well, then, I figure, if you like horses so much, I should, too. It’s gotta be in my genes, right?”

  Slade considered Val’s assessment weeks ago that his daughter was interested in tools because he was. Then he thought back to the saddle he’d seen Annie admiring and wondered if that was part of the same phenomenon. Was Annie reaching out to him in the only ways she knew how? Was she struggling to fit into his life by doing the things he did, so they could share in the enjoyment? And if that was it, wasn’t it way past time he met her halfway?

  “Put down that rake and come with me,” he said.

  Her eyes widened. “Why?”

  He grinned. “Because you’re about to have your first riding lesson, young lady.”

  “On Black Knight?” she asked hopefully. “He’s so awesome.”

  “Nope. I think he’s a little too feisty for you. We’ll start with Aunt Sadie.”

  “But she’s old,” Annie protested, obviously disappointed.

  “She’s gentle,” Slade corrected. “That’s what matters. She won’t dump you in the dust the first time you get on.”

  Annie actually looked as if she wouldn’t mind being bounced from the saddle if it meant getting to ride a more challenging horse than the old mare, but Slade remained firm. He brought Aunt Sadie out of her stall and showed Annie how to saddle her and put on her bridle.

  When the horse was ready, Annie led her out of the barn and into the corral.

  “I’ll give you a boost up,” Slade said, linking his hands for Annie to step into. She mounted the horse as smoothly as if she’d done it many times. “Are you sure you’ve never been on a horse before?”

  “Never,” she said. “But I used to climb onto the fence rail at Grandma’s and pretend it was a horse. I got pretty good at getting on.”

  Amused, Slade nodded. “You’re good, all right. Now let’s see how you are at riding the real thing.”

  He took the lead and moved around the corral in a slow circle. “How does it feel?”

  “Boring,” Annie said. “I want to ride fast.”

  “First things first.” He handed her the reins. “Let’s see you get her to start and stop.”

  Aunt Sadie had a very docile nature, so there was almost nothing A
nnie could have done to get her riled up enough to throw off her rider. But somewhere in the back of the old mare’s mind must have lurked a memory of a time when she’d run as fast as the wind. At Annie’s urging, she broke into a full gallop before Slade realized what was going on.

  As the horse tore past him, he shouted at Annie, “Pull on the reins, sweetie! Get her to stop.”

  Either Annie didn’t hear him or chose to ignore the command—more likely the latter. Her face was split with a grin as she sailed past for the second time.

  “Annie Sutton, you’re going to spend a month in your room if you don’t ride that horse over here and get off of it right now,” he yelled.

  He wasn’t sure when he finally realized that something was wrong. Maybe it was when Aunt Sadie broke toward the open gate at the back of the corral. Maybe it was when he caught Annie’s smile fading and panic settling onto her face.

  “Daddy!” she squealed. “I can’t make her stop.”

  Slade broke into a run, but with his bum leg he was no match for the horse, who’d sensed a kindred spirit and was intent on showing Annie what she was made of.

  “Whoa!” Annie shouted to no avail. “Daddy! Help!”

  “Pull slowly on the reins,” Slade advised, trying to remain calm.

  Annie did as he said, but she was so panicked that she was digging her heels into the horse’s sides at the same time, sending Aunt Sadie a mixed message. The horse made her own decision about which message to listen to.

  When she reached the gate, Aunt Sadie bolted through and took off for open pastures, Annie clinging to her back. Her sobs carried on the breeze, filling Slade with a terrible sense of helplessness and dread.

  Harlan Patrick heard the commotion and came running. He took in the situation at a glance, grabbed Black Knight’s mane and threw himself onto the horse bareback. Slade realized that’s what he should have done, but everything had unfolded so quickly he hadn’t had time to think. He cursed the injuries that made his reflexes too slow to have done what Harlan Patrick was able to do without thought.

  He watched the huge black stallion eat up the ground between him and Aunt Sadie. When he was close enough, Harlan Patrick grabbed the reins of the runaway horse and slowed her down. The instant Aunt Sadie halted, he reached over and gathered Annie into his arms and brought her back.

  “Thank you,” Slade said, taking Annie from him. Still sobbing, she clung to Slade’s neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “I’ll see to the horses,” Harlan Patrick said. “She’ll be fine, Slade. It happens to every kid at some point. Don’t beat yourself up.”

  “She could have been killed,” Slade said grimly.

  “But she wasn’t. That’s what matters. She’s fine. The horses are fine. No harm done.”

  Except to Slade’s pride. He felt like he’d failed his daughter one more time. Her first ride, which should have been a wonderful memory, would probably haunt her now.

  He realized then that Annie had grown silent. He turned his head and met her gaze.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “It must have been. You said she was gentle. I must have done something wrong.”

  “No, baby. Sometimes horses just get an idea into their heads. That’s why you have to take it easy and learn how to control them. Next time will be better.”

  Eyes shimmering with tears suddenly filled with hope. “You’ll let me ride again?”

  Much as he wanted to deny her the chance and keep her from risk, he nodded. “If you want to.”

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed, her face lit with excitement. “Up until I couldn’t get her to stop, it was awesome.”

  Slade shook his head. “I guess you were right about those genes of mine being part of your makeup. I never took a spill so bad that I didn’t want to get right back on and try it again.”

  “See, Daddy? We are alike.”

