Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch (17 page)

“Are you sure
you two aren’t part of the show?” He helped Rosa into the front passenger seat
with a hand on her elbow, then assisted Lili into the back. “Do they have a
best-dressed cowgirl contest?”

Rosa clucked her
tongue at him. “You’re a flatterer, Daniel. No wonder Willa likes you.”

He couldn’t help
grinning at the thought that Willa liked him. She responded to him, sure…they’d
had chemistry from that first moment in the lawyer’s office. But at this point
he was grateful for any evidence hinting at more than just a physical
connection.

At the
fairgrounds, the bare bones of fences, corrals and bleachers set on a wide dirt
plain had been fleshed out with flags, advertising banners, animals and people.
Carts and trailers and tents were set up to sell everything from dream catchers
to Polish sausage, with shoppers crowding the aisles between them. Country
music blared out of the public address system, punctuated by an announcer
counting down the minutes until the official start of the rodeo.

They found
Willa’s truck and horse trailer parked in the competitor’s lot. Susannah was
giving her pony a final brush as they approached.

“That horse
shines as bright as gold,” Daniel told her. “I’ve never seen an animal so
clean.”

She flashed him
a smile. “I gave him a bath yesterday, but then he rolled during the night, so
I had to wash him off again this morning. He’s probably never been this clean
in his life.”

“You look
terrific, too.” To complement her horse, Susannah’s chaps were royal-blue with
gold fringe. Her blouse was the same blue, and she wore a blue hat that made
her long black braid shine. “Where’s your—”

A hand slipped
inside Daniel’s elbow. He looked down, starting to smile at Willa…but it was
Bev Drummond who stood beside him.

He had to force
himself to finish the smile. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I’m so glad you
decided to come.” Her other hand, with its long red fingernails, came to rest
on top of his arm. “Susannah’s going to make us all proud today. I just know
it.”

The girl gave a
nervous smile and continued to groom her horse.

Bev squeezed
Daniel’s arm. “Let’s take a stroll through the booths. I haven’t had my
breakfast yet, and there’s an elephant ear pastry over there calling my name.”

He didn’t have
an excuse to stay—he couldn’t do much to help Susannah. Willa and Toby were
nowhere in sight. The aunts had already wandered off to do some shopping.

“Sure. I could
use some coffee, myself.” He looked at Susannah. “We’ll be back in a few
minutes.”

But Bev had
other plans. She dragged him from vendor to vendor, examining jewelry and
knickknacks, asking his opinion of items he couldn’t care less about. Just as
he was about to suggest they head back to the trailer, the loudspeaker above
his head crackled.

“In five
minutes, the Grand Parade opening the Zapata County Rodeo will commence. Spectators,
grab a drink and something to eat, then settle in for a great day of exciting
rodeo action!”

“Let’s find
ourselves a seat,” Bev said, clamping down on his arm again and dragging him
toward the arena.

Daniel had long
since gotten tired of being hauled around like a toddler. He started to dig in
his heels and reclaim his arm…but then he caught sight of Willa, Toby and
Robbie, also heading for the bleachers.

“Look,” he said.
“There’s Willa.” Changing direction, he pulled Bev along with him, pretending
he didn’t hear her squawk of protest.

He caught up
with the Mercados at the corner of the grandstand. Toby saw him first. “Major
Trent! The rodeo is about to start!”

At Toby’s shout,
Willa turned, her first expression a surprised grin. Then she saw Bev, clamped
onto Daniel’s arm, and the grin faded to a polite smile. “Hi, Bev. Is Susannah
ready to ride?” She flicked a glance at Daniel, without meeting his eyes.

“We left her
giving Lustre a final brush.” Bev flipped her long red hair in back of her
shoulders. “We should find a place to sit or we’ll be standing along the wall.”

