Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides Book 5) (13 page)

“Are you Alex Green?” the youngest asked.

Alex nodded.

The little kid bounced on his feet. “A real live World Bull Riding Champion.” Anyone hearing the kid’s excited voice could have been forgiven for thinking Alex was the equivalent to Santa Claus. His older brother didn’t look nearly as impressed and that made Alex feel better.

“Can I have your autograph?” the little kid asked.

“Sure.” Alex fished around inside his pockets, wondering where he’d get a pen from. Mrs. Gibbs came to his rescue with not only a pen, but a piece of paper. “What’s your name?”

“David. David James McFadden. I’m seven years old and I live at 295 Cobble Creek Drive.”

“He doesn’t want your life history,” the older boy grumbled.

Alex glanced at the second kid. He had a plaster cast on his right leg. The scowl on his face outdid anything Alex could have managed. “What did you do to your leg?”

The kid looked at him, then down at the cast. “I fell out of a tree. Doc Johnson put two steel pins in my leg.”

“One more than me,” Alex said as he scribbled his name on the paper.

“How long’s yours?”

Alex smiled, remembering the locker room conversations he’d had at school. “Runs from the top of my thigh to just above the knee.” He put the pen down and held his hands a foot apart. “About this big.”

The kid nodded, looking more impressed. “Doc Johnson’s taking my cast off today.”

“Must be a relief.”

“It gets itchy when I get hot.” He looked down at his cast, then at the pen beside Alex. “If you wanted, you could write your name on my cast.”

“Where do you want my signature?”

The kid pointed to a spot half way down his leg. “My name’s Andrew.”

Alex wrote a message for Andrew, then handed the pen to the youngest brother. “If you could give this back to Mrs. Gibbs, I’d appreciate it.”

The little kid scooted off with a wide smile on his face.

“Thanks for the autograph,” Andrew said. “I hope your leg gets better soon.”

“Me too.” Alex watched both kids settle beside their father. Their dad made all the appropriate noises when they showed him the cast, then smiled his thanks to Alex.

“You can go through, Alex. Doc Johnson will be with you in a minute.”
 

He rose from his seat and left the magazine where he’d found it. Three pairs of eyes followed his progress as he walked across the room.

He sat in the seat closest to the wooden desk, nervous as hell. He wiggled back, then sat forward, trying to get comfortable.

Doc Johnson strode into the room. “How’s the leg?”

“I haven’t used the crutch in weeks. Gets a bit stiff in the mornings, but other than that it’s fine.”

Doc Johnson nodded, then looked over the top of his reading glasses. “Ridden any bulls lately?”

Alex felt like he was being interrogated. Doc’s laser beam stare could spot a lie from a mile away and he wasn’t in any position to mess with the grand inquisitor. “I’ve been tempted, but I haven’t ridden anything other than my horse. I’ve been helping to remodel the old library building. We started at the ceiling and worked our way down.” He should have shut up after the horse, but if it earned him extra credit toward a full medical clearance, he’d take it.

“I walked past the other day. You’ve done a fine job. When’s the boutique opening?”

“The middle of next month.” Alex glanced at the computer on the desk beside him. His leg might still be healing, but there was nothing wrong with his vision. His medical file was there, right in front of him, waiting for Doc Johnson’s verdict.

Alex leaned forward, hoping to read what it said, but he had a feeling he’d go cross-eyed trying. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d really like to hear whether I’m okay to ride again.”

“I expect you do. Your grandfather would probably roll over in his grave at what I’m about to say. But I’m going to say it anyway.”

Alex felt sick. This was it. Doc Johnson was going to tell him he couldn’t ride again. Couldn’t do what he’d been born to do.

“You’re not getting any younger, Alex. Over the last twenty years you’ve broken most major bones in your body and had more concussions than are good for your brain. You can’t ride bulls for the rest of your life.”

His heart thumped hard in his chest and a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. “What are you saying?”
 

“I’m saying that I want you to think about your future.”
 

