RODEO MAN

by Margaret Watson

  He stared at her for a long time. Nine years ago she had been able to read every expression on his face, every nuance of what he was thinking. Now his face was that of a stranger, closed and hard.

  Finally he turned and headed for her truck. He walked slowly as he said, "Just passing the time, that's all." He gave her a humorless smile. "I'm finding out all sorts of interesting things about my new town today, aren't I?"

  When they got to her truck, she loaded her bag into the back, then reached for the stack of charts Grady carried. After a momentary hesitation, he handed them to her. After she replaced them in her portable file, she took a deep breath before she turned to him.

  "Goodbye, Grady."

  Instead of answering her, he leaned against the side of her truck and crossed his arms over his chest. "Tell me why you came to Cameron."

  She raised her eyebrows as she stared back at him, hoping to hide the surge of fear at his words. She couldn't tell him the real reason. Not unless she was willing to tell him all of the truth. "The veterinary practice here was looking for an associate," she said lightly. "I liked the area, so I applied for the job. I bought into the practice a year later."

  "There was another reason, wasn't there?"

  Becca stared at him, appalled. Had he read her mind? "What do you mean?"

  "When Sy mentioned that his ranch was in Cameron, the name sounded familiar. As if I'd heard it before. Didn't you talk about Cameron once, a long time ago?"

  "I doubt it, Grady." Her hands gripped the edge of the truck behind her back, steadying her. Reminding her what was at stake. She would have to give him part of the truth. "I visited my friend Laura Weston here in Cameron while I was in college, but I doubt if I told you. There's probably a lot I've forgotten."

  The lie came out easily, and she dragged in a breath. "Maybe you were in a rodeo once in Cameron."

  "I would have remembered that."

  His words lanced through her, and the pain gave her the strength she'd been reaching for. "Of course you would have. God forbid something should be more important than a rodeo. That's one thing I haven't forgotten."

  "You always did see things in black and white, didn't you?"

  Not anymore, she wanted to say. Instead, she replied stiffly, "There's nothing wrong with that."

  Instead of answering, he reached out and touched her short hair. "You cut your hair."

  She resisted the impulse to run her hand through her curls. "It's more practical to keep it short." She would never tell him how she'd cried as she cut her hair, and how its loss had pierced her heart.

  "I suppose it would be easier."

  He fell silent, and she wondered if his thoughts were anything like hers. She wondered if he was remembering the times he'd buried his face in her long waves, telling her he could spend the rest of his life just breathing in the fragrance of her hair. Or the times her hair had wrapped itself around both of them, binding them together more tightly than any vow or promise.

  Deliberately she let go of the truck and rubbed her hands along the legs of her jeans. "You look good, Grady."

  A self-mocking smile flickered over his face, then disappeared. "Thanks, Becca."

  "I told you, I go by 'Rebecca' now." Every time he called her 'Becca' was another small stab at her soul.

  "Surely old friends are allowed a little leeway?"

  She turned abruptly and climbed into her truck. "If you'd rather, you can call me 'Doc' like everyone else on the Flying W. I'll be seeing you, Grady. I have to get going."

  Before he could answer, she slammed the door and turned on the ignition. Revving the engine, she turned the truck and headed down the driveway, skidding on the gravel under her tires.

  Take it easy, she warned herself as she eased her foot off the accelerator. The last thing she needed was for Grady to think she was running away from him.

  Even though that was exactly what she was doing.

  She didn't look in her rearview mirror until she was at the end of the driveway. Just before she turned onto the highway, she glanced back toward the barn. Grady was still standing where she'd left him, staring toward her truck. As she accelerated onto the road, a cloud of dust billowed up around her, and when it had cleared, Grady was gone.

  The drive back to Cameron seemed endless. Her thoughts chased themselves in her head like squirrels in a cage, each one more desperate than the last. One of her partners could come out to the Flying W from now on. She wouldn't have to see Grady again.

