Cowboy Jackpot: St. Patrick's Day

by Randi Alexander

  Then she’d head home, break the bad news to her parents, and hope that their attorney could fix this so they didn’t lose half of her share of the ranch. And possibly half of the whole ranch when she inherited some day.

  “Oh God, what more can I do wrong?” Sobs wracked her body. She’d married a man she didn’t know, lied to her parents to be with him, lost her innocence. “TSTL.” She rolled onto her stomach and cried, loud and cleansing. Too Stupid To Live.

  ****

  Jayden grabbed hold of the rigging on Betcha Pony, jammed his hat down on his head, and looked up into the audience. Stormie’s bright hair shone in the light. He raised his free hand in a wave, and said, “Okay, okay, okay.”

  The gate swing wide and the bronc bucked, turned left, then spun right.

  Jayden felt himself slipping off. “No.” He bent his leg to feel the die in his pocket, touchstone. He would ride this bastard the full eight. He took a firmer grip and visualized himself staying on, tightened his legs.

  The buzzer sounded.

  Cheers went up from every part of the arena. As he jumped onto the chase horse, he heard Boone ya-hooing, and yelling his name. Dallas even shouted, “Way to cowboy up!” Rance hooted wildly.

  The bronc raced out of the ring, Jayden slid off the chase horse, and took off his hat. He tossed it like a frisbee across the ring. He lifted his arms as a thanks to the crowd, and turned to where Stormie sat with Gigi and Kira. They were standing. No, jumping up and down shouting at the top of their lungs. He pointed their way, directly at Stormie.

  She’d done this for him. How could he ever explain to her how much this had meant. He didn’t need the money. He didn’t need the title. He needed the self-confidence.

  Picking up his hat, he jogged out of the ring. His brother pulled him into a fast hug, slapping his back. “Perfect ride, little brother.”

  Dallas smacked him on the back. “Best you’ve ever ridden?” He gestured to the scoreboard. “Look at that number.”

  It wasn’t the best in his career, but it felt better than any other ride.

  He went back to the locker room and held the die in his hand. The bull riders went next, then it’d be the saddle bronc short go, then his category. One more ride, and he could be with Stormie for another day. Hopefully talk her into taking him home to meet her folks. Then back to Reno to meet his folks before he had to go to Texas for the next rodeo. Would she come with him?

  He slid the touchstone back into his pocket. “We’re gonna fly first class.”

  “Oh yeah?” Rance walked up behind him. “You rich guys got it made.”

  “About that.” He turned toward the bull rider. “I don’t want Stormie to get the wrong idea.”

  Rance shook his head. “No, man. I was referring to your jackpot money. Boone told me about it.” He held up a hand in an oath. “Not another word about her ranch.” He worked his jaw. “Except, you know, you could have a second rodeo school in OKC.”

  Jayden nodded once. Heck, with her money, they could have rodeo schools in every state. He didn’t care to think about her in terms of her bank account. That wasn’t who she was to him. She was…a future. One that he could almost see clearly.

  “What happened out there today, buddy?” Rance grinned. “How’d you make your ride?”

  “Stormie got me goin’ on some visualization thing.”

  “Yeah.” Rance checked his spurs. “That shit’s big in Cali. Works, too, I hear.”

  “It’s working for me.” Jayden slipped the die in his pocket.

  “I gotta go.” He backed up a step. “She’s a keeper, you know. Stormie, I mean.”

  He just nodded. “Hey, have a good ride, buddy.”

  Rance grinned and touched the brim of his hat. “Always.”

  As he sat on the bench, he replayed his last ride in his head, adopting a little of Rance’s cockiness. Couldn’t hurt. When he heard the rider before Boone’s name called, he headed to the arena. Looking up in the stands, he saw where Stormie, Kira and Gigi were huddled together talking. He’d love go up there, hold her and kiss her for luck, but he needed all his concentration on the next ride.

  He watched the women. Fingers were pointed, heads were shaking. Were they arguing? What the hey?

  He watched Boone hang on for eight, then Dallas almost tie Boone’s score. They’d both be in the short go. Although the ladies had stopped to watch their bull riders, they were talking again, so Jayden walked back to the locker room and went over his visualization.