“You’re as clear as mud, Doc. Can I ride bulls again or not?”

“There’s no permanent damage that says you can’t. You’ve made a full recovery, give or take a few pieces of steel.”

Alex dropped his head to his chest. The relief washing through his body left him lightheaded and needing air. He could ride, register for any competition. Continue what his grandfather had started.

“I usually tell my patients that I want to see them in six months time, but I’ve got a feeling I’ll be seeing you sooner. Are you okay?”

Alex looked at Doc Johnson and nodded. “I was sure you were going to tell me it was all over.”

“You know what they say,” Doc Johnson said. “Be careful what you wish for. Give me a call if you need me, otherwise I’ll see you after you’ve fallen off your next bull.”

“Thanks, Doc. For everything.” Alex left the office, nodded at the two kids in the waiting room and headed toward the parking lot. His mind started sorting through the rodeos that were coming up, the deadlines for registration and the paperwork he’d need to complete.

He sat in the truck and leaned his elbows on the steering wheel. After months of waiting he was finally able to ride, show everyone his career wasn’t over. He calculated the prize money still on offer, worked out that he was still in with a chance to take away another world title. He could go back to touring, living out of a suitcase. Leaving behind his friends and family. Emily.

He dropped his hat onto the seat beside him and stared across the parking lot. If he left, they’d be no turning back. It was difficult at the best of times to have any kind of relationship on the circuit. Near on impossible if you were determined to fit in every rodeo you could find to sharpen your skills. He wanted to be better than the next bull out of the chute, better than other riders. But it came at a price.

Emily wouldn’t wait for him. She had a business to run, a life that didn’t involve a cowboy who was never home. He didn’t know what was worse; walking away from Emily or walking away from bull riding.
 

He took his cell phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial. “Jacob? It’s Alex. Doc Johnson said I can ride again.”
 

His brother didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “You don’t sound too happy. It’s what you wanted to hear, isn’t it?”

Alex stared at the people waiting to be picked up at the entrance of the hospital, the people walking through the parking lot to their vehicles. He wiped his hand along the leg of his jeans and frowned at the steering wheel. “I don’t know what I want. I need to work through a few things.”

And an hour later, he still wasn’t any closer to knowing whether Doc Johnson’s news was good or not.

Emily sat in her living room, sewing the hem of a dress she’d made for a client in New York. The bright green dress would look wonderful with her client’s blond hair and blue eyes. And the red silk poppies, stitched around the collar, lifted the whole outfit into an entirely different stratosphere.

The doorbell rang and Emily lifted the dress of her legs. She walked across to her front door and looked through the peephole. Her heart leapt at the man standing on her front porch. It had been four days since she’d seen her father. Four days of wondering whether he’d find her. Find the boutique.
 

Taking a deep breath she opened her door. “You can’t come here, dad. I told you that I don’t want to see you.”

“I want to apologize. I never meant to hurt you.”
 

Her dad hadn’t changed. She would have almost believed him except he’d said he was sorry last time. Just before he’d given her a check for more money than she’d ever seen.
 

“Well you did hurt me. You hurt your business partner and his family and everyone else you stole money from.”

Her dad hung his head. “I won’t be coming back this way for a while. I thought we could talk. I don’t expect you to forgive me. What I did was wrong, but I’d like to spend some time with you.”

This was the dangerous part. The part where all her resolve dissolved and left her raw and vulnerable. In spite of all the disappointment, the anger, the betrayal, she still loved him. Still wanted what she’d never had. What she’d never get from her father.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Too much has happened. I need to go now. I’ve got work to do.”

Her dad stepped forward, planting his hand in the middle of the door. Emily’s gaze darted between his hand and his face. She should have kept the door closed, left him standing outside, away from her life. “You need to go.”

“I’ll be here for a few days. If you change your mind I’ll be at Angel Wings Café at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.” He moved his hand and she started to close the door. “I do love you, Emmy.”

