Randall Pride

by Judy Christenberry

  “We can make our own way to the hotel, Toby, if you want to party with your friends,” she said stiffly as he led them back to his truck.

  He frowned and slowed his pace. “What are you talking about?”

  “You said—”

  “I was just being polite. I don’t want to join them and they don’t care. They only wanted you to join them.” Then he took hold of her arm and pulled her toward the truck, as if they were in a hurry.

  “They don’t know me!” she protested.

  “No, but they want to. I told you how it would be with you dressing so sexy. They couldn’t keep their eyes off you.” He pulled out his keys and unlocked the truck door.

  When they were all settled in the truck, Russ leaned forward. “You want to swing by your motel room and check out? You could spend the night with me at the hotel.”

  “Thanks, but we’d have to come back here to load up Cocoa. I’ll just stay where I am. What time are you willing to start in the morning?”

  “Seven?” Russ offered and Abby groaned.

  “Too early for you, sweetheart?” Russ hurriedly asked. “Maybe we could make it eight. I’ll tell you what, Toby, we’ll take a cab out here at eight. Then you won’t have to drive into downtown pulling the trailer. Would that make up for the late start?”

  “I can get up,” Abby protested. “I didn’t mean—It’s just that sleeping in sounded good.”

  “It’s only four or five hours home,” Toby said. “Sure we can wait to get started.” He stared at Elizabeth.

  She shrugged. “Eight o’clock works for me. We can eat an early lunch in Casper and then drive on home. It will break up the trip.” She figured Abby would go with Russ when they picked up his truck, leaving her a couple of hours with Toby and no one else.

  “Okay. Don’t eat breakfast until you meet me. I know a great place and I’ll treat.” Toby grinned at them. “They even have better pancakes than Red’s, but don’t tell him I said so.”

  TOBY WATCHED the threesome go into the hotel. He knew what Russ was counting on. A goodnight kiss. He wished he’d had any hope of that from Elizabeth. After cradling her against him all evening, his motor was revved.

  But Elizabeth wouldn’t even have considered offering him the kind of kiss he wanted. He was her cousin. And tonight, he’d been testing himself, trying to determine if he was going to be able to live on the ranch with her, and still keep his passion for her a secret.

  Maybe. As long as he didn’t test himself too much…or expect too much. Maybe he’d find someone he could enjoy. Build a future.

  He played with that thought a little while as he drove back to the rodeo. Then he dismissed it. He couldn’t think of a future with another woman. At least not now.

  But he could be with his family. That would have to be enough.

  With that weighty decision made, he returned to the room he’d rented all week, carefully avoiding the cowboys who were milling around, celebrating the end of another week of rodeo. That life was no longer for him.

  His day started early the next morning as he packed and then tended to Cocoa. To his surprise, Lonnie dragged himself from his bed to remind Toby again that he’d agreed to train a horse for him…at a hefty price.

  “Sure you don’t want to give me a bargain?”

  Toby grinned at his old friend. “One of my horses would be a bargain at any price.”

  “True. Sure you don’t want to loan me Cocoa the rest of the way?”

  “Nope, I can’t do that. I’d miss him too much.”

  “Okay, okay,” Lonnie agreed, but he stood there watching Toby, not leaving.

  “When are you packing up?” Toby asked, a subtle hint.

  “In a little while. Your cousins goin’ back with you?”

  “Yeah,” Toby said. “We’re going to breakfast and then hitting the road.”

  “Hey, breakfast sounds good! I’ll join you,” Lonnie announced with a big smile. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Now Toby knew why Lonnie got up early. “Does it matter if I do?”

  “Nope. Your cousin is a looker.”

  “Back off, friend.”

  “Hey! I’m a good guy,” Lonnie protested.

  “Look, Lonnie, she’s—”

  “Good morning!” Elizabeth called out as she approached them. She was dressed in jeans and a green sweater, her magnificent hair pulled back in a long curling ponytail.

  Toby thought she looked more like the Elizabeth he’d always known, but she was still beautiful.

  “Good morning, gorgeous,” Lonnie immediately responded, stepping forward to take her hand.

