Chapter Thirteen
Austin’s leg ached whenever he put weight on it, which meant that it ached full-time, so he sat in a chair while signing autographs after the Portland event. He considered himself fortunate that the extent of his injuries thus far in the season were the usual aches and pains in the shoulders, elbows, knees and wrist, and a possible fracture of his fibula. He signed his last autograph, smiled at the little girl who took it from him as if it were something precious. “I’m going to ride bulls when I get bigger,” she said.
Her mother’s smile went tight, as if terrified that her daughter would do just that.
“My advice is to start small,” Austin said. “With sheep.”
“I’m already doing that.”
“Wear all the safety equipment. No matter what. Only uncool people refuse to wear helmets and vests.”
“But what about Gustavo? He doesn’t wear a helmet.”
Austin smiled. “Like I said…”
The night had gone well. He hadn’t won the big money, but he hadn’t gotten any more busted up than he already was, and he’d picked up a travel partner the day before. Kelly Kincaid, who’d come out of nowhere to win Salt Lake, was struggling with finances and there was some issue with his truck that he hadn’t gone into too deeply. Whatever the deal was, Austin was glad for the company. Driving alone for hours gave him too much time to think. He normally didn’t mind being alone and thinking, but lately his thoughts seemed to edge more toward Kristen and less toward mental preparation for the next event.
Nothing wrong with that…except that, like the kiss in the FlintWorks parking lot, he hadn’t seen this coming. Hadn’t expected to have Kristen haunting his thoughts more and more, rather than less as time passed.
He’d assumed that after he’d been on the road for a day or two, he’d ease back into his old routine. Training, doing appearances, focusing on the next event. Hanging with his friends. He hadn’t thought he’d be fighting the urge to call Kristen and touch base, hear her voice. What good would that do him?
He met Kelly in the changing room and the two of them walked to his truck.
“I appreciate this,” he said for the tenth or eleventh time.
“Glad to have company,” Austin replied, just to change up his usual ‘not a problem’ response.
Kelly gave a nod. He was normally a talkative guy—Austin had hung with him a few years before, when he’d spent time in the minors—but, despite the win in Salt Lake and his high finish tonight, he didn’t have a lot to say. Austin was good with that.
Nothing wrong with a little quiet.
*
Kristen had just pulled her car into the driveway after a late shift at FlintWorks when her phone rang and her heart jumped. Late-night calls were never good…especially when Austin’s name appeared on the screen and it was possible that he was calling to tell her he’d been injured. She hadn’t yet had a chance to find video of Austin’s ride, or search for results of the Portland AEBR event, so she had no idea how the finals had turned out.
“Hello?”
Please, be okay.
“Hey.” His voice rolled over her and she relaxed against the seat. He was all right. “I, uh, just felt like checking in.”
“How was your ride?”
“Awesome.”
She gave a low laugh in spite of herself. “Any part of you get twisted, crushed, or bent?”
“Yes.”
She laughed again. “Any chance you could expand on your answer?”
“You don’t want to know tiny details.” She did, but she wasn’t going to push. His tone shifted, became more candid. “I came in third. Had good rides. Nothing got hurt any worse than before.”
“Good to hear.” He’d made some money and would be pushing on to the next stop—Spokane, Washington.
“Did you hear back on the interview?”
“Well, I interviewed via the internet, and now I’m waiting. No idea when I’ll hear whether I made the cut to the next level. How’d the high school talk go?”
“They listened to me.” He sounded surprised, although she wasn’t—who wouldn’t listen to a guy who risked his life in a big way every time he went to work?
He told her about his speech, how he’d prepared and used notecards, because he thought he was supposed to, until they got into the way of what he wanted to say.
“That happens,” Kristen said, thinking that this call felt too intimate for the type of relationship they both wanted, but she wasn’t about to end it.
“Not to me. I skipped speech class as often as possible. Took the D.”
“Why am I not surprised?” He gave a low laugh, and she realized that she wanted to hear him laugh again. Enough. “I should go.”
End this call. Get back to reality.
“Yeah. Me, too. I don’t know when I’ll be able to call again.”
“That’s okay.” It was supposed to be, anyway.
After Austin said goodbye, Kristen went into the empty house, changed into her sleeping T-shirt, then lay in bed watching his rides. She knew he’d done well, but that didn’t keep her heart out of her throat as she watched eight long seconds of action. Twice.
