Dancing With Danger: Book 8: Dancing Moon Ranch Series

by Patricia Watters

  "The bullfighter is an amazing man," Genie replied. "That's the problem. But we've been all through this before, and nothing's changed."

  "Honey, everything's changed. You've just told me in five different ways that you've got a thing for me, and I've had a thing for you from the day you walked into my hospital room and told me you were my nurse, and you're a little overwhelmed because I did what any man with gonads would do, and by tomorrow you'll have your head on straight, which means you'll come to the realization that I did what any man with gonads would do, and I'll be back to being a badass bullfighter in a badass profession. But while you'll have your head back on straight, I'll still be fantasizing over Nurse Ratched, except now Nurse Ratched's telling me she wants to go to bed with me, and it's going to take a hell of a lot of rope jumping, followed by a string of icy showers, to deactivate things."

  "I hope Abby isn't too traumatized by what happened and that she'll soon forget it all."

  "Is this a different conversation?" Josh asked.

  "Yes," Genie replied. "I need something to take my mind off you jumping rope and taking icy showers. I'll be glad when tomorrow comes."

  "So will I," Josh said. "Maybe by then I'll find a way to get my head back on straight too."

  ***

  Genie was surprised when Josh didn't stop by the following morning. She did learn from Ruth that he'd asked about them, and when Ruth assured him that they were okay, he left. After two more days went by, and Josh kept himself busy everywhere but in her vicinity, Genie knew he was avoiding her, and with good reason. He'd been crystal clear about where he stood.

  Maybe after I've run out of bends and buttes and rodeos I'll be ready to settle down…

  "Knock, knock."

  Genie looked up to find Annie standing in the doorway. "Come on in," she said.

  "Are you okay?" Annie asked. "You didn't come down for breakfast."

  "I think so." Genie reached up and felt what was now only a small lump with a tiny scab.

  "Mom said to tell you that Dad's taking Abby for a horseback ride just around here, and after that Mom and Abby will be collecting flowers for Mom to paint. Mom's been doing that for greeting card companies for years and she thought Abby would enjoy the outing and learning about the wildflowers around here. I hope it's okay. I told Mom I'd let her know if it wasn't."

  "It's okay," Genie said. "It's actually a good thing. Abby was getting too fixated on Josh and it's better that she shift her affections to your dad. Your folks are amazing. They've taken to Abby like she's their true grandchild."

  "They actually love it," Annie said. "Cody's special to them because he's mine, but Abby's special to Mom because she missed that age with me, and Dad's just being a grandpa. He loves that role. So what's going on with Josh?"

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Yes you do. Ryan said he's not talking again, which happened the last time you were here and again at the wedding when you left without telling him goodbye. So, what happened out there on the hilltop after the dam broke?"

  "Nothing," Genie said.

  "Okay, you're not talking either, which means something big happened. You were out there together a long time waiting for help. You two didn't—"

  "Of course not," Genie said.

  "Then you really meant it when you said nothing happened?"

  "Well, actually a lot happened," Genie replied. "Josh saved our lives. He didn't give any thought to himself. He just grabbed Abby and took her to safe ground and tied her to a tree then came back for me and dove into water that was filled with debris and rising fast and had a current so strong it should have carried him away."

  "Then I don't understand why he's clammed up."

  "Okay then, if you really want to know, I pretty much poured out my heart to him about how I've felt from the start, and I also implied that I wanted to go to bed with him."

  Annie looked at her, perplexed. "Then I don't understand why he's avoiding you. Ryan's been saying all along that he's had a thing for you since his hospital stay, so why should he be keeping himself scarce?"

  "Because he feels a matrimonial noose tightening around his neck. After I told him how I felt, suddenly he's everyplace but where I am, which is good I suppose, because it will give me a cooling down period. I don't know what it is about that man that has me behaving the way I do, but I need to get a grip on things. And why are you smiling?"

  "Because I was right about you and Josh all along. You two are absolutely meant for each other and the only people who haven't figured it out yet are you and Josh."

