The Bull Rider's Secret

by Marin Thomas

  “It’s not a nickname. I was named after my grandma’s favorite singer, Stevie Nicks.” The teen wrinkled her nose. “I think she has a horrible voice.”

  “I like your name,” Ricky said.

  Stevie could have had a pimple the size of a walnut on her nose and Ricky would still have been enamored with the girl.

  Kat checked the clock. “We’d better take Stevie home.”

  “Thanks for the horse lessons, Ms. Sovo.”

  “My pleasure, Stevie.”

  “We’ll wait for you in the truck, Mom.” Ricky bolted for the door.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Murphy,” Stevie said.

  “Likewise.”

  The teens left and Brody cleared the table. Kat moved to the front window and peeked around the curtain.

  “You’re spying.”

  “Darn right, I am.” Kat gasped.

  Brody hurried to the window and stared over Kat’s shoulder. He made it in time to see Ricky lean in and kiss Stevie.

  “Oh, no.” Kat rubbed her forehead.

  “No big deal. Lots of teenagers kiss.”

  A moment later, Ricky’s hand inched up the girl’s waist.

  Uh-oh.

  Kat grabbed her jacket, then left the cabin, banging the door loudly behind her. The noise startled the teens and they jumped apart. Stevie scrambled into the truck. Ricky waited near the rear bumper.

  “You did that on purpose, Mom,” Ricky whispered as Kat approached. Checking first to see that both truck windows were shut, she answered, “Yes, I did.”

  “Teenagers kiss, you know.”

  “You were about to step over the line with Stevie.”

  “What line?”

  Lord help her. “You were going to touch her breast.”

  Ricky’s face flushed bright red. “So? I bet you’ve let guys touch your boobs.”

  “Don’t be disrespectful, young man.” Kat counted to ten while she reined in her emotions and gathered her thoughts. “I’m an adult, Ricky.”

  “So?”

  “So you should only do things that are age appropriate.”

  “You think me and Stevie are having sex, don’t you?” Ricky glared.

  “Are you?”

  “No.”

  Relief swept through Kat, leaving her light-headed. “Are you planning to?”

  “I don’t know.” Ricky shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”

  So much for relief. “Is Stevie on board with your plans?”

  “Huh?”

  “Have you and Stevie talked about having sex? About who’s going to take responsibility for using birth control? What you’ll do if she gets pregnant?”

  “Ahh…”

  “You do know that having sex is how babies are made, don’t you?”

  “Duh.”

  “Then you know that Stevie is old enough to become pregnant if you two have unprotected sex. There’s also the chance that one of you might catch a disease.”

  “You mean like AIDS?”

  This really wasn’t the time or place to discuss sex—not with Stevie waiting in the truck, but Kat feared if she postponed the talk until later Ricky would find excuses to avoid the subject.

  “Well, there’s that and other diseases like STDs.”

  “What are STDs?”

  “Illnesses that stay in your body your whole life and they can be transmitted to every person you have sex with.”

  “Do you have diseases?” Ricky asked.

  “No.” Thank goodness.

  “How do I keep from getting STDs?”

  “You use protection.”

  “You mean like a hat?”

  “Huh?”

  “Jeez, Mom. A condom. You know, those things guy roll up their—”

  “I know what a condom is, thank you.” She just hadn’t heard them called hats before. “And yes, wearing one protects you from all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases.” Now for the million dollar question. “Have you ever used a condom before?”

  “No, but they can’t be that hard to figure out.”

  “You should practice a few times to make sure you don’t tear a hole in it and risk getting the girl pregnant. The girl is trusting you to take care of her.”

  “Forget it.” Ricky turned away, but Kat grabbed his arm.

  “Sex is a serious thing, Ricky.”

  “I know. But you worry about the dumbest stuff.”

  “It’s not dumb for a parent to want to prevent their child from following the same path they did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your father got me pregnant the first time we had sex.”

  “Really?”

  “You and Stevie have your whole life ahead of you. Having a baby at your young age could interfere with Stevie’s dream of going to college and becoming a doctor. A pregnancy at her age might also put her health at risk.”

