by Claire Adams
“You like Lacey, right?” I asked, blurting the words out before I thought about how they might sound.
She looked at me, her dark eyebrows scrunched up. She’d moved on to Elroy, rubbing him gently between his black eyes. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
I wanted to just come right out with all the things Lace had said a few minutes ago, about Emma eventually getting suspicious and jealous of her. But I just couldn’t. I didn’t want to stir up trouble where there wasn’t any. If she didn’t see Lacey as a threat to our relationship, the last thing I wanted to do was give her the idea that she should be worried about how close I was to another woman.
It was weird even thinking this way. I didn’t see Lacey as another woman. She was my best friend. My sister. I knew she felt the same way about me. I wasn’t a man to her. Not really. I was a brother and a friend.
I shrugged, forcing a wider smile. “No reason. Just making sure y’all were getting along.”
“Did Lacey say we weren’t?” Now she looked concerned, the worry tightening her face. Shit.
“No, she likes you and can’t believe we ever ran the ranch without you.” All that was true. Lacey regularly praised Emma, which was why she hadn’t wanted me to get involved with her. She was sure I was going to do something to mess shit up. In her defense, I’d messed up just about every relationship I’d ever had for plenty of different reasons. But none of those girls had been integral to the running of the ranch, so Lacey hadn’t cared one way or the other.
“Is she worried about me dating you?” Emma asked. She’d moved on to the pinto we called Lucy, stroking her neck.
“Well…” I let my voice trail off. In a way, she was. But not the way Emma was thinking.
She gave me a small smile, and it took all I had not to jump over to her and press my lips onto that sexy grin. “Tell her I won’t break your heart.”
I had to grin at that. “Break away. I can take it.”
She giggled and shook her head.
“What are you doing this weekend?” I asked.
She pulled her long ponytail over her shoulder and tugged at the auburn end of it, which I was learning was her way when thinking. “Nothing, I don’t think. Why?” She grinned up at me, her green eyes glimmering with a playful light that made me want to kiss her again. Hell, just about everything made me want to kiss her.
“The rodeo’s this weekend in Austin. We go every year. Lacey competes and usually wins something or other. It’s a good way to get our horses seen and sold.” I pressed my lips together as I watched her and stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep them to myself. “Would you like to come with me?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’d love to see our horses in action. Lacey spends so much time training them. I want to see what they can do.”
A smile broke over my face, much wider than before. “We’re leaving early on Saturday morning and staying in a hotel overnight. We could go out after the rodeo and have a little fun.”
“I haven’t been out much since college.” She swallowed a bit of her smile, leaving her lips curled up at the ends in a secretive way. “I really didn’t go out much then, either, but Kasey works at a popular bar on Sixth Street. We can stop by there. I’d love for you to meet her. And, boy, is she itching to meet you.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I said.
She nodded once. “Yes, it does. Now, scoot so I can get my work done.”
“I could stand here all day just talking your ear off and staring at you.”
“That’s just what I’m afraid of!” she said, laughing as she pushed me back a little, trying to shoo me.
We were supposed to be hands off during the day, but she’d started it. So, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a quick smack on the lips.
“Pete!” she whispered, green eyes wide.
“It’s just us and the horses,” I said with a shrug.
She gave me a stern look, but her lips were twitching at the corners and trying hard to smile. I took that as my cue to leave, holding back my giggles until I was well clear of the barn.
Chapter Twenty
Emma
Saturday
We’d brought two of the quarter horses with us — Max and Tucker — one to race and the other to sell. Lacey and I were in the corral saddling up Max after giving him a thorough grooming. I’d bathed both him and Tucker the day before, trimmed their body hair, and clipped their manes and tails. Each horse was stunningly gorgeous, strong and proud, their hair shiny in the sun from nose to tail.
A few people had already asked after them, offering much more than Pete had hoped to make. I knew before the day was over that both horses would be sold. I hated to see them go — I’d always had a soft heart for the horses on our family farm, which, fortunately, we’d never had to part with for anything besides old age — but I was happy for Pete and Lacey. This was how the ranch stayed afloat.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked Lacey once we had Max saddled up and ready to go.
“I live for this shit,” she said, and we laughed, but she seemed a little nervous, too. She was dressed in a dark blue pair of jeans, a long sleeved red shirt with black accents and gleaming buttons, a shiny new pair of boots, and a black cowboy hat. Her light hair was pulled into a tight braid at the base of her neck, the way she wore it most days on the ranch.
“I’m nervy, too,” she admitted. “I just need to keep my mind off of it until it’s my turn. Then all those nerves just go away.”
I knew from Pete that Lacey’d been barrel racing since well before middle school. She could do just about anything on a horse: jump, rope, race, trail ride… I loved watching her work on the ranch. She loved the horses, and she knew exactly how to get each one to reach their maximum potential.
“How’re things between you and Pete?” She wasn’t looking at me. She was going over Max’s coat with a body brush. There was no need of that — he was shiny and clean — but she needed something to keep her busy.
I cleared my throat, not quite sure how to answer that question. Things were good, but telling Lacey about my relationship with Pete felt wrong somehow. I hadn’t quite figured out the relationship between the two of them. They said they were like kin, and I believed them. But, sometimes, the way they looked at each other wasn’t quite the way a brother would look at a sister.
