Genie looked at Grace, who'd stopped walking and was waiting for her response, and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Hansen. I think you just made my decision for me." She knew then that somehow she'd have to come to terms with Josh's bullfighting and accept whatever years she'd be given with him, and who knows, maybe he'd decide on his own in a few years to set it all aside and follow another dream, one more compatible with maintaining her peace of mind.
***
Genie snuggled up against Josh, and in the aftermath of their lovemaking, she said, "Is your marriage proposal still open?"
She felt Josh's arm tense around her, like maybe he'd given it second thought, then he raised up on one elbow so he could look at her, and said, "Yeah, but I've been giving it a lot of thought, and seeing what my mother has gone through over the years, and knowing how stressed you are, and seeing how upset Abby was, I'm thinking about just giving it up."
Genie shoved him back down and kissed him, and said, "That's no longer an option. I'm not your mother, and I can adjust, though I might not go to many rodeos, and it would be best for Abby to avoid them too."
"That's what I mean," Josh said. "As long as I'm out there challenging bulls, you and Abby would worry, and I want the two of you to be happy. I'm okay being a farrier and maybe making some more horseshoe sculptures. And I already have enough money saved from my rodeo earnings to go in with Matt to buy a good bucking bull to start off the bucking bull business."
"I'd still feel like you're giving up your dream for me," Genie said, "and you've worked for years getting to where you are, and I have to admit, you're absolutely amazing… your timing, your agility, and I'm not just talking fighting bulls. You're pretty amazing in bed too."
"That's because you give me the same rush the bulls do," Josh said, "but when the bull leaves the arena that rush is over, but with you, I'd have you in bed all night, so the scales tilt in favor of you."
Genie knew they still had not come to a satisfying compromise because there was still that world championship bullfighting buckle out there waiting for Josh to claim, and he was actually very close. "I think I might have a workable solution," she said.
"I thought we just figured it out," Josh replied. "I'm really okay giving it up."
"No, you're not," Genie said. "But even if you are, I'm not. I'm your buckle bunny and I want to be able to wear that world champion bullfighter buckle. It's a status thing with us buckle bunnies. But, even if you don't make it to the world finals, you still have to promise that I'll be your bunny."
Josh looked at her soberly. "Honey, are you serious?"
"Dead serious," Genie said. "But after the finals, maybe you could be a barrel man instead. I think I could even attend the rodeos if I knew you could jump into a padded barrel to get out of the way of the bull. And maybe you could work up an act with Ferdinand, like some of the intermission acts with other rodeo clowns."
"There's one problem," Josh said. "Your father."
Genie looked at Josh, baffled. "What does he have to do with any of this?"
"He told me that if you married me and started tracking around the country to rodeos, he'd petition the court to get Abby back, and that's not going to happen."
"There's no reason for Abby to go to any rodeos," Genie said. "Annie and Ruth both love looking after her, but most of the time I'll be here, except when I'm working at the clinic in Pine Grove three times a week."
"What are you talking about?"
"That doctor who was at the rodeo… he needs a nurse in his clinic, which will be a county clinic in Pine Grove, and he offered me the job."
"Is that what you want?" Josh asked. "You don't have to work if you don't want to. I make enough so you could stay home with Abby."
"I want to work," Genie said. "I love nursing, just not the frantic kind of nursing at the hospital. This job would be perfect for me. I'd also be free to go to some rodeos with you, if you're a barrel man. As a bullfighter I'd probably pass because I'd make you too nervous with all my fretting and stewing and wringing of hands."
"I tell you what, babe. How about I'll promise to quit altogether after I make it to the world finals. That's been my goal from the start, and I'm thinking that between raising bucking bulls and having you in my bed morning and night, that will give me enough adrenaline rushes, except that maybe I'll be a barrel man for a few years too, and include Ferdinand."
Genie waited for him to go on, and maybe include bullfighting, but when he said nothing more, she said, "Are you sure, sweetheart? You'd be happy being a barrel man? You don't get the rush of adrenaline you get bullfighting, or the prestige, and I want you to realize your dream."
"I already have realized my dream," Josh said in all seriousness. He kissed her then, long and hard, and in a way that left no doubt. And then he added, "And yes, I'm absolutely sure about being a barrel man. Besides, a really good four-year-old bucking bull can cause a little rush of adrenaline too on occasion." Before Genie could question just how much adrenaline a four-year-old bull could cause, Josh distracted her with another long kiss, and by the time it was over, she decided she had no choice but to do as Grace Hansen did and simply put it in the Lord's hands and enjoy the man she'd be spending the rest of her life with. Oddly, she felt at peace.
EPILOGUE
Two months later
Genie cuddled closer to Josh, and after her breathing finally settled into normalcy, she said, "That was absolutely sublime, even better than seeing that long, long shooting star the night of the meteor showers. I hope you felt the same rush of dopamine I did."
"Dopamine?" Josh laughed. "That wasn't dopamine coursing between us babe, that was pure lust." He kissed her on the temple. "Now it's your turn to put out. A promise is a promise."
