by T. J. Kline
Damn it!
Chris might act nonchalant, like he was coasting through life, but he knew this was a big loss and was going to cost them. He didn’t want to face David right now, not when he was the reason they’d lost. What the hell was doing worrying about Ali kissing David when they needed this win? He’d never let himself get jealous over a woman before, why now? He’d better get his head on straight or David was going to kill him.
ALICIA WATCHED THE pair make their run and cringed when Chris missed. It never happened and she worried Chris would spend the rest of the rodeo beating himself up about it. She could see it in the way his shoulders slumped as he rode to the back of the arena and the way he ignored the other cowboys as he dropped his rope over his saddle horn. She knew he wasn’t as carefree as he wanted people to believe, at least not when it came to his chosen profession. She wanted to say something, to console him the way she knew he would do with her, but he hurried out the gate before she could even say anything, not even noticing her waiting for him. She hurried to the trailer and found David dismounting. He threw his rope into the tack compartment of the trailer.
“Damn it!”
“You okay?” She was apprehensive. She didn’t know David well enough yet to predict how he’d take the loss. She could predict Chris’s reaction but David might be one of those guys who preferred to wallow in a loss alone.
He spun to face her, looking surprised to see her at his trailer. “Yeah.” He tucked his glove into the seat, behind the saddle horn. “This just really messed us up and he knows it.” He leaned against his saddle. “I just don’t get it. He never misses.”
“I have only a second before I have to go get Beast warmed up but I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Alicia glanced over her shoulder, looking through the horses for Chris.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” David clarified, waving her off, distracted. “Hey, good luck,” he said as she started to walk back toward her trailer.
“Thanks, I think I’ll need it.”
“Hang on.” He reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. His fingers found the back of her neck and he leaned forward, his lips meeting hers. He caught her gasp of surprise, taking advantage of the moment to pull her against his chest. Her heart skipped a beat before pounding almost painfully in her chest as her hands found his shoulders.
Even though she hadn’t expected it, David’s kiss wasn’t unwelcome. Last night, he’d barely given her a chaste peck on the cheek after her mother insisted he and Chris take the spare room instead of heading back to the Thomas ranch, even though Chris was already passed out in the backseat of the truck. This morning, she’d barely been bold enough to kiss his cheek for good luck. She certainly hadn’t expected this from him.
It had been a long time since a guy had kissed her like this, as if he was trying sear her, to mark her as his own, and she wasn’t sure what to think. Last night’s sweet gesture sent the butterflies residing in her stomach into flight. By comparison, this kiss should have been enough to melt the sunscreen she’d applied that morning but instead, she felt awkward and she wasn’t sure why. When he took a step back, she rocked back on her heels and bit the corner of her lower lip, unsure what to say or if she should say anything.
“I just wanted to wish you luck properly.”
She could easily read the desire in his dark eyes and wondered at her lukewarm reaction. It wasn’t as if she felt nothing, but it wasn’t the electric fireworks she wanted to feel when she found that guy who was meant for her. It might be a girlish fantasy but she couldn’t shake the desire to find the guy whose kiss made her heart stop mid-beat. A guy who could send a sizzle of excitement to her toes with a mere glance.
She heard a quiet cough. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Alicia felt a slow burn creep up her neck and cover her face. “No, I . . . I mean, we . . .” she stammered, turning to see Chris smirking at them.
Her heart tripped up and was suddenly off to the races, beating faster than when David kissed her. The tension between them almost sparked and the heat curling in her belly worried her. You’re supposed to feel this with David. He’s the emotionally available one. But the knowledge didn’t stop her heart from racing, or the heat from spreading through her limbs as Chris gazed down at her.
He didn’t move to dismount and just stared at her from atop his horse. She wished she could read his eyes but he had those damn sunglasses on again. His grin and words implied he was joking but his tone said otherwise.
“I’ve . . . uh, gotta go,” she said to David, jerking her thumb toward her trailer. “I’ll see you in a bit?”
She knew she must sound like a babbling idiot but she had to get away and get her head on straight. If she didn’t gain at least a semblance of control over her body’s reactions she was going to make a fool out of herself in front of both men. She needed to focus before her event or she was going to end up the same way they had—at the bottom of the pack and without a paycheck. She glanced back at Chris and David as she walked to her trailer. Chris was just dismounting and tying his gelding to the trailer when David approached him, looking furious. Things were about to get heated when David brought up their run and she didn’t want to be there when that bomb went off.
“WHAT IN THE hell was that?” David was furious and barely restraining his anger. Chris had seen him like this before, usually after David spent time with his father, but he knew this time he deserved it. “If you can’t sober up enough to do the job, maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t get shit-faced the night before, Chris.”
“It had nothing to do with that,” he grumbled, loosening the cinch on the saddle.
“Really?” David looked doubtful. “Because you threw like you were still drunk.”
“I get it. I screwed up.” He shook his head, knowing there was no excuse, prepared to take whatever punishment David saw fit to dole out.
