Learning the Ropes (12 page)

“I’d say it makes us even.” He didn’t want to hurt her but he also didn’t want her thinking there was more to last night than a kiss. An amazing kiss that, even now, had him needing a cold shower, but it couldn’t be anything more than a memory.

She took a step back, as if slipping back into the friendship zone they knew so well, leaving last night in the past as a drunken mistake. “Mom sent me to get you both inside for breakfast. Yours is getting cold and she’s dishing you up a plate, too, David.”

She might be acting like Ali but there was something in her eyes that wasn’t right. As many stupid antics as he’d pulled, as much trouble as he’d caused over the years, Chris had never seen her look at him with disappointment. It made him wonder if he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.

A
LICIA’S RAPID PULSE
still hadn’t slowed. She felt like she’d just finished a barrel race and tried to hide the shaking of her hands as she opened the front door. With as much whiskey as she had last night, she shouldn’t remember what happened clearly enough to be embarrassed, but seeing Chris’s black eye brought the memories flooding back with amazing clarity. Her head throbbed like a herd of horses was running through it but she wasn’t sure if it was from her hangover or the blood rushing through her veins when she saw Chris and David together.

She’d never felt so torn.

She couldn’t help her feelings for Chris. She’d been trying to manage them since she was a teenager but she wasn’t stupid enough to assume he felt the same way. In nearly a decade, she’d seen at least twenty women he called girlfriends come and go in his life, most within a couple of weeks. Since high school, he hadn’t had a relationship last more than a few dates, at least, not according to Sydney. Chris was a free spirit who refused to be tied down by romance or relationships. He was a self-proclaimed bachelor and planned on staying that way. He’d made that abundantly clear. Things between them weren’t romantic and she was never going to be more than a bit of fun for him.

But David was a different story. She hadn’t known him long but he seemed to be the more level-headed, respectable choice. David Greenly was always on the radar of several cowgirls around the circuit. He was heart-stopping with his dark good looks but, until now, he’d never paid any attention to any women trying to catch his eye. He’d always been completely focused on being a champion, like his father and brother. She could appreciate that quiet determination to succeed but there was an underlying broodiness that she couldn’t put her finger on. She wasn’t sure she wanted to if his actions last night were an indication of his underlying issues. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get anywhere near that hornet’s nest. He and Chris were polar opposites.

David might not cause the frenzy of butterflies to take flight in her stomach when he reached for her hand but could she
learn
to feel that way with David, if she gave him a chance. In time, couldn’t David show her that her feelings for Chris weren’t real? Couldn’t his attention cause the same inferno of desire to pool in her belly when she knew him better? Wouldn’t she learn to crave his touch the way she did with Chris?

David reached for her arm, gently grasping her wrist as she reached for the door handle. “I really am sorry for last night. I was stupid and drank way too much.” His voice was so rueful and sincere her heart softened.

She glanced over her shoulder at Chris, still leaning against the truck. Chris didn’t want her and she had to let him go.

“It wasn’t all your fault, David. We all made mistakes last night.”

Chapter Eight

A
LICIA FINISHED GROOMING
Beast and led him to his stall. She was just heading to the mare barn to find her father when the ringtone sounded from the phone in her pocket, signaling a call. She ignored it, silently praying it wasn’t David again. Breakfast yesterday had been awkward enough with David and Chris eyeing one another suspiciously, her mother watching all three of them and her father pretending to be oblivious to it all. Both of her parents noticed the palpable tension between the men and tried to keep the conversation going. It wasn’t long before both of them headed for the Thomas ranch, leaving her to speculate where they would go from here, if either chose to speak to her again at all.

“Hey, Ali’i,” her father greeted. She smiled, recognizing the Hawaiian word for royalty, her father’s nickname for her since she was old enough to toddle to his knee. “Coming to help with Mama Bear?”

Alicia laughed, knowing no one ever volunteered to help with the cantankerous mare. “Not if I can help it.”

Her father chuckled. “I guess I can’t blame you.”