  "You are so wrong about that," Genie said. "He's given no sign of deviating from his original course which is to throw himself in front of bulls, and he knows how I feel about that. And since he has no intention of changing course, to get me off his back he's decided he'd better get the hell out of Dodge."

  Annie laughed. "He'll be back. Trust me. I've gotten to know this man and he's as mixed up as you are about all this, and like you, he doesn't know what to do about it. Actually, it's kind of amusing when you're on the outside looking in. Ryan said Josh hasn't been this prickly since his last girlfriend dumped him."

  Genie eyed Annie with puzzlement. "Last girlfriend? Is having a string of girlfriends a pattern of his?"

  "Not really," Annie said. "Josh had a thing for the sister of one of his rodeo buddies, but she wanted a commitment, and while Josh was trying to make up his mind she ran off with another rodeo buddy. It was kind of a repeat with the next girl Josh liked. Both times it happened Josh was pretty hard to be around. The problem is, when women start pressuring him for a commitment he backs off and the women find men who aren't afraid of commitment. It will change when Josh finds the right woman, which he has, but neither of you know it yet. When you two work out the details everything will be fine."

  Genie gave an ironic laugh. "There's just one small factor you left out in this exercise in futility. I have a little sister who comes first, and she needs a fulltime dad who'll be around when she needs him, and I want a husband who'll be around when I need him. Actually, I need to restate that. I'm not in the market for a husband at all right now because I still haven't figured out what I want to do with my life, and now I have just a little over two weeks to decide."

  Annie reached out and placed her hand over Genie's, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make light of this. I know you're going through a bad time with losing your mother and trying to decide about your job and having Abby to raise. I just hope you'll give Josh a chance."

  "A chance for what?" Genie asked.

  "I don’t know. Maybe to prove he can follow his dream and have you too. He really is good at what he does. You need to watch him. Not all rodeo clowns get banged up. There's one who's been doing it for forty years and he loves what he's doing."

  "That coming from a woman who wouldn't marry a man unless he gave up bull riding is a little ironic, don't you think?" Genie said.

  "That's completely different," Annie countered. "Every time a bull rider is bucked off he runs the chance of being trampled, or gored, or crushed beneath the bull."

  "And you don't think it's the same for the bullfighter?" Genie said. "They throw themselves between the cowboy and the bull, and Josh would do whatever it takes to protect the cowboy, even if it means getting trampled in the dirt. That's what sent him to my hospital."

  "Okay then, we've come full circle," Annie said. "And maybe you're right. Maybe it's just that I want you here, and Ryan wants Josh here, and we're throwing two people together who are a mismatch, so why don't we set Josh aside for now and go for a leisurely horseback ride to the hot spring where we can soak in the pool. It's very therapeutic."

  "Maybe you're right," Genie said. "I was sitting here thinking that maybe it's time we leave, but Abby's party is coming in a few days and it would be selfish of me to take her away from that, and I still haven't made up my mind about my job. Maybe sitting in the hot spring pool can help clarify things, and maybe it will take my mind off Jo
sh. It's really kind of pathetic the way it is with me over him. He's just a guy who's put together especially well, and there are lots of guys like that, ones who don't have a fixation on bulls. Do I need a bathing suit?"

  "No, we can sit in our underwear. It dries fast."

  "Okay then, let's go."

  They turned out of the bedroom into the hallway, but when they started down the stairs to the living room, Genie was shocked to see Josh standing by the front door, looking her way, like he was waiting for her, which he affirmed, when he said, "We need to talk."

  "About what?" Genie asked.

  Josh's gaze darted to Annie, then back to Genie. "We'll talk about that when we talk." Which clearly meant whatever he had to say wasn't for Annie's ears.

  "Okay, I know when I'm not wanted," Annie said. "Adios." She scampered down the stairs and out the front door, leaving Genie staring at Josh.

  "Let's go to the barn where we can talk in private," Josh said.

  "You still haven't told me what we need to talk about?"

  "Us."

