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Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Nikki was still involved with her fans. Since she’d come in a separate vehicle from him and Mills, there was no reason to wait for her.
They pulled on their sheepskin jackets and ate another hot dog before working their way through the throng of supporters to the entrance. Once outside, they walked through the brittle snow left by several storms and climbed into Mills’s Dodge Power Wagon truck.
The temperature registered twenty degrees and would probably drop to fourteen overnight. Las Vegas sounded pretty good right now with a temperature hovering near sixty degrees.
Mills gunned the motor and they took off, passing Nikki’s Silverado truck parked half a block down the street. The silence lengthened on their way to Dobson’s small Sweet Clover Ranch on the outskirts of town.
“Want to talk about it yet?”
“Nope.”
Toly pushed his cowboy hat back on his head. “If you change your mind, I’m your man.”
“Thanks, but I won’t.”
Until a month ago Mills had been dating Denise Robbins, a girl from Great Falls, for about four months. When she’d unexpectedly called things off, she’d knocked the heart right out of him. Until their breakup he’d never seen Mills so happy. Her action couldn’t have been worse for him. At their last two rodeos, his timing had been a little off. Toly had tried to get him to talk about it with no success.
Somehow Toly had hoped Denise would show up at the Ford dealership this evening to make up with him. Toly could have sworn half the town had turned out. She was a former barrel racer and couldn’t have helped but hear about it being advertised. With Finals only a few days away, for her to pick this particular time to part ways couldn’t have been more cruel.
En route to the Dobson ranch house, Toly received an email notification on his phone from their agent, Lyle. When he checked it, he saw that Lyle had forwarded him an email from Amanda Fleming. She must have gotten his email address off the website that his agent ran for them.
Toly figured she must have sent it from her office at the hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, where they’d met three weeks ago. He and Mills had stayed there while his rig was getting serviced. She had invited Toly to have a meal with her in the hotel after their event and he thought why not. The next day he and Mills left for their next rodeo.
Her email explained that she would be in the stands during the competition in Las Vegas. She hoped they’d be able to spend at least one of the evenings together.
He frowned. She hadn’t been on his mind since he’d left Omaha and knew what that meant. Only one woman had the power to remain in his thoughts and not go away no matter what else was going on. That woman was back at the Ford dealership.
Toly was sorry he’d eaten dinner with her. In a few days he would send her an email via Lyle. At that time he would tell her that every night was uncertain because of the gold buckle ceremony and parties after each rodeo. Perhaps there might be a night he was free, but he wouldn’t know until he’d ridden in his event. He would have to see. Hopefully she would read between the lines. Toly had no desire to be rude to her, but knew their relationship couldn’t go anyplace.
After Mills drove them up to the ranch house entrance, they both went inside and grabbed a snack in the kitchen while they made final plans for the next day.
Toly kept listening for Nikki to come in, but it wasn’t meant to be. Furthering his disappointment, Mills informed him that their crew, Andy and Santos, would be driving her horses in their rig. His sister would fly down on the sixth, negating any hope Toly would be able to talk to her at rest spots along their route to Nevada.
Earlier in the day, Toly had made the 190-mile drive from Stevensville to Great Falls in his rig with the horses and he was tired. After staying at the Dobsons’ tonight, they would load all four of their horses in the morning and take off on I-15 for their three-day trip all the way to Las Vegas.
The crew would be staying at a hotel near the Thomas & Mack Center and meet up with them on the sixth at the equestrian RV park. It was the place he reserved every year so he could sleep in his rig rather than at a hotel.
This year Mills would be living in the Dobson rig parked next to Toly’s rig. Nikki would be staying at a hotel, but during the day she’d drive out to the RV park to exercise her horses. Toly felt a heightened sense of excitement, knowing that she’d be around for those ten days. He would have a legitimate reason to talk to her, coming and going.
