by Liz Isaacson
He pulled away with a chuckle, sliding his hand along her back and returning his fingers to hers. He squeezed. After clearing the emotion from his throat, he said, “Yeah, you should do that next time. It’s real convincing.”
Renee giggled beside him, and he now found the sound sexy. She laid her cheek against his shoulder, the ends of her hair tickling his bare bicep. “Well, what about some real dinner?” he asked. “Rodeo’s not until eight.”
“Dinner sounds great.” She picked up her funnel cake, which she’d barely touched. “This got soggy.”
“You want another one?”
“Yeah,” she deadpanned. “So you can tease me about eating two bowls of ice cream and then two funnel cakes.” She tossed the treat into the trashcan. “No thanks.”
“You can have mine.” He extended it toward her. “Powdered sugar doesn’t sogify anything.”
She pinched off a piece and stuck it in her mouth. “Why didn’t you eat it?”
He exhaled and gazed into the distance. “Paulette…destroys my appetite.” He’d been surprised that Renee had let him off the hook about Paulette. He should tell her that he and Paulette had been engaged, that the woman had left him standing at the altar by himself. He just didn’t want to see the sympathy in Renee’s eyes. He wanted to see the heat, the fun, the part of himself that he’d lost when he’d had to get a ride back to his cabin-for-one with Ted.
And so he reasoned that it was okay. Renee didn’t need to know everything up-front. That was what dating was for. “Hey,” he said as they strolled back toward the rodeo grounds, where he’d parked. “The Fourth of July festivities are coming up. I was thinking we should meet up. Go to the fireman’s breakfast, or watch the concert in the park, maybe even do the fishing contest.”
“First week of July, huh?” She swung their hands between them as they walked, and Justin felt like a five-year-old. He wanted to embrace it, but he just felt silly.
“The festivities run for the whole week before the Fourth,” he said. “The grand parade is always on the Fourth.”
A troubled look crossed her face, and she remained silent for too long. “What is it?” he asked. If she was the type of woman who couldn’t catch a fish, Justin was sunk. He went fishing to relax.
He stopped walking, right in the middle of the street. Good thing it was closed. “I’m a terrible kisser, aren’t I?” He gave her his best smile, the one he hadn’t pulled out in years. It felt good on his face.
She stared at him, horrified, for two heartbeats, and then flung herself into his arms. He twirled her around while they laughed. “Terrible,” she said when she sobered. But the blazing inferno in her eyes spoke a different story. She put some distance between them and added, “I just don’t know where I’m going to be living come July.” She slid him a glance out of the corner of her eye. “That’s not a couple of weeks away. That’s almost a month away.”
The wind went right out of his sails. “So you’re saying you’ll be moving in less than a month?” His hand in hers suddenly felt too intimate. He wasn’t interested in investing his heart and then having the woman leave town in less than thirty days.
“I don’t know.” She tucked her curls behind her ear. “I haven’t revealed some of my biggest flaws.”
“Well, let’s hear it.”
“Let’s make a deal,” she said.
Justin didn’t like the sound of that. “What kind of deal?”
She waited for him to unlock the truck and open her door. She watched him, and he didn’t like the weight of it. He finally faced her. “What kind of deal?” he asked again.
She rolled up onto her tiptoes but still couldn’t quite reach his eye-height. “I know you have more to say about Paulette. You tell me about her, and I’ll tell you about all my flaws.”
“All of them?”
She stepped up into the truck, smoothing her skirt down her legs, and twisted back to him. “All of them.”
Justin slammed the door behind her and took an extra moment before he stepped around the front of the truck. He had so much conflicting information inside. He liked Renee. Talking to her was easy. Kissing her had been fantastic. He still harbored some doubt about if she was the right fit for him. She was flirty and fun. Twenty-four.
He climbed into the cab, thinking maybe he needed to live a little more. Think younger. Be more spontaneous, the way Renee was. “So what are we eating for dinner?”
“Are there any good Chinese places in town?”
Justin lost his appetite, and he decided to be honest about it. “I don’t like Chinese food.”
“Shut your mouth.” Renee looked at him with mock horror.
“You shut yours.” He chuckled. “Burgers or fries? I like that. Mexican is great. I’ll take pasta over Chinese.”
“We had Mexican for lunch.”
“One can never have too much chips and salsa.”
She giggled. “I can forgive the Chinese food because of the salsa fetish.”
“I didn’t say I had a fetish.”
“Mm hm.” She steadfastly looked out her window. “At least I know what to bring you on your birthday. Orange Tic Tacs and chips and salsa.”
“The way to a man’s heart,” Justin said, chuckling even though the flavor combination sounded disgusting. “What about a diner? Breakfast for dinner?”
“Now you’re talking. Put bacon on something, and I’m your girl.”
The affection he had for her bloomed, expanded, brightened until he admitted to himself that he really liked Renee. Despite him feeling like an old man around her, despite the giggling, despite the previous disaster with her cousin, he really liked Renee Martin.
Justin may have consumed too many French fries at dinner. On top of the greasy funnel cake, and his stomach had him running to the restroom in between the team roping and the bronc riding.