Willa nodded.
“My aunts were going to stake out some territory on the benches.” She turned
and led the way through the crowd, past the ticket booth and then up the side
of the bleachers to where Lili and Rosa sat on either end of an empty stretch
of bench, in perfect viewing position. Rob filed in to sit next to Rosa,
followed by Willa. Daniel thought he could take the space beside her, but then
Toby scooted ahead of him, to sit next to his mother. Somehow Bev slipped in
after Toby, and Daniel ended up on her other side, with Lili on his right. He
grinned at Willa’s aunt, winked at Bev and kept his disappointed sigh to
himself.

The Grand Parade
started a moment later as the day’s competitors rode their horses into the
arena and loped around the perimeter—bronc and bull riders, calf ropers, steer
wrestlers and clowns and, finally, the barrel racers, all wearing their flashy
chaps, their show clothes and their good hats. Susannah caught sight of her
family and waved as she rode past.

Last came a trio
of gray horses mounted by pretty young women wearing red, white and blue. As
the other riders lined up down the center of the field, the color guard circled
the arena to display the American flag, with the Texas flag and the flag of
Zapata County just behind. Section by section the members of the audience got
to their feet, and the national anthem came over the loudspeaker. Listening,
Daniel swallowed tears, as he always did. He wasn’t surprised that each member
of the Mercado family knew every word of the song.

The anthem ended
with a cheer from spectators and competitors alike, and the rodeo got underway.
Toby leaned over Bev to talk to Daniel. “First is the bareback riding. Then
saddle broncs, calf roping and steer wrestling. Then they set up for the barrel
racers, and the bull riding is last.” He glanced back at his mother, who was
saying something to Rosa. “I’m gonna ride bulls one day,” the boy said in a
stage whisper. “Don’t tell my mom yet.”

Daniel nodded.
“I won’t.” But when he glanced over Toby’s head, he could see from Willa’s face
that she’d heard. He winked at her, sharing her amused apprehension.

Toby hopped up
at the end of the bareback riding and went to the concession stand for popcorn.
After the saddle broncs, he wanted a hot dog, and Rob went with him—stepping
across Daniel without a word. Halfway through the calf-roping, Toby stood up
again. “I’m going to the bathroom, Mom. And then I need some lunch.”

“How can you
need something else to eat?” Willa stared at him, pretending dismay. “You’ve
been eating all morning!”

He shrugged and
grinned, knowing she was teasing. “I’m a growing boy. What can I say? Oh,
yeah…” He snapped his fingers. “I need some money.”

“Of course, you
do.” Willa handed him a folded bill. “Put that in your pocket now—don’t carry it
around in your hand.”

“Okay, okay.” He
did as he was told. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

His mother shook
her head as he eased along the bench. “He’ll be seven feet tall, if he keeps
eating like this.”

“Or seven feet
wide,” Bev said, with a laugh.

Daniel looked at
the redhead without comment. What she saw in his face, though, gave her second
thoughts. “N-not really, of course. He never stops moving—he needs all the food
he can eat.”

As the last of
the calf ropers left the arena, Daniel noticed Willa scanning the stands,
looking for Toby. She said something to Rob, who stood up and gazed around,
shaking his head. In a few minutes, Lili and Rosa were both on the lookout, as
well.

Daniel leaned
across Bev and touched Willa’s arm to get her attention. “You think Toby should
have been back by now?”

Willa shrugged. “I
would have thought so…but sometimes he wanders off on his own.” She was calm,
but her eyebrows were drawn together in worry.

“Why don’t I go
look for him?”

“No, don’t
bother. I’m sure he’ll be back.”

“It’s not a
bother. I need to stretch my legs, anyway. I’ll just look around and then send
him back so you’ll know he’s okay.”

She couldn’t
hide the relief. “Thank you. That would be nice.”

As he stood up,
Bev picked up her purse. “I’ll come with you.”

Daniel put a
hand on her shoulder. “That’s okay. You can’t really follow me into the men’s
restroom.” He gave her a grin. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Well,” Bev
said, her voice high with irritation. “I could have waited for him outside!”

