Showdown

by Amy Elizabeth

  As soon as his morning shift was finished on Saturday, Tommy hopped in his truck and headed north. His sister was waiting for him when he pulled up to the campsite, standing beside a stocky guy in a Celtics sweatshirt and a Red Sox cap.

  “Tommy, this is Jeff,” she said.

  Kelly and Jeff didn’t date long–they were a wrong fit from the start–but Tommy scored a great friendship out of it. Jeff Sheehan was new to town and was feeling a little displaced, and aside from Alec, Tommy didn’t have any friends in Jackson.

  Their family situations, it turned out, were also very similar.

  “I’m trying to get my sister out here,” Jeff confessed one night when they were hanging out at a sports bar. “Sounds like things are getting really bad at home again.”

  Jeff mentioned his sister constantly, but she never materialized so Tommy never thought anything of it. That fall, rather than joining the circuit again, he landed a job at a small cattle ranch a few hours south of Jackson. It wasn’t the Flying W by any stretch, but it was nice to spend the winter in one place rather than driving all over the country.

  As an added bonus, he was finally able to purchase his own horse–a six-year old buckskin Quarter horse named Joaquin.

  In the middle of May, he made arrangements to ship Joaquin up to Jackson. A few days later he headed up there himself, stopping in town at his favorite barbecue place. Before he could step through the door, though, he ran right into Jeff.

  “How ya been, buddy?” Jeff greeted, giving him a rib-shattering slap on the back. “When’d you get into town?”

  “Just now,” Tommy replied. “What’s new with you?”

  “I got myself a roommate for the summer.”

  “Oh, yeah? Who?”

  “My sister. She flew in from Boston this morning. Why don’t you come back to my place so you can meet her?”

  Again, Tommy didn’t think anything of it as he followed Jeff back to his apartment. He figured he’d meet his sister, make the obligatory small talk, and then head up to the Flying W to start his summer.

  Only later would he look back and put all the pieces of his life together; all the twists and turns that led him to that precise moment.

  If he hadn’t confronted his father, he never would have left home at sixteen.

  If he hadn’t left home at sixteen, he never would have met Walter.

  If he hadn’t met Walter, he never would have ended up in Wyoming.

  If he hadn’t ended up in Wyoming, he never would have met Jeff.

  And if he hadn’t met Jeff, he never would have walked into his apartment that day and fallen instantly, hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Rebecca Sheehan.

  Chapter 8

  “Bec, this is Tommy,” Jeff was saying. “Tommy, my sister Rebecca.”

  Rebecca politely extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Tommy remained frozen in place, convinced he was imagining the whole scene. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t the girl standing before him.

  He’d always been a sucker for girls with red hair–and freckles–and Rebecca had both. Her hair wasn’t the pale strawberry blond color he typically saw in the south, but rather a deep, rich shade of auburn. She was tall and lean and her eyes were a mesmerizing shade of green, but what really got him was her smile. It was the kind of smile that could win a man’s heart and break it in the same instant.

  And that’s exactly what it did to Tommy.

  He soon discovered that she loved horses and she was looking for a job, so without even thinking he offered to bring her to the ranch. And the more time they spent together, the harder he fell for her. Everything about her drove him wild, from her accent to the way she laughed to the impossibly perfect shape of her long, slender legs. It was as if she’d crawled inside his head and hijacked every single one of his thoughts. He literally couldn’t stop thinking about her, no matter what time of day or night.

  She hadn’t even been on the ranch for a full week yet when Tommy broke down and dialed Jeff’s number. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Would this something have anything to do with my sister?”

  “Yeah. I want to ask her out, but I wanted to run it by you first.”

  “I appreciate that,” his friend replied. “Honestly, I don’t have a problem with it, but there are a few things you should know.”

  There was nothing Jeff could tell him that would change his opinion of Rebecca, but he listened anyway. “Go ahead.”

  “She just got out of a really bad relationship. Like…really bad. So I don’t know how open she’s going to be to the idea right now.”

  “Point taken. Is there anything else?”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said. “If you hurt her, I’ll break every bone in your body.”

  With Jeff’s less than traditional blessing, Tommy went ahead and asked Rebecca to dinner. He wasn’t surprised when she turned him down–not after what Jeff had told him–but still, her rejection stung.

  It was too much too soon, he decided. What she really needed was a friend, not a boyfriend, and he was okay with that. He could certainly be her friend–for now–and maybe later in the summer she would start to feel differently.

  And she did.

  But not about him.

  The first time Tommy saw it was during the cattle drive with the Holloways. He may not have known everything about love, but he knew enough to recognize the look on Rebecca’s face as she watched Alec play his guitar. Still, he was quick to assure himself that it was nothing–a passing infatuation at most.

  The next day, though, at the base of Trapper’s Ridge, Tommy saw Alec holding her in a way that went far beyond their relationship as employer and employee.

  Seriously? he thought. Rebecca and Alec?

  He hadn’t seen Alec with anyone since Shania, and that was more than five years earlier. And although he’d never found out what happened between them, the only logical conclusion was that Alec had hurt her. Really hurt her.

  Did that mean he was going to hurt Rebecca, too?

