Kissin' Tell: Rough Riders, Book 13 (43 page)

Tell’s day had started out with a pissing contest with the stock contractor, because he’d disqualified one horse and two bulls due to heat exhaustion. The contractor demanded the second judge reassess the livestock, but Tell hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the other judge yet.

He hadn’t seen Georgia either. The last couple days had been pretty hectic, but he felt as if she was hiding something from him. Probably just paranoia on his part, given both their tendencies to avoid conflict. They were still taking baby steps with their relationship. But if he had his way, they’d take that giant leap and move in together.

He paced behind the chutes, anxious for things to get started. Then he saw Deck. Since the man was headed straight for him, Tell couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen him.

You really going to run and hide from this pompous prick like you did in high school?

No.
Hell
no.

He stood his ground, arms folded on his chest. “Veldekamp.”

”McKay.”

“Surprised to see you back here behind the chutes at this rodeo.”

“Why?”

Tell shrugged. “Thought it’d be a bad memory for you, considering how publicly you crashed and burned on your home turf that summer after graduation. Gotta be a kick in the balls that your rodeo career never reached the epic proportion you bragged it would.”

“How’d you…” He muttered, “From Georgia.”

“No. It was all around town. Funny, ain’t it, how happy some folks are to see others fail?”

“I didn’t fail, I got injured. Big difference.”

“Whatever.”

“At least I tried. Unlike some people, I don’t got nothin’ to prove. I was a state champion. You know what they say. Them that can, do; them that can’t are bitter pricks about others’ success.”

Such bullshit. But it was hitting the mark.

“Besides, I’m not here as a spectator,” Deck said. He looked at Tell’s vest. Then in his eyes. His lips twisted in a parody of a smile. “Guess Georgia forgot to mention that I’m the second judge today.”

Tell felt every muscle in his body seize up.

Was Deck fucking serious? He had to work with this asshole? Tell fumed silently, knowing Georgia had made herself scarce today because she hadn’t wanted to give him the news.

What else was she hiding from him?

Doesn’t matter. Suck it up and do your job.

At least Tell was the senior judge. He gave Deck a once-over. “You’re late. Get your vest on, and then do a quick stock check. Report back here immediately.”

“You’re getting off on bossing me around, ain’t ya?” Deck said.

He offered him a shit-eating grin. “Like you wouldn’t fuckin’ believe. And it’s a damn cryin’ shame they took away my bullwhip.”

Tell focused on his job and making sure Deck did his part. It surprised him how close their scores were on the rough stock events. It didn’t surprise him that neither of them could contain their mutual hostility when they had to confer.

After the bull riding ended, the prizes were awarded. The crowd was huge this year. How much of that was due to Georgia’s PR efforts? He hung around watching the contestants and the stock contractor loading up. Probably half his family was in the stands, but he didn’t want to deal with them or mingle with his friends. He wasn’t the brooding type very often and he tended to lie low when that personality tic appeared. He didn’t want to do much of anything except talk to Georgia and get to the bottom of why she was acting so distant.

He headed toward committee headquarters.

Deck waylaid him outside the loading chutes. “Where’s Georgia?”

“What do you need from her?”

“Not your concern.” Deck crossed his arms over his chest. “Make you feel like a big man? Getting named most changed at the reunion and acting all hot shit here at the rodeo?”

Tell didn’t want to do this, but Deck had been pushing his buttons for years and he knew this was about to get ugly.

“I’d say you becoming a judge was all about reliving your glory days, but you never had any, did you? All the glory went to your cousin Chase.”

“Does it make
you
feel like big man again, talkin’ shit to me like you did a decade ago?” Tell leaned in. “Grow the fuck up, Deck. You’re only embarrassing yourself.”

Deck’s mouth flattened. “No more than you are, trailing after Georgia like a lovesick pussy.”

Feet scuffled in the dirt around them as people gave them a wide berth.

“What’s going on here?”

Neither Tell nor Deck took his eyes off his opponent to acknowledge Georgia.

About damn time she showed up. When Tell saw her move into his line of vision, he said, “Georgia. Why don’t you head on out to the rodeo grounds. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Or so McKay wants you to think. But it’s always been about you,” Deck said with a sneer.

Tell’s head said
don’t take the bait
, but his mouth had already engaged. “Is your dick attitude because I have her now?”

“
Do
you have her? For how long?”

Saying
forever
seemed cheesy, but he wanted Deck to know what’d grown between him and Georgia this summer was the real deal. So he said, “For keeps.”

Deck broke eye contact and looked at Georgia. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

“Hey, talk to me, asshole, not her. Know what?”

Deck released a sharp bark of laughter. “The joke is on you, McKay. Georgia is leaving at the end of the summer, as soon as rodeo season slows down. She never intended to stay in Wyoming permanently.”

No. That couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t do that—flat-out lie to him. Tell spun around and faced her, his eyes searching hers as he bridged the short distance between them. So when Tell saw that look on Georgia’s face he hadn’t been able to place before, he finally recognized it: guilt. He wished the hot dirt would just swallow him up right now.

You’ve been played for the fool again. When will you ever learn?

Automatically he started backing up, away from her, tempted to turn tail and run.

But she kept up with him, step for step. “Wait.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was scared to.”

“But you could tell your ex-husband?”

“I didn’t tell him. My dad must have. No one was supposed to know.”

“Well, that makes it so much better.” He lowered his voice so only she heard him. “Do you remember when you asked me if I was playin’ a game? Is that what you’ve been doin’ this whole time? Stringing me along so you could watch me unravel when you cut ties here for good?”

