Her Rodeo Hero (Cowboys in Uniform)

by Pamela Britton

  “No. Don’t do that,” Natalie replied. Deep breath. “I’ll be all right.”

  Sam wore her red bodysuit and her oversize red hat with the white lacing. Two months ago Natalie privately might have thought she looked ridiculous, but not today. Today she wanted to hug her.

  “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Sam asked.

  Ohdeargoodness.

  “No.” Another deep breath. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

  Liar.

  Was she? Not right now. Right now she wanted to kill him. He’d draped himself all over the woman in the tight jeans and low-cut T-shirt. She was laughing up at him and Colt, who almost never smiled, grinned back.

  Too hard. “I shouldn’t have come,” Natalie muttered.

  “I wanted you here.” Sam touched her arm gently. “We’ve worked really hard to get Roger to jump through that damn flaming hoop. You’re going to watch us perform even if I have to duct tape you to the grandstands.”

  Dear Sam. She really had grown to love the woman. “Did Colt know I was coming?”

  The answer was in Sam’s eyes long before it passed through her lips. “No.”

  Breathe. Just breathe.

  But she wanted to crumble. She’d hoped he’d done it on purpose, hooked up with the blonde as a way of making her jealous, that he’d known she was coming and so he’d set the whole thing up. Only he hadn’t known. And she...

  Wanted to ball her eyes out.

  “Chin up, kiddo.” Sam smiled. “Remember you’ve picked up all sorts of new clients. You’re a success. Maybe one day you’ll ride again and Colt will see you on TV and he’ll realize what an ass he was to let you go.”

  Because clearly he had let her go. Clearly he’d moved on. Quickly.

  Something warm rippled across her skin. She could feel her cheeks turn red. Anger.

  “Good riddance,” she said. But she didn’t mean it. She knew Colt had a heart. She saw it in the way he handled his horses. It was there in the way he’d touched her. There, too, in his eyes. He just hid it away where it wouldn’t get hurt.

  “Atta girl,” Sam said, even though Natalie spoke about Sam’s best friend.

  The rest of the day was agony. Randy showed up, nearly unrecognizable in his Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots. He’d let whiskers sprout. The light brown stubble helped conceal his identity nearly as well as his tan cowboy hat. It worked, too, because Colt’s new friend, a woman named Christine, had given him a double take, only to ask if they’d met before. Randy had assured her they hadn’t and that had been that.

  The blonde wouldn’t leave Colt’s side and that likely had something to do with why she didn’t realize she stood next to a celebrity. Too distracted.

  When the rodeo started and it came time for Colt and Sam and the Galloping Girlz to perform, Natalie actually had to stand next to Christine, Randy on her other side. It had dawned a bright day. Natalie reassured herself that was why she had to squint her eyes, not because her head had begun to throb, but because it was too bright in the Southern California desert.

  “Are you one of the performers?” Christine asked as Colt pulled his rig into the center of the arena. “A barrel racer or something?”

  “No,” Natalie said. Be nice. “I’m a horse trainer.”

  The woman’s pretty blue eyes brightened. “Like Colt?”

  Colt’s rig had stopped in the middle of the arena, right next to the hoop she and Sam had practiced with for the past few weeks. Behind him, the Galloping Girlz entered, the crowd gasping as one by one they stood on top of their horses.

  “Exactly like Colt.”

  Except I don’t ride.

  She should, she told herself. What reason now was there to wait? If she fell off, who would care?

  Now you’re feeling sorry for yourself.

  Perhaps she was. Perhaps it was time to brush off her sadness and forget about Colt.

  Teddy jumped out of the trailer. Colt lifted his hands and the gelding reared. The crowd roared its approval as around him Sam’s friends performed their tricks, Sam at the helm with her long black hair flying. Natalie had to admit, it all left her spellbound. The horses with their manes streaming and their tails held like royal standards, and their hooves pounding the ground so hard they kicked up dirt. The girls hung upside down, off the side or over the rear of their mounts. In the middle of the pen, Teddy appeared sublimely unfazed. He grabbed the scarf from Colt’s back pocket and waved it at the crowd who laughed and clapped. Instead of playing tag with Colt, though, the horse fell into line behind the girls.