  He looked for any indication that the pattern was repeating itself, but there wasn’t any. As improbable as their romance seemed, by the end of the summer Tommy had to accept that it was legitimate. They were crazy about each other; he could see it on their faces whenever they were together.

  And if Tommy had any lingering doubts about Alec’s intentions or motives, they were laid to rest the night of the fire–the night all three of them came dangerously close to losing their lives. Tommy did everything that Alec did for her that night–he was even the one to pull her from the barn before it collapsed–yet she still chose Alec. Then she returned to Boston, only to come back to Wyoming a few months later…to be with Alec.

  By the springtime they were engaged, and the following summer they were married in an elegant ceremony inside the lodge. Tommy loyally stood beside Alec, feeling another piece of himself die inside with each step Rebecca took down the aisle. He willed her to look his way–just once, just for an instant–but she only had eyes for Alec.

  Still, he dutifully assumed his role as best man, delivering the speech he’d memorized weeks earlier. He made a toast and he wished the newlyweds well and he made everyone laugh, just like he was supposed to do. Then he took a seat and watched her from across the room, allowing himself one brief moment to imagine that she’d chosen him instead.

  He didn’t make a habit of fantasizing about her–in the end, it hurt more than anything else–but right now she looked so beautiful that he couldn’t help it. He imagined that he was the one who would take her home tonight; that he’d be the one to undo each of those tiny pearl buttons down the back of her dress; that he’d be the one to lay her down and make love to her and swear that he’d never let her go.

  Then he imagined what it would be like to wake up to her incredible smile–tomorrow, the next day, and every morning for the rest of his life–and he felt a hot, unexpected flare of anger.
>
  Damn you, Alec. She could have been mine.

  No one had a clue what was going on inside his head, of course, because he’d mastered the art of being her friend. Hell, he’d gotten so good at pretending not to be in love with Rebecca that sometimes he could almost convince himself that he wasn’t. Then she’d giggle at one of his jokes or she’d blush when somebody teased her, and he’d fall for her all over again.

  He had no idea that it was possible to fall in love so many times with the same person…but it was.

  Which also meant that he’d had his heart broken a million different times, too. Every time she smiled at Alec, he felt that old familiar twinge of jealousy. And every time he saw them touch or kiss, it was nothing less than a bullet to his heart. The only thing that comforted him was the knowledge that Alec truly made her happy.

  It was obvious that he did. Tommy had seen enough bad relationships to recognize a good one, and theirs was a good one. They worried about each other constantly. They were fiercely protective of each other. Sometimes, too, he’d catch Rebecca daydreaming with a little smile on her lips, and he knew that she was thinking about Alec.

  At the end of the day, though, Alec was his friend, so Tommy harbored no ill will toward him. As long as he continued to treat Rebecca well, Tommy could respect the fact that they were together. For a while he did toy with the idea of leaving the ranch, as he wasn’t sure if his heart could handle seeing them together every day.

  Then he reminded himself of the decision he made the week he met her–simply to be her friend–and he realized that he’d rather continue to have her as his friend than not have her in his life at all. So he stayed, and for the most part he had no regrets about that decision.

  After all, the Flying W was his home now…even if it meant watching the woman he loved share her life with someone else.

  *

  As time went on, it did get easier for Tommy.

  Their wedding day was his lowest point; he went back to his cabin after the reception and consumed more alcohol than any person should ever consume in one night. Then he awoke the next morning and realized that what was done was done. She’d made her choice, and it wasn’t him.

  Now he had his own choice to make–he could let it destroy him, or he could move on.

  Granted, moving on was easier said than done. It wasn’t that he wasn’t open to the idea of a serious relationship; he was just the type of man that women didn’t take seriously. He’d dated a few girls in high school, but after that, his love life typically amounted to lonely cowgirls who prowled the rodeo grounds in search of their own rodeo for a night.

  For the most part, Tommy fit that job description pretty well. He was easygoing and unattached, he had a few good moves on the dance floor, and he could find a genuine compliment for any woman.

  “You’re not like the other guys,” they’d always say to him. “You’re so nice.”

  And it was true. He was nice, not even because that’s how he wanted to be but because it was the way he was wired. There were times when he actually wished he was more of a jerk, because those were the guys that women always fell for.

  For the life of him, Tommy couldn’t understand why. He could never bring himself to behave that way. Why? Because he was too nice.

  He was that guy who was every woman’s friend and nobody’s boyfriend.

  Not that it deterred his colleagues from trying to change that. Every other week, it seemed, Jeff or Allison would have some new girl they wanted to set him up with. He’d be a good sport and agree to a date, but in the end, it never worked out. Tommy was searching for something real, while the girls were merely looking for a good time.

  After a while, he started to feel like the human equivalent of a cocktail dress–something that was fun to wear for the night but totally impractical for everyday use.

  He had no reason to think that anything would be different when Jeff mentioned the new English teacher at the high school. “Honestly, Jeff,” Tommy broke in, “I’m kind of over it.”

  “No, I’m telling you…she’s different. She’s fresh off the farm, just out of school–”

  “I know a country song that goes something like that.”

