Rodeo Queen

by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

“Did I dream it or did you keep waking me up to pour soup down me, make me take a huge pill with great potential to choke a horse and carry me to the bathroom?”

  “I’m afraid it was no dream.” He grinned. “But your leg looks great. I mean—” she’d always had great legs “—the infection seems to be gone.”

  A haunted look took root deep in her eyes. “Any breaks?”

  “I wish.” He shrugged. “Nothing.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “I’m starving.”

  “You are?” Excitement tinged his voice. She was on the mend. “I’ll go get you some broth.”

  “Ugh.” Her mouth twisted. “Please give me something I can chew with the potential to cover the taste of the horse pill.”

  “I’m on it.” He headed for the door.

  “Can I go down for lunch?”

  “Wow.” He turned to face her. “You must be feeling a lot better.”

  “I am. And I’ve inconvenienced your grandfather with an unexpected guest and never even said hello to him.”

  “It’s no inconvenience having you here.” His heart warmed. If only he could keep her near forever. “But let’s take things slow. Let me bring up a tray for lunch and maybe you can come down for supper.”

  “All right.” She nodded.

  And maybe if he took things slow with her, he could keep her near. If he could figure out a way to relieve her fears. Even if he didn’t get the transfer.

  * * *

  What must his family think of her sleeping away entire days? She’d zonked out again and hadn’t made it down for supper last night.

  Caitlyn smoothed her hand over the grape long-sleeved T-shirt with sparkles and spangles in darker plum shades. Her favorite colors, plus her favorite jeans with rhinestones across the back pockets.

  It felt so good to wear real clothes. Her own clothes. If only she could wear her matching high-heeled boots. But they were in Aubrey and she probably needed to stick with the tennis shoes her mom had packed anyway.

  A tap at her door.

  “Come in.” She took a deep breath.

  The door swung open to reveal Tara. Not Mitch.

  Caitlyn started breathing again. “Look at you, all grown up.”

  “I’d better be, since I’m getting married next week.”

  “That’s crazy. Aren’t you still sixteen?”

  “Yeah. And you’re still eighteen. How are you feeling?”

  “Old.” Caitlyn plopped on the bed. “And stuck in a time warp. It’s like the past ten years never happened.”

  “That’s because—” Tara laughed “—you’re still madly in love with my brother and he’s still madly in love with you.”

  Caitlyn’s cheeks warmed.

  “You know.” Tara settled on the bed beside her. “I used to watch y’all back when the big romance was going on and hope that someday I’d find a true and lasting love like y’alls.”

  “I hope—” Caitlyn shook her head “—you found something a lot stronger than Mitch and I had.”

  “You two still love each other. It’s as plain as the difference between a gray appaloosa and a dapple gray.”

  Caitlyn laughed. “Spoken like a girl raised on an Aubrey horse ranch.”

  “No changing the subject.” Tara wagged a finger at her. “What happened between y’all? I thought after he finished his trooper training in Austin, he’d propose and y’all would live happily ever after. All of a sudden, it was over. Mitch wouldn’t even talk about it before he moved to Garland.”

  Their almost happy ever after still haunted her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “He did propose. But I said no.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Remember the first time I met your grandfather?” Caitlyn smoothed her hand over the pale yellow, green and blue quilt stitched by Tara’s grandmother.

  “When he and Grandma came to Aubrey for Thanksgiving.”

  “Yes. And he told tale after tale of dangerous Texas Ranger assignments he’d had, culminating with his partner dying in a shoot-out. Until then, Mitch being a ranger seemed honorable and noble. After hearing your grandfather’s tales...”

  “You got a glimpse of the dangerous side.”

  Caitlyn nodded. “When Mitch got accepted as a trooper at Garland, I knew he was on the road to fulfilling his dream as a Texas Ranger. I put my fears aside and decided I’d be happy for him and fully support him. He wanted me to meet him at the Ever After Chapel that weekend and I figured he planned to propose.” Her voice quivered. “I fully intended to say yes and plan our wedding.”

  “So what happened?” Tara touched her elbow.

  “A few days before our meeting, my high school friend Ally stopped by. We giggled and planned my wedding.” Her chest tightened as if it were yesterday.

  “Until a police car pulled into our drive. Since her dad was a trooper, we thought it was him.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “But it was her mom and another trooper.” She cleared her throat. “Ally’s dad had died in a shoot-out.”

  Tara squeezed her hand.

  “I watched them grieve on our front porch.” Caitlyn pressed her fingertips against her lips and shook her head. “In that moment, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t put my child through that. And I couldn’t be that widow.”

  “You were scared.”

  “Terrified. But for as long as I could remember, Mitch dreamed of being a Texas Ranger. I couldn’t ask him to give that up.”

  “So you said no. Even though you loved him.”

  Caitlyn nodded. “I thought we could each get on with our lives.”

  “He needs you.” Tara patted her hand. “He hasn’t been the same since Dylan died.”

  “Dylan?”

  “His partner died last year. It hit Mitch hard. He even quit going to church. I thought he might be seeing someone and he might be on the mend—”

  “Ahem.” Mitch cleared his throat from the doorway.

