Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) (20 page)

“
Hi, pretty lady,” the cowboy said
sticking his hand out to her. “I just wanted to say hello to you
before the band starts up and it’s too loud to do that. I’d have
kicked myself in the butt all the way home if I didn’t. I’m
Jared.”

Twyla’s eyes fell to his other hand, which
rested on the table. No wedding ring, or ridge from one. He looked
harmless, and was well dressed. One thing was for sure, unless she
opened up to another man, she’d never find that someone. Her eyes
swung back up to his and she smiled, as she sat her bottle down,
wiped her hand on her skirt, then took his hand. “I’m Twyla. Nice
to meet you, Jared.”

His eyes fell on her beer. “I’d ask if I could
buy you a beer, but it looks like you’re set for now. Can I sit
here and wait until you’re ready for one?” he asked
hopefully.

Damn this man was smooth, she thought, as she
pulled her hand from his. “Tables aren’t reserved,” she replied
with a laugh and eased back in her chair. “What brings you
here?”

He pointed at the stage. “I want to hear that
little lady sing. I’ve heard good things about her, and wanted to
hear for myself.”

Twyla gasped. “Really?”

He glanced at her and smiled. “Yeah, I’m an
agent. I can do big things for her, if she’s ready to ditch the
schmuck she’s with.”

“
She’s been with him a long
time.”

“
You know Heather?” he asked
curiously, turning to lean in closer.

“
She’s a friend.”

“
Well, if you’re her friend,
you’ll tell her what’s holding her back is her agent. If she’s been
with Lester that long, and this place is the best he can do for
her, then she needs to go agent shopping, and I’m her
man.”

Twyla got this tickling sensation at the back
of her neck, but had no idea what that was about. “How’d you hear
about Heather?”

“
I went to the Crazy Cowgirl
awhile back and saw her dance. Leon told me she’s a singer too, so
I decided to check her out.” He shrugged. “Heard she had a gig here
tonight.”

“
You know Leon?” Twyla asked
picking up her beer, because that tickling sensation turned into a
full blown buzz that zipped down her spine. She’d never seen this
guy at the Cowgirl, but then again she hadn’t been there long. And
she tried her best not to notice men there anyway. If she didn’t
make eye contact, she found she didn’t get so grossed out with them
staring at her. Jared said it was a while back, so maybe it was
before she started there. And he knew Leon. Maybe he wasn’t some
crazy stalker who had latched onto Heather at the bar. He didn’t
appear to be that type.

His eyes swung back to Twyla, and he smiled as
his eyes took a quick tour of her breasts, before he volleyed,
“Question is, how do you know him?”

Twyla wasn’t about to tell him she was a
dancer there. Look how that knowledge had turned out with Randy.
And this man knew what the Cowgirl was. “Um, through
Heather.”

“
Well, Leon and I go way back. We
used to own a bar together before I got into talent management.”
When his eyes met Heather’s up on stage and she waved, Twyla felt a
little better. She relaxed and picked up her beer, chastising
herself for being so paranoid. She was going to sit here and drink
her beer, let this man buy her another, and enjoy her
night.

Maybe that would help her forget that payphone
she’d seen in the hall near the bathroom, the one that had called
to her on the way in to pick it up and call Ryan Easter. The one at
the Crazy Cowgirl was out of service, so she hadn’t been tempted at
work. But damn she was tempted here, and she doubted it was broken.
This place was too upscale for that to happen.

It was Monday, so he was probably on his way
to the next venue anyway. Out in the boonies where cell service was
sketchy. At least that’s what she was telling herself so she didn’t
run over there to call. She was not going to call him, she thought
with determination as she lifted her beer and downed it. When she
sat the bottle on the table, Jared was watching her. “You ready for
another one?”

Twyla nodded and he smiled then pushed up to
stand. “Be right back.”