He’d been giving Renee a blow-by-blow of each event, from what was a good score to who the cowboys were. He recognized several of them, as he’d only been out of the circuit for a little over two years.
Bitterness had lingered very close by for most of the evening. He’d taken the job at Brush Creek Ranch in the brief off-season, but he’d never thought he wouldn’t rejoin the circuit once he and Paulette were married.
That all changed when she skipped town and never came back. He’d never left again, and most days he didn’t regret that his life had gone from winning rodeos to training horses practically overnight. It was the horses he loved anyway. Not the traveling, or the cowgirls, or the late nights under the bright lights.
And he still had horses.
He stopped by the concessions stand on his way back to his seat, sure a soda would calm his stomach. The smell of the hamburgers almost had him running for the bathroom, but he managed to order two sodas and a churro without incident.
The cheers rising from the arena told him the bronc riding was beginning, and he strode back toward the west bleachers and Renee. He’d taken two steps up toward their row when he realized another man had taken his seat.
The man leaned toward Renee, a flirtatious smile on his face. His brown hair was long on one side, and it flopped around like one of the fish Justin liked to catch out on ranch property. The other man was clearly closer to Renee’s age, if the boat shoes and V-neck T-shirt were any indication.
Justin blinked, his heart diving down into his already sick stomach. It rebounded, almost choking him as he watched Renee tip her head back and laugh at something the other man had said. He laughed too, and Justin isolated the sounds from the crowd noise, the announcer on the loud speaker, the humming that had started in his head.
Justin turned and went back the way he’d come, dumping the extra soda and the churro in a garbage barrel as he went. He sucked at the soda, his long legs moving fast, trying to get away. But no matter how much carbonation he drank, he knew he’d never erase the sight of the two twenty-something’s flirting.
Ten minutes later, his phone rang. Renee’s face
came up on the screen, and Justin decided to take the call. He was mature enough to have a conversation, especially now that he’d cooled off a little. Finished his soda. Found a quiet place under the blanket of dark sky and sent a prayer toward heaven.
“Hey,” he said.
“Where’d you go?” The crowd noise felt chaotic, and Justin just wanted to leave the rodeo. He didn’t need to watch one; he’d seen them countless times.
“I needed some fresh air,” he said.
Her quick exhalations came through the line. “Liar. This whole place is fresh air. Where are you?”
“I left through the south exit. I’m sitting on some bleachers in the baseball fields across the street.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Suit yourself.”
She hung up, and Justin picked her out of the shadows almost as soon as she left the rodeo arena. The stadium lights lit up her Medusa-curls, and a pinch started in Justin’s chest. Every step she took made him want to bolt, but he held his position on the top row of bleachers. He’d endured confrontation before, and it was always better to be calm, think rationally not emotionally.
An image of that other man flipping his long hair passed through Justin’s mind just as Renee stepped onto the grass. She lifted her hand and he returned the gesture. Her footsteps made metallic sounds as she climbed the steps. She didn’t hesitate in her approach and sat right next to him on the bench.
She heaved out a heavy breath. “It’s dark out here.”
“Lots of room to think.”
“What do you need to think about?”
Justin turned and looked right at her. “Us.”
A smile flickered across her face, but it only stuck for a few seconds. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were cold, but though the sun had gone down, it definitely wasn’t that chilly.
“I saw that guy flirting with you,” he said, the words nearly sticking in his throat. “You guys looked like you were gettin’ along real well.” He lifted his soda straw to his lips but lowered it when he found the cup empty.
“He just sat down and started talking,” Renee said. “He….” She clamped her lips shut and looked out over the navy baseball field.
“He was probably nice,” Justin said. “Funny. Charming. He ask you out?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Justin chuckled darkly. “Nice try. We’re already talkin’ about it.”
“You didn’t tell me hardly anything about Paulette.” When she looked at him again, accusations swam in her eyes.
“You didn’t tell me all your flaws either.” Looking into her face, some of the fight inside him died. “You should probably go out with him,” he said, his voice tired now. “He’s more your age.”
She blinked, her face blanching. Questions ran through her expression, then understanding. “So that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m quite a bit older than you.”
“Then you should be handling this in a more mature way.”
Justin shook his head. “I’m not handling it well, Renee, because I like you quite a lot. More than I probably should after only seeing you a couple of times.”
“We talk a lot on the phone.” Her voice sounded higher than normal.
He reached for her hand, unable to stop himself. “You talk a lot on the phone.”
She giggled but cut the sound off after only a moment. “So you kinda like me, huh?”
“I don’t go around kissing every woman I see.”
Her fingers tightened around his. “Eight years isn’t that big of a deal.”
“Enough to be in a different generation,” he said. His tongue felt thick, but he knew he needed to say more. “I’m also not handling it well, because my last girlfriend, well, she wasn’t just my girlfriend.”
His chin faced the ground, but Renee slid her fingers beneath his face and lifted it toward hers. Compassion swam in her gorgeous eyes, and Justin wanted to dive in too. “Were you married?”
“Almost.”
