Coulda Been a Cowboy

by Brenda Novak

  “Because he’s convinced he’d be invading your turf.” She eyed Tyson carefully. “I told him he was wrong, that you’d be with her if you wanted her. But he disagreed. He said you’ve been subtly marking your territory all night. So I started paying more attention, and that’s how I caught you staring at her.”

  “I’m not marking my territory,” Tyson said with a grimace. “Dakota’s my nanny, nothing more.”

  “So I can assure him you’re not interested?”

  Tyson hesitated. Quentin was a nice guy, but with a blockish head and slightly crooked nose, he wasn’t nearly as good-looking as Hank’s friend from high school. He wasn’t nearly as savvy, either, or Quentin would’ve noticed the same nuances. But if Tyson had his guess, this Joe fellow might actually be someone Dakota could get excited about.

  Wait. That was what he wanted, right?

  “Is he a good guy?”

  “I think so.”

  “What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s an investment broker, remember? I’ve told you that before. We’re clients. So are a lot of the other guys on the team. He’s hoping you’ll invest with him, too. I think that’s why he wanted to come tonight. You’re his latest prospect.”

  “Is he any good at what he does?”

  “He’s great.”

  Tyson frowned. “Do you know what his mother is like?”

  “His mother?” she said with another quick laugh. “I think you’ve had one too many, Ty.”

  “This is my first.” He lifted his bottle as he spoke, suddenly realizing that one beer would never be enough to see him through this evening, not with ideal men like Joe Beck sniffing around Dakota. “I’m just being careful. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

  “She looks like she can handle herself to me. Judging by the way you’re acting, she’s managed to stay out of your bed.”

  He refused to give Elaine any indication of whether or not she was right. “There’s got to be something wrong with him,” he said, still hoping to find some legitimate complaint against Beck.

  Elaine gave him a playful jab with her fist. “Jeez, Tyson. He’s not asking to marry her, you know.”

  Problem was, Tyson could imagine it happening. What wasn’t there to like about Dakota? And he could see some of the other women in the room casting admiring glances at Joe, guessed he’d be at least a small temptation to Dakota.

  That acknowledgment punctured the bubble of pleasure and relief Tyson had experienced since he’d escaped the hangman’s noose. But he couldn’t let Dakota fall back into her old life, which would happen if she wasn’t involved with someone.

  “Who am I to object?” he said at last and downed the rest of his beer. Then he left the room so he wouldn’t have to watch and drank another three bottles in the Jacuzzi.

  * * *

  DAKOTA KNEW the moment Tyson left the room because it was as if he took all the fun with him. The laughing and talking and music felt completely empty, made her chest hollow. But she kept smiling and nodding and dancing. This was a party, after all, and she wasn’t about to reveal that she was more miserable now than before it had started.

  “Excuse me.”

  Dakota turned to see a man with dark, curly hair, a movie-star smile and laughing blue eyes.

  “I’m Joe.”

  “I’m Dakota.” She offered her hand, and felt the warmth of his fingers close around hers.

  “Nice name.”

  “You can probably guess where it came from.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You were born in North or South Dakota?”

  “Conceived in North Dakota, while my parents were on their honeymoon.”

  He stepped out of the way as someone passed through toward the kitchen, but continued to focus on her. “I can think of better places to spend a honeymoon.”

  “They wanted to visit as many states as possible.”

  “Did they make it to all of them?”

  “No. They ran out of money after driving through four,” she said with a laugh.

  “But they were too in love to care, right?”

  “My father was in love, not so sure about my mother.” She’d spoken to Consuela a few times, but they were virtual strangers. Having left the United States twenty-four years before, Consuela’s English had deteriorated to the point that Dakota could hardly understand her, and even without the language barrier it would’ve been difficult to communicate. Dakota had never been able to forgive her mother for abandoning them. Although Skelton had taken care of Dakota and loved her, he’d never completely recovered from the divorce. Dakota sometimes wondered if his drinking problem stemmed more from losing Consuela than the injury that kept him from being able to work. She also wondered what her life might’ve been like had her mother kept the promises she made when she married Skelton.

