Rodeo Blues (13 page)

"How are you gals all doing this fine
morning?" he drawled as he removed his hat.

Whisper leaned on the counter and batted her
eyelashes. "Why just fine and dandy, Mr. Casper. I must say you're
looking mighty handsome and…
well rested
."
She put the emphasis on
well rested
to
drive home her meaning, which Tye picked up on. Oh, he proved to be
a quick one.

He lifted an eyebrow then lazily shifted his
gaze to her.

Jolie shrugged, pretending she didn't pick up
on the insinuation. He was on his own.

Tye cleared his throat. "I slept well after a
cold shower. I'd rather not repeat the process for long, but I'll
do whatever it takes to win the lady's favor."

Whisper grinned. "Now you're talkin', Mr.
Casper. How 'bout I fix you one of our specialty coffees?"

"Just a plain cup of coffee, if you don't
mind. I like it strong and black."

"Coming right up."

Tye then leveled his gaze on Jolie and gave
her a disarming grin.

All of a sudden, Jolie felt like prey and she
swallowed the lump in her throat as he came around the counter with
purpose gleaming in his eyes. She took a step back and bumped into
the shelves behind her, but that didn't stop his pursuit. Nope, not
one iota.

Reaching her, he placed a hand on each side
of her hips, pinning her in place with her back against the
shelves, and no place to run. Funny how it both thrilled and
annoyed her at the same time. She wasn't angry with Tye, but with
herself for being so darn easy to fall for his charms. He leaned in
close, their breath mingling as one.

He was going to kiss her and she felt like
she couldn't breathe.
Get a grip
, she
mentally told herself. She'd kissed Tye plenty of times – in the
past and recently. Nothing to get all weak-kneed about, but then he
did the darnedest thing. He planted a kiss on her cheek. Her cheek
of all things! If he was going to stalk her and trap her, at the
very least he could kiss her properly.
Lordy, he
could make her see red.

"Good morning, Mrs. Casper," he murmured near
her ear, making her shiver. She turned her head to tell him not to
call her that, but the words died in her throat when her mouth
hovered inches from his. She was now the one who needed a cold
shower. His sexy lips curved as if he read her thoughts. She
removed one of his hands from where it rested next to her hip, and
sidestepped, putting some distance between them. It wasn't nearly
enough. A dying man in a desert reaching for a glass of water had
nothing on the way Tye Casper drank her in with just his gaze.

"Here's your coffee," Whisper announced and
handed the cup to Tye. "Nice and strong. Just like you
ordered."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said to Whisper, but
he didn't take his eyes off Jolie. "I'll see ya later," he said to
her, but instead of leaving, he placed his hat and cup on the
counter and stepped closer.

She moved back, but this time the counter
prevented her from going too far. Darn it, she needed a bigger
place. It proved too small with Tye here. "I don't—"

His lips found hers and all ability to
formulate words halted as he kissed her with passion, not caring
Whisper stood there watching them. When he let her breathe again,
his lips curved into that lazy smile which could tempt a saint.
"Have a good morning, Mrs. Casper." The pad of his thumb traced a
path across her lips before he stepped away and grabbed his hat and
coffee cup on his way out.

She blinked and teetered. If anything, the
man could kiss. Then she realized what he called her. Not Jolie,
but Mrs. Casper. "Stop calling me that," she called after him, but
it was already too late. He had left the shop and was heading down
the walk. She glanced at Whisper who wore a grin that would put the
Cheshire cat to shame. "Don't say it." She held up her hand.

"I don't need to 'cause I reckon you already
know." She chuckled then added, "
Mrs.
Casper
."

Chapter Eighteen

Tye chanced a sip of coffee as he strode
toward his truck. Not bad, and he had plenty of bad as well as good
java to compare it to, with all the stops he made when he was on
the road. He indulged in another generous sip. Almost as good as a
kiss from Jolie – almost. Nothing would ever be better than her
caresses. Yep, he sounded sappy, but he didn't care.

He took Jolie out on a date last night. He
hoped one of many. He told her on her front porch he wanted to
court her. He meant it. He'd make up for leaving her and breaking
his promise to come back to her. He wasn't fool enough to believe
Jolie forgave him after one dinner date, but she hadn't mentioned
the annulment in the last twelve hours or so. He would call that
progress.

He spotted Buddy leaning against his truck,
gripping a paper bag with
Cecilia's Scrumptious
Sweets
printed on it. By the way he was munching away on the
donut holes with sprinkles, he could guess they were as delicious
as stated.

Buddy stood up straight as he caught sight of
him. "You get your morning boost for the day?" His brows wagged up
and down.

Tye had a hunch he wasn't referring to his
coffee. "Just get in the truck," he said with a shake of his
head.

"I guess that answers my question." Buddy
popped another donut hole in his mouth.

They drove out to the fairgrounds with only a
few snarky remarks from Buddy, but then the man was probably just
warming up. They had all day.

Within the hour, the grounds would be buzzing
with activity. He spotted Sonny's lean form and Mike's stream of
cigarette smoke as they set up their equipment on the grand stage.
The band would play three sets. They were scheduled for the end of
the day when the rodeo events came to an end and it was time to
party. There was nothing better than listening to live music,
eating good barbeque, and drinking beer. Well, unless you had your
favorite gal sharing the moment with you, then it was as perfect as
perfect could get.

He heard Jimmy Burns would be joining Sonny
and Mike again tonight. The man knew how to play a mean fiddle.
They use to call him 'Guy-o-Ray', 'cause he was faster than a ray
of light when he really got to playing that fiddle.

