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That was considerate of him, but Lisa had wanted to come, too. They weren’t the only ones who needed a break from the grandparents.
She was always the responsible one; Sully was the fun guy. But as they raised Rose, she didn’t want to be cast into the role of disciplinarian while Sully was the one she had a good time with.
Based on the previous week, Rick and Carol were right in not picking a set of grandparents as guardians for Rose. She and Sully might not be the best prize behind curtain number one, but they couldn’t be any worse than the Sullivans or the Phillipses.
She could hear the drone of the bright-green lawn mower as it made its rounds in the front yard. After enough hints from her, Sully had finally stopped roping the darn statue and got the ride-on mower out of the shed.
After tinkering for hours and taking numerous coffee breaks, he’d finally got it working.
As she and Rose heard the mower approach, they both turned around on the sofa to look out the big picture window at Sully. Lisa kneeled next to Rose, who stood, and they waved to him.
In response, Sully raised an arm into the air. They heard him yell “Yee-haw” as he went by. On his next pass, he did the same thing. On the way back, he took off his cowboy hat and was fanning the engine.
He stopped the lawn mower, making like he was getting off a bull. Then he bowed to his audience.
He got back on, pushed the lever and clearly expected the mower to go forward, but it went in reverse.
The surprise on his face was priceless.
She and Rose laughed at him, and he feigned anger. They laughed even harder.
They’d both needed it.
Sully was good for Rose.
Maybe he was good for her, too.
Rose was occupied watching Sully, so Lisa went into the laundry room to put in yet another load of her clothes and Rose’s. Sully did his own laundry.
So far, they were doing okay, but the real test would come now—when it was just the three of them.
After loading the washer, she went into Rick’s office and turned to a website that she’d flagged—a basic website for young cooks. What the mothers had had her cooking was way too complicated. Probably that’s what they were counting on to use as ammunition for Mr. Randolph.
She’d have to look for something really easy and nutritious for Rose to eat. And Sully. She supposed that he’d eat with them, too. Like a family.
And she hoped that whatever she’d make would be eatable and that she wouldn’t make them sick.
She could boil water and make pasta with a jar of sauce and pre-made meatballs from the store and she could microwave anything and everything, but they couldn’t live on pasta alone.
Even though she could fly jumbo jets, she didn’t have a clue how to cook a real meal.
Sully washed his greasy and grass-stained hands at the laundry room sink. The air in the house smelled like something was … burning.
He ran into the kitchen just as the smoke alarm went off. Rose started to cry. The dog started to bark, then whine, and the cat scooted under the living room sofa. Lisa stood in front of the stove, fanning the billowing smoke with a dish towel.
Grabbing two pot holders, he hipped Lisa aside and pulled out a shallow pan with charred lumps of something inside. The pan and the lumps were on fire.
He dumped it, pan and all, into the kitchen sink, not realizing that the sink was full of soapy water. Everything hit the water with a sizzle and a blast of smoke. Then all became silent, even Rose and the dog.
Sully’s stomach growled. He hoped that the burned lumps weren’t steak. He’d had a hankering for steak.
Lisa’s face was as white as the lily on the kitchen table and she wasn’t blinking.
“Lisa, are you okay? Did you get burned?” He took her hands and looked them over.
She just stared at him in shock.
“Lisa?” He pulled her to the other half of the sink, the half that didn’t contain … uh … dinner. He ran cold water over her hands, still inspecting them for burns or blisters. They looked fine.
Rose had a grip on Lisa’s pant leg. Sully winked at her. “Everything’s okay, Rose. Lisa’s okay. Right, Lisa?”
Eventually, color returned to Lisa’s face and lips. He handed her a towel.
“I’m fine, honey. Don’t worry,” Lisa said, smoothing Rose’s hair.
Lisa dried her hands and shook her head. “That was supposed to be ketchup-covered meatloaf, sliced potatoes with oregano and baked carrots. Now it’s soapy wet charcoal.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He held out his hand to Rose, and she took it. “Why don’t we go out to eat? Where should we go?”
“Pete’s Pizza and Polar,” Rose answered.
He raised an eyebrow. “Polar?”
“Ice cream,” Lisa answered. “We ate there on my last visit.” Turning to Rose, she added, “Great idea.”
The girl grinned.
“I’m going to jump in the shower. Then I’ll be right with you,” Sully said.
“And we’ll get ready, too,” Lisa said, opening the windows over the sink. “It’ll be good to get out of here for a while, let the smoke clear.”
Sully hurried to his bedroom in the front-left corner of the house and found a clean change of clothes. Then he jumped into the shower off his bedroom.
He shaved in the shower to save a step, cut the water and towel-dried himself off. Slapping on some aftershave, he padded naked into his room and then stopped suddenly, his gaze settling on the closed door. He took a grateful breath, glad that he’d had enough sense to close the door to his bedroom. Alone, in his motor home, he never paid any attention to that kind of thing. However, here in Rick and Carol’s house, he had to be more careful.
Rick and Carol’s house.
He supposed he should get used to thinking of it as their house, the three of them, but that seemed impossible yet. Maybe being comfortable here would come in due time. And maybe not.
Running a comb through his hair, he made a mental note to stop at a barbershop on his next walk around with Rose. He didn’t want to take any ribbing from the TV announcers when they got a gander at his longish hair. They loved making comments about hair and tattoos, feeling that all cowboys must fit a certain mold.
A shot of adrenaline coursed through him whenever he thought of riding bulls. The next event on the circuit would be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it was scheduled this coming Saturday.
Just six days away.
He had to go. If he wanted to keep up his ranking, he had to compete.
Then he had to win the Finals.
Then he would retire.
