Jody looked down at her knees, then up at the ceiling. Tears stung, but she managed to blink them away. She always had trouble defending positions when someone opposed them. She finally looked at Joe, who looked slightly embarrassed by the whole discussion.
“Joe?”
“Honestly? I think two rooms will work just fine, Jody.” He smiled, hoping she didn’t misunderstand. “We don’t know how crazy things might get. We might need the space.”
“We can’t move in until the horses are here, anyway,” Jody noted, standing. “Can we fit all sixty-three in the home pasture, the corral and the barn?”
Eric nodded. “Pasture’s big, and if we’re going to move some to the back pasture later, I’m sure it’s better than what they have now.”
“Yeah,” Joe agreed, tersely. “And it won’t be a problem for your stock?”
Erich shook his head. “Nah. The cattle won’t be bothered.”
Jody stood. “We have to go to Dallas. We’re coming back—when, Joe? Thursday? Then we can come help check fences and bring in supplies. The horses will start coming in Friday. I hope.”
“Might not be ‘til Saturday if Benton gets his way,” Joe muttered. “He’s betting we can’t pull this off.”
“Have a safe trip,” Eric said stiffly, shaking Joe’s hand.
“Thank you, Eric.” Jody took a step forward. For one crazy moment, the urge to hug him overwhelmed her. Just as quickly, she moved back. She hadn’t ever been able to hug him. If she did, all he could do would be wonder why it had taken her sixteen years.
***
“Now what?” Joe asked, as she drove back towards Calumnias. She hadn’t given him a choice, just gotten back in behind the wheel. He suspected she needed the distraction. Concentrating on the road and traffic should help her get over the encounter with her stepfather. If not, then probably after she met the fourth of his five siblings, she wouldn’t have the energy left to worry about anything. He smiled. Good thing Derek was in Europe at a medical conference. He was the outgoing brother. The others were just…Roberts.
“What’s funny?” she asked, when he chuckled.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he retorted, still grinning. “But you will. After Dallas, you will.”
“Sounds threatening. Are we just going by my house, or—”
“I have all my stuff in the truck. Old habits die hard. Anything else I need, we’ll pick up in Dallas.”
“So just to the house?” she pressed.
“Why don’t we stop at the next place and grab a bite? Then we’ll go pick up what you need.”
“Okay.”
“You don’t sound thrilled,” he noted, leaning his head against the door to watch her. “Did you have something else in mind?”
She didn’t look at him. “Maybe,” she admitted.
He laughed. “Almost straight home, then,” he agreed. “But let’s take something to eat anyway, so we don’t have to stop as soon. We may need to make up a lot of lost time.”
***
Four hours later, Jody leaned back and closed her eyes as Joe merged onto I-35.
“We should have a fairly smooth trip,” he predicted. “We’ll probably beat rush hour.” He pulled around an eighteen-wheeler. “Unless we stop anywhere.” He shot her a quick grin. “For anything.”
“Not happening,” Jody murmured. “Does this thing have music?”
He pushed a button and music flooded the cab. The wrong music. Jody blinked and turned toward the passenger window, but he’d seen her eyes well up.
“It’s just a song,” he said gently, reaching to change tracks.
“I know. But I always cry when I hear “For the Good Times.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he promised. But he hoped she didn’t believe in bad omens. Or know that sometimes he did.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jody clambered out of the truck when Joe pulled into a diner off the interstate to fuel up and eat. She glanced around, surprised at the number of passenger vehicles and big rigs there so early.
“They’ve already got breakfast up and going,” he explained. “All my rodeo buddies stop here whenever they can.”
“Breakfast?” Jody asked. “Really? At four in the morning?”
He caught her hand and squeezed it. “Bet they have fried eggs,” he teased. “My new favorite.”
She pulled her hand away. “Laugh now. But you’ll miss it someday.”
