Rodeo Blues (12 page)

"Our reservation is at eight." He lifted his
arm and glanced at his watch. "We have a few minutes to spare." He
didn't wait for her to answer, but opened his door and ran around
to the other side of his truck to open hers. He offered his hand
and she stared at it for a second before she rested her palm
against his. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before he helped her
out of the pickup. She stood close to him, but not close enough to
his liking. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss those
parted lips, but he would be patient. He'd wine and dine his
reluctant wife, and take her dancing afterwards. If everything went
as planned, maybe when he took her home, she'd invite him in for a
nightcap. Who knew what would transpire after that, but he could
hope for what he'd like to happen.

He intertwined his fingers with hers and they
strolled hand in hand to the front door of the most expensive
restaurant in all of Texas – well, at least any he frequented. The
tables were covered with linen cloths, the utensils were polished
silver, and the goblets were the finest crystal. The waiters fawned
all over them, making Jolie glance at him uneasily from across the
table.

"I didn't realize rodeo bull riding paid so
well," she teased, but he could tell she was worried how they were
going to pay the bill. He wanted to tell her he had made good money
from the rodeo events. He was one of the top ten contestants and
the cash flow was enough to make a good living from the purses he'd
won, but he let her comment slide. They both knew such rankings
would not last in a bull rider's career. There was always someone
younger, stronger, and in better shape to take your place.

That's why he'd gone back to school to earn a
degree. It's why he looked into long-term investments, but he
wasn't ready to reveal all that yet, and he had a very good reason
why he didn't want to tell her about the homestead or that he owned
the mineral and land rights to the property. It's how he managed a
sweet deal with the oil company and leased out a section of his
land. He only put in half a mil to get the project going, and now
had made all that back and more. He'd been lucky though. They hit
oil at a thousand feet.

All this might make her look at him
differently, but he wasn't going for different. He wanted her to
like him just for him. He wanted her to remember why they'd fallen
in love in the first place.

He reached for her hand from across the
table. "Relax, darlin', I promise you we won't have to dine and
dash. Not unless you want to," he added as he sat back in his
seat.

"I – what?"

He grinned.

"You're teasing me." She finally relaxed and
smiled. There was that dimple winking.

"Of course I am." He sipped the wine the
waiters poured for them. "You should try some. It's good."

She reached for her glass and took a sip. "It
is," she agreed, and stared at the liquid in her elegant stemmed
glass then promptly placed it on the table. "I'm more fond of
beer." She met his eyes with meaning. "You don't need to impress
me, Tye."

He studied her for a moment before he
formulated his response. "Don't I? I want you to know your husband
can take care of you."

"By spending a month's savings on one
meal?"

"Trust me, Jolie. I can afford this."

Her beautifully shaped brows furrowed, but
she didn't make mention about how expensive the meal was going to
be again. For that, he was grateful. Their conversation flowed with
ease as it had earlier and soon she relaxed and enjoyed the evening
as planned. The food was good, but not as good as the barbecue ribs
at Big Bob's Saloon. He wondered if they still ran the special on
Monday nights.

They didn't go dancing, but ended up at
Skeeter Pond, skipping rocks liked they'd done when they were
teens. He left his truck's lights on, though the moon shone bright
enough for them to see.

"Do you remember when they used to have movie
night at the pond in the summertime?" he asked her. "They would
rent those large inner tubes so we could float on the pond to stay
cool as we watched the movie?"

She smiled. "I remember."

He chuckled and shook his head as he
remembered one night in particular.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you recall the night they showed Jaws,
and Mike played a joke on Georgia by pretending a shark had gotten
him?" He laughed again and Jolie joined in on the mirth as she
remembered that night too.

"Lordy," Jolie said. "I thought Georgia was
going to drown him once she found out he was only funning her." She
picked up a rock and handed it to him. He threw it and it skipped
three times before sinking to the bottom of the pond. "They still
do those movie nights," she told him. "They start up again in
August and end when school starts."

"Some things never change," he said as he
gazed at the brush and trees lining the far side of the pond. He
knew there was a path there, especially designed for the guests at
the campsites and the cabins to use for easy access to and from the
water's edge. During the day one could hear laughter and screams of
delight as people swam in the pond, but at night katydids took
center stage, singing their
ch-ch-ch, ch-ch,
ch-ch-ch
song with rhythm. Tonight, they proved music to his
ears. Big cities were never for him with their blaring lights and
sounds of sirens and horns honking. He would always be a small town
man at heart.

"And other things do change," she said, her
voice thoughtful.

He looked at her then with an arched
brow.

"Last time we were here," she said, "you were
tall and lanky with hair that never looked like it had been
combed."

He gave her a half smile. "You didn't seem to
mind."

"No, I didn't." Her voice lowered, and
sounded huskier to his ears.

"And now?" he asked and hoped he didn't have
to spell it out to her. He wanted to know what she thought of him
now.

She took a step toward him until they faced
each other. Her hand slid over his arm. "You're broader, a little
taller too, and…" her gaze shifted to his hair. "And you must have
bought yourself a comb."

He laughed. "I just know where it is
now."

Her lips curved as she let her hands fall
away. He missed her touch already. Had missed her touch for what
seemed like forever. "I had a good time tonight," she said and
chewed on her lower lip. He had a sinking feeling she wanted to say
more. Wanted to say something he might not want to hear. He
wouldn't let her.

"Who said it was over?" he pulled her into
his arms, the sudden movement making her squeal in delight. Then
she settled against him with her head resting on his chest and her
hand lightly touching his arm. With the sounds of the night as
their music, they danced after all.

