Rodeo Blues Read online

  "Tye," Buddy called to him from the stalls. "You're up in five."

  He waved to Buddy to let him know he'd heard him.

  "How about you just give her that DVD," Mayor Dirkly said.

  "What? No," he said. "You were supposed to get rid of it."

  "I know, but it's your wedding. Don't you think Jolie would want it?"

  "I told you she doesn't remember what she said and if she does, she's chosen to pretend it didn't happen. Giving her the DVD would be like a slap in the face and I'll ruin any chance of winning her back."

  Mayor Dirkly chuckled. "Son, so far you've been doing a poor job of winning the girl back, and technically you already have her. You're married," he stressed the last words. "The DVD may actually give you the edge you need. As far as I can see, it wouldn't hurt things anymore than they are now."

  He closed his eyes and counted to ten. He wanted Jolie to come around on her own, without having to view an episode of her baring her soul. Because he knew darn well if she'd been sober, she wouldn't have declared her undying love to him. He opened his eyes. "She'll think I'm trying to blackmail her. Her declaration while drunk, doesn't count as the truth. You know that. Heck, everyone knows it. It's like one of those unwritten rules like…" He snapped his fingers. "Like what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

  "I haven't heard of any such thing."

  "Well, I'm sure there's some kind of rule."

  "Tye!" Buddy called to him again. "You're up. Now!"

  "Listen, Mayor, I've gotta go. Just don't do anything with the DVD. Let me handle it my way." He didn't wait for the Mayor to answer him but ended the call.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  "I'm sure your husband will love the T-shirt," Jolie told the older woman, who was slim with styled short, gray hair.

  "I do hope it won't shrink in the wash," she said. "Do you think I should have gotten a bigger size?" She peeked inside her bag at the T-shirt she just purchased.

  "The shirt is made with a pre-shrunk cotton blend," Jolie assured her. "You won't have to worry about it shrinking or stretching in a strange manner. You have my word. Any problems and I'll replace it for you."

  The woman's mouth spread into a wide grin. "Mighty good of you, Miss Lockhart. I'll be sure to tell the Heritage Society in Houston about your shop. I'm sure they'll want to purchase Christmas gifts from you come this holiday. You know we have our Christmas Bazaar at the beginning of December. Some of those necklaces and Teddy bears would really be a hit."

  "I'd love for you to tell them about my store. By the way, the necklaces and Teddy bears can be custom ordered." She handed the woman her card.

  "Wonderful," she said, placing the card in her wallet. "You'll be hearing from us." With her parting words, the woman hurried off with her purchase as Whisper came into view, looking a bit frazzled even for her.

  "Don't you look a sight," she said with a grin, but when Whisper didn't return the smile, she became worried. "What's wrong?"

  "Tye's been taken to the hospital," Whisper blurted.

  "What?" Her heart felt like it plummeted to her toes. "He was supposed to ride at noon," she said more to herself as she glanced at her wristwatch, a no nonsense timepiece she had for years. It was only 12:30 now. It only took eight seconds or less to be hurt. Eight seconds…

  "There was an accident…" Whisper drew her attention. "I don't know how serious it is. I just heard the news from one of the onlookers on my way over here. They said he was hurt pretty bad. I couldn't find Buddy to verify this. I don't know, maybe he's at the hospital with him."

  If they rushed Tye to the hospital, there was a good chance he'd been too injured for her daddy to patch him up and send him back into the arena. "Damn his hide. Does he think he can make me a widow?" She came around on the other side of the booth. "Are you okay to close things up?"

  "Don't you worry about a thing," Whisper said. "I have it handled."

  "Thanks, Whisper." She grabbed her purse and hurried toward the parking lot. Tears stung her eyes and her throat suddenly felt like a piece of cement had been lodged there.

  Every time Tye rode, he risked being seriously injured…or worse. "Every time," she murmured, but even when he fell, he'd always gotten right back up. He made a point to never let the fans down. He could ghost out to avoid injury… He was the invisible Ghost Rider. "Don't you go dying on me," she said a silent prayer.