  A half hour later, in the chute on the back of Fat Chance, he looked up in the stands to see Stormie standing.

  He raised his hand. She blew a kiss. He knew he couldn’t lose.

  “Okay, okay, okay.” The gate opened, he tightened his grip, felt the horse’s muscles shift and adjusted his body to match it. Eight seconds later, the buzzer rang, he jumped onto the chase horse, waited until the bronc left the ring, and threw his hat.

  The crowd went wild but he turned to find Stormie. Kira was there, Gigi next to her, but Stormie was gone. Wait, was that her walking up the steps?

  Chapter Ten

  Jayden waved to the crowd, keeping one eye on Stormie and ignoring the replay of his ride on the big screen. He grabbed his hat and dusted it off. Was Stormie coming behind the chutes to see him?

  He headed out of the ring, and his brother, Dallas, and Rance were there to smack him on the back and offer congrats. He wouldn’t win a prize today since he hadn’t qualified yesterday, but it felt good to have two good rides in a row.

  He walked toward where guests could wait outside the cowboy’s entrance and looked through the crowd of buckle bunnies for Stormie.

  She wasn’t there.

  He walked back to the spot where he could see the arena seats. She wasn’t there, either. Then he grinned. She must be in their room. He packed up his gear and left the arena, signing slips of paper for the buckle bunnies as they followed him through the casino to the elevator.

  When he entered the suite, he dropped his bag. “Stormie?”

  No answer. He walked into the bedroom. Her bright red suitcase was gone. His clothes from earlier today sat folded neatly on the dresser. He pulled out his phone to call her and saw a slip of paper next to his jeans.

  On top of it sat the ring he’d given her.

  “Oh man.” Pain clutched at his heart. What had he done now? He picked up the paper, read the words in Rance’s handwriting, and crumpled it in his fist. “Fuck.”

  His stomach bucked, wanting to empty. “Shit.” Where had she found it? Why hadn’t he thrown the damn thing away?

  He could almost feel her shock as she realized what the numbers stood for. She figured he was after her money. She had to be just sick—as sick as he felt right now. Everything in his gut clawed to get out.

  He turned and noticed the messy bed. The pile of tissues in the trash can next to it. “Aw Storm.”

  He sat on the bed and dropped his head in his hands. His hat tipped off and fell to the floor. He kicked it across the room.

  She’d spent time crying. He was such a fucking ass. He shoved Rance’s note in his pocket. No, he was innocent this time. He just had to prove it to her. “Yeah, that ain’t gonna be easy.”

  He could sit there and feel sorry for himself, or he could do something. Anything. He had to try. Had to act. He stood and paced to the window and back. Should he call her? His gut told him he had to do this in person. She’d be in her little red sports car heading toward Oklahoma. He could catch her… He didn’t have a truck. He’d ridden down with Boone and Gigi.

  “Gigi.” The women had been arguing in the stands. They’d know where Stormie was. He could get Boone’s truck keys from her and go chase his woman. He’d bring her back here and apologize the only way he knew would work. He’d beg her on his knees then make love to her all night. Then beg some more, if necessary.

  He picked up his hat and stopped. “Just in case.” He made a quick change from his horse-scented clothes into a fres
h shirt, regular underwear, and a clean pair of jeans. After packing up everything in his duffle, he dropped it by the front door, next to his gear bag. He’d give Gigi the key to the suite, just in case he didn’t make it back.

  He could see himself chasing Stormie all the way to her ranch. He’d do it, too. He pulled out his phone and brought up his contacts. “Gigi, where is she?”

  Twenty minutes later, he sat between Kira and Gigi on the bench seat of Dallas’s truck heading east on Highway 93 toward the Nevada state line.

  He fisted and unfisted his hands as his body grew more tense by the second. “Can’t this thing go any faster?” The old pickup wasn’t meant for speed.

  “Oh, so now you’re complaining?” Kira elbowed him in the arm. “We concoct this elaborate scheme for you, rat out our girl Stormie, and that’s what comes out of your mouth?”

