And Then You Dare (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 5)

by Heather A Buchman

  Bill’s heart went into his throat. “What is it sweetheart?”

  Chapter 20

  “Will you be at the rodeo tomorrow night?”

  Tristan smiled. “Of course I will be. I’ll be here all week.”

  “What do you say just the two of us go someplace quiet for dinner after?”

  “Bullet, I don’t—”

  “Just dinner Tristan. And talk. I’ll bring you home safe and sound before curfew.”

  She was a twenty-seven-year-old woman. She shouldn’t need a curfew. It wasn’t as though she had one, but since she was staying at Lyric’s house with her daddy and granddad, she had to show them respect, and that meant not staying out all night with Bullet.

  “I’d like that very much Bullet.”

  ***

  Buck Bishop couldn’t be at the rodeo tonight, but he told Bullet he’d be back the following night, and he expected to see his name on the short go. To move on to the next round, Bullet had to cover his bull again tonight. He sure hoped he did, especially with Tristan watching.

  “Hey Simmons,” Bullet heard someone shout. He turned his head to see Walter Harris approaching him. Bullet threw his rosin and some leather straps down on the ground. “What do you want?”

  “Just wanted to give you a heads-up, I’m here to win her back.”

  “I’m afraid you’re in for disappointment son, the lady has a date with me later on tonight, and every night after.”

  “I’m sure she’ll change her mind once she knows I’m here.”

  “She already knows, and I get the impression she doesn’t give a shit.”

  “You never forget your first. Ain’t that what they say? And I’ll tell you, after the first time, she turned into a real wildcat in bed. Woohee, she was some kind of—”

  Bullet had heard enough. He turned his back on Walter and watched as the next rider rosined his bull rope.

  “She’s a damn fine piece of ass, but my guess is you know that. She been makin’ the rounds of the bull riders here? Is that her thing now? I got her started—”

  Bullet jumped off the back of the chute and took a swing at Walter, then another. Stormy and some of the other guys from the Flying R team ran over and pulled Bullet off of him.

  “You keep your dirty, lyin’ mouth shut, you hear me asshole?” he shouted at him. Bullet rubbed his knuckles. He hit him with his riding hand, and that was damn stupid.

  The guys got between Bullet and Walter. “Get your head where it belongs Bullet. And you,” Stormy pointed at Walter. “Get the hell out of here. You don’t belong back here. If you don’t leave, I’ll have you thrown out.”

  Walter rubbed his jaw and smiled at Bullet. “Mark my words, that cowgirl will be leavin’ with me tonight.” He motioned in the direction of the Flying R reserved boxes.

  Bullet spun around to finish what he started, but Stormy stopped him. “He’s tryin’ to get into your head. Don’t play into his bullshit. Think Bullet. Get ready for your ride, and forget this asshole.”

  ***

  Tristan watched the whole thing take place. She hated that Walter was able to get such a reaction out of Bullet, especially when he was about to ride. Why the hell was Walter back here again tonight? She was about to find out for herself.

  “Where you goin’?” asked Lyric.

  “I need to ask someone something.”

  “You’re goin’ to talk to that cowboy that Bullet just leveled aren’t ya? Isn’t that the same guy I asked you about last night?”

  “Yes, it’s the same guy.”

  “You sure as hell aren’t goin’ to talk to him by yourself. Come on. I’ll go with ya.”

  “Lyric please. You don’t have to.”

  “Sisters stickin’ together,” Lyric said as she put her arm through Tristan’s and tugged her in Walter’s direction.

  “Well hey there darlin’, I was hopin’ I’d run into you tonight. Who’s this pretty young thing with ya? If you two lookin’ for some two-on-one action, I’m your man.”

  “I hate you,” Tristan spat at him. “I don’t know why I even bothered to come over here.”

  “Come on now, you know why you did. You miss me, admit it.”

  “I don’t see much about you there’d be to miss,” added Lyric. “What’re you, some kinda wannabe cowboy? Hangin’ out at the rodeo, hopin’ to pick up a cowgirl too stupid to know you aren’t the real thing?”

