All Flash No Cash (12 page)

Pete couldn’t help wondering if Dax was
right. “I don’t know. I just want to get her to admit she has
them feelings
for me; the dirt farmer. Not the man with a
big bank account.”

Shaw scratched his head, snarling his brown
hair. “Sounds like the same thing with me and Harper. She thought I
was a roughneck, working the oil fields to get rich and retire
early in some big citified house.” He laid his forearms on the
table. “I let her go on thinking that, even when I owned a ranch,
and was working the Bakken to save money for cattle.”

“How did that turn out when she found out the
truth?” Huck’s rhetorical question was asked as a warning for
Pete.

“Not good, but it worked out.” Shaw stood.
“Pete, just be careful. Harper is a very different kind of woman
than CJ. And your CJ might not be as forgiving as my woman.”

Pete nodded. “What choice do I have, though?
If I drive down there tonight with a printout of my bank balance,
and she professes her never-ending love, how will I know it’s not
the dollar signs that she wants in her life?”

“Shit.” Dax stood, too. “You got a mess,
son.” He yawned. “I’m going to bed. We’ll finish this game
tomorrow.”

Huck got to his feet. “You wanna talk some,
little brother?”

Pete shook his head. “I need some time to
think.” He got up and pulled the bottle of whiskey from the top of
the refrigerator. “And drink.” He caught the look his friends shot
each other. “Just one. I promise you won’t hear me cryin’ two hours
from now.”

“Go ahead and cry.” Shaw headed into the room
they shared. “Just do it out there on the couch, okay?” He chuckled
as he shut the door.

Friday morning, CJ sat in her office with the
photographer and chose a picture for the advertising push. She sent
it to her graphic designer with all the details. By Wednesday,
they’d be selling tickets, plastering posters all over the county,
and flashing PG-rated commercials on the local TV channels.

As she wandered from her office out the back
door, she avoided looking at the garage. This weekend, Pete would
be on his ranch, and she would be here. Working. Visiting Dad.
Working some more. She climbed the steps to her apartment.

No one to make her coffee, offer her eggs for
breakfast. “Yuck.” But it was the thought that she appreciated. No
one to tuck in when he passed out on his bed.

“Hell.” His parting words echoed in her head
a hundred times an hour.
You are all I want.
How was a
person supposed to get over hearing that? It’d scared the tar out
of her, then had become a persistent call, making her question her
goals and priorities.

What did
she
want? For so long, it had
been the urge to travel that kept her moving at full-speed, and
kept her from going crazy with the loneliness she’d ended up
embracing. Once her dad no longer needed her… She stopped on the
first landing. He was getting worse so quickly, it could be only
months.

CJ started climbing as a chill fall wind blew
leaves around in circles on the pavement below. She’d intentionally
kept her friendships to a minimum. Had pushed away any
relationships that would make her grow roots in this town.

She stepped into her apartment and wandered
down the hall to the guest room. Why hadn’t she washed the sheets
after he left? The room seemed to close in, oxygen felt hard to
come by. Lying down, she pressed her face into the pillow, catching
his scent, earthy man mixed with paint.

He was a good guy. Solid and honest, sexy as
a fresh load of sin. She’d love to have him in her bed again. And
again, and again, and again. But would that be too risky? Would her
heart take hold and never want to let go?

Halloween took forever to come, and the
evening of the Bash, CJ looked at every face that came into the
huge tent set up in the back parking lot. Looking for Pete. The
last few weeks, she’d nearly dialed his number a dozen times.
Something held her back, and intensified her struggle between
needing him and needing freedom.

Grabbing a bottle from the rack behind the
portable bar, she stared again at the black nail polish she’d
painted on that afternoon. Silly, but it matched the shiny black
cat-ear headband she’d dug out of her Halloween costume box. A
black sweatshirt, jeans, and her hightop sneakers with orange
laces, and she was in costume.

