Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) (5 page)

"I’m
sure you will. If you should decide to start riding, Tye, there's plenty of
room here for an extra horse."

Tye
opened her mouth, then quickly closed it. Did he think she was ready to pick up
the pieces and begin to ride? "I’ll ride when I’m ready."
She swallowed hard. "That's very generous of you, but I won’t be
here that long. I wouldn’t impose on you, anyway," she ended
stiffly.

As Jake
scrubbed a hand under the black's wide jaw, the animal stretched his nose out
and closed his eyes. "Old Tibald here is as mellow as they come, but he
can race like the wind if he's in the mood."

Tye
stared at the back of Jake's head, her eyes unwillingly moving down the thick
column of his neck, where it went down into his white shirt. She wondered what
changes had occurred physically with Jake. He looked to be in superb shape.

Frowning
heavily, still feeling slightly out of sync, Tye swung her hair off her
shoulders. "I'm probably jumping to assumptions here, but you strike me as
being too busy to have time for horses. Ben mentioned you’ve made a great
success out of your father’s business. He said you work all the
time."

Jake
turned slowly to face her, his brows lifted in surprise. "I’ve
always owned horses, Tye. I ride whenever I can. During the day they pretty
much fend for themselves." Something in his eyes reminded her of the Jake
she’d known long ago, the Jake she’d loved. There was almost a
softness when he spoke of his horses. Tye drew in a hard breath. She wondered fleetingly
if there was a woman in his life. How would his face look when he spoke about
the woman he loved? She swallowed hard, an edge of desperation gripping her.

"So
you still enjoy make boxes for a living?" she quipped, needing to shake
the attraction nipping at her.

"Sure,
why not? Miller manufactures the best cardboard boxes this side of the
Mississippi." Jake's mouth quirked up at the corners as if he were amused
by her.

"I'm
having a hard time putting the two together," Tye said smartly. She put her
hands on her hips. "You know, man who makes boxes, horse that races like
the wind."

Jake
looked at her thoughtfully. "After my dad’s accident I had to take
over the family business. That doesn't mean I’ve turned into a dead
bore," he finished dryly. "I have managed to come up with a semblance
of a life in the time you’ve been away." His words were smooth, but
cutting all the same.

Tye felt
heat mount into her cheeks. Embarrassed by her own deliberate lack of finesse,
"I-I didn't mean that," she said hurriedly.

Jake
dusted his hands off and moved away. "I think you did. I have a few things
to take care of before I leave, so if you'll excuse me."

Tye knew
he didn’t give a damn if she minded him walking away. She had offended
him, unintentionally or perhaps intentionally. She had wanted to distance him
from herself and maybe that was her warped way of doing it. Nothing like
implying a guy was as boring as dirt or boxes. She didn't really believe that,
but she needed a defense. The same intense feelings she’d always felt for
Jake gripped her. She didn’t want to feel them. What Jake stirred in her
made her feel vulnerable. She’d never survive loving and leaving Jake a
second time. And she would leave. They both knew it was a given. There was no
place for her here, with Jake.

Tye
could only guess at the pain Jake had experienced when he’d been forced
to give up a promising football career. He had been on the verge of a
scholarship. Then, abruptly, he’d had to shoulder responsibility for his
family, the business, his father’s care. Tye knew at the time they were
too young. She’d been too young. She had left and it had broken her and
his.

Being
near him did something to her hormones, no doubt about it. The man was that
good-looking, but then, she had known plenty of good-looking men on the rodeo
circuit. Tye felt a momentary remorse for the partying lifestyle she had led,
then immediately put a rein on her thoughts. She had never worried about her
lifestyle before the accident, so why was she giving it a second thought now?
Darn Jake; it was his fault she was suffering all this introspection.

Confused,
Tye stared after Jake as he walked away. He wore creased gray pants and a
pristine white shirt with a tie that looked like silk. He used to know how to
kick back and have a good time. Each time she had seen him since arriving here
he had been wearing a suit. Tye tried to recall that night he had stayed with
her while she was pinned under the bull, but most of it still remained hazy.
Except for his eyes. They haunted her still, but not in a bad way, and that
worried her.

