Rodeo Blues (24 page)

"Where've you been?" Buddy asked. His clothes
were covered in dust and he looked hot and sweaty. He could still
see some of the face paint he used on the side of his neck. He must
have come from an event. "How's Chris Burns doing?" Buddy asked.
"Been worried sick. Everyone has been. Thought you'd call by
now."

"What?" Then he remembered he had a missed
call on his phone from Buddy. He'd forgotten to inform him on
Chris' condition, but with everything else going to hell in a hand
basket, it slipped his mind. Well, add inconsiderate to the long
list of faults he was racking up faster than he could keep count.
"I'm sorry. Chris is fine…or will be once the bones heal. He didn't
break his back, thank God. His wife is with him now."

Buddy let out a sigh of relief. "So good to
know. I'll pass the word around. They'll probably want to head over
to the hospital later tonight or tomorrow morning to visit with
him."

Tye nodded.

"You making any headways with that girl of
yours?" Buddy asked, obviously picking up on his lack of staying
focused on the here and now.

"Not really." He glanced at Buddy. "Told her
I'd give her what she wanted."

"Which is?" Buddy asked.

"The annulment."

Buddy's hand snaked out, gripping his arm and
bringing them to a halt. "Whatcha gone and done that for?"

"Short version. She was in a snit. Had the
right to be, and I didn't know how to fix it other than give her
what she wanted."

"Oh man, I'm sorry. But you know you don't
have to stay here in Skeeter Blue. There's plenty of years left in
you," he said with all seriousness.

That may be true, but he couldn't do this
line of work forever. A body couldn't take that much punishment.
He'd had his time in the limelight, saved his money from his wins,
and he was more than ready to settle down – if Jolie would only
agree. No matter what, he wouldn't run this time. He'd give her the
annulment, but this was a small town. She'd have to talk to him
eventually.

"I'm hanging up my spurs. Skeeter Blue is
where I want to be." He knew this the moment he left town all those
years ago, but saying the words now brought home the truth. This is
where he belonged, where he'd always belonged, if only he hadn't
let others dictate his future. Words maimed though, more than being
flung off a bull and trampled into the dirt.

"That's good to know," Whisper said,
obviously hearing his declaration as she walked up to them, holding
two frozen lemonades, one cup in each hand. She wore her hair in
braids, the blonde and brown strands intertwining perfectly. Her
red sundress seemed tame compared to her other clothes she'd worn,
but she made up for it by wearing flashing crystal ball earrings.
"Thought the both of you might want something cold to drink before
you start the afternoon."

"Thanks, Whisper," Buddy said and smiled a
wide smile that Whisper returned with one of her own.

"Glad you're okay, Casper," Whisper said with
a sidelong glance. "Thought you'd gone down for the count until
Buddy cleared up the misunderstanding. By the way, I just got off
the phone with Jolie a few minutes ago," Whisper continued. "She
went home early today, said she had a headache. It's not like her
to do that."

He had a hunch it wasn't, but he kept his
trap shut."

"She said she was feeling better, but I could
tell something was bothering her and it had nothing to do with a
headache – unless said headache was six-foot two." She gave him a
once over and he grimaced. "I knew it. Whatcha gone and done now,
anyhow?"

"Enough, I suppose," he said with a tired
sigh.

"Enough to make her spitting mad," she said.
"Want me to knock some sense into you?" she asked with a chuckle,
but he had a hunch the woman meant it.

Buddy reached for the lemonades as if to free
up her fist for the said promise.

"Stand in line," he murmured as he took one
of the mugs from Buddy.

Whisper placed her hands on her hips and her
gaze slid over him as if judging his worth. "I plan on being first
in line."

He had no doubt she would be.

"Let me see that hand of yours," she demanded
and didn't wait for him to agree or not. Her hand whipped out to
take his free one. She stared at his palm and he realized she was
doing some of her gypsy power mubble-jumble, but he didn't stop
her. Maybe she'd see something there that would give him hope –
even if all she claimed would just be a ruse. He'd take the
encouragement anyway.

She clicked her tongue. "You still have a
chance to set things right, cowboy." Her gaze met his. "Now get
your act together and quick." She released his hand and shifted her
attention to Buddy as she smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Will I be seeing you tonight, lover?" Her voice was like a
purr.

"You betcha, sweet thing," Buddy said with a
wide grin

Truly, he could get a cavity just listening
to the syrupy banter between these two.

Whisper giggled in delight and pressed a kiss
to Buddy's lips. "Yum, lemonade is my favorite." She moved on,
swaying her hips as she headed back to Trinkets Galore's booth.

"I'm beginning to see your fascination with
the gals from this here town," Buddy said with a long sigh.

"You could always stay and marry that pretty
sweet thing
," Tye said and pounded Buddy's
back for good measure.

Buddy threw him a petrified look.

"I'm just saying…" Tye lifted his hand in a
shrug as he walked backwards, still grinning.

"Bite your tongue. And by the way, since
you're up shit-creek, I'd say you can show the kiddos how to shovel
it out of the stalls."

His grin slid off his face. "Now, you're just
being mean."

"Yeah, that's me." He strode toward him. "The
big meanie. That's why I'm a bachelor and plan on staying that
way." Then with all kidding aside, he asked, "Are you really going
to quit the circuit and stay here? Even with things not going the
way you expected?"

He glanced at his friend. "I am. Not sure if
Jolie will remain my wife, but I can always hope. She has to
forgive me sometime, doesn't she?"

Buddy shook his head. "Don't rightly know.
Don't have a rulebook on how these things work, but in my
experiences, a woman may forgive, but they never ever forget. Sure
you don't want to let this filly go? You could be wasting your
time."