  She must have broken every speed limit to reach Mercy Hospital, but it felt like she'd taken a horse and buggy out for a Sunday drive instead of her truck. She parked in the visitors' parking lot and raced for the ER entrance.

  The smell of stale coffee and disinfectant hit her nostrils as if the scents were entities all their own. Her gaze took in the men and women seated in the chairs, waiting their turn to be seen. She hurried past them to the receptionist's desk, where a woman with gray hair and glasses sat at her computer with a large cup of coffee sitting on the desk. She didn't recognize her from her visits to see her father when he made his rounds, but then she didn't usually hang out in the emergency room.

  "A man was brought in…from the rodeo," Jolie explained to the receptionist. "I need to see him."

  Her brows lifted. "Are you a relative?"

  "I'm his wife," she didn't hesitate to say. It was the truth after all.

  "Oh, then please come in."

  She motioned to the door and Jolie heard a buzzer and the lock mechanism releasing so she could open the door. She rushed forward.

  "They've been waiting for you," the receptionist said. "He's in room 4B," she called after her.

  Jolie hurried down the hall. They'd been waiting for her. How did they know to call her? Had Tye put down her name as an emergency contact?

  Anxious and worried to reach him, the emotions played havoc with her heart as if a fist were around it, pressing, squeezing… Please let him be all right, she thought to herself, a prayer she'd been saying as she drove all the way here. What if he wasn't all right? What if he'd been seriously hurt? What if he was—

  "Jolie?"

  She halted her steps at the sound of her name and whirled around. She blinked in confusion, believing her eyes deceived her. "Tye?"

  He stood there, no more than a few feet away. He appeared to be all right, but still she had to be sure. She took the steps separating them and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Tye."

  He hesitated for a millisecond, but then his strong arms encircled her waist, bringing her close. He was all right. She kept repeating it to herself, over and over again, until she actually believed it. A dry sob burned in her throat.

  "What's wrong, darlin'?" he asked and she didn't miss the confusion in his voice.

  She pushed away and stared into those amber eyes rimmed with green that were now peering at her with apprehension.

  "I thought you'd been hurt. Someone told Whisper you'd been taken to the hospital." Her gaze slid over him from his cowboy boots, to his well worn jeans where he sported a silver belt buckle, and finally to his forest green T-shirt that fit his broad shoulders and showed off those strong defined biceps. He looked…perfect. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she forced her eyes to refocus on his face. Her emotions were all over the place with this man.

  He let out a tired sigh and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You thought I was hurt." He didn't wait for her to answer. "I'm fine as you can see. I just rode along in the ambulance. Chris Burns, one of the rodeo clowns, spotting me was the one hurt. Got hit pretty hard when the bull slammed him against the wall with a back kick. Might have broken his back. Don't know yet. We're still waiting on the tests."

  She felt for this Chris fellow, but relief flooded her senses. Tye hadn't been the one laying broken and bleeding in the bed in room 4B, but now that she was calmer, she could see the stress lines around Tye's eyes. "You look like you could use a cup of coffee," she said.

  "I don't want to leave," he told her. "You know…" His pain-filled eyes wandered toward Chris Burn's room. "His wife won't be
here until later this evening. They have three little ones at home and she had to arrange for someone to look after them before she could book a flight."

  "I understand." She reached for him and rested her hand on his forearm. "All we can do is wait now. We won't leave the hospital. The cafeteria actually has good coffee." She gave him an encouraging smile, hoping he'd go with her. He needed a break from worrying, even if he didn't know it.

  Finally, he nodded and she strode over to the desk to let the nurse know where they would be if the doctor needed to speak with Tye.

  They rode the elevator to the first floor in silence, but she chanced a look at him. Tired lines of worry etched his rugged face, but they didn't distract from his charm. Tye had always been handsome, even when most teens were going through an awkward stage, but then maybe she was biased. The roundness of youth had been replaced by angles, making his features more rugged. They only added to his appeal.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He allowed her to exit first and followed close behind. "Why don't you find us a table," she told him over her shoulder, but didn't wait for his response as she headed toward the front where she could place an order. The cafeteria wasn't crowded. Only a few tables were taken. One by the window overlooked the patio, where more tables and chairs were located, and the other was a corner table near the back.