In both prelims and finals he’d ridden until the horn blew. Both times he dismounted and made it to the gate unscathed, but he was limping more than before after his final ride. That damned leg injury. Had he had it looked at?
She’d bet not.
She replayed the videos. It was obvious he was doing what he loved. Grit and determination were evident in every practiced move he made as he prepared for the rides. The confidence in the quick nod before the gate opened and the bovine Kraken was released. The stunning skill he showed as the bull gyrated, twisted, bucked and reared.
He raised his hand in victory after both rides. Despite the limp, he carried himself like a champion as he left the arena.
He was a champion. Doing what he loved. Pursuing a dream that could be crushed at any moment.
That took guts.
Kristen put the phone aside and closed her eyes, picturing Austin striding across the arena, ignoring his limp, focusing on his victory. The guy had panache.
The guy made her ache.
*
Austin’s win in Spokane, following his painful third-place finish in Portland, came at a price.
Riveter had given Austin one hell of a ride, then sealed the deal by hooking him before he could get to his feet, tossing him sideways. Austin landed on his bad leg, which once again turned bluish black, and this time the sports medicine team told him to stop fucking around and have the leg X-rayed. If it hadn’t been fractured before, it certainly was now.
Less than an hour later, Austin had his answer—a fracture of the fibula, mid-shaft, thank goodness, which was the best of all possible breaks. He was good to go for the rest of the season, as long as he protected the leg. Of course, riding bulls made that an iffy proposition, but he’d do his best.
Kelly suffered a dislocated elbow and a wrenched ankle during the prelims, so the trip to Nampa was slow and easy. They arrived the day before the meet and greet and took it easy, hanging out in the hotel spa, putting their battered bodies on display for anyone who cared to glance their way. Both wore AEBR ball caps as they let the spa jets work their sore muscles, and it didn’t take long for word to spread that there were honest to goodness bull riders in the spa. The kids showed up first, followed closely by women, some young, some older, all kind of interested in what a body looked like that went through hell every week.
Kelly focused on the water, not making eye contact, even when a couple of women slipped into the opposite side of the spa and smiled at the two bull riders.
As they’d driven from Portland to Spokane last week, Kelly had finally let out his story in fits and starts. He was married and his wife had left him mid-tour because she couldn’t handle the stress of his career. Austin had extrapolated that last part, but it made sense. The wife was gone. Kelly’s truck was gone. Kelly was in a perpetually shitty mood. He’d experienced the same thing more than once, only without the rings on the fingers. For that he was grateful.
“I’m heading back to my room,” Kelly said as another woman eased into the spa. He stood up, water sheeting off him, oblivious to disappointed looks sent his way.
“Yeah. I’m coming, too.” Austin smiled at the ladies, then followed his friend. He was glad to escape. He had tapes to watch, and he wanted to stretch while his muscles were loose from the hot water and jets…and since hooking up with Kristen, he hadn’t had much of an eye for the women. She’d kind of ruined him in that regard. As it was, he had to stop himself from reaching for the phone and contacting her a couple dozen times a day.
The important thing was that he was stopping himself, thus allowing Kristen to move on without worrying about him.
Yep. Moving on.
He got into the elevator with Kelly and they rode up to the ninth floor where they went their separate ways. Kelly was pinching pennies, but had sprung for a decent room in Nampa and Austin suspected it was for his lady, just in case she decided to join him.
For Kelly’s sake, Austin hoped that happened. And if it didn’t—well it’d be a long, silent ride to Cheyenne.
*
Less than two weeks after Austin’s call from Portland, Kristen was on the road to Reno for her interview—the interview that might have saved her from the consequences of her half-baked scheme had it happened four or five weeks ago.
But you would have missed out on your Austin time had that happened.
Maybe things really did happen for a reason.
She adjusted her sunglasses as she topped a hill and starting driving into the setting sun. Seventy more miles. The freeway stretched before her as she traveled through broad alkaline valleys bordered by naked mountain ranges on both sides. She could drive from Reno to Marietta and back three times for the cost of one last-minute plane ticket, and frankly, she needed the time alone.
Her brief stint at FlintWorks had ended two days ago with the arrival of Macy Crandall, the girl interning at the microbrewery as part of her course of study. Having made enough in tips in a little less than two weeks to finance the Reno trip and cover her student loans, Kristen now understood why Whitney was happy tending bar. She was doing all right.
