Laredo's Sassy Sweetheart (16 page)

“Irrelevant.” He held up his hand. “The point is, then you might have regretted making love with me. This is every man’s worst fear, that the woman in his arms will say, ‘Gee whiz, I should have stayed home and washed my hair.”’

“Laredo Jefferson!” Katy stared at him. “You do not harbor any such doubts. Not behind all that cocky, strutting, everything’s-my-way-or-the-highway attitude. Don’t even try to sell me on that!”

“Well, I was reasonably certain I could make you happy,” he admitted. “But you still crushed me when you didn’t act like you wanted to hang at my bootheels when it was over. You know, follow me around like I was the best thing to happen to you since…you found Lonely Hearts Station.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Teasing,” he said quickly. “Just teasing!”

He had confidence galore to tease her at the moment she most wanted to throw herself at him and beg him not to ride that stupid bull. Beg him to make love to her instead. What a ridiculous situation to have gotten herself into! This man was pigheaded and a little nuts, and here she had fallen for him. Mental note: no more cowboys!

Way too hard on the heart.

“Laredo, if I come watch you tomorrow, will you be happy? Because I really am planning on heading to Duke. And I don’t want to keep you from your Big Thing, either. We can be friends, pen pals, even, but I don’t want to make love again. Just in case that’s what motivated your drive out here.”

He shook his head. “That’s not why I came here. Had to check on my truck,” he said, shining it with the sleeve of his shirt. “No way. It was the last thing on my mind.”

“So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Laredo said, “can I take you out to dinner?”

He liked the way Katy stared at him. He’d caught her off guard for sure.

“Why?”

Shrugging, he said, “Why not?”

“Because I don’t trust you.”

“Well, I know that, and good thing you don’t, probably.” He squinted up at the windows where the new girls in town were staring down at them none too sheepishly. “I could order in chicken for the gang if you want to stay and visit with them.”

She nodded. “They’d probably like that.”

He smiled at her. “You staying here tonight? There’s room at the Malfunction Junction if—”

“No, I think there’s plenty of room here,” she said. “Thanks just the same.”

“You did like it, didn’t you?” he asked, just to make certain. His pride was taking a beating, and he was trying to cover the heart on his sleeve, but he
was pretty certain he just needed to be patient with Katy. She was like a wild doe that didn’t want anyone to get too close.

He could be patient.

“I did,” she said softly. “It was wonderful. Thank you for being my first.”

No problemo, he thought, because he was darn sure going to be her last. “Fine, fine,” he said cheerfully. “Shall I run go get that chicken?”

“If that’s what you feel like for your last meal,” she replied primly.

“All right, then. Hey,” he called up to the girls framed in the screened-in porch.

“Hi, Laredo,” they all called back.

“I was thinking about making a run for some fried chicken. Shall we have dinner?”

“Shall we!” Violet called back. “We’ll rustle up some margaritas to go with it, if you’d like.”

“Nothing better!” He looked at Katy. “Ride with me, pen pal.”

She gave him the most suspicious glare he’d ever seen her wear. “Pen pal?”

“Isn’t that what you said we could be from now on?”

“Sure,” Katy said. “Pals is perfect.”

He grinned. The definition didn’t matter. He wasn’t really a bull rider, and if he and Bloodthirsty worked things out, Katy wasn’t really going to be his pen pal, either.

“S
O
,
ARE YOU NERVOUS
about tomorrow, Laredo?” Violet asked. The weather was perfect for an out-
door picnic, so they all sat on the screened porch, eating fried chicken and drinking margaritas. Katy put down her drink, waiting for Laredo’s answer. She certainly was nervous.

“Heck, no,” he said. “I think I’ve got it figured out.”

“Is this your last bull ride?” Daisy asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t think so. Now I see why Mason always wished we hadn’t taken up the sport. I kind of wish I’d taken it up years ago.”

Katy stared at him. “Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s a challenge. Maybe if I had done rodeo, I wouldn’t be feeling this urge for a Big Thing now.”

Clearly she was not a Big Thing in his life, which was something of a bitter fact for her.

“In fact, I’m going to talk to Miss Delilah about turning Bloodthirsty Black into a bounty bull. I’m pretty sure he might have the makings for it. We’d have to run several more cowboys on him, but if he keeps bucking like he did me, he’ll be hard for anyone to ride.”

Tight nerves crept inside Katy’s stomach. “You know what? It’s been a long day for me. I think I’ll turn in.”

“Come on,” Gretchen said quickly. “I’ll show you where you’re going to sleep.”

“Goodbye, Laredo,” Katy said. “Good luck tomorrow.”