  Toby immediately inserted himself between the two and clasped Elizabeth’s shoulders to place a kiss or her forehead. “Morning, cuz. Everyone feeling okay this morning?”

  Russ was loaded down with all their packages from their shopping expedition the day before and their overnight bags. “Point me to the truck so I can unload,” he ordered. “Then I’ll be all right.”

  “We offered to help him,” Abby said, her attention focused on Russ. “But he refused.”

  Toby was torn between offering to help Russ and leaving Lonnie alone with Elizabeth. Finally he found a solution. “Lonnie, while I find my keys, will you help Russ with the packages and bags?”

  Elizabeth stepped over to pat Cocoa as Lonnie reluctantly took some of Russ’s load. Toby then pulled his keys out of his jean pockets. “Oh, here are the keys. Come on, guys, I’m just parked right over here.”

  Lonnie gave Toby a suspicious look, but he followed him and his cousin. When they returned, Lonnie announced that he was joining them at breakfast if Elizabeth—after a pause, he quickly added Abby—didn’t mind.

  Much to Toby’s disgust, the ladies welcomed him warmly. Of course, without being rude, they didn’t have much choice, but they didn’t have to be so enthusiastic.

  But Lonnie’s next idea had him boiling.

  “Elizabeth, why don’t you ride with me to the restaurant? I’ll be lonely going by myself.” Lonnie smiled the way he always did to charm the ladies. He was a real social butterfly.

  “No!” Toby exclaimed and then had to come up with an excuse. “Uh, take Russ with you. He takes up the most room.”

  Lonnie sent him a knowing look. “A-huh.”

  “Sure, I’ll ride with you, Lonnie,” Russ agreed after receiving a stare from Toby. But he sent a lingering look at Abby.

  Toby urged the two women toward his truck. Russ could do without Abby’s company for the five minutes it would take to get to the restaurant.

  Elizabeth slid into the truck first, putting her next to Toby. Abby asked something about Elizabeth getting carsick, and Toby stared at her. He’d never known Elizabeth to have a sensitive stomach. “Carsick?”

  Elizabeth grinned. “No, I don’t get carsick, but I used that excuse to make sure Abby sat beside Russ. I was matchmaking.”

  Abby looked shocked and Elizabeth laughed. “You didn’t mind, did you?”

  The smile that covered Abby’s face made her look beautiful. “Oh, no. I didn’t mind. This weekend has been the best time of my life.”

  Elizabeth leaned over and hugged her and Toby felt like he should, too. “We’re happy for you, Abby,” he said gently. “Russ is a lucky guy.”

  Abby’s cheeks burned bright red. “Oh, he hasn’t…I mean, we’re just—I had a good time.”

  Toby pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. “Good. That’s the idea. Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

  Russ and Lonnie had got there before them and already had a table. Both men were standing at the table, waiting to seat the ladies.

  It didn’t take Toby long to figure out that Lonnie wanted Elizabeth all to himself. It took some maneuvering to manage to snag the seat on the other side of her. There was no way to block Lonnie out completely.

  The waitress was waiting for them to be seated, ready to take the orders. When that business was taken care of, Lonnie immediately claimed Elizabeth’s att
ention, asking personal questions about her. Toby leaned forward and answered one of his questions.

  “Hey! I was asking Elizabeth.”

  “He can probably answer most of your questions, Lonnie,” Elizabeth said, much to Toby’s delight. “He knows me well.”

  That last statement made him pause. He hadn’t been around her in about seven years. How well did he know her?

  Once the food was delivered, conversation became general and light. They were all hungry.

  It also meant the breakfast was ending, and Toby would no longer have to worry about Lonnie preying on Elizabeth. He began to relax, eager to hit the road with Elizabeth beside him.

  “You know what,” Lonnie began, putting down his fork. “I just had a great idea.”

  Toby tensed. This wasn’t good.

  “If your folks have a spare bed, Tobe, I think I’ll go back to Wyoming with you so I can pick out the horse you’re going to train for me.”

  All the others looked at Toby. He swallowed, trying not to choke on his food. What could he say?

  “That’s not necessary, Lonnie. You know you can trust me.”