  Fifteen minutes later, with two coffees and a grilled cheese sandwich and chips for Tye, she headed toward the table he'd chosen. She highly doubted he'd eaten anything today and it was getting late. He used to love grilled cheese sandwiches. They were his comfort food. Everyone had one or two. Pistachio ice cream and kettle chips were hers.

  Back when they were preteens and Tye had a really awful day at home when his father went on one of his drinking binges, he'd sneak away to her house and she'd fix him a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough. It was the only thing she was allowed to make on the stove when her daddy wasn't home, but Tye told her grilled cheese was his favorite. He'd then started showing up at her place every Saturday with a pint of Pistachio ice cream and chips, and she'd have lunch ready for him when he did.

  "Here you go." She placed the plate in front of him. The coffee he took from her hand. He indulged before he placed the cup down on the table and his gaze caught sight of the paper plate she slid toward him. "Grilled cheese?" His eyes riveted to hers and she knew he remembered the past as she had.

  "Yep. Probably not as good as I used to make," she teased and pulled out a seat across from him.

  "Most likely not," he agreed, but he picked up the sandwich anyway. He'd taken a few bites before he spoke again. "Thanks."

  "You're welcome." She leaned back in her seat, resting her arm over the backrest. Tye's hair was slicked back as if he'd been running his hand through the strands. She wondered where he'd left his cowboy hat. She hadn't seen him without it in public since he arrived home.

  "This is good. Do you want half?" he offered.

  "I'm fine."

  He tore open the potato chip bag. "Those days I spent at your house, where we chatted about nothing and everything," he looked at her then, "were some of the best days of my life. I never told you how much I appreciated you and your daddy letting me stay there long into the evenings, long after my father drank himself into oblivion."

  "We were happy to have you, Tye." She reached for his hand and he stared at their clasped hands, the pad of his thumb lazily sliding over her knuckles then over her bare ring finger. She'd taken the cherry stem ring off, but she hadn't thrown it away. She still had it tucked in her jewelry box for safekeeping. She told herself it was to remind her how stupid she'd been to get drunk and marry the first guy who asked, but deep down, she knew the truth. She couldn't bring herself to toss it away.

  "You rushed down here to the hospital…for me. Why?" He pinned her with those green-rimmed, amber eyes of his. They were framed with thick dark lashes. Definitely, every girl would be envious of such lashes.

  "I was worried," she said and slipped her hand away. The contact seemed too…intimate, but as soon as the heat of his palm left hers, she immediately wished for the comfort again. Her eyes shifted to his face as she gauged his reaction to her words.

  His eyebrows drew together and his lips pressed into a thin line. Not the response she expected and when he spoke, his voice had a hard edge to it. "Did you fear I would make you a widow before we could get divorced?"

  "That's not funny." That was it, wasn't it? She didn't want him to leave her, feared no matter what he pledged, in the end, he would.

  "Wasn't meant to be humorous, darlin'. I'm curious why you troubled yourself."

  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before meeting his eyes. "I care about you, Tye. I never said I didn't."

  He stared at her for a long measured moment, then nodded. "So you do. Just not enough to stay married to me."

  "Don't," she warned, but he looked like he wanted to argue the point further. They had made progress this morning, and she didn't want to backpedal now.

  He pushed his chair away from the table and stood. His hand rested on the tabletop, his fingers lightly thrumming. He stared at her as if thinking something over in his mind, then one final tap with his hand, and she knew he'd made a decision of some sort. "I have to go back upstairs." He picked up his tray and strode past her to dump the items in the wastebasket. Without another word, he strode out of the cafeteria.