After texting his mom that he’d be heading out in the morning with Mills, he said good-night and clicked off. He wouldn’t be seeing his family again until everyone flew down for the final night of competition on the seventeenth to celebrate en masse.
Turning to Mills he said, “I’m going to go on up and hit the hay.”
“Before you do, come in the den with me for a minute.”
Wondering what this was about, he followed him through the cedar-plank-and-brick ranch house to the room where all the Dobson family pictures, awards and trophies were on display.
“Sit down for a minute.”
“Sure.”
Toly perched on the end of the couch and waited for his friend to speak. Though Mills had darker gray eyes than his twin, their black hair and basic features were so alike it was positively uncanny. They took after their mother he could see in the photographs, but got their height from their father. Every time Toly looked at him, he saw Nikki.
“I’ve been an ass for the last month. Sorry.”
“Forget it, Mills.”
“I wish I could.” He started pacing, then stopped. “I thought I knew Denise. Geez—how wrong could I have been! I could have taken it if she just plain didn’t like me anymore, but her timing after we’d made plans to celebrate when it was all over... I had big plans,” he murmured.
Toly had an idea what they were and was heartsick for his friend. “I know, dude. It surprised the heck out of me. I thought you two were tight.”
“Join the club. It makes me wonder something. I keep asking myself, did she shut me down right before Finals because she didn’t qualify and that’s why she dropped out?”
“Whoa. I don’t believe that, and neither should you.”
“I have a reason for saying what I did. As you know, I met her through Nikki. They’d been contestants at the same time for the Miss Rodeo Montana Pageant the year before and became friends. Five months ago she invited Denise to the ranch while I happened to be home that weekend.”
“I remember.”
“The chemistry between us was amazing. Though you and I were on the circuit part of the time, she and I talked on the phone for hours when we couldn’t be together. I thought she was the one.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Mills planted himself in a chair. “What you don’t know is how devastated she was when she didn’t place in that pageant. For the first two weeks into our relationship, it seemed like all she wanted to do was talk about her disappointment. Then the subject changed when she told me she’d decided to drop out of barrel racing. I’m afraid I didn’t immediately connect the dots.”
“So what are you saying?”
He took a deep breath. “I’m not sure, but I’m wondering if it’s because she’s been comparing herself to Nikki and doesn’t want to be around her anymore, which means shutting me out. I guess I never told you Nikki made a clean sweep of all the categories in the pageant, including personality, appearance and horsemanship, and she won the Queen Speech award. The folks would have been so proud.”
That didn’t surprise Toly, who shook his head. Deep inside he had to admit Nikki would be an almost impossible act to follow.
“Look, Mills—even if your supposition contains a kernel of truth and she has some envy issues, I can’t comprehend that she would deny herself the happiness you two have found since meeting each other. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe it does because deep down Denise is more into herself than I’d realized. I found out from my friend José that he went to the same high school with Denise. She was big into barrel racing back then and ran for Miss Teen Rodeo three years in a row.”
“How did she do?”
He looked at him. “She never placed in the top three.”
“Neither did the majority of the other contestants.”
His friend let out a sound of frustration. “But I don’t think she ever got over it.”
Toly got to his feet. “If that’s really true, and you believe she’s too obsessed with past failures to see a bright future with you, then she did you a favor by breaking up with you. Let me give you a piece of advice my big brother once gave me. He fell in love with his high school girlfriend and planned to marry her after college.
“But she met an actor from Hollywood while she was in Europe who swept her off her feet. After she came home, she ended it with Wymon. He thought she’d wanted a ranching life with him. It shocked him to realize he could never have given her what she really wanted. But before he finally got over her, he nursed a broken heart for a long time and grew bitter.
“I’m telling you this because when I first got into tie-down roping on the circuit—before my brother Roce and I started team roping—Wymon sat me down because he was worried about me. He knew how much I liked the ladies and feared I might get dazzled too soon by a woman who could never love me. My brother feared that if I wasn’t careful, I’d be like he had been and wallow in pain instead of getting on with life.”