  “I know, pal, but I need a break. The rodeo next week isn’t a big one. I can afford to miss it. And besides,” he added, a big grin on his face. “I’ll get to spend more time with Elizabeth.”

  Chapter Ten

  Elizabeth wasn’t sure what was going on, but Toby seemed agitated. She didn’t think he wanted Lonnie to come home with them.

  “I’m sure our parents would welcome you, Lonnie, but you won’t see much of me. I teach kindergarten all day.” She smiled at him; but she wasn’t being rude, just truthful.

  “But maybe I could see you in the evenings, even take you to a movie,” Lonnie suggested, a hopeful expression on his face.

  “Maybe Russ and I could go with you,” Abby suggested, surprising Elizabeth. She looked at her friend and realized Abby was trying to tell her something. A subtle nod toward Toby had Elizabeth shifting her gaze to him. Could he be jealous? Was that what Abby was trying to tell her?

  Toby said, “You’ll be too tired to go out, pal. I’m going to work you hard.”

  “Hey, I thought it was the horse you were going to train,” Lonnie protested, looking unhappy.

  “You’ve got to work together. Come if you want to, but it won’t be any party.”

  The two men stared at each other, almost as if it was a contest of some kind. The waitress returned to fill up the coffee cups and ended the duel.

  “I’d like a cup to go, please,” Lonnie asked.

  “Late night last night?”

  Lonnie looked back at Toby. “You know I’m not a morning person. A little extra caffeine won’t hurt. Have you got time to wait for me to load up?”

  “You’re still coming?” Toby asked.

  Lonnie nodded to his friend but directed his words to Elizabeth. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to spend even five minutes with you, Elizabeth.”

  Elizabeth suddenly felt uncomfortable. She hadn’t meant to give Lonnie the wrong idea when she welcomed him to breakfast. But it appeared he’d read more into her warmth than she’d meant. She felt guilty.

  The glare in Toby’s eyes told her he thought she was guilty, too.

  “There really won’t be that much time, Lonnie,” she warned him.

  “I’m comin’,” he replied with determination.

  “Well, we’re not waiting around for a couple of hours. I told the family we’d be home pretty early and I’ve got some things I need to do.”

  “Fine. I’ll be there by nightfall.”

  The two men sounded like deadly enemies, not friends.

  “Elizabeth, I’d surely like some company on the drive. Why don’t you wait and ride with me?” Lonnie suggested, a warm smile on his face.

  “No!” Toby exclaimed. This time he didn’t even offer Elizabeth a chance to agree or disagree. “I promised her daddy I’d take care of her. You drive like a bat out of hell. She’ll be riding with me.”

  All the friendly atmosphere disappeared completely.

  “Hell, how am I going to find the place?” Lonnie growled.

  Russ cleared his throat and Elizabeth saw one of his hands steal over to Abby. “I guess I could wait and ride with you if you need a guide.”

  Abby gasped, and Elizabeth immediately stopped that idea. She wasn’t going to ruin her friend’s trip. “I can draw you a good map, Lonnie. It’s not hard to find. But Russ has to pick up his truck, and he promised to—to run an errand for Abby.” She took a napkin and flipped it over. On the back she drew a careful map.

  “And if you get lost, just give us a call,” she finished with a smile and handed the map to Lonnie.

  “Thanks, sweetie pie,” Lonnie said, beaming at her.

  “Her name’s Elizabeth.” Toby growled.

  Lonnie shot him a cold look. He stood, announcing that he was going to start packing so he wouldn’t be too far behind them.

  Everyone was ready to go and they all stood. Lonnie leaned over and hugged Elizabeth, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Then he was out of the restaurant before anyone could protest.

  Elizabeth avoided Toby’s stare. “Are we ready to go? I think I’ll visit the rest room before we leave. Abby, you want to go with me?”

  As soon as they were away from the two men, Abby said, “Thanks for stopping Russ from sacrificing.”

  Elizabeth grinned. “I didn’t see any reason for you to have your trip ruined.”

  “But how do you feel about all this?”

  “I’m worried I might have encouraged Lonnie, but I didn’t intend to.”

