The Rodeo Star's Return (Sapphire Springs Book 1)

by Angie Campbell

  “Would you just get this over with? What did you want?” she sighed, rubbing her temples like she was trying to stave off a headache.

  “I want you to marry me,” he mumbled just barely above a whisper.

  She turned a bug-eyed look on him, her mouth dropping open. “What?”

  “I want you to marry me,” he said again, this time looking her in the eyes.

  “I’m not qualified for that,” she retorted, intentionally misunderstanding, hoping he would drop whatever prank he was trying to pull. “I’m neither a clergyman, or justice of the peace. Or judge. Whatever it is these days.”

  “You know that’s not what I mean,” he frowned.

  “Sure, I do,” she grouched. “You’re either trying to pull a very nasty prank, or you’ve lost your mind.”

  “This is no prank,” he shouted, drawing the attention of the others in the bowling alley. He looked around with a frown, then pulled her farther away from the others. “I’ve not lost my mind. I’m completely serious.”

  She gave him a concerned look. “Have you taken a recent fall and hit your head? I probably need to call your mother,” she said, sounding absent minded as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  “You don’t need to call my mother,” he said, taking a step forward to stop her from dialing the phone. “I haven’t hit my head. I’m fine.” The last thing he needed was for his mom to find out about this. She would never have a problem with him marrying Lucy. But he wasn’t sure how she would react to the reasons he was about to state for wanting to marry her. Even though she knew he was in love with her, she would most likely smack him in the back of the head, and demand he tell Lucy the truth. If she didn’t tell her, herself.

  “What is this really about, Tyler?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

  “I want you to marry me,” he answered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He rocked back on his heels, and took a deep breath. “Would you believe me if I told you I love you?”

  “That’s not funny,” she said, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

  Well, he tried the truth, and it didn’t work. He flung his hands out at his sides. “It would be for the baby, of course.”

  “Of course,” she snapped, turning her back to him. “No. Go away. Find some other sucker to marry you and take care of her while you’re off, running around,” she whispered, barely holding back the tears. The last thing she wanted was for him to marry someone else, but she didn’t think she could survive being married to him, knowing he didn’t love her.

  “This is not about me having someone there to take care of her while I run around.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and blew out a breath. “I need to get married, if I’m going to keep her. They’re not sure I’m fit to be a father, but they’re willing to give me a chance if I can prove I have a stable home life for her.”

  “Which means what to me?” she asked, still not willing to look at him.

  “Well, you’ve already pointed out my taste in women is questionable,” he shrugged. “At least I’ve known you long enough to know you’ll make a wonderful wife and mother.”

  “Whatever,” she shrugged, walking around him, heading for the front door. All she wanted right then was to get away from him.

  “Please, Lucy,” he pleaded. “At least think about it.”

  “Why don’t you ask someone else. I can make a few suggestions,” she snarled. “Why don’t you start with Brandy Drake? You could probably get her to marry you, no matter what reason you gave her.”

  “That’s not funny, Lucy,” he growled, slamming his hands on his hips. “That woman is evil, and you know it.”

  “Then why were you such good friends with her in school?”

  “I have never been friends with her. I used to cross the street to keep from having to walk past her on the sidewalk.”

  “Fine, I’ll have to think about it,” she said, throwing her hands in the air. She’d tell him whatever she had to, to get away from him right now. “You’re going to have to give me some time.”

  “Okay. Is twenty-four hours enough?” he asked with a big smile. “I can give you till this time tomorrow. I need to marry quickly.”

  “Fine, I’ll let you know tomorrow,” she huffed before slamming out the door.

  “Great!” he shouted after her, knowing she probably didn’t her him. “See you then.”

  *******

  Zane plopped down beside Tyler and gave him a curious look. “You okay, Ty? You look crossed somewhere between terrified and elated.”

  He looked over at him with a kind of dazed look. “I asked Lucy to marry me.”

  Zane gave him the same bug-eyed look Lucy had when he first asked her. “What?”

  “I asked Lucy to marry me,” he said a lot slower this time.

  “Lucy Cranes?” he asked, shaking his head as if to clear it.

  “Of course,” he grinned. “The one and only.”

  Zane chuckled and shook his head. “How did that work out?” he smirked.

  His face lost its smile for a few seconds. “I don’t know yet. She hasn’t answered yet.”

  “Now, don’t frown,” Zane said, trying to bolster his confidence. “It’ll work out.”

  Tyler bobbed his head, still feeling a little shell shocked. “I hope so.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe us when we told you she was in love with you,” Zane said, sounding confused.

  He shook his head, “I still don’t.”

  Zane frowned and shook his head again. “Okay? Then why did you ask her to marry you?”

  He gave him an incredulous look, feeling like the answer should be obvious. “Because I am in love with her.”

  “The whole town knows you’re in love with Lucy. Except for Lucy,” he said, stressing the last part.

  “That is not a comforting thought,” Tyler snorted.

  “What’s changed? You were never willing to risk it before.”

  He shrugged. “Things are different. I have a daughter to worry about. I need to settle down.”

  Zane gave him a dubious look. “You’ve always wanted to settle down.”