  That's stupid, she told herself fiercely. Cameron was a small town. She'd run into him every time she turned around. Panic filled her at the thought, and her mind raced ahead. She would have to leave Cameron and find a job somewhere else. A veterinarian could always find work.

  As she approached the edge of the small town, she gripped the steering wheel more tightly. The first thing she had to do was calm down. She couldn't go to Laura's house in this state of mind, even though they'd been friends since their freshman year in college. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she put Grady out of her mind as she pulled up to the curb of the small blue house.

  Becca took one last breath as she deliberately uncurled her hands from the steering wheel, then she got out of the truck. Plastering a smile on her face, she headed up the sidewalk.

  Before she was halfway to the door, it flew open and a girl came running down the walk. Her two black braids flopped wildly on her back as she threw herself into Becca's arms.

  "Mommy! Laura said you might be late, but I knew you would be here on time."

  Becca's arms closed around the girl as she held her in a fierce embrace. "Of course I'm here on time. You know I'll always be here for you, sweetheart."

  And she would be. Cassie would be the most secure, most loved child in the world. Becca hadn't been able to give her everything, but she could give her that. She'd made the vow the day Cassie was born and hadn't broken it yet. Becca felt her throat swell as she hugged her daughter more tightly. Her daughter and Grady's.

  * * *

  Chapter 2

  «^»

  Grady watched the dust swirl around Becca's truck as she sped down the driveway. The truck skidded once, then righted itself, and he felt his mouth curl in a grim smile. She was in a hell of a hurry to get to that next client.

  Becca. The bitterness and anger he'd thought he'd banished once and for all bubbled up inside him like molten lava, scorching every part of him. He'd thought they shared something special, something unique. Something that would last forever. And then she'd thrown it away with her casual words.

  There's someone else, Grady.

  He'd hated her for a long time. Hated her with a heat and a fervor that equaled the passion he used to feel for her. And like a stubborn child he'd refused to call her again. Then he'd had the accident five years ago. He'd been in a hospital for months, his leg broken and all the ligaments in his knee ripped to shreds. He'd known it was the end of his rodeo career, and nothing mattered anymore. Becca became just a distant memory, like his father's ranch and the rodeo and everything else that used to matter to him.

  Until today.

  Until he'd walked into a barn and seen her walking out. And the fire that ignited inside him when he'd looked at her had nothing to do with hatred.

  Turning abruptly, he headed back to the house. He'd been burned before and had no intention of playing with fire again. "Tucker," he called as the screen door banged behind him. "Where are you?"

  The foreman emerged from the office. "Right here, Mr. Farrell."

  "Let's finish that tour," Grady said.

  They were heading toward the barn again before the foreman spoke. "So you know Doc Johnson?"

  The tone was casual, but Grady wasn't fooled. Everyone on the ranch would hear about his encounter with Becca before the day was out. "We grew up in the same town."

  His tone didn't encourage conversation, but Tucker wasn't deterred. "What a coincidence. Did you know she was the vet here in Cameron?"

  Gra
dy shrugged, forcing himself to act nonchalant. "I had no idea."

  The foreman glanced over at him. "Sounded like you both were real surprised. Doc Johnson's a good vet. Sy always made sure we asked for her when we needed a doc. Always made it a point to be here when she came out, too."

  Grady thought about Sy Ames and felt his mouth tighten. Could Becca be involved with him? The thought disturbed him. Remembering the curious blankness of Sy's eyes and the hatred that raged in them when he thought no one was watching, Grady wondered what Becca saw in the man.

  It didn't matter, he told himself. He wasn't responsible for Becca.

  "Course, everyone in Cameron likes Doc Johnson," the foreman continued, apparently oblivious to Grady's ominous silence. "She and her—"

  "That's enough, Tucker." Grady cut him off with a slashing motion through the air. "I want to hear about my ranch, not Dr. Johnson."

  Tucker threw him an injured look. "I thought you'd be interested in her, since you grew up together and all."

  "I'm perfectly capable of finding out all I need to know about her myself. Why don't you tell me about the cattle, instead?"