  “Of course you didn’t. Though you might be able to use him,” Abby added, speculation in her voice.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Russ has noticed Toby’s behavior this weekend. He said it was like he was jealous of the other men. Bless his heart, he seems a little puzzled by it,” Abby added with a chuckle. “But I think Toby is jealous as hell. And Lonnie will keep him feeling that way.”

  “But I can’t lead Lonnie on,” Elizabeth protested.

  “I don’t think you’ll have to. It’s just an idea.”

  Elizabeth thought about Abby’s words long after they were in the truck. Toby didn’t speak until they reached the rodeo grounds. In terse words, he ordered her and Abby to stay in the truck while he and Russ hooked up the trailer and got Cocoa in it.

  In the silence after the men got out, Elizabeth finally said, “Well, it’s going to be a pleasant ride back, isn’t it?”

  “I’m sure he’ll relax in a while. Nobody can remain that angry forever. Besides, it’s Lonnie he’s mad at, not you.”

  “I wouldn’t take any bets on that,” Elizabeth muttered.

  BY THE TIME they stopped for lunch in Casper before Russ picked up his truck, Elizabeth didn’t care who Toby was mad at. She was tired of his childish behavior.

  She stopped Toby as Russ and Abby went into the restaurant.

  “Toby Randall, you need to stop being childish. It’s not our fault that your friend decided to follow you home. You’re making us all miserable with your sulking!”

  Toby looked at Elizabeth as if she were a space alien.

  “You’ve got to be kidding! Not your fault? Who do you think he’s coming to see? Not me, Elizabeth.”

  “But all I did was act friendly to a friend of yours. Nothing else. I didn’t invite him!”

  “You sure didn’t discourage him!”

  “I tried! I told him I’d be busy.”

  “Yeah, you did. Okay, okay, it’s not your fault. Except that you’re so damn pretty.”

  Elizabeth kept her grin in check. “I wish I thought that was a compliment.”

  That broke through his anger. “You know it is, brat. Come on, let’s go get some lunch. Being angry makes me hungry.”

  “Then I hope you’ve got lots of money because your appetite must be as big as the Rocky Mountains today.”

  He pushed her ahead of him, the
n lightly swatted her on her bottom. “Behave yourself!”

  Over her shoulder, she assured him with a grin, “I always do.”

  Once they were seated at the table, Russ said, “You feeling better, Toby?”

  “Yeah, I apologize. I let some things bother me, but it wasn’t your fault. I should’ve behaved better. Hope I didn’t ruin your trip,” he said, smiling at the other two.

  Abby shook her head and smiled.

  Russ said, “Nope. That would only have happened if I’d had to ride with Lonnie.”

  “I appreciated your offer, Russ. But he really does drive like a maniac. I didn’t want any of us riding with him.” He picked up the menu and changed the subject to food.

  Elizabeth was pleased. The old Toby was back. He wasn’t mad at her anymore. Now she could look forward to the two-hour drive home. Just her and Toby.

  Maybe she’d made a little progress after all. He’d told her she was pretty.

  Most of the drive from Casper, just the two of them in the truck, was pleasant. Toby asked her to tell him about teaching, wanting to know if she enjoyed it. Once she started talking about her babies, she forgot the passage of time.

  “Sounds like it’s going to be hard on you when the school year ends,” he said. “You’re not going to want to let them go.”

  “It will be hard, but I’ll see them again. They’ll be in Abby’s class next year, or the other first-grade teacher’s room. And they’re just across the hall.”

  “So, do you want babies of your own?”

  “Of course I do! Several. Mom and Dad would never forgive me if I didn’t provide more babies. You know how the Randalls are about babies.” She grinned at him. The family history was a well-known tale.

  Toby smiled in return. “Yeah. I was there when the twins were born. And then the others, including you. Makes the place seem calm now, with all of us, or most of us, grown up.”

  “Poor Casey, always the baby.”

  “Yeah, but once the next generation starts coming along, he’ll be Uncle Casey. That’ll make him feel grown-up.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “But it may be a while before that next generation appears. You’re the oldest and you don’t seem interested in having babies.” Then she brightened. “Maybe Russ and Abby will—I think he’s interested, don’t you?”