Rocky Mountain Cowboy (43 page)

Brought to a reluctant halt, Hawk nodded. “Okay, but I have to talk to you later. Wait for me after the rodeo.”

The note of insistence in his voice made her wonder what he wanted to talk about. It sounded like it was important, and that he didn’t want her going anywhere without him. But then when you were hopelessly in love, straws were easy to grasp at.

He waited for her nod of agreement, then pulled her against him for one last reluctant-to-leave kiss. She watched him jog to the chute area, where he was being hailed by his fellow competitors, then made her way to the spectator stands.

Locating Becky was easy. She was standing five rows up waving her arms to catch her attention. Jenny waved back and climbed the metal steps to where her friend was waiting, luckily with a stadium blanket.

Becky smiled and lifted one corner of the blanket that covered her legs. “Come get warm,” she invited. “Nice day for a rodeo, huh?”

“I should have worn warmer clothes,” Jenny grumbled.

“You look great— as always.” Becky eyed her leather jacket. “I wish I had your eye for putting an outfit together.” They exchanged a smile. “I talked to the realtor who is handling the leasing of that downtown shop. He wants to show it to us. What do you think?”

“I say let’s go look at it.” Jenny had been giving Becky’s enthusiastic suggestion of opening a boutique in town some serious thought. It appealed to her, but there was more to the idea than just opening the doors. “If we are really going to consider this, we need a few really good seamstresses and at least one good patterner.” And she didn’t want to do this full time. She needed to leave time to run the ranch, especially if Hawk didn’t form the partnership with her. “I have to warn you, too, that Peter did most of our accounting and bookkeeping. He was also our sales representative. He made the arrangements with the clients. I mostly just did the design work.”

“That’s why you need me as a partner. My degree in business had an emphasis in marketing and accounting. I can handle all the other stuff if you’ll design all those gorgeous clothes. We could have trunk shows in Denver,” she went on excitedly. “
We can put together a collection to sell in some department stores. We can hire a couple of sales clerks to run your boutique, so you won’t have to be there all the time, and I can do my thing from the store and home. I know you want to get your Dad’s place back in the black, although I imagine Hawk will do that soon enough now that you got Brad Caldwell off his back.”

“If he ends up signing those papers. If not....” Jenny shrugged uncertainly. “We’ll have to split the property. That could get ugly.” God, she didn’t want to think how ugly that could get! She was worried the courts and attorneys would make them sell it all, then divide the profits or come to some settlement that wouldn’t serve either of them or Tom’s dream well. Her frown deepened to a scowl.

Becky patted her gloved hands as they lay on her blanketed legs and gave her a secret little smile. “I don’t think you have to worry about Hawk.”

Jenny looked at over her friend and raised a suspicious eyebrow. “What do you
mean? Do you know something that I don’t?”

“I can’t tell you, but you’ll find out soon enough.” Becky shook her head in self- chastisement. “Geez! I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Jenny shot her a narrow-eyed look. “Spill!”

“No way. Hawk and Scott would kill me.”

“You’re bad, Becky!”

“I am,” she admitted without shame, then pointed to the arena. “Oh look, there’s Hawk and Steve getting ready for the team roping. Do you know how it’s done and scored?”

“Yes. Dad used to enter all the roping events in these local rodeos. I went to everyone with him until he and my mom split up, and I left.”

Jenny remembered how she had sat on the fence as a girl and proudly watched her dad, usually accompanied by two or more of his young friends from the Boys’ Club. These local rodeos were mostly for fun, but even back then there had always been a little prize money to be won, and her dad had won his share. Memories like those would always stay close to her heart.

“All the other cowboys wish Hawk and Scott would stop entering. They usually win the event because they were professional champs.”