Before she could change her mind, she closed the door.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“You’re here early.” Alex looked down at the punch-out list in his hands. He was determined to ignore the way Emily filled out her skin tight jeans, or the way her smile hit him in the chest.

“I want to help put the shelves together.” She took her sneakers off, heading across the room in her socks.
 

“You can leave your shoes on. The floor’s okay to walk on.”
 

Emily picked up a cordless screwdriver from his tool box and looked around the room. “I can’t believe what a difference varnishing the floor has made. You did a great job.”

Alex didn’t let her compliment distract him. He wasn’t fooled by the smile on her face or the make-up she’d applied. No amount of camouflage could disguise the black rings under her eyes. “How was the photo shoot?”

“We got everything we needed. Mac was great.”

Mac, his ranch manager, had driven them everywhere, finding different locations to suit their needs. The only thing Mac had been concerned about was Gracie. He was sure every bump and ditch they’d lurched over would send her into labor. Considering the stories he’d heard from Mac, Alex didn’t think the photo shoot was the problem.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

She stood beside the old library’s check-out desk. She’d sanded and painted the wood, transformed it into a gleaming sales counter. The shelving boxes stacked on top of the counter were taller than she was. “I’m fine. Just…you know.”

No, he didn’t know, but he was about to find out. He left the punch-out list on top of a crate and headed across to Emily. She was running her finger along the end of one box, matching the dimensions of the shelves with the fit-out plan in front of her.

“What happened?”

Her hand dropped to the counter. “It’s nothing, not really. I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’m a bit tired.”

Trying to get Emily to talk about her feelings was like riding a bull. It seemed to take forever to open the gate and once you were free you didn’t know what would happen. You could either end up butt first on the ground or hanging on until the eight second whistle blew.

“Dad stopped by yesterday.”

His whole body tensed. “Did you call Cody?” Because she sure as hell hadn’t called him.

She shook her head. “I didn’t let him inside. He was only on my porch for a few minutes.”

Alex’s teeth ground together out of sheer frustration. If he let the string of words gathering inside his head burst out his mouth she’d run a mile. “What did he say?”

“He said he was sorry.”
 

“What else?”
 

Emily bit her bottom lip and looked down at the desk. He stuck his hands in his pockets in case he was tempted to pull her into his arms.
 

“He asked me to meet him for coffee. Today.”

Alex didn’t like the way this conversation was heading. He could see confusion and sadness and a whole pile of other emotions on Emily’s face. He knew she was thinking about meeting him. Against her brother’s advice and common sense, she wanted to give her father another chance.

“What are you going to do?”

She took a deep breath. “Nothing. I’m not going to see him, or talk to him, or find out where he’s going. I can’t…” She stared at Alex and a lifetimes worth of sorrow shone from her eyes. “I can’t keep believing that one day he’s going to be a good person. It’s finished. My dad and I are finished.”

He wanted so badly to make everything right. He knew how much she loved her family, and for all his deep, shitty faults, he knew she loved her father. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ve made the right decision.”

“So do I.” She cleared her throat and hauled one of the boxes off the top of the pile. “I guess I’d better start building some shelves before the boss fires me.”

Alex cut open the tape from the opposite end of the box. “If you can figure out how to put these together I might buy you a coffee myself.”

“As long as the coffee comes with cake and we do it tomorrow, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Emily pulled a long length of black steel tubing from the box. She frowned at another odd shaped piece of metal. “Did they send an instruction sheet?”

Alex grinned. “I didn’t think you’d need instructions.”

“I’m good, Alex Green, but not that good.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, but just in case, I taped the instructions to the box beside the cash register.”

Emily walked around the back of the desk and glanced at the sheets of paper. She looked at the boxes, then back at the instructions, a worried frown on her face. “This might take longer than I thought.”

Alex couldn’t have been happier. At least that way he’d know where she was, and more importantly, where her father wasn’t.

“Up a bit higher. No, you’ve gone too far.”

“For Pete’s sake, Emily, make up your mind. In case you haven’t noticed this mirror’s heavy.”