  “Your parents are no longer together?” Joe said.

  “No.”

  “Neither are mine. But my grandparents just celebrated their fiftieth, so I guess it’s possible for love to last.”

  Dakota smiled. “What do you think the secret is?”

  “Commitment. But it has to be a fierce commitment, or it won’t survive life’s bigger challenges.”

  “In sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth,” she murmured.

  “I guess it’s not such a secret, after all, huh?” His smile showed a row of straight white teeth as he offered her his hand. “Would you like to dance?”

  * * *

  FORGET TYSON…Forget Tyson…Forget Tyson…

  Dakota was doing her best. She had the attention of a very handsome man who was treating her as if she was the only woman in the room. She knew she should be enjoying every minute. Yet all she could think about was the wide receiver who’d walked out the back door an hour ago.

  Give up on it already. He’ll never return your feelings.

  “Dakota?”

  Joe had said something about his investment business. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “The music’s so loud. What was that?”

  “Would you rather go out back, so we don’t have to shout?”

  Now that she’d complained about the music, Dakota didn’t feel she could refuse. But Tyson was out back, or at least he’d headed that way when he left.

  Was he still there? No telling. Most people had already eaten, but he could be grilling more steak, chicken or burgers. Or he could be in Gabe’s old workshop where they’d set up tables for poker. He could even be around front, talking football or cars. There were people everywhere. Most would head back to Dundee at the end of the night and stay in the town’s only motel. Hank and Elaine would stay at the cabin until Sunday.

  “Sounds good.”

  “Why don’t you put on your suit?” he asked. “We could get in the Jacuzzi.”

  When she’d taken her father to Boise the previous day, Dakota had purchased a black-and-white polka dotted bathing suit for the party. It was a relatively inexpensive one-piece, but she thought it was cute. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll meet you in the water,” Joe said.

  Which seemed like the perfect plan—until Dakota walked out and realized that Tyson was in the Jacuzzi, too. With a beautiful woman sitting on either side of him.

  * * *

  DAKOTA KNEW that Joe was looking at her, but she couldn’t feel his gaze the way she could Tyson’s. Tyson’s almost burned her as it traveled up her legs, over her hips, waist and breasts to her face. The other women were both wearing bikinis, but in that moment Dakota felt as if her own rather conservative suit revealed everything. The tips of her breasts began to tingle, and her cheeks grew hot before she could even sink into the water. Worse, the yearning inside her was so strong she feared everyone would see it.

  “Having fun?” Tyson said, toasting her with a bottle of Samuel Adams.

  Joe had brought out a couple of beers. Dakota picked one up and tipped it toward Tyson. “Most definitely. You?”

  “Time of my life.”
>
  “Wonderful.”

  The women sidled closer to Tyson. Dakota had met them earlier. Apparently they were friends of one of the guys Tyson had invited. But that guy—Peter Somebody—wasn’t around now.

  Joe flashed his straight white teeth, then clinked the neck of his own beer bottle against Dakota’s. “Here’s to professional football.”

  “Why football?” Tyson’s voice was thick enough that Dakota wondered if he’d had too much to drink. She could understand how he might get caught up in his recent good fortune. Judging by how close to him his female friends were sitting, they were eager to help him celebrate in any way they could. But other than the slightly slower speech and eyelids that were half-lowered, he showed no signs of inebriation.

  “Because I’m a big football fan, excited that the season’s about to start, of course,” Joe said. “And now that she knows you, I’m sure Dakota’s a fan, too, even if she wasn’t before.”

  Dakota didn’t comment because she wasn’t sure she could call herself a true fan. She knew it was silly, but she was jealous of Tyson’s career, because it was more than a vocation to him. It held first place in his heart, and no one, especially a poor woman who couldn’t even leave the small town in which she’d grown up, would ever be able to compete.

