Читать книгу A Bull Rider To Depend On - Jeannie Watt - Страница 12
ОглавлениеTyler’s head came up off the pillow as the beating sound intensified, but he was having trouble opening his eyes. When he finally pried one lid open, he realized that someone was knocking on the trailer door. Short intense raps that seemed to echo in his head.
“Get that, would you?” Jess called from the back of the trailer. He sounded the way Ty felt. Like crap.
“Yeah.” The word croaked out of his throat. “Coming,” he yelled as he shoved his legs into his jeans.
He heard the sound of retreating footsteps as he approached the door, stumbling over his boots on the way. Whoever had been at the door was leaving, but since he was now vertical and semidressed, he figured he may as well see who the visitor was. Pushing open the door, he stepped out onto the small landing his brother had built out of scrap lumber. Skye Larkin was walking toward her car, which was parked where his pickup would be if he hadn’t left it at the Shamrock and caught a ride home with Blaine.
“Hey.”
Skye stopped dead, her back going stiff, before she slowly turned. And even though he was sore at her, he couldn’t help but think, as always, how ridiculously beautiful she was.
“Hi,” she said, her voice almost as stiff as her back. She started back toward him, keeping her eyes firmly on his face. Apparently she didn’t want to admire the wonder of his naked torso. Well, women who didn’t want to see half-naked men shouldn’t knock on their doors at unearthly hours.
“Can I help you with something?” His words were clipped, his voice cold. Couldn’t help himself.
“You can accept my apology.”
Unexpected, to say the least. Especially since she’d apparently made a special trip to do so. “You’re apologizing?”
She came to a stop close to the bottom step, and since Tyler didn’t feel right looking down at her, he started down the steps. Skye took a measured step back, and he stopped. “I am. I was rude yesterday.”
“Your horse died.”
Her eyes were red and puffy, as he imagined his were. He didn’t drink that often anymore, because it interfered with his training, but last night he’d made up for lost time.
“Yes. Well, regardless, sorry. I shouldn’t have told Angie about the loan...but you need to know that I’m not responsible for the buy-the-clear-conscience bit.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. If she wasn’t responsible for the part that had offended him, then he had only one question. “Why the apology, Skye?”
“Did some thinking last night.”
“And realized you needed the loan.”
The expression that crossed her face, the way she blinked as if she’d just been slapped, made him feel like apologizing, except that he’d done nothing wrong. He’d offered her a loan. He’d offered to help bury her horse. He was not the bad guy.
“This has nothing to do with the loan,” she snapped. “Except for the part that Angie embellished.” She glared at him briefly, then turned and stalked toward her car. Tyler fought with himself until she was almost there, then bounded down off the porch, making his head throb a little. She heard him coming and stopped with her hand on the car’s door handle. She turned on him with another killer glare and said, “What?”
He regarded her for a moment. Her nose wrinkled a little, and he realized he probably smelled like a brewery. Tough. “I want to know something, Skye. What do you have against me?” She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her jaw muscles went tight as if she was working very hard to keep words from spilling out.
“Too many things to articulate?” he asked with mock innocence. His voice hardened as he asked, “Do you need the money I offered you, Skye?”
“That’s not why I came.”
“And that’s not an answer.”
She closed her eyes as she let out a breath, her dark lashes fanning over her cheeks as she debated responses.
“The truth will do just fine, Skye.”
Her eyes flashed open. Blue fire. “Yes. I need the money.”
“What happens if you don’t get it?”
“I’ll probably lose the truck and...I don’t know about the ranch. Depends if I can get another job.”
“Two jobs?”
She nodded, her lips now clamped firmly shut. Tyler raised his eyes to the horizon. The sun was well above the tree line. Maybe it wasn’t such an unearthly hour after all. He breathed deeply, drawing in the scent of grass and pines and Skye. Something in him stirred, and he told it to stop.
When he looked back at Skye, she was eyeing him warily, as if she were teetering on the brink of something and he had the power to tip her one way or the other. She hated it. He could tell.