He looked toward the pens located at the
arena. He and Buddy volunteered to run the Mutton Busting event
with some of the locals. Seven and eight year olds were already
lined up to try their shot at staying seated on a sheep for eight
seconds. No harm came to the animals and the children wore pads and
helmets so they wouldn't get hurt. It was all in fun. Mayor Dirkly
would hand out the ribbons to the winners. It was a big deal for
these boys.

Earlier, they'd oversee the Goat Tying event.
This was more geared for pre-teen girls and boys. Though not part
of a professional rodeo competition, Skeeter Blue still gave out
trophies or medals to the winners. A goat was staked out in the
arena, while a mounted rider ran to the goat, dismounted, and tried
to throw the goat to the ground and tie it in the same manner as a
cowboy would tie a calf. Not as complex as roping a calf, but it
gave the children the basics of how it was done.

"Are you ready?" Buddy asked him, drawing his
attention.

"Sure, ready as ever," he answered and ran a
hand across the brim of his hat.

The sun beat down on them, but he barely
noticed. Seeing the eager excitement in the boys' eyes, made him
smile too. It brought back memories of when he was a youngster at
the tender age of seven and he believed he was a big shot.

Jolie had stood on the fence with her hair in
braids, watching him with clasped hands. His first attempt at
riding the sheep landed him on his behind in three seconds flat,
but he wasn't done yet. His gaze found Jolie, expecting her to be
laughing at him, but she hadn't even cracked a smile. She gave him
a nod as she chewed on her lower lip. That was all the
encouragement he needed.

She stayed right there and when he was
finally done trying to teach the sheep a lesson and losing each
time, she walked home with him.

"You showed some potential at the end," she
told him with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah?" He gave her a sidelong glance. She
sure was purdy.

She nodded. "Yeah. Wanna go down to the pond
and skip rocks?"

All of a sudden, nothing hurt—not his bum,
arms, or his pride. "I'll race you," he said.

"You know I'll win," Jolie said with a laugh
and bolted.

They arrived at the pond at the same time,
but he always wondered if Jolie had slowed her pace so they
would.

"Now, son." Buddy's voice drew his attention.
He was talking to the next contestant. A boy with red hair and
freckles looked wide-eyed at Buddy, hanging on his every word as he
instructed the child on what to do. Buddy strapped the helmet on
the kid nice and tight. "You can do it," he gave the boy a nod. The
chute was opened and the sheep charged forward, the boy holding on
with all his might.

"One…two…" the boy was on the ground and the
sheep bleated with protest as it ran off in the opposite direction.
"He lasted longer than I thought he would." Buddy turned toward him
with a grin.

One of the locals helped the redheaded boy up
from the ground and led him toward the exit. Tye ushered the next
contestant forward as he spotted Jolie and Whisper heading their
way.

"Looks like your wife can't seem to get
enough of you," Buddy teased. "What's it been? Three hours since
you've seen her. Maybe four."

"Maybe it's Whisper who can't get enough of
you," he teased right back.

Buddy sputtered in response before waving a
hand at him with a
harrumph
. "Who's next?" Buddy asked as he
turned away to concentrate on the next boy who was in line to try
his luck.

The buzzer sounded and three seconds later
another loud blast. Tye didn't have to turn around to know the ride
was over for contestant number two. He was more interested in Jolie
reaching him. He gave her an appreciative slide of his gaze. What
could he say? He was a guy and Jolie presented a pretty as ever
picture. Sure he saw her only hours before, but he'd been a little
preoccupied with kissing her this morning. Now he took his time
taking in every inch of her. She wore a straw cowboy hat, white
blouse, jean skirt, and boots. God, he loved that gal in a skirt
and boots, and Jolie had a pair of great looking legs. He loved the
little freckles on her knees and the tiny star birthmark on her
ankle.

He gave her sidekick a glance. Whisper looked
like a gypsy gone wild with all her bright colors shouting
how-do-you-do
. He may have only known her
for a day and a half, but the clothing seemed to suit her
perfectly.

"Hi, Tye," Whisper waved, but moved closer to
where Buddy stood, while still remaining on the other side of the
fence so not to be in the way.

Tye met Jolie's gaze, trying to gauge her
mood. Her lower lip slipped between her teeth as if he made her
nervous, but then she lifted her chin and raised a brow. "You find
something humorous?" she asked.

He didn't realize he'd been smiling, but now
his mouth grew wider. "No, ma'am. Just admiring the view is
all."

She held his gaze a moment longer, but then
glanced away. "Uh-huh, right. If you can take a break, I brought
you and Buddy some cold drinks." She lifted the cooler she'd been
holding. "I figured you would get thirsty with the sun beating down
on you."

The temperature had risen a few degrees since
she arrived, but the heat he felt had nothing to do with the
weather. The woman could always spark his desire into a full on
flame. "Thank you." He reached over the railing and took the cooler
from her.

"It's nice of you two to volunteer for the
children's events," she said as she nodded toward Buddy. Her voice
held a note of admiration, and even though he did it because he
wanted to, it felt extra nice to know Jolie appreciated the effort.
"The children look forward to this all year long," she added.

He had no doubt they did. He glanced at the
line of children wrapped around the corral. "Glad to do it. I
remember the first time I entered this event and the others
afterwards." He met her gaze. "Your daddy had to patch me up more
times than I can remember."

"I would give you a lollipop for not crying,"
she said with a chuckle. "

"Well, how could I cry when a girl was
watching me? It's probably why your daddy had you help out."

"You're probably right."

Silence settled between them, and he fought
to think of something to say so she wouldn't leave, but for the
moment conversation was at a loss to him, and it was no wonder when
her lips were such a temptation.

"Well…" She cleared her throat and he met her
gaze. "I best let you get back to work."