Jenny watched a chute open and a
yearling steer come charging out. Immediately Hawk and Scott gave chase, charging after the escaping animal at a full gallop. Riding Red Phantom in the header position, Hawk swung his lasso over his head and caught the steer’s horns, while Scott, mounted on his horse, threw his loop and caught the two rear legs. Within a couple of seconds literally, both horses turned to face one another, stretching their riders’ ropes and snagging the steer neatly between them. The run was posted at 4.2 seconds, a lightning fast run that later proved impossible to beat. Jenny was totally impressed. Their performance was a sure indicator of how good both men must have been on the pro rodeo circuit.

There were other roping pairs after them. Hawk and Scott had been the first, but none beat their time and score. When they were announced as the event’s winners, Hawk, sitting on top of the fence across the arena from her, swept off his dark hat, placed it over his heart, and bowed his head in a salute to her. Beaming at the gallant gesture, Jenny sent him a single fingered kiss.

“Women can compete with men in this event,” Becky informed her, waving a thumbs up to her new husband.

“I saw that one of the teams had a woman partner.”

Just as Jenny was contemplating walking down to Hawk, Cindy Caldwell came up behind him. Dressed in her usual tight flamboyant clothes, she put her long red-nailed fingers on his behind, stroked it in a slow circle, then ran her hand down his chap-clad thigh. He turned to the woman, then hopped down off the fence, strode to the gate, and walked around to her. Jenny abandoned any idea of personally congratulating Hawk. As usual, he was instantly responding to Cindy’s entreaty. Cowboys and animals soon obstructed her view of them, and she looked down at the clenched hands in her lap.

“Bitch,” Becky murmured beside her, looking across the arena. “Don’t worry about her, though,” she assured her, giving her hand a pat. “She’s history.” Then she pointed toward the concession stand. “How about a cup of hot chocolate or coffee?”

Eager for a diversion, Jenny followed Becky down the steps and out of the stands to the booth at one end of the bleachers. While they were waiting their turn in a busy line, Steve Walker, came up to them. After closing the cell phone he’d been talking on, he tipped his hat to both women, then turned all his attention to Jenny.

“How are you?” he asked with honest concern. “I heard you went back to L.A.”

“Just for a few days,” Jenny responded, surprised by his knowledge. The community certainly had a good grapevine— so different from Los Angeles, where no one knew where you went or cared. It was a change she’d have to get used to; one of the adjustments of living in a small town.

“Are you back for good? Have you decided to stay?” He watched her over the rim of his Styrofoam cup as he took a drink.

“Yes, I have.” She smiled at him and was surprised to see him frown. “How about you? Have you found another job?”

“Day work— here and there, for a couple of different outfits.”

She was curious enough to ask, “The Caldwell place?”

“Some,” he answered reticently. “I’m going to Wyoming next week for a wrangling job up there. It should last awhile.”

“Congratulations then.”

“How’s your horse adjusting?”

“Great. I get to ride him every day, and I think he loves it here. Hank is training him to work cattle.”

“You’re all recovered from that incident a couple of weeks ago, I hope?”

She could see the genuine anxiety on his handsome face, and gave him a reassuring smile. “I was just a little shook up. I was fine the next day. I don’t blame you, Steve. Dark Shadow got away from both of us. I should have been prepared for how disorientated and edgy he’d be after such a long drive.”

“That’s nice of you to say
so, Jenny, but it was my job to expect that.”

It wasn’t worth arguing over, so she changed the subject. “Are you entered in any events today?” He was dressed in chaps and looked like he’d been heading to the staging area of the arena.

“Yeah, the bull riding. They’ve got a big pot going on it— winner takes all. The last I heard it was up around $5,000.”

“I heard.” Jenny shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “
That seems like a lot for a small town rodeo.”

“It’s the last one of the year so the local businessmen donated lots of prize money for good will, then the participants put in the rest to make it more interesting. It draws a lot of contestants and entry fees. The Circle K brought in their meanest bulls for the event. We should get some good rides outta some of the
m, long as it’s not their Brahma. It’ll be a good show. I think that’s what drew such a big crowd,” he said, gesturing to the spectator-filled stands.

