His Last Rodeo

by Claire McEwen

  They separated for a while, but when a few more orders for rum punch came in, they were back side by side, with Tyler trying his hand at the cocktail with Kit observing. She couldn’t help asking another question while he poured rum into the shaker. “When did you arrive?”

  “Yesterday evening. I stopped by here, but they told me you had the day off. I found a great place to stay not too far from here. It felt incredible to wake up this morning and just jump right in the ocean. I’ve never been anywhere tropical like this. It’s another world.”

  “A really great world.” She sliced a few wedges of pineapple for the garnish and impaled them on toothpicks. Added a cherry.

  “You love it here, then?”

  “It’s thirty degrees at home. This is a nice change.”

  They worked together for another hour or so. The music pulsed and even Tyler couldn’t resist the driving rhythms, busting a few moves behind the bar. He was funny and gorgeous and everything that she was in love with, and he was here. Which meant he must have missed her, a lot.

  Which was thrilling, but scary, too, because her heart was still raw from missing him these past couple months. And now, when he left again, she’d miss him even more.

  Finally Rogelio showed up at the bar, rushed and apologetic. “Angel’s mother is ill and needed her help. I had to run home to be with the kids. It took me a long time to find someone to watch them.” Then he caught sight of Tyler. “You have a coworker.” He looked at Kit, puzzled.

  “Rogelio, meet Tyler. From California. He owns the bar I worked at for years. He showed up tonight and I put him to work. For tips only, of course.”

  Rogelio strode over and shook Tyler’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Tyler. Welcome to Belize. Thank you for stepping up tonight.” He surveyed the crowd. People weren’t drinking nearly as much now, just dancing to the music outside under the tropical stars. “Why don’t you two go enjoy yourselves? I can handle it from here on out.” He reached into the cooler and pulled out two beers, popping the tops off and sliding the bottles toward them. “Go. Dance. Enjoy the night.”

  “Thanks, Rogelio,” Kit said, leaning over and giving her boss a kiss on the cheek. “Tell Angel I hope her mother feels better soon. And that I’ll make sure to tell her all about it in the morning.”

  Rogelio gave a booming laugh at the inside joke. “My wife, Angel, loves to gossip,” he explained to Tyler. “If I tell her I gave Kit the night off to see a boy, and I don’t have more information, she won’t let me sleep, asking questions I can’t answer.”

  “Sounds like our hometown,” Tyler said, laughing. “Gossip is a hobby for a lot of folks.”

  Rogelio grinned. “It is the same here in San Pedro. It’s universal, I guess.”

  They thanked Rogelio, took their beer and left the bar. Kit couldn’t help dancing a little as they made their way through the crowd. “Isn’t that music incredible? I love working here. Come on, let’s go walk out on the beach and you can tell me why you’re really here.”

  * * *

  AS THEY THREADED their way through the dancing crowd, Tyler tried to absorb this new version of Kit. He’d managed to steal a few glances while behind the bar, but it had been really busy. Now he had a moment to study her, lit up by the nearly full moon. She wore no makeup. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, revealing thin silver hoop earrings. A loose cotton sundress, patterned in pale reds and golds, clung to her skin, but not in the tight way she’d worn her clothes at home. Her dress showed her tattoos, the rattlesnake on her arm reminding him of the mountains and desert back home, the exotic flower on her shoulder matching her current location perfectly. As if she’d somehow known she’d end up loving both places.

  She was beautiful in such a natural, comfortable way that something tugged at his stomach. A longing so sharp it ached. This was the Kit he loved.

  No matter what happened between them, he was glad he’d come. Glad he’d seen her this way. “Rogelio seems like a great guy,” he said, as they emerged from the palm trees and out onto the white sand beach.

  “He and his wife have been so good to me. And they have three kids, Carlos, Lucia and Gabriella. They’re adorable.”

  “It’s good to see you happy,” he said. “You are happy, right?”

  “I’m happy,” she said mildly.

  But there was something else there, too. He didn’t pry. Instead they walked on the beach, drinking their beer while she told him about Mexico and Guatemala. And he told her about his father, and working on the ranch. And how his dad finally watched his rodeos on video. “He said he’s stayed away all these years because he couldn’t deal with losing me. He couldn’t handle seeing me compete because it is so unsafe.”

  “He loves you. I could tell when he showed up at opening night.”

  “He told me what you did. How the only reason he came that night was because you went out there and yelled at him.”

  “Oh, that.” She smiled faintly. “Well, someone had to. Might as well have been me.”

  He laughed. “Well, you worked some kind of magic on him. He’s different now. Or trying to be.” The beach ended in a rocky point a few yards in front of them. “Want to sit? You might need a seat for what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Good news, I hope?”

  “I think so.”

  She folded her legs and sank into the sand. He plopped down beside her and told her how his dad had shown up at his barn the other day, when Tyler and Garth were in the office making plans for next spring. How his dad had astounded them both with a heartfelt apology to Garth.

  “No way.” Kit shook her head. “I never thought that would happen.”

  “Believe me, neither did I. But there’s more. After my dad apologized, he handed your father a big check to cover the loan he took against his pension.”

