He gave Dani a devilish look and she did her best not to giggle, trying to keep her expression neutral.
“What are you in town for, Mr.…O’Brien?” Sunglasses, whose name tag read Mills, asked as he took the ID from his partner and scanned it.
“The rodeo this past weekend.” Jake grinned, lifting his hat off his head for just a second before resettling it firmly.
“You a professional cowboy?” Mills asked. “Bull rider?”
“Yes, sir…and no, sir.” Jake chuckled. “I’m a calf roper…tie-down. Those bull riders are crazy.”
“You might be right.” Smith tilted his head back to look up at Jake. “But I ain’t never seen a bull rider rent a room for his horse.” He motioned to Mills. “Larry, why don’t you call that in? Let’s see if Mr. O’Brien here has anything on him we need to know about.”
He watched his partner get into the squad car and start talking on the radio, the conversation just out of earshot. He looked back at Jake. “You any good at this rodeoing?”
“I’m the best roper that’s ever been,” answered Jake.
“Hmmm,” muttered Smith, taking a moment to size Jake up. “Well, then, why’d you decide to hang around New Orleans a few days?”
Jake motioned to Dani and Stephanie. “’Cause I asked these two beautiful ladies to join me for a couple of fun days.”
The two sisters waved and said hello. Dani straightened her back a little to show off her breasts.
Jake continued, “They come all the way from Amarillo to help me celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?” asked the policeman.
“Winning, of course,” said Jake with a smile.
“Hey, Darrel,” Mills got out of the squad car and walked back over, “looks like we got us a famous rodeo cowboy on our hands.” He shook his head as he added, “Hell, the chief overheard the call, said he was right around the corner and would be here in a minute.” He pointed at Jake. “Wants to meet Mr. O’Brien personally.”
“I’ll be damned.” Darrel turned back to eye Jake. “So you ain’t full of shit after all, huh?”
“No, sir!” Jake smiled. He held out his hand to the patrolman and said, “The name’s Jake O’Brien.”
The patrolman shook Jake’s hand, his face more friendly as he replied, “Darrel Smith. This here’s my partner, Larry Mills.”
“Nice to meet you guys.” Jake shook his hand as well, then briefly held up his right forefinger. “Hey, I got an idea. Let me ask you fellows something. You think I could make a donation to…say, your Christmas party. I know you boys probably have one scheduled in a couple of weeks. What do you say?”
“What kind of donation are you talking about?” asked Darrel.
Jake pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and produced six one-hundred-dollar bills from within. “Will this help?”
Dani gasped as two packets of cocaine fell out onto the pavement directly in the middle of Jake, the two girls, and the two policemen. Jake didn’t see them fall and, fortunately for him, Darrel and Larry didn’t see them, either. As soon as they saw Jake was going to offer money, they gazed around them to see if anyone was watching close enough to notice the money change hands.
Dani took a couple of steps forward and stepped on the drugs, covering them with her right boot. “I’m sorry.” She pretended to squint at Darrel’s name tag. “Does that say Sergeant Smith? A sergeant, huh? That’s impressive.”
“Why, yes, ma’am.” Darrel appeared to be caught a little off guard.
Dani did her best to look interested and interesting, trying to figure out how the hell she was going to retrieve the small packets under her shoe.
Unaware of her dilemma, Jake folded the bills a couple of times so they could barely be seen in the palm of his hand. “I hope this helps the cause.” He passed the bills into Darrel’s hand as he shook it, then added, “Seems only right that I could donate, seeing as how you boys are obviously busy and had to stop what you were doing just to come out here for this.”
Darrel looked around again before he said, “Mr. O’Brien, it would be our pleasure to make sure this donation goes toward the Christmas fund.” He shook Jake’s hand a bit too long. “We thank you very much.”
“Believe me, it’s my pleasure,” Jake said, as his attention was drawn to another patrol car rounding the corner of the building.
Darrel looked over his shoulder at the manager, who was standing at the corner of the building, his attention split between the maid and watching their every move. “Looks like the manager is still a little pissed off.” He turned back to Jake. “I need to go over there and straighten him out.”
