Chapter Eighteen
“I don’t want to do this,” Jessie said. She and Stacey chatted via a video app while Jessie repacked a travel bag for the tenth time.
“It’ll be fun. Just let yourself enjoy the opportunity to spend three weeks with that hunky cowboy husband of yours. Most girls would do their darnedest to finagle more time with him, not try to find excuses to hide at home.” Stacey shook her head at Jessie and pointed at the screen. “You are not taking that with you.”
Jessie glanced down at the worn yet comfy nightshirt with a cartoon character on the front she’d packed. “Why not. It’s not like anyone will see it but me.”
Exasperated, Stacey sighed. “If you don’t put that down and pack something more suited to a grown woman, so help me, I’ll call Lori and Lucas and have them pack your bag for you. Seriously, girlfriend, you are the only person on this planet who wouldn’t be working her wiles on Chase. With a little effort you could make this temporary marriage a permanent one.”
Jessie scowled at her friend. “We both know I could ‘work my wiles,’ as you call them, until the cows come home, but it wouldn’t make a difference to Chase. This is just a business arrangement to him. Nothing more.” No matter how much she wanted it to be more, the possibility didn’t exist.
Chase might tease and flirt. He might kiss her until her knees turned to a substance less stable than gelatin, but he didn’t love her. Moreover, he didn’t want her. Most likely, he felt some sort of obligation to toss a little affection her way to fulfill what he saw as his husbandly duties.
In the months since she’d married him, they’d become friends and partners of sorts. He asked her opinions on ideas for any number of things, including the ranch. She sought out his thoughts on decisions for her design business and decorating projects for the house.
But love was a topic both of them avoided.
Jessie knew her heart would shatter into jagged, raw pieces when the year was up and she had to leave the ranch. She loved living at the Double J, loved Chase’s friends, and found it increasingly difficult to imagine returning to the lonely life she’d led in California. Perhaps she’d look for a place in the Tri-Cities rather than move back to San Diego.
“If Chase didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have asked you to go on this whirlwind trip.” Stacey appeared smug. “Whether you admit it or not, Chase is taken with you.”
Jessie held up two sweaters. “Which one?”
Stacey pointed to a soft pastel southwestern patterned sweater. “That one. The mint green and peach colors look great on you.”
Jessie set it in the keep pile and continued sorting through her clothing. The day Chase told her she needed to pack a carry-on bag with whatever she was going to need for the next three weeks and to be sure she included her passport, she thought he was nuts.
Ashley’s unexpected announcement that a reporter and photographer from Rodeo At Home would accompany them through the first week made Jessie want to lock herself in her bedroom and refuse to leave.
Pretending to be a happy newlywed rodeo couple around Chase’s friends and peers was bad enough, but with a reporter and photographer dogging their every step, her stress shot up to an entirely unsettling level.
“Tell me again what this whole thing is about,” Stacey said as Jessie rolled her jeans into compact little bundles and stuffed them into the bag on her bed.
“From what Chase mentioned and what I found online, there are about thirty rodeos taking place next week that are on the professional circuit. Chase said that he’ll compete in as many rodeos in the month of July as he has from January to now.”
“Wow! That’s a lot since he’s been competing in one almost every week.”
Jessie absently nodded in agreement as she considered which blouses to pack.
Stacey sighed. “The pink, blue and green in your left hand and the white, blue, and peach in your right hand.”
“Thanks,” Jessie said, setting the tops that didn’t make the cut aside. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this, Stacey. The only rodeo I’ve been to is the one in Las Vegas. I’m clueless about what a rodeo wife is supposed to know or do.”
“Cheer for your man and be supportive would probably be at the top of the list,” Stacey suggested.
“Thanks for that great insight, Stace. I figured out that much by myself.” Jessie stuffed a few extra tops into her bag and added one skirt she could wear with boots. “I just don’t want to be an embarrassment to Chase. He works so hard.”
Stacey huffed. “Yeah? Well, so do you. I wish you could see yourself as others see you, Jessie. You’re smart, successful, funny, adorably naïve, pretty, and the absolute nicest person I know.”
Jessie blushed, but smiled at her friend. “Thank you, Stacey. What would I do without you? You should get bonus points for putting up with my meltdowns and panic attacks.”
Stacey laughed. “Hey, that’s what friends are for.” Her laughter faded and she sobered. “Seriously, Jess, you’ll do great. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. Just have fun. Who knows, maybe spending all that time with your cowboy will finally turn his head.”
Jessie grinned. “Turn it the opposite direction. He’ll be so sick of me by the time this trip is over, he’ll probably leave me on the road somewhere or send me home.”