  Natalie had no idea what Colt had trained Teddy to do next. She knew he’d been practicing with the girls. Sam had told her. So she watched as Teddy took off running. He sidled up next to one of the Galloping Girlz, keeping pace with her. Laura, her name was, and she was riding a flashy sorrel with four white socks. She stood. Teddy held his position. Laura slowly stepped off her horse and onto Teddy mid-gallop, until she was riding him. Bareback. Bridleless. Without a saddle. The crowd cheered and Natalie marveled. How had Colt taught Teddy to do that? Most horses would have run off and done their own thing. Not Teddy. He stayed next to Laura’s horse. And all while still holding the scarf.

  Despite wanting to hate Colt, Natalie had to admit the act’s brilliance. Sam and the girls added a whole new layer and they hadn’t even gotten to the best part yet. One by one the girls peeled off. Laura went back to riding her own horse. Teddy skidded to a halt by Colt. They lined up in a row, heads bobbing, nostrils flaring. Only Sam stayed out on the rail, her red outfit a blur against a backdrop of people. In the arena Colt reentered the trailer. He emerged with a flaming torch. The crowd applauded; they knew what came next. With the flick of a wrist he turned on the propane. The ring lit up with an audible poof. This was it. The moment both she and Sam had been practicing for.

  Sam guided Roger off the rail.

  The flames grew higher. They’d practiced this a dozen times. Still, this wasn’t a jump with poles that would collapse. If Sam messed it up Roger could get hurt. They could both get hurt and so Natalie’s heart lodged in her throat as she mentally counted down the strides between Roger and the jump.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  They flew. Sam ducked low. The flames danced. They landed on the other side much to the crowd’s approval.

  “Wow,” both Randy and Christine cried. Randy let out a woot as Sam waved to the crowd. Teddy trotted up next to Sam, brandishing his scarf. The girls broke formation and left the arena at a dead run. Teddy followed, but instead of leaving with the other girls, he circled back around, jumping into the back of the trailer and waving his scarf.

  “That’s incredible.” Randy hooted and hollered. “Just incredible.”

  “You’re Rand Jefferson!” Randy and Natalie turned toward Christine, who stared accusingly at the handsome giant. “That’s why you seem so familiar.”

  “Nah.” Randy’s smile was full of devilry. “I just look like him. I get that a lot.”

  Christine’s mouth went slack. Natalie would have smiled if her heart hadn’t still been pounding from watching Sam jump. Somehow, watching her friend perform had brought it all back. The rush of adrenaline as Sam had turned toward the hoop. The concentration it took to time the take off perfectly. That moment of breathlessness as they’d launched, flying, the rider one with the horse.

  Damn, she missed it.

  Randy caught her eye and his amusement faded. “Good job, coach.”

  She mustered a smile for his sake. “Thanks.”

  “You are Rand Jefferson,” Christine insisted.

  Randy shot the blonde an impatient look. “Give us a moment, would you?” He didn’t wait for her to respond, just hooked an arm around Natalie’s shoulders and guided her away from the rail.

  “I don’t think you’re fooling her anymore,” Natalie pointed out.

  “Too bad.” He frowned over his shoulder. “My friend needs me more.”

 
She faked a groan. “Not another pep talk.”

  He pretended to twist an imaginary mustache. “Sam asked me to make out with you.”

  “She did not.”

  Randy’s smile was full of guilt. “Not really, but it’s a thought.”

  She pretended to elbow him, so very grateful for his friendship right then that she really would have kissed him if he wasn’t so dang tall. Sam was a lucky girl. Randy might be a big star these days, but he had a big heart, too.

  “Sam tells me you quit riding.”

  She nodded as they ducked between two trailers. “I miss it, though.”

  “As your friend, possibly your oldest friend.” He smiled again. “And the best looking, I might add, I should probably give you a pat on the back and tell you good choice.”

