ANOTHER SUNNY DAY (8 page)

"Yeah, that and a few dozen oil and gas
wells that have been drilled on their land." He spat again and added in a disgusted tone, "If you ask me, those dang machines sure take away from the beauty of a piece of land."

"Not too many people would
agree with you on that score."

"That'd be
nothin' new," he said with a snort. "Not too many people agree with me about anything."

"Does anyone live on the ranch with Tyler?" she began, then hastily added, "I mean,
are his parents still alive?"

Willie gave her a knowing glance and said, "Ty's dad died several years back, but his mother still lives there at the ranch house. She's a real fine woman. Ty's a lot like her. They're just goo
d, honest, hard-workin' folk."

"Is there anyone else living there?" she persisted wondering if perhaps Tyler had been cool toward her because he was engaged or even married. A cold chill chased through her as she realized that she didn't even know that simple fact about him. She didn't pause to ask herself why it mattered so much when she knew that regardless of his personal situation there could never be
anything permanent between the two of them. But it did matter—a great deal. "Any brothers or sisters maybe?"'

"Nope, just the two o
’ them. Ty's mother's been after him for years to find a good woman and settle down, but he just laughs and tells her that he's looking for someone just like her but hasn't hit it lucky yet."

Sarah fell into a depressed silence. So Tyler was looking for a good, honest, hard-working woman just like his mother? She might have come close to fitting that description last week, but just look at her now. Whatever relationship they might be able to build would be based on a lie. The initial relief she had felt when she had discovered he wasn't married fled in the face of this glaring problem. The only truth in this whole situation was that she was interested in a man who might or might not be interested in the per
son he thought was her sister.

If only there were some way she could discover why he was so inconsistent. Just when she thought she could trust him, he would switch moods, leaving her baffled. Perhaps she could think of a way to gauge his reaction to her participation in this deception before she made a complete fool of herself, and more importantly, before she did anything tha
t could damage Sunny's career.

It was imperative that she not lose sight of her original mission because of the uncharacteristic emotional chaos that engulfed her. Sunny was depending on her, and she couldn't ruin it now just because of a strong physical attraction to a man who never acted
the same way twice.

"No, wait a minute," Willie burst into her thoughts. "Ty was engaged a few years ago to a girl he had gone to school with. But there was some sort of commotion about a baby and her career, and then they busted up." His voice trailed
off thoughtfully.

The old man had effectively captured Sarah's undivided attention. "What sort of co
mmotion?" she prompted gently.

"It was right after his dad died that this girl Ty had dated all through college came up in a family way. Well, Ty being the kind of guy he is, he right away offered to marry her." Willie reached into his overalls pocket for a fresh plug of tobacco while Sarah waited im
patiently for him to continue.

"She was a real looker. I remember that they made a right smart-looking pair, but then some guy from New York offered her a modeling job in Europe. She told Ty some cock-and-bull story about visiting her sick old aunt because she knew he wouldn't like the idea of her pranci
ng around half-nekkid one bit.

"But he found out about her little job and that she had gotten rid of the baby so she wouldn't ruin her figure. I haven't ever seen him so
fightin' mad. Well, when she came back, expecting to go on with the wedding and telling him a lie about how she had suffered a miscarriage at her aunt's, he came all unglued. Turned out it wasn't even his baby, but of course she didn't tell him that until after he'd thrown her out. Since then he's been real cautious when it comes to women. She hurt him real bad, and now he don't trust any of 'em at all. And he don't abide with no lying."

Sarah had listened to the story in shocked silence. She understood Tyler's pain and sympathized with him, but he shouldn't judge all women by this one bad experience. She was sure this must have something to do with his moodiness. Although she wouldn't be able to talk with him about it, perhaps later she could think of some way to make him see that not all women were dishonest and deceptive. With a jolt she realized that she was a poor one to be trying to convince Tyler of anything. He must never learn of
her own lies or he would hate her for her hypocrisy. Frantically she pushed thoughts of Tyler from her mind.

"So, tell me, Willie, how has the Salt Grass Trail Ride changed over the years?" She knew she could depend on him to get her mind back to a safer subject, even if she couldn't always follow his confusing train of thought. "How did it
all start in the first place?"

"Well, the way I understand it, the folks who put on the Houston Livestock Show were trying to find a way to get people interested in their yearly shindig. A friend of mine worked for one of the local TV stations and came up with the idea of getting some cowboys to drive a covered wagon into Houston
from some little country town.

"There were four of us on that first trail ride, and I
ain't never had such a good time since. We just took our time, making like we was back in the olden days. Must-a been a slow news week 'cause we got a big spread in the papers and an interview on TV. All that publicity must a worked real good, 'cause from then on folks couldn't wait for the chance to play cowboy once a year."

"Did you travel along this same route?" Sarah asked, beginning to be fascin
ated by this colorful old man.

"Not really. We started from Brenham that year. We made it look like so much fun that now there are at least a dozen other trail rides. The Old Spanish Trail Ride starts from some place in Louisiana and is over twice as long as ours. And there's even one with a Spanish name, Los Vaqueros Rio
Grande, that leaves Hidalgo, near the Texas-Mexico border. It lasts almost two weeks and covers just under four hundred miles" Willie explained. Most of the people on this trail ride already knew all of this information, and he welcomed the opportunity to show off his knowledge to such an attractive and interested audience.

"I never realized these things were so popular. This must be one of the most successful promotional gimmicks in the histor
y of rodeos," Sarah commented.