I chided myself for thinking that way. Lacey’d been nothing but nice to me in all the time I’d been on the ranch. And, she really seemed to care about Pete being happy.
“Things are good,” I said.
Lacey kept on brushing Max, who was loving the extra attention. Between all the primping yesterday and the extra attention today, both horses were hovering someplace close to heaven.
“He really likes you,” she said, glancing at me for a second before going back to her work with Max. “I’ve never seen him like this.”
My cheeks tingled, a blush creeping over them at her words. “I like him, too.”
Lacey turned, the brush pausing over Max’s withers. He whinnied and shook his head, displeased with the sudden stop to the attention.
“All I ask is that you don’t hurt him. He seems tough, but he ain’t. He’s lost a lot of people close to him.” Her brown eyes were fixed on me, a shadow falling over her face that made it clear how much concern she felt over this. “You’d think that would make him good at getting over being hurt, but it did just the opposite. He’s a lot more sensitive than he seems.”
“He’s a sweet man,” I said, smiling as I tilted my head. “I won’t hurt him. I promise.”
Lacey smiled, too. “You’re good for him, Emma. I’m glad he found you.”
Before I could respond to that, Pete appeared outside of the corral. The moment passed and Lacey went back to grooming Max unnecessarily. Pete let himself into the fenced area full of riders readying their horses and walked over to us.
“You ready, Lace?” he asked, grinning at her, his blue eyes lit up.
She kept her face
grim and determined. “Ready as I’m gonna be.”
He clapped her on the back. “We’ll be rooting for you in the stands.” He turned to me, those blue eyes wide enough to weaken my knees a little. I just couldn’t get used to how striking his eyes were. “Are you ready, Emma?”
“Good luck, Lacey,” I said; she nodded, not looking at me, her jaw clenched as she worried over Max. I could see she needed a few moments to herself. Pete held out his hand, and I took it. We left the corral and went to find seats high up in the stands where we’d have a good view of the action. No one was in the area below us, just three barrels set up in a cloverleaf pattern I’d seen duplicated more than a few times on the ranch.
“Lacey’ll come shooting out of there,” Pete began to explain, pointing a thick finger at the far side of the arena.
“She’s got to cross an official standing at the start of the race with a flag. When she runs by, he’ll drop it so the timer starts. She’ll loop around that barrel first.” He pointed to the one on the right. “Then that one.” He pointed to the one directly across from it on the left. “And then that last one.” He pointed at the one set further back from the others. “She and Max’ll go back the way they came. As soon as she passes the starting line, the man will wave the flag again, and the timer will stop.”
Lacey had explained all this to me on the farm, and I’d seen her trotting around the coral with Max, turning him in tighter and tighter circles, leaning so far I thought he’d topple over on top of her. But seeing the course in person was completely different. It was the size of the arena and all the people sitting around, waiting to see the riders begin. My stomach twisted with anxiety for her.
“At a bigger rodeo like the one Lacey’ll do in a few weeks, they use an electric eye.”
“Do riders ever get hurt?” I asked, cutting into his description of what an electric eye was. Lacey’d already told me about all of that, too.
Pete shrugged in my peripheral vision, but I kept my eyes pinned on the cloverleaf pattern below us, imagining Max and Lacey running through them, leaning dangerously to one side and then the other.
“Nah, not really,” he said. “Accidents can happen, but if you came to do this, you know what you’re doing.”
That wasn’t very comforting.
The announcer broadcast the start of the barrel racing event over the loudspeaker. My gut twisted harder, and I squeezed my hands together to keep from squirming in my seat. Lacey was the first rider. The announcer called her and Max by name. The crowd roared, then a hush fell over it as the official walked from the side of the arena, a large flag in one hand.
“Here we go,” Pete whispered, nearly under his breath.
Lacey walked Max through the entrance of the arena. She went to line him up and, without warning, took off at a dead run. She raced past the man at the start line, and he dropped his flag, starting the timer.
“Go, Lacey!” Pete hollered. “You got this!”
My hands tightened in my lap as she grabbed hold of the horn of the saddle with one hand and controlled the reins with the other, looping Max tightly around the first barrel. They rode hard for the second barrel, slowing just a little to make the second of three tight turns. My heart leaped into my throat and stayed there, racing hard.
“Come on, Lace! Finish strong!” Pete screamed, beating his feet on the stands.
Lacey and Max turned tight around the final barrel, her legs pressing against his sides to keep herself deep in the saddle. After clearing the last barrel, she took the reins in both hands and leaned forward, kicking both legs to get Max down the straight shot back to the finish line. As soon as she crossed, the official waved the flag, but she and Max kept going, slowing a bit as they shot out of the arena the same way they’d come in, Lacey grinning and rubbing the horse’s neck as they ran out of sight.
The crowd roared their approval.
Pete let out a triumphant whoop when the announcer reported her score. Eighteen seconds flat.
I grinned as all those nerves left my body and turned my face up to receive Pete’s kiss when he leaned in for one.
