How to Lasso a Cowboy

by Christine Wenger

  “Watch Andy for me. I’ll be back in a while.”

  Dustin raised his eyebrows. “You’re going now?”

  “Sure.”

  Jenna felt his eyes on her as she headed into the house. She felt lighter, happier. This would give Dustin something to do, and she could watch him draw and paint. Fascinating.

  A talent like his shouldn’t be wasted, and she was going to do everything in her power to encourage him.

  Dustin didn’t want to paint. He wanted to hit the honky-tonks with Jenna.

  He could picture her in his arms, moving to the music. Imagined kissing her again…imagined Tom breaking his other leg…

  He looked down at his cast and swore under his breath just as Jenna came bounding out the front door and raced down the steps.

  “Need anything else from your apartment?” she asked.

  “I’m good. Just be careful driving.”

  “It almost seems as though you care,” she said, echoing his prior words. Smiling, she got into her car and drove off.

  I do care, Jenna. I’ve always cared.

  He flipped open his cell and left another message for Tom. The sooner he talked to him, the better.

  He’d told Jenna that their kisses didn’t mean anything to him only because he couldn’t let things go further until—unless—he got the green light from Tom. Because kissing her again would only lead to bed.

  And that couldn’t happen.

  What a cozy scene, Jenna thought.

  Andy was doing his homework at the kitchen table. Dustin was sketching on a big white pad and she was reading Pride and Prejudice, her favorite book, for about the hundredth time.

  And she wondered, for about the two hundredth time, if Dustin was as clueless as Darcy.

  I could get used to this, Jenna thought. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine a family of her own. The children studying, Dustin sketching or painting and she’d be reading.

  Interesting how she’d put Dustin into her dream.

  Soon, she noticed Andy’s struggling to keep his eyes open.

  “Andy, why don’t you get ready for bed,” she said.

  He nodded. Standing slowly, he shook Dustin’s hand and hugged Jenna around the neck. She patted his back.

  Andy was old enough to take himself to bed, but she tagged along anyway.

  “You like Uncle Dustin, don’cha?” Andy asked.

  She nodded. “Sure. I like him,” she said casually.

  Andy tugged his T-shirt over his head. “He likes you.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. I see him looking at you.”

  She was about to pump the boy for more information, but restrained herself.

  “Don’t forget to brush your teeth, Andy,” she instructed like a dutiful aunt.

  She waited until Andy came back from the bathroom, then she tucked him into bed.

  “I miss my mother,” Andy said. “But I’m glad you’re here, Aunt Jenna.”

  In all the time she’d been at the Bar R, Marla, Andy’s mother, had never even called to talk to him.

  “I know you miss her.” Jenna hugged him and planted a noisy kiss on the boy’s forehead that made him laugh. “I love you, Andy. Always remember that.”

  “I—I y-you…” There was no more forthcoming, Andy was sleeping.

  She longed to give Marla a piece of her mind. How dare she ignore her son? Jenna just couldn’t understand it. Her temper flared, but she tamped it back. She tucked the bed linens around Andy, gently kissed him on the forehead, then returned to the kitchen. She hurried over to the phone that was hanging on the wall, flipping through Tom’s phone book.

  “Everything okay?” Dustin asked.

  “I’m just calling Marla. How dare she ignore her son!”

  Marla didn’t answer. Instead, a woman who identified herself as the housekeeper said that Miss Marla was in Cancún “with Mr. Josh.”

  “When are they expected back?”

  “Two weeks.”

  “Do you have a number where they can be reached?”

  The woman giggled. “They are on their honeymoon, but I have a number somewhere…”

  “Never mind,” Jenna said, hanging up the phone.

  She leaned back against the wall, letting this new information sink in, wondering if Andy even knew that his mother had married again.

  Jenna sighed. “I feel bad. He misses his mother.”

  “I overheard you on the phone. Marla’s on her honeymoon?”

  “With someone named Josh.”

  “Josh Eliott,” Dustin replied. “I saw them together a couple of times at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He’s a steer wrestler.”

  “Does Tom know?”

  “Probably.”

  “I don’t think he told Andy about Marla.”

  “Probably not. The last I knew he was waiting for a good time.”

  “I think the time is now,” Jenna said. How could her brother not be around at a time like this? Or was Tom running away himself? She wondered if Tom still had feelings for Marla. Well, it was none of her business, but she’d make it her business if it concerned Andy.

  She sat down at the table, but didn’t pick up her book. Instead, she tapped her fingers on the table.

  “I heard you with Andy on several occasions. You’d make a good mother,” Dustin said.

  She raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”

  “I do.”

  “I think you’d make a good father. You’re wonderful with Andy, too. You’ve helped him learn a lot.”

  “I’d love to be a father,” he said quietly, then met Jenna’s eyes. “Andy’s going to pass to fifth grade.”

  She nodded. “We just have to make reading fun for him. Can you think of any books or magazines that would keep his interest?”

  “The Pro Bull Rider magazine,” Dustin said. “I have a copy in my duffel. It’d be perfect.”

  “Thanks, Dustin,” she replied, then paused. “How many?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “How many what?”

