by Jeannie Watt
“Everything okay?” Lex asked as she wrapped the jewelry in red tissue and slipped it into a brown bag with a photo of Annie Oakley on the front. Annie nodded as the girls took their purchases and left the store, debating between themselves whether to get ice cream or a hamburger next.
Once they were gone, Annie pushed the hair back from her forehead with one hand. “All I can say is that the house is still standing and no wildlife has been released in the living room today.”
“Sounds like a good day,” Lex said.
“Yes. In my world that’s an excellent day.”
* * *
GRADY LOVED HIS NIECES. They constantly surprised him, made him laugh, caused him to feel all protective. They also wore him out. After only a few days of babysitting, he realized that when he left for Hennessey’s to do his practice ride in the late afternoons, he was more exhausted than he’d been after driving twelve hours and climbing on top of a Brahma, then getting back in the truck and driving again.
Although that wasn’t the best example, because after he started making serious money, he flew to most of his events. During his off time, he lived and worked on his friend Hank Fletcher’s Oklahoma ranch. It was a job that gave him a decent paycheck and offered him the flexibility he needed to follow the circuit. He’d sent money to his sister, and sometimes she’d even accepted it; but now that he was around her and the girls more, he was kicking himself for sending a check instead of coming back. Two years hadn’t seemed like a long time, but it was. He’d missed out on a lot, and Annie, even though she was stubbornly independent—at least until a tornado turned her life around—could have used his help.
He hadn’t been thinking about anyone except for himself, and that wasn’t good. Now that he knew what was going on, had become a larger part of his nieces’ lives, he’d started crafting a plan. He was going back on the circuit, taking part in the traveling Bull Extravaganza in the fall, because that was how he earned his living, but he was no longer stationing himself in Oklahoma during the off-season. He was moving back to Gavin, taking care of his family. So when Hank called to touch base as Grady was driving home from practice, it was the perfect time to break the news to him. Hank had sounded delighted.
“So it worked out with your lady?”
Hank had met Danielle several times, and even though Grady hadn’t said anything to him, he must have deduced that Grady had thought of giving his relationship with Danielle one last shot.
“Nothing to work out. She’s getting married and the guy ain’t me.”
“Hey. Sorry to hear that.” Hank sounded genuinely shocked.
“I’m okay with it.” And he was all for moving on to the next topic. Hank, however, had a few more things to say on the matter.
“You know what this means?”
“Not really.” His tone was not encouraging, but Hank didn’t get the hint. Hank had never been a hint kind of guy.
“You need to get back out there, man. You haven’t seriously dated in how long?”
Long time. Which had been part of why he’d planned to revisit his relationship with Danielle. He’d figured that she had to be a reason he wasn’t that wild about any one particular woman. He’d been wrong.
“A while.”
“I’ll give you this. Danielle is a real looker, but it takes more than good looks to make a relationship, you know. Especially for a guy in your profession.”
“So I’m discovering,” Grady said facetiously, still trying to keep things light.
“And now that you’ve figured that out, you know what you need to do?”
Grady knew.
He needed to get back out there. “I’ll keep you posted,” he said, and even though he spoke wryly, he realized Hank was totally correct. He needed to develop a social life. A local one, since this was where he planned to live from now on.
After hanging up the phone, he dialed Jess Hayward. If anyone was going to get him back into the swing of things locally, it was a Hayward twin. Even if he didn’t find someone to hook up with, he needed to get out of the self-imposed isolation in which he’d existed since Danielle broke up with him. Yeah. He needed to meet some women. Have some fun.
Be the Grady Owen he used to be.
* * *
DANIELLE AND LEX threw a going away party for Kelly at the Shamrock Pub, two doors down from Annie Get Your Gun, after her last day of work. Curtis, Danielle’s fiancé, joined the party after getting off at the bank and soon the four of them were headed to an impromptu dinner. He was the physical opposite of Grady—tall and blond and built like the football player he’d once been. Needless to say, he was also Grady’s emotional opposite, being serious and dependable. In other words, he was better suited to Danielle in all respects, and Lex liked him.
