by Quint, Suzie
Daisy shrugged. “You see her out here?”
Sol grimaced. So Leah was MIA, and Daisy needed a rider. He hated being in this position. He knew Georgia would say no. She didn’t like Eden around rodeos. She said it was because she was afraid their daughter would realize how dangerous bull riding was and she’d start to worry about her daddy, but Sol wasn’t sure he believed that. Not that it mattered because her answer was still going to be no. “We’ll need to ask your mama.”
He watched the light go out of Eden’s eyes. She knew as well as he did what Georgia would say. Daisy had come up behind Eden, and Sol could see from the look on her face that she was disappointed for Eden but not surprised. She, too, knew what the answer would be, but Daisy had made sure she wasn’t the one to stomp on Eden’s new dream. Just like he was pushing the decision off on Georgia, making her play the heavy.
Damn. She was right. He didn’t make any decisions about how Eden was raised.
So fuck Georgia. He’d always thought he was doing the right thing, letting her have all the say, but if she wanted him to make decisions, then, by God, he would. And if barrel racing was what made his daughter happy, he was going to make sure she at least got to try.
Before he could open his mouth to tell his daughter, he stopped. This was not going to be popular with Georgia. It might even torpedo any chance of winning her back. But if he rolled over on this, he was sacrificing his daughter’s dreams. Not to mention that he might as well hand his balls over to Georgia because he obviously wouldn’t ever use them again.
“You know what, dumplin’? I bet I can find a Little Britches Rodeo next month. If that ain’t too small-time for Daisy, I think you should make your world debut there. You think you and that old plug’ll be ready?”
Eden’s face lit up as if someone had thrown a joy switch. She breathed heavily twice as though she needed time to check the reality of his promise. “Really, Daddy? Really?”
“Yes, really.” A grin tugged at his mouth, but he held it in, just letting his lips turn up at the corners.
His daughter’s bright eyes grew wary. “What about Mama? What’s she going to say?”
Careful not to let his certainty of Georgia’s reaction show in either his face or his voice, Sol said, “I’ll talk to your mama. In the meantime, you got a lot of practicing to do.” He nodded toward Daisy and Spitfire. “You best get to it.”
Eden started to bounce away, but Sol called her back. “You know what else? You’re old enough now to go up to the swimmin’ hole any time the rest of the kids go.”
Eden’s eyes grew round, but she didn’t question him. The swimmin’ hole was a rite of passage for the McKnight kids, and she’d been dying for the okay to go. Sol had bitten his tongue over Georgia’s refusal to give Eden permission, but those days were over.
Georgia had said she wanted him to make decisions. She should’ve been more careful what she wished for.
###
“So you don’t think I’m doing something stupid?” Georgia asked. She wasn’t sure how she wanted Daniel to react. A hint of, well, jealousy would be reassuring. Nothing Sol-sized, but maybe something in his tone of voice? After all, for whatever reason, she was going on a date with Tommy, a guy Daniel didn’t know anything about except what Georgia told him. For all Daniel knew, Tommy might be ready to rebound. He might even have been carrying a torch for her since high school. He wasn’t, of course, but Daniel didn’t know that. A touch of jealousy, a slightly discernible twinge, was all Georgia was asking for, but no-o-o-o. Daniel had to act all reasonable and understanding. He even empathized with Tommy. It was enough to make Georgia feel like sulking.
“You mean cheating on me?”
“What? No. Oh no, no.” Her heart was pounding a mile a minute.
Daniel laughed. “Relax, Georgia. I’m teasing you. What I think is that you’re being generous and compassionate. If that’s stupid, the world could use a lot more of that kind of stupidity.”
Daniel’s trust in her was sweet, but she’d rather he’d meant the comment about her cheating on him. She was ready for a more possessive sort of relationship. He should want all her generosity and compassion directed at him. Exclusively.
She sighed. “I guess if you think helping Tommy through this is okay, Sol can learn to deal with it. In the meantime, maybe you can help me solve a real problem.”