  “Yeah, I know I’ve always wanted to, but now I need to.” He took a deep breath, rubbing the middle of his chest. “And I don’t want anyone but Lucy.”

  “Believe me, I understand how that works.”

  “How is Amanda doing, by the way?”

  Zane shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. Even with Tyler. “Better, but I’m still worried.”

  “Is she still with Austin?”

  “Yeah, but I get the feeling she doesn’t want to be. She just won’t talk about it.”

  “You still think he’s hitting her?”

  “I know for sure he has in the past. Even if he’s not right now, you know as well as I do, he’ll eventually revert back to his abusive ways?”

  “You may have it worse than I do,” Tyler said with a doleful expression.

  “How do you figure that?”

  “At least I know Lucy’s not being abused.”

  Zane rubbed a hand over his brow and sighed. “Yeah, it’s pretty rough. So, why’s it taking so long for Lucy to decide?”

  “I told her I was asking for Montana’s sake.” He cringed. “I told her I needed to be married and settled, or they might take her from me if the mother came back to get her.”

  Zane gave him a disgruntled look, throwing his hands out to his sides. “You shot yourself in your own foot.”

  “Maybe not,” he replied, not sounding too convinced.

  “Right?”

  “Come on. You never know. She really likes children.”

  “Let’s hope that’s enough to get her to say yes.”

  Tyler sighed. “Yeah, let’s hope so. I wanted to tell her I loved her.”

  “Then, why didn’t you?”

  “I asked her if she would believe me, and she said that wasn’t funny. I was too afraid to take the chance.”

  Zane shook his head at h
im, wondering if he had landed on his head a few too many times when he was still riding the rodeo. “So, what happens if she does agree to marry you?”

  “I marry her as fast as I can, and then spend the rest of my life trying to get her to love me.”

  “Tyler, she already loves you,” he grouched, wishing a smack on the back of the head would be enough to knock some sense into him.

  “You think I could get her to run off to Vegas with me? I don’t want to give her time to change her mind.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better if the wedding was something she wants to remember? Women are funny like that. Not to mention, your mother will probably skin you alive.”

  “We could always have a wedding on our anniversary once she’s in love with me.”

  Zane groaned, rubbing his chest. He was starting to get heartburn. He wasn’t sure if it was from all the pizza and nachos he had eaten, or Tyler’s hard head. It was probably those last two chili dogs he ate. “She’s in love with you, now,” he nearly shouted.

  “Maybe.”

  “No, not maybe,” Zane sighed. “Definitely.”

  “I wish I could just take you at your word, but she’s always angry at me.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “What do you mean, you know?”

  “If she didn’t have feelings for you, she wouldn’t be angry with you all the time.”

  “Well, if you know so much, why is she always angry at me.”

  “I don’t know the answer to that one. You’ll have to ask her.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that will work wonders.”

  Zane gave him a skeptical look. “I don’t think she’ll go to Vegas. I think she’ll demand a wedding.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Tyler grimaced. “I really do want to do this quickly. I don’t want to give her time to think.”

  “You already said that.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

  “You. Are. Crazy.”

  Tyler grinned. “As long as I’ve been in love with her, I don’t doubt it.”

  Zane chuckled. “I tell you what. I’ll have Mom get ready for a wedding in the backyard. She would be happy to work with both your mom, and Lucy’s mom.”

  “She’s supposed to give me her answer tomorrow.”

  “Then the wedding could be next Saturday.”

  “Sure, that would work. I’m sure my mom would be happy to work with your mom and Mrs. Cranes.”

  “Good,” Zane nodded. “It just won’t be anything fancy.”

  “I don’t think Lucy would mind something simple. I know I won’t.”

  Chapter 9 – Sunday, May 12

  Lucy sat down across the table from Jenny and gave the waitress her drink order. She had asked both Jenny and Jessie to meet her at the restaurant in the Honeysuckle Inn. She had called Mary Ellen, but had only gotten her voice mail. She had left a message telling her where they would be, so she could show up as well before they were done. Any other time, they would have met at the Sapphire Café, but it was always closed on Sunday mornings until one, so the owners could go to church.

  As soon as the waitress walked off, not giving her time to even pick up her menu, Jenny demanded answers. “Okay, spill it. What’s going on?” Lucy sighed and shook her head, not sure how to start.

  “Come on. Just spit it out,” Jessie urged.

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping to expel some of her nervous energy. “That crazy fool asked me to marry him,” she blurted out in one long breath.

  Jenny stopped with her glass of water half way to her lips and stared at her like she had grown a second head.

  “I don’t see how that makes him a fool,” Jessie spurted, having just taken a drink of her tea. It took her several seconds of coughing, and a couple of smacks to her sternum after having some of the sweet liquid go down the wrong way, before she could speak again. She thumped her glass back down on the table and grinned back at Lucy. “That’s what you’ve wanted since tenth grade.”

  Their waitress had just returned with Lucy’s water, so they paused in their discussion long enough for the three of them to give their orders. Once the young woman had walked off, heading back to the kitchen, they picked back up where they had left off like there had never been an interruption.

  “It was eighth grade,” she huffed.

