Rodeo Reunion

by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

  “But then you ran into her and Brant.”

  “And I held on to her hand too long, which got Brant and me off on the wrong foot. I fully intended to track her down after that and tell her who I was. But then you invited me to dinner.”

  “You didn’t—” her mouth went dry “—use me to get closer to her, did you? You’re not doing that now?”

  “I truly had no idea you were Brant’s sister until our tension-filled dinner.” He covered her hand with his. “Any time I’ve spent with you, and Hunter, before or since, it’s because I wanted to. I like your company. Both of you.”

  Despite the calloused strength of his hand, his gentleness showed in his touch. Her breath came in quick spurts. Could he tell she was about to hyperventilate?

  “I’ll help defuse Brant if you’ll promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t cause a wedge between Brant and Tori. They’re still newlyweds. Don’t make her choose between y’all.”

  “I will get to know my sister, but I’ll do my best to not be a burr under Brant’s saddle.”

  “Mom!” Hunter called from the front of the house. “I’m home.”

  Raquel jerked her hand away. “In the kitchen.”

  “Slade!” Hunter bounced into the kitchen. “Can you believe it? Our first game’s in a week.”

  “It’ll be awesome.”

  “Want to play catch?”

  “I don’t know, Hunter.” Raquel interjected caution in her tone. “Slade’s had a long day and you have to remember his shoulder. He’s really not supposed to be pitching.”

  “I don’t mind.” Slade stood. “I’ll throw you a few balls if you’ll go with me to take Blizzard, Flurry and Snow for a walk. That is, if it’s okay with your mom.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll get these.” Slade set both of their empty cups in the sink and ruffled Hunter’s hair. “Come on, sport.”

  Hunter beamed under the male attention. Raquel shouldn’t let him get so attached. But since Tori was Slade’s sister, maybe Slade would end up sticking around.

  Maybe Raquel could help ease the tensions between Brant and Slade so Slade would stick around.

  But what about his calling?

  Yes, she’d be supportive of Slade in his relationship with Tori, but simply for their sakes. Whether Slade stuck around or went back on the road and visited Tori occasionally—it was none of her concern. Raquel had to keep her own feelings out of the equation.

  Her stomach tensed.

  But how?

  * * *

  During Slade’s chaplain years, he’d tried bareback broncs and bulls, but he had more of a knack with the broncs.

  His chaps swished around his legs with each step and his spurs jangled as he headed for the chute. Manure, dirt, sweat and hay—smelled like home. Music blaring, Quinn announcing, calves bawling and horses whinnying—sounded like home.

  Thoughts of Tori and Raquel wrestled for his attention. He’d had a pleasant lunch with Tori in Fort Worth one day this week. And he was pretty sure Brant didn’t have a clue about it. They didn’t need to do that again. He wouldn’t get points with his brother-in-law by sneaking around behind his back.

  And then there was Raquel. She took his breath away every time he saw her. And he’d seen her a lot this week. After the big showdown with Brant on Monday night, during practice and dinner on Tuesday and Friday, and when he’d played pitch with Hunter on Thursday.

  Slade leaned against the fence railing and tried to focus on the cowboy riding a bronc. He’d planned to go to Tori’s church tomorrow, but he didn’t want to set Brant off. And Tori had already had Garrett Steele call him about the cowboy church.

  The guy he needed to talk to was a pickup man at the rodeo and attended Wyatt and Star’s church, so he could get with him after the rodeo or maybe at church tomorrow. He’d give it another week or so before he inflicted himself on Brant at his church.

  “You’re up next.” The chute boss pointed at him.

  Clear the brain and concentrate on the bronc.

  Right at home, he climbed the chute, gripped the handle of the rigging and eased onto the bronc. The earthy warm scent of the horse welcomed him as the bronc tried to buck, but quarters in the chute were tight. Slade held his left arm aloft, positioned his feet high at the horse’s shoulders and nodded that he was ready.

  The gate opened and the horse careened to freedom, twisting and bucking. Slade stayed in rhythm with the bronc, twist for turn. The buzzer went off and he dismounted flawlessly.

