Читать книгу The Bull Rider Meets His Match - Jeannie Watt - Страница 11
ОглавлениеIndeed, there were signs of cake making in the form of chocolate batter pretty much everywhere, including the front of the fridge, the cabinets and the floor. No fewer than five bowls were stacked in the sink, along with a gooey eggbeater lying on the counter. Grady picked it up gingerly and set it in the bowls.
“We aren’t allowed to use the mixer,” Katie explained, casually wiping her gooey hands down the sides of her pink jeans.
Grady could only imagine the havoc they could have created with an electric mixer tossing batter around the room. “I see.” He rubbed his jaw as he took in the carnage. If he was quick, there was an off chance they could get the mess cleaned up before Annie got home.
“Here’s the deal, guys. I want you to stay out of here until I get the floor cleaned up, then—”
The sound of a car interrupted his words.
“Mom,” the girls said simultaneously in a hushed tone.
“Sounds like it,” he agreed, heading for the door and shooting a look out the window. It was indeed Annie who’d pulled into the drive. He turned back to the two wide-eyed girls. “Why don’t you two wait in the living room?”
They turned without argument and walked side by side down the hall. Katie had a perfect chocolate handprint on her backside. They’d just disappeared into the living room when he heard Kristen say in a low voice, “She’s going to be mad.”
No doubt.
Grady pulled open the door to take the heat.
Annie practically danced up the sidewalk. “I got the job!”
“Congratulations,” Grady said, forcing a quick smile. He glanced over his shoulder at the house.
“What happened?” Annie’s voice instantly went flat. The Mom Voice.
“Well...” Grady shrugged. “Slight mishap. The ice tea jug got knocked out of the fridge and broke.”
Annie paled. “No one got hurt?”
“No.” That was the good news. “But the mess is still there.”
“It happens,” Annie said as she headed past him to the door.
“And the girls made a cake.”
She stopped dead and turned back to him. “With supervision...right?”
He gave a small cough. “It was kind of an independent project.”
A curse slipped out of Annie’s lips followed by an even more colorful curse when she opened the door. For a moment she simply stood cataloging the damage to her kitchen. “Did they ask?”
“Uh...”
“Answer enough. Where are they?”
“Living room.”
She carefully skirted the broken glass in her heels before marching toward the living room. Grady thought about intervening, since he had vague memories of him and Annie doing the exact same thing, minus the broken tea jug, but decided not to risk the wrath of his sister.
Half an hour later the kitchen was cleaned, the girls fed and playing on their swing set and Grady was waiting to hear that he was an irresponsible uncle. Instead Annie opened the fridge and looked inside. “Good. Beer. Do you want one?”
Annie didn’t normally partake at home, and Grady hated the thought that he’d driven her to drink. “Sure.”
She pulled out two bottles and set them on the counter. He automatically stepped over to open them and then handed one to Annie before touching the top of his bottle to hers. “Congratulations, sis. I wish your homecoming had been better.”
“Yes. That’s what I want to talk to you about.” She held the bottle in front of her but had yet to take a sip. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Yeah?” he asked cautiously.
“I know you plan to practice at Hennessey’s while you’re here, and you’re going to be busy with the garage and barn and I know today was a bit of a disaster, but—” she pressed her lips together “—could you also watch the girls in the mornings? They have their regular sitter for the afternoons, but she can’t do mornings.”
Grady shrugged as if watching the twins were the easiest thing in the world. “Sure. Not a problem.”
Annie’s face broke into a wide smile. “I don’t know about that, but it would really help me out.”
“Like I said, not a problem. I came home to help.”
“You came home to rebuild the garage and barn, since I underinsured the outbuildings.”
“We underinsured the outbuildings.” Grady went to sit at the kitchen table, but Annie stayed where she was, leaning against the newly cleaned counter. “I don’t mind watching the girls. I learned a lot today, and I can’t see this—” he gestured at the kitchen “—happening again.”
“They’ll think of something else,” Annie said matter-of-factly. “It’s not an easy job keeping them out of trouble.”
“I can handle it.” He hoped. “I’d even keep them in the afternoons if you want.”
“I need to keep my sitter booked or I’ll lose her during the school year.” And she couldn’t count on him then, because he was leaving for a few months at the end of the summer to take part in the traveling Bull Extravaganza Buck-Off.
“Yeah. That makes sense.” He grinned at her. It’d been a while since he saw Annie so happy. “I’m glad that you got the job.”