“Sounds dangerous.”

“That too,” Steve laughed. “But everybody always loves the bull riding the best, you know.”

Jenny touched his arm. “Be careful— and good luck.”

“Thanks, but Hawk is entered, too. After being on the pro circuit, he’ll probably take the pot, ‘less he’s gotten too old for it.” After throwing his empty Styrofoam cup in the trash can behind him, he turned back to her and tipped his hat again. “Take care of yourself, Jenny.”

She nodded. “Good luck in Wyoming.”

Becky, who had made her way through the line while Jenny had been talking to Steve, returned with two cups of coffee and two hot dogs. She handed one lathered in mustard to Jenny. “I hope you like mustard. I was getting a little hungry. How about you?”

“I haven’t eaten today at all, so yes.”

As they walked back up to their spot in the stands, Jenny asked about the bull riding contest. She was concerned about Hawk being entered in it. She’d seen those bulls. They were all huge, but the Brahma was particularly frightening. Undoubtedly, Hawk had entered because of the money. Wasn’t he ever going to stop pushing himself to the limit to make more of it? She didn’t want him getting hurt to make a few more extra dollars, but it was probably too late to get him to pull out.

“Hawk used to ride the bulls when he first started rodeoing,” Becky told her as they reached their seats and sat down under the blanket again.

“Yeah, when he was what? In his late teens, early twenties? When his body could bend more easily?”

Becky laughed. “No doubt, but you know guys— they don’t think they ever get too old to compete at something.”

“Is Scott entered?”

“No, I wouldn’t let him.”

Jenny threw her hands up. “Great! I guess you have to be married to have that kind of influence, huh?”

“Probably, but the money tempted him— a lot. He’s pretty put out about not getting to ride.”

“Well, Hawk isn’t in the mood to pass up a chance to make a dollar lately. He’ll take everybody else’s money— just not mine.”

Becky gave her a sympathetic look. “He wants this money for something else.”

“What?”

“Can’t tell.” Becky smiled in a wickedly secret way.

“He probably wants to use it to buy me out.”

“No, that’s not it.” Her friend fended off further inquiry with a shake of her head and a zipping motion across her lips. “I’m sworn to silence by two men who will kill me if I say another word.”

Jenny gave her an exasperated look. “Becky, you are the worst secret keeper I’ve ever seen!”

They sat through several more events, including women’s barrel racing, which Becky encouraged Jenny to try someday.

“Maybe you could train your horse to do that. The girls who do it have a lot of fun. Course, you could always get Hawk to turn you into a team roper.”

“Both of the events look like fun, but I think I’ve got enough to do for a while.”

“Are you going to keep traveling back and forth to Los Angeles to work?”

“Only until I finish this latest movie job. I told the producer and director that after that I was devoting all my time to fashion designing… and ranching.”

“Will you miss it? It paid pretty well, didn’t it? And you got to work with all those movie stars.”

“My life has taken a different direction now, and it’s time to move on to what I’ve always secretly dreamed of doing. I put my condo in L.A. up for sale. I think Peter is going to buy it. It’s hard to get property on the beach out there, and he’s liked my place for a long time.”

“Wow! You are making changes. Have you told Hawk?”

“No.”

Jenny searched the arena area, wondering where he was. She hadn’t seen him since he and Cindy had walked off together. It was just like Becky and Scott’s wedding reception all over again. Jenny wanted to believe him when he said he was finished with Cindy, but damn it, the woman kept showing up, and he always went with her. If he really wanted to be rid of her, wouldn’t he deliver a message that was clear enough to stop her from seeking him out all the time?

“You’ve made the right decision,” Becky assured her after a long moment of silence. “Once Hawk hears about it, he’ll be elated.”

“The changes I’ve made aren’t for Hawk or because of him, Becky. They’re for me. It’s what I want. I guess it’s up to Hawk to decide how he wants to fit into my future— or if he even wants to.”