“I live to solve problems for you. Shoot.”
Would that it were true, but just that he said it made Georgia smile. “How do I tell Sol to stop swearing in front of Eden?”
“He’s been swearing in front of his daughter?” Daniel’s voice conveyed his shock. “Did you hear him do it?”
“No, but I was on the phone with Eden yesterday and she nearly said ‘son of bitch.’ She has to be getting that from Sol.”
“She nearly said it? What does that mean?”
“It means she said, ‘son of a b-b-b-behind.”
Daniel laughed.
“Yeah, I can almost see the humor in it, but it won’t be so funny when school starts and other parents complain.” The tuition at the private school Eden attended was beyond Georgia’s means, but because Georgia taught there, Eden was eligible for a scholarship. That scholarship wouldn’t last if Eden started teaching the other kids the finer points of swearing.
“Yeah, that won’t be pretty,” Daniel said, but he was still laughing.
“And you know the first one she’ll teach those words to will be Deanne.”
There. That sobered him up.
“Okay. Then you have to talk to Sol. Just tell him to knock it off.”
“You think it’s that simple?”
“Yeah, I do. This is his daughter. He’s going to want to set a good example.”
And that was why Daniel was the perfect man to build a family with. Because to him, it really was that simple. Nothing with Sol was ever simple.
“Okay. I’ll tell him. And then when he argues, I’ll tell him . . . what? What do I threaten him with?”
“Tell him . . . tell him he can be replaced.”
She caught her breath. That almost sounded like Daniel was volunteering. If it hadn’t come when she least expected it, she could have steered the conversation farther down that road. She wished she could see the look on his face.
While she was reeling, Daniel turned the conversation to how Deanne’s visit with her mother was going. Georgia barely heard the first few sentence, but she must have made the appropriate noises because he didn’t seem to notice. When she finally engaged her brain, she was glad to hear that, so far, his daughter hadn’t called asking him to come get her. In Daniel’s conversations with his ex, which he insisted on daily, he’d detected no signs that she was drinking.
“She swears she’s on the wagon permanently.”
“But you’re not so sure,” Georgia said, reading his tone.
“I don’t know. She’s never made it this far before. Maybe I’m being cynical because I’m afraid to hope. It would be great if she could bring something positive to Deanne’s life.”
“Yes, that’d be fantastic.” And it would be for Deanne. And for Daniel. It had crossed Georgia’s mind to wonder what that would do to her plans if Daniel’s ex turned her life around. At the moment, it seemed like a silly thing to worry about. “Is Deanne still coming home in two weeks?”
Daniel hesitated. “Tracy wants more time with her, but she says it’s my call. She’s invited me to go down to Houston for a few days. I think she wants me to see for myself that she’s gotten her act together.”
Well, maybe not completely silly. “Oh. Are you going to?”
“Yeah, I am. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon. Tracy’s got a spare room I can stay in.”
Uh-oh. What if she wanted him back? No, Georgia decided, still floating on Daniel’s earlier comment. She didn’t have to worry about that. No matter what Tracy wanted, Daniel was too levelheaded to jump back into that. Wasn’t he?
That quickly, her euphoria vanished.
It would be just her luck. While she’d been processing the risk, she’d let an unnatural pause develop. Be supportive. Be the woman he wants. “I’m sure Deanne will be excited to see you again.”
“I sure hope so. When you’re just boring old dad, it’s hard to compete.”
“I know exactly how you feel. I talk to Eden almost every day, but our conversations rarely last more than five minutes. There are just too many fun things for her to do on the ranch.” And of course, it would never occur to an eleven-year-old that her mother missed her. “The excitement will wear off eventually, I’m sure.”
“You’re probably right. You usually are when it comes to the girls.”
Georgia doubted that either of them really believed their brave words.
“Well, you have fun this weekend,” Georgia said. “And give Deanne my love.”
“I will. Give the same to Eden.”
After they hung up, Georgia decided life wasn’t fair. She had a date; Daniel had a sleepover.
