Rodeo Blues (26 page)

"I could care less about the money," Jolie
said as she reached for her bag, not really hungry anymore.

"It sure in the heck helps. Besides, you
could be happy with Tye Casper. Remember, I did your charts. It's
written in the stars. You two are perfect for each other."

"No relationship is perfect," she said.

"Well, maybe not, but the charts never
lie."

Jolie could hear a rumble in the distance.
"Is that thunder?" Her gaze shifted to the store window.

Whisper stood and strode over to the doorway.
"I swear it can be hotter than Hades," she said with a chuckle,
"but we can expect rain at the drop of a hat. Texas weather." She
shook her head. "There's a storm brewing," she added as if it were
an afterthought.

Jolie frowned as she turned toward the coffee
maker and reach for a creamer. She recalled Whisper's words before
she knew Tye had arrived in town.
There's a storm
brewing, Jolie Lockhart, and the man of your dreams will be riding
in on it.

"Jolie?"

She stilled her movements and closed her
eyes. What were the chances of Tye strolling in as those words came
to mind? She turned toward the door, her gaze finding his. Surely,
he was an illusion as ghostly as his last name – Casper, the
friendly – she shook her head to clear her mind of the song playing
in her head. When Tye was five, he thought he'd been named after
the cartoon character, then when he was ten and annoying, he sang
the song nonstop. Drove everyone crazy.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her
voice caught in her throat as anticipation thickened the air around
her. Why had he shown up here? Did he want to make sure she signed
the papers? Did he want to hand deliver them to Mayor Dirkly? Or
was there something—

Thunder rumbled overhead, interrupting her
thoughts.

Her gaze swept over him from head to toe with
an appreciative eye. He wore a blue T-shirt and those all so sexy
jeans. Her tongue slipped out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. He
tipped his hat back, drawing her attention to his eyes, not just
the color, but what she witnessed in those dark amber hues.
Yearning, pure and simple, and her body tingled all over in
response.

"Jolie," Tye said her name again and took a
step toward her, confirming he was indeed flesh and blood and not
the Ghost Rider, breezing through town on his way to God knew
where. "Will you step out with me for a bit?" he asked. "I'd like
to show you something."

"Sure, she's free," Whisper volunteered for
her.

She shot Whisper a look of annoyance.

Whisper shot her one right back. "I can
handle the store," she added and smiled.

Tye's lips twitched, though he managed not to
give Whisper any encouragement with a full out grin, but he did
give her a grateful nod. To Jolie, he held out his hand.

She would be lying if she wasn't just a
little curious. She strode over to him and took his hand. He
inhaled deeply, then let it out again in a whoosh, as if he were
relieved she'd accepted. They strolled toward his truck, parked at
the meter in front of the post office. He was the perfect
gentleman. Opened and shut the door for her before he raced to the
other side of his truck to get in.

"Where are we going," she asked.

"You'll see."

They drove in silence for a few minutes and
it didn't take her long to realize where they were headed. She'd
driven there more times than she could remember. Rode her bike
there when she'd been a pre-teen, and when she bought her first car
it had been set to autopilot to this place, but she hadn't been out
here in years – not even when the town talked about the oil drill
on the back acres. Not even when the folks talked about the new
house being built there. Part of the reason was she didn't want her
memories she had with Tye there to be ruined with change. Now she
knew Tye had made the changes. He still owned the land.

When they pulled into the drive, her gaze
caught sight of the men at work. Trucks with Reese Construction
Company painted on the side were parked on the lot. Her gaze
riveted to Tye's. Jhett's company. He'd been telling her the truth.
They wouldn't be parked on his property if he'd been out to destroy
the company, would they?

"Jhett and I are partners now," he said to
her unvoiced question. "Made it official this morning. It's where
I've been. Never knew how many legal documents one had to sign to
become a partner." He shook his head but he was smiling. "I'm
invested in Skeeter Blue as much as you are." His hand reached for
hers and he gave it a quick squeeze. "Wait there." He opened his
truck door and hurried to the other side to open hers.

She slid out and allowed him to lead her
toward the house. Of course, she'd seen it from the road as they
drove up; it was difficult to miss. But up close and personal made
it seem so much larger. The house was nearly finished. There were
workers painting the trim, and Tye waved to them.

"Good morning, Mr. Casper," one worker called
out from where he was perched on a ladder.

"Good morning, Clay," he called back.

He smiled that all too familiar smile which
made her toes curl. "Come on," he said as he led her up the porch
stairs. What she could tell from the steps, it appeared as if the
porch wrapped around the house, or at the very least, a good
portion of it.

He opened the front door and allowed her to
enter first. "This is the living room," he said as if she wouldn't
know by looking at it with its fireplace as the focal point.
"There's no furniture yet, but can you imagine how it would look
furnished?"

She could only nod as she took in everything
at once. She followed him to the next room.

"This is the kitchen." His hand lovingly
brushed over the island, which had a smooth granite top, and then
he opened some of the cupboards over the sink before heading toward
a larger door at the far end. "And this is a walk in pantry," he
told her. She peeked inside where shelves were just waiting to be
filled.

"Come on," he said and took her hand again
and hurried her toward the back rooms. There were four bedrooms in
all, and a bathroom. "This is the master bedroom," he said upon
entering the large spacious room. "There's a master bathroom with a
large tub that also could be used like a hot tub. I have to say I'm
interested in trying it out."

Tye beamed with pride and he should. The
house was beautiful. She ventured closer to the French doors and
peeked outside. There was a patio there where a table and two
chairs stood waiting to be used.

The other rooms," he began. She turned to
meet his gaze and he gave her a sheepish grin as he continued,
"could be for our guests…or our children." He shrugged as if he
were leaving it up to her.

