“Well, have a nice walk.”
Instead of retreating he took a step toward her. “Do you ever think about life after all this? After Adam is all better and you can move on.”
The door handle slipped from her grasp. The door started to swing closed but he stopped it with his foot.
“No,” she answered with what sounded like a croak. “Not really.”
“About what you’ll do with all your free time?”
She swallowed. Hard. “I can barely think past the next fifteen minutes, much less months from now. Right now, it’s one day at a time. Sometimes one minute at a time. Sometimes even one second at a time.”
“You should,” he said. And with those cryptic words he turned around and walked away. She stood there, the door still open, wondering what the hell that had all been about, and why she suddenly wanted to run.
Straight into his arms.
No. She had to focus on Adam. Tomorrow night Adam would be around a bunch of people, which meant extra precautions and then later on worrying about him coming down with the flu or a cold or something much worse. She didn’t have time to think about her future.
And especially not one that might involve Ethan.
Chapter Thirteen
He’d never been to a rodeo before. In all his years working with animals and all the years growing up on a ranch, he’d never been to one, much to his parents’ chagrin. As he stood next to Claire in a dirt lot packed with horse trailers and trucks, the sun shining down on their backs, he wondered why. It smelled like animals and popcorn, two scents that shouldn’t mix, but strangely did.
“Can you believe I get to ride in grand entry this year?”
“I know.” Ethan smiled down at Adam, who stood between him and his mom. They were watching Colt groom a good-looking dark bay horse named Playboy. “That’s great.”
Claire didn’t seem so enthusiastic, or so Ethan thought. Then again, she’d been doing a good job of pretty much ignoring him the whole time he’d been at the rodeo grounds. He wondered if she was upset about Janus leaving this morning, but that didn’t make sense. She’d been genuinely happy to help Naomi load up the dog, or so it’d seemed. After Naomi had left, however, she’d made it clear she was too busy to talk to him. She’d disappeared inside the house so fast you’d have thought a tornado was coming. He just didn’t understand.
Her brother must have noticed the pinched look on his sister’s face because he said, “Relax. He’ll be fine.”
“He better be.” She nervously fidgeted with a strand of her black hair. “If anything happens, I’ll kill you.”
Of course, she had a right to be a little more tense than normal. Adam wouldn’t be riding in grand entry like a normal kid. No. He’d be riding without a bridle as part of the opening act. They were spotlighting his recovery from cancer. He’d practiced back at the ranch, and that had gone terrifically, but Claire had gotten sick every time she’d had to watch—or so Colt had claimed.
Her brother paused in the midst of brushing the horse’s back. “Nothing will happen.” He went back to brushing, puffs of dust temporarily filling the air. “You’ve seen Playboy perform without a bridle a million times. You know how safe it is.”
“He’s never carried my son before.”
Natalie came around the edge of the trailer then, and ironically, she carried Playboy’s bridle, her blue eyes settling on Claire. “He has when we practiced at home.” She smiled at her sister-in-law. “Believe me, he’ll be fine.”
Ethan had been told the horse Adam rode was a champion reining horse that she’d bought to help her overcome a serious riding injury. He knew Colt and Natalie trusted the horse implicitly and so there was no reason to fear. He almost told Claire to relax, too, but he had a feeling that would earn him a glare. He didn’t want to be on her bad side. He had plans for Claire later that night, not that she knew anything about it. He caught Colt’s gaze right then, the two of them exchanging glances. When he’d told Claire’s brother he wanted to take his sister out on a date, Colt had simply said four words: Leave it to me.
Operation Claire on a Date had been born.
“How much longer?” Claire asked, shifting from foot to foot. Ethan worried she’d pull that strand of hair out of her head.
“Show starts at one,” Colt said. He tugged his cell phone out of his back pocket. “That’s in a half hour.”
“I’m just not sure standing out in this sun is a good idea.”
Sun? What sun?
“Mom. I’m fine.”
Ethan had parked behind the rodeo grounds, next to where Colt had parked his giant rig, beneath the shade of a giant oak tree.
“That’s what you say now, but then I’ll get you home and you’ll be burnt to a crisp.”
Adam might be a young kid, but he could look like an adult at times and his glare clearly told his mom to take a hike. Ethan almost laughed.
“You ready there, partner?” said another woman, Colt’s lead trick rider, a woman who’d recently taken the place of a longtime family friend as head of the Galloping Girlz. Carolina was her name. She had blond hair and eyes the color of a new swimming pool and Ethan sensed she had troubles of her own to bear.
“You bet I am.” Adam already wore his pink shirt, Ethan noticed, as did he. So did everybody, although the trick riders were in pink spandex outfits. Claire, too, had dressed for the occasion, and the color suited her ivory complexion and black hair. She was beautiful standing there watching her son. It amazed him, though, to see how both the crowd and the competitors supported cancer awareness. Even the hardened bull riders wore the color. Plus, Claire had been wrong. They did make pink jeans and the current Miss Via Del Caballo rodeo queen wore them—that and pink chaps.