  “How long have you been there?” Tara shot him a look.

  “Just came upstairs.” Mitch frowned. “How’s this for hands off?” He held a set of crutches. “Got these from Stan. Figured you could lean on them instead of me.”

  Caitlyn sucked in a shaky breath and dabbed her fingertips under each eye. Seeing someone. Mitch was seeing someone.

  “You okay?” Mitch’s frown deepened.

  “Fine. Thanks for the crutches.” She had some nut wanting to take her home, or kill her trying, plus a hole in her calf, and she was stuck with the man she’d tried to forget for the past ten years, though he’d moved on to see someone new. What could possibly be wrong?

  “Let’s get you downstairs.” He helped her with the crutches. “After you eat, I thought you’d probably want to call your folks.”

  “That sounds nice.” Her vision blurred and a tear slipped down her cheek.

  If she could just get through the next two weeks. Wait, she’d already slept through three days. This was Thursday. Only a little over a week left. And maybe they’d catch Stevens before then. She could do this.

  She swung the crutches forward but lost her balance.

  “Careful.” A firm hand clutched her arm. “Slow down, hotshot. Have you ever used crutches before?”

  “No. It’s harder than it looks.”

  A week and a half. At the most. With Mitch. And her jumbled heart turning over at every glance he shot her way. While he was seeing someone new.

  * * *

  Mitch gritted his teeth as Caitlyn made slow, swinging progress down the stairs with her crutches. Maybe he should have given them to her after he carried her down.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine.”

  “You can stop and catch your breath.”

  “She said
she’s fine.” Tara shot him a back-off frown as she led the way to the dining room.

  At least Caitlyn had mastered the crutches.

  With ease, she swung her way across the hardwood but stopped at the double doors. “Hold up, Tara.”

  Mitch chose his words carefully. “Something wrong?”

  “Just kind of feel like I’m crashing a family gathering.”

  “You’re family.” Tara patted her arm. “Or we all wanted you to be anyway.”

  Pink splashed Caitlyn’s cheeks as Tara pushed the doors open. “Look who decided to join us.”

  His parents, Grandpa and Cody surrounded the oval pedestal table.

  “Hey, stranger.” Cody bounded to Caitlyn’s side and gave her a bear hug.

  “Easy.” Mitch’s jaw clenched. “Don’t bowl her over.”

  “When did you get here?” Delight filled her tone.

  Why couldn’t seeing Mitch make her that happy?

  “About seven o’clock last night. You were asleep, sleepyhead. You never were much on mornings, but some people have lives, bulls to ride, people to see.”

  “Just getting my beauty rest.” Caitlyn playfully punched him in the shoulder.

  His mouth twisted to the side. “Don’t think you got enough from the looks of things.”

  “Jerk.” She punched him harder.

  “You know I’m kidding.” He held his hands up in surrender. “You look great. If Mitch hadn’t filled me in, I’d have never guessed some crazy guy was after you, you’d been stabbed and just got over a nasty infection.”

  Mom gasped. “Cody!”

  A hush silenced the room.

  Caitlyn burst into giggles and patted his cheek. “You’re still one of a kind.”

  Tension whooshed away as if blown by the wind.

  “If there’s a longhorn in the room everybody’s ignoring, leave it to Cody, he’ll shoo it to the north forty.” Grandpa guffawed and slapped his knee.

  As Cody took Caitlyn’s crutches and helped her hobble to a chair, she didn’t even snarl at him.

  The easy friendship between his brother and the love of his life grated Mitch’s nerves raw. He wanted to snarl.

  They’d been in the same class in school and it had always been that way between them. Cody could get away with saying anything to her and she’d laugh. While if Mitch popped off something outrageous, she’d have slapped him. Or cried. Cody could probably get away with carrying her up the stairs and all over the house.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been such a lazy houseguest, Mr. Warren.” Caitlyn aimed a sheepish grin at Grandpa.

  “Call me Tex. We’ve got too many Warrens in this house to be so formal. Gets confusing.” Grandpa claimed his seat at the head of the table. “And no apology needed. You’ve had a few things going on. Glad you could join us for lunch.”

  “Thank y’all for letting Mitch bring me here.” Caitlyn scanned the faces at the table. “The last thing I wanted was to crash the wedding preparations, but Mitch gave me little choice.”

  “Nonsense.” Tara passed the basket of rolls. “I invited you to my wedding. Instead, I get a bunking party. It’ll be fun.”

  “We’re glad to have you.” Mitch’s father passed the fried squash. “And you can call me Wayne now that you’re all grown up.”

  “It’s wonderful having you here.” Mom glanced at Mitch. “Just like old times.”

  Not exactly. Caitlyn was happy to see them all, except Mitch.

  * * *

  The fresh air and hot sun felt good on Caitlyn’s skin even as a bead of sweat trickled down her spine. Live oaks reached toward the trail on each side of them with twisted, knobby limbs.

  “Oh, Cody, this was exactly what I needed. Thank you.”

  “No problem. Watch out for that little dip there. Don’t get a crutch hung in it.”

  Leaves that had been stripped from the trees during the weekend downpour littered the path. The more hardy trees remained green. At least for another month or so.