"Even though it's February and the weather's usually cold enough to freeze the horns off a
billy goat, there's still over six thousand tenderfoot cowboys a year dragging into Houston on all these trail rides. If they held this thing in the summertime, there'd be at least twice that many riders. So I guess you could say it has attracted some interest." He prodded Ethyl with his heels as the mule tried to grab a mouthful of dry grass. '"The Salt Grass Trail Ride may not be the. longest, but we're the oldest and biggest," he added proudly.

"I'll bet you and Ethyl have enough stories to make an interesting book. You probably know more about the history of the Salt Grass Trail Ride than anyone else. Did you ever keep
any sort of journal or diary?"

"I ain't much good at
puttin' things down on paper, and old Ethyl's memory ain't what it used to be. I just like to pass on my stories to those folks that want to hear them. But nowadays most folks just don't have the time to listen to the past."

Sarah was deeply touched. It must be sad to grow old in a world that moved too fast to care about a lonely old man and his memories. She looked at him with a new perspective, and the next four hours passed quickly as he eagerly shared with her some memories of his life. She became so engrossed that she temporar
ily forgot her sister, her problems, and the tall black-haired cowboy who, unbeknownst to her, had not let her out of his sight all day.

CHAPTER SIX

They set up camp that night just outside of Brookshire. That day's ride had been the shortest leg of the trip; it was planned that way to give everyone time to get the kinks out and become accustomed to the routine.

Although Sarah's soreness had been worked out, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was walking bowlegged as she left
Zena with one of the cowboys and waved to Willie. He was really a nice old man, and she had enjoyed herself. She would have enjoyed herself a lot more if a certain someone hadn't been so aloof, but she had more pride than to ask him to ride with her if he felt he had to force himself to tolerate her company.

"Uh, excuse me, Miss Day."

Sarah stopped as a young man she recognized as one of Tyler's cowboys stepped in front of her. '"Yes?" Her golden brown eyebrows arched expectantly.

"A group of us were going into town tonight for dinner and a few drinks. Brookshire has this restaurant named the
Cotton Gin that used to be a—"

"Let me guess," she interrupted with a friendly smile. "I'll be
t it was a cotton gin, right?"

"Right!" He grinned back at her, encouraged. "But it really does have good food, and we thought you might want to come along with us. Oh, but you don't have to worry about being mobbed or anything. There will be a big group from the trail ride there, and we all stick
together," he hastened to add.

She looked at his appealing face with adoration clearly written across it. Possibly a night on the town, however small the town might be, was just the therapy she needed. She had no doubt that Sunny would not pass up an opportunity to party, but Sa
rah's heart just wasn't in it.

"Thanks for asking me, but I think I'll pass. You guys go on and have a good time," she answered. Then at his crestfallen look
she added. "Maybe next time."

"Yeah, sure." He was obviously disappointed. It would have been the highlight of his young life to hang out with the Sunny Day. Maybe after a few drinks she would have forgotten he was
a nobody and . . . Well, there was no use in dreaming about something that would never happen. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Good night." She left him and hurried to her trailer for a much needed shower. She would have preferred a deep tub filled with fragrant bubble bath in which she could immerse her tired body for the next hour. But the bathroom in the trailer was barely large enough for a corner tub that was too small for her even to sit in and straighten her legs. It wasn't worth the effort, so she too
k advantage of the hot shower.

Properly revived and smelling like a lady again, she dressed in a ruby red satin jump suit that showed off her shapely figure to perfection. She had to work for several minutes on the windblown wig, but after a reapplication of makeup she stared at a very creditable image
of Sunny Day in all her glory.

This was Tuesday night. That meant there were only three days left of her once-in-a-lifetime chance to be someone special. But all the gushy attention was begin
ning to get on her nerves, and she certainly wouldn't miss the glittery clothes and annoying wig. Regardless of what Sunny had said, Sarah would never feel completely comfortable in this getup.

She had lived on the fringe of the glamor for too long not to be able to see through the falseness. People loved or hated Sunny for what they thought she was, but few of them cared enough to look beneath the surface. Sarah would be glad to return to being her untalented unexciting self, except for one confusing, unforgettable reason. She knew that when she left Texas next Sunday, she would be leaving behind more than she h
ad bargained for.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she had missed breakfast and only picked at her lunch. Surely Jed would have something delicious cooked for supper. She didn't want to spend an evening alone in this trailer. Not after last night, when Tyler's presence had seemed to fill and brighten every dark corner. He had probably gone into town with the others. Of course he would have left some men behind to take care of her, and maybe they wou
ldn't mind if she joined them.

There was quite a crowd around Jed, some helping and some just getting in the way as he tried to prepare supper. A huge friendly bonfire crackled and beckoned Sarah to its warmth. Almost shyly she joined the group, most of whom she recognized but didn't really know. But they greeted her with friendly smiles, and one of the men got up so she could hav
e a campstool on which to sit.

By the end of the meal she no longer felt like an outsider. It was wonderful to be able to join in normal conversation with people who realized she had more to talk about than gold records and Grammy Awards. Someone brought out an ice chest fun of cold beer and wine, which was qui
ckly distributed and consumed.

Sarah sipped at her glass of wine, enjoying the stories and jokes that were becoming increasingly ribald as the evening progressed. Occasionally she joined in, but mostly she just listened, watching the fire and wondering w
hat Tyler was doing right now.