  Gigi patted his knee. “Don’t worry, Jay. She’s just a few minutes ahead of us, and she’ll be stopping for gas any minute now.”

  He took a couple deep breaths. “Okay. Sorry. I just need to get to her.”

  His sister-in-law smiled so sweetly, but she had such a cleverly devious mind. She’d decided that they needed to get Jayden to Stormie and leave him there without a vehicle. That way, Stormie couldn’t just abandon him at the gas station—they hoped. They’d piled into Dallas’s truck because Kira had the keys in her pocket when he’d met them in the casino. They agreed timing was critical, and had been racing down the freeway in less than five minutes.

  Kira and Gigi had texted their men, but they were still rodeoing, and their phones were locked away. That gave the women a little time before all hell broke loose with Boone and Dallas.

  Kira had called Stormie then, and told her they needed to talk. She told Stormie that Jayden was looking for her, and Kira didn’t know what to tell him. She asked Stormie to pull over in the next town and call her so she wouldn’t be driving distracted.

  Stormie had agreed to pull over at a gas station just past Boulder City because she’d need gas anyway. She’d call Kira back from there, but she needed Kira and Gigi to distract Jayden so she could put distance between him and her.

  Hearing that had damn near killed Jayden.

  Now, staring out the windshield, he clenched his hands, willing the truck to go faster. Needing to have Stormie in his arms so he could explain.

  Kira’s phone rang. She pulled it out. “Uh oh. It’s Dallas.” She looked at Jayden, a worried expression in her eyes. She thumbed the phone, sending the call to voice mail. “He’s gonna be plenty hot now.”

  Jayden had to smile at the way Kira had picked up country slang.

  Then Gigi’s phone rang and his smile left him. This stunt had these amazing women in deep shit with their men. “Hi, Boone. Sorry I missed your award cere…”

  Jayden could hear Boone’s voice rumbling through the phone. His brother was even-tempered and loved his wife, but he was also concerned about her.

  “I’m just fine, cowboy.” Gigi’s voice sounded sweet and calm, but her face was set in a grimace. “We’re just taking Jayden to meet Stormie.”

  Jayden’s phone rang. He looked at it and repeated Kira’s words. “Uh oh, it’s Dallas.” This wouldn’t be the even-tempered, loving call Gigi was experiencing.

  “Hey.”

  “What the fuck are you doing with my woman?” Jayden had to hold the phone away from his ear, and everyone in the truck heard that.

  “Sorry, man, we decided to take a drive.”

  “Goddamnit, let me talk to Kira.”

  She held out her hand, Jayden deposited the phone into it and tried to tune out the dual conversations as he concentrated on how he’d handle things with Stormie. He couldn’t fuck this up. He had one chance to make it go right.

  ****

  Stormie wandered through the gas station’s mini market holding her phone to her ear. Kira was rambling on about something totally unrelated to the abysmal funk that was Stormie’s life right now. “Can we talk about this tomorrow, Kira? I need to get on the road.”

  “Just hear me out.” It sounded like she was driving.

  “Where are you?” Stormie picked up a bag of chips, then set it back on the rack. Then picked it up again. Comfort food. She walked over to the candy shelves.

  “Here’s Gigi. She wants to talk to you.”

  “Wait, I don’t—”

  “Hi, Stormie. How are you doing? Feeling any better?” Gigi’s gentle voice always put Stormie at ease.

  “I’m okay, but I’d like to get going. Okay if we—”

  “Ouch!” Gigi sounded like she was moving around. In the background, a male voice apologized. Was that Jayden? No, couldn’t be. Then the sound of a door slamming came over the phone. “Good luck!”

  Stormie held the phone away from her ear. What was going on there? “Gigi?”

  “Okay, thanks for talking. I’ll see you soon. Bye.” She hung up.

  A laugh burst from Stormie’s chest as she slid her phone into her purse. “Yeah, great talk, Gigi.”

  She paid for her chips and candy and the apple she grabbed as a balance to the junk food. Stuffing it all in her purse, she headed out into the warm evening, walking to her car, which still sat at the gas pump.