“You, my friend, have quite an active imagination. Use it for good, instead of fretting about things that are never going to happen.” Stacey glanced away from the screen and Jessie heard a muffled voice. Stacey nodded her head and waggled her hand dismissively before she looked back at Jessie. “Listen, Jess, I’ve got to get back to work, but keep me posted. I want to hear every nitty gritty detail. When are you leaving?”
“Chase said to be ready to go first thing in the morning.”
Stacey frowned. “Is he home? Have you talked to him in person?”
Jessie shook her head.
“If it was me and my husband had been gone since March, the minute he walked in the door, I’d launch myself into his arms and make him think twice about leaving me alone that long in the future.”
Jessie laughed, picturing Chase’s reaction if she did that. She envisioned the horrified look on his face as he tried to peel her off and set her aside. “Yeah, that is not happening. Get to work, Stace. I’ll call or text you when we get where we’re going.”
“Sounds good. Love you, Jess.”
“Love you, too, Stacey. Bye.”
Jessie closed the app on her laptop and stared at the assortment of clothing and toiletries on her bed. How in the world did Chase expect her to be able to pack three weeks worth of clothes and everything she’d need into one little bag. They’d have to do laundry a few times, at least she assumed they would. She would not wear dirty clothes. That was for certain.
With a frustrated sigh, she took everything out of the bag and tried packing it again. If she wore her boots and carried the one jacket she was taking, she barely managed to get everything else crammed into the bag. A large shoulder bag would hold her laptop and electronics as well as anything else that she couldn’t stuff into the nooks and crannies of her carry-on bag.
Jessie checked her wallet and the small purse she’d tucked inside the shoulder bag. Since Chase had mentioned her passport more than once, she wanted to triple check to make sure she had it. Uncertain what to expect, she’d also gone to the bank in Hermiston and withdrew five hundred dollars in cash.
Living rent free with no utility bills had been great for her bank account, even if it had been hard on her heart.
The lovely spring morning when Chase had kissed her so thoroughly, she hoped he’d be back in a month, maybe two.
How wrong she’d been. He’d been gone almost four months. Months since she’d seen his eyes sparkle with humor or darken with emotion. Months since she’d breathed in the captivating scent of him that smelled of leather and outdoors and rugged man. Months since he’d kissed her so fervently, so lovingly, on the back porch steps before he left that it had taken days before her lips stopped tingling. Even now, thoughts of the passionate exchange made her lips ache for his kiss.
“Jessica Rose, get your head on straight!” she chastised herself.
Convinced she was as ready as she could be to leave for three weeks, she took her carry-on and shoulder bags downstairs, leaving them in the mudroom by the door.
She returned to the kitchen and wondered if she should make enough dinner for two. Chase hadn’t said when he’d be home, but since he expected her to be ready to leave in the morning, she assumed he planned to be back today.
Nerves made her stomach clench and ache. The last thing she was interested in doing was eating a big meal. Jessie went back into the mudroom and pulled on a pair of dirty, scuffed cowboy boots she wore around the ranch.
It didn’t take her long to saddle Tulip and swing onto her back. One thing that helped her relax and take her mind off her troubles was a long, quiet ride on the horse.
She waved at Mike and Tim as the two hands worked at fixing a section of fence two of the bulls had mowed down earlier that morning.
As excited as Chase seemed about his bulls, she was surprised he didn’t at least come home once in a while to check on them.
Jessie knew Lucas and Chase communicated daily about the ranch, but that wasn’t the same as him being there.
She rode atop a slight rise and stopped, watching the cattle below her grazing in the summer sunshine. When she’d agreed to this crazy scheme, she hadn’t planned on falling in love with the land and especially not with Chase.
If Stacey, Ashley, or anyone asked, she would adamantly deny it, but she loved her husband with every little bit of her heart. That was precisely why going with him on the road for three weeks was such a monumentally terrible, stupid idea.
Resigned to doing what she must, she rode the horse around the hay field then circled back toward the barn.
After she brushed down Tulip and turned her loose in the corral, she wandered over to Lucas and Lori’s house where Tinsel lounged on a little wooden bench near the flowerbeds.
“Hey, Tinsel. You sure like your sunshine, don’t you, kitty?”
The cat opened his eyes and gazed at her, swishing his tail in welcome. Jessie picked him up and sat on the bench, gently stroking his head. “Will you miss me while I’m gone, Tinsel? Hmm?”
The cat purred and Jessie smiled. “I don’t think you will. You like things just fine here with Lucas and Lori.”
Jessie hated to think of leaving her cat behind, but she’d decided to ask Lucas if he wanted to keep Tinsel when she left at the end of the year. The cat had so much more freedom on the ranch than he’d ever had at her little apartment. He thrived in the fresh air and sunshine as much as she had. She had a feeling the couple would gladly keep him, if she could force herself to leave without her cat.