  “Did I interfere with your dreams?” Ricky asked in a hushed whisper.

  “You became my dream, honey.” She cleared her throat. “But not all women feel that way about having a baby.”

  Ricky scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the ground. “So like, was dad your first?”

  “Yes.”

  “How old was Dad?”

  “Twenty.” Old enough to know better than to have sex without a condom.

  “Did Dad pressure you into having sex?”

  “A little, but I was young and I thought I loved him.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “Truth?”

  Ricky nodded.

  “Not really.”

  Ricky’s eyes widened.

  “I wasn’t prepared for everything that would happen.”

  “Do you think I should wait to have sex?”

  “I believe it would be a good idea for you and Stevie to wait a few years.”

  “But what if she doesn’t like me in a few years?”

  “Then you won’t have wasted your first time on a girl who likes you one day and not the next.” Kat brushed a lock of hair from Ricky’s eyes. Don’t be in a rush to grow up, baby. “Sometimes when a boy and girl have sex, the girl assumes the guy really loves her and that one day they’ll get married.”

  “Did you think Dad would marry you?”

  “I’d hoped your father would want to marry me after I became pregnant with you.”

  “But he didn’t.”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  The cab door opened and Stevie leaned out. “Umm…are we leaving soon or…”

  “We’re leaving right now.” Kat patted Ricky’s shoulder then got in the truck. The drive to Stevie’s was made in silence as was the return trip to the Wild Rose. As they pulled up to the cabin, Kat saw Dr. Helman’s truck parked near the barn. “Looks like Dr. Helman stopped by to check on you.”

  She and Ricky walked down to the barn where the doctor and Brody chatted.

  “Hey, Dr. Helman,” Ricky said.

  “Howdy, Ricky.”

  Kat’s gaze swung between the doctor and Brody. “I see you’ve met Brody, Laura.” She caught Brody’s attention. “Laura’s the only doctor who does house calls.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Brody said.

  Kat watched Laura’s reaction to Brody but the tall, big-boned, plain-faced doctor appeared immune to the hot-looking bull rider.

  “Hop up, Ricky.” Laura lowered the tailgate on her truck. She rummaged through her medical bag and removed a stethoscope and penlight, which she flashed in Ricky’s eyes. Two minutes later, she pronounced, “Good as new. You can resume physical activity, but make sure you wear a helmet if you ride a bike, ATV or a horse.”

  Ricky opened his mouth to protest, and Laura said, “No exceptions, young man.” She put away her instruments and snapped the bag shut.

  Kat nodded to Brody. “Laura, would you mind taking a look at Brody’s foot. He—”

  “It’s nothing, just a few bruised toes.” Brody scowled.

  “How’d you injure your foot?” Laura asked.

&n
bsp; “A bull stepped on it,” Ricky blurted. “Brody won at bull poker yesterday.”

  “Sit up here and take off your boot.” Laura patted the tailgate.

  Brody cooperated and Laura studied his big bare foot. The swelling appeared to have gone down some but the bruising was darker.

  “Without an x-ray it’s tough to say for sure, but if I had to guess I’d say the smaller toes are fractured, probably in more than one place.” She removed a roll of medical tape and cotton batting from her bag then stuck the cotton between Brody’s toes, before taping all four toes together. “Keep the wrap on for a week and continue to ice your foot.”

  “Thanks.” Brody tugged on his sock.

  “Do you have a pair of athletic shoes you can wear until the swelling goes down?” Laura asked. “Nope.”

  “Then use this walking boot on your foot.” Laura rummaged through the backseat of the truck until she found a navy blue sandal-like contraption with Velcro straps.

  “That looks stupid,” Ricky said after Brody had the sandal on.

  “Thanks, kid.” Brody reached for his wallet. “What do I owe you, Doc?”

  “Nothing. First house call is free.” She closed the tailgate once Brody slid off.

  “I appreciate you coming by, Laura,” Kat said.

  “No problem. Nice to meet you, Brody.”

  “Likewise, Doc.”

