Cowboy Country (41 page)

“Besides, I think it’s time us Bronco women show this town what we’re made of. The boys always win. You go out there and show everyone you’re a Bronco all the way.”

“You’re right Aunt Darcy. I’ll try my best.”

“Good girl. Now go win that buckle.”

Silver adjusted her helmet to make sure it was on tight and didn’t block her vision. The ride would jostle it but at least going out of the chute she’d be able to see just like Uncle Virgil taught her.

Silver was let into the back of the chute when it was opened. One of the adult handlers and Aunt Darcy held the sheep in place while she climbed on its back. She leaned over and whispered. “I’m going to win this thing.” She patted its head then dug her fingers into the fleece and crimped her fingers tight on its shoulders.

“You ready?” The man working the gate asked.

She nodded.

The gate opened and the sheep shot out of the chute, charging down the center of the arena. It felt like she was about to fall off so she clamped her legs tighter. She bounced this way and bobbed that way with the animal as it ran. The horn sounded which meant she’d stayed on eight seconds, but it took a while for the clown to catch up to her and grab her off the sheep’s back.

She did it. She stayed on.

When the clown put her on her feet she jumped up and down as she looked into the crowd and everyone was standing up, yelling and cheering for her.

Uncle Dane’s let out an ear-splitting whistle.

Grandma and Grandpa were clapping.

Mommy wiped her eyes.

Daddy had his hands on each side of his mouth, yelling, “That’s my girl.”

She could hear him.

She joined Aunt Darcy and they watched the rest of the event. When the awards were given out and her name was called as the winner, she marched proudly up onto the stage to accept her buckle.

She was truly a Bronco now.

Her jaws hurt from smiling.

CHAPTER 13

Sterling wiped his brow as Silver and Darcy made their way up to the family.

Between the bright sunlight, the unseasonably hot weather, plus the fact that his headache never fully went away, Sterling grabbed ahold his head. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, he prayed for a speedy death or at least unconsciousness.

Regina hugged Silver then said, “Honey, I’m sorry but I need to take your dad home. He’s not feeling very well.”

“Is he having another headache?” There was a look of concern on her face.

“Yes.”

“I was afraid of that.” Lena handed Regina a prescription bottle. “You need to get him out of the sun and away from the noise. Dane help Gigi get him to the car.”

Sterling didn’t mention the fight the previous night. He attributed his pain to the hit on the head. His ears were still ringing.

“Lean on me,” Regina said.

Dane stayed seated, their mom cuffed him on the head.

He looped his arm across her shoulders, trying to stay upright. It was imperative for him to get away from the crowd. The sounds were amplified exponentially with the throbbing in his head.

He closed his good eye allowing Regina to guide him to the car. He wanted the pain gone, fast, so he’d be able to propose properly the next day. His plan was to slip away later today and pick out a ring. That wasn’t going to happen unless he was on the receiving end of a miracle.

By the time they got to Regina’s house he was nauseous. He ran to the bathroom and threw up what was left of his breakfast.

Regina raced to his side with a glass of water, his meds, and a cold compress.

He rinsed his mouth, popped a pain pill then went into the bedroom. The curtains were already drawn. He stripped and crawled into bed, misery was his best friend.

Regina slipped in next to him and placed a compress to his head.

The cold rag was exactly what he needed. The chill caused him to shiver, so he snuggled closer to Regina.

She gently pressed her fingers to his temples and massaged in small gentle circles.

It was amazing how her delicate touch did wonders for him, that and knowing she was close by.

He wasn’t sure how much later, but he awoke to the sound of someone throwing up. He half thought it was the memory of him retching when they’d arrived back at the house.

Moments later, Regina staggered into the room and flopped onto the bed a compress on her own head.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Must be food poisoning from the bar,” she said.

“Maybe that’s why I got sick too?”

They both fell asleep. He was emotionally and physically exhausted.