Willa kept her
gaze on the action in the arena. “Maybe he wanted a few minutes alone.”

“So he goes
after a ten-year-old?”

After a morning
spent listening to Bev play rodeo expert, Willa was having trouble keeping her
temper. “He’s doing me a favor, Bev. Toby’s been gone more than half an hour.”

“Maybe you
should have gone to look for him.”

“But I can’t get
into the men’s restroom, either.”

After a moment,
Bev slid down the bench toward Willa. “Listen, girlfriend, I think we need to
get this settled, right now, before he comes back.”

“Get what
settled?”

“You may not
realize it, but I’m very interested in Major Daniel Trent. I think we could
have some good times together, maybe even on a permanent basis.”

Willa folded her
arms over her chest. “Oh, really?”

“Yes. I know
he’s your neighbor, and I’m sure you see a lot of him, one way or another. But
I’m asking you now, as a friend, to back off.”

“You think
Daniel’s interested in a relationship with you?”

“I think he’s
trying to decide—you or me. Which is why I want you to leave him alone.”

Willa had to
laugh. “It’s that simple, is it? I leave, and Daniel falls for you?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Oh, Beverley,
you’re priceless.” Willa wiped her eyes, but she couldn’t stop giggling. “Love
doesn’t come with an on/off switch. And it’s not either/or. If Daniel is in
love with you, being around me won’t make the least bit of difference.”

Bev rolled her
eyes. “What do you know? You’ve been married once, to your childhood
sweetheart. I learned the hard way—with two husbands and a bunch of
boyfriends.”

“Or maybe you
didn’t learn anything at all.”

Bev stared at
her in fury. “You bitch.”

“Here’s the
thing, Bev.” Willa put a hand on her former friend’s knee. “I think I could
move to the other side of the planet, and it wouldn’t change the way Daniel
feels about you in the least. But for the record, no. I won’t back off. Find
yourself another trophy, girlfriend. This one’s mine.”

While she was
dealing with the fear and exhilaration of having admitted so much, Bev got to
her feet and sidestepped to the aisle. She turned back before starting down the
steps. “Just so you know, your daughter couldn’t ride her way out of a paper
bag.”

Willa simply
waved her away. Susannah would prove that comment a lie when she streaked into
the arena a little bit later this afternoon.

Now that Bev was
out of the way, Willa wanted Daniel to come back, wanted to share the fun and
excitement of the rodeo with the man she’d practically declared her private
property. But he’d been gone almost twenty minutes, and Toby hadn’t returned.

“I’m going to
look for them,” she told Rosa, Robbie and Lili. “You three stay here.”

R
OBBIE HEARD THE
WHOLE
conversation
between his mom and Miss Beverley. He’d been afraid of this. Mom had decided
she liked Daniel Trent enough to fight with her friend over him.

Wasn’t there any
way to stop this disaster from getting worse?

He was thinking
so hard that the light tap on his shoulder made him jump. He looked to his
left, where Aunt Rosa sat smiling at him.

“What are you
pondering so deeply?” As he stared at her, she started looking worried. “Is
something wrong, Robbie?”

Would talking
things over with Aunt Rosa do any good? He doubted it. “I think Mom’s getting
interested in Mr. Trent.”

“Is that a bad
thing?”

“She said he
would only be here till Christmas.”

“But he seems to
be settling into ranch work and ranch life pretty well. Maybe she was wrong.”

“She doesn’t
really know anything about him.”

“I suspect she’s
learning, as we all are. Do you know something about Major Trent we should be
aware of?”

He wished he had
thought ahead of time to make something up. Something really bad, like killing
people. Or dogs. “He probably shot up a lot of people in the war.”

“That could be
true. Unfortunately, war often demands that kind of sacrifice.”

“He might have
that mental problem…PMST or whatever.”

“PTSD, you mean.
Post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Right. He might
freak out sometime and think we’re all the enemy and shoot us with those guns
he has.”