The Rodeo Rider (Harlequin American Romance)

by Roxann Delaney

  “They keep me going. Doesn’t matter to them how good or bad I ride, they’re always behind me, cheering me on.”

  “Has it always been that way?” she asked.

  “They’re good people. If somebody needs help, there’s always someone or a bunch of someones who are there and ready to lend a helping hand, no matter what it is.”

  She admired the way people in a small town pulled together. She’d never been aware of the same in Wichita, but then, it was a large city and she didn’t have a lot of opportunities to socialize. Her career took up the bulk of her time. Why, she didn’t even know her neighbors in the apartment building where she lived!

  “I’d better get back to the ranch,” he said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. “There’s work to be done before the shindig on Friday. You’ll be there, right?”

  She knew he was talking about Desperation’s upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Beth and several other women in the community had talked her into helping the next day to set up for the community barbecue on Friday. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “The rodeo, too?”

  His serious expression told her he wasn’t joking, and she wondered if it had anything to do with his proposition. “Well…”

  “That’s what I figured,” he said with a curt nod, his mouth turning down in a frown. “Tell Beth hello for me.”

  He turned around to walk back the way they’d come, leaving Jules totally baffled. With a sigh of frustration, she continued on her way. She couldn’t help it if her heart lodged in her throat every time she saw someone climb on a horse. She suspected it would be even worse to watch Tanner ride again, now that she was getting to know him.

  As she continued down the street, she checked the sky again. “Rain,” she chuckled, turning the corner onto the street where Beth’s little house was. “He must be kidding.”

  “YOU MIGHT TRY paying more attention to what we’re doing,” Shawn said.

  Tanner looked across the long table he and his nephew were carrying. “I am,” he insisted.

  “No, you’re not.” Shawn grinned. “You haven’t stopped looking at Jules since we got here.”

  Tanner started to deny it, but decided it wouldn’t do any good. “It’s hard not to.”

  They set the table on the ground in the empty lot between two buildings, and Shawn reached to unfold the legs on his end. “So why don’t you go talk to her?”

  “Because I’m working.”

  “I can set up the table on my own. I’m not a kid.”

  As far as Tanner was concerned, his nephew wasn’t an adult, either, but he didn’t mention it. Instead, he glanced at Jules, who was helping Beth with banners he hoped they wouldn’t hang, considering the weather that was in store for them all. “I think I’ll pass.”

  The evening was still young, leaving plenty of time until dark to get everything set up for the Fourth of July celebration the next day. Even though it was hot and humid, the people who had gathered in town were smiling as they worked. But Tanner hadn’t failed to notice that the air seemed almost to drip with moisture, and he could see the tops of storm clouds, growing and beginning to move over them. He’d been teasing Jules the day before about smelling the approaching rain, but now he could. It wasn’t a good sign, and he knew that when the rain came, those banners wouldn’t last through the night. All anybody could hope for was that the threatening rain would be gone by morning. Desperation’s Fourth of July celebration always drew a big crowd, and he couldn’t remember a time that it hadn’t been a success.

  “You know, Uncle Tanner,” Shawn said, dragging him from his thoughts, “you’re ten kinds of stubborn.”

  Chuckling, Tanner gave in to the verbal nudge and left the table setup to Shawn. Walking over to where the women were working, he greeted them. “Sure hope those banners don’t get wet.”

  Jules turned to look at him. “You keep talking about rain, but I haven’t seen it yet.”

  “Have you taken a look at the sky?”

  She looked up and her shoulders slumped. “I see what you mean. You were right about the—”

  Before she could finish, thunder rumbled and the rain hit, coming down in wet sheets. Everyone scrambled and began running for cover, while Jules and Beth hurried to grab the few banners they’d hung. “And to think we thought it was a good night to walk,” Beth said to Jules.

  Tanner made room for them under the green-and-white-striped awning of the pharmacy and waved them over. “Don’t worry about it, Beth. We’ll give you a ride home. We brought Bridey’s car, so there’s room for two more.”