“I think I’m going to like it. A lot.” She shot him a sideways look after taking a sip of her beer. “Does it bother you that Danielle’s getting married?”
“I thought it might, but it doesn’t.”
She regarded him for a moment, using her truth-detector look. The same look she’d used whenever he said things like, Honest, I haven’t said a word to Joey Barton about you having a crush on him.
“You sound pretty sure about that,” Annie said. “What changed ‘it might’ to ‘it doesn’t’?”
“She stopped by and we talked. It’s pretty clear to me now that when I left two years ago, I accidentally did the best thing for both of us.”
“So you have no issue with me working for her?”
“Of course not.” Actually, he had more of an issue with her working for Lex, but she was a silent partner, as he understood it, so really he had no issue at all. All he wanted was for his sister to be employed and secure.
* * *
ANNIE OWEN’S FIRST day of work was a typical summer Monday at the store. Crotchety Mrs. Lacombe stopped by before lunch to admire the quilts and complain bitterly about the prices, even though she was perhaps the wealthiest person in town. Annie did her best to assist the woman, but nothing she did was right. Lex wanted to rescue her, but when you worked in retail, you had to learn to deal with the Mrs. Lacombes of the world. Annie looked as if her smile were literally frozen in place by the time the woman left—empty-handed as usual, a broken salesperson in her wake.
She was barely out the door when four ladies in their midfifties, wearing Yellowstone National Park T-shirts, came in and started oohing and aahing over the Western-themed memorabilia. And, thankfully, they were buyers, so Annie came away from her second retail encounter feeling a lot better about her sales abilities.
“I’ve never really spoken to Mrs. Lacombe before,” Annie said after the Yellowstone women went on their way, each carrying a paper shopping bag filled with gifts for children and grandchildren. “Now I know why,” she added with feeling.
Lex fought a smile. She hadn’t expected Annie to be so candid. She liked it.
“Mrs. Lacombe can be trying,” Lex agreed as she opened the small refrigerator and pulled out the salad and sandwiches she’d brought for lunch. Annie had been given strict instructions not to bring lunch the first day. “Danielle doesn’t like it when I help her, because there’s usually smoke rolling off my back by the time she leaves but I haven’t blown yet.”
“Does she ever buy anything?” Annie asked as Danielle came into the workroom.
Lex and Danielle exchanged thoughtful glances. “I think I sold her a set of pot holders once,” Lex said. “Right after we opened.”
“And I sold her a vase,” Danielle said. “The one we’d marked down so many times that if we’d marked it down again, we would have had to pay the person who took it.”
Annie laughed. “So she only comes in to browse.”
“And browbeat,” Lex added with a small grimace. “She’s lonely, so we kind of...endure.” An odd expression crossed Annie’s face, as if she hadn’t expected Lex to say something insightful. Or sensitive. Which made her wonder what Grady had said about her.
It didn’t matter.
The lunch hour was devoid of customers, so the three women were able to eat without interruption. Danielle did point out that normally they considered that a bad thing. “We’ve had a good spring and early summer, though,” she said, “so this is nice.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the back door opened and Great-granny came in, wearing immaculate jeans and a neatly pressed red gingham Western shirt. She peeked through the workroom door into the shop. “Good. We’re alone.”
“What’s up?” Danielle asked.
“I have a color question.” Great-granny pulled a handful of hardware store paint color cards out of her purse and started arranging them on the table in front of Danielle as if she were dealing out a game of solitaire. “I’ve been looking at bridesmaid dresses. When you say pink, which part of the spectrum are you aiming at?” She laid down the last card and stood back, hands on her narrow hips.
“Well,” Danielle said, briefly meeting Lex’s gaze before lowering it to the sea of pink in front of her, “I’m not certain, so that is a very good question.” She studied the paint chips—Great-granny had the whole range here, from rose to coral, petal to shocking. “Wow. Um...”
There was a knock on the back door then, and Lex tore herself away from the pink debate to answer it, finding herself face-to-face with Grady Owen once she pulled the door open. Her heart shouldn’t have jumped, but it did. She was that used to expecting disaster whenever Grady was around.
“Uh, hi,” he said, having the good grace to look uncomfortable for once in his life. “I didn’t want to call my sister at work, but if she has a moment, we have a slight emergency. I need her advice.”