“Oh, Tinsel, I’ll miss you.” She buried her face in his soft fur then set him back on the bench and rose to her feet.
Before she’d taken more than a few steps, Lucas opened the front door and rolled his wheelchair outside. “Hey, Jessie. Would you like to have dinner with us?”
“Thank you for the invitation, Lucas, but I’ll pass.”
He gave her a long, studying glance then motioned for her to join him on the porch. She walked over and took a seat on the top step.
“Are you okay?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
Afraid the tears stinging the backs of her eyes would spill over if she answered, she shrugged and changed the subject. “Have you heard from Chase? I thought he’d be back by now.”
“He called a few minutes ago. Something he ran over on the road blew out two of his tires. He’s waiting for a service rig to come with new tires, but he might be awhile. It sounded like he got a late start today. He did say he left you a message.”
Jessie remembered she’d left her phone in her bag after she’d been arranging where she’d stow everything. No wonder she hadn’t heard from Chase. She looked up at Lucas with a questioning glance. “You used to travel with Chase, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. We were travel partners the whole time I competed in rodeos.”
“Chase didn’t really give me an idea of what to expect in the next few weeks. He just mentioned something about Christmas in July and told me we’d be on the road a lot. I did figure out Cowboy Christmas refers to a series of rodeos that happen around the Fourth of July and that some of them are in Oregon. What else do I need to know?”
“He may be my best friend, but sometimes that guy is such an idiot,” Lucas muttered darkly.
Jessie tried to hide a grin, but wasn’t completely successful.
Lucas smiled. “Chase will try to compete in anywhere from four to six rodeos in the next week, more if he can squeeze them in. You’ll travel all over and feel like everything moves at a frantic, hectic pace, yet there’s this amazing energy and excitement that will fuel you. My advice is to drink plenty of water, make sure you have some healthy snacks because greasy burgers get old in a hurry, and relax. It really is fun and you’ll meet some super people. In fact, I think you’ll see Paige and Cooper James at the first rodeo on Chase’s list. It’s near Portland, so you’ll be heading there tomorrow.”
Jessie brightened at that thought. She thoroughly liked the couple and felt a special connection to them since they got married the day before she and Chase accidentally wed. Not only that, but Paige kept Jessie busy with a variety of design projects, including artwork for Lasso Eight.
Financially, life had never been better for Jessie. It was every other aspect where she seemed to flounder.
“Oh, and if Chase forgets he has a wife along or pulls on his grumpy pants, you have my permission to put him in his place. He can take himself way too seriously sometimes, especially if he has a bad ride, so please keep that in mind. If he’s grouchy or withdrawn, just know that it isn’t anything you said or did. It’s all on him.”
Jessie’s stomach clenched even tighter. On top of all her worries, she could add handling her husband with kid gloves to the list. Fantastic.
Lucas gave her an encouraging pat on the back. “I’m sure everything will be fine, Jessie. Just have a good time and leave your worries here. When you get back, they’ll still be here, unless you decide to pack them up for good.”
Forcing a smile, she rose to her feet. “Thanks for the advice, Lucas. I appreciate it.” She was halfway to the house, when she heard him call to her but couldn’t make out what he said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” she asked, turning around to look at him.
“Take an ample supply of Skittles and Snickers bars. It tames the beast,” Lucas yelled with a laugh then waved and rolled back inside his house.
Jessie giggled and made a note to pick up some candy as soon as possible.
Unable to relax, she went to the office and worked until darkness settled around her. Chase had left her a message saying he was running behind schedule, but would be ready to leave in the morning.
Mindful that she needed to rest, Jessie drank a glass of milk and ate a banana then went to bed.
Up early the following morning, she dressed with care and spent extra time curling her long hair, leaving it loose, although she would have preferred to pull it back in a ponytail. She swiped mascara over her eyelashes and added a spray of her favorite perfume then gathered the toiletries she planned to take with her together and carried them downstairs. After tucking them inside her bag, she returned to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee then looked outside.
Chase wasn’t home yet. Worry gnawed at her. What if something had happened? What if he’d been in a wreck?
Determined not to work herself into a state of anxiety, she took a deep breath and another. Then she sent up a prayer for his safekeeping, as she did many times each and every day.
She made herself a cup of tea then walked through the house, unplugging anything that wasn’t essential and making sure all the windows were locked.
Back in the kitchen, she forced herself to eat a small container of yogurt and a piece of toast. She’d just washed her dishes and put them away when the kitchen door banged open and Chase raced inside.
“Jessie! I’m so sorry. After waiting half of forever for the service rig to show up with tires, I got tied up in construction and then there was a wreck that shut down half the freeway for a few hours.” Chase set a paper bag on the table, kicked off his boots, and yanked the snaps open on his shirt as he talked, exposing a golden, muscled chest.