  “If the rain doesn’t stop soon, we’ll take you on up that,” Beth said. “Thanks.”

  Jules didn’t look nearly as grateful as Beth did. In fact, she looked downright worried.

  “Is it something I said?” Tanner asked, leaning closer.

  Shaking her head, Jules held up the wet, drooping banners. “No, not really. I’m concerned that this rain will ruin the celebration.”

  He wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her. Why would she care? This wasn’t her hometown. She was only a visitor. But the worry in her eyes told him he was wrong. She was proving that his first impression of her was about as far off as possible.

  “They’ll dry,” he told her, taking a few of the banners from her. “We’ll just spread them out overnight.”

  “I don’t know where. Beth’s little house is full to the brim right now with wedding preparations.”

  Her disappointment touched him, and he felt the need to buoy her spirits. “Then we’ll put them in the trunk of the car and I’ll take them home. There’s plenty of room on the big dining table at the ranch.”

  “But how will we ever get them put up tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be in early for the rodeo and can do it then.”

  “Not by yourself, you can’t,” she pointed out.

  “Right,” Beth said. “We can meet you here in the morning and get it done. If it isn’t still raining, that is.”

  Tanner leaned out and looked at the clouds above them. “It won’t be. I’d lay odds it’ll clear up in no time at all.”

  Jules frowned again, and Tanner suspected it was because of the mention of the rodeo.

  “I’ll just go find Wanda and let her know we have a Plan B,” Jules hurried to say, using the chairwoman of the committee to escape.

  “I’ll do it,” Beth interjected. “There’s something else I need to talk to her about, anyway. I’ll meet you both back here in a few minutes.”

  Left alone, neither Jules nor Tanner spoke, while the clouds moved on and the rain stopped. Jules finally broke the silence between them. “Now might be a good time to tell me about that proposition.”

  Tanner really wasn’t in the mood to divulge it. “I’ve changed my mind. It’s off the table.”

  “When was it on the table?”

  Even though he knew he shouldn’t say anything, he couldn’t stop himself. “I get the impression you don’t like rodeos, but it wouldn’t be the Fourth of July if I didn’t compete. I always ride, either here or somewhere else.”

  “When did I say I didn’t like rodeo?”

  “You’ve never said you liked it,” he countered.

  “I simply…” She shook her head and turned away.

  It was a good thing Beth and Bridey caught up with them, followed by Rowdy and Shawn. With them around, he didn’t have to continue the conversation. Whatever burr Jules had under her saddle was making him sore. Why the hell did he have to be attracted to a rodeo-hating woman? Of all the females he’d encountered over the years, only she caused the feelings he wanted to deny. One, especially, he thought with a silent, disgusted snort as he walked away from all of them.

  “Where’s the car?” he hollered over his shoulder.

  Shawn caught up with him. “Rowdy dropped us off and parked the car. It has to be around here somewhere.”

  Tanner searched the street. The storm clouds blocked the sun, and the day had turn
ed to twilight. He could see several vehicles lining both sides of the block, where people had begun moving around again, but Bridey’s car was nowhere to be found.

  Shawn pointed farther away to a lot near the baseball field. “There it is.”

  Tanner headed in that direction, not caring if the others kept up with him or not. “Rowdy, give me the keys,” he called when he reached the car. Angry with himself for being fool enough to let a woman get to him, he muttered a few choice words, not caring if anyone heard him.

  Rowdy came up beside him and handed him the keys. “What’s got you so all-fired mad?”

  “Nothing.” He unlocked the door, handed the keys to Shawn and gave him the banners he’d been carrying. “Stow these banners and the ones the women have in the trunk.” Climbing into the car, he unlocked the doors and waited while the others packed the banners away and discussed who would sit where. “If we don’t get out of here now, we’ll be here all night,” he grumbled.