Once again they wound up in a corner booth. The conversation droning around them isolated them, and after the waitress took their order, Jody sipped idly at her water. “How long did you know Lorraine before you knew you loved her?”
The question slipped from thought into speech and she blushed furiously. “You don’t have to answer."
“I don’t mind answering,” he assured her. “But we spent six hours on the road with hardly a word.”
“You sang, though,” Jody reminded him, smiling a little at the memory.
“Yeah.” He nodded at the waitress who brought their plates and waited until she’d gone to answer. “I thought I knew the day I met her. I spent the next twelve years trying to prove I hadn’t been wrong.”
She was silent, remembering his seeming instant attraction to her. Attraction? She’d thrown herself at him.
“My family never liked her,” he said, after eating most of his food. “My sisters especially hated her—thought she was a gold-digger. I hadn’t won a title yet, but I had some good rounds and made some money. Even after I knew she’d cheated on me and filed for divorce, I pretended that something would change and we’d be together.”
“Do you still love her?”
“No.” The answer was immediate. “I don’t let go well, Jody. I guess it’s stubbornness. Or pride. My brothers would say stupidity. But I don’t love her. And sometimes I wonder if what I felt ever was love.”
She poked her pancakes, but didn’t eat. She wasn’t surprised when he decided it was her turn. But when he asked if she’d ever married, admitting to her one mistake sickened her.
“After I found out Cowboy was gone, I acted like a spoiled brat. And then Mom died during the second semester of my first year in college.” She felt her palms moisten in spite of the air conditioning. “Devin was a year ahead of me. He pretended he loved me, but apparently he’d heard I had oil money.” She tried to chuckle, but could only grimace. “We already had very little left from the leases, but he didn’t know. Told me he was okay with me being—reclusive. That he had always wanted to live on a ranch. That he loved me. My second semester, and one of the coolest guys on campus wanted to marry me.”
She tried to drink more water but it stuck in her throat.
“You don’t have to go on,” Joe told her quietly.
“You probably know where it’s going. We’d set a wedding date. He offered to sign a pre-nuptial agreement because he said he didn’t want my parents to think he cared about my money. Of course I refused. I didn’t want to insult him. That I trusted him. He went to meet Eric and Eric went off on us. I started skipping classes and not giving a damn about anything. Then one day I tried to pull myself together and ‘support’ him. He’d gone to a party he said mattered for because of the people going. He begged me to come, then told me not to worry if I wouldn’t be comfortable. When I went there to surprise him, the surprise was on me. He was in bed with the girl he’d been with for a couple of years. People had been drinking and I heard an earful. Mostly about my stupidity.” She shrugged and swiped away a stray tear. “I’m not crying for him,” she said honestly. “Just because I was such an idiot.”
She lifted a bite of pancake, then put it back and pushed her plate away. “That’s why I couldn’t pay Benton’s money myself,” she whispered. “Except for what my father left all those years ago and what Eric pays me for doing nothing, really, I don’t have money. It’s all tied up in trusts. After that fiasco, they thought I couldn’t look out for myself.”
He looked pained for her. “Jody�
�”
She didn’t want to talk. Just wanted Saturday to come, the horses to be safe, and then to figure out how she’d go on without Joe. He’d said he didn’t want another relationship and she understood. She’d only lost months, and any trust or respect her stepfather might have found for her after her mother’s death. He’d lost twelve years and someone he had loved.
She stood and he sighed, but didn’t say anything else. When she came back from the restroom, he was waiting for her. The waitress thanked them and they walked out into the brightly lit parking lot.
He opened the doors of the truck as they approached, but put a hand on her shoulder as she started around the truck. “Jody, brace yourself for today, okay?”
“I’ve heard the traffic is awful. I can handle traffic.”
Joe shook his head. “The traffic’s nothing, sweetheart. My family? Hell on wheels. And that’s if they come at us one by one.”