After dinner, Danielle and Curtis made their apologies and went home, leaving Kelly and Lex sharing a bowl of molten chocolate cake as a long evening stretched in front of them.
“Are you in any hurry to get home?” Kelly asked as they left the steak house. She pulled the elastic out of her long red hair as she spoke, shaking her head so that the waves spilled around her shoulders. She was obviously getting into party mode and it was only nine o’clock, so Lex shrugged.
“My dogs might worry, but no.”
Kelly jerked her head toward the bar on the other side of the parking lot. “One for the road?”
“Sure.”
It’d been a while since Lex set foot in Shardlow’s and when they walked in, she had an instant flashback to her college days. The place was filled with cowboys and cowgirls. Loud music pulsed over the speakers, accented by the clack of pool balls on the three tables lined up side by side in an alcove. Kelly had to point to a table, since it was hard to hear over the noise.
It was quieter along the wall, and a tall bar guy appeared almost as soon as they were seated, a towel tucked into the front of his Wranglers, a smile on his handsome face. “What can I get you ladies?”
Kelly beamed up at him, and Lex began to understand the reason behind the nightcap. “A draft, please.”
“Same.” Lex waited until he was gone before meeting Kelly’s gaze across the table. “Okay. Spill.”
“Not much to spill.” She smiled cheekily. “Yet. He’s the owner’s nephew. Gus Hawkins. Just moved here from Nevada.” The drinks arrived, and Kelly started a tab. The barkeep smiled at her, and Lex had to admit that there was some chemistry behind that smile. Kelly leaned closer after he’d left. “Thank you for coming with me. You can see why I didn’t want to come here alone.”
Indeed she could. Especially with the bar in full swing. This was not the place for a woman hoping to have a few minutes with the attractive barkeep and not be hit on.
“You don’t have to stay long,” Kelly said. “I know you have things to do tomorrow. I just—” she smiled again “—wanted a taste.”
Lex laughed, wondering if she was a bad friend because she was more in the mood for home and bed than partying and was tempted to take Kelly up on her offer of not staying long.
There was a bit of a commotion toward the rear exit then, and she and Kelly glanced over simultaneously to see none other than Grady Owen and two of his high school buddies, the Hayward twins, Ty and Jess, walk in. And then she pretty much lost sight of Grady as the buckle bunnies started swarming the guys. Bull riders attracted women. That was a flat-out fact.
“You know I’m no fan of rodeo guys, but Grady’s hot,” Kelly murmured, echoing Lex’s grudging thoughts. A server happened by the group and handed each of the bull riders a beer off her tray, making Lex wonder if someone else was doing without a drink for the moment. The girl turned around and headed back to the bar. Yes, bull riders got special favors here.
“That appears to be the consensus.” Lex couldn’t argue with it, either. Grady had killer good looks and he coul
d be charming. Even now she could see the flash of his smile from between a blonde and a redhead.
“I might go join the crowd,” Kelly said with a suggestive lift of her eyebrows.
“All you’ll do is to make a massive ego even bigger.”
Kelly laughed and Grady’s gaze came up then, zeroing in on Lex almost as if he’d heard her speak. Which was ridiculous, of course, as was the slight bump in her pulse as he started across the room toward her. A few cowgirls trailed behind him.
“Lex,” he said, raising his beer in a salute.
She mimicked his salute, then said, “You know Kelly, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He flashed a smile at both of them.
Oh, yeah. All country boy charm. She was about to comment, when he said on a note of sincerity, “I want to thank you for hiring my sister. She’ll do a good job for you. And thank you for letting me interrupt the other day with my twin emergency.”
Lex opened her moth, then closed it again. Nothing like a heartfelt thank-you to stop a potentially snarky conversation. She cleared her throat. “Annie will be a good fit.”