  The next thing he knew, Jules was beside him on the front bench seat, with Rowdy next to her, while Bridey, Shawn and Beth scrambled into the back. Shawn quietly handed him the keys, and Tanner started the engine. Jules sat in wooden silence. He tried to ignore her, but every place her body touched his, he felt heat. Shoulder. Arm. Her hip and thigh pressed against his. “Give me some room,” he growled.

  Jules instantly moved away. Muttering again, Tanner slammed the car into drive, flipped on the headlights and stomped the accelerator. They didn’t move.

  “Hell and damnation,” he swore, not caring about the women in the car. “What did you do, Rowdy, park in a mud hole?”

  “Weren’t any mud when I parked it here,” Rowdy replied.

  Tanner reached for the door handle and shoved the door with his shoulder, only to be rewarded with pain. “Damn!”

  After unlocking the door, he repeated the action and jumped from the car. “Everybody out.”

  It didn’t take long for the vehicle to empty. He walked to the back of the car and studied the situation. Sure enough, the rear tires were sunk deep in the mud. If it hadn’t been for his temper, they’d be on their merry way.

  “I’ll have to push. Shawn, get behind the wheel.” Tanner braced his hands on the trunk.

  “We’ll help,” he heard Jules say.

  “The hell you will.”

  Placing herself next to him, she shoved him over with a bump of her hip and gave him a quick but potent glare. “Beth, you get on the other side of him. Rowdy, you watch the tires.”

  “Jules—”

  “Be quiet, Tanner!” she snapped. “It’ll be faster this way. We’ll have it out before you know it.”

  She leaned around him to say something to Beth, and he got a view down the front of her top. His mouth went dry at the sight of the curve of her breast.

  “Get ready,” she said, jerking his attention back to the problem. “Ready?”

  Tanner could only nod.

  “Okay, Shawn, do it easy.”

  He heard the engine, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jules pushing with all her might, her head down like a ram. Swearing under his breath, he put every ounce of strength he had into pushing the car out of the mud.

  In one sudden jerk, the car took off.

  “Hold it, Shawn,” he shouted, and grabbed at Beth, who scrambled to stay upright beside him. Steadying her, he turned to his other side and saw Jules on her knees, rising from the mud. Unable to move, he watched her pull herself to her feet and look down at her clothes. She had mud stuck from her legs to her chest. Splatters of it speckled her face, and the ends of her long hair were coated with it.

  He reached over to brush back a strand of hair, the silkiness of it sliding through his fingers. “I gotta say this.” He had to choke back the laughter that threatened to erupt. “You look real good in mud, darlin’.”

  EVEN IF HE HAD WANTED to, Tanner couldn’t have stopped looking for Jules in the crowd the next evening. Not only did it appear that the entire town of Desperation had turned out for the Fourth of July celebration, a good hundred or more from the surrounding towns had, too.

  Strings of tiny white lights lined the main street that led to the park at the end of the downtown area. Aglow with thousands of the same lights, the park held the main attractions of the evening and the majority of the partygoers.

  “There’s Beth and Jules,” Shawn said.

  Tanner looked in the direction his nephew indicated, but didn’t see anyone resembling the duo. His gaze swept through the throng of people heading for the celebration, past two women and back again. He opened his eyes wider and stared. “That can’t be Jules!”

  When she stopped a few feet in front of him, the brim of a straw cowboy hat shielding her face, he reached out to tip it back with one finger and peer beneath it. “Jules, is that you?”

  She smiled and her gaze met his. “Good evening, Tanner.”

  He jerked his hand away as if he’d touched a hot branding iron. What was he doing? Getting himself wrapped up in a relationship with this woman would be dangerous, but regardless, he was only too aware of her standing an arm’s length away. He wanted to touch her, but instead, he moved away, putting more space between them.

  “She cleans up real nice, doesn’t she, Beth?” he finally said. Her dive in the mud the night before—a situation even she had eventually found the humor in and laughed about—had been the last time he’d seen her. He’d been running late that morning and had only had time to drop off the dried banners before heading for the rodeo grounds.

  “Now, Tanner,” Beth said, obviously hiding a chuckle.