It was late afternoon when they awoke the next. Regina was back in the bathroom.

He heated a can of chicken soup for himself and put some saltines on a plate for her, to go along with her herbal tea.

Eating his food slowly to make sure it stayed down, he glanced at Regina who nibbled on the crackers and sipped her tea.

She let out a stifled belch after the first cracker.

After eating two more crackers Regina’s color improved. She called into work. “Eddie—it’s Gigi. Will you see if someone can take my shift tonight? I won’t be in. I think I have food poisoning.”

Regina’s face was pale, her hand on her stomach as she talked, swallowing like she was trying to keep from throwing up.

They finished eating and went back to sleep.

By midnight they were wide awake. This time they went into the kitchen hand-in-hand and naked as the day they’d come into the world. After tea and toast they went back to bed.

Come morning they both felt almost human, he was convinced they’d both had a case of food poisoning. Sex in the shower and then again in bed left him sated and happy.

It seemed like yesterday, and then again, it seemed like a million years ago that this had been the norm he relished.

Before he left for the military, Sterling and Regina had time alone, at least twice a week.

Sunday rounded out the weekend’s festivities, there would be a huge town picnic.

They arrived at church late on purpose so the echoes and vibrations of the choir wouldn’t trigger the return of his headache. They slipped into the pew and sat with the family.

After church the whole family met at the park along with the rest of the town, so the kids could participate in a huge Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce.

Silver looked adorable in her pale pink dress with its layers of ruffles and lace.

She sat between him and Regina on a blanket, clicking her black shiny shoes together. He wasn’t into fashion, but the sheer pink hat and her matching purse was adorable.

By the time the family joined, mom and dad already had the rest of the blankets spread out under a huge oak tree. Leave it to mom to make sure they were in the shade.

While Silver was on her Easter egg hunt, the family was busy gabbing.

“Darcy you had a great ride yesterday in the barrel racing event, you beat your best time. I think it’s time you join us on the circuit. You’re definitely good enough,” Clay said.

“I’m pretty happy. I dropped five seconds from last year. You guys were pretty hot yourselves. You nailed the calf roping, bull riding, and broncs, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” Darcy chuckled as a group of her friends walked by, sucking in their bellies and pushing out their boobs, trying to get the twins attention.

Clay smiled at them.

They tittered, gushed, and skittered past.

“His mind isn’t on rodeo, it’s on the ladies. He could have done a lot better if he hadn’t been sidetracked.” Quinton looked disappointed.

“Get real, this is local rodeo and doesn’t count in the overalls. It’s just for fun. Lighten up.” Clay ignored his brother.

“Bull, your head hasn’t been in the game lately, and I wish you’d get serious. If you don’t buckle down and concentrate, we’ll never rank on top.” Quinton looked away, exasperated eking from him.

Something was going on between the twins, but he had enough on his plate and had no intention of interfering.

Sterling barely picked at his lunch.

Regina didn’t eat much either.

As much as he was enjoying the quiet time with the family, he was anxious to get Regina alone. He needed to know they were good. “Can we go for that ride?” he asked.

Regina smiled and nodded. “Silver, I want you to stay with your grandparents. Your dad and I are going for a drive. I’ll pick you up at their house then we’ll take dad to get his truck.”

“Truck?” Lena said, raising her eyebrows.

Too late he realized what Regina said.

“Yeah, he left it at my house.” She flat out lied then grabbed his hand and turned to leave, tugging him along. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything wrong. Hopefully Dane will keep his mouth shut.” She hadn’t intended to lead the conversation back to Sterling’s fight with Gage.

On the ride to their spot by the pond, Sterling’s stomach started to churn. He wasn’t sure if it was nerves or the food poisoning. He wanted everything to be perfect.

As they pulled into the west gate, Regina gave him a crooked smile. She most likely was remembering their many trips here to go skinny dipping, but it was far too early in the season, the water was freezing. He knew it firsthand.