"My brain got a little scrambled from what just happened," Genie said. "I don't remember any promises."
Josh propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. "Okay then I'll give you a reminder. You promised if I showed you some of my aahhh oohhh say other talents, which I did, you’d grant me one wish.
Genie tipped her head up so she could see his face, which in the glow of billions of stars peering down at them reminded her of an Olympian god, and said, "Okay then, since you definitely fulfilled your end of the bargain, what's your wish?"
Josh planted a kiss on her lips. "I want to know how your dad did the orange tree trick."
"You already got the thumb trick out of me," Genie replied. "I can't give away all of our secrets."
"Okay, then I guess I'll have to ration my special talents, and I have a whole arsenal of them in mind to get you breathing heavy and shaking up the earth again."
Genie chuckled. "I did do that, didn't I," she said, feeling a residual tremor that had her wanting to start in again.
"Yes, ma'am, you did," Josh said. "In fact, Mrs. Hansen, you were bucking around so much I thought I was back riding a bull, but what happened with us beat any bull ride I've ever had." Bending over, he kissed the side of her neck.
Genie felt another little tremor. Running her palm over the hard, firm muscles of Josh's back, and feeling them bunch beneath her touch, she said, "Compartments."
Josh darted his tongue into her ear, eliciting a gasp from her, and said, "Compartments?"
"Umm… but what you're doing has me thinking about other things."
"Me too." Josh moved down, planting a kiss on her chest. "What about compartments?"
Genie glided her hand down his bare butt, and said, "If you roll onto your back I'd like to enlist one of my special talents doing something I think you'd enjoy."
Josh chuckled. "Misdirection won't work this time, babe. What about compartments?"
Genie let out a little snort. "I should never have told you about misdirection." Lifting her foot, she pointed a toe and dragged it slowly up Josh's bare leg and back down again, then pressed her breasts against him and cuddled up again.
Josh dragged her on top of him. "You were talking about compartments, and we were talking about oran
ge trees, so now we have an orange tree with compartments, right?"
Genie glided her hand down his side so her thumb grazed his groin. "Maybe I'd rather talk about grapefruits in a cluster of two."
Josh laughed. "Sorry, babe, you can try all the misdirection you want, but this time I won't be distracted. Besides, you owe me my wish. What about compartments?"
Genie drew in a long breath. "Okay, have it your way," she said. "The tree is an automaton with dark green compartments located throughout its fake foliage. You insert oranges in the compartments in advance. The compartments are hidden beneath orange blossoms so viewers don't see them." She trailed her tongue along the length of Josh's neck.
"That's only half the trick," he said. "What happened to the orange blossoms? In your dad's trick they appeared then disappeared and the oranges grew right before our eyes."
"Dang-it," Genie said, realizing all the misdirection she could conjure wouldn't distract Josh now. "After I tell you the secret, you'd better do something that really has me shaking up the earth again."
Josh grinned. "That, I guarantee. In fact, I've already pumped fuel into my duel carburetors and my flag's up. So then, you were saying something about hidden compartments. Go on."
With some effort, Genie managed to shove aside the image of the carburetors and flag, and said, "Okay, the tree has small, dark green levers in it. You set up the tree so the levers are in back, facing away from the audience. One lever inserts and retracts the orange blossoms, but while you're doing that you incorporate some dialog. So while the viewers are listening to your dialog and watching orange blossoms miraculously appear, you operate the other lever, which sets the compartment device motion. Before then, flaps have hidden the oranges, but once set in motion, the orange blossoms are retracted and the flaps are slowly peeled back from the oranges so they appear to be growing on the tree. At that point the trick is complete, and the only thing left to do is pick the oranges and toss them to the audience so they know they're real."
"What about the butterfly?" Josh asked.
"That's a remote-controlled automaton, so now you know the entire secret."
"That's it? A fake tree, a couple of levers and a fake butterfly?"
"That's about the extent of it," Genie said. "And now that I told all, I want to know how you learned all those things about me. You've been holding out for months, and if you don't tell me now, all my special talents will probably just drift off with the Milky Way."
"A Ouija board?" Josh offered.
"No way," Genie replied. "I've read that rodeo cowboys are too superstitious for that."
"You're right," Josh said. "Okay, I'll come clean because I don't want the Milky Way cluttered up with your special talents. It was your newsletter questionnaire form, the one that was sandwiched between my discharge papers and the handouts in my release folder."
Genie looked at Josh in bafflement. Then it all began to fall into place—the form she'd completed, while at work, for her Get to Know You profile for the department newsletter at the hospital. After all the time she spent on it, it turned up missing. She'd rifled through all of her papers, and looked everywhere she could think to look, but it had simply disappeared.
Having learned that, she tried to think of everything she'd written on it, but other than the information Josh had teased her with, she couldn't remember a thing.
Eyeing her with amusement, Josh said, "So, our house should have glass across the front and face west so we can watch the sunset from the living room since all you saw from your apartment were the buildings across the street."