Since
she had left Jake all those years ago, she had never been tempted to spend too
much time with any one man. She had chosen her path and stuck to it. Rodeo,
first and foremost. Her mama had taken that path for a time, then quit to raise
Tye and Ben. Daddy had never left rodeo for very long, and probably wouldn't
until the day he died. The plan had always been for Tye to follow in her
daddy's footsteps. Although he had won dozens of buckles, trophies, saddles and
the like, he had never made it to the finals. Making the finals had been Tye's
dream for as long as she could remember. Daddy used to call her his "wild
child." He’d bragged to anyone who would listen that she had the
guts and grit to win big. Daddy had made her believe it.

Tye had
witnessed firsthand what the rodeo life did to families. She knew of the
loneliness Mama couldn't hide. Daddy had made a good living at rodeo, but it
had come at a cost to everyone. Tye wouldn't marry and raise kids the way she
had been raised. It wouldn't be fair to anybody. She was her own person, and
she had decided, selfish or not, that she was living her life the way she
chose. Jake would never know how her decision to leave him had torn her apart.
How do you recover from a once-in-a-lifetime love who you threw away?

No doubt
there were plenty of women willing to take on the position of Mrs. Jake Miller.
But not her. With a grimace, Tye laughed at herself. Who was she kidding? She
had never stopped yearning for him, but she’d never be asked again. Jake
had his pride, just as she had hers. She would never beg him to take her back.

Tye
recalled how Jake had watched her in the rodeo yard before that fateful ride on
old Hit Man. She had even thought of boldly seeking him out after her ride.
They might have joined the gang and gone out for a good time.

It was
too bad she had alienated him, because now she couldn't ask him all the
questions inside her head. He had so much land, a big, spacious barn…why
was it all going to waste? Tye stopped in her tracks. Why in the world should
she care?  she asked herself. Jake might look like a cowgirl's idea of
heaven, but he was as steady as any Mr. Right. Thank God finding a Mr. Right
wasn’t on her agenda.

There
had been a time when she’d do anything for Jake. Her seventeenth summer
had been happy, idyllic. Jake had followed the rodeos with her and fit right
in. They’d had vague plans for the future. Jake would take his
scholarship, play football and someday they would buy a ranch. But Tye hadn't
really looked further ahead than that summer. When Jake’s father had had
a car accident and then suffered a stroke it was the end of their world as Tye
knew it. Overnight the welfare of his family had rested on Jake’s
shoulders. He was running in ten directions, trying to keep everything from
falling apart.

Tye knew
she was part of the problem. Jake needed to concentrate on his family, not
follow her around. He had no time for her. Their plans to marry when she turned
eighteen fell to dust. Tye had told Jake she needed breathing space. The idea
of marriage had suddenly been too real, and had begun to scare the hell out of
her. She didn’t know anything about being a wife or caring for babies.
She wanted to play, not be bogged down with responsibility, the way Jake had
suddenly been.

He
hadn’t seen it that way. Despite everything, he didn’t want what
was between them to change. It tore her apart, but her decision had totally
alienated Jake. Afterward, she’d tried writing to him, calling him, but
he’d cut her out of his life. His indifference had sliced her to the
bone. He didn’t understand that the rodeo wouldn’t wait, that she
had to make her mark.

In the
intervening years Tye had wondered if she had made the right decision. At the
time, the situation had seemed so hopeless, Jake’s burdens so heavy.
Leaving had seemed the only solution.

Tye put
a brake on her own thoughts now. Here she was, worrying about a relationship
between her and Jake, when no doubt it was the furthest thing from his mind. He
had matured into a sensible, solid citizen, too smart to hook up with a loose
cannon like herself, especially now that she had a bum leg. He would want a
homemaker, a round-the-clock mother for his kids, someone dependable with a
capital D. Tye had long ago discarded any such notions. Angrily, she swiped at
the wetness on her cheek. She had made her life her own. All the faults were
hers, and it wouldn’t do any good to regret the decisions she’d
made.