She watched Jared walk toward the bar, then
her gaze swung back to the stage as Heather introduced herself. Her
voice shook a little, and Twyla recognized it was nerves causing
the shake in her usually confident friend’s tone. She also noticed
Heather’s eyes were following Jared across the bar too as she
spoke, and she wasn’t smiling now. But with a nod to the others on
stage, she strummed her acoustic guitar then sang the first note of
her first song.

Twyla got caught up in the magical, pitch
perfect sound of the sad country ballad and sighed, resting her
chin on the heel of her palm. Jared came back and slid a beer
across the table to her as he sat down. He relaxed back with his
own and before long he seemed as wrapped up in the music as Twyla
was. That was a good thing, she thought. Maybe he would help
Heather. Two songs later, Twyla was convinced he was sold. Jared
was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, seeming to be
totally into Heather.

That’s why it surprised her when he sat up and
turned toward her. “I’ve seen all I need to see. She’s definitely a
star. I have another act to go see tonight. You want to ride with
me? I can drop you back here later? I need to talk to Heather
anyway,” he asked with that sexy grin.

Twyla gnawed her lower lip and her hand
tightened on her half full beer bottle. For some reason the beer
was going straight to her head tonight, and she felt loose as a
goose. But she had enough sense left to know if she turned this man
down, knowing he held Heather’s future in his palm, he would
probably get pissed and not help her. She could probably help
grease him up to offer to help Heather anyway. She owed her friend
a lot for helping her. Maybe she could return the favor
now.

“
Sure, why not?” fell out of her
strangely numb lips. Twyla got to her feet and wobbled a little,
but Jared flew around the table to put his hand on her arm to
steady her.

“
Whoa there, cowgirl. No more beer
for you,” he said with a laugh.

Cowgirl
. That’s what Ryan called her.
Her heart jerked in her chest, but she mentally slapped it, and
stiffened her shoulders to walk with Jared to the front door of the
bar.

***

Ryan watched the miles pass as he drove toward
Cheyenne, the farthest stop on the tour this year. Not even a
hundred miles into the drive from Mesa, he had a long road trip
ahead of him. He settled in and wandered off into his thoughts,
which hadn’t left Twyla at all. Not even when the bronc he drew in
that last round kicked his ass.

Mostly because Heather hadn’t called and left
a message like she said she would.

He blamed her for him getting his ass kicked.
And Twyla who still refused to call him. He just wasn’t paying
attention, wasn’t able to focus on anything else. Shifting in his
seat to get more comfortable, Ryan held his arm against his side to
cushion his bruised ribs. They were taped, and he knew in a few
days they’d feel better. But right now? He felt just like he’d been
mule-kicked in the ribs, which isn’t far off from what actually
happened.

Tonight, he ended up fourth, completely out of
the money. Ryan couldn’t expect to keep that up and be in the
finals. This year would be a bust if he wasn’t careful, in more
ways than one.

Things just weren’t right in his world
anymore. Twyla had always been with them. Always around. His head
cheerleader wasn’t there at the rail waving her arms and egging him
on to the buzzer. Twyla was irritating at times, but she had been a
fixture in his life for a long time. Ryan had taken it for granted
that she would always be around to irritate him, to push him. Laugh
at him, and tease him to the point of madness with her damned
antics to get his attention.

She definitely had his attention now, the kind
she’d been looking for all along, and she didn’t want it. What he
knew all along would eventually happen between them, had happened,
and the morning after she’d kicked him out. Now, she wasn’t taking
his call. Was avoiding him.

Like he’d done to plenty of bunnies
himself.

Ryan couldn’t say he liked the role reversal.
Not one bit.

He was beginning to think he was Twyla’s
sacrificial bunny to get the worrisome problem of her virginity
behind her. Now, the path was clear for her to date other men, be
with other men, without having to explain herself. There was only
one problem in her thinking.

They had had unprotected sex, and she could
very well be pregnant with his child right now, while she was
dating those other men. That wasn’t going to work at
all.

He was going to tell her that, if he ever got
ahold of her. And a helluva lot more.