  “That was Slade Walker.” Quinn’s voice boomed over the speakers. “First-timer at Cowtown Coliseum, but obviously not a bronc first-timer with a score of eighty-one.”

  Applause echoed from the stands as he climbed the fence to exit the arena.

  “Great ride.” Wyatt Marshall clapped him on the back. “Come hang out behind the chutes. That way when the broncs and bulls are over, you can meet some of the guys. I’ve been witnessing to some of them for years.” Wyatt made his way through the maze of contestants to a huddle of cowboys around the chutes. “Maybe they won’t listen to me because they remember when I was a real rounder.”

  “Former rounders have the best testimonies.” The change in him now blew Slade’s mind. Especially when he’d learned Wyatt was married to his mild-mannered real estate lady, Star. “Sometimes I feel like mine is weak. I became a Christian at a young age. I gave up having a girlfriend, getting married and having a family for baseball. And my career ended before it even began. But God was there to catch me.”

  “Don’t ever regret you weren’t a rounder.” Wyatt cringed. “And it sounds pretty powerful to me. You could have gone on a bender, turned your back on God. Instead you come out preaching for Him.”

  “It sounds better coming from you. Maybe you should share my testimony for me.”

  “But you’ve got something I don’t. Some of these guys are baseball fans. And that one time I listened to you on the circuit, it was because I was a baseball fan.”

  “I was on the diamond a long time ago.” Slade chuckled. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

  They leaned against the railing watching the ride. The cowboy had good control and the bronc was giving him what for. A good ride.

  “I’m up next.” Wyatt strode to the chutes.

  “See ya later.”

  “I can’t seem to avoid you these days, huh, Slade,” Brant shouted over the country song blaring over the speakers. “Like you’re stalking me or something. Or my wife. Or my sister.”

  Slade’s jaw tensed. “As far as I know, Raquel and Tori don’t hang out at the rodeo.”

  “Wrong. Tori and I come quite often since I used to sing here. We like to support the cowboys.”

  “She’s here?” Slade looked around hoping to catch a glimpse of her. She’d said she’d come watch him ride. But he hadn’t planned to hold her to it, considering how Brant felt.

  “She’s here. But you’re going to stay away from her.”

  Chapter 8

  “Look, Brant, we got off on the wrong foot.” Slade’s fingers tightened on the fence until his knuckles turned white. “I should have told you who I was that first day when I ran into you and Tori. But it just didn’t seem like something I needed to dump on her in the middle of the sidewalk.”

  “Maybe if you’d been honest from the get-go, I’d feel better about your motives. You could have contacted me—broken the news to me. And then we could have broken the news to Tori,” Brant growled.

  “Ah, I get it. So you could be in control.” Sarcasm dripped from Slade’s tone.

  “Maybe I do like to be in control, but I’m not gonna stand around and watch you hurt Tori. Or Raquel.”

  “All I’ve done is try to get to know my sister and help Raquel and Hunter.”

  “Are you staying in Aubrey?”

  “To tell you the truth, I’d like to.” Slade lowered his gaze to the arena floor. “But I don’t know what God has in store
for me.”

  “Tori is here to stay. And so is Rock. Neither one of them needs to get attached to you and then you end up leaving. And Hunter certainly doesn’t need to get attached to you. He and Rock have been through enough.”

  “I’m aware of that.” His gut twisted. “And that’s why I’ve made a point to keep my relationship on a friends basis. With both of them.”

  “See that it stays that way.”

  “But there’s not much you can do about blood. Tori’s my sister and you can’t change that.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Brant turned back toward the stands and left him standing there.

  We’ll see about that? There wasn’t a thing Brant could do about it. Slade would get to know Tori. They would have a relationship, whether he went back on the road or not.

  And with all his caution and all his just-friends talk, Slade wanted to be way more than friends with Raquel.

  But Brant’s remark knocked Slade back to reality. With his future up in the air, he had no right to pursue Raquel. Not unless he planned to stay in Aubrey and settle down for good. Especially since Raquel and Hunter had already been hurt by Dylan’s death.