Grady smiled. “I was surprised she got the job.”
“Well,” Lex said, “the name was right.” She smiled politely at him, wanting him to leave, wanting to stop feeling this odd awareness that had appeared out of nowhere once he walked into the bar and was surrounded by women. Where had that come from? “I don’t want to keep you from your—” somehow she managed to choke back the word groupies “—friends.”
“Thank you, again,” he said, before nodding at Kelly and then heading back across the bar where Ty and Jess were busy flirting and drinking.
When Lex looked back at Kelly, she found her friend frowning at her. “Is it just me, or were there a lot of unspoken messages in that conversation?”
Lex shrugged innocently. “Just you.”
“Right.”
Lex and Kelly nursed their beers and talked for a good twenty minutes before Kelly’s bar guy came back, only he wasn’t wearing his towel apron and he was carrying three beers. Lex instantly understood what was going on and raised her eyebrows at Kelly in silent communication.
Kelly gave a smiling nod and Lex said, “I hope that beer’s not for me. I have to go.”
“I’m sure we can find it a home.” The guy held out his hand. “I’m Gus.”
“Alexa.” Lex shook hands, then got up from her chair. “I’ll see you around, Kelly. Good luck with the new job. Nice to meet you, Gus.”
“New job?” Gus said as he sat down, and Lex took the opportunity to slip away toward the rear exit leading directly to the parking lot. Cool air hit her face as soon as she stepped out the door onto the gravel. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air that didn’t smell of beer and too many bodies in a close place.
“Making it an early night?”
Lex jumped a mile at the unexpected voice not far from her shoulder, then whirled to see that Grady had followed her out the door. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“You should be more aware of your surroundings.”
He took a step forward and Lex drew herself up. “Walk you to your car?” he asked.
“Truck.” She was about to say no, then realized that was exactly what he expected her to say and the contrary part of her said, “Sure, why not?”
She could see that she’d surprised him by accepting his offer and decided she liked the feeling. “I’m parked on the other side of Main near the Shamrock.”
“Long ways away,” he said as they fell into step.
“We started Kelly’s going-away party there.”
“Ah.”
They walked shoulder to shoulder, gravel crunching beneath their boots. Grady was only a couple of inches taller than her, but somehow he seemed to take over the space around them. He was that kind of guy—a bit overpowering. Lex wasn’t about to be overpowered.
“So you’re babysitting while Annie is at work.”
He smiled, shaking his head.
“Not anymore?” Had the tar incident done him in?
“Yes. I’m the sitter. I was shaking my head at how much more involved it is than I thought it would be. Quite the experience.”
Lex decided against bringing up the tar thing. She already knew that he’d insisted on buying new jeans for the girls—not one pair, but three pairs each, in different colors. “I can see how it would be. You haven’t spent a lot of time around your nieces in the past couple years, have you?” She realized how critical that sounded, which surprisingly hadn’t been her intent. “I meant—”
“No worries,” he said as they approached her truck, but his tone had cooled. “I only have them in the mornings.”
“What do you do in the afternoons?”
“Rebuild the garage, practice at Hennessey’s place.” He turned to face her as she dug the keys out of her pocket. “You should come see me practice sometime.”
Her gaze jerked up, and then she laughed. “I’m not one of your buckle bunnies.”
“Didn’t say you were.” But the way that his eyes drifted down to her lips made unexpected heat unfurl inside of her. What the heck?
She cocked her head and asked coolly, “Then why would you want me to watch you practice?”
“Since my sister works for you, it seemed like a way to make peace.”
“Me watching you?”
He smiled a little, the cockiness back. “Hey, I didn’t think you’d accept if I asked you out for a drink, so this seemed like the next best thing. You can watch me get smeared into the dirt.”
Lex smiled in spite of herself.
