Falling For A Cowboy (23 page)

Jesse
waited
out
side
in the hallway
, hands in his pockets
. It had been Jesse
’
s idea
.
His friend had
come to
Langley
during the middle of the week to set this up and had made sure Dusty was working today.

“
She looks like she hasn
’
t slept in a while
,
but she
’
s here,
”
he had reported just a few minutes earlier.

Clay
’
s heart had clutched at the reminder of how much he
’
d
hurt her
.
He
made a silent
oath
to
never hurt her again
.
He do everything he could to protect her
.
He didn
’
t want to be that player anymore
.
He wanted to be one thing
.
Her husband—
with
the right to hold her at night, the
privilege of having children with her,
and
the joy of making her happy.
That
’
s what he wanted
.
Now it all depended on what she wanted.

“
This is the wireless mike,
”
the announcer told him
.
Adam
Greene
was
a
tall,
balding man in a
r
hinestone-studded
cowboy shirt and faded denims.
“
Here
’
s where you switch it on,
”
he said demonstrating with a flick of his
well-padded
thumb against the small plastic knob.
“
The whole place will hear every word.
”

Clay
’
s insides were flipping around like
water
on a hot griddle. If she said no it would be a humiliation he
’
d have to bear for the rest of his days
.
If she said yes, it would be worth every minute
.
He took the mike from the announcer
’
s outstretched hand.

“
You
’
re slated right
before
saddle
bronc
.
You riding
today?
”

Clay shook his head
.
No way would he be able to concentrate.

“
I knew
Dusty
’
s
dad
.
Nice guy
.
Regular guy.
”
The announcer looked him over from head to toe.
“
Kind of ironic, isn
’
t it
?
You being a saddle
bronc
rider and all.
”

“
Yup.
”
And that had been part of the problem.
But only part
.
The rest was his alone.

“
I think old Doug would approve
.
Hell, you broke his record
.
Seems only fitting to keep it in the family.
”

“
I just hope she feels the same way.
”

“
You think she won
’
t
?
Dusty
’
s
a sweet girl
. Little bit of a thing
,
but sometimes the best things come in the smallest packages.
”
He gave Clay an encouraging smile.

“
You
’
re right on that score.
”
Clay
’
s heart beat like a wild man was using it for a drum.

“
Okay. Once the winner of the bareback takes his ride, I
’
ll call the special announcement
.
Be ready.
”

Clay nodded
.
He shook
Adam
’
s
outstretched hand. As he
and Jesse
walked down the cement hallway he said a small
silent
prayer to her father
.
Help me out, Doug
.
I
’
ll do right by her, I promise.

* * *

Dusty felt like she
’
d been tossed in a washer and tumbled in a dryer. She
’
d almost called
in sick
today. But she couldn
’
t let Big
John
down
.
It was her problem
.
Life went on, even when it was stripped of any joy or happiness
.
Even when it was only disappointment and heartache.

Was he here
?
Saddle
bronc
was coming up next and she didn
’
t dare look
.
S
he didn
’
t know if she could handle hearing his name called from the speakers, knowing he was in the same
place
.

While she didn
’
t cry anymore at the
mention
of him,
the steady
,
dull ache still resided inside
.
She
’
d been betrayed, used
.
No matter what
Tara
Lynn
said, no matter how many voice-mails the man left,
or text messages he sent,
it didn
’
t erase that fact.

She wished she could believe
he had cared for her
.
T
he hurt wouldn
’
t cut so deep if he
’
d at least come to care something for her
after making such a bet
.
That
the man who had kissed her, caressed her and buried himself deep inside of her while calling out her name hadn
’
t felt anything was more crushing than anything else she was dealing with
.

The roar of the crowd said the winner of the bareback riding was taking his victory lap. She finished serving the
waiting customers
and started filling up some cups in anticipation of the crowd who
’
d surely come at the break.

“
We
’
ve
got
something special to do right now
.
And I
’
d appreciate it if you all could keep your seats,
”
Adam
’
s
voice
blared out
over the speakers
.
“
Especially if you could wait a moment
before going for any beer
.
It
’
s important is all I
’
m going to say.
”

Not going for beer
?
Big
John
would have a fit if he knew they were sin
gling
out the beer concession that way
.
She stepped out from the booth and headed toward the opening in the arena
.
Peering in,
she saw
several cowboys
milling
in the entrance way, all looking toward the center
.
A lone figure was out there.

Someone was going to sing. She leaned against the
concrete wall
and waited
.
Guy must be really good for them to hold the audience like that.

“
Ladies and gentleman,
”
a familiar voice rumbled out into
the arena at full volume.

Her heart stood still.

“
I
’
m Clay Tanner and
those
of you who follow saddle
bronc
may remember seeing me these last few weeks
.
I had the privilege to break the record of a hometown boy, Doug Morgan, a few weeks back.
”
Applause followed.

What the hell was Clay doing
?
She
held her spot
.
Though
she
didn
’
t
want to see
him, though it hurt just to hear his voice, she was curious
.
“
I
have
also had the privilege
of dating
Doug
’
s daughter
,
Dusty Morgan.
”
Blood drained from her body as a
s
mattering of applause and a catcall echoed through the place.

“
And you know what
?
I screwed up
.
Yup
.
I didn
’
t do enough to let this sweet woman know how much she means to me
.
In fact, I did just the opposite.
”

Holy shit
.
The cowboys standing at the entrance
turned around and grinned at her
.
Her insides twisted.

“
I was wrong
.
Dead wrong
.
Seriously wrong
.
You know, t
he kind of wrong that has a woman not returning your phone calls or your
text messages
.
Not even flowers worked
.
You know I
’
m in trouble if flowers haven
’
t worked.
”

The crowd laughed.

“
Any of you
guys ever been there
?
”

Several in the crowd yelled they had
.

“
Yeah
.
Well, I may need to come to you for some advice if this doesn
’
t work out
.
See because of
what I did
,
she doesn
’
t believe I love her
.
I do
.
I swear before all of you and
G
od
A
lmighty
,
I love her
.
She
’
s the kind of woman that makes a man want to settle down, have kids,
raise
a family
.
The kind you take home to your mother
.
And
since I don
’
t think
Dusty would
go anywhere with me right now,
I brought my mother here to
meet her
.
Stand up Mom.
”

The cowboys parted and looked back at her
.
Through
the entrance she saw
a
small
, brown-haired
woman rise from one of the bleachers behind Clay and give a wave.
His mother
.
He brought his mother.

“
And Mrs. Morgan,
Dusty
’
s
mom
,
is here too
.
Mrs. Morgan.
”

Dusty
’
s
eyes went wide at the sight of her
mother
standing next to Mrs. Tanner
.
How could this be
?