He grinned at her, and her heart did a bellyflop. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

All her friends’ eyebrows shot up, but Katy paid
no attention. He’d called her that before—and it hadn’t meant a thing.

K
ATY RODE IN
with her friends to see Laredo ride. She couldn’t remember being this nervous last week. No doubt it had to do with knowing Laredo shouldn’t hit his head, the beautiful doctor in attendance or maybe just knowing this was the last time she’d ever see him.

When Tex rode out on Bad-Ass Blue and rounded up another eighty-nine, the arena went crazy. It was triple-packed this weekend due to increased publicity, and the cheers were enthusiastic and loud.

Katy felt ill.

Then she saw Laredo loading into the chute, wrapping his hand. He gave a nod, and Bloodthirsty Black jumped into the arena, snorting fire and kicking flame.

Laredo lasted all of three seconds before he hit the dirt, but this time he landed upright and jumped onto a wall before Bloodthirsty could horn him.

Katy breathed a sigh of relief that felt like it came up through the soles of her feet. The arena cheered and clapped as enthusiastically as they had for Tex. Katy smiled as Laredo waved at the crowd. As he’d said, he liked rodeo, and apparently, it liked him. Even Bloodthirsty had to give up another second to Laredo.

It was a Big Thing to conquer one’s fear.

Quietly she sneaked out. Her bag was already packed from the night before. She’d already said goodbye to Delilah and Hannah and the other girls
this morning. Jerry was waiting to drive her into town to the airport.

She got on her plane and headed toward her new destination.

A
MONTH LATER
Katy was starting to settle in. She’d come to North Carolina and fallen in love with the town where the college was located. The staff had been welcoming, the people helpful, the alumni enthusiastic. She’d had an opportunity to take over for a chemistry professor who was on sudden sick leave, and she’d jumped at the chance to ease herself in this way.

It was all going so well, Katy thought. She felt very blessed to have finally found her path. It had taken her a while, but she’d met a lot of wonderful people, and she didn’t regret a thing.

Except, perhaps, not seeing the smile on Laredo’s face whenever she appeared. He’d made her feel different…and special. She did miss him.

And she missed her friends. And Rose, who was in Delilah’s safekeeping.

But it was nice to be getting to know—and like—herself. Already she knew she could be a talented professor.

“Professor Goodnight,” a voice said from the back of the lab, “I wonder if you could help me with this test result. It doesn’t seem to be coming up the way it should.”

She turned and saw Laredo smiling at her.

She should have been surprised, but she wasn’t. “What are you doing here, cowboy?”

“Saying hello to a friend.”

“You’re not a very good pen pal,” she told him.

“There wasn’t a need. I was on my way here. I left right after the rodeo. My truck and me, we’ve seen a lot of history, and a lot of sights between there and you.”

“Do any Big Things?”

He shook his head. “You?”

She shook her head as well. “Not really.”

“Katy,” Laredo said, taking her hand, “I’m not chemistry smart. But I do know about emotional chemistry, and you and I have got it in bulk. I think we could have it for the long haul. I’m thinking marriage is a really Big Thing, though, that I’d probably need a partner to help me with. I need you,” he said, kissing her fingers.

Tears jumped into her eyes. “I’ve missed you. But I was mad at you, too.”

“I know. I knew it the minute Bloodthirsty tossed me off. I got out of that ring thanking God I still had my head on straight enough to come after you. I knew I was going to do it. I just wanted to make certain you had enough time to follow your dream, the way you let me follow mine.”

She took a deep breath that hesitated somewhere in her rib cage. “I thought you wanted to keep riding rodeo. They say all men do.”

“Not this man. Ranger’s riding next. It’s turning out to be quite a cash cow for Lonely Hearts Station, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

A slow smile lifted her lips. “For my partner, anything.”

“Anything?”

“Mmm.”

He pulled her into his arms and took a jeweler’s box out of his pocket. “Turn this lump of carbon into a diamond, Professor?”

She opened the box, gasping at the two-carat emerald-cut diamond lying inside. “Oh, Laredo,” she said, “you’re going to make me break down and say it, aren’t you?”

He kissed her, taking her face between his hands so he could hold her as close as possible. “Yes.”

“I love you,” she murmured. “I have since the day I met you.”

“I’ve loved you since the day I saw you mopping up water in Union Junction. I fell in love with your butt.”

She smiled as he slipped the ring on her finger. “I fell in love with yours when Bloodthirsty tossed you. You looked so cute going head over heels.”

They looked at each other and laughed. And then he picked her up and carried her outside into the North Carolina sunlight.

“We’re going to love it here,” Laredo said with a smile. “Professor Sweetheart.”