  A few hours later, Grady leaned against the fence of one of the corrals and looked out over the pasture tucked into the curve of low green hills. His pasture. The thought of being tied down to a piece of land didn't stir panic as it would have a few years ago. Now it felt good. Hell, it felt more than good. It felt right.

  He looked at the red cliffs in the distance towering over his pastures, the soft rock eroded by the wind and rain into a thousand different, fantastic shapes. Their contrast with the green pastures and the stands of pine and aspen trees that bordered them made this a magical place, one of awesome natural beauty. The thought flashed into his mind that he was only missing one thing. An image of Becca danced in front of his eyes, but he crushed it without a second thought. He didn't need the complications of a relationship. He wasn't missing a thing. Life was damn near perfect just the way it was.

  * * *

  Grady slowed his truck as he drove past the sign in front of the small building on the outskirts of town. Cameron Veterinary Hospital was painted in white letters on a black piece of wood. Even though the building was small, everything about it was scrupulously neat and clean. Spotting Becca's truck parked to the side of the building, he impulsively swung into the parking lot and killed the engine.

  It had been five days since he'd seen Becca at the Flying W. Not that he was counting, he reminded himself. But in order to get the ranch up to speed as soon as possible, he needed to discuss the health of his cattle herd with the ranch's vet. And now was as good a time as any.

  Walking in the front door, he nodded to the receptionist. "I need to see Dr. Johnson."

  The woman gave him a perky smile. "Did you have an appointment?"

  "No." He looked around the empty room. "Is that going to be a problem?"

  "I'm sure Dr. Johnson will be able to work you in. Is this concerning one of your animals?"

  "It's concerning my herd. I'm Grady Farrell, the new owner of the Flying W."

  The woman's eyes lit with interest. "Why, how nice to meet you, Mr. Farrell. We've all been wondering about you."

  He had no doubt of that. He remembered life in a small town too well. "I need to know how my herd is doing before I can make any decisions." He smiled at the woman. "You know how it is with a new property."

  She fluttered back at him. "You must be terribly busy getting settled, but everyone in Cameron would love to meet you. There's going to be a rodeo and fair on the Fourth of July in a couple of weeks. You should join us. Practically the whole town will be there."

  Grady froze at the word rodeo, but long practice kept his face impassive. "Thanks," he said, forcing himself to give the receptionist another lazy grin. "I'll put it on my calendar."

  He took a seat and picked up a magazine. He could feel the receptionist's eyes on him, but he didn't look up. After a while the woman turned away and pulled out a file drawer.

  From around the corner he heard Becca's voice. It was muffled, but there was no mistaking it. Then a door must have opened, because her words became much louder.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Ames, but you obviously have the wrong impression." The chill in her voice would have put frost on the walls.

  "You can call me 'Dr. Johnson,' just like the rest of my clients."

  "But I'm no longer a client. I don't own the Flying W anymore."

  Even from the waiting room Grady could hear the venom in Sy Ames's voice.

  If Becca heard it, she chose to ignore it. "Then we don't really have anything to discuss, do we?" She walked around the corner, and Grady saw the tension and anger in her face. "You can settle up your account with Stella, Mr. Ames. Good luck to you in your future endeavors."

  She pushed past him and disappeared into the back. Ames stood staring after her for a long time, then turned to the receptionist. The hatred that Grady had noticed once before flashed in the stocky man's eyes for a moment, then his face was carefully blank again.

  Stella greeted Ames with another perky smile, but it faltered after a moment. When the printer finally finished his bill and she handed it to him, Grady saw her hand shaking. Ames took the piece of paper and slammed out the door.

  The receptionist took a deep breath and turned to Grady, her eyes troubled. "I'll go and see if Dr. Johnson can talk to you now."

  Grady nodded once, the knot of tension in his gut slowly easing. He hadn't known that Sy Ames was back in town. He twisted around to look out the window at the parking lot, but Sy was gone. When he turned back to the room, the receptionist was behind the front desk again.