“No. God no.”

“Do you feel anything for me, Georgia?”

“Yes.”

He could work with that. “Then can you really turn your back on this? On us? Return to Dallas and pretend this never happened?”

Her gaze shifted to the side, to Deck, and she sighed. “I only came to Sundance because I didn’t have a choice.”

A swift kick in the balls couldn’t have hurt worse.

If he stood there another second, he’d probably break down. Beg her not to go.

In front of Deck Veldekamp.

That would only be slightly less humiliating than the fact he’d fallen in love, for real, with a woman he still couldn’t have. His heartbeat slowed, becoming a dull thud in his ears as he turned from her and started to walk away.

No surprise Deck wouldn’t let it go.

“She’s just like the song, ain’t she?” Deck called out. “Georgie Porgie kissed the boys and made them cry. Wasn’t there a line in there about bein’ a coward and running away? That fits you, McKay, don’t it?”

Against his better judgment, Tell wheeled back around. “You are a fucking moron. But if you really want me to beat your face in, keep it up. I’ve been waiting for this for years. We’ll see if you’re tough when your buddies aren’t holding me down so you can beat on me.”

“You ain’t man enough to take it. Never have been. Never will be.” Deck took a blatant step forward. “Are you?”

Deck didn’t expect the first punch so fast. The second punch knocked him off-balance. The third punch sent him sprawling in the dirt.

Tell pounced on him, his fists connecting with flesh and bone. He let fly with years’ worth of pent-up rage.

Deck didn’t defend himself at all.

Unfortunately, Tell didn’t get many licks in before he was rudely ripped away from pummeling Deck’s face.

“What in the world is goin’ on here?” the man demanded.

Tell fought the adrenaline rush and jerked out of the man’s hold. All he cared about was Georgia. Who was crouched in the dirt next to Deck. Her hand on his arm. Her angry glare aimed right at him. At
him
. Not at Deck.

All the breath whooshed out of Tell’s body, along with that tiniest bit of hope.

“What has gotten into you?” she hissed. “Why did you attack him?”

Just out of Georgia’s line of sight, Deck’s lips lifted into a greasy grin that showed blood on his teeth.

The fucker had won. Georgia had chosen Deck again.

Tell stepped back.

When Deck opened his big, fat mouth, Tell turned and walked away.

Georgia had an overpowering sense of loss as Tell disappeared into the crowd.

She shook her head to try and clear the confusion. She’d been right there and she had no idea what’d just happened. Tell and Deck had been arguing about some past slight and then they were on the ground, Tell throwing punches that Deck hadn’t attempted to defend.

Something was wrong with that picture.

“You gonna go running after McKay now? Dry his tears? ’Cause guaranteed the loser is crying. He always does.”

She looked at him “Why would he cry? You didn’t even land a punch.”

“Not this time.” He wiped blood from his smirking mouth.

“What do you mean,
not this time
?”

“You think that’s the first occasion me’n him have locked horns? Nope. But I always beat his ass down.”

“Always? When was the last time?”

“End of senior year.”

All the blood drained from her face. She remembered Tell had come to school a complete wreck. He’d claimed the damage was from getting thrown off a bucking horse. “Those bruises on his face were your doing? You went after him? Why?”

“Because he gave you a ride home and he knew better than to touch what didn’t belong to him.”

“You stranded me at school. He drove me home. That was it.”

Deck shrugged. “Not according to him. He tracked me down, said you were miserable and cryin’ because of me and that you deserved someone better, so I oughta leave you alone.”

She backed away. “I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. Even McKay ain’t stupid enough to brag about getting the shit kicked outta him.”

Georgia wasn’t talking about the fight. She was shocked that Tell had stood up for her years ago. A girl he barely knew.

“Seeing that look on McKay’s face when I told him you weren’t sticking around? Priceless.”

God. She felt sick to her stomach and as confused as ever. “Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him. I just like putting him in his place.”

So it hadn’t been about her. Just another example of Deck getting his kicks out of being a bully. And Deck knew she’d take the side of the guy on the receiving end of punches, not the side of the guy throwing them. She’d played into his hands perfectly.

“The committee can hold on to my check for another week or so, right?”

Georgia refocused on her asshole ex-husband. “I guess. Why?”

“Me’n Tara-Lee are movin’ to New Mexico.”

“What? When did this come about?”

“As soon as Robert gave me money from the sale of the hog farm.”

“Is my dad going with you?”

Deck snorted. “No. Why would he?”

“Because he’s been like a father to you.”

“Whoa. Robert ain’t my dad. And it’s always been a little creepy how he acted like he was.”

But only up to the point where it benefited Deck, when Robert forked over a pile of cash to a guy he’d considered his son. “After all my dad did for you? You’re just gonna take the money and run?”

“I earned every penny of that money for the years I slaved at that hog farm,” he retorted hotly. “Robert and I are friends, Georgia, but mostly we’re business partners. Now the business is sold, we’re parting ways.”

“Business partners?” she repeated. “You’ve always been much more than that.” Hadn’t they?

Deck shook his head. “I like Robert. He’s a great guy. I know you need someone to blame for how things ended up with your father after RJ died, but your dad didn’t choose me. Your mom left. You left in mind and spirit months before your body did. Robert didn’t have anyone else
but
me. I never tried to take RJ’s place, Georgia. I never tried to take yours, either. Robert’s been a broken man for a long time. Maybe it’s time you step up to the plate and help put him back together.”