  “How did things go?” Brody asked after Laura drove off.

  “Don’t worry,” Ricky muttered. “I’m not gonna have sex with Stevie.” He whistled between his teeth. “C’mon, Spot.”

  As soon as Ricky was out of earshot, Brody said, “Sounds like you two had a good talk.”

  “I don’t know about good, but I covered the basics.”

  “Now that you started the conversation, Ricky will come to you if he has any questions.”

  Kat hoped so. “I was a little freaked out about the whole thing this afternoon and it was nice to have someone to talk to. So thank you.”

  “Hey, what are friends for, right?” Brody said.

  “Right.” Kat watched Brody hobble to the trailer, his swagger sexier than ever as he avoided putting weight on his injured foot.

  All the talk about procreation put Kat’s hormones in a tizzy. What she wouldn’t give right this moment for a bout of steamy sex. Too bad the man she wanted to fool around with had just referred to himself as her friend.

  Chapter Nine

  Kat spied through the window Saturday night on Brody and her son. The males sat on the trailer steps deep in conversation. Two weeks had passed since her birds-and-the-bees talk with her son. When Ricky had asked to speak with Brody in private, she suspected he’d wanted Brody’s advice on girls and dating. She wished Ricky had turned to her instead. Kat hated for him to become too attached to Brody—not when the bull rider had every intention of moving on.

  Brody’s stayed a month.

  Each day that passed and Brody remained at the Wild Rose surprised and pleased Kat. She’d never admit it out loud, but with Clyde and Roger on the loose, she felt safer with a man living fifty yards from the cabin.

  Not just any man—Brody.

  Ricky wasn’t the only one becoming attached to the cowboy.

  Kat dismissed the thought. Aside from finding Brody sexually attractive, any affection she felt for him was solely based on gratitude for his help at the Wild Rose. Yeah, right. Maybe if she kept telling herself that she’d eventually believe it.

  Right then Kat’s cell phone rang. “Hey, Wes. What’s up?” The news wasn’t good. “I’m on my way.”

  She was out the door and across the drive before Brody’s voice caught up with her.

  “What’s wrong?” He hurried toward her, his limp less pronounced. Yesterday, he’d finally managed to get his boot on over his injured foot without grimacing.

  “That was Wes. Two of the horses got loose and are out on the road.”

  “I’ll help.” Ricky leaped from the top of the porch steps to the ground.

  “Honey, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the cabin.”

  Ricky swore.

  “Young man…” Kat tossed her son a warning glare.

  “Okay, I’ll stay.” He whistled for Spot. The dog trotted out of the barn and followed Ricky to the cabin.

  “Back up the truck and I’ll hook up the trailer,” Brody said.

  Kat did as he asked, then Brody secured the hitch and joined her in the front seat.

  “Wes must have been driving along the fence line when he saw the horses,” she said.

  If Kat wasn’t going to say it, Brody would. “My guess is that Roger and Clyde are behind this.” The ranch hands had been in the back of Brody’s mind all week. He’d had a hunch the two men had been biding their time, waiting for Kat’s guard to drop.

  A half mile south of the Wild Rose, Kat spotted Wes’s truck and pulled onto the shoulder. The pickup’s headlights illuminated the area and Brody saw that one of the horses had been caught and tied to the bumper of Wes’s truck. The other gelding dodged the lariat Wes failed to throw properly.

  “I’ll help Wes while you load the other horse.” Careful not to startle the skittish animal, Brody approached Wes. He noticed the trickle of blood that ran down the animal’s foreleg. Better a flesh wound than a broken bone, which would have been disastrous for the horse and Kat.

  “Need a hand?” he spoke in a hushed voice.

  “Nope,” Wes said.

  Brody smelled beer on the man’s breath. “You sure?”

  Wes flung the rope at the horse’s head and missed by a mile. Brody might stink at bull riding but years of working cattle had taught him how to lasso livestock. He made a move to retrieve the rope, but Wes snatched the lariat from the ground.

  “Back off, Murphy. I got this.” The rope smacked the horse across the nose.

  Idiot.