Chapter Seventeen

Jolie opened the shop and strode in, turning
on the overhead lights. She didn't have to be at the fairgrounds
until noon. She had two of Mary Lou Green's daughters helping out
this morning.

She enjoyed her evening with Tye.
Dang it, anyway.
She'd hoped their
date
would have proved to both of them they
were no longer compatible, but it seemed her heart enjoyed being
romanced by the boy who broke it. "He's no longer a boy," she
gently reminded herself. …And they never did get around to
discussing the annulment. Part of her didn't want to bring it up.
Selfish on her part. She just wanted… Well, she just wanted to have
a nice evening out. It had been a long time since she'd been out on
a date.

She turned on the coffee machine and made a
latte. Nice and hot. She could drink hot coffee even when it was
the hottest day in Skeeter Blue, the temperature ranging well over
a hundred degrees. Thank goodness, it was only supposed to be in
the low nineties today. As she sipped her latte, her thoughts again
returned to last night.

Tye wanted to show her a good time and he
did, but she had to make him realize she didn't need nor did she
want a man who could take her to fancy restaurants. She wanted a
man who was going to stick around for the long haul, someone who
wanted to make a life here in Skeeter Blue. She liked the small
town where she knew her neighbors and they knew her. She loved
being a part of the community and owning her shop on Main
Street.

As much as she wanted to be with Tye, she
couldn't see him settling down here. He was used to living out of a
suitcase. He'd outgrown Skeeter Blue, and the sooner she could
convince him they needed to annul the marriage the better. There
was no sense in drawing it out any longer, but first she needed to
corner Mayor Dirkly and make him understand the predicament they
were in. However, the man had purposely made himself scarce.

The bell over the door chimed and Whisper
came breezing in like a blast of fresh air. Her hair was tucked
under a fortuneteller scarf of purple and hot pink. Her skirt was
just as flamboyant and to finish off her outfit, she sported gold
hoop earrings and gold bracelets. Jolie knew she would look gaudy
in such a getup, but Whisper did the outfit justice. Gypsies
everywhere would envy her.

"Well, good morning, boss lady." She grinned
from ear to ear as if she knew a secret and was just bursting to
tell it. She tossed her purse behind the counter and proceeded to
make herself a mocha frappe. "So…how did the date go with the
hubby?" she spoke over the blender.

Hubby?
She pursed her lips and shook
her head. Of course, technically she was right, but for her to use
the title… "It was nice."

Whisper turned off the blender and poured her
drink. "Only nice. Tye Casper don't strike me as a
nice
kinda guy." One of Whisper's eyebrows rose. "Come
on, spill. Don't tell me he didn't take you to bed and love you
proper."

"Whisper, really." She clicked her tongue.
Tye had been the perfect gentleman. After their evening of dinner,
wine, and slow dancing by the pond, he drove her home, walked her
to the front door and—

"Earth to Jolie." Whisper snapped her fingers
in front of her eyes, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Tye and I didn't sleep together," she
blurted out then sipped her coffee, staring at Whisper over the rim
of the cup.
What a sight; Whisper speechless.

Whisper blinked once then twice. "Say what?
Did the man go and forget you both were hitched?"

"No, he didn't forget. He's courting me." His
words, not hers, and said after they shared a heated kiss on her
front porch, no less. She didn't put much faith in the pledge. How
long could he hold out? How long could she?

Whisper chortled and amusement danced in her
eyes. "I think he has this all backwards." She placed her cup on
the counter. "I should go have a word with him."

Jolie's hand snaked out and grabbed Whisper's
arm. "You will do no such thing. I'm perfectly fine with the way
things are," she lied. She was attracted to Tye, and it would be
simple to slide into a physical relationship with him, but darn him
for being so likable too, even when she didn't want to care. Her
logical portion of her brain was screaming,
keep away from
him.
The other portion didn't care what happened between them
in the past. It wanted to ignore her logical self and let Tye have
his way with her. The tug-o-war was wearing her out.

Whisper stared at her in disbelief. "You are
either in denial or you're just plumb crazy. I saw the two of you
together and I did your charts. You two were meant to be
together."

She ran a hand over her face, inhaled, and
then let out a breath as she prayed for patience. "The charts don't
mean diddly-squat." Her words sounded harsh even to her own ears,
but she couldn't back down now. "The man broke my heart and there's
just no coming back from that." She was the forever kind of girl
and Tye didn't understand such a commitment.

"Wow," Whisper said, truly appearing shocked
at her outburst.

She was a little put back also. She'd finally
said it out loud. It didn't mean she should take out her
frustration on Whisper, but she couldn't base her relationships on
the stars. "Listen, I can't take a chance on a man who's going to
leave town once the rodeo event is over in search of the next one.
His eight seconds were up a long time ago with me, and he
lost."

The bell chimed over the door and Tye strode
in with his cowboy hat pushed back on his head, and didn't he look
mighty fine dressed in a
show-off-the-abs
T-shirt, well worn jeans that sat low on his hips, and tobacco
tanned ostrich boots. Her gaze traveled back to his eyes, dreamy
eyes, beautiful eyes… She shook her head and glanced away, but not
before she witnessed his lips curving, and to make it worse her
traitorous heart sped up a notch. So much for her statement of
'it's over'. She chanced a glance at Whisper, wondering if she
noticed she had just given her a load of horse manure.
Yep, her
smirk said it all.