He leaned against the wall of the stall he was cleaning. He looked a bit tired and she wondered again how much longer he’d be able to keep this pace. Managing all of these horses was a physical job and he didn’t move as quickly as he used to, although he still looked far younger than his fifty-five years. She knew he’d been in to see his doctor about the arthritis wracking his hands with pain. Guilt flooded her heart as she watched him flex them stiffly, trying to alleviate the pain causing the joints to ache miserably. Ali wanted to help him lighten his workload but the only way she could do that was for them to have their own place, to work for themselves.

“Why don’t you finish these last three stalls and drop some alfalfa into the feeders while I take care of Mama Bear?”

“Well played, Dad.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully and wagged a finger. “I think you just want to get out of cleaning these last few stalls,” she teased.

Her father shook his head and moved to the stall next to her, housing the temperamental chestnut horse. “You know Bradley asked about you again this morning.”

Alicia sighed as he went into the stall, murmuring nonsense to the grouchy mare. Her father was still hoping she’d take the job on the ranch. After runs like her last one, she knew without a shadow of a doubt, barrel racing was what she wanted to do until she couldn’t sit in a saddle any longer. Sure, the thought of constantly scrambling to try to stay in the money made her wish for something with a steady paycheck but it wasn’t worth sacrificing her freedom. The job at the Diamond Bar might be a sure thing and she knew Bradley would let them stay in the house as long as one of them was working the horses for him but it was only a temporary solution. If she took the job working for Bradley, she wouldn’t have time to rodeo and would find herself, and her parents, stuck in the same position they were in now—tied down to a ranch, working all hours, for something that wasn’t theirs.

“I don’t know, Dad,” she called from the stall. “I just . . .” Her phone buzzed in her pocket, signaling a text message. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

Sorry for Friday. Dinner, Sat. on the way home? I want to make it up to you.

Alicia saw David’s number flash on her screen as a missed call. She was surprised by his persistance. It didn’t seem like him to pursue any woman, especially one who wasn’t returning the attention. After last weekend, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be around Chris or David right now. It might be safer to just lie low and let her heart gain some perspective, maybe a little clarity. When they left after breakfast, David had barely spoken except to ask if he could call her. By Sunday, he’d already texted her at least a dozen times to ask her to dinner and his tenacious pursuit seemed out of character. She couldn’t keep putting him off but she just wasn’t sure what to say or what she really wanted right now.

In the quiet of the barn, her ringtone sounded again and she saw David was calling her again. Mama Bear kicked the wall between them with a loud crack.

“Easy, girl,” her father murmured. “Apparently, she’s not a country music fan. Why don’t you take that outside,” he suggested. “She’s acting extra crabby this morning.”

“I’ll just text him back.”

Her fingers tapped over the keyboard.

Can’t talk now. Will call back later.

“He’s a good guy, you know. I don’t think he’d ever do anything to deliberately hurt you.”

“Who?”

“Chris. Who else would I mean?” He poked his head out the door of the Mama Bear’s stall as Alicia moved toward where he worked with the mare. “I always hoped you and he might become more than just friends.”

“Dad, I was texting David.” She hoped her voice didn’t sound as disappointed to his ears as it did to hers. “He wants me to have dinner with him this weekend after the rodeo.”

He ducked back into the stall. “You should.”

She laughed and leaned against the door of the stall. “You just finished telling me you wanted to see me end up with Chris and now you’re telling me to go out on a date with David?”

Her father finished with the mare and closed the stall door behind him as Alicia leaned on the handle of the rake. “Honey, I know you’re serious about getting to the Finals. Your mother and I have both seen how hard you work to get there but there is more to life than competition. I don’t want to see you so focused on winning that you forget to enjoy the journey or to find someone to enjoy it with.”

She paused and inhaled the scent of the fresh pine shavings. Shame overflowed in her chest as she looked at her father. She’d been so worried about getting a place for her parents, trying to help him achieve his dream, that she hadn’t bothered to notice how concerned he was for her happiness.

“Dad,” she began but he cut her off.