“You think it would help if I donated to his Christmas party, too?” asked Jake with a laugh.
“No,” answered Darrel with a grin. “I’m just going to explain to him if he wants to push this, that little girl over there your horse scared the shit out of will most likely be on a bus back to Mexico by this afternoon.” He smiled. “I’m sure he’ll come around, but you’ll probably still have to skedaddle.”
“There’s the chief.” Larry turned and walked toward the approaching police car.
Darrel deftly pocketed the money Jake had given him and winked. “I think we should keep this between you, me and Larry. You know, don’t want to ruin the chief’s surprise and all.”
“Oh, sure thing. Glad you thought of that,” Jake reached over and patted Darrel on the shoulder. He looked over and winked at Dani and Stephanie before adding, “Looks like I get to meet the chief of police.” He left the two girls there as he and Darrel started to walk over to the chief’s car.
Darrel looked at Dani and Stephanie. “You two want to meet the chief?”
“No, thank you,” said Dani quickly. “I’m fine right here.” There was no way she was going to move her boot until the cops were gone.
“Suit yourself.” Darrel turned to join his fellow policemen.
For the next fifteen minutes, Dani watched Jake take Chief back out of the trailer and take pictures with the three officers in all sorts of poses. Larry had produced a Polaroid Instamatic from the back seat of their car and proceeded to go through three packs of film before the photo session was over. There were even a few people who had come down off the balcony to get their hands on a memento as well. Jake signed every picture and treated everyone there as if they were long-lost friends.
Finally, however, it was all over. The policemen got back into their cars and waved as they pulled away, the angry manager and his maid stormed off back into the building, and the people on the balcony went back to their rooms. Only after Darrel’s squad car disappeared around the corner of the building did Dani move. Even if someone had been watching, there was practically no way they would have known what happened because she had the two packets of cocaine safely tucked away in her purse in the blink of an eye.
* * *
“Thanks a bunch, Marty, I owe you.” Jake put the handset back into its cradle, opened the phone booth door, and walked back into Denny’s. He strolled to the back of the restaurant where Dani and Stephanie were sitting at a table with empty plates and half-full coffee cups sitting in front of them.
“Sorry it took so long, girls.” He dropped into his chair, took his hat off, and laid it in the seat next to him. “I got it all taken care of.”
“So what’s the plan then?” The tone of Stephanie’s voice made it clear she was not happy about the fact that, one, they had no place to stay and, two, Jake’s carelessness almost got them arrested for drugs. Since they’d left the La Quinta, all she could talk about was how she’d explain away a drug charge to her father.
“Listen, everything is set,” Jake told them. “I got us two rooms for the next two nights at the top of the Hyatt, and…”
“Really?” Stephanie’s eyes widened in surprise
“Yep.” Jake continued. “And I caught a lucky break, too. I got a couple buddies, Marty and Dave, steer wrestlers, who stayed around after the rodeo was over. I guess the
y decided to do a little partying like we’re doing. Anyway, we got to get over to the Superdome quick; they were just about to drive up to Oklahoma for the finals. Dave’s going to drive their rig; Marty’s going to drive mine.”
“How are you going to get there?” Dani took a sip of coffee.
“Well, I know this guy that has a jet,” Jake said with a smirk.
“You mean when we leave here Friday, Stephanie and I are taking a commercial plane back home, and you’re taking a private jet?” asked Dani with a raised eyebrow.
“Now, now…don’t be getting jealous.” Jake pointed his finger at Dani. “Besides, y’all took a private jet here. I had to drive fifteen hours.” He smiled. “But I thought of that, too. I upgraded you to first class, and the plane leaves Saturday.”
“Nice,” said Dani with a grin. “We get an extra day.”
“What time is our flight?” asked Stephanie.
“Nine a.m.,” answered Jake, picking up his coffee.
“When are you leaving?” asked Dani.
“Noon.” He took a sip and set the cup back on the table, wishing the waitress had warmed it up for him.