Jessie found it impossible to look anywhere except at her husband. In the months he’d been gone, he continued to let his hair grow on his face and head. The beard he’d had the last time he was home was even bushier, yet it appeared he kept it trimmed. However, she doubted a barber had touched his hair in months. What had been barely an inch long when she met him was now four or so inches long. Wheat-colored waves in his hair made her mouth go dry and robbed her of the ability to speak. She gaped at one wavy lock that curled above his left eye, desperately wanting to brush it away from his face.
Unaware of the effect he had on his wife, Chase unfastened his belt buckle, emptied his pockets on the table, and unzipped his jeans. “I left a bag of dirty clothes in the mudroom. If we weren’t pressed for time I wouldn’t even ask, but could you please toss my shirts and jeans in the washer? I need to take them with me. While I grab a shower, would you ask Mike or Tim to fuel my truck? Oh, and can you dig my passport out of the gun safe in the office? The combination is my birthday.”
Chase dropped his shirt on the floor followed by his jeans. With a rascally grin, he kissed her cheek, grabbed the paper bag off the table, and raced down the hall to his bedroom wearing a pair of white socks and black knit boxers that clung to him like a second skin.
Unable to tear her eyes away from his gorgeous form, Jessie watched until he disappeared inside his bedroom.
She tugged the belt from his jeans and left it on the kitchen table, then got started on his laundry. After spraying a special stain remover on the manure coating several pairs of his jeans and dropping them into the washing machine, she hurried outside to his pickup. The keys were in the ignition, so she started it and drove it down to the ranch fuel tanks where she filled it then drove back to the house. Empty soda cups and fast food bags littered the floor of the truck, so she took a moment to gather all the garbage. She went in the house and tossed the load of jeans in the dryer then dropped a load of shirts into the washer. Armed with cleaning supplies, she went back out to the truck and wiped down the glass both inside and out. She dusted the dashboard and brushed down the seats.
When she finished, she made sure to stash an empty garbage bag in the backseat to contain all of Chase’s future messes then loaded her luggage. She filled a small cooler with water bottles and a bag with pieces of whole fruit and set them in the truck before going back to the kitchen.
The coffee she’d brewed for Chase went into a travel thermos. She rinsed the pot, slapped together peanut butter sandwiches with jam she’d made from strawberries grown locally, and made sure everything in the kitchen was unplugged.
While she waited for Chase to reappear, she hurried upstairs and made one final check through the rooms. She didn’t know why she was so worried. It wasn’t like Lucas, Lori, Mike, and Tim weren’t around to keep an eye on things. Chase had insisted she keep the cleaning service he’d hired when he first moved into the house and they would come at least once while she was gone.
Aware that she needed something to keep her mind from dwelling on how enthralling her husband looked, Jessie made her way down the stairs to the kitchen then remembered Chase’s passport. She hurried to the office and opened the gun safe hidden in a storage closet. Jessie would never have known it was there, but Chase had shown her where it was the last time he was home in case of an emergency. He’d failed, however, to share the combination to the lock at that time. It only took a moment for her to punch in the code and open the heavy door. A shelf held numerous documents, but it was easy to locate his passport. She shut and locked the safe, then went back to the kitchen.
After tucking the passport into a zippered pocket on his bag, she checked the dryer to see how much longer it would take his jeans to dry. Depending on how quickly Chase planned to leave, his shirts might not have time to dry.
Jessie retrieved a handful of hangers and hung his shirts on them then carried them out to the pickup. A trip to the shop turned up a wooden dowel just long enough to use as a rod. She fastened it to the hooks above the rear passenger doors then hung his shirts on it. With the summer sun beating down, they wouldn’t take long to dry.
She returned to the house and nearly collided with a clean-shaven Chase as he barreled into the kitchen. The scent of his after-shave and soap mingled with the delightful aroma of him. Subtly filling her lungs and nose, she tried not to stare at his bare chest as he plopped down in a kitchen chair with his shirt undone.
Muscles rippled with every movement while a few water droplets clung to his hair. Jessie bit her lip, swamped in emotions she had no idea how to acknowledge let alone process.
Chase yanked on his socks then retrieved his boots from the mudroom and tamped them on. With steady, quick motions, he snapped his shirt and shoved the tails into the waistband of his jeans then threaded on his belt and stuffed his wallet, a handful of change and his cell phone into his pockets.
“Now I’m fit to greet my wife,” he said with a teasing smile, moving across the kitchen and enfolding Jessie in a warm hug. “How are you?”