  What’s next, Lord? I still don’t know and I’d really like it if You’d let me in on my future.

  * * *

  The boys lined up together, amazingly clean and spiffy in their red baseball uniforms, with their way-too-good-looking coach in the center for the team picture.

  Finally April, their first game, and Raquel’s insides wouldn’t settle as she and Lacie leaned against the dugout. “How do you know the photographer? She looks familiar.”

  “Kendra’s a friend from church.” Lacie was all baseball mom with her blond ponytail sticking out of the hole in the back of her cap. “You’ve probably seen her and her husband, Stetson, at Moms on Main. He’s one of the bullfighters at the Cowtown rodeo. We’re lucky to get her. She used to work for some big fancy advertising firm in Dallas.”

  “How did she go from there to Little League?”

  “She went freelance, so she can work her schedule around her kids. Kind of like how you went from an ER nurse to a school nurse. Kids change everything.”

  “True.” Though there was more to Raquel’s decision.

  “So you and Slade seem cozy.”

  “I told you, we’re just friends.” Raquel cocked her head to the side.

  “Hunter told Max that Slade comes to y’all’s house for supper on Tuesdays. And I know y’all eat at Moms on Fridays since you’ve invited us.”

  “I got him into this, so I figure I owe him a few cooked meals.” Her stomach tumbled. Nerves over the first game or Lacie’s line of questioning? A little of both. “He felt like he owed me for cooking for him. We just kind of fell into a comfortable routine. He’s only here for two more months, so we don’t have time for anything other than friendship.”

  “He’s looking pretty comfy in Aubrey.”

  “All right, boys, take the field,” Slade called, and the boys scurried to the field as he helped Kendra gather her things and then walked toward the dugout. “Thanks for doing this, Kendra.”

  “No problem. I enjoyed it. Hey, that was some ride the other night.”

  “Yeah.” Slade folded her camera tripod. “Let me help you get this stuff to your car and then I’d better get to work. Let me know when the pictures are ready.”

  “Will do.” Kendra adjusted the strap on her camera and turned toward the parking lot. “Nice to meet you, Raquel.”

  “You too.”

  Ride? Slade must have gone to the rodeo over the weekend. Brant and Tori had invited Raquel several times, but bulls made her nervous and she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to ride one. She couldn’t even stand to watch. If Slade liked attending rodeos, that was just one more reason they were destined to be just friends.

  Now, if she could just get her erratic heart to understand that.

  Raquel and Lacie settled on the bleachers as the pregame practice started up. The other team’s boys were big. Really big.

  Oh, Lord, at least let our boys play well, whether they win or lose.

  Praying about Little League baseball? But she knew if they lost, and especially if they lost because of bad plays, the boys would be crushed.

  A familiar couple with a baby stroller crossed her line of vision. “Brant, Tori, I didn’t think y’all would come.”

  “I wouldn’t miss my favorite nephew’s baseball game. Not for anything.” Brant’s gaze locked on Slade.

  “You promised to be good.” Tori threaded her fingers through Brant’s and sat beside Raquel.

  “Is she awake?” Raquel peered into the stroller Brant parked by the end of the stands where he sat. Bright eyed, Lorraine looked up and smiled. “Give her to me.”

  Brant got Lorraine out of the stroller and passed her down to Raquel.

  “What do you think, Lorraine? Your first ball game. That’s your cousin, Hunter, in the dugout. Just wait till you see him bat.”

  Another familiar couple with a stroller approached. “Mitch, Caitlyn, I didn’t know y’all were coming.” Raquel moved her feet so they could sit in front of her.

  “We had to see Hunter’s first game.” Caitlyn sat down on the bleachers. “And Mitch wanted to check out this Slade guy.”

  Raquel’s face heated.

  “Hunter talks about him all the time,” Mitch whispered. “I had to come see if he passed muster. Not just anybody can get away with spending time with my favorite single mom.”

