India shifted her attention away from where Ginny seemed to be effortlessly maneuvering the horse. “Nope. And I don’t intend for that to change any time soon.”
She liked her life just like it was, with everything mapped out. She wasn’t as married to perfectionism as Skyler, but India still knew what fit her lifestyle and what didn’t. Running a rodeo and learning to ride a horse had never been on her radar screen.
But neither had a sweaty, dirty cowboy who tempted her to second-guess what she’d always known she wanted.
* * *
“REMIND ME AGAIN WHY I’m friends with you,” Skyler said as she dragged herself out of the car after India and Elissa. “This is a heinous hour for human beings to be up.”
India smiled at her friend, who’d never been an early riser. “Because we need to measure for the booth spaces, and I’d like to do it before it’s a thousand degrees outside.”
“Plus there are those little things called jobs we all have to go to later,” Elissa said. Unlike Skyler, Elissa was quite fond of early mornings.
Skyler stuck her tongue out at both of them, eliciting laughs from her best friends.
“You all certainly sound happy this morning.”
India halted in her tracks and jerked her gaze toward the sound of the male voice. Liam—and his deep, sexy voice—sat in a lawn chair beside the RV she’d seen the day before.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t think anyone would be out here yet,” India said. In fact, she’d been banking on it. But it looked as if Liam was using the RV as more than an on-site office. “Sorry if we bothered you.”
“Not at all. Just enjoying a cup of coffee before it gets too hot outside to drink it.” He lifted a cup. “Would you all like some?”
“No, we’re fine,” India said.
“Actually, I’d love some coffee,” Elissa said. She shot India a grin that said India was in trouble. “And Skyler might be a little nicer if we get some caffeine in her.”
India stared hard at Elissa, silently promising payback, before her friend shifted her gaze and walked toward Liam as he stood. She extended her hand. “I’m Elissa. I’m the fun friend in this motley trio.”
Liam laughed as he accepted Elissa’s hand, gifting her with a smile even wider than any he’d aimed in India’s direction.
Something greedy churned inside India, making her want to break the contact between Elissa and Liam. Her jaw clenched before she forced herself to relax. Truth be told, Liam was more up Elissa’s alley, anyway. She obviously found him attractive. And if he didn’t think Elissa was drop-dead gorgeous, then he was blind.
Once they finished shaking hands, Elissa gestured toward Skyler. “This is Skyler, but you can call her I Don’t Do Mornings.” When Elissa gestured toward India, she noticed the conspiratorial grin she wore as she and Skyler made eye contact. “And you’ve met Fuddy Duddy.”
“Fuddy Duddy?” India crossed her arms. “I fail to see how I deserve that nickname.”
Liam put up his hand, palm out. “I’ll leave the nicknames to you ladies and get your coffee.”
When Liam disappeared into the RV, India eyed Elissa. “What are you doing?” she asked under her breath.
“Being friendly.”
India bit her lip. She knew that Elissa being friendly usually led to her going out on a date. Her friend didn’t sleep around, but she knew how to have a good time. And India had never heard any of Elissa’s dates complain, either.
“Damn, he’s even hotter in person,” Elissa said.
“Shh.” India shot a nervous glance toward the RV’s open doorway.
“What? It’s true. He’s got to know it. I’d venture a guess that even Skyler noticed, half-asleep as she is. Right, Skyler?”
“He’s not exactly ugly.”
“Oh, my God, I can’t believe you two.” India turned on her heel and headed away from them. She was tempted to get in her car and leave them behind. They could think about the wisdom of pushing her in a direction she didn’t want to go while they walked back to their cars downtown.
Instead of abandoning her friends, however, she retrieved the tape measure and notepad from the car. She eyed the ground for a rock to place on one end of the tape since her friends seemed to be more interested in drinking coffee and ogling the hot cowboy.
She gritted her teeth, more irritated with herself than Elissa and Skyler. If she had her sights set on a man she hadn’t yet met, why did she care if Elissa or even Skyler found Liam attractive?
“Looks like you could use a hand,” Liam said as he approached.
She gestured toward where her friends were sipping their mugs of fresh coffee. “That’s what I brought them for, but that didn’t turn out as planned.”
“Have I done something to offend you?”
India stopped searching for a rock and met Liam’s gaze. She shook her head and allowed the tension building in her shoulders to relax. “No, I’m sorry. I guess Skyler isn’t the only one grumpy this morning.” She pulled out the end of the measuring tape and extended it to Liam. “I think I’m just letting my to-do list get the better of me.”
Liam took the end of the tape and held it as she started walking backward, away from him and her friends. “Anything I can help with?”
“I think you already have your plate full, too.”
“You never know. I might be able to squeeze something else in.”
India glanced toward Liam, but despite the fact that he wasn’t yet wearing his hat she couldn’t read his expression. Was there some innuendo there, or was she just imagining it thanks to Elissa’s teasing?
“I’ll be fine, but thanks.”
“Okay, but the offer stands.”
