His Cowgirl Bride (8 page)

“Why don't you push to get ta know her better?” Applegate suggested, taking the finished board from the table. “Young gal like her don't need ta be sittin' home alone.”

“She's sitting there alone because she wants to.”

Stanley brought a new board over and placed it in front of him. “Maybe the right cowboy hasn't come along ta change her mind about thangs.”

Brent thought about that. No, there was too much room for conflict as far as he and Tacy were concerned.

App was watching him intently. “Yor thankin' about it. I kin tell. You should ask her out ta dinner or somethin'. I know. Take her fer a horseback ride and a picnic. Women—even tomboy cowgirls like Tacy—enjoy picnics.” He grinned and winked at Brent. “And when ya go, be sure and ask her about Norma Sue's punkin chunker.”

“N
orma Sue, you sure this will work?” Esther Mae asked, staring at the drawing of the catapult.

“It'll work,” Norma Sue snapped, looking up and glaring through her protective glasses as she prepared to use the power saw. “If I build it, it'll work. Even if we're not using any electrical triggers.”

“Now, Norma,” Adela cautioned in her genteel voice, causing Tacy to smile. “Don't get all worked up. Esther Mae was teasing you—weren't you, Esther?” Adela turned her serene eyes to Esther Mae.

“I'm teasing and you know it. You're just so set on beating them boys it's making you grumpy.”

“Them boys are just as fixed on beating me. I heard App talking to Stanley about getting Brent to try and weasel information out of you, Tacy. So be on your guard. If he comes around asking what this chunker looks like, don't tell him anything.”

“Brent's not going to get any information out of me.” Tacy laughed at the idea, thinking it might be fun to see if he tried. She couldn't imagine him doing such a thing. “You really think he'd do that? I mean that they'd actually get him to do such a thing?”

Esther Mae's eyes bloomed twice their size. “Oh, yes, they would. He might even do it just to keep them from badgering you.”

Norma Sue ran the saw blade through the wood in a quick, loud motion before adding, “He might even ask you out just to try and be sneaky about it.”

Tacy laughed so hard her chest hurt. “Puh-leze,” she wheezed. “Brent Stockwell would never ask a woman out just to see if he could find out covert information about a punkin chunker.” She'd already set him straight about her dating policy, anyway.

Norma Sue's brows arched above the protective glasses. “You aren't dumb. I know you're not. But that right there was about the silliest thing I ever heard.”

“I, um—I'm not sure I understand,” Tacy said.

Adela patted her arm. “Norma didn't mean to sound so rude,” she said, shooting her friend a sharp glance. “What she meant was that he would use it as an excuse to ask you out—you know, as a favor to the boys.”

Okay, so maybe she was dumb. She still didn't understand.

Esther Mae shook her head. “Tacy, he'd ask you out because he wants to.”

“Oh,” she gasped. “Sorry, y'all, my mind must have been on vacation. But excuse me again for missing something here. What makes y'all so sure he'd do that? How do y'all know he wants to ask me out?” She knew he'd thought about it, but she'd been alone with him when that had happened. How did they know?

Adela looked sheepish. With her pixie cut, sparkling white hair and vivid blue eyes she was the picture of sweetness. “See, dear, I came into the diner one day through the back entrance to see my Sam. Well, I overheard Brent in the dining room talking to the three of them. They were giving him a hard time about you, and I could just tell by the way he was talking that he was interested.”

“Adela can tell.” Esther Mae nodded, beaming. “She always can.”

Tacy didn't know what to say. Or think. There was no denying the fact that there was something between her and Brent. But she'd also set him straight. “No,” she said. “I don't think he'd sink to such devious tactics.”

“Believe what you will,” Norma Sue said, warning in her words. “But when he asks you out, don't tell him nothing about this catapult. 'Cause it's goin' to sling a pumpkin farther than anything Applegate and his crew could ever cook up.”