Then the dawning of his words hit her full
force. "Our children?" she asked.

"This house is for you, Jolie. It was
supposed to be a wedding present, but I mucked up everything,
didn't I? The plan had been to apologize for leaving you and beg
forgiveness. Then I hoped you would give me a second chance. I
wanted you to fall in love with me again. Well…" He removed his hat
and held it to his chest. She realized he was nervous, but she
didn't know what to say.

"I love you, Jolie," he told her when the
silence proved too much for both of them. "It's what I've been
trying to tell you." He placed the hat back on his head and
approached her then. He took both of her hands. "Jolie Lockhart,
I'm sober, you're sober, and I'm telling you, I love you with all
my heart. Please," his voiced choked and he swallowed. "Will you
marry me? If not today," he hurried to say, "but in the
future…whenever you're ready… We could start over. We could date…"
His eyes beseeched her to answer him with a yes.

She chewed on her lower lip as she looked
around her. She heard the tinkling of chimes and glanced toward the
patio. The wind had picked up, indicating the storm was nearly upon
them.

"I did this all for you…for us," he said,
still waiting for her to say something.

The love and time he'd put into creating this
beautiful home was evident in every fine touch – twelve-foot
ceilings would allow relief from the hot Texas summers. The Cypress
siding, glass-paneled windows, and the longleaf pine floors were
beautiful.
And
she hadn't missed the raised
deck off the sun porch either. Nor did she miss the wind chimes
waving in the wind. They were the chimes she'd made him for his
fourteenth birthday out of glass and bits of metal. She couldn't
believe he still had it.

Tye left Skeeter Blue a mere boy, who'd been
lost and hurting from what life had dealt him, and maybe he'd been
a bit insecure also, but somewhere down the line, he'd found
himself and knew what he wanted. Only she'd been too blind to see
it, too wrapped up in her own hurt to let the past go and see what
the future could hold. She glanced at him now. The rugged man he
was today gazed at her with longing, but she also saw the boy she'd
fallen in love with so long ago looking at her too. She loved him
then, and she loved him now.

"Jolie, I'm on pins and needles here," he
teased nervously.

She still hadn't given him an answer, and he
deserved one. "I don't want to date you," she said and his features
fell and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as if he swallowed a
lump in his throat. She hurried to explain. "Dating is for single
couples. We're already married. We could have date nights, if you'd
like." Her lips slowly curved.

The dawning of her words sunk in a moment
later and he took a step closer to her. "You didn't sign the
annulment papers?"

"No. I—"

He didn't wait for her reasons and maybe it
really didn't matter. He picked her up and swung her around in a
circle before he put her down again. "Merry Christmas," he
murmured, his lips hovering near her mouth.

She pulled away to look at him. "It's July,
you do realize."

"Yep, but I'm with the rodeo...
was
with the rodeo," he amended, "and Christmas in July
is a cowboy's time."

She chuckled. "So you've made it home for
Christmas after all. I suppose it is better late than never."

His lips finally claimed hers with a caress
her heart and soul remembered all too well. Good Lord above,
her husband
knew how to kiss, among other
talented things... "We have three empty rooms," she said. "That's a
lot to fill."

"I'm up to the task, darlin', if you are."
His fingers gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his
touch as intimate as if he'd kissed her. Her body was acutely aware
of how close he stood. How much closer she wanted him…

"It's raining," Tye said.

The soft patter of rain against the windows
reached her ears. All that clamoring with the thunder this morning,
and lightening answering in response, but it all came together as
the storm finally found its release. "Can't have thunder without
lightning…" she murmured.

"What?" Tye asked.

"Nothing," she said as she wrapped her arms
around his neck. His arms automatically encircled her waist,
drawing her close. Tye hadn't been the only one who'd come home.
She had too. In his arms was where she belonged. Where she'd always
belonged. "I'm up to the task," she said and it took Tye a second
longer to realize what she meant.

"I'm at your service, Mrs. Casper." He leaned
down and captured her lips and she closed her eyes with a sigh.

She was Mrs. Casper…Mrs. Jolie Casper… Yeah,
it sounded perfect.

The End

About the Author

Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California
with her husband, three fascinating children, and houseful of
demanding pets. Jack, her Chorkie, is her writing buddy and sits
long hours with her at the computer.

When she's not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or
otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order
at Gillian's Book Covers, "Judge Your Book By Its Cover". You can
also check out her published cover art designs at Western Trail
Blazer and Rebecca J. Vickery Publishing.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal,
historical, or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array
of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena –
falling in love.

Visit the author at:
http://www.kmnbooks.com

Stop by her blog for Monday interviews, chats
and contests at:

http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com

Gillian's Book Covers

Judge Your Book By Its Cover

http://judgeyourbookbyitscover.blogspot.com/

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A western tale from Karen Michelle Nutt…

WANTED

Sheriff Jace Kelly's wife died birthing his
remarkable daughter, Emma. She inherited the families' seer
abilities. At six years old, she can't tell the difference between
a vision and an ordinary dream. So Jace doesn't put much faith in
Emma's recent premonition: marriage for him and a new mother for
her.

When JoBeth Riley arrives, Emma is convinced
she's the woman in her dream: dark hair, green eyes, and shamrocks
in her pocket. There's one problem – she's the notorious outlaw,
Baby Face Jo. Her stay in town is meant to keep Shane Maverick, the
leader of the outlaw gang, from finding her before the authorities
devise a plan to capture him.

JoBeth finds the Kellys a strange lot. A
little girl, who believes her dreams are tales of the future and
the rugged sheriff whose kindness proves a distraction. She's an
outlaw, for heaven's sake, but Jace is bound and determined to
steal her heart.