Mills stared at him. “What did he say to you?”
“To quote him, ‘The last thing you ever want to do is get hung up on one of those rodeo beauty queens. They’re in love with their own image and probably have been all their lives. The dude who’s hooked and can’t see through it is doomed to be an afterthought, if that.’
“Later on, I realized he’d said that while he was in a bad place, but after hearing what you’ve just told me, maybe there was some truth to his words.” Toly didn’t know what else to say. His friend needed to try to get over Denise or he was going to be miserable for a long time.
Mills stood up. “In the beginning I would never have thought of her like that. But the more I think about it, there has been a pattern of high expectations and bitter disappointments she can’t get over. Your brother might have had a point when he gave you that advice.”
“Mills? What’s important is that you move on for your own happiness.”
“You’re right. Thanks for the talk. I’m sure as hell not going to let her ruin what you and I have worked so hard for. I promise I won’t let you down.”
Toly patted his shoulder. “You couldn’t do that. See you in the morning. Try to get a good sleep.”
It was great advice to give Mills, but Toly knew he wouldn’t be falling off anytime soon. He went back to the kitchen, hoping Nikki would come home so they could talk. No doubt some guy was detaining her.
Starting tomorrow morning, Toly wouldn’t be seeing her for the next three days. He wished they were all driving down to Vegas together, but Mills had never suggested it. From the moment the two of them had starting riding the circuit together, Toly had sensed Nikki was off-limits to him. Naturally he was friendly with her when they were all together here on the ranch, but he kept things professional. That’s why they’d all gotten along so well.
But Toly wanted more than that. The only thing saving him was the knowledge that the three of them would be together in Las Vegas for ten whole days and nights. He had plans despite what Mills wanted.
After waiting another twenty minutes while he watched the news on the small TV in the kitchen, he decided Nikki might not be home for hours. Not if that dude at the dealership was holding her up.
She could sleep in tomorrow while he and Mills had to take off early. So much for a talk with her before he went to bed. That would have to wait. Hell.
Chapter Two (#uae922a2e-462b-58ef-b6f6-ecb169d4e5f1)
At three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, the airport shuttle pulled up to the magnificent new Cyclades Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four huge, white rounded windmills with their pointed brown roofs and blades—the famous trademark advertising the Greek islands—formed the facade around the entrance. A sign on the marquee said, Welcome Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Finalists.
December 6 was finally here. Nikki climbed out of the limo following her two-hour flight from Great Falls, Montana, and was instantly met with whistles and a barrage of photographers taking pictures. She ought to be higher than a kite to be here at last, on the verge of possibly winning the national championship. But her spirits couldn’t have been darker. Not after the conversation she’d accidentally overheard between her brother and Toly Clayton the other night at the ranch house.
She hadn’t been able to put it out of her mind and would have given anything in the world for her loving parents to still be alive so she could talk to them about what Toly had said. She was afraid he’d been referring to her when he’d made certain remarks. But there was no such miracle for her and somehow she had to find the strength to get through this experience on her own.
Being a finalist required she had to be prepared to look the part. That meant wearing specific brands like her white Stetson, Justin cowboy boots, and Wrangler jeans and Western shirt. It also meant putting on a smile when it was the last thing she felt like doing.
A doorman reached for her two suitcases and accompanied her inside the lobby decorated with Christmas trees and thousands of twinkling white lights crisscrossing the ceiling. She’d almost forgotten the holiday season was upon them. He put her luggage next to her and went back out in front.
One of the clerks at the counter approached her. “Welcome to the Cyclades Hotel.”
“It’s good to be here. My name is Nikki Dobson.”
The clerk’s smile broadened as she signed her into the computer. “You’re one of this year’s barrel racing finalists. Congratulations!”
“Thank you.”
“We have the Delos Island suite ready for you and a rental car. When you’re ready to pick it up, their office is down the north hall next to the double doors leading to the indoor pool and gym.