  As humbled as he was by how obviously thrilled Annie was by the comparison, Slade couldn’t honestly say if he thought the assessment was good or bad.

  Twelve

  Back in Nashville Val worked from dawn to way past dusk, driven by a need to fill every hour with so much work that there wouldn’t be a single second when her thoughts could stray to an impossible cowboy and his tomboy daughter. The tactic worked reasonably effectively, though Nick had taken to steering clear of her because she snapped his head off at the slightest provocation.

  “If you’re so damn miserable, go back to Texas,” Laurie’s agent told her at one point. “I don’t know what it is about the men down there, but neither you nor Laurie seem to have a lick of common sense when they’re involved.”

  “There’s work to be done here,” she’d retorted, ignoring his analysis of the potent impact of Texas males. “Laurie thought it would be best if I helped you out for a while and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  “Fine,” he’d said, relenting. “Far be it from me to question the wisdom of my biggest star, but if you ask me, we’d all be happier if you’d just give in and work things out with the cowboy. She certainly was.”

  “Nobody asked you.”

  Nick had shrugged, then gone back into his office and slammed the door. Val had no doubt that if it had been up to him, he’d have sent her packing. He’d never been crazy about the influence she had over his superstar. Nor had he liked the fact that she’d helped Laurie keep the secret of her first pregnancy from him. He had told them both in no uncertain terms that if they kept him in the dark on anything that important ever again, he’d cut his professional ties with Laurie. Val’s present mood only added to the ongoing friction.

  The days passed, filled with brusque encounters with Nick and a million and one details to be handled. Slade never—well, hardly ever—entered her thoughts.

  But there was nothing Val could do to prevent Slade from haunting her dreams. She was having an especially sweet one when the ringing of the phone woke her.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, I thought you’d be up with the chickens,” Laurie said cheerfully.

  “You’re the one on the farm,” Val grumbled, burying her head in the pillow.

  “It’s a ranch.”

  “Same difference.”

  “Not exactly, but we’ll let that pass.”

  “Why are you calling at this hour?” she muttered. “It’s still dark out.”

  “Something’s happened,” Laurie said, her tone suddenly sobering. “Harlan Patrick and I debated whether to tell you, but I thought you’d want to know. And since I was up anyway, I figured I’d try to catch you at home.”

  Heart pounding, Val sat upright at once. “Is it Slade?” she asked, instantly alert. “Has he been hurt?”

  “No, though I find it interesting that you’re so worried about a man you’d vowed to put out of your mind.”

  “If it’s not Slade, then it has to be Annie,” Val said, ignoring the taunt. “What’s happened, Laurie? Spit it out. She hasn’t run away again, has she?”

  “Okay, yes, it’s Annie. And, no, she hasn’t run away. She is not hurt, either, but she had a few terrifying moments.” She went on to describe the riding lesson that had gone awry. “I’m not sure which one of them was more shaken, Annie or Slade. He’s absolutely beside himself that it was Harlan Patrick who thought to jump on Black Knight and go after her. Harlan Patrick’s worried about him. He told me Slade feels like he failed her again.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Well, of course it is, but you know Slade. All that macho pride has kicked in.”

  “I’m coming back,” Val said, making up her mind at once. “I’ll check the flights the second we hang up and let you know when I’ll be there.”

  “I think a phone call would do the trick,” Laurie suggested dryly. “It would mean a lot to Annie to know that you’re concer
ned about her.”

  “No,” Val said firmly, thinking as much of father as daughter. A call wouldn’t settle anything with Slade. “A call’s not good enough. I need to be there. Those two will probably retreat into silence again unless somebody’s there to keep them talking.”

  “They were talking just fine last time I saw them. They had their heads together planning Annie’s next riding lesson. Slade relented and said she could try again, even though he’s obviously not happy about it.”

  “It might not last,” Val said, though her position was clearly weakened by Laurie’s reassurance.

  “In other words, your mind is made up and you don’t want me bothering you with facts,” Laurie said, chuckling. “You’ve only been gone a few days. You weren’t, by any chance, just waiting for an excuse to come back?”

  Maybe she had been, Val admitted to herself, though not to Laurie. Work wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as it had once been. And Nashville hadn’t felt nearly as much like home as she’d expected when she’d returned. Apparently, for better or for worse, she truly had left her heart in Texas.

  * * *

  “You’re not still beating yourself up over Annie’s accident, are you?” Harlan Patrick asked when Slade wandered into the barn at midmorning.

  Slade hadn’t especially wanted to be reminded of the accident or his own guilt-ridden reaction to it. “Nope.”

  “Because it wasn’t your fault.” Harlan Patrick went on as if Slade hadn’t spoken.

  “I know,” Slade conceded. “Could have happened to anybody, anytime.”

  “Exactly,” his boss said, as enthusiastically as if Slade had grasped a very tricky concept.

  “Did you want something?” Slade asked, hoping to get him to move on.

  “Not really,” Harlan Patrick said. He turned to leave, then paused. “By the way, did I happen to mention that Val is coming back today? She should be here anytime now.”

  Slade came very close to gouging a huge chunk of skin out of his hand, when the pick he was using to clean Black Knight’s shoes slipped. “Is that so?” he responded, as if the news were of no consequence. After she’d left, he’d half wondered if she would ever set foot in Texas again. He’d had the uncomfortable feeling that he’d driven her away.