Ryan banged his fist against the steering
wheel again. As soon as this Cheyenne gig was over, he was heading
straight to Dallas. But that was another fricking six days, almost
five now. As bad as he was riding these days, he should just bow
out and go now. The writing was on the wall as to where he would
finish this year. He could probably use this latest injury as an
excuse. The doctor had offered him one, but he had refused. All it
would take is a phone call probably.

He needed Twyla back with him now. With them,
he corrected. With him and Zack. So they could watch out for her.
Yeah that was it. It wasn’t because missing her was driving him
fucking insane. Or because his good luck had left with her. Or that
she was probably fucking that damned slick cowboy.

Who the hell was he kidding? It was all those
reasons, and plenty more.

Ryan’s hand tightened on the steering wheel.
But he didn’t need to go off half-cocked. He needed to think things
through, before he turned his truck around. What he would say to
her to make her change her mind? If he tossed in the towel for the
year, what would he tell Zack that wouldn’t give away everything?
He knew his friend was going to grill him about it. Zack was
already asking about his bad attitude and poor riding. His friend
who knew him better than anyone, knew something was up, but Ryan
had managed to dance around telling him for now. He didn’t want to
open that can of worms if he didn’t have to.

He flicked on the radio, hoping it would
distract him, but wouldn’t you know that damned song
You’re
Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
would be playing? There was that
cosmic DJ again, probably sitting on the other end of those radio
waves laughing his ass off at Ryan. The next song snapped his
patience in two,
She Won’t Be Lonely Long.
With a growl,
Ryan flicked off the radio, but the tune still echoed through his
head, like the thought echoed through his soul.

Ryan jerked the steering wheel when he
realized he’d drifted to the shoulder. He shook his head and
righted the truck on the road. He was so damned tired, he was going
to have to stop soon at a rest stop or hotel if he could find one
out here in the boonies. Then in the morning he’d decide if he was
heading back the way he came, or going on to Cheyenne.

Maybe he’d try to call Heather again too. Or
maybe he’d just bite the bullet and call Zack and fess up. Tell him
that he and Twyla…nah, not yet, that would be suicide. But if it
came down to it, that’s exactly what he would do, because he’d
welcome death if it meant Twyla was safe and back on the right
track with her life.

The phone in his pocket rang, and Ryan fished
it out at the expense of another shot of pain between his ribs. His
breath was short as he pushed the button, and cradled the phone
between his shoulder and ear. “Yeah?”

“
This is Zack. I’m not going to
Cheyenne, I’m heading to Dallas. Twyla’s in the hospital. Mom and
Dad are on their way there too.”

Ryan’s heart skidded to a stop, then
headlights hit him in the eyes, as he swerved just in time to avoid
a head on collision with an SUV. His brain was so stunned, he
hadn’t even realized he’d drifted over the center line. “What
happened?” he asked breathlessly.

“
Hospital didn’t say. They just
said they needed someone there as soon as possible. They called me,
because she told them I was her next of kin,” Zack explained, his
voice sounding as sick as Ryan was feeling. Zack told him which
hospital Twyla was in, and Ryan spun the truck in road and
fishtailed on loose gravel, before regaining control and slamming
his foot down on the accelerator.

“
I’m on my way,” Ryan finally
managed to say past the lump in his throat. “I’m about four hours
out though.” Four fucking hours. He should have headed straight to
Dallas when he left the arena and he’d be there by now. And Twyla
wouldn’t be in the hospital, probably hurt bad or dead. His heart
plummeted to his feet, and emotion built like a powderkeg inside
his head.

Please, Lord, don’t let her be
dead.

“
I’m six out. I’ll meet you
there,” Zack said, then Ryan heard him blow his horn impatiently.
“If you get there first, call me and let me know what’s going on.
I’ll call the folks. They may get there first, since they’re
closer.”

Blood pounding in his ears in time with his
heart, Ryan disconnected the call, tossed his phone up onto the
dash, and shoved the accelerator to the floor. He had to get to
Dallas and find out what was going on.
Please, Lord, don’t let
her be dead
.
I’ll deal with the rest
.