  “No way!” Her eyes were wide in the moonlight. “That is a miracle.”

  “But your dad flat-out refused to accept it. So I mentioned this idea I’ve been playing with, of providing housing for some of the old-timers at the bar. You know, Crater, Stan, some of those guys? They’re getting older and I’ve been worried that maybe they can’t stay way out in the desert anymore.”

  She stopped him. “You want to provide housing for my regulars?”

  “Don’t get all sappy on me.” He could feel his face growing warmer even in the cool night air. “They’re my regulars now, too. But yes, I’m thinking about it. I mean, it seemed like kind of a crazy idea at first. But they’ve been coming into the bar more often. I can’t help but think that they’re lonely and uncomfortable the way they’re living. A few of them have got to be pushing eighty. And who else is going to help them if we don’t?”

  “It’s a great idea,” she said. “I love it.”

  It warmed him to hear her praise, but he had to be honest. “I don’t know if it’ll work. I need to find out what’s really going on. I wish you could talk with them.”

  “Me, too. Maybe we can video conference me in.”

  Tyler laughed. “It’s hard to picture those guys in a video conference. Stan would spend his whole time asking how the whole thing worked.” He imitated the old miner’s voice. “‘Now tell me a little more about this contraption, Tyler.’”

  She giggled. “They sure are characters, aren’t they? I miss them.”

  “They miss you.”

  Kit was silent a moment, sipping her beer and staring at the ocean. Maybe it was selfish, but Tyler hoped she was homesick. That she was thinking of coming home. But she just said, “So how is this connected to your dad’s apology?”

  He’d forgotten to finish the story. Just the memory made him smile. “So my dad offered this big check and your dad refused. But when I mentioned my plans for our older regulars, your dad yanked that check right out of my father’s fingers and handed it to me.
And told me to use it toward making my idea a reality.”

  “That’s amazing!” Kit’s face was lit with her smile. “It’s like that money is coming full circle. To help other older guys in need, now that my dad’s okay.”

  “It seems like justice,” Tyler said.

  They sat for a few minutes, watching the waves, sipping their beer in awkward silence because he was sure Kit was wondering what the hell he was doing here. It was time to stop hedging his bets. He’d flown all this way to make sure they didn’t lose their chance together because of pride and misunderstanding. He had to go for it.

  He glanced at her. She was staring out over the ocean, her beer forgotten beside her. He bumped her gently with his shoulder to pull her attention back from the moonlight glinting on the waves.

  “I’ve missed you so much.”

  Still watching the water, she nodded slowly. “I miss you, too,” she said softly.

  “I’ve been working hard, pushing myself, to try to let you go. But I can’t. You’re all I think about—all I want. Nothing’s the same without you.” He paused, took a deep breath and went for it. “You’re my adrenaline rush, Kit. Without you everything feels flat. I love you. More than I thought possible to love anyone.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder, so he put his arm around her and pulled her against him. It felt incredible to have her so close again. Like an essential piece of a puzzle that fit perfectly under his arm. He waited for her to say something. Anything.

  “I love you, too. Tyler, I love you so much it hurts not to be with you.”

  The relief he felt was soul deep. He’d been desperate to hear it. He planted a grateful kiss on her soft hair. She looked up at him with wide eyes and parted lips, and he kissed her sweet mouth, feeling like he was home after being lost for months. “We’re meant to be together,” he said between kisses. “Please, Kit, spend your life with me.” With his free hand he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. He flipped it open to show her the diamond and ruby ring inside, his heart smashing into his rib cage because he needed this. He needed her. “Please come home with me. Please say you’ll marry me.”

  She gasped at the sight of the ring. And scooted a few feet away. It wasn’t the reaction he’d hoped for. And he sure wasn’t ready for the anger narrowing her dark eyes, or the way the moonlight glinted off the tears sliding down her cheeks. “I can’t marry you. I love you, so much, but I don’t want to go back and live in Benson. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”

  Desperation had him grasping for reasons why she should. “That doesn’t make sense. We’re perfect together. The moment I showed up tonight, we were in sync. Totally happy together. How can you walk away from something like that? From me?”

  “Because I need to do this. I need to travel, try new things, see new places.” Her voice rose and her hands balled to fists.

  The solution was so clear to him. He just had to make her see it. “You can travel. I’ll make sure we take a lot of vacations.”

  “That’s not my dream. You’re not listening to me. I’m not your bar or your rodeo career. You can’t keep trying, asking and pushing, and assume that eventually you’ll get what you want!”

  Her words hit him like a punch. “What’s wrong with trying hard for something that we both know is right? Why can’t you trust me?” he countered. “Why can’t you trust in our love?”

  “I keep trying to explain. This isn’t about love. I do love you. I want to be with you. We are perfect together. Except that you want to run a bar and rodeo school in Benson, and I can’t spend my whole life there. I have gone around this in my head about a million times since I left home. We want different things. I don’t see how we can be together.”

  “There has to be a way. You could travel for a little longer. Then come home to me. I’ll wait for you, as long as you need.”