He forced the corners of his mouth up. They fought him, but he got the job done. “I won’t give you the loan...but I’ll buy into your operation.”
Skye’s chin jerked up. “Wh-what?”
“I owe it to Mason. He was my friend—whom I did not gamble with.” He needed to make that last part clear. “Here’s the deal. I’ll become your partner. I will infuse cash into your cattle operation, help you catch up on your payments.”
“What do you get out of it?” Skye asked.
“Half your profits.”
“Then you won’t get much.”
“And I want a place to live.”
Her eyes flashed, and then she held up her palms as if to ward him off. “You are not moving into my house.”
“I’ll move a trailer onto the place.”
“With Jess?” There was a hopeful note in her voice that irritated him.
“No, Skye. The whole point of this is to not live with my brother.” He rubbed the side of his face.
“I need more details. Like...how long will we be partners?”
“Until you buy me out again.”
“For the original amount?”
“That wouldn’t be very good business.”
“Two percent interest?”
“Three.” Which still wasn’t that great of a return, but, in truth, he wasn’t a very good businessman.
“I need time to think. And I need more concrete terms.”
“Three days,” Tyler said. “If you’re still interested, we meet with C.J. and iron out the terms. I’ll make the appointment today.”
“And cancel if I say no?”
She wasn’t going to do that. He was almost certain that she couldn’t—not unless some white knight appeared on the horizon. “Sure. I’ll cancel if you say no.”
She gave her head a small shake, as if unable to believe she was in this situation. She was—and it was not a situation of his making, regardless of what she might think.
“Hey, Skye...”
She looked up at him, only this time her gaze skimmed over his bare chest, pausing at the scar on his left pectoral muscle, before moving up to his face.
“I’ll be gone a lot of the time. Most of the time. Consider that while you make your decision.”
“Yes.” She lifted her chin, a faint frown pulling her delicate dark eyebrows together. “I will consider that.”
* * *
SKYE’S HANDS WERE shaking on the steering wheel as she pulled out of the parking place. Anger? Gratitude?
Lust?
Because while Mason had been a hard-body, Tyler was incredible. And she was using his incredible physique to distract herself from the issue at hand. He had just offered to buy into her operation. Tyler Hayward. Bad influence. Bane of her existence.
Savior?
It was too much to take in, so she blanked out her mind as best she could and drove to work, parking in the same spot where Tyler had accosted her a day ago—incredible how quickly time flew by—and offered her a loan.
She gave a small snort as she locked her car. She should have swallowed her pride and taken it. It would have put her in a better position than she was in now. How could she let him live on her property? What kind of life would that be, going about her business, caring for her animals, with Tyler there?
One that she may have to endure because unless some miracle came out of nowhere in the next three days, that was exactly what was going to happen.
Maybe Tyler’s offer is the miracle.
Was this what her life had come to? A place where Tyler Hayward was her miracle?
She jerked open the back door of the café and stepped into the small room that led to the kitchen. She hung up her sweater, pulled her freshly laundered apron out of her tote bag and tied it on.
He might be her miracle, and she might be grateful to the soles of her shoes, but it was never going to sit well with her. He said he was doing this for Mason. Probably out of guilt.
Yes.
She yanked the bow at the back of her apron tight.
That was it. Guilt.
She could live with that motivation. It wouldn’t make it any easier having him on the place, but she could save her money, maybe get that second job she’d talked about. Pay him back super fast.
Get her ranch back...get her life back, such as it was.
“Are you okay?” Chloe called from the register, frowning at Skye’s puffy face. A night of cleaning and crying did no one any good.
“My horse died yesterday.”
“Ooh.” Chloe wrung her hands together then settled them on top of her pregnant belly. “I’m so sorry.”
Skye nodded in acknowledgment rather than speak and risk tearing up. Chloe reached down and pulled Skye’s notepad out from under the counter.