“All righty, then,” Colt said. “We’re going to let you warm up a little in the practice pen. Ride around just like you did at home. When we’re ready to go into the main arena, I’ll drop his bridle.”
Adam crammed his straw cowboy hat down on his head as if he were about to get on a saddle bronc. “This is going to be so cool.”
He heard Claire release something that sounded like a hiss and he couldn’t help himself. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but it was as if he’d shot her with a cattle prod. She ducked away so fast his hand was left hanging in the air.
“You scared me,” she said, turning to face him, hand on her chest.
Had he? Somehow he doubted it. That had been the move of a woman who didn’t want to be touched. Who’d put up a barrier between them. No Trespassing. Plus, her complexion was fair enough that he spotted the blush spreading across her cheeks like spilled paint.
“Sorry.”
She had refocused her gaze on her son, but she nodded her acknowledgment of his apology. Maybe he should tell her brother to call the whole thing off. What stopped him, however, was the absolute certainty that she needed to get out for a little bit. He might only be taking her to dinner, but it would do her good to let her hair down and socialize with someone other than her own son. Clearly Adam felt the same way. The boy shot him a look that practically begged him to do something about his mother. Ethan almost smiled again.
“All right, let’s head on over,” Carolina said. “Gonna be center stage today, huh, Adam?” The woman tapped the top of Adam’s cowboy hat.
“If my mom doesn’t freak out and die of a heart attack first,” they all heard him mutter.
Okay, that blew the lid off the smile he’d been holding back. He even chuckled a little before saying, “If she does, I’ll take care of her.”
Claire glanced over at him, then immediately looked away, and that did it. First this morning and now this. He crossed to her side, brushed her arm with his hand. At least she didn’t jerk away this time. Still he saw her tense.
“He’ll be fine.”
&nb
sp; She crossed her arms in front of herself and said, “I know.”
“Colt would never let something happen to him.”
“I know,” she repeated.
“Climb aboard,” Natalie said.
“Time to go practice,” Colt added, motioning Adam over to Playboy’s side. “And remember, when you’re out there, listen to Carolina. She’s in charge now.”
They helped Adam mount up, the smile on the kid’s face big enough to spot from space. He all but bounced in the saddle as they moved as a group toward the practice arena out behind where everyone had parked.
A grizzled old cowboy nodded as they walked by. “Colt.”
“Hey, Hank.”
Ethan had learned Colt was something of a celebrity in the cowboy world, but if he hadn’t already known, he would have figured it out by the time they made it to the practice arena. The whole way there he’d been greeted by males and females alike. Ethan knew Colt traveled all over the US performing. His horse was trained to rear and dance and take a bow, all without Colt touching him. Natalie had explained he was booked years in advance, and although he’d cut his performance schedule back since he’d married her, Adam had told him he always made time to perform in front of his hometown crowd.
“You look like you’re ready to puke.”
They stood by the rail of the warm-up arena; Colt and Natalie stood a little ways away, Claire leaning against the rail as though she needed it for support.
“I’m just tired.”
That sounded like a canned excuse, but he didn’t push the matter. She’d slipped on thick sunglasses once they’d left the shade of the tree. It was impossible to see her eyes and he found himself wishing he could. She’d been so distant today. More so than ever before. He’d been hoping his question last night might shake her up a bit, but he was beginning to think it’d upset her more than anything else.
“Adam is a heck of a rider.” He watched as the kid loped the horse around the pen. The rest of the Galloping Girlz all egged him on. The boy had ridden more this week than he had in a long while and it showed. His pale skin had been bronzed by the sun. His eyes were brighter, too. He looked like a normal, healthy kid in his pink shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. More important, he’d been smiling nonstop since he’d climbed aboard Playboy.
“It’s in his genes.”
He hadn’t expected her to answer, had half thought she’d continue with the silent treatment, and so when she spoke, he found himself thinking maybe things were all right between them after all.
“He told me he wants to be a rodeo rider when he grows up,” Ethan said.
“He’s been saying that since he was old enough to talk.”
“But you refuse to think that far ahead.”
Now, why’d he go and push her button? He should be trying to keep the peace, especially in light of the plans he had for later. But he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
She went back to watching her son. “I told you last night. One day at a time.”
Yes, she had. He’d thought about those words all evening. It was part of why he’d been so determined to take her out this morning. He wanted to fill at least one day with happiness and laughter. She deserved that.
“I guess that’s all we can do.”
He kept quiet for the rest of Adam’s practice session. All too soon they were headed toward the main arena, Ethan following at a distance. Carolina would be carrying the American flag while she stood atop her horse, but the rest of the girls would perform with Colt later on. Still, they all walked over together.
They were nestled against the base of some small hills. The rodeo committee had built grandstands into the slope of the hillside to give spectators a better view of the arena below. Cattle trucks were parked outside, as were horse trailers of every shape and size, some old, some new, some state-of-the art like Colt’s. A whole mass of people milled around outside the arena, most of them on horseback, a few trying to make their way through the crowd on foot. Even with as much experience as he’d had around animals it seemed insane to push their way through the hind ends of so many animals, but push through they did until they were at the gate.