Chapter Thirteen
The band was playing Garth Brooks’ Standing Outside the Fire when Georgia walked into The Lariat Friday evening. The dance floor was busy but not yet packed. In the middle of the room, Zach and Maddie’s party had shoved several tables together. Georgia headed for the bar where Tommy was tapping a pitcher of beer for the waitress.
“What can I getcha, darlin’?” he asked when he’d satisfied those waiting ahead of her.
“Scotch on the rocks.”
“Good stuff or rotgut?”
“Rotgut. The good stuff’s wasted on me.”
Tommy grabbed a rocks glass and a bottle from the shelf behind him. “If you don’t like it, why are you drinking it?”
“If I don’t like it, it lasts longer.”
Tommy’s eyebrows rose. “I’m guessing you ain’t talked to Sol yet.”
“No, and I need to be mostly sober to tell him what we’re doing.” Though a little Dutch courage was welcome.
“You’re not going to bail on me tomorrow, are ya?” After Tommy had heard one of Missy’s swains ask her to the drive-in, he’d wheedled one of the other bartenders into taking his Saturday night shift.
“I won’t let you down.”
She took her drink and walked up behind Sol’s chair.
Sitting across the table from Sol, Gideon lifted his head and said, “Hey, Georgia.”
Georgia waved a greeting at everyone.
Sol twisted in his chair and looked up at her. “I didn’t think you was coming.”
“I didn’t either.” Georgia grabbed a chair from a nearby table as Sol made room for her. “But your mama showed up and said she wanted to spend the evening visiting with my folks.”
Sol’s eyebrows rose and his eyes widened.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Our folks get along okay, but they’ve never been close.” And tonight’s “visit” wouldn’t change that. Her mama hadn’t wanted her to go—she didn’t need a bunch of words for Georgia to know that—but Grams had jumped in and welcomed Ruth as if they were old friends, so Georgia had gotten away relatively easily. “It didn’t take long to figure out your mama was there so I wouldn’t miss the party. She’s got a big heart.”
“And a sneaky streak.” Sol grinned. “She didn’t let on at all.”
Georgia looked around the table, taking note of who was there.
Sol’s brother Jake had a girl Georgia didn’t know on his lap, her arms draped around his neck. Even more than his brothers, Jake never seemed to lack female companionship.
Their sister Rachel and her husband, Mac, had driven up from Galveston. Georgia had only briefly met Rachel’s husband at Zach and Maddie’s wedding the year before. Only married a few months, Rachel’s normally sharp-edged personality seemed to have been blunted by a contentment Georgia had never seen in her before.
Ephram’s presence gave her a shock. He’d been only eight or nine when she and Sol got married, and now he was old enough to be in a bar. Gram’s was right about how quickly time passed.
While Zach was talking to Sol, Maddie reached over and lifted the black cowboy hat off his head. Zach jolted a little—the guys were all territorial about their hats—but when he saw it on his wife, he smiled, tilted his head to get in under the brim, and kissed her. After a moment of eye gazing, Maddie turned to talk to Rachel.
The pretty girl on Jake’s lap whispered into his ear. Whatever she said made his eyebrows rise. Then he nuzzled her neck and she laughed.
The night was young enough that the band was still throwing an occasional slow song into the mix. When they started Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man, Georgia sat back and listened.
A verse into it, Sol was leaning toward her in a way that shut everyone else out. “You like this song?”
Georgia nodded. “I haven’t heard it in a long time. Daddy’s band used to play it.”
“I didn’t know your daddy played music.”
“He hasn’t for a long time.” Not since she was twelve or so.
“What did he play?”
“Lead guitar. He was really good.” The guitar was still in the garage, but her father never picked it up.
“Why’d he quit?”
“Mama didn’t like it. She thought he wasn’t around enough what with working all day and then playing in the bars or going off to practice with the band.” Georgia hadn’t thought about that time of her life for ages. The Before Years. That was how she thought of them. She wondered now if there had been more to it. If her mother had worried about what opportunities her daddy had with other women when he played the bars. “They almost got divorced.”