The tent was filled nearly to capacity, and
Dolby and his son Jake kept track of the headcount here and in the
bar itself. The band loaded in their equipment, setting up on a
small stage in front of an even smaller dance floor. The noise
level wasn’t too bad with just the voices of the drinkers, the high
peaks of the tent absorbing most of it, but once the band got
going…

A tall man wearing a dark cowboy hat over his
brown hair walked into the tent. Behind him, a petite woman with
gorgeous red hair stepped inside, looked around, then reached
behind her to take another cowboy’s hand.

Pete?

Her heart stopped for a few seconds. His
black cowboy hat sat tipped back on his head, his T-shirt had a
rodeo logo on it, and his jeans looked brand new.

Pete. With another woman. Had he brought her
to show CJ he was over her already? “Stop it.” She had to blink
away the urge to cry.

Two more cowboys followed them in and…holy
shit, did Pete have a twin brother? She could tell them apart, but
just barely. The five of them walked to the corner where the
motorcycle sat on a triangular riser, two mirrors showing off all
sides of the bike under the bright lights. A velvet rope kept
anyone from getting too close, and a huge, round mesh barrel next
to it was nearly full of raffle tickets.

CJ craned to get a look at Pete. The redhead
had let go of his hand, and the tall cowboy who’d come in first had
his arm around her. The relief flowing through her was ridiculous.
Why should she care if Pete had another woman?

Pulling her lip gloss from her pocket, she
smeared some on and walked in their direction.

Pete’s twin took one of the business cards
she’d set up near the bike. Pete had sent her a hundred, and they
were almost gone. This bike would make his career.

“Hi.”

They turned. She’d never felt as scrutinized
as she did at that moment. She swallowed down her nerves. “Glad you
could make it.” She pointed to a table near the bike with a big
“Reserved” sign on it. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring you something
to drink.”

Pete stepped forward. “CJ Overton, I’d like
you to meet Harper Johanson, Shaw Donahue, Dax Marshall, and my
brother, Huck.”

She shook hands with each of them. “Thanks
for coming. What can I get you to drink?” CJ wanted to be away from
this group right now. Pete must have confided in them, and they
each looked a little wary of her.

“Beer?” Pete looked at each of them. Getting
their approval, he turned to CJ. “Let me help.” They walked to one
of the portable bars and she poured five plastic cups full of tap
beer. When Pete pulled out his wallet, she shook her head. “Free
tonight.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Free forever, Pete.” She set
beer in front of him. “We’ve never sold even a tenth this many
raffle tickets before. Thank you. We’ve already hit twenty-five
thousand dollars.”

He picked up two of the full cups. “I’m
honored to be part of this, CJ.”

His words made her a little sad. She’d made
the whole experience a challenge for him, and it hadn’t had to be
that way. But at least he saw who she really was. No sugar-coating.
She picked up the last three beers and walked out from behind the
bar.

She led the way to their table.

“How’s your dad?” Setting the beer down, she
realized her hands were shaking. “He’s about the same. We thought
of bringing him here, but he wouldn’t have understood.” She dropped
her head, took some breaths, and regained her composure. “But I
showed him pictures of the bike, and he smiled so wide, Pete…”
Again, she had to force down emotion.

With a soft touch on her arm, he tipped his
head. “I’m glad. He’s a special man to have raised such a strong,
independent daughter.”

Strong. Independent.
That was her. Not
loveable and cuddly and cute. She turned to the four sitting at the
table, who were staring intently at her. “We have a limited menu
tonight, but order up whatever you want. On the house.” She nodded
to Pete and walked away.

****

Pete watched her go. Her almost-playful side,
the nail polish and cat ears, her only concession to the holiday.
Had she even thought about him the last two weeks? Or was she tough
enough to forget and move on without a backward glance.

Just then, she stopped and turned to look at
him.

His eyebrows shot up. That was
unexpected.

She went back to work and Pete sat next to
Harper. “How was the rodeo circuit this year?”

With a glance at Shaw, she shrugged. “It gets
long and lonely on the road so much. And with the head offices and
my apartment in Chicago, I’m not getting to see my cowboy
enough.”

Shaw threw his arm around the back of her
chair. “I’m trying to talk her into moving closer, working for a
local beverage distributor.”