She wondered how he’d respond if he knew that the kind of help she imagined him giving her had absolutely nothing to do with the rodeo.
Chapter Four
Even while measuring out spaces for vendor booths, India looked like a flower in the middle of the desert. Liam wasn’t normally prone to think of things in such a, well, flowery way, but it was the first thing that had popped into his mind when he’d seen her standing alone in the middle of the dry field. She looked so out of place that it should have sounded warning bells in his head. Big, clanging bells.
He should just do his job here and beat it back to Fort Worth as quickly as he could. But no, what did he do? He offered to help her with some unnamed task just because she looked stressed and he wanted to smooth away the lines on her beautiful face.
India wrote down her last measurement then started walking toward him. “Thanks for the help.”
“No problem.”
She looked past him toward the female chattering. “Looks like we woke up Ginny, and she’s already making friends with my coffee-mooching friends.”
He looked back to where Ginny was sitting cross-legged in the chair he’d vacated. “That kid has never met a stranger. I’m afraid it’s going to come back to bite me in the butt one of these days. She gets older and I’ll be beating off cowboys with whatever is handy.”
“She spends a lot of time with you?”
He could tell there was a question beyond the question, but India was better than most about hiding it. “Ginny lives with me full-time. Her mother isn’t a part of her life.”
“Oh. I didn’t mean to pry.”
He shrugged. “You weren’t.”
“That must be hard when you’re on the road so much.”
“She stays with my cousin when I’m out of town during the school year, but she travels with me during the height of rodeo season.”
“Really? That must be pretty lonely for her.”
He laughed. “Remember what I said about her not meeting a stranger? I think she knows every rider, announcer, stock handler and clown on the circuit.”
He hadn’t really thought about that before. After all, Ginny never complained. In fact, she seemed to enjoy their time on the road. He turned his gaze back to his daughter and for the first time wondered if he was doing her a disservice by dragging her from one rodeo to another.
He shook his head. No, Ginny had a good life. She loved horses, loved rodeos. Why was he letting this woman who reminded him a little too much of Charlotte put doubts in his head? He knew his daughter better than anyone. And just because India Pike would probably turn a daughter of hers into a little cream puff didn’t mean that was right for Ginny.
“Time for me to get to work.” He didn’t even look at India when he started back toward the RV.
“I see you all got everything taken care of,” Elissa said.
“No thanks to you lazy bums,” India said as she strode up next to him. Her voice and posture were tight again, like they’d been when she’d first arrived.
His abrupt change in mood had probably caused that, but he couldn’t muster feeling sorry this time. He didn’t need any parenting advice from someone who didn’t even have a kid. At least he didn’t think India had any children. She didn’t strike him as the motherly type. She was way too uptight for that. Plus, if she had kids, she wouldn’t always look like she’d walked out of a fashion catalog. Really, who looked that good this early in the morning?
Someone like Charlotte. A woman who didn’t have the first clue about the kind of life he lived and probably never would.
He refocused on his daughter, ruffling her serious case of bedhead. “Did you sleep in a wind tunnel last night?”
She gave him one of her “I’m just putting up with you because you’re my dad” looks.
“Ginny was just keeping us entertained with a story about you and a horse named Jumping Bean,” Elissa said with laughter in her voice.
Elissa was pretty, laid-back, casual, funny. Why couldn’t he be attracted to her instead of her rose petal of a best friend?
“Glad to know she’s sharing that tale with everyone she meets.” He acted as if he was going to tickle Ginny’s ribs, but she squealed as she jumped out of the chair and ran from him.
As luck would have it, she ended up hiding behind India, who looked startled by suddenly being Ginny’s main line of defense.
“This must be one doozy of a story,” India said as she glanced down to where Ginny was peeking around India’s waist, a glint of victory in her little-girl eyes.
“Evidently not only did the horse buck Liam off in no time flat,” Elissa said, obviously reveling in the retelling, “but he came back and bit Liam on the posterior to add insult to injury.”
He watched as India did her best to hide a smile. He had to resist the sudden, very unwise urge to grab her and kiss that grin right off her face.
This job couldn’t be over fast enough.
* * *
“COME ON, DON’T BE MAD,” Elissa said as she followed India through the front door of Yesterwear.
India walked to her small office and tossed her purse in the bottom drawer of the desk. “I’m not mad. More like irritated. You’re like a mosquito that won’t stop buzzing around my ear.”
“What? All I did was invite Liam and Ginny to family night at the music hall.”
“After making a point that I’d be there.”
“I said we’d all be there, along with a lot of other people, including some kids Ginny could meet.”
India pushed past Elissa on her way back to the front of the store. “It was obvious what you meant.”
“So shoot me for trying to set up one of my best friends with the best-looking guy to stroll into Blue Falls in ages.”
India spun back toward Elissa and the wisely quiet Skyler. “I’m perfectly capable of choosing my own dates.”
Elissa crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? And just when exactly did you last go on a date?”