  The gelding spun toward the road and Brody leaped forward, preventing the animal’s escape. Not until the horse settled down did Brody feel the pain in his foot resulting from his quick reflexes. He limped past Wes and growled, “My turn.”

  Brody clicked his tongue. The sound caught the horse’s attention and the animal turned toward Brody. The rope sailed through the air and over the horse’s head, settling low on its neck. The gelding didn’t protest—the animal understood he was in good hands.

  “That’s how you lasso a horse,” Brody muttered as he led the animal to the trailer.

  “Let me check his leg before you load him.” Kat inspected the animal’s injury, then pronounced, “He doesn’t need stitches, thank goodness.” She nuzzled the gelding’s neck. “Poor baby. You must have been scared to death out here.” She moved aside and allowed Brody to coax the horse into the trailer.

  He shut the door, then spoke to Wes. “Any idea how the horses got out?”

  “Nope. As soon as I saw them standing in the middle of the road—” Wes motioned to his truck “—I stopped and called you.”

  “You should contact the sheriff, Kat,” Brody said.

  “And tell him what? We don’t have any proof that Clyde and Roger did this.” Kat’s shoulders drooped, and Brody resisted the urge to reassure her that everything would be okay, because he doubted it would. Clyde and Roger had to be stopped soon before one of their pranks went too far.

  “Might be a break in the fence line,” Wes said. “I’ll ride the perimeter of the ranch tomorrow.”

  Kat nodded. “Let me know if you find anything suspicious.”

  “Sure thing.” Wes tipped his hat, then got into his truck and drove onto the trail that led to the far side of the property and the line shack.

  “He’s drunk,” Brody said.

  “Wes is always plastered by the end of the day.”

  “You need to report this to the sheriff, Kat. You can’t rely on Wes to cover your back.”

  “I don’t have to rely on Wes—I have you.”

  If Kat had dumped a bucket of ice water on his head, Brody couldn’t have
been more stunned. What had he done or said to give Kat the impression she could count on him for the long haul?

  “Let’s not worry about it tonight. Tomorrow Wes will find where the horses escaped and repair that section of fence. Problem solved.”

  Neither spoke during the drive back to the foreman’s cabin. Kat pulled into the ranch yard then escorted the injured gelding into the barn to clean the cut on its leg. Brody released the other horse into the paddock between the barns.

  “Hey, Brody.” Ricky jogged across the ranch yard. “Everything okay?”

  “Yep. We rescued both horses.”

  “Were they hurt?”

  “One has a scrape on his leg. Your mom’s in the barn taking care of him.”

  “How’d they get free?”

  “We’re not sure. Wes is going to look for breaks in the fencing tomorrow. In the meantime, if you see anything suspicious tell your mom.”

  “Yeah, sure, but mostly I just hang out in the barns.”

  “What about when you sneak off to meet Stevie?”

  Ricky’s mouth dropped open. “How do you know about that?”

  “Wasn’t that long ago that I was a teenage boy with a crush on a girl.”

  “Are you gonna tell my mom?”

  “Depends.”

  Ricky cast an anxious glance toward the barn. “On what?”

  “On what you’re doing with Stevie when you two are alone.” Teasing the kid was kind of fun.

  “I haven’t forgotten our talk,” Ricky said.

  Brody cleared his throat. “Just remember, Stevie’s your first crush. Chances are you two will date other people before you find that special person to settle down with. Even so, you’ll always remember your first love, so treat her with respect.”

  “Do you remember your first love?” Ricky asked.

  “Sure do. Marybeth Richards. She had long, red hair, a ton of freckles and could outspit every boy in fifth grade. It was love at first sight.”

  Ricky laughed. “Why’d you break up?”

  “Marybeth left me for Todd Arnold. Todd could get four bounces when he skimmed a rock across the water. My record was two.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Sure.”

  “How do you know if it’s true love?”

  “If you end up going to school in town next year, you’ll be surrounded by lots of girls. If any of those girls make you feel the same things Stevie does, then you’ll know what you felt for Stevie was just your hormones going crazy and not true love.”