Shaw worked on the Bakken, saving up the
money to stock the Lemmon, South Dakota ranch he’d inherited from
his grandparents. Pete had no doubt that once he had his stake,
he’d swoop Harper up and move her into the old ranch house with
him.

“I bet CJ could help with that.” Dax set down
the bar-food menu and waved over the waitress.

Shaw and Harper looked at Pete.

He nodded. “I can ask.” He looked toward the
bar where she was working. The line was eight people deep. Pete
turned back to his friends. “Maybe I’ll wait a bit.”

Harper laughed. “Yeah, that might be a good
idea.”

Dax ordered everyone a hamburger, and large
orders of fries, onion rings, and jalapeno poppers to share. The
band took the stage and started off by encouraging everyone to buy
raffle tickets, then jumped into a traditional biker song.

CJ came by with fresh drinks for them all,
and Pete asked her to sit a minute in the chair Huck had
vacated.

She plopped down, looking beat.

“Lot of work, huh?” Pete would love to pull
her feet onto his lap and give her a massage.

“This and Sturgis are the busiest.”

The band slowed to a belly-rubbing song.

“You wanna dance?” He didn’t know why he
asked, why he wanted to torture himself that way, but holding her
in his arms one more time was the only thing he could think of
right now.

She blinked a few times, her pretty green
eyes uncertain. Then she nodded.

He helped her to her feet and found them a
spot at the edge of the dance floor. When he tucked her close, she
turned her head so her breath feathered warm on his neck.
Temptation on two legs, this woman. But he wasn’t going to settle
for being her booty call while she owned the bar, then being tossed
aside like an old bar rag when she packed up and left Deadwood.

“CJ?” She lifted her head, her eyes kind of
woozy.

“Yes?”

Was she expecting him to beg for one more
night with her? “Harper, Shaw’s girl, works for a national beverage
distributor, but wants to find something local.”

She gazed to the side, her lips curving down
at the sides.

“If you get a chance, would you set up a time
with her to talk later?”

“Sure.” She looked around. “Pete, can we
talk?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” With CJ, he never knew what
was on her mind. Romance? Work? Rejection?

“Come outside with me.” She strolled away and
he followed.

Outside the tent, the autumn wind cooled him.
“What’s up?”

She took a breath. “Are you all staying in
Deadwood tonight?”

“Yeah, we got hotel rooms.” He had a good
idea where this was going.

“If you’d like, I have the guest room
open…for you.” She groaned. “I mean, I’d like you to stay the night
with me.”

He could see it was hard for her to ask,
especially after the speech he’d made the last time they were
together. “Has anything changed, CJ?” He took her shoulders,
turning her so her face was in the light. “Or is this just one
night?”

Her mouth opened, then closed. She dropped
her head. “Just tonight. That’s all I can promise.”

He slid his hands down her arms and took her
hands in his.

Hers trembled slightly.

Pete rubbed her palms with his fingertips.
“I’m sorry. The offer…there’s nothing I want more right now, but
I’m the kind of guy who likes to invest everything.”

When she looked at him, her eyes shone with
moisture.

He kissed her quick on the lips then took her
hand and led her back to the tent, letting her go in before him,
releasing her hand and letting her go free. Walking back to the
table, he nearly turned and went back to her, but this had to be
the way it ended.

Platters of food filled the table and they
ate, drank, and danced until midnight, the witching hour.

The band stopped playing and CJ took the
stage, adjusting the mic. “Thank you all for coming, and thank you
for supporting the local Alzheimer’s organization with your
purchase of the raffle tickets. We’ve nearly sold out, and will be
giving them a check for almost thirty thousand dollars.”

A huge round of applause and shouts went
up.

“We have the incredibly talented Pete Gonally
here, the artist who designed and painted the bike for us.” She
looked at him. “Pete, would you stand up so every biker here knows
who to go to for a custom job like this?”

He stood and waved while more applause and
shouts filled the tent.

“Now we have Miss Tandy Bottoms who’s been
kind enough to autograph photos and put up with you grungy mutts
all night.”

Louder applause and hollering as she passed
their table and stepped to the huge mesh barrel holding all the
tickets.