“I know what you’re going to say. You love rodeo, but I also know how much you love kids and teaching them to ride. I’ve seen you when you fill in for Bradley giving lessons here. You’re good at it.”

Alicia shook her head and laughed at her father. “Dad, what does teaching kids to ride have to do with dating Chris or David?”

“Well, I’m hoping that someday you’ll be teaching my grandkids to ride.” Her father ducked back into the stall she was supposed to be cleaning. “And you’re not getting any younger, you know.”

“Did you just call me old?” Alicia wadded the empty plastic from the shavings into a ball and tossed it into a garbage barrel outside the stall door. “Dad, I’m not in any hurry to find a husband or have kids. I’ve got enough to worry about taking care of you,” she teased.

Ali pictured Chris and David in her mind. Even if she were looking, she wasn’t sure either one was husband material. One was so afraid of commitment he practically ran in the other direction when he saw anything remotely close to a relationship and the other can’t decide who he’d rather please, himself or his father.

“T
HERE IT IS.
” David walked toward Chris, carrying his saddle over one shoulder. “Where’d you find my phone? I’ve been looking for it everywhere.”

Chris slyly cleared the text message thread from the phone and held it out to David. “It was sitting in the tack room. You must’ve set it down and forgotten it.”

David’s brows dropped forward in a frown. “I don’t remember taking it out of my pocket.”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you dropped it and Dad picked it up so it didn’t get broken.”

“Huh,” David took the phone and touched the screen. “Is this a call to Ali?”

Crap!
Chris had forgotten to clear the call log. He watched David press the button to return her call. It’d be better to admit now that he’d been calling her, pretending to be David before David made a fool of himself.

“Wait a second.” David waved him off. “David, hang up,” Chris instructed.

David hung up the phone and set the saddle down. “What?”

Chris shifted his baseball cap back on his head, nervously. “I asked Ali out to dinner after the next rodeo.”

“What? I thought you said . . .”

“No,” Chris clarified, “I called her, pretending to be you.”

David crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his jaw tightly. “I don’t need you meddling, Chris. I can ask her out myself if and when I want to.”

Chris tipped his head at David, dubious. “Really? Because you were doing so well before I introduced the two of you.” What the hell? Like his mother said, if he was in for a penny, he was in for a pound. “And I’ve been texting her since Sunday,” he confessed.

“Damn it, Chris! Contrary to what you think, there are other things in life besides screwing women and having fun. Some of us actually want to make something of our rodeo career.”

“That’s priceless coming from a guy who went home with one of the easiest women on the circuit the other night.”

“I told you, nothing happened.”

“I’m supposed to believe you when you say it, but when I say the same thing, you call me a liar. Look, you like Ali, right?” Chris saw the look in David’s eyes change from frustration to what almost looked like concession. “You have fun together, so what’s the harm in going out to dinner?”

David’s mouth scrunched up and he frowned, shaking his head. “Well, for one, she’s got this really annoying guy friend. Says he’s known her since high school and he’s always around. To be honest, he’s kind of a pain in my ass.”

Chris laughed, relieved that David wasn’t mad. He still wasn’t sure why he was trying so hard to get them together. But he wanted to see her happy and if Ali was dating David, this desire for her would go away again. He didn’t date taken women, especially not his best friend’s, so life would get back to normal, with him dating a new woman at every rodeo and thoughts of white picket fences be damned

“Yeah, well, rumor has it, that pain in your ass isn’t going to be there. He’s got to get back and help his dad pick up a new bull so he’ll have his own truck.”

“You will?”

Chris nodded. “That means you have Ali all to yourself. Now, go call her and let her know where and what time.”

David grinned and reached for the saddle, dialing Ali with his thumb as he headed for the tack room.

“You’re welcome,” Chris yelled after him.

“T
HERE YOU ARE.
” David looked up in time to see his father heading his way. “You should be out warming up.”

David turned back toward the tack compartment of his trailer. “I’m fine, Dad. Chris and I have been working him out all week, the horse is warmed up. We’re ready.” He saw Alicia riding by on Beast and waved. “We’re still on after your run, right?”