India exhaled in exasperation. “I’m a busy woman. I’ll get around to it.” She gestured toward Skyler. “Why don’t you shift your matchmaking efforts toward Skyler?”
“Hey, leave me out of this.”
“I have to work up to Skyler. That’ll take more work. She’s even more uptight than you are.”
“On that lovely note, I’m going to work,” Skyler said and headed for the door. “You two try not to kill each other.”
Once the door closed behind Skyler, India glanced at Elissa. “Don’t you need to get to work, too?” She wanted nothing more than to be alone. Just five glorious minutes without having to avert her eyes from a guy she shouldn’t want, or listen to her friends try to map out her future for her.
“You’re right.” Elissa’s words were unusually clipped, and India fought the urge to apologize.
Only she wasn’t the one who’d done anything wrong. She didn’t go around trying to run Elissa’s life, setting her up with a guy with whom she had absolutely nothing in common, a guy who would only be in town for a short time, anyway. When India got involved with someone, she wanted to make sure he was going to be around for a while.
But how likely was it that the type of man she’d always told herself she wanted was going to take up residence in Blue Falls? Would she have to leave to find him? Leave her friends, the business she loved and the town that felt more like home than the house she’d shared with her parents ever had?
A sudden fear that she would lose it all swamped her just as Elissa grabbed the knob on the front door.
“I’ll call you later, when I get some more of the plans for the rodeo activities finished,” India said.
“Fine.” Without even looking back, Elissa disappeared in the opposite direction from Skyler.
India couldn’t decide if she wanted to scream or cry.
* * *
LIAM TOOK OFF HIS GLOVES and beat the dust off of them on one of the barn’s support beams. Half of the load of hay was spread in the stalls that they’d spent the day repairing and prepping for horses. He caught Adrian’s gaze as the boy entered the end of the barn with two bottles of water fresh from the icy cooler.
“You read my mind,” Liam said as he accepted one of the dripping bottles. “I feel like I’ve eaten one of these bales of hay.”
Adrian laughed then took a deep gulp of water.
“So, this music hall,” Liam said, trying to sound casual. “Lots of people go there?”
“Yep, always packed. Only thing you could really call nightlife in Blue Falls. And tonight’s family night, the one night of the week when they don’t serve alcohol so people can bring their kids. You should check it out. Good way to meet the neighbors, even if they are temporary.”
Liam shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure a shower and going to bed early doesn’t sound better.”
This time it was Adrian’s turn to shrug.
Liam looked back over everything they’d accomplished today. “Go tell your dad to pack it in. I think we’ve all sweated enough buckets for one day.”
“Okay. Maybe we’ll see you later at the music hall.”
Liam just grunted in response since Adrian was already halfway to the barn opening. He wasn’t sure taking Elissa up on her offer was such a good idea. But on the other hand, he and Ginny deserved a night out. Ever since India had put that doubt in his head about taking Ginny on the road with him, he’d caught himself watching his daughter for signs of boredom, loneliness or just wishing she was anywhere else. Things he might have not even noticed before seemed to jump out and scream at him. Part of him hated India for that, but only a little part.
What was more frustrating was the fact that a bigger part wanted to go to the music hall tonight just to see what she’d wear. Would she even show up? Yes, she was a local and evidently a lot of the locals freq
uented the Blue Falls Music Hall, but as much as he tried he couldn’t imagine her there. A classical concert hall, yes. A Texas music hall filled to the rafters with cowboy boots and country music, not so much.
With a shake of his head, he headed back to the RV. He wasn’t lying when he’d said a shower sounded really good. He scanned the fairgrounds as he crossed the space between the barn and where the RV was hooked up, but he didn’t see Ginny anywhere. When he stepped inside the cooler interior of the RV, he saw why. She was lying on his bed with her bare feet propped against the wall, reading.
“Good book?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve read it before.” Was that a hint of boredom in her voice?
He didn’t much feel like going out, but he decided that it might be good for Ginny to meet some of the local kids. “What do you think about going to this music hall Elissa mentioned?”
Ginny tossed the book aside and spun around to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. “Could we?”
He laughed even though a little part of him suddenly felt like crying. Maybe India was right, even though he hated to admit it. What kind of father was he that a complete stranger had guessed something about his daughter that he’d overlooked for who knew how long?
“Well, go on, then, and take a quick shower. But don’t use all the hot water.”
Ginny flew to the bathroom. When she closed the door, he slumped onto one of the benches next to the dining table. He was going to be a better dad from now on. He didn’t know much about girly things, but he’d figure it out. Ginny was the most important thing in the world to him, and he wasn’t going to mess that up.
By the time they both showered, dressed and stopped by the Primrose for some dinner, the music hall was indeed doing a brisk business. Couples spun around the dance floor, more people stood in groups around the room talking and laughing, and several kids sat at the bar with their short legs swinging off the tall stools.
Liam placed his hand on Ginny’s shoulder. “Looks like they have ice cream. You want some?”
“Yes!” She threw her arm in the air as if celebrating a major victory.
Her Perfect Cowboy Page 5
