Rodeo Blues (8 page)

She groaned and pinched the bridge of her
nose. She liked it much better when they were silent.

"We've arrived at the scene of the crime,"
Mike announced ten minutes later and brought his car to a halt
beside her truck.

She opened her eyes. "Thanks."

Mike turned in his seat to look at her.
"You're going to be okay, you know."

Did she look like she wouldn't be?
"Uh…thanks."

"I mean it. If you decide to stay
married—"

"I'm not," she answered a little too
quickly.

"Either way, you'll be okay because you're a
strong woman. And if Tye thinks he can just run out on you
again…well, he just better not."

She leaned forward and rested a hand on his
arm. "Thank you, Mike." She opened the car door and stepped out as
she rifled through her purse for her wallet.

Mike rolled down his window. "You don't have
to pay me. Call it a wedding present."

"I can't—" But it was too late. Mike had
rolled up his window and turned his car around, zooming off as if
he believed she'd chase him down.

She rolled her eyes. "Wedding present," she
murmured in disgust.

With no time to waste, she rushed home,
showered, and changed clothes. She grabbed her cell and was about
to text Whisper to say she was on her way to the store, but found
three texts waiting for her. One from her daddy, and she cringed
when she read,
Call me as soon as you see
this
. Truthfully, she was surprised he hadn't been sitting
on her porch waiting for her, but then he was the on-call physician
at the medical tent this morning down at the fairgrounds.

She pursed her lips as she decided if she
should call him. His lecture, when she'd turned twenty-one on dos
and don'ts while under the influence of alcohol, came back to haunt
her.

"Don't drive," her daddy had said as rule
number one.

She followed that one well enough.

"Rule number two, don't bare your soul. Words
can haunt you worse than a relentless ghost."

Okay, she was a little foggy on if she'd
followed rule number two.

"And never, ever run off and get hitched. You
may think you married a prince, but in the light of day, you may
just find your prince turned back into a frog."

Not the best analogy, but she understood what
he meant. So she followed one out of three of the rules. She'd stop
by her daddy's tent – later. She decided she didn't want this
conversation over the phone.

The next two texts were from Whisper, telling
her not to worry. She had things under control. She'd already
picked up the items they needed today and was at the
fairgrounds.

Jolie stared at her phone and tried to figure
out how Whisper didn't have a hangover, but instead seemed to have
no trouble getting up early and organizing the day. To top it off,
she was supposed to be her best friend. They were supposed to have
each other's back. Why hadn't she stopped her from making the
biggest mistake of her life? She was even her maid of honor, for
goodness sake, since she spotted Whisper's name bold and true on
the marriage certificate.

The drive took her less than fifteen minutes
and that included walking from the parking lot to the booth's
location.

Good to her word, Whisper had already placed
the souvenirs on the table – T-shirts, hats, cups, and key chains
on one end, and on the other she placed books about the history of
rodeos, and the history of Skeeter Blue. One of the books was
Haunted Spots of the Area,
written by a local author. The
book was a bestseller at the rodeo last year so they decided to
give it a go again. They had something for everyone. Mary Lou
Smithers would be by later to sell her necklaces, and Pat Green
promised she'd have her cowboy bears ready by the end of the
day.

"Didn't you get my texts?" Whisper said the
moment she neared. "I didn't expect to see you today since you're
on your honeymoon, but then I guess Tye has an event – other than
keeping you satisfied in bed, that is." She chortled and
winked.

Jolie blinked rapidly for about half a
second. "You truly believe I've been enjoying a honeymoon?"

Whisper's eyebrows shot up in surprise, no
doubt because she had shrilled like a banshee. "Well, yeah,"
Whisper said with caution, "you did get hitched and all last night.
I was your maid of honor." She bowed as if expecting applause for a
performance well done. "Don't you remember?" she added as she rose
to her full Amazon height.

Jolie frowned and shook her head in
disbelief. "I'm wondering why you think this is okay. Why in the
heck didn't you stop me?" She closed her eyes and counted to ten
before she opened them again, all the time praying for patience.
"Whisper, the wedding was a farce. Look." She held out her hand.
"My wedding ring is made out of cherry stems, for God's sake."

Whisper clicked her tongue as she took her
hand for a closer look. "I didn't picture you for the petty type.
Tye made that ring out of love."

She yanked her hand away. "This is not about
the damn ring. My husband plans on leaving after the rodeo is
through. Why would you think I'd be happy about this?"

Whisper shook her head then knelt down on her
haunches to retrieve her stars and planets tote bag. She rummaged
through it only seconds before fishing out papers. "I stayed up to
the wee hours of the morning and did yours and Tye's charting. You
belong together, perfect match. I told you a storm was brewing. I
was wrong though. It's not just brewing. It's here. You can't have
thunder without lightning, honey."

Jolie glanced at Whisper's outstretched hand.
The thick paper with etched celestial drawings was a special made
parchment that Whisper had purchased in order to give her charts an
ancient mysterious look about them. She opened her mouth to say
more, but bit her tongue when two women approached, wanting to
purchase T-shirts printed with:
Save a Horse, Ride
a Rodeo Star
. Not her favorite printed shirts, but Whisper
insisted they would sell like hotcakes. She'd been right.

Whisper shoved the charts into Jolie's hand
before she turned her wide smile on the customers.

Storm, charts … perfect
match? More like perfect disaster.
She glanced at the charts
for only a few seconds before she rolled them up with an
exasperated sigh. She didn't care what Whisper believed, or if
Jupiter was aligned with Mars, or whatever the chart said. She
couldn't remain married to Tye Casper one more second.

She left Whisper to man the booth and marched
over to the arena where she knew Mayor Dirkly would be. The Mayor
always announced the opening games. Maybe if she stated her
complaint in person it would make a difference to the man.