“Fine,” she said, relishing the feel of his arms around her. Despite the heat of the day, when he eventually pulled back, she felt bereft and chilled. “I made sandwiches and some coffee for you.”
“Thank you.” Chase took another step back and studied her from the top of her head down to the tips of her boots. “You look wonderful, Jessie. Life on the ranch agrees with you.”
“I guess it does.” Unsettled by his scrutiny and the light glowing in his eyes, she picked up a sandwich and handed it to him. “I made the jam. I hope you like it.”
Chase took a bite and nodded. “Best peanut butter sandwich I’ve ever had.” He winked at her and stepped into the mudroom, noticing she’d already packed his jeans back in his travel bag. He took the bag to his room to add underwear and socks then came back to the kitchen.
“Are my shirts in the dryer?” he asked.
“I hung them in the truck. I didn’t think we’d get them out of the dryer before you wanted to leave.”
“That’ll work,” Chase said, accepting the second sandwich Jessie handed to him with a grateful nod. “I’m gonna run out and talk to Lucas a minute. Will you be ready to go when I get back?”
She nodded. He jogged out the door and across the yard. Convinced going with Chase was one of the worst plans in the world’s long history of stupid ideas, she sank down on a barstool at the counter and tried to come up with a plausible excuse to stay home.
Plagued with doubts and fears, she retreated to the bathroom off the kitchen and splashed cold water on her cheeks then glared at her image in the mirror.
“Stop being a coward and a ninny. You can do this. You will do this,” she commanded. Nerves jittered around in her stomach, making her nauseous. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “Suck it up, buttercup. Three weeks spent in the presence of your hunky he-man husband won’t kill you.”
“Jessie?” Chase called. “Are you talking to someone?”
“No. I’m coming,” she replied, taking one last look in the mirror then sending up a prayer for wisdom and strength. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen. Chase smiled at her as he stood at the mudroom door with his coffee in one hand and a red Christmas stocking in the other.
Curious, she pointed to the stocking. “What’s that for?”
“For you, my little holiday elf,” Chase teased as he handed her the stocking. “You’re about to embark on your very first Cowboy Christmas experience, so I thought this might help. You can look at it in the truck. Let’s get on the road.”
Jessie hurried out the door he held open for her. He opened the pickup door and gave her a hand up. When he slid behind the wheel, his astonished expression made her smile.
“Did you clean the truck?” he asked as he fastened his seatbelt and put the pickup in gear.
“I did. The pigsty you had going on in here wasn’t going to work for me.” Jessie pointed behind her seat. “There’s a garbage bag. I hope you know how to use it.”
Chase lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “With a little persuasion, I might be convinced to keep my messes to a minimum.”
“What type of persuasion would it take?” Jessie enjoyed this playful, fun side of Chase. She’d seen it a few times, but usually he was serious and focused.
“A kiss from my lovely bride.”
She blushed, but leaned over and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, again breathing in his scent. Taut and smooth, his skin beckoned to her. She wanted to press dozens of kisses against his cheeks, but held herself in check. “Will that do?”
The look he gave her made heat pool in her midsection and her head feel light. “For now.” He pointed to the fuzzy red Christmas sock on her lap. “Open your sock, Jess. Let’s see what Santa left for you.”
She pulled out a bottle of sunscreen, a pack of her favorite cinnamon gum, a bag of trail mix, and a box of her favorite tea bags. When she held out a pair of foam earplugs and an eye mask, she gave Chase a questioning glance.
“You’ll learn to sleep whenever you can in the next few weeks. The ear plugs and sleep mask might help.”
“These are great, thank you.” She smiled at him and reached back in the stocking, pulling out a pair of sunglasses she’d admired but decided were too expensive to purchase. The only person she’d mentioned them to was Stacey. Thankful her best friend was a confirmed blabbermouth, she slid on the sunglasses and turned to Chase. “I love these. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift.”
“Those glasses look great on you, and Santa said to tell you you’re welcome.”
“Santa has great taste,” Jessie teased, relaxing for the first time in days.
“Your husband is crazy,” Paige James said on a laugh as Chase waved a hand over his head and made his way out of the stands to get ready to ride at the St. Paul Rodeo.
Chase had gone back and forth between the bleachers where Jessie sat with Paige and the area behind the chutes. When the event before the bull riding began, Chase whipped off his hat and used it as a screen while he kissed Jessie. A fiery shade of red colored her face as the people around them hooted and whistled.
It didn’t seem to bother her husband, though. He bent close to her ear and dropped his voice. “As soon as I hit the ground after my ride, make a beeline for our pickup. If you get there before I do, drive it up behind the chutes.”
Unable to speak after the unexpected kiss, she merely nodded. Chase kissed her on the nose then jogged down the bleacher steps. When he disappeared from view, she turned to Paige. “Which particular thing about Chase makes you say that?”