  "You can talk to Dr. Johnson now."

  He followed the receptionist into a small room, and she shut the door behind him. He supposed it was a typical veterinary examination room, and he let his gaze wander over the instruments on the counter. They were neatly arranged and spotless, just like the rest of the clinic.

  The door opened, and Becca slipped into the room. "What do you want, Grady?"

  Her voice was filled with tension, and she didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she stared down at the file in front of her.

  "I wanted to talk to you about my herd. Find out if it's healthy, what kinds of problems it's had. What needs to be done."

  She continued to stare down at the file, and he studied the crown of her head. Her short blond hair was streaked from the sun and curled around her face. He wondered if it still felt like silk, and he had to stop himself from reaching out to find out. Clenching his hands into fists, he stepped back from the table so he could see her face.

  Slowly she looked up at him. Her gray eyes were huge in her face, full of an emotion he couldn't identify. Finally she said, "Why are you here, Grady?"

  "Just like I told you. I need to discuss my animals with you."

  "That's not a spur-of-the-moment discussion. I need to get a lot of paperwork and files together, then we need to sit down together for a while."

  "I'm free right now."

  "I'm not." She didn't glance at her watch, but when she picked up the chart, he saw her hand tremble. "Why don't we make an appointment for another time?"

  "Was it Ames?" he asked bluntly.

  "What do you mean?"

  "He upset you, didn't he?"

  "It's the nature of the business," she said carefully. "Not every client is going to be happy every time."

  "He wasn't here on business, was he?"

  Her eyes darkened. "How do you know that?"

  "It's pretty obvious, Becca. He doesn't own the Flying W anymore. He doesn't have any animals, so why would he need a vet?"

  "Maybe he was here to settle up his account."

  Grady allowed himself a thin smile. "You've forgotten that I know Sy Ames. Voluntarily paying a bill is the last thing he would do."

  He watched her gather herself. "It doesn't matter why he was here. He's gone now, and I don't expect him to be back."

  "Come have some lunch
with me," he found himself saying. "We can share horror stories about Sy Ames."

  She gave him a shaky smile, but shook her head. "I can't. I'm on call over lunch. I have to stay here."

  "Fine. I'll be right back."

  Without waiting for her to answer, he opened the door to the exam room and walked out of the clinic. It didn't bother him that Becca was upset, he told himself, but he wanted to discuss his animals with her. He ignored the fact that he hadn't even thought about discussing his herd until he'd seen the sign for her clinic on the way into town. Suddenly, discussing his cattle was at the top of his list of things to do.

  Fifteen minutes later he was back, carrying a large bag and two containers of soda. The door was locked, but when he knocked the receptionist opened the door.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Farrell. The clinic is closed until one-thirty."

  "I brought lunch for Dr. Johnson. I thought it would make our discussion a little more pleasant. And besides, she seemed like she needed a break."

  Stella studied him for a moment, then opened the door. "You're right. I don't care for that Mr. Ames." She hesitated as if she was going to say more, then turned away. "She's in her office. You go right on back."

  Grady paused in the door of Becca's office and watched her. The desk was covered with charts and notes scribbled on scraps of paper, and she was deep in thought as she wrote on one of the charts. A flannel shirt hung on the back of her chair, and the T-shirt she wore clung to her curves. Curves she certainly hadn't had nine years ago. He let his gaze linger on her as she wrote, and he felt himself stirring. Nine years ago, when she was nineteen, she had been slim as a boy with small breasts and slender hips. She was still slender, but she had the body of a woman now. His hands ached to feel the weight of her breasts and trace the curve of her hips.

  Would her skin be as soft, as warm as he remembered? And would her hair have the same scent, the scent that had haunted his dreams for years?

  He wasn't going to find out, he reminded himself harshly. He might be curious about Becca, but that was all it was. He wasn't interested in her. Not after what she'd done to him. And even if he was interested, he didn't have time to get involved with anyone right now.