What could he say? That his mind wasn’t on the steer running down the arena? That he was too preoccupied thinking about the sexy brunette he’d just seen David kissing? That it had driven him nuts trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him to even consider kissing Ali last night?
Seeing Ali with David had sucked the wind from him and made him want to punch his best friend. But he couldn’t let either of them know how he was feeling. He didn’t want to settle down and he certainly didn’t want a relationship, not even with someone as great as Ali. Even the thought sounded boring—settling. The mere idea had him feeling like he was being strangled slowly, but the thought of her with anyone else . . . he clenched his fists at his sides and took a deep breath.
Why hadn’t he thought this through before he set her up with David? Why didn’t he set her up with anyone else, someone he wouldn’t have to see her with at every rodeo? He’d spent so many years pretending his desire for her didn’t exist that he’d forgotten how strong it was and convinced himself that a lie was truth. Now there was nothing he could do but cowboy up and ignore this jealousy until it faded again.
In the meantime, he owed it to David to bring their rank back up. Chris knew the pressure David was under to be a champion and, even if Chris wasn’t faced daily with the same overwhelming burden, it was a big part of their future plans for a rodeo school. Without the title that came from winning the National Finals Rodeo at the end of the year, marketing would become a much more difficult prospect.
“We have a few days before our next rodeo. We can stay at Mom and Dad’s this week and get some practice time in.” He leaned against his saddle and looked at David over the gelding’s back. “I promise, we’ll do nothing but work.”
David eyed him, dubious, arching a brow before tossing his Western shirt into the tack compartment and slipping a t-shirt over his head. “Nothing but work?”
Chris shrugged and laughed quietly. “Okay, mostly work. And I’ll buy tonight.” David knew him too well.
David glared at Chris. “I’ll believe that when I see it.” He crossed his arms ov
er his chest and Chris could tell he was debating the proposition. “You’re driving, too.”
Chris slipped his horse’s bridle off and hung it in the tack compartment, trying unsuccessfully to hide his victorious grin. “Deal.”
He was getting off cheap with a couple of rounds considering he’d just put them out of the money today. It was the least he could do for David. “Does this mean you’re scrapping your ‘no women’ policy?” He took the saddle David held out to him.
David took a deep breath and Chris could practically see the wheels turning, forming excuses. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t know. I really like Ali but . . .” David shrugged. Chris clenched his jaw hearing David call her Ali again and sighed. “I just don’t know . . . what?” David asked, irritably.
“I didn’t say anything.” Chris slid the saddle onto the rack and held his hands facing his friend. He might not have said anything but it didn’t stop him from getting frustrated with David. Couldn’t he see what he had right in front of him?
“You didn’t have to say anything. She’s a distraction, Chris. All women are. You missing today just proves what happens when even one of us gets distracted. Neither of us can afford it, especially if we plan on moving forward with the school in the next year.”
Chris glared at him. He didn’t need any more reminders about how he let David down today. He wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon. “I wouldn’t expect her to wait for you. At this rate, by the time you get around to settling down, you’ll be too old for any woman to want.”
“You’re one to talk.” David rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, just stating the facts. We need to figure out what’s most important and give that everything we’ve got.”
“You sound like your dad,” Chris muttered.
“Screw you, Chris.” David started to walk away. As if thinking better of it, he spun on his heel and glared at Chris. “How many NFR buckles do you have? Just because the man acts like a jackass doesn’t make him wrong. Maybe, you need to grow up.”
He watched his friend storm off, leaving Chris to finish taking care of the horses. He should have kept his mouth shut. He knew David and his father had a complicated relationship. Any conversation about the man was bound to lead to trouble. As much as David hated the pressure his father put on both him and his brother to succeed, both sought the man’s approval. As a past roping champion, he ran his sons ragged, pushing them to exhaustion, forcing them to uphold the family name in rodeo. It didn’t leave much room for anything else, including the wife and kids Chris knew David wanted or the rodeo school they’d planned to open next year.
DAVID WATCHED FROM the stands as Alicia’s horse pranced to the back gate of the arena. The crowd pulsated with excitement, eager for the ladies speed event. He knew how nerve-wracking it was to be the first in any go-round, especially with the crowd as loud as this one, but he could see the determination in her eyes as she focused on the first barrel. Alicia nodded and the cowboy shoved open the gate as her sorrel paint rocked back onto his hind legs, rearing slightly, before bursting into the arena in a flash of color, triggering the time clock. Heading to her right, she pulled the horse’s head up as he wrapped his body around the barrel before pressing on toward the second turn.
He almost groaned out loud when he saw her horse drop his shoulder, slowing down as they curled around the barrel. He could hear her encouraging the gelding, yelling for speed as she headed for the final turn. She sat deep into her saddle as he slid toward the final barrel, hugging it closely without touching it. As they rounded the turn, Alicia leaned forward in her saddle, urging him for more speed. David was caught up with the crowd.
“Come on, come on,” he muttered, ignoring the look Chris gave him. “Push him,” he whispered, glancing at the clock. “You got this.”