“Don’t Finals start Saturday?” Dani tilted her head to one side.
“They do,” said Jake, “but I got that worked out, too.” He rubbed his hands together. “Calf roping don’t start until three, and team roping starts right after that. I can be there with about an hour to spare.”
“That’s cutting it close.” Dani pushed her cup away and reached for her purse.
Jake waved the thought away. “Maybe, but I’m having too much fun here. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.” He grabbed his hat and stood. “Right now, though, we got to go see Marty and make sure my horse gets there in time. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, they were waving goodbye as Marty and Dave drove the two trucks and trailers out of the Superdome parking lot.
“Which way is the Hyatt?” Stephanie asked before they were out of sight.
“Right around the corner.” Jake pointed down Sugar Bowl Drive. He lifted his travel bag off the pavement. “Want to walk or catch a cab? It’s not that far.”
“Which way is the mall?” Dani looked herself over. “I’ve been wearing these clothes for two days now. It’s time to go shopping.”
Jake hoisted his bag over his shoulder. “Honey, I got no idea about that one.” He motioned to a cab sitting at the curb. “But I imagine he knows. Tell you what, I’m not much of a shopper, especially when women are involved, so why don’t you two get that cab to take you to where you need to go and I’ll head on over to the hotel and get us checked in.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Dani sighed. “There’s just one tiny problem.”
“What’s that?” asked Jake.
“Well, you see,” Dani said, as if she was guilty of something, “Stephanie and I spent some of that money you…”
“No problem, ladies.” Jake quickly pulled out his billfold and produced another small stack of hundred dollar bills and gave each girl half.
Dani looked at her watch. “That should do it. It’s three o’clock now. How about if we meet you back at the Hyatt around six? Is that all right?”
“Perfect.” Jake leaned in and gave Dani a kiss on the cheek. “As soon as y’all get back, you’re going to need to get cleaned up quick because we’ve got some hell raising to do.”
“Sounds good.” Dani pushed her sister toward the cab. “See you in a few,” she added with a smile as Jake walked off in the other direction.
* * *
“Damn, my head hurts.” Dani rolled over on the bed, blinked her eyes a couple of times as she tried to adjust to the light in the room, then sat up. Once again, there were no sheets at all on the bed; they were strewn about the room along with the clothes she and Jake had on the night before. Noticing he was not in the bed with her, Dani said loudly, “Jake!”
“Honey, I’m in the kitchen making coffee. It’s time to get up.” He walked back into the bedroom completely naked.
“Damn, you’re not bashful, are you?” asked Dani with a laugh.
“Probably not.” Jake stood next to the bed, putting the coffee on the nightstand. “Nobody ever accused me of that before.”
“I bet not.” Dani reached over and grabbed her camera. “I need to take a picture.”
“No, no.” Jake took the camera out of her hands. He added with a laugh, “Out of all the shit you and your sister spent money on, this is the one thing I could’ve done without.”
“Why?” Dani pouted. “I like taking pictures.”
“’Cause that’s all you’ve done since you got this thing the other day is take picture after picture.” Jake put the camera back on the nightstand.
“Aw, you’re no fun.” Dani leaned back with a smile.
“Sweetheart,” said Jake with a grin, “for the last five days, all I’ve been is fun, except for the parts where I’ve been an incredible sex machine.” He put his hand on his chin as if he was in deep thought. “But that counts as fun, too, don’t it?”
“Jesus.” Dani slapped him on the leg, making him jump.
“Hey, it does for me.” Jake laughed, then the smile disappeared from his face. “Seriously, though, I’ve got to get you and your sister to the airport pretty quick. Your flight leaves in a couple of hours.”
“You mean it’s Saturday already?” Dani fell back onto the pillows.
“Yep, party’s over.” Jake sat down on the bed next to Dani.
“Awww, really, do we have to?” Dani wasn’t ready to leave him yet.
“I’m afraid so.” He reached down and rubbed her cheek.