  “Oh my, I like this one. Fiery as hell.” Walter got closer to Lyric and was about to put his arm around her when she elbowed him in the stomach.

  “You touch me and I’ll finish what my brother started.”

  Walter dropped his arm. “Well, well, ain’t this interestin’? Bullet’s your brother? Is that what you said?”

  “Yep, that’s what I said. Now c’mon Tristan. This scumbag isn’t worth our time.”

  “Before you run off, there’s somethin’ important you need to know about your boyfriend.”

  “There isn’t anything you tell me that I’d believe.” Tristan turned to walk away. “Go to hell Walter.”

  “One day soon you’ll find out the truth about Bullet Simmons, and when you do, I’ll be here waitin’. No denyin’ it Tristan, you and I will be together again one day very soon.”

  “Hell will freeze over first,” Tristan said to Lyric. “I don’t know what I ever saw in that man.”

  “Well…”

  “What? After all the filth he just spewed? You can’t seriously think he’s anything but disgusting.”

  “It isn’t that, it’s just…”

  “Spit it out Lyric. It’s just what?”

  “Now that I’ve seen him up close, I never could’ve gone for him. I mean I know he’s an asshole, but before he opened his mouth, I never could’ve.”

  “I hate to even ask, but why not?”

  “You never noticed how much he looks like Bullet?”

  Ew. Now that Lyric mentioned it, they did have several physical characteristics in common. They were about the same height, same color hair, same blue eyes. They probably weighed close to the same too. If she had to describe either of them to a sketch artist, the description would be the same.

  “You don’t think it has anything to do with your brother and me, do you?”

  “Does it?”

  “God, Lyric. Of course it doesn’t.”

  “That’s good to hear. I’m sure Bullet wouldn’t notice. Guys never do.”

  “It’s a coincidence.”

  “He is disgusting. No offense.”

  Tristan shuddered. “You got that right. And none taken.”

  ***

  Bullet’s second ride was okay. Scored in the seventies, but with last night’s eighty-eight, his average put him in the top three. Tomorrow night’s ride would be the most important. Even if he covered his bull, he’d have to ride a score over eighty again to be in the top two that went on to the finals.

  Given the mosh-up with Walter Harris earlier, it was surprising he rode as well as he did tonight. Bullet knew better than to let another rider get into his head right before he got on a bull. He wished he knew why the hell the guy was still in town.

  Tristan was sitting in the stands alone when he came out from behind the chutes. He needed to stow his gear, but when he went to look for his rosin and tie-downs, they were gone. He wondered if that bastard Harris was the one to take them. They weren’t worth a lot, but that wasn’t the point. Among cowboys, a rider shouldn’t have to worry about his gear going missing.

  “Hey pretty lady.” She sure was a sight to behold. Her long dark brown hair shown through her straw drifter cowboy hat that sat low over her eyes. Her light pink tank top showed off her dark skin, tan from the sun. Her tight jeans were tucked into her Cinch Edge pink wave boots.

  “You talkin’ to me cowboy?” Tristan looked over both shoulders. “Guess I’m the only one here, so you must be.”

  “Even with a crowd of thousands, you’d always stand out as the prettiest of ’em all.”
<
br />   “Aw shucks, guess you know how to win a girl’s heart, don’t ya?”

  She was playing. Bullet knew that. But given what he wanted to talk to her over dinner tonight, their flirtation was turning his stomach.

  “Bullet? What’s wrong?”

  He wrapped his arm around and pulled her close to him. “Not a thing now that you’re in my arms.”

  “Did Walter get to you? I saw what happened.”

  “Nah. He’s not worth even thinkin’ about.”

  “Lyric and I went and talked to him. It was a waste of time.”

  He wished she hadn’t. And as much as he wanted to know what they talked about, he didn’t want it to monopolize their time together. “You ready darlin’?”