Paige laughed. “I can’t believe he entered two rodeos today.”
Jessie nodded. “He said he’s trying to make the most of the rodeo opportunities in the area.” In addition to the St. Paul Rodeo where Chase currently prepared to compete, he’d also entered in a rodeo in Molalla, a town about thirty miles away. With the rodeos having staggered start times, Chase was determined to ride a bull in St. Paul then race to Molalla in time to ride there.
Barring any problems, he had a slim chance of making it work.
Jessie agreed with Paige’s assessment. “He really is crazy, but then again, you’re married to Cooper.”
The rodeo clown wore a hot pink zebra-striped shirt with an enormous hot pink foam cowboy hat while he danced on top of a water truck as it settled the dust in the arena.
Paige shrugged and bumped her shoulder against Nick Charles, Cooper’s grandfather, as he sat beside her. “I think you made him that way.”
Nick chuckled. “Nope. I’m pretty sure he hatched out of the cabbage patch just like that.”
Jessie took pleasure in meeting Cooper’s grandfather, a sweet older man with kind eyes and a welcoming smile. From the moment Paige introduced them, he made her feel like part of his family.
They visited as they waited for the next event to begin. Occasionally, the reporter from Rodeo At Home, who sat beside Jessie, would ask her a question. The photographer wandered around snapping a variety of photos. So far, it hadn’t been as bad as she’d imagined having them dog her every step, but then again, they’d only been in St. Paul for one day.
“Oh, look, the bull riding is about to start,” Paige said, pointing to the chutes where cowboys prepared to climb onto the backs of bulls.
Aware that Kash and Celia Kressley provided the rodeo stock, Jessie hoped Chase drew Kash’s even-tempered bull, the one named Wild Willie. At least then she wouldn’t worry as much about him getting hurt. She and Paige watched as Celia moved into the arena to capture images of the bull riding. It was hard to miss her bright red head against the backdrop of arena dirt.
Cooper ditched his big hat and garish shirt before he climbed on top of his clown barrel, pumping up the crowd as he danced to a rock song with a thumping beat.
“Cooper is awesome,” Jessie said to Paige as the music grew louder and the crowd clapped along.
“He is good at what he does.” Paige’s voice held pride while she watched her husband with a hint of awe.
The announcer introduced the first rider, a rookie who’d had a great first year on the circuit. He made it to four seconds before the bull tossed him off as though he weighed nothing. The young man scrambled to his feet and leaped onto the fence before the bull had a chance to hook him with a horn.
“Our next cowboy is one who’s competed here several times. I’m excited to see how this young man rides today. His lovely wife is here watching him for the first time today. Let’s show her how it’s done, Chase Jarrett!” the announcer boomed.
Jessie clenched her hands together and leaned forward, watching as Chase bobbed his head and the gate swung open.
The big brindle bull he rode didn’t make staying on an easy task. Jessie felt like the ride lasted a lifetime instead of eight seconds as the bull turned and twisted, bucked and reared. She observed as though someone pushed a button and made the world move in slow motion.
When the buzzer sounded and Chase leaped off the back of the bull onto his feet, Jessie watched, nearly stupefied. It had been one thing to see Chase compete in Las Vegas when she didn’t know him. It was something else entirely to sit on the sidelines and watch him ride a ton of fury when she loved him.
“You better get going if you don’t want to keep your husband waiting,” Paige said, giving Jessie a nudge.
“Right. See you later, Paige, and thanks. It was so nice to meet you, Nick,” Jessie lifted her purse and smiled at Cooper’s grandfather. She stood, giving the reporter an encouraging look. “Shall we go?”
The photographer had gone down to the arena to capture images of Chase riding and met them as Jessie and the reporter left the stands.
“Chase hopes to make it to another rodeo tonight?” the reporter asked as she nearly ran to keep up with Jessie’s long, hurried strides.
“That’s right. From what I understand, it will take about half an hour to get there. He’s hoping to make it just in time to ride.” Jessie clicked the key fob in her hand and the truck unlocked. The reporter and photographer climbed into the back while Jessie hastened in the driver’s side.
With Chase nowhere in sight, she started the truck and maneuvered around horse trailers, pickups, and contestants to reach the area behind the chutes. Before the truck came to a complete stop, Chase opened the passenger door and hopped in, still wearing his protective vest, chaps, and spurs. He carried his bull rope in his hand along with his gear bag.
“Don’t you want to drive?” Jessie asked, unfastening her seat belt.
“Nope. Let’s go. We’ve got to hustle. I’ll tell you where to turn.” Chase grinned at her as he stuffed his rope into his bag and zipped it shut, dropping it near his feet. He reached down and untied the length of leather tightly laced above his ankles that keep his boots from coming off during his ride. “You might want to speed a little.”