“I don’t think that’s a very good way to look at it.” Dani rubbed Jake’s thigh. “I got news for you, cowboy. This party’s not over; it’s just begun.” She could tell her tactics were working. “And I’m really looking forward to the next go-round.”
“I like the sound of that, too.” Jake smiled. “Any chance you could come up to Oklahoma City weekend after next? Watch me win a gold buckle or two?”
“I’d love to,” Dani sighed, “but I really should get back home.”
“Phoenix?” he asked. Dani nodded. “I understand. But I tell you what, soon as finals are over, I’ll swing out that way and give you a call. What do you say?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dani was delighted that he wanted to see her again.
Jake grabbed her hand and pulled her upright in the bed. “Now, come on, you need to get ready. I got to get you girls back to Texas.”
One hour later, Jake stepped out of the cab, then helped Dani and Stephanie onto the pavement. Walking around to the back of the taxi, he lifted two brand new, large suitcases from the trunk and set them on the curb in front of the main terminal of New Orleans International Airport.
“Stephanie.” Jake stepped over and gave her a brief hug. “You see, I’m not such a bad guy after all, huh?”
“I guess not.” Stephanie returned the hug. “I had a really great time.”
Jake stepped over to Dani and wrapped her in his arms. “Honey, there’s nothing I want to do more than to get my ass back to wherever you are as soon as I can.”
Dani squeezed him tight. “Oh, yeah? What about winning a gold buckle in Oklahoma?”
Jake pulled back so he could look her in the eyes. “But that’s different.”
“How is that different?” Dani tilted her head back to look up at him.
“’Cause I want to see you more than anything.” Jake winked. “But I need that buckle, and a few more just like it, to be the greatest of all time.”
“Good answer,” said Dani with a grin. “Because if you’re going to show me the world from the presidential suites, you’re going to have to be the best damned cowboy that ever was.”
Jake chuckled and pointed at the two suitcases. “Honey, over the last few days, I got a pretty good taste of what it’s gonna take to keep you happy.”
“Oh,” said Dani affectionately, putting her he
ad on his chest, “you’re not mad about the money we spent, are you?”
“Of course not.” Jake smiled down at her. “I just need a bigger wallet, that’s all.”
Dani pulled back and playfully slapped Jake on the chest. “Well, you can get one of those after this next week. I’m pretty sure you’ll need one after you add another gold buckle to your collection.”
“You might be right.” He gave her a cocky grin. “I have a couple new endorsement deals in the works, could add up to a lot of money if I win.”
“Well, go win then.” She gave Jake a big kiss.
“Oh, geez.” Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I would tell you both to go get a room, but we have a plane to catch.”
“Yeah.” Jake stepped away from Dani. “You girls better get going.” Before he turned to get back in the cab, he added, “Sweetheart, I’ll see you soon.”
“Can’t wait.” Dani smiled sexily. She motioned a porter to grab their luggage, then waved at Jake as the cab pulled away.
“Jesus, Dani,” said Stephanie as they turned and walked toward the doors. “What the hell are you getting yourself into? You know Brandon’s birthday is next weekend. Momma and Daddy have made a big deal out of him coming out to the ranch. How are you going to juggle this?”
Dani took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “Beats the hell out of me, but I’ll work it out.”
“You’re unbelievable.” Stephanie shook her head.
“Did you have a good time?” asked Dani.
“Sure I did,” answered Stephanie, “but I’m not dating a rich country singer and banging a rodeo cowboy at the same time.” She started laughing. “You really might want to get your head examined.”
“Oh, really?” scoffed Dani, “What about your head? I am assuming you’re not going to tell your husband you slept with that football player a couple nights ago.”
“We don’t need to talk about that, do we?” asked Stephanie with a mischievous grin. “We did come out here to have some fun, right?”
“Yes, we did,” replied Dani with a smile. “But you never said how it was.”
“Disappointing.” Stephanie sighed. “He had an amazing body, but a little bitty dick.” They stepped into the air conditioning of the main terminal as she added, “I guess you can’t have everything.”
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