  She glanced up at him as they walked. “But you’re not.”

  He stopped by the edge of the access road and stared down at her, and for a moment Natalie wondered why she’d never found him attractive. Well, she did, just not in that way. To her Randy would always be the goofy guy who had once laughed so hard his soda had come gushing out his nostrils.

  “I’m not,” he admitted. “Because I saw the look on your face as Sam jumped through that hoop.”

  Though she told herself to hold his gaze, she didn’t, mostly because the compassion in his eyes nearly undid her.

  “Do you remember, once upon a time, when I told you I was going to give up acting?”

  The image of a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop came to mind, a place with orange vinyl seats and Formica table tops, and a waitress that’d reminded her of Lucille Ball. “I told you not to do it.”

  “And do you remember why?”

  “Because acting made you happy.”

  “And...” he prompted.

  “Because you had too much talent to throw it all away.”

  Randy nodded, his hand moving to her jaw. “You, Natalie, are the best rider I have ever seen.” He smiled wryly. “Well, aside from Sam. But not even Sam can fly a horse like you do. You’re like some kind of mythical being when you jump. I remember watching you at that competition a few years back. The one with that swanky party. You invited me in case I might bump into someone in the business.”

  “The LA Grand Prix.”

  “That was it.” He snapped his fingers. “You made it to overtime.”

  “To the jump off,” she corrected with a smile.

  “Whatever. All I know is there you were, riding into the ring on that beast of a horse that flung its head and tried to take off with you. But you made it behave.” He shook his head, his hand still holding her jaw. “It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, watching you soar over those poles, most of which were taller than you.”

  She felt her lashes moisten. She remembered, too.

  “Don’t give that up, Nats. You’ve got too much talent to throw it all away.”

  Her smile was full of tears. A few of them fell on to his hand. “What if I fall off?”

  “What if you don’t?”

  She let his words sink in thinking all the while that millions of women the world over would give their right ears to have Rand Jefferson gaze down at them like he was at her. Millions of women would never know what a truly amazing guy her friend was.

  “I love you, Randy.” A platonic love. The love of two old friends. He knew that, though.

  “I love you, too, Natalie.” He pulled her into his arms. “And if you get into another bad wreck and don’t call me when you’re in the hospital I will kill you.”

  She rested her head against his chest. “If I get into another bad wreck you may not have to kill me.” Her gaze caught on a truck and trailer pulling in. A black truck. One with logos on the front fender. She straightened in Randy’s arms. Colt stepped from the truck, and any thought that he might not have seen her faded when he paused, staring in their direction.

  She didn’t know why she did it. Pride, probably, but she pulled back and looked into Randy’s eyes. He’d seen Colt, too, and played his part perfectly as he bent and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  Nothing.

  America’s hunkiest heart throb held his mouth against her own and she felt nothing. Nada. Zip. It was in that moment, that very second, that she admitted the truth.

  She loved Colt.

  For her there would only ever be one man who made her feel as if she rode on the back of a jumping horse, one that soared over the tallest of obstacles and left her breathless.

  She pulled back and smiled. “Thanks.”

  Her friend smiled back, and they both knew what she needed to do.

  Chapter Eighteen

  So much for there being nothing between them, Colt thought. He walked around to the back of the trailer. Sam and the girls were congratulating each other as they tied up their horses, still breathless from their performance, their horses’ sides streaked with sweat.

  “Good job, everyone,” Sam called out.

  It had been good. Spectacular, really. The crowd had loved it. Colt looked up and met Sam’s gaze.

  Your boyfriend’s kissing his so-called buddy.

  Sam smiled. He nodded, turning away. He would never tell Sam what he’d just seen. She was a smart girl. She’d figure out sooner or later the man was playing her. And if Natalie was stupid enough to fall for the actor’s big muscles and smooth words, then whatever.

  So why does it feel as if you’ve been kicked in the gut?

  He couldn’t answer the question. Refused to answer the question. He’d get Teddy all squared away in his trailer and head home.