“If you’ll follow the bellhop, he’ll show you to your room off the east patio. You’ll find literature on the coffee table to answer any questions you might have. Here’s your card key.”
Nikki thanked her again. The bellhop picked up her suitcases and she followed him past a coffee shop and the crowded casino to a set of glass doors at the other end of the lobby. They led outside where a charming, miniature Greek village greeted her vision.
The whitewashed cubed houses built next to each other, with some being double storied, had been designed in the Cycladic style around several swimming pools lined in Greek tiles.
What a stunning change from the high-rises of many other hotels! She liked the architecture and was glad she didn’t have to deal with crowded elevators and happy people. After the blizzard she’d left behind in Montana, she had to admit the high-fifties temperature here in the desert felt balmy by comparison.
As soon as she was shown to her two-bedroom suite with its blue-and-white decor, she paid the man for helping her with her bags. If Mills got tired of sleeping in the rig, he could spend a night here in the other bedroom. But in his depressed state, she had no idea what her brother would want right now.
Once she’d closed the door, she sat down on a chair by the coffee table in the small sitting room to text Mills that she’d arrived at the hotel. She knew he was expecting to hear from her.
Next she phoned Santos and Andy, the crew all three of them were sharing. They’d driven her rig and quarter horses here from the Dobson ranch. She knew from an earlier text that they’d arrived at ten that morning and had pulled into the RV equestrian park in Las Vegas. It had several big arenas, nine barns and all the amenities to work with the horses like steer dummies and practice barrels. It saved having to go over to the Thomas and Mack Center all the time where the National Finals Rodeo was being held starting the day after tomorrow.
“How’s it going, Santos?
“Despite a flat tire and a long wait while a herd of migrating elk crossed the highway, we’re fine.”
“Do I want to know how bad it really was?”
“Nope. You’ve got enough on your mind.”
What would she do without their crew. They were her greatest support. “Is Bombshell settling in?”
“She’s good. So is Sassy. But Duchess is missing you.”
“I’m not surprised. Now that I’ve checked in to the Cyclades Hotel, I’ll pick up my rental car and drive over so I can exercise her.”
“That’ll perk her up.”
“If all goes well, I won’t be riding her during the competition. But I need to keep her happy and in shape, just in case of a problem.” Though Duchess was fast, she required more cosseting than the other two.
“You can always expect something will go wrong, Nikki.”
“Don’t I know it.”
She’d learned that when her parents had been killed, and again when she realized she couldn’t marry Ted, not to mention the pain inflicted when she’d overheard a certain conversation the other night.
As for her rodeo experiences, she’d been riding horses on her own from the time she was seven. Her childhood dreams were all to do with riding in the rodeo one day. At fourteen she’d competed in the teen rodeos. At eighteen she’d started college and had begun competing on the state and national circuit.
For the last six years Nikki had gone through everything that could go right or wrong personally and professionally during her exhausting schedule. It still wasn’t over and anything could happen until this competition came to an end after ten grueling nights. Then she’d retire in order to promote the rodeo in a brand-new way with her brother who was also a rodeo champion along with his famous team roping partner.
When the pro rodeo championship finals were over, Mills planned to retire as well and go into business with her. The two of them had talked about it a lot. Neither of them had been lucky when it came to romantic relationships that were destined to last. His recent breakup with one of her best friends, Denise Robbins, had torn him apart. She was glad that when Finals were over, they had each other to rely on for the future.
“Any sign of Mills yet?”
“Yeah. He and Toly pulled in at noon and parked their rig next to yours.”
She guessed he hadn’t had time yet to answer her text. Technically it was Toly Clayton’s rig. They’d lived out of it while doing the circuit this last year. He was the youngest son on the renowned Clayton Cattle Ranch located at the base of the Sapphire Mountains outside Stevensville.
“I’m glad they got there safely.”
“Their horses are stalled right by yours. It’s a good thing you guys made reservations last January. The place is full up.”