“I thought you’d like that,” Grady said with an easy grin, and once again she felt the prickles of awareness, the pooling of heat in her midsection. Crazy.
And he knew she was reacting to him. She could see it in the way he was smiling at her.
“How about we agree to make peace?” she asked, wondering if she moved closer if he might try to kiss her. The signals were there, and she couldn’t help speculating as to his motivation. She had to believe it was a power thing—payback for meddling in his life—and that was exactly why he wouldn’t be kissing her tonight.
“Have it your way,” he said with a smile. He patted the hood of her truck. “But if you ever reconsider that smeared-in-the-dirt thing, I’m there every afternoon from five to seven.”
Chapter Four
It was exactly five thirty when Lex parked at the end of a line of trucks at Hennessey’s, but she didn’t get out of her rig immediately. A few guys had glanced her way as she drove by, but now they were once again focused on the small arena. The arena she was in no hurry to see.
She figured she’d give the boys some time to warm up. Yes. Maybe she’d purposely miss watching Grady’s ride. The important thing was that she was there, showing him that she wasn’t afraid to take him up on what had essentially been a dare.
A dare that was costing her.
Did he know that? Was that why he’d asked her here? Because he knew it would be a very, very difficult thing for her to show up at bull-riding practice?
She hadn’t been anywhere near a rodeo or practice arena since her dad died. The heart attack could have happened anywhere, but it had happened in the middle of an arena and the sight of her dad collapsing in the dirt a few yards away from the cowboy he’d just saved was burned into her brain. After losing him, she’d had no reason to go to rodeos. No desire to go. In fact, she didn’t even like hearing about them, which was difficult, since many of her friends were competitors.
Maybe it was time to see what she was capable of. Two years had passed. She’d grieved... Yes, she could do this.
Maybe.
Darn it, she was sweating. And her hands felt as if they might be on the verge of shaking
.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped out, gathered her strength, walked toward the arena. The first thing that struck her was the well-remembered scent of sweaty animals, manure and dirt. The gate opened on the far side of the arena as she approached, and she heard the familiar sounds of heavy hooves hitting dirt, the grunts of the bull as he did his best to dislodge the predator on his back. Lex stopped. For a moment it was too much. She, who never ran, almost turned and walked straight back to her truck.
“Alexa! Lex!”
One of the Hayward twins—Jess, maybe?—hailed her from where he stood leaning on the fence. Her heart squeezed a little at the sight of him. Her dad had coached Jess and Ty when they first started riding in high school, and she’d often come along with him to Hennessey’s to watch.
“Hey...” Lex waited until she got a little closer and saw the small scar on his chin to say “...Ty.” She leaned on the fence next to him, watched as a red-haired guy she didn’t know picked himself up out of the dirt. The bull, who knew his job, was already on his way out the gate. She took one more deep breath, told herself to relax. Now.
“Are you here to give pointers?” Ty asked.
“I guess I am,” she lied as she caught sight of Grady at the chute. No way was she confessing she was there because of him. He looked up, caught her staring at him and touched his beat-up straw hat with two fingers. Lex’s mouth automatically tightened at the cocky gesture, but she worked it into a wry smirk of acknowledgment.
“I guess Grady’s doing the Mr. Mom thing,” Ty said.
“I’m sure he’s good at it,” Lex replied absently. He had the mentality of a kid, so he probably got along great with Annie’s twins.
“Not from what I hear.” Ty craned his neck as Grady’s bull half-reared in the chute.
“Rank one,” Lex said, settling her forearms on the sun-warmed rail. Her heart was beating faster, but she could do this. So what if she felt like puking?
“Hennessey got some new bulls in a couple days ago. This is one of them.”
Grady was talking to some kids who were hanging close to him, no doubt explaining something he was hoping to demonstrate. He gestured at the bull a couple of times, then climbed on. He took the rope, carefully closed his glove around it and pounded his fist so that the rosin beat into the leather.