Stopping
to rest a moment near the barn, Tye leaned against the open wooden door,
staring at the fields as the sun crept higher in the sky.

With a
wry grin, she dropped onto an old rickety bench beside the doorway, stretching
her legs out before her. Her right leg ached just the tiniest bit, but it was a
good ache. She had to be careful not to overdo it or she would be back on
crutches with blisters and sores. It was a constant battle, having to be
careful about things she'd never had to think about before.

Gently,
Tye massaged the limb. Looking around, she had to admit Jake's ranch, with its
seemingly endless stretch of pasture and low hills, was a rancher's dream.

Tye
decided she wanted to explore the layout of the land and become familiar with
the place. Even if she didn't stay long, she liked to know her way around.
Maybe Jake would let her work with the horses, even if she just brushed them or
exercised them on a lunge line.

Right
now a walk would strengthen her leg. The long driveway to the house would be
the ideal place to start, for she could negotiate slight inclines. Her
therapist had told her walking would become easier the more she did it.

Resolutely,
Tye got to her feet.

#

Jake was
getting ready to leave for town when Tye passed his office window. Curious as
to where she was going, he watched her walk down the driveway and disappear
around a curve.

Mentally,
he shrugged his shoulders, then pulled on his suit jacket. It wasn't any of his
business, was it, if she wanted to go for a walk? Then a thought hit him. What
if she fell and hurt herself? Who would be around to help her? There were some
uneven stretches along the driveway. He opened the glass door leading to his
back deck and skirted the swimming pool. Quickly, he strode around the house.

Jake
felt a need to keep an eye on Tye, if only for her own safety. He remembered
how rebellious she could be, how full of determination, but he also knew this
could be a real touchy situation. He had a feeling she'd be furious if she knew
he was worried about her. Still, Jake told himself, he didn’t need a lawsuit
on his hands if she got hurt. He needed to keep an eye on her.

Rounding
the first curve in the drive, he spotted her and quickly ducked into the woods
on one side. At least the driveway had been paved last year and the going was fairly
smooth. Jake wondered if Tye realized that the way back to the house would be a
steady incline. He reminded himself that he had good reasons for staying out of
sight, but felt slightly foolish, sneaking around his own property.

Jake
pushed his hair back, feeling sweat dampening his forehead and the shirt under
his jacket. He should have left the jacket at the house. Tye didn't seem to be
having any problems. In fact, she seemed steadier on her feet then when he had
seen her at the barn earlier. Jake began to feel he’d worried needlessly,
until she suddenly left the paved drive and wandered toward the woods. Why the
devil was she going there? She could really get hurt on the uneven ground.

Jake
pushed tree limbs back so he could see her better. She looked around a few
times, but he ducked down quickly. He muttered a curse when he heard the sharp
snap of a twig beneath his shoe.

"Who's
there?" Tye called out.

Resignedly,
Jake pushed aside a tangle of brush and stepped forward.

"Jake?"

"Hello,
Tye." Casually, he straightened his tie and ran his palms over his hair to
smooth it down.

Her
hands were on her hips and she had a suspicious look on her face. "What
are you doing in the woods?"

Jake
felt heat slide up his cheeks and he cleared his throat. "I forgot to
mention the hot water was off because of a power shortage earlier this morning,
so if you want to take a shower, it'll take awhile for the water to heat
up."

"Oh,
okay, Jake. Thanks." She moved close to him and lifted a hand toward his
head. Jake felt her fingers on his hair, and a tingling spread through his
scalp. He gripped her wrist and jerked it away from his head. He stared at the
small twigs in her fingers, then looked into her face. She seemed ready to
burst into laughter. Some of the tension eased from Jake.

"Somehow,
I don't think these will go well with your business meeting."

Jake
released her wrist. "Thanks. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the
water." He looked at his watch. He was going to be late. "Do you want
company walking back to the house?"

"Sure,
if you have time. You can show me the path you took through the woods."

"The
path?" Jake thought fast, then took her arm and guided her to the edge of
the trees. There was no path. "Sure, follow me."