Cowboy Save Me: By Judith Lee (Tiller Brothers Book 1) (8 page)

It was barely 7:30 and Tammy’s phone was already ringing.  She had gotten a picture of the colt at about 6:00 am.  Would she ever get used to cowboy hours?  She had written back,
so beautiful
.  To which he had immediately replied,
Colts aren’t beautiful, they’re strong or good looking, you silly goose.
To which she wrote,
but you’re beautiful, now quit texting me so I can go back to sleep you silly cowboy.

“You awake yet, darlin’?”

“Yes, Cody, I am, seems someone woke me up pretty early this morning and I couldn’t get back to sleep,” she laughed.

“Sorry, but I need your help, or advice or maybe…just for you to calm me down.  Dakota called last night and said that Jared had gone to Casper to see a woman in need, and I’m guessing it was Jenny.  God, why can’t she see he is trouble?”

Tammy thought for a few minutes.  She didn’t want to make Cody angry but hadn’t she told Jenny it was important to get to know the real man before she decided if there was fire or not.

“Cody, I need to ask you a question and I want you to think about it for a minute before you answer, okay?”

“This doesn’t sound good, but I’ll try.”

“If I were Jenny and you were Jared, and you started seeing me, and I started liking you a lot even though you have been known to be a womanizer who has probably had every buckle bunny on the circuit, which I think is probably a true statement for the real you, should Jenny’s brother want to give them a chance?  Maybe trust me, or Jenny, in this case to try to find out what kind of a man you really are.  Did that make sense?  No don’t answer yet, just think about it a minute. Put your boots in Jarad’s boots, and me in Jenny’s.  I’m going to call you back in about five minutes so you have to think about it because I’m pretty sure I really confused you but if you think about it I think you’ll understand where I’m going with this scenario,” she hung up.

She hoped Cody would see how she had taken a chance with him, even though it was well known that before she met him, Cody was a player.  Should she hold his past reputation against him if he demonstrated he was willing to try to change?  She had been wondering the same things ever since she had started spending time with Cody.  Could a man, or a tiger, change his stripes?  Or suddenly become faithful or serious to one woman?  The answer to that question was still up in the air, but Tammy wanted to put some faith in the man she was going to share her body with and maybe her heart.

Maybe his answer would give her a clue into the type of man Cody really was.  Could he see himself changing?

Her phone rang. 

“I don’t need five minutes.  I want you to believe that those other woman I was with meant very little to me, I’ll admit, but I did try to respect them….gave them pleasure and even knew their names.  I didn’t completely turn my back on them if I ever saw them again.  I tried to be nice to them. But before you I hadn’t met anyone who managed to weasel her beautiful self into my life like a sledge hammer has hit me.  Honestly, I don’t know where we are going but I’m just glad we are going in the same direction.”

“That was the nicest thing you have ever said to me.  Thank you.  I’ll be honest, I’ve been worried that I’m just another one of those woman, and yes I know it’s pretty early in whatever we have going for us, but I like that you see a possibility with me.”

“Darlin’ I do.  Now here’s the difference between Jared and me, I found him once getting a blow job with a young, almost too young woman with, other cowboys watching.  He’s been known to brag about his conquests.”

“Do you know for sure that the woman didn’t come up to him when he was with the other guys and unzip his pants and start sucking him and it was her idea?  I saw how all those woman threw themselves at you. Did Dakota say he was bragging about going to see Jenny?  I thought you said he had gone to Casper to see a woman in need. That kind of sounds like he was seriously worried about her and not that he was bragging about her.  How many times did you leave an upcoming rodeo to drive hours to see a woman? Could he be starting to feel differently about Jenny? She is really special.”

Now Cody was quiet on the other end.  She wanted to say more but knew he needed to make his own mind up and to process what she had said.  Tammy wasn’t totally convinced that Jared was a good man, not with all the rumors she had heard but then again, she’d heard a few stories about Cody as well.  Maybe Jenny was the only one who could find out what Jared Stevens was truly like on the inside.