“There you are,” said a woman with a clipboard when she saw Colt. “We’re just about ready to start.”
“That’s what I figured,” Colt said, turning to his nephew. “You know the drill, right?”
“Yup.”
“Just the same, I’m going to go over it again. Once the gals carrying the sponsor flags line up in the middle, Carolina here is going to present the American flag while someone sings the national anthem. Once that’s finished you’ll go in. Just one lap around. That’s all. When you’re done, you need to go right to the center and stand next to Carolina.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then you can lead the crowd out.”
“Here comes my flags,” said the lady with the clipboard, staring at a group on horseback, each one carrying the flag of a rodeo sponsor. “You’ll need to move out of the way.”
Ethan almost asked Claire if she wanted to go up to the grandstands, but it was clear she didn’t want to move. She had eyes only for her son as they all stepped aside to make way for the horseback riders.
“All right, all right, all right,” the announcer said in a Matthew McConaughey voice. “Are you all ready for a rodeo?”
The crowd cheered, the gate swung open and the sponsorship flag team entered at a full run.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 51st Annual Via Del Caballo Rodeo.”
The audience cheered again, the announcer pausing for a moment to ask the audience to stand as they saluted Old Glory. A young girl walked to the middle of the arena, microphone in hand.
“Have fun,” Carolina said, and stood on top of her horse, something that never ceased to fill Ethan with awe, and then entered the arena as the girl started to sing. It was a beautiful performance. Carolina loped along, but her speed built in intensity as the song progressed until as the last glorious verse was sung, she ran at a breakneck speed, blond hair streaming, flag crackling in the wind, arena dust churning.
“Beautiful,” Ethan said to Claire, putting his hat back on his head after it was all over. She barely nodded.
“Before we get started with our grand entry, we wanted to remind everyone that today we’re dedicating this rodeo to those who’re fighting the biggest battle of their life.” Ethan looked down at Claire. There wasn’t a lick of emotion on her face. “Folks, we know cancer affects one out of two people, and we know most of you know someone who’s lost a family member to this horrible disease, so today we thought we’d do something different. Today we thought we’d celebrate the life of a six-year-old boy who’s not only surviving, but so far beating cancer.”
“You ready?” Colt said.
Adam merely nodded.
Colt moved to the front of Playboy and dropped the bridle. The horse lifted its head, clearly aware that he was about to perform because it seemed he waited for the gate to open. The moment it did, Adam surprised them all by hollering, “Yee ha!” and pounding his heels against Playboy’s sides.
“Adam,” Claire screamed.
Her son was gone. Playboy pinned his ears and ran as if a legion of hellhounds was at his heels.
“Damn that kid,” Colt said.
“He’s going to kill himself.” Claire sounded ready to faint.
“He’ll be okay,” Ethan said, placing a hand on her shoulder, because Adam didn’t look in danger at all. Playboy kept to the rail, Adam like a flea on his back, the horse’s mane and tail streaming.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said. “Meet Adam O’Brian, nephew to rodeo legend Colt Reynolds and a little boy who’s a cancer survivor.”
The crowd went wild. Claire covered her mouth with her hand. Adam waved. And
when the audience realized Adam rode without a bridle, another round of cries and yells filled the air. Adam just smiled and ran. Just as they’d practiced, Playboy rounded the last corner and headed to the middle. He came to a sliding stop in front of the girls carrying the flags. And there was such a look of pride on Adam’s face, such a look of happiness, Ethan felt his throat thicken. He glanced down at Claire. She stared at her son, her hands slowly dropping away, eyes only for the little boy that stood center stage.
“That was perfect,” Natalie said.
“Little bugger’s going to get an earful when he gets out of there,” Colt said. “That was not how we practiced it.”
“No.” Claire half turned. “Natalie’s right. That was perfect.”
She faced her son again, smiled, turned back to clap, and it was in that exact moment, outside the Via Del Caballo rodeo arena, that Ethan realized he was falling in love.
Chapter Fourteen
Ethan had been right. One look at Adam’s face and Claire knew riding Playboy had been better medicine than a million rounds of injections. As he stood waving and smiling to the crowd, she caught her first glimpse of Adam again. The old Adam. Her son before cancer had taken over their lives.
She had to inhale back her tears. Wouldn’t do for her son to see her crying.
A hand had settled on her shoulder. She wanted to shrug it off. Every time Ethan touched her she was reminded of their time in her house, the time she’d lost control.
“He did great.”
She nodded and gently eased away from his touch. He didn’t try to touch her again, but that was okay. That was how it should be.
She barely heard the rodeo announcers invite everyone into the arena after they introduced Adam. A part of her watched the rodeo queens ride by one by one, their horses galloping hell-bent for leather, their smiles and waves as bright as their crowns. It was as if the Earth had been flipped on its side and everything knocked askew.
His Rodeo Sweetheart Page 12