  “When do you have to return to L.A.?” Joe asked. Beads of water rolled over Tyson’s pectoral muscles as he hooked his arms over the lip of the Jacuzzi and studied Joe beneath his lashes. “Same time as Hank,” he answered as if Joe should’ve known that all along.

  “Of course.”

  Dakota cleared her throat, but the other women didn’t seem to notice the strain between the two men.

  “I can’t wait till you come home,” one of the women purred. “It’s been such a boring spring with the team scattered all over the country.”

  Tyson didn’t respond, but this comment seemed to identify the woman as a groupie. Maybe she’d come at the invitation of someone else, but she definitely had her eye on Tyson.

  Surely he isn’t stupid enough to get involved with someone like that, Dakota thought. But the way he was acting, she wasn’t sure. He’d talked about being careful, but that seemed to apply only to her.

  Maybe he was drunk, after all.

  Tyson set his bottle on the side, his attention firmly fixed on Joe. “So what do you think of my nanny?”

  Joe slid his glance Dakota’s way. “I think she’s amazing. What do you think of her?” he countered.

  Tyson chuckled softly and brought his beer to his lips again. “She’s great with kids. Looks damn good in that suit, too.”

  The women on either side of him exchanged a predatory glance and sat a little higher as if to make the most of what they were—or weren’t—wearing. But Tyson didn’t seem to notice.

  Neither did Joe. “It’s more than her body that interests me,” Joe said.

  Dakota squirmed uncomfortably as Tyson seemed to mark the inflection of his voice. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “Because if it wasn’t like that, I might have to break your jaw. And I wouldn’t want to do that to a friend of Hank’s.” He smiled as if he was joking, but it was a challenging smile, not one that reached his eyes.

  “Tyson!” Dakota said. “You’re not my big brother.”

  “I don’t think he has any illusions about that,” Joe said wryly. Then he got out of the Jacuzzi and offered her a hand to help her out, as well.

  * * *

  THEY WERE GONE. Tyson couldn’t find them anywhere. After Dakota and Joe had left, he’d sat in the Jacuzzi another half hour, fighting the impulse to get out and search for them. Resisting turned out to be pointless, though, because it only took another two beers to change his mind. Abandoning the two women in the Jacuzzi, he moved around the party, looking for his nanny and her new love interest. And when he couldn’t find them, the jealousy that had been eating away at him since Joe first asked about Dakota began to burn like acid in his stomach.

  Maybe the handsome, smooth-talking Joe was everything he appeared to be. But Tyson couldn’t sit back and watch another man make a move on Dakota. Somehow that kind of thing was easier to contemplate when it was only a possibility.

  Hank bumped into him as Tyson walked around the poker tables in the workshop. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” He tried not to scowl as he scanned the crowded room, but that was almost impossible when he didn’t find what he wanted.

  “You look like you’re ready to kill somebody.”

  Whether he resorted to violence would depend on what he found. If Joe was truly interested in Dakota as a person, he wouldn’t need to be removing any clothing just yet.

  The images that bombarded Tyson made him cringe. God, and he’d been the one to encourage her to start the pill. Do you think what I’ve got is enough to…you know…revive my love life? she’d asked. Hell, yes! And now you’ve got the protection, too.

  “Have you seen Dakota?” Tyson asked a teammate’s brother.

  “Who?” the guy asked in confusion.

  “My nanny.”

  “I didn’t even know you had a nanny.”

  “Never mind.” Brushing past him and Hank to go outside again, Tyson circled Dakota’s garden and walked toward the front of the house. But Elaine saw him from the patio and intercepted him.

  “They went on a hike,” she said.

  Tyson didn’t ask how she knew who he was looking for. He nodded briskly, so he wouldn’t respond to her smug “Aha! I know you care” smile, and strode through the gate. But once he was in front of the house, he realized it didn’t make sense to go any farther. He could comb the forest all night and not find them. They could’ve gone anywhere.