“Okay, maybe you’re right.  Don’t know for sure.  He hasn’t shown his true character to me but maybe… just maybe Jenny would be better able to judge the man.  I’m not sure of anything right now but when I call Jenny, at least I won’t start off by yelling at her.”

“I’m sure your sister would appreciate that.  Cody, if you think there is any chance that he’s an abuser or hurts women physically in any way, I want you to come get me right now and we’ll drive to Casper and I will share every detail I have experienced about living with that kind of man.  Please tell me you’ve never heard he has physically abused other women.”

“Well, if the returning women who want to get in his bed are any indication, he knows how to treat them okay, and I would say no he doesn’t physically abuse them.  If me or my brothers thought he did that we would have already beat the shit out of him.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t want to go up against the angry Tiller brothers united. The other night when your brothers were talking about kicking Marcus’s ass, I have never felt so protected.  I really believe you would all be there for me or Jenny in force. It would be a sight to see.  Marcus would probably pee his pants and cry like a baby.”

“You got that damn right.  You know, Tammy... I’m not a bad guy.  I was just sowing my oats as they say.  Some of the women, who hang at the rodeo, just want to be with a cowboy to have bragging right, I guess.  They just wanted a good time and I gave it to them but that was in the past. You good with that?”

“I think so.  We’re still a work in progress, so… we’ll just have to see. Trust has been kinda’ hard for me, you know but I’m really trying to work on it. I’m practically a virgin and pretty inexperienced.  Marcus was the only one I have been with and that wasn’t so fun. To be honest, it was more like rape than mutual consent. But I know one thing for the absolute truth; I can’t wait to see you again.” 

“God, you humble me.  You are such a rare gift.  I won’t disappoint you sweetheart. I miss you too.”

“Okay Cody, before I start crying and I never want to hang up, you better call your sister.  Trust her a little.  She is 22 and seems to have her head screwed on right.  Give her a chance to explain what is happening.  I’ll talk to you tonight Cowboy...have a good day, good bye.”

After he hung up from Tammy, Cody sat down and really thought about his sister.  She was a great kid, but he still had trouble seeing her as a woman like she wanted him to.  Hell, she probably wasn’t even a virgin any more---he pressed his knuckles to his eyes trying to sear away the thought of another man having sex with her.  A brother shouldn’t think those thoughts about his sister, or his mother for that matter.  Although he knew even now his parents were still quite passionate with each other and his dad usually couldn’t keep his hands off his mother for even a few minutes when they came in from ranching, even if it was just a caress of her neck or a kiss on the cheek.  But truth be told, he wanted that kind of a relationship with Tammy and he knew deep down that he was falling in love with her. 

When had he starting falling in love with her?  Was it when she had turned to him at the award ceremony and flashed that brilliant challenging smile at him?  Or when she had refused to go watch the rodeo because he hadn’t asked her in person?  Or was it when she had reached out to him to protect her from Marcus?  He just knew the feelings he had for her were more potent that any he had ever had before with any other woman.  This last week of talking with her on the phone had helped him to get to know her better without the blazing lust they felt for each other whenever they were together.  He was finally unraveling the type of person she was inside, and that just made her that much more attractive.

The ranch hands were getting chow at the bunk house after they had done their initial morning chores and before they headed out to the pastures and the fences for the day.  The new cook he had hired for them was better than the last and Cody decided to grab a bite himself before he gave instructions for the day.  Although most of these men had worked on the ranch long enough they could get the job done without any prodding, Cody liked to talk with them, hear about any problems, and set priorities if they weren’t sure which fire to put out first.  He’d talk to his men before he called his sister.  It would give him more time to think about what Tammy said about him and Jared being alike, except for the bragging.