  Jeff sighed. “You’re coming to the rodeo anyway, right? She’s going to be there with us, and I want you to meet her.”

  Tommy reluctantly agreed and then proceeded to spend the rest of the week wishing he hadn’t. The only reason he was even going to the rodeo was because it was Rebecca’s first time competing and he’d promised to cheer her on. Now he was being forced into a blind date when all he really wanted was to watch Rebecca ride and enjoy his day off.

  But–being the nice guy that he was–he dutifully donned his best shirt, splashed on some cologne, and drove into town for the Fourth of July Rodeo. The sun was blistering overhead as he stepped out of his truck, with temperatures soaring over eighty degrees.

  He strode through the grandstands and rounded the corner towards the arena barn, only to smash right into somebody. The woman gasped as her cup toppled from her hand, and Tommy gasped a second later when the icy lemonade drenched the front of his shirt.

  “I am so sorry,” she said as she knelt to retrieve the cup.

  In spite of himself, Tommy chuckled. “It’s fine. I needed to cool off anyway.”

  She echoed his laugh as she stood, and he couldn’t help but notice the embarrassed flush on her cheeks. Actually, he noticed twenty different things about her, which was strange because she wasn’t his type. She was easily a foot shorter than him, with hazel eyes and dark shoulder-length hair. She wore a simple yellow sundress and tan boots, and the understated look suited her well.

  Normally he wouldn’t give a woman like her a second glance, but for some reason that’s exactly what he did.

  She stared back at him, too, before she dropped her gaze to his shirt. “Can I get you some napkins or something?”

  “Nah. I’ll be dry in a couple of minutes.”

  “Okay.” She mirrored his grin before she tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Well…I’m sorry again.”

  Tommy was almost disappointed when she spun on her heel and vanished into the crowd. He hadn’t even gotten her name…not that it mattered. Thanks to Jeff and Allison–and Tommy’s inability to say no–he already had a date for the event.

  At last he entered the barn and spotted Rebecca and Star at the end of the aisle. “How ya feeling?” he called.

  “Terrified,” she replied. “I can’t believe you used to do this for a living.”

  “It wasn’t much of one,” he said, smoothing his hand down Star’s forelock. “Just forget about the audience. Pretend like you’re back at home practicing in the corral.”

  “Easy as that, huh?” Only then did she notice the gigantic wet spot on his shirt. “What happened to you?”

  He couldn’t help but laugh. “Had a little run-in with somebody.”

  Rebecca grinned. “Speaking of which, have you met Liz yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Alli says she’s really cute. And super sweet.”

  “They always are.”

  She gave him a playful nudge. “Don’t be so cynical. It’s not your style.”

  Tommy conceded the point with a sigh. “I’ll let you finish getting ready,” he said, giving Star’s neck a final pat. “Good luck today.”

  He didn’t miss the mischievous glimmer in Rebecca’s eye. “You, too.”

  Unlikely, he thought, but he managed not to say it.

  He walked back to the grandstands and scanned the crowds for Jeff’s Red Sox cap. It only took a minute to spot him and Allison sitting near the top of the bleachers. As he climbed the steps, he realized that theirs weren’t the only faces he recognized.

  The woman sitting beside Allison was wearing a yellow sundress, and when she met his gaze her cheeks turned a hundred shades of red.

  “’Bout time you got here,” Jeff greeted.

  Allison stood and motioned for him to squee
ze past her. “Tommy, this is Liz,” she said, simultaneously gesturing to the woman beside her and frowning at Tommy’s midsection. “What happened to your shirt?”

  When Tommy glanced at Liz again, both of them stifled a laugh. As he took his seat beside her, he was suddenly very, very glad that Jeff had talked him into this.

  *

  Before the first event was over, Tommy was smitten.

  Jeff was right, he realized. Liz was different than the other girls they’d set him up with. She was twenty-two, an only child, grew up near Omaha, and she’d just graduated from the University of Wyoming. He managed to skirt the subject of his own upbringing–after this long, he’d gotten good at it–and kept the focus on her.

  It wasn’t hard to do. She wasn’t a knockout by any definition, but Tommy couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. At one point, when she leaned over to say something to Allison, her leg brushed against his. He purposely didn’t move away, waiting to see if she would.

  She didn’t. When she turned her attention back to the arena, her knee stayed right where it was, gently resting against his.

  “So how did you end up in Jackson, then?” she asked.

  Tommy gave his usual answer. “I took a summer job on a ranch and never left.”

  “And you manage it now?”

  He raised a brow. “Who told you that?”

  Liz gave a discreet nod in Allison’s direction. “She’s been talking you up.”

  “Oh, yeah? How am I doing so far?”

  “Aside from running me over earlier? Not bad.”

  He couldn’t help but mirror her grin. “Wanna risk another trip to the beer tent?”

  She laughed. “I think you should be asking yourself that.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” he said, turning to his friends. “You guys want anything?”

  “Grab me a Coors?” Jeff replied.

  “And I’ll take a lemonade,” Allison chimed in.

  Liz followed a step behind him as they descended the bleachers and made their way to the concession stand. “So what’s your drink of choice?” he asked.