  His cellphone rang.

  It was one of those moments when he knew who it was before he checked. His sister.

  “Colt,” she said. “Adam’s really sick.”

  She didn’t need to say another word. “Be right there.”

  It didn’t matter that he was a hundred miles away. Sam must have seen the look on his face.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I have to get back home.”

  She must have sensed why. “Unhook your trailer. I’ll find someone to hitch it up and drive Teddy home.”

  “No.”

  They both turned because it was Natalie who’d spoken. “I’ll drive Teddy home. Randy can take you to the hospital.”

  Randy? “No, thanks.”

  Natalie rushed up to his side. “Don’t be stubborn, Colt. Randy’s driving a Porsche. He can fly. Just get in his car and go.”

  “She’s right.” Sam came up behind him. “Let Randy take you.”

  He didn’t want to do it. He really didn’t, but he knew a good idea when he heard one, never mind that he wanted to sock the guy in the jaw.

  “Fine.” He tossed his truck keys in Natalie’s direction. A quick glance in the actor’s direction revealed he was already heading toward his car parked somewhere close by. Colt shoved his cowboy hat farther down on his head and ran to catch up.

  “Where are you going?”

  Christine, the little blonde he’d been flirting with, stepped in his path.

  He didn’t want to stop, but common courtesy dictated he make his excuses. “Sorry. I’ve got to run.”

  “But...I thought we were going to dinner.”

  He stepped around her. “Not tonight.” He continued under his breath, “Looks like I have a date with Hawkman.”

  “I knew it!” she cried accusingly from behind him, but Colt didn’t stop to figure out what the hell she meant. The only thing he wanted to do was get to Adam’s bedside.

  Natalie had been right—they flew.

  He had to hand it to the movie star. He knew how to drive his fire-engine red Carrera. And he said next to nothing as he navigated the busy Southern California roads. Well, except for once when he’d darted between two cars, cutting it close. Colt’s hand dug into the door handle and one of the vehicles honked in outrage.

  Even then all Randy said was, “I had plenty of room.”

  They arrived at the hospital in record ti
me. Colt didn’t want to be grateful, not to someone who was clearly playing both of his friends, but he’d never been more relieved.

  “Thanks,” he said, thrusting open the door.

  The actor’s eyes were full of compassion. “Tell him Hawkman said he needs to get better.”

  Colt nodded. “I will.”

  When he made it to the oncology ward, he was stopped by a nurse. She knew him. Ever since Rand Jefferson’s visit Colt had been warmly greeted by the hospital’s staff.

  “He’s not in there.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s been transferred. I’ll take you up, but you can’t go in to visit him—”

  “What the hell do you mean I can’t—”

  “Wait, wait.” The nurse, one of the pretty little brunettes from the coffee line, held up a hand. “Let me finish. He’s what we call immunodeficient. His immune system is compromised and we can’t have just anyone walking into his room.” Her face filled with empathy. “His mother is in there with him, but she’s scrubbed herself down, and she’s wearing an antimicrobial suit. You’ll have to do the same, and once you go inside there can be no hugging or touching or doing anything that might spread germs.”

  He nodded. He would have walked through fire for Adam.

  The nurse motioned for him to follow her. She asked him a barrage of questions as they entered the intensive-care unit. It took an eternity to climb into the paper-like suit. He felt each passing second like a slow-motion instant replay. When he’d finished, they led him through double doors and into an area filled with glass-walled rooms.

  He spotted Adam.

  Lying in a bed that looked massive beneath his little frame. Wires were attached to his arms and body, and his hair, once so thick, was thinned out by the cancer-killing drugs they’d pumped into him.

  Colt wanted to cry.

  Claire looked up at him, her face wet with tears, but Adam was unaware of his arrival. The boy was out cold.

  “He has a fever,” she said softly, looking so sad and forlorn when Colt entered the room he wanted to rush to her side. They’d warned him not to. It was the hardest thing in the world not to wrap his little sister in his arms—Adam, too—but Colt did as he’d been told. He took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.