  “I am.” He took her hand and she followed. “Bullet, are you sure everything’s okay?”

  “Yes ma’am. Everything except I’m starvin’. How ’bout you?”

  Every time he tried to bring up his past over dinner, Tristan said something that made him want to wait. They were seated in a corner booth at the new Cowboy Star restaurant, and she cuddled right up next to him. As much as he knew he had to come clean with her, the idea of ruining such a perfect night was too much for him.

  “I have an idea,” she told him over dessert.

  “Yeah? I have a lot of ideas,” he nuzzled her neck, and trailed kisses back to her nape.

  “We have the same idea. And I have a surprise for you.”

  “You do?”

  Tristan had arranged for a room at the Broadmoor for the night. She told Bullet she hated lying to her daddy, but she told him she was going out with the girls, and instead of risking the drive home, they were adding on a sleepover at the posh hotel.

  “Won’t he find you out?”

  “Your sister swore everyone to secrecy. He and grandaddy are having dinner with your gram at Bill and Dottie’s again tonight. Everyone else is on their own.”

  “I sure nobody slips up and tells him.”

  “You scared of my daddy cowboy?”

  “You’re damn right I am.”

  “Yeah, you’re right to be.”

  “He ever meet Walter?”

  “Ugh. I wish you hadn’t brought him up.”

  “I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”

  “Just once, and he didn’t like him much. Turns out he was right. He usually is.”

  “What’s he think of me?”

  “I overheard him talking to your daddy last night. He said he thought you were a fine young man.”

  Really? That was a surprise. Unless Hugh McCullough was starstruck enough by his daddy that he just said it to be nice.

  ***

  Tristan watched Bullet as he slept. When they made love earlier, he was so tender. A couple times he just stopped moving, held her face in his hands, and stared into her eyes. It was as though he had something to say, but couldn’t bring himself to say it. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought he was getting ready to say goodbye.

  ***

  When Liv planned a real girls’ get together the following night, Tristan was in a bit of a bind. Bullet didn’t know whether her daddy knew she’d really been with him the night before, but when he told his daughter he understood and to go have a good time with her friends, Bullet breathed a sigh of relief.

  He’d miss being with her tonight, but she deserved to have some fun on her own.

  “You sure you don’t mind?” she pulled him around the corner to ask.

  “Of course I don’t.”

  She wanted to know what he was going to do. He’d probably just go back to the house and get some rest he told her. Things didn’t exactly go the way he’d planned. The guys from Flying R Rough Stock, along with his daddy hijacked him and Slade for a guy’s night out.

  “Hell,” said Billy. “If they can do it, so can we.”

  Bullet wondered who was watching Billy’s new baby, but that wasn’t any of his business so he didn’t ask.

  At four the next morning, he stumbled into bed, glad that he didn’t have to be back at the rodeo until four that afternoon. He hoped to hell he’d be sober by then.

  ***

  “I wonder how the guys are feelin’ this mornin’,” said Lyric.

  “Which guys?” asked Tristan.

  “All of ’em. From what Slade told me, things got pretty wild last night.”

  “Did Bullet go out with them?”

  “Oh yeah, and I guess he really tied one on. I think there might’ve even been some dancin’, and something about a fight. Oh yeah, that reminds me, he also said Walter Harris showed up.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “What? That’s what boys do when they go out to play Tristan. You oughta know that. It’s Cowboy Christmas. Not only do the cowboys get to ride and win, they also get to play.”

  “What happened with Walter?”

  “I’m not sure, but Slade said something about him confronting Bullet again.”

  “You don’t think Bullet and Slade ended up…”

  “Ended up what?”

  “You know, with other women?

  “Of course not, where did that come from?”

  From Walter. That’s where. He was the type of man she couldn’t trust to go out with the guys, because he’d end up with another woman.

  ***

  1980

  “I think I’m pregnant.”

  Bill was glad she told him to sit down, because if he hadn’t, he might’ve collapsed. “But I thought you couldn’t.”