***
Jody sat in a secluded corner, grateful for the respite from traffic and people. She’d had an anxiety attack when Joe approached the Rogers Memorial Medical Center. Joe—rodeo Joe, her Joe—was related to a family of renowned doctors. Going on four days together, and he hadn’t mentioned that his oldest brother, Richard, was the renowned orthopedic surgeon who’d supervised his recovery.
The potted plants here in the lobby were spectacular, and large enough to shield her from everyone. Grateful that she could breathe again and Joe was off on a mission to get Benton’s money without her presence, she pulled her phone out and checked her email. Three more students wanted help on doctoral dissertations. She regretfully refused to work on a paper for a student who needed it by the end of the week. one of them for a paper she wanted to finish within a week. She couldn’t commit to anything until after Sunday; they couldn’t let Cowboy and the other horses die.
A woman clearing her throat loudly finally registered and she looked up. The tall, elegant woman in heels and a business suit made her feel grungy and out of place. “Yes?” Jody mumbled, knowing that, as usual, she was blushing without reason.
“You’re Ms. Colton?”
Jody wondered if she could lie and just walk out the door. She could lurk on the bench she’d seen out there until Joe came looking for her. She nodded. “Uh, yes.”
The woman smiled, which really didn’t ease Jody’s discomfort, and held out a perfect hand with shimmery silver nails. “I’m Ari Trevor, Dr. Rogers’ secretary. Come with me, please.”
“Which Dr. Rogers?” Jody asked. There had been a long list of Rogers on the glass door they’d come through an hour ago. “I’m waiting for someone, actually.”
“Joe will join you in a few minutes,” the woman assured her, waving her through the door into an elevator.
She hated elevators, especially the ones with mirrored interiors that didn’t let you escape from yourself no matter where you looked. Thankfully, they stopped on the ninth floor, because she felt nauseous by then. Ms. Trevor led her down a short hall and knocked once on a door. Jody walked in obediently, hoping that she wouldn’t embarrass Joe by rushing to him and collapsing against him.
Joe wasn’t in the room. But an older man who looked very much like Joe stood and smiled at her.
“Good morning, Jody.” He came around the desk, hand extended. “I’m Joe’s brother Richard. Oldest of many.”
She managed to nod. He grasped her hand and didn’t let go. “Joe told us you’re the driving force behind some horses that need saving. Well done. Not that I’m a horse man, but nothing deserves to suffer like that.”
She didn’t have an answer, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Come sit down,” he suggested, waving at the luxurious chairs by his desk. “Tell me about you and Joe.”
Jody looked around. “Where is Joe?”
The doctor laughed. “He was just as nervous when I kicked him out. But that’s what brothers are for.”
She sat down reluctantly. “Really, I don’t know what to say,” she told him. “It’s just…we made a deal to buy some horses to keep them from being slaughtered. One of them is—was—mine.”
When he didn’t say anything, she felt compelled to go on, even though she had no clue what he wanted her to tell him. “I’m sorry about Joe needing to borrow money from you.”
“Borrow money?” He laughed. “Joe didn’t borrow money. Well, technically, he’s getting an advance on investments he has through our private partnership. But it’s his money.” Richard stretched expansively. “Don’t let that worry you, if it did, Jody. I just wanted to meet you without him around being all protective. I’m just nosy. What are your plans, him and you?”
Jody’s mouth opened a little. “We just met four days ago.”
“My wife and I knew by the afternoon of day one,” he countered easily “We’ve been together for going on thirty years.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t always happen like that, of course. But don’t count Joe out.” He stood and walked over to a window, pulling a drape aside and looking out briefly. “Are you a rodeo girl?”
“Um, like a barrel racer?” Jody asked, confused. “No, I don’t have anything to do with rodeo.”
“When they brought Joe to me after that horse trampled him, Jody, it shattered me. I didn’t think anyone could help him.” He looked back at her. I supervised a colleague, because it was a complicated procedure, but I had to leave. I couldn’t see through my tears—oh, damn. I didn’t mean to make you cry!” He handed a tissue box to Jody.