  “No!” Her raised voice startled them both. “Can’t you see? This is my dream! You had a dream for the Dusty Saddle. And I supported it, even when it worried me. I stepped up for you to help make that dream happen, over and over. And, yes, you were paying me, but I could have just done the minimum. But I didn’t. I put my ideas, my creativity, all of my energy into your dream!” She paused as if catching her breath. “Why can’t you do the same for me?”

  “I’m trying.” He stared at the ring, a bitter feeling pooling in his stomach. She was right. He was selfish. But it was a part of him, a stubborn, bullheaded part of him, that drove him to reach for what he wanted. “I’m trying to support it. But I need you, Kit. I need to know you’ll come home to me. Eventually.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t promise that. There’s still so much I want to see and do. If I went back to Benson anytime soon, I’d just feel like my whole life had been one big stretch of the same old thing. I can’t handle that. I just can’t.”

  His heart was thumping in an uneven rhythm, like it couldn’t find its way in the face of her refusal. “There has to be a solution for us.”

  She swiped at the tear that spilled down her cheek. “I can’t see it. And it breaks my heart. Because I love you so much, and I’ve missed you every minute that I’ve been gone. But you belong in Benson. And I can’t go back right now.”

  She pushed herself up from the sand, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he stood to face her, shutting the ring box and shoving it back into his pocket.

  Her voice sounded broken. “I wish you hadn’t come here. Because I was just starting to accept losing you. I was just thinking that I might learn to live with the pain. And now it’s back. All of it.” She started walking away, her arms wrapped around her chest as if she was holding herself upright.

  He ran after her. “Let me walk you home.”

  “I’m fine,” she insisted, but she was sobbing, and when he put an arm around her she leaned into his chest and he could feel her shaking. He held her close and together they crossed the beach and made their way along quiet streets to her bungalow.

  He’d planned to say good-night at the door, to let her go no matter how much it tore at him. But she clung to him and he couldn’t leave her alone with her heartache. So when she reached up, teary-eyed, to trail her fingers down his jaw, he gave in to what felt right in every part of him. He kissed her. Gently. Slowly. Savoring every blissful second of her mouth under his. And when she pulled back to look at him, stunned, he kissed her again.

  And he kept kissing her, reminding her of what they were together, reveling in the heat of her mouth, the satin of her skin, the fullness of her hips under his hands, as she pulled them through the door of her bungalow and over to the bed.

  And maybe it was just a funky beach bungalow in Belize, but with her there, it felt like home. He felt it even as she tore at his clothing, as if she could tear down the things that kept them apart in the process. Even as she ran fevered hands over his skin, and his body roared to life in response.

  It felt so good to throw off the doubt and worry. To shove aside the burden of the future, to stop thinking about what couldn’t happen and focus on what could. This fiery want that seared away everything but her body, her skin, her hair, wound like a rope in his hand, anchoring him to her as she shoved down his jeans, as her hand closed around him and almost sent him over the edge right then and there.

  “Wait,” he managed to gasp out, and he set her away, kicked at his jeans to get them all the way off and pulled her dress over her head.

  She didn’t wait. She yanked back the covers and slid onto the bed. She unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, never taking her dark eyes from his face.

  And no way would he look away. Because her eyes held a promise that went deeper than any he could have made with that ring. That no matter where she went or what she did, she’d love him like this.

  He could see it. Feel it in the way her breath matched his when he lay on the bed, as they fil
led their hands with each other, filled their souls with everything they’d missed while apart. And when he entered her, he buried his face in the scent of her neck, and whispered over and over that he loved her. And that they would find a way. That he’d think of something. Hoping that if he said it enough, the tears that ran down his own face would dry. Hoping that his words would come true if he repeated them enough.

  * * *

  TYLER SAT ON a narrow dock, built out over a shallow bay. Kit was working the day shift, so he’d rented a bicycle and brought his snorkel gear to this quiet place outside of town, where he could float with the fish and try to relax.

  He’d seen some great fish. The sun beat warm on his skin. The whisper of water was soothing. But he wasn’t relaxed.

  There was no escaping the voice in his mind that reminded him that days were going by. That he couldn’t stay in Belize, making love to Kit in every free second she had. It was paradise, but he had responsibilities to get back to. He’d checked in town before he rode out here. There were seats available on a flight to Belize City tomorrow morning. From there he could catch a plane home. But he wasn’t sure he could get on that plane without knowing that he’d see Kit again, very soon.

  Maybe for now, all they could do was this. She’d travel somewhere and he’d hop a plane and meet up with her, whenever and wherever he could. As long as he had Lila and Tim managing the bar, and he didn’t overschedule the rodeo school, he could take a fair amount of vacation.

  But it didn’t solve their problem. Him showing up for brief vacations, but not really experiencing the world with her, would end them eventually. He’d had days to see how she lived here. How she’d gotten to know so many people on the island, and how much she enjoyed learning their culture. Traveling was her dream. And she was glowing and content, living that dream here in Belize for now.

  Plus he didn’t want visits. He wanted life with her. Real, everyday life. He wanted kids. Gorgeous, dark-haired, pale-skinned babies that they’d take on adventures every chance they got.