“Kind of empty today,” Skye said as she slipped the book into her apron pocket. As in totally empty, which was a bummer. Tips wouldn’t go far in helping her out of her present situation—but they would put some gas in her car.
“The breakfast rush was good. Thanks for letting me work that half of your shift. I’ll split the tips with you.”
“Not necessary. I’m sure lunch will be good, too.” Skye traded Chloe shifts, or half shifts, if necessary, on the days Chloe had OB appointments, and today it had worked out because after her cleaning frenzy, Skye had fallen into bed around 3:00 a.m. and managed a couple hours’ sleep, which she wouldn’t have gotten had she opened at 5:00 a.m.—even though she’d been awake at that time and on the phone with Angie.
Speaking of which...
“Where’s Angie?”
“She’s running a quick errand. Something to do with her sister’s wedding. She should be back any minute now.”
Skye hoped it wouldn’t be awkward, just the two of them and no customers, but knowing Angie, she’d already moved on from their early morning conversation.
“Angie said that Tyler offered you a loan.” Skye waited, but instead of mentioning the clear-conscience aspect, Chloe shot her a curious look as she undid her apron and slipped it over her head. “Is everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Skye said. Then, figuring she may as well start her own rumors and have them be truthful, she added, “We’re going into business together.”
The heavy ceramic mug Chloe was holding slipped out of her hands, landing with a thud on the Formica countertop. “What kind of business?”
“Ranching.” Skye looked past Chloe to an older couple that had just pushed through the door. “I’d better seat them.”
Skye seated the couple, got them water and menus, then drifted back to the register. “Nothing firm yet, but we’re in discussions.”
“Why would you do that?” Chloe asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Skye smiled at her. It felt like a weary smile, a smile one might find on a woman who’d lived for eighty decades instead of almost three. “Sometimes life backs you into a corner and all you can do is graciously say yes when someone offers you a way out.”
* * *
“I DON’T SEE this ending well,” Jess said to Tyler as they stood side by side, leaning against the rails of Hennessey’s outdoor practice pen. Bull-riding practice would move to the indoor facility once the weather grew inclement, but Ty didn’t think he’d be home all that often during that time, but if he was home it was going to be grand having a place to live where he wasn’t practically on top of his brother. That was the only part of the plan that Jess did fully approve of.
“I’m not taking advantage of her. I’m helping her in the only way she can accept.”
“Offer her the loan again.”
“No.”
“Why?” Jess tipped back his hat as he turned to eye his brother.
“Because this works for both of us. Skye gets out from under the debt and I get a place to put my money.”
“And a place to live.”
“The best part of all.” He raised his chin as the chute across the pen opened and a young riderless bull charged out, twisting and bucking. “He has potential.”
“That he does. I like the new lines Hennessey is breeding.”
So did Tyler, although he’d be retired from riding before most of the young stock was ready to buck for real. Once the young bull had disappeared through the gate and the crew started loading another, Tyler shot his brother a look. “You know that I’m grateful that you gave me a roof. I’d do the same for you.”
“If things don’t start looking up, that may happen sooner than you think.”
Jess’s job wasn’t all that stable, which was one reason he was living as cheaply as possible, and in Ty’s way of thinking, that opened up opportunity. “Then you can try your luck on the circuit guilt free. You aren’t shirking your duty. Your duty shirked you.”
Jess was not impressed with his brother’s argument. “Look.” He paused, and Tyler prepared himself for the lecture. “Look” followed by a silence meant something important was about to be imparted.
“Don’t do anything to mess up Skye’s life. She’s had enough trouble.”
Tyler waited for the rest. Nothing. He tilted his head, frowning a little. “Do you honestly think I want to mess up Skye’s life?”
“I know you’re irritated at her for thinking the worst of you.”
“Totally guilty.” He looked back across the arena as a bull came down the alleyway. “But I see this as an investment and a business proposition. If Skye’s life gets screwed up, so does mine.”