  “How many kids would you like to have?”

  He laughed. “Forty-five.”

  “I didn’t ask you how many of the top bull riders would ride in Vegas.” She chuckled.

  “I’d like as many as I was blessed with.” He looked deep into her eyes, and she felt her cheeks burn.

  The thought of having children with Dustin made her feel warm all over. That’s what she’d wanted before—children of her own—but since her “turning thirty” midlife crisis she’d mapped out a different course for her way-too-dull life.

  “And, of course, I want a ranch,” Dustin continued. “That’s what I’m working for, Jenna. My own spread. I want to win the World Finals and retire.”

  “Good for you,” she said. “That’s a great goal.”

  “And what about you?”

  “I want to travel, see the world, have adventures. I might teach in China for a year.”

  Dustin looked as if he’d just got head-butted by a raging bull.

  “China? For a year? I didn’t think that— I mean I thought that we’d—”

  “We’d what?” she asked.

  “Nothing. My mistake.” He looked down at his hands that were intertwined together as if in prayer.

  Jenna suddenly felt confused, weary. Dustin’s plan of a home and children was appealing to her, but that was her old dream. Wasn’t it? Besides, his plan didn’t include her. She didn’t know if it ever would.

  “I’m tired,” she said, sadness suddenly welling in her chest. She pushed herself from the chair, noticing the disappointment on Dustin’s face.

  Was it because she was leaving or was it something she’d said?

  Chapter Seven

  Dustin scratched his head.

  They were having a good conversation. Why the sudden departure?

  Dustin struggled to his feet and reached for his crutches. He was going to knock on her bedroom door and finish the conversation they’d started.
/>   When Jenna answered the door, she greeted him with a thin smile, her green eyes misty.

  Had she been crying?

  He moved toward her, then stopped. What had he come here for?

  Cursing under his breath, he pulled her toward him. His mouth slanted over hers, gentle at first, then demanding.

  Then he broke away, raising his eyes to the sky.

  “What am I doing?” he asked.

  Jenna smiled. He took it as a sign that she wanted him to continue.

  “We’re making out.” She chuckled.

  “This isn’t high school.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s better. Now, kiss me again, Dustin Morgan.”

  He did. He kissed her with every ounce of built-up passion that he’d had since high school.

  “I want to take you to bed,” he said.

  This is it! Thank you Woman’s Universe!

  Dustin kissed her hand, and instead of being happy, a fog of sadness settled over her. Lately, she just wasn’t herself—the big hair, the flirting, the bikini—all that was someone else.

  Yet, Dustin wanted to kiss that someone else. He wanted to take that person to bed, not the real Jenna Reed.

  What had she done?

  She’d lost her mind.

  “Jenna?” Dustin rubbed her back. “Did you hear what I said?”

  “Yes. I—I did.” She’d just wanted a fling, and now it seemed like the person who was about to have the fling wasn’t even her.

  “And?”

  “Dustin, I just can’t. It’s not me you want.” Regret welled in her chest. She walked to the bedroom door and motioned for him to leave. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life. “You’d better leave.”

  “Whatever you say.” Dustin looked like she’d landed a sucker punch to his gut. In a way, she had.

  “I’m so…sorry, Dustin. I’m really sorry.”

  It’s not me you want.

  What on earth did that mean?

  Was she talking about that lame magazine article? He didn’t fall for that stuff.

  Oh, who was he kidding? He did fall for it. He fell for it all. And he wanted to think that Jenna had gone to all that trouble just for him, but he didn’t know for sure.

  She needn’t have. Jenna was special just the way she was.

  He didn’t move. He just stood there like a lump—a broken-down lump of a bull rider who was still mooning over his best friend’s very off-limits sister.

  Even if he somehow conveniently forgot about his promise to Tom, how was he supposed to make love to Jenna with half his leg in a cast? Well, there were ways, but their first time together should be everything that he’d been dreaming of for all these many years.

  He wondered if she was a virgin. Judging by her reliance on a magazine article, she wasn’t all that experienced.

  He should just come out and ask her if he was the one who she’d been trying to seduce.

  There wasn’t a bull he was scared to ride, but he was too chicken to hear Jenna’s answer.

  Later that night, Jenna sat in her room mulling over the past few days, and her experiments in the art of seduction.

  Somewhere between the big hair and the makeup, she’d lost herself.

  Yet in spite of everything, the Ten Ways had worked! She should be thrilled. Dustin wanted to take her to bed. Wasn’t that what she wanted?

  After a restless night, Jenna got up early and made coffee. Sitting on a rocker on the front porch, she sipped the strong brew, still thinking of the events of the day before.

  With any luck, Dustin wouldn’t mention any of it.

  The door sprang open, and Dustin hobbled out. “I smelled coffee.”

  Jenna got to her feet, searching his face and eyes for amusement, but there was none. “I’ll get you a cup. Sit.” She held the chair still for him. “You take it black, right?”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  She roused Andy from his bed and instructed the sleepy boy to wash his face, comb his hair and get ready for school. Then she went into the kitchen to get Dustin a cup of coffee.