Kristen was doing all right, too. She’d sent off Shane’s taxes yesterday morning on her way out of town—and it was good thing he’d hired her, because his accounting system was trouble waiting to happen, or rather, an IRS penalty waiting to happen. In addition to straightening him out, she’d advised Cody on the pros and cons of sole proprietorships, LLCs and corporations, and helped two of her mother’s friends learn to use a digital accounting program. Shane and Cody had insisted on paying her, but she’d drawn the line at her mother’s friends, who had eventually settled for giving her homemade raspberry jam and a plate of scones. Kristen loved jam and scones, so that story had a happy ending, too.
Her story with Austin…she wasn’t sure how that one was ending—but she sensed it was indeed ending. He hadn’t called her after Spokane, even though he’d won. That was telling and Kristen told herself she was good with it.
She should be, anyway, because it was part of her original plan. They were easing back into their own worlds. Older. Wiser.
Lonelier.
She missed him.
When Kristen drove out of the canyon into Sparks, the first thing that struck her was the traffic. She wasn’t arriving at the best time of day, but still…how could she have forgotten about the traffic in such a short period of time?
She got off the freeway as quickly as possible and took the side streets to Lynn’s place, where she was claiming the sofa. Tomorrow she interviewed, then immediately got back in her borrowed car and started the drive to Montana. Once there, she’d finish her cousin Cody’s business plan. Spend some quality time with her parents and sister. Enjoy her time in Marietta.
She liked living in Reno. But she also liked being closer to her parents and her sister and had been thinking about the benefits of living in Marietta more and more. What better time to make a move than when she didn’t have a job?
You have an interview.
She did…and she also knew she wouldn’t be heartbroken if she didn’t make the final cut. She told herself it had nothing to do with Marietta being the closest thing Austin had to a home base.
She was, of course, lying to herself.
*
Protecting a fractured leg was no easy task in Austin’s line of work, but he did what he could, and the medical team did what they could, taping and supporting. His shoulder was also taped, as were both wrists. The rides were starting to take their tolls, but he was more than halfway through the tour and still ambulatory, which was more than some of the guys could say.
His partner for the evening was Stillwater, a former bull of the year, who showed no signs of mellowing as time passed. In the chute, he worked against the clock, trying to get the bull prepped before his time ran out. Every time he thought he had it, Stillwater reared, or worse yet, dropped his front end, making it nigh on impossible to get situated. He was sweating hard when he finally got set and gave the nod.
As soon as the gate opened, Stillwater set about doing his job—and he did it better than Austin did his. Three seconds into the ride, he ate dirt. A lot of dirt. His head was ringing when he jumped to his feet and ran for the rails with the half-skipping gait he’d developed to keep as much weight as possible off his fracture. Stillwater ran by, gave him an obligatory headshake, then disappeared out the gate.
Austin sucked in a long breath. An early out for him, but Kelly was up next and the guy rode with teeth-gritted determination. If he didn’t have his wife, at least he’d have a win.
When the end of the performance came around, Kelly was no longer in the high-point chair, but he’d finished well, and would be able to pay for his hotel room without feeling a pinch.
His lonely hotel room.
Austin felt for the guy. He gave him a nod as he took his place signing autographs, then focused on the fans, who still wanted a signature even though he hadn’t come out on top. He signed and smiled, signed and smiled, ignoring his aching leg. A staff member came up behind him to move some equipment and he half turned to make sure he was out of the way. When he turned back his gaze smacked into a pair of familiar green eyes and the floor felt like it had given way beneath him.
“Kris.”
“Yeah.” She smiled, but she was nervous, perhaps wondering if she’d made a mistake by appearing out of nowhere to surprise him. Maybe she had made a mistake, but that didn’t stop him from being glad as hell to see her.
“I’m on my way home from Reno and thought I’d stop by.”
“Just…stop by.”
“It only added an hour on to my drive time. A quick left turn in Winnemucca and here I am.” She stepped aside so that the small line behind her could have their turn with him. After he’d signed his last autograph, he took her hand and led her toward the changing room. Once out of sight he took her face, didn’t even consider not giving into temptation, and kissed her hard.
“I had to see,” she said, bringing her forehead to rest against his chest and exhaling deeply. He wrapped his arms around her a little more tightly.
“See what?”
“Why I can’t get you out of my head.”
He understood exactly what she was talking about. He smiled a little then cupped her chin in one hand, tilted up her face, gently kissed her again.