  The crutches chafed her underarms, but it was worth it to be outside. The wooded trail beside the ranch house opened into a clearing where a dozen palominos grazed. Two hundred yards away, a cabin sat in the distance beside a serene pond.

  “Is that Mitch’s cabin?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why does he have a cabin here?”

  “He and Grandpa built it last year. After Mitch’s partner died.”

  “Does he come here much?”

  “Not as often as he should.” He cut in front of her, walking backward to face her. “Did we come out here to talk about Mitch?”

  “Just curious.”

  “You’ve still got it bad for him.” He turned back toward the path.

  She let him get ahead of her a bit, then whacked her crutch across his backside.

  “Ow,” Cody yelped. “Hey, what did I do?”

  “Let’s not talk about Mitch. Tell me about you.”

  “I’m not the one who brought him up.” Cody teased in a singsong tone.

  She raised her crutch.

  “Okay. Change of subject. Let’s see. Still riding bulls. Traveling the circuit all over Texas.”

  “Anyone special?”

  “Nah. I’m never in the same place long enough for anything to develop.”

  “Don’t you ever get tired of the road?” Caitlyn pulled at her shirtsleeve, trying to get more fabric between her and the crutch. “Do you ever think of settling down, growing some roots?”

  “Not so far. Guess I haven’t met the right person yet.”

  “Sometimes when you do,” she said, and sighed, “it still doesn’t work out.”

  “Now who’s talking about Mitch?”

  “I didn’t say a word about him.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  “You still tease me like you did when we were teenagers? Will you never grow up?”

  “Not if I don’t have to. Just call me Peter Pan.” He turned to face her again, walking backward. “And you’re so much fun to tease. Your face turns about a dozen different shades.”

  “Caitlyn!” Mitch’s call echoed through the clearing.

  She closed her eyes.

  “Busted,” Cody whispered.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Mitch sprinted up beside her and took hold of her arm.

  Chapter 6

  “I was having a pleasant walk in the woods.” Caitlyn jerked free. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  “It was my idea.” Cody sucked in an overly dramatic deep breath. “I thought she needed some fresh air. Does a body good.”

  “What part of protective custody do you not understand?”

  Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “My attacker is in Fort Worth.”

  “We don’t know that. And you’re supposed to be resting your leg.”

  “You didn’t tell me that.” Cody frowned at her.

  “I was dying to get out of the house.” She shrugged. “We took extreme precautions to make sure we weren’t followed. I thought I was safe.”

  “Listen to me, Caitlyn.” Mitch settled his hands gently on her shoulders. His intense green gaze snagged hers. And wouldn’t let go. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. Once we get this guy in custody, you can get all the fresh air you want. But until then, we can’t be too careful. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

  “Mitch is right. I wasn’t thinking. Let’s head back.” Cody’s words came from far away as she drowned in Mitch’s eyes. She saw caring there, but also fear for her safety.

  “I’m tired anyway.” She turned toward the house, each swing of her crutches hurried and frantic. To get away from Mitch. Her blistered underarms stung. They shouldn’t have gone so far.r />
  “Caitlyn, be careful.” Mitch reached for her. “Let me help you.”

  “Hey, hold up. I’ve got an idea.” Cody took her crutches and handed them to Mitch.

  “What are you doing?”

  “This.” Cody scooped her over his shoulder caveman style and headed for the house.

  “You’re insane.” She laughed.

  Cody always had the ability to make her laugh—while Mitch had the ability to make her cry.

  * * *

  From the doorway of the huge family room, Mitch supervised as Cody and Tara helped Caitlyn settle in the large window seat. Not even the sectional sofa with recliners at each end and the oversize coffee table could make this room small.

  “There. See, you still get sunshine.” Cody caught his eye. “That is, if Mitch approves?”

  “The alarm on the gate and house are both activated.”

  Caitlyn rolled her eyes.

  “Let’s play a game. Or do a puzzle.” Tara opened the closet and scanned the family game collection stacked neatly on the shelves. “We could play Pictionary.”

  “Me and Tara against Mitch and Caitlyn.” Cody rubbed his hands together. “Like old times.”

  “Feel like getting beat, huh?” Mitch strode into the room. Caitlyn and he had always won that game. He had artistic ability while she had none. But the timer in the game didn’t allow for artistry and he’d always known what she was trying to draw as if they were on the same wavelength. When it came to games, anyway. He scooted the game table in front of Caitlyn.

  “Y’all don’t have to play games and babysit me.”

  “We love games.” Tara set the game on the table and grabbed two chairs. “And we’re never all together like this anymore. Mom, Grandpa—want to play?”

  “Nah, you young folks go ahead. I’ll just sit here and laugh at you.” Grandpa winked at Caitlyn.

  Mom’s crochet needle looped through the yarn at a quick pace, leaving an intricate pattern in its wake. “I’ve got a dozen lap blankets left to finish for the nursing home by Christmas.”

  “I could help you. I remember everything you taught me.” Caitlyn obviously wasn’t interested in partnership with him. In any capacity.

  “That would be great. But you play your game, since y’all have even teams. You can help me crochet later.”