“She just beat her best time!” he said, his eyes sparkling with pride for his friend.
Looking at how excited he was, I had to remind myself that Lacey and Pete were just good friends. Not that it guaranteed that was how things would stay between them.
How many sappy movies had I watched with Kasey over the years where best friends ended up getting together after realizing, finally, how much they loved each other? I could tell myself I was being silly all I wanted, but maybe I wasn’t. Maybe something was growing between them that they didn’t even know about. It bothered me to think that way. But there it was.
We went down to congratulate Lacey, who was all smiles after such a great run.
“We’re going out tonight,” Pete told her. “Care to join us?”
She shook her head. “I’m going out with the gals.” She’d made lots of friends in the rodeo circuit after all her years of competition. “I’ll see y’all tomorrow morning at the hotel for breakfast.”
By the time we made it out to Pete’s pickup, it was only a little past five o’clock.
“Kasey’s working at Murdock’s tonight,” I said. “We should head by there first to say hello.”
“Sounds good to me.” He started up the truck. “As long as we’re getting food and few beers, I’m not too concerned with where we go.”
After a quick stop by the hotel, I directed him to the bar. We parked the truck and walked a few blocks to Murdock’s. Pete held the door to let me go in first. It wasn’t too busy yet. I knew from Kasey that things really got going after ten on Saturdays, but I didn’t plan to be here that late. We’d rolled out of the ranch just after seven in the morning, meaning I’d gotten up just after four thirty to help Pete and Lacey prepare the horses for the trip. After the excitement from the rodeo wore all the way off, I expected to be pretty beat.
Kasey was next to the bar, dressed in her little black shorts and red t-shirt, chatting with a customer, her eyes wide and mouth spread into a sunny grin. She made great tips at Murdock’s, partly because of how cute she was, but her real moneymaker was how well she could make a man think he was the funniest, most interesting and attractive person she’d ever met. She just had that open, charming way about her. I’d seen her come home after a late Friday or Saturday shift with her purse stuffed full of ten and twenty dollar bills from her adoring fans.
She saw us and came running over, her short hair bobbing over her shoulders. She’d lightened it since I’d seen her last. Now it was a deep honey color. I’d never try such a thing, but it looked good on her.
“Emma!” she cried, pulling me into a hug. She smelled like candy. It was another thing her male customers liked. She grinned at me. She had on so much makeup, I barely recognized her. She watched tutorials online, learning all kinds of tricks. Today, she’d made her eyes look pointy at the ends with shadow and liner. Her lips were cherry red, and her cheeks looked powdery soft. She’d even added a fake beauty mark just above her mouth.
“This is Pete,” I told her, hooking a thumb at the solid shape of him standing beside me.
She turned the sharp point of her attention to him, looking him up and down in that shameless manner she had, her grin getting even wider to show off the crooked eyeteeth we had in common. “I’ve heard so much about you.” She held out a small hand, and Pete shook it. “I’m Kasey.”
“Howdy, Kasey,” he said. “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot, too.”
“All good things, I hope!” I could see by the way she was grinning that she at least approved of Pete’s looks, not that I’d doubted she would.
He laughed that low chuckle he had, the one that drove me a little crazy. When he reached for my hand, I laced my fingers with his, just glad to have that contact.
Kasey’s eyes lit on our interlaced fingers for a few seconds before jumping up to meet my eyes, her smile blazing. I smiled, to
o. I couldn’t help it. She looked at Pete again.
“You must be something special to have caught my sister’s eye. She doesn’t date just anybody.”
Now all three of us laughed, my cheeks getting a little red.
“Emma Flowers?”
I turned at the sound of my name, gasping at who I saw.
It was Jack Terrance.
I’d recognize him anywhere, even though we hadn’t seen each other since high school and he’d changed plenty.
“Jack!” I let go of Pete’s hand to give my old friend a hug. He squeezed me hard, lifting me off the ground as I giggled into his ear. When he set me down again, I stared up at him, a little dizzy from the ride.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I work in Austin. I’m a firefighter.” His voice hadn’t changed a bit. He was wearing his fluffy blond hair clipped close to his head, and his brown eyes were just as kind and full of gentle humor as I remembered them. He was much bigger, I assumed from lifting weights regularly, the muscles bulging in his arms and neck. Back in school, he’d been tall, but gangly, more basketball star than football player.
“Oh my God, Jack!” Kasey squealed. She moved in for a hug as he laughed at her characteristic overreaction. The girl had been a Hollywood actress since infancy, always going over the top if she got the chance.
“Look at you all grown up, Kase!”
“I haven’t seen you in ages,” she replied, shooting that sunny grin up at him. She’d had the worst crush on him back in the day, but he’d considered her his adopted little sister by virtue of our friendship, so she never got even so much as a peck on the lips from him. “I thought you’d dropped off the face of the Earth.”
“We all did,” I said. It dawned on me suddenly how rude I was being. I turned to put my hand on Pete’s rock hard shoulder. He’d been watching the show with an amused look on his tanned face. “Jack, this is Pete. He’s my…” I didn’t know what to say. My boss? My boyfriend? The guy I ate dinner with a few times a week and occasionally sleep with after my work on the farm was done?