She was practically lying over the horse’s neck, one with the animal as he stretched out, his massive rump rippling with muscles, his hooves pounding in the dirt as she crossed the finish line.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. The time to beat will be 15.43. That’s gonna be tough to do no matter how easy this lovely lady makes it look.”
David could see the smile curving her full lips. She was thrilled and wasn’t even trying to hide it. It was an amazing ride. He started down the bleachers with Chris right behind when he saw his father across the stands, heading toward him. “Crap,” he muttered.
Chris followed his gaze and frowned. “When did he get here?”
“I don’t know.” David didn’t hold out much hope that his father had missed their event. While other people fawned over his father and his past rodeo fame, Chris had seen enough of Colt Greenly’s drunken tirades to dread any appearances he made these days.
“Go congratulate Ali. I’ll be there in a minute after I see what he wants.”
Chris adjusted his straw cowboy hat and looked at David from under the brim. “You sure you don’t want me to stay as a buffer?”
David shook his head. “No, I’ll take care of him. I just hope he’s not planning on hanging around.”
He made his way toward his father, noticing the way he was stumbling through the crowded stands. Chances are he was already drunk, which was going to make him antagonistic. It was easier to go to him than to let him try to navigate the bleachers with his bad leg. David knew getting around the rodeos and the ranch was becoming more difficult as the old riding injury flared up more often. It also didn’t help that his father looked like he’d gained about twenty pounds in the few months since David had gone back on the road. David talked with his brother about how they could get their dad to a doctor, but his father refused to listen, preferring to drink his pain away, which didn’t help his tendency to be vocal in his criticism.
“Hey, Dad.” He pretended to be happy to see him but he knew he’d never been good at hiding his feelings.
“You seem kinda cheery for a loser.”
David clenched his jaw and inhaled slowly, reminding himself of the people surrounding them and why he couldn’t say what he was thinking right now.
“We didn’t lose, Dad. We just didn’t place in the money.” He started back toward the trailer. At least there wasn’t an audience there.
His father looked down his nose at his much shorter son. “If you don’t get paid, you lost.” His father sighed loudly. “It wasn’t even you that lost it. I don’t understand why you and your brother can’t just rope together. Why’d you go and pick this kid for your header?”
“Stop,” David warned his father.
His father hadn’t agreed with his decision to rope with Chris instead of his brother. Even though his brother suggested the arrangement—one of the only times they’d defied their father—before buying a cattle ranch and settling down with his high school sweetheart. His father still wasn’t able to accept the decision. David wished he could put his foot down to his father the way his brother had; however, now that his brother retired from professional rodeo, their father was even more determined that David carry on the NFR torch.
David caught a glimpse of Alicia and Chris walking back toward the trailers, her reins held loosely in her hand as her gelding followed like a dog on a leash. He saw her head fall backward with laughter at something Chris said and jealousy churned in his belly. She was exactly the kind of woman he hoped to find someday and settle down with—kind, determined, ambitious, beautiful inside and out. He hadn’t known her long enough to believe she was “the one” but he sure didn’t want to miss the opportunity to find out if she might be.
Chris slid his arm around Alicia’s slim shoulder and gave her a squeeze. It was a friendly gesture but there was something in the way Chris looked at her that troubled David. There was an eagerness in his friend’s eyes he didn’t like. He’d seen the same look in Chris’s eyes last night on the dance floor. Chris couldn’t be interested in Alicia. Why would he have set them up if he were?
“Are you even listening to me?” His father�
�s gruff voice broke into his thoughts. He followed the direction of David’s gaze. “Tell me you aren’t getting distracted by some bunny.”
“She’s not a bunny, Dad, and no, I’m not losing focus. I know what I need to do and I’m doing it.” He didn’t want to throw Chris under his father’s scrutiny any further by pointing out that he was the one who’d lost focus this morning. “Everyone is entitled to an off day.”
“Not if you want to get to the Finals.” His father frowned at Chris and Alicia. “And he needs to remember he’s here to rope cattle not women, even if they do throw themselves at him.”
“She is not throwing herself at him.” David clenched his jaw. “They have been friends for years.”
“Yeah,” his father scoffed, “they look like friends.”
David had had enough and spun on his father. “Was there a reason you came? Or do you just want to criticize?”
His father narrowed his eyes, ignoring David’s question. “You’re falling for some gold-digging barrel racer?”
Colt Greenly was far too observant for his son’s liking but David wasn’t going to give him the ammunition admitting the truth would offer. He quirked a brow at his father, waiting for him to say what he wanted so he could leave.
He chuckled. “You’re a fool, boy. Leave the bunnies alone and stick to the job at hand.” He moved down the last few metal steps of the stands. “I’m moving onto your brother’s property. We’re putting a trailer on the place and I’m selling the ranch.”
“What? Why?” David couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. Their ranch had been passed down from father to son for several generations. His father loved the ranch, raised his boys on it. In fact, he’d been furious when David’s brother had chosen to buy a ranch instead of running theirs. It might be a lot of work and, with his injury worsening, David knew it was difficult for his father to keep up, but he couldn’t picture it being sold to a stranger. “What did Christian say?”