The ground around the edge of the pond was bright green and lush. Purple flowers grew in clusters on the ground around the rock formations. He didn’t know what they were, but they were a favorite of Regina’s.

“What are we doing here?” Regina’s gaze went to the big oak.

Sterling smiled, got out of her car, and came around to help her out of the driver’s seat. Hand in hand they strolled over to the rocks.

“Okay, what are you up to?” She nudged him.

Regina’s raised brow excited him so much he wanted to pick her up and blurt it out. Instead he leaned against a waist high outcropping. “I asked you here for this,” he said handing her the envelope with the deed to the land.

“What is it?” She frowned at the envelope.

“Open it.” He was jumpy inside, ready to explode.

Regina opened the envelope and withdrew the documents. Her eyes bouncing side to side as she read. She looked up at him. “What does all this mean?”

“It’s ours, a gift from the family. I figure we can put the house over there.” He pointed to a small rise just before the line of trees. “We’ll have the front porch face the east so we can have coffee there in the mornings. A wraparound porch is a must.”

He could see it all. He turned and pointed to a huge oak. His back to her as he said,  “I figure that’s about the best tree to put a tree house for Silver and any other kids that come along. This is the perfect place to build our dream house and raise our daughter, with both her parents.”

Turning to his left he said, “And there—is the best place for the barn, because of all the open area and trees, a corral there will offer plenty of shade during our heat waves in the summer and protect from the cold weather in the winter.” He turned a bit more adding, “And I’ll put the stud barn over there.”

As he turned around to face her he said, “The best part is we can still slip away at night and skinny dip in our own pond.” Only when he turned her it was to find her walking back to the car.

He started after her, trotting to catch up. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

****

Regina stopped in her tracks. She turned and frowned at Sterling, she didn’t bother to hide the fact she was wiping the tears from her eyes. He went on and on about the house, the barn, the stables. He even had a tree picked out for a damn tree house for Silver. All his big plans and yet not one single word about them.

Nothing at all about her.

How could he be so clueless?

Or was she the one who was clueless?

How many times had he said he wanted her to quit her job at the bar or how he wanted them to be together?

Even his attitude toward Gage…how dare anyone touch what is his, as though she were his property.

This was her biggest issue and he just didn’t get it. She wanted to be his equal.

She’d done so much on her own, without him, and he didn’t seem to get that it was the one thing they argued about most.

She wanted an equal partnership with mutual respect.

It wasn’t only that failed to tell her that he loved her or even that he didn’t bother to propose. He acted as if he expected her to comply. He seemed to forget she’d come into her own in his absence. Instead, he was acting as though she was still the same young girl he left behind.

Sterling captured her, cupping her by the upper arm. “What’d I do wrong now?” His shoulders slumped, resignation in his voice.

“What is it with you?”

“You’ll have to be a bit more specific,” he said.

“You really don’t get it, do you?”

“No, I don’t. It’s not like I’m insulting you, or anything. I’m just trying to share my life with you.”

“Exactly—you’re sharing
your
life. What about mine?”

“What about it? It’s the same thing.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” She sniffed, turning her head away, trying to be strong.

“How?”

“You automatically assume I’d go along. You didn’t bother to propose. You didn’t even say you loved me. Hell we aren’t ever a couple, you just assumed I’d say yes because I always have in the past.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t get it. In the past we always wanted the same things. I think we still do.”

“You’re right, but you didn’t bother to give me the respect to ask for my opinion or what I wanted.”

“If we want the same things how it is wrong?”

“Every time you talk it’s always about your grand plans and you expect me to toe the line.”

“No I don’t. I’m acting based on how it’s always been between us.”

“That’s just it you idiot, we’re not the same people. Too much has passed since you’ve been gone. I’m no longer that naïve young girl who would follow you blindly never questioning a thing. I’ve been on my own far too long and I’ve developed a backbone and pride. We’re either in this together, complete and total equals or it’s nothing.”