  "This is a very bad idea," Genie said. "It took three days for me to get my head screwed on straight after all the things I told you, and if we talk in the barn, you know as well as I that we won't just talk, and afterwards you might not disappear again for three days so I can straighten myself out again."

  "I think I have a solution to this thing we have for each other."

  "What? I go back to nursing and you go back to the Dancing Moon Ranch for good?"

  "Would that solve things?" Josh asked.

  "It would for me," Genie replied. "I'm still undecided about nursing, but with you back at the Dancing Moon Ranch I'd no longer be distracted, and maybe I'd be able to make up my mind. You do know you've been a distraction, don't you?"

  "That's why I gave you three days… and me," Josh replied. "Come on." He turned and started across the front porch, and even though Genie knew she should make a statement by turning in the opposite direction and heading up the stairs, she followed after Josh, who didn't touch her or talk to her the entire way from the house to the barn. But once inside the shadowy interior, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard, and she responded by combing her fingers into his hair and kissing him back, and molding her body against his while curving one leg around his calf. It was as if she couldn't get enough of him, and he responded in the way any man would respond to a woman who was practically crawling up him—hands moving over her body and a kiss that seemed to have no end.

  When they finally had to stop for air, Josh said, "That's the way I figured it would be."

  Genie looked at him, perplexed. "Why, because I told you I had a thing for you during the ride back from the canyon?"

  "No, because we've got some kind of chemistry going and I wanted to test and see if it was all in my head. It's not. You put as much into that kiss as I did."

  "Is that why you brought me here," Genie asked, "to run a test?"

  "In a sense," Josh replied. "I figure if we let this thing we have for each other run its course then maybe we can get back to life as we knew it before."

  "Maybe that would work for you," Genie said, "but for me there is no getting back to life as I knew it before, because during the before, I had a mother and a father who loved and took care of Abby, and even though I was a little disillusioned with my job, I could handle it. Mom getting sick and dying changed everything, and now my goal is to pick up all the pieces and put them back together, but in a different arrangement, and Abby is a big part of it. Besides that, sleeping with a man while the relationship runs its course doesn't work for me."

  Josh stared at her, but during his silence Genie could see the muscles bunching in his jaw, like he was grinding his teeth, and his lips were compressed, like he was trying to hold back a response, and the intensity of his eyes had definitely deepened.

  The long stretch of strained silence was broken when they heard someone running toward them. Genie looked back to see Abby, who rushed into the barn and up to Josh with her arms raised. "You came back!" she cried.

  Josh picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, and clinging to him, she said, "You left like Daddy does. You said you wouldn't and you did." She tucked her face into Josh's neck.

  Josh rubbed her back, as he said, "It's a big ranch, honey, and I had a lot of things to do, but I never left. I was still here on the ranch."

  Abby raised her head and looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and said, "Then you won't ever, ever go away?"

  Josh looked over the top of Abby's head at Genie, who went to take Abby from Josh, but when Genie took Abby by the upper arms, Abby shook her shoulders to dislodge Genie's hands and clamped onto Josh's neck.

  "Sweetie," Genie said, "Josh has a job that sometimes takes him off, just like Daddy does, and even though they both want to be with you, they can't always be around."

  Ignoring Genie, Abby looked at Josh, and said, "But you won't leave and you'll be at my party?"

  Josh smiled, but Genie could tell it was a troubled smile. After a long pause, Josh replied, "Sure I'll be there. You'll be turning four and that's too important to miss."

  Abby smiled, and her eyes brightened with tears of happiness. Genie couldn't be sure, but Josh's eyes looked brighter too—a man who was beginning to understand the impact he was having on a little girl who was using him to fill a void in her life, and he was finding it a little overwhelming.

  "Can you give me another widing lesson?" Abby asked.

  "If Genie says it's okay," Josh replied, while peering over the top of Abby's head.

  Looking at Abby's eager face, Genie said, "I thought you and Grandma Ruth were going to pick flowers."

  "It's okay," Ruth said, from just outside the barn. "Abby caught sight of Josh and headed straight here. Collecting flowers has taken a back seat."