“How old were you when that happened?”
“I was eleven when Daddy moved out.”
Sol’s head came forward. “He actually left y’all?”
“For about a year.” It had been the worst year of her life. Even worse than the year she’d married Sol.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Why would you? It was old news by the time we got together.” Georgia shrugged. “And he came back.”
“But a year. That’s a long time when you’re a kid.” He watched her as though he was looking for evidence of the emotional scars. “But at least they worked it out.”
“Yeah.” Sort of. Her daddy had come home and hung up his guitar. Her parents had squabbled for a while, but they hadn’t fought like they had before. Mostly, Georgia thought, because the heart had gone out of her father. But when her mama wasn’t around and it had been him and his daughters, it was wonderful. Almost like it had been before.
Even then, Georgia was old enough to know that sometimes married people stayed together “for the children.” So she figured he’d come home for her and Bethany. At twelve, she’d sworn she would never have a marriage like her parents’, but only six years later, that was exactly what she’d had. A case of repetition compulsion? Sure looked like it to her.
“Hey, Zach,” Jake said loud enough to be heard over the upbeat song the band had started. “Do you know the difference between a hooker, a nymphomaniac, and a wife?”
The question pulled everyone’s attention. Zach’s gaze shifted to Maddie for a split second before he said, “Nope.”
“A hooker says, ‘Ain’t it over yet?’ A nympho says, ‘Is it over already?’ A wife says, ‘I think I’ll paint the ceiling beige.’“ Jake broke up and everyone laughed with him.
“Is that what you think about, darlin’?” Zach asked.
Maddie’s eyes sparkled. “No. I don’t really like beige. But I have thought about a nice blue with fluffy, white clouds.”
After they laughed, Mac said, “You know the definition of nympho, don’t you, Jake?”
Everyone waited.
“It’s a woman who wants it one more time than you can give it to her.”
Rachel slapped his arm while everyone laughed.
Mac grinned, not bothered in the least. “That’s why Rachel did most of the driving. I had to rest, so I can keep her hap
py.”
“Whoa,” Jake yelled. “Too much information. I don’t need to know that about my sister.”
“I really don’t need to know that,” Sol said. “‘Specially since they’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”
So Sol had given up his trailer for them. That was nice. It also ensured that Georgia couldn’t have a stupid attack and go home with him. It occurred to her that she couldn’t even think about that while pretending to date Tommy. That’s good. I think.
“If you’re trying to embarrass me,” Rachel said to her husband, “maybe I should tell them about the hotel guest who had you drooling so bad that you were almost stepping on your tongue.”
Even in the bar lighting, Mac’s blush was obvious. “I wasn’t drooling,” Mac said as the table hooted encouragement to hear the story.
“You most certainly were. One look and your head circled around like an owl’s,”—Rachel spun a finger in the air –”because you couldn’t take your eyes off that guest. I thought your head was going to come unscrewed.”
Mac’s blush deepened.
“And you weren’t jealous?” Maddie asked the question Georgia had been thinking. If she had a husband who looked at other women that blatantly, she’d have been a widow seconds later.
Rachel laughed. “Oh, no. I understood, believe me. I’d kill for legs like that. And the dress showed off every asset. But I knew something Mac didn’t.” If Rachel’s grin didn’t promise a good finish to her story, Mac’s attempt to clamp his hand over her mouth did. Rachel kept talking while she fought him off. “You see, the guest was there for a convention.”
“Rachel, please,” Mac begged.
Rachel’s eyes sparkled as she leaned toward her audience. “A cross-dresser’s convention.”
Mac sagged in his chair as everyone howled.
Rachel let her brothers razz Mac for a couple of minutes before she pulled up a picture on her cell phone and, without a word, passed it around the table. The teasing quickly changed to expressions of disbelief that the person in the picture—a long-legged, statuesque beauty in a red formal gown slit up to the thigh—was a man.