  Back on the porch, she handed the coffee to Dustin. “It’s so strong that a horseshoe could float on it.”

  “Perfect,” he said.

  “Dustin, about yesterday…and before…when I—I was trying to…”

  He held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

  He looked at the door, then lowered his voice. “About us. About us sleeping together. It’s a bad idea. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  “Oh,” she said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “I see.”

  “And I hope that the guy you like knows that he’s one lucky stiff.”

  “I don’t think he does.”

  Dustin grunted. “Then he’s a fool.”

  Jenna bit back a smile. “No doubt about that.”

  Feeling restless, Jenna decided to go for a ride. So she saddled up a palomino by the name of Sparky. She always rode Sparky when visiting Tom and thought of the horse as her own.

  Just as she was ready to mount, she felt someone watching her. Looking up, she saw Dustin silhouetted in the barn door.

  “Hi,” he said. “Wish I could join you. I’d love to go for a ride.”

  She shook her head. “Sorry.”

  He tapped the cast with the point of a crutch. “Just four more weeks with this thing,” he said.

  She felt an ache around her heart. He’d be leaving soon. Actually, so would she. Summer school ended in about three weeks, and Tom would be home.

  She wouldn’t be needed anymore.

  Suddenly, she felt lonely.

  But she’d be going back to school and she’d have a whole bunch of new kids to get to know. They’d keep her busy and keep her mind off Dustin.

  “Need help?” he asked.

  She laughed. “Did you forget that I was born on a ranch?”

  “Not at all.”

  There was a long pause. Then he pushed his hat back.

  “Damn. I forgot to tell you.” He held up his cell phone. “Tom just called. He thought he’d catch Andy, but he missed him. He said he won the Memphis and the Billings events.”

  “Great!”

  “He’s leading the standings now,” Dustin said.

  “And now you’re second.”

  “I expected that. I expect to be even lower as more time goes by. But the PBR’s summer break will be coming up soon, so things will be at a standstill.”

  She took Sparky’s reins and led her out of the barn. Dustin followed, then rubbed the horse’s nose as she mounted.

  “Where are you riding?” he asked.

  “The ATV trails through the saguaros, then through the meadow. Just an easy ride; it’s been a long time for me.”

  “Have a good time,” he said, moving away from the horse.

  Jenna walked Sparky behind the bunkhouse toward the start of the trail, and wondered if perhaps Dustin had wanted to talk to her.

  She wondered what was on his mind.

  He probably just wanted to reiterate that he didn’t want to take her to bed.

  Message already received.

  She tried to erase the cardboard Jenna—the Jenna of the commercial and the Ten Ways—from her mind. She was going to go back to her regular self. She was a book freak, a suburban teacher, a mentor of two of her school district’s most academic clubs, a rancher’s daughter, a sister and an aunt.

  She’d never give up her quest for adventure and love. But maybe she’d just go back to being herself and see what happened.

  It was probably stupid of him to ride the ATV with his ankle in a cast, but he found that he could operate the hand controls quite easily.

  With his crutches bungeed to the back, he took off down the path, following Jenna. He drove slowly so he wouldn’t scare the palomino.

  He paused at the trail where it opened up to the meadow, a kind of mis
nomer here in the desert. It was just a field with low scruffy vegetation. He and Tom rode ATVs and horses here all the time, but now Jenna was enjoying it.

  As she trotted Sparky, her hair blew back in the breeze, its golden color shining even lighter in the afternoon sun.

  Dustin could watch her all day. Her jeans were taut across her butt, and she wore a royal blue T-shirt and cowboy boots.

  He liked this Jenna. He felt comfortable with her.

  When he turned the handle with a little too much power, the ATV lunged forward. Jenna or Sparky must have heard it. Distracted, she turned sharply. Her horse stopped abruptly, and she fell from the saddle.

  Dustin cranked up the ATV and hurried to where she’d fallen. He slid from the machine and hit the ground next to her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry, Jenna. I didn’t mean to scare you.” His ankle throbbed, but he shook the feeling off. Instead, he pushed his body up with his hands to check her for injuries.

  She stared up at him, her face flushed.

  “Jenna, talk to me.”

  “You idiot,” she yelled. “Don’t you know better than to scare a horse?”

  “I do know better.”

  She lifted up her head, and he slipped his hand under it as a cushion.

  “I gave it too much juice. It just roared. I’m sorry.”

  She began to laugh. “I’m okay. Are you?”

  He glanced down at the desert dirt all over his cast, hands and clothes.

  “I’ll live.”

  Dustin didn’t make a move to get up. All he could think of was getting another taste of Jenna. He stared at her lips, and her smile faded. He looked into her eyes and twin emeralds looked back at him, a touch darker than usual.

  He bent his head to kiss her and felt her hand around his neck, holding him close. With a slight groan, she met him halfway.

  He tried to move, tried to feel the length of her body against his. It was impossible to position himself, but Jenna managed. Without taking her lips from his, she slipped under him. He felt her hands on his cheeks, down his neck, down the front of his shirt. He inhaled the sweetness of her, the smell of the sunshine on her clothes.