  In the bright neon lights, she recognized the cowboy leaning against her driver’s door. Her steps slowed, then stopped. How had he found her? Then it all snapped into focus. Kira, Gigi, and the stupidest phone conversation she’d ever had. “Bitches.” They’d be hearing from her about their lack of loyalty.

  Jayden tipped his hat back on his head and stood up, his hands fidgeting at his sides.

  She had choices here. She could go into the station and lock herself in the women’s room. Or ask the cashier to call the cops. Or…she could get this over with, send him back to Reno with a warning that her dad would come looking for him if he didn’t give her a clean divorce.

  She walked toward him, her chin tipping up a little more with each step, and stopped three feet away. “What do you want?”

  He opened his mouth and froze.

  She waited for the bullshit to pour out. Whining, pleading, cajoling…

  He took one step toward her. “I want a divorce.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The guy at the gas pump behind Stormie’s car jerked his head to look at Jayden and her.

  The blood drained from Stormie’s face, then raced back, heating her like a blowtorch. “You what?” That was supposed to be her line. He wanted out of their marriage? Her heart nearly stopped beating. How would she live without him?

  His eyes searched her face. “I don’t want your money.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper that had derailed her world. “Rance gave me this.” He shook his head. “I didn’t ask him to do it, he just called in a favor or something, and wanted me to know.”

  “Uh huh. Rance did it.” Why did he even need to explain? He just wanted a divorce. She’d give him what he wanted. It might not cost her half her inheritance, but it’d cost her half her heart.

  “Call him. He’ll tell you.” He shoved the paper into his pocket. “You know, don’t bother. It doesn’t matter how it happened. Just that, I’m sorry you had to see it. And I’m sorry you didn’t trust me enough to ask me about it…” His voice got louder and his eyes looked angry. “…before you slapped down my ring and left me.”

  “What?” She yelled it.

  At the pump behind them, the guy took his sweet time cleaning his windshield.

  Jayden’s lips thinned. “You must have had the nagging suspicion in the back of your mind the whole time. ‘All Jayden wants me for is my money’.” He stepped closer. “Admit it, Stormie. You didn’t trust me, and this note was just an easy way for you to get away from me.”

  When she’d found the note, blaming him had been so easy. Now, examining her own motives shook apart everything she’d told herself over the last few hours. That Jayden had broken her heart. That she was the victim. Even that she’d deserve
d it for being so gullible.

  “No, you’re wrong.” Wasn’t he? She’d seen the note and all her well-buried suspicions had come back to life like a herd of zombies. “Oh God, I think you may be right.” Her chest burned with the effort of holding back tears. “I did wonder about it a few times. No, a lot of times, over the past month. But when you never called me back, when you weren’t making claims on my share of the ranch, I shoved it out of my mind.”

  “And now? Last night?” Shadowed from his hat, his expression seemed dark, predatory. Maybe he was through with her. Maybe he did want a divorce. Had her distrust hurt him too deeply to heal?

  “I don’t know why I didn’t just talk to you about it, get it out in the open.” Probably because she had no relationship experience at all.

  Jayden blinked a couple times, then reached out and caressed her arm. “Because we’ve only known each other for a few days. We haven’t learned how to communicate with each other. Isn’t that what you told me outside the Roundup Bar last night? We’re too new at this. It takes a lot of time and effort to understand someone well enough to develop trust, and make a relationship work.”

  She felt a tear drip down her cheek. How had he gotten so wise in just the last few hours?

  His blue eyes watched her with an intensity that rattled her deep inside. “That’s why I want a divorce, Storm.”

  She swallowed the cry that threatened to burst from her aching heart. “I don’t blame you. It’s probably for the best.” She almost choked on the lie and glanced away from him, sucking in breaths to keep herself from acting stupid and weeping, or falling into his arms, or begging for another chance. The guy at the pump behind them had given up the pretense of cleaning his windows and was blatantly eavesdropping. She frowned at him.

  Jayden followed her gaze. He turned toward the guy and fisted his hands. “You done?”

  He nodded and jumped into his car, backing out and taking a wide path around them.

  Jayden looked back at her. “Wanna go somewhere and talk?”