This chain of events would shore up his career plan to be a TV announcer for the PBR events. He wanted to do special interviews with the riders and the stock contractors along with the sports medicine doctors, wives and fiancées and whoever else would be of interest to the fans.
He was approaching thirty, and bull riding was a sport for the young. Because he couldn’t picture his life without the PBR, announcing and commentating was the next best thing to riding.
He had to win the Finals and win the season to be seriously considered.
From Salmon Falls, Fort Lauderdale would be a twenty-four-hour, nonstop ride in his motor home. He could leave Thursday and be back here by Tuesday morning.
That’s just what he’d do.
He grabbed his hat from the top of the dresser and plunked it on his head. As he caught his reflection in the mirror, he realized that something was wrong with his plan.
Lisa and Rose. He had to think of them now.
That was a new twist for him. He had never had to think of anyone else before.
He’d enjoyed his first day alone with Lisa and Rose. He’d spent most of the morning trying to get the mower started and the rest of the day mowing the lawn, so it wasn’t much of a test. But so far, so good, in spite of the kitchen disaster.
This arrangement was going to be a snap.
He had to admit that he looked forward to seeing Lisa and Rose every day, and he just loved his outings with Rose. All the shop owners knew her by name, and she knew their names. The regulars at the Salmon Falls Diner looked forward to seeing her every morning, and she glowed from all the attention.
Rose was no shrinking violet.
Sully opened the door, grabbed the keys to Rick’s van off the dresser and went to find his two dinner dates.
An hour later, Sully was eating the best pizza he’d ever had. Rose was covered in it, and Lisa was dabbing at the girl’s face with a wet tissue.
“Can I play over there?” Rose asked sweetly, pointing. She looked enviously at the children playing in a ball pit inside a bright blue inflated castle.
Lisa looked over at the children yelling and laughing and hesitated. Turning to Sully, she said, “I’m afraid she’ll get hurt.”
“She’ll be fine,” he said. “What do you want to do? Go in there with her? Let the kid have some fun!”
“There’s a weight limit.” Lisa pointed to the sign by the mesh door of the inflatable. “I don’t think either of us would qualify.”
“I see you’ve thought of doing just that.” Sully chuckled. “There’s a worker stationed by the door watching the kids, and we can see Rose from here. Let her go.”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“Lisa, let it go.”
Lisa nodded, then turned to Rose. “Be careful, sweetie.”
“I will.”
She scampered off, and Sully knew that it was a perfect time to talk to Lisa.
“I have to ride at the event in Fort Lauderdale this weekend,” he said, turning to catch a glimpse of Rose in the ball pit.
“She’s over there,” Lisa pointed, answering his unasked question. Lisa put down her slice of pizza and waved to Rose.
“Lisa, I have to go to Fort Lauderdale.”
Lisa dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “When would you fly out? Saturday? And you’d return on Sunday night?”
“I don’t fly. No way. In order for me to get on a plane, I’d have to be drunk and hog-tied. I like my boots on the ground.” He gave a thumbs-up to Rose.
Rose shouted, “Look at me jump, Aunt Lisa!” Rose did a belly flop into the bright balls. Lisa clapped and the little girl grinned.
When Rose turned to talk to a newly found friend, Lisa asked Sully, “Why don’t you fly, Mr. Adrenaline Rush Bull Rider?”
“I keep thinking of Newton’s law of gravity. Like, how do three or four tons of metal, glass and luggage take off and stay up in the sky?” Sully waved when he saw Rose looking at them.
“Do you want the technical answer to that?” Lisa asked.
“I wouldn’t believe you anyway.” He grinned. “That’s why I bought a motor home—so I can drive to events. I plan on leaving Thursday for Fort Lauderdale, and I’ll be back on Tuesday.”
“Are you asking me or telling me, Sully?” She clapped as Rose did a belly flop into the balls.
“I’m not used to asking anyone for permission, so I guess I’m telling you.” He laughed as Rose scrambled to stand and didn’t quite make it.
Lisa crossed her arms in front of her chest and sat back in her chair, looking at Sully for the first time since they’d started talking. “We knew this day would come, didn’t we?”
He nodded. “I’ll go to Florida, and in exchange I’ll let you fly somewhere.”
Lisa turned back to Rose. “You’ll let me fly? Let me?”
Sully shook his head. This wasn’t going right at all. “Did I put my boot in my mouth?”
“Try both boots.”
Sully pushed his hat back with a thumb. Most of the time Lisa reminded him of his second grade teacher, Mrs. Moth. The only thing she was missing was a ruler ready to crash down on his knuckles.
“You know what I’m trying to say, Lisa,” he said.
“Let me backtrack a moment, please.” She cleared her throat. “You stuck me with both sets of parents while you disappeared with Rose for most of the day every day of their visit. The rest of the time you hid in your motor home. I’m going stir-crazy.”
“Sorry about the stir-crazy part.” He nodded. “And you’re absolutely right. Sorry about abandoning you, but our mothers insisted on teaching you how to cook.”
“And both of our fathers enjoyed the spectacle,” she snapped.
He supposed he had unconsciously—or maybe consciously—stuck her with them all, but he’d had to get out of there. He was used to peace and quiet and solitude, for the most part.
When he was parked at one of the arenas and wanted company, all he had to do was walk out the door of his RV. Most of the other bull riders were there in their motor homes or truck campers, too. They’d all pitch in for potluck meals, and most of the time they’d all sit out in lawn chairs and talk until it was time to get ready for the event. Sometimes, it was like one big tailgate party and he could jump right into that. But most of the time, it was quiet.
A loud squeal came from the direction of the ball pit and both of them stood, searching for Rose. She was rolling around in the colorful balls, and Sully wished that he’d brought his camera.