Tacy started to say that even if Brent asked, she wouldn't go…but then she stopped—she didn't know Brent well enough to know what he would and wouldn't do. But what bothered her was realizing that
she wasn't sure what
she
would do if he decided to ignore her warning and ask her out…

 

“Did you sell any meat loaf today?” Brent asked her two days later when Tacy went to feed and exercise Rabbit after work. She hadn't seen him during either of the two trips she'd made to feed her horse the day before. And she'd felt strangely let down at missing him.

“Hey,” she said, spinning to face him. “Where did you come from?” Where had he been?

He rested a shoulder against the stall, crossed his boots and grinned at her. The easy smile did odd things to her insides.

“I've been around. Why? Did you miss me?”

“No—” she started to say but stopped as his smile broadened. The man was gorgeous—not that it should matter to her. But it did. “How are the broncs doing?”

“Good, I've got one ready to ride and wondered if you and Rabbit might want to tag along.”

It wasn't a date, but it was another chance to show him her equestrian skills and she wasn't about to pass that up. “I would be delighted.”

“Did you have fun working on the catapult with Norma Sue and her gang?” he asked casually a few minutes later.

“You don't waste any time, do you?” she said.

He grinned. “I thought I'd get it out of the way. Don't you have something to ask me?”

She laughed. “Why, yes, actually, I do. How's the catapult coming?”

He chuckled and held her gaze for a long moment as they shared the inside joke. It was Tacy who broke the contact, focusing ahead as Rabbit followed the now-familiar road into the pastures. “They are taking this competition very seriously.”

“You'd better believe it. You should have seen App instructing me how to saw and measure. I ran over to the lumberyard in Ranger yesterday and picked up some railroad ties for them. He decided he wanted to make it more substantial.”

She shot him a smug look. “So maybe I should pass that tidbit of information along to my superiors.”

“Now, c'mon. That wouldn't be right. Here I am having a nice conversation with you, and you'd betray that trust?”

She arched a brow, teasing him. “Shouldn't have volunteered it.”

“Better watch out.” He grinned. “I might have been giving you bad information just to foul you up.”

“I figured you for a double sneak like that.”

He laughed and they continued their teasing for a while, walking the horses down the road, then along the trail. It felt strange and wonderful at the same time. Tacy was enjoying herself more than she could imagine. She was attracted to everything about Brent. His looks, the way he sat in the saddle, the patient way he worked with a horse when it wasn't totally sure about having him on its back. But she was captivated by something in his eyes most of all. Something that seemed to reach inside her every time their gazes
met…maybe it was knowing the intense way he cared about the mistakes he'd made that got to her. He went much deeper than she'd first thought. Something elusive but powerful caused her pulse to grow skittish and made her feel reckless every time those serious eyes touched her—not a good thing.

“So when do you start breaking the next one?” she asked, finally catching him looking at her. In his eyes, she could see that his thoughts were heading into the same churning waters as her own.

“In the morning,” he said, tension tightening his tone.

She pushed. “You know I want to help.”

“No,” he said immediately.

She sucked in a breath and held her temper. Temper tantrums wouldn't solve anything…. It sure was tempting, though.

 

Brent shifted in the saddle and the colt, feeling his rider's unease, sidestepped and fought the bit momentarily. He welcomed the distraction as he settled the animal down. He wished settling his own mood was as easy. Spending time with Tacy was dangerous. He knew this line of questioning would come up. But he hadn't been able to stop himself from asking her along. He'd missed seeing her yesterday and had found himself thinking about her all day long. It had been one of the reasons he'd timed his training of the colts when he knew she'd be working at Sam's.

“So how about that statement you made the other
day?” He'd been thinking about what she'd said on Saturday, that she thought God had brought them together. “What was with that?”

She halted Rabbit and stared at him. “I believe it's true. I've been placed in your life for a reason.”