  The only thing he could do was wait.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Grandpa Garnier: Love your enemies but keep

  your guns oiled.

  TYSON WAS SITTING on the porch in one of Gabe’s homemade chairs when Dakota and Joe returned. She didn’t see him at first. It was dark, he was in the shadows, and she was too busy talking to Joe about his Italian grandmother. But then Tyson moved—and she jumped and immediately let go of Joe’s hand.

  “Tired of the party?” Joe smiled as if the uncomfortable exchange at the Jacuzzi had never taken place.

  Tyson didn’t answer.

  “Ty?” Dakota said, confused by his stony silence. But he didn’t respond to her, either. Getting up, he walked inside and slammed the door.

  She turned to Joe. “I’m sorry. He’s not normally like this.”

  “I know.”

  “I can’t imagine what’s gotten into him.”

  Joe grinned. “I can.”

  She waited, expecting him to elaborate, but he simply took her hand and started toward the house. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll get over it.”

  Dakota attempted a smile as Joe’s fingers entwined with hers. But the slamming of the door seemed to echo in her soul, tempting her to go after the man she really wanted. What was wrong with him? He should be happy! He’d been cleared of Rachelle’s accusations. And this whole party was his idea.

  Anyway, it was very unlikely she and Joe would ever become an item. She was so in love with Tyson she couldn’t really give Joe a fair chance. But there wasn’t any reason they couldn’t be friends. Joe was intelligent, confident, gregarious.

  She needed to come out of this summer with something different, something hopeful….

  “I feel like dancing,” she said.

  Joe nodded in approval. “Good girl.”

  * * *

  DAKOTA PUT EVERYTHING she had into having a good time. She laughed, she talked, she ate, she danced—and ignoring the sensible voice that usually caused her to limit her alcohol, she drank. Soon she no longer had to fake that she was having fun. She felt like she was walking on clouds, unreachable by reality or pain. Even the knowledge that Tyson would soon be leaving Dundee and taking Braden with him had lost some of its razor-sharp edge.

  She deserved one night, didn�
�t she? One night to cut loose and enjoy everything Tyson had introduced her to before he left and it all disappeared.

  Tyson was drinking, too, probably just as much. But alcohol didn’t seem to be having the same effect on him. Whenever she caught sight of him, he was scowling darkly, and that scowl had never been darker than it was right now while he watched her dance with Joe again.

  “Having a good time?” Joe asked, drawing her attention back to him. Either Joe was oblivious to or ignoring Tyson’s cold stare, because he didn’t acknowledge it.

  Focusing on the song that was playing—“Bring it on Home to Me” by Little Big Town—Dakota decided to ignore Tyson, too. What could he say about her behavior? Maybe she was a little tipsy, but she and Joe weren’t dancing that close. “Yeah. I’m glad you came.”

  “So am I.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “You’ll have to come visit me in L.A. sometime.”

  She blinked up at him in surprise. Her mind told her to agree. There wasn’t any reason not to. Technically, she was available, had been hoping to meet someone tonight. And yet she felt as if she’d be leading him on. Her heart was already committed. “Joe, I…I think you’re really nice, but—”

  He held up a hand. “You just want to be friends.”

  She winced. “That’s a tired line, I know. I’m sorry, but in my case it’s sincere. I can’t offer anything more. At least right now.”

  “Because you’re in love with someone else?”

  Her eyes sought Tyson again. “How’d you know?”

  “I’d have to be an idiot to miss the way you and Tyson constantly search the room for each other. He’s nearly breathing fire over there.” Joe chuckled. “That’s pretty tough to miss, too.”

  “Actually, I think he’s upset that I’m not interested in the guy he picked out for me. He can be sort of…protective.”

  “You really think that’s what’s going on?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Not at all. If he was setting you up with someone, I’m betting it was with a guy who couldn’t offer him any real competition.”