  “I agree with Jessie,” Jenny said, finally shaking off the shock. “I don’t see how it makes him a fool. Brave, yeah. But a fool, no.”

  “Why would you say he was brave?” she asked, furrowing her brow, trying to decide if she felt hurt or not. “He asked me to marry him. He didn’t take on a whole army by himself.”

  “For Tyler, you are like taking on a whole army. He would never lift a finger to hurt you. Even if you took a baseball bat to him,” Jenny said, giving her a matter-of-fact look.

  “I would never hurt Tyler,” Lucy gasped. “Why would you think that?”

  Jenny rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I know you would never hurt him. That’s not what I meant.”

  “Well,” she huffed. “What did you mean?”

  “I just meant he would never hurt you. And you don’t make life easy for him. That’s why I feel it’s brave of him to ask you to marry him,” Jenny grinned. “I’m sure you won’t make it any easier for him once you’re married.”

  Lucy shook her head. “I’m not going to marry him.”

  “What?” the other two exclaimed together.

  She sighed and shook her head. “You heard me.”

  “Yeah, but you’re in love with him.” Jessie sighed, glancing over at Jenny, “Now I see why you say he’s brave.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I can’t marry him.”

  “Why not?” Jenny asked with concern.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.

  “Oh, no,” Jessie snorted. “You don’t get to just drop a bomb like that, then try to clam up. Why can’t you marry him?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” she fired back.

  Jessie snorted, “No, not particularly.”

  “He’s not in love with me.”

  “Lucy…”

  Lucy frowned and cut Jessie off before she could get truly wound up. “I don’t want to be married to someone who doesn’t love me. No matter how much I love him.”

  Jenny and Jessie both looked at each other before turning a concerned look back at her. Jenny sighed. “Lucy, we’ve been over this before. He loves you. He’s loved you just as long as you have him.”

  “Really?” she snorted, raising her eyebrows.

  “Yes, really.”

  She sighed, doing her best not to cry. “Then why did he ask me to marry him for the baby’s sake?”

  “He what?” Jenny chuckled.

  “This is not funny. And you heard me.”

  Jenny was laughing so hard she snorted. She took a deep breath, struggling to speak. “Yeah, you’re right. I heard you,” she agreed.

  Lucy gave her a dirty look and picked up her dessert menu to hide behind. “This isn’t funny, Jenny.” She was about to cry, and she wanted nothing more than to drop the subject.

  “You must have misunderstood,” Jessie said, looking confused.

  “I did not misunderstand,” she mumbled, disappearing behind the dessert menu once again before giving a sniffle. I hate crying over that jerk.

  “Hey, don’t cry,” Jenny soothed, pulling the menu out of her hands. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

  “I don’t believe anything will ever be fine, ever again,” she grumbled, wiping a tear from her eye.

  “Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” Jenny asked with a grin.

  “No, I don’t. I’ve been in love with the jerk since eighth grade. Even knowing what he thought of me… Thinks of me. I still haven’t gotten over him. There’s not much chance I ever will.”

  Jenny shook her head. “You don’t need to get over him. You just need to marry him. He loves you.”

  “No, he doesn’t. He asked m
e to marry him for the baby. Nothing else.”

  Jessie shook her head, doing her best to understand how Lucy felt right then. “How can you be sure?”

  Lucy huffed. “His exact words were, ‘It would be for the baby, of course’. I don’t really think there would be a way to misunderstand that.”

  Jessie shook her head with incredulity. “Surely that’s not what he said.”

  “I’m sure that’s what he said,” Jenny said, barely holding back a laugh.

  Lucy sighed, wrapping her arms around her middle. “Yeah, that’s what he said.”

  “Yeah, but what he really wanted to say was, ‘I’m a doofus, and I’m going to tell you this, instead of why I really want to marry you’,” Jessie grouched.

  “Oh, come on,” Jenny replied. “Don’t you see what he’s trying to do?”

  “Yeah,” Lucy snapped. “He wants a mother for his daughter.”

  “If that was all he wanted, he could have asked any number of women. Ones he knew would say yes,” Jenny snorted. “Starting with Brandy Drake.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t,” Lucy huffed.

  “No sane person would trust that woman with a baby,” Jessie snarled. “She’d probably lock that little angel in a closet.”

  Jenny sighed. “Jessie, don’t be that way. Even Brady Drake can change if she wants to.”

  “You do remember what she done to my brother, don’t you?”

  “Sure, but he’s moved on to bigger and better things.”

  “No, he hasn’t. That’s just what he wants everyone to believe,” Jessie grumbled. “That’s why he moved away from here. To get away from her. He didn’t want to get caught in a cycle where he kept taking her back.”

  “Okay, but things can still change.”

  “Yeah, but you know as well as I do, she doesn’t want to change. She likes being a back-stabbing witch. And a cheat.”

  A shadow fell over the table and a bright cheery voice said, “Hey, ladies, can I join you?”

  “Well hello, Mary Ellen. Yes, please, have a seat,” Jessie grinned. “Is it just luck that you found us, or did you get a call as well?”

  “She left a message on my voice mail, asking me to show up if I could,” she answered, pulling out a chair to take a seat. “You know how polite our Lucy is.”