“Never a problem,” Lex said coolly, tearing her gaze away from his rather mesmerizing one. She and Danielle knew their employees had lives. She only wished that didn’t have to include Grady Owen showing up at her back door. “I’ll get her.”
A few seconds later Annie was at the door talking to her brother. Lex hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but as she cleared plates so that Great-granny could spread out the pink paint chips, she was close enough to hear Annie say, “Tar? No. Prewash will not get tar out of clothing.”
“Then I’m buying them new jeans,” Grady replied. “What size are they?”
“Grady, you don’t need to buy new jeans, and how in the world—”
The bell rang over the customer entrance and Annie started to turn, but Lex put a hand on her arm on her way by. “You deal. I’ll get the customer.” Annie looked torn, so Lex said, “It’s a cute guy. I don’t mind.”
She had no idea whether the customer was a cute guy or not, but Annie bought the line and continued talking to Grady while Lex went into the shop to greet the three teenagers gathered around the jewelry display. She sold two necklaces and a pair of earrings, and before she got the sale rung up, Annie was back in the shop.
“Everything okay?” Lex asked as she wrapped the jewelry in red tissue and slipped it into a brown bag with a photo of Annie Oakley on the front. Annie nodded as the girls took their purchases and left the store, debating between themselves whether to get ice cream or a hamburger next.
Once they were gone, Annie pushed the hair back from her forehead with one hand. “All I can say is that the house is still standing and no wildlife has been released in the living room today.”
“Sounds like a good day,” Lex said.
“Yes. In my world that’s an excellent day.”
* * *
GRADY LOVED HIS NIECES. They constantly surprised him, made him laugh, caused him to feel all protective. They also wore him out. After only a few days of babysitting, he realized that when he left for Hennessey’s to do his practice ride in the late afternoons, he was more exhausted than he’d been after driving twelve hours and climbing on top of a Brahma, then getting back in the truck and driving again.
Although that wasn’t the best example, because after he started making serious money, he flew to most of his events. During his off time, he lived and worked on his friend Hank Fletcher’s Oklahoma ranch. It was a job that gave him a decent paycheck and offered him the flexibility he needed to follow the circuit. He’d sent money to his sister, and sometimes she’d even accepted it; but now that he was around her and the girls more, he was kicking himself for sending a check instead of coming back. Two years hadn’t seemed like a long time, but it was. He’d missed out on a lot, and Annie, even though she was stubbornly independent—at least until a tornado turned her life around—could have used his help.
He hadn’t been thinking about anyone except for himself, and that wasn’t good. Now that he knew what was going on, had become a larger part of his nieces’ lives, he’d started crafting a plan. He was going back on the circuit, taking part in the traveling Bull Extravaganza in the fall, because that was how he earned his living, but he was no longer stationing himself in Oklahoma during the off-season. He was moving back to Gavin, taking care of his family. So when Hank called to touch base as Grady was driving home from practice, it was the perfect time to break the news to him. Hank had sounded delighted.
“So it worked out with your lady?”
Hank had met Danielle several times, and even though Grady hadn’t said anything to him, he must have deduced that Grady had thought of giving his relationship with Danielle one last shot.
“Nothing to work out. She’s getting married and the guy ain’t me.”
“Hey. Sorry to hear that.” Hank sounded genuinely shocked.
“I’m okay with it.” And he was all for moving on to the next topic. Hank, however, had a few more things to say on the matter.
“You know what this means?”
“Not really.” His tone was not encouraging, but Hank didn’t get the hint. Hank had never been a hint kind of guy.
“You need to get back out there, man. You haven’t seriously dated in how long?”
Long time. Which had been part of why he’d planned to revisit his relationship with Danielle. He’d figured that she had to be a reason he wasn’t that wild about any one particular woman. He’d been wrong.
“A while.”
“I’ll give you this. Danielle is a real looker, but it takes more than good looks to make a relationship, you know. Especially for a guy in your profession.”
“So I’m discovering,” Grady said facetiously, still trying to keep things light.
“And now that you’ve figured that out, you know what you need to do?”
Grady knew.
He needed to get back out there. “I’ll keep you posted,” he said, and even though he spoke wryly, he realized Hank was totally correct. He needed to develop a social life. A local one, since this was where he planned to live from now on.
After hanging up the phone, he dialed Jess Hayward. If anyone was going to get him back into the swing of things locally, it was a Hayward twin. Even if he didn’t find someone to hook up with, he needed to get out of the self-imposed isolation in which he’d existed since Danielle broke up with him. Yeah. He needed to meet some women. Have some fun.