  Jules didn’t bother to hide anything and laughed aloud. “It’s all right, Beth. I’d say we’re even now.”

  “Are we going to the dance or not?” Shawn demanded.

  Beth put a hand on his shoulder. “Of course we are.”

  “Then let’s go.” He led the way toward the sounds of a live band, until they finally found a place to stop where they could be part of the celebration. The crowd encircled a makeshift dance floor, where dancers moved in unison to the voice of a nasal-twanged caller, standing on the brilliantly lit gazebo in the park.

  “Not bad,” Tanner said from directly behind Jules.

  The four of them stood and watched the square dance, and after two more numbers, the dancers took a break. The caller and traditional music were replaced by more current country music, and several couples in the crowd began two-stepping around the floor.

  When Tanner placed a hand on Jules’s shoulder, he felt her jump beneath his touch. He slid his arm around her shoulders and moved her through the crowd of onlookers. “It’s time you learned the two-step, darlin’.”

  She looked up at him as they stepped into a vacant spot in the circle. “Tanner, I don’t think—”

  “That’s right,” he said, seeing only indecision and not fear in her green eyes, “don’t think. Just do what I tell you.”

  “I don’t even like—”

  “You will.” As he turned her around to face him, he put his hand on her shoulder near the curve of her neck. “Trust me, darlin’.”

  She met his gaze and he saw the wariness in her eyes.

  Taking her hand in his, he smiled. “It’s real simple. Just follow my lead.”

  She followed and moved with him. “Like this?”

  “Yeah, yeah, almost.” He moved her hand, placing it on the crook of his arm. “Try it again.”

  “Tanner,” she breathed, her smile wavering, “are you trying to seduce me?”

  His own smile stretched to a grin and he chuckled. “Now, darlin’, here I am trying to teach you to dance and you accuse me of something like that.”

  She nodded her head, her answering smile disbelieving. “Uh-huh.”

  He detected the sarcasm. “Dance,” he ordered with a laugh.

  Jules complied and shortly had the basics down. He danced her around the makeshift floor once, keeping out of the path of more experienced dancers. With practice,
she’d be as good as the others. Next weekend, he’d take her to someplace nice and show her off—”

  His step faltered. “Sorry, darlin’,” he said automatically.

  What was he doing, making plans as if there was going to be some sort of future with her in it? He had the National Finals Rodeo to get to and maybe even win. His future was already planned. Nothing would get in his way. Nothing.

  But the woman in his arms wasn’t “nothing.” If he gave in to this attraction, would she eventually walk away? His past told him she would. How long would it take? And if she did, would it be so bad?

  Beth and Michael danced by and offered Jules encouragement. As the song ended and a slow number began, Tanner found that her hat kept him from getting as close as he’d like, so he swept it from her head and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “My hat!”

  “Don’t you worry about your hat, darlin’. I won’t let anything happen to it.” He bounced it on her bottom. When she smiled and slipped her arms around his neck, he knew he couldn’t walk away from whatever this was, no matter the consequences. He’d deal with them later. Right now, his future was the second thing on his mind, right after how good it felt to hold her.

  “About that proposition,” he said, his lips against her silky hair.

  She pulled back far enough to look up at him. “Now?”

  He stared down into her green eyes. “It’s as good a time as any.”

  “If you say so.”

  There was a wariness in her eyes he decided to ignore. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he reminded himself. “At the fund-raiser, you talked about helping kids, so I thought maybe you might be interested in a trade-off.”

  “Like what?” The wariness in her eyes increased.

  “With Beth busy all day, I was thinking you might be looking for something to keep you busy. Maybe you could come out to the ranch for a few hours. Get some insight into what we can do about Shawn.”

  Jules immediately shook her head. “No, that’s not a good idea.”

  Not ready to take no for an answer, he kept his voice low. “Hear me out. You’d be doing me a favor. Shawn’s been a real handful lately, and he seems to have taken to you. He needs a friend right now—even if it is some cowboy-hating city girl.”