Reunited With The Bull Rider

“Don’t bug me, Reed.”

“Is that a challenge?” he asked.

“It’s a fact.”

“We’ll see about that, Miss Callie. We’ll see.”

Callie couldn’t help peeking as Reed walked to the front door. That cowboy could really work a pair of jeans, even on crutches. No wonder the buckle bunnies were always after him. Reed was one hunk of a man.

But she wasn’t interested. Her past love life was like a soap opera and she was canceling the show. She didn’t want to think about her past relationships now, if ever.

Callie found her car keys in the deep recesses of her purse and held the door open so Reed could crutch through. His aftershave wafted around her. Pine and leather. Strong scents. Strong, like Reed.

No. She wasn’t going to think things like that. He was just a client, not boyfriend material. He hadn’t been after high school and nothing had changed. In fact, she was even more wary of getting involved with yet another man.

Callie was just tired of putting effort into another relationship. She was tired, just plain tired.

Reed’s magnetism was lethal and, therefore, Callie had to be extra cautious. She had to reinforce that wall around her and wear a Kevlar vest to protect her heart.

They both slid into her ancient SUV and Callie turned the key. It started with a moan and a groan, but it started. She patted the dashboard. “Good job, Ruby.”

“Ruby?” Reed asked as she aimed the vehicle toward the long exit out of the ranch.

“It used to be red, but now it’s mostly faded to pink. I should call it Pinky.”

He grinned. “I’m guessing that it’s about ten years old.”

“Close. It’s twelve years old.”

He chuckled. “You really should put it out of its misery.”

“Then what do I drive?” she asked.

“Another car. Maybe something newer.”

“When you find a money tree, let me know where it is.”

“Oh, I see. Sorry.” Reed was quiet for quite a while before he started talking again.

“Callie, I’ll never forget the day and night of our senior prom. I loved taking you and showing you off. And at graduation, when you were valedictorian, your speech was a pitch for the graduates to stay in Beaumont and make it bigger and better. I liked that.”

“I figure that only about one-third of them moved. I’ve kept track throughout the years. Some even returned.”

Reed snapped his fingers. “Let’s throw a reunion. We can have it at the practice arena on the ranch. I’ll order some tents. It’d be great to see everyone.”

“You want to have a party on the same spot where you practice riding bulls?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any practice bulls here yet, if it’s the manure you’re thinking of.”

Callie couldn’t plan a party right now. She had enough work to do being the personal assistant to the Beaumonts. “Um, uh...maybe when I have everything organized, having a reunion is something to think about.”

“Don’t you ever have fun, Callie?”

“Basically...no. Not since high school. I’ve been juggling many balls in the air. I have responsibilities and obligations.”

“Responsibilities and obligations? Sounds serious.”

“It is. They are.” She decided to change the subject because she sounded like such a dud. Maybe she was, but such was life. “I liked the prom. If I remember correctly, Tiffany McGrath, head cheerleader, was the prom queen and you were king.”

“I wonder what Tiff is doing now.”

“She lives on Maple Street and has three kids. She married Josh Nelson. Remember how everyone called him Nerdy Nelson? He’s not. He’s a full-time investment broker and a volunteer firefighter. Tiff has her own gift shop on Main Street—Gifts by Tiff.”

“Tiff had dreams of working for the United Nations. She was studying three languages.” He shook his head. “She wanted to move out of Beaumont and go to a big city.”

“Things change, Reed. People change. She told me that she wanted to raise her family in Beaumont.”

“That’s nice.” He paused, as if he were thinking, then asked, “Do you ever regret not going to New York?”

“Maybe, but here I have responsibilities and—”

“Obligations,” Reed finished.

“Yes.”

She couldn’t leave if she wanted to. She was entrenched in Beaumont, and her mother had her own local doctors who’d saved her from breast cancer ten years ago, and she hoped they’d be able to do it again now.

Her twin brothers would be leaving for college soon, but Beaumont was where they loved to be right now—in the small bungalow on Elm that she’d bought for them. Well, the bank owned it, but as long as she kept working as hard as she had been and kept up with the taxes and the monthly payments, no one would ever evict them again.

Never.

“Is the TV station still on Wells Avenue?” Reed asked.

“Yes. And we’re cutting the time short. You won’t have much time to prepare.”

“I’ve done a million of these things. I don’t need to prepare. ‘Reed, what made you become a bull rider?’ I’ll answer, ‘I love the adrenaline rush and the friends that I’ve made. And being with my brothers is another reason why I love riding. To love what you’re doing and make money doing it...well, it doesn’t get any better than that.’”

Callie chuckled. “I guess you don’t need to prepare after all.”

“If he asks me that question first, I’ll buy us coffee.”

“If he asks you that first, I’ll buy us lunch,” Callie said in a moment of exuberance she hadn’t felt in a long time. Goofy bets with Reed had been some of the best times of her teen years, and no one else she’d dated since he’d left had made her laugh like he had.

Callie parked in front of the station and they both hurried into the lobby, where Reed was whisked away to the booth. Callie was directed to a viewing room, where she settled into a comfy chair.

The announcer nodded to Reed. “With us is champion bull rider Reed Beaumont. Reed, tell the audience why you decided to ride bulls.”

Reed looked at Callie through the window of the booth, grinned and winked. Then he launched into his memorized speech.