  Abby raised her hands to Josh's face, sandwiching it between her small palms so he was looking directly at her, and said, in a pleading voice, "So, you can teach me to wide now?"

  "Okay partner," Josh said, "let's go saddle up Dewey." He lowered Abby to the ground and took her by the hand. As they walked off, Abby glanced back at Genie, and all the worries of moments before were gone, replaced by a smile that said it all. She had chosen the man she wanted in her life, and in her child's mind she had no reason to believe Josh would not be there permanently. And Genie was more troubled than ever.

  CHAPTER 8

  Josh cross tied Dewey between two posts and gave Abby a small brush they reserved for kids, and said, "Okay, honey, we'll give Dewey a good brushing before saddling him."

  Taking the brush, Abby looked up at Josh, and said, "Like when Genie bwushes my hair?"

  "Yep, like that. So, you brush Dewey's front leg and I'll take care of the rest of him."

  "Dewey's a gweat big horse," Abby said.

  "He is that," Josh replied. "Pretty soon you'll have a small horse to brush, one that's not much taller than you."

  Abby stopped and looked up at Josh. "Will it be a weal horse like Dewey or a horse like Ali Bongo?"

  Josh looked at Abby, puzzled.

  From her stance inside the doorway, Genie said, "Ali Bongo's a comedy magician."

  Josh hadn't heard Genie enter and was surprised to see her. After their heated kiss in the barn just before Abby rushed in, he wasn't sure what to expect next. He still had no idea where that kiss would take them. "I thought Ali Bongo was a horse," he replied.

  Genie took a few steps toward him, while saying, "His real name was William Oliver Wallace. He dressed in Oriental clothes and wore gold, curly-toed slippers and had a turban on his head. One of his tricks was to chase after a large silver ball that flew around the stage and try to bash it with a mallet. Dad showed Abby a video of Ali Bongo's act, and Abby named her stuffed horse after him."

  Josh eyed Abby, who was waiting for a response about the pony, then glanced at Genie and wondered how much she'd heard. From the questioning look on her fa
ce, he knew she'd heard the exchange and was waiting for an explanation. Looking at Abby, he said, "She's a real horse. A pony. My brother's bringing her here for the party so you and the other kids can ride her."

  Abby started jumping up and down. "We'll have a weal horse to wide."

  "Honey," Josh said, "don't be jumping up and down near Dewey. You have to stay quiet around horses so they stay quiet."

  Abby stopped jumping and reached out and patted Dewey's leg and said, "I sowwy," then started stroking with the brush again.

  Josh glanced over at Genie, who was clearly waiting for further explanation about the pony. Obviously she suspected there was more. "Okay," he said, deciding to chance facing another Nurse Ratched dressing down. "The pony's name is Fancy, and Adam's bringing her here to stay for a while. Abby needs a kid-size pony to groom and saddle. Fancy was Maddy's pony and she's as docile as Ferdinand."

  Abby started to jump up and down, then caught herself, and said, "Then I'll have a weal pony of my own?"

  "You will while you're here," Josh explained.

  "Can I stay here forever?" Abby asked, while looking up at Josh.

  Josh stroked her cheek with the pad of his finger. "Forever's a very long time, but before then you'll grow up and do lots of things and this ranch will always be here for you to visit."

  "I don't want to go away," Abby said. "I want to stay here wiff you and Fancy and Ferdan."

  Josh glanced at Genie, who shrugged, and said, "You do have a problem."

  "Yeah, well, we'll work on it." After Josh had saddled and bridled Dewey, he grabbed the child's helmet and led Dewey into a corral and said to Abby, who had trailed along beside him, "You ready to ride by yourself?"

  "Like a weal cowgirl?" Abby asked.

  "Yep, like a real cowgirl." Josh put the helmet on Abby then lifted her into the saddle.

  While Josh walked alongside Dewey with Abby aboard, Genie stood outside the corral watching, her arms folded across the top rail. A few moments later Ruth joined her.

  "Abby has really taken to Josh," Ruth said.