Be the Grady Owen he used to be.
* * *
DANIELLE AND LEX threw a going away party for Kelly at the Shamrock Pub, two doors down from Annie Get Your Gun, after her last day of work. Curtis, Danielle’s fiancé, joined the party after getting off at the bank and soon the four of them were headed to an impromptu dinner. He was the physical opposite of Grady—tall and blond and built like the football player he’d once been. Needless to say, he was also Grady’s emotional opposite, being serious and dependable. In other words, he was better suited to Danielle in all respects, and Lex liked him.
After dinner, Danielle and Curtis made their apologies and went home, leaving Kelly and Lex sharing a bowl of molten chocolate cake as a long evening stretched in front of them.
“Are you in any hurry to get home?” Kelly asked as they left the steak house. She pulled the elastic out of her long red hair as she spoke, shaking her head so that the waves spilled around her shoulders. She was obviously getting into party mode and it was only nine o’clock, so Lex shrugged.
“My dogs might worry, but no.”
Kelly jerked her head toward the bar on the other side of the parking lot. “One for the road?”
“Sure.”
It’d been a while since Lex set foot in Shardlow’s and when they walked in, she had an instant flashback to her college days. The place was filled with cowboys and cowgirls. Loud music pulsed over the speakers, accented by the clack of pool balls on the three tables lined up side by side in an alcove. Kelly had to point to a table, since it was hard to hear over the noise.
It was quieter along the wall, and a tall bar guy appeared almost as soon as they were seated, a towel tucked into the front of his Wranglers, a smile on his handsome face. “What can I get you ladies?”
Kelly beamed up at him, and Lex began to understand the reason behind the nightcap. “A draft, please.”
“Same.” Lex waited until he was gone before meeting Kelly’s gaze across the table. “Okay. Spill.”
“Not much to spill.” She smiled cheekily. “Yet. He’s the owner’s nephew. Gus Hawkins. Just moved here from Nevada.” The drinks arrived, and Kelly started a tab. The barkeep smiled at her, and Lex had to admit that there was some chemistry behind that smile. Kelly leaned closer after he’d left. “Thank you for coming with me. You can see why I didn’t want to come here alone.”
Indeed she could. Especially with the bar in full swing. This was not the place for a woman hoping to have a few minutes with the attractive barkeep and not be hit on.
“You don’t have to stay long,” Kelly said. “I know you have things to do tomorrow. I just—” she smiled again “—wanted a taste.”
Lex laughed, wondering if she was a bad friend because she was more in the mood for home and bed than partying and was tempted to take Kelly up on her offer of not staying long.
There was a bit of a commotion toward the rear exit then, and she and Kelly glanced over simultaneously to see none other than Grady Owen and two of his high school buddies, the Hayward twins, Ty and Jess, walk in. And then she pretty much lost sight of Grady as the buckle bunnies started swarming the guys. Bull riders attracted women. That was a flat-out fact.
“You know I’m no fan of rodeo guys, but Grady’s hot,” Kelly murmured, echoing Lex’s grudging thoughts. A server happened by the group and handed each of the bull riders a beer off her tray, making Lex wonder if someone else was doing without a drink for the moment. The girl turned around and headed back to the bar. Yes, bull riders got special favors here.
“That appears to be the consensus.” Lex couldn’t argue with it, either. Grady had killer good looks and he could be charming. Even now she could see the flash of his smile from between a blonde and a redhead.
“I might go join the crowd,” Kelly said with a suggestive lift of her eyebrows.
“All you’ll do is to make a massive ego even bigger.”
Kelly laughed and Grady’s gaze came up then, zeroing in on Lex almost as if he’d heard her speak. Which was ridiculous, of course, as was the slight bump in her pulse as he started across the room toward her. A few cowgirls trailed behind him.
“Lex,” he said, raising his beer in a salute.
She mimicked his salute, then said, “You know Kelly, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He flashed a smile at both of them.
Oh, yeah. All country boy charm. She was about to comment, when he said on a note of sincerity, “I want to thank you for hiring my sister. She’ll do a good job for you. And thank you for letting me interrupt the other day with my twin emergency.”
Lex opened her moth, then closed it again. Nothing like a heartfelt thank-you to stop a potentially snarky conversation. She cleared her throat. “Annie will be a good fit.”