“Hey!” He turned to see Gage heading down the hallway. Austin kept his arms around Kristen as the bull rider walked by.
“Nothing to see here,” Austin said to his friend.
“Bet there would be if I hung around.”
Austin snorted as Gage disappeared into the changing room. “You want to get out of here?”
“I wouldn’t mind being alone with you for a while.”
“Wait here while I grab my stuff.”
Kristen followed him to his hotel, parked next to him. As soon as they were out of their respective vehicles, he took her hand. It felt right to have her there. Scary right.
But he wasn’t going to talk yet. There were other ways to communicate and as soon as the door was closed behind them, he did his best to show how glad he was to see her.
And she seemed equally glad to be with him.
*
Was there anything better than waking up next to a bull rider?
Well…not just any bull rider. Her bull rider.
Kristen pushed herself up onto one elbow, lightly brushing his hair away from his forehead, one of the few places she was fairly certain wasn’t in some way sore. Although…
“You haven’t been hit in the head lately?”
“Are you questioning my judgment?”
She laughed. “No. Just checking for safe spots to touch.”
He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers, setting their joined hands on his chest. “All parts are safe…within reason.”
“Mmm.” She stretched out on her side again. “Are you checking out today?”
“Yeah. Going to the Forty-Six to see my brother before he and Shelby head off to Tennessee and I travel south to Cheyenne.”
“Your brother is going to Tennessee?”
“He’s a technical advisor for another of Buck Creighton’s documentaries.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah. He fell into a good thing. And it’ll keep my dad happy.” He pulled her closer and she eased her thigh on top of his, then pulled it back off again. “Stop worrying about hurting me. It’s giving me a complex.”
“I wasn’t worried about it last night.” She smiled and raised herself up on her elbow again so that she could see his face. “If I didn’t have commitments, I’d go to Cheyenne with you.”
He dropped a kiss onto her hair. “Those damned commitments.”
“Yes.” She smoothed her palm over the hard planes of his chest. “I’m going to ask you for a favor.” His muscles tightened ever so slightly beneath her palm, and if her head had been on his chest, she probably would have heard his heart rate kick up. “And please know—I’m saying this more to me than to you. Can we not analyze? Or dissect? Or do any of the things that will bring me crashing back to earth?” She let out a small breath. “I want to enjoy this for a while longer.”
Her logical, analytical side always beat down her enjoy-the-feeling side—or it had until Austin came into the picture and gave her that extra incentive to ignore her tight-ass side.
He gave a soft laugh and stroked her hair again, gently twining the strands through his fingers. “Yeah. I can do that. It’s kind of what I do.”
“Lucky you.” She meant that. She was starting to get a feel for what life was like when one didn’t second and third-guess every move. She liked the feeling, but was intimidated by it. It was hard to let go on her own, with no one there, like Austin or her twin, to coach her or lead by example. She’d done well making her impulsive side trip to Nampa, but a part of her was still a little rattled that she’d done that…even though it had turned out well.
Very well.
“We can ride as far as Marietta together. I’m pretty sure I can talk Kelly into driving your car if his arm isn’t bothering him too much. You can tell me about your interview.”
Yes. The interview. She felt as if she was balancing between two worlds—one where she felt safe and knew all the rules, and the other full of unknowns, yet calling to her with a siren’s song.
Austin turned his head to meet her gaze, his expression more serious than she expected. “You want to spend some time with me when we get to Marietta? I have a few days to kill before traveling on.”
Instead of answering out loud, she slid her palms along the rough planes of his cheeks and pulled his mouth down to hers, then she proceeded to show him, in great detail, why that was the best of ideas.
*
Austin and Kristen met Kelly for breakfast shortly after Austin and Kristen had shared a rather dynamic shower. They ate at the hotel restaurant, with Austin grabbing the tab for everyone. Kelly’s wife hadn’t shown, and Austin felt for the guy.
He was also surprised at how Kelly opened up with Kristen, asking her about her plans for the future, and how she felt watching Austin ride bulls.
“Nervous,” Kristen said, adding that she really didn’t have enough experience to give a definitive answer.
She didn’t. She’d watched Austin ride in person three times. Only one of those times had resulted in a wreck, and it had been so minor that it barely qualified.
Once they hit the road, Austin kept clear of the topic of bull riding, focusing instead on Kristen’s remaining time at home and her plans for the future. She was confident she was going to land the job she’d applied for, thanks to some guy she’d worked for in the past.