  “Let me hold that beautiful baby,” Lacie gushed. “No worries. Slade is great. Exactly what Raquel and Hunter need.”

  “Excuse me?” Raquel’s face steamed. “Hunter is all I need.”

  Brant clenched his jaw.

  Thankfully, the game got into gear. The opposing team was up to bat first. After what seemed like an eternity, Hunter’s team finally got the third out.

  In the home team’s first inning, some of the boys hit base runs, and some struck out or got tagged before they got to the base. When Hunter came up to the plate, Raquel’s insides stilled.

  Thwack. Hunter hit the first pitch. The home team cheered and Raquel didn’t breathe until he made it safely to first base. But the next batter struck out and Hunter’s team had to take the field.

  Halfway through the inning, the opposing team hit a grounder and it went straight for Hunter. He bent down with his glove between his legs, but the ball rolled right between his feet.

  Raquel closed her eyes. He’d be upset for days about that. The kid in the outfield missed it, too. Several minutes passed before he caught up with the ball and lobbed it back to the field. At least the bases hadn’t been loaded and their opponent got only two runs out of it.

  “Good try, boys,” Slade called. Even tempered, calm, encouraging—not an ounce of frustration or disappointment in his tone. “Be sure and get down with your glove in the dirt, against the ground, so the ball can’t get through.” He squatted to demonstrate.

  And her heart warmed toward him again. He really was great with the kids.

  The boys ended up losing by four runs. Not bad at all, but Raquel knew exactly how upset they were. Lined up in the dugout, heads down, eyes on the dirt with the parents waiting off to the side.

  “This was only our first game.” Slade leaned on a bat. “And yes, we lost, but only by four runs. We learned some things about what we need to work on. All in all, I’m pretty pumped about our team. Baseball is about learning—with every game we play, we learn and develop our skills.

  “And in the meantime, a very generous donor offered to buy every boy on the team a burger, fries and a Coke at Moms on Main after each game all season. I already checked with your parents on this, so let’s go.”

  “Even though we lost?” Hunter piped up.

  “Yep. And if we win, you each get an ice-cream sundae, too.”

  A cheer rose up from the dugout. She’d have to remember to tell Tori to thank Garrett Steele again. Food alwa
ys cheered up the male species.

  “And while we eat, we’ll talk strategy. Everybody in.”

  The boys stood, piling their fists on top of Slade’s.

  “Go team!” they shouted in unison.

  Each boy scurried to his waiting family. Hunter hurried to Raquel.

  Brant and Tori and Mitch and Caitlyn had already gone. And Raquel was the only one alone. Many of the boys had stepfathers or moms’ boyfriends, the result of divorces or, like Hunter and Max, death. But Max and Lacie had Quinn now. While Raquel and Hunter were still alone.

  How awesome it would be to have an intact family. A husband. A father. Maybe even more children.

  Who was she kidding? Her gaze settled on Slade as he approached. How awesome it would be to have Slade as a husband. As a stepfather for Hunter.

  “Did Tori and Brant leave?” The object of her thoughts spoke.

  “Yeah, Lorraine was tired.”

  “Mom, can Max ride with us?”

  “Sure. Just ask his parents.”

  Hunter darted off.

  Disappointment shone in Slade’s eyes. “I was hoping Tori would go to Moms with us.”

  “I invited them, but Brant’s still being kind of stubborn about things.”

  “He checked my records at the hospital. He knows my paternity test is real. I even gave Tori a copy of the will. Lancaster marked out the amount, but that’s not the point anyway.”

  “Brant knows you’re on the up and up.” She closed her eyes. “But he still doesn’t trust you. I’m hoping seeing you coach the kids might help.”

  “How?”

  “You were very patient and encouraging. I have this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by watching them interact with kids.”

  “And I passed.”

  “With flying colors.”

  Every test. The test of her heart. The test of her son. If only he could pass the test of her brother and stay in Aubrey.

  But would that test God?

  * * *

  The team had lost Thursday night, too. But again, it hadn’t been a blowout, at least. And Slade had gotten to see Tori and Raquel several times thanks to baseball.