Grady smiled. “I was surprised she got the job.”
“Well,” Lex said, “the name was right.” She smiled politely at him, wanting him to leave, wanting to stop feeling this odd awareness that had appeared out of nowhere once he walked into the bar and was surrounded by women. Where had that come from? “I don’t want to keep you from your—” somehow she managed to choke back the word groupies “—friends.”
“Thank you, again,” he said, before nodding at Kelly and then heading back across the bar where Ty and Jess were busy flirting and drinking.
When Lex looked back at Kelly, she found her friend frowning at her. “Is it just me, or were there a lot of unspoken messages in that conversation?”
Lex shrugged innocently. “Just you.”
“Right.”
Lex and Kelly nursed their beers and talked for a good twenty minutes before Kelly’s bar guy came back, only he wasn’t wearing his towel apron and he was carrying three beers. Lex instantly understood what was going on and raised her eyebrows at Kelly in silent communication.
Kelly gave a smiling nod and Lex said, “I hope that beer’s not for me. I have to go.”
“I’m sure we can find it a home.” The guy held out his hand. “I’m Gus.”
“Alexa.” Lex shook hands, then got up from her chair. “I’ll see you around, Kelly. Good luck with the new job. Nice to meet you, Gus.”
“New job?” Gus said as he sat down, and Lex took the opportunity to slip away toward the rear exit leading directly to the parking lot. Cool air hit her face as soon as she stepped out the door onto the gravel. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air that didn’t smell of beer and too many bodies in a close place.
“Making it an early night?”
Lex jumped a mile at the unexpected voice not far from her shoulder, then whirled to see that Grady had followed her out the door. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“You should be more aware of your surroundings.”
He took a step forward and Lex drew herself up. “Walk you to your car?” he asked.
“Truck.” She was about to say no, then realized that was exactly what he expected her to say and the contrary part of her said, “Sure, why not?”
She could see that she’d surprised him by accepting his offer and decided she liked the feeling. “I’m parked on the other side of Main near the Shamrock.”
“Long ways away,” he said as they fell into step.
“We started Kelly’s going-away party there.”
“Ah.”
They walked shoulder to shoulder, gravel crunching beneath their boots. Grady was only a couple of inches taller than her, but somehow he seemed to take over the space around them. He was that kind of guy—a bit overpowering. Lex wasn’t about to be overpowered.
“So you’re babysitting while Annie is at work.”
He smiled, shaking his head.
“Not anymore?” Had the tar incident done him in?
“Yes. I’m the sitter. I was shaking my head at how much more involved it is than I thought it would be. Quite the experience.”
Lex decided against bringing up the tar thing. She already knew that he’d insisted on buying new jeans for the girls—not one pair, but three pairs each, in different colors. “I can see how it would be. You haven’t spent a lot of time around your nieces in the past couple years, have you?” She realized how critical that sounded, which surprisingly hadn’t been her intent. “I meant—”
“No worries,” he said as they approached her truck, but his tone had cooled. “I only have them in the mornings.”
“What do you do in the afternoons?”
“Rebuild the garage, practice at Hennessey’s place.” He turned to face her as she dug the keys out of her pocket. “You should come see me practice sometime.”
Her gaze jerked up, and then she laughed. “I’m not one of your buckle bunnies.”
“Didn’t say you were.” But the way that his eyes drifted down to her lips made unexpected heat unfurl inside of her. What the heck?
She cocked her head and asked coolly, “Then why would you want me to watch you practice?”
“Since my sister works for you, it seemed like a way to make peace.”
“Me watching you?”
He smiled a little, the cockiness back. “Hey, I didn’t think you’d accept if I asked you out for a drink, so this seemed like the next best thing. You can watch me get smeared into the dirt.”
Lex smiled in spite of herself.
“I thought you’d like that,” Grady said with an easy grin, and once again she felt the prickles of awareness, the pooling of heat in her midsection. Crazy.
And he knew she was reacting to him. She could see it in the way he was smiling at her.
“How about we agree to make peace?” she asked, wondering if she moved closer if he might try to kiss her. The signals were there, and she couldn’t help speculating as to his motivation. She had to believe it was a power thing—payback for meddling in his life—and that was exactly why he wouldn’t be kissing her tonight.
“Have it your way,” he said with a smile. He patted the hood of her truck. “But if you ever reconsider that smeared-in-the-dirt thing, I’m there every afternoon from five to seven.”