“We got interrupted last time I asked you this. Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Engaged?”
“Twice.”
She sucked in a breath. “Wow.”
“How many boyfriends have you had?” he asked.
“One.”
Disbelief tore through Justin. “One boyfriend? Ever?”
“I’m fairly invisible to most men.” She removed her hand from his and wound her fingers around each other, a tale-tell sign of her nerves. “Even you looked right past me the first time we met.”
“I did not.”
“You completely ignored me.”
“I saw you, I just didn’t want to get involved.”
Her voice sounded hollow when she said, “Because of Leah, right?”
“Definitely because of Leah.”
“What happened with you guys?”
“Nothing.” Justin sighed. “I saw you, Renee. It would be pretty impossible not to see you.” He reached over and tucked one of her curls behind her ear, where it just popped out again. “And I’m obviously not the only one. Who comes over to a woman at a rodeo and just sits down like she’s not with someone?”
“You have nothing to worry about.” Her gaze heated the longer she looked at him.
“Oh no?”
She shook her head slowly, seductively. Renee leaned closer and Justin smiled. “Maybe you need to prove it. I know that other guy asked you out. I’m asking you: Will you go with me to the Fourth of July festivities in Brush Creek?”
A shy smile touched her mouth. “Yes, of course.”
Justin leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. A barely-there touch that ignited a firestorm in his blood. “What did you tell that other guy?”
Chapter Seven
Renee’s heartbeat froze in her chest, but because it was a strong muscle, it broke through the ice and continued pumping. She’d been surprised when Alvin had plopped himself next to her at the rodeo. He seemed interested, and Renee wouldn’t lie—it had felt nice. Nice to be seen. Nice to be noticed among the hundreds of people at the rodeo. Nice to be flirted with.
“He asked if I liked ice cream.”
Justin straightened and laughed, a full sound that painted the sky. Renee liked the way it made her feel like pure joy existed in the world and she wanted to hear his laugh every day if she could.
“Of course I said yes. I mean, it’s ice cream. Who doesn’t like ice cream?”
“Oh, I suppose the lactose intolerant don’t like ice cream.”
“Oh, they do,” Renee insisted. “I had a lactose intolerant roommate in college who’d eat two bowls of caramel pecan after every semester, knowing full well she’d be sick for twenty-four hours afterward.”
Justin’s eyes rounded for a moment before crinkling in the corners. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Renee appreciated the jealousy, but she wished she didn’t. It made her feel immature, and she didn’t want to act like she was eight years younger than Justin. Or like she was in junior high and needed boys fighting over her. At the same time, she’d never experienced a man being jealous over her before. Her.
“I told him I was really sorry, but that I was seeing someone.”
A smile burst across his face. “Is that what we’re doing? Seeing each other?”
“Well, if one of us didn’t work so much, we’d probably be able to see enough of each other to be considered dating.” She giggled at the mock surprise on his face, and nudged him with her shoulder.
He pulled her into his chest and kept her close. She matched her breathing to his, and breathed in the solace of sitting in the silence with Justin’s arm around her. She didn’t want anything to break this moment, but all too soon, he said, “All right, gorgeous. Time to go.”
She basked in the warmth of the endearment, kept her hand tucked in his, and enjoyed every moment of the drive back to Br
ush Creek.
After only the fourth day on the job, Renee decided for sure that she hated her position with Dinosaur National Monument. The best part was Delilah, a plus-size woman a few years older than Renee. They’d bonded over day-old doughnuts during a break on Renee’s first shift. She worked in the gift shop, and they were on the same schedule, so when Renee pushed into the staff room—blessedly air conditioned, something the entrance booth was not—the best part of her day became when she saw Delilah standing at the head of the table with a Cinnabon.
“Is that for me?” Renee stopped short, her hopes soaring as high as the clouds.
“Mine’s in the microwave.” Delilah extended the pastry box toward Renee, who swept toward her and engulfed her in a hug.
“Thank you.” She took the box and didn’t bother with the microwave. “It has been a day already. I got yelled at because someone’s annual pass had expired. Like it’s my fault it’s June, or that I set the prices for entrance.”
Delilah shook her head. “I bet they were mad they couldn’t get the senior citizen discount too.”
“Yes!” Renee threw her hands into the air. “Sorry, but fifty-seven isn’t a senior citizen.” She forked off a piece of cinnamon roll and stuck it in her mouth. She moaned.
“It’s better warm,” Delilah said, flipping her black braids over her shoulder before digging into her own treat. “How’s Justin?”
Renee’s muscles didn’t seem strong enough to hold her up while speaking of him. “He’s dreamy,” she sighed. “What about Sherman?”
A twinkle entered Delilah’s eye. “I think he’s going to propose soon.”
Renee squealed around a healthy bite of carbs and frosting. “Deli-lah! Really?” If Justin heard her tone, he’d cringe. Renee dismissed the nagging thought of how immature she was, as if he was this wise sage.
“I saw a receipt from a jeweler.” She got up and pulled a salad from the fridge. “But he walked in right after that, and I couldn’t snoop anymore.”