  “The doctor said he didn’t think I could.”

  “Is it safe?” If Dottie put her health in jeopardy in order to have a child, Bill didn’t know what he’d do.

  “I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to confirm that I am really pregnant. I want you to go with me. We can ask questions then.”

  What if the doctor told them it wasn’t safe? What would they do? Would Dottie want to abort the baby? Or would she? Knowing his wife, she would never take the life of their child. Even if it meant her own life was at risk.

  Neither got much sleep. When Bill saw faint light through the window curtains, he got up and fed the animals. Dottie’s appointment was at nine. He had to keep himself busy until then or he’d go crazy.

  “Your test came back positive,” said the doctor. Dottie held Bill’s hand so tight while they waited, she near cut off his circulation. “I’d like you to have an ultrasound so we can determine how far along you are.”

  When the technician called Dottie’s name, Bill stayed in his chair in the waiting area.

  “Come on Bill Patterson, this child is as much your responsibility as mine,” Dottie winked at him.

  In the exam room, the technician rubbed gel all over Dottie’s belly and then ran a wand over the gel. A black and white image appeared on a screen that was partially obstructed from Bill’s view.

  The woman studied it for a few minutes, hitting buttons on a keyboard near the screen, and then recording information on a chart.

  “When was your last menstrual cycle?” she asked Dottie.

  “I don’t quite remember. I think it was two months ago. I didn’t think about it until the other day.”

  Bill wished he hadn’t been in the room for this part of the exam.

  “Do you want to know the sex of your baby, or do you want to wait?”

  Dottie looked at Bill. He couldn’t tell whether she wanted to know, or didn’t.

  “I want to know. Don’t you?”

  He did. But he still didn’t know if it was safe for her to be pregnant. He hated to get his hopes up, and hers, if something happened. “I think we should wait until after we talk to the doctor.”

  Dottie’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded her head. “I understand.”

  Bill’s heart was breaking into a million pieces. She looked so full of joy just a few minutes ago, and now she looked crestfallen. Once again, he’d been the one to cause her hurt.

  The technician got out another instrument. “This w
ill let us hear the baby’s heartbeat,” she told them. She ran it back and forth over Dottie’s belly and a minute later they heard a swishing sound.

  “Is that it?” Dottie asked.

  “Yes, it is,” smiled the woman.

  “Oh Bill, that’s our baby.”

  Tears spilled down Dottie’s cheeks. Bill squeezed her hand, and prayed. He made a deal with God that day. If he’d watch over Dottie and their baby, Bill would give up rodeo for good.

  Chapter 21

  “I’ll be in Cheyenne in two weeks, and then Nashville mid-August.”

  “I’ll take it. And then come January, I want to fly someplace warm, and have non-stop, sun-drenched sex with you for two weeks straight.”

  “Straight?”

  “Eating and sleeping will be the only allowable interruptions.”

  “You’re on Bullet. But don’t forget there’s a couple other important weeks in rodeo in between.”

  “That’s if I qualify.”

  There were the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas in October, and then the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association National Finals also in Las Vegas, in December. Tristan would be at both with Lost Cowboy and the new McCullough lines. Bullet would be at both too. Even if he didn’t qualify as a rider, he’d be there with Flying R Rough Stock.

  It was unlikely Tristan would be able to see him in September. She’d be showing at least two of the McCullough lines at the fall shows. Every minute between now and then, when she wasn’t at one of the bigger rodeos, she’d be working twenty hours days to have the collections ready.

  “I’m gonna miss you so damn much,” he said for the hundredth time.

  “I’m going to miss you too, but we’ll both be so busy, the time will pass quickly.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “Nope.”

  “That makes me feel a little better.”

  Tristan checked the time on her phone. Her daddy and granddad would be getting anxious soon. They were at the gate waiting to board the flight that would take them back to New York. It was due to take off in twenty minutes, and she wasn’t through security yet.

  “Bullet, I have to go.”

  “Just one more kiss.”