Jessie put the truck in gear and fastened her seat belt. When they hit the highway heading east of town, she was already exceeding the speed limit by five miles.
Chase carried on a conversation with the reporter and photographer while she drove.
“Left up here, darlin’,” he said absently then returned to discussing his ride and where he hoped it placed him in the ranking. “Right now, I’m number two in the world and that guarantees a spot at the finals rodeo in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, during the next few weeks, anything could happen.”
Jessie knew how important it was to him to be among the select few who participated in the finals. He wanted to finish the year as the world champion. And that wouldn’t happen if he missed his next ride. She pressed her foot on the accelerator as they roared down the road and hoped they wouldn’t get pulled over. Her husband was fortunate she grew up on a farm driving a standard transmission in her father’s pickup, or he’d have been out of luck with her as a driver.
Chase glanced at the clock on the truck’s dash and began drumming his fingers on the armrest between them.
Jessie drove a little faster, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the clock.
“Take a right up here, then keep straight,” he said, glancing behind them as Jessie made the turn.
Miraculously, they made it to the Molalla Buckaroo Rodeo in twenty-five minutes flat.
Chase couldn’t contain a smirk as he pointed out where to park. “Maybe you should look at an alternate career as a race car driver, Jessie. That was some driving.” He looked behind him at the two occupants of the back seat. Both the reporter and photographer appeared woozy from the fast pace and sharp curves Jessie had taken to get them there as quickly as humanly possible.
“Hit the ground running if you want to keep up,” he said to the reporter and photographer.
Jessie cut the engine, removed the keys, and popped her seat belt. Before she could reach for the door handle, Chase was there, opening it for her.
She jumped out and he entwined their fingers, gave her a grin, and together they ran toward the booth where he needed to check in.
The reporter and photographer lagged behind them, still looking a little ill and a lot winded.
Chase discovered the barrel racing had just started, so he’d made it with time to spare.
When he received his contestant number, Jessie removed the number he still wore from the St. Paul rodeo on the back of his vest and pinned the new one in place.
“Thanks, Jess.” He handed her three passes. “You’ll be able to watch from right up there.” He pointed to a section of the bleachers near the chutes. “Wish me good luck?”
“Of course.” She smiled and took a step closer to him. “I hope you get the top score of the night.”
“Me, too.” Chase winked at her and kissed her cheek. Not caring who watched or what she got on her summery blouse, she hugged him tight then pulled back with her heart in her eyes.
He wrapped the hand not holding his gear bag around her waist and pulled her against his chest, lavishing her with a kiss that drew whistles and cheers from the cowboys milling around them.
Mortified, Jessie’s cheeks blazed with heat when Chase finally let her go. “See you in a bit, Jessie.” He playfully swatted her rear then strode off with some of his friends to get ready for his ride.
The reporter grinned at Jessie as she and the photographer walked with her into the stands. “That was quite a kiss, Jessie. Do you think it will help him win?”
With adrenaline still pumping through her from the wild drive to the arena and Chase’s unsettling yet completely amazing kiss, Jessie let down her guard and reserve. She grinned at the reporter. “It certainly can’t hurt.”
The photographer laughed as they found their seats and waited for the bull riding to begin.
Jessie kept her eyes glued to the chutes and saw Chase talking to a few cowboys she recognized. Although she was glad Chase had shaved off his beard, she couldn’t help but be glad he hadn’t had time to visit the barber. The way his golden hair looked, fanning the edges of his cowboy hat made her heart flip in her chest.
She didn’t know how, but something about the longer hairstyle amped up his raw appeal. Not that it needed a boost.
Women ogled him wherever they went, even at the gas station when they stopped to fuel up the truck. Jessie knew it was all part of Chase being a rodeo star, but she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
It was much easier to ignore his admirers when she was at home and didn’t have to witness the attention they threw at him first hand. The fans flirting with him while she stood right beside him left her infuriated and stunned. It didn’t matter if she and Chase were married in name only. None of his ardent fans knew that. Regardless, the fact he was married didn’t seem to deter some women at all.
Jessie had even caught the reporter sending Chase covert glances when she thought no one was watching. Annoyed as she was by the woman’s interest in her husband, she couldn’t blame the reporter, though.
Chase was good-looking, muscularly built, and possessed enough charm to keep women entirely spellbound with his presence.
As the announcer let them know the bull riding was about to start, Jessie sent up a prayer that Chase would be safe, regardless of how well he rode.
So far, only three of Chase’s competition had managed to score and one of those was a seventy-point ride.
If Chase could finish in the top three, he’d be in for the final round on Saturday.
