Rodeo Blues Read online

  "It's what you wanted," she muttered, staring at Tye's signature bold and sure on the line above his typed out name. She reached over and grabbed a pen by the cash register.

  Last night she shouldn't have gone to see the award ceremony, but Whisper wouldn't leave her house unless she went with her. Called her a coward. Said if she wanted to end things with Tye, she'd better hold her head high and let the town folks know it had been her decision.

  She knew without having the Mayor announce it that Tye had won the bull riding event. She'd heard enough conversations, when she ran the booth at the fairgrounds. They were always the same awed remarks. Did you see the Ghost Rider? He's something else.

  Yep, he was something to see. She'd seen him ride too.

  When Mayor Dirkly called his name over the loudspeaker, she watched Tye saunter into the arena as big as life. He waved his hat in the air and played to the audience with his wide grin. He'd belonged to them, the fans and the rodeo world.

  She tapped the pen on the paper in front of her then threw it down. Isn't that why she wanted the annulment so darn much? He didn't belong to her. Even with all his blustering about a future, deep down he would always want more…need more than she could offer. She was a small town girl. She didn't like the fluster and attention Tye would receive. Truthfully, how could he walk away from it all and be happy in Skeeter Blue?

  As long as she was being truthful with herself, Whisper didn't have to do too much convincing to make her head on over to Big Bob's Saloon after the award ceremony. She knew Tye would most likely show up there sooner or later, and she wanted to see him one last time, or so she told herself. Then she could move on with her life. Even as she thought this, she knew it to be a lie, but she counted it as nostalgia. They had history.

  How did one forget the past when almost every memory of her childhood included Tye? Summers at the pond, after school events, dating, falling in love, making love…

  Then there was the way he made her laugh, the boy who came to her rescue when she needed him, the times he let her come to his because he needed her… She would never forget all he had meant to her. He'd been her best friend. That's why it had hurt so much when he left. She'd lost her boyfriend and best friend all at once. Now he wanted her back, and as much as she wanted to start over with him, she'd be all kinds of stupid if she just gave into those old feelings she had for him.

  Frustrated with herself for hesitating, she picked up the pen again and poised it over the designated line, but stopped short of signing the paper when Whisper strolled in bright and cheery as usual. Jolie quickly stuffed the annulment papers inside the envelope and shoved them under the counter. She'd look them over later tonight and sign them. What was the hurry? Tye had signed them already. It was a done deal. She could sign them any ol' time she pleased.

  "Just ran into Buddy," Whisper said carrying in two brown bags from the deli across the street.

  "I would have thought he'd left already," she said. As much as Whisper and Buddy seemed to hit it off, she knew the two would part company. They had fun as long as it lasted.

  "He's on his way to South Carolina, has himself another rodeo," she said. "He was picking up some sandwiches for the road." She handed her a bag as she came around the counter to take the stool next to hers. "What a blast I had with the guy," Whisper said. "I'm actually going to miss the cowboy, and that's saying a lot."

  "Wow, you must have really liked this one." She gave her a smile.

  "He made me laugh. Not many can do that, but Buddy has a great sense of humor. Not to mention he knows how to make a woman purr." She made a catlike growl of contentment.

  "Too much information," she told her. Whisper's hardy laugh made her smile though.

  "Gotta share the info, since you live like a nun. How else are you going to know how the real women of the world live?" She stood and strode over to the coffee maker. "Should I make you a cup?"

  "Sure. And just to let you know, nuns are real women too."

  Whisper snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll take your word for it." She pushed the button on the coffee maker. She then turned to look at Jolie with a sidelong gaze. "You look exhausted, unless you're trying out a new purplish-blue eye shadow – beneath your eye," she stressed the last part for full impact.

  "Hardy-har-har. Did you forget how busy we were this morning?"

  "Yeah, well, what I'm seeing would suggest an all nighter," she said with a wink, "but I have an inkling it's not because you were playing footsies beneath the covers with Tye Casper. You left Big Bob's Saloon – all alone, I might add."

  Jolie lifted a brow. "I just couldn't sleep and leave it at that." She wondered when Tye left the bar. Did he dance with someone else? Had he left the saloon alone? As far as he was concerned, they were no longer married.

  "Is it because Mr. Casper wasn't sleeping next to you?" Whisper asked, drawing her attention.

  She rolled her eyes as she reached for the container that held the sanitize wipes. She withdrew two and then proceeded to run them along the counter, not because it needed to be cleaned, but because it gave her something to do. "Tye's history," she murmured more to herself. He may or may not leave town, but he would be out of her life the moment she signed the papers she had stuffed below the counter. It had been her choice, dammit. She scrubbed the counter harder.

  "I think it's clean," Whisper said.

  "What?" Then she realized what she'd been doing and tossed the wipes in the trashcan beside the counter.

  Whisper placed a cup of coffee in front of her. "Buddy told me Tye was putting down roots right here in Skeeter Blue. His daddy left him the land where that oil drill's been working its magic. I'm hearing its bringing in loads of money. Maybe you should have rethought annulling that marriage of yours. You'd be a rich woman right now." She opened up her bag from the deli and pulled out a clear container that housed a roast beef sandwich, dill pickle, and kettle chips.

  "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

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