“I’ll do things differently this time,” she said. “I wasn’t a good team player in the past. I walled myself off too much.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
She gave him a mock snooty look. “Someone helped me tackle that issue, you know. I’m not a full-blown extrovert, but I’m better.” The snooty look disappeared, replaced by a smile that lit her eyes, and an odd sensation spread through his chest. She was so damned beautiful.
After dropping Kristen off at her house sooner than he wanted to, Kelly, who’d driven Whitney’s little Toyota to Marietta, made noises about renting a car and driving to Cheyenne early.
“Only one problem,” Austin said. “No car rental place in Marietta.” Kelly’s face contorted with frustration, and Austin kind of knew how he felt. “But you can take my truck.”
Kelly frowned at him. “How’ll you get down there?”
“Borrow a rig from my brother.”
“If you’re sure.”
Austin was sure. If Kelly wanted to head south to see his wife, who was in Fort Collins with her parents, he was going to do everything he could to help the guy.
Kelly dropped Austin at the ranch, which appeared to be deserted. Austin kicked around the kitchen, making himself a sandwich and stealing a beer. Finally he heard boots on the steps, and went to the door, pulling it open for his brother.
“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Ty stepped into the kitchen, taking off his hat and hanging it on the hooks next to the door. He ruffled the back of his hair where the hat had creased it.
“Got dropped off. I loaned my truck to my travel partner.”
“And now you want mine?”
“Pretty much.”
Ty scowled at him then pushed his chair back and went to the fridge. “Les had a doctor’s appointment and Shelby had to drive him because his new medication makes him dizzy as hell.” He looked at the empty plate in the sink. “Did you make me a sandwich?”
“No, but I will.” Least he could do for the guy who was lending him his truck.
Austin made the sandwich, then joined his brother on the porch, where he set down the plate and picked up the full long neck waiting for him.
Ty propped his feet on the railing and started to eat. “Staying long?”
“I plan to spend some time with Kristen Alexander.”
“Ah.” Ty chewed in a thoughtful way. “So are you guys getting serious?”
A change of subject was in order, and Austin seized upon the topic most likely to distract his older brother. “When do I get to find out that I’m going to be an uncle?”
“At the twelve-week mark.”
“Which is…?”
“Four more weeks.”
“I’ll be the first to know…right?”
“You are the first to know, however…” he leveled a deadly look at him “…Les will be the ‘official’ first to know, and he’d better never find out otherwise.”
“My lips are sealed. Are you scared?”
“It doesn’t seem real yet, but yeah…I’d say I’m kind of intimidated. There’s a lot of room to screw up when you’re responsible for another life.”
Austin smiled to himself. “Are you going to be a stage-dad?” Like their dad.
“Oh, fuck yes. You know I am.” Ty tipped up his beer and took an overly long drink.
“Sorry.”
Ty snorted. “No, you’re not.”
He might not be sorry, but he had been successful in sidetracking his brother. Or so he thought until the rooster tail of dust from Shelby’s truck showed in the distance as it approached the ranch. “Where’s this thing going between you and Kristen?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m just kind of curious.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” Which was one-hundred-percent true. “I don’t have an answer.”
Ty gave a nod, then got up from the chair on the porch and stretched, his eyes on the dusty road as he waited for his wife and grandfather-in-law.
“I know we’re kind of an unlikely pair.”
“Kind of?” Ty gave his brother a slow look.
Austin sucked in a breath. “There’s more to her than meets the eye. A lot more.”
“All the same.” Ty wrinkled his forehead at him.
Austin’s stomach was starting to knot, and there was no reason for it. He’d never sought out his brother’s advice when it came to women, and he wasn’t about to start now.
Shelby drove into the yard and parked near the cedar fence that bordered the front yard and got out of the truck. Les got out of his side, looking none too happy about having to visit the sawbones again, but when he saw Austin he smiled.
“Got a chore list ready for you. How long are you staying?”
“A few days.”
“Excellent.” Les took a chair beside Austin as Shelby kissed Ty hello. She told Les she’d bring him ice tea and then she and Ty disappeared into the house. Once inside, Austin could hear them talking, their voices low, the tone intimate.
Shelby and Ty had a lot in common—background, interests, goals. He and Kristen did well together, but what did they have in common? Not too much when one considered lifestyles.
Maybe it isn’t about having things in common.
But deep down, he was fairly certain it was.