“And what would that reason be?” he asked, startled by her words, but not by her frankness. His attention was distracted by the beauty of her smile and the way her eyes twinkled warmly. He swallowed hard and found his gaze resting on those perfect lips—then forced himself to look back into her eyes, which danced with laughter. If God had sent her to distract him, then she was doing a bang-up job of it.

“That, my handsome buckaroo, is something I'm still trying to figure out. I mean, you make me mad enough to chew nails because you can't see I'm good at what I do but—Hey, I'll race you back to the corral!”

Before the exclamation was finished, she whirled Rabbit around and took off back the way they'd come. Laughing, he gave the colt the go-ahead and raced after her. Rabbit was fast and Tacy leaned low over the saddle horn and rode as if she and Rabbit were one, thundering down the path and back onto the soft road. When the colt nearly caught them, Tacy glanced over her shoulder and laughed into the rushing wind. Her eyes sparkled and his adrenaline surged as they challenged each other. Then she laughed, nudged Rabbit and sent the horse into overdrive. Instantly, the distance between them widened. Rabbit was no slouch, and neither was his rider.

Brent gave the colt a nudge and the race was on. By the time they made it back to the yard, there was no doubt about it: the girl could ride. He was pretty sure this was exactly what she wanted him to conclude.

But he wasn't thinking about that as much as he was thinking about chasing Tacy. Laughing into the wind as they went, it was the first time in two years that he'd felt a sense of joy. She was beautiful and so alive—
and driving him crazy!

In the yard, she hopped from the saddle before Rabbit had fully stopped and stood waiting, hands on her hips, breathing heavily from the exhilaration of the chase.

He felt it, too, and swung out of the saddle, slapped the reins around the corral post and stomped toward her. She was smiling broadly, eyes sparkling with life. He wasn't thinking clearly now and he knew it. He'd never wanted to pull a woman into his arms and kiss her as much as he wanted to now—he halted a mere breath away from her, so close she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

“You're having fun, aren't you?” he asked, furious with the electricity crackling between them.

“Oh, yeah, cowboy,” she said, placing a hand lightly against his jaw. “And I think I can help you if you let me.”

His focus wavered from what she was saying because he wanted to kiss her so badly. “You can't
help me—” he said, and before he could stop himself he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. His hands wrapped about her arms and he tugged her close. He expected her to pull away—maybe slap him even, but she didn't. She felt right in his arms, her lips felt right against his as she returned his kiss. Regaining some semblance of sanity, knowing he wasn't feeling rational, Brent pulled back. He was not the careless idiot he'd been two years before. This was too important—Tacy was too important—for him to go too fast.

He rested his forehead against hers, his fingers tightening against her back. This was crazy. There were so many reasons he shouldn't let this happen. But oh how he wanted it, wanted her.

“I really do think I'm here to help you,” she said softly, breathlessly. “I'm not Tina.” Pulling back, she looked up and held his gaze. “Our names both start with
T
but other than that we are not the same. I'm an expert when it comes to riding and understanding the feel of a horse. All I'm asking you for is professional guidance as I try a breaking technique I've been studying for months. I'm going to step into the stirrup of an unbroken horse with or without your help. What I'm asking you for is assurance that I've done my homework when I put my boot into that stirrup.”

He dropped his hands and stepped away.

“I'm not judging Tina, because I don't know her reasons for wanting to get on that horse—but for me
this is no game. I can do this. You have blinders on, and it's not good. Not good for you or me.”

“Not happening,” he said tersely. What had he been thinking, letting his head get messed around? That kiss wasn't her caring about him. It was all about her getting her way. About her getting on the back of one of those horses.

“Teaching me could help you get over your phobia. And it could be fun.”

“No, Tacy.”

Her expression tensed. “You are so stubborn.”

“Yeah, I am. I have good reason to be. We went over this already.”

She took hold of Rabbit's reins and stormed inside the barn.

Birdy lifted her head from where she'd been watching them and thumped her tail. She looked as if she knew he was a mixed-up man. “You're exactly right. She makes me crazy,” Brent growled, spun on his heel and strode back to the corral.