As she approached, she could see the State
flags as well as the Mexican and Canadian flags flying high around
the oval shaped arena. The stands were filled with tourists and
locals alike. She could hear the strong sweet voice of Mary Sue
Gillian singing the
Star Spangle Banner
. She was all of
thirteen years old, but boy, could that gal sing. When the song
ended, the crowd roared with applause.

Reaching the fence, she glanced toward where
the chute was located, just a curious observation. She was in no
way looking for Tye. Or so she told herself…but there he was,
looking as good as ever.
Damn his hide.
Her traitorous heart
clamored against her ribcage as if trying to make an escape.

Flashes of their night together at the hotel
invaded her conscious state of mind – broad shoulders, hard abs,
and hands that knew how to hold a gal. She swallowed back the lump
in her throat. Tye had left Skeeter Blue a lean and lanky boy and
came back a man – all man, from his chiseled jaw to— At that
moment, he turned away from her, giving her a nice view of those
tight buns. She opened and closed her fists at her sides, then
realized what she was doing and cleared her throat as she glanced
around to see if anyone noticed her ogling. Thank goodness no one
had. She peered toward the chute again. This time keeping the
drooling to a minimum.

Bull riding wasn't an easy sport, by any
means, and she'd heard Tye had won the Professional Bull Riding
Championship two years in a row. She'd bet he was something to
watch – live and up close as he sat upon the bull for those full
eight seconds. Why not watch Tye take the arena before she cornered
Mayor Dirkly and made her demands? Her marriage wasn't going
anywhere.

Chapter Eleven

Tye paced as he waited for his turn to ride.
He used the same routine he'd use for years to loosen up his
muscles and ready his body to endure the punishment it was about to
take by being jolted in every direction with enough force to make
him feel like a ragdoll in the hands of a five-year-old. Heck, he
had a new appreciation of what the ragdoll had to endure. He rolled
his shoulders back and shook out his hands.

He wore his lucky felt hat that he only wore
when he rode, his well-worn Wranglers, a long sleeved cotton shirt,
and his worn buffalo hide boots. In riding, luck had always been on
his side. He'd never broken any bones, but he visited the emergency
room with a hyper-extended elbow, and he'd torn his bicep a few
times over, but he still craved the excitement those eight seconds
gave him.
What a rush.

"Next up is number two," Toby announced over
the loudspeaker. "He thwarts death, he rides like nothing can touch
him. Whooshes in and whooshes out. That's right, folks. We have us
the honest to goodness Ghost Rider, and he's a local man from way
back when. It's our one and only rodeo star from Skeeter Blue. Give
it up for Tye Casper, ladies and gents, and give our boy a welcome
home
howdy-ho
!"

The crowd roared with a howdy-ho.

Tye took his position, mounting the bull in
the bucking chute, and gripping the flat braided rope with his
gloved hand. He had drawn Blazing Smackdown. Not the meanest bull
he'd ever ridden, but if he made the eight seconds, he should score
big. The bull snorted and bucked in protest at the added weight on
its back. Definitely not at all happy to have him perched there.
Tye inhaled deeply, taking a deep breath as he nodded to indicate
he was ready. The chute opened and the bull shot out into the arena
as if catapulted from a cannon. He held onto the leather rigging
with his left hand, while making sure the right didn't touch any
part of his body or the bull's either. The bull kicked up his hind
legs and twisted in an effort to throw him off. He could hear the
crowd roaring his name like a chant, but he was listening for the
buzzer to tell him when he completed his eight seconds. Eight
seconds of a pure adrenaline rush. Out of the corner of his eye, he
caught a glimpse of Buddy, dressed in his outrageous clown outfit,
ready to aid him to safety once he jumped from the bull's back.

Buzzzzz…

The long drawn sound of the blow horn was
music to his ears. He let go and jumped clear of the bucking bull
as Buddy, the best bullfighter he ever had the honor to work with,
did his job and distracted the bull, as two others ushered him to
safety.

The crowd cheered louder and there was
nothing sweeter, or so he thought, until he caught sight of Jolie
standing there. Yep, he'd been wrong. There was nothing sweeter
than having her see him ride. Hadn't expected her to, but there she
stood, looking as beautiful as ever. Funny, how the cheers from the
crowd seemed to fade away.

"Good ride, Casper," another rider said as he
strode over to the chute to take his place.

"Thanks," he said.

"A good score for the Ghost Rider," Toby
announced over the loudspeaker. "Eighty-seven ladies and gentlemen.
A tough score to beat."

Tye brushed back his hair and placed his hat
back on his head and headed over to where Jolie stood waiting for
him.

"Not bad, cowboy." Her lips curved. "I can
see why you've come home a winner.

"It's only the first go-around," he said with
a shrug.

"You're being modest."

He flashed a smile. "Are you trying to butter
me up for something, Jolie? 'Cause you haven't been all that
friendly since I arrived in town."

"I've been friendly," she defended
herself.

"We'll, kissin' and other things don't
count," he said in a lower tone.

His comment sent a flush of scarlet over her
cheeks, and didn't that just make him want to kiss her right then
and there, but her next slew of words were like a slap of reality
he wished to do without.

"I'm going to speak to Mayor Dirkly," she
said, and didn't even have the decency to look him in the eye when
she told him she planned to put an end to their marriage. Sure,
she'd been threatening to do this all morning, but dang it, she
just saw him ride.

Tye glanced over his shoulder to where he'd
spotted Mayor Dirkly earlier, sitting next to Toby in the
announcer's booth. He led them in the
Pledge of Allegiance
and announced the first event. The seat stood empty now and he
sighed with relief. When he turned toward Jolie again, he couldn't
stop his lips from curving into a pleased smile. "Looks like you
just missed him."