“He talks about going back,” Richard went on. “Says others have done it. You won’t encourage that, will you?”
“No.” Jody blotted her eyes.
“He might go back and draw that killer horse who attacked him,” the doctor added, and Jody drew a deep breath. She must have made some sound because Richard looked at her curiously.
“The horse that trampled him is the one that used to be mine,” she murmured. “He’s been abused and mistreated, but he’s not vicious. And he’s one of the horses we’re saving.”
“Oh,” Richard muttered, looking stunned. Then he shrugged. “All the more reason. Promise me you’ll try to keep him off broncs, Jody.”
She would have promised, but the door burst open and Joe hurried in, looking annoyed. “Why is Jody here? I left her in the lobby.”
“We’re just chatting,” Richard assured him, grinning. “You won’t lose her to me, son. I’m too old. Besides, I told her that Evie and I are still hopelessly in love.” He stood up, ignoring Joe.
“Jody, welcome to the Roberts family. We’re having you and Joe over for an early dinner. You can meet the rest of us.” He laughed at the expressions Joe and Jody exchanged. “Hey, don’t worry. There are only a couple dozen of us.” He pushed a button. “Ms. Trevor, I’ll be out until tomorrow.” He came around the desk and linked arms with them. “Did you know, Jody, that Joe here is the only cowboy ever in our family?”
“The rest are all self-important doctors,” Joe muttered.
“True enough, Richard agreed, and laughed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Roberts’ home loomed like a hotel over its beautifully landscaped grounds. Joe smiled at Jody’s reaction.
“I feel that way now and then when I’ve been away,” he admitted. “But the bottom line is—it’s just home.”
“Don’t expect to know everyone right off,” he counseled. “Just nod and smile if they’re annoying. Or nosy.”
She took his advice to heart. There were siblings, spouses, nieces, nephews and assorted other folks She had no clue who they were, but she smiled and nodded.
The twins, however, were easy to recognize. Darlene and Dora were college freshmen. They were Joe’s nieces, and his sister Angela was, she thought, their mother. The twins were so social she wasn’t sure. They greeted everyone with the same affection and unshakeable hugs.
After dinner, when conversation and wine were flowing freely, Jody glanced around. Nobody seemed to be watching, so she climbed to the third
floor, which housed Joe’s room, guest rooms, and a charming alcove with padded benches, a rocking chair, throw rugs, and shelves of books clustered around a small table. Grateful for the solitude, she curled up on a corner bench that overlooked a tree-lined yard.
“Told you she’d just run away from us,” Darlene said. “Hi, Jody. We found you!”
Great. Jody straightened and smiled. “I see.”
“Don’t worry, though. We’re just here because Joe told us about the horses,” Dora explained. “You and Joe are doing something wonderful.”
Jody flushed. “Thanks. One of them is—was—my horse.”
“Joe said.” Darlene sat down beside her. “Remember how at dinner I told you I wasn’t going into medicine, I’m going into journalism?”
Jody nodded.
“Well, when I heard the story of your Cowboy, I thought of the people I met last weekend. They produce that reality show. You know, Not Their First Rodeo.” Darlene bounced back up and almost hopped in place with excitement. “You have to let them talk to you and see the horses! They’ll bring real awareness to how horses are abused. Not as many people think about horses as they do cats and dogs.”
“Joe won’t—” Jody started to protest, but Darlene stopped her.
“He told us when we mentioned it to him. That was a whole different production crew. The head producer now is a friend of mother’s. Sylvia.” She held out a napkin with a name and number. “They could really help you, Jody. This could be just a beginning!”
Jody took the paper, looked at it, and put it in her pocket. “Thank you.”
“No trouble,” the twins chorused, then hugged her and flounced off, calling “Night,” as they clattered down the stairs.
Cowboy Strong Page 13