When she saw him ease down onto the back of a behemoth black bull, she leaned forward. She knew he’d transfer rosin from his bull rope onto his glove then rub into the handle on the rope encircling the bull’s massive girth before it was pulled tight.
Intent on watching her husband, Jessie held her breath as Chase nodded and the bull charged out of the chute then shot up in the air. At one point, she thought the animal might attempt to do a handstand on his front legs, but Chase somehow managed to remain on the beast’s broad back.
Upper body control and strong legs were two essential components to riding bulls and Chase had both. Unlike other roughstock events, bull riders didn’t have to spur to compete, but it added to a score if they could. When the bull returned his hind feet to the ground, Chase spurred with his left leg while keeping his free arm waving almost gracefully in the air.
The moment the buzzer sounded, Jessie jumped to her feet and cheered.
Chase jerked on the rope to loosen it then rolled off the side of the bull and hit the ground with a thud.
Jessie pressed a hand to her mouth when the bull spun around and appeared to stomp all over Chase before the bullfighters jumped in to distract the bull. Chase scrambled to his feet and limped inside an open chute.
Concerned, Jessie didn’t know if she should wait where she was or go find Chase. Unable to stay seated, she rushed back to the booth where he checked in and asked where she could find him.
The reporter and photographer followed her as she made her way toward the chutes. Chase waved a hand at her as he walked out with some of his friends.
“Did you see that, baby? I got the top score of the night. Bam!” Chase lifted her with one muscled arm and swung her around before setting her down and giving her a quick kiss.
Surprised as much by his greeting as she was by the fact he’d been that night’s top rider, Jessie blushed and would have stepped away from him, but Chase kept a hand on her waist and introduced her to some of his friends and fellow bull riders.
A group of cowboys asked Chase to join them in celebrating, but he told them he had a better offer and winked at Jessie.
Heat climbed up her neck and blazed across her face at what he implied.
“If I had such a sweet wife, I’d give us the cold shoulder, too,” one cowboy teased. “We’ll catch up with you later, Chase.”
Chase kept his hand at the small of Jessie’s back as they walked to where she’d parked the truck. She handed him the keys and he unlocked it then gave her a hand inside. He helped the reporter into the back seat then jogged around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel.
“Two down and a bunch more to go,” Chase said with a grin as he started the truck and they headed back toward the hotel where the reporter and photographer were staying.
By the time they returned to Molalla Saturday evening for Chase to compete in the final round, Jessie was ready to surrender to complete exhaustion. They’d flown on a chartered plane to Montana, then Wyoming, and on to Eugene, Oregon. Chase had done well and only failed to ride one bull at the rodeo in Red Lodge. Jessie blamed it on the fact that Chase had a bruise on the back of his leg the size of a cantaloupe where the bull in Molalla had stomped on him. It was a wonder he could walk with as much pain as he should be feeling, but he acted as if it was nothing.
She’d quickly learned cowboys were a tough, proud bunch and rarely admitted they were in pain. But the fact Chase had asked her to drive back to Molalla after he rode again in St. Paul made her wonder if he was as tired as she felt.
Rather than chat with the photographer and reporter in the back seat, he tipped his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. The reporter had stopped looking ready for a fashion runway the second day they were on the road and the photographer napped every chance he got.
Jessie wished she could close her eyes and sleep, too, but she had to survive two more weeks of this hectic pace. At least the reporter and photographer would go home tomorrow. However, they did plan to meet up with Chase and Jessie for a rodeo in California.
In spite of his exhaustion, Chase pulled out the top score at Molalla, giving him another win after taking first place at St. Paul.
At the end of his winning ride, he ran over to the stands and jumped up on the fence, motioning for Jessie to come down to him.
When she did, he grasped her face between his hands and gave her a hard, fast kiss. “Thanks for being my good luck charm,” he said with a teasing grin, then jogged off behind the chutes.
Embarrassed by the attention cast her way, she couldn’t hide her pleasure in his efforts to single her out and make her feel special. Buoyed by his attention, she returned to her seat to wait for Chase to accept his prize.
“Let’s give another hand, folks, to tonight’s superstar bull rider, Chase Jarrett. That woman he was slobbering all over in the stands is his wife, Jessie. They got married in December in Las Vegas. Talk about goofy in love… that would be ol’ Chase. Don’t they make a cute couple?” the announcer boomed, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Jessie wished what the announcer said was true. Wished with all her heart Chase returned even a small measure of her affection. But he didn’t, no matter how much he might let everyone think otherwise.
The best she could hope for was to make it through the next few weeks without falling any deeper in love with him and return to the peacefulness of the ranch. When she was there and he was on the road, it was easier to pretend they were just business partners working toward a goal. Not a girl hopelessly in love with a man she could never have.