Genie remembered taking a lot of time while contemplating the question about her dream house, as if by providing a detailed description of what she imagined, she'd somehow set into motion the building blocks for a cedar house with a view. She never specified the view though, because she had no location in mind…
"Okay, honey," Josh cut into her thoughts. "I've told all, and you've told all, are we ready to shake up the earth again?"
"Yes, sweetheart, I'm with you," Genie said. "Make it worth my while and I might tell you how Dad made the playing card float, spin, and fly around the cake during the wedding reception. Generally, even simple levitation requires a great amount of concentration, or even being in a trance state, but Dad perfected it so you can do it with much less concentration."
"Your dad's actually kind of an okay guy," Josh mused. "I could learn to like him."
"He grows on you," Genie said. "Incidentally, how do you like being called Daddy?"
Josh smiled. "It's the greatest feeling in the world… well, one of the greatest. Are you sure your dad's okay with what I came up with?"
"I actually think he's a little relieved," Genie said. "After all, he is a very grand man, like you told Abby, and he's also her daddy, so calling him granddaddy works for her, and for Dad. He really does want what's best for Abby, which is why he's willing to relinquish being called Daddy for being called Granddaddy. It's really quite brilliant of you. But Abby also came up with the perfect solution to you being Daddy and me being Genie. So being Abby's earth Mommy, and our mom being her heaven Mommy, works perfectly. Besides, when we have kids they won't get confused because we'll be Mommy and Daddy to them all. And talking about kids, I know a trick that can create kids out of thin air." She bent down and kissed the side of Josh's neck and started making her way down his chest.
"Are we talking about misdirection here?" Josh asked.
"No, sweetheart, we're talking about making the earth shake again."
Josh laughed. "Give us a couple of minutes and it will register on Harney County's Richter scale." He rolled over and covered Genie's mouth with his, and when they came together, and were in the throes of passion, Genie managed to open one eye long enough to see a star speed across the sky in one magnificent silver arc. What followed after that was pure ecstasy.
###
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DESCRIPTION: Cutting the ties for Jeremy Hansen meant taking a job three hundred miles from the Dancing Moon Ranch, where he could be his own man, but when he meets Billy Bree Fitzsimmons, his perfect mate, a woman whose passion for raising bucking bulls matches Jeremy's passion for riding them, Jeremy also finds himself drawn into circumstances in which cutting the ties takes on a whole new meaning when he's forced to choose between his family, and the woman he loves and never seeing his family again.
PROLOGUE: BUCKING THE ODDS
Crane Butte Rodeo – Harney County, Southeast Oregon
Okay, so he got the unluck of the draw, Jeremy Hansen conceded, as he prepared to ride a bull that was ironically named Wild Card. He'd seen the bull in the sorting pen earlier and the thing looked about as wild as an old sheepdog. Still, something about the name sounded familiar, though he couldn't place it.
"Hansen, you're up next," someone said, while rapping him on the shoulder.
Without glancing back, Jeremy slipped on his glove, and holding one end of a leather tie-string in his teeth, started the wrap that would tie his glove in position. After rubbing rosin on its leather palm for a good grip, he
climbed the rails.
As he stood on the rungs over the bull, chute men swarmed around him. One fed the bullrope beneath the bull. Another pulled the rope straight up so Jeremy could rub his gloved palm up and down on it to make his bind before setting his hand. Another fed the flank strap under the bull to the stock contractor. Most bulls became restless at this point, raking their horns against the rails or trying to jump out of the chute, but this bull stood like he was half asleep. Jeremy glanced back as the stock contractor adjusted the strap. The man was small, and he wondered who he was, but when the man glanced up to see if he was ready, Jeremy looked into a pair of hazel eyes fringed in long dark lashes.
"I guess we meet again, cowboy," Billy Bree Fitzsimmons said.
In an instant, Jeremy was back at a buckout and an encounter with a woman he'd pegged as a buckle bunny, who turned out to be a stock contractor. She'd let him have it after his derogatory comment about a flat bull he'd ridden, a bull that just happened to belong to her…
"I've got a bull named Wild Card that's ranker than any bull you've ever ridden, who comes spinning out of the chute like a cyclone…" she'd said that day.
Jeremy let out a snort of irony. Wild Card better wake up fast. He also realized why the bull's name hadn't registered before. Billy Bree Fitzsimmons had sidetracked him with her looks, just as she did moments before, but he'd better start focusing fast or he could find himself stomped into the dirt or tossed straight to cowboy heaven.
Lowering himself onto a bull that remained immobile, Jeremy felt another wave of irritation. He was confident about sticking on for the eight seconds, but there was no way this bull could bring a high enough bull score to boost Jeremy's average for a chance at the national finals.
Shoving that unsettling thought aside, he planted his hand against the bull's back, and a chute helper laid the bull rope across his palm. Closing his fist around it, he worked each finger to make a tight fist, then punched his fist to stick the rope to his palm.
Dancing With Danger: Book 8: Dancing Moon Ranch Series Page 22
