Bachelor Cowboy

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“No need to do that,” Aggie said. Standing, she walked to the door and grabbed a set of keys hanging from a hook. “I thought I told you we planned to pay Hettie a visit. You know how much she loves your pies, and I haven’t had a chance to see her for a while. Trish has been looking forward to it.”

As if on cue, Trish stepped into the kitchen, her purse in her hand, and took one of the pies, before she hurried to the door with nothing more than a quick smile.

Kate glanced at Dusty, who held a forkful of pie on its way to his mouth, his smile reaching from ear to ear. She wasn’t sure what to think. This was the first she knew about a visit to Hettie Lambert. “But—”

“Why don’t you go on along to the rodeo with Dusty, Kate?” Aggie held the door open and Trish stepped outside. “We’ll be gone most of the day. Trish wants to stop at the library before it closes. No need for you to stay here alone, when you can get out and enjoy yourself.”

“No, I can’t—” But her aunt was out the door, down the porch steps and almost trotting to the pickup, in spite of her bad knee, and Trish was already waiting at the truck.

Kate stood at the door and stared after them as they drove away. She couldn’t imagine what Dusty might be thinking.

When she turned around, she saw that he had finished the first piece of pie and had started on the second. Setting his fork on the plate, he looked up at her, his grin challenging. “Afraid to spend time alone with me?”

She wasn’t about to let him think that and offered a confident smile of her own. “Not on your life.”

“Then let’s go,” he said, pushing away from the table and getting to his feet.

“I’m ready. Lead the way.”

His gaze swept her from her head to her toes and back up again. “You’re sure about that.”

“Of course I am.”

He glanced down. His grin sent her heart racing. And she realized what he was looking at.

She liked being comfortable when she baked and had slipped on her fuzzy purple slippers early that morning—the fuzzy purple slippers with the googly eyes.

Hot flames of embarrassment swept through her, and she knew her face must match her hair. “I’ll get my boots,” she squeaked and ran from the room.

DUSTY HAD TO KEEP from laughing out loud at the way Aggie had bamboozled Kate into going with him. He wondered if Kate had noticed and hoped she didn’t. He had been sincere when he’d told her that she needed to get out more. And he was glad he’d had Aggie on his side to make sure she did. Now that he was getting to know her better, he was finding he was right about Kate. She was a knowledgeable companion, and he was enjoying spending time with her as much as he had suspected he would.

“How is it again that you know so much about rodeos?” he asked, midway through the bronc riding competition.

Beside him on the wooden bleacher seats, she shrugged. “My dad took me to a rodeo the first time when I was maybe three years old. I must have enjoyed it, because we went to more. I suppose I picked up the lingo along the way and probably asked a million questions.”

Dusty would have been surprised to learn she hadn’t asked questions. “You miss him, don’t you?”

Kate stared straight ahead and pressed her lips tightly together, then nodded. Dusty recognized her pain and turned his attention to the arena.

“There he is,” Kate said, pointing to the rider in the chute. “There’s Shawn.”

Dusty looked across the arena and spied Tanner’s nephew getting ready for his ride. “Yeah, that’s him.”

At the rider’s command, the chute opened and the cowboy bounced out on the back of the bucking horse. Even for Dusty, the eight-second ride seemed to last an eternity, but Shawn stayed on until the buzzer.

“Not bad,” Kate said.

“He could still use a little practice, especially with the spurring, but he’ll get there. He definitely has what it takes.”

“With a champion for an uncle, he has the support he needs.”

Support, or the lack of it, was something Dusty knew a lot about. His mother had never supported his father’s love of rodeo. In fact, her complaints about him never being home had driven him away. Dusty had been only four years old, but he remembered the fights, the slamming doors, and his father walking out the door. He had wanted to be just like his dad, and eventually he had followed in his footsteps, even down to a failed marriage for the same reasons. Dusty had thought his young wife had understood what rodeo would mean, but they were both too young and selfish. He bore her no grudge. It was as much his fault as hers. Hadn’t he seen it happen with his parents? He wouldn’t make that mistake again. In fact, he intended to be better than his father and had already proved he was, at least in the world of rodeo. His father hadn’t ridden for years, and the last Dusty had heard, was selling used cars in Norman. That wasn’t what Dusty had in mind for himself.

“Why don’t I get us something to drink?” he said, turning to Kate, who was watching the excitement in the arena.

She leaned down and grabbed her bag. “I’ll go with you.”

He shook his head. “Just sit tight and enjoy.”

“But—”

He didn’t bother to explain why he needed to go alone. It was a man’s responsibility to do those little things, and Kate might not understand that. In fact, he thought with a chuckle, she would insist that it wasn’t.

While he waited in line at the concession stand, he could hear the announcement for the next rider over the loudspeaker, but he didn’t recognize the name. It made him more eager to get the okay from his doctor so he could go back to competing. He wasn’t one to stay long in one place.

Feeling impatient, he pulled his hat lower over his eyes to block out the sun. He was hot. He was tired. The air was thick with suffocating humidity. Except for that, he was enjoying the day. But he felt a headache coming on, something that had only started happening after the last concussion, and reminded himself to mention it when he saw his doctor.

“Hey, Dusty! You made it!”