After breakfast and after taking a little joshing from the ranch hands about the kiss he had given Tammy a little over a week ago, which they weren’t going to let die down anytime soon, he walked into the barn and to the office where they also stored their bridles and other equipment, so he could call his sister and talk to her privately. He punched in her number.

“Hey, Cody.  What’s up?”

“Ah little sister,” he took a deep breath. “…Heard Jared went to see you in Casper.  Why, why didn’t you tell me and what’s up with that?”

He was proud he hadn’t yelled, well maybe he slightly raised his voice on the ‘what’s up with that’ retort but it was certainly done in a calmer manner than he would have done after he had talked to Dakota last night.

“Cody, there is nothing going on…he was just concerned when he heard about my crash.  He only stayed a few hours at our rental.  Mom was sleeping in the other room, so you don’t need to worry that there was any hanky-panky going on…not that it’s any of your business.  Remember I’m twenty-two years old and this is not my first rodeo.”

“I’m not sure I want to know about your first rodeo.  A brother should never know those kinds of things about his sister. I just didn’t know you had gotten to know him well enough to warrant an out of the way visit from him that caused him to miss his scheduled rodeo.”

“You and Dakota really like to keep tabs on me.  I’m not saying that I don’t like it.  Any sister appreciates that her brothers care enough to protect her, but this thing with Jared is just new…we’re just getting to know each other.  We had a few drinks and danced a little the night before I headed home. We were in plain sight of everyone at the bar, and we both behaved, but I did find him quite interesting and different than all the stories I had heard about him.  He had wanted to drive me home, and I wouldn’t let him, and when I got in the crash he thought it was his fault and he wanted to see for himself that I was okay.”

“Are you okay Jenny?  Still hurting?”

“Maybe you should have lead with that, but I’m fine and the bruises are fading and I’m out of the sling.”

“About Jared, I admit I’m nervous.  Us rodeo guys, and I’m talking from experience, just like to have a good time if you know what I mean, and I just want the best for you.  Not sure it’s him, but Tammy told me it wasn’t my choice and that I should trust you to make up your own mind.  Damn, can’t believe I said that to you.”

“God, I love that girl.  You better not blow it with her, she is pretty special and it sounds like she is really trying to get her life back together after that asshole.”

“Watch your mouth little sis, I’ll call him a fucking asshole, but not you, okay?”

She giggled, “Are you always going to see me as the little girl with pig tails following you around and asking you million questions?”

“Probably.  Can’t help it.  None of us can, ‘cept maybe Matt.  And you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.”

“Cody, don’t go all ballistic on me, Jared is going to pick me up to take me to Cheyenne Frontier Days so I can see you ride since mom and dad can’t go.  But I’m riding home to the ranch with Matt after, we’re gonna run over to the University so he can show me his dorm and introduce me to the new rodeo coach.  I know you are worried about Jared, but so far he has been a perfect gentleman to me and if he gets out of hand I think I can take him down.  After living with three big brothers I’ve learned lots of defensive tricks.  And if that doesn’t work, I will call in the Calvary to string him up and I’m pretty sure he knows that,” she explained.

“You can bet your sweet butt on that, little sister.  Just call me before you leave and text me when you get there.  Tammy is coming with her mom and dad, and I hope you’ll sit with them.”  He smiled just thinking about Tammy being in the same town as him.

“You been talking to mom and dad every day?”

“Yeah, I call them every morning.  Dad sounds tired.  I still don’t know why he doesn’t want his sons with him during all this shit.”

“Cody, you have a proud papa who wants his sons to remember him as that strong man who could handle any crisis.  He loves us all so much but he doesn’t want his sons to see him weak.  I only get to see him every so often.  Mostly I have been here for mom.  You know how stubborn dad can be.  He’s already losing his hair and he looks thinner and….”

Cody heard his sister crying. 

“It’s okay Jenny, he’s going to make it.  We’ll respect his wishes for now, but if you see him getting worse, we have to come down and say good bye to him.  He knows that right?”