Didn't he already know it, but he'd come this
far, he wouldn't give up so readily. "I have time to waste.
Besides, how could she turn down a guy with a face like this?" He
gave him a lopsided grin and Buddy just shook his head.

"I do hope you have more of a plan than
showing off your pearly whites."

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tye finally made it back to the hotel to
shower and change. This was the last night of the Cowboy Christmas
in July Rodeo. If things hadn't changed since the last time he
lived here, after all the festivities at the arena, most of the
teens would probably head over to the carnival section to ride the
roller coaster and Ferris wheel one last time. The adults would end
up at Big Bob's Saloon for drinking and dancing.

As he neared the arena, he spotted the Mayor
in the booth, probably looking over the list of names he was to
announce.

"So whatcha goin' to do with the money?"
Buddy came to stand by him.

He hadn't seen the final scores, nor really
cared if he won or not, but he guessed Buddy had. "Hadn't really
thought about it. Didn't know I won, until now."

Buddy chuckled. "Didn't you pay attention to
the scores?"

"I had other things on my mind."

Buddy sighed. "Yep, I guess you have."

They had a front row seat for the parade and
at the end of it, Santa rode in on a horse, dressed in chaps and
sporting a red cowboy hat. His satchel was filled with bags of
goodies from Cecilia's Scrumptious Sweets. Once Santa said his 'ho,
ho, ho, and heehaw', he galloped around the arena before riding
away.

"And now for the winners of the Cowboy
Christmas in July events," Mayor Dirkly announced over the
loudspeaker, drawing their attention. He announced the barrel
racing contestants first, going down the list, and then giving out
the medals along with a check to the first place winners.

While the night wore on, Tye found himself
scanning the stands packed with people, searching for Jolie. Even
though he knew it was a long shot, he still hoped she'd show
up.

The winners of each event came and went
without him hearing more than a few words. After the Bareback
riding event's winners had been announced, and the contestants were
being escorted off the field, Buddy nudged him to pay
attention.

Mayor Dirkly's voice came over the
loudspeaker again. "Now for the Bull riding event. Third place goes
to Chuck Stevens from Canada." The crowd clapped and stomped their
feet as Stevens made his way to the center of the arena where there
were makeshift stands constructed in three different levels. The
first place winner stood on the higher tier in the center.

"Second place goes to Dan Walters from
Alabama." Again there was a round of applause. Mayor Dirkly waited
for a semblance of silence, which amounted to a low roar. "Now for
the first place winner of the bull riding event…drum roll,
please…"

The local high school band played for the
ceremony tonight. It had been a tradition when he lived in Skeeter
Blue, and would probably continue to be a tradition for years to
come. The drum roll started off barely audible and grew louder and
faster as if the drummer was running a race. To the left of him,
some teenage girls yelled in unison, "We love you, Jack." He could
only assume the drummer's name was Jack.

He glanced at Buddy, who wore a grin. "Sounds
like Jack's a popular fella," Buddy snickered.

"Lucky guy." He inclined his head toward
where the teenage girls stood huddled together giggling and cupping
their hands around their mouth as they leaned close to
converse.

"And the first place winner of the bull
riding event is, Tye Casper from Texas! Let's hear it for the Ghost
Rider!"

Buddy slapped him on the back as he made his
way to the stage. He leaned down so this year's Miss Skeeter Blue
could slip the gold medal around his neck. Mayor Dirkly stepped
forward then and handed him an envelope, which would have a check
with the winnings earned for the first place champion. Mayor Dirkly
and he shook hands and smiled for the cameras.

That's when he caught a glimpse of Jolie off
to the side, or so he thought, but a second later, flashes came at
him in all directions, blinding him. When his vision returned and
he stepped off the platform, he turned toward where he thought he'd
spotted her, but she wasn't there. Disappointment settled in the
pit of his stomach. He didn't know why he had gotten his hopes
up.

"Whatcha goin' to do with your winnings,
cowboy?" a woman with a low-cut tank top and short-shorts sidled up
to him and linked her arm through his.

He gritted his teeth, but managed to smile.
Any other time he would have taken the pretty gal out to dinner and
drinks to celebrate, but he was a married man – at least, until
tomorrow morning when Jolie signed the papers. "I'll have to ask my
wife," he said and removed her arm from his. She momentarily looked
taken aback. Probably never had any guy say no to her. "Evenin'
ma'am," he tipped his hat to her then hurried outside the arena as
the band began to play again. He headed around the backside of the
arena where the camping trailers were parked. They'd most likely be
pulling out tomorrow, now that the rodeo was over.

He knew people would expect him to head over
to Big Bob's Saloon, but he didn't feel like celebrating without
Jolie. It wouldn't feel right.

"Hey, Casper."

He turned to find Jimmy Burns coming his way.
"Hey," he called back and waited for him to catch up.

"The boys and I wanted to know if you'll join
us for a few songs over at Big Bob's Saloon for the last hoorah."
Jimmy still had dark hair with the longer strands curling at the
nape of his neck. He was a little thicker around the waist, but
overall looked the same as he had when they were in high school. If
he remembered correctly, Sonny said he worked at Reeves
Construction as an electrician. "We won't be taking no for an
answer," he added as if he sensed the word was teasing Tye's
lips.

"Well then, I'd loved to, but only for a few
songs, mind you. I'm beat. I want to head back to the hotel early.
Avoid the crowd and all."

"I hear you." Jimmy nodded, but didn't make a
move to go. Tye was about to ask him if there was something else,
when Jimmy blurted out what was on his mind. "Heard you were going
to set up shop in Skeeter Blue. Any truth to the rumors?" he
asked.