  She stood to go after him, but after a few steps, she stopped in her tracks. She didn't know what to say to him, and feared if she tried she'd say the wrong thing. She'd give him time. He was worried about his friend. He didn't need to think about anything else.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jolie opened up the shop like usual, but would be heading out to the fairgrounds by eleven to help Whisper at the booth. She was already there setting up for the day with more goods, T-shirts, and the items they kept on consignment. Vin Gordon had brought in some more of his wood carved horses last night. Mary Lou Smithers' necklaces had been selling like hot cakes, so she'd made more to sell today, and Pat Green's stuffed holiday bears were really popular this year. She only had a few more of those left. The store had done well, better than any of the previous Cowboy Christmas in July Rodeos. Even Whisper said she'd sold more readings than she had in the past.

  Jolie glanced at the clock on the wall. She hadn't heard from Tye since she left him at the hospital yesterday, and he had yet to call her this morning. She hoped everything was all right with Chris.

  She strode over to the coffee machine to make a cup of coffee. As she waited for it to brew, she went over the last conversation she had with Tye. All this time he'd been pursuing her, wanting to make a go of their relationship, but in the cafeteria she felt him distance himself, and she didn't understand why.

  The bell chimed over the door and she turned to find Mayor Dirkly. "Good morning, Jolie," he said as he removed his straw hat. He wore a Hawaiian button down shirt with a palm tree print, and tan slacks.

  "You've been avoiding me for days," she blurted out. "Sorry," she apologized for her rude behavior. "Good morning, she said. "You've been avoiding me," she repeated in a calmer voice.

  Mayor Dirkly pursed his lips. "Sorry about that." He did appear contrite. "I know you've a hankering to get that annulment. I was hoping you might have changed your mind." He did look hopeful, and it made her curious as to why he seemed so determined she and Tye remain married.

  "Can I ask you something?" she asked.

  "Don't rightly think I can stop you," he said.

  "Why'd you do it?" She met his gaze head on.

  His brows furrowed. "Do what exactly?"

  "Marry me and Tye. You knew we were drunk and not in our right minds, but you preformed the ceremony anyway. You let us exchange cherry stem rings, for God's sake. Why did you allow us to make a mockery of it all?"

  Mayor Dirkly stepped closer to the counter. "You were very persuasive."

  "Me?" Her voice hitched and she cleared her
throat. "What do you mean?" Here she'd been blaming most of this on Tye, but now Mayor Dirkly claimed she'd been the one to sway him to do the ceremony.

  "You told me, you loved Tye Casper, that you always had. Sober or drunk you aimed to have him, and if I didn't marry you both, you would just get in your truck and drive to Houston to catch a plane to Las Vegas."

  She inhaled sharply. "I did not."

  "Oh, you did. I couldn't let you get in your vehicle, not with you both having too much to drink. So I did what you demanded. I married you. Don't rightly think there's a law stating cherry stem rings couldn't be used for the ceremony. I once married a couple who used origami rings fashioned out of twenty-dollar bills."

  She rolled her eyes. "At the very least, you could have pretended to marry us."

  "Could have," he agreed. "But didn't think it right. Not after your speech and all."

  Her frown deepened. "I don't make speeches," but even as she said this a flash of memory surfaced. "That was real?" she murmured. She couldn't remember the details, but she did remember wanting everyone's attention. "No, I wouldn't…" She shook her head, still in denial.

  Mayor Dirkly sighed. "That's why I'm here."

  Before she could ask him what he meant, he placed the DVD case he'd been holding on the counter. "Take a gander at this."

  "What is it?" she asked, but had a sinking feeling she already knew.

  "Your wedding ceremony, of course."

  "Of course," she repeated. Just what every bride wanted. Only this DVD she'd like to break into a million pieces and throw away. She couldn't believe she agreed to have the wedding ceremony filmed. Then again, she didn't remember a lot of what happened that night. Most of it was one big blur. Good Lord, she'd made a speech. A speech! Obviously one which impressed Mayor Dirkly enough to pull out his Bible and marry them at the saloon.

  "What will this prove?" she asked, but her words had no conviction. Mayor Dirkly wanted her to see it. There had to be a reason, and she didn't believe it was so she could see what a fool she'd been. Though, she was probably plenty of